《Blood and Magic》


 Prologue + Chapter 1.1

    [Prologue] - Blood Rites


    ¡°Blood is Life!


    Blood is Power!


    Blood is Salvation!¡±


    The ritual words repeat neigh endlessly to the beat of drums, as one by one the people of the village walk through the crowd and up onto the wooden stage.  An altar had been built in the dead center, made of shiny black stone that seemed to drink in every bit of light that flickered onto its surface.  The ornate silver and gold bowl set in the depression in the center of the altar is already half full of red liquid, the scent of which is so powerful that it can be smelt even by the crowd standing around the stage.


    The people who come up onto the stage invetiably bow before the altar, and the black robed man standing behind it, offering themselves in subligation as they mouth the ritual words themselves before holding out their left arm.  That arm is covered in scars, the wounds of multiple blood sacrifices they¡¯ve endured at least once a month for the whole of their lives.  From the very youngest, barely six months of age to the oldest of them, they all give of themselves as their gods had commanded.


    Blood for the altar of sacrifice.


    ¡°Blood is Life.  Blood is Power.  Blood is Salvation.¡±


    The black robed priest holds out the black sacrificial blade, made of the same shiny material as the altar itself is.  With a deft, sure stroke, he carves a shallow gash across the offered arm of the next supplicate, and allows the blood to leak into the bowl which seems to swirl with wanton greed.  Not a single drop mars the rest of the altar, and indeed the bowl never seems to fill more than half way.  As if the gods themselves were drinking from it so that it never overfills.


    At the same time, the same thing is happening in every single village, town, city, castle and cathedral across the world.  Thousands upon thousands of peasants, nobles, priests and blood mages scar themselves for the sacrifice that keeps their world functioning.  They all know the lesson that resistance would bring.  They can all see it, only miles outside the protective walls of their homes.


    Blood must flow, or the Miasma will take them.


    According to the scriptures, the Miasma is a curse placed upon the world by the gods in the far forgotten past.  The mortals had become corrupt and arrogant, and challenged the right of the Gods themselves.  Their resistance to the natural order brought about utter devastation and destruction, and nearly ended the world itself.


    But the gods are merciful, and halted the destruction.


    That peace came with a warning, and a price.  The mortals were to give up their life¡¯s blood in order to fend off the Miasma, and any who declined would not be suffered to live.  Thus was the Blood Rites created, and an black altar was set in every place where a grouping of mortals could be found.  The Rites were to be followed, at least once a month for the rest of time¡­ or death would be the end result.


    Even with the frantic, fearful obedience and devotion of the mortals, life was not assured though.  War, famine, plagues¡­ conflicts of all sorts still rule the mortal world.  As of late, it has grown even more increasingly perilous, as the beasts of the fields and forest and mountains have come out of their natural abodes to attack any number of places upon the map.


    The rare travelers and adventurers claim that these beasts have been driven from their homes by even darker things¡­ but no one knows the truth about them.


    The only thing the people know is that the gods continue to demand blood in return for their lives.  No one, from the richest king to the meanest beggar is allowed to refuse.


    Blood must flow in return for their continued lives.


    Too bad that none of them realize that the gods themselves are powerless to truly stop what they themselves have wrought.  Where once the blood of millions and billions flowed through the altars, now only hundreds of thousands attempt to fill the void.  And like an avalanche, the lessening of blood has caused the destruction of the world to slowly creep along, all but unnoticed.


    Until it is far too late.


    Still, the people pray and their blood still flows.


    ¡°Blood is Life!


    Blood is Power!


    Blood is Salvation!¡±


    All they can hope for is a stay of execution¡­ An execution that they all know is coming.  Even if they never admit it to themselves, they all know it to be true.  The gods have abandoned them, and their blood no longer brings the salvation that it once promised.


    Still, they pray.


    [Chapter 1.1] - Slumber For Eternity.


    ¡°Slumber, my Father;


    Slumber, my Lover;


    Slumber, my Enemy;


    Slumber, and be no more.¡±


    Curse of the Gods.


    I¡¯ve been asleep¡­ for how long, I have no way of telling.  Waking up is not a natural thing for me or my kind, for we really have no need to sleep.  Instead, we tend to fade into meditation, where awareness and consciousness continue to flow.


    Still, coming awake is a slow, gentle process.  One that rightly could have been going on for years or even decades.  Even though I knew this, and could even feel it, my higher consciousness did not come awake until the very end.


    It was a very abrupt transition.


    Like waking up from a bad dream, startling yourself into wakefulness.  Bolting upright from the cold stone upon which I was laid, my head strikes the hard stone of the low ceiling, causing me to curse and clutch at it.  Even for a god, that fucking hurt.


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    The pain and my cursing brings my attention back to the here and now, and away from the idle wonderings of whatever had induced my previous feelings of fear and agitation.  It brings the world into focus, although there isn¡¯t anything for me to see.  I¡¯m under the earth, and there isn¡¯t a light at all to be found.


    Indeed, outside of the cold stone of the floor I¡¯ve been laying upon, there isn¡¯t anything to be found at all.  I¡¯m in a stone box, or perhaps a casket, which has been sunk into the bowels of the earth.  I can feel the pressure of the surrounding rock and stone upon my skin, and even though I do not need to breath the air tastes far too stale for any living thing to have survived in this place.


    Thankfully my senses are far better than most, and I¡¯m able to reach out and check my surroundings with but a flicker of my will.  I don¡¯t even require my God¡¯s Sight to do so.  What I find however is more of the same.  Cold stone, hot stone, and only this single void space inside which I find myself.


    Up above and as far below as I can reach, there is nothing but rock and metal and crystal.  The minerals of the earth each have their own feel and texture to them, regardless of which substance they represent.  Iron, copper, gems or the various layers of stone.  I can all but taste them with my senses.


    Of course, being the creature that I am, I lay back down in the dark and quiet while continuing to stretch my senses out into the world beyond.  Some would claim that it is simply because I am lazy¡­ But as for myself I simply believe that I get the best results by letting my body rest while my mind is busy.  Or vice versa.  Although there is rarely a need to use my body for much.


    I was always more cerebral than anything else.


    Still, it takes me quite a while to figure out where I am, although the news is not all that heartening.  I¡¯m buried under the deep roots of a mountain.  How utterly unoriginal.  You¡¯d think that a conspiracy perpetrated by an entire pantheon of gods would have found somewhere more creative to stash me.


    Then again, most of them had more balls than brains anyway.


    The fact that they managed to seal me into sleeping for ages does show that they at least found a way to counter my power.  Not that it did them much good.  They never did manage to kill me.


    And they did try.  Even I can tell that.  The clothing I¡¯m wearing, which were once my most favorite robe and trousers, are torn and ripped and scorched.  I can feel all the damage to the thin, nearly impossible to damage material against my skin.


    I am, however, not going to bother commenting about the big hole in the bottom of my trousers.  I know that ass jokes were all the rage during that time, but I¡¯d still rather not think about what those idiots tried to do while I was unconscious and unaware.


    So to me it didn¡¯t happen.  Haha!  Eat that, idiots!


    Still, being buried in a mountain is effective, if unoriginal.  It¡¯ll take quite a while to dig myself out of this hole, and probably even longer to actually make it to the surface.  The distance is so far that I¡¯m barely able to feel the open air with my senses.


    Although I should be able to sense things even further away, but for some reason I¡¯m unable to.


    Perhaps this slumber had dulled my power.


    Well, not that it matters.  What does matter is the utter lack of energy I feel.  It was like every drop of energy had been pulled from the substance of the world.  So dry that it almost makes my nose itch.  It is like being in a desert without water.


    Utterly annoying.


    Thankfully I don¡¯t have that problem, nor does the rock surrounding me.  My very presence has allowed a tiny bit of that energy to seep back into the world, although it is far from enough to keep it from going into decay.


    It just slows the process down a bit.


    Which is why my little hole hasn¡¯t collapsed after whoever knows how long it has been.  Usually the earth would fill in a perfect rectangle of empty space within itself with a cave-in or the like.  From what I could tell, there aren¡¯t any caves or tunnels anywhere within quite a distance from me.


    For a while, I just lay there, not really doing anything or even feeling inclined to do anything.  I will admit that it is part of my inclination to just want to lounge around, and once I am secure in the knowledge of my rough location¡­ why would I even bother trying to change it?


    It seems like too much of a waste.


    After all, my own family, wife and children conspired to put me in this position.  Really, I must thank them now that I¡¯ve had time to lay back and enjoy it.  Do you know how much work it is being a god?  Keeping magic flowing through the world, dealing with those who pray to me, and all the politics and squabbling that comes from being a single massive family?


    Before now, the Hells were considered a vacation spot!  In fact, I used to visit the pits once a century for a few days just to have the excuse to get away and lounge around for a while.  At home it was always ¡°Honey, I need this¡±, or ¡°Father, I want that!¡±, or ¡°As the King of the Gods, you need to do this!¡±.


    I almost never had a day off!  It was annoying as all fuck.


    Shit.  Just thinking about it makes me want to go back to sleep.  It is quite sad that I cannot though.  The seal is broken, and I¡¯m not sure how to go about recreating it.  As a god, I don¡¯t sleep.


    No matter, I can always meditate.  I haven¡¯t done that in ages, but now seems like as good a time as any.  Yeah, I¡¯ll do that¡­


    ZzzZzzZzzZzz¡­

 Chapter 1.2

    [Chapter 1.2] - Awake, Again.


    Ever have a dream where you could remember every little detail?  Some call it lucid dreaming, but in truth dreaming is the mind''s way of accessing the ethereal plane.  Some also call it the Shadow Realm, or the Dream World, or the Endless Dream¡­ it doesn¡¯t really matter what it is called though.  It is all the same damned thing.


    Still, have you ever been able to pause your dreams?  Reverse them?  Or even fast forward them?  No, I¡¯m pretty sure the vast majority of people don¡¯t have that ability.  Heh.  After all, a dream is nothing more but the mind¡¯s attempt at making sense of something that has no real point of interaction with the mortal world.


    Now, that isn¡¯t to say that the Shadow Realm is a chaotic jumble without any point of reference.  After all, the Shadow Realm is the closest realm to the various other worlds.  The problem is is that the Shadow Realm overlaps all the worlds, all at the same time.  That makes things confusing.


    The past, the present, the future, alternative realities¡­ Yeah, you get the idea.  What happens in the Shadow Realm is a crazy mixture of just about everything.  If you could get to the point where you could freely move around and see what you want, you could find things long forgotten, lost, or even hidden.


    You could watch ancient armies march across barren fields only to clash against each other in a ghostly representation of battles long past.  Or you could view the greatest works of magic the world has ever experienced from up close and personal.


    If only you can control it.


    Really though, the main thing about the Shadow Realm isn¡¯t what is in it, but where it leads.  You see, the Shadow Realm literally overlaps every other world.  The Heavens, the Hells, the Mortal World, the Dragon¡¯s Realm¡­ You name it, and the Shadow Realm has some connection to those places.


    Like a blanket thrown across the individual globes of separate realities.


    At that point it can get kind of confusing for those without the mentality to visualize such a thing.  It is even hard to describe to the gods, if you can believe that.  And let me tell you, we are all innately familiar with the Shadow Realm.


    Then again, most of the gods are not the bright candles in all of creation¡­


    Enough about that though.  I don¡¯t really want to think about how childish, annoying, and greedy most of the gods are.  Just remembering it makes me want to go hide in some little bitty hole somewhere, far far away.


    Which I already am.


    Anyway!


    The whole point about the dreaming is that mortals, regardless of their species, can only connect to the Shadow Realm while asleep.  Their minds close down and become untethered to their perspective of reality.  Very few of them gain the ability to freely move around in such a state though¡­


    Or rather, very few of them did.  That¡¯s all changed now.


    Everything has changed now.


    For us gods, however, the Shadow Realm is where our consciousness goes when we meditate.  In this state, we retain an awareness of what is going on around our bodies, but our minds open up in a way that is impossible to really describe.  Like a dream that you can control.


    Now, many would wonder what the point would be.  Sure, viewing the past or even into other realms of existence could be exciting on its own; but if it doesn¡¯t offer anything of value, why bother?


    Hehehehe.


    Fools, the lot of you!


    If you are able to control yourself within the Shadow Realm, you gain the ability to control EVERYTHING within the Shadow Realm.  Slow down or speed up time, for instance.  Hahahaha.


    It¡¯s the ultimate training space!


    You can do anything and everything there, so long as you have the imagination and will to bend the realm to your desires.  Fight dragons and demons, spend years perfecting the perfect fighting technique¡­ even get laid, so long as you¡¯re good enough to imagine something other than a doll¡­


    Okay, so I shouldn¡¯t have mentioned that last one.  Oh well.


