Path of Valor 12

A/N: If someone mentions my fic in theirs, or someone gets referred to the fic, tell me so that I can thank them. On that note, Thank you Gunlord, for both the reviews and referrals.

Surfacing once again into the world of the living, I notice that it's a lot darker than it was a few minutes ago. Even though Soren and I are quite a distance away from camp, the light of the fire on the horizon was much more pronounced then when we left.

No matter, there's still one more thing I wanted to try.

"Soren, are you alright?" I ask, giving a gentle squeeze to the hand I still found myself holding. Even though it only has gotten warmer from our contact, I can't help but feel the warmth that was once traveling down my body feel...muted, somehow.

After a moment's hesitation, I hear her reply come from the darkness beside me. "I-I'm fine. Is...is that it? Do I have power over Dark Magic, now?"

"Yes, Soren. I'll lend you back the book you gave me, it can teach you some basic stuff. Just remember to never make deals with The Darkness unless it's absolutely necessary." I say, hypocritically. She absorbs this advices without note.

"Okay. Shall we be getting back?" Soren asks, regaining her calm demeanor. As she breaks contact and walks away, I quickly grab and tug on her wrist.

"Hang on, I wanted to try one more thing."

She stopped, no doubt infinitely curious as to what else I had up my sleeve. "Yes...?"

I grin, even though she couldn't see it. Mephistopheles, are you ready?

For what, exactly?

If you've been in my mind, you'll know. Clearing my throat, I begin singing again;

"In sleep he sang to me, in dreams he came. The voice which calls to me, and speaks my name..."

...Very well, human. I am indeed interested in-

Great.

Jumping into the spirit world again, I find Mephistopheles waiting for me. Motioning over to one of my Abelites, I expel the soul inside it unceremoniously. Without words or my intervention, Mephistopheles walks into and possesses the now-vacant corpse.

...Note to self, beware Mephistopheles processing your soldiers.

As I turn to bring Soren back in, I see Soren and...

...what the fuck? I see an opaque blue Soren, and another opaque red Soren standing next to her. But Lilith took some...liberties in her depiction of Soren. And I know it's definitely a 'her', because, well...

...She's wearing a particularly revealing outfit. A strapless bra and a very short dress adorn her figure, which makes me wonder exactly how it stays on her without dropping off. Besides you know, magic.

I'll try and just make some surface observations so my brain doesn't overheat. Lilith is obviously going to troll the fuck out of Soren. That means Lilith is probably a lot more expressive. Soren's already made a deal to let her into her mind. Mephistopheles is just as surprised as I am...wait, what?

Turning to the body I had just placed Mephistopheles in, I saw him standing above it instead, just as surprised as I am.

"Ohhhh~ Who's this now? This is the one that got you to me, huh?"

Lilith said, forgoing Mephistopheles's usual booming and multi-layered voice. She sounds like a normal, if acutely high-pitched, girl. Which, for those of you not playing along at home, is really fucking weird.

Mephistopheles turns to look at me, clearly not pleased.

"Is this the one that We are supposed to call Our kin?"

I sigh, We're not having this discussion here. If you recall, we're on a bit of a timer...?

It appears Mephistopheles isn't having any of this shit though, because with a wave of a hand everything stops. My body's mouth has stopped moving, the flaming blip on the horizon has stopped flickering, everything is literally frozen in time.

...Damn it, I could have done that the whole time?

…

Oh, Mephistopheles can't hear my thoughts when he's outside of my body. Or he's ignoring me.

Lilith...sticks her tongue out at Mephistopheles. Great, now I have horrors from beyond the veil of time and space acting like five year-olds.

"Wow, I can see you're a barrel of laughs. What does my master see in someone who takes THAT guy for a benefactor?"

Now, this is probably my turn to get offended. It's too bad I'm barely containing laughter as Mephistopheles absolutely loses his shit.

"How DARE YOU? HAST THINE NO SHAME, YOU HARLOT? I seeith thou prancing about like some ninny schoolgirl, on her first day to the market! Dost thou comprehend thine strength, thine influence?!"

