The next portion of the march towards the nearest settlement was uneventful. Vadeem had remained unharmed in the assault, and I had distributed some of our precious healing salves on the most wounded amongst the convoy. They deserved that much for suffering due to my mistake. My halo alleviated the pain of those who only sustained minor injuries.
I had more time to myself this time, as the twins were doing a very good job guiding us away from the most dangerous paths. If they did find a smaller group of foes, or a clear path forward wasn't available, they would signal to the big man (by flexing their right arm of all things, I have no idea what Vadeem was teaching the kids, but I swear I'll have to fix these ridiculous gestures some time later) where the danger lay, and he would go and Vadeem the Stalkers out. It was quite an effective strategy all things considered. The Stalkers had no way of actually inflicting any injuries on the titan, so the only downside was that I was losing out on precious EXP.
But if EXP was the only thing I had to give up in order to not go insane, then I think that was a good concession. I had a lot more control over myself when I was allowed to just sit still and consciously regulate my thoughts and emotions, although the boredom was starting to get to me.
Once Vadeem and the twins had managed to clear out all of the stalkers in the vicinity, the remaining stragglers did not have the courage to approach our group. The atmosphere rapidly improved once it was clear that no more danger would be encountered, and soon the most devout among the group broke into song… if you could even call it that.
It was more like a funeral dirge than some happy camping tune, and the lyrics were… let’s just be happy that the people under me were content, and not pay attention to much else. I knew that starting a cult would lead to interesting results, but maybe I underestimated the people's fervor and devotion a bit. Or more likely, I should have known that starting a new cult of Light where all my brainwashed followers had just endured decades of starvation and supernatural darkness could lead to extreme behaviors.
Ana and Eva got off Vadeem's shoulders and approached me with a bow. I nodded back in greeting, and allowed the twins to lead me to the entrance of the first outpost soon after; our arrival was immediately noticed by its inhabitants. A small crowd of worried warriors made a defensive line at the gate before another figure pushed their way to the front. I couldn’t clearly make out the details of the new people, as my Archbishop had insisted it was only proper for an envoy to greet the nonbelievers before I made an entrance. I didn’t bother correcting him this time and just went back to my followers with the twins in tow.
Patar had taken a small honour guard with him to meet the other party, and after a few exchanges back and forth, his group entered the gates and disappeared into the gloom.
“What do you think they’re talking about,” Vadeem asked. He had returned by the twin’s side, and it seemed that they were much more amicable towards each other after the fight had concluded. One of the twins, I had to use the Rookie Arbiter Eyes to see that it was Eva, was even gently holding on to the side of his shirt. They tried to hide it, but I could tell that they were nervous about how we would be received by the new village.
I shrugged, “Who knows, probably convincing the other party that a god’s actually here to see them.”
Vadeem chuckled, “How’s the life of a god going for you, oh mighty one?”
I rolled my eyes, “It’s bumpy. Damn rickshaw’s worse than sitting on that tree.”
“I could always pull up another one and have you sit on it,” he answered with a laugh, “You could act as a human torch that way! You might not have a weapon anymore, but you can act as one! I’ll swing you around and vaporize the enemies with my mighty god-club!”
I rolled by eyes, “Har har, Vadeem,”
“But what are we going to do about your weapon?” Vadeem said, tone serious this time, “You can’t be expected to defend yourself with that dinky knife, and I doubt your little flashlight halo’s going to work on everything here.”
“I gathered the pieces, or at least all the ones I could still find, so maybe someone can repair it here.”
He gave me a concerned gaze, “In this place? Are you serious? Their best fighters are using pointed sticks and homemade bows. I don’t think they even know what metal is, let alone a forge.”
“Maybe Jae-Hyun can fix it when we meet up,” I said, “He did make those flares.”
“He made them?” Vadeem asked, and I had forgotten that he couldn’t see the descriptions of the items as I could. I was getting careless. Seems I was slipping up left and right with my compromised mentality.
“I figured he did,” I lied, “I couldn’t find anything like those flares in the store in any case. Plus they sort of looked handmade.”
Vadeem took out a flare and inspected it. Thankfully there were minor imperfections to the flare’s design that were evident even from my vantage point.
“Huh,” Vadeem muttered, “Maybe you’re right, but making magic flares, which didn’t work by the way, is one thing, but blacksmithing?”
I looked at him, “You think blacksmithing is harder than making literal magical items?”
