[MYRIAD: Nexus Zone]
Within [The Dawn]...
The Dawn, a tavern owned by Old man Agathos, located at the heart of the [Nexus Zone]. Agathos, The Daemon of Household and Fortune. The tavern itself was bustling with a hearty crowd. Sirens smoothly serenading in the background.
A nemean figure leaned at the bar, casually observing the bustle.
"Business seems to be booming, old man.", Akelus commended, ruffling his white mane.
"It sure is, for this tavern was meant for outcasts and loners.", Old Man Agathos appeared from behind the bar, his aged Serpentine face sporting a wizened smile. "The usual?"
"No, I definitely need something stronger. Give me a nectar.", Akelus answered with a warm smile.
"As I said, this tavern was meant for outcasts, never had this much business in the previous cycles.", Agathos continued with his aged voice, as he brought out a small fiber of [Yggdrasil]. "Does a sap from [Yggdrasil] suit your palette?"
"Yes, it sure does.", Akelus affirmed. "And, what did you mean by Outcasts? How can there be Outcasts here? This realm is the very pinnacle of existence."
Agathos promptly started draining the nectar extracts from the fiber of [Yggdrasil] by straining it.
"My tavern, The Dawn, started out as a freelancing hub.", Agathos said with a distant smile. "It still is, but back then business was running dry. Not many outcasts."
Agathos carefully collected the nectar strained from the tree fiber, muddling it with sweet scented ether, a dash of churned mistletoe, iced and stirred. As, he poured an aged wine into a glass on the side.
"In the previous cycles, most of the [Incarnations] would immediately get recruited by the Pantheons.", Agathos continued as he served Akelus, pouring the nectar in a wine glass. "There would be some who would get left behind, mostly by choice but sometimes due to compulsion."
Agathos went back to cleaning the bar, ordering the racks, sorting the drinkware.
"Only a few deities ever got left behind in the previous cycles.", Agathos concluded with a smile, reminiscing. "But this cycle, things have changed. With the advent of the [Fragments of Insurgence], such as yourself. There have been a lot of freelancers gunning to go solo. So yeah, business is running fine. Even managed to snag some high-end bounties from the pantheons."
Akelus was in a delightful mood, especially after surviving the war in [The Outer Sector]. He leisurely sat by the bar, downing the nectar in one go.
"Kid a word of advice, You should mingle with the crowd, build some connections. After all, they are [Fragments of Insurgence] as well, just like you.", Agathos remarked.
"All in due time, old man.", Akelus casually replied, as he slid the glass back to Agathos. "As for now, I am just waiting for [The Covenant] to pay my commission. You know what?, put this on Adrian's tab."
"Hrrmm... Fine, do as you wish.", Agathos grumbled as he collected the wine glass. "By the way, Dongfang Kongbu told me to give you this after you safely returned to [MYRIAD]."
Agathos slipped a discreet envelope to Akelus, the letter inside read:
"Invite me to the [Elusive Shrine].-Dongfang Kongbu."
"(P.S.: Enter your domain and engrave a sample energy imprint onto the envelope.)"
The letter burnt but the envelope remained.
"Well bye for now, Old man. And, thanks for everything you did.", Akelus bid farewell clutching the discreet envelope with a polite nod, as he exit the tavern.
After spanning a considerable distance from Agathos' tavern, The Dawn, Akelus warped himself into the [Elusive Shrine].
"Welcome back, Master!", Bangshou, his dice spirit, welcomed him with bright emotions.
"Finally Shou! after so many manual tries, I managed to lock onto this domain.", Akelus made his way to the main shrine, with Bangshou quickly following behind.
"A very proud moment for you, Master.", Bangshou beamed with happiness. "Now you can conveniently teleport to your magnificent, glorious shrine."
"Convenient indeed.", Akelus grinned. "Say how is the kid holding up?"
"Lord Ouranos is maturing rather well, Master.", Bangshou reported, as the group entered the main shrine. "But, keeping him hidden from other Gods is a tedious task."
Akelus silently observed Ouranos from a distance. The mighty sky god was callously toddling around, joyful and carefree. His physique reflected the cosmos around him, his bright starry eyes gleaming wide with glee, his cloudy-silver hair gently flailing in space.
Bangshou hovered around Akelus:
"Do you have plans for him, Master?"
"Yes I do, but those can wait.", Akelus mused as he gently approached Ouranos, picking him by the nape of his neck. "For now, I should be informing [The Covenant] about him."
Ouranos tried grabbing Akelus with his tiny arms, giggling. Ignoring his antics, Akelus took out the discreet envelope, engraving an intricate arcane circuit onto it.
