Ah, this is so refreshing! I didn't even need to extract the Demiurgia out of her body. Less work, more powers, and more fun.
I hate god. In fact, I hate anything that is related to religion. I got big on Gnosticism when I was a teen, and it sort of stuck to me. Then, I discovered this game.
It was annoying to know that in-game, there were "gods" that were supposed to keep track of your progress and all that shit. That is why I sympathize myself with Vespertite; because she wants to end this façade and bring the world and the Empire into the face of the ultimate theosis. Becoming the Gnosis, collecting our consciousness, and rule over the world as the one, true deity of united, ecumenical order.
I took advantage of the origins of the Urgish race, that being that Dionysus created us from the remnants of the true God, and created the Blood Rituals: a series of Forbidden Rituals that connects the "Initiator", me, with its "Subjects". My binding them with me, they receive power boosts, and I claim their obedience, I copy their powers, I receive a part of their consciousness.
I am about to become the one and only true God in this lifetime. No matter how many Aristea's try to stop me, I will prevail. I will crush any opposition. I will emerge victorious and nobody will be able to halt my advance.
She should be here anytime soon. Aurelia, with the spoils of victory in either her hands, or in her psyche, bearing the Cores of the gods within her.
I will rule this world, just because I can. And I want to possibly return to my old one if I can. Maybe become the universal pandeity of the Cosmos and control everything, even parallel universes.
"What are you looking at, you fucktard?!"
The sqeak of a certain bug brought me out of my internal monologue. I pointed my Surger at her.
"I ask the questions. You answer them. Simple as that. Each time you don't follow this rule, a finger of yours will be chopped off. Am I clear?"
The Commander of the Eastern Boshin Empire just growled at me.
"Excellent."
I turned my back on her in this cold, muggy, dark room of the captured city. It was way underground, with sand occasionally falling onto our heads, signifying how deep in the ground we were.
"Now. Tell me, who are you?"
"I...am Nobody. Outis. I am sure you've heard of me."
I stopped dead at my tracks. After processing a little what she just said, I raised my head up at the ceiling, laughing in a malicious tone. My blood-stained teeth from last night horrified my adversary, as she looked at my smile in a terrorized fashion.
"Ah, the Odyssey. What a fantastic piece of work. It is probably the most legendary antiquital novel of all time."
"Yes. You fit the characterisation of Cyclops, Your Highness. A horrific, disgusting monster-!"
"Silence!"
My voice ricocheted all across the claustrophobic room, making our prisoner and the friends who kept her company much more...reserved.
"Ah, now this is how a class should behave!"
I looked around; beheaded bodies, some of them with their brains blown out from their skulls while they were still binded with chains and ropes.
I clapped my hands twice in front of the face of the enemy Commander.
"Showtime!"
I made a twirl around myself and my expensive clothes, as my shoes were drained in the pools of blood that flowed hot and stained the ground.
"Salutations, and good morning, fellow students! Today, your classmate has used a quote from the Odyssey of Homer! Wow, quite classy, don't you think?"
I moved closer to the dead bodies, talking mockingly to them as if they were alive, to instill fear, pressure and add to the sentiment of the uncertain to low her morale and get the information I need.
"Homer's Odyssey is an epic poem, produced probably in the 8th century BC in Ancient Greece. There was this moment, you see, that Odysseus was held captive by some monster tribe, called the Cyclops: anthropomorphic creatures of immense height and only one eye on their ugly heads."
The Commander, and some of her men who were still alive, tried to stay awake and listen to my lecture; they seem to know what I'll do if they fall asleep.
"When the Cyclops asks for Odysseus' name, he said that he's 'Nobody', 'Outis' in Ancient Greek. The Cyclops believed Odysseus, and when he broke free and the Cyclops cried out in pain for his allies to come for help, they didn't come to his aid. Do you know why, hm?"
The men and the Commander all looked at me, their eyes staring into my soul in defiance.
"The Cyclops started shouting 'Brothers! Nobody is killing me!' But of course, his friends and comrades did not believe him. 'Nobody is killing you? What have you been drinking, Polyphemus?' And so, nobody came to help him, as Odysseus escaped with his comrades the cave of the Cyclops' and sailed away."
"...you should know, however, that Odysseus felt cocky in the end, and as the Cyclop Polyphemus started blindly throwing boulders of rock at his ship to sink him, he proudly announced his name, that was, indeed, Odysseus. Do you know what happened next?"
"Polyphemus the Cyclop, was the son of the famous Greek God of the Sea, Poseidon. As you can tell, this didn't end very well. You know, cause Odysseus was sailing in the sea? With a ship? And Poseidon, who's the father of the son Odysseus blinded, is the god of the sea? Yes, you can foresee what perilous circumstances await him further on his journey."
Just then, a sneeze was heard from inside the room. The blood of the hostages froze inside their veins. My head slowly turned to apprehend the sound.
"Oh, you're trying to sneeze? Allow me to assist you!"
I held my Surger with my two of my fingers and blew the guy's head off.
"Much better! He's not sneezing anymore, is he?"
"We're prisoners of war! You just violated the Tirsburg Treaty!"
