***The World***

***Ascathon***

I stop myself just before I leave king Luxley's family tomb with the goal of spreading a little mayhem among the mortals.

Wouldn't it be a waste of my time if I had to teach this lesson twice?

Once I had the thought, I no longer can ignore it. Turning around, I wave a hand at the king, casting a little prank spell to root him to the ground. “Actually, wait here, I'll be right back!”

Using a pathway, I home in right towards Willow and Karin, appearing inside the living room of my secret hideout. Karin is wasting time by lying around on the sofa and Willow is reading a book. Clapping my hands, I gather their attention. “No fooling around in the middle of the day! It's lesson time.”

“Nooo...”

Karin groans, but I grab her arm with one hand while touching Willow's knee with the other, abducting the both of them.

We appear right where I left Luxley who is fervently trying to pull his feet away from the ground. His efforts are to no avail since my hex is strong enough to hold even a dragon.

“What are you doing?” I ask him while Karin drops to the ground and Willow places her firm butt right next to our pupil.

“No- Nothing!” The king rights himself, trying to look composed - but failing miserably.

“I just brought in a few more students, so that I don't have to do this twice,” I explain and wave a hand, releasing him. “I hope you weren't trying to run. It's dangerous for a weakling like yourself to be out there alone.”

Of course, he was trying to run. The both of us know it, but I am willing to give him a little leeway.

“I would never refuse the divine attention of a god,” Luxley answers quickly, maybe too quickly.

Groaning, Karin rolls around and gets to her feet. “You said that you wouldn't teach me anything until I managed to learn the basics.”

Willow gets up, dusting herself off. “Ascathon! I hope this won't become a habit. I am not the one who is caught in this strange world enchantment. Random teleportations are supposed to be your problem.”

Raising an eyebrow, I glare at the pretty lady who chose a tight, blue dress which makes her look almost as if she is naked. “Are you sure that I am the only one who is caught inside the enchantment? Have you ever tried praying to me?”

Willow raspberries with her cute lips and raises a finger to stop me. “First, I would never pray to you! Second, you already forced me to take care of Karin. Do you always load off your illegitimate children on your female friends? And third-” She turns her attention to king Luxley, allowing her voice to turn husky. “Who is this pretty fellow? Have you ever tried doing it with an elemental?”

Luxley pales. “No. I would never with a mons... mo... m... erm...” His eyes wander quickly back and forth between Karin and Willow, without a doubt smitten by their unique beauty. “Thank you for the offer... but my office... doesn't allow me... to... erm... live as freely as others.”

“Oh,” Willow pouts.

I give him a thumbs up and whisper, “Nice save. At least your diplomatic skills are better than your ability to rule a kingdom.” Then I point at the door. “Let's go and save Luxley's kingdom!”

“You really don't have to!” Luxley waves his hands but is ignored by the lot of us.

“I thought you were going to teach us something?” Karin grumbles.

“Of course!” Strolling outside the tomb, I start the lesson, impressed that Karin isn't intimidated by the presence of a king. But then again, in her rural village kings weren't an everyday occurrence. “And I will use all the scum inside this palace...” I cough. “Shrine! To give you a few examples of magic and philosophy!”

Taking the lead, I head down a corridor towards the nearest sources of energy.

“There are a few things you have to know about magic, which includes all its forms. The most important one is that there is no 'evil' magic, just as there are no 'evil' weapons. For example, Necromancy might not be pretty, but it's a tool to be used. You have to understand that only a person can be evil.”

I turn around, facing Luxley and Karin who are the only ones listening. Willow is picking her nails, clearly not paying any attention to the lesson. Good minions are so hard to find nowadays. I still remember the time when Willow was a fresh employee. Her work ethics certainly suffered over the centuries. Sighing, I let the matter go since she already knows what I am about to share.

We leave the side-corridor which led to the tomb and enter a larger hallway. It seems like this area was used a little more frequently, but it is still dirty and smells of old cellar.

The two dissidents who I sensed beforehand notice us right away. The one to the left points at us and screams, “There he is! Get them!”

They run towards us, their dirty clothes dangling from their bodies like rags. Not wanting to be touched by the filthy mortals I raise a hand, pointing it lazily at the left irritation. A little flex of uncontrolled force-magic is enough and the man's body rips apart into a thousand pieces, his bones breaking like old wood and splintering in all directions.

Within an instant, the corridor is painted red in blood and slick with gore.

“Damn...” I sigh. “That was a little too much power. Mortals are just too fragile.”