“I don’t know a thing about magic,” he answered, “so maybe it’s not that hard to, I don’t know, make magic things from scratch. But blacksmithing?”
He paused and took a closer look at the gauntlets he was wearing, marveling at its design.
“I know a thing or two about that subject and let me tell you that it it takes years of hard work and dedication to make even the simplest object,” he put his gauntlets away, “And Walter, that weird whip sword of yours is definitely not simple.”
I shrugged, “You should trust in our leader more. And plus, maybe I'll find something else to fight with.”
I couldn’t exactly say that Jae-Hyun was probably older than all of us combined at this point. He must have experience using a forge if he wanted to repair his equipment once all the dedicated smiths had died out, and I was willing to bet good money that he could somehow fix my blade.
Vadeem didn’t share my belief, not that I could really fault him.
“There’s trusting someone,” he said, “and then there’s just being delusional. But it’s not like you have any other choice. Doubt we can find extra whip blades lying around here, but hey, you can use any weapon, so there's bound to be an alternative somewhere.”
I nodded, still staring off into the distance. I never knew that being a god would require so much waiting around!
“You’d think they would be faster at welcoming me,” I muttered, "Damned people are keeping me waiting for too long."
“Careful friend,” Vadeem said gently, “We’ve only been waiting for 10 minutes. You’ve never been this impatient before, so watch yourself, ok?”
It’s been 10 minutes? Felt like hours to me. Damn, this can not continue.
“Thanks, Vadeem,” I said, and forced myself to focus on something else other than the endless wait, “And how are you getting along with the twins?”
Vadeem smiled and made some weird hand gestures to Ana. The girl saw his awkward gestures and looked at him in confusion before the other twin seemed to understand his intentions and helped make subtle changes to his hands. Ana nodded and reciprocated his gesture by… flexing her muscles and giving him a strongman pose?
“Vadeem,” I asked, gawking at the scrawny girl as she gave her best Arnie impersonation, “what have you been teaching them?”
“Basic ways to greet people!” he laughed in reply, “That hand sign I did means hello, so I taught her how to give one back in our culture. Who needs to talk when you can communicate in the language of muscles?”
I looked at him in disbelief. I think I could understand why Noel got along well with him.
He grinned, “I know, it’s mighty impressive progress for just a few hours of work, eh?”
“Yeah…” was all I managed to say before a sudden message from Jae-Hyun, this one sent party-wide, broke off the rest of my sentence.
Jae-Hyun: I’m caught up with Yoona and Noel. Walter, Vadeem, what’s the status on your end?
Vadeem the Dream: We’re on track with your initial plan, but there’s some slight issues.
Jae-Hyun: The darkness?
Vadeem the Dream: Yeah, it’s causing some weird symptoms in Walter.
Jae-Hyun: Damn it, I was hoping we would have a little longer before the first symptoms spread. Yoona’s starting to feel it too. How are you holding up Vadeem?
Vadeem the Dream: I’m fine, Walter’s got a skill that’s mitigating it for everyone else, it doesn’t work on himself though.
Walter’s Fine: I’m fine for now. And you have any idea what the hell’s going on, Jae-Hyun?
Jae-Hyun: Yeah, unfortunately. I think I know the cause of the gloom, and how to fix it, but if its effects are taking hold this quickly then we need to hurry.
Walter’s Fine: What the fuck are the symptoms? Tell us if you know something!
Vadeem the Dream: See, he’s been like that for a while now.
Vadeem was right again. I took a deep breath and composed myself again. Everything just felt so suffocating. It’s like I wanted to do something about the situation but I just couldn't, and that annoyance was starting to bubbling up from under me. I forced myself to focus.
Jae-Hyun: The Flame that Walter said was extinguished was suppressing something in the Temple of Eternal Light.
Vadeem the Dream: What was it?
Jae-Hyun: It’s an… you can think of it as an Artefact. It’s an object that amplifies every single emotion that touches that miasma, which is why Walter’s acting so irrationally.
Walter’s Fine: But why’s all the villagers mutated? Or the fact that everything’s dead or turned into monsters?
Jae-Hyun: Prolonged exposure to the gloom would have some dire consequences, like the mutations, but if it’s only a few years that have passed then the worst hasn’t arrived yet. Unfortunately the mutations are the least of our worries, the worst part is that it wasn’t just the humans that were affected. Everything was.
