Daily Short: Matt 10

The problem with most stories is the good guys win. Matt thought, watching the Dark Underworld in operation. The good guys win because they are in the right, fighting for truth, justice, and the moral pathway of enlightenment.

Reality didn’t work that way, though. Even the most casual glance at some of the underpinnings of a world would reveal the rotten sections. Certainly, altruism existed. However, so did egoism. People were willing to fight for justice when everyone around them was watching and judging. They were far less inclined to do so when there wasn’t anyone looking.

Many things, including morals, die in the Darkness.

Matt watched as fathers betrayed sons, mothers slaughtered daughters, and the world devolved. Might be made right, and the law of the jungle flourished. The major countries had fallen to the endlessly regenerating undead hordes within a week. It was dead by six billion undead sword cuts. The final holdouts were mostly islands, both natural and artificially created.

A sense of safety that isn’t real. Matt thought as he watched the oceans turn the deep grey of undeath. The most significant portion of undead is always those from the depths.

By ignoring the oceans, the entire planet’s fate had been sealed. The few remaining strongholds of humanity had no chance to counterattack as the endless tide of oceanic-born undead drowned them without remorse.

A week for a world to fall. Matt thought, watching his handiwork. A small world, to be sure, and there are a few survivors. Still, it had been an entertaining show to watch. The desperation had created unique dramas that thrilled him to see. Great heroes and even greater villains existed in a dying world.

Such entertainment deserved a reward. It deserved something that could add another dimension to the story. A twist of the Dark Underworld spell structure sent it hunting for another target. With the mana of an entire dead world fueling, opening a Gate was easy. As the Legions of the undead marched through the new portal, Matt dipped down to the world’s surface.

There were only tens of thousands of survivors from a world of billions. He expanded his search looking for a piece that would reward his intervention. Eventually, he spotted a single individual fighting a losing battle against a small percentage of the retreating undead hordes. The person’s soul sparkled with incredible potential equivalent to the Archmage.

Yes, oh my yes. How delightful. Matt thought as he perused the chosen one. Indeed, the sword is a terrible weapon, but it’s better than all the rest. What a great sentiment!

Of course, the person he’d chosen had a life-mate, so he lumped them together. The preferred would go to Dream. It was the best place to make something of themselves with the endless ability to learn and grow. The life-mate would get split and portioned across multiple realities. They’d meet again, eventually. Probably, the skeins of Fate tended to favor such couples.

He had no doubt the Pantheons of Light would delight at his benevolence. Perhaps sometime in the future, they might even combat a Shadow or lay siege to a Stronghold.

The future was never set in stone, much less in Darkness.

Matt nodded as he twisted the fate of a few other exciting characters sending them off. It was unfortunate that one of the individuals spotted him. The poor soul was forced to burn their eyes right out of the sockets to survive. It was a tragic cautionary tale that was all too often repeated.

People forget that some things were never meant to be seen.

Curiosity didn’t just kill cats; she was far more lethal than that. Matt thought as he shifted back to the Prime World. It was the same one he’d left Jennifer and Ig on. A quick look allowed him to see the progress so far. Jennifer is making good time with advice from a senior sister.

The entire Titan’s body was cloaked in blood fog that clung to the creature like a suit of mist. A tiny hole was starting to appear on the creature’s leg, proving that Jennifer was adapting quickly. Ig provided advice while taking the form of a tiny miniature dark cherubic munchkin on Jennifer’s shoulder.

Matt looked at the armies of Darkness marching upon the shattered remains of the Pantheon territories and nodded.

It was an excellent month to be Dark.