Chapter 685 - Habit

It took Zeke a few days – at least as far as he could tell – to get his bearings.  Navigating a shattered world was difficult enough without the fact that his efforts hadn’t killed the entire population.  Certainly, anyone within a few hundred miles of [Primordial Wrath] had died instantly, but the planet’s destruction was only a knock-on effect of his skill.  And given that there were lesser gods hanging about, many of them had the ability to survive such a catastrophe.

And they all blamed Zeke.

Rightly so, of course.  It was his fault.  But in his defense, he’d been provoked.  Mak’tar had had every opportunity to simply leave him be.  He’d chosen another route, which had forced Zeke’s hand.

“You don’t really believe that, do you?” asked Eveline.

Zeke ripped the spine from a lesser god – a blue demon the size of a skyscraper – and tossed it aside in a shower of blood.  Oddly, the collection of rocks that had once been the planet still had some semblance of gravity, so he was treated to a shower of similarly hued blood. 

In the distance, hundreds of other lesser gods fled or took shelter in an effort to hide themselves from his perception.  He felt them all, though he didn’t pursue.  There was no point.  He barely got anything out of it.

“That’s the only thing keeping you from killing them?” Eveline asked.  “And you didn’t answer my other question.  Do you really believe this was only Mak’tar’s fault?”

“He attacked me.”

“You suddenly popped up in his domain and started breaking his toys,” she reminded him.  “Then, you killed one of his subordinates.  What did you expect to happen?”

Zeke looked around, then shrugged his massive, rocky shoulders.  The power associated with the [Primordial Titan] form was, in a word, intoxicating.  He was stronger than he could ever imagine, and at last, he could stand toe-to-toe with some of the larger creatures he routinely encountered. 

Images of being one side of a kaiju fight flitted through his mind.

“Fine.  I provoked him.  But he still pushed it.  And in the end, he paid the price.”

“You think that makes it right?” she asked.

“I think I’m here to kill complacent gods and climb to The End, where I hope to help defeat a reality-devouring counter-god,” Zeke said.  “Right and wrong don’t come into it.”

“Shouldn’t it?”

“Not when the stakes are that high.  If I fail…”

“Then the Creator will continue to do what it has been doing all along,” Eveline stated.  “You don’t have to take it all on your shoulders.”

Zeke tried to frown, but in his titanic form, his face was incapable of contorting into expressions.  “What was the other question?” he asked.

“If you could gain power from killing these wretches –”

“They’re lesser gods, Eveline.  They have more power than nearly everyone we’ve ever met,” Zeke reminded her.  “They are a long way from being wretches.”

“If you could gain power from them,” she repeated.  “Would you hunt them all down?  Is the fact that they’re not worth much in terms of progression the only thing that stops you?”

“They’re demons.”

“So was I.”

“You saw their city.  They worshipped the greater god that created that place.”

“I did see it.”

“And you think they deserve my mercy?” he asked.

“I’m not telling you what I think.  I’m asking what you think, Ezekiel.”

He refused to give it any thought.  Instead, he took a running leap, ending on the next floating boulder.  It was the size of a mountain, but even so, his momentum sent it gliding toward the next piece of the shattered planet.  That was how he’d been searching the floating remnants for the past few days, but he’d yet to find anything that suggested a connection to the ways.

Which left him a little frustrated.

In turn, he took that out on any lesser gods unfortunate to find themselves in his path.  Most of the time, he simply tore them to pieces, but if they proved themselves to be a slippery target, he wasn’t above utilizing [Eye of Judgement] to destroy them and whatever rock they clung to.

As much as Zeke wanted to believe he was a force for good, he couldn’t deny that he felt a significant degree of satisfaction when he obliterated those demonic creatures.  Perhaps it was a natural byproduct of his time in the pit.  Or maybe he could simply feel their evil natures. 

“Or perhaps you’re sadist that takes joy in killing,” Eveline suggested as Zeke leaped to another rock.

“I’m not a sadist.  Or a psychopath, which is what I know you’re thinking.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You were thinking it.”

“I’m only saying that you should remember that these lesser gods you derive so much joy from killing – they’re people,” she stated.  “I could have been among them, once.  Completely powerless to resist you, but driven to attack or flee before your presence.”

“What are you trying to say? That I should let them live?”

“I’m saying that you should ignore them like that inconsequential insects they are,” she countered.  “They can’t hurt you.  You know that.  They know that.  So, leave them be.”

Zeke didn’t have anything to say to that, and though it went against his instincts, he followed her suggestion.  Certainly, if one of them stood in his way, he dealt with them.  However, from then on, he stopped going out of his way to kill the demonic lesser gods that populated the broken realm. 

If nothing else, it made his progress much quicker.  Still, it took another few weeks before he finally felt a steady surge of divine energy.  He followed it, thinking that he’d either found a greater god – unlikely – or the entrance to the ways. 

It was still a long way off, but now that Zeke had the proverbial scent, he made good time.  As he drew ever closer, he said, “I should have taken a flight skill at some point.”

“What?”

“Flying.  I wish I could fly.”

“You had an opportunity to make one.”

