Divine Apostasy Book 11 - Chapter 41

Chapter 41

With the destruction of the artifact Clouds Embracing the Sun, the oath no longer held. Ruin had expected this grove to disappear, but here it remained. Why? He had a guess, and if he wanted to expand his mind safely, he needed to be sure.

Ruin spoke loud enough for his voice to carry to all twenty-nine golden statues.

“Nymthus is safe. All your people are. I transferred your Capital and all the survivors of the war you waged with the Infernal Realm to Grave.” He repeated the most important part. “Your people are safe.”

Motes of golden light drifted lazily across the clearing.

“I destroyed the artifact in the process. I know that broke the oath because I was able to speak to others about it. Valora, the artist, is trying to repair it, but the fact remains your purpose is complete. I can understand why this altar remains, but the secret doesn’t need guardians any longer. Which begs the question, why are you still here?”

Ruin waited, watching Prythus and how the golden motes swirled faster around the statue.

“I know you are more than simple guardians manifested by a powerful Celestial oath. I’ve known since you appeared and attacked the Aspects who wanted to destroy the fifty thousand people Gunther had gathered.”

Again, Ruin paused, studying Prythus’ back. He thought the statue might have quivered.

After a few moments, Ruin continued. “Just so you know, all the Aspects but Death are dead. Like dead dead. The stolen energy that powered them has returned to their respective Destruction Tower. There is nothing left for you to accomplish.”

This time something happened.

Prythus bowed his golden head and Ruin suppressed a gasp. He hadn’t been positive, but now he knew for sure.

Ruin descended the platform and walked to Prythus. He slowly stepped in front of the golden statue and placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder.

“Tell me,” Ruin said gently.

Prythus raised his head. Golden tears dripped down the statue’s cheeks. When they fell into the air, they dissolved into golden motes that joined the uncountable other motes saturating the air. Ruin suddenly understood the motes he’d taken for granted were the manifestation of his twenty-nine friends’ grief.

Prythus must have recognized Ruin’s understanding. “These are joyful tears.”

Prythus took a step backward and bowed deeply. The other twenty-eight statues turned to Ruin and bowed as well.

Standing, Prythus wiped the tears from his cheeks with a golden hand. “Thank you for saving our people. It is all we wanted.”

A dense cloud of golden motes formed around the statues as gratitude poured from them.

“Of course,” Ruin said, his throat suddenly going tight. “I’m sorry…. Sorry for what happened.”

Prythus shook his head. “No, it was necessary. What thirty of us would have failed to accomplish, allowed one of us to succeed. Nymthus, with the combined power of us all, forged the path for our peoples’ salvation.”

Ruin wiped his own cheeks. “Still, I’m sorry, Prythus. I wish there had been another way.”

Ruin knew the twenty-nine statues weren’t really his slaughtered classmates. They were faint echoes of their former selves. But something had happened. Perhaps it was his mind’s power, or the nature of the Celestial oath, but these statues had become something unique. They had evolved from the seed of their identity into complex entities.

“Why did you stay?” Ruin asked quietly.

Prythus sighed and looked down for three seconds before meeting Ruin’s gaze. He swallowed hard twice before speaking. “We didn’t want to die again.”

That hit Ruin hard, and all he could do was nod.

“We know it’s selfish,” Prythus said. “We are the ghosts of your classmates, but the bond we feel to you is unbreakable. Embracing oblivion seemed wasteful even if we’d lost our purpose.”

Ruin breathed out a sigh of relief. “I’m so glad to hear that, because I have an idea, but I need your help to keep me safe.”

The twenty-nine statues knelt and bowed their heads.

“You have only to ask,” Prythus whispered, unable to keep the joy from his voice.

***

Ruin looked down at the battlefield, still frozen in place by Last Breath. Perhaps his luck had aided him with breaking through to Prythus and the other guardians.

Now with all the preparations complete, Ruin released Last Breath, his mind surging outward. Not just his consciousness, but the actual space his mind inhabited.

In the tiniest fraction of a moment, Ruin’s mind encompassed the entire area.

It felt strange. Like stepping out of a warm house into a cold winter day. Unlike the smooth canvas of Ruin’s inner mind, the outside world felt lumpy and wrong. Thousands of entities vibrated out of tune with his thoughts. It reminded him so much of how Harmony transmitted information that for a moment he thought it had returned. It hadn’t, but he held the feeling, bathing his Saraph body in the sensation in the hope it would help him reclaim his lost magic someday.

