Deric sat with his feet kicked up on a large desk that sat in the center of his opulent office. He swirled his glass of scotch and slowly took a sip. A frown formed on his face as he lowered the glass from his lips. This day was just wonderful. He had not managed to get what remained of the enforcers after the conflict a few days ago under his control. Now he got the news that one of his lieutenants had ignored his advice. They’d even gone as far as to continue snooping around Jett’s territory. Now, he had three corpses on his hands, and he couldn’t even make demands about their deaths. The only thing that would be worse than losing one of his lieutenants would be pissing off that maniac with some misguided posturing.
He sighed and leaned back in his chair. “At least he hasn’t made any demands because of them yet.”
Part of him half-hoped Jett wouldn’t be able to tie the men back to his faction. He sighed and took another drink despite the man only being concerned with his own strength and sparring to find out what other people could do in this strange new reality. The man wasn’t stupid. Irrational and distracted, yes, but not stupid. It was only a matter of time before this all came crashing down on his head.
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Jett laughed as he listened to the report from his good friend Frank. He chuckled as the man broke down what a few of the other candidates that had decided to stick around him after he had thoroughly whooped their ass. Apparently, three of Deric’s lackeys had been brutally killed in a nearby shitty apartment building that happened to fall within his ‘zone of influence,’ as Frank called it.
“Why the fuck would I care if three of the stick-in-the-mud’s people just so happened to die? They know the rules of this game and should have been stronger if they were confident enough to leave his protection.”
“Well, Jett, this could be the start of a larger incident if we don’t play our cards right,” Frank said, giving him a disapproving look.
Jett snorted. “Nah, I doubt that coward would do anything. Who do I have to congratulate for the kills, anyway?”
“That’s the other issue I wanted to talk to you about. Apparently, it was a third party that we are yet to locate.”
Jett raised an eyebrow, and a smile spread across his face. It looked like he had someone else to test his skills against. “I'm heading out, Frank.”
Frank shook his head with a sigh. “Of course you are.”
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Regina sat at her desk with a tired expression. She had lost two men yesterday and wasn’t even able to get the one responsible under her control. A shame, but not the end of the world; she would still get another chance, after all. She was almost sure of it. At least things here were progressing well. She had finally broken through Hank’s resistance and managed to get everyone in the bank entirely under her control.
She pushed those thoughts from her mind for now as a smile threatened to creep across her lips. Her followers had returned with another recruit. She watched the cameras closely as they dragged a younger man in a large black hoodie with a green skull decal on the hood and ripped blue jeans. He had several piercings covering his face and was currently thrashing against the two men holding him while yelling something about someone named Grace. Regina tapped a finger against her chin. That name sounded familiar. Her eyebrows rose, and her grin widened.
That girl was with a young man who’d gotten away, wasn't she? It was always nice to reunite people, especially when they would be together in her family. Completely loyal to the mother, kind enough to take them in.
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Isabella silently meditated, watching as brief glimpses of what was to come passed through her mind. It was raw, archaic, and almost completely incomprehensible, but she continued watching anyway. Slowly, she pieced together a plausible timeline, and she did not like it. Her foretelling skill leveled once more, bringing it to Level 14. Her assistant, Goran, said something to her, but she ignored it, as usual. The man was all but useless when it came to anything other than basic information and the skill packets he could provide. Other than that, the idiot continued insisting that she give up on her library and find somewhere safe to ride out the coming storm.
Isabella couldn’t stand the man’s constant droning that the past no longer mattered, and no one would care if a few thousand years of history were lost in the coming era. She couldn’t even fathom the thought. Every detail, every action, every person had led their world to where it was. Should their entire pre-system history be forgotten just because the world was going through a massive change? Isabella didn’t think so, and it definitely wasn’t for someone like Goran to decide.
She would stay in her library together with those she had offered shelter and protection. They would maintain their history and ensure the records were not lost. Not a single page would be harmed while they still drew breath. Not a single moment would be forgotten, including what was to come. A pen moved on its own, scratching against a nearby notebook as she once again entered meditation. Everything would be seen, recorded, and archived--and, if she did not like the outcome, changed.
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Arboras sat watching a golden screen displaying the planet he was soon to conquer. He muttered a silent prayer matching the soft hymns that echoed through the halls of the church he currently sat in. Red dots continuously appeared across the planet, marking all those who had defied the will of his god. The heretics that needed to be purged in her name. The guides that had prepped him for this moment since the day he had been born warned that such things were likely to happen.
Even so, he still couldn’t believe so many would defy the will of the great goddess Galena. She had even been so gracious as to change the system itself to warn against taking that class. He shook his head and refocused on his prayer. He would not try to comprehend the thought process of a heretic. His sacred duty was clear, and his resolve was firm. It was his fate, his destiny, to serve Galena and sanctify this new world in her name. He preferred not to kill, but if so many were going to force his hand like this, he would not hesitate. He would not falter. Their souls would be cleansed by his hand so that they could spend their next life in her grace.
