“There you are, DevilWalker. I appreciate you leaving me a Heaven’s Damned note about how you resurrected, Instead of, alternatively, being here. May I ask where you were?” Nox asked, standing on the bed. His mouth was set in a smile, but his eyes were blazing with irritation.

“Oh, I just got me a job for Georgia Bernz thief group. In exchange, Henrietta will give me a good recommendation to Georgia,” Colin told him, setting down his pack. He rifled through it for a minute, pulling out his enchanting books, Engraving pen, and the new Dagger he bought with his few Dungeon gains on his way here.

“What kind of job?” Nox asked, eyebrows raised.

“Rescue from a nobles house. A kid playing at being a thief was caught trying to rob some Fey at a prince’s house. I get her out, and I’m done, easy peasy,” Colin told him.

“DevilWalker, are you sure this is a good idea? The Fey are not to be trifled with. Whether they are young, old, weak, or crippled, you do not idly go against them. What else did they tell you?” Nox asked, his resentment gone. Replaced by his curiosity.

Colin spent the next few minutes explaining the whole meeting with Henrietta, while Nox interrupted only to clarify details. At the end of the tale, Nox was silent while Colin set the new unsheathed Dagger on the small table in the room.

“So DevilWalker, do you have a plan?” Nox asked, rubbing his stubbled chin in thought.

Nodding, Colin replied. “Yes, and no. I was hoping to get your help with part of it. I’ll tell you what I need while I do this,” the Antagonist said, pointing to the Dagger.

“What’s with the Dagger?” Nox asked.

“Oh, I’m making it easier to use water magic,” he told the Goblin, intentionally vague.

Nox leaped off the bed and walked up to Colin’s side. He peaked over the table and looked at the page Colin was looking at and nodded in approval. “Clever, DevilWalker. Most mages that I see use water skins or flasks to train their water magic. Using the water created by the Drench rune, smart.”

“I thought so,” Colin responded, starting his first etches into the Dagger’s blade. “It’s a skill that would be useful if I have a way to properly utilize it. Now, I will. I think the applications are endless.”

“Agreed,” Nox stated. “But, to be fair, your Sin Path has Endless applications, and yet you still died in a low-level dungeon, I guess endless only goes so far.”

Colin stopped, looked up from his Dagger, and stared at the Goblin. “Did you just… trash-talk me?” The smile spread across Colin’s face seconds after he asked the question.

“Yes, do you have a problem with that?” The Goblin asked.

“None at all,” Colin told him. “In fact, keep it up. I love a little sass in my conversations.”

Summoning his cane, Nox walked back to the bed and leaned against its side. “So, what did you need from me, besides constant help?”

“It shouldn’t be complicated, all I need is-”

---

The preparations were easy enough to complete after Nox knew what he was aiming for. By the time Colin wanted to head out to the house, the Goblin had finished his project and handed the finished product over to him. It was a sealed flask with clear fluid that produced thin tendrils of blue when shook.

“That should be more than enough to do the job if you find the right spot,” Nox instructed him. “You remember everything I told you about it?”

“Don’t inhale, don’t directly touch the concentrated contents, and do not expose concentrated potion to fire,” Colin recited.

The Goblin nodded, grinned, and clacked his cane into the floor of the room. “Excellent. Do you have an escape plan in case the shit drops?”

“Yeah,” Colin answered. “Run like hell.”

Shaking his head, Nox stepped up to Colin and just stepped into the shadow. Not another word was spoken until he was inside. “That doesn’t count as a plan.”

“Don’t worry, I have a few plans,” Colin assured his ally. “We’ll get out of this without worry.”

The silence in the room stretched as Colin emptied the contents of his Dimensional Bag onto the bed. He needed as much room as possible for what he suspected was going to be a big haul.

While not a thief, the skills of an assassin were somewhat transferable, and the best way to increase his strength quickly was money. With it, he could get better gear, books for enchanting, and anything else he wanted. Although, He wasn’t expecting only money. The small manor house he was about to break into belonged to the youngest son of the Royal Family of Perennial. The kingdom Colin had recently learned he’d been spending his time in. It must have more things to take than money.

Magic items, well-crafted gear, rare books, gems, documents, intelligence, anything could be particularly useful. For all he knew, the manor house could have gold leaf-covered crown molding or floors made of sapphire and emeralds. Either way, he needed the room in the bag to make sure he would not compromise on what he takes.

