Chương 217: The World of Ruins (11)

They used four megaliths to contain him. Simon had been 'allowed' to settle in a shrine floating above the Great Chasm. The enormous stone platform loomed over a churning purple void with other flying slabs of jagged corrupted manaliths. The ground was covered in arcane symbols, including a circle meant to keep Simon firmly contained inside. It reminded him of the void between time, though he could at least see the faint moonlight piercing through the miasma clouds above.

Four ancient stones located at each cardinal point ensured the spell's stability, each embodying a different element and sitting atop an altar draining them of their magic. The water megalith spewed water in front of a red crystal floating atop a fountain of magma; and a pale green one surrounded by swirling wind faced an orange-yellow one whose surface was akin to crackling dirt. Their radiance had dimmed in this age of darkness, yet they still lingered in this world.

"I hope Your Majesty's accommodations are to his liking," Shin-Mastemo said from outside the circle. A cadre of dark elves in pitch-black armor surrounded the seal and shielded the megaliths alongside corrupted elementals.

"The Shrine of Elemental Chaos is our most sacred place."

"As far as cells go, I have seen better," Simon replied dryly. They had at least the decency to provide him with a stony seat on top of the shrine's altar on which to sit, but it was a mere mockery of the Crimson Throne's splendor.

"It is foolish to think these feeble bars can hold me." It was something of an empty boast. The four megaliths' energies cancelled out teleportation effects, and his Dark Visionary senses told him the barrier around him was quite strong. He still remained confident he could break through it with enough effort, but that would likely lead to a fight; one he couldn't win at the moment. It was frustrating to see just how much he had yet to learn. Simon had grown so strong over his reigns.

He had surpassed Thalas—an unthinkable feat a few subjective years ago—and he could now successfully duel archdemons… yet he still lagged behind the likes of Louis or Asterion, not to mention the Oracle and Elios Magnos. He had reached the top of a hill, only to realize he had another mountain to climb. But my vow hasn't changed, and my resolve does not waver. Simon glared at the moons above. I will become the strongest creature on this planet one day, and then I will put all my enemies in their place.

"This is no cell. Your Majesty is our guest, not our prisoner." Simon wasn't sure Shin-Mastemo understood the difference anymore.

"Please tell me if there is anything I can provide you to make your stay more enjoyable. Female company, fine food…"

"It is knowledge I seek for now." Simon glanced at the megaliths.

"How did you even subvert them?"

"Lord Asterion's mastery over cycles includes seasons, along with the four elements associated with them," Shin-Mastemo explained.

"Wind, Fire, Earth, Water… all these megaliths have bent to his will since the Mana Mother abandoned us." Information Simon would keep in mind for future reigns.

"What have you learned of the Mana Goddess?"

"Enough to tell that she will be of no concern to us. She is as false a goddess as Helel is. She failed in her stewardship of the world, and the Light has no choice but to wipe the state clean."

"So you do not know if she is even alive."

"I cannot say, no. A powerful astromancy spell interferes with our attempts to reach the faithless." Shin-Mastemo looked up to the moons in the sky.

"When the elves left, they took four of the five sovereigns with them. Each of those cursed creatures settled on a different moon and expanded the balance of power that keeps the great Basileus asleep to encompass the entire world."

"You cannot leave Brimir." Simon had to admit it was an ingenious plan.

"The moons seal the planet away and prevent demons from spilling out."

"They do… for now. The great Abraxas' return will give us strength enough to shatter the barrier and cleanse the skies." Good to know the Oracle's cowardly plan had simply kicked the problem down the road, though Simon doubted the survivors on the moons had looked upon this ruined world without preparing for an inevitable confrontation.

"You were there the day my father died and no Overlord appeared to take his place." Simon crossed his arms.

"What happened?"

"War, Your Majesty. War happened." Shin-Mastemo hit the ground with his staff.

"You had disappeared without a trace, so suspicions fell on you and sparked a heated debate between your kin. Tempers were at an all-time high when the traitor Malphas ignited a bomb in the royal bedroom at the cost of his miserable life, which killed many and caused both parties to accuse the other of treachery. That madman Louis and Her Grace fought until Empress Euphemia drove him out of the castle. The empire tore itself apart afterwards, and all of our enemies crawled out of the woodwork at once."

"The Oracle's work." All the traps Simon had so carefully defused over the reigns had all triggered one after another.

"What of Belzemine?"