The envelope gently levitated in space, drawing in faint traces of ethereal energy from its surroundings.
Ouranos climbed Akelus' arm, scurrying to his back, then finally nesting over his head.
A hand popped out of the envelope, then a head, then the torso and finally the legs. Out from the envelope, entered Dongfang Kongbu the ominous [God of Carnage].
"Akelus...", Kongbu awkwardly smiled. "Knew you would survive."
Akelus just remained silent, rooted where he stood, sternly glaring at Kongbu. Meanwhile, Ouranos was gently nibbling on Akelus' mane, observing Kongbu with bright, curious eyes.
"Ahem!.. Well it looks like not only did you survive but you managed to secure the target as well.", Kongbu nervously continued. "Remarkable indeed."
"What's the plan now?", Akelus questioned, pointing at Ouranos.
"That's for Adrian to decide.", Kongbu sighed. "I am simply here to take you to him. But!.. before we go, do you have anything to tell me? Anything to get off your chest? Like me almost killing you in Murim..."
(Xyrak: Too soon, Kongbu. Ch. 7-9)
"There is nothing to say, we died and left that world behind.", Akelus bluntly answered.
"Well it was worth a shot... Anyway, if you ever have anything to tell me, feel free to do so.", Kongbu replied with an amiable smile.
Shifting his attention to the discreet envelope, he continued-
"Okay... the next part is a bit tricky.", Kongbu mused, while pointing at Ouranos. "You might want to leave the Sky lord behind."
Akelus set Ouranos aside, as Kongbu ripped the envelope apart, spreading it like confetti. He quickly grabbed Akelus with the confetti gently spiraling around them, warping them away to [The Covenant].
******** ******** ********
[MYRIAD: The Covenant]
Akelus and Kongbu warped into a dimly lit cabin through a cloud of confetti. Adrian was leisurely seated right across them on an armchair, casually resting his arm over an obsidian-black table.
"Welcome back!" Adrian tipped his hat at Akelus, sporting a gracious smile. "I am genuinely glad that you survived, your impeccable performance demands a bonus."
"Good, for that's why I am here. To renegotiate my commission.", Akelus replied, grabbing a seat.
Meanwhile, Kongbu casually sat atop a drum. Summoning his zither, he played a faint hum in the background. His rhythm cast a faint illusion throughout the cabin.
"We'll get to that.", Adrian spoke, as he casually leaned back, resting his palms over his abdomen. "How's Lord Ouranos?"
"Healthy and is maturing rather fast.", Akelus replied. "Now, I would rea-"
"I would have checked up on him personally, you know.", Adrian interrupted him with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "But alas, Lord Hades has restricted me within [The Covenant] grounds. Wouldn't be surprised if an investigation follows soon after."
Akelus nervously darted his eyes across the room, getting impatient-
"We had a contract Adrian, I secured your "package". Now, hold your end of the bargain and let's renegotiate the terms.", Akelus responded sternly. "Fighting an Olympian was a pricey ordeal, you know."
"You performed remarkably well, Akelus. I'll give you that.", Adrian swiped his hat. "But, before we discuss your commission, we need to address some loose ends. We need to match our stories. Other Gods are getting increasingly suspicious."
Akelus heaved and sighed-
"Okay... what's your plan?"
"I plan to leave Lord Ouranos in your care, for a while. Till the suspicions die out.", Adrian promptly answered with a smile. "And, I want you to tell me with avid detail, what happened within the [Tomb of Hashfalhan]?"
Akelus took a deep breath and spoke-
"After we entered the tomb, me and that kid Xylus, we were guided to an altar by a white-robed man, and soon after that [Hermes] descended. While I was busy fighting him, Xylus worked on deciphering the altar. The Dragon King then arrived stalling [Hermes] for a while, buying me enough time to perform a ichor-ritual, which summoned legions of faceless soldiers."
Adrian's ears perked up with interest-
"Faceless soldiers you say?", he murmured.
"Yes, they were called [The Herlakken] by your sovereign. And yeah, I also met him, sort of." Akelus elaborated, while summoning a faceless [Herlakken].
Adrian was struck with awe, visibly fascinated.
"Then, I was almost consumed by [The Purge].", Akelus continued, while Adrian continued observing the lone [Herlakken]. "But, luckily I had these soldiers, who managed to drag me into the [Ancestral Planes], where I got guided to the [Source] by a few guardians and successfully extracted the "package" from it."
