50 years. 50 frickin’ years every single time I die.

I think the only conclusion I can come to is that this world hates me.

… I guess the feeling’s mutual.

But griping isn’t the point of this journal, so I should really get on with it.

I need to remember. I need to remember the events of my first life. Being brought to this world. My adventures with the party. And Megan.

But I also need to remember what happened after that. The madness of my second life. The cure. And the path that led me to my end once again. And again. And again.

And I need to write these things down because… I can forget.

[Memory Protection] is strong, but even it doesn’t stand against the simple passage of time.

So… This journal. I know I’m taking a risk writing anything down because it can always be stolen and used against me, but that’s a risk I have to take so that I don’t forget her.

I must never forget her.

Introduction to my journal

-----

What is the correct emotion to feel when you are lit on fire and surrounded by a bunch of prostrate weirdos in cloaks?

Mine was exasperation.

My palm met my face and then slowly slid down it as I debated my next move.

I wasn’t sure what my next move would be, but I figured that no matter what it was, the [Hero] shouldn’t be around for it.

“Sarah,” I whispered. “Go back inside. I think it’s best if you don’t see anything more.”

“But-“ she replied.

I cut her off with a shake of my head. “I’ll be fine. Go back inside while I deal with this mess.”

“Okay.” She opened the door but hesitated. “But you should probably put yourself out.”

I looked down at my shirt that was still on fire. “Right. Thanks.”

She closed the door, and I patted myself down until the blaze finally stopped.

Meanwhile, none of the cultists had moved. Well, excluding one of them who kept sneaking glances to see what the others were doing.

“Alright, all of you. Up on your feet,” I said. I heard one stifled sigh of relief, but all present seemed to be waiting on bated breath for my next statement.

Since the woman seemed to be in charge, I turned to her.

“So, why the frick did you light me on fire?” I asked.

She gave a deep bow. “I’m sorry, your lordship. We knew of no other test for your legitimacy. With the [Priestess] nearby, I also believed that even if I was mistaken that it would not result in death.”

Part of me really didn’t want to know, but the other part was just too curious.

“My legitimacy?” I asked.

“As the chosen one. The [Demon Lord]. The one who will throw down the [Hero] and recreate the entire world!” She had remained bowed for the start of her statement, but I guess the excitement was too much for her. By the end, she was standing back upright and practically vibrating.

That gave me even more questions that I was dreading the answer to, but I didn’t get the chance to ask them.

“By the flames! What am I thinking!?” the woman exclaimed. “We mustn’t discuss this out here. Everyone! Scatter and gather everyone! Also, the [Priestess] has seen too much, so she must be-“

“Left alone,” I stated firmly. “The [Priestess] will not be a problem. And you will not touch her.” I gave the woman a level gaze. “Am I clear?”

She bowed again. “Of course, your lordship! I should have known that you would have the situation well in hand!”

She rose from her bow and gave a few hand gestures. The surrounding cultists split up back into the shadows.

“Now, your lordship, if you would follow me,” she said.

I honestly didn’t have much of a choice. Even if I wanted to turn the crazy cultists over to the watch, it would still be easier after knowing where their base of operations was.

I gave a reluctant head nod, flipped my cloak hood on, and followed behind her.

We traveled in silence for a few minutes as she led us on a twisting path through the slums.

“My apologies about the indirect path, my lord,” she said. “With full attendance, we have to make sure that there is no pursuit. It wouldn’t do for the watch or the church to discover us now.”

“That’s fine,” I sighed. “But could you stop it with the ‘my lord’ bit?”

She froze for a moment but then continued on as if nothing had happened.

“Of course your lo- I mean. This servant doesn’t know what to call you.”

I gave a soft shake of my head.

“Titus. Not lordship, or lord, or anything else, got it?”

“Of course, Titus!” she said while nodding her head vigorously. “Though, I must ask. Is Titus a title? The previous [Demon Lord] was also called that.”

I snorted. “No, it’s my name. And my name hasn’t changed just because I came back from the dead.”