Wow, he mad. That was come pretty interesting Ye Olde English, as well. Just how old is Mephistopheles? I couldn't have named him his own name, right? Regardless, Lilith seems highly amused.

"Aww~! What's the matter? Grumpy old Mephisto sad that all of The Void isn't as archaic as he is?"

"Dost thou wish to go, bitch?"

"Bring it, Gramps!"

Sensing this was about to get very bad very quickly, I dived forward to knock Soren out of the way of their little bitch-fight. Just as I grabbed and pulled her away, Mephistopheles shot a massive cloud of black lightning towards Lilith. She took the hit full force, but shot a ball of condensed fuckary back at Mephistopheles, which in turn blew up right in his face. I guess being an elder demon or something means you don't have to dodge?

As they continued hashing out family issues, I checked on Soren. She still seemed to be in a daze, but was recovering quickly.

"So, how did you get into the Spirit World without me?" I asked, deciding to ignore the apocalyptic clash raging on behind us. She took one look over my shoulder and had similar thoughts.

"It was something...Lilith did? Why are you calling her Lilith, by the way?"

"It's a pun that only people back home would know, and of those only people into a tabletop game's lore. Actually, I'm naming all my summons by tier-"

Just then, I heard Mephistopheles cry out in anger;

"YOU CRAVEN WHORE! IS THINE POWER SO INFIDECIMAL THAT THOU WOULD SUCCUMB TO TRICKARY?!"

Turning around, I see that Lilith did indeed succumb to something. What though, I'm not entirely sure.

Lilith and Mephistopheles were standing quite close to one another. This didn't seem like a cause for such alarm, until I saw what Lilith was doing with her hand. She had one arm raised to her head, with the index finger extended and making small circles in the air. I hypothesized this had something to do with why Mephistopheles was practically trying to gnaw his way out of some invisible grip.

Now, this looked familiar. An idea forming rapidly in my mind, I call out to the apparent victor, "Hey, Lilith!"

Lilith turned to look at me quizzically, as if to ask me who I was talking to. Ignoring her lapse in memory, I call out again, "Can you power me up like Mephistopheles can?"

Lilith looked annoyed and shrugged her shoulders,

"I dunno. Probably. But isn't that ol' Mephiso's job?"

I turn to look Mephistopheles dead in the eye, as he latched onto my meaning immediately.

"Would thou enjoy being able to power other elemental spells? We can even give thou the knowledge to replicate the magical recipe for thine book-"

"Deal!" I yell quickly, a second before Lilith realized what just happened.

I snap my fingers, and suddenly every soul bound by me leaps out to my defense. This shocks Lilith enough to drop Mephistopheles from her grip, which in turn allows Mephistopheles to grab her himself. As amusing as it was seeing a copy of me manhandling a copy of Soren, I had bigger things to deal with. I raise my arm, pointing at Lilith, and give a single command.

"Take."

With a roar, Cain charged in, leaving the Abelites trailing behind silently but with faces of steel. Lilith yelled as she struggled in Mephistopheles's grasp, before being quieted by Cain shoving his fuck-off axe blade into her chest. Mephistopheles, wisely remembering that I wasn't exactly specific in my orders, flashed over towards me as my soldier's souls continued impaling Lilith onto the ground.

We met gazes for only a second, but in that time I saw the first flash of an emotion besides hate in his eyes. Don't get me wrong, there was plenty of hate in his eyes, but gratitude and smug satisfaction as well.

"My thanks. We had a deal...?"

I nod, allowing him to proceed. Nodding back in kind, he slams another burst of power into my chest, and it hurts no less than the last time he did it. I take a small bit of comfort in the fact that I've made pacts with demons to gain a quick level twenty, and will be rolling over Daein troops for a while.

Seeing Lilith struggle futility, I take the time to ask a question that's been begging me for about four seconds. "Mephistopheles, how come I don't have a Spirit Mark?"

Mephistopheles raises a single eyebrow before responding,

"Come again? Are you mistaking Us for one of those lowly elementals?"

