***The World***

***King Luxley***

“Traitorous bastards!” I squeal as I run through the palace's corridors, followed by a mob of rebellious beggars.

Two of the palace guards are overwhelmed as they try to put themselves between me and the attackers who stormed the palace just minutes ago. My men are well trained and have only the best equipment, but even though their enemies have no armour and are only equipped with clubs and improvised weapons, the guards stand no chance against the attacker's superior numbers.

This morning, my world was still whole. It had a few cracks at the edges, thanks to the appearance of the gods, but my kingdom was holding out much better than many others. Quite a few countries, including a direct neighbour of ours, had crumbled under the chaos caused by wishes coming true and unstoppable beings creating havoc.

And now it was happening to me! Some random fool from the street with less brain than a pig had blamed his lot in life on me. And now a god had brought down the gates to my castle, letting in a mob of uncivilized dissidents! The entity was even helping them against my guards!

A guy in shining armour took down my court mage as if he was nothing more than a bug! Then he systematically attacked the castle's choke-points, ensuring that the mob from the street had free reign. I only got a short glimpse at the guy, but judging by the reports I received it must be Myrm.

Wasn't Myrm supposed to be a god of light and order? Why would he side with people who seek to spread chaos and anarchy? I always ruled my kingdom in the best interests of my people. There is no slavery, no overly burdening taxes, and I do my best to keep the nobles under control by ensuring that the law stands even above the right of birth.

Of course, there are elements of society who can't take care of themselves and end up in debt, no matter how benevolent the government is. But that can hardly be blamed on me? Who am I to take away from those who take care of themselves and strengthen our economy, just to give it to those who end up wasting my good will?

It's not like we don't have government projects which give a chance to those who live in poor conditions.

So why is this damned god taking down my castle bit by bit?

A flash of light and sparks from around a corner in front of me force me to stop my hasty escape down the corridor. Flailing my arms like a lunatic, I take a side-corridor to avoid the entity who tried to cut off my escape route from the howling peasants.

Stumbling, I arrive at a stairway and descent into the deeper levels of the castle. “There is only one hope left.”

Following my advisor's suggestion, I tried praying to all the known gods, hoping to get the protection of at least one of them. But nobody answered my plea.

The howling of my pursuers grows distant, and for a moment I hope against hope that they took a wrong turn and that I lost them. But when I look back, I can see the flickering of torches in the stairway above me.

“He must have gone down there!”

“Right into the castle's dungeon? That serves us fine, there should be no way out of there.”

“Send men to cover the other entrances! We have to get him before the army is able to react.”

Ignoring the voices above me, I concentrate on descending the moist stairs and reach the lowest level of the castle. Fifty feet beneath the earth, the place is always cold and wet with a slight aroma of aged cellar in the air. There, I arrive at a T-section and take the corridor to my left, in the direction which was previously barred by the stupid god.

Passing another stairway, I enter a narrow corridor which looks like it wasn't used for many years.

Isn't Myrm aware that killing me will drop the country into chaos? By blindly helping the dissidents, he is starting a rebellion that will bring down the last strong government in this region. Without an heir, the nobles will throw themselves at the chance to gain control over the country. And by doing so, they will tear it apart.

I arrive at my destination, a godforsaken part of the castle's dungeon which wasn't visited in years. Dust and dirt are stirred up as I lean my shoulder against an old part of the crumbling stonework that makes up the walls. The hidden door cracks open, and the dirt of decades falls onto my head as I enter the family's secret place of worship.

I didn't visit it even once since my grandfather died and with him the tradition.

Only now I realize what a fool I was back then, following in my father's footsteps, abandoning the old ways of our family. We should have preserved our knowledge and our magic, instead of sacrificing it to the altar of progression.

Stepping inside, I fall to my knees in front of the stone altar. The relic is covered with a crust of what looks like brittle wax, but I know only too well that it's layers of blood, accumulated by centuries of worship. On a little cushion on top of the altar is a skull, adorned with runes of gold and silver.

The walls to my left and to my right are hidden by the stacked skulls and bones of my ancestors. Generations of my family are lying in this crypt, and to my knowledge, I am the last living descendant. I always hated this place because it made me feel like I am being judged, looked down upon by those who came before me.

“Revered ancestors, a direct descendant of your line begs for your help. Please, save my kingdom!”

But the most sincere plea I spoke since my birth remains unanswered and the lumbering steps of a person in heavy armour make me flinch. Maybe I should have closed the hidden door, but is there even a hope to escape a god? Would it have made a difference had I known the ancient rites to call upon the dead?