The second dissident tries to stop his rapid charge, screaming in horror upon realizing that the remains which cover the previously dusty hallway – and himself – belong to his former comrade.

This time, I do my best to control my power as I catch the man, lifting him off the ground. When he doesn't turn into red mush I chortle, pleased with my ability to hold back. It's not easy for an ascended being to show that much restraint. When you are used to channeling rivers of magic from an ocean of power, you tend to forget how it feels like to take just a bucket of power, or a droplet, like in this case.

“My mistake. The first test subject got a little messed up, but we can scrape him off the walls and use what's left for a flesh golem. This one is fairly intact, so we can try a simple zombification.”

I try to speak as clearly as possible to be heard despite the bone-chilling screams of the man. Shaking the beggar I caught with a flex of my magic, I bash his head against the wall, splitting it open like an egg.

“But first a little philosophy regarding my new religion. It's just basic sense, but everyone has to start somewhere. If someone attacks you, you react with extreme prejudice. You kill them, then you kill their friends and their families, including any people they know, just to be sure.” I point over my shoulder at Luxley without looking back. “You, my friend, may be a king, but you are also a big wimp. Your kingdom should've never gotten into a state in which your authority could be questioned. But don't worry, we will rectify that.

“You see, there are several ways to make use of something useless, like corpses. Many worlds would be better off if all that dead flesh wouldn't be allowed to go to waste.” I wave my hand at the dead body. “There are several ways to raise the dead.”

I demonstrate the easiest by casting a simple reanimation spell. Green light surrounds the body, and he twitches rather ominously, a pained moan escaping his throat.

“The most basic spell is a simple Animate Flesh, which takes control of a dead body's nerves and animates its muscles, therefore creating what the uneducated would call a zombie. Thanks to the spell, their nerve-centre regains some of its lowest functions. This leaves you with a creature which is reduced to its most basic instincts. It's also unable to replenish its own power, and as soon as the supplied energy from the spell runs out, it will return to being a corpse. Theoretically, I could also create an animated skeleton with this spell. But it wouldn't last long and be a waste of energy, since the spell would have to make up for all the non-existent muscles. Always remember, it's the most energy efficient to use a fresh corpse. All those stories of decayed zombies are just a myth. The fresher they are, the better. Even the old Mirai knew that. That's why they were so skilled at preserving and repairing corpses.”

Pointing at the now writhing and moaning body which is still held in place by my force magic, I casually form a rather large spell formation.

“This second one is a little trickier, and I don't expect you to pick it up immediately. But that's why we are going to train until you get it right. Once a body dies, you have a few minutes before...” I stop, searching for the right term. In the end, I decide to simplify things, since Luxley is present. Going into the details of quantum-mechanics and the metaphysical nature of the multiverse would probably be a little too much, even for Karin.

“It pains me to over-simplify things, but let's just say that this man's soul still has a tether to his body. And by rejoining his soul with his flesh, I can turn him into a reanimated servant. Always make sure to include a way to control someone who you bring back this way. They still have most of the same memories and motivations they had while they were still alive.

“If you apply an altered form of healing magic, you can even take care of some cosmetic issues.” With another wave, I restore the man to his former self and he gasps as the wound on his head closes and the dent in his skull is smoothed out.

Letting go of my force magic, I allow him to drop to the floor. “Just stay there and wait for orders.”

The new servant obviously tries to rebel against the geas I placed in his mind, but there is no way for him to break it.

“It will take a little studying, but once you have those spells under control, I'll teach you a way to create an infectious version of this magic. There are a few drawbacks which function as a safety mechanism, like a limited lifetime for any infected. But if you anchor the spells yourself afterwards, that can be remedied should you want to create an army of servants quickly.”

I point down the corridor. “Go and hunt your comrades. Kill half of them and bring us the other half alive.”

Yowling in terror of his own actions, the newly created servant skitters off on all fours. I just hope anyone who encounters my little creation doesn't realize that the screams aren't meant to intimidate the victim. I suppose it can't be helped, so I stretch my arms and flex my fingers to loosen up. “Right! The flesh golem is next. It's always beneficial to have something up your sleeve if the body is damaged beyond repair.”

“Ahem.”

Willow clears her throat and I turn around, miffed that my willingness to give a live-presentation was interrupted. It's not often that you get lessons in Necromancy from a soul-mage.

But seeing my pupils, I understand why Willow felt the need to interrupt me. Luxley is lying flat on his back, his eyes turned upwards in their sockets, so that there is only the white visible. Karin also doesn't look like she is well, but at least she didn't lose consciousness.

