The wide staircase rose in turn after turn, until it opened upon a parapet the size of a field. Bright purple clouds streamed above, boiling and disapating to reveal a sky with dozens of moons.

  One of the moons blinked.

  There were no shadows, even the stone beneath his feet looked like a parchment drawing or the old scrolls orphans passed around, images of naked women who barely looked real. Perhaps this was the edge of Nurav’s power.

  I did not anticpate you coming here, my attention to detail was elsewhere.

  That was understandable.

  “Hark!” A man shouted. “Come, friends. Listen to the truth of Ghastos. Learn how carnage reveals the truth. It rends the false into its base. It breaks down the lies of creation until only building blocks remain. Everything you’ve seen, everything you’ve been shown is a lie and you need only apply a blade to understand the truth.”

  The Follower—err—philosopher—was tall and thin and the only spines on his body were arranged in a beard and as tufts behind ears on an otherwise bald head. “You keep comany with a heretic. You didn’t come to the temple to learn.”

  “You err in your assumption. I will learn now.” Sevin thrust out his hand. Bone shards flew at the follower, who twisted as though he were barely flesh.

  “Let me illustrate the truth of Ghastos.” The philosopher rushed forward, his image blurring and reaching decoherence until he loomed over Sevin. “Observe, heretic. This lie presents itself as a man, but a simple application of a few thousand pounds of pressure will—”

  He slumped over.

  Sevin stepped back and whistled to the swarm of shards hovering. “It works. Stay, I will deal with the other two.”

  Trella climbed the stairs. “There are no shadows here, my skills don’t work. But that does. That works really nicely.”

  Kaden drew the [Levicon Blade]. Killing sentient beings felt wrong in most cases, but these beings had dedicated their afterlife to Ghastos. He didn’t flinch as he cut with almost gentle strokes. The experience was substantial. “The other two should die the same way.”

  Sevin stood far from the remaining Philosophers. He motioned, and a shard zipped forward to fly like an arrow. It whistled as it flew, and the Philosopher it targeted glanced up from his meditation.

  An immense weight of disappointment swept across the rooftop as the Philosopher rose. “What is an eternity to ponder the nature of violence if it’s constantly interrupted?” He snatched the shard from the air—and hit the stone a moment later.

  “Theory is powerful, but practice is best,” the last Philosopher said. “I will discover new truths from your demise and Ghastos will return power in elightenment. Who will die first?”

  “Me.” Trella trotted foward, a small mob of Deceptions and echos following. “I’ll go first. Are you a punch or a smash or a stab kind of person? I’m partial to stabbing, myself. Particularly with these blades. Particularly when dosed with that poison.”

  “All.” The philosopher leaped at her. Trella tumbled back, dodging, then twisted out of his grasp, then dove forward to rise behind her attacker. True, she had [Limber], and true, it made her very hard to grasp, but the longer the battle went on, the more clear it was that she was going out of her way to avoid her skills.

  “Get clear,” Kaden called.

  Skully stomped his way into the fray, one hand glistening with poison. He didn’t speak, just swung his skeletal hand in a wide slap.

  One that ended as the Philosopher caught Skully’s arm. “Brute force is the foundation of knowledge, not the peak.”

  Skully’s wrist bones pivoted and re-aligned. One bone scratched the Philosopher deep. The other arm caught the body as it fell. “Sleep.”

  “That’s right!” Sevin said. “Excellent work, Skully. Bring their bodies, I’m going to open a small portal to Mortis. And you’re going to feed through only the head.”

  Trella sprinted and dove down the stairs as a screaming white portal flared into existence. And Kaden followed her. She sat on the circle stair, head in her hands. “What am I going to do? Every time I go to use [Shadow Step] I remember being locked in that crystal. It doesn’t hurt to become a shadow but the longer it goes on, the less human I felt. Then you broke open the crystal and I couldn’t figure out how to return. I’m terrified of it happening again.”

  Kaden simply hugged her. “We know how to deal with Ghasto’s followers.”

  “And.” Sevin stood above him, with Skully close behind. “We know a better way to do it than me approaching. Meet the Ghastly trio. I don’t care for zombies, normally. The flesh rots, the body needs to be maintained. But they do have their uses. If we can find more poison, that is.”

  Kaden took Trella’s hand and led her back to the chapel.

  Behind them, a trio of zombie philosophers stumbled, heads down, eyes empty. Skully brought up the rear, and closed the chapel doors behind him, then stayed, head down, staring into nothingness.

  Meanwhile, Kaden knew exactly what would cheer Trella up. “I swore an oath I wouldn’t attack her. She’s so toxic you attacking her might kill you. But what makes any day better is harvesting poison from an elder boss while she drinks an unending river of vomit.”

  The [Sphynox] groaned with rage, but the System held it to its oath. Every last drop.

  Trella wiped her nose and sniffed. “I guess. I could bleed her a little. Just enough to poison every follower of Ghastos.”

  “Also.” Kaden took something from Inventory. “I thought of you when a commoner threw this rock at me. It’s very pretty.”