Still and on my knees, I turn around to face Myrm in his shining armour.

“Seems like you are at the end of your road, king.” Myrm steps into the room, but stops upon seeing me, or was it the altar? Something made him hesitate. The entity surveys the room ever so slowly before his attention lands on something behind me.

A heavy hand falls on my shoulder and I gasp in shock, almost feeling my soul leave my body. Enabled by the physical contact, I can feel something dig deep into my mind, taking the information it wants as if I am nothing more than a shelf of books.

Myrm actually takes a step back. “What are you doing here?”

“Looking around and making sure that you don’t screw up one of my new permanent homes. May I return the question and ask what you are doing here?” an authoritative voice asks from right behind me.

“Isn't it obvious?” Myrm gestures at me. “I follow the call of my worshippers and help them to punish the wicked.”

The hand tightens on my shoulder. “Well, not today, because he is one of mine. I don't feel like giving him to you.”

Myrm chuckles. “What makes you think that I care about what you think is yours? A worshipper of mine wanted to bring down the corrupt government which was responsible for his misery and the bad living conditions of countless others. It's my responsibility as their god to ensure that their lives get better, so just step aside and let me finish this!”

“Aren't you getting a little too carried away?” A man clothed in a black robe steps past me, pushing me back towards the altar. Unfaced by Myrm, he confronts him directly.

“You are on the wrong side, Myrm. Haven't you learned anything about this world in the last weeks? This kingdom is one of the last bastions of law in this region. Bring it down and this world's civilisation may as well dissolve into another century of civil war instead of a decade.”

Myrm bangs his fist onto the breastplate of his shining armour and gestures at the room. “And I should just ignore what I've seen here? This is a dark place, an evil place. Someone made blood sacrifices in here! And those bones...”

The man in black shakes his head, looking almost bemused. “It's always funny to see a new god getting carried away. You always have to keep in mind that we gods may be all-powerful, but we aren't all-knowing. Have you even talked to those who caused you to go on this rampage? How are you sure that they aren't some crazed fanatics.”

“Even if they are, they are still my worshippers. There's nothing I can do about it.” Myrm tries to push the other man out of the way, but the dark figure doesn't move. “I have to insist on you stepping out of the way. Or have you forgotten Tjenemit's instructions? We aren't allowed to fight in any form or way, and I was here first!”

“Hmm.” The dark figure looks around the room. “I would see the situation in an entirely different light. Confronted by Tjenemit, I would say that you attacked one of my temples-”

“This isn't a temple!” Myrm interrupts. “This is a god-damn castle and you know it.”

The dark man spreads his hands. “Then what is this place? You call it a place of sacrifice. I call it a place of worship. A place which is still occupied by one of my distant descendants, as diluted as his blood may be. The bones in this hall belong to his ancestors. The Mirai have always governed their people from their places of power. Religion and government were always one for the necromantic priests.”

He lowers his voice. “I repeat, aren't you the one who is directly attacking one of my temples?”

Myrm steps into the dark one's comfort zone, but the cloaked figure doesn't move. “We will bring this up in front of Tjenemit and let him decide.”

Then, with a flash of light, Myrm is gone.

“Phew!” The man turns around and throws back his hood, giving me a good look at his pale skin and black hair, unique characteristics of the pure-blooded Mirai. “Negotiating with that fellow is always such a pain in the ass. Do you know that he killed a group of my paladins, just to spite me?”

Stepping closer, he kneels down to get on eye-level with me. My muscles lock up in fear as I get a good look at his eyes, unnatural orbs of pitch black darkness.

I avert my eyes to look at the ground. “I am yours to command, Ascathon.”

“Ha!” The god claps his hands. “I got summoned by a mortal, a king no less, and he offers himself to do my bidding! Well played. You are precious! Do you know that you are the first mortal who didn't want something right after calling upon me?”

Saving me was more than enough. Now just go away without killing me!

But I am smarter than to voice my thoughts. Instead, I keep my eyes glued to the floor, too afraid to request anything from the dark god. My adviser gathered detailed data on all the awakened entities, and the god of chaos and magic sounded like the one a sane king would want to have the least interaction with.

But I have to say something. “I am sorry for taking up your time. There are surely far more important matters for a god to attend to.”

“Hahaha!” Ascathon claps me onto the shoulder. “What are you talking about? I am sure I can spare a few more minutes for you. And don't deny that you need my help. I've looked into your mind and seen the situation.”