She paused again, but this wasn’t a minor pause. She stopped in place for long enough that I almost ran into her back.

Right. I guess that is kinda a big deal. I stopped and waited for her to ask me something or keep moving, but she just stayed there.

Looks like cultist.exe has stopped. I joked to myself. However, that was a bit of a dangerous joke because it led me down a rabbit hole. Does she actually have an executable? Do we each have our own? Or is it all the same program, and our personalities are just a bunch of variables that are being tweaked by the System and unknown admins?

Unknown to me, my madness aura started leaking out.

Is there even anything to me that’s real?

Fortunately, that dangerous thought process was interrupted as the woman fell down at my feet.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she said. “I didn’t realize. I should have, but you look so different! How can I ever repay you!?”

I shook my head a bit to clear it and also retracted my aura. When the woman didn’t get up, I realized that the aura hadn’t actually caused that reaction.

“I uhhh, take it that we met 50 years ago?” I asked. I gently helped her back up to her feet.

“Of course, there’s no way that you would recognize me,” she replied thoughtfully. “But I bet I can make you remember me.” She smirked. “Mr. Horny guy.”

Honestly, my brain initially processed that as an awkward come-on, so it took me a second or two longer to remember.

A second or two where I backed away slightly.

“Wait,” I finally said. There was that little girl… My eyes widened. “Lizzie?”

She laughed, clasped her hands, and practically bounced in place. “Yes! You saved me from the dragon fire! If it hadn’t been for you, I would never have realized the lies of the kingdom or the truth of this world!”

I was starting to dread the answer to the question, but I knew I had to ask it anyway.

“The lies of the kingdom?”

“Of course!” she replied earnestly. “Vir has proclaimed you a monster sent to destroy the world, but we children of the flame know the truth! You are the one who will cast down the [Hero] and reforge the world!”

She was nearly shouting and practically hyperventilating by the time she finished.

“Take a deep breath,” I replied.

She took a few.

“I’m sorry, my Lor- Titus. I’m sorry, Titus,” she replied.

I was not a fan of how giddy she looked when she said my name.

“It’s just, we had no idea of when the prophecy would be fulfilled!” she exclaimed. “We had no choice but to watch and wait for as many years as we could. We weren’t sure we would see the prophecy fulfilled in our lifetime, yet here you are! And you’ve already fulfilled part of it!”

“What part?” As I was asking, I already knew the answer. Oh no… “Killing Jake?” I asked.

“Yes,” she answered fervently. “You have already cast down the [Hero]. Now all that is left is claiming your place over this world and forging it anew!”

Aaand she’s back on the ground. I did my best to not facepalm at the prostrate woman in front of me. Okay, Titus. Think. How do I handle the fact that I have a cult now?

I came to an unfortunate conclusion. Despite how uncomfortable they were making me feel, and despite the obvious anarchist vibes I was getting from them, I still hadn’t seen them do anything illegal or immoral.

Well, as long as I didn’t count “siding with me” as immoral. Which… Well…

Either way, I decided I still didn’t have enough info to make a decision

“Back up on your feet,” I said. “So, how did you start-“ I paused as I realized something else. “What do you even call yourselves?”

“We are the children of the flame, the servants of the [Demon Lord]!” she replied.

“…Why children of the flame?” I asked.

“Because you saved me out of the fire, and from there, I was reborn,” she said with a hint of awe in her voice.

“So you were the one who started this-“ I almost finished with cult but decided that would be a bad idea. The second choice my brain came up with was “mess,” but that was also unhelpful.

Fortunately, she got my point.

“I am indeed one of the founding members,” she replied. “Myself along with the other children that you saved in DeepMine town.”

“Wait, how did you meet-“

“By the flame!” she interrupted. “The others will be waiting for us. We’ve delayed too long! Quickly, follow me!”

My questions were cut off as we raced through several twisting backstreets before we came to the heavy iron door.

Lizzie knocked on it three times.

“Excuse me, could you spare some sugar?” she asked.

