Sponsored Apocalypse ch. 25

With this portal, there was no weird feeling and no trippy transition.  One moment I was in the Southern United States, the next I was in a dark and magnificent temple.  Every surface was covered in varying shades of black, all punctuated by gold.

Robed priests were everywhere, and a few with more prominent weapons were conspicuously staying in one place and watching me carefully.  The familiar priest who’d led me here gestured me to follow.

“What’s your name?” I asked.

“My name is unimportant.”

“Okay, I’ll call you Unimportant. Or maybe Melvin.”

“Call me what you will.”

“Alright, Melvin.”

I couldn’t see the man’s face clearly, but his mouth set in a disapproving line.  “Follow me, please.”

He led me deeper into the temple and I realized that where we’d first appeared had been some sort of…landing area for people portaling in.  A glance behind me revealed a trio of priests appearing out of nowhere before briskly moving off.

Everywhere I looked there were signs of supernatural power.  Even the wall sconces were lit by green flames that hung in mid air.  Despite how the source looked, the light they produced was a pleasant, golden glow.  Overhead, the tall ceiling ended in a sharp point and I barely caught a bit of movement as my eyes fell.  when i did a double take, looking more closely I thought I could see giant beetles.

Egyptian looking iconography was everywhere and even though i was a bit rusty on mythology, I was starting to realize who I might be going to meet.  It can’t be, though, I thought.  Isn’t this supposed to be a “good” god?

“I find your train of thought offensive.”

Mildly startled, I turned to see a tan young man in a white outfit and a golden circlet on his had regarding me with amusement.  “Huh?” I said.

“You were thinking about Anubis, and assumed that because he governs death, that he is an evil god.  This not only shows a lack of understanding, it is also a common, and offensive, misconception that death itself–and anything associated with it–is evil. I expected better of you, Miles Lindstrom.  But I believe you still have promise.”

I blinked and shrugged, not sure what else to do or say.  This new person who seemed to know me must be a new priest, at least I assumed so.  But around this time, I noticed the dead silence of the area surrounding me.  I glanced back, finally seeing that every single person in sight had knelt and prostrated themselves.  Even Melvin behind me had his forehead on the floor.

When I turned back to the man who looked about 19 , I fidgeted awkwardly for a second, not knowing what to do with my hands.  “Uh, nice to meet you, Mister Anubis.  I’m sorry for causing offense.  Also, I’m sorry but I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do or say here.  Getting down on the ground and doing what everyone else is doing is not exactly what I think you called me here for, though.  And the whole vibe you’re giving out kinda…makes me feel I shouldn’t?”  I ended the last sentence in the form of a question and shrugged.

If this was an interview, I wanted to be transparent, because the interview went both ways–I wasn’t sold on being a Champion.  But I hoped I hadn’t just pissed off a god who could obliterate me.  I wasn’t trying to show my whole ass, just figure out what was going on.  After all, I thought I had been going to be meeting with a priest, not an actual god!

Anubis laughed.  “You have questions.  So be it.  Yes, I can read your mind now that we are this close.  No, not all gods can.  No, I don’t expect you to greet me as my people here are.  Yes, you are right that meeting me is a sort of two way job interview.  Yes, my true form, or rather, my other form is that of a man with a jackal head.  Yes, I can read your mind going back further, and I know your entire history.  Yes, that includes everything you had under a special folder on your computer.  No, I don’t care about it.  Mating habits of lower life forms interest me about as much as it would catch your interest to see two rabbits mating.”  He stopped.  “Actually, much less.  That was a poor choice of analogy.  Anyway, are you satisfied?  Let’s meet formally now.  I will be in my reception chambers.”

Then, just like that, the man vanished.

All the priests and other robed figures climbed to their feet.  Melvin shot me a complicated look at me until it resolved into a smirk.  “Rabbits?  You would be curious about rabbits?”

“Seeing animals mate freaks me out.”

Melvin wiggled his nose.  “I see.”

I shrugged and ignored him.

***

It took us about fifteen minutes to finally reach where Anubis was apparently going to be receiving us.  On the way I asked my priest a few questions but he didn’t answer.  In hindsight, maybe I should have kept calling him Melvin.  He didn’t seem to appreciate it, and whether it was his choice or not, he really had done me a solid when the world ended.

The reception chamber was a round room made of the same materials as the hallway outside, same as the rest of the temple.  The gold here looked more polished, though.  The black hues deeper.

Anubis sat on a throne at the end of the room, still in his entirely human form.  Now instead of a brief golden circlet, he wore an elaborate headdress.  As before, the priests in the room all prostrated themselves.  Anubis gestured me forward.  “We meet again.”

“Yup.”  I shrugged.  Even with a lifetime of plenty of cringey memories to draw from, I was feeling extra awkward.

