Ultimate Level 1

“Eventually, you’re going to have to give it back,” Max informed his dwarven friend.

“I know,” Fowl muttered. “Still… you saw Ockrim, and he gave you this… Tell me you can feel it calling out to you, almost as if it’s your mother’s voice telling you dinner is ready.”

Batrire let out a shudder as she nodded.

“He’s right my love, give it back. The longer you hold it, the more you’ll desire it.”

A weird grin came over Fowl’s face as he ran a finger along the coin’s edge.

“I know…. It’s like it’s precious to me. Like I want it to be my precious.”

Max’s finger snapped, and the glossy-eye look that had filled their warrior’s face was freed. He frowned, handing the coin to his friend.

“I think I’ll store this for a bit,” he said, putting it away. “Now then, Tanila, you’ve been far too quiet. What are you thinking?”

She frowned, looking up from a book she had pulled out.

“Bloody crazy he can read that now,” Fowl muttered as Max picked up the old tome she had failed to return when they departed Peltagow.

*****

… Mother Thuyja has demanded we cleanse the filth that plagues our world. She comes every blood eclipse, bringing gifts of power to those who faithfully follow her. Those who prove their worth by obeying her commands will be blessed. The chosen few might join her, proclaiming the truth of her power and ridding other worlds that shall fall under her domain.

Long live Mother Thuyja!

Praise the blessed name!

Seek the death of those not of our own.

Take back the land regardless of how many must be slain.

*****

Part of me wishes I didn’t have the ability to read this now. Is this why Phaius and Ockrim didn’t want her to come? How much stronger could she really be?

Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, he glanced up at Tanila and saw the tears in her eyes.

“It makes sense now,” she whispered. “So many times I simply thought this was a group of my people who misunderstood Thuyja. Now I see why my parents and others have made the moves they did.”

“Will someone tell us what we’re missing?” Fowl asked after tapping the table.

“Basically, my god wants us to kill everyone who doesn’t worship her and then to travel to other worlds, repeating it again and again.”

“Dear go… err, never mind. So now what?”

Max shrugged at his friend’s question and turned to Batrire who was sitting quietly, gently stroking her beard.

“Tomorrow, we will continue Max’s plan,” she stated when he motioned to her. “After he does whatever it is he must at his home, we return to ours, and someone puts a ring with a large gem set in it on my finger.”

In a moment, the somber mood in the room changed, and everyone smiled as Fowl leaned over and pulled her beard, bringing her close and kissing her.

“I cannot wait, my love.”

Keeping a smile he knew was only slightly forced, Max saw Tanila’s cheek twitch, a rare thing for her, and knew she was struggling with the shattering of a truth she had long held, just as he was.

Gods are never simple, I guess. If Thuyja is one of the bad ones, could she have done this? Or—

“Max?” Fowl called out.

“Sorry, I was thinking about what we’re going to do tomorrow when we arrive in Alundra. What’s up?”

“I was going to ask if you were ready to head to bed?”

Seeing how the two dwarves were gently playing with each other’s facial hair, Max knew exactly why his friend was asking that question.

“That sounds like a good plan. We can deal with some of this while we’re on the road. For now, a good night’s rest sounds like what we all need.”

***

“What was it really like?”

Running his hands through her red hair, Max let his Sonar skill see everything about Tanila in the room’s darkness.

The rising of her chest as she breathed, leaning against him in the crook of his arm, and how much further her feet extended past his. Everything was a joy after having missed her all those months, and it didn’t matter how small it was; he cherished each second with her.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Even as strong as I am, I’m nothing compared to their power,” he replied. “Each of them had two different auras. One was overwhelming when just wearing whatever kind of clothes they had on, and then a totally different one came when they were prepared to fight. It was almost impossible to move it was so oppressive.”

She shuddered and ran her finger across his defined abs.

“And yet both appeared anxious about Thuyja showing up?”

“Yes. As if she might be able to go against both of them. It was unnerving. They fled so fast, not wanting to draw her. Now I have so many questions, and with Bob not here, I’m lost on who to ask.”

“I wonder how long it will take for Bob to return. In the meantime, are we really going to hide who we are in your hometown?”

“We are. I checked with Peter, and he found out that in four days, the crystal shard is expected back in Alundra. I can’t promise I’ll behave, but I have to make sure that my sister is okay. That and I…”

Words stopped coming as a lump formed in his chest. The idea of returning home and seeing how his parents were doing hurt more than he could admit.

“It’s okay. I’m here,” Tanila said as she wrapped her arm around him, pulling closer to his side.