"A Pyromancer like her has nothing to fear from fire's caress, and none of us were foolish enough to involve her in our battles. We had lost track of her by the time the dust settled." At which point the Oracle lured or spirited her away somehow. Could she have made a deal with Valravn to use the Cobweb's doors and abduct her? Or used Elaine as an intermediary? Or maybe that short-sighted seer had finally dared to leave her homeland once she realized no Overlord would interfere.

Either way, Simon would ensure none of her plans came to pass again.

"And… My sister? Lauriane?"

"I fear she perished during the initial fighting." Simon's hands clenched into fists. He had expected as much, but hearing it straight from the High Confessor's mouth filled him with bitterness. The Oracle had successfully plotted his family's annihilation and tore apart their empire at the cost of countless lives.

"None of House Magnos remains to this day, except your ancestor Elios Magnos," Shin-Mastemo confirmed.

"We have used your blood to confirm he is still indeed somewhere in this world. We will track him down eventually." Something you might come to regret.

"My family perished, yet you endured."

"The Light and Dark had high expectations for me. As the world fell into chaos, my followers and I retired to the Lighthouse to secure the abyssal portal buried in its depths. I meditated on what had led to this disaster when the great comet set the stars alight, and my mind with it." The crystal on Shin-Mastemo's head glowed as if flattered.

"Although my Cleric Crestone has long since dissolved, the demon within me offered me another way, a darker way." He's like Borsh, using transformed miasma to fuel his abilities. Corrupted megaliths probably fuel his Prayers too. Simon was beginning to wonder if he could exploit this somehow. I wonder if I could mimic Light Megalith Prayers with a similar mechanism...

"You too will see the truth soon enough, Your Majesty," Shin-Mastemo said, insane zeal breaking through his cultured facade.

"The purpose the Supreme Duality set for you shall reveal itself when the comet returns: to drown this universe in the Dark, so that the Light might rebuild it better than it was before." Simon guessed he wasn't that far off. He did intend to create a better world once this one came to an end. Vile, feminine laughter echoed across the Shrine of Elemental Chaos.

"Oh my, trying to convert prisoners again?" A figure teleported next to Shin-Mastemo in a cloud of flies. The archfiend—as revealed by the bloody red Scorpion crystal in the middle of her forehead—had adopted a slender feminine figure with chalky white skin, bloodshot eyes, and some clownish facial paint.

She was the most humanoid demon Simon had seen yet besides Helel herself, and he might have mistaken her for a human being if not for the way her lips were stitched into a ghastly, toothless grin by rusty wires and the black scorpion stinger growing out of her back. She had chosen to wear a purple jester's garb for some reason, including a three-belled hat that jingled as she appeared and high boots. A tattered cape fluttered behind her, and a swarm of flies flew in a circle above her head like a twisted halo.

"Isfet the Scorpion, I presume?" Simon asked.

"Isfet, the Poisoned Gift, at Your Majesty's service," the jester replied with a mock bow. She tipped him her hat and revealed a gaping pit of festering maggots in the middle of her skull. Her insides buzzed with excitement.

"My apologies for not entertaining you. Shin-Drazil makes for a more amusing fool than I do, so I figured you wouldn't need my services."

"Spare us your poor attempts at humor, Isfet," Shin-Mastemo replied with annoyance. His tone reminded Simon of how he used to address Norbelle.

"His Majesty needs not hear your prattling." You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"His ancestor kept me locked up for four centuries, I say I'm entitled to some conversation." Isfet pouted at Simon.

"I would have gladly repaid him in kind, but I haven't seen him since he left to fight that elf he kept ranting about. I hope he's not dead enough for smallpox to infect."

"Why have you returned, Isfet?" Shin-Mastemo inquired.

"You should be waiting for orders in the southwest."" Wait, he said. Do I look like a waiter?" Isfet cackled to herself, though no one else laughed.

"You should do less proselytising and more holy warring, my good priest. Our false goddess and her pet lion beyond the sea are on the move." This immediately worried Simon.

"Is Helel out of her prison?"

"No, but they've found the next best thing!" Isfet laughed to herself.

"Since they can't open her cell, they're moving the whole jail here! Their base is flying straight at us!"

"The Dominators are moving towards the Great Chasm?" Shin-Mastemo inquired with a hint of concern.

"How many troops do they bring?"

"All of them, and Lotan is marching with them too! Our crabby crab has finally found a bucket big enough to take it all in!" Considering how antisocial Lotan had proved to be, Simon could only think of one reason why it would ally with the Dominators: to eliminate a greater threat.

"They know about His Majesty's return, and the power he will gain from the comet," Shin-Mastemo guessed, his hand gripping his staff. Simon nodded sharply.

