Chapter 16

God of magic

I am relieved to see the last of the Children finally awake and fine… at least as fine as they can be without memories. It is a strange feeling; I had decided to leave it to others, yet here I am doing unnecessary work on the off-chance it could upset the Queen.

I have to acknowledge there is something wrong with me. At first, I thought that putting myself under the Queen’s authority was destiny, but my obsession with pleasing ‘It’ is far too unnatural: there is no need to go that far. Simply put, the Queen’s state of mind should be none of my concern and there was never a reason to put my own life in danger to face a dragon/calamity.

For her people, I understand that their religion makes ‘It’ seems grander than it is, but what of those who know the children’s true nature? Why are they still so fervently devout and loyal? And the ‘voices’, why are they become silent its presence now?

None of those things can be explained by any amount of respect and admiration. Oh sure, it is beautiful, so beautiful in fact that despite knowing what it truly is and lacking bodily function I can almost feel my heart pumping… but that only makes sense from my – and maybe the human point of view – the elves and Koroks’ sense of beauty should be completely different.

Yes, there is something amiss… Like, since I have become undead, I have been able to get a general idea of people’s state of mind, but when I am with the Queen it becomes so much more than that: it feels like we are connected.

As I dwell on these thoughts, I am introduced to the small meeting room and all my worries are blown away by Her Majesty’s loveliness.

“Apart from the two organics, all the children have been awakened as per your order.”

“I would like to say thank you very much, but there is something of concern to me: I heard you’ve just worked a whole week without interruption.”

“Did I?” So that really was an entire week.

“Your body may be tireless, but your mind isn’t. I cannot allow such a self-destructing behavior to continue. I won’t ask you to come home every night, but at least take a night every now and then; twice a week should be perfect.”

“I will do that… As long as there is no urgency.”

“Wonderful! Now, I would like to address the matter of your personal guard…”

“I do not need any.” I can protect myself if need be.

“I beg to differ: this is a matter of prestige and security. Besides you need someone to look after you.”

It has become overprotective of me... I thought it might happen sooner or later since after the of its siblings, I am the closest thing to 13055th.

“If you say so.”

“Good.” Its feeling of satisfaction radiates into me. “One last thing, I would like you to report on your progress at least twice a week.”

“Sadly, there is not much to report at this point.”

“It doesn’t matter if there isn’t, you can’t stay cooped up in there all day long.”

“If you say so.” I have been saying that a lot lately.

I walk out of the room with the feeling that my loss of freedom is not such a bad deal as long as it is content, and then it hits me: my thoughts are being manipulated… but, does it really matter? I have never felt so content myself before, this life under its rule is infinitely more rewarding than anything before.

I think I have pierced the mystery: 13055th probably intended to make this Child an embodiment of art and beauty but succeeded beyond expectation. I believe that as long as one holds some good sentiment toward the Queen, no matter how small, they will in time grow into something far more intense.

<><><>

Days have gone by and we have yet to make any progress with any of our projects, if only we could decipher the mysteries behind the bag, we would be so much nearer to accomplish our goal.

I touch the Words of power sewn on its exterior, and as usual, they react ever so slightly.

“Did the instruments detect anything?”

“No, sir.”

Why? I felt it, know I did, even if others cannot tell, I am sensing and manipulating mana directing: something they cannot.

“Eight times eight words, it has to be for inputting a code, right?

“That’s what we assume, but without a way to detect a reaction, there is no way to know which combination is right!”

Out of desperation, someone else proposes. “Can’t we just try every combination?”

“Assuming we spent only ten-second per combination, it’d still take us over a hundred years.” Answers another who prides himself on his math skills.

He is right, forget testing them all, we would run out of place just writing them down.

<><><>

My new armor is ready, and it is absolutely gorgeous. It is made of shiny black leather and silvery metal plates engraved with Queen’s coat of arms just as I asked. Wait, now that I look at it more carefully, there is a slight difference.

“Did you replace the starts with skulls?”

“This is your personal coat of arms... Her Majesty wanted to make it a surprise, so she ordered to keep it a secret until the last moment.” His tone changes into one of inquietude. “Is it perhaps not to your liking, sir?”

“Do not be ridiculous. This is perfect! I must thank the Queen immediately!”

The knight panics a little. “Sir, the ceremony is about to begin! Can’t it wait until after the ceremony!”

<><><>

Rather than the throne room, I am led to a balcony facing a court filled with thousands of people. I thought it was supposed to be a job appointment… what is going on?

The Goddess speaks in a powerful voice further increased by magic. “Citizen, by now, many of you have heard of a powerful mage joining our rank…”

“Many held questions as to why a stranger was given so much authority and power so soon after his coming despite a blatant lack of merits?”

I have merits; you are the one who refused to make them public until now!

Words of stupefactions come from the crowd as an army of permanent constructs pulling levitating platforms, each one beautifully decorated and with a child standing in the middle.

“See for yourself, he is my brethren, the God of magic, he who brings with him the lost knowledge from the age of myths.”

Age of myths? It feels overly exaggerated, but with all that was lost, it is also very understandable. Wait? What do you mean a god of magic? I am no such being!

“He who abandoned his flesh in pursuit of knowledge, in the short time he has been there as increased the potency and the knowledge of our mages tenfold!”

I did no such thing! What is a tenfold increase even supposed to mean?

The queen whispers to me. “Remove your helmet.”

Wary of the results, I do as ‘It’ says, but rather than the cries of fear I expected, cheers rise from the crowds. I suppose she foresaw that a skeleton God would make more sense to them than a peaceful undead.

“Dear citizens, listen to him as you would to me, for he is my companion, my peer, and together we will work to bring prosperity to the Queendom!” She whispers to me. “Wave your hand.” And as I do, another round of cheers resounds, even louder than the previous one.

I never expected to be declared a God, even less its equal and co-ruler. That is everything I wanted to avoid when I rejected her initial offer, but the reason behind it is clear: I have been given too big a role to stay in the shadow any longer.

As we walk back inside, I hear the queen murmurs. “Now, let’s see how they’ll react.” And it frightens me.

<><><>

I am desperate to put my hand on the secret behind the bag’s barrier, but there is no way we will be making progress just by poking at it at random… besides the first thing, I should have done should have been to ask about its origin.

“It was discovered by a group of adventurers in the labyrinth, my lord.” Says the master in response to my inquiry.

“What is a labyrinth? I can deduce from then name alone that the place will not be easy to navigate but is there any hope to find the exact place where the bag came from?”

“Unlikely, sir, the labyrinth is an immense set of tunnels spanning under a vast portion of the continent. All we know is that it was dug by a long-dead race of bipedal insects, whose undead corpses still roam the underground, ready to attack anyone who dares set foot in their territory. Some courageous adventurers still explore the labyrinth, in search of precious metal and relics, but many never come back.”

“To think such an advanced species existed right beside us all this long and we knew nothing of them; it is such a waste.”

“My lord, we have no idea of how advanced they really were or when they lived. Enchanted tools are often found in piles of trash and recently made objects of little value.”

“Is that so? Do you think they were collectors rather than creators?”

“Those places could have been museums, research centers or even garbage dumps. The things recovered are often in an advanced state of decay and the dangers make archeological studies utterly impossible.”

I will try my luck with the adventurer guild then. I hope they can give me more details about its origin.”

Whether I find information or not, I intend to mount an expedition to the labyrinth, although I wonder if I will be allowed to participate.