Walter’s Fine: Stop talking in riddles, just give us a straight answer!
Jae-Hyun: It means that things that we would usually consider inanimate, but have some spirituality or sentience will have their emotions ramped up, including the Earth itself.
Well shit, that also explains Noe and the Origin Matrix acting like that. But the changes in Noe didn’t quite add up, no amount of amplified emotions would change my system that drastically. It’s like it had undergone an entire transformation. I felt like there was something missing in the Regressor’s explanation.
Vadeem the Dream: Would the Earth having emotions be that bad?
Jae-Hyun: Let’s put it this way, if you were the Earth and its inhabitants have been abusing all of your resources for millennia, would you be happy?
Vadeem the Dream: Oh, that’s not good then. How bad are we talking about?
Jae-Hyun: It's most likely the spirits causing the worst of the mutations, so expect the worst, but it should be nothing we can’t handle if Walter’s information about the timing is right. Maybe some golems, infected animals, that kind of thing as you get closer to the Temple. If Walter pulls through we can avoid most of the fighting and storm the front gate, if not then things might be a bit harder for us.
Walter’s Fine: I can last long enough to get you your army to take care of the small fry. How’s your team holding up?
Jae-Hyun: Noel and I will be fine, we have skills that counteract the corruption. I’m worried about Yoona, but we’ll be better off than your side for now. I plan to head over to the Temple and see if I can’t slow down the corruption a little, enough to buy you the time you need for your part.
Walter’s Fine: Ok, be quick though. Give us a timeline when you know more.
Jae-Hyun: Will do, and take care of Walter for me, Vadeem.
Vadeem the Dream: Always.
Thankfully I didn’t have to deal with waiting for much longer, because Patar had finished his meeting with the other village head, and was making his way back towards me. My bodyguards backed off, while the twins pulled Vadeem to the side as well. I gathered as much mental strength as I had left and hoped I could pull through for what’s ahead.
“Let’s go get us an army,” I muttered, “And get the hell out of this damn darkness.”
Read the entirety of the complete first Volume and the beginning of Volume 2 on Patreon!
It's currently 18 chapters ahead with a new chapter uploaded daily!
Check it out if you want to support me or read ahead, and as always, thank you for reading!
The next portion of the march towards the nearest settlement was uneventful. Vadeem had remained unharmed in the assault, and I had distributed some of our precious healing salves on the most wounded amongst the convoy. They deserved that much for suffering due to my mistake. My halo alleviated the pain of those who only sustained minor injuries.
I had more time to myself this time, as the twins were doing a very good job guiding us away from the most dangerous paths. If they did find a smaller group of foes, or a clear path forward wasn't available, they would signal to the big man (by flexing their right arm of all things, I have no idea what Vadeem was teaching the kids, but I swear I'll have to fix these ridiculous gestures some time later) where the danger lay, and he would go and Vadeem the Stalkers out. It was quite an effective strategy all things considered. The Stalkers had no way of actually inflicting any injuries on the titan, so the only downside was that I was losing out on precious EXP.
But if EXP was the only thing I had to give up in order to not go insane, then I think that was a good concession. I had a lot more control over myself when I was allowed to just sit still and consciously regulate my thoughts and emotions, although the boredom was starting to get to me.
Once Vadeem and the twins had managed to clear out all of the stalkers in the vicinity, the remaining stragglers did not have the courage to approach our group. The atmosphere rapidly improved once it was clear that no more danger would be encountered, and soon the most devout among the group broke into song… if you could even call it that.
It was more like a funeral dirge than some happy camping tune, and the lyrics were… let’s just be happy that the people under me were content, and not pay attention to much else. I knew that starting a cult would lead to interesting results, but maybe I underestimated the people's fervor and devotion a bit. Or more likely, I should have known that starting a new cult of Light where all my brainwashed followers had just endured decades of starvation and supernatural darkness could lead to extreme behaviors.
Ana and Eva got off Vadeem's shoulders and approached me with a bow. I nodded back in greeting, and allowed the twins to lead me to the entrance of the first outpost soon after; our arrival was immediately noticed by its inhabitants. A small crowd of worried warriors made a defensive line at the gate before another figure pushed their way to the front. I couldn’t clearly make out the details of the new people, as my Archbishop had insisted it was only proper for an envoy to greet the nonbelievers before I made an entrance. I didn’t bother correcting him this time and just went back to my followers with the twins in tow.
