Black Magus

Amun.

***

"Chako Blude is perhaps the most interesting of you lot." I flatly said; mostly, because of the awe inspired by the bronze fruits. "Her, Redd, and Sam would have been successful rogues without my help. All I gave them was knowledge, wisdom, capital, and power. That much is made apparent when you gaze upon their works. Among everyone in the Empire, she is the only one to have followed in my footsteps without guidance. She built an empire from the ground up.

"I hardly knew as much when I looked down from Maru and saw her drowning someone who reported her schemes. Seeing that only made me curious, as I'd already noticed Iris close by, so I looked a little closer and saw those at the orphanage had all but given up on her. I heard her pleas to the skies day after day, and so close they were to Iris that I thought it only right to adopt her as my little cousin, of sorts. When I looked into her soul with these eldritch eyes of mine, I saw she desired a grand throne built by herself, for herself. She wanted to be given nothing. And that was something the creatures of this realm saw as well. Thus, the divine orcas, Chako, Orpheus, and Jima, took a liking to them. And so, them agreeing to the adoption was them agreeing to a pact. Not with me, with the orcas. A blessing to gain their divine powers as sorcery. I then educated them through the Net, allowing them to learn what they needed and wanted during our time in Shujen, with the condition they learn to fight and control their sorcery from Abbot Eiriol while there.

"Things changed during my walk. When Geri and Freki were cursed, Chako, Orpheus, Jima, and their pods wanted the same thing as Skoll and Hati. To experience life in the realm of mortals, in both the body of a human and theirs. And so, those of the Orcinus Mafia were cursed. Unlike Geri and Freki, however, Blude, Red, and Sam's souls were not tainted, thus there was nothing to punish. And unlike with Skoll and Hati, the souls possessing those three are divine druids, not celestial barbarians or rangers. Thus, they've retained both their memories and the memories of their other halves. And, I would say a bit of their personas has been transferred to them as well.

"Regardless, the merging of their divine souls saw Blude, specifically, become a goddess before everyone but Iris. As the Divine Matriarch of her pod, Blude has divine dominion over Mafias or Gangs, Recreation, Oceans or Seas, and all the Mineral Wealth found therein. Or, to put it another way, she's a Druidic Sorceress with the Domain of the World Seas. Because of that, Blude is the only member of the Mafia to have a different rogue class. She's a Rogue Warlock, Divine Matriarch of the Orcinus Mafia.

"Everyone else in the Mafia is a Sorcerous Rogue of the Orcinus Mafia, holding various ranks and occupations within the organization and a professional mirror of the roguish ways via the Grand Hadal Enterprise. The highest ranks besides Blude's are the Prime Matriarchs, Sam and Red, and then the other Matriarchs of the pods formed by their children- those they gathered across the Mortal Plane. As for their professions? Well, Blude's an Artificing Witch, a Photic Cosmetic Surgeon, by day. By night, Chako is a veritable queen of organized crime.

"By day, Redd works in the GHE as an Artificing Warlock, Hadal Fabricator. And so too is she a Ranging Witch who explores and is licensed to heal injuries developed in the deep blue sea - the Hyperbaric Witch-Doctor; for, by night, Orpheus is the Mafia's head of trafficking. By day, Sam is a chef on the path to gaining much renown. That much was apparent after her education. But awakening her Victuals Magic made her a chef like no other. One who has blended the Monastic Way of the Chef with the Bardic School of Cuisine to defend her kitchen from the worst, even while she cooks and hosts feasts fit for royalty. A Bardic Monk of the Culinary Philosophy. Moreover, she's an Artificing Witch, a Gastro-Engineer who can research and make ways to eat anything or heal those who've eaten what they shouldn't have. Such a profession will permit her entry behind many closed doors, easing the means for her to smuggle things for the Mafia. "And yet, Sam also studied wizardry. Particularly the School of Warding, which she merged with her warlock abilities, tied to the abyssal zone of the oceans, to become the Wizarding Warlock, Abyssal Warden.

"Likewise, their subordinates got much the same treatment. Gwehn was on the Barbaric Path of the Bruiser and melded it with her Artificing focus on Construction to design, build, and protect the various structures raised by the Establishment. Turning her into a Barbaric Artificer, a Coastal Contractor. Kali, being an elf, could become an Arcane Archwitch on top of becoming a Medical Scientist. They merged into the Artificing Witch, Nautical Medical Administrator. Lizlee's diploma from the Bardic School of Media and her studies in Meteorology merged into the Bardic Artificer, Lighthouse Announcer to provide all manner of services to those at sea; all so she could gather and sell information. Jayde, on the other hand, is an Artificing Bard, the Financial Adviser. Emily, another Artificing Witch, became the Toxicological Administrator. Chloala, another Artificing Bard, used her malls, supermarkets, and convenience stores to become a Commercial Adviser."

"Quite the extensive organization." Doyle nodded in astonishment. "It's amazing what can happen when your eyes are turned elsewhere."

"What have you been looking at?" Olga inquired.

Both Doyle and I answered. "Titus."

