Godslayer Lysette: Chapter 199

Chapter 199: Demonic Consultation

Lysette descended deeper into the caverns where Karchek had previously been sealed away.  The intense pressure that was present last time was greatly diminished, now merely a trickle compared with what had previously been a flood of hatred and contempt.  In addition, the wards which had previously surrounded and permeated the caverns were disabled.

Lysette was confident in her ability to teleport back to the surface if necessary, but the knowledge did little to dampen her apprehension and fear.  As she approached the chamber where Karchek had been formerly sealed, her muscles tensed and the area went unnaturally silent.  She looked around the final hallway, using her left eye to peer into the chamber and analyze the environment for any sign of potential complications.

Seeing nothing but the faint glow of Essence on Karchek’s body, she stepped into the chamber after giving Mirae a message alerting them to her arrival.  She did one final sweep of the area to confirm no beasts were lying in wait before approaching.

Lysette half-expected Karchek’s corpse to jump at her, to try something nefarious.  Even being devoid of Essence or any signs of biological function didn’t quell her fear.  Deities were not fully-physical beings, and she’d survived her share of injuries that would have killed her had that not been the case.

She drew a blade of ice and poked Karchek’s corpse.  Despite over a week having passed, there were no signs of decay upon it.  The fatal wound from Saffron and Mirette’s attack had even closed up a bit, furthering the unease that permeated the chamber.  Lysette poked a bit more and briefly considered defiling the corpse to ensure she was in no danger.  And then quickly dismissed the thought.  If she angered whatever will of his was remaining, she’d be in even greater danger, and certainly wouldn’t get whatever help he might provide.

After a moment’s hesitation, Lysette found the item she was looking for.  A small locket in Karchek’s pocket, forged of silver and with an intricate design inlaid upon its surface.  She opened it, and saw what appeared to be a miniature painting of him and Saffron in a couple’s pose.  Though they looked a little different.  A bit younger, it seemed, which suggested the locket was old enough that it dated back to when they both were still human, so long ago.

She had more questions, but chose not to dwell on them, reasoning that she’d rather ask the man herself.  She concentrated on the locket and suffused her Essence within it.  It didn’t react at first, but after about two minutes of focus, a wispy phantasm emerged out of it, taking Karchek’s form.  It stared at Lysette with furrowed brows and a look of bewilderment.

“Not content with just killing my body, are you, girl?  Did Saffies order you here to purge the last bit of my soul from this world?”  Karchek’s specter laughed.  “All that power and potential you have and you’re still content to be her little attack dog.  Pathetic, I tell you.”

“As far as I know, she’s not aware that I’m here.  And I intend to keep it that way.”

“That’s a welcome surprise.  Nice to see you’re capable of more than just following orders.  Makes me sick seeing someone with as much potential as you wasting it all.”

“That’s what I came here to talk about.  To find out more about my power.”

Karchek thumbed his nose at Lysette.  “And why should I help you?  The girl who helped kill me?”

“Honestly, I don’t have a good answer for that question.”

“Not really helping your cause, if you can’t even tell a convincing lie or smooth me over with some words of flattery.”

“You want me to be dishonest with you?”

“You’re dishonest with yourself.  I would expect you’d be a more learned teller of lies, considering how fully you’ve managed to convince yourself of your own delusions.”

“What’s wrong with wanting others to be happy and taken care of?”

“You already know the answer.  That’s the whole reason you came here, isn’t it?  You seek power.”

“What–”

Karchek spat, and despite being a specter, Lysette felt the drippings on her forehead.

“Your pitiable, contemptible, sanctimonious, high-minded naive idealism means less than the shit that comes out of my ass.  Let me tell you a little secret about this world.  Aimarion is a world with a single law: The strong do as they will.  The weak either cling to the strong, hide and hope not to meet their wrath, or they die.”

“But–”

“What?  You were going to say something about ‘but the people of Domaria’ or ‘your little pets back in that tiny town’?  Don’t hide it; your thoughts aren’t as private as you think they are.

“You can consider yourself benevolent if you want— we both know that Saffies always has.  But that doesn’t change the truth one bit.  The people of Domaria?  Your friends?  Your little plaything?  They all live for no reason other than that you and her have decided that you prefer the world as it is with all of them alive.  If you change your mind, people die.”

“Is it any different for us?” Lysette asked.  “It seems all of us are still under the yoke of the gods no matter what we do.  Godslayer they may call us, but at the end of the day, we’re just glorified enforcers for the gods.”

“Why do you think I sought power, girl?  True freedom to live as I choose can only come when I have absolute strength, enough to tell any being who tries to enforce their will upon me exactly what I think of them.”

“I don’t want to rule as a tyrant.”

“You think I wanted to rule as a tyrant?  You think I gave half a shit about ruling at all?  Do you have any idea how much work it takes to rule?  Hedonism isn’t about ruling or oppression.  It is about everyone being able to live their lives as they see fit, free from anyone telling them what not to do.”

“But that’s–”

“Chaos?  Anarchy?  Pandemonium?  That’s what you were about to say?  I thought so.  But that’s true freedom, not the false kind that only exists within the cage of those stronger than you.”