The door creaked open, and we slipped inside as a hooded figure nodded to us. Lizzie flipped back her hood, and the man’s nod turned quickly into a full bow.

Lizzie ignored him for the most part, and we kept walking.

“That’s an… interesting passphrase,” I whispered. “What if someone came by and actually needed sugar?”

Lizzie snorted and then froze. “My apologies, my lo- Titus. No one would do that. Not in this section of Vir.” She shook her head. “Besides, we change passphrases weekly. We’ve run into issues before. Especially back when we actually asked for the passphrase.” She chuckled. “And this type of passphrase also helps for the imbeciles who show up to the wrong door.”

A part of me was really curious about that story, but I didn’t get the chance to ask because we arrived.

“Follow behind me,” she whispered as we went out onto a stage.

I was expecting a small gathering. Maybe 12 people who I could beat into submission if worst came to worst.

I didn’t expect to find myself in an underground amphitheater with hundreds of cloaked figures.

I froze in place, but Lizzie didn’t notice. She continued forward to the edge.

“Children of the flame!” she shouted. The crowd’s murmuring died down. “Long have we awaited the fulfillment of prophecy. We have stayed in the shadow while awaiting the glorious rebirth of the world! But today marks the beginning of its fulfillment!”

She paused dramatically for a moment. The crowd started whispering among themselves.

“I present to you our savior… The lord of flames himself! Titus!” she shouted.

Even if I hadn’t recognized that as my cue, she beckoned me forward.

I walked forward stiffly as the cheers of the crowd rang out.

One member wasn’t having it.

“Wait a moment! Wait just a moment!” a rotund man shouted as he pushed his way forward.

Lizzie scowled at him.

“What is it that you want, Ben?” she asked.

“Exalted leader,” he said as he bowed obsequiously. “While we all look forward to the return of the lord of flame, should we not make certain of the claim before putting someone forward in front of all the children?” He stopped bowing, and the smirk on his face made me realize that the obedient attitude was entirely for show. “There have been… mistakes… before.”

Lizzie looked like she was about to tear him a new one, but I figured I had a way to put a stop to it.

Besides… the only thing worse than having a cult is having a cult that I can’t control.

“Just do the test again,” I said with a sigh as I placed a hand on Lizzie’s shoulder to stop her.

“Are… you sure?” she asked. She was back to nearly vibrating in place, and a part of me was already regretting my decision.

“Just… do it,” I sighed again.

“Children of the flame!” she shouted. “I present to you the test of the lord of flame’s authenticity!”

She pulled a vial out of her inventory and then broke it over my head.

I was lit on fire for the second time that night.

When I didn’t react, the response was near immediate.

“HAIL TO THE LORD OF FLAME!” the crowd shouted as most of them fell prostrate.

However, there were two recognizable exceptions to that. The first was Ben, who looked as white as a sheet and followed half-heartedly a moment later. The second was the thief who had been following me around all day. He looked like he was going to be sick to his stomach.

Others also seemed more shocked than excited, but none that I could recognize.

Either way, I mentally filed that away as I tried to figure out what to do with a room full of cultists.

I really should turn them in or something. But. I frowned. To play the devil’s advocate… the [Demon Lord’s] advocate? My own advocate? I shook that unproductive thought away. They haven’t technically done anything wrong that I can see. Yeah, they’re a bunch of deluded weirdos, but all they’re doing is having secret meetings and waiting for me to overthrow the world. As long as I redirect that last bit, it should be fine… Right?

I still needed more information. Also, I was left in an awkward position where everyone was bowing to me and waiting for me to speak.

“Children of the flame,” I began. “I am… Wait.” I realized that it was really awkward addressing everyone still on the floor. “Umm… You-you can all get up.” As everyone rose, I continued. “I am honored to… Oh, wait. I should put myself out.”

I tamped down the flames that were on my head and upper chest and tried to figure out why my heart was jack-hammering.

I figured it out quickly.

I’m afraid of public speaking!?

