Ezekiel stared as the thing dropped into the generator and he cackled with malicious glee. Seeing the last of his armed cultists manage to put the last of the wounded Bogre’s down. A blessing in disguise given the damage to his own forces the thing had done when it spewed out that black inferno over everyone. Though the surviving Bogres wouldn’t come near this sacred chamber any time soon as a result. He’d lead his congregation to exterminate the things or enslave them later.

He gagged as the resulting stench filled to his nose, it was worse than the scent of burned flesh somehow a lot more sour that it should have been. With a disgusted and disgruntled sound he gestured for the survivors of his cult to drag and throw the corpses into the generator, the creatures last defiant act would feed his gods.

It took a long while and he was delighted to see the flesh of the corpses all converge on the burning figure of the creature held suspended in the middle of the generators holy conflagration. The flesh liquefying and creating a writhing ball of flesh in the centre around the creature and his heart soared at the sight.

It was like the ancient texts he’d spent his life studying had described now all he needed to do was finish the last rite and feed the Scion to the ball of changing flesh and a body fit for his gods to inhabit would be crafted.

The crying of said Scion cut into his ears and his good cheer took a hit and he scowled as he turned to stare at the girl balefully. “Silence that brat or go into the fire with it.” He snarled at the terrified girl holding the child tightly against her in the dangling cage.

He was secretly glad he’d had them placed in these suspended cages, it had saved the main sacrifice from that unnatural fire that the creature had spewed out of the rent it had for a mouth. He eyed the maid for a few moments and then grimaced. He’d need to break the girl after all, his congregation needed more to fill in the losses. Perhaps a recruitment drive was in order in the near future. He was sure to find some candidates in the less defended outskirts of the galactic community.

Once everything had been cleaned up and the ritual preparations done with, he had the cage lowered. “Take the girl and bring me the child.” He growled at some of his more trusted angels. The armed men made hesitantly for her due to the girls growing hysterics at being separated from the infant.

“Just knock her out and put her back into the cage.” Ezekiel growled.

When the mewling infant was put into his hand he moved down the platform and made sure the child looked down at the burbling sphere of liquefied flesh that the creature and the corpses had become. It shut the infant up at least and he smirked.

Then he turned and started the last sermon before his coming ascension.

“My angels! We stand in the presence of our gods and their rewards for our devotion is at hand. I will ascend to become one of their number or the right hand of our gods and through me so you too. All of you shall ascend to become true angels!”

His voice turning up in fervour as his angels renewed their chanting with more vigour than ever before. They too felt it, this was a moment of portends. “WE STAND AT THE CROSSROADS TO ASCENDANCY! LET THEM HEAR YOUR DEVOTION, YOUR FAITH AND THE FIRE WITH WHICH WE WILL BURN THE GALAXY IN THEIR NAME!!!”

The Generator pulsed out with power at the height of his words as if to punctuate the truth of his words.

-

“Get down!” Arnei jumped to the side as the squire turned the still spinning barrel of his chain gun and unloaded the heavy rapport of his weapon at the swarm spilling from a cracked wall. His assault widening the hole but shredding the swarm six-legged mutant rats.

“Possumpedes!” Another shouted as the heavy ‘thump’ of his grenade launcher signalled the scream of tortured metal and the cracking of rocks when the explosion weakened the corridor enough to collapse. Thankfully it was one they didn’t need to go down and given the huge mutated, near centipede creatures that were swarming and slithering down it, she was glad it had collapsed.

“I’m out!” Another shouted as he broke the rifle he was holding on the head of one mutant rat, shattering its skull in the process before he pulled out his sword.

A snap echoed from his free hand and the gauntlet over his forearm expanded into a circular shield to aid him as he moved deeper into the front line of their group to ease the work of those that still had ammo in their weapons.

“Were the hell did all of these things come from!” One knight roared as he slammed into the swarm covering him with his mace. Splatters of broken limbs and bodies flying in every direction at his savage assault on his attackers.

“I say we come back with six cohorts armed with flamers!” Another quipped as he seemed in his element, having thrown his ammo to another after finishing his rifles first magazine. Clearly preferring his wielding of twin axes. His savage joy radiating off of him in waves.