“I know you have more questions.”

At first I shrugged, but then I shook my head.  The motion started small, but grew violent, more agitated.  Emotion I hadn’t even known I was carrying threatened to burst out.  “Questions?  Yeah, like…why?  Why all of this?  And why did you choose me?”

Anubis grinned and as I watched, he began to transform.  His muscles rippled, body grew bigger, head was obscured by a dark cloud.  The change only took a couple seconds.  When his new form was revealed, he was the jackal-headed god I’d been half-expecting in the first place.

“You have other unspoken questions, too.”  When he spoke, his voice was different.  Deeper, more profound.  It was like the god’s new form restrained less of his power.  My knees trembled.

I managed a nod.  All my building piss and vinegar had deflated like a wet fart.  Instead, now I felt like a mouse staring down an amused snake.  The surrounding priests all scraping the ground with their noses no longer seemed so over the top.  Anubis was not flexing, I got the feeling he was still holding back almost all of his power.  Now I could just feel it.  He could think me out of existence–I could feel it in my bones now.

And he didn’t seem to be actually being a dick about any of it, so I couldn’t even muster any righteous indignation.

He said, “Believe it not, there are some things I cannot tell you now.  Even such as I have rules we must live by.  However,  why I chose you is something I am happy to explain.

“Before the integration of your world into the Eternal Struggle, which it seems you have already been made aware of, my brethren were given an opportunity to scan for candidates.  We were limited in exactly how deep we could go or what we could look for, but I knew what would interest me.  And you were special.”

“How?”  I was honestly aghast.  Special?  There was no way.  Maybe for having horrible luck?

“Reverence for the dead.”

I blinked.  Reverence for the dead, what does that even mean?

“It means that your perspective on death and of those who have passed, unbeknown to you, has always been subtly different from most others.  And you have other qualities that make you a good candidate for my service, too.  But ultimately, it was your attitude toward death that made me first notice you.  Death is my domain.  Death is not the end.  Death is the beginning of an end, and an end of a beginning.”

The very air around me seemed to grow heavy.  I couldn’t describe what kind of power was at play, but its existence was undeniable.  After a shrug, I managed to croak out, “Thanks…I think.”

“No.  Instead, thank you.”  Anubis grinned, showing me bright white canines.  Small actions in any world can have power of their own.  As one who presides over death, mortals who perform certain rites, or even just think of the dead certain ways can lend me power or grant me insights.  It is both my mission to uphold, and also the source of my strength.  And certain perspectives cannot be taught.  They must be inborn.”

“But I don’t think of death very often at all?”

“Dwelling on my domain does not mean one is properly aligned with it, and definitely does not mean one is well-suited to represent my interests.”  The god fixed me with one eldritch eye.  “You may not even be aware of it yourself.  It may be that even upon reflection that you will not understand.  But when you view the dead, whether it be human or otherwise, you have the correct view of things.”

What the hell is that supposed to mean? I thought.  Too late, I remembered that Anubis could read my mind.

He chuckled and shrugged at me.  I somehow could tell that he was perfectly mimicking my own signature shrug.  An irrational irritation rose from my gut and I had to suppress it.  It was crazy to admit, but I was being teased by a god.

This really is a job interview, I thought.  But a weird one.  “Alright, let’s just say I’ll take your word for it.  Then what about the quest I got?”

“I had very little control over the specific quest, but based on how it worked out, I think it produced more harm than good.  Even if you’d been able to keep all of your tools that you amassed, would have really helped you all that much?”

“The armor would have?”

“Oh?  And what now of your natural armor?  Didn’t you just consider a few moments ago how your current toughness would not have been possible to achieve during the opening days of your world’s change without the extra opportunities you’d gotten by being sponsored?  The extra advancement points that you received have been the foundation upon which the rest of your abilities were built.”

I really couldn’t respond in any way other than a nod.  The logic was sound, and like he’s said, I already thought of it myself.  But there’s no free lunch, and I was sponsored for a reason.  That reason had brought me here, talking to a god of death.

Anubis smiled.  “So I believe we have come to the heart of the matter, the reason we are meeting.”  He crossed his leg and rested his inhuman cheek on a huge fist.  “Will you work for me?”

“Why are you even asking me if you already know my mind, apparently better than I do?”

“Two reasons.  First, I can still be surprised.  Some of my brothers and sisters might not think it is good for the godly image to admit this, but many of them can’t read minds like I can in the first place.”  He gave a toothy grin.  “So it raises my own mystique instead of lowering that of my brethren.

“The second reason is because free will matters.  It is an inviolable rule of our universe.  Even if I am sure what you will say, you must be the one to make the decision.”  He paused.  “And I know you are not ready to make a decision either way, but I needed to ask the big question in order to start the necessary conversation that will lead to it.”