So, Colin walked out of the room and towards the front counter. He again paid for his room with the Copper Bits at the bottom of his pockets before leaving. The manor house was in a gated community that was located in the northern section of the city. According to one passerby, this area was home to some of the richest, smartest, and snobbiest people in BriarThorn. This also meant security guards from an official city guild, well-trimmed greenery, and self-lit street lamps that came to life immediately upon twilight.

These guards must really not be paying attention since Colin had easily scaled the wall and found his quarry’s home. All without even a single guard looking in his general direction. This lack of discipline felt like it was due to a lack of practice. Knock a few heads around enough times, and the ordinary crooks and beggars would avoid the area.

But this lax attitude suited him just fine.

Right now, he was crouching in the bushes behind the Manor and was observing the occupant’s movements through windows. So far, he’d seen the Prince, a pre-middle aged Hispanic-toned man, talking in his study with his guests. His wife had visited the kitchen three times to get a glass of wine, each after spending time with their three kids. The three kids themselves were in their middle teens, reading books, and looking very unhappy about it.

The Prince’s guests, however, were the interesting ones.

From his vantage point, Colin could clearly see into the Prince’s office on the first floor, where he talked to the three delegates from the Feylands. The Prince was sitting behind a large solid oak desk, looking regal and in charge of the situation. While his guests stood a half dozen paces before him, two of the delegates in front of the third. He was too far away to make out any strong impressions about their appearances. Still, he could tell they were all of average heights, but confident and clean.

Colin stayed in that bush for several hours, observing their movements without going from his spot. As he knew, movement caught as much attention as wearing a neon green shirt or stepping on a twit. It was better to stay in one spot until he was sure no one would see him.

If his guess was accurate, it was around ten-ish when the Prince’s wife sent the kids to bed from their studies. From there, she went to her bedroom on the second floor and changed into a chaste looking nightgown. Colin, to not distract himself from the task at hand, did not watch her change. Instead keeping his focus on Prince Ferris.

Throughout their talks, The Prince mostly stayed in his seat while talking to the delegates. They, however, wandered the room, looking at anything that looked interesting while they spoke. Colin got the distinct impression that his Royal Highness was nervous with these Fey in his home. He always kept them a few feet away and tried to keep something between them and himself at all times. Two of the three did not seem so inclined, and the third mostly stayed in the same spot.

The more he watched, the more this woman seemed to shrink in on herself. The fact that she was a woman became apparent after a while after seeing her profile. He kept watching until the Prince stood from his seat and walked out of the office with the three Fey in tow, the last in the small procession was the woman he’d been keeping a curious eye on. The lights dimmed out before dying minutes after they’d left.

The Prince had led them to the hallway on the first floor, where they were led up two the second story. Colin kept crouched and moved slowly as he followed along the trimmed bushes, trying to find out where the Fey were roomed in. Luckily, he didn’t have to walk far, since the light from their room could be seen after around a turn around the hedges and a dozen tiny paces.

Minutes passed, and their light dimmed out, followed around a half-hour later by the Princes bedroom.

“So, a few more minutes? Just to be safe?” Nox asked, his voice a whisper even in the quiet of the late evening.

“Something like that,” Colin agreed. “Unless we want to go immediately to the plan?”

“I’d rather not, I want to avoid having to carry the target out of the house unless we have to. Besides, using it will kill time because we need it to be clear of the house to be able to move freely. Want to start moving closer, though? Do a little… window shopping?” Colin suggested, waggling his eyebrows.

Nox hopped out of Colin’s shadow and grinned his predatory smile at Colin, “why not.”

The distance between the bushes that the pair was using as cover and the house was around a hundred feet of open grass with a couple of water fountains being the only cover. With tonight being a new moon and a decent amount of cloud cover, Colin and Nox were able to crouch low and make it to the house’s wall without being seen.

Both moved carefully across the wall until they reached a window. Colin took out a vial of inky black fluid and chugged it, ignoring the taste. A few seconds passed, and the darkvision potion took effect, enhancing the way his eyes absorbed light allowing him to see in this negligible illumination. It was the kitchen, and it was immaculately clean, with the only unusual thing on any of the surfaces being a hemp bag labeled as Coffee beans. Otherwise, on the counters sat three different knife blocks, clean cutting boards, and coffee mugs. A large stove sat underneath the window, and a double faucet sink sat just to its left.