“Cut the chatter and cut them down!” Ludwig roared as he took the beam weapon from his knight to allow the man to wade in with his mace. With careful aim he cut a swath through the swarm coming at them.

“There's no end to these things.” Miranda yelled before they all half froze when a new roar entered the fray.

“Bogres!” The squire shouted as his chain gun went dry and he tossed it to the side to draw his sword.

“Of fucking course.” The knight next to Arnei muttered as he aimed his grenade launcher their way and spent the last of his shells too.

Before Arnei had thought that the humans description of the savagery and the feeling of being in a meat grinder that the scourge war was nothing but jest but now, she could believe it. The cohort was clearly used to fighting in such a thick melee and it was a testament to their armaments and armour that they looked only slightly roughed up as they did.

She was certain a normal human military unit would have been torn to shreds in half the time they’d managed to keep the horde at bay.

The bellowing Bogres came charging in and the remaining ammo was spent riddling them with holes before it devolved into a swirl of limbs, swearing, guts and blood. By the time they all finally got out of it they were all panting heavily from exertion. Arnei having used her short sword instead of her pistol to help were she could.

There was a desperation building in the two Scions as they both looked towards Arnei and spoke in unison. “How much farther to our son?” They asked and she felt her heart suddenly stop as a psionic wave washed over her.

She fell back screaming and convulsing as she caught glimpses of creatures she’d only believed to exist in mythology, bloody wars, the very dead walking again and titans forging in the fires of the land beneath their very feet.

“What the fuck?!” One of the knights shouted as he quickly caught her as she convulsed in his arms. “Medic!” He panicked as she gripped his hands as the visions crashed into her. Primeval forests, golden women, leviathans lurking under black waters and then a place unlike any she'd ever seen before.

She blinked as she stood on a dais rising from grey waters. Around her was a sight she couldn’t believe as the very sky was split by blue ethereal rivers that coiled around and fell bellow the misty horizon of the grey waters. She was in awe of the black sun hanging directly above ringed in blue ethereal fire that the rivers seemed to flow from.

“What is it with you mortals and invading my realm?” A charming but deep tenor that sent her bones to tingling in ways she wasn’t really sure she wanted to understand. Quickly she turned around and her mouth fell open.

In front of her was a man standing at two meters tall staring down at her with eyes the reflection of the black sun above. Only there was a triangle shining with the same ethereal blue in the centre of his eyes taking the role of his pupils. His skin a pale paper white with pitch black hair slicked back, wearing what she could only describe as a suit with the jacket replaced with a simple vest, the shirt white while the rest was black.

His lips turned to amusement at her open staring of him and she noted his ears, reminiscent of her own peoples but longer and with elements of the structure of bats ears mixed into them.

“Are you done staring?” He asked her in amusement and she was startled.

“O-oh I’m sorry.. m-my… lord?” She hesitated as she stared at the man and he simply seemed to derive more amusement at her squirming attempt at both keeping etiquette and trying to get information as unsubtly as she could.

“I am Mors. You can think of me as the god of death and creation.” He said still amused even as the Arnei’s veins froze in terror. “Now the first human that came into my realm uninvited well… I ate his kidney’s, liver and heart before I went after those that sent him to me. You on the other hand…” He smirked as he slowly began to circle around her, eyeing her up and down.

“Hmm you look like a bit like an elf but no... That isn’t what you are… oh you have a scut? That’s new. Do the males of your species have antlers too?” He asked then and she shivered as she felt a cold finger run up her little tail. It was only then she realized she wasn’t wearing anything.

Before she shrieked however shadows billowed up from her own shadow bellow, crawling up her body before forming a black dress to cover her modesty. It happened so fast she was reeling and confounded as to how to even react. This only served to amuse Mors even more as he chuckled.

“So tell me, were exactly are we?” He asked then as he circled around to stare directly into her eyes, her being just at the 1.7 meter mark in height made her have to look up.

“W-what?” She blinked unsure she’d heard him right and too out of her element to really put together a plan of action.

