and I am stronger than it

Apparently, I was to be stationed back here with the horses and carriages, with a few others whose jobs were to support and take care of any injured who were teleported back here by these special stones handed out by Terraya. I didn’t argue, they wouldn’t be making it into the Dungeon anyway.

I nodded and helped prepare the camp area, just taking orders and doing as I was told for the last time. This would be the last time anyone would have the chance.

Eventually, we were all sitting down, settling in for dinner and an early night. A sleep that would be interrupted, even though no one but me knew that.

I was sitting down with the Light Sentries. Talking and getting to know them, and not every single one of them was absolutely enamored by their role in protecting the Light like I thought. For all but Galko the Light was helping them achieve goals, they all believed it was the “right” path to take, but only Galko believed in it like a zealot.

Lena and her brother had grown up poor and downtrodden but when they discovered their aptitude for fighting, they quickly became local heroes protecting their town from monsters. Everyone who had looked down on them now cheered them on and looked up to them… sounded like they were being used by those who had hurt them but fine.

Galko was once the leader of a small Dwarven hold that was destroyed by Goblins, he was leading his people to safety when his powers and connection to the light finally fully awakened. He was a priest to one of the gods of light named Yaloti, apparently a rare one for Dwarves to serve, but the god gave the priest powers in time to save what remained of his people and he had served fervently ever since.

Terraya served simply because it offered her knowledge, the colleges and schools that trained mages to fight the dark had more tomes and labs than any other organization in the world. Simple and straightforward in her needs, and I appreciate that.

Ademia was interesting, she didn’t seem to care too much for the Light, or the dark, or even the spirits her people worshipped which is why she’s off fighting with these folks and not her own people. This is where her strength was accepted, and where she could use it. So she was here to use it.

They apparently met each other after each received a sort of prophetic dream from one of the gods of light, telling them to head to a great mountain range on the Northern Continent. The hero, Tomoko Sakurai, met them there. Apparently with a few hundred others who had similar dreams, together they built a great fortress that doubled as a city, school, and grand temple to all the gods of Light. Named it Sunrise Peak, and it has been training new heroes ever since. At least it’s far away.

Terraya and Ademia I could use…in a few ways. Lena and her brother Lucas would take convincing but maybe, Galko was a definite no. As the group separated to go to bed, I began to relay telepathic commands to my waiting hordes.

“You will surge forward from the mountain, into this camp and you will slaughter every man and woman in this camp, save for the Light Sentries. You will beat them, you will weaken them, you will bring them to their knees…and leave them to me.” I glanced over at the mountain as I gave my order, and I chuckled softly as I saw the green light pulse again, but this time it kept its sickly glow as I began to make out with my Pure Land heightened senses the scrabbling and climbing of hundreds of clawed hands.

In a silent blink of an eye, I was above the camp. I wanted to see this all go down from above, and with my Knight and Sorcerer class bonuses, even if the classes were gone, I should be able to give my armies a buff from this vantage.

My thralls are not sneaky, quiet things. The camp, on the edge of slumber, began to stir as they got closer and closer. Their snarls and stamping claws filling the grasslands with an echoing, growing cacophony. A bell that had been set up as a warning rung, once, twice, a third time being cut off as the man ringing it was pounced on, getting a quick blood curdling scream out before being torn to pieces by the Thrall that had gotten it’s claws into him.

The next few minutes were bloody and horrific for those on the ground. The Thralls seemed to emerge from the shadow of night as a tide of claws, teeth, and steel-hard chitinous scales. They were brutal, just as ordered, cutting down everyone in their way with ruthless speed but those few moments between losing the fight to a thrall and dying were painful, at least the screaming leaned itself to that.

But for me, above it all, watching this fight below me as I constantly used my telepathy to command and buff my forces…this was music. A first victory, something that would give some proof to my concept, credence to my new ideals. Back on Earth watching this would have terrified me, I would have been sick, but here? Maybe I should be worried about how little I cared…but again, sentimentality would be my ruin if I let it in.