A quick scan of my past life, and I realized I’d never done it. At least, not since I was brought to Placeholder, and with my memory of Earth as structurally sound as a monolith made of swiss cheese, there was no help on that front.

Also, thoughts may be quick, but they aren’t instantaneous. I’d also lapsed into silence during it.

The moment of silence felt like an eternity.

Quick, Titus! Keep talking!

“I know you have many hopes. And a… uhh… Prophecy. Oh yes! The-the prophecy. That’s about me. And I… will fulfill it! But… Not right now. I’ve only just woken up… Become alive again… Been reborn? Yes! Out of the flame like a… bird that does that.” I was rambling. I knew I was rambling. It was the worst speech I had ever heard, and I was in the middle of giving it.

Fortunately, whenever I needed support, I just glanced back at Lizzie.

Her eyes were shining, and I’m sure that everything I was saying sounded much more impressive in her world.

I took a deep breath.

Just stall for time. You need to learn more.

“Anyway, I’m saying that I will not make any broad… sweeping changes right at this moment. At least not right now. Probably… So, I was thinking that this meeting could just be run like normal? That I could see how you all run things?”

Fortunately, Lizzie came to my rescue.

“Children of the flame, we shall continue with the rites!” she shouted.

The audience cheered, and I was relieved to find that my public speaking skills were not atrocious enough to turn an entire cult against me with a single bad speech.

After that, we continued with the… festivities.

The faux-Latin chanting was creepy but tolerable.

The part where some of the more…adventurous… ones briefly ignited themselves with alchemist’s fire was bizarre, but at least they weren’t hurting anyone but themselves.

Meanwhile, I got a front-row seat for it all. Honestly, part of me was relieved.

Yes, they’re a bunch of deluded weirdos. But they aren’t doing anything to harm anyone. Watching one cultist have to stop, drop, and roll made me revise that thought. Or at least, not to anyone else. I chuckled. I mean. I was worried that they would be offering me human sacrifices or something.

“Now, bring out the sacrifices!” Lizzie shouted.

That kicked my internal panic up to 11.

Calm down. Calm down. It could be like pigs or something.

From the side of the room, a beastborn man, a human man, and a human woman were dragged in.

“Woah, woah, woah!” I shouted. “No human sacrifices! Why the frick would I want human sacrifices!?”

The chanting stopped. One person stopped with a vial of alchemist’s fire above their head.

“Now, release them!” I shouted again.

“But… My lord, we went to such pains-“ one of the cultists stammered.

“I don’t care! I don’t want any human sacrifices!” I thundered.

Lizzie drew up next to me and whispered. “My lord, we made sure to only gather those who would truly displease you. Those the law does not touch.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Meaning?”

“They are similar in nature to the men that you fought in DeepMine town,” she replied. When I only gave her a blank stare, she sighed.

“Proclaim the charges against the sacrifices!” she shouted.

One of them bowed. “By your word, exalted leader!”

He pointed at the bound and gagged beastborn man. “Adam Andrews. Guilty of 15 counts of assault and 4 cases of murder. Has expressed no remorse for his actions. Was caught in the middle of the night during an attempt to murder a young beastborn woman and her child.”

He moved on to the human man. “Tyler Harper. Was nearing the end of his fifth consecutive prison sentence for rape. Was vocal about his plans to commit the act again. We had an opportunity to seize him from the custody of the watch and did so.”

“Lastly,” he pointed at the human woman. “Andrea Ross. Noblewoman.” He said the final word with a sneer. “She kidnapped beastborn and forced them to fight deathmatches for her amusement. She was only ever charged with kidnapping as there were no specific laws for what she’d done, and the funds she made more than paid for that fine. We have also uncovered plans for her to remake the arena elsewhere, showing a complete lack of remorse for her actions.”

I was at a loss for words.

“So, what say you, Titus?” Lizzie asked. “Do these men and women deserve to live after what they’ve done?”

“And you’re sure about all of those charges?” I asked softly.

She nodded emphatically. “Several of them are public record. Others we took care to verify by truth stone.”