  “It is.” She took it from him and stored it in Inventory. “You hesitated killing that first philosopher. If you want me to do it, I will. It’s very personal to me. They’re servants of a god who locked me in a hell so much worse than any prison cell. I don’t need encouragement to deal with them.”

  Trella drew an inkblade and nicked the [Sphynox], then collected black sap-blood with tongs and a crystal flask. “You just became my favorite living poison farm. Don’t worry, I’m not going to kill you. Not when I can harvest a Centurion class poison from you. Drink up, you’re getting dehydrated.”

  With four flasks filled, she headed back to the chapel, where Sevin had modifed the zombie’s pinky finger to have long, razor sharp nails. “This should work, and even if it doesn’t, I can re-animate the dead and use them to poison more. Very little violence, even fewer followers. Let’s cut Ghastos down to size.”

  ###

  Room by room they worked with Kaden staying far behind to avoid Heretic’s enraging attribute. The devotees of Ghastos would look up when zombosophers stumbled in, and work extra hard to earn their favor. The slow-moving undead would clap hands on backs, or necks, or thighs, and move on, leaving unmoving victims.

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

  When everyone was poisoned, Trella quickly bled them and then shoved their heads through portals while Kaden cut off the explosive belts, storing them everywhere.

  After clearing an entire wing, Nurav interrupted Kadens’ belt harvesting. Come to the chapel. I must reveal something.

  Trella chose meals from Inventory and then lay back with Eclipse at her feet, while Trinity stayed facing the side-hall that lead to the vomit fountain. Vip had claimed Kaden’s lap, brimming with jealousy so she barked the dragon hatchling out.

  Explain to them what I tell you now. I have been near certain since I took the first altar, but while you removed power, I studied the mechanisms I thought defunct. I was wrong. The design is madness but the effect is undeniable. There is no stopping Ghastos’s return. The notifications have been honest. You may bring him back sooner, but nowher does it say ‘To stop Ghastos’s Return.’”

  Kaden explained to grim faces the truth. “So, is there any point in what we’re doing?”

  There is every point. You cannot stop Ghastos, but you can make it possible to remove Eve. And the others. Ghastos will return and he will do so with the power he has accrued. But you may choose how much power that is. I said to you there was a price. A price you had already paid.

  And one she was yet to pay. “What is your price?”

  You will remove Eve and any others you choose. Ghastos will have no choice but to violate his own conditions to prevent it, or I will control this temple. Then, I will confront him while you take Eve and escape. And the others, if you must.

  Sevin remained silent. “Why do we not destroy them now?”

  First, no god may directly attack another god’s vicar if it is not animated. Zealots are our weapons in this war. Second, if we do, he will come now. And he has too many followers offering him too much power. He cannot see the sections I control. He does not know you have robbed him of his precious power. And I must ask more. You have already done your part.

  “Not Trella.” Kaden made the connection. “It nearly killed me to empower another vicar. You can’t possibly expect her to do the same.”

  “I’ll do it.” Trella said. “I can’t use my skills right now. But I can bleed. I can bleed.”

  The blood of his followers will do most of the work. There are already two, the sacrifice need not be so large this time. Down the staircase lies the dungeons where Ghastos held those who offended him. Those who questioned his wisdom. Make a new vicar and empower it first with their blood, then a little of yours. It will not be as powerful, but any will let me obscure another part of the temple.

  “I’m out of bones,” Kaden said.

  Sevin snapped spares from his donkey and passed them over. “One should never be out of bone.”

  Again, Kaden carved with intent, focusing on the way the new Vicar looked. On every knife stroke and each shaved sliver. Yes, bone shaping would produce a more pleasant image, but there was something primal about cutting and carving, a deeper essence.

  You have gained a new skill: Bone Carving

  [Bone Carving]

  Bone is the foundation of life, and you have learned to make art and tools with it using intent as much as iron. Items you carve from bone will reflect the intent used to form them.

  Now the bone yielded more easily, and narrow slivers came easily. The resulting figure wasn’t as crude. It was clearly feminine, clearly winged, but a mistake in the carving had left the mouth open in a gaping ‘O’.

  “My turn.” Sevin worked in gentle passes. The mouth became a fierce shout, the eyes narrow and angry, the statue’s hands balled up in tight fists. Every carved muscle looked tensed to leap, and even the wings looked ready to spread in flight.

  He handed the vicar to Trella. “Let my army poison. You harvest, then we will deny Ghastos power and grow my own. They do not fight back. They commit no violence. They only poison.”

  Since Kaden’s presence would enrage Ghastos’s followers, he chose to spend the time reading about [Party Tactics] to an audience. “Trinity, Vip, Skully, gather around.” And he began to read to them.

  Half an hour later, the temple shuddered, and Trinity’s heads snapped up, while Vip growled. The solar dragon crawled up behind Kaden and hid.

  *They have claimed another section of the temple. The new vicar is weak in power, but fierce.* Nurav paused. *Is there any way I can convince you to dual-class as a [Priest]?*

  “No.” Kaden welcomed parts of [Advanced Leadership]. “How do we actually remove Sara, Eve, and Ashi? Won’t their belts detonate when we start cutting them off?”