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Chatul swiped a massive paw, crackling with lightning, through the air. His attack landed, sending a large wolf tumbling until it collapsed in a still-sparking heap. Its muscles twitched as it tried to stand, but it once again collapsed.
“Does anyone else have an issue with how I lead?” he growled, standing on his hind legs and rising to his full height. Lightning sparked between his claws, and he looked over the crowd of beasts while baring his teeth. After a few moments where no one spoke, he returned to his normal four-legged stance and growled out once more. “Good. The gilded elk expects great things from us, and I don’t plan on letting him down by yielding to some brat that can only hide behind the name of his pack,” he said, shooting a glare at the wolf who was still struggling to stand.
He had been given a great blessing and an equally grand expectation. This new world wouldn’t stand a chance, and the beasts would claim a new hunting ground.
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Zog clicked his tongue as he counted the bag of coins and found it sadly lacking.
“This, uh, isn’t enough, mate,” he said, glaring at the other goblin in front of him.
“Oh, sorry, sorry, must have fallen out,” the goblin said with a fake smile, holding out another handful of coins.
Zog took the coins and, after finding the correct amount had finally been reached, he slid the exquisite metal blade across the table. “Try something like that again, and I'll make sure you receive a lifetime ban from the market, got it?”
The other goblin gulped and nodded before scurrying off.
Zog sighed. He had no way to keep that promise, if it came down to it, but that sucker didn’t know that. Hell, he wasn’t even supposed to have a stall here, but with a bit of illusion magic, he made it work. He flipped one of the coins, catching it over and over as he smiled. With that sale, he finally had enough to buy his way in.
His faction did things a bit differently when deciding who would join a Death March. While Galena picked her most faithful, and Aticin sent those he thought would cause the most entertaining bloodbath. Grelt sold the right to participate. He didn’t care if you stole, bartered, or found any number of other ways to obtain the needed coins. As long as you had the cash, you were in.
He didn’t have enough to afford anything more than just a basic entry, but he didn’t mind. He never would have been able to outbid the bigger merchant clans for anything better than that, anyway. All that mattered was that he made it to the planet and set up shop. He would show all the spoiled heirs that they were nothing without their family’s backing. His wealth would grow. His power would spike, and if he performed well enough. Even Grelt, his most beloved god of greed and tricks, might just take notice.
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Octavian lay back and closed his eyes as the chittering and low hum of his hive filled his ears, comforting him and reminding him of a time before he had awoken. It was so much simpler when he could just follow the will of the hive, but he was destined for more, much more.
**Innate class: (Independent Minds - Tier 1)**
It wasn’t unusual for members of the hive to gain a level of independent thought, but that normally wasn’t until Level 50, at the earliest. He had gained that privilege at Level 5--and not just the simple decision-making of a common soldier, but the full-blown intelligence of a general.
“You already know what I'm going to say.”
Octavian sighed as he opened his eyes and saw Elder Falwise illuminated by the dull orange light emitted by his brethren. “I know, Elder, but it’s just so dull. I needed some time to relax.”
The elder's glowing eyes flashed as all 132 moved to focus completely on him. “Octavian, do I need to remind you how vital your mission is?”
“I know, I know. The hive normally can’t participate in a Death March in a coordinated fashion because the planets are too far from any nodes, but–”
“If you can create your own node, then our soldiers will have the same intelligence and ferocity they have when on the homeworld.”
“I know, but I just can’t seem to grasp it.”
“That is why you must keep training. Now, come along. Argus felt your frustration, and that's why you got as much of a break as you did. For the good of the hive, though, you must keep working.”
Octavian sighed and pushed himself to his feet, leaving the pile of his resting brethren and following the elder. “For the good of the hive.”
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Leon fell back into his chair as he watched another planet blip out on his sensors. The war had grown in ferocity recently. It was likely a desperate attempt by Vanic to wipe the remaining dregs of their once-proud faction from the universe before any of them could escape to the newly integrated planet. Even if their god had been killed and their faction was down to a few planets, he wouldn’t let his race die out so easily.
The worst part was that he could empathize with the god of beauty. Even if he hated the man with all his being. Even if he could never understand why he felt the need to extinguish every last one of them. It was their progenitor’s fault. The Idiot had overestimated his power as he defeated god after god when he first ascended. His faction probably would have quickly risen to one of the main threats in the universe if he had continued on like that. But the cocky bastard just had to challenge one of the oldest beings around. To make it even worse, he decided to start that fight by mutilating and displaying the corpse of the god’s wife.
Vanic had snapped that day. The progenitor was dead in an hour. Everyone above Level 600 was dead in days, and their faction was left struggling and broken in months. They had only managed to survive the last fifty years because the god hadn’t shown his face again since that day. Just letting his faction finish the wholesale slaughter of an entire race just because of one person’s actions.
Leon shook his head as he coordinated with the rest of his faction leaders to move deeper underground. They only needed to survive one more month. Just one month, and they could get the reprieve they needed. The ten linked worlds participating in this Death March would be inaccessible to anyone over Level 500 until a new god ascended on one of them, after all. The only thing they needed was for a demon to be that ascender. Then, they could save their race.
