45 The Embrace that Smothers

I left the room upon Dominion's instructions. Outside, I saw a hallway with an equally pathetic state as the room I had just came from. Dark passages with wet unlit torches hanging leisurely on metal holders exemplified the sorry state of these stone walls while the stench of death and disease feeds the miserable state of the air. Puddles of darkened water riddled the ground while thin and sharp icicles riddled the high ceiling. Arched entryways, some accompanied by worm-infested wooden doors like the room I was in earlier, lined up on the right side of the corridor while small circular windows were on the other. I envisioned the Keep to be many things, but nothing could have prepared me for the depressing state of this place. Just like in the Marshes, a sense of transcendental terror plagues the bricks of Skystead Keep as much as they infested the trees of Balete Marshes.

The worst part of it all is that I am now appointed to be the leader of this place. Then, I have to win a war against a usurper god who had already almost snapped my body in two. When I'm finally done with that, I now have to lead the people I defeated and clean up all the mess this war had thrown at my face, all because I agreed to a horny bastard's extraordinarily compelling and highly petty revenge plot.

Not the most ideal start, for sure. But it's better than nothing, I suppose.

Upon taking my first step into the damp and darkened halls outside of my first room in the Keep, I immediately saw a chair sitting just beside the door with a book placed on it.

'You think someone is sitting here earlier or something?'

<I wouldn't be surprised. It's weird, though. I mean, I love the Keep, but they're clearly treating you like a prisoner with how absolutely disgusting this place is. If there really is a person reading a book alone here, I'd wager they were sent to guard you.>

'What? Why? That's stupid.'

<Eh. It's a Vyur culture, if anything. They find it shameful and downright disgusting if you enter someone's property without the owner's consent first. They would find ways to persecute you and shame your family if they found you doing shameful acts. My best bet is that the Vyurs didn't want you to wake up alone in this horrible place, but they can't just send a person in your room, so now this poor bloke had to wait for you out here.>

'Yikes. Sounds fucking horrible, to be honest. I hope that's not true. Besides, I'm unconscious, and no one's here. It's not like anyone would notice.'

<Ah yes, the famous Firmamentian freedom. If a crime has been committed without witnesses, is there really a crime done? I guess a man from the clouds would never understand the importance of pride and shame in Vyurbornean culture.>

'Oh? And you do?'

<No, not really. I'm not a Vyur after all; plus, I also came from Firmament like you. But after spending a few thousand years here? I'm pretty sure I understand them better than some. Especially you.>

'All of those words for a simple yes-or-no question?'

<Hey, you kept yapping about answers earlier, and now here you are complaining about getting them? Make up your mind, Aleph. Oh, and turn right.>

I looked at my right side and saw lightless rows of doors and windows. I went straight into those halls with my hand shoved in the small pocket of my trousers. Well, I said "my," but my current outfit isn't actually mine. And seeing how tightly these clothes hug Gres' muscular figure, I am fairly sure these are not Gres' clothes either. Not that I mind much; I prefer tight fit clothing anyway. I looked around and saw a few torches on the walls. I took tried to light up one of them, but the fire immediately diminishes.

'So we know that my guard is reading a book, right? How could they even read without any lights on?'

<Ah. The Vyurs can see in the dark.>

'That's… Wow, really? Then, what's the point of the torches?'

< That's my idea. I ordered my people to place torches on their halls, rooms, houses, and other properties. Not that I hate the dark or anything; it's there to get rid of wild beasts since most of them are afraid of fire.>

'Huh. Well, I guess that makes sense. I guess the Vyurs closed their lights to fool the kapres into thinking they can sneak up on them at night.'

<Possible. But if the kapres ever think a night assault against the Vyurs would ever work, then we clearly overestimated their warlord. Then again, there's nothing more ominous than a dark palace from above. Since the Vyurs naturally prefer the dark, living in conditions like this wouldn't lower their morale, but the kapres are most definitely shitting their pants every night. Turn left.>

When I turned left, I saw an even darker hallway with no windows; only the sound of water droplets accompanied my steps.

'I should have taken that lamp with me.'

<Good idea, actually. No one's stopping you from going back if you want.>

'Nah, it's fine. We're already here. Where are we going anyway?'

<A tree.>

'A tree?'

<Ya.>

'Uhh… Are you gonna expand on that?'

<I mean, what else do you want me to say? It really is just a tree, a big fucking tree inside a big room. Turn right.>

I did as Dominion had instructed, and the first striking thing I noticed is the gargantuan tree roots slithering on the walls. I knitted my eyes while looking at the woody perennial plant with my mouth slowly opening. The roots spiraled on the bricks until the very end of the hall.

'I'm guessing these roots have something to do with the tree?'

<Yep. Big ass tree. Turn right again at the end of this corridor and head straight.>

I hastened my steps and jogged towards my destination wordlessly. My footsteps echoed around me, invading the stillness all around with the heavy banging of my feet. I could feel the roots and the bricks looking down at me from their towering places within the shadows with condemning eyes, telling me that I will never have a place in this part of the world.

But the apparition of the Keep is not the first time I faced such unwelcoming denunciation. And this will not be the last time I drown such a belligerent attitude to its rightful place in shushed and antagonistic whisperings behind my back.

