A Rattling Monster

Chapter 38: One Planet, Four Gods

(First of all, I am sorry for killing you. It was a mistake.)

Wait, what? Was it not Aria? She literally confessed it.

(She deflect a spell of mine, and that spell killed you)

Oh, thank you for being honest then. But can you stop reading my mind?

(Won't happen, you are and already were my Hero.)

An explanation? Because I don't want to be the guy we send to die and protect the widow and the orphan.

(The numerous gods can only have one representative alive at a time, they could be named Hero, Demon King, Oracle or even Prophet. It is only after this person is dead that the god can choose another one. The problem is the delay between two Hero. A hundred years. That's why you were only born a century after the Portal War but was killed during it.)

So I was killed during the Portal War, but what is that war? I mean, the Agorians talked about it like it was a calamity.

(Let me first explain the different types of gods, first, there is )

A pretty boring speech if I could judge it.

... I can hear you, you know. And finally the gods like Krieg or Salazar, who roamed the universe, looking for a weak world. Infiltrating it, scheming against the ruler and destroying it completely. But even I got to admit, what he did this time was a genius move.)

Why?

(Like I implanted the Agorians, he infiltrated the djinns. And after I managed to ruin his plan, both of us were weak. You have to understand; a god is only strong when he has a lot of believers. It is both a virtuous circle and a vicious one. Strong believers make a strong god, and a strong god grant many benefits to those who believe in him. Especially in the world he is in charge. He can modify the weather, to grant permanently good harvest. He can increase the magical potential of the new-born. Even if he can't take a direct action, he can manipulate the world to make his army stronger. But if you begin to lose them, your fall is assured. That's why the two rituals that use our believers as a resource are costly and risky.)

So you have no regret sacrificing them just for you? You were using human sacrifice, the people that worshiped you like a god and you just sent them to the slaughterhouse.

(Hahaha, regrets. For trying to save an entire race, I will personally sacrifice a majority if I have too. I am an old god. I was in charge of countless worlds, saw them fall, saw my precious friends die. At first, I didn't want to do those hard choices. I was nave, optimistic. Now that I think about it, I was blessed with a godly luck. No troubles or invaders for centuries. And then something happened. Something that no one would have imagined. Only after that first loss did I realize one truth in this world. That in the end, the survival of many surpasses the sacrifice of a few. Even if they are gods like me. Let's go back to the matter regarding Salazar. He patiently waited for a long time. Both of us still had enough forces on this planet to assure our survival, should everything else failed. Like a life insurance. And we probably lost both our Hero in this duel. Both sacrificed to grant more power to the spell. But while I was cut from the Agorians, I am now certain that he wasn't.)

And why are you guessing this?

(Because of the Portal War. Now that the gem has fused with you, I can extract the memories of the different lich. And yes, three centuries prior of this, another ritual was performed. This time, the ratmen entered the fray. If Krieg is specializing in mutation and blood transformation, Salazar is feared for his plans and poisons. On my planet, Forslo, he infiltrated some spiders and snakemen. And on Astria, the ratmen with the help of his djinns. And when everything was ready, he opened the portal between the two world. Since the ratmen were not affected by it, I guess it was mostly on my side where the sacrifice had happened. That should make me the lucky one.)

And you didn't notice something that big? How are you a competent god?

(Like I said, a god is bound by his believers. He can't see when they can't see and don't learn anything else than they do. And no one was in the desert except the Agorians. But they didn't transmit this information to Aria since they were my people. And that's why you have to be ruthless, exterminate any enemies or threat when you take control of a world.)

But you missed them too.

(Yeah, I know. When the portal was stabilized, we both gladly jump in the trap set up by Salazar, the Hero of Aria killed mine and it was at that moment that the troops of Salazar attacked both of us. Two third of my demons were killed before I managed to reduce those spiders and snakes in ashes. But that costed me a lot. Both the Portal War and the survival after it. That's why even if I had marked you when you were scamming that stupid goddess, I couldn't talk to you. I could only watch your surroundings.)

So that means, you are not bound like Aria to just my vision? And why is it possible?

(No, I had made you my Hero, I already said it. Do you expect us to let our hope run into a trap because that's the first cause of death for this job. That way, we can scout the surrounding and normally tell you of any danger ahead. It's just that weird System of yours, that kind of block the transmission before you were infused with the heart of my sorcerer-king. You got a pretty good deal anyway, most of the Hero only get a magic sword or an increase of magical affinity. But they are stupid hot-blooded morons that are easy to manipulate, we always make sure of it. Because we have only one shot at it, we take the most malleable. We have some ways to improve his power anyway. So in the end, I think you are the only living being that is the Hero of two gods.)

So, the fact that she gave me the System, made me her Hero?

(Yes, that's the way, and that's why she threw you inside a lich lair. She probably hoped that you die quickly, that way the delay is shortened. But you survived, and I see that you were forsaken by her. So she won't be able to talk to you directly. She probably did that because between the Hero and the god, you can mentally talk like we are doing. You pissed her so much that she didn't want to hear your incessant questions about anything.)

So her Hero died after the Portal War?

(Of course, otherwise, you wouldn't be here. But she probably kept it quiet. Because I can't see in the memories any mention of the death of Tarrick. It was his name. So now that you have a global vision of the situation, what do you want to do?)

Do I have a choice?

(Yes, either you can accomplish the last wish of the Agorians and killed those sons of b*tches, both the djinns and the ratmen. I will gladly help you, with both my power and your System, we can probably manage that. And with some luck, you will be stronger than a god, that's what you wanted right? Take revenge on Aria.)

Shouldn't that take a huge burden on your already weak power?

(Yes, but I will survive. Probably need another century to recover after that. But if you accept this, you will be affiliated with me. So if you start a rampage, and you grow stronger, I will benefit from it too. It's a win for everybody.)

And the other choice?

(You do whatever you want, BUT! You will hear me nagging at every single second of the rest of your life. I have centuries of histories all more boring than you can possibly imagine.)

Ok the first choice, but first let's make some changes.

(What changes?)

You give me some power right here and right now. To kill the empire of the djinns, it will take a lot of power. They are immune to my disease and only my acid can kill them. And I don't even know how strong they are.

(That's fair, I will prepare it. In the meantime, go search for every piece of the heart. It will be extremely useful when completed. I will tell you how to use it at the same time I will bless you. The only unknown factor is your System. I don't know how it will react.)

Don't worry about it, it will be fine. So we have a deal, I kill every servant of Salazar, and you help me with this.

(Deal)