Patar had taken a small honour guard with him to meet the other party, and after a few exchanges back and forth, his group entered the gates and disappeared into the gloom.
“What do you think they’re talking about,” Vadeem asked. He had returned by the twin’s side, and it seemed that they were much more amicable towards each other after the fight had concluded. One of the twins, I had to use the Rookie Arbiter Eyes to see that it was Eva, was even gently holding on to the side of his shirt. They tried to hide it, but I could tell that they were nervous about how we would be received by the new village.
I shrugged, “Who knows, probably convincing the other party that a god’s actually here to see them.”
Vadeem chuckled, “How’s the life of a god going for you, oh mighty one?”
I rolled my eyes, “It’s bumpy. Damn rickshaw’s worse than sitting on that tree.”
“I could always pull up another one and have you sit on it,” he answered with a laugh, “You could act as a human torch that way! You might not have a weapon anymore, but you can act as one! I’ll swing you around and vaporize the enemies with my mighty god-club!”
I rolled by eyes, “Har har, Vadeem,”
“But what are we going to do about your weapon?” Vadeem said, tone serious this time, “You can’t be expected to defend yourself with that dinky knife, and I doubt your little flashlight halo’s going to work on everything here.”
“I gathered the pieces, or at least all the ones I could still find, so maybe someone can repair it here.”
He gave me a concerned gaze, “In this place? Are you serious? Their best fighters are using pointed sticks and homemade bows. I don’t think they even know what metal is, let alone a forge.”
“Maybe Jae-Hyun can fix it when we meet up,” I said, “He did make those flares.”
“He made them?” Vadeem asked, and I had forgotten that he couldn’t see the descriptions of the items as I could. I was getting careless. Seems I was slipping up left and right with my compromised mentality.
“I figured he did,” I lied, “I couldn’t find anything like those flares in the store in any case. Plus they sort of looked handmade.”
Vadeem took out a flare and inspected it. Thankfully there were minor imperfections to the flare’s design that were evident even from my vantage point.
“Huh,” Vadeem muttered, “Maybe you’re right, but making magic flares, which didn’t work by the way, is one thing, but blacksmithing?”
I looked at him, “You think blacksmithing is harder than making literal magical items?”
“I don’t know a thing about magic,” he answered, “so maybe it’s not that hard to, I don’t know, make magic things from scratch. But blacksmithing?”
He paused and took a closer look at the gauntlets he was wearing, marveling at its design.
“I know a thing or two about that subject and let me tell you that it it takes years of hard work and dedication to make even the simplest object,” he put his gauntlets away, “And Walter, that weird whip sword of yours is definitely not simple.”
I shrugged, “You should trust in our leader more. And plus, maybe I'll find something else to fight with.”
I couldn’t exactly say that Jae-Hyun was probably older than all of us combined at this point. He must have experience using a forge if he wanted to repair his equipment once all the dedicated smiths had died out, and I was willing to bet good money that he could somehow fix my blade.
Vadeem didn’t share my belief, not that I could really fault him.
“There’s trusting someone,” he said, “and then there’s just being delusional. But it’s not like you have any other choice. Doubt we can find extra whip blades lying around here, but hey, you can use any weapon, so there's bound to be an alternative somewhere.”
I nodded, still staring off into the distance. I never knew that being a god would require so much waiting around!
“You’d think they would be faster at welcoming me,” I muttered, "Damned people are keeping me waiting for too long."
“Careful friend,” Vadeem said gently, “We’ve only been waiting for 10 minutes. You’ve never been this impatient before, so watch yourself, ok?”
It’s been 10 minutes? Felt like hours to me. Damn, this can not continue.
“Thanks, Vadeem,” I said, and forced myself to focus on something else other than the endless wait, “And how are you getting along with the twins?”
Vadeem smiled and made some weird hand gestures to Ana. The girl saw his awkward gestures and looked at him in confusion before the other twin seemed to understand his intentions and helped make subtle changes to his hands. Ana nodded and reciprocated his gesture by… flexing her muscles and giving him a strongman pose?
“Vadeem,” I asked, gawking at the scrawny girl as she gave her best Arnie impersonation, “what have you been teaching them?”
“Basic ways to greet people!” he laughed in reply, “That hand sign I did means hello, so I taught her how to give one back in our culture. Who needs to talk when you can communicate in the language of muscles?”
I looked at him in disbelief. I think I could understand why Noel got along well with him.