    The benefits of being able to freely access the Shadow Realm are numerous.  An hour outside can be years on the inside.  It¡¯s like the best play place possible.  It is also, quite honestly, the realm most used by us gods.


    Why spend centuries being surrounded by the white fluffy clouds and endless silence of the Heavens when you could literally turn your dreams into reality by simply meditating?  You could say it is my biggest reason for wanting to slack off.


    I used to have so much fun in this place.


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    WHAT THE FLY PURPLE PEOPLE EATING FUCK HAPPENED TO THE SHADOW REALM!?!?!


    The whole place is totally messed up!  Nothing but mists and shadows and barren crap all over the place!  Dirt and dust as far as the eye can see!


    It is like the place had been totally devastated!


    ¡­ Ugh.  Totally boring.  Gah!


    I guess I should explain that.  You see, even we gods cannot create something from nothing, even in the Shadow Realm.  We have to use what is already there.  And since the Shadow Realm mirrors the other planes that it connects to, you can find just about anything and everything there.  So it is easy to summon what you want and do with it what you will.


    But now there is nothing here!  Not a gods damned thing at all!


    It makes me cry, like really!


    I literally break down in the middle of the desolate nowhere and bawl like a little baby.  My wonderful world of freedom and creativity, gone!  Ruined!


    Oh gods¡­ why?!  Why do such a thing?!


    Even with my power and senses stretched out to their fullest within the Shadow Realm, I cannot feel anything.  It¡¯s all utterly destroyed.


    Grrrrrrrrrgh¡­


    Okay, so it takes me a little while to pull myself back together.  My perfect plan to past the centuries away in my paradise has been shattered.  *Sighs*  Do you know how depressed that makes me?  Shit.  Why did I have to wake up at all?


    At least when the seal was still in place I was in a dreamless sleep.  I didn¡¯t even notice the passing of time.


    Here though¡­ yeah, there isn¡¯t any way to not notice the passing of time.  Even though I¡¯ve slowed it to nearly 1000 to 1.  There¡¯s not even a blade of grass to focus my attention on.  Bah.


    Oh, well.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Like Hell am I going to just sit here in oblivion and do nothing?!  I¡¯ll go fucking insane before the first century has past!


    Not to say I¡¯m not already, but that¡¯s beside the point.


    Of course, that¡¯s when I finally realize that the Shadow Realm is as bone dry of energy as the mortal world was.  Like, dry enough to make goose bumps rise across my body.  I actually have to check to see how long I¡¯ve been here because that just isn¡¯t right.


    Hmm¡­ 137 years.  Barely seven hours in the mortal world.


    Oh fuck¡­ I¡¯ve been weeping for over a century.


    Even I think I¡¯ve started going insane just a little bit now.


    *Sighs again* Well, nothing to do about it.  I bring forth my power and cloak my body in it.  Almost instantly I can feel the entire fucking realm trying to draw it from me.  It¡¯s like a desert, desperately sucking in every bit of water that drops onto its barren surface.


    Only then do the dots connect together in my head.


    ¡°YOU HAVE GOT TO BE FUCKING KIDDING ME!¡±


    Yes, I scream even as I wake up, and promptly bang my head against the low stone ceiling of my hole again.  So I grab my head and thrash even while cursing.  You¡¯d be surprised just how creative I can be at it.  Heh.


    I have no idea why I¡¯m so proud of that though.  Most mothers would murder their sons for some of the shit that came out of my mouth during those minutes it takes for the pain to fade.  Even as a god, I am not immune to pain.


    Still, it is majorly messed up.  The whole world is.


    I now know why the seal failed as it had, and why everything feels so damned drained of the energy that normally flows through everything.  My idiot family didn¡¯t just seal me into slumber.  They sealed my power along with me.


    The flaming idiots.


    Okay, let me put it this way for those of you who don¡¯t yet understand what the problem is:


    What happens when you seal the God of Magic away along with his power, in a world that requires magical energy to exist?  Huh?  No takers?


    Fine, I¡¯ll tell you.


    YOU KILL THE FUCKING WORLD!!!


    And not quickly, either!  Even the dumbest of the gods should know that!  Their own power is based upon that fact!  Much less things like LIFE!


    Shit shit shit shit shit fuck¡­


    No wonder everything feels as brittle and decayed as it does.  They drained a fundamental aspect of creation from the world.  *Grumbles*


    And now I have to go and fix it.  Shit.


    Well, maybe not, but still.  I¡¯ll end up having to do something, otherwise I¡¯m going to end up being the only thing left after a few more thousand years.  And that would definitely be fucking booooooooooring.


    Why in all the realms did I have to wake up now!?

 Chapter 1.3

    [Chapter 1.3] - True Awakening


    Okay, so venting my frustrations in a stone coffin little bigger than my body doesn¡¯t really help.  In fact, it hurts, quite a bit.  It also only makes me more frustrated, which isn¡¯t a good thing when I need my wits about me.


    No doubt most of you are laughing and going like ¡®Of course!¡¯ or ¡®Is this how a god acts?¡¯.  What you all fail to understand is us gods aren¡¯t like mortals.  We aren¡¯t all powerful or all knowing.  Thinking that way is total bullshit.


    We gods are primordial.  We are all born of a specific essence of creation, and it shapes our basis.  Our cores.


    Like the elemental Titans of bygone eras, our true natures are inevitably tied to the essence we are born of.  Within that essence, we are basically supreme.  It is like looking inside of an orb that¡¯s filled with the true understanding of what we are based in.


    Mortals, on the other hand, learn from external senses.  They learn what to fear, what to praise, what to worship, what to do from experiences outside of themselves.  This is a massively fundamental difference between an existence such as myself, and those of mortals.


    A god of fire, for example, will always have a temperament that resembles his element.  Fiery, fierce, arrogant.  Later aspects, such as being creative or destructive are things that come later.


    Being born with this innate understanding is only part of it though.  The second part is perhaps even more compounding.  That, of course, is that mortals are inexplicably connected to us gods.


    And that gives them power over us.


    Now, this may seem a little counter-intuitive, but the process is very much there.  Even I, whom was the first and gave rise to a great many things, do not really understand why it happens.  Only that it does.


    Worship, true worship, causes changes in our psyches.  The way a mortal views us, over time, changes us.   The power of mortal faith slowly molds us into what they expect us to be.


    And because most mortals are crass, hubristic, and unrestrained in their secret desires¡­ What do you think happens to us over thousands of years of being seen in such a manner?


    We gods have almost no inhibitions to begin with, and then to be slowly carved into the figures that mortals hold in their hearts and dreams¡­


    It can be really annoying!


    Ugh!


    Even though most of us definitely do have a proper sense of things like right and wrong and common sense, our natures force us to ignore it!


    For myself, it is perhaps even worse, but in an entirely different manner.


    What do you think happens when a god no longer has many mortal worshippers?  They grow weak, and will eventually fade away.  Becoming mere shadows of themselves.  They slowly lose the aspects that mortals had for so long perceived them as, and thus slowly revert to what they once were when they were first born.


    I, myself, have already noticed this.  Once, long ago, I was at the pentacle of the gods.  Ruler of the entire pantheon.  My word was law, both in the heavens and upon the earth.


    Entire empires rose and fell with my blessing or malice.


    In ages past I was perceived in such a light.  Kingmaker and Empire Crafter.  Wise and if not exactly just, then decided evenhanded.  Intelligent and feared, but respected at the same time.


    The First God, the God of Magic.


    Now though¡­ No.  I cannot claim I am that being anymore.  Even though I am the same god, the aspects that made me more ¡®human¡¯ have slowly faded over the years I¡¯ve slept.


    Even my name¡­ I do not even remember it any more.


    If I were any other god, I would have died a long time ago.  Or rather have reverted back into my essence and then been reborn under the dalliance of a new identity.  This is how and why gods can be killed and later on be reborn.


    Just like going through the cycle of death and rebirth as a mortal, so us gods can also go through a similar process.  Becoming different, without our previous lives, but still retain the self-same essence.


    At least, for the most of us.


    The lower you get into the pantheon of godhood, the less there is to go around.  This, instead, is substituted with different things.  Strong emotions, like fear, anger, and love can give birth to their own essences.  So can concepts, like the belief of ancestors and mythical beasts.


    One of my great, great, great¡­ I forget how many removed grandchildren was the goddess of cats.  Not felines, but regular house cats.  Heh.  She was quite cute, truth be told!


    Those neko-mimi ears were realllllllly precious when they twitched¡­ Hahahaha.


    Aaah, too bad there were very few of them that had more than a marble or two in their heads!


    Otherwise the fools never would have arranged for this to happen.


    *Sighs*


    In any case, I finally calm myself after having my little temper tantrum.  It finally ran its course, and I was able to think clearly again.  Besides the big knot on my forehead, at any rate.


    Now, to get out of this predicament.  Hmmmmmmm¡­¡­


    As I stated previously, I¡¯m not all powerful or boundless.  In truth, I¡¯ve most definitely almost completely reverted back to my unsculpted self, and it restricts my current options.  After all, I wasn¡¯t just sealed here to sleep, my essence itself was almost completely sealed.


    Two different seals, of two different types.  The first one slowly wore itself out, while the second one is buried inside of myself, feeding upon the very power it dams up.


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    This, as you can imagine, is a very annoying thing.  Even looking into myself to see the seal is difficult, because I currently don¡¯t have hardly any access to the very power it is made of.  In a way, you could say that it takes magic to do magic.


    Like how life cannot exist without water.  If a seed is completely dried out, then itself can no longer grow to be what it should have become.  A seed both needs water inside of itself before it can draw in water from the outside as it sprouts.


    It almost sends me into another fit, to be honest.  After all, what is a god of magic without any fucking magic!!!


    It isn¡¯t like I¡¯m unable to do anything about it though.  It is just that the cure could possibly be even worse than the disease.  Like all those medicines that make you want to throw up or give you really bad side-effects!


    The only power I have that can do anything about the seal is that of my body.  My god power, which is already greatly weakened.  That in itself is a fearsome thing.


    After all, if I use that all up, I¡¯ll die.  With my magic sealed, there will be no rebirth for me¡­ and the fucking world will completely die.


    Damn, just thinking about that makes me angry!  Grrrrrr!


    Can you imagine, being the first creature born into the world, watching it grow and evolve for thousands upon thousands and thousands of years only to know that it¡¯ll wither and die without you?!


    Being a pillar of existence itself, only to know that if that pillar is cut down, then the whole damned thing will break apart and disappear?


    Shit.


    Okay, one breath, two¡­ I really have to keep that anger in check.


    However, there aren¡¯t any other options.  I have to do it.


    So I sink down into myself, turning my focus inward.  Instead of meditating, where my consciousness expands outward, I focus it all inward.  Pass my body, and even deeper.


    Deeper, and deeper.  Deeper still.


    This inner space is called the God¡¯s Domain, and every god has one.  It is boundless and infinite, and is our direct connection to our essence.  Within the God¡¯s Domain, our true selves reside.


    Not in any sense of like having a soul or a spirit, but in truest sense of what a god is.


    Within mine, it is completely black and void, as if a thick curtain has suffocated everything.  It is almost as dry and barren as the world outside is.  But within that place radiates a purple glow that dances and flickers, swirling round and round in a massive sphere.


    The seal itself is both complex and at the same time very crude.  Upon it I can see the various markings used by a great many gods of my pantheon.  Dozens, then hundreds flicker before my seeking gaze.  Nearly seventy percent of what had once been my family.


    Large and small, powerful and weak¡­ They all came together to do this to me while I slept.


    For the smaller, weaker gods amongst us, it probably denoted nearly all of their power to accomplish this task.  It wouldn¡¯t surprise me if many of them faded very quickly after putting forward their bit.


    Those foolish, foolish idiots.


    I could almost cry.  Almost.


    Now however isn¡¯t the time to get sentimental, and I sharpen my gaze and my will to do what must be done.


    In an instant I¡¯m in front of the massive seal.  It is so crude and stretched to the limit that it doesn¡¯t even try to impede my progress.  Its sole purpose is to suppress my magic, with the expectation that I¡¯d remain asleep for eternity.


    Ah, I almost wish it had been so.  *Sighs*  At least then I could have gone away and never known that any of this foolishness had happened.


    There is, however, no time to dally.  I firm my will, and reach out my hand and touch the seal.  I¡¯m not repulsed though, and indeed am able to touch it quite firmly.  But just as it is a barrier, a dam built to keep my magic on the inside, so to does it stop me from reaching through it.  A solid wall.