Mors sighed. “I am asking were are we? We are both in the same realm physically though my body is a bit… indisposed at the moment. You however are a psionic aren’t you? Or some sort of mind mage at least which is why we are speaking right now.” He said as he leaned down closer to her but his face and tone turned hard.

“You’ve gotten a glimpse of something you weren’t supposed to young lady. If you tell anyone of the things you saw I won’t stop at just ending you. I’ll end anyone you tell it to and the species they belong to, yours included. That is how highly I value my secrets. Understand?” He asked with a monstrous growl under pinning his cold voice.

She could do nothing but frantically nod her head as her body shook in terror as her throat constricted. Mors only smiled. “Good girl. Now who is with you and why are you here?” He asked and she felt compelled to answer.

“W-we are here to find the young Scion Marcus that the Cult calling themselves the Angels of the Ancient kidnapped. We fear they are about to sacrifice him in their profane rituals and we are here to stop it.” She truthfully answered the terrifying being.

Mors snorted with amusement while an imperceptible look grew in his eyes. “So that kid was special huh?” He muttered as he leaned back and held one hand against his chin in thought while the other was placed behind his back as he took a few steps away.

“You’ve seen him?!” She blurted out as she stared at Mors wide eyed.

“Yes, I suspect the same individual that threw me into that generator is the leader of this cult. Too bad I was still stuck as an infant at the time.” He answered in a half-hearted mutter. Though he frowned with a clear bit of displeasure, likely at the thought of the cult leader she hoped.

She was about to subtly expand her mind to try and figure out the creature before her, or hope to get an idea of its intentions before a finger was tapping at her forehead. “Girl, you don’t want to touch your mind to that of an elder gods.” Mors said with clear warning in his voice as he tapped his finger on her forehead making her swallow hard.

“Either way our time seems to be coming to an end and… I think you are rather close so I’d hurry if I were you. I’m rather certain he's about to try and sacrifice the boy.” Mors added clearly absent-mindedly as his eyes moved around like he was reading something.

“Ho-how do I leave then?” She asked and the wide amused grin and chuckle Mors answered with made her shake.

“Like this. Now leave me to my thoughts.” He snickered before snapping his fingers right in front of her face.

Her eyes flew open and she took a deep needy breath in a fearful desperate gasp for air. Her body shivering in terror over the experience while the cohort had put up a defensive formation around her while the squire, medic and Miranda hovered over her.

“Oh thank fuck your awake.” Miranda breathed at seeing Arnei’s eyes open, they’d removed her helmet to see how she was. “What happened?” Miranda asked almost frantic but stopped dead at the terrified eyes Arnei met hers with.

“W-we have to go, they are going to sacrifice him soon!” She jerked as if a lightning bolt had struck her, causing her chest to arch upwards before she devolved into a coughing fit.

“What?” Ludwig said turning his helm towards them and she heard the strain the handle of his war-hammer was under as his hands tightened around it.

Quickly the squire and Miranda steadied Arnei while the medic made sure she was physically all right and then they hurried onwards. The near dazed Arnei carefully guiding the group down the winding corridors and hallways until they spilled out into a huge repurposed generator room.

The generator looking like some hellish cauldron filled with liquid blue fire and flowing lightning trapped within the liquid, its centre a dark writhing spherical mass of something unspeakable.

Over the top of the generator was half a walkway that ended in the centre directly above the black writhing mass. There near the edge of the walkway stood the cult leader. Extolling in a chant to his gods while holding the child aloft.

Without realizing what she was doing she pulled out her pistol, unused until now. Without a second of hesitation she let loose. Each round tearing through the helm of the remaining cultists that were armed.

Without missing a beat the scions roared and charged across the chamber, crushing any cultist unfortunate to be in their way until they reached the base of the generator. “Give our son back madman!” They roared at the startled cult leader who stared as the rest of his cult was slaughtered with extreme prejudice by the cohort as they charged after their leaders.

“You… Vile heathens!” The Cult leader shrieked in indignation. “You dare interrupt my ascendance for this mewling calf!” He roared as he held the child up by the fabric it was so tightly swaddled in.

