Many months had passed since that conversation the three had. Nephis's cohort had ventured to gather the shards and had come back successfully.
During that time, Church of the Godless had gained some followers while keeping their presence a secret from both the bright castle and the outer settlement. Aether and Seraphine had been continuing their jobs of solving troubles around the castle.
Aether had acquired some people that were talented in human interaction so that their workload would decrease.
As for Veynar, he had been going hunting almost everyday with the cohort that was assigned to him. With his leadership and fighting skills, he made sure that there no significant amounts of losses during his hunts.
Aether and Seraphine would join his hunting expeditions sometimes. The hunts bore fruit, the church gained arsenal of memories of varying kinds and countless soul shards. Aether had finally become a devil too.
One time, they had ambushed a Spire Messenger and defeated it. Defeating a fallen beast while being a sleeper was no small feat, so naturally the residents of the bright castle were surprised when they heard it.
Vayner also trained with Aether. Aether was not bad with a saber before, he had been trained by awakened in his previous school. However compared to the legacies, his skill lacked. So he resorted to asking a favor from Veynar, who thought him how to use a saber and a sword skillfully. It was not long before Aether could fight without heavily relying on his aspect.
Their helper, Zheshi had not become a dormant devil too. That meant she was supposed to gain some abilities, however she never gained any. Perhaps her abilities would awaken once she was an awakened.
Unfortunately, he had not gained any useful memories during the time-span. So he was handing it out to the members of the Church to aid them. Their numbers were not great anyways, there were only twenty one people along with the main trio. If they accepted anyone what would be the point of being a secret organization?
***
And for the first time in a while, Aether found himself in the familiar garden.
Currently, Aether was sitting across Seishan on the garden of her quarters. The table was round, it was carefully crafted, most likely by one of the artisans. The chairs were rather comfortable to sit on too.
The umbrella shielded them from the sun, which was not even shiny. Forgotten shore was cloudy or rainy most of the time.
Aether had crossed his legs, watching Seishan sip her tea through the cup. He was waiting for her to explain why she had invited him to her garden.
"I am grateful that you were able to come, considering how busy you are these days."
"How could I refuse a direct invitation from the princess of the song clan? It would be very disrespectful of me to do so." Aether spoke like a true gentleman, his easygoing smile plastered on his face.
"I see." Seishan smiled back at him, although her smile did not feel genuine. "I would like to get straight to the point. The handmaidens and I will be supporting Changing Star on her war against Gunlaug. And she asked me to deliver you a message."
"And what would that be?"
"After Changing Star defeats Gunlaug, she asks for your aid for her siege against the crimson spire."
Aether knew that this was going to happen. He had avoided Changing Star since he had arrived to the dark city, but now she had decided to contact him and ask for his help.
Which he was going to accept, after all he did not have a big army like Gunlaug did, neither he had influence as much as Changing Star did. And as a leader himself, he wanted the best for his faction.
"Tell me about her plans. Then I will give you my answer." Aether said, his smile dimming as he wore a more stoic expression.
Seishan proceeded to tell him about the plan, which he listened intently.
And just from the plan, he concluded what kind of a person Changing Star was. Selfish, self-centered and ruthless. He was right to not trust her. That mad woman was willing to sacrifice so many lives, and Aether hated that he could not help but agree with her plan.
It was the easiest way out of this hell.
"I will aid her, on one condition." Aether leaned back in his seat. "I want to fight their strongest fighter. And I promise not to kill anyone, so no worries."
Seishan narrowed her eyes at him. "I will inform her of your condition."
Their meeting was concluded just like that. Aether had left, and was walking down the street as he skimmed through his runes.
Name: Aether.
True Name: The Blasphemer.
Rank: Dreamer
Class: Devil.
Soul Cores: [4/7].
Soul Fragments: [760/4000].
Memories: [Fallen Captain], [Silk Step], [Azure Spear], [Glassified], [Feelings of Attachment], [Token of Vitality].
Echoes: -
The Followers of The Godless: [Zheshi], [Deer of Abundance.]
When he had summoned the deer into his soul sea, a rune had popped up, telling him if he wanted to turn the deer into a follower or not at the cost of soul fragments. Aether had accepted the deal, and apparently the deer had lost its flaw after becoming a follower of his.
The Followers of The Godless: [Deer of Abundance]
Follower Rank: Awakened [2/200]
Follower Class: Terror
Follower Attributes: [Abundance], [Gift of The Wilderness], [Steel Body], [Nature Lover.]