His eyes wandered back to the bag of Coffee Beans, and he already knew something he wanted to take. He took another few short minutes to absorb the room and orient himself on the map he’d memorized. From the way he was facing, a door on the right of the kitchen lead into a pantry. The open path led to a wood-floored hallway with a visible staircase and the Prince’s office, and a door directly across from him led into the dining room.

Moving further along the walls, Colin and Nox looked through the next window and found the Prince’s office. Having been able to stare into it the whole night, he didn’t intend to linger long. A large glass door allowed one to go into the office from the backyard. Bookshelves lined the walls with notebooks filled lining them. The large wooden desk sat in front of the corner nearest to the door, and several cushioned chairs sat facing it.

Nox stepped lightly around Colin, who was looking through the window with his back against the wall, and opened the door into the office. “Oh, look. It’s open. I swear, DevilWalker, some people are just asking to be robbed.”

“Some rich are smart, some are well prepared, others are just overconfident or forgetful. Apparently, the Prince is the latter,” Colin whispered to the Goblin. Immediately, Colin started looking through the notebooks on the shelves nearest to him and putting each back almost as fast as he’d started. Each one was different but written in such horrible handwriting that Colin wondered if the Prince was also a Doctor. The most he got from them was that they were the Prince’s personal notes on his many business transactions since he came of age.

And if he was reading these numbers correctly, this Prince was indeed, LOADED.

Several of the bookends were either plated gold or solid gold, either way, he slipped several of them from the shelves and into his dimensional bag. He also grabbed a small silver bladed letter opener that was lying on the desk before digging into the drawers. Along with many more notes, many of which Colin pocketed in case they could be used for blackmail, he grabbed a small drawstring bag of Copper Coins that were in the top left drawer.

Continuing through the Desk, Colin grabbed the Prince’s signet ring, which was stored in the middle drawer. Along with a silver fountain pen and ink for it. Throwing anything valuable into his dimensional bag, Colin opened the largest drawer and paused. The entire drawer had a small safe built into it with a keyhole being the only thing stopping him from opening it.

Unfortunately, in his desk burglary, Colin had found no key.

Instead of being upset, Colin carefully took the drawer out of the desk and fitted the edge of it into his dimensional bag. Immediately, the drawer collapsed into the bag and vanished within the extradimensional space. Yet again, Colin found himself internally thanking Nox for this bag and reattached it to his belt for the moment.

With the room barer than when he’d entered, Colin walked to the household entrance to the office and opened it slowly. As he suspected, the door opened quietly as a result of regular hinge oiling. On the walls, paintings of people posing regally hung with pride next to planters of pleasant smelling flowers. End tables sat against the wall, each with opaque crystals the size of wireless microphones. Colin grabbed them without a word, figuring that they must be magical if they were here instead of as decoration.

Left of the office was a staircase going to the second story, that Colin was saving until he was done downstairs. All so that he could get the girl and escape immediately when he was done. To the right, sat a small indoor windowed library covered in leather-bound books of a plethora of colors. Between the office and the library lay a hallway that led to a half glass-paned dome that had a ten-foot-tall black statue that stood imposing.

The library came first. Colin stepped inside and started looking through the volumes with Nox right next to him. Both were taking any number of books that looked interesting and stuffing them into his dimensional bag. Lore books, storybooks, skill information books, novels, encyclopedias, cartography books, local history books, anything that Colin could find useful were taken. Even he admitted that most of it would probably be less than helpful, but then he saw the good stuff. A small section of books with titles like ‘Intermediate Enchanting,’ ‘Runic Techniques,’ ‘The Planes of Existence and You,’ ‘What’s in the Dark and how to keep it from eating you,’ and ‘How to avoid becoming the Mimic’s Dinner’ were on that shelf.

He took everything from that shelf in particular and, like in the Prince’s office, stole anything shiny and not nailed down. This included quietly unscrewing two or three of the lamps off of the wall and making sure they weren’t oil-based before putting them in his bag too.

Remembering the map, Colin crept into the dining room and moved to the large hutch next to the kitchen door. He took every piece of cutlery, plate, and cup that was pure silver and unlikely to shatter. This meant not taking Fine China.