I copy my...copy's expression. He takes note of my ignorance and sighs,

"Your stunning levels of ignorance continues to astound Us. To preemptively answer your next stupid question, yes elementals are inferior to Us denizens of The Void. We are formed and refined by only the finest processes of both the Immaterium and material world."

Sensing the opportunity for a potentially handy exposition dump, I continue asking 'stupid' questions like, "So Elemental Spirits are not...refined?"

I can practically feel Mephistopheles rolling his eyes at me, giving me an accurate approximation of how it feels when I do this to other people. It's annoying, in short.

"Ohh, so close. Actually, those Elementals were created by the twin goddesses Ashera and Yune at the dawn of this world's existence. They come from and influence this planet like the janitors they deserve to be, while sophisticated spirits like Us influence the shape and fates of the actually sentient beings."

"So it's purely coincidence that those elementals have made more pacts with people than any spirit of The Void, then?"

"SILENCE! 'Tis no issue of Ours that you pathetic humans cannot muster up the energies to call out to one of Us!"

"So you should be thanking me for giving you something to do, huh?"

"Human, We will not thank you even as the most foul of Stygian pits comes to claim Our very essence."

"Harsh. But what makes you guys so great, anyway? What's with the whole Immaterium thing?"

I feel Mephistopheles huff at me for changing the subject off of my shortcomings. I guess this means I'm going to be running out of exposition soon.

"We've neither the time nor the patience to explain to you the glories of The Void. Suffice to say, all things that exist in the material plane exist as well in The Void. In there, The Void tempers its essence, forming it anew into a more powerful form. It is the duty of that spirit to then find its origin, claim the inferior's energies for their own, and return to The Void to be reformed again."

"So when I entered the Spirit World for the first time, my own Void-infused soul sought me out to kill me, then go back home and do it again to some other poor sod?"

"Precisely. If it helps, your death will fuel my powers for a long time after you are rotting in putrescence."

"Actually, it kind of does, because no matter what happens to me, someone I at least respect benefits from my death."

Mephistopheles pauses, and looks at me for a moment. I can imagine a manly tear running down the corner of one eye, and it's hilarious.

"...We thank you for Your understanding, however limited it may be. Any more questions for Us?"

I can't quite place it, but I get a really big feeling that he's changed how he's addressing me. For better or for worse.

"Just one. How powerful are the biggest, baddest Void spirits?"

Mephistopheles stiffens as he answers my final question,

"The Elders of The Void are absolutely primordial. They will have consumed more souls in a week than We may in Our entire lifespan. They come not from one human's individual spirit, but from concepts far more old and powerful. Among them are the Elder Void spirits of Hunger, Curiosity, and Adaptation, named Cho'gath, Kog'Maw and Kha'Zix respectively. The oldest of Us has no name, existing since and possibly before the dawn of reality itself, thus representing Corruption."

I think for a moment. All but one of those spirits are characters in League Of Legends. However, Mephistopheles has made the allusion to the fact The Darkness can cross separate plains of reality, so could those three getting kills in LoL end up screwing me over here? That's...not a pleasant thought at all.

"Now that you assholes are done with the history lesson, LET ME THE FUCK GO!"

I hear Lilith scream out some ways from us. Oh yeah, I had my zombies pin her to the ground. It was also at this moment that I realized a hand was lightly gripping my arm. Turning my head, I almost jump at the sight of Soren, whom I forgot was standing literally right next to me.

"Would it be wise to deal with Lilith now? I have a feeling she'll be a lot more receptive to demands in her current state." Soren says. I feel so proud of her and myself that in the moment that I pause before opening my mouth to answer, Mephistopheles does it for me, the bastard.

"It would not be a bad idea, girl. He got me to share my domination over this realm under similar circumstances."

I relish the look of surprise, awe and respect coming from the only other mortal being in this realm before it getting ruined by said mortal's companion.

"YOU WHAT?! MEPHISTO, ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE?! WHY IN THE NAME OF THE OLD ONES WOULD YOU SHARE SUCH POWER WITH A MORTAL?!"

