Stray Elf: Lost in the System

This is a Bonus Chapter!

“Have you heard of the Goddess, Kesh’Na?” Redrax asked me.

I lied to myself. I decided to visit him again, since the voyage was longer than I anticipated. I traced a finger around on his chest, admiring the scratches I left on his red skin. They were white, like rough chalk lines revealing several blackened blood trails; an innocence lost to the waves. I have never done it before, I am certain. Apparently, I could not get pregnant because the System labeled his seed as poison and quarantined it. I didn't even know that elves could get pregnant. The pain it caused was immense, but that made it worth it. Or maybe I was coping from my giddiness and new emotions.

He continued, wrapping his arm around my body. It was thick as a tree trunk and warm, so I allowed it. “The Humans, me and my fellow seamen whisper of a name, although none have ever heard of it in any records.”

“What, are you going full religious on me now after all that we’ve done?” I scoffed. Redrax chuckled.

“The waves speak Her name, Nameless. Not of Ack’Sa, either,” he seemed to speak of her, as if in fear. “The longer you’re out on sea, the more you hear her. Pulling you in.”

“Can you hear her?” I asked, trying to pronounce the Sea Goddess’s name. “Kesh’Na.”

“E-Every night,” he said. “She haunts me. I hear Her call every battle, every voyage, every docking. Our nights together have been an exception. There’s been reports of sightings of a huge giant lady in the sea, always at the horizon, bathing under the Sun. If one catches a glimpse of Her, they go mad and try to swim after her.”

“Like a siren, huh. Sorry I brought it up,” I mused, then I rolled over. “Well, I’m beat. Good night, Redrax.”

“Just like that?” He laughed. “You’re impressive on how nothing scares you and also so, so very tempting.”

“If you try anything, I’ll throw you through the ship walls into the ocean myself,” I sighed, though I knew he wouldn’t.

“Whoa, easy there, Nameless,” Redrax had real respect in his voice. “I heard from the men lifting your armor into this ship, I know and admire your strength. Lifting Hellforged, like it was nothing. You… You did not even use a Skill to beat me. No man has defeated me, heh. Let alone hold back against me. That’s real scary.”

“Well, thanks for buttering me up, I guess,” I leaned against him as a thanks and a tease. I thought about asking who put me in those silky robes, but decided that knowledge was better left unknown. “For some reason, I hear that I’m scary a lot, now good night.”

I think I wouldn’t love him, not that I would say that to him. Like how Vastil would not understand me, even if Fair Demons live for a long time I would still think of him like a pet. I would outlive even a fair demon, according to this System. Thanks for that, Mister System. His annoying voice once again reminded me that the demon’s seed was incompatible for procreation, like I wanted to know that before I passed out. I get enough calls from Mother as is.

This Hatred Demon would not even be comparable to a mere pet, I smiled to myself. He could be returned to the Hells multiple times and still not live as long as I do. He would be a mere blip in my memory, a futile attempt at trying to feel emotions. I took that thought back since it made me feel guilty. I wouldn’t want to be him if he had caught feelings for me. Having a broken heart for over a thousand years sounded painful, so I considered sleeping in another room when we return back to the mainland. If we return. Perhaps I should not have slept with this guy, after all. No relations with co-workers was something I personally followed, but when I did not see any Generals or higher ups were here I broke the rules instantly.

I scare myself, sometimes. My impulsiveness has not got me in trouble, but it all could have been a fluke so far.

Maybe being with the Demons for so long has broken my normally strict mindset down. The Captain’s arms squeezed me into him, but it was comfortable anyways. I tried not to fall into my lustful thoughts again, even with his member resting on my leg. Part of me was lost in this moment, making me remember that moment years ago when I saw my old self in the jungles again. I remember the name on her keycard: Yuuna Park. Whoever I was, I hoped she would understand why I was here right now. I have not slept on a bed in years, let alone with someone else. I blinked and suddenly the Twin Suns pushed themselves through a porthole into my eyes like spears through an arrow slit.