    This close though, I can both see and feel its weak points.  Mostly at the areas joined between the larger, more powerful markings meet up with bunches of weaker markers.  They were smart in grouping up the markings in where most of them compliment each other, but at the same time the uniformity between them are all mixed up.


    No rationality at all.


    That is where I attack it, using my god power to directly hammer against a single weak point.


    BOOOOOM!


    Like a hammer, my power slams into a single weak point where a single fire mark resides, surrounded by several earth and even a water mark.  That fire mark instantly cracks, causing the surrounding area to shift to grate roughly within the framework of the larger marks.


    At the same time I could feel the great drop in my power.  There is no time for finesse or planning.  My power will only grow weaker from this point onward.  If I wait any longer, I won¡¯t have the power to break it!


    So I hit it, again and again, always on the same mark, willing my power into every blow with more and more force.


    70%... 50%... 30%... My power rapidly drops, being absorbed into the seal even as that fire mark cracks and grinds roughly amongst its fellows.


    20% power¡­ 10%... 5%...

 Chapter 2.1

    [Chapter 2.1] - Zephyr Horn Village


    I am nearly dead, and so weak that I cannot even hold myself up within my own Domain.  My mind is slow and fuzzy, and my last few hits have only included a bare modicum of my power.  My power, which is all but extinguished.


    Thankfully it was enough.


    Even as I fall onto the ground, the fire mark I¡¯d targeted upon the seal shifts one last time, before shattering.  From that hole appears a crystal clear white spear of light, which suddenly flushes through both my body and my Domain.


    Aaaaaah.  Can you imagine, suddenly feeling so at ease after nearly dying?  The feeling is exquisite.


    That energy, regardless of its rather mediocre size, is like a glass of water to a man about to die of thirst in the desert.  And it flows through me and just feels perfectly right.  That energy buoys me, instantly giving me new strength.


    I pull myself off the ground and look at the seal, which has already showing signs of instability.  Massively complex constructs like this require a delicate balance of its parts, otherwise it will grind itself too roughly to operate.  Just like a machine.


    The sudden open space within the seal causes the marks within it to shift, and every time one of the marks moves away from another it allows another streak of magic to flow through it.  Just like a dam that has sprung a leak, the slow and inexorable pressure from the other side starts to grind away at it.


    Even as I watch, the smaller marks start to shake and tremble, their edges cracking, already weakening.


    That¡¯s when I use my newly restored magic on this side to strike it, as well.


    So far the amount of magic that has been able to pool inside of my body is still fairly small, but my control of it is the greatest of any being ever born.  Where before I¡¯d used my god power like a hammer, this time I use my magic like a needle, shooting out hundreds of tiny pinpricks over the weakened marks within the seal.  Each strike is honed to a razor sharp edge, and where they strike entire segments of those marks are destroyed, allowing even more of my magic to flow out.


    Once that small crack appeared in the seal, there was no other way for it to hold back the flood.


    From this side, I could feel the power that is being restrained by the weakened seal, and reach out for it.  This is my essence, my most fundamental self.


    It responds to my call, no longer completely blocked.  It surges wildly, both inside and out, causing more and more damage.


    Then the seal breaks, shattering into its individual segments and marks.  If the breaking of that first seal was able to unleash just a tiny trickle of magic, then when the whole seal exploded it was like a sudden flood being unleashed.  It swallows the god marks that made up the seal and snuffs them out as if they never existed, consumed by the raw power.


    Hell, even I¡¯m forced out of my own God¡¯s Domain by the force of it.


    Not like it matters though, cause I could instantly feel my body being flushed by that energy.  Magic is both energy and power, and from that well deep within myself it surges through my dried body like a tidal wave, rough and uncontrollable.


    Not like I want to control it though.  Within my body, it can do as it pleases.  For a mortal, such a colossal, never ending wave of magic would have resulted in nearly instant death.  Such wild magic surges are deadly.


    For me though, it feels as if I¡¯ve just taken the first breath of crisp, clean air.  It suffuses me, like the gentle, warm touch of a lover recently returned from a long, long trip.  In a word, it is total bliss.


    Once I finally get done soaking up as much of the feeling as I can, I turn my mind back to the last pressing matter.  Getting the fuck out of this hole in the earth.  Of course, that¡¯s where the weak point in all of this appears.


    The problem is two fold.  The first isn¡¯t really an issue for me though.  Still, I shall explain.


    Now that my magic is unbound, it not only flows within my body, but also starts to once more flow through the whole of creation.  That the moment, that doesn¡¯t really mean much, because everything is very much dried out.


    It¡¯ll take quite a while before magic has the chance to build up to the required strength in everything for it to become usable.  Except for around me.  The area immediately around my body is suffused with the magic I give off unconsciously.


    This then has strengthened the stone of my coffin, which is a bit of a problem.  Except for the fact that I can control that with just a bit of focus.


    The second, and much more pressing problem is my lack of god power.


    I barely have 1% of it remaining.  That directly relates to how much magic I can use in the mortal world.  Which, as you might imagine, is not very much at all.


    At least compared to a me at my peak.


    It is roughly about what an experienced mage or wizard could do.  Maybe even a master of a chosen magic art.  Thankfully, I don¡¯t have to use up that last spark of my divine self, but it does heavily restrict what I can do.


    Blowing up this fucking mountain over top of my head is quite beyond my means at the moment.  Which is frustrating in a whole different way.  It¡¯s like being kicked in the balls while I¡¯m already down!


    To have all this power and not be able to use it is insulting.


    Then again, my only other option is suicide.  Now that my magic is returned, I¡¯d simply be reborn again.  But no offense, but that option is totally fucking insane.  I really, after going through all of this, don¡¯t want to die.


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    I¡¯m really too angry to want to!


    Still, getting out of this hole is going to wear on my patience very quickly.  *Sighs*  There isn¡¯t any other way though.  So I lift a hand and press it against the rock above my head.  Through that touch I pool my magic into the area around my hand, before spreading it out in a great web through dozens of miles of rock and stone.


    ¡°Move.¡±


    And the rock flows like water away from me.


    +|+|+


    Walking, walking, and more fucking walking.  I thought the getting out from under the mountain was bad, but this really takes the prize instead!  Used to I could just fly through the sky or teleport to wherever the I fucking wanted.


    Now though, I have to walk.  And walk.  And walk some fucking more!  Gah!


    There is also not a fucking thing around either!  Outside of the mountain the entire land is dead, dried up, and scorched while also being choked by this fucking miasma.  The miasma is the worse, given that it hides everything else from my gaze unless I focus my magic through it.


    Fucking unbelievable.


    In an area of about twenty feet in diameter around me, the miasma is repulsed by my magic, but beyond that it clouds everything else.  I consciously have to pour my magic into the ground and the air around me to keep it from flooding back into the space I had already walked, which leaves a tunnel stretching a long distance behind me.


    Can you imagine walking through a black, utterly unknowable fog, unable to see in front of you while behind you a tunnel forms?  It is truly strange and not very comforting.  After all, it is easy to go back to where you were, but going forward is even harder when you glance back at the clear area!


    Not to mention that it is fucking boring.  Really, really, really boring.


    The miasma is like death warmed over and utterly foreign.  And a bit disgusting.  Every time I move into a stretch of land that had even a bit of life in it, the miasma has attacked it.  Most of it simply dies, but every now and again I run into an area that¡¯s been mutated by the vile shroud.


    Twisted trees so pale they almost seem to glow, grass that¡¯s been turned black with red edges, and pools of water which have stagnated and become rotten.  The smells are horrible!


    The few animals and beasts I¡¯ve run across are even worse.  Most are like the undead, horrible shambling things.  The rest have turned into true monsters, twisted abominations of what they had once been.  Or should have been, in case any of them are actually born that way.


    I don¡¯t really know, nor do I really give a damn at the moment.


    Running across areas like that leave me with no option but to destroy it.  I don¡¯t even burn it with fire.  Just by throwing a wave of pure magic through it causes it to die and turn to dust.  This, of course, causes what little remains here to turn even more desolate, but I don¡¯t give a damn one way or another.


    I can feel the hunger of it all.  But unlike the untainted land and air and water, this hunger isn¡¯t for the life giving power of magic.  It hungers for blood.


    Blood for sustenance.  Blood for power.


    The need for it is so great that I can feel it trying to reach outward toward the places where living things still are.  Like a moth drawn by the flickering flame of a candle, that need reaches out toward a place nearby.


    Which is why I¡¯m still fucking walking, instead of having stopped to take a nap.


    Thankfully that place is soon exposed, as I step into an area where the miasma is thinner.  My range of vision instantly increases, and I¡¯m able to see further beyond where the miasma is yet to go.


    A village, surrounded by a bare seven foot tall wall of stone.


    Inside of that wall is a bare handful of shacks, with only two stone buildings.  Surrounding the wall is plots of land that have been tilled and seeded with only a few variety of plants.  From what I can tell, most of it is tubers.  Very little green is present.


    The sky, however, is thankfully still a nice shade of blue, with fluffy white clouds hanging in the distance.  Apparently the miasma doesn¡¯t extend all the way up into the air.  Only about a hundred feet or so, once I finally crane my head upwards.


    Aaaah, it almost makes me feel good about having made the treck.


    However, my presence doesn¡¯t go unnoticed, as there are quite a few ragged and poorly looking peasants working outside the walls.  Most of them are working the fields, while some others herd a group of thin sheep and pigs through the browned remains of what should have been a lush plain.  My abrupt appearance, out of the miasma on the southern side of the village causes quite the bit of alarm.


    After all, how was I to know that people never walk through the miasma?  They always travel on roads that are clear of it.  Aaaah, oh well.


    ¡°Monster!  A monster has come out of the darkness!¡±


    Oh joy, this is going to be quite a riot.  All of the villagers run away as quickly as the first yell goes out, no doubt to spread the word.  It gets even worse when a group of six, armor wearing guards rush out of the eastern gate of the village and make a beeline straight at me.  I, however, just stand there and wait, watching.


    ¡°Oi!  What is a kid doing walkin¡¯ in the miasma?,¡± one of the guards suddenly shouts at me, waving his spear as if to swing it like a hammer.


    *Eye twitch*


    ¡°Who the fuck are you calling a kid?!¡±

 Chapter 2.2

    [Chapter 2.2] - Nameless God


    My yell really seemed to shock the guards, who all hurriedly take a step back from me.  Then again, it my have not been my words, but the utter malice they could hear in my tone.  Or it could have been the unconscious pressure they felt blast at them from my agitation.


    Regardless, it was still amusing to watch those men, no doubt hardened warriors all, get pressured by me.


    Especially since I do look like a boy at the moment.


    Fuck, it is really totally embarrassing on both sides.


    While by myself, it didn¡¯t matter much.  But here, surrounded by others, it is definitely annoying.  Because so much time has passed, the Fading of my aspects caused me to slowly revert into basically what would be my ¡®teenage¡¯ years.  Then using up so much of my god power, my appearance changed into one that¡¯s even younger.


    To be honest, I look like a ten year old mortal.


    A ten year old boy with shoulder length, long white hair.  My eyes are also a startling deep, dark blue with hints of various colors streaked through it along with random white twinkles that bloom into visibility before disappearing.  It as if looking out into the endless void between the myriad realms.


    Sadly, it isn¡¯t my eyes that draw the most attention, either.  The fact that I just walked out of the miasma, naked as the day of a newborn isn¡¯t, as well.  It is the fact that my body is as developed as a man nearly three times my apparent age, at the peak of their power and fitness.


    To be honest, my body is fucking ripped.  Still slim and with a hint of the gangliness of youth, but every single muscle is bulged out taunt underneath my skin, which is the same color as molten bronze.  It is also perfectly anatomically correct, without the bulging and lopsided features of a man who only strengthens one part of his body.


    Of course, the reason for that is quite simple.  My fucking ¡®family¡¯ didn¡¯t just seal me to slumber in the mortal world, they literally tossed my body out of the gods realm to do it.  Normally we don¡¯t expose our true bodies, and instead create avatars that take on the features we currently wish to express.


    Hell, I myself have come down from time to time in the form of things like lightning, old men, aspiring apprentices and shit.  Sometimes it is for shits and giggles, but other times such forms can be very appropriate.  After all, who doesn¡¯t enjoy causing a bit of mayhem every couple of millenium, right?


    The fact that I¡¯m here in my real body is still annoying though.  Especially given that my family jewels are all hanging out for the whole fucking world to see.  Next time, they should definitely leave me some fucking PANTS! at the very least.


    Not that I¡¯m totally into modesty or any of that bullshit.  But still, who wants to walk around with their balls and dick swinging around in the cool breeze?