“When did he pass out?” I ask.

“Right after you reanimated the beggar,” Willow replies helpfully. “Are you sure that he is good necromancer material?”

I huff. “He just has to learn if he wants to stay in my favour. No matter his upbringing, he has the proper heritage and I'll be damned if one of my distant descendants is unable to perform such simple magic!”

Wisely, I don't add that I only decided to take Luxley's side in order to piss off Myrm. After all, a god's motivations have to be at least a little hard to understand. There would be no way that people would worship me if they knew that I am just as vain and emotionally driven as any random mortal from the street.

“Excuse me,” Karin raises her hand, shaking.

“Yes?” I ask, feeling generous towards my protégé and wondering why she is behaving so formal. Not that I don't like being paid the proper respect, but I never indoctrinated the girl to do so.

“Isn't bringing back their soul and placing a 'geas' on them just as bad as slavery?” She looks at me as if I am the evil one here, then in the direction the zombie went. “It sounds even worse than slavery.”

“Karin, you have to understand that there are certain actions that get you punished sooner or later.” I raise a finger. “Like being a dick, or attacking someone far stronger than yourself. I thought you understood that there is nothing evil in this world when you burned down that village with the power I gave you.”

“But I didn't enslave anyone. I just punished them,” Karin complains.

I shake my head. “You could have done anything to them, girl. You were perfectly within your rights. They enslaved you, killed your mother, and raped you. Don't allow those who did that to you to put their morals and values on you. As soon as they started threatening your existence, any social rules couldn't be applied any longer. Social rules, laws, morals, those concepts exist to make it easier for people to live with each other. As soon as they refused to accept you as one of them, and demoted you to a slave, a thing that could be killed at their whim, you no longer had to obey their norms. Why should you restrict yourself to their morals if they aren't willing to extend the same favour to you?”

She looks at Willow. “I thought he is against slavery.”

Willow shakes her head, using the tip of her slender shoe to draw circles on the dusty ground. “Yeah... he is kind of hypocritical that way. To some degree, he follows a moral code of his own, but if you happen to belong to a certain group of people, those morals go straight out the window.” She looks at Karin and whispers, “Just don't question it, or he will try to teach you how the world works... according to him.”

I cross my arms in front of my chest. “What do you mean with, 'according to me'?”

“Nothing,” she replies quickly. “Why don't you continue the lesson. If we spend all day down here, your reanimated minion might cause a zombie plague.”

I wave my hand dismissively. “Pah! I got that little issue under control a long time ago. But you are right. I can demonstrate the Flesh Golem at any time. Would you be so nice and carry the king while I instruct our young student in the arts of magic? I suppose we have to start with the basics first. Like drawing power and shaping it.”

Willow gasps. “You wouldn't! Why should I, a lady, carry him around while you get to play teacher?”

I snort. “I think the both of us know that you are no lady. May I remind you of last night? A lady would never-”

“Ascathon!” she quickly cuts me off. “Karin isn't old enough for that.”

I look at the girl. She just rolls her eyes. “Oh, please. Didn't you just confirm that I already had the misfortune of being introduced to this stuff? You can hardly shock me at this point.”

“Actually...” I take a moment to consider Karin's situation. “...she is right. You are one of the toughest kids I've ever met, Karin, but there are things you aren't prepared for.” Turning back to Willow, I settle the matter with her. “And you are going to carry him. You hit on him, so you carry him.”

“Me hitting on him wasn't the reason why he blacked out!” Willow complains.

“And we aren't in that kind of relationship, so you carry him,” I reaffirm and start walking down the corridor to find a few more test subjects.

“Actually, I know I already asked this question, but what's your relationship?” Karin asks.

“Friends with benefits!” Willow answers quickly before I can state my own version. Looking back, I see that she is carrying Luxley, so I refrain from correcting her. It has been a few hundred years since she tried to kill me, so I suppose that giving her a little slack is okay.

***The Crystal City***

***Seria***

“I am telling you, Myrm, just let it go! This isn't worth fighting over,” I repeat myself for the umpteenth time, but Myrm doesn't get it.

Instead, she keeps insisting on bringing the matter up with Tjenemit.

“I can't believe that none of you are willing to stop him! What he is doing is just wrong!” Myrm screams, her rage not subsiding. Ever since she appeared in Studio 7 after her encounter with Ascathon, she threw a temper tantrum of epic proportions.