I seized up as I cracked my eyes open.

Something was watching me from the corner of the room. Funny prank, I groaned, but the figure stood still even as the ship rocked as it stared at me. Should I wake up Redrax and tell him there’s a ghost on the ship? I’ll never hear the end of his superstitions and yet the light cast over the figure. I felt faint.

“You… You’re supposed to be dead!” I sat up. My hands gripped sheets in cold balls of sweat and the lavish, moist sheets but hit only a pillow. Redrax wasn’t there. “I—“

The figure emerged from the shadows; its red eyes glared at me like sunlight reflecting off sea water. Fear? A new feeling swept over me, but I was unable to move! Shit!

“You left me at that battlefield, alone. You left me to die! To die, Nameless!” It screamed at me. It was wearing my dead comrade’s face! My mind scrolled through a list of names and luckily it was short; consisting of only the names of my old group. The rest I threw out. Samuel, from the small group I started in, was screaming at me. His face was tarnished, stained with tears. Anguish? I had no excuse, honestly, but how was I supposed to predict that stupid adventurer’s attacks would aim at them?

“It’s been years since I thought of you,” I sighed. My Death Spear did not react to the ghost of Samuel, so I assumed he was just a figment from that Sea Goddess. I glared at him. “You didn’t even report back to the Tusks, why wake me up and be angry at me now? Kesh’Na… What do you truly want from me?”

I have a lot of Gods and Goddesses interested in me, though I am just a Nameless. A stray elf. What gives?

“You shall drown in the deep of your own making, Death,” Samual growled at me. He started chewing his lips apart as he spoke. “Shatter into dust, over and over, until the spewing profane guts of your sins become a desert floating in the heavens. You shall lie inside it for eternity.”

“T-That’s a lot to take in for a girl like me,” I groaned as I sat up. “And last night, I took a lot. Couldn’t you just tell me where you’ve been all these years? You and Silmil? I— I miss missing you. Is that what you’re trying to tell me, Kesh’Na? How utterly detached I am?”

A flicker of sorrow flashed in Samuel’s eyes, but his jaw was flapping inside out as the ship rocked. Suddenly, he dissolved into sea water, leaving me all alone in the Captain’s room. I stared at the pillow and contemplated going back to sleep, but groaned and took off to my room. At least I now know a little bit about what the sailors go through out here.

“Yo,” Yokgu grinned at me as I approached him on the upper deck. “I didn’t know you had it in you still.”

“Shut up,” I groaned, though I elbowed him. “What’s the situation?”

“Island’s haunted,” Yokgu said. Men were crowding the side of the boat and beholding whatever spectacle the island had on its coast. “Some say Kesh’Na, I say free victory. You dig free things, don’t you demon slayer?”

“Please don’t make that a thing,” I rolled my eyes.

“Get out the way, out the way!” Redrax interrupted our banter as he pushed several Demons aside. His chest was fully puffed out, but he looked away from me the second he noticed me glance at him. You’re nervous around me? I thought cheekily, so I moved to join him as he shoved smaller men aside. He cracked his neck when I grunted and nodded to me. “Nameless.”

“Ah, so that’s why they’re gawking,” I muttered.

Mist coated the island beyond the starboard, with ominous dark shapes forming in the ghost light. Enemy ships, likely, I cracked my neck. Fighting was at hand, so I signaled to my men with a stern grunt. A quick formation gathered, as shoulder plates clinked against shoulder plates in a chorus. I nodded to the captain, who was peeking at me. Not to be outdone, Redrax shouted to the Hatred Demons and roared loudly. The seamen roared back, but began to scramble to their posts instead of gawking.

“Man the Devastator! Port side, port side!” He pulled out a device and blew into it. The noise rattled my helmet. He looked cool, but I tried to remain emotionless.

