“We have to help him. We can’t just sit in this hallway hoping he saves everything on his own,” cried Amanda.

“He knows what he’s… okay he never knows what he’s doing but it always turns out right. Besides, do you want to go rushing in there with the hand of Hipag firing off beams of unholy energy? We wait for his signal just like he said. The fact that he’s still fighting at all is a good sign,” responded Ralph as he crept closer to the ajar door.

“I’ve found a cart track that leads back up. It exists into the back of some jewelry shop. Is he still fighting?” asked Typhus’s shadow self.

“I can’t leave. I still haven’t delivered the message,” said Ignis.

Deacon slid behind one of the burning pews. The beam of energy that fired from the hand managed to separate him from Efiemo’s body. He understood Efimeo would be returning to it any second from Tax Return. It really chaffed his backside knowing he needed to kill him at least five more times to make it permanent. Unless… Deacon thought of all the times the reapers brought him back. His body needed to be out of immediate danger and intact.

“What if I rip his head off? Would that prevent the return?”

‘Whatever you’re going to do, make it fast. Look at the rift. Does that look familiar?’ asked Sun Wu with obvious alarm in his voice.

Deacon popped his head over the remnants of the bench to see the tear in space and time had widened out into more of an oval. There was green grass and trees surrounding a pond. Above those trees soared skyscrapers. It looked to be a nice summer day judging by the butterflies flitting by. One said butterfly got too close the aperture and burst into flames. That caught the attention of a woman jogging by on a foot path. She stopped jogging and began sprinting off the path and into the trees away from the oval. The view began to lift into the air and clouds started to gather above the city skyline.

“Oh, my fuck, that’s central park. Ray and Egon were right,” gasped Deacon standing up.

‘No time for movie references. Finish what you started. Also look out,’ commented Sun Wu.

Another beam of unholy energy rocketed toward Deacon. Again, the thin grey arm beneath the hand batted it off its mark. This time it scored a line above the entrance reducing Deacon’s exit to rubble. Now large sections of the ceiling began crumbling, with it streams of dirt started pouring into the chapel.

“I must maintain focus on the Ryan. Worshipers to me. Fates, your chosen is a joke. Deal with this interloper at once!” ordered the voice of Hipag as the previously locked in place spirits of the dead began marching their way over to the hand.

Just then Efimeo coughed up blood and sat up. It didn’t appear like the Reapers had healed him before sending him back. The elderly fate’s head spun around. Her right hand stopped making circles above the cauldron and a fine thread like line lanced into Efimeo’s body. Deacon could see the color returning to his face as the bruising subsided and his joints all popped back into place.

“Oh, hell no!” he yelled before Spectral dashing his way over to him snatching up any souls he could with his passing.

“Not this time monster,” said Efimeo reaching out with both hands.

His weapons shot through the air and slapped into his hands while his tail darted out at the incoming Deacon. Sidestepping the tail, Deacon had to hop into the air to avoid a slash from Efimeo’s left hand. That small amount of space allowed Efimeo to get back up to his feet. All the wile Hipag’s hand absorbed the souls of his followers. Under different circumstances Deacon could focus on his breathing technique and draw them all in. He’d get the soul energy for all of them now that he wasn’t being taxed. He dodged two more swipes from Efimeo before that damn tail sliced him above his left thigh.

“Too shallow. Next time I’ll shove it in deeper,” cackled Efimeo.

“That’s what I said to your mom last night,” replied Deacon.

Efimeo stood stock still. His head tilted like a dog that didn’t understand what you were saying. That gave Deacon some breathing room. Literally. He sucked in an impossibly large breath before activating his Phantasmal Breath. The green gaseous cone enveloped Efimeo and at least thirty of the souls making their way to the hand of Hipag. Many of the souls attempted to fight the pull back to Deacon’s mouth before failing and streaming in one after the other. Efiemo’s soul was ripped free of his body, turning in mid air to look as it slumped to the ground. Unfortunately, the old hag was watching. Another strand of fate shot out and tied the soul to the body. It looked like Efimeo’s limp corpse was flying a kite made of his own soul. Then Deacon’s ability ended as the green fog rewound back into his mouth.