I sense surprise coming from everything present, which only further heightens my own surprise. Lilith only roars in unbridled fury at Mephistopheles's silence. After she calms down somewhat, she stares directly at me with both fire and ice in her eyes.

"You, human, have been graced with a mere Voidling. Pray you do not cross one such as I, or you will know the TRUE power of The Void!"

Amused, I feel Mephistopheles brisling with anger beside me. As Lilith is still pinned and helpless, Mephistopheles took the time to flash in front of Soren.

"We retract Our statement. This one is obviously acting irrationally, and in His interests regarding your safety..."

Mephistopheles raised a copy of my arm to point at me.

"...We advise you not to deal with Lilith."

"Wait," I interrupt, "If she's acting irrationally, then wouldn't we stand a chance of getting a better deal?"

Mephistopheles nods.

"It would seem as though that were the case. However, there is also the chance she may take your deal far more literally than you may have intended, if you understand Our meaning."

I frown. "Damn it, Mephistopheles is right. She's going to go Literal Genie on our ass if you try and deal with her. Your call though, Soren."

She has a look of intense determination on her face as she contemplates her next course of action.

"...Mephistopheles, you never indirectly answered Adam's indirect question. Can Lilith give Adam powers, and by extension can you do the same for me?"

"...Such things are within Our power, though We have a feeling Lilith would not be caught dead dealing with Him. What did you have in mind, Human?"

"Can you give me the power to block out her voice within my mind?"

It was at this precise moment that Mephistopheles gave Soren the most wicked fucking grin I've ever seen in my life.

"We would relish the privilege, if You would be so kind to give it to Us."

Soren only smirks as she offers a handshake.

"Then we have a deal?"

"Deal. But this power is not given in the same manner. As such, do try not to resist..."

Suddenly, Mephistopheles swoops past Soren's outstretched arm and gives her a deep kiss on her unsuspecting lips. With my fists crackling with jealous arcane energy, I go to sock him one before he flash-steps away to a still-prone Lilith. From a distance, I see Lilith's smug grin as she leans forward to receive a similar kiss. This thoroughly creeps me out, not in the least because of the possible incestuous undertones this situation carries.

After they...finish, Mephistopheles flash-steps over to us and bows.

"Speak to Us again when You desire the silence between you two to be broken once more. Au Revoir."

With that douchebaggy French departure, he absorbs himself into my soul once more. Sensing the conversations over, Lilith appears to be allowed to do the same. Soren says nothing, looking at me with unreadable eyes before shimmering back into her body. Sighing, I dive back into my body as well.

The walk back to camp is silent between Soren and I. It's a wildly different story between Mephistopheles and I, however. Why the hell did you feel the need to do that, again?

Seemed like fun at the time. And as it turns out, it certainly was!

You know I'm going to get you back for this, right?

Yeah, yeah. But maybe if You're a good host, We would be inclined to share the memory with you.

I'd rather earn those experiences myself, thank you very much.

Suit Yourself.

And another thing, how come you didn't give me my Spirit Mark like I asked?

You didn't ask, fool.

...Well I want one. A badass one. One where it looks like a scar going down the right side of my face, and glows when I get angry or annoyed and stuff.

...Very well, We shall work on it as you sleep.

Good.

After the short but cold walk, we find our way back to camp. The fire has long since died, and no happy couples had fallen asleep together beside it in a sickeningly cute manner. Which reminds me...

"Well, this is where we part for the night, yes?" I ask, optimistically hoping the answer would be no.

Soren only nods, the events of the day no doubt taking a toll on her.

It almost makes it unfair when I take a page from Mephistopheles's playbook and swoop in to give her a kiss on the cheek, like I had done many days earlier. However, to my delight, she did not jump away or recoil in disgust. Well, she might have made some kind of disapproving face in the darkness of night, but she didn't move away at least. After waiting a heartbeat for a reaction and getting none, I cut my losses and begin walking to my tent, after saying goodnight.

What I hear next almost makes me fall flat on my face.

"Thank you, Adam..." As I whip around to continue this potentially beneficial line of conversation, I find she has already vanished into the night.

Still, Rule Number 32; enjoy the little things.