I remained silent as I grappled with the fact that the law had failed these people. More specifically, I was grappling with the reason why the law had failed them.

It’s all based on video game logic… In the worst way possible.

----

In video games where laws even exist, they usually never amount to more than a slap on the wrist for the player.

Oh, you killed that innocent civilian? Better pay the fine that never increases despite how murder-happy you might be! Or if you’re particularly broke, you can go to jail which often equates to a cutscene, and then you’re back out (often with some type of mechanical detriment, but that’s still hardly comparable).

And that was just one part of the issue the people were facing. The other is that video game laws are narrow. The devs have to define exactly what it means to break certain laws. Which means, in some cases, rifling through someone’s pockets isn’t illegal as long as you don’t take anything *cough* Skyrim *cough.*

The main reason all that makes sense in a video game? Most games aren’t going for a totally accurate system of law. They just want some baseline rules in place to punish the player for being too murderhobo-ey. That and consequences aren’t really fun, which is supposed to be the point of games in the first place.

So, when I was asked by a group of cultists if a bunch of criminals convicted of vile acts should just walk free… I hesitated.

On the one hand, it was vigilante justice going outside the bounds of the law.

On the other, the law totally sucked and was absolutely idiotic.

If it continued, the cultists responsible would likely be considered guilty of kidnapping and murder.

If it stopped, the people they kidnapped seemed likely to continue hurting and killing people.

If we killed them, I would have their blood on my hands. I wasn’t sure my conscience could take more. I wasn’t sure who I’d become.

But if I didn’t kill them…

I came to a conclusion.

------

“Do it,” I said softly.

The cultists were all too eager. The three were tied up onto pyres, and yet more alchemist’s fire was used to ignite them.

The nice thing about Placeholder bodies is that they don’t exactly react to fire the same way ones on Earth do. So, watching the “sacrifices” die to immolation was much less traumatizing than it could have been.

Except for the muffled screams.

If it had just been the two men, I probably would have been fine, as heartless as that sounds.

However, the woman’s screams reminded me.

Another helpless woman… a body made of flame… the worst day of my life.

“I-I have to go,” I stuttered out.

I’m sure the “lord of flame” taking a sudden exit with a [Flash Step] and a sprint out the door left quite the mark on the gathered cultists.

I was beyond caring about that.

I activated [Sneak] and huddled in a dark alley as they searched for me.

I’m a monster. I’m a monster. I killed her. And Jake too. What have I done? Why do I deserve to live any more than the people that were just killed at my order!?

That downward spiral continued and would have launched me into madness form yet again if I didn’t [Disrupt] it at the last moment.

“I… Need help,” I whispered. But I didn’t have anyone to turn to. I’d betrayed or killed my friends. Sarah wouldn’t understand. And it wasn’t like there was anyone else I could talk to about it.

“Oh,” I stated. Maybe there was. I pulled out the card that Fred had given me. I turned it over and over in my hands before making my decision.

At the very least… I can give it a try.

However, the card only had his office address and his hours (which were long passed). If I wanted to not interrupt his normal clients, that meant I had nearly a whole day to kill.

I wandered the streets of Vir aimlessly for most of that time.

I did send a quick [Message] to Sarah just to make sure she wasn’t freaking out about me, but other than that, I didn’t talk to a single soul until evening the next day.

Even without that, the town spoke volumes.

It was hard to miss that the slums were almost entirely beastborn when the better parts of town were almost entirely human.

I got dirty looks when I was wandering those areas, but I ignored them for the most part. I was busy looking at the streetlights that I swore had to be run via mana.

So many things have changed… I guess that’s what happens in 50 years.

It was late, and he was just closing up his office and locking it when I appeared in front of him.

The frightened older gentleman backed away.

“I don’t have any money,” he said.

“I’m not after your money,” I replied. I also realized that it was currently looking like I was mugging the guy, so I needed to get off the street. “Back inside.”

I could tell he was afraid even with no fear aura running.

