The Married Life Of Immortals

Bane left Dorlidia's Astral Emporium with a smile, even if he was still feeling sore from his training with the rats. Bane stretched his body out, but then noticed that there was someone looking at him.

Turning his head, Bane spotted a hooded man. It wasn't anyone that he recognized, but that wasn't surprising to Bane. He had only met a small part of the village's population, so seeing a person he didn't know wasn't surprising, but the look the man was giving him made Bane feel like he was an animal ready for slaughter.

The man's eyes were narrow, and Bane could see him clenching his teeth. It was clear he didn't like him, and the fact that he didn't even try to hide the fact, told Bane that he was up to something.

"Can I help you with something?" Bane asked, and the man shook his head and disappeared.

"Strange. Why was that guy looking at me like that? Did I insult him or something?" Bane asked himself, and started to walk, but he didn't make it more than five steps before he was pulled into a back alley.

"You have a bad habit of pissing people off, you know that, right?" Ezio asked after Bane pushed him off.

Once Bane was back from him, he could see that the assassin was now wearing Ocean Blue body wraps. It was a darker color, so Ezio looked more like an assassin, rather than a person pretending to be one.

"Ezio! What are you doing here? And, yeah. I am well aware of that fact, but what does that have to do with yoinking me into this alley?" Bane asked, putting his hands on his hips.

"That was Victor Westland, a once proud court mage for a powerful kingdom. He is also the one that helped a Demon Lord get through the barrier, and he did it by sacrificing the life of his lover, or so they say. No one really knows what happened, but he did help out in the last war," Ezio explained, and Bane shrugged.

"So what? You also used to kill people, and so did I."

"Neither of us killed an entire kingdom, Bane. While you are strong, Victor is a Demon Summoner, and a Black Shaman. His powers work similarly to Harmony, needing dark emotions, but also demonic energy," Ezio explained with a dark look, but Bane just sighed and then smacked the assassin on the back of his head.

"Do you even know who I am? Show me where the narrow-eyed trench coat lives. I was looking for something to do, and I am feeling a bit frisky after all the fighting I just did. It would be good to get some vocal sparring in now while my muscles rest!" Bane laughed, and Ezio just gave him an incredulous look.

"Do you ever listen to anything anyone tells you? You can't fight him! You might be strong, but the man is a monster! A black shaman is the equivalent of a Necromancer, and that is not a fight you want!" Ezio complained, but flinched when Bane raised his hand again. "Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you!"

Bane gave the man a grin. "If he is that strong, then why haven't you offed him yet?"

Ezio glared at Bane. "He was one of the strongest humans when we fought the Heaven's Blessed. He did a lot to help out during the war, preventing a lot of deaths."

Bane scoffed, putting his hands behind his head as he followed Ezio out of the alley. "Clearly not as bad as you make him out to be. If you don't even know what happened, then there is probably more to the old grouch's story. Still, summoning demons and bone troopers sounds handy. Never know when I might have to fight an army or two in the future."

"Don't let this go to your head. You are still very new. Victor is at least ten times your current strength, and you haven't even gotten a single class!" Ezio complained, but it didn't phase Bane, it just annoyed him.

"I thought that Lysia was one of the strongest people in the village? Why do stronger people keep appearing?" Bane questioned, and Ezio looked back at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Your wife? No, but she and Harmony are the most feared because of their magic. You have no idea what Lysia is capable of at a large scale. She also doesn't use her more dangerous rebuke magic. Lysia might seem like she goes all out on you, but she holds back, not using her full power."

Bane nodded at this. It wasn't a surprise that Lysia wasn't the strongest in the village since Nina and Bilgarth were both clearly stronger. The part that surprised him was that she held back still. Bane would have thought that he would have incurred her full powered wrath, but it seemed there was still more waiting to be teased out.

Ezio looked back to see a mischievous smile on Bane's face, making him roll his eyes. "That isn't a challenge."

Bane shrugged. "Married life is complicated for most, buddy, but you only have so many years to enjoy. That is not the case with the two of us. What you consider an entire lifetime will just become another one of our short memories. I had a lot of time to think while I was training in my mind. 50 years. Longer than I had lived in my past life, but the time passed in a flash. Do you know what made the time fly?"

Ezio looked back and shook his head, and Bane grinned.

"I was constantly thinking of ways that I would be able to keep Lysia entertained."

Ezio flinched, almost tripping over his feet. "And after 50 years of seclusion, your answer is to piss her off every chance you get?"

Bane smiled warmly. "Love works in mysterious ways."

"Well, we are here," Ezio said, pointing to a house that was a few dozen yards away. "This is where he lives, and it is protected by an illusion that prevents others from seeing the house, so no one will disturb the old grump. Even if you try to look around the place, you won’t be able to access his house. This place is similar to how Harmony uses an artifact... what are you doing?"

Bane walked up to stand in front of the building, and then cupped his hands over his mouth. "DOCTOR VON SQUINTY EYES! I HAVE COME FOR A VISIT!"

The air around the building shifted, and suddenly a door appeared in front of them, the illusion breaking, but a new one appeared.

"Huh?" Ezio muttered, but Bane laughed.

"See? Clearly not a bad guy. Should be fun! Wanna join in on the fun?" Bane asked, and Ezio gave him a wide-eyed look, but then the assassin put his hand up.

"Nope. I am not strong enough to piss people off. This was clearly proven after the Harmony incident. I am used to being on my own, but now I have Morgana to worry about," Ezio explained with a shake of his head, but then gave Bane a sideway look. "Are you not worried about the repercussions of your actions? What about Lysia?"

The smile on Bane's face vanished, and the air around him grew cold and hot at the same time. Dangerous energy radiated off him in waves, making Ezio tremble despite himself.

"I will make more examples if I need to," Bane said while looking up at the blue afternoon sky, and then looked back at Ezio.

The shadow of a demon that stood thirty feet tall covered in ice and fire pulsed from Bane's form, and a deep growl echoed from the darkness. The shadow of the demon's clawed hand came down and reached towards Ezio's neck. At the last second before the shadow could touch the assassin, it vanished as Bane seemed to relax and turned to enter the doorway, but Ezio blue bandages were soaked in sweat.