Both Scions looked about ready to tear the man to shreds, their shaking weapons a clear indications if it wasn't for the rage boiling off them.

“Put my son down and I wont make your death slow and painful.” Ludwig growled almost like an animal, his anger was so great that Arnei couldn’t get any closer than half way to them or she’d be affected by their fury.

“I make no such promise.” Miranda snarled and it looked like she was struggling not to throw the spear in her hand at the man.

“You don’t even know who I am do you? You simpering, pathetic creatures proclaiming to be the lords of humanity!” The unhinged man started ranting. “I AM EZEKIEL! The greatest servant of the ancient gods there has ever been and you are here at the dawn of my ascendancy to either become the right hand of my lords or join their numbers as a god in truth!”

He thrust the now sniffling and whimpering infant towards his parents as he continued. “This mewling, repulsive infant is the price! It is no choice at all so leave me to my great work!” He commanded in the piercing shriek of the unhinged and insane.

Arnei felt the frustration of the cohort. None had a weapon they could use to end the man before he could react and if she used her pistol she risked the child falling into the generator anyway. A stalemate with a madman wasn’t exactly what she’d ever thought she’d come across in her life. Then she remembered what Mors had introduced himself as and she got an idea.

“What are the names of your gods? And what are they the gods of?” She called which surprised not only Ezekiel but the Scions and cohort as well.

Ezekiel turned his maddened eyes to her and he smiled wide, as if having found a potential willing convert. It sickened her and a shiver of revulsion ran down her spine from just being looked at by the man.

“I serve the quartet! Azias, God Of Life & Death!” He began extolling their near incoherent virtues as he named them, none of which made any sense after he’d introduced his gods.

“Vuslir, God Of Hatred! Krulhena, Goddess Of Chaos! And last but not least, Itrix, goddess of vengeance and hell!”

She stared at him for a few moments before she started to laugh. It wasn’t just the Scions and cohort that started at her in confusion as if she’d gone insane. Her laugher only growing as she noted the conflagration bellow in the generator was lessening and the mind she’d touched upon grew from the pit.

“You forgot the last one you fool!” She crowed as her hands came to her abdomen and she noted some of the cohort uneasily turning to be ready to engage her if she turned out to be somehow in on it all. “You forgot Mors!” She said as she pointed at Ezekiel.

-

Ezekiel’s face scrunched up in clear confusion. “Who the hells is Mors?” He asked before stiffening up.

“That would be me.” I whispered with a growl as I stood behind him, my hand digging slowly into his back.

He turned terrified eyes at me as I reached over and took the infant from his hands as I leaned in to speak softly to him. “I told you I’d take great pleasure in tearing out your heart.” At his widening eyes I gave my final word to him to remember if this universe had anything like reincarnation.

“You don’t fuck with the elder gods.” I growled low before I tore his heart out of the hole I’d dug into his back with a spray of gore and viscera, which I made sure to keep away from the staring infant in my other hand.

I raised the heart up and devoured it greedily before kicking the body into the now cold and inert generator bellow. Moving my fingers to plug the infants ears as I spoke a little louder than the whisper I’d given Ezekiel. “Now as for the rest of you humans.” I said looking at them with my eyes twinkling in amusement.

I remembered everything, my life as Robert the brave, the unbearable lethargic life he’d lead on earth before, life as Vlad, as Arguran the titan and primordial craftsman, as Thennele Everwood the druid of the deep forests and finally as the mad cultivator Nabathi the formation witch.

[Invocation] ended up being a lock I needed to evolve to unlock so I wasn’t all that sad to see it go from my status. I suspected the name was a hint but given it had been like downloading info into an infant mind without memories of its own before I evolved I didn't really see myself making that connection without hindsight.

I cringed a little at the sloppy manner I’d moved and fought in that period, both my instincts from being Robert, Vlad and surprisingly enough Nabathi had helped. Nabathi had lived almost six centuries and had lived in a damn cultivation universe, her sheer martial prowess put anything I’d managed to get as Vlad to shame.

“L-Lord Mors?” I heard that strange girl with a deer’s tail ask me.