    Well, it isn¡¯t that being cold or hot means anything to me.  Even without my magic, my god¡¯s body is totally immune to such things.  In addition, there is an advantage to using your physical body when compared to that of an avatar.


    I can express my god power directly in the world instead of having to channel it into the world first.


    That totally saves a good chunk of power in comparison.  As any magical user knows, distance effects how much power it takes to affect something.  Casing a lightning bolt from miles away takes far more energy when compared to shocking the ever living fuck out of something that you have hands on contact with.


    Casting magic from the heavens and into the mortal realm is no small feat, and by itself would all but impossible for any but me anyway.  For the other gods, it usually takes a combination of magic and their god power to do the same thing.


    Still, it is the principle that matters!  Even I¡¯m not so callous as to not provide a prisoner some fucking clothing.  It is a matter of common decency!


    Then again, at least I didn¡¯t wake up to find my body cut into bits and spread across the whole of creation.  That would have been a real sour moment.  I probably would have just let the entirety of creation die then.


    ¡°You¡­ you speak?  What sort of monster or demon are you?,¡±  the same man from earlier yells, although he cannot seem to force himself to step forward to threat me again.  Indeed, his hands shake in fear or terror while watching me.


    ¡°That is totally rude, asshole!  First you call me a kid, and then you dare to call me a monster?  Shit, do I look anything like those twisted fucking mutants from the miasma?  Do you have snot for brains, huh?!¡±


    Yeah, I totally shout that back, and for some reason feel quite proud of myself.  Maybe it is because such things like insults were totally beneath the dignity of us gods before, and now I get to express myself however I wish.  If I¡¯d said the same words in the heavens, my family would have looked at me as if I were insane.


    Or more insane, but whatever.


    I don¡¯t even give the rest of the guards time to say anything as I turn to look over my shoulder, narrowing my eyes.  Focusing my power, I draw the magic from my body and condense it around my body, bringing forward an ethereal, blue-colored glow that pulses and crackles with energy.


    Then I release it in a circular blast that revolves around me at its epicenter.


    BAM!


    The blast wave expands, wider and wider.  The guards are pushed back several feet by the sudden release of energy, while the miasma fifty feet behind me suddenly looks as if it had had a chunk taken out of it in a perfect quarter sphere of space.


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    The fact that I just blew back the miasma isn¡¯t the important thing however.  Within that area that suddenly became clear was a twisted monster.  It was once humanoid, probably of the beastmen race, but had been twisted and shit by the all devouring power of the miasma.


    To be blunt, it is fucking hideous.  I¡¯d felt it coming up behind me and decided to make an example out of its poor mockery of life.  Yeah, I¡¯m totally in that mood.


    Hehe!


    I didn¡¯t harm it with my magic though, because I really, really want some decent fun for once.  I¡¯d been alone and walking around for fucking ever by my damned self.  I hadn¡¯t run into any real trouble in the miasma, but now I finally have the chance to bash something that wasn¡¯t my fucking skull.  Just the thought of it brings a wide grin to my face.


    The mortal guards though are just totally shocked and shaking in their boots.


    Especially when they get to watch me suddenly turn and lung at the abomination.  While I was never the strongest god, nor the fastest, or perhaps even the most impressive in terms of pure intellect; I was also no slouch when it comes to my physical strength, either.


    My tightly bunched muscles seem to crackle audibly with power as I clench my fists and plant my feet firmly into the dusty, broken soil of the barren plain.  I didn¡¯t just manage to catch the mortal guards off balance too, but the abomination as well.


    It clearly didn¡¯t expect to be spotted, much less suddenly find itself without any means of hiding.  Or facing a frontal attack by what in all appearances should be a ten year old boy.


    Doesn¡¯t matter to me, though.


    I use the things body as a fucking punching bag all the same.  I literally beat the crap out of it, long after its unnatural life has ended.  Vile black blood sprays in every direction and the sounds of cracking bone can be heard even as far away as the village.  I don¡¯t use my magic on it at all.


    Aaaaaah, it feels so damned good to finally have something to hit on.  The fact that I leave a totally gory mess that causes one of the guards to take a staggered step away only to expel his lunch is just a side benefit of it.  Bits, pieces, intestines and a whole bunch of black and red muck is littered in an area nearly thirty feet in every direction.


    Aaaaah, to be brutal again.  Refreshing.


    Only once it is well and truly dead do I stop and look at the scene.  It is like something out of a nightmare.  But I¡¯m still totally satisfied.


    I am, however, not a total savage.  So after taking a moment to blow the blood and other gore off of my body with a flick of my magic, I clap my hands together and stretch my magic out into the ground beneath my feet.


    I can feel the leftover taint from where the miasma had been before, but I quickly disperse it and allow the earth to soak in my magic, feeding it far more than I had anything else.  In return, the earth obeys my command to draw in the remains of the abomination, drying it into the top layers of soil.  It¡¯ll make good fertilizer for the thing I summon next.


    Reaching out, probing and searching, it takes me a moment to find what I want.  Only a moment though, before I yank it into the spot I want before holding out my palms, upward and cupped.  With an exercise of my will, I once more gather magic, this time pooling it between my hands.


    It shimmers and boils into visibility as more and more of it is gathered, being held by my will.  If I had my full strength this would be child''s play, but it still takes me more than a minute to gather the needed amount.  Not that I¡¯m in a hurry.  Nor is anyone else, cause they are all scared too shitless.


    Only once the near liquid magic fills up to the brim hands do I stop, only to drop the magic unceremoniously onto the ground.  Right over the spot I killed the abomination before planting my seed.  Heh.  I cannot help but grin.


    The earth soaks it all up, before a sudden rumble shakes the ground.  It isn¡¯t anything as fierce as an earthquake, but it is totally unexpected and knocks over several of the guards onto their asses.  It is just as amusing to watch.


    However, what soon draws every gaze is something totally else.  From the previously barren soil, a sprout suddenly shoots up.  It is a dark, vivid green color.  But it isn¡¯t just any regular sprout of some random plant.


    No, it keeps growing, and growing, and growing.  It grows rapidly and quickly, reaching out and spreading.  Within only minutes, a huge fucking tree has suddenly taken root, reaching its pale silver branches majestically into the sky.  Each branch is capped in the same vivid, wide green leaves.


    And it continues to grow, soaring into the sky, taller than even the wall of miasma is.  A hundred feet, two hundred, three.  More.  Even I have to step back as it only grows taller and thicker.


    By the time the silver maple tree finally stops growing I¡¯m nearly back to where the guards were standing, whom are utterly dumbstruck.


    I¡¯m not watching the tree though, I¡¯m watching everyone else in the entire village.  They are all watching as well, and the awe on their faces makes me grin.


    ¡°I am a god, you foolish ingrates!,¡± my voice thunders over the entire village.


    Hahahahahahahaha.  The looks on their faces are priceless.


    Totally worth it.

 Chapter 2.3

    [Chapter 2.3] - Blood Altar


    Hahaha.  The people are so damned fearful.  It is quite enjoyable to watch, but at the same time more than a tad annoying.  No one dares speak a damned thing to me.


    Even though I was freely able to enter the village, even the village elder dares to not speak a word to me.  Instead, everyone stays as far back as they can.  Many of the mortals are even hiding in their pitiful houses of grass and mud.  Bah.


    Too be honest, the village of Zephyr Horn isn¡¯t all that much to look at.  With barely more than five hundred residents, the vast majority of them are old, weak, and infirm.  Walking through the place, I barely see more than a dozen children.


    Bless those children though.  Even though their elders all fear me, they have no such expectations.  Even though the adults try to shoo them away, they all come running willy nilly to me to play.


    Many ask questions, many run around in fascination.  They ask how old I am and what I was doing and why that big tree sudden showed up.  The oldest of them, a young girl who is rail thin and as pale as a ghost asks if I¡¯m really a god.


    The young girl is perhaps twelve or thirteen, but just by looking at her I can tell that she is not long for the world.  Her body is weak and her lips are pale.  Even I¡¯m not unmoved by such a thing.


    Even though I stand there, with the looks of a child younger than her, and am still fucking naked, I can feel that the desire that brought her before me.  Even her parents, and the others, didn¡¯t even do so.  Even though she felt fear, she was still willing to come.


    Aaaaah.  *Sighs* The hope in a child¡¯s eyes is simply too much.


    ¡°Heh.  I am truly a god, girl.  I do not know you, and you do not know me, but I will speak the truth.¡±  I smile at the girl and nod, even as I reach out to her with my magic.


    What I feel though suddenly changes my face, causing it twist up in a snarl.


    The girl was all but a walking corpse.  Her life was all but gone.  The taint in her blood is dense and is eating her from the inside out.


    But I recognize that power, that taint.  It makes me even feel disgusted.


    My looks seem to frighten even the kids, who hurried moved away from me even as the adults do the same.  I really couldn¡¯t blame them.  Even the girl who asked her question of me trembles and tries to step back.


    I don¡¯t let her though, and suddenly whip out my hand and make a grasping motion.  My magic bellows out like a wave, condensing into visibility in an instant as it wraps around the girl who suddenly screams in horror.  It is a truly frightening thing.


    However, I have no intentions of harming her.  They just don¡¯t know it yet, and I¡¯m not in the fucking mood to explain.  Therefore I use my magic and causes it to form a halo around her head, which suddenly causes her to go limp, having fallen unconscious.


    My magic holds her up though, and no doubt everyone who is watching would think that she was dead at that moment.


    For me though, I¡¯m concentrating on something else.  I use my power and my magic and reach into her body, and start forming what are basically magic filters in her veins.  I start with her heart and cleanse it.


    This sort of thing is a hard process at my current level of power, but I don¡¯t really give a damn.  As her heart is cleared of the taint, it beats more and more strongly, bringing toward it more and more of the taint within her blood.


    That taint though isn¡¯t destroyed.  Instead I use my magic and start expelling it out of her body.  To everyone watching, it would be as if something unimaginable was squeezing the poor girl¡¯s body.  Black muck oozes out of her mouth and nose and ears and even her eyes.


    It even drips out of some other uncomfortable places, but I won¡¯t mention it at the moment.


    As the taint is expelled, her previously pale skin starts showing signs of color.  Her breathing becomes quicker and more normal, and even her pale lips gain a shade of healthy red.  Her hair, which before had been simple brown and hung limply starts to straighten and gain a beautiful luster to it.


    Her simple ragged dress is stained with the black taint, but in the areas where none is, everyone can see that something is happening.


    I though don¡¯t notice this, with my focus completely on what I am doing inside of her body.  As more and more of the taint within her blood is removed, it starts to resist, squirming within her veins as if a living thing.  No matter how much it resists though, I force it all out, squashing it with my furious power.


    Oh, damned right.  I am very much fucking mad at the moment.


    All in all, it takes me ten tense, frenzied minutes to finally do away with it all.  The taint has even pooled around the young girl¡¯s feet, so I gently lift her up and move her away while also washing the black muck from her dress with my magic.  Once outside the body it is much more easy to deal with.


    However, I¡¯m not done with the girl, so I draw her to me.  All around, people are scared and astonished and nervous all at the same time.  A hundred faces expose a hundred different emotions.


    I don¡¯t give a flying crap about them at the moment, and instead reach out to the girl with my hand.  I lay it against her chest and frown once more in concentration.  Around us my magic shimmers and suddenly starts to revolve in a swirling away of dancing lights.  It quickly becomes denser and brighter at my urging.


    At the end, it appears like a field of stars rotating around the two of us.  To those outside, it is probably very miraculous.


    To the girl though, it is the gift of life.  Especially when it suddenly comes to a standstill only to suddenly blaze and sink into her body.  Every speck of it disappears into her, refilling what was once taken from her.


    Even though I had previously removed the taint from her, that didn¡¯t restore the damage that had been done.  It had only stopped it from consuming what she had left.  Her life itself.


    You see, mortals carry their life energy within their blood.  It slowly is used up during their lives and they die naturally when it is all gone.  A slow growing and then wilting.  Unless their life is taken by other means, this is the way the world works.


    That taint though¡­ That shit devoirs the life energy directly.  It invades, draining the life like a monstrous parasite.  And it can only come from one thing.  A thing that makes even me tremble with anger and fury.


    I hold my feelings in check though, and instead use my magic to give the girl back her life.  Only once her body is completely full does my star field of magic come to a stop and then dissipates.  Ugh.  Turning magic back into life energy is hard fucking work.


    Once it is done though, I release my hold on the girl as she starts to tumble forward.  I gently grasp her body and lift her up into my arms as if I were carrying a princess.  She is breathing normally, and now just simply asleep.


    I cast my gaze from her healthily ruddy face and look at the crowd.  They are all still staring at me, but none of them dare to make a sound.