"Mithras likely heard of my return from survivors from the fortress and approached Lotan with an offer."

"No doubt they will seek to destroy you before you can complete your destiny." Shin-Mastemo didn't sound pleased.

"This does not help our affairs. Lotan's presence and Your Majesty's victory over our brother Algozoa will tip the balance firmly in their favor."

"I say we give them a warm welcome, one fire at a time," Isfet gleefully suggested.

"We'll make the screams of the dying reach all the way to the moons!" Shin-Mastemo nodded sharply and then excused himself to Simon.

"I will have to take my leave for now to ensure no one bothers Your Majesty's meditation. Is there anything you need from us?" Simon nodded sharply.

"I need test subjects. If I am to wait here, I might as well work on my spellcasting." It was a sign of how far Mastemo had fallen that his corrupted self didn't even blink.

"This can be arranged. We have no shortage of volunteers among the faithful."

"Yes, we have plenty of potential victims." Isfet chuckled darkly.

"Sorry, brother, I forgot. When they die for the faith, you call them martyrs."

"Call them however you like," Simon replied tersely. Any dark elf dying at his hand would be one less jailer he would have to fight should he have to break out.

"I won't wait for long." He could already feel the subtle call of the approaching comet in his dreams. —------ Simon spent the next three days working on spellcasting research. Being trapped between four corrupted elemental megaliths actually turned out to be something of a blessing in disguise, since it allowed Simon to study them up close with his Dark Visionary abilities.

The Mana Goddess' light within them had dimmed like stars drowned in darkness, their holy power transformed into miasma to fuel dark elf priests' vile magic. This provided Simon with much-needed inspiration. Darkflare was exceptionally powerful, true, but there were foes out there that could shrug off the Darkness element. Simon needed to add more variety to his arsenal. However, Adaptive Spellcasting only allowed him to create spell variants based on his limited affinities. What if I approached it a different way?

One of my strongest affinities lies in Ailments, so I could create a damaging spell capable of cursing a target with an affliction as a secondary effect. The more Simon considered the possibility, the more potential he saw in it. An Earth spell that petrifies the target, a Wind one that confuses… that could work. Creating a whole series of such elemental spells would take a while, but he could tread that path after completing his current projects.

Shin-Mastemo thankfully provided him with plenty of dark elf zealots to practice on, and while the barrier prevented Simon from leaving, he could still summon Carbuncle inside it. This finally allowed him to finally complete a certain spell. Heart's Desire, Simon mentally cast on his current test subject. His mind entered that of the elf zealot and extracted a highly detailed vision from his addled mind: that of him copulating with his female superior. Typical. These people only think of murder or sex.

Then again, Shin-Mastemo only sent him the expendable ones…

"Did you sense anything?" Simon inquired.

"No, Your Dark Majesty." Good. Simon's Devious Title prevented targets from receiving System notifications when he cast mind-affecting spells on them, but earlier versions of the spell were so crude they induced either insanity or mental strain on three previous subjects. The current version should ensure his targets had no idea he was scouting their mind for information, even if their native immunities or protections managed to repel his intrusion. Every brain is an oyster to me now.

"Now, hold still." Simon pressed a finger on the dark elf's forehead." Memory Snatcher." He proceeded to wipe away the existence of the elf's superior from his mind, then followed it by casting Heart's Desire again. To Simon's annoyance, the pervert still dreamed of copulating with someone, except the target of his lust had become one of the muses. This at least confirmed his spell read the target's wish at the moment of the casting, and that they could change their mind in more ways than one.

Now that he could extract people's truest wishes without their knowledge, Simon would have new levers to control them with. No more secrets or hidden agendas.

"You've done well," Simon thanked his subject before lights in the far distance caught his attention. Explosions? Simon had noticed a stark increase in security around him over the last few days. Hundreds of dark elves and elementals loyal to the Destroyers had flocked to the Shrine of Elemental Chaos, and he had heard from them that the Dominators had launched an all-out assault from every direction.

All their forces had mobilized in a single offense that had apparently managed to reach the Great Chasm's outskirts. Still, they're too late. Simon could sense Abraxas' approach. My time is nigh. His suspicions were confirmed when Asterion tore open a rift in space near the shrine and came out alongside Isfet, Shin-Mastemo, and Exodeos. The Minotaur had gained a few new scars, but didn't look all that anxious.

"Trouble?" Simon inquired.

"The fun kind," Isfet replied.

"Plagues are like parties. The more people, the merrier the screams!"