"Tirsburg? Tirsburg?! What country do you think you're on?!"
My shout reached the ears of my adversaries, completely silencing them. The miniscule light that came from outside the interrogation room shone the Commander's head.
"I'll ask this question again. Who are you?"
The girl, hesitatingly opened her mouth, with her soldiers all around her, those who were alive, crying all over the place.
"I'm...Leto Boshtar. General Leto Boshtar. Second-in-line to the Kingdom's throne."
I let out an exclamation.
"A spare then! Great! I have finally found an individual who will be able to relate to me."
"Unlike you, who hates her very own blood, I have nothing to relate to you. My brother and i have always been supportive of each other, no matter what!"
"Is that so?"
"That's exactly so! He's probably coming now to save me with so many divisions that the desert will drown."
"Your brother can send as many divisions as he likes. The outcome of this battle, and ultimately, of this war, will always be victory for me."
"Your head has grown so big you can practically barely think."
"Really? I think I'm stating the fucking obvious. Who's tied in here? Me? Or you? Whose city is this? Yours? Or mine?"
A soldier broke into the interrogation room; a member of the Tagmata.
He bowed to me; I didn't even turn around.
"What?" I bluntly blurted.
"The expeditionary force of the Lady Sevaste was able to capture the cities of Corfu, Iamena, Luda, and Carhedon. She says she's waiting for the 'key' "
I let out a sigh of satisfaction.
"Calculated."
The only thing that is on hold now, is the deed of Aurelia. I can do nothing but worry about her. I wonder if maybe I can go up there for reinforcements.
But that would interrupt her fight and I would then throw her honour from her Duel in tatters, straight in the rubbish. I must not disturb her Duel. I should have faith in her.
Aurelia...what is happening up there?
●●●
The body of a giant just crashed downwards at the Palace of the Gods. It seems they have different stories. The bodies of many of the deities crashed inside the room, letting out their warcries.
"I'm honestly surprised you guys can still go on. Didn't I kill all of you yet?"
The gods have been getting winded by the constant fighting. They breathed heavily, trying to support the weight of their armours and their weapons.
"The most miserable bunch I've faced. You're not gods! Bring me your Almighty Father, if you want a fair fight. And even then, I won't guarantee it as something 'fair'!"
A God who had a little stamina left in him, pointed his spear at me, and tried to attack.
"Useless!"
I simply parried his spear with my paramerion, the sword. This had him stumbling, as he helplessly slipped into the other side of the room, falling down on his face.
"Fero!"
I ripped the core of this guy out of his body, his chest exploding in sand; not even blood is coming out of these guys anymore...aw, they are no fun!
"And I have...2...3...4...yeah, I think that's enough for all of us."
"You're sick...and evil...such a disgusting being! I hope you rot in Hell!" Said a Goddess, while she still was able to hold a sword with her one hand. The other, I chopped it off.
"See you in Hell then!"
With my wand, I generated a binding spell out of the tip, which enveloped the remaining gods that existed for now, and I burst out of the window into the eternal space.
Reality shattered for a moment, with me using an alternative pocket dimension to travel into great distances. I hopped inside, traveled a kilometre or so, and once I get back to the real world by exiting the dimension, I have traveled light years away from my initial position, especially if you are flying with gods binded behind you, like me.
It wasn't much time until I saw Gaia. I flew inside this sphere of eternal blasphemy, determined to bring it all to an end; I'm determined to be a God. My rightful place in the universe.
As I entered the exosphere of the planet, the skies became dark, and the winds whistled. The air was cold; the clouds were black. They poured equal rain and thunder.
"Ah, a befitting end for the moribund!"
With a flick of my Surger, I generated a light which penentrated the clouds and made this storm feel like a sunny afternoon. The cloud down at my feet was dispersed.
I could feel all of humanities eyes at me. Or at least those who are witnessing this spectacle.
"Humans! These...are your gods!"
I held them with my Surger, until I let them go, with them falling lifelessly onto the ground.
The human population of the Empire Of Lightning gasped.
The bodies of the gods fell short onto the earth, with them splattering onto the ground. They exploded and turned to dust, with the clouds, the rain, everything, disappearing.
Suddenly, a man who couldn't walk, burst out of his house, now walking. A blind man who couldn't see, now saw the blue sky. People who couldn't do magic, whose bodies were unable to channel the Odos, now had the ability to do so.
Hah...just I imagined. By killing the ones who denied humanity's true essence, Godhood, we would retrieve partially, some of our theosis and godly display. I was right.
Night turned into day in the skies of the Empire. The people were in a state of shock, surprise, and euphoria.
"Who...who are you?!"shout a man from the ground, as he pointed at the sky. At once, all the eyes and ears of the Empire were on me.
"Nobody who's relevant in thy matters. But, the one thou should be careful, is this heinous, evil Crown Princess, humans. Sometimes, reality is not what we think it is. So make sure you don't crash into the ground when you come to hear the truth."
●●●
Author's Note: Hey guys! This series is nearing its end! Or at least, the first part of the series is! If you want to see more of it, don't hesitate to follow me and vote for the story! You've been a fantastic audience so far!
Thanks and cheers!
~Manu