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    ¡°You, come here.¡± I call to one of the men nearby, and with a look as if he is about to be strangled to death he steps toward me with hesitant steps.  I snort with impatience.


    ¡°Get your ass over here and take this girl to her home and lay her in bed to rest.  When she wakes, she will be just fine.¡±  I say again, before forcing the girl into his arms.  Until that point no one thought that the girl was even still alive.


    No doubt they thought that I had killed her.  Which is utter bullshit.  Even I am not into killing children without reason.


    Still, even as that is going on, one of the other kids, a boy of no more than four or five streaks out of the crowd and heads toward the taint that has been left on the ground.  Thankfully I catch him out of corner of my eye and quickly turn.


    ¡°Stop!¡± I bellow, even as I reach out with my magic and form a dome of power around where the taint is on the ground.  It stops the boy dead in his tracks, but at the same time the taint muck starts to writhe and squirm and bubble.  It slowly starts to pull itself off the ground and into a shape.


    A shape even I cannot forget.


    It is like a serpent, but isn¡¯t.  It is like a dragon, but ain¡¯t.  It curls around and around itself, as if chasing its own tail.  At the top a bulbous head with a long snout and a pair of blazing red eyes forms.


    Then its jaws open up wide and a deep, low hiss comes from it, echoing as if from the abyss itself.


    ¡°Youuuuussss!  You were ssssssealed!  How come youssss be here?¡±  The serpentine voice hisses out at me.  I simply stand still and tall and glare at it.


    ¡°World Serpent.  Do you honestly believe that even my family could seal me for so long?  Even as you devoured the world, as their strength failed so did the seal placed upon my slumber.¡±  At that moment I speak back to it with both my magic and my remaining god power.  My voice causes the air to crack and the ground to shake.


    Okay, so I lost myself a bit there.  I lower my tone when I realize that I¡¯d nearly knocked everyone to the ground.  Still, anyone could see that my eyes are blazing with my anger.


    ¡°It mattersssss not.  Thissss world will end ssssssoon.  I have tainted everythingggggg that remainsssss.  Not even your magic can ssssstop it now.¡±  The serpent hisses again, before its body of taint suddenly explodes.  It is powerful enough to shatter my dome of magic, sending black splotches all over the place.  But at the same time, those bits and pieces turn and rush away from both me and the crowd, heading toward the center of the village.


    Everyone is dumbfounded, but I¡¯m not.  I give chase, pushing my body along with both my power and my magic, which causes me to disappear in a streak of light.  As for where we are going, I can already see it.


    It is a stage made out of stone.  Upon that stage is an altar.  A black monstrosity.  Even I am almost pushed back from it as its vile atmosphere strikes at me like a running into a wall.


    I still push through it, and in that instant I¡¯m left standing in front of the altar.  It is black as night and as tall as my chest.  Upon it is a single indentation, like a bowl had been carved into it.  Within that bowl is blood which is still as red as the day it was spilled.


    The taint is trying desperately to disappear into it, but I reach out and block it with my magic.  This time I capture it out of the air with a thought, and with a white flash of light it is all destroyed.  Not a single speck of that taint remains.


    The altar though is a different thing altogether.  The taint without a body is very weak.  But this altar is a creation of a monster.  In it is the culmination of thousands of years worth of life energy.  The very blood of the people who have worshipped at it.


    I can also feel the power of the gods within it.  Hmmm¡­ So it is like that.


    I laugh.  Oh, how do I laugh at that point of time.  Of course, of course it would be that way.  Why wouldn¡¯t my family, the gods themselves be so stupid?  They could do nothing else.


    They made a deal with the World Serpent in order to survive.  Those damned fucking fools.


    Of course they would dare to conspire to treat with the World Serpent in return for their fucking lives.


    Fuck! FUCK!  FUCK!  FUCK!  FUCK!!!


    My laughter at that moment turns into a yell as I strike out.  My magic flashes and blazes as I smash at the altar with my fists.  At first it resists, but slowly it cracks as I slam into it more and more.


    With each of my slamming fists I yell, and every time I hit it my strength grows.  With each crack of the altar my magic forcibly absorbs the god power held within it, stripping its protection while increasing my own strength.  The god power of perhaps a single god is contained with the altar, and my body greedily devours it.


    The destruction comes to an end only after every single bit of that god power is consumed, and the altar is left cracked and broken.  I don¡¯t dare to leave it there though, so I gather it all up and crush it in a sphere of magic that tightens and tightens.  At the end, only a marble of black rock remains, fused and condensed.


    I¡¯m not done with it though, and grin evilly as I reach towards the sky with my hands, palms up and flat.


    ¡°World Serpent!  You cannot devour this world!  I still stand, and with each of these blood altars I destroy, I shall strengthen and you shall weaken!  I will send you to the void!¡±  I yell out, my voice a booming, frenzied thing that shakes the earth itself and tears at the sky.  Above me, a crack appears, and I clench my fists and tear it wide open with my magic.


    A sudden quake sounds, like the sound of ripping thread as I use my magic to force open a tear through the realms.  Beyond that, a sudden suction happens, but I trap it before anything could be pulled from the ground.


    All of it but the marbled remains of the blood altar.  Even I cannot help but grin as it is suddenly yanked up and disappears into the black abyss within that crack in the realms.  Beyond that is a place even I have not gone before.


    Nor do I want to.


    The marble cracks upon entering, and I get to watch it is suddenly destroyed.  Only then do I let the tear close, slapping my clenched fists together in front of me.  The sky returns to normal and everything goes still.


    BOOM!


    A violent shake thunders through the earth, and the air itself screams with the sudden cry of pain and misery.


    Hahahahahaha!


    The altars are made from the very body of the World Serpent, and I just destroyed one of its fragments.  Of course it would be pained.  Hehehehe.


    And that expression of pain brings a devastatingly grand smile to my face.

 Chapter 3.1

    [Chapter 3.1] - Village Elder¡¯s Daughter


    After dealing with the blood altar, I finally turn around only to realize that everyone in the entire village is standing there staring at me.  Most are stunned, but quite a few seem angry.  Most of all though, all of them are showing fear.  Genuine, palpable fear.


    It didn¡¯t take me long to realize why, either, as I heard a sudden whistling sound.  Turning my gaze, I could see over the short walls of the village and could see the thick curtain of miasma that hung over the entirety of the village.  It was starting to swell, getting higher and higher and starting to push toward the village.


    It would blanket everything.


    Those villagers at the proper angles could see it as well, as their faces were all pale.  It was as if their greatest nightmare had come true.  Some of them even fainted and started convulsing on the ground.


    Well, damn.


    I cannot help but let out a sigh and turn to look at the miasma again.  This time though, there¡¯s a faint smile on my face.  The reason for that is quite simple though.


    I¡¯m the mother fucking God of Magic and some piss poor excuse of a natural calamity dared to threaten me!  Oh yes, I couldn¡¯t help the wide grin that has come across my face.  Hehehehe.


    It seemed that the World Serpent held a grudge because of what I¡¯d done to it, and thus was retaliating.  Too bad it couldn¡¯t do the damned deed itself.  This was the most it could do.


    Try to smother me with its power.


    However, I¡¯d sucked up quite a bit of god power from the altar, which lifted my own percentage quite a bit.  A little under ten percent.


    That is far more than what I¡¯d need to do.


    You see, my god power influences how much of my magic I can use within the fabric of reality.  The greater the amount, the more raw magic I can bend to my will all at once.  Otherwise I¡¯d be forced to use the same method as sorcerers or the like, drawing the magic slowly from within my body.


    But with nearly ten percent of my god power restored, I can wield far more magic than even the great Arch Magi of bygone years within the mortal realm.  That amount of power cannot be called weak, even by the gods who used to be at full strength.


    Hmmm, on that matter, I wonder which of my family I¡¯d just extinguished from the realms.  Oh well, not like I really care.  Sucks for them that they had bound themselves to such foolish things like a Blood Altar to retain their lives.


    Now their power will be mine!  Hahahahahaha!


    Okay, so maybe not that much.  Even I cannot contain even all of that god power.  Being the first god, my god power was always the strongest and largest, but still.  Compared to the entire pantheon, it was only about a quarter of the total.


    Yes, alright, I¡¯ll admit to having a really, really big family.  Which is probably why they thought that they had enough power to suppress me.  Too bad they couldn¡¯t finish the fucking job.


    Enough about that for now though, cause I have work to do.  Still grinning, I once more raise my hands toward the sky, but this time one is overtop the other, circled as if I were holding a pole or a staff.


    ¡°I am a god, assholes!¡±  I cannot help but yell outrageously even as I start to summon my magic.


    This time I limit it to keep it from being too flashy, and under my suppression the entire world seems to go still and silent instead of the violence I had unleashed previously.  I don¡¯t want to destroy the town, after all.


    With my god power drawing my magic steadily and swiftly into the world around me, I will it with absolute control.  At that point the magic becomes blazingly bright, shining blue and swirling around my body even as it spirals up high into the sky.


    Up there, it starts to condense, rapidly forming into the shape of a long rod made of nearly transparent crystal.  It continues to grow and grow, until it reaches the height of thirty feet.  Then it branches out both left and right, forming the support.  Only once it is done does the magic start to swirl up the length.


    From there, the magic starts to ripple and weave, contorting into strands that rapidly starts at the top only to grow towards the bottom.  From that point on, the extremely and fine strands start to weave together, growing a banner.


    That banner is silver with black edges, and within the center is my symbol.  An open eye that is black and filled with swirling color and flashes of white.  Around the eye is an array of magical symbols that start to circle the eye.


    Once upon a time that was my personal symbol, which adorned my churches and temples.  It is actually pretty nice to be able to see it again.  Aaaaah, it seems like so long ago now~


    Oh well.  It is now here again, so I am happy.


    The fun isn¡¯t over yet, especially not when the banner is complete.  Because at that point, I let it drop.  Hehehehehe.


    I stand there, on that stone stage, and watch my banner fall onto the earth right dead center of where the blood altar had once been.  I cannot help but laugh, cause it is quite the enjoyable thing to watch the mortals looking at me like I¡¯m crazy while their world is inevitably coming to an end.


    Too bad the fools don¡¯t know a good thing when they see it.


    BAM!!!


    My banner slams into the stage, suddenly shattering it completely even as the earth shakes and rumbles as it gets speared deeply.  Only after sinking in ten feet into the earth does the banner come to a stop, throwing up great amounts of dust and debris.


    The only part of the stage that is completely unaffected is the part I¡¯m standing on, which has become a circular podium with a row of chiseled steps leading to the ground below.  The most amazing thing about it though as once the banner comes to a rest, the banner finally shifts as if it is being blown by the wind.


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    As it does so, it releases a sound like a crystal bell, pure and sweet.  That sound seems to reverberate across the entire world.  It is followed quickly afterwards with a pulse of sharply condensed magic that flows out over everyone¡¯s head like a great wave.  Once it comes into contact with the wall of miasma, it doesn¡¯t just stop it.  It pushes it back.


    Back to where it was once before.  Then with another bell-like toll, a second wave of magic spreads out, pushing the miasma back even further.  As it does so, it exposes the ground and the sky.


    In total, the sound rings out ten times, with each magic wave being stronger than the last.  At the end, the miasma is pushed back nearly three hundred miles in every direction from the center of the village.


    So far that you cannot even see it without a very high tower and a looking glass.


    ¡°Now, can someone please bring me a fucking change of clothes?  I¡¯m tired of standing here with my balls hanging out for all of you to enjoy!¡±


    +|+|+


    I¡¯m in one of the only stone buildings in the village, which more resembles a cave than a house.  However, it has three rooms and a decent roof on it, so I cannot complain to much.  I¡¯m also changing into a change of clothing which had been hastily provided for me.


    The clothing is a decent quality, made from some sort of rough material that reminds me of wool.  However, it is not the clothing of a ten year old.  That¡¯s right, fuckers!  I got some of my age back with the return of so much god power.


    Hehehehe.


    I¡¯m actually quite ecstatic about that.  Like, who really takes a ten year old kid seriously?  That¡¯s a fucking nightmare right there.  A god of magic, as a ten year old.  Yeah fucking right.


    However, I only appear to be about thirteen or fourteen.  I¡¯ve grown taller, and bigger.  My body remains perfect though, and even now it has a luster that was previously missing.  My bronze-like skin seems to shine, even in the darkness.


    Okay, yeah, I could probably turn that off, but why would I want to?  I want everyone to gaze upon my mystique.  Hehehe.  Yes, okay, even I like having my egg stroked.


