Hey hey hey, second chapter of the day~

Writing makes you hungry you know? Hopefully reading my chapters makes you hungry for some more too (cringe)

Feedback as always is appreciated, thanks!

Sam.

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Zed left the stunned Gods, returning back into the vacant cave that had served as his resting place for the past few thousand years. Seeing that it was gradually collapsing and that he had failed to furnish it appropriately, he waved his hand, removing the dust and rocks and raising a plain golden throne, reminiscent of the style of his crown, in the centre of the room.

Sinking into his new seat, and resting the side of his head upon his knuckles to keep himself propped up as he slouched to the side, an image of a small slightly chubby girl with red hair and red cheeks floated to his mind, as he imagined her saying “Bad big brother Zed! You can’t just kill people like that!” He chuckled at the thought, remembering how long ago it had been since that little face reprimanded him in such a manner, before scolding himself on her behalf. It seems he really had overdone it this time. Only meaning to frighten them, he had used one of his most renowned and powerful abilities, his True Flames of Judgement, and tired himself out quite considerably.

The lasting effects of using his magic were that it was tied directly to his Soul Flame, thus expending his own life force. Luckily, counteracting this was his racial ability to absorb natural energy, a very rich resource within The Cube, from what he had seen of it, and that would speed up the process much more rapidly than it would have done otherwise outside in the Universe. Nevertheless, being in a state like this was dangerous for him and he cursed himself for his lack of stamina when he fought. He supposed that in this state, he could only use such an ability twice more. ‘Quite impressive’, he thought, ‘It seems my progress in enhancing my Soul Flame has improved me to some degree, at least.’

Prior to his reclusion and exile into The Cube, he had only sufficient energy to use it twice before he fell into something akin to a coma as his Soul Flame was nearly too weak to remain attached to his body. His reason for being apprehended by the other Higher Beings was absolutely down to his lack of stamina to repel them an infinite number of times and they had simply overwhelmed him. Shaking his head bitterly, he weaved his True Flames around his body in his old style (A.N. the purple robe like a Chinese Emperor), seeing no need to hide his identity anymore and awaited his new pawn’s arrival.

Yes, seeing that the elephant God had been alienated from his group, he had saved him in order to manipulate feelings of gratitude and attachment to him as he felt he needed someone with more understanding of The Cube to use and someone with a bit of standing within the area to handle those around him. Zed had chosen this town to set up as a base to start from, seeing The Cube was something so powerful he felt there were many things similar to the ancient gate entrance that he had seen when he first arrived. Perhaps there would be things he could study, knowledge he could only garner inside this place that would allow him to surpass his rival Higher Beings.

In regards to Higher Beings, he knew he had to be careful. He felt that he had overwhelming power over the others within the same realm, even more so than those beneath him, the Gods, but with his power came the extreme fragility of his Dead Immortal state. It was a contradiction that even he thought was too bizarre to be natural, and the conflict within his nature meant it may only be too easy for him to lose his Soul Flame, and whatever mockery of Life he had been given and so, like he had decided when he first entered The Cube, he would be prudent.

Who’s to say if other Higher Beings had not seized control of an area in the same way that Zed was planning to do? With his many years of experiencing the politics of the Council of Gods, he had long since learned to be wary around everyone, especially those close to him. Of course, he had doted on his younger sister dearly and would not believe that she would betray him intentionally but he knew that there may be a way in which she is manipulated into unintentionally harming him in some way. Caution may be the way in which the weak chooses to survive, however employed by the strong it would not permit any bugs to crawl through the cracks, nor any weeds to grow. He had realised this too late, however, and so stamping Zeus out had been impossible. Sadly the cockroach had already gotten his claws into the Council and forced him out but this time he would not make the same mistake!

Zed turned his throne to face the entrance to the cave and, as if following a script, the elephant God knelt down at the entrance crying out, “Lord Zed, allow me to pay my respects and beg your pardon for not doing so from the moment we met! I would like to follow you, if you would have me.”

