Fractured God

And now, a collection of moments from Ezekiel’s perspective.

Just before the fire that burned down his cabin.

With the girls now soundly sleeping or at least preoccupied, Ezekiel filled the lovely cabin he and the girls had built together with lantern fluid.

“Ugh, I can't believe what I'm doing.” He said, with a voice that was far too casual for an act of arson.

In his hand was a bottle he drizzled onto the floor of the kitchen and behind him was a body covered in lots of the liquid.

“No one would suspect a random glass bottle in a fire right? Just to be sure…” He finished emptying the bottle and placed the glass bottle in a cupboard, out of sight and out of mind.

He looked at the figure on the floor and sighed. He crouched down and observed his face.

“Hmm, maybe I should start with his face.”

He pulled out a match stick and struck it against the floor. He held it against the body's face for a few seconds before the flame finally took on.

“I suppose it's better if it takes a while instead of instantly engulfing the place.” He got up and stretched his arms out while looking towards the stairway.

“I think they'd be able to escape, but just to be sure, I'll wake them up and give them our last sparring session for a while.”

He turned back and waited until the flame had charred his double's face beyond recognition. He slammed the wall while stomping his feet against the floor a few times, doing his best to make it sound like a fight was happening. After doing it for a minute or so, he became somewhat worried until he saw Tina come down the stairs.

At Elizabeth's mansion.

One of Ezekiel’s men came towards him and began whispering in his ear.

“What's this about?” He whispered as he watched the pair.

“Ezekiel, don't you think it'd be better to keep quiet around Elizabeth?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I mean, listen, dude, based on the way you speak it's not too far out of a guess to think it's you.”

While Ezekiel was doing his best to mask his voice, some of his mannerisms were obvious if you knew what to look for. Fortunately, Elizabeth wasn't looking for them.

Ezekiel gave it a second of thought and sighed, before straightening his face.

“Tch, fine. (I suppose I should keep my time around Elizabeth to a minimum. Shit, now that I think about it, she might even be able to recognise this fighting style I'm using. I mean, I don't know if she's seen me use it without my magic, but just in case, we should leave as soon as possible. I guess I'll just leave her to them.)”

After Tibaut and Elizabeth finished their respective battles, Ezekiel was nowhere on the property to be seen.

He was currently hiding in a bit of brush, watching a group of people dressed in indistinct clothing.

“Hmmm, it seems like some of them are heading back. Guess I can head back home and start preparing.”

He had already followed the cultists back to their base earlier this week, during their routine deal with the lord. He knew they were in bed with the lord in some business but he could never have imagined it was selling the people.

“Heh, like I can talk, he's probably ruined fewer lives than I have,” Ezekiel commented to himself as he slowly backed away.

As he left, his mind couldn't help but run on Tibaut. He soon shook his head. (“That weirdo's magic didn't seem too strong so it should be a rinse from Tibaut as soon as he finds him. Though I can imagine the maids are gonna be a pain in the ass to deal with since there are so many. I can't imagine that brat would fight one on one.”)

In the fifth floor of the dungeon

He kept himself hidden in a room close to the entrance. Only he would think it'd be a worthwhile idea to hide near the entrance to the abode of a man so dangerous. And for the most part, it was rather successful. Not once did the priest suspect another person down here with him, though Ezekiel felt he'd need a change of pants after one of the horned women found him in the darkness of the dungeon.

“(Shit!) Uh, Hi?” He said before they slashed at his face.

...

..

.

12 hours later

(“I don't know what the hell that asshole was doing but I fucking hate it!!!”) Ezekiel thought as he turned his attention to the stairway. He didn't know why, but after consuming some of the powder, the woman lost interest and walked away, like she had forgotten an errand.

If he hadn't put his finger into the bag of powder the priest had given him, he likely would have become 105kg of mincemeat and bonemeal.

He didn't even care that he was now safe, if another one was coming down the stairs, he was out of there!

As he prepared to leave he heard discussion. But the voice wasn't of the priest. It wasn't even one voice but two. One of a man and one of a woman.

The pair quickly came down and immediately started running.

If his eyes didn't trick him, it looked like Tibaut alongside some unknown woman.

(“Are they here already?”) He wondered as he silently followed.

With all the noise, along with their footsteps in the strange dust down here, they made running, it wasn't hard to track them down.

He crouched down to examine a footprint while looking ahead.

(“Ah, they're just up ahead in that room. Well, I suppose it doesn't hurt watching them for now.”)

He knew if he went any closer, even with how carefully he was walking, they'd be bound to hear him approach.

After several minutes had passed, he heard their footsteps coming closer and quickly sneaked away while keeping his distance from them.