Port side? I thought we were looking off the starboard side. Oh, I hid a sigh. Port is the one side on the left of the ship. What was that saying again? The word “port” has four letters… Same with “left.” I made a note on that. I couldn’t help but glance beyond the sailors’ swarm at the massive Devastator, which replaced the bow. This ship was one of the hundreds that burst forth from the Hell’s Hatred Cycle. Instead of sails, it was powered by several massive screaming water wheels with odd artifacts inside of them.

They were designed to push against and dominate the lava seas like all Hatred Machines, so I imagined they navigated on water easily. The main star of the show, besides Redrax, was the massive battering ram made out of Hell Metal, the very same metals my armor and sword were made out of. I have not seen the ram this close in person, but it was impressive. It was used for smashing Human vessels and whatever else unfortunate enough to be standing in their way. They crashed into their navy, then overpowered them with strength, numbers and Skills, I guessed. It was not really a strategy, but it worked. They had bigger boats if the Hatred pirates couldn’t get it done.

A presence large enough to eclipse the gray sky’s dreariness stood by me.

“Hey, so not that I’m complaining or anything,” I started. “But didn’t they say the island was supposed to be empty?”

“Aye,” Redrax grunted. His voice was still full of the same swagger the day I punched him, but it had an edge to it. Nervousness? That would mean that our foes were probably not Human. “I have an admission to make, Nameless. Ack’Sa seal my lips if this is untrue. The island, Duoya, should’ve been conquered months ago, but the General in charge at the time killed the last Captain during a bit of a scrap. Now, they’re squabbling over who gets the honor. That honor falling upon you.”

“I see,” I groaned. His lips did not seal together, so I figured it was true. Come to think about it, the missive had no date on it like all the other ones. Go figure. “Of course, the upper management is bad at logistics. Who would have thought?”

“I’ve not a clue what you’re saying, mate, but aye to it,” Redrax grinned. I noticed he activated several Skills already, but I could see the ships approaching. The water wheels screamed louder, signaling to the other vessels to join in its bloody cacophony. “Ramming speed, you dogs!”

“Aye!” the rows of sailors returned.

The shapes were larger than our own ships! The shadow over took us, but the view of a massive vessel filled my eyes. A skull motif covered the ship’s cannon rows, but I could not see who was operating the boat itself. They’re not firing upon us? I scanned the shattered railings, but Redrax roared again and interrupted my thoughts. Ramming speed, eh? I did my best to remain motionless. My troops also remained in their formation despite the shadow of the ship darkening everything around us, even the waves beneath us. Shoulder to shoulder, brothers in arms, getting through the tough times! We are here, I gripped my sword’s hilt. Spooky ship or not, we are here.

The Devastator collided with the ship’s side, but instead of stopping with a clunk we kept sailing through its smashed pieces deeper inside the darkness. We still remained packed together and strong. I taught them that in a battle business is business, and emotions are meaningless. They, on the other hand, love to battle so it worked in my favor.

“Pull!”

Immediately, chains made a terrific sound and crashed as the Devastator began to wind up for a strike. This thing was going to blow a hole through the entire enemy ship and I could not wait to see it in action. The chains rattled until a loud clunk shattered the waves and shook the decks, but we remained stoic despite all of our excitement. The Devastator finally released, letting out a hellish scream and blasted from the bow, shredding the enemy ship’s hull through the other side. It was so loud I nearly lost my helmet. That was awesome! I could see the light pour in this mysterious place now, so that was our cue to charge, using the massive battering ram as a bridge to invade.

Alert: Multiple heavily armed Elites in the area.

Something stinky besides the sea spray invaded my nose through the mist, so I guessed it must be all of the Elites in the area. The death march against whatever force began now! Hopefully our ship ran over a few of the enemy before it fully stopped, I thought as I hopped off the Devastator with the others. Yokgu drew his axe and rushed headlong into the deep, so I followed with the others. Something slick and slippery squelched near me, so I stabbed at it with my spear. I caught flesh, not armor. It gurgled, too. Definitely not human.