“Cheaters!” he screamed and pointed at the Fates.

“Get up boy. Do your fated duty. I’ll not save you again,” scolded the old woman, while completely ignoring Deacon’s words.

Efimeo’s souls zipped back into his body before he stood up straight. When he looked up, Deacon had donned his Dragon Scale Armor racial ability. Green semi-transparent scaled armor covered him from shoulder to feet. He met what he assumed was Efimeo’s gaze, he couldn’t tell through the bloody cloth covering his face and smiled.

“Son. You don’t seem to have the capacity to learn. You better start paying attention because class is in session and I’m the teacher,” said Deacon before confidently striding forward.

Efimeo took an involuntary step back at the declaration. Deacon ducked low and spun on his left heel. He raked the dragon claws of his right hand up Efimeo’s torso forcing him to stumble back. Then Efimeo’s wits were about him. He pulled his hands together in a defensive stance before rapidly striking out with his tail. Deacon danced around the strikes putting his full forty nine points of speed into the motion. He stopped facing Efimeo’s right side. Just in time for Efimeo to snap his head to the right but it was too late. Deacon slammed the claws of his right hand into Efimeo’s guts. That earned him a scream of pain. Then the tail whipped at Deacon. He was ready for it. The tail met Deacon’s left hand mid strike. The claws severed clean through the tail spurting deep red blood like an uncontrolled fire hose. Efimeo fought through the pain arcing his right blade at Deacon’s throat. Deacon ducked under the strike lifting Efimeo in the air simultaneously. He pitched the bleeding screaming body straight at the bubbling and roiling cauldron. Head met metal with a loud clang. In an instant Deacon was among them. He proceeded to dribble Efimeo’s head against the cauldron like a basketball.

Efiemo’s knives clattered to the ground as this fight was over. Blood was spraying everywhere, and Deacon lifted Efimeo by the head with his right hand. Making sure all three fates could see, he tore the head from the neck and shoulders. Dropping the body and tossing the head to the hand of Hipag. As soon as the head touched the flesh of the hand it was absorbed.

“Well, that was lucky,” sneered Deacon before being blown back through several smashed and destroyed pews.

“No sister, don’t. If you touch the mortal plane, you become vulnerable. We need your help to finish,” said a much younger looking Fate, her eyes darting back and forth between the old woman and the rift.

“It is done,” said the older woman simply as feet emerged beneath her and the weight of gravity exerted itself on her limbs.

Deacon checked his heath bar after the birds stopped circling around his head. It appeared the fates had come out to play. He got back up to his feet to see an old woman with her hood down. Grey hair pooled on her shoulders with two long strands falling down over her face. Fine threads whipped out from under ground lashing at Deacon forcing him back to the wall nearest the collapsed section of the room.

“You had to continue being a nuisance. You couldn’t just die. Now I must sully myself with this mana starved realm. I’ll do you the honor of making this quick. I’m very busy,” said the old woman.

“You talk a big game old lady but—” Deacon didn’t finish that thought as thread whipped around his neck, arms, and legs. They held him in the air as if he were Chevy Chase on the cover of Christmas Vacation.

“Now is when you beg me for your pathetic mortal life. I deny you and you try to say something pithy. No, we won’t be doing that. We’ve made promises and I intend to keep them. Now die… what is that?” asked the shocked older Fate.

Above her head as a fist sized orb of deep orange and red. While she was talking Deacon used Polterheist in conjunction with his new Soul Cache ability to pull the Hellfire Crystal he placed in the hallway back into his inventory. Now he had it hovering above the old woman. He then used the dragon claws on his right hand to snip the thread holding him. That was when he spiked the crystal down onto the old woman like he was playing volleyball.

There was a massive eruption of blazing hellfire. It shot up in a solid column of righteous retribution surrounding the now burning sister of Fate completely. The threads holding Deacon aloft all burned away as sonic screams pelted the chapel. The two other fates both grabbed their heads simultaneously. Their screams added to the cacophony reverberating off the walls in here. Then Deacon noticed a new slate message.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it.