The flames in Zed’s eyes changed to a mellow yellow colour, seeming to dance happily at this notion. Although, if Ariel saw this, she would certainly deliver a punch to his tibia, knowing his various quirks and recognising that expression as a malicious scheming face. No, he did not understand it either but it seemed she could read his expression on his fleshless face. Nonetheless, he was pleased that his hunch had been correct. The elephant God in front of him, while seeming to be impulsive and perhaps ill-tempered, he was smart. “Of course,” he replied, a note of sarcasm underlying his words, although too subtle to be picked up on, “I’m always looking for capable Gods such as you to assist me. Although, I do not believe we have been properly introduced and so I feel slightly disadvantaged. May I have your name?”

The elephant God humbly spoke again, no trace of arrogance around him as he kept his eyes to the floor, “My Lord, your humble servant’s name is Raq’uesh! Please inform me if there is anything I can offer you as assistance?”

Zed was impressed, by all accounts. Very rare was it to have a God so smart while being committed to this degree. In the past, the retainers who had served him, as it was impossible for him to deal with all of his Council work at once and so he needed to have delegates to represent him. Even then, even when serving him and confronted by his absolute power, they still held an aura of aloofness, something that had infuriated him to no end and even hurt his Pride. Yes, he just knew that Raq’uesh was going to be very useful.

“I do have some queries, actually, Raq’uesh. Firstly, tell me the composition and power distribution within The Cube.”

“Yes, my Lord. The structure of the inside very much follows what one would assume from the outside, following a cubic pattern. Daedalus Town that we are in is the hub within the sector that the founder and current ruler, Lark, has named the Sacred Labyrinth. This sector is located in the quarter of The Cube that the other inhabitants of The Cube called the Lawless Zone due to being the only territory not claimed yet by a Higher Being such as yourself. There are a total of twenty-four sectors, all of the same size except for the Capital of each quarter which is roughly four times larger than a normal sector, and four quarters which form The Cube.”

Zed seemed to blink, slightly perplexed at this torrent of information surging from his first subordinate. “Very good. You implied that there are Higher Beings within The Cube other than myself?”

Raq’uesh nodded, looking quite pleased from the praise, before saying, “Yes, three others rule three different quarters however whenever one tries to claim the Lawless Zone, the other two suppress them, thus creating a stalemate.”

‘Interesting…’ Zed thought, ‘I arrived in a place separated from the other three Higher Beings, could it be a coincidence… or..?’ Dismissing the thought as he knew without any further evidence, it would be pointless to conjure up empty theories.

“My final question is regarding you. How come you know so much when you seemed like an idiot when we first met?” Zed said rather bluntly. He was never one to tiptoe around the feelings of the weak.

Raq’uesh opened his mouth slightly, before shutting it, the question throwing him totally. Collecting his thoughts up, he laughed bitterly, “My Lord, I had heard you didn’t pay attention to the affairs of those beneath you… but I didn’t expect you would forget my presence on your own planet… oh well, I am actually regarded as a God of Wisdom on many planets around the Milky Way Galaxy… despite those damnable humans actually getting my name wrong… not like I could correct them a few hundred years later though could I?...” he started mumbling off at the end, clearly Zed had hit a sore spot. Being the merciful Higher Being that he was, he allowed him a few moments to turn back to the conversation.

“Ah yes, where was I? My Lord, the only reason I reacted aggressively upon our first meeting was due to fear blinding me, forgive my foolishness.”

“Ah, it is behind us now,” Zed laughed arrogantly, “Now let me grant you the uniform of being my retainer.”

Lifting his hand, Raq’uesh’s robe changed into one of a pure royal purple, similar to Zed’s own robe however without the many golden adornments, instead a single golden flame, about the size of a candle-flame lay down like an emblem by his heart.

“This robe will protect you from a life-threatening encounter; the flame on your chest will save your life once. At the same time, should you harbour any ill feelings towards me…” He was sure that an intelligent God like Raq’uesh would figure the rest out (A.N kukukuku).

“Now, leave me while I prepare for tonight’s feast,” he continued, “I wish to collect my thoughts before leaving. Accompany me there later.”

“As you command, my Lord.” Raq’uesh affirmed quickly before dashing off.

‘Now then,’ Zed thought, ‘how should I approach this?’