I lost one of my nerves and stabbed it again. Pale light filtered through the smashed ship, revealing the victim as more of us began our boarding invasion. It was a gross amalgamation of blues, greens and browns; its head looked the most humanoid out from the rest of its body. Tentacles sprouted forcefully out of its skin, lashing out as it shambled towards us. Not the worst thing I have ever seen, but stabbing it seemed to only slow it down and I preferred it dead. It took effort, but with a final slash of my sword I cleaved it in two.

The creature’s tentacles writhed on the floorboards, but I stomped on one until it stopped and continued the assault. More of us dogpiled on them, plugging whatever blob of seaweed we could get to full of spear wounds. Viscous fluids bubbled out of them, dripping by bile and sea water past my boots like currents around an island. I cringed at the bubbling pile of goo, when someone stopped by me.

Yokgu was flicking slick oil off his arms. His axe was partially dissolved, but otherwise he was fine. He stopped waving around and looked at me funny.

“Don’t tell me you’re grossed out by them, Captain,” he laughed.

“N-No,” I quickly added. “It’s just that these things seem—“ I was interrupted by one of the sailors howling from getting his arm torn off by a stray tentacle. Yokgu and I glanced at each other — “I was just about to say they seemed like they were too slow for any ship.”

“Hmm?” Yokgu scratched his chin with the splintered edge of his axe’s remains. “The owners of the ship might have somethin’ to do with these squishy things. Ach!”

“Dude…” I groaned as he got a shard of wood caught in his skin. “I’m going to destroy the source of their control, then. They’re probably the Elites upstairs.”

“The what upstairs?” Yokgu asked, but I was already on my way. “Wait up!”

His voice trailed behind me as I slipped through the fighting. Who could be creating these abominations if not the Humans? How did they appear in the mist? I speculated that this barnacle-clad ship was a Cold magic spell’s illusionary effect, but the clanking wooden beams beneath my boots and the stench of whatever oceanic waste I was smelling seemed too real.

Whatever magical issue was happening here, I was determined to shut it down. I ducked beneath a tentacle creature’s swing and hacked its multiple legs apart, then made my way up the lichen-laden stairs. Small tendrils crunched beneath my stomping, giving a satisfying pop every step I climbed. More darkness cramped this place up, despite the Devastator’s ram being directly behind me. Its massive Hellforged metal hook blocked the front end of the ship, but that only meant there was less creepy things for me to worry about.

Heavy steps accompanied by slobber-filled gurgles growed nearby, so I readied myself. These were probably the Elites approaching, but the notifications were not alerting me of their immediate presence. The gurgling turned into more aggressive stutters and the delays between the enemy’s footsteps skidded into scratches. It was aware of me as much as I was aware of it lurking in the dark. The footsteps burrowed into the floorboards. That meant he was planning to leap at me.

Bring it, I stood at the ready.

A crunching of wood suddenly lept out and I saw rows of teeth come flying at me.

“Not today,” I muttered. My S Ranked Strength still was leagues beyond whatever was headed towards me and my blade cleaving through its flesh proved it. The creature was almost as large as Redrax, but not as bulky. A fin bumped into my boot as it washed from the monster’s gushing insides, letting me get a good look at it. A shark’s head on a humanoid body? I guess that’s Kesh’Na’s influence, I sighed. Mutated sea monsters that used to be people. More growling uncoiled from the damp corridors. I sighed. That meant more work for me. I made sure I left a path of sharkmen, octopus blobs, and fishy entrails behind me as I approached the final level of this beast of a ship. A notification from my System played. Out of the belly and into the Elites’ maw, I guessed as I checked it.

— Alert: Heavily armed Elites nearby.

— Come home, Stray. Come home.