Three areas appeared like beacons, completely in tune with Ruin’s expanded awareness. All three existed near destroyed Minions, and his heart raced from dread.

The three powerful vibrations seemed to stumble, as if they’d suddenly encountered an unexpected step.

A moment later the vibrations shifted, and Overlord, Uruziel, and Sivart appeared in front of Ruin as the battle raged below. They each had appeared inside a fresh Minion. He activated Last Breath again so they could talk.

All three of his friends studied themselves before focusing on Ruin.

“What happened?” Uruziel asked. “We lost all contact with you. It felt so permanent.” Her Minion shivered.

“That was Plan C,” Ruin responded. “It turns out expelling Void essence dissolves everything around me. Like everything. It even melted reality.”

“What’s this then?” Overlord asked waving a hand.

 Ruin glanced around. “I don’t have a name for it yet. It’s like my version of the Outerverse.”

“That will get confusing,” Sivart said.

“True, I probably need a different name. Let’s use outer mind for now.”

“You pushed your actual mind outside your body?” Uruziel asked. “Not just your Will or consciousness?”

“Pretty much.”

“That seems dangerous,” Sivart said, scanning the area for danger.

“I think my Scarecrow Aspect provides a few thousand Armor Class but you’re right, it’s not nearly as safe as my inner mind. I’ll need to figure out a way to strengthen it out here, because from now on, I’m going to do this far more often. For one, it will keep you three permanently safe. No emergency retreat needed, since I just learned I can screw that up.”

“Doesn’t this create a weakness in your inner mind’s defenses?” Overlord asked. “There must be a path to get from the inner to the outer worlds.”

“Yes, this does crack my defenses, but only in one place.”

“Seems risky,” Overlord continued. “Maybe we should just stay inside until you’re done fighting Divine level creatures.”

“Maybe, but I want to try it like this for a while. It almost feels like creating my own Divine Realm. Do you think this is how it’s done?”

Uruziel shook her head. “I highly doubt it. Pushing your consciousness outside your body or exerting your will isn’t easy, but many can do it. You’ve actually extended your mind outside your body. No one but you is capable of that. Divine Realms must use a different mechanism.” She paused a second before continuing. “I can still access the System Lir and I put in place inside your mind. It extends out here.”

“I guess that makes sense, since technically it should be the same place.”

“Not exactly the same,” Overlord said. “Inside, everything is ultimately created from your power and under your control. Out here, the world is filled with things you didn’t make and can’t easily manipulate.”

“That’s true. Everything feels lumpy and wrong. That’s just another reason to keep at this. Maybe at some point I’ll figure out how to use my outer mind to assimilate my surroundings.”

“If this is really your mind, do I need this Minion?” Overlord asked.

Before Ruin could respond, Overlord appeared next to the Fallen Lord Minion he’d been occupying. He’d taken his human form and, of course, had a stubbly beard. He appeared in white Step Master clothes and no shoes.

The Risen Queen Minion next to Overlord punched Overlord’s shoulder.

“Stop doing rash things,” Uruziel scolded. “What if Ruin’s outer mind wasn’t strong enough to hold your true form out here. That was reckless.”

Overlord ignored Uruziel as he studied his hands. He slowly brought them to his face and rubbed at the stubble there. “It feels different out here,” he whispered.

“Different how?” Ruin asked. “Are you okay?”

“I’m not hurt,” Overlord responded. He suddenly disappeared and his voice came from the Fallen Lord Minion again as he turned to Uruziel. “You try. I’ll stay in here for now in case Ruin’s outer mind can’t hold us both.”

“Sensible words for once,” Uruziel muttered.

A second later Uruziel left her Risen Queen Minion and appeared beside it wearing a white summer dress. She gently felt her cheek and then knelt, touching the ground. After a moment she pushed downward and her hand sank out of sight. Standing she locked eyes with Ruin for five seconds before turning to Overlord’s Minion.

“That feeling you don’t recognize,” Uruziel whispered. “I do. And you would too if you’d spent even a few minutes exploring the emotions and memories that created you.”

Overlord had come into existence when Rami triggered a Literary Aneurysm trap and a sliver of Ruin’s mind had broken off. Specifically, the identity he’d created to deal with the overwhelming fear he’d experienced leading a war against Naktos and Lalquinrial.

“You know I don’t like wading through Ruwen’s memories,” Overlord said softly to Uruziel. “I feel like a voyeur. I’m making my own memories.”

“I know. That sensation you feel is as basic as emotions come. You feel alive, Overlord. We’re alive.”