"In order for you to speak with the God of this planet, you must be able to catch his attention. You can either be a hero who will do the most honorable or be a malefactor and perform the most ignoble."

I visited Ten Ten who controlled all the tentacles sprouting out in the physical world and asked her about how I can meet Esgard and also told her of the possibility of Imjir being here. She told me that Imjir can take various forms but in order to do that, he had to kill the original vessel in order to claim that appearance as his.

This would mean that all this time, Imjir could be lurking around me hiding behind the identity of someone I know or someone who I won't ever be suspicious of.

"Be cautious Lord Corlos, though Imjir possesses no power greater than yours, he can manipulate your environment to get all favor on his side. He is someone that you should not downgrade despite of his actions being of no value to the universe. His jealousy fuels his mind for creative solutions that can lead to destructive results."

All these mess and all these deaths and just because Imjir was jelly. I suppose he just can't help being jelly because he was the God of it and so he was more like me. Did he feel any remorse for his actions? I doubt that. If he did then Light Stones wouldn't be stolen from their respective worlds.

It still wasn't clear to me on how I'll get to talk to Esgard considering that I already did something valorous and something sacrilegious and Esgard never summoned me into his chambers. I did forget to ask Ten Ten about the escape of sea water into the spiritual world which was dim-witted of me.

If you ever need proof that Gods were also flawed creations of the universe, I'll be your boy.

I shifted back into the spiritual world soaked from diving into the ocean and my intuition warned me of something flying above. My eyes shot up to the lightening skies of the morning and saw Kogen being held into the claws of a four-winged creature with caliginous colored feathers. Its front legs had silver-colored claws while his back legs had hoofs. Its tail was made up of a sapphire fire.

"Hey! Kogen! What are you doing up there?!" I called out. Was he playing dead? The bird was heading opposite to where the temple was. "Kogen!" I yelled and chased the shadow of the bird to prevent myself from having a strained neck.

When I realized that Kogen wasn't asking the creature for a lift and was either dead or unconscious, I flew up to save him with some rocks that I picked up.

I stood in the way of the creature and threw middle-sized rocks at it successfully gaining its attention earning a sharp and piercing scream that was gently drifted by the winds of the desert. The bird dropped Kogen and used its free claws to tear my chest open and it was successful with that.

"Damn it, my nipple!" I growled before giving it a kick to its head.

Obviously my kick wasn't hard enough considering how lively the creature still was and the continuous ripping of flesh that it was doing to my whole body. I yanked its beak and spun us around in midair before throwing it far from me. My eyes remained focused on the creature which just regained its balance in the air while I descended down to see how Kogen was managing.

He was still unconscious but he was breathing. His shredded clothes told me that he dealt with these birds. Some of his wounds were still fresh but were closing very slowly which was abnormal for a God to have that sluggish healing process because mine was already nearly healed.

"Kogen wake up!" I yelled directly at his ear as I shook him not too kindly. The bird was preparing to swoop down on us and I still can't get my balls to toughen up and kill it.

I rose to my feet and picked up another rock to throw it to the charging bird waiting for the burst of tickles coming from its sharp talons. My heart sped up and it was pathetic on how immobilized I was from fear however I also dread the power that I was suppressing within me.

In the midst of my inner turmoil, Guardian finally decided to bless me with his voice that I never knew that I'll be so happy to hear.

"I didn't raise you to be eaten like a worm Corlos."

"I'm trying Guardian but I just...can't make myself do it!" I blurted out.

"Well you can't die from a weakling so just let it scratch you until that bird dies of old age," he spoke nonchalantly. Did he really care about me or was he just bored so he decided to bless me with his shit?

"I can't wait!" I snarled at him.

"Then you kill it."

"I don't want to kill it!"

"You can't have everything Corlos. You have to choose."

"Guardian...I can't!" I desperately confessed in a breathless tone. My whole body was trembling in fright and my eyes started to tear up. If I take away the life that this creature possessed I think I'll be taking away the last piece of restraint that I had on me. What will become of the people around me?