I sighed.  “It gets frustrating feeling like I’m being yanked around everywhere by big powers.  You weren’t responsible for what happened to my world, were you?”  I held in the bloom of undirected hate for what had happened to my entire world.

“No.  I must use it towards my own ends, but I did not start this process.  In fact, it may be counter-intuitive since I am a god of death, but entire worlds dying too fast actually weakens me.  In a way, I am tied to my fate just as firmly as you are.”

“But it’s better than being on the top than a cog in the machine,” I said.

“Of course.”

“So if I become your champion, what do I need to do?”

“You must only continue being yourself and make choices are you always would have before.”

“Really?”  I didn’t hid my skepticism.

“Yes.  Really.  This is being more transparent than other gods would like me to be again, but what I get out of it is what happens if and when you kill another god’s champion, or accomplish great things, or even grow in power to be notable in the greater universe in your own right.  Whenever things like this happen, whatever meager investment I have made in your will be paid back many, many times.  And again, you have a unique way of viewing death.  Simply by being around so much death, your view will crystallize the experience of others, tilt a scale that you will never be able to see in a direction that benefits me.”

“Well that’s clear as mud,” I muttered.

“Yes, but I cannot clarify.”

“Alright, then what do I get out of this?  If I refuse will you take my extra points away that I got for my quest?”

“No.  That would kill you and I wouldn’t do so anyway even without any consequences attached.  What you get is probably both the most straightforward and the least so.”  He held up a hand. ”Listen.  Upon reaching level 30 as a champion, you will have access to the Eternal Struggle Reward System.  Evil gods’ champions get access right away, but they also do not have the system to help their growth.

“I cannot explain the system to you without breaking rules.  However, I can tell you what else you will get from me personally.  As a way to confer the most power and the most value that I can, your reward for becoming my champion would be spread over time, and all begin by receiving a familiar imbued with my power.”

“What?”

“You will have a familiar.  The familiar will belong to you, be bound to your soul itself, and when you are ready, and based on how you’ve raised it, you will be gifted with power directly from the domain I preside over.”

Death, I thought.

“Yes,” he said, reading my mind again.  “In simple terms, death.  But your understanding of it is limited right now.”

The next question I had to steel myself, dig up courage to ask, but before I said anything, Anubis answered it.  “I am the only god you will receive a champion offer from, and I swear this on my power.  Also, it is good that I can read your mind because if you ahd voiced that particular question, I might have truly become annoyed.”

Around me, the priests kneeling on the ground became visibly restless.  I swallowed and said, “I apologize.  I did not mean to offend you.”

“No, but you knew it was still a possibility, that’s why you were nervous.  And besides, I already know.  Your heart is bare to me.”

That sounded both encouraging and ominous at the same time.

My choice really came down to whether I trusted Anubis or not, and in my heart of hearts, I did.  “I think I will become a champion.”

“Excellent!”  The god stood, his massive, muscled frame seemed to make the shadows grow deeper. I realized that it wasn’t my imagination when the shadows actually writhed.  “Come forth, beast from my domain!  Be born from the darkness into light!”

The lights in the room all went out at once and the priests around me began an eerie, droning chant that made the hair on the back of my next stand up.  This persisted for what felt like forever, but was probably just a few seconds.  Even so, it was so intense that the experience felt like I might be driven insane if I had to wait any longer for the lights to come back on.

When the light came back, Anubis was seated again, and there was something standing a few feet in front of me.

“An oblivion hound has appeared,” intoned Anubis.  The priests around me moaned and shuddered.

I could feel the skin on my neck try to crawl into my hairline, my shoulders hunch in on themselves.  The creature standing before me was the size of a large sized dog.  It was the color of darkest night, its eyes were a slightly lighter shade of black.  All of its proportions were subtly wrong for a dog, or even a wolf.  Instead, it seemed to be built more like a hyena made of undulating crude oil.  The creature gave off waves of dread, a chill like the cold of the grave.

The oblivion hound walked towards me, making the effect of its presence grip my heart tighter with each step.  In what seemed to take an eternity, it stood directly before me.  Then it bent own and gently touched my hand with a nose as cold as the end of time.

A flash went through my head and the effect flew down my body, ending at my toees.  Another one followed it.  Then another.  And another.  The waves all started and took place in the space of a minute, but it changed me somehow, deeply, at a primal level.

When it was all done, I glanced down at the oblivion hound.  The hound–a male, I knew now–sat.  His tail wagged and I knew nobody could see it but me.  The horrible aura that had almost made me regret I’d come before was completely gone.  Instead, the hound felt warm, friendly, and like an extension of myself.  He was an arm I’d never had that had been reattached.

“Now you should name him,” said Anubis.