Well, I groaned. That’s not good. Spooky dropped calls from my Mother meant the presence of another God was worming its way towards me. In this case, it was just up the steps before me. I’ll break them apart and shut them up before I have to do paperwork on it later.

An ominous purple glow hung inside the room like a fog machine. Magic, I groaned. This kind of hue I didn’t recognize, however. It wasn’t matching any of the colors of the Moons. My understanding on magic was already limited, but there were more freaky fish men up here. The one that noticed me first had a long tongue appendage which was riddled with holes; its tissue looked like cheese from all the sea’s rottenness and jaundice coating it. Something told me that they were not going to explain to me what their kind of magic was.

“O Ruler Death,” it shrieked. The others raised whatever limbs they had stuck onto their squishy bodies in order to somehow amplify the magical sigil they were powering. “Why come here with the Demons? Why try to stop His progress? True Death is better for Us all….”

“Uh,” I uttered, unable to grasp that I was actually speaking to a monster. “Orders are orders.”

“O Usalah, O Unleashed,” the Tongue Monster’s behavior became erratic, and the others were merging into each other violently. Their bones snapped and skin flapped around viciously as they fused together. I had to stop this now, but I lost control of my arm. Oh no, I was being possessed by my Death Spear. “Kesh’Na, Why forsake Us? O, Sea Goddess deliver us from this Ruler—“

Pain erupted from my raised arm as it burst apart like a putrid book of flesh opening just like the sea monsters’ guts. The Death Spear laid claim to them all before they could finish their macabre flesh grafting ritual, raining down upon me in a cloud of blood and gore. I was left ragged as my arm recovered when I noticed the heavy gauntlet I wore was lying in the middle of the slashed apart goop. How disgusting, I groaned. I picked the armor back up sheepishly and jammed my hand into it before I could hesitate.

Soldiers were used to having the world rain blood upon them. My status in the army might have changed, but that rule still has not been removed from my duties. Still, as one of the creature’s many eyes rolled over towards me as the ship rocked, a profound guilt took over me. Why was this sloshing slop affecting me like this? I wondered. Come to think of it, I inspected my gross and slime covered gauntlet. I felt this guilt everytime I used the Death Spear. Or perhaps, the Death Spear was using me. Why am I the Ruler of Death? What is True Death?

Heavy steps stomped up the stairs behind me, followed by an orc’s familiar roar. Of course, he followed me up here.

“Most of those… things are dead. Captain, the, erm, other captain Redrax requests your ah…” Yokgu’s voice trailed off the moment he saw me turn around. Whatever he was looking at on me must not have been pretty. He glanced at the puddle of freaky fish men soup behind me. “You really got them, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” I said blankly. “There something on my face?”

“N-No, Captain, uh,” Yokgu quickly took back whatever he was about to say. “Redrax requests your presence, Nameless. The ship’s ready to get going. We’re off to help the other ones.”

“Okay,” I guessed that there were more fish monsters to exterminate. “Let’s get to work, then.”

“You said it,” Yokgu cheered. His fists were covered in goo, presumably because he lost the rest of his axe somewhere and had to use them. I sighed. Axes were expensive.

“The Lunarists have not figured out what the monsters’ magic was,” Redrax spoke calmly. I approached him fearlessly as the ship swayed under the seven moons, leaning against his muscular arm.

It was quiet. The place reeked of fish guts polluting the water even though we’ve sailed off a ways from that ordeal, but nevertheless the night was peaceful once again. Aside from several men dying, the enemy fleet was eradicated easily. Reports indicated that the monsters became suddenly aimless and non-hostile. We still destroyed them and let the Hatred pirates divide up whatever they found. It merely was an excuse to not have my men dragging around any smelly trinkets with them. There weren’t any usable weapons, but we “borrowed” some of the Captain’s weapons in his treasury as a fair trade.