“Do you have to follow doctor-patient confidentiality?” I asked.

The fear eased up a bit.

“Y-yes, I do,” he stammered out. “Every [Therapist] gains [Doctor-Patient Confidentiality] as a skill at the first level. I could lose my very class if I divulge anything about my patients.”

I felt some tension leave me.

“Good. Then looks like you’re doing some overtime tonight,” I said. The doctor gave me a confused look, but before he could reply, I flipped a coin in his direction.

The [Therapist] nearly choked when he saw it.

Oh. Was 100 gold too much? I frowned. But that’s less than an hour farming wolves at a good spot. My brow wrinkled. Maybe it was way too little?

“That’s enough, right?” I asked.

“What… exactly are you paying me for?” Dr. Wilson finally managed.

“For a therapy session,” I said as I flopped down on the couch. Huh. Didn’t think they would copy this part of it too.

“This… is more than plenty,” the doctor finally replied.

“Good,” I nodded. “So, with that out of the way, I guess introductions are in order. My name is Titus, and I’m the [Demon Lord].”

------

Dr. Wilson hadn’t always been a psychiatrist. In fact, he often felt like he was not qualified for the job with only 3 years of psych in college before he was brought over to this new world.

Nothing got his imposter syndrome going more than having to be the [Therapist] for the enemy of the entire known world.

His first session with the [Demon Lord] was… not his best work.

Mostly because he was worried that he would somehow anger the [Demon Lord] and be killed on the spot.

However, despite that, and despite the fact that he needed to cut the session short because his wife was undoubtedly worried about him, Titus scheduled another session.

And another.

And another.

In fact, Dr. Wilson quickly realized that Titus was actually his most faithful patient. He never missed a session, always showed up on time, and paid every single time. At least, until the [Therapist’s] embarrassment grew too great, and he explained that the normal fee was 5 gold per session and that Titus had paid enough for dozens of sessions in advance.

As for the sessions themselves, most of it was simply helping the young man work through unprocessed trauma.

There was… a great quantity of that.

Dr. Wilson felt like he learned a great deal about the supposed “enemy of the world” during that time. Not everything, mind you. He could still tell that there were a few festering secrets that Titus refused to reveal.

He was surprised one day when Titus opened up a bit.

“Doc,” Titus said in a moment of earnestness. “There’s something I have to tell you.”

“That’s what I’m here for,” Dr. Wilson said as he nodded his head. When Titus paused, the [Therapist] decided that a gentle nudge was in order. “Remember, whatever you share in here stays in here. [Doctor-Patient Confidentiality], remember?” When that didn’t do it, he continued. “I will not think of you any differently.”

“I-I… I killed the [Hero]. I killed Jake,” he finally said.

Despite the seriousness of the matter, it took a slight effort to not chuckle at that non-reveal.

“I am well aware,” Dr. Wilson replied. At Titus’ puzzled look, he continued. “The System sent out a message to everyone in the world when you killed him.”

Titus groaned. “I was worried it was global.”

At another brief pause, Dr. Wilson gave another gentle nudge. “So, do you wish to talk about it?”

Titus paused for several long seconds. “No.” Then he gave a long sigh. “But, I know that I need to.” He gathered himself for another moment before launching into his tale. “It all started when I was brought back to life-“

-----

My life fell into something of a cadence.

I would spend most of my days in the forest near town farming wolves and the occasional bear for cash. The fact that it was claimed by the Vir kingdom also meant I didn’t have to worry about any other adventurers coming by to farm mobs, so it was pretty efficient.

I did have a bit of a scare once when someone almost caught me fighting those monsters that were friendly to any member of the Vir kingdom, but they didn’t get a good look at me before I [Flash Stepped] away.

As for my evenings, those were mostly spent at therapy, learning history with Sarah, or having meetings with the cult.

I didn’t exactly enjoy therapy, and I sometimes lashed out at the poor doc, but I could tell that it was working… Slowly. Even just being aware of my habits and feelings went a long way.