The Light Sentries held a circle around their section of the camp, a few guards managed to get to them helping them hold the line. I heard Ademia and Lena shout my name a few times early on, hoping I was close by. I’ll be honest, that tugged at what little must be left of my heart. But after constant battle, spells, and skills being used over and over, their circle tightened. The few guards were grabbed and ripped from the safety that the group could provide. Before long they were all back to back, barely holding back the tides. The fighters weren’t using any special skills any more, just punching, swinging weapons, and kicking at the tides. Terraya was using only basic cantrips, and Lena was out of arrows, using a dagger and her bow to fight hand-to-hand. Looking at the number of Thralls I had left…even this small party of mid-level heroes was able to take my hundreds and hundreds of quick-made soldiers down to only about one hundred and fifty.

It was time to bring this to an end.

The waves stopped trying to simply weaken them and pounced, trying to subdue them and get them to their knees. It cost me another fifty thralls, but in the end, they were brought to heel.

They held them down and kept them from struggling too much, seeing these proud and strong heroes fail so utterly…though it did put rather stark ideas in mind of how strong the actual heroes would be, having multiple classes at 40-50 and then at least one each at 99.

Time for the reveal, though. Before they manage to passively heal or regain mana.

I drift down gently and land before them, with that same warm and gentle smile that I greeted them with. God, the looks on their faces. Wide eyes, tears from loss and the idea of impending **** mixed with such surprise. Lena just started sputtering apologies to her friends, she knew it was her idea that I come with them, thinking that they’d have been spared this if I wasn’t here maybe?

I walked to her and knelt down, a hand on her chin forcing her to look me in the eye. “No apologies, this would have happened regardless of my presence, the moment you decided to look into the mountain your fate was sealed.”

Her brother snapped and yelled, “LET GO OF HER, FILTH!”

Filth!?

I wheeled toward him and slammed the back of my hand across his face, with **** much greater than I anticipated having in my current low-level state. It broke his nose and seemed to knock a few teeth loose. I gritted my teeth and took a deep breath, speaking calmly, not wanting to raise my voice. I hated it when people raised their voices.

“I am a god. A new one, but a god. You will address me as such, Lucas.” I could see curiosity on Terraya’s face, mixed with fear. Ademia seemed…the most stoic of them all. Hm.

I walked to Ademia first and leaned in a bit, she didn’t back away or seem disgusted at me…a bit disappointed in me, but the only disgust was in herself. “A brave face, Ademia? Or something else? Acceptance of your fate? Seems odd for a hero.”

She scoffed and spit some blood to the side, not at me. Respectful in defeat at least. “My strength failed me, the Light in me failed to make up the difference. This is the only way it could have gone…Acceptance and disgust both, at my own failure.”

“Of course, the Light failed to make up the difference!” I say with a laugh as I stand back up straight. “The Light and the Dark choose champions like the Saintesses and the Demon King to fight this war, but the Light cheated! So the Dark decided it needed to cheat too. A cycle of bullshit powers using you all as pawns to die in a war you were never meant to match up to.”

Galko shook his head “Oh stop your lies, dark scum. Just kill us and be done with it.”

“The Dark made me, Galko, but the Light did a little bit too. Tried to poach the Dark’s latest attempt at balancing out the cheats. But instead…I have embraced my OWN truth and side in this cosmic battle. I am my own being. Look at my servants, sense what makes them up if you can, look at me. Do the same now that I’m not hiding it.” I say as my true form suddenly shifts into existence…noticing it is a bit different now, still the same colors and scales, but now the face is more humanoid, a blending of draconic, ferric, and humanoid. Interesting.

Terraya speaks first, and they all startle slightly in surprise as they look at my true, imposing form. “It’s true…these things around us are partially constructed of Light and Dark. Caelum’s core is…unlike anything I’ve ever seen.”