Speaking of Lunarists, I was able to be hosed down with Cold Water magic. Finally a good coincidence happened to me. The Cold Moonfall allowed them to have more control over that particular element and tonight happened to be that blue moon’s turn. I even got a power wash job on my armor, so both my armor and I were somewhat clean. Now, I didn’t have to deal with the men shifting uncomfortably due to the smelly guts that used to be all over me. It truly was a victory for all, through and through.

“They say the magical energy did not match Cold entirely and according to the Chieftain, they detected Unleashed magical energy mixed in with it as well,” Redrax scoffed. “Only twisted, somehow.”

I paused. Wasn’t Unleashed magic twisted to begin with? Oh well.

“Storm’s a brewing, Nameless,” he sniffed. “We land at dawn.”

“Oh?” I mused. “Is that so?”

“Let’s fuck,” he grunted. Blunt and to the point, I did not dislike it. “Through all the fighting today, all I could think about is your face—“

Something rocked the boat with a thunderous roar before I could hear more sweet things from him. The weather suddenly became stormy now. I got in a fighting stance as that something began to form in the midst of the clouds that enveloped the ship.

“Hells,” Redrax activated multiple Skills. “What in the blazes is this?”

“This isn’t a regular storm?” I questioned him. “I didn’t know—“

“Mate, now’s not the bloody time to be relaxed—“

I activated my own Power Skill to remain steady and alert. The clouds formed a giant’s shadowy face, with red eyes glaring down upon me. I groaned. You’re a messenger from a God or Goddess, but which one?

— Power Skill “Body” activated.

— COME HOME, STRAY ELF.

“Hear ye, You who I have long known in your Death, your Birth in your Goddess’s Womb, your training in the All Stomach,” the being’s voice sent lightning and thunder swirling around our boats. Sailors began to panic, but Redrax miraculously was able to remain calm in this chaos. “Turn away now, Ruler of Death. For this True Death’s Disciple is not your God’s to claim.”

“What are you even talking about,” I moaned. “All of you can start sending me actual emails with real information, you know.”

The cloudy ghost head began to fade away, leaving everything in a state of disarray.

“Leave us be, O Death Incarnate,” it sounded like it was begging me to do so. Read the room, no, the entire ocean, cloud, I growled. I cannot leave or turn around until my mission is over. With one last thunderous boom, the waves turned back to peacefulness. Redrax sputtered.

“You—“ He pointed at me with awe in his voice. “You’re the Ruler of Death?”

“It seems so,” I shrugged. The huge demon’s body glistened from the sea spray and his Power Skill’s aura, making me want him even more. What is wrong with me? I ignored that thought. “Let’s go.”

“What? Wait!”

I ignored all his questions and dragged him by the hand to his room. His sweet words did this to me — now he will pay.

Later, I was up and sore all over. No spooky ghosts this time. Redrax was certainly an agreeable fellow, whose questions fell silent once he learned what I wanted. Part of me was lost within him, but he made my own way for me by asking me to leave the group forever and raid the high seas with him. I politely declined. My group and I were to follow through on our orders: Take over Duoya. That cloudy face mentioned a disciple of some sorts, so I could get a lead on why the Sea Goddess was protecting him from me specifically by finding him.

The island was still empty, save for the brutally slaughtered remains and bones of Humans submerged in the water. Redrax’s ship crushed them anyways and we swiftly moved out. Only our armor clinking together as we marched along through the shores and beaches interrupted the silence that seemingly took this island first.

“Ain’t nothing here,” Yokgu sighed as we approached Duoya’s gates. He was right, though. It was eerily quiet.

With a few Skill Users and my own, we broke through the gates with ease. Yokgu rushed in before I could stop him, but came back empty handed.

“Not no one anywhere in this stupid place,” he muttered. I was about to chastise him, but stopped. He looked at me oddly. “What? Demon— Er, Captain.”

He sniggered, while the thought sickened me.