He grinned, “I know, it’s mighty impressive progress for just a few hours of work, eh?”
“Yeah…” was all I managed to say before a sudden message from Jae-Hyun, this one sent party-wide, broke off the rest of my sentence.
Jae-Hyun: I’m caught up with Yoona and Noel. Walter, Vadeem, what’s the status on your end?
Vadeem the Dream: We’re on track with your initial plan, but there’s some slight issues.
Jae-Hyun: The darkness?
Vadeem the Dream: Yeah, it’s causing some weird symptoms in Walter.
Jae-Hyun: Damn it, I was hoping we would have a little longer before the first symptoms spread. Yoona’s starting to feel it too. How are you holding up Vadeem?
Vadeem the Dream: I’m fine, Walter’s got a skill that’s mitigating it for everyone else, it doesn’t work on himself though.
Walter’s Fine: I’m fine for now. And you have any idea what the hell’s going on, Jae-Hyun?
Jae-Hyun: Yeah, unfortunately. I think I know the cause of the gloom, and how to fix it, but if its effects are taking hold this quickly then we need to hurry.
Walter’s Fine: What the fuck are the symptoms? Tell us if you know something!
Vadeem the Dream: See, he’s been like that for a while now.
Vadeem was right again. I took a deep breath and composed myself again. Everything just felt so suffocating. It’s like I wanted to do something about the situation but I just couldn't, and that annoyance was starting to bubbling up from under me. I forced myself to focus.
Jae-Hyun: The Flame that Walter said was extinguished was suppressing something in the Temple of Eternal Light.
Vadeem the Dream: What was it?
Jae-Hyun: It’s an… you can think of it as an Artefact. It’s an object that amplifies every single emotion that touches that miasma, which is why Walter’s acting so irrationally.
Walter’s Fine: But why’s all the villagers mutated? Or the fact that everything’s dead or turned into monsters?
Jae-Hyun: Prolonged exposure to the gloom would have some dire consequences, like the mutations, but if it’s only a few years that have passed then the worst hasn’t arrived yet. Unfortunately the mutations are the least of our worries, the worst part is that it wasn’t just the humans that were affected. Everything was.
Walter’s Fine: Stop talking in riddles, just give us a straight answer!
Jae-Hyun: It means that things that we would usually consider inanimate, but have some spirituality or sentience will have their emotions ramped up, including the Earth itself.
Well shit, that also explains Noe and the Origin Matrix acting like that. But the changes in Noe didn’t quite add up, no amount of amplified emotions would change my system that drastically. It’s like it had undergone an entire transformation. I felt like there was something missing in the Regressor’s explanation.
Vadeem the Dream: Would the Earth having emotions be that bad?
Jae-Hyun: Let’s put it this way, if you were the Earth and its inhabitants have been abusing all of your resources for millennia, would you be happy?
Vadeem the Dream: Oh, that’s not good then. How bad are we talking about?
Jae-Hyun: It's most likely the spirits causing the worst of the mutations, so expect the worst, but it should be nothing we can’t handle if Walter’s information about the timing is right. Maybe some golems, infected animals, that kind of thing as you get closer to the Temple. If Walter pulls through we can avoid most of the fighting and storm the front gate, if not then things might be a bit harder for us.
Walter’s Fine: I can last long enough to get you your army to take care of the small fry. How’s your team holding up?
Jae-Hyun: Noel and I will be fine, we have skills that counteract the corruption. I’m worried about Yoona, but we’ll be better off than your side for now. I plan to head over to the Temple and see if I can’t slow down the corruption a little, enough to buy you the time you need for your part.
Walter’s Fine: Ok, be quick though. Give us a timeline when you know more.
Jae-Hyun: Will do, and take care of Walter for me, Vadeem.
Vadeem the Dream: Always.
Thankfully I didn’t have to deal with waiting for much longer, because Patar had finished his meeting with the other village head, and was making his way back towards me. My bodyguards backed off, while the twins pulled Vadeem to the side as well. I gathered as much mental strength as I had left and hoped I could pull through for what’s ahead.
“Let’s go get us an army,” I muttered, “And get the hell out of this damn darkness.”
Read the entirety of the complete first Volume and the beginning of Volume 2 on Patreon!
It's currently 18 chapters ahead with a new chapter uploaded daily!
Check it out if you want to support me or read ahead, and as always, thank you for reading!