Though, there were still things I couldn’t share with him. Megan’s death was too painful. The fact that we didn’t exist… I didn’t think that he deserved to have that knowledge inflicted on him.

However, he was still worth every penny I paid for those sessions.

I hadn’t even realized how listless I was starting to feel until he helped me catch that and advised me to start making goals.

I decided to start slow and aim for getting Sarah to level 8 without her having to fight. My secondary goal was to raise enough funds for her to have an emergency stockpile of health and mana potions just in case.

Those were achieved fairly quickly, but I kept stockpiling gold for my next plan.

As for the [Hero], we got along pretty well. I stayed in a spare room in the church, so we technically lived under the same roof. Not that I actually stayed there much. I mostly only used my room if I wanted a peaceful place to read.

We also talked a lot. It was a lot of effort on her part to catch me up on fifty years of progress and change.

“So, those streetlights do run on mana,” I observed one of the rare days we wandered the better end of town.

“Yes, there are a lot of helpful devices that run on it,” Sarah replied. Then she frowned. “All of my mana’s always gone to helping people. I guess I should think about getting something of my own from an [Enchanter].”

The extra levels had done wonders. Her line of patients dwindled day by day, and there were some days that she even had mana left over.

She cracked a small smile. “Did you know that one of you earthlings tried to come up with a system where mana would be pumped out throughout the whole town with wires to power everything?”

I nodded. “Oh. Like electricity.”

She did a double-take. “Like what!?”

She wasn’t the only one who passed on knowledge. I did my best to explain how things worked in our own world. A world of guns and electricity instead of swords and sorcery.

Our own world seems so mundane in the face of magic, but for the people of Placeholder, it was even more astonishing. A world where we could send a [Message] or even talk face-to-face from across the entire world.

The entire round world. That devolved into a bit of a tangent about how gravity is supposed to work, and honestly, I’m not sure she ever thought I was doing anything but pulling her leg.

I did my best to be truthful with her, but even I had to admit that I didn’t know the specific details of a lot of our tech.

She, in turn, got to astound me with some of the magical advancements that had been made.

Advanced truth stones. Or just regular truth stones since the old ones were barely ever used anymore. They ran on mana instead of specific skills, so anyone could use them.

Enchanted gear. Amulets and jewelry, or even the rare piece of armor that gave boosts. Most often health, but there were wands out there now that could give someone 100 extra mana in their pool.

I made a quick note to myself to think about getting Sarah one for her birthday. If the Hero’s Scepter could even be dual-wielded with it, that is.

The final bit she talked about was more along the line of bobbles. Magical alarm clocks, magical compasses, and other things that filled day-to-day niches.

She mentioned that it seemed like you couldn’t go more than a year without some earther coming up with a new piece of magic.

That made sense to me. They were all trying to recreate the comforts of home or push magic towards what video games and movies told them it should be capable of.

We also had some history talks that were a bit… less fun. I learned of my culpability in the fall of Besti and perhaps even the expansion of Gert. The northern [Berserkers] wouldn’t have looked to expand into Dryadal if I hadn’t ruined the zone next to them, which was their primary food source.

There was also some knowledge that I should have never learned about.

The [Necromancer].

“Wait. Can he talk to the dead?” I asked. “Or bring them back?”

She shook her head. “I have no idea, and if I did, I wouldn’t tell you.”

“But, I need to talk to her again,” I answered in a panic.

“No, Titus. That’s not-“

I ignored her and plowed on.

“Or bring her back. Maybe I can go see him, or-“

“TITUS!” she shouted.

That got my attention. Sarah had rarely, if ever, raised her voice at me.

“Let the dead rest,” she stated flatly. “I’ve been patient with you and let you say near-blasphemous things. I’ve even let you stay here, which who knows what the [Bishops] would have to say about that, but I will not entertain you even speaking of working with the [Necromancer].” She calmed a bit. “But you wouldn’t know. Would you? Come over here.” She gestured me to the window and then pointed at the wall surrounding Vir. “You see that? Vir used to have no walls. We have no enemies. The obelisk protects us from monsters, and even you didn’t attack it.”