[Abundance]
Attribute Description: The Deer of Abundance carries the blood of the heart god.
[Gift of The Wilderness]
Attribute Description: The Deer of Abundance heals everyone she loves by letting them caress her.
[Steel Body]
Attribute Description: The Deer of Abundance has a sturdy body.
[Nature Lover]
Attribute Description: The Deer is loved by the nature.
Follower Abilities: [Caress of Wind], [Wavering Bleat], [Outrage], [Engender], [Last Spring], [Call of the Deer.]
[Caress of Wind]
Ability Description: The Deer of Abundance is able to generate strong winds with its antlers.
[Wavering Bleat]
Ability Description: The Deer of Abundance is able to struck with lightning with its antlers.
[Outrage]
Ability Description: The Deer of Abundance is able to summon roots that bear great fruits. These fruits shall blind the enemy in lust.
[Engender]
Ability Description: The Deer of Abundance is able to summon roots that will provide her with strength.
[Last Spring]
Ability Description: The Deer of Abundance is able to provide her loved ones with meager amounts of healing.
His follower was capable of many things. He did not expect less from a creature who carried the blood of one of the deities.
Additionally it seemed that Aether could feed the deer with memories. He did not know what would happen if he fed 200 fragments, but he had a rough estimation that she would rise up in ranks.
Aether sighed as he closed the runes. During his way to his quarters, Aether felt like something was off. The city guards were giving him wary stares, as if they knew something was about to happen.
He created mind links with several, however he could not find anything worth considering.
"Sir!" A scream that was addressing Aether echoed through the streets. Aether immediately felt his chest tighten, he did not understand why he felt this way.
It was the same feeling he had whenever he was going to learn something devastating.
The man who had called out to him caught up to him, he inhaled in an out as he tried to stabilize his breathing. It was one of the men that was in Veynar's cohort.
"Sir.. Master Veynar has been attacked! He is gravely injured!"
***
Some of the Church members were in the same room as they were.
Aether stared down at Veynar's heavily injured body. He had a deep cut on his chest and several more cuts along his body. Each of them were delivered by swords, these were not wounds that an abomination would deliver.
For a brief instant, the detached mask he wore almost cracked. Veynar, the man who had taught him to wield a blade, a friend and a loyal follower, now lay broken. Aether forced himself to look away.
Green flames erupted into existence next to Aether, making everyone wince and get away. However they were all mesmerized once they saw a beautiful deer appear next to Aether.
Turning to Seraphine, he spoke. His tone sounded cold and detached. "Once he touches the deer his wounds will heal. I will be gone for a while."
They watched as their lord turned his back on them, everyone knew where he was going. And they did not dare question it.
Other than the Priestess, Seraphine, who seized his wrist in a tight grip. "Where do you think you are going?"
However she got no answer from Aether. He simply snatched his wrist out of her grip and left the room.
His destination was clear, headquarters of the castle guards that were currently holding a party. Aether had learned everything from one of the members of Veynar's cohort. Veynar had been attacked by fifty city guards under the order of Tessai, fortunately he had held out until his cohort came to him.
If the guards thought they could cut down one of his, then none of them were beyond reach.
The open doors of the castle guards' meeting quarters greeted him. The air was cozy, there was laughter in air and a lot of alcohol.
Veynar would have liked this place. There was alcohol here..
Aether walked through the doors, the handmaiden that was standing there looked at him with concern in her eyes, as if she knew why he was here.
"Sir Aether, is there something I can help with?"
Aether ignored her, causing her to be louder. "You are being very rude! This is a yearly gathering for the castle guards."
Not many heard her, but the castle guard who heard her, came up to Aether and greeted him with a smile.
"Greetings Lord Aether, my apo-"
Crack!!
Aether swung his wrist with ferocious force, his fist swinging through his neck, severing it in a very gruesome way. The blood that gushed out violently spilled onto the handmaiden, which screamed in terror.
The reason his arm carried such strength came from the [Shell] trait of his Ever Winter attribute. Infused with the effects and quality of the saber. Combined with his four soul cores, his right arm was much more stronger.
The corpse fell to its knees, and then fully to the ground with a thud. The scream directed everyone's attention to the entrance, and everyone's blood ran cold as they saw Aether standing there, gazing at them with nothing but killing intent in his eyes.
Zheshi was summoned into existence from the depths of his soul, the polyhedron immediately flew up to the ceiling to observe the situation from the top.
Then green flames erupted from behind Aether as a beautiful deer was formed from them.