“What if those things we fought on the boats were the humans?” I proposed. Yokgu seemed impressed by that line of logic instead of grossed out like I intended to make him, but no occupants ultimately meant this fort was free reign for anyone here. “It’s time to do some raiding by ourselves wouldn’t you all say?”

They roared in approval and we all chose the courtyard to regroup by nightfall if we couldn’t find the well of magical energy. I wandered eventually into a hall while admiring the architecture that covered this place. Its main fortress seemed more like a ziggurat; constructed by a diverse set of stone and ancient mud. It was an odd choice to use against the rising ocean, but then I saw a massive complex system of moat canals spreading along the island into a basin surrounding this fortress.

— Alert: Hostile Crowned Entity nearby.

Huh? I checked around me. None of my soldiers were nearby. Shit. I must have wandered too far deep. I turned and noticed a spooky door left open in the wall’s hallway. It was obvious to me that the Crowned Entity was down there. Lucky for my men, I supposed, since they would not have to deal with whatever enemy living inside here. A faint purple glow caught my eye so I sprang into action. This was bad, I clomped down the steps with my spear in hand. The aura was getting brighter the deeper I climbed down, so I hurried. There! Behind an inconspicuous door, lay the source of the disturbance.

“Get ready to die, Crowned Entity!” I roared, drawing my sword and readying all of my Skills. “What say you! And you’re just a…”

My eyes fell on a disheveled human, clad in black robes. This man was a necromancer, was he not? How did he even get on this island to begin with? The man eyed me through a sunken creased face and ceased his chanting, taking the purple aura away with it.

“Oh, Nameless,” he stuttered. “H-Have mercy on these old bones!”

I didn’t trust him, so I readied my spear for an ambush.

“It’s just me, child,” he soothed me. “I’ve no intention of fighting.”

“Look, man,” I finally croaked. Normally, I would kill him instead of asking questions, but I had a few of my own. Why do necromancers seem to crop up and take over abandoned and spooky places anyways? The old man surprisingly waited for me to talk. “Squatting’s no good for even the Demons’ society. Get out of here and I’ll pretend I never saw you.”

“I— I cannot, Ruler of Death,” the old man said softly. I aimed my spear at his head again, but he wasn’t moved. Maybe he was fused to the concrete floor? “Put it away. I have no intentions on fighting you. Relax and listen to this foolish necromancer before you do your duty, Nameless.”

I sighed, but sat in a crisscrossed position before him and gestured for him to get on with it.

“I have seen the End,” he started. “A suffering in Death that even you will not comprehend. I am devising a spell sigil that grants True Death to the Soul and Body. Here, your god lurks within the spirit’s grand suffering here.”

His eyes wandered, tracking something I couldn’t see.

“I can grant it even to ye,” he said with a sad smile. “A spell to end your suffering here…”

“Will that…” I pointed to the sigil he was forming with his magical energy. “Kill me?”

“Yes, child,” he spoke to me. “It shall grant you an everlasting sleep, without the Dark God and Goddess Usalah influencing you. Without the Darkness leading you to endless torture and misery.”

The sigil suddenly burst to life, forming into a purple ball hurtling towards me. Cheap shot, old man! I groaned, but my arm moved faster. Another possession? Twice in a week? My arm’s bones broke as it snapped to him, splitting apart and unveiling a thick black tendril from my gaping wound. I screamed in pain, but soon I was joined by the old man’s own. Ragged, I was sure the noise I made would get the attention of the others outside. My arm repaired itself, but pain seared my entire body.

It was then I noticed his entire room was splattered by the necromancer’s pieces of flesh. Gross, I muttered. Still, the fact that my Death Spear emerged twice must mean something more. If it targeted some people involved with this so-called True Death, that must mean that the Unleashed must want me.

“Captain? Captain!”

“Here,” I clutched my arm. What did that Unleashed god want from me? All I knew was that the gods and goddesses of this world wanted everything and everyone to suffer — and I was no exception.