Chapter 109

Chapter 109

It was hard to pinpoint the last time Id been this tired. Id been running on minimal sleep for as long as I could remember. Found an equilibrium for how much I could push myself, before the overdraw became a credit that would undermine the next day.

There were always exceptions, of course. Emergencies that threw that equilibrium into flux. More often than not, the price was mental. But it had taken everything I had to drag myself out of that cursed tunnel. And thereafter, it took more, and more, and more.

As close as we were to the finish line, it wasnt over.

Light filtered in. Artificial yellow light from passing street-lamps that cast an eerie glow in the car's interior. I saw the faint outline of a canine figure, sprinting down the center of the highway. She looked over her shoulder, revealing the bag still held in her jaws. There was a grind of gravel as the car veered across the yellow line, the vibration of the warning grooves doing nothing to hold back the darkness, as the knowledge that Kinsley had found Talia drained away the modicum of remaining adrenaline and urgency keeping me conscious.

The sleep was black and dreamless, entrenched in a nothingness so complete that time itself seemed abstract.

How curious. What an irregular choice. A voice cut through my mind, unlike any Id heard before. It was feminine and cruel, a mixture of my voice and someone elses. I got the sense that it was talking about me, rather than to me. The same way a doctor lacking bedside manner talks to family members while the patient is present.

Fuck off. I said, my voice projected rather than spoken. In any other circumstance, I would have likely found it within me to be diplomatic. After all, you never really know who youre talking to when it comes to strangers. But the effort that would take just wasnt in me right now.

Oh? It took a great deal of effort to find you. It speaks to my merits that I managed it at all. No wonder youve incited such a fuss among the upper echelon. The Allfather invested a great deal in you, in contrast to your predecessors. I wonder how much of his remaining lifespan he sacrificed, only for you to fritter it all away by not knowing when to mind your tongue. Her blas tone took on a dangerous edge.

I felt myself rouse, grogginess slipping away.

Surprise, surprise. Im worthy of your attention after all. She said.

What do you want? I asked, keeping my tone even.

Gifting that artifact was a stroke of genius, loathe as I am to admit it. the voice mused to herself. It was practical. Strangely so for the likes of him. And without that perfectly timed gift, youd already be scattered to the wind. Entropys only real mistake was using a shrine of elevation.

My caution turned to horror. If this wasnt just a dream, if I was speaking to another deity whod been watching me since the early floors of the adaptive dungeon, I was blown in so many ways it was impossible to track.

Id already established my position on interacting with gods or deities. That being, its generally a bad fucking idea without knowing the nature of the gods themselves. That position had only solidified with further knowledge of the system and the carnage of the transposition event.

Clawing back panic, I forced myself to focus. Judging from what little information I had, the Allfathers information, and allusions to them in certain titles, the Greco-Roman gods were likely the closest analogues to these faceless deitiesand as petty and brutal as they could be, they were fascinated with mortals who stood out.

What I needed was a way to pique her interest. Permitting a few jumps in logic here

Of course.

Assuming the likelihood that youre bound by certain rules, and can only interact indirectly. If youve been observing me for as long as you claim, I have to assume there have been multiple moments where you could have made my life considerably more difficult, if not untenable.

I considered it. The voice drew out a dramatic pause. If it came to that, there wouldnt even be a need to dirty my hands. Justicar has been out for your blood since the news broke that an Ordinator slipped through the selection process. All that was required was a few choice words, and he would have compensated me with a worlds ransom.

Recognizing what she was doing, I stilled my emotions. The deity was priming me. Dangling what she had over my head and seeing what dropped out. It wasnt entirely dissimilar from how Miles had handled Emil. And if my comparison to the Greco-Roman gods tracked, the last reaction she wanted was fear.

Then, why didnt you?

A spotlight appeared, highlighting a massive expanse of a black iron. The scene changed as my perspective shifted, registering things that were simply too large for me to make sense of at first glance. The expanse of iron was the front-half of a throne. Tall, ivory towers that I recognized as a womans legs were crossed over each other in a casual sit. The long pale beam of an arm crested upward into a curtain of shadow cast by a moon above.

Count yourself prosperous. Few have heard my voice, and fewer still viewed the manifestation of my form.

I tried to force myself to take this as a good sign, despite the terror it invoked. Still, I held my silence, not trusting myself to sound particularly grateful. Hearing myself described as Prosperous, in any setting, would have put my teeth on edge.

There was a large sigh of disapproval. Save the odd exception, the previous Ordinators were petty things with no personal attachments, who cared for little more than power and advancement. This worked in the Allfathers favor, those that survived serving as excellent dissidents. A handful of times, they managed to halt the cycle entirely, requiring direct intervention and a not inconsiderable effort to dispatch.

It sounds like any being in your position would be lauded for acting, I said. Baiting her was dangerous, but if she was going to be this circuitous, I didnt really see an alternative.

Indeed. As I said, it was under consideration. Especially given my first impression of you. I was so sure you were just more of the same. But I held off. Im still reserving judgment, but for the moment? Im glad that I did.

A small hand punched me several times. Matt. Matt! I really need you to wake up, so you can explain the talking dog in my back fucking seat.

I jolted to and looked around confused. Talia was in the back, looking more than a little nauseous as Kinsley navigated a turn at high speed.

Where are we? I asked. System text scrolled in front of my face, further obstructing my vision.



I swiped it away for now, scrambling to pull up the remaining time.



What the fuck! I shouted. We werent even that far away.

The freeway was out, Kinsley yelled over the engine. I had to take side streets, but were close now, I think. Ill pull up straight up to the curb right next to the receptacle.

Something felt wrong about that, but I couldnt put my finger on it. I glanced back at the bag of lux. Then it hit me.

Wait. Didnt you say the Adventurers Guild reached out to you? I asked, thinking back to when Id first returned to find Kinsley had outed herself.

Kinsley glanced back and forth from the road to me. Yeah. Was going to mention it before you started yelling, but they reached out to warn me, some man on a motorcycle slaughtered three of their people and took off with their lux.

Fuck.

That was you? Kinsley asked, her voice small.

Lying was pointless. She was smart enough to see through anything I could come up with short term. Its complicated.

Jesus Christ, Matt. Kinsley shook her head.

How is it complicated? They tried to murder and rob him, so he killed them. Talia offered.

I twisted in my seat to shoot her a glare. Talia stared back, unaffected.

Wait, Kinsley put a hand to her head, her eyes wide, So the Adventurers Guild are the bad guys?

No, they were probationary members I waved a hand, cutting off the thought. I also needed to tell her about her father, but not before working out how to spin it. Short version, theyre not the bad guys. Ill explain the rest later.

That lines getting old, motherfucker.

I already promised, get off my ass. Also, pull over.

What? Kinsley squawked in alarm. She nearly drifted into a parked car before I shouted a warning, snapping back into the center of the lane at the last moment. Why?

I shook my head, remembering that the numbers theyd come at me with had likely only been a fraction. The Adventurers Guild is still your best bet in terms of alliances. And its a bad idea to piss off a big, influential group this early in the game, when youre still growing. You cant be associated with me.

Fuck that. Im already associated with you. People have seen us together. And Im not just gonna ditch your ass because some assholes tried to rob you.

I rubbed my head, appreciating the words. I know. And thank you. Ill still be in the Merchants Guild as Matt. Everyone weve interacted with knows me as Myrddin.

Then what do we do? Kinsley asked.

I grimaced, remembering her lackluster acting skills. Youre gonna have to publicly disavow me.