"Stay here, don't let anyone escape."
The hall that was filled with experienced city guards immediately started summoning their memories, yellow sparks flashed in the air.
However Aether was not waiting. He rammed himself into the crowd and immediately started attacking the guards with his bare fists.
His fist connected with the skull of a random guard, before they could even react. From the sheer force of the attack, their skull caved in and inside their brain exploded from the pressure, flowing out blood from his ears, nostrils and mouth.
Many more experienced these kinds of deaths as Aether punched his way through their defence mercilessly.
Swinging his fist with ferocious force, he tore through a mans guts. He felt his fist tear through their stomach, touch his intestines and then his spine, which he broke through with ease.
Around him, knights were screaming in agony as every single one of them were experiencing painful deaths. With the help of Zheshi, he knew if he was being attacked from behind or any other direction so he could dodge just in time.
As Aether was busy killing a guard, the other would pop up out of nowhere. He raised his sword and tried to bring it down with all the strength he had in his body. However before he could do so, Aether's fist struck the handle of the sword, breaking his finger then destroying the handle of the sword, Aether himself let out shriek of anger as he let his emotions out vocally too.
And a second later his fist tore through his head.
His fist met another skull with a wet crunch. The man's eyes bulged before his head twisted grotesquely, neck snapping as bone fragments splintered through the skin. Blood sprayed across Aether's cheek, hot and sticky, but his expression did not waver.
A second guard lunged, blade flashing. Aether caught the sword with his bare hand. Steel shrieked against his skin before bending inward under his crushing grip. With a savage yank, he pulled the man close and drove his knee into the guard's chest. Ribs cracked like dry twigs, lungs punctured, and the man spat out a geyser of blood before collapsing lifeless at Aether's feet.
Another screamed, charging in desperation. Aether turned, fist swinging wide. The blow didn't just break the man's jaw, it tore it clean off, dangling by sinew before ripping free. Teeth scattered across the blood-slick floor as the guard collapsed, choking on his own tongue.
Zheshi's distant hum whispered warnings into Aether's mind. He pivoted, ducking an incoming strike, then lashed out with a backhand. The sheer force of the blow ripped the man's ear and half his face away, slamming him into the wall with a splatter that left a crimson smear.
The floor was a slick mess of gore now, every step splashing through pools of blood. The metallic stench grew suffocating. Men slipped, fell, and were crushed beneath Aether's fists like insects. He ripped one man's arm out at the socket and used it as a bludgeon, smashing another's skull until bone shards jutted out like jagged spikes.
Aether seized another by the throat, lifting him with casual strength. The man clawed at his hand, eyes bulging, veins straining. With a simple squeeze, Aether crushed his windpipe, a wet pop followed by silence. He let the body drop, then stomped on the chest with enough force that ribs burst outward like shrapnel.
Everywhere he moved, flesh tore, bones shattered, organs spilled. The screams of agony blended into one endless chorus of despair, echoing through the grand hall like a funeral dirge.
That day Aether killed seventy-eight sleepers with his own two hands.
When the last scream dwindled into silence, the hall was no longer recognizable as a place of laughter and festivity. Tables had been overturned, their wooden frames split and drenched in dark pools that spread across the stone floor. The banners that once hung proudly were stained with streaks of crimson, sagging from the walls as if mourning what had transpired.
The smell was unbearable, copper, bile, and smoke from extinguished candles mingling into a suffocating haze. The floor was a sea of corpses, mangled and twisted, their faces locked in the frozen horror of their final moments. Some were missing jaws, others lay in heaps of torn limbs. What once had been men drinking together only an hour before now looked like slaughtered livestock piled for burning.
Near the great doors, the handmaiden still stood, trembling, her silken dress soaked through with the blood of the first man. Her wide eyes darted from body to body, then to Aether. Aether had no spot that was not stained with blood, his face, his clothing.
Standing tall with antlers alight, the deer of abundance lowered its head. Several corpses smoldered nearby, those who had tried to flee through the side passages. Their backs were charred, their faces melted into unrecognizable masks, their hands still outstretched toward freedom they never reached. The deer had struck them with lightning.
Aether glanced at his follower. Its burning eyes meeting his. The creature gave no sound, but its stance was clear: No one had escaped.
Silence reclaimed the hall at last, broken only by the drip of blood falling steadily from the edge of a table. The gathering place of the castle guard had become a tomb, and Aether did not even feel an ounce of regret.
***
Longest chapter yet. Which member of the Church do you like more?
1. Seraphine.
2. Veynar.