I was about to smile when I looked down and noticed the differences in my body. I barely remembered talking to the girl like I’d been talking to her down a long tunnel or something but I knew the form I’d presented had been that of Vlad with a few changes more in line with my being in this, hopefully, my final rebirth.

My skin was now similar to how my wing membranes were, a window into the starscape above my domain, the black hole visible in the centre of my chest. I brought one hand to my lips and found it was the same as before, my face was featureless besides ears and eyes.

I sighed and walked off the walkway towards the largest pair of humans I’d ever seen. If I hadn’t heard what they were called I’d have thought some madman had tried to rip 40k off in more way’s than one but the futuristic knight look was much more aesthetically pleasing for me to look at. Rather than the clunky and bulky technology of that particular universe.

Idly I wondered if I could ever visit that world or if it even existed outside fiction. Then I realized what world I was wondering about visiting and thought better of it. That place was a shithole.

“Is this yours?” I asked softly as I handed over the staring infant to the large pair of humans who tentatively took the child. One hugging the child and shushing it with clear relief radiating off of her. My expanded mind picking up the emotions clearly.

I internally smirked, I might not have access to psionic energy but I clearly had some natural psionic abilities that would come in handy in the future. The eldritch do cheat it seems. I walked by the two fussing parents as I made my way to the deer girl, as I’d decided to think of her for now and looked at her as she shivered underneath my gaze.

‘Can you listen?’ I thought towards her and she started before nodding frantically. ‘Good, my voice as you’ve just experienced isn’t really conducive to constructive conversation so I’m going to need you to be my mouth piece for a short while before I leave this shithole place in your universe at last.’ I finished and I could feel the curious terror laced confusion that bloomed in her head.

“Wh-what is that thing?” One of the smaller knights asked and I looked at the man, feeling him squirm under my gaze.

“T-this is…” The girl started but hesitated until I nodded. “Mors… god of death and creation.” She said and I felt the ripple of unease run through the entire room.

I ignored it as I made my way to one of the mechanisms near the generator and lowered the cage holding the maid down while the group used their helmet’s inbuilt communicators to speak in hushed, hurried whispers. The girl stirred slowly as I gently shook her and when our eyes met she stared in wide eyed amazement before she quickly looked around seeing the aftermath.

“Clarissa!” The smallest of the knights suddenly shouted as I helped the girl out of the cage, help she warily accepted after seeing me rip the door to her cage off with ease.

“J-John?!” She squeaked before hesitantly letting go of my hand and running into the knights arms as he made his way to her.

“Thank you…. L-Lord Mors.” The male of the tallest knights said and I simply nodded at him in response.

I turned my eyes over the chamber and noted two archways similar to those I had back in Ktep which made me think. Perhaps I wasn’t done with this universe just yet but I was done for now, I wanted to get home and finish beginning the set up of my realm.

I had a few notifications buzzing in the back of my mind but I wanted to go over them at my leisure when I was back.

‘Child, come here.’ I thought to the deer girl who hesitantly made her way to me.

“Y-yes?” She tentatively said before she grimaced a little at feeling my amusement at how she was acting.

-

Ludwig stared at the being that looked like a window into space. A being he’d thought would kill them all when it had hovered out of the generator behind the madman and ripped his heart out through his back. Instead it had… no this Mors had saved his son and even returned him to them safe and sound. He’d even taken the time to get Clarissa, his sons caretaker, out of a hanging cage none of them had even noticed until he’d lowered it.

Now he stared at the princess of the most psionically potent species in the galaxy squirm underneath Mor’s gaze. “T-these?” She suddenly squeaked as she pointed at two archways that looked far too well made to have belonged to the original structure.

Mors nodded at the girl who then turned around and spoke tentatively. “L-Lord Mors has asked us to retrieve these two archways before we... destroy this cesspool… his words not mine.” She said which had Ludwig raising an eyebrow under his helm.

He’d have thought the creature would want them to pack up and leave as it made the hulk its domain but this spoke of something else. “These are works of art tied to him. He does not want to walk through one to find a bunch of madmen chanting around them again. His opinion of humans is… low as it is…” Arnei spoke and he heard her wince. Clearly she'd filtered what Mors said to her.