"If you continue to run away from your true self, it will never stop chasing you. Face what you fear because the more you run the more you'll lose control of things."

The pressure from Guardian's words started to get to me and things were not getting better at all. My mind began to get cloudy until I had no control of my own actions and my own thinking. My hand clenched on the rock that I was holding with one hand and my mind created a line of static noise.

"Darkness doesn't mean evil Corlos. Embrace yourself and create your own light from that acceptance."

My fate...was inescapable.

"DIE!"

...

...

...

Despite Guardian's words, I was still at lost. I carried Kogen on my shoulder while I dragged the dead bird behind me. I didn't have a clear plan on how I would take it down but it would seem that my body can use anything as a means to take away a life.

The creature's head was disfigured from getting hit from the spiraling rock that I threw subconsciously and the next thing I know, I was jumping around the puddle of golden blood that it created. My subconscious joy about killing something petrified me.

I was such a twisted fuck.

Once I arrived in front of the temple, the Knights approached me instantly and helped me with Kogen.

"Take him to a room and is this bird edible?" I asked a Knight.

The Knight took a look at the corpse behind me and rubbed his chin. "As long as it isn't Toscan then it should be. But its blood is odd. I never saw it before."

"Do what you have to do," I sighed. Whatever filled the belly of the hungry except if cannibalism was involved then anything was fine.

By this time, Guta must be at the temple already so I had to get ready since he didn't want seeing me filthy. I looked back and saw the trail of golden blood that I left on the sand from where I dealt with the bird and then came inside.

All of the refugees were overjoyed by the "accidental hunt" that arrived. Though the portions were still small at least their stomachs will have something to digest.

I tended to the unconscious Kogen and Croot helped in cleaning the wounds.

"Corlos, are you sure that you don't want to eat with us?" Croot asked me as she cleaned up everything.

"I'm sure and thank you. You should go eat before someone eats your portion. Make sure that the children get to eat as well."

Croot released a sigh and then rubbed her cheek against mine. "You are such a nice boy Corlos. You could have left any time but here you are suffering with us. Why don't you go back home with your pai?"

Home huh?

I pursed my lips and looked down. "Home doesn't want me back."

If I ever did come back, the Higher Order of Gods might decide to withdraw my life and power and sentence me to resurrection.

Croot placed the basin of water on the floor and sat beside me before pulling me against her side and securing me with her wing like what a good female toscan does to an upset child.

"Then that is not your home. A real home accepts you for who you are and I am sure that you'll find that. The universe is enormous so don't ever stop searching and you may never know what the universe has in stored for you. You might meet the most beautiful princess... or prince if that is what you prefer ," Croot whispered and caressed my head.

I closed my eyes and leaned my head against her chest. "Do you really think someone is out there that could love someone like me?" I asked her.

It was impossible. There could never be a happy ending for me. My titles already said it all. There can never be order to my destruction. There can never be light to my darkness. There can never be peace to my battles. There can be no one in my life because there will be no one destined to be alive around me.

"You deserve a happily ever after and I truly believe that," Croot murmured warmly.

I didn't think it was true but I wanted to believe.

"Thank you..."

I could leave this planet any time and just carry Kogen with me but I can't. My heart didn't want to abandon Croot and the children. I didn't want to leave Chaos. If I was going to leave, I need to do something about this situation first.

Someone cleared their throat, breaking the emotional bonding that I was having with the female toscan. I pulled away from Croot and she picked up the basin of water and headed out. Chaos was waiting at the door with a plate of food. There were strips of meat and two small buns of bread.

"I brought you food. Sorry if I interrupted anything," he stated with a sheepish smile.

"It's fine," I replied with a smile and patted the space beside me. "Have you already eaten?" I asked.

"Yeah a bit," he answered with an unsure tone telling me that he was going to put out another day without food just so another refugee can have his portion.

"Eat that," I sighed. "I'm not hungry."

Chaos plopped down beside me and attempted to push the plate at my chest.

"Come on! You haven't eaten for days! I saw you giving all your food to the children," Chaos complained.