    As for where I am, I¡¯m in the main bedroom of the village elder¡¯s house.  After the matter of me dropping my banner from the heavens finally settled down, the villagers had quite the shock.  From what I¡¯d heard, they¡¯d never lived where they couldn¡¯t see the miasma before.  It was always there, forming a black wall which almost completely cut them off from the outside world.


    Very, very few people dared to go into it, and the vast majority of those never returned.


    Now though they can look out upon the earth and the sky and not see the miasma with the naked eye.  Not only that, now they have far more land they can grow into and cultivate and develop.


    If that wasn¡¯t enough, green had started to spread as well.  Starting from around the great tree I¡¯d planted, grass and flowers and shrubs and other trees had suddenly sprung up and taken root very quickly.  It happened fast enough that one could actually watch and see the vast sea of green spreading out.


    That¡¯s right, bitches, I returned life to the earth.  Hahahaha.


    Now though, all of that is done with.  The villagers are still scared as hell from me, but at the same time they no longer doubt my claims as a god.  They are all very respectful to me now.  Many of them are also already praying at my banner.


    Thankfully the village doesn¡¯t have a Blood Priest here.  That would have gotten more than a little gory if I¡¯d had to do away with such a vile thing.  The villagers are also very thankful that they don¡¯t have to cut themselves anymore.


    Yeah, I¡¯d done away with that very fucking fast.  No more blood sacrifices.  No more cutting themselves.  *sighs* That shit is just sort of disgusting.  At least the next generation won¡¯t have to bare the literal scars that the previous ones had.


    My reminiscing gets disturbed though as the curtain mounted over the doorway gets shoved roughly aside.  I¡¯d barely just got my shirt on when I¡¯m nearly knocked over by someone.


    ¡°My God, thank you!¡±  A soft voice squeals almost right next to my ear.  I¡¯m not too flummoxed though, cause I recognize the lustrous dark hair that is currently pressed against my cheek.  Especially not with being hugged as tightly as I am.


    Damn, I¡¯d missed the impress of a woman.  Especially when it is the overwhelmingly joyful woman I¡¯d saved earlier.  Even I cannot help but give her a hug in return.


    I do it softly though.  I don¡¯t want to pop her like a grape by getting too excited.  That¡¯d be bad.  Heh.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome.  Hmm¡­ What is your name?  I never did get it.¡±  I say gently, trying rather obviously to hide the grin that¡¯s come across my face.  After all, I need to at least appear dignified at the moment.  It wouldn¡¯t due to get the reputation for being a lewd bastard.  At least at the moment.


    ¡°Aaah, sorry!¡± The girl suddenly steps back with a blushing face.  She really is pretty now that she isn¡¯t stick thin and as pale as death.  It seems she¡¯d made a quick recovery.


    ¡°I¡¯m Lusia, the daughter of the village elder.¡±  The girl, Lusia says prettily as she smiles, which causes cute dimples to appear on her cheeks.  ¡°I wanted to thank you for saving my life, and the village.  I woke up and was watching from the window when you destroyed that cursed altar.¡±


    Damn, my Cute-O-Meter keeps going up by tick after tick.  I have to blow out a breath to regain my composure.  I can clearly see the worship in her eyes, and the awe.  Hehe.  Talk about ego-stroking.


    ¡°It isn¡¯t anything to be that thankful for.  I have a long history with the World Serpent.¡±  I say with a rather nonchalant shrug.  Still, I smile at her and hold up my hand to stop her from speaking.


    ¡°Now, why don¡¯t you give me a name, Lusia?¡±

 Chapter 3.2

    [Chapter 3.2] - The Name


    ¡°Huh?¡±  The girl pulls back with a startled expression, as if what I had asked was totally ridiculous.  After all, what sort of god doesn¡¯t have a name?


    However I just chuckle and gently step back from her before swirling one of my fingers.  I get to watch with some amusement as the girl suddenly finds herself being turned around in a complete circle with my magic, causing her to give out a soft squeak of a scream.  It wasn¡¯t too fast though, or too harsh.


    The girl calms down after only a moment of finally standing on her own two feet again, although she¡¯s holding her hands to her chest as if she¡¯d just witnessed something miraculous.  Then again, she doesn¡¯t remember most of what I¡¯d done to her before.  Her expression makes me grin widely.


    ¡°Yes, a name.  It has been so long that I no longer have one.  I¡¯m what you could call a Lost God.  The reason I appear this young is for the same reason.  A god with no name cannot grow out of what you¡¯d consider the teenage years.¡±


    I speak gently to her, and even explain a few things at the same time.  You see, the names of gods are important.  When a god is born they have no name, and thus must develop one.  This is usually a very long process, which can take centuries.


    Only two types of beings can give an unnamed god a name.  The first is other gods, their family.  The stronger the god who gives the unnamed god a name, the stronger the name is reflected within both the heavens and in the mortal world.  Those whom I personally named where the greatest of the gods, second only to myself.


    The second type though is on the other end of the spectrum.  Mortals can also name the gods.  Not just any sort of mortal however.  Only a believer, a true believer is able to name their god.  It is through this way that the greatest of mortal potential can be expressed.


    A god given a name by a mortal believer is the truest expression of the bond between gods and mortals.  This is reflected upon both the god they name, as well as the mortal who does the naming.  Kind of like a magical contract, for those of you idiots who cannot understand the concept.


    For a god like me though, it only lays a foundation.  To other gods, this sort of thing would usually express their true potential and raise them to that limit.  For me, it is only a starting point.  In effect, it¡¯ll simply give me a name to be called by while increasing my god powers efficiency somewhat.


    Still, it needs to happen, so why not get it done and over with?


    I¡¯m not really worried that the girl would pick something silly or stupid.  There is too much awe and shock and joy in her face for that.  Her belief is strong, so I¡¯m willing to take the gamble.


    Still, my words move her out of her shock and her cute face scrunches up as she contemplates.  I simply wait, folding my arms over my chest.  Although I have the appearance of a twelve to thirteen year old child, my body has the proportions of a man of a far greater age and maturity. Even through my clothing one could see my musculature.


    She does look rather cute like that though, no doubt furious thinking.


    ¡°Ah.  My father called you most vexing.  He was quite in shock, learning that a god had come and even destroyed the altar we had worshipped at for so many centuries, only to find out that the altar wasn¡¯t from the gods at all¡­ So I shall call you Vex!¡±


    I get to watch her face light up with clear admiration and determination as she makes her choice, which is even more cute.  Before, the girl was rail thin and pale enough to look like nice.  Now her features are alive and bright, and even make my heart pound a bit looking at her.


    Her words though startle even me, and for a moment I stand there dumbly before laughing.  This laugh though is more of a gentle chuckle, like the babbling of a brook instead of the rough, powerful laughter I¡¯d expressed before.  My hands come up and I clap a few times.


    ¡°Good.  Very good!  I have received the name of Vex, and henceforth I shall take the name of Vex as my own.¡±  I say with a wide grin.  A sudden halo of golden god power appears around my head like a headband, beating along with the rhythm of my heart while at the same time one forms around her own head.


    She gasps, but I had already expected this to happen.  I grin all the wider.  Outside, my banner swirls and flutters wildly before another CHIME sound emits from it, followed by another wave of magic power that suffuses everything and once more pushes out its which.  This one is different from the others though in that it it stretches out like a blanket to cover the earth within the area it controls.


    I can feel the build up and then the release of magic from both within my body and the world around us.  Magic energy itself starts to fizz and bubble across the bubble of this space, almost instantly returning the magic to levels that can once more support life.  Aaaaah, it feels as if this small pocket of the world had come alive again.


    The girl, Lusia is standing there wide eyed, utterly speechless as the halo around her head suddenly disappears.  However, the expression doesn¡¯t change, and instead her eyes are darting in every direction, looking at things only she can see.  She even holds up her hands to look at them in rapt attention.


    ¡°Hehe.  It seems the naming has been successful.  As the God of Magic, not only am I the wellspring that brings magic into the realms, but I¡¯m the sole contender of the use of magical energy.  Now you, as a priestess of the God of Magic Vex, have been raised to the greatest potential any mortal can have in the use of magic.  You are now second only to myself in using magic, and only the greatest of beings of other races can hope to equal you.¡±


    I tell her while laughing at her strange, excited and confused expression.  Hehehehe.  It looks great to see such awe on her face.  I don¡¯t give her any time to understand it though, cause I reach out to her and hook my arm around her waist, only to draw her out of the stone house and onto the village square.


    Everyone is looking and waiting, having heard the sound and felt the rush of energy that had been emitted from my banner.  Although they dare not get close, they all know that something had happened.  Only Luisa''s father, the village elder dares to close in on us soon after we come out.


    I ignore him though, and tighten my arm around the girl before making a sudden jump, launching us into the air.  The girl suddenly lets out a squeal of a scream, but I simply hold onto her tightly before we land on the stone podium before my banner, so we can be seen and heard by the entire village.  The impact is as light as a feather when I bring us down gently.


    Still, I release the girl and take a short step forward, smiling before clapping my hands to make sure everyone¡¯s attention on us.  The village elder is shocked and only then steps out of the crowd to see what I have to say.  No doubt he¡¯s worried about his daughter.


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    ¡°Thank you all for coming.  I have an announcement to make.¡±  My voice carries through the silence, and I just love being in the middle of such attention.  I¡¯m tempted to laugh out manically again.  I have to hold it in, otherwise I¡¯ll ruin the mood!


    ¡°Millenium ago I was the father of the gods, the greatest of them all.  I was sealed however, and long since lost both most of my power and even my name of that time.  This was done in error, and the destruction, devastation, and loss of life that has happened since that long ago time is directly related to my ensealment.  I am the God of Magic, and from me magic energy flows through all the realms.  Without that energy, life itself withers and dies and the realms themselves crumble piece by piece.  Only darkness remains!¡±


    My voice booms out, as I give a quick explanation of what has happened and why.  I have to set my face into stone, as even just talking about it makes me angry.  Still, I hide in behind a mask of cool restraint.  It wouldn¡¯t do to get angry and go on a rampage here, after all.


    ¡°I was sealed under the mountains to the west of here, both with my consciousness pushed into blissful sleep and the core of magic within me sealed as well.  This allowed the magic of the realms to be used up without replenishment, like a well drained dry.  It would have taken centuries after centuries after centuries for it to finally disappear to the state it is now.  Where the soil itself no longer supports crops and the rivers dry up and the air becomes stale and tasteless.  Where stone is brittle and fire gives off less warmth.¡±


    ¡°But that is only part of the story!  The rest of the gods, my previous family, realized their mistake but feared it at the same time.  They cannot exist without magic, because even their godly power cannot extend itself across the realms.  They rely upon the magic that my existence brings in order to influence the realms.  However, they did not desire to awaken me from my slumber, and thus turned to another being who could potentially save them.  The World Serpent.¡±


    This time I let my anger show, on both my face and in my voice.  I almost tremble, gritting my teeth.  I do finally take a couple of breaths to calm myself and continue.


    ¡°The World Serpent is a being almost as old as I am.  Where I was born out of the creation of the realms, bringing life and power; he however was born out of the world¡¯s destruction.  The ender, the devourer of life and existence.  Gorging itself on blood and taint, it would devour everything until only it remains.  The gods made a pact with the World Serpent, to grant upon it their godly power in return for their miserable lives.  The World Serpent agreed, and thus released upon this mortal realm pieces of itself, in the shape of those accursed blood altars!¡±


    ¡°Under the name of the gods, it would accept blood sacrifices to empower itself while giving just enough of that energy to keep the gods alive at the same time.  The Miasma, which were thought a scourge of the gods, are in fact the physical representation of the World Serpent¡¯s growth and power in this realm.  As it grows, so does the Miasma!  It devours the energy of life, which is based upon magic itself, and twists it into unnatural abominations!  Creatures not born of life but instead the negative energies of death!¡±


    I finally have to stop to take a few breaths, calming myself.  My face had gone red from my furious yells, even as the face of everyone has gone pale in fear.  Either fear of me, or what they had mistakenly believed.  I ignore it though.


    ¡°The seals that once imprisoned me though have been broken.  Once I was awakened, I realized that my magic was still sealed, and thus used up the vast majority of my godly power to break it.  That is why I appear as I do, a youngling.  A god¡¯s age is represented on how much godly power we have.  And why I rapidly aged when I destroyed the cursed altar, having absorbed the godly power laid inside of it into myself.¡±


    I stop for a bare moment, letting the silence hang in the air after my words.  The feeling of expectation and apprehension is great.  I flash a smile, before standing up tall and holding my arms out.