And the prospect of meeting with such a familiar environment alone is enough to make me giddy with excitement. I have no idea what sort of world awaits me, but I cannot wait to conquer it.

<Open the double door, Aleph.>

I huffed with a wide grin. Before me stood a colossal double door made of iron, gold, and rubies, shimmering in the dark like a treasure in the abyss. It towers my feeble human figure, but I am sure a kapre might need to crouch a little bit before they could get inside. With my hands still shoved in my pocket, I raised my legs and slowly pushed the double door open with my feet. Inside, I saw a highly raised circular platform with stairs encircling it. Roots crawl down the stairway, covering the entire stone walls with entangling rope-like wood, all originating from a single tree.

At the center of that said platform stood a thin and withering tree that looked a whole lot like the buloke I saw just a few meters away from the Marshes. A few feet above the dying plant is a large circular hole on the ceiling, sending a pale moonlight unto the tree, but with its current state, no amount of light would make it shimmer. Leaves continuously fell from its brittle-looking branches. It stood with pride at the center of this spacious area, and unlike any other trees I have seen before, this one is not rooted on the ground. It looks more like a severed hand gripping the platform with its slithering fingers. But the plant may seem prideful; one would not need the ANALYSIS command to know that this bad boy is nearing the end of its life.

<I'm glad I returned before it's too late.>

Dominion didn't need to inform me anymore what I must do. With long strides and booming stomps, I climbed up the extremely tall platform until I reached the tree. There, I saw that, indeed, its trunk is not growing out of the stone platform; it's gripping on it.

I looked up at the tree with furrowed brows. I was about to ask Dominion what I should do next when a textbox suddenly popped up before me.

<< INITIALIZING SCAN… >>

<< DETECTING CORE SOURCE… >>

<< SCAN COMPLETED! WELCOME HOME, LORD DOMINION. >>

<< DETECTING NEW ANALYSIS RESULTS FROM DEITY SYSTEM™ >>

<< READING NEW ANALYSIS REPORT… >>

<< … >>

<< … >>

<< THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE! >>

<< ACKNOWLEDGING: GRES CALIBRI, DEAD. ACKNOWLEDGING: ALEPH VON ERICH, SOUL. >>

<< DO YOU WISH TO ACCEPT YOUR DUTY AS DOMINION'S PRAECEPTOR? >>

"HEARKEN, MY PEERLESS PARAMOUR," Before I could even ready myself to blink, Dominion, in his magnificence true form, suddenly before me with his four heads, petite pale body, four golden wings riddled with eyes, and the commanding voice of a chorus of men. "DO YOU WISH TO RAVAGE FIRMAMENT WITH YOUR GOD!?"

I looked at the textbox with a shaking gaze and a trembling hand. I gulped my saliva before donning a crazed sneer.

"Yes!" I screamed with my remaining hand raised.

"EXCELLENT!" Dominion bellowed with his wings outstretched.

I then saw myself slowly lifting from the ground with light beaming out of my open eyes and mouth. A strange and malevolent force pulled my limbs from side to side and traveled through the surface of my skin, tearing my tight clothes into pieces. I wanted to scream, but I couldn't speak. There was a need in me to see, but the light blinded my sight. Pain jolted through my veins, even though I feel nothing.

The sight of dots, particles, numbers, creatures, people, animals, sceneries, empires, planets, stars, galaxies, and universes all flashed through my mind in just a matter of seconds as I felt a tingling touch fondling my body.

Then, darkness.

And Dominion's four incarnations are there with me.

They're crouching on the floor of the abyss.

Chomping on a corpse on the ground, their faces reddened with blood.

All four of them simultaneously noticed me and jerked their heads back to look at me.

Reddened eyes.

Bloodied lips.

Guts and blood.

Spilling all around.

And then I realize…

They're eating Dominion.

They're eating their singular form.

And then they screamed.

And before I knew it, I was already on the ground with Dominion's four incarnations around me.

I looked down and saw a pit in my torso.

Then, the four of them started to wretch.

And in no time, they're already puking a red velvet liquid into the bloodied pit in my torso.

Veins popped, fingernails clawing my face, pupils shooting upward, I screamed.

AAAAAHHHH!!!!

Closed my eyes.

And saw myself floating in the middle of the universe with Dominion in my arms.

I can feel his hot lips on mine while his tongue desecrates my mouth.

Then, I blinked.

Dominion is there in the distance now, sitting on a star with his legs spread wide open.

Moaning, groaning, shouting.

An egg pops out of his hole.

And it cracks.

There's a baby inside.

The baby grows in mere seconds.

Toddler.

Child.

Teen.

Young adult.

Me.

Me!

The egg is me.

"Now, you've been reborn, Aleph." He smiled with tearful eyes and a reddened face. "BREATHE LIFE INTO THIS WASTELAND!"

I gasped! I'm back in Skystead Keep.

<< WELCOME HOME, PRAECEPTOR ALEPH VON ERICH. >>

<< THE ESSENCE OF BEAUTY ACCEPTS YOUR CLAIM. >>

<< YOU ARE NOW THE GOD OF DEAD GARDENS. >>

And just like that, life returns once more in Skystead Keep.