"That's because I don't get hungry and I'm not just saying this so that you won't feel sorry for me," I reasoned out. "I don't need food to live alright? So don't hold back," I assured him.

Chaos gave me one last look showing that he was giving me a second chance with the food but I just nudged his arm with my elbow for him to dig in.

Time passed by and I left Kogen in my zeke's capable presence so that I can guard the children and Chaos went back to his post.

Croot was nowhere to be seen and the children didn't have any idea on where she was which was worrying. Guta didn't summon me either and I haven't seen him since last night and it was not that I craved to bear witness to his face at all.

I began to ask the people who knew Croot and they told me that she went to the kitchen to see if she can get more food and hadn't returned ever since.

At this point, my anxiety started to swirl in my stomach again.

I went to the kitchen and found that the assigned people there just finished cooking something and were separating the meat into smaller pieces for everyone to have.

"Um whe-where did that come from?" I asked one male toscan.

"Oh this? Guta brought this one already cooked and chopped. We were only chopping it again so that everyone can eat. I never thought that the old priest would hunt for us."

I turned around and attempted to calm my raging heart. "Where's the head? Has anyone seen the head?" I asked and the cooks just swayed their heads in a "no". I ran out of the kitchen and found Rupture walking around in patrol. In my desperation to find Croot, I set aside my fear and talked to him.

"Ru-Rupture, have you seen Croot?" I asked him.

Rupture seemed taken aback from my sudden interest in talking to him and nodded. "Yes, Guta summoned her into his office. She hasn't returned yet?" he asked.

"She hasn't..." I replied in shock. It couldn't be, but why? "Can you delay the food that's going to be served from the kitchen? I need to confirm something," I requested. Rupture nodded and didn't give anymore further questions.

I ran to Guta's office and did not bother knocking. My sudden outburst caught his attention and worry etched into his face. "Hello there Corlos, what seems to be the problem? You are in good timing. I was about to summon you."

"Where's Croot? What did you do to her?!" I screamed shattering any false respect I was putting up for him.

Guta sauntered towards me with his staff following him. "Calm down Corlos. I sent her out with the priests and priestesses to welcome the new toscans who'll come this afternoon."

His words didn't fully register into my mind because I was hopeful that Guta wasn't really a sick fuck like what I thought he was.

"Come, let's take a walk outside shall we?" he calmly instructed and gently pushed me out of the room.

There will be new refugees coming this afternoon and Croot was requested by Guta to welcome them.

Why her?

This...afternoon? No one can move in this planet other than Rupture, Chaos, Guta, Kogen and I whenever a shifting will occur. Was I missing something?

Guta brought me out of the gates of the temple and he released a satisfied breath.

"I wanted to thank you for hunting that hippomel and sharing it with everyone. I have to say... you are a curse cloaked into a blessing."

My eyes narrowed and I turned to look at him. "Well you're just a righteous bullshit cloaked into a much thicker righteous bullshit. You already brought me here so get on with it. No one is watching," I challenged him.

"You don't realize what you fed these people with do you?" he asked.

Shit... I knew that golden blood was suspicious.

"I clearly don't so enlighten me," I spoke.

Guta radiated with a raging crimson light. "In a state of pandemonium Esgard's paladin shall spread its wings and roam the skies to purify a cursed land. If its blood sheathed with gold smears the sand of the unholy due to malicious reasons, an unending doom shall rain. To end the curse miscreants must consume the flesh of their own. The most holy servant of Esgard must finish the curse by feasting on the last surviving bloodline of the accursed."

"You're suggesting cannibalism. That's just a whole new curse!" I snarled at him.

Guta grabbed me by my shoulders and shouted back at me. "No! I am offering solutions! Once they feast on the flesh of their own cursed blood, you will feast on the last surviving and I shall feast on you and that is when the curse shall be severed!"

This priest was crazy... He was no different from the crazed ones!

Guta began to cackle out loud proving his insanity in all of this. My crumbled godship began to rebuild itself in the void of bafflement, odium and incredulity and Guta was helping me piece myself back.