    ¡°As is the right of the greatest mortal believer of a god, by ancient bonds between the gods and mortals, young Lusia here has offered me a name!  Upon her words, I am Vex, the God of Magic!  This is the name I have accepted, and thus I invoke the ancient pact to promote Lusia, daughter of Quintin, Elder of Zephyr Horn Village, to be the First Priestess of Vex!¡±


    I all but yell the words out, before swirling around to face both Lusia and the fluttering banner behind her.  I grin and give her a wink, enjoying the absolutely flabbergasted look on her face even as I hold up my hands to the tall banner.  Summoning my magic once more, the air in front of my hands instantly turns into a swirling blue mist that condenses rapidly before streaking out to my banner.


    The banner absorbs every drop of it, and with a low rumble in the earth it starts to grow larger and taller, expanding out even as a second, smaller banner forms just under my own.  The crystal-like rod splits off a second branch, and from it the magical cloth weaves out.  Like my own, this smaller banner is silver with black trim, but the symbol within the center of it different.  It is the symbol of a queenly circlet.


    A circlet of deep silver, edged in gold and adorned with deep blue gems that sparkle on the cloth as if it were a real object.


    Only once the banner, which is only about half the size of mine above it, is complete do I drop my arms and give Lusia another smile before turning around to the villagers who are still watching.  Their faces show awe, and many of them are dumbfounded.  The village is utterly silent.


    ¡°This is Lusia, the First Priestess of myself, Vex, God of Magic!  This child, whose body was completely tainted by the worship of the World Serpent, is now mine.  Neither men, nor beasts, nor the other gods may break this sacred pact!  Not even the World Serpent could hope to undo this vow which I, myself, have made!  Upon my name of Vex, I claim her as my first Consort, and any who claim otherwise will die!¡±


    I grin, and motion to her while I speak, drawing the gaze of every single villager to her.  She¡¯s both pale and blushing under such attention, even before the rest of my words end.  Only then does she go completely red from blushing, which I find quite amusing after looking at her from the corner of my eyes.


    After all, it isn¡¯t every day that a god announces that he was basically going to marry someone who was just a common villager before.  Her old man, the village elder, actually faints and falls to the ground in front of the stone podium.


    Hahahahahaha!  Okay, I couldn¡¯t stop it before I started laughing.  It is just too great not too!

 Chapter 3.3

    [Chapter 3.3] - God¡¯s Consort


    Lusia was utterly embarrassed, with every part of her body that was visible red as the ripest of tomatoes.  Likewise, the rest of the villagers were utterly stupefied, unable to understand what was going on.  The girl¡¯s father was likewise unconscious, having fainted from the shock.


    Hehehehe.  I cannot help but laugh as I watch.  Aaah, really, it was such a nice thing.  Sadly, there is still something to do before the real fun could commence though.


    So I turn back around to the villagers and clear my throat.  The sound that rings out brings others back to their senses, and they shift nervously. I could all but tell that they were all wondering if I still had some other shocking thing planned.


    I did, but not in the way they imagined.  My work here in the village still wasn¡¯t quite done, and it is something better to deal with now instead of putting it off.  So once more I stretch out my hands.


    ¡°There is still one last thing I need to do here.  Each and every one of you, because of the blood sacrifice ritual you¡¯ve all undertaken under the name of a false god, have been tainted by the World Serpent.  Those of you who¡¯d previously watched me deal with it with regards to my lovely Lusia would understand what I mean.  This taint lives in your blood, slowly gorging itself upon your life energy.¡±


    ¡°It weakens you, makes you grow older more swiftly and reduces your ability to heal.  It takes your energy, making you feel weak.  It makes you less fertile, unable to reproduce.  Those heavily tainted cannot even live to adulthood.  Lovely Lusia was one such tainted.  But each and every one of you is also tainted in the same way.  So at this time I demand that each of you come forth onto this podium so I can heal you.¡±


    I¡¯m smiling, but my words are cold and without hesitation.  The taint is an infiltrator, reaping lives and sowing death.  Through it the World Serpent knows everything I¡¯ve said, everything I¡¯ve done.  I¡¯m not too worried about it in that regard, but if left to fester it could cause doom to the entire village.


    I need these mortals though, so it is best to get it done and over with.  After all, without worshippers how can a god flourish?  Hehehe.  At the same time, I¡¯m going to use it as a teaching experience for Lusia.  She, who now has access to my power, should be able to do the same as me with a little bit of practice.


    I¡¯d barely said the words before someone rushes up onto the high stone podium.  It¡¯s a kid, one of the boys who¡¯d been in the group who¡¯d questioned me about rather or not I¡¯m really a god before.  I don¡¯t know his name, but I smile at him all the same and he is quick to grin back.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go first!¡±  The boy is fearless, which greatly pleases me.  So I nod and hold out my hands toward him.


    ¡°Very well.  Close your eyes, youngling.  It will be quick, but not totally painless.¡±  I say seriously, before I turn my head and look at Lusia.  She¡¯s looking at me with uncertainty on her face.  I smile at her and motion her over.


    ¡°Come and watch.  You now have the power to do it too, so this is your first lesson.  I¡¯ll let you feel my magic at work so you can attempt it yourself later.¡±  I instruct gently, which brings her rushing over.  She seems rather excited at the idea of being able to do magic.


    I turn back to the kid and find that his eyes are clamped shut.  He¡¯s wearing basically rags, and standing there shivering.  It is kinda cute.  Heh.  I crack a grin and start the process.  The boy is tainted, but not by much, so it isn¡¯t anything like how far I¡¯d had to go with Lusia.


    Within moments the taint is removed from his body, and I use my magic to capture the squirming black muck and float it into the sky above us, keeping it far away from where others are.  It wouldn¡¯t do to have anyone else infected by it.


    After that, it is a mad rush by the rest of the villagers, but I instruct the kids to come first and get them done one at a time.  Each of them grow stronger and healthier, and they all laugh and play afterwards in front of the podium.  Even I cannot help but smile fondly at them.  There¡¯s a reason why I had so many children myself before.


    After that, we move onto the adults, and this is where I start giving verbal instructions to my Lusia.  I show her how to reach out and touch the connection between us, to summon the magic that she cannot yet feel from the world around her.  Unlike normal mages, wizards, witches, or sorcerers, there isn¡¯t enough magical density in the surrounding environment yet to support her.


    But she is connected to me, and that allows her to draw magic directly from me.  At first she¡¯s unable to grasp a whole lot, cause it is far too much for her to control.  That is fine however, as I show her how to take only what she needs and allow the rest of it to buoy her up at the same time.  To increase her physical strength and energy while concentrating on the magic.


    Being my consort does come with perks, and the fact that the magic flows so smoothly through her is one of them.  Her touch is delicate, and she soon learns how to move the magic with a deft will.  I help her guide that power properly as I let her test it on the villagers that come up, and soon she¡¯s just as good as I am in regards of being able to capture and remove the taint from others.


    I even show her how to gather it up and float the taint up and away, gathering it so i can destroy it in a bit.  After that, the two of us are able to go through the villagers very quickly.  Each and every one of them is cleaned up in minutes apiece, and I even have a couple of the villagers carry Lusia¡¯s father up to be cleansed as well, even though he is still out faint.


    By the time night falls, the entire village has been cleaned up, and are all healthier and stronger than they could ever remember.  All of them are laughing and shouting, and soon enough the entire village is putting on a feast to celebrate.  The words on their lips all echo my name as well as Lusia¡¯s.  The Great God Vex and his Consort, Lusia.


    I make something like fireworks out of destroying the taint, pinching off bits of it only to toss it high into the sky over the village before setting it ablaze in various colors, overawing the gawking villagers below.  I even go so far as to show Lusia this little generally useless trick so she can do the same.  Hehehe.  This girl truly does have a good knack at grasping my techniques.


    Around the village square great bonfires are set up, and soon great helpings of freshly roasted meat and vegetables start making their way around.  I eat my fill, of course, as does Lusia.  As a god, I don¡¯t strictly have to eat, but I do enjoy it.  Most of the villagers had never seen so much food at once.  Live was hard in the desolate areas, but here life was returning, so they decided to bring out their stored food to celebrate.


    Someone even managed to bring out a barrel of some sort of sour alcohol, deciding that some drink would go well with the food.  I try it, but it isn¡¯t really up to my standard.  Then again, I¡¯m picky when it comes to alcohol.  Sweet wines and honey mead tend to be my prefered drinks of choice.


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    Lusia though seems to enjoy the tart drink, and soon enough she¡¯s rather tipsy.  It is amusing to watch her get drunk.  Around this time her father wakes, and it takes a few of the villagers to explain to him what was going on.  He naturally goes straight for the alcohol.  Hahahaha.


    Around midnight though the entire village is tired and grows quiet.  One by one they start coming before myself and Lusia, who are still sitting on the stone podium to offer their prayers and thanks.  Aaaaaah, receiving such worship is very nice.  I could feel the twinkle of power they present to me.  It is barely a drop of water in an ocean, but it is worth it all the same.


    Only after giving their prayer of thanks does the villagers turn and go to their homes, happy and joyful.  From upon high, I can hear them talking about their plans for the next day.  They now have quite a bit of land to cultivate and herds to pasture out beyond the village walls.  They no longer fear that death could come at any time.


    I don¡¯t dispel the notion, and instead send them off one by one with my blessings.  It is just a minor thing, but my words mean a great deal to them.  Lusia is pressed up against my side, her face red.  Hehe. She¡¯s really cute.


    Only after the last of the villagers are gone does the village Elder come to greet me and his daughter, and offers us to stay in his house.  That was a given, but it was nice of him all the same.  He does admit to lamenting on losing his daughter though.  The man is surprisingly blunt.


    Lusia though curses drunkenly though, saying that if it wasn¡¯t for me then she¡¯d have died before ever finding a husband.  I laugh at the two of them, and gently break up the argument that could be started.  This settles the two of them down for me to speak.


    ¡°In ancient times, the father of the intended wife would give a dowry while the potential husband would offer onto the wife¡¯s family something of equal value in trade.  These are not those times though, so such traditions can be bent and even broken.  We¡¯ll be staying in the village a while longer to help you all get on your feet.  I will not leave you all with nothing.¡±


    That seems to cheer the village elder up, while at the same time making him go red in the face with shame.  After all, what could he offer to a god?  There is no suitable dowry available in the entire village.  I¡¯m not too worried though and wave it off even as I stand up and grasp Lusia against me, holding her against my chest.


    She clings to my shirt and gives me a rather tipsy smile, even as I sweep her up into my arms in a princess carry and jump off the podium and back to the earth in front of her home.  From there I carry her inside, as is proper, and go directly for the room she points out as being herds.  It is barren and run down, but the straw bed is bigger than the one in the elder¡¯s room, which I had changed in.


    I gently lay Lusia on the bed, but before I could step away she reaches out and grabs the front of my shirt and pulls me back towards her.  Her face is still red, and her breath is fast.  She¡¯s obviously drunk, but her eyes are still clear and sharp.


    ¡°You claimed me as your Consort, my god.  You still have to prove it.¡±  She says with a low, almost sultry tone.  Then she leans up and kisses me.  It isn¡¯t a very good kiss, but her lips are soft and passionate.  Hehehe.  How could I not oblige?


    Soon enough I¡¯m on the bed with her, and she¡¯s writhing and squirming under my hands.  I hold her and caress her, and slowly work the thick, heavy and coarse villager¡¯s dress from her body.  Her skin is still pale, but is highlighted with the glow of life beneath, and is silky smooth and tender under my fingers.


    Her breath quickens even more as she reaches up to run his fingers through my hair, even as she arches her back up to kiss me again, and this time I kiss her in return.  I slowly work our lips to give her some good practice, and soon enough she gets the idea and even nips playfully at my lower lip with her teeth.  Hehehehe.  This girl is quite adventurous.


    After that, we both left with not a stitch of clothing upon our bodies as we couple together, locked into a hot, wanton embrace.  She¡¯s shy and demure about her body, but also passionate and wanting.  Her desire, coupled with the harsh alcohol in her veins gives her the fire to take things much further and faster than otherwise.  To be blunt, I am quite pleased.


    Okay, so having gone from the highest of gods, where any woman would almost always be willing to come into my bed, to being sealed for thousands upon thousands of years is one damned long dry spell.  Not to mention my body, which is as virile and desirous as any teenager in the whole of the world could hope to be.  I take Lusia there, in her own bed, and love the way her body feels both under my own and wrapped around me.


    Damn, that woman already has some long, long legs and no doubt she¡¯ll still grow even more with time.  With her body bare though, I take the opportunity to taste everything she has to offer, which more or less drives her wild.  Especially her breasts, which are already bigger than what I can cup in my hands.  They seem to be especially sensitive to her, and she constantly arches herself into my hands when I play with them.