New Cursed Title Earned: Fate Killer- This title can not be removed nor hidden. All bounties registered for you will be doubled until your final demise.

Deacon quickly dismissed it. He was still in a fight and needed to stop that ritual. He could feel the burnt skin on his face. He took an instant to down a regular healing potion watching his health tick back up. He must be cut off from his party due to all the changes in his environment. The fire burned for a few more seconds before disappearing entirely. There was a circular scorch mark on the ground where the old woman once stood and something glinting in the ash. The sounds of screaming died down as he got closer to the object. He leaned over and wiped the suit away from a shard of divinity. Immediately it went into his Soul Cache. Then he got another notification.

Quest Update: Path of Divinity- Defeating Sumna has placed you on the Path of Divinity. This quest will see you join a pantheon of your choosing after defeating ten demi-gods. Demi-gods leave behind a Shard of Divinity which is concentrated soul energy. These items are classed as legendary. Take care in how you use them. Four out of Ten. Rewards; Deities Mantle.

“Holy shit! The Fates count as demi-gods,” exclaimed Deacon as his head whipped up to look in their direction.

The younger looking Fate had gotten back up and was starring daggers at Deacon. The other one immediately began chanting. Deacon would say the one starring daggers at him looked to be about middle aged. He thought if the pattern fit, the one who started chanting must be the youngest of them. That was all time Deacon had for speculation as new set of boots touched down on the Material Plane. The middle aged woman slashed out at Deacon with black whip like threads. He was immediately on the back foot, dodging left and right. She must be thinking if she keeps her distance Deacon can’t harm her. She was wrong. Ice Sickles flew from all directions converging at her location. Deacon decided to manifest them from his aura instead of directing them by hand. Where they collided with the whips, the Ice Sickles shattered. Taking that mental note, Deacon changed tactics. He began throwing large pieces of earthen rubble at her as he passed by them. She cracked he whips at them cutting cleanly through the earthworks.

Deacon fired off Nether Beams at her that just seemed to dissipate before reaching her. The rest of his arsenal was up close and personal. He could switch to the Suppression Plane and lift more stones at once. Maybe overwhelm her with too many targets. Then he noticed the chanting had stopped. The youngest Fate was slowly making her way over to the now stable circular portal showing the planet of earth. It seems the view had zoomed out above the whole world. That moment of distraction would prove disastrous for Deacon as two of the black whips grabbed his legs and pulled him off his feet.

‘Plans changed. If she goes through that portal, she brings mana with her back to our home world. That would be Armageddon for a mana starved world. It will flood the planet all at once instead of gradually over time. There would be mana mutated creatures appearing all over the world all at the same time. The end of days. The few survivors would have an uphill battle for survival. As you know, mundane weapons would have extraordinarily little impact on a mystical beast. You have to stop her Deacon and you have to stop her now,” hollered Sun Wu in Deacon’s head.

As Deacon was being dragged through the wreckage of this room, he checked his soul energy bar. With the discounts from using his soul abilities he was still sitting above two hundred percent soul energy. He had to take a risk and hoped enough damage was done to this place it was no longer consecrated ground.

‘I see. So be it. For the sake of our world. I will pay that price,’ solemnly said Sun Wu.

Deacon triggered Dead Man’s Parade for the first time. An enormous sphere of ghastly transparent bodies appeared around Deacon before bursting forth in all directions. The spirits didn’t have any definition from the waist down. Just whisps of green energy. At least twenty of them latched onto the middle aged fate, the walls, Hipag’s hand, the cauldron, and even the younger Fate who was slow motion diving for the portal in Deacon’s vision. His soul energy bar bottomed out and Sun Wu popped into existence next to him. That’s when all the released souls detonated with the force of two hundred and ten souls. The shock waves of the explosion could be felt far above them in the city proper.