  *Their belts are different. I thought it was so they could not accidentally self-detonate. Now I will not know until we claim that section, which must be the final step. There is a problem, one I know a solution for. You will not like it.*

  Kaden didn’t like most things the blood goddess came up with. “Tell me.”

  *Temples are not dungeons. But they are similar. A dungeon cannot be changed while it is held by Adventurers. When Ghastos comes, you will flee while I face him. He will act to change his temple and prevent this.*

  “And you want us to split up.”

  *I want you to send your beasts. The dog is enlightened. The TriTerror is near so, the Skulliton possesses a soul because you impaled one in it. Your power comes from the beasts, but someone must hold each part of the temple.*

  Kaden considered his inventory. “The [Drake] is off looking for a mate. The dragon is entirely unreliable. It does what it wants. The [Destruction Wyvern] can’t survive on its own. I have a [Match Lizard]. And…a [Wisdom Cricket] I got in Xiao. It’s intelligent. Sort of. I wonder if it would count?”

  The [Wisdom Cricket] was a two-inch long purple cricket with wild buglike eyes. Kaden had researched how to communicate with this one. They were closer to mana beasts than flesh creatures, and showed all the hallmarks of enlightenment.

  They could speak, question, answer questions, and were prized in Xiao for their ability to ask questions one probably knew the answer to, such as ‘should I push the old man off a cliff?’ or ‘what if I said it was an accident?’

  Kaden’s was defective. He drew the beast from Inventory. “Hello, cricket. How would you feel about helping us hold a temple against a forgotten god?”

  *How would you feel about learning about Big Temple? Big Temple wants you to think there are different gods, but there isn’t. There’s only one. The big G.* The cricket flexed its body to study him with multi-faceted eyes.

  “One God. What about goddesses?”

  *Only exist in the kitchen and bedroom. Otherwise, You can’t spell ‘deity’ without ‘dick,’* the cricket answered.

  Burney flared up, warming Kaden’s collar. He’d promised the [Match Lizard] a meal for ages and hoped he’d find a way to break through. Maybe [Beast Command.] “Speak only the truth.”

  *I stand on my oath! I am the living Beast, not the all caps fiction. You have no jurisdiction under maritime law!* With every statement the cricket got more agressive.

  What happpened next was a seismic shift in stance. A change in direction. Kaden loved beasts. He barely hated flying scorpions and those were the lowest bar. But Kaden had limits. “Nurav. Goddess of blood and suffering. Do you accept sacrifices?”

  *I so wish I did. Do insects have blood?* The goddess asked.

  “Ichor. They don’t even have hearts.” Kaden said. “Burney, I think it’s buffet time.”

  *I want to speak to a manager! You’ll never control this temple because you can’t find the hidden vicar in the lesion! The Deep State has taken over!*

  Kaden grasp the cricket close. “What did you say?”

  *A manager,* The cricket responded. *I want to speak to your supervisor.*

  His grip tightened. “The other part.”

  *The Deep State. Illuminati for people who vote. They control everything and the last free election was years ago. Now you only see—* It froze as Kaden squeezed.

  “The hidden vicar. Where is it?”

  The [Wisdom Cricket] blinked. *I don’t know anything about that.*

  [Relive the Moment] let him go back. “You said I’d never control the temple because of a hidden vicar in the lesion. Nurav, does that make sense?”

  *Not entirely. Lesions, yes. When a goddess inflicts her temple upon the world, space is ripped and torn. The gaps left form the nodes of our temple. But space begins to fester and swell, and form its own nodes.*

  As the goddess spoke, Kaden saw pus-filled sores swelling and then congealing. It made him hungry for pudding, something he hadn’t packed. Why had he not packed pudding?

  *Focus! Your mind naturally resists this knowledge. As I said, at first these pockets swell and burst and reform. But as eternities pass, they become stable. Cysts with firm outerwalls. Within these walls, what exists depends on what was outside at the time. It is possible…* Nurav didn’t finish the sentence.

  Kaden stored the [Wisdom Cricket] away. Most of what it said was garbage but the occasional nugget of insight might be worth the constant stream of conspiracy theories.

  *What art. What magificent planning! Ghastos planned to defeat the god of war himself, a god who had thoroughly ripped away every echo of Ghastos throughout the land. To do so required genius mixed with madness and driven by desperation.*

  It was rare that Kaden allowed himself hope. Hope was a wonderful feeling that would blind an adventurer to reality and prevent them planning. But now, something about Nurav’s tone sparked hope. “Help me understand.”

  There is, within the fabric of this temple, a hardened cyst of reality. Most would decorate over it with a nice column or a statue. Instead, Ghastos carved it clean. Our will is our weapon in these matters, but Ghastos brought actual stone. Actual crystals. Actual corpses. And within a cycst, he built an altar. That is why he did not fear his temple being taken before he could return. It is not ‘in’ the temple, but by its position, it affects it all.*

  Kaden was ready. “Show me the way. I’ll destroy the last vicar myself.”