    We alternatively play with both savage intensity and gentle passion, rocking back and forth in our mutual pleasure.  Only as the sun starts to crest over the morning horizon do we finally sate ourselves with each other, and she collapses on top of me.  Unlike her, I can consciously control my godly body, so I waited to reward her until the very last moment before giving her what she¡¯d been begging for almost all night long.  Heh.  Once a village girl, always a village girl apparently.


    The need to bare children is strong with her.  I¡¯m not too worried one way or the other though, so I don¡¯t bother changing whatever fate may have in store.  Still, I have no doubt that everyone could hear her frantic moans and panted words.  Damn¡­ This woman is a beast in the bed.  Hehehehe.  Even I didn¡¯t expect that.


    Still, I let her rest and sleep on my chest, one of my hands idly stroking through her hair.  As before, I no longer really ¡®sleep¡¯, nor do I really want to at the moment.  Why flitter away in the empty Shadow Realm when I have such enjoyment right in front of me?


    Aaah, it is a tender, sweet moment in time.  Which is sadly destroyed when a yell goes up outside the stone house.  I frown, before gently pulling Lusia off of me and leave her laying curled up on the bed where my warmth was as I quickly dress in my trousers.


    I step outside, finding the self-same group of guards that met me previously talking hurriedly with the village elder.  Their whispered words are frantic and so erratic I cannot understand them until I¡¯m right beside them.


    ¡°Well, what is it?¡±  I demand, frowning in my displeasure.


    ¡°Lord!  An army¡­ an army lead by a Blood Mage has come!¡±  The village elder finally speaks.

 Chapter 4.1

    [Chapter 4.1] - An Army


    I cannot help but frown, mostly in annoyance.  It would seem that things are progressing a little faster than I had imagined, which is annoying on several different levels.  Especially the news of this ¡®blood mage¡¯.


    The village guards and Lusia¡¯s father are all but shaking in their boots, totally hectic.  I have to take a moment to calm them down enough to get some concrete information from them.  I need to know what and more importantly how such an army could get here so quickly.


    Come to find out, both priests and blood mages have the ability to push back the Miasma enough to create passages between towns and villages and the like.  They do so by using a big of blood stored in containers on their body, which they spread to create some sort of ward.  I can tell that it is all bullshit, but I don¡¯t say so out loud.


    After that, I question the guard on how many people this mage has brought with him.  Hmm.  Roughly three hundred people, all armed and armored.  Far more so than the village guards.  There are even several horses, along with a banner carrier from one of the strongest nobles nearby.


    Heh.  Sounds like this could be fun.  Still, I take a moment to think it over before nodding my head sharply.  I have an idea that will be quite amusing.


    ¡°Very well.  Go around and warn the villagers to stay indoors.  No one is to come out.  Then you two go and hide as well.  I¡¯ll handle this myself.¡±  I instruct them, although I almost cannot hide my own amusement.  My face keeps cracking up into a grin that I have to hide.


    Sending them off, I turn and walk to the village square, and move up onto the stone podium.  It is high enough that I can see over the village walls.  I steal a glance at the mass of decently trained soldiers, before turning my attention to my fluttering banner.  It stands higher now, nearly sixty feet tall and flutters in the breeze.


    Okay, so first things first.  I have to make a change.  I clap my hands and bring forth my magic, before streaking it toward my banner.  The magic is rapidly absorbed by the construct, and soon enough a square at the bottom right corner of my banner starts to burn, flickering out vivid blue and golden flames.  Once that square turns to ash, a new weave sets into it, forming a shielding sigil.


    Unlike the freeform magics I¡¯d been using up until now, sigils are magical constructs that do specific things.  The design of the sigil dictates the specific magical effect it creates when magic is poured through it.  In this case, the swirling design of the sigil is for a very strong shielding.


    Basically I¡¯m constructing a dome shield to protect the village just in case something happens.  I highly doubt that this so called ¡®blood mage¡¯ can do anything against it.  After all, the magic he is using isn¡¯t magic at all, and isn¡¯t even his own.


    The idiot won¡¯t know what hit him when I get my hands around his neck.  Hehehehe.


    Still, producing a sigil takes longer than freeform magics, which is the only drawback of this sort of magic.  On the other hand, it¡¯ll last basically forever, so long as there is enough magic poured into it to power the effect.  And being woven into my banner, it¡¯ll be all but impossible to break.


    In the meantime the army gets closer and closer, even as the villagers start locking themselves up in their homes.  They want absolutely nothing to do with the invaders, and I don¡¯t want them under my feet either.  *Sighs*  It is times like these that I wish I still had a couple of paladins.


    Those guys could have run ramshod all over the army without breaking a sweat~  Oh well, something to work on later.  I just don¡¯t have the time to pick and train such disciples at the moment.  I¡¯ll save that for later.


    Soon enough the sigil square on my banner is complete, and another chime sound echoes out from it.  This time it isn¡¯t accompanied by a wave of magical energy, but instead a flash of light as magic is channeled through the sigil, causing it to glow bright blue.  At the same time, a semi-translucent dome forms overtop of the village, centered around my banner at the very center of the village.


    The dome forms quickly, and extends all the way down to the earth about five hundred feet away from the short village walls.  It is a swirling thing, rippling with power and colored a deeper blue than even the clear sky above.  It is actually so heavy that it punches through nearly a foot of earth where it hits the land.  More than enough to cut anything in half should they be stupid enough to be caught between the inside and out.


    The sight of it seems to shock the army, which has come to a dead standstill.  Hehehehe.  Even from this distance I can see the looks on their faces.  It¡¯s fucking awesome.  Still, now that my preparations are complete, I should go out and have some fun.


    I don¡¯t even bother walking, and instead I crouch down and gather the power of my legs and my magic before springing up in a high jump that crests overtop the village walls.  Performing a very nice flip, I land on my own two feet just on the inside of the shield, facing the army.  Except the impact of my landing blows a crater into the earth about six feet in diameter and nearly four feet thick.


    Oops, a bit too much power there.  He-he.  I actually have to climb out of the hole I made.  The soldiers all look stupefied though, some three hundred feet beyond the shield.  I guess they would be, seeing a boy in his early teens make such a jump.


    But damn, did that feel good!


    ¡°So which of you idiots is the blood mage?  I have a woman waiting for me, so we might as well get this over with.¡±  My voice cracks like a whip as I go for a full frontal assault with my interrogation, grinning ear from ear.  The soldiers can only blink at me as if they couldn¡¯t believe what they were seeing.


    Idiots, one and all of them.


    Still, once I step outside of the shield dome, passing through the curtain like it wasn¡¯t even there, I catch sight of some flickers of annoyance and even fear on their helmeted faces.  They obviously have no idea what is going on.  The poor fools.


    ¡°Ahem¡­  The gods have declared that the village of Zephyr Horn have turned to worshipping a false god.  In the name of Lord Prestal Centiworth of Centiworth City, we have been sent to eradicate the heretics and cleanse the village from the face of the world.  The false god shall therefore be drawn and quartered, with his body spread across the lands far and wide.¡±  The banner carrier shouts out, even as he starts waving his flag like an idiot.  The man is old and fat, and more than a little pompous.


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    However, it is the man next to him, wearing a black robe trimmed in red that catches my attention.  Tall, thin, pale and smirking.  Yeah, just the kind of mortal I hate.  Still, I let out a snort.


    ¡°Really?  False god?  That¡¯s a bit harsh.  Still, I guess I¡¯ll play with you all for a little bit.¡±  I reply with a smirk, only to dash at them before the soldiers would realize that I¡¯m heading in to attack.  The grin on my face though needs no translations, nor does the fact that I¡¯m cackling with laughter.


    The soldiers at the front barely have time to raise their shields and unsheathe their weapons before I¡¯m amongst them.  The first man I hit barely had time to wonder what fucking rock hit him before he¡¯s down and out, nearly plastered into the ground due to a short jump that landed me straight into his chest.


    The rest get even worse punishment.  Amongst the masses, I kick and punch and slap, swirling around like a whirlwind.  Several of the soldiers are knocked flat and even more are broken like wooden toys.  I don¡¯t even have to bother using magic on them.  Their armor does protect them a bit from damage, but it slows them down too damned much to be of any use against me.


    Only after about twenty of them are down do the rest finally get their act together and move to surround me.  Spears, swords and even a guy with a set of flails come at me with sudden intent, hate and fear burning in their eyes.


    Hehehehehe!  Now it is getting good!


    I up my speed, while summoning strength to my limbs.  My hits start denting shields and bending weapons, even as I make a point by starting to break bones with each of my strikes.  I am careful not to kill them, but at the same time those I knock down are in no condition to get back up either.


    At least until the soldier with the flails arch them on their chains at me.  I give a contemptuous laugh before grabbing the heavy spiked iron balls out of the air with my hands.  With a twist I jerk the wooden handles from the man¡¯s hands, before squeezing my hands.  The scream of tortured metal shocks the soldiers into disbelief, even as the balls crumble into bits and pieces in my grip.


    ¡°Hahahaha!  You think this so-called false god is afraid of little men with weapons?  Please!¡±  I yell at them, grinning widely before setting my shoulders down and bullrushing the rest of them.  Just like that, the army crumbles, as I toss here and there and send them flying or flattened onto the earth.  Many of them end up with footprints dented into chestplates or shattered chainmail.  Their weapons mean nothing to me, even if they hit me.  In fact, most of them shatter on impact with my body.


    My trousers do end up worse for wear though, cut and ripped all over the damned place.  I¡¯ll really have to do something about that later.  My bare upper body though is utterly unharmed regardless of how many strikes I take directly.


    It isn¡¯t until there¡¯s only about two dozen soldiers remaining that I¡¯m finally hit with something that stops me.  It isn¡¯t a weapon though, but instead a red and black streak of energy released from the blood mage.  Similar to a magic bolt that a regular mage would use, it hits me straight in the chest with the force of a boulder launched from a catapult.  Too bad all it does is stop me.  I do have to dispel the tainted energy though, cause that shit is just foul and sticks of blood and offal.


    ¡°Oooh?  Now you finally decide to do something, blood mage?  Hahahaha!  Come on then, I¡¯ll even let you have the time to charge up as much power as you can.  But if you cannot kill me, then I¡¯ll crush you like a bug!¡±  Okay, so yes, I¡¯ve gone a bit battle crazy.  Still, my words shock the remaining soldiers and they make a hasty retreat away from us.  Even that standard bearer scampers the fuck away after throwing down the flag.


    The blood mage though just smirks, and yet doesn¡¯t say anything.  Instead, he spreads out his hands and suddenly I can feel the power that flows from him.  It isn¡¯t aimed at me though, and instead all of the soldiers I¡¯d already dealt with.


    They start to scream, and even I grimace a little.  I can feel that the blood mage is forcibly drawing out their blood and life energy, which causes the soldiers to shrivel up and age right in front of my eyes.  Ugh.  Utterly sick.


    Still, I¡¯m not about the stop the idiot, and instead cross my arms over my bare chest.  It doesn¡¯t take him long to get what he wants, either, as the energy starts to condense around his outstretched hands.  The fool is sweating and panting though, which makes me roll my eyes.  The fool doesn¡¯t understand what he is doing, only that he can boost his power in this manner.  Tsk.  Asshole.


    After about thirty seconds, he¡¯s literally killed nearly three hundred people, just for the chance to strike me.  The energy around him is dense and sharp, crackling with taint and a desire to be released.  The blood mage cannot hold it all, so it floods his vicinity, and to me it sounds like the howls of the damned.  The idiot has taken so much, in so little time, that I can see his own spirit being shredded by the negative energies he¡¯d summoned.


    The idiot is wasting his own life just for power.  Like I said, I hate these types of mortals the most.  I actually let out a sigh and decide to change the deal.


    BAM!


    I wave my hand, summoning my own magic before shooting it at the blood mage.  It streaks out like a needle, thin and extremely sharp, which pierces through the shroud of rampant energy around the man.  It isn¡¯t even blunted, but the sound it makes is like a stone hurled at an iron wall, which means it is fucking loud.


    At the same time, the blood mage has the look of utter astonishment on his pale face, even before he looks down at his chest which has a bloody hole blown through it.  I didn¡¯t hold back at all, and instead ended his foolish life with absolute certainty.  The power he was holding shudders and shatters, dispelling into the air only to disappear within moments.


    The blood mage deflates like a balloon in front of me, gasping for rapid breath as he sprawls out on the ground.  I barely click my tongue before stepping toward him.  I get to watch as the life in his eyes slowly disappears with only a gurgling sound rising from his throat.


    ¡°Idiot.  That power you used was never your own.  You weren¡¯t worthy of being called a mage.¡±