The priests and priestesses gathered at the gates of the temple and one of the priests was holding a dirty sack with red blood still dripping from its fabric. A swarm of crazed ones began to spread from the distance and were slowly but surely heading towards our way. These hordes of crazed ones were bigger than ever before and repulsion built its way towards my throat.

"Ah, they are earlier than I thought, do you see that Corlos? That is our salvation. This day will be marked as the day I purified the planet from the curse of losing the Light Stone. I will cleanse the world from its darkness!" he announced with his hands up in a welcoming pose.

The Knights poured out of the temple and prepared their weapons. The priest holding the sack handed it to priest Guta and my suspicions were proven correct.

Guta brought out Croot's severed head and that served as the last puzzle piece for me.

https://youtu.be/uGIu6-WtwEs

I couldn't even bring myself to mourn. I couldn't even bring myself to weep for her because I was so angry.

My sanity was getting mashed from intense wrath.

My lips slowly curved into a smile and I began to swing my arms merrily.

"I will flood this world of their blood and drown them into their misery."

"I will mutilate every single limb and scatter their parts all across the world to spell out my wrath."

"I will get my revenge. I will show them what true darkness was..."

"If the strong will continue to feed on the weak then I shall show no mercy and feed on every last one of them."

Guta raised Croot's head with his two hands and presented her into the incoming swarm of crazed toscans.

"Lord Esgard, these people are yours for the taking! Cleanse all evil and place your light into our hearts!"

A giggle escaped from my throat in the midst of the screaming toscans soaring towards us.

This was going to be so much fun~

"Cute..." I praised. My voice was cloaked with a deeper tone of voice. "Your request for purity offends me," I drawled.

Guta's staff radiated with red light and attempted to silence me but with one jerk of my head, the staff snapped itself causing the priests and priestesses and even Guta to gasp.

"I'm boooored someone play with me!" I whined and a wave of dark smoke swelled out from my body and circulated around my feet creating a mild force of wind.

"Wh-what are you?!" Guta questioned me. "Knights, kill him!" Guta ordered.

I snapped my head towards Rupture and winked at him and the respected General stood on his ground and bowed his head in obedience.

"Stay on your ground, no one moves!" Rupture ordered out.

That's a good boy...

Guta backed away from me and dropped the head of Croot to the sand causing me even more reason to enjoy being the cause of his misery. I picked up Croot's head and embraced her against my chest and my thin long sword materialized into my other hand.

"You can't stop what is about to happen. This is God's will!" Guta raised his voice at me.

"As you can see, there's another God's will that you have to worry about," I chirped and then pointed my sword to the swarming bodies that Guta was so confident of. "Pitiful..."

I gently placed Croot's head to the sand and then scooped a handful of grains into my hand before giving the grains a sweet blow.

The sands drifted away from me and slowly started to gather more of its kind as they rose towards the crazed creatures. The yellowish grains became darkish in shade and the usual gentle cover of planet Belraria clashed against Esgard's will.

It was my will against his will.

"You will regret going against him Corlos! A God always wins in the end!"

The swarm of birds didn't stop moving even when the sands that I sent flew between their bodies however, I didn't send them just for a pitiful attempt of a scare. The sand latched onto their bodies and began to eat away the nutrients for their growth.

Gradually the swarm of toscans plummeted to the ground while screaming from getting eaten alive by the growing grains that became my very own creation of insects. The growing cloud of bad omen became no more as their tortured bodies lay peacefully on the sand.

"You're right...A God always wins in the end. But who says Gods can't lose?" I laughed.

My stunning creations flew up to the skies with satisfied bellies and hovered on top of us blocking most of the light coming from the sun creating a gorgeous shadow of darkness.

"Let there be blood..." I ordered and snapped my fingers.

One by one my creations detonated releasing a brief blood rain that painted this part of the planet scarlet.

Now then..."Have I caught your attention now Esgard?"

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A/N: HEYOOOOOOO HOW WAS THE UPDATE TWINKS?