The ceiling began to collapse, and Sun Wu threw himself over Deacon’s body before all the earth stopped moving. It all began to reverse itself and stitch back together. There was only a smear on the ground where the middle aged Fate once stood. In her place was another shard of divinity. It was snatched up by Polterheist and deposited into Deacon’s Soul Cache. The last fate was nowhere to be found. Deacon looked toward the portal as the room rebuilt itself with rainbow energy. He peered through portal noticing a large wave of blue energy suffusing itself with the planet earth. They failed. In fact, the explosion probably rocketed her through the gate.

“Sun Wu, go. You can help the earth. You’ve lived here long enough; you know how this mana works. When the gods get here, they’ll just throw you back into the Wode anyway. Go now!” screamed Deacon.

“They are already here my friend. It is not my power that keeps the stone from crushing us. You did the right thing. You should hold no regrets for what happens next. I harbor no ill will toward you. It is an honorable sacrifice,” replied Sun Wu standing up, jaw set.

All around them gods of the exiting pantheon began to appear. Amon rose from the dirt and earth to scowl at Deacon. He was shortly followed by Mantarok who immediately attacked the hand of Hipag. In comparison to the hand, Mantarok didn’t look as huge anymore. Bael was next bursting from one of the corpses that littered the ground. A stream of water brought twisted into the air revealing Vatten. There was a puff of fire from one of the still lit candles and there stood Radiant. White light glinted off the weapons strew about the room, and they coalesced into Astrael. A dust devil whipped up and revealed a god Deacon did not recognize. He assumed it was the air god. Finally, darkness sprinkled with specks of purple energy poured out of Deacon’s mouth revealing Chimera. He stood there with an all too large grin on his face.

“You’ve done well my champion. You all need to pay up!” said Chimera pointing at each of his siblings.

“Can we settle up after I chop off all Hipag’s fingers? It’s really satisfying, and I don’t want to stop,” replied Mantarok while swinging a two handed blade with the fines of a butcher.

“Fine, fine but the payment is due upon completion of your great works. Battle maniac,” answered chimera. That last part under his breath.

“I… can—” was all Deacon got out before being cut off.

“Silence boy, adults are talking,” snapped Amon.

It was as if he was waiting for Deacon to say something. The scowl on the god of earth and the harvest face was ever deepening. Then Deacon noticed a subtle detail. There was the faintest hint of dragon claw marks from the right side of his face diagonally across his gear.

“I see Zageracks finally caught—” Deacon said before Chimera slapped a hand over his mouth.

“A cold. He was going to say, a cold. Now let’s free our eldest brother and get out of this very uniform chapel. There’s no flow in here. It’s stifling,” commented Chimera slowly walking backwards with Deacon.

Deacon bit Chimera’s hand. His mighty dragon incisors poking into but not actually breaking the skin. Chimera feigned pain with a yelp and pulled back his hand. Deacon nodded over to the slowly retreating Sun Wu. Then he nodded over to the rapidly destabilizing portal. Chimera winked at him and turned back to his pantheon. Through a series of jokes and jabs, Chimera managed to get all the gods to watch Mantarok butchering the hand of Hipag. He tried to get them to bet souls on which finger he’d start on next. Then Ryan rolled out from under the hand gasping on the ground. He looked like desiccated old man. His hair was white, and his beard was long. He wore tattered toga and very little muscle tone at all.

New message from your patron- If he’s going to run, now’s his chance-Chimera.

Deacon looked back at Sun Wu and made a shooing motion. Sun Wu looked at him questioningly. Deacon silently pointed toward the portal and then back to him. Then Sun Wu did the exact same thing. He pointed at the portal and then pointed to Deacon. Deacon face palmed and shook his head.

“We’re not playing monkey see monkey do right now! Just go!” yelled Deacon in frustration.

Heads turned back in their direction, but Sun Wu rolled up into his staff like a window shade and shot through the undulating portal. The gods all looked at the portal and then at Deacon. Amon turned and snapped his fingers at the portal. It shut with a soft crackle of energy.

“I think we’ve had just about enough from that world. Wouldn’t you agree Deacon?” asked Amon still scowling at Deacon.

Deacon just smiled a big toothy grin.