Time was of the essence; you never knew when someone would walk down to the kitchen to get a glass of water. So he skipped the Drawing room, the pantry, and the closets on the first floor. He also told himself that he would not go down into the wine cellar, as much Copper as a good bottle of wine was worth, it would be useless if it shattered in his bag.

Instead, Colin walked to the half-dome of paned glass that housed that statue he’d observed earlier. A similarly paned door separated the main house from this statue, and it was only due to Nox’s Night Vision potion that he noticed the runes. A single intricate rune was carefully carved into each pane of glass, the doorknob, and each piece of steel and wood that made up the structure.

The Antagonist looked down at his Goblin companion and gestured at the wall. “Any ideas of what they are?”

Nox looked them over for a moment before shrugging, “I’m not sure, DevilWalker. These are more advanced runes, and I am not as well versed in Enchanting. I do recognize this one, however,” he said, tapping the knob as he whispered. “It’s a Spiritual Environment Containment Rune. Nothing dangerous.”

“What does it do?”

“It keeps the opening and closing of the door from disturbing the spiritual barrier the room provides. Whatever that statue is, the Prince here wants to keep it contained,” Nox explained. “We’re safe if you want to go in,” Nox said, looking into the room. “I am curious what that thing is,” Nox announced, keeping his words quiet.

The statue was huge, heavy, and there was no way Colin could reasonably get it in his dimensional bag. Still, he found himself staring at the black marble statue with something like obsession making his heart beat faster. The confusing thing was that he did not know why. The figure was of a beefy, feather winged humanoid with pointed Elfin ears, and was relaxing both hands over the top of a two-headed ax by the head as if it were Nox’s cane. The creature’s wings were draped around it menacingly as if it were creating a shield to protect itself from the outside. It was the things gaze that held his attention. Its eyes perfectly carved eyes held an intense and insane hunger that was amplified by the sharp nose and exposed leonine fangs.

The feelings he was experiencing were akin to how he felt about going home to McKenna or seeing her after a long day apart. It felt right, and it resonated with him on an emotional and spiritual level. Something about this unsettling statue was beautiful, hypnotic, and completing on a level he could not understand.

Taking a deep breath, Colin grabbed the door handle and turned it open. A flare of magic sprung to life in his senses, the sensation was not one he recognized, but since he only knew three types of magic, it wasn’t surprising. Then it snapped as the enchantment on the knob broke.

You have broken the containment enchantment on the door. Motive, opportunity, and action make up your path in this world, and your choices have moved you forward. Your position as Antagonist in the Worlds Narrative has allowed you a unique opportunity. Choose carefully whether to accept it or not, for even if you see this place again, you may not get this chance again.

He walked inside the domed room and into the oddly calming aura that surrounded the freaky monument. Up close, he could see how detailed the statue was. The artist had carved the feathers with incredible detail, muscles were bulged and defined, with even the hints of tattoos and scars lined the skin. At the bottom of the statue, just under the oddly humanoid-bird feet, a short message was carved into the Black stone.

He didn’t recognize the language. It was all sharp points, straight lines, and weird angles with no curves in the lettering to add a measure of fluidity. As he stared at it, thinking about what this could mean, something clicked in his head. His perception of the letters in front of him shifted, changing to English as he stared in awe.

It read; ‘Krvavý Hlad, The Demon Lord Who Hungers.’

“Oh my,” Colin whispered, bending down and reaching a hand out. Wiping some dust away from the inscription as a sign of respect. Then Colin blinked and took a quick step back. Where were these feelings coming from? He didn’t respect this thing, it was a monster from an eon ago that ate everything in its path.

You have found a Monument that resonates with your Class of ANTAGONIST. This statue, which was carved in his likeness by loyal minions, was unhallowed by the Demon Lord of Gluttony. Its original purpose is unknown, but it still bears a small piece of the Dreaded Demon Lord’s power. As the current Antagonist of either Gluttony or Pride, you may extract this piece of him and add it to yourself. Would you like to do so? !Warning! The Ability or Skill gained from this monument can never be removed and may alter key points of your character. Choose carefully.

The choice seemed obvious. Decline the choice. It would be better to avoid irrevocably changing Colin’s character and ruining the chance of blending into society. If this ability or skill somehow altered his appearance or gave him something he couldn’t control, then some of his plans would be shot.