Nazareth, the only deity who the deranged Myrm is willing to listen to, joins in. “Listen, we understand that you don't like what he is doing, but you are projecting your rage onto the wrong person.”

“How can he be the wrong person!?” Myrm hammers her fist onto the table, making Nazareth flinch. “Nobody forces him to do the things he does!”

Nazareth raises both hands and talks very quietly. “Okay... you want to bring the matter up with Tjenemit, then bring it up with Tjenemit. But ultimately, the Council is responsible for what's happening and none of us want the Council's attention. If not Ascathon, then Tjenemit will force another psycho to join the club. As long as Tjenemit wishes to go through with this experiment, there will be no outcome that's acceptable to you.”

“Then they just have to give us someone who can be reasoned with!” Myrm screams.

Leaning forward, I whisper, “Get yourself under control! Ascathon may not be my favourite person in the multiverse right now, but at least he can be reasoned with if you don't set him off!”

Myrm shakes her head, her helmet clinking. “I just don't understand why all of you are so afraid of him.”

Nazareth slams his flat hand onto the table. “Now listen! You are new here, just a few decades old. That's not much more than being a mere infant in our circles. We-”

Unfortunately, that's exactly the moment when Tjenemit decides to make an appearance. “You requested my presence in a matter of utter urgency?”

I slap my own forehead. How utterly idiotic can Myrm be? Did she really call for a Council member directly!? We will all be lucky if Tjenemit doesn't make us disappear.

Myrm, not heeding our advice, turns to face the ancient deity. “Finally! You need to reign in Ascathon! He is going nuts on our planet!”

Tjenemit furrows his forehead. “Are you telling me that you can't deal with him?”

“Of course not!” I interject and stand up. “Our Myrm is just new at the business. After getting a little bit of experience, she will be up to it in no time. It just so happens that with Ascathon and Myrm, two very strong personalities are grating against each other. The fact that they are often directly pitched against each other doesn't help.”

Wringing my hands, I try to find a diplomatic solution to this mess, hoping that the Council member won't react in a drastic manner. “Maybe it would be enough to tweak the world enchantment a little bit, so that two opposing deities aren't summoned into the same place at the same time?”

Nazareth nods with fervour. “That's a great idea! After all, our true purpose is finding people who have the potential to ascend without the Council's help. Those who could become a threat to the ongoing peace. Isn't it highly inefficient for two of your agents to be summoned to the same place.”

“Hmmm...” Tjenemit scratches his chin. “What you are saying has merit. I'll speak to the other Council members about what can be done. We are always short on reliable hands, so this inefficiency in our system really isn't necessary if it doesn't have to be.”

He looks at the ceiling, considering it.

“That doesn't change the problem with Ascathon!” Myrm interjects, unfortunately.

“About that.” Tjenemit circles his finger. “I would like to hear his perspective in order to understand the actual problem.”

There is a flash of light, and our dark-robed god of chaos appears out of nowhere. With one hand in the air, his finger raised, it looks like he was about to lecture somebody.

I suck in a sharp breath, praying. “Life and Death, give me strength.”

“What's going on?” Ascathon turns in a circle, trying to understand why he is here.

“You are about to get an ass whooping!” Myrm proclaims loudly. “That's what's about to happen.”

Ascathon ignores Myrm and turns to face Tjenemit instead. “Explanation!” A moment passes until the god of chaos decides to add, “...Please,” as an afterthought.

Tjenemit shrugs. “That's what I am trying to find out. Myrm said that you were overly unruly. Would you please give me a summary of what you have been doing on your assigned planet?”

Ascathon's expression suddenly becomes very guarded and he starts picking his words very carefully. “Well, what I am supposed to do?” Then he proceeds to give Tjenemit a very clinical summary of all his actions so far.

The Council member turns on Myrm. “I don't see your problem. Ascathon is just, doing what we want him to do. He is representing the dark side of things so that no possible candidates can slip past our attention.”

Myrm seems stunned for a moment, and then she explodes. “He is killing innocent people with his actions left and right for no good reason! If you are unwilling to show him the error of his ways, then I will!”

Ascathon raspberries, amused. “Please! What can you do!? I've seen you struggling with a simple healing spell. It was pathetic!”

Before I can stop her, Myrm is next to Ascathon, her hand coming down with a karate-chop on her unprepared adversary. A hastily erected mana-shield breaks with the sound of cracking glass, and then there is a – 'crack' – as the bones in Ascathon's neck yield to the brutal attack.

The god of chaos falls straight onto his back and twitches for two seconds before he lies still. With the ceasing of his erratic spasms, the room falls into complete and utter silence.