“Then how is he going to get home?” One of the other knights blurted out and Ludwig could see the rising and falling of Mors’s shoulders. Was he... was he laughing?

Mors then turned and ripped reality apart with a swipe of his claw tipped fingers. Ludwig felt his breath hitch at what he saw beyond the tear in reality, distantly aware of his wife’s tightening grasp of their son.

“That is… his domain…” Arnei breathed in clear awe at what they were seeing before she blinked hard and shook her head. “Wait what?!” She then yelped and now it was clear Mors was laughing with his body language.

“What did he say?” Ludwig asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

“He said… He’d like to visit sometimes so keep the archways somewhere that would make visiting easier. In return he will only harm those that will try to attempt to harm him first when he arrives. He..” Now she paused and cocked her head to the side.

“A museum? Really?” She asked and Mors nodded then he gave a little twirling wave of his fingers as if saying good bye to the infant staring at him. The infant responded with a delighted laugh before Mors turned and nodded to the others.

“It has been a pleasant surprise seeing sensible humans in this universe. I was starting to fear all of you were like these mad men. Well I hope to visit later but it’ll be a while, who knows perhaps I can teach that young talent something later.” Arnei spoke clearing acting as Mors’s direct mouthpiece now before he pointed at Ludwigs son and then waved them goodbye before entering the tear in reality that closed behind him.

There was a very long and heavy silence that ruled the chamber after Mors left.

“D-did a god just say our son was a young talent?” Miranda broke the silence with a tone of clear disbelief.

“I think that was an eldritch god… I mean if elder god is any indication. You guys read Lovecraft right?” The medic spoke up also just as baffled and in shocked disbelief. “Why aren’t we insane just from looking at him?”

“Did you hear his voice? I don’t know about you but I believe he’s the god of death.” The most vocal of the knights said before shaking. “That voice.” He shivered.

Ludwig’s eyes were on Arnei as she seemed to stare dazedly at one of the archways Mors had told them to take. “Arnei? Princess?” He called out to her, having to do so twice before she started, snapping out of her daze.

“Y-yes Scion?” She asked turning to him.

“We can’t tell anyone what we saw here can we?” He asked hesitantly feeling somehow relieved when she nodded emphatically.

-

I breathed in the air of my domain for the first time with full awareness and I felt the energies of mana, aether, chi and most importantly eldritch jump joyfully to me. It invigorated me to a degree I hadn’t felt in any of the lives I’d lived. “Its good to be home.” I said as I felt the aches and pains recede as my body got the energy it craved so much and had been starved of back there.

In a good mood I whistled in the hall of the mountain king as I made my way down the walkway leading from the archway dais to the central one. Though once I reached the rather fantastic central fountain of the dais to retrieve the ring I’d placed on the single Mingshe statue that had fangs. Holding the ring up and slipping it on my right index finger.

“So Why a Mingshe? I would have figured I’d be an Ouroboros given the whole life and death thing. Though I'll admit I'd have liked to stay a dragon.” I said to the visitor that had appeared behind me.

“I see you’ve been busy, evolving after barely four days... Impressive.” Sas’seshkaneth said in a soft chuckle. “And To answer your question, you have no control over time and Ouroboros is already an existing primordial entity. They, the primordials that is, are kind of unique in that they are more myth than anything and there is only one Ouroboros. As for the Minghse well… snakes are creatures of life, death and rebirth but the Mingshe differs in the fact it is often associated with wind, music and as a guardian creature.”

I turned and raised an eyebrow. “So you want me to guard this true Imerith as if it was my treasure?” I asked sceptically almost snorting at her.

When the gorgeous mature woman nodded I roared at her. “Then why didn’t you save my children?!”

She flinched back but then sighed. “You know probably better than anyone else that death can come as suddenly as snapping ones fingers. There wasn’t any other way for me to interfere other than retrieving you and you alone.”

While I wanted to rip her to shreds for essentially leaving my children to die the temperament I’d originally held had been changed due to the influence of the other three lives I now remembered. The druid especially had been more a mischievous fairy in personality while the cultivator Nabathi had been a damn psycho. I’d made sure to try and purge most of her personality traits while I had been consolidating as I had evolved.