Olga only rolled her eyes, shaking her head. So I left it at that and looked over to the last Undying Fiend of the Troupe. "Like all of her kind from Redagh, Reina grew up learning the druidic arts. Being unevolved meant she could only manipulate live plants, not create plants from mana like evolved druids. She was corrupted by the Blighted Woods, however. And, though it would have killed her, the true effect was the corruption of her grove as it spread from Reina to them. It infected their minds with fear, causing them to exile her when they learned of her exploits. That was when she made the pact. So hurt was she that she wanted to engulf the grove in flames just to feel its warmth once more. She made the pact. Yet she was soon hunted by the likes of her parents, seeking to end her for one reason or another, and they succeeded. She died and awoke as an Undying Fiend, reborn with an ArborTech body of petrified wood and stone. In turn, her druidic powers were reborn as well, corrupted to have flora affect flesh and blood and yet blessed with the power of Twilight, housed in the depths of her being. Pestilence and Purity, realized as sorcery. In this, her powers combined to create something truly fantastic. She became a Sorcerous Warlock, the Flesh Mother; a being capable of recycling life itself.

"She learned as much after recycling her old grove. Then she came here to learn what to do with it. She learned all there was to know about life. She merged her ability to craft flesh with the knowledge of transforming ecosystems to create a means to heal entire biomes. Or even create new ones as only an Artificing Witch, an Eldritch Environmental Bio-Engineer, could. Taking some inspiration from Iris, Reina then learned about technology. ArborTech, NecroTech, and the new HemoTech to create and perfect FleshTech. She also learned of devotion, and in turn, faith in the ArcaTech bloomed within her as she created more and more. As a result, Reina became a Cleric of my Engineering Domain. A Tech Priestess. But one that was added to her druidic class to make something extraordinary.

"She is now a Druidic Cleric: Divine Mother of the Genetica Dominium. A Mother of Nature who birthed a new branch on the Trees of Life, forged from her own hands. But hers has yet to be." I said to the few slack jaws scattered around the table. "Unlike Iris's.

Iris was the first one I spotted after my ascension. She was pure of heart and mind, caught up by misfortune alone, like the good so often found themselves. Paralyzed from the neck down since a child, she sat before the window each day, just wishing to feel again. She felt like a prisoner in her own body. So, I freed her. But rather than just heal her, I gave her the option to become something more. The opportunity to become the first of her kind in this universe; something that was only possible to make during the latter parts of my first life— Augmenting oneself. We used nano machines and ingested raw materials to mimic cell division and grow enhanced organs or otherwise replace some things with better versions, like half of our blood. But with Iris, it was taken a step further. Her body was not just integrated with machinery, it became an arcane biological machine. Inside to out. Top to bottom.

"That is her boon. But her blessing came in two forms. First was a blessing from my engineering domain. It granted her the means to make technology with magic- Technomancy; which was then merged with the necromancy she was given by virtue of her receiving a transfusion of my blood. It's a ritual we do to bring people into the family," I explained to Olga's questionable gaze. "With it, she gained ties to the plane of shadow and the underworld - though not as deep as mine - and probably lost a few morals along the way. That said, I did add… other aspects of my being to the operation. Namely, my genes. My DNA was reworked into her body, changing not so much her body and mind as her spirit and soul, yet it made her no different from my biological child all the same. Because of that, she can cast with ambient mana like other elves. Not to mention, she was reborn a goddess.

"She's a Sorcerous Warlock, Augmented Tech-Necromancer. Beyond that, though, she became the Tech Goddess of Eotrom the moment she was reborn; and later, she became the Goddess of Recycling, Militaries, and Information. But being a Tech Goddess came with the inheritance of something special. The augmented fauna of Ilium looks to Iris as their Mother of Nature now. They moved to her ring the moment she created it. There, she spent years learning about her creatures as she learned the ways of engineering. She learned how to do what I had done to augment her peers and others, becoming the sole decider of who would become an augmented being in the future. An Artificing Witch, Biomechanical Surgeon.

"I oversaw everyone's journey to become grandmaster artificers, although many dove into other specialties. Iris was not the fastest to achieve that title for that reason. From what I've seen, though," I paused, looking at Etan. "She was the fastest in her other training."

"Yes." Etan chortled dryly. "Abbot Eiriol trained her and those in the Mafia in martial combat. In Iris' words, she gets little enjoyment out of combat. So, she has some 'software' to make combat more efficient. She calls it Combat Mode. I call it overkill."

"Overkill is the best kill."

He rolled his eyes at the sound of my snickering and shook his head, continuing. "I noticed her talent for the arcane beforehand. Once I realized how unnecessary it was to train her martially, did I teach her what I knew of the arcane arts. Of which she learned enough. More, however, can be taught to her by my brother, Eban."

"Is that Drow for Evan, or something?" Doyle asked.

"What is an Evan?" Etan placidly asked.

"Human name," Olga told him.

Etan tossed his head in contemplation before turning back to her sharply. "That sounds like a commoner attempting to speak above his station - gibberish."

"He's not wrong." I snorted. "And no, his name is not the Drow version of Ethan."