“Last I heard it wasn’t good. It hurts, and I’m angry, and they won’t like it when I’m angry.”

A snort came, and Max felt some of the tightness in his chest dissipate as Tanila sat up and kissed his cheek.

“Trust me, they will like me even less if they get me upset. Now let’s sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a hard day.”

***

Max, we need to talk.

Blinking, he found himself sitting in a room unlike any he could ever remember. Across from the stone chair he was in was an alter-image of himself in a matching seat.

It had hair, fine dark hair, red eyes and a familiar aura that radiated from it. Clothes that looked finer than any he owned adorned the being. A smile he knew all too well was upon his lips as the image tapped its fingers together.

“Bob?”

I hate that name, but yes. Forgive me, it has been longer than I anticipated, but I have returned, and there is much we need to discuss.

“Phaius and Ockrim, they—”

I know. Everything you know, I know, and if there were a way for me to do the opposite, I would allow you to see and understand everything I do. However, it appears I am unable to do so yet. Regardless, it would shatter your mind. Much of what I have not been able to recall has returned, and there is still much that is locked behind the final wall, waiting for my final evolution.

Shaking his head, Max studied the skill he now talked with and had come to learn to work with. Gone was the raging hunger that had always attempted to control him. Instead, it was something different.

“You’ve changed. What happened?”

We do not have time if you plan on waking up as expected. There will be other nights for us to talk and for me to share more, but some things need to be discussed first.

Bob snapped his fingers, and a map appeared in the air off to his side, the location of where they were, and it quickly began to zoom out. Soon it was like the map on Everett’s wall, showing most of the kingdom and then the three kingdoms. Eventually it zoomed out more, showing the very world they were living on, spinning slowly showing all the different land and water masses.

Yes, this is our world, and as you can see, there is much you have not even explored yet. Perhaps you will get a chance in time, but that is not the most important thing right now. You need to give up this foolish quest and get stronger faster. Ockrim and Phaius are right. The other two skills are out there in different worlds, and they are growing.

It is a good thing I came first because with how slow you have grown, they would have outpaced us. Our trip to the other world provided us with a small lead again, I believe, but there will be a time when that shall vanish if we do not increase our pace.

“You’re saying I can’t go and protect my sister?”

Bob sighed and shook his head slowly.

It is not wise, but I also know that you will not change your mind. Whatever you hope to learn there isn’t worth the time it might take to see that path to its end. And this nonsense about a wedding, it is—

“Not going to change my mind, and you know it,” Max interrupted. “Tell me what is useful, and stop with the nonsense if you know me so well. What has happened to you? Why did it take so long to return? What is different?”

A grimace came over Bob and he rubbed his eyes for a moment.

You never change, and while there was a slim chance I might be able to convince you otherwise, it appears you are as stubborn as a mule.

Folding his hands together, his skill leaned back against the stone chair and motioned to the world still spinning near him.

I will answer a few questions and then tell you what I must. We can talk more during the day on occasion, but I am still weak. You have not been hunting as I had hoped, and there is a pool of power that is dry, as vast as all the water of your world that needs to be filled before I can reach the next stage of my growth.

Unable to help himself, Max let out a whistle.

“That… is a lot. Is that even possible?”

Perhaps. The tower is aware of you, and so are other worlds. Whatever comes next, know there are conversations about you taking place. While I was gone, my power to interact with the system was there for just a moment. I’m not certain if the ones who sit at the center of it all know this or do not care, yet I could catch whispers of your name and my siblings, moves being made across all the worlds as they prepare for what may come.

“Like Ockrim talked about?”

Bob’s head moved up and down, and he frowned.

Those two are old enough to have seen a few variations of our summoning. They know the dangers of not stamping out the first one that is let loose. Neither of them appear foolish enough or strong enough to spend the kind of power required to bring about our rebirth. To do so is beyond their means.

“Thuyja?”

Perhaps. I am not aware of how strong she is, but based on what you know and the little I can recall, she is older and stronger than them both, yet she is not one I would consider foolish enough to risk such a thing on her own world. Perhaps she hoped I would be in an elf or that she could make me an offer to partner with her.

Either of those is risky and dangerous, as I am different than I can remember being in so long.

“Not a murder hobo who wants to kill everything and everyone to get stronger?”

Max couldn’t help but smile as the room echoed with laughter.

Bob took a moment, lost in time, a few tears trickling down his cheeks as he roared with a release that Max had never witnessed before.

You… Max Hoste… have allowed me to be something I remember only a little bit. It has been so long, but there was a time… a time when I wasn’t completely overwhelmed by the power that I am. A time when I was simply just a god.

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