On the other hand, power was always a good thing. There was no way to know what he would get, and he was willing to bet that whatever he got, it wouldn’t alter him physically. This was all justification, of course, but he wanted this was offering. Especially since the earlier prompt already told him that he may not get this opportunity again.

So, shutting his eyes tightly, Colin thought at the prompt, ‘yes.’

The statue’s eyes glowed a deep, menacing orange as they shifted to look into his own. The light from them called for Colin to look into the tangerine-colored lights, and he obliged as he was hypnotized by their radiance.

Then the light flowed over to Colin’s mouth like wisps of orange smoke and slipped between his lips and forced him to breathe it in. The power burned in his chest as he stopped breathing, unable to exhale as if something was closing his windpipe.

Nox, for his part, acted quickly. Using his shadow magic to throw up a barrier to dampen the light and sound from whatever Colin was doing. Yet again, this exciting human was generating trouble but was proving to be interesting. They walked into the room, and, all of a sudden, orange light moved into the man’s body. He couldn’t wait until this night was over, and he could ask what was going on. Now was a time for quiet.

Colin writhed while maintaining his footing for long seconds, the fact he could breathe, making the next prompt hard to think about.

As the Antagonist of Pride, you can only gain a lesser version of a skill granted to an Antagonist of Gluttony. Instead of the skill, ‘Devour’, You have gained the skill, ‘Consume.’

Seconds passed as the power altered the core of his very being. It felt like what he imagined having his DNA rewritten while he was fully conscious, only somehow worse. He held in a scream as the sensation spreading through him was somehow burning, cutting, twisting, and crunching through his entire body. Only, it somehow felt like it was affecting him on a deeper, more ephemeral level.

All this was the effects of his Path of Pride interacting with an iota of the Path of Gluttony. Sin Paths were never meant to intermingle. The two powers touching each other within the same mortal vessel was like putting a firecracker in a glass jar. While the jar was unlikely to break, it still was possible if there was a flaw in the container. Deeper powers rarely mixed together like flour and water, it usually mixed more like water and hot vegetable oil. Potentially painful and typically dangerous.

When the pain finally started ebbing away, Colin looked down at the floor with his re-sharpening vision. The small pools of blood on the floor made him pull up his health bar.

Health: 3/282

Eyes wide, Colin pulled up his prompt log that got filtered away due to his choice of what prompts he saw. What he found on said list made his throat go dry.

Though he felt like he’d been writhing on the floor for a relative eternity, the log said that he’d only been down for thirty seconds. Every second since he took in Gluttony’s power, he’d taken a small amount of damage over and over. The prompt even told him why.

You mortal body and soul are being ripped apart by Deeper Powers. You now have 273/282 health remaining.

The Prompt had repeated itself exactly thirty-one times, leaving him in his current state. He started trying to get to his feet when a potion was poured over his head.

A Mediocre Healing Potion has been applied to your wounds, and you will regain 200 health over the next thirty seconds.

Colin took in a deep breath as the pain started to abate. The wounds closed most of the way, and every movement and breath became more manageable with every passing second. The potion had absorbed into his skin, vanishing as quickly as it had been poured. He got to his feet, feeling a little worse for wear, stifling a groan as he got back to his feet.

“What in the Damning Heavens just happened!” Nox hissed, keeping quiet.

“I got a new… owww, skill,” Colin answered. “Apparently it conflicted with some of my current abilities and started tearing me apart.” The Antagonist looked at the healing damage, wincing at the array of small cuts running along his hands and up his arms. He looked down into his shirt and found that the damage followed across his chest as well. “Very literally.”

“What ability?” Nox asked, grumbling as he started gesturing at the dome of midnight mist, dissipating it with a thought.

He was about to pull it up and look at the new ability when he suddenly remembered where he was. Something about the statue has drawn him in like a bug zapped draws in flies. It was disconcerting how easily something had drawn his attention and focused it in on this one artifact.

Looking at it now, the effect was gone like light into outer space. The lifelike details of the statue had faded away, some of the finer details disappearing into the rough black stone. It was still a finely crafted piece of art, but the aura of menace that had entranced him was definitely gone.

“Later, let’s finish here before someone catches us,” Colin told him, patting the third Demon Lord Krvavý Hlad statue.