"The same commoner, but with a lisp, mispronouncing a basic vowel," Etan said sharply. "Anyway, Eban is the Heart Keeper of House Za'Darmondiel; the Archwitch. In truth, he is an Arcane Archmage - a mage being one who blends witchcraft and wizardry. Matron Etyl does not recognize him for his arcane prowess, however. Something our mother did intentionally, just to make him bitter, for he cares not for witchcraft. He will teach magic any chance he gets.

"I would say Iris knows enough to be an Arcane Wizard, though." Etan turned over the rails. "Especially with the elven archery Reina taught her."

"Yes." I nodded. "She was able to become an Arcane Archer. A higher tier of the Wizard Path, Magical Archer, open only to those with elven blood. Or, in her case, blood from the God of Mana. The Master class of that, for her, was the Arcane Warp Archer. The Prestige of which is the Arcane Warp Sniper. When merged with her Tech Scout Ranger class, she's become a Ranging Wizard, ArcaTech Warp Scout Sniper. Additionally, she studied and devoted herself to both her inheritances. From me, she inherited a senior role in the Legions. Our bonding time over our games of Space Shogi invariably taught her strategy and logistics, both of which she put to use in her Prestige Bardic School of Planar Leadership. On the other hand, she devoted herself to protecting the creatures she inherited in the same way a Paladin would. She made an Oath to guide her creatures, her peers, and the Legions through her Technology. In combining them, she became a Bardic Paladin, the Praefectus Noctis, or the Senior General of the Legions.

"It goes without saying, but everything she creates counts as worship towards me, which is then given back to her as divine mana. As such, she became a cleric - a Tech Priestess before she became a druid. Thus, her power is the opposite of Reina's, but otherwise the same. Reina is a Druidic Cleric. Iris is a Clerical Druid, Divine Mother of the Technica Dominium. Unlike Reina, who must create her children from harvested biomass, Iris's creatures must be summoned to landfills, dumps, or toxic wastelands from her world, or be birthed by her augmented wise rocks. In either case, they'll begin making use of those resources for their own ends. Finally, as Divine Mothers, both can create new life forms and grant primal or divine magic to any of their rangers, druids, clerics, paladins, and warlocks. For Reina, this means giving her crafted beings the same powers of flesh crafting and twilight she uses. For Iris, this makes it easier for her to augment beings, and makes it so they all can integrate their bodies with the augmented creatures native to her dominion.

"That said." I sighed, slumping back in my seat to conjure a map across the table. And other maps across the net. "It may be some time before we see such things come to be. They may get some time to toy with such things next year. But I don't see it happening until we attend to our business in Mar-

"Uh…" I stammered, staring at the shadows in my sleeves reaching down to flow into my hands, darkening the skin of my fingers to a nightly hue while my nails elongated and sharpened into long white claws. Then it all faded. My fingers shrank to their normal size and their nails flattened into the usual shape. Yet, the nightly shade remained ingrained in my skin like a solid shade tattoo, leaving me staring in confusion until the gilded words pulled me from my stupor, and I remembered.

[The Path of Zefroth: Step 5, The Horsemen. Complete.]

[Reward: Evolution - [Void Devil's Claws.] The indestructible but as-of-yet dull Claws of the Void Devil are now retractable, yet ever present in your base form, granting you the means to grab and injure souls as you would with the Void Devil's Jaw.]

[Reward: Evolution - [Void Devil's Horns.] Extended in the base form are the Horns of the Void Devil. Not are they for show, nor are they simple weapons. They are receivers of wickedness and transmitters of cursed energy, permitting you the means to curse and make deals from range. This range increases with the horn's length at a ratio of 10,000 meters to :1 centimeter.]

I hardly felt the tingling in my skull as I read along. Knowing of the discomfort that came from evolution, I sought to distract myself by concentrating on the words as they formed. But all for naught, it seemed, as I hardly felt the horns rising above my skull. Thus I made a quick mirror of moonlight to make note of their shape.

Like the horns of an Oribi, they were. Pointed straight up with a slight concave curve, they measured ten centimeters long and were smooth like obsidian, yet ten times darker with a matte finish and white stripes running down the height like a crude ladder. Satisfied, I dispersed the mirror just in time to feel a 'pop' release something inside me. I suddenly felt… malleable. But only on the... inside.

[Reward: Active Skill - [Soul Polymorphism.] Your hold over souls has grown such that you can make malleable any soul you own. Through this, you can mold your soul or any soul you've claimed into any known form, making it so that your guise cannot be seen through even with True Sight. Simultaneously, you can separate and polymorph a portion of your soul or any soul you've claimed into an animal or imp and have it act independently of the original.]

Well, therein caused the amorphous feeling. The pop, however, seemed to have come from my Ovatorium, releasing its outermost membrane, thus unlocking my new transformation. The [Void Imp Consular.]

[The Path of Zefroth: Step 6, The Hand That Gives.]

[To move further down the Path of Zefroth, you must collect ten thousand souls before venturing to the City of Devils in the Underworld to learn Devil Kenpo from your Fiendish Familiars.]