Now as I looked at Sas’seshkaneth, the all encompassing loathing I’d felt for the elder goddess while I’d been Vlad had cooled. I wouldn’t forgive her for it though.

She looked at me and I saw conflict there before she sighed and softly spoke. “If you are fated to be their parent again… you will find them.” She hesitated then, clearly not wishing to say something but ending up doing it anyway.

“I know that the souls of Morice and Akasha are in the true Imerith but I cannot tell you who or where. Fate will not allow me to.” She said sadly and I stared at her.

“A… and Tûhorn?“ I asked... I know knew that I’d looked at that young orc girl as more my ward than child like the other two but I still felt a responsibility to and for her. She’d put her life in my hands and now I felt I’d failed her like all the rest.

At her sad shaking head I sat down at the dividing wall of the fountain. Burying my face into my hands. “Well this is shit.” I grumbled as I looked up at Sas’seshkaneths sad and infuriatingly understanding gaze.

Sas’seshkaneth burst out laughing after a pregnant pause and before long I joined her. It felt kind of cathartic though before long we had somehow ended up hugging in shared grief. It made me realize how fucking weird my life was or perhaps lives in this case.

I mean I was somehow bonding with an eldritch spider goddess over the losses we’d had over those closest to us. She probably remembering her fellow deities that had died while I grieved for my children and those that had been around me as Vlad.

Silently Sas’seshkaneth left once more when her time ran out but I felt somehow unburdened by what little time I’d gotten to spend with her.

I couldn’t help when my mind went to the twisted idea that Sas’seshkaneth was sort of like my mother in this life.

After all she’d gathered the disparate and separated aspects that made up my whole being and brought them together. I still remember the horror and existential dread that had underlain my grief and loss when she’d handled me like I was a simple child and forced me into the egg. The druid and cultivator had died while the titan had simply followed her request when he was old and frail.

Vlad had been the only life to have to be forced into the egg. Considering it had looked like an egg shaped black hole it had been a rather reasonable reaction when I really thought of it but now?

I wasn’t going to forgive her completely but with the hindsight and perspectives of the other three lives I could at least understand her motives and couldn’t really condemn her for it. No matter how much I wanted to.

In away her situation had been far worse than mine against Iona and at least I had the silver lining in the knowledge that the horrid bitch was at least dead now alongside all her ilk.

With a soft sigh I decided to simply mediate and gather myself before I set to work on the piled up notifications. Partitioning off a part of my mind to funnel the energies into their respective receptacles while my main mind funnelled them were they wanted to go.

Eldritch energy was soaked up by my heart like a dehydrated sailor fresh off the boat. I felt the veins throb and expand as something began to crystallize within it. It was strange to know something was crystallizing and yet having no clue as to what it was specifically or why.

Mana funnelled down almost into my groin. Settling somewhere just bellow the line made from were my spine connected to my hip bone.

Unlike what I expected of chi to do normally, I found I didn’t have a core to store it in and yet my entire body drank the energy in greedily.

There was an interplay between chi and aether at this starting stage.

My bones drinking in most of the chi while the aether swirled like a cool breeze throughout my insides causing me to sink even further into meditation.

When I finally managed to claw my way out of the meditative state I was wide eyed at the notification that had forced itself into my view. It made me wonder abut how long I’d been under, given I didn’t really need to eat, drink nor sleep when sustained by these energies. However the refreshed and invigorated feeling that surged through me had me feeling almost high.

[Your growing mastery of Eldritch energies has gained you a rank in mastery! 1 > 9]

[Your growing mastery of Aether energies has gained you a rank in mastery! 0 > 9]

[Your growing mastery of Chi energies has gained you a rank in mastery! 0 > 9]

[Your growing mastery of Mana energies has gained you a rank in mastery! 0 > 9]

[Through soaking in the energies your internal stage has risen as your heart acclimates and is reforged. Grow your mastery of Eldritch energy! 0 > 6]

[Through soaking in the energies your internal mana pool has started. Grow your mastery of mana! 0 > 6]