"Mithras has penetrated deep inside our territory, but our lines will hold the enemy off," Shin-Mastemo replied calmly as he moved next to the Water Megalith. His fellow archfiends imitated him and each walked up to an elemental stone.

"We should have a handful of hours to work with."

"This is a waste of time," Exodeos argued as he stood watch over the Fire Megalith.

"Mardok's destruction is long overdue."

"Patience. There is still too much we do not know." Asterion moved next to the Earth Megalith and then locked eyes with Simon.

"If anything goes wrong, we will have to use the megaliths' power to either seal or utterly destroy you."

"You can try," Simon replied. Truthfully, he fully intended to kill himself should it look like they might succeed at either. The loss of a life was a hefty price, but better than another disruption in the reigns mechanisms.

"Then let us begin." Asterion looked up to the sky.

"The end draws near, beyond darkness." Simon sensed its approach before it even showed up. The already foul air grew thicker, and the heavens shuddered as the comet Abraxas approached. A dark sun crossed over the inky horizon, and doomsday was upon Brimir once more. Abraxas had once been a mere purple mote four centuries back when Simon last observed it, but it had grown so much closer to the world it had cursed since.

The Black Comet's baleful glow pierced through the miasma-shrouded skyline and lit up the hidden Serpent-Bearer's constellation. The stars aligned in the form of a great sinuous monster glaring down on mortals from the depths of space. Evil's power flowed through Simon and Brimir alike. It came in like a wave from above and below, from the blackness of night and the Abyss' maw. A tide of darkness engulfed the entire planet and strengthened him. Hidden Perk: Serpent-Bearer Sign (passive) activated.

Vouivre had stabbed Simon in the back the one time he accessed this perk too fast for him to experience much, and it had been on a past revolution where the comet was nowhere near as close as it was right now. The effect came quicker this time, and fiercely. The power flowed into Simon with abominable ferocity, filling his soul and flesh, pervading every inch of his body. It burst out at the seams in waves that crashed against the feeble barrier holding him.

"This power…" Isfet hissed with a laugh.

"Marvelous!"

"Simon," Asterion called out to him.

"Simon, do you see anything?" Yes, yes, he saw it all, written in blood and abyssal runes. The truth. Serpent-Bearer Sign (Passive): Turns you into Overlord, the Wicked God once the stars align. The rush and ecstasy filled his mind and cleared it of all doubts. He didn't need to comprehend the words he had just read, or their implications, because he lived them. He breathed power almighty until his skin of metal could no longer contain it.

His Class' spirit was melding with his soul in a way more intimate than any embrace. Your typing has changed to Demon/Divine. His vision sharpened as his third eye of darkness became one of malevolence made flesh; yet instead of revealing some great truth, all he could see was sin, anxiety, and fear. The Zodiac Fiends were born of terror, but they were shadows of the absolute darkness he now embodied, worthy only of his contempt.

Ouroboros (Passive): All of your predecessors' base stats and innate abilities are added to yours. Yes, they were here. They had always been with him, but now their ghosts whispered directly in his ears rather than stalking his footsteps. Torture them. Devour them. Enslave them. Their voices echoed in his mind as their spirits melded harmoniously with his changing flesh. Their strengths became his own.

His skin turned to dragonscales coated in pure metal, and the hissing of snakes followed his growth as the lesser creatures around him began to shrink in awe of his might. Your Domain shall engulf the world in the darkest terror. The auroras, the stars other than his own, the feeble glow of lanterns… he snuffed them all out one after another until the black sun of his soul alone dominated. His castle's walls burst out of the false skin of this world to claim it as his dominion.

They would rise until oceans became moats, mountains his tower, and the very sky a ceiling. You are the Lord of Dark. The worms around him shouted words he didn't bother to understand. They were lesser minds unable to comprehend his new reality, and many welcomed death at the mere sight of His Dark Majesty. The power was intoxicating, better than the finest food and the greatest sex, better than the taste of blood on his tongue or the feeling of bones breaking under his heel.

Simon felt he could reshape reality like clay, and that he could bend the Abyss to his darkest desires. None can stand in your way. The bugs attempted to reinforce the barrier 'holding him' with their own stolen slivers of might and the last embers of a dying sun, but one couldn't hold the ocean in a net. His mere aura shattered his bindings, and threw back his future slaves alongside their crystal baubles across the chasm. And all will fear your name.

And as snakes burst out of his shoulders, his fingers turned into dragon claws, and hair into a crown, only one thought crossed his mind and lips alike. A statement to reality itself, for all of his foes and slaves to hear.

"Submit to me, or be destroyed." There was no other choice.