I gape at the scene, not believing that Myrm just did that. Attacking another god while his aura is down is a serious breach of etiquette. Normally, a god's fully released aura protects them from any random attack. Breaking through a god's aura requires large amounts of power, which is the main reason why gods shouldn't fight directly with each other.

It's also why gods normally don't run around with their auras released. Not only is it a defensive measure, but also required to break through another god's aura. Having one's aura released is a threatening move in of itself.

Myrm just broke several social rules of the Crystal City by attacking another god who had his aura down. This may even cause severe repercussions, not to mention that killing another immortal without making sure that he or she can't retaliate once they reincarnate, is a seriously brain-dead move!

“See!?”

Myrm places her fists on her hips, striking a pose. “Nothing to be afraid of, idiots. Just like any other mage. You brain them, and then you dance a jig on top of their corpse.”

Before either Tjenemit or I can find a proper response, Nazareth voices his opinion with loud fervour. “Fool! You just-”

In that very moment, someone kicks in the door to Studio 7, and a black-haired beauty strolls into the room like a queen to a banquet. Surveying her audience, she smiles brilliantly, the incarnation of seduction and femininity. “Am I late?” she purrs with a haughty voice that sends a shiver down my spine.

“This is so wrong,” I mumble to myself. “So very wrong.”

My stomach twists at the sight of her, especially since I know exactly who just re-entered the room. Maybe I should warn Myrm? But something tells me that warning her would make the situation even worse.

“Who are you?” Myrm asks, turning to face the newcomer.

“Oh,” the beauty with porcelain skin smacks her red lips. “You must be new.” Rolling her hips, she approaches Myrm. “All the older gods know me as Nova, but that probably doesn't mean much to you.” She stops in front of the god of order. “But! You can also call me the Necromantic Bane.”

Myrm tilts her head in confusion. “Like-”

Before Myrm can finish, Nova launches a perfectly executed kick against her opponent's groin. With a metal-denting impact, Myrm is launched up into the air until she is at the perfect height for the spell-charged fist of Nova's to punch into – and through – Myrm's belly, spraying blood all over the wall and Tjenemit.

The force of the impact transfers through the armour to the rest of Myrm's body and she is flung away.

Having been struck beneath her centre of gravity, Myrm somersaults forwards while flying backwards until she hits the far wall like a fly would a wind-shield.

Screeching like a fury, Nova is on top of her victim in an instant, pummelling Myrm with her bare fists, denting the helmet of her adversary with each blow. By now it's obvious that Myrm didn't get up her guard in time, and that if we don't do something immediately, she will be the one who dies next.

Jumping to my feet, I charge Nova and grab her left hand as she tries digging her fingers into the visor of Myrm's helmet. Tjenemit is also on her, and together, we pull the screeching fury off of Myrm's battered remains.

“Get a hold of yourself!” Tjenemit commands.

“Let me kill that asshole!” Nova cries! “I'll make him my bitch for all eternity and then some! Hurensohn! Huditz! несто́ящий челове́к! Let me scratch the soul out of that body and eat it!”

Tjenemit shoves Nova back, away from Myrm. “What did I tell you guys about fighting each other!” And then he whispers. “I will only say this once. Only because you didn't start it. And only because you and Myrm are useful individuals! Back off now! There will be no fighting and no second chance.”

The muscles of Nova's jaw work as she fights with the decision of whether to attack or to back down. At last, I let out a breath when she turns around and picks up Ascathon's... her... his other body.

Man... I'll never get used to this.

Carrying her other body over her right shoulder in an undignified manner, she turns around. “I'll be off to repair this body. In the future, please refrain from calling me to meetings which get me killed. And get that wild animal under control! I don't have many suitable spare-bodies lying around.”

Then, with a flash of light and a few sparks, she is gone.

Tjenemit coughs. “That female version of him is hot. She should just admit that she is better suited to being a woman.” Then he finally processes Nova's parting words. “Wait... does that mean that he has more than two bodies?”

“I don't want to know,” I whine, trying to banish the thought.

“Could you help me here with Myrm?” Nazareth's voice draws my attention, and I turn around to find him doing his best to lend first-aid to Myrm with his healing magic.

Myrm coughs, splattering a torrent of blood through her visor.

Sighing, I approach them. “We need to get that helmet off.”

Tjenemit shakes his head. “I'll be going then, but teach that young one how things work in the Crystal City. Myrm is new, so I will give her one last chance. Make sure that it isn't wasted.”