Adrian carefully approached the mannequin-like faceless [Herlakken]-
"He entrusted his legacy to you...", his eyes mesmerized, drawn to that empty face. His hands nimbly inspecting the mannequin with delicate precision. His memories resurfacing.
Akelus silently observed Adrian gently caressing the face of the mannequin.
"This changes things, a lot of things.", Adrian smiled, glaring at Akelus with a fanatical look. "This is perfect, this is wonderful... You inherited his army... his legacy, you... YOU inherited the mighty [Herlakken]."
"Okay... that's the whole story.", Akelus concluded, ignoring Adrian's fanatism. "Now let's discuss pay, I was thinking somewhere along-"
"Tsk.. Tsk.. Tsk.. Shush, You obtaining the [Herlakken] is splendid news.", Adrian snapped his fingers, abruptly interrupting Akelus. "This makes it easier to hide you from other Gods, not that they are suspicious of you. Just a necessary precaution."
"Adrian, settle down. Before we discuss anything else, I have to know how am I getting compensated?", Akelus sternly remarked.
"For your splendid service, I'll give you open access to all our trading routes across [Yggdrasil], and as an added bonus I shall even give you admin authority over some lucrative universes to resource mine and experiment.", Adrian declared.
Akelus was stunned by the absurd offer-
"I can understand you giving me access to trading routes, but making me an admin for a cluster of universes? That's absurd."
"Don't worry about it.", Adrian casually waved him off. "The Sovereign's usually assign a few universes to minor pantheons such as ourselves, I am merely giving you the responsibility of managing some of them."
"What will the angels think about this?", Akelus questioned.
"The angels will understand, they will be supervising your actions after all. Don't worry, they don't usually meddle with our affairs", Adrian answered with an amiable smile. "But in exchange, I want you to work with us, for a moment. Till the suspicions die out."
"That is an interesting offer, I gain access to a cluster while you get an undying army who have pledged themselves to me. Even if the access is temporary.", Akelus mused with a smile, extending his hand forward. "I would say that's a fair compensation."
"I knew you were a keen man, Akelus.", Adrian returned the smile with a firm handshake, conjuring a contract. "You will have access to these universes and routes so long as you are associated with [The Covenant]. You will continue having full access to our trade routes, but restricted access to the universes after you leave [The Covenant]."
Akelus firmly grasped the contract and dismissed it-
"I'll have Bangshou review the contract."
"You can execute the contract at your leisure.", Adrian mentioned with a subtle nod. "You can leave now. But, before that I implore you to follow Kongbu, he will brief you on how to use [The Herlakken]."
Akelus gave an understanding nod, acknowledging Adrian's instructions. As, he quickly followed after the [God Of Carnage-Dongfang Kongbu].
******** ******** ********
[MYRIAD: The Hearth]
Crackle... Sizzle... Crackle...
A warm haven, a blazing flame. Lady Hestia in all her noble elegance was tending to this tender hearth.
While she kept the flame burning, a bulking figure brought in more firewood. He was Vulkon, prejudice incarnate, a "Demon" or a lost soul?..
He towered over Hestia, gently holding the bundle of firewood-
"This much should be enough."
"Yes, you can stash them over the pile.", Hestia replied with a bright and innocent smile.
Vulkon stashed the firewood and sat by the fire, warming his face and hand. He wasn't cold, but the flame soothed him.
"Did you sleep well?", Hestia asked.
"...", Vulkon simply ignored her and chucked a firewood into the flame.
"You are still having those nightmares?", Hestia spoke, as she placed a firewood into the fire as well.
"... Yes.", Vulkon replied, slowly drifting within his memories. He chucked another wood into the fire.
"That's a good sign, Vulkon. It goes to show that you have not been abandoned by your Sentient.", Hestia gave a gentle smile, as she assured Vulkon.
"Yes, I know...", Vulkon whispered, drowning in his memories.
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[Unknown-Tartarus]
Within a mighty prison dome, lay a mighty dragon. His body flayed, his eyes seared and blinded with spokes.
The mighty beast was still breathing with life. There were three pairs of hands around him, Demonic, Sacred and Divine.
One clipped the Dragon's wings.
Another plunged out his heart.
While, the third decapitated his head.
The hands trapped the Dragon within their grasp, squeezing his existence. Out from the depths of his existence, Vulkon emerged. A Demon? A Wraith? A Soul? He didn't know himself. But he remembered, he remembered the pain...
________________________________________________________________
Vulkon chucked another firewood into the fire, watched it drowning in the flames.
Hestia continued assuring him, but her voice drowned in the background. Vulkon shifted his attention to a distant glimmering universe...
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