Stretching, he cracks with his fingers and wriggles them. “Let's see... I hope I am not too old to teach you a few spells. Man, my people truly forgot a lot over the centuries. To think that you can't even animate a minor skeleton.”

“What? What do you intend to do?” I shudder. Necromancy in my kingdom!? Impossible!

The god puts an arm beneath my shoulder and drags me to my feet without any effort. “We are going out there, and then we will use those useless worshippers of the light as training material. You might even get a few loyal servants out of it.”

“I- I- I-” I can't kill people to turn them into zombies!

“They tried to kill you. Fair is fair. But instead of dying, they can bolster your ranks. And once they are undead, their most urgent problem – food – will be no longer an issue. You can have them feast on their comrades, or on trash. They won't complain.” He starts dragging me towards the door. “Turning the useless into undead is a really economical solution that made the Mirai Empire great. Imagine, all this vast and useless workforce in your kingdom is just waiting to be put to good use. Instead of wasting their time with smouldering inside their own fumes, they could be put to a task!”

***The World***

***Karin***

“My head hurts!” I lie down on the sofa and rub my temples. “Why did he do that? I said that I was fine with learning the normal way.”

Willow returns from the kitchen and hands me a bag of ice and some pills. “To be honest, he was right that your education was woefully lacking for your age. And he didn't even give you the full program, just what's expected of a child of your age.”

I whine as her words trigger some flag within my mind and knowledge just appears as if I always had it. “Then, why does this knowledge tell me that Advanced Mathematics III is a university level class for a master's degree?”

Willow winces. “Oh, that... so I was right when I thought that he spun up the dial a little too high on that one. No wonder that you are wasted, even a day later. Just stay down on the couch and rest.”

There is actually another reason why I am not feeling any better since Ascathon tried the infernal learning machine on me. Even though I was told to sleep the pain off, I couldn't because of the noise.

“I am wasted because I couldn't sleep!” I complain, blushing. “Someone next door kept screaming. Harder! Faster! Pinch them!” Does pinching actually feel good? “I thought you and Ascathon aren't in that kind of relationship?”

“Oh, child. There are two sorts of immortals. Those who are eternal prudes, and those who have nothing against a little fun when the urge strikes us. Ascathon and I don't brag about our misadventures, but we go for it from time to time.” She grins evilly. “Sorry for being a screamer, but he is really good when he is worked up.”

“No, thanks,” I answer quickly. Since my time as a slave, I could do well without ever again being with a man. “So, uh, you two have no children?”

Willow sighs and touches her cheek, looking at me with a sad expression. “Of course we had children over the centuries. With different partners in fact.”

I suck in a sharp breath at the mere suggestion, but a sharp sting right behind my eyes forces me to moan in pain right afterwards.

Willow shakes her head and places the pack of ice on my forehead. She brought it from the kitchen, together with a glass of water and some pills.

“Girl, let me give you a good advice. I know that you won't take it, but I will still give it to you. Right now you are still a mortal, but should your soul ever manage to make the transition to an immortal one, never get children, and never fall in love with a mortal.”

“Why?” I moan.

“Because all that lies down that path is pain and loss. Everyone, no matter their strength, dies at some point. It may happen in a battle, or simply due to unluckiness in accident. Some may even grow tired of life and choose to end it on their own terms.

But while you will return and remember each and every one of them, they will sink into the blissful abyss of nothingness. Their souls may reincarnate, but they will have forgotten everything about you.”

She hands me a glass of water for the pills. “You may as well be a stranger to them, even if you find them in their next life. We have lost quite a few friends and children that way.

“And one other thing. The multiverse doesn't care how powerful you are. Your children's soul will always be a random one. It's very unlikely that they will ever ascend. You don't even want to consider the other possibility. That some immortal happens to reincarnate inside your child and that you are faced with some creepy person inside the body of your offspring.

“You have to accept that our path is a lonely one and that if you happen to make the mistake of becoming attached to a mortal, you will most likely survive them. We are cursed to walk the path of immortality, forever alone.”

I try to think on it, but the pain makes it almost impossible. “But isn't it better to love what little I can, even if the time is limited? And what if I fall in love with another immortal?”

“If you really find someone who wants to walk the path of immortality with you, then you can count yourself lucky.”

Willow looks down on me, and for some reason, she looks sad. “That's why I said that you wouldn't listen. None of the new ones does. It takes a few centuries, experiencing loss after loss after loss, but eventually, you will understand my warning. It's just sad that your heart will already be cold and bitter by that point.”