“I know,” he said, leaping from one boulder to another.  He landed at a light trot, crossed it, then threw himself toward another.  “I seem to remember someone convincing me to stay on theme.  Like it matters now.”

“I don’t remember that.”

“You’re the one who said it!” he insisted.

“No – that doesn’t sound like me,” she responded primly.  “I’m sure you’re confused.  A lot of time has passed since then.”

Zeke considered arguing, but he chose otherwise.  Not because he conceded the point, but rather, because he didn’t feel like banging his head against the wall that was her stubborn refusal to admit she was wrong.

“Pot.  Kettle.  Black.”

Zeke ignored that, too.  Instead, he continued on his way, grumbling about his lack of flying skills the entire time.  As he did, he felt the source of divine energy grow ever stronger until, at last, he caught sight of an intact building.  It wasn’t the first he’d stumbled upon – just because the world had shattered, that didn’t mean none of the structures had survived – but it was probably the best preserved.

It wasn’t terribly unique, though.  Just an unimpressive square that looked like it had been made of concrete.  However, when Zeke landed before it, he couldn’t deny – not even for a second – that it was a powerful conduit for divine energy. 

He let his titanic form fade as he approached, then climbed the steps.  There, he found a four-armed metal man guarding the entrance. 

“State your business,” the sentry said in a tinny voice.

“I want to enter the ways.”

“Do you have a pass?” he asked. 

Zeke looked down, patting his pockets.  He’d already replaced his clothing with a new set from his storage space, but he had nothing else on him.  “Guess I’m fresh out of passes.  Do I need to pay a toll or something?”

The thing’s featureless face broke open, revealing a jagged crystal.  It bloomed with red light, but when the beam hit Zeke, he didn’t feel any pain. 

“Ezekiel Blackwood.  Primordial.  Level…does not compute.  Please standby.”

The thing’s head closed, and Zeke felt a smaller surge of divine energy that probably indicated the activation of a skill.  Then, the four-armed thing went entirely inert. 

Zeke looked around, wondering what he was supposed to do.  His first instinct was to simply attack the thing and barge into the ways.  However, from what he’d been told, the Waymaster was an extremely powerful greater god whose strength was only second to the Creator itself. 

And as mighty as Zeke had become, he didn’t think he was quite at that level. 

Yet.

So, he resolved to simply wait it out.  After a few minutes, he started to get antsy, and by the second hour, he was on the verge of taking matters into his own hands.  The only reason he didn’t was because Eveline kept him talking. 

Mostly, their conversation was about nothing.  Just idle chat with a few jokes sprinkled in.  However, they did venture into some uncomfortable territory when she once again brought the focus back to Zeke’s actions.  Specifically, his penchant for killing anyone in his way. 

Of course, he denied that characterization.  Certainly, he didn’t hesitate to end a life if he thought it was necessary, but that was where it began and ended.  If he could avoid it, he did.

“Is that true, though?” she asked. 

“I…I don’t know, Eveline.  Maybe.  Probably.  It’s…what do you want me to say here?  That I’m broken?  Sure.  Guilty.  I am.  I spent longer in the pit than did anywhere else.  In a lot of ways, it’s more real than my real life,” he admitted.  “There were times when I forgot everyone and everything else.  It was just me and the challenge.  The enemies.  The death and pain.  You have no idea what sort of toll that takes on a man.”

He let out a slight chuckle.  “Or a primordial,” he added derisively.  “So, yeah.  Maybe my first instinct is to kill anything that might stand remotely in my way.  My second instinct too.  And on and on.  It takes a while before I get to taking a step back and just evaluating the situation properly.  Am I sitting here just dreaming about murdering planets?  No.  But…I don’t know, Eveline.  Maybe I need a break.  Or maybe I’m broken beyond repair.  It could be that’s the point of it all.  I mean – I’m supposed to end up in an eternal war against forces intent on unmaking reality.  Maybe a killer instinct isn’t such a bad thing for me.”   

It was the most directly he’d addressed the issue so far, and it took Eveline aback.  Before she could respond, the stationary guard whirred to live with a spurt of divine energy.  A second later, the door behind him opened, and someone stepped through. 

“Ezekiel Blackwood,” she said.  “And Eveline Kiaralainia.”

Zeke was a little too distracted to immediately respond.  Instead, he was focused almost entirely on the woman made of pure light.  She was clearly ephemeral, but she also had taken on the unmistakable form of a human woman.  She floated only a foot above the ground. 

“That’s us,” Zeke said.  Then, inwardly, he asked, “Was that your last name?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Eveline stated.

“But –”

“I am Nax, and I will be your guide through the ways.  Please follow me.”

Without waiting on Zeke to acknowledge the command, she turned and drifted through the door.  Any other time, he might have been annoyed at her dismissive tone, but in this instance, he was a little too distracted to care.  So, without further hesitation, he climbed the steps and followed her through the door.

The moment he did, Zeke felt a surge of divine energy more powerful than anything he had ever experienced.  It suffused him, encapsulating him in a cocoon that briefly constricted his body.  A second later, it shattered, and he found himself staring at a sight he’d never expected to see.

“Well, that’s…not what I expected,” he muttered aloud.