“That’s what you want?  This so-called ‘true freedom’?  Then help me in my goals.  Teach me how to use my power to kill the gods.  Remind them why they called us Godslayer.”

“You’d turn your back on your patron?”

“I already have.  She ordered me to kill the people who live under my protection.  And I said no.  My friends and I fought off her incarnation.  And even though I’ve lost her blessing and her favor, my resolve to end the gods once and for all has only intensified.  Because I know that, for the good of humanity, for the good of Aimarion, the gods cannot be allowed to continue to exist.”

Karchek smiled, though this one seemed oddly devoid of contempt.  “I can see it in your eyes that you speak the truth.  And your conviction is no more difficult to read than your eyes.”

“So will you help me?”

“I still don’t see what’s in it for me.”  Karchek crossed his arms.  “Hedonism isn’t tyranny and dominance, but it’s about as far from selflessness and altruism as you can get.”

“I don’t think it has to be.  I like seeing my friends happy.  I like living life beside them.  I love my partner, and I want to make a world where we can spend an eternity together.

“Saffron told me that her Domain wasn’t incompatible with my own.  I don’t want to believe that our differences are irreconcilable either.”

“Can’t say I care.”  Karchek turned around.  “I did what I had to, to save the people Saffies and I cared about.  To live the life we should have had.  But she refused to see reason.  Refused to see that we’d end up betrayed.

“It was written all over the faces of the leaders.  They were going to stab us in the back.  Metaphorically, if not literally.  And for that, Saffies locked me up here for half a millennium.”

“And then you tried to lure unsuspecting villagers–”

“Yes.  I wanted out of this prison.”

“You would have killed them.”  Lysette gritted her teeth and clenched her fists.

“Do you know what it’s like to be frozen in absolute Stability for five hundred years, with nothing but your own thoughts to keep you company?”

“I–”  Lysette lowered her head.  “I’ve experienced tens of thousands of deaths.  Some were quick and painless.  Some were so gruesome, so torturous that it felt like years.  I can’t say that I know what you went through.  But I know more than my fair share of pain and death too.”

“Such is the way of demonkind.  To persevere through the greatest pain and use that pain to fuel the quest for greater power.”

Lyse looked to the side.  “So, what do you want?  I can’t do anything like bringing you back to life, and even if I could, you’d just be a threat to the people under my protection.  I would ask you to help me out of the goodness of your heart, but you just said that’s something you’d consider anathema.”

“I want you to kill Saffies.”

“No!  I–”

“Because she’s a friend and a mentor to you?  Because you look up to her?”  Karchek scoffed.  “As I thought; it’s written all over your face.  But here’s the thing.  Lyse, right?”

Lysette nodded.

“Lyse, I feel your passion, your desire for a world of true freedom unbeholden to the whims of the gods.  But your so-called friend, Saffron?  She is absolutely loyal to her patron deity, and the embodiment of Aimarion’s Stability.  She is the very antithesis of what you hope to do.  For now, the two of you may be allies, even friends.  But if you truly mean to continue down this path, conflict between the two of you will be inevitable.”

“I know.  But that doesn’t mean that this conflict will need to be to the death.”

“Again with the naivete, Lyse.  You should be thankful that I have literally nothing better to do than have my lingering will floating around this locket until the end of time.  Or the next time the gods get rowdy and decide to end it all.”

“Is there no way to modify the power of a demon, to allow me to take an individual’s power without having to kill them?”

“And what good would that serve?”

“Everything.  I want a way to use my demonic powers that doesn’t require killing my victims.  You can call it smug self-satisfaction if you want.  I don’t care.  This is how I want to use my power.  I want a way to fight those who oppose me and incapacitate them without having to resort to killing.”

“Some might consider what you are proposing to make you a monster subjecting your victims to a fate worse than death?”

“If the wicked being stripped of power is a fate worse than death, then that only proves how desperate the world is for change.”

“You’ll be maligned by many.  They won’t care about your ideals.  All they’ll see is a madwoman crazed by demonic power forcing her will upon the world.”

“Is that different from anyone else?  Those who fight do so either because they want to effect change upon the world, or because they are paid or ordered to do so by those who do.  Or those who wish to stop that change and are willing to do so by force.”

“Well, at least you’re finally being honest with yourself.  A welcome sight from your sniveling excuses before.”

“So you’ll help me?”

“I suppose it’s a temporary bit of amusement.  Besides, a world where we can finally do as we will, free of the burdensome rules and orders of so-called gods who reign down from on high?  I think of far worse futures.”

Lysette extended her hand.  “Then we have a deal?”

“You’d make a deal with a demon?  Just like that?”

“Knowing what I do now, it wouldn’t be the first time.”  Lysette’s eyes focused, now emboldened with yet further resolve to see the new world she would create.

Karchek’s specter took Lysette’s hand.  “Good attitude!  Now then, let us begin.”

Chapter 198: https://www.patreon.com/posts/111625034

Table of Contents: https://www.patreon.com/posts/table-of-101896170

Chapter 200: https://www.patreon.com/posts/111625038