Turning around, Colin left the windowed half dome and closed the door behind him. With everywhere on the first floor that he was going to risk spending time exploring looted, he walked down the short hall and looked at the stairs leading up to the second story. He took a deep breath, crouched into stealth, and started towards the stairs.

Climbing was smooth, oddly quiet, and uninterrupted as he reached the second floor. This part of the house looked simply like a long hall with doors, occasionally marking a room for a guest or resident to sleep. A floor carpet covered the entire hall, muffling his sound even more with a window letting in the fresh outside air at the very far end of the hall.

He counted the doors, remembering each one and what it supposedly held, according to the map Henrietta had given him. The first room was a personal study for the kids, followed by their bedrooms, two different guest rooms, and the Prince’s room on the opposite end. According to Henrietta, the room Daphne was being held in was one of the guest rooms.

And, of course, she had no idea which guest room Daphne was being held in. Then again, Colin knew from his observation from where the Fey delegates were taken. Counting, Colin crept down the hall and slowly turned the knob on the first guest room door.

Locked. Nothing he couldn’t handle. Using a waterskin he had ready for such an occasion, he used Frost Shaping to create a simple Lockpicks set. Carefully, he started playing with the tumblers within the lock, and within a short couple of minutes, a quiet click confirmed that the door had been unlocked.

Congratulations, you have earned the Skill; Lockpicking Level 5. Unlocking speed increased, Passive unlocking speed increased, chance to avoid detrimental effects increased, chance to break lockpick decreased.

Grinning, Colin slid the frozen picks into the waterskin where they’d melt quietly and put it away on his belt. Hands-free, he put one hand on the new Drench enchanted Dagger on his belt and opened the door with the other.

Inside, the first thing that Colin’s attention was the teenage girl, tied to a chair in the center of the room. Her arms were intricately tied to the sides of the chair, kept within sight of anybody who entered. She was wearing a loose, black leather stealth suit and boots that covered her from the neck down. Her natural tan features were marred by bruises that marked both of her eyes, dried blood trailed down from her nostrils, and her lips were split in several places from multiple impacts. To top it all off, they had gagged her to keep her as quiet as possible.

Other than the girl, the room appeared empty and posh, reminding Colin of a four-star hotel back on earth. An immaculately, clean four-poster bed sat against the wall behind the girl. Two different dressers sat on either side of the bed. Two separate doors led off to the bathroom and a walk-in closet respectfully.

Keeping stealthed, Colin approached the girl and checked her bindings before considering waking her from her sleep. Colin’s opinion’s towards whoever tied these rose a little. They were well tied, and he knew he’d have to cut them to release her. Several times at that, there were three separate knots along each arm and leg, each pressed the appendage to the chair that held her fast.

Deciding that now was the time to wake her and see if she could walk, Colin started whispering to her. “Daphne. Daphne, wake up.” After she didn’t stir, Colin used the Dagger in his hands and started cutting through the bindings on her legs.

As soon as they were free, he started with her arms, “Any idea why she’s not waking up?”

Nox responded, “probably drugged. Nothing serious since she’s breathing evenly. I don’t think I counter it with what I have on hand.” Nox told him, keeping quiet as Colin worked to free the girl.

After another minute, he’d finished cutting through the girl’s bindings and picked her up in a princess carry. A few steps later, Colin had set her on the bed and was trying to wake her the mundane way. In this case, he was patting the girl’s cheek while telling her to wake up.

When he didn’t succeed, Colin gave up and carefully threw the girl over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. With his target in hand, Colin started towards the exit. The relief was washing over him as he checked out the door to make sure no one was there before stepping out. He hurried out of the door upon finding it empty and reached the top of the stairs. He took his first step-

“My my my, what have we here? Another little rat skulking around this drab place?” asked an educated and condescending male voice from across the other side of the hall.

Colin turned around and drew his Mythic Xiphos as he faced the man who’d discovered him. It was incredibly unnerving when he saw two of the three Fey delegates facing him. The man was smiling haughtily at the Antagonist as he threw his arms wide in a welcoming gesture. “Greetings, I am Lord Forrem of house Mer, and this is my sister, Lady Nostra. I’m afraid that little human mouse you are taking is ours, Rat. For this attempt at theft, you will be joining her in captivity. Resist, and I will make sure it’s painful.”