“Because it’s new,” I say with a wide smile and probably a bit of manic excitement in my eyes. “I am here to offer you power. Real power, real strength. The Sword Logic, the all-edged truth, embrace it and me and you will have everything you need. All that exists must fight to prove it should exist, those that fail must either be ruled and shepherded to worthiness or be eradicated and burnt away like weeds.”

“Then shouldn’t you just kill us!? If that’s what you believe instead of proselytizing at us about your FUCKED belief system, just kill us!” Galko shouted, “I am never going to agree to join..that. Just kill me.”

“I am prepared to if I need to. But none of you had the chance to live up to your real potential. The Light, the Sky, it gives you such lofty ideas but only so much strength. The Dark, the Deep, it gives you so much power but no meaning or control, not really. So join me in The Truth, substance, so you can be all you are meant to be,”

I look to Ademia, “To use your strength to its fullest and to go even beyond natural limitation.” I then look to Terraya, “To learn magic and secrets the Light and Dark would keep locked away from you.”

I look to Lena and Lucas, “You can use your own, real power to help those you need to guide to wholeness through their subjugation. You can protect them, from all threats, including the worst ones. The threat of their own aimless freedom whittling away at them, destroying them.”

“Join me, Sentries. Become the first of my Court. Rise and be made new in the Truth.” I hold out a hand, and my Thralls don’t let go of them, but they loosen their grip.

For what feels like an eternity, none of them move. For a moment I felt a nervous rage well up in me, I needed powerful generals and I needed them now. If none of them accepted I was going to quickly find myself in trouble, I’d be more powerful from killing them than just recruiting them, more XP that way probably, but that's not the kind of power I needed right now.

Ademia was the first to stand and take my hand. “Strength is the truth…I have always felt that way, but it was always tempered by those around me believing in the spirits or the Light. I accept, Caelum.”

I nod, and motion for her to stand at my side, “Good choice Ademia. Anyone else wish to stand with us?”

Another pause, but not nearly as long before Terraya stands and takes my hand. “The gods of Light always had secrets I knew they wouldn’t share. But if you can give me those secrets, or a path to them, I accept.”

Only three holdouts, Lucas, Lena, and Galko. Eventually, Lena stood and nearly had to drag her brother to his feet, but they gave in as well. Lucas did not speak, but simply nodded when his sister said. “We can’t protect anyone if we die for Gods who couldn’t or wouldn’t protect us from you. We accept.”

Galko’s face was white with horror, tears streaming down his eyes and he saw his friends abandon their beliefs, their gods, everything they had fought for. Had they abandoned their ideals out of fear for their own lives, or because of the promise of power? Galko was ****, in these last moments, to try and figure out just what kind of cowardice had infected his friends, his found family, those he would have been proud to die with.

“I…” He sputtered out, before trying to speak with pride, “I will die with my honor and soul intact.” He said without even looking towards Lena when she sobbed out his name and begged him to reconsider.

I turned to Lucas and with a gentle hand on his shoulder, I said, “Take her to the mountain, I will meet you there. She should not need to bear witness to this.” I turned to the rest and repeated, “Go to the mountain, I will meet you at its summit.”

As they turned to leave, my thralls going with them, this final act cementing their choice to follow me, turning their backs on Galko symbolizing the act of turning their backs on the Light, I felt a massive surge of power. Tithe from those Thralls that had killed, and power from having defeated the Light here. I knew I wouldn’t get the “Status Effects” bonus from this as the dark knew I wasn’t with them, and also I wasn’t of the dark anymore, but maybe I would get something else…I would need to check later.

Galko and I were alone, I saw his bar mace sitting in between us, so I kicked it towards him as a blade of harsh jagged black metal appeared in my hand, more like a sword-length cleaver. “Pick it up, Galko. You should die on your feet.”

He picked up his bar mace and stood with shaky legs, before screaming at me in pain, sadness, and fury. He charged at me all whilst screaming, a few prayers to his god being yelled into the still night air.

Wasn’t much of a fight.