She clenched a fist. “The [Necromancer],” she spat that word. “Changed that. Walls were raised. Villages in the east were abandoned. All because one beastborn wanted to try to pervert the natural order.”

I finally understood.

“Ah,” I said. “A beastborn.”

“Yes,” she replied with a sigh.

To summarize a few of our previous talks, there were some people who thought that the animal traits of the beastborn were the “mark of the [Demon Lord]” and that I was a beastborn myself. Having the only two notable “beastborn” figures in history be “enemies of Vir” was not a good look.

We both knew that was BS, but it also helped explain a bit of the racism.

The one good note about that was that I was at least able to tell Sarah some stories of two beastborn women who should have been more prominent in the history books. Sam and Lindsey. She particularly liked the ones where Lindsey absolutely kicked my butt in duels.

She seemed a bit exasperated when she learned what Sam and I had done to get the [Duelist] achievement, though.

With all the excitement, she ended up having one of the worst coughing fits that she had had in a while that night. After she [Restored] herself, I couldn’t help but ask. “Why don’t you just cure your disease?”

“With [Holy Restore]?” she asked. Then she softly shook her head. “It would take too much mana. And… I’m fine. Really. Also, I get the feeling that [Holy] works better on… well… other people.”

I didn’t believe her.

She’s been sick for so long… She’s afraid to be healthy.

I decided I would give her a gentle push towards that. Maybe Dr. Wilson was rubbing off on me.

However, the other thing that I had to do during that time was manage a cult.

“Your lordship,” Lizzie protested. “We’re ready to move now! Please! Just give us the word!”

I held up a hand to stop her. “We’ve been over this. You are to make no further moves than what you are already doing.”

“But, my lord-”

“No buts!” I raised my voice. I gestured to the other assembled cultists. “Proceed with the sacrifices.”

I was already working on plans to render those sacrifices unnecessary, but it would take a bit of time, and a lot of money, to restructure the law of the land. So, in my mind, the cult was only useful for the necessary evil of taking out the scum of the earth. The scum of Placeholder.

Whatever, you get my meaning.

I had grown so used to their reverence towards me that I missed it when Lizzie’s voice started taking on a harder edge. I didn’t notice when they started having whispered conversations when I was just out of earshot. I ignored the growing impatience that some of the members displayed in regards to me fulfilling their prophecy.

I assumed the entire time that I was at the top, so what could they do anyway?

The consequences of that choice came swiftly.

----

“We are gathered here today to honor the life of Placeholder’s first [Hero]. Jake Smith,” Samuel intoned. “There are none here, and few in the whole of Placeholder, who haven’t had their life impacted in some way by his courage and selflessness.”

Jake’s funeral. It had been delayed for months because of arguments about where to hold it. Vir eventually won out. It was Jake’s “home,” after all, and the place where he had funded the most orphanages.

It still took some time to decide on a date, though. It turns out that the [Hero] of Placeholder had a lot of people who wanted to come pay their respects.

I was one of them. I managed to get a spot by going in with Sarah.

Sarah truthfully said that she was an orphan at Smith orphanage and that she owed Jake a great deal. That was enough for the [Watch Officer] with a truth stone to give her a pass.

I truthfully stated that I had also met Jake and that he was important for my formative years.

I had actually practiced that deception with my own truth stone until I figured out the truth that sounded the most like I was at the orphanage as well. As for my time with Jake being my “formative years,” when you only remember 2 years of your life, you better believe those count as formative.

Honestly, the [Watch Officer] might have not given me a pass if I wasn’t willing to also swear that I wouldn’t cause a disturbance. I did so readily, and the truth stone confirmed it.

Unfortunately, I wouldn’t be able to hold to that.

Samuel was in the middle of his speech when he was interrupted by a shout from outside.

“Children of the flame, purify the supporters of the heretic with your holy fire!”

I didn’t have long to ponder what the heck Lizzie was doing there before the entire church was engulfed in flame.