Edwin recalled the barkeep from the other night telling him how people had disappeared.

  “You knew this thing was killing people and you still threw me to it?!”, Edwin practically screamed in exasperation.

  “But now, we’ve already found out how the Authority has given you your greatest weapon is: The Concept of Nothing.”

  Edwin saw getting mad wasn’t provoking a response, so he tried calming himself by watching a small rabbit nibbling on some blades of grass as he recalled the words from last night, “My greatest weapon, huh? But Authority over what?”

  Pradip chuckled like a man listening to a child, “If the Omnidei created all, and rules all, what would He control?”

  At first Edwin quirked his eyebrow at the almost patronizing way the semi immortal spoke, but he stopped himself. The realization of what Pradip was hinting made him widen his eyes. The Authority of a God of All. Pradip nodded in affirmation as Edwin began to see exactly what he had been given and swore to uphold.

  Looking with an overwhelmed expression, “You can’t be serious.”

  Raising a gnarled finger, “Ah, but I am. What you are imagining is exactly what you have been given.”

  “But-but”, Edwin ran his hand through his hair trying to find a way of possibly quantifying the possibilities, “So, am I basically a god now?”

  Full blown laughter came from Pradip. Laughing turned to coughing, making the old man try to compose himself before addressing the young hero, “God? Oh, never, never”, coughing to clear his throat, “No, you are simply God’s emissary. The man who was sent to accomplish something so important that you were given the ability to have mastery over all creation.”

  Overhead, a small reptile was flying lazily in circles as it scoured the ground.

  “But do not misunderstand, Thatch”, Pradip warned in a low voice, “The Authority of the Omnidei is not undertaken lightly. Every natural thing in this world is yours to influence, and you will act as the hand and mouthpiece of the Omnidei. Which also means, you bear the responsibility.”

  The little flying reptile suddenly dive bombed and snatched up the rabbit in its claws. The little creatures life was over in less than a blink of an eye, “Should you abuse that power, you answer to Him directly. Temper yourself.”

  Edwin’s found it was difficult to swallow when your throat was suddenly so dry, “How exactly does it work, since getting divinely punished isn’t high on my priorities?”

  “Will it to be so, and thus it shall be”, Pradip claimed.

  Memories of when he was attacked resurfaced. The Voice’s instructions, the panicked expressions on his attackers faces, being able to cut through a fireball.

  “So, if I ordered someone’s magic to deplete, they wouldn’t be able to use it?”

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  Pradip's body language belied how intrigued he was, “You’ve already experienced it?”

  Edwin nodded, “I was attacked in Acolynia. But when I focused on my attackers a certain way, I could sense things that weren’t there. I… felt them”

  The veiled man tightened his fist, “That sort of control is part of what you can do with the power of Nothing.”

  Looking at his hands, Edwin wondered aloud, “But even if it’s Nothing, it should do something, right?”

  Pradip placed his hand on the body of the Wnidigo, “You’ve heard the rule “Magic is an extension of the soul’?”, Edwin nodded and the old man continued, “It appears your Authority allows you to touch the soul and influence their magic. Either by shutting off an individual aspect or taking away the core concept behind it”, Pradip paused to kick the Windigo’s head, “But it also appears that in the process, if you aren’t careful, you damage that part of their soul beyond repair.”

  Thatch had a minor recollection of the Ingenia priestess he captured.

  Thatch opened and closed his fists, as if trying to feel the power they could unleash, “If I’m not careful, I could essentially cripple a person for life.”

  Pradip nodded sagely, “Like any power, there’s the potential to help or destroy. But that is what makes a hero, no?”, the veiled man gestured at the dead Windigo, “Like this fellow here. Either something in this forest was valuable enough that he Corrupted himself to keep it for his own, or he got lost and in his growing despair used his magic in a way that was especially heinous.”

  Thatch walked up next to Pradip , “This thing actually used to be a person?”

  He once again nodded, “This is a more dramatic example, but this is one of the many things that can happen to someone who undergoes demonic Corruption.”

  Looking at the nightmarish form of the dead monster at his feet, Thatch didn’t feel guilty in the slightest. The Windigo had killed several people before and if he hadn’t acted, he would’ve ended up as a pile of monster excrement. He couldn’t help but wonder what someone would do to let themselves become a crime against… existence like this thing was. The reality of how this was the risk of anyone who wielded magic, in a world where over half the population could use it. The potential magnitude for destruction. He knew he understood that risk on an almost intimate level, but how did he know that? Shaking his head, it didn’t matter. It was in the past, in a world he couldn’t even remember. Right now, he was staring at the very real threat to the world he was currently in. A threat that was very much present.

  “This world really is in trouble, isn’t it?”

  The two just stared at the body, the silence speaking for them. Turning to the veiled man, “When do we start?”

  “We already have.”

  Pradip extended his hand to give Edwin his knife back but he held up a finger before letting him take it, “That kukri was meant to be carried by one who will carry on the will of the Omnidei. As of today it is yours.”

  Edwin grasped the handle and turned the blade over. Even covered in blood, the blade still gleamed as if it were freshly forged, “But haven’t you been using this for all these centuries?”

  Pradip nodded, “Indeed. I wielded it to keep the demons off our backs when we fled Khuchtei’s destruction. And I can still fight with it better than most, but my body can no longer keep up”, he pointed at the knife, “That weapon was meant for cleansing evil. The more demonic blood it spill, the tougher and sharper it becomes. Dangerous for men, but outright lethal for demons. Use it to protect this world from that which lurks in the darkness.”

  Edwin tightened his grip upon the holy weapon, "I'm not sure about this, but I'll do it."

  Pradip lightly chuckled, "And that is what is most important. Be as unsure as you like without doubting your purpose, but do it all the same and whether you win or lose, victory shall still be grasped in your hands."

  Turning towards the villagers who looked as though all the fight had left them, Edwin hoisted the body of the Windigo onto his shoulders, "Why don't we go back to the village and explain what actually happened to everyone who disappeared this spring?"