Revival

As of this chapter, I am no longer writing in present tense i hate it i hate it I hate it.

Since I'm something of a religious figure I guess I should mention my rebirth.

I'll skip the gorey details of my time spent at the tender mercies of Steelowyn, or my journey through the New Moon Plains. Who knows? Maybe I'll die again and will need those places to make the journey feel fresh for you.

I will just say that I have a new found appreciation for the scorn of a goddess. Steelowyn made sure that I understood the import she places on herself in the grand scheme of things. Especially when it comes to her and her younger siblings. She was a goddess of pain, and I must say a master of her domain. I'd never been in such agony, not when Elizabeth punched my nuts into space, not when I was being eaten alive by maggots, not ever. She was truly a genius at her art with flaire, and in-depth knowledge of my nervous system, and a willingness to improvise. It's amazing what you can do to a body when you don't have to worry about it being viable when you're done.

The chill of her ministrations followed me into The New Moon Plains, and again when I returned to earth.

The frost from her realm had sucked into my bones, and when I finally returned to the mortal plain it's like by body had been wrapped around those frozen bones.

That deep, painful coldness is the first sensation I became aware of in my second life.

The next thing that struck me was the complete darkness, and being underwater.

I flailed my arms trying to break through some kind of surface, and luckily did not have far to go.

I pulled myself up and out of The Midnight Pool, my naked body streaming with rivulets of thick black goo, as I gasped and breathed fresh air once more!

"I'm aliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive!" I screamed, enjoying the sound of my own voice bouncing off the walls.

I knew right where i was! The good ol' dungeon! I recognized the pool, the rocks, the purple crystal strata.

Goddess I never thought I'd be so happy to see that hell hole.

I was standing before the pool Melli and her friends had cleared out for me. It's inky waters somehow acting as a respawn point for me. It felt blasphemous to make use of another god's holy ground for the purposes of Bellowyn, but I suppose neither of them would care much now.

"Boss?" I heard a gasp from further in the dungeon. A hopeful, loving gasp.

"Cyrus?" I gasped back.

"Boss!"

"Cyrus!"

We two lost souls sprinted towards eachother, and I saw his dumb green face beaming at me as we collided in the cathedral. He jumped into my arms and we embraced. "You're alive!"

"I'm alive!"

"You're alive!"

"I'm alive!"

"You're... really cold." He squinted and poked my arm.

It was true, and he wasn’t just referring to my managerial style. “A little gift from Steelowyn.”

New Star Acquired!

Slot One: Cold Steel Type: Mutation - Attack Effect: Replaces Vampire Bite. The user is able to drain the body heat from foes, doing could damage on contact.

“A star mutated? Can you remove it?” Cyrus asked still in my arms.

I dropped him. “No. It’s stuck there. I guess that’s the price I have to pay for coming back to life. Herr’aldeen said it would be costly.”

Cyrus’ eyes went wide. “You mean it boss? You actually died and came back to life?”

“To disastrous results, yes. Bellowyn is dead, and I killed her.” I clenched my fist. “I need to start making major progress or all of this will be for nothing. The Flesh Fields will vanish just like the palace of night.” I gestured to the dungeon around us. “And all the souls it contains will get dumped back into hell.”

“Sounds serious.”

Memories of my life as a maggot swelled inside of me followed by shame and a deluge of vomit.

Cyrus took me by the hand and led out of the dungeon. “Let’s get you washed up, and then maybe something to eat eh?”

I let him lead me, mind still trapped in hell even if my body and soul had escape.

——-

I came to find that I had been dead for a month. It also appeared that I had not built an empire to stand the test of time.

Elizabeth as soon as she heard I was dead, flew the coop. I very much doubted she stayed local.

Melli hadn’t contacted Cyrus since she left. Which was better than her contacting the inquisition I guess. I couldn’t help but imagine that with me dead her magic had returned to its natural state, which must have gotten her in trouble.

Regardless I sent a letter to the All Seeing Eye demanding a report. Well I dictated a letter, Cyrus had better handwriting than me, and I wanted it to look good.

Daliah had died in the explosion with me. That more than anything else made me feel… real icky.

That just left the prisoners, who were in a horrific state when I found them.

Under Warden Cyrus they’d actually gained weight. They ate like kings, venison, chicken, wild carrots all sorts of herbs. Cyrus was even starting a pantry for the coming winter. If I left him to his own devices Cyrus would probably have Crossroads conquered by next year. If he could stand to kill anyone.

So, yeah! Beautiful situation to find myself in. All my minions have left me, but the three useless slaves in my basement are still alive and kicking.

The only good news is that we still had the Cauldron of Corruption even if Cyrus had belittled it by using it to cook chickens. I shudder at the thought. A holy relic of bellowyn, used to cook soup for slaves. She'd smite me if she weren't dead.

OH YEAH!

My god was dead!

There's a lovely addition to my day!

I was a herald with no god, a master with no minions, and an alchemist with no shop.

I guess I didn't have anything to lose!