Chapter 49
An angeli adorned in golden robes with a platinum circlet walked into the tower with her head down. Her white hair was one singular braid that was long enough to drag across the ground. Her white silk wings sagged in defeat as her bare feet padded across the marble floor.
She knelt.
“King Byron, the kingdom of Naos declares fealty to you and recognizes you as our leader and protector.”
“Tell me your name.”
“Xilouis, your grace.”
+1 Will point.
“Stand.”
+1 Will point.
“Come. I had a table set for us.”
+1 Will point.
I led her away from the door and pulled a chair out for her.
She sat carefully so as not to bend either of her wings.
Invia, followed by a shadow Byron bodyguard, joined us.
If she was going to run this kingdom, anything I learned here would be useful for her too.
I triggered Sense Weakness and learned that Xilouis was vulnerable to “feeling inferior.” That was interesting, but I wasn’t immediately sure how to put that knowledge to use.
“You can have your choice of water or wine,” I said, gesturing at the jugs on the table. “Are you hungry?”
She shook her head.
“Celestials and paladins attacked me in my city,” I began. “I had no choice but to respond. If you had nothing to do with that, it's unfortunate that you got caught in the middle. If you and your people are loyal to me, you will have good lives.”
“Of course, your Grace.”
“How likely are the archangeli to come through the gate and attack us?” I asked.
“Not at all.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
“I do not deceive, your Grace. They will surely secure their side, but they will not come to the aid of a lower plane. The lives of a million angeli are worth less than the life of one archangeli.”
I thought for a moment. “My understanding was that the upper planes would come down to meet an invasion of this plane with a large-scale resistance rather than let an invader climb.”
“That was once the case, I am told,” Xilouis replied. “Such a thing has never been true in my lifetime, however.”
“Interesting. How strong are archangeli?”
“A level 100 human may be able to best one in combat.”
“What is their plane like?”
Xilouis paused, seeming to search for words. “Islands in a sapphire ocean beneath a sky of liquid diamonds.”
“Pretty.”
“We all aspire to ascend and see such things for ourselves someday.”
“Is that difficult to do?”
“No one has ascended in 5,000 years,” she answered.
“A cabal of seraphim decreed that they could accept no more ascensions of cherubim. As a result, the plane of cherubim implemented a similar policy. So it continued that each plane, being denied its ability to ascend, in turn denied the plane beneath them. Now, one who is born an angeli is doomed to die an angeli.”
Invia caught my eye and raised her eyebrows.
I agreed. The current state of celestial politics was both interesting and advantageous.
If Xilouis was telling the truth, and I had to recognize there was a chance she wasn't, then no plane in the heavens was likely to come to the aid of another. They all resented each other too much.
The archangeli choosing to barricade their door instead of defending a neighbor was an example of that. That was especially useful to me because descending to the celestial plane to repel my invasion would have been the smartest move for my enemies, and that was what I had planned for.
If the archangeli came to the aid of the angeli, all of the fighting would happen on the lowest plane, sparing archangeli damage and destruction. They could supplement their forces with angeli, using them as meat shields to spare the lives of their own people.
Most of all, they could have flanked my brains out.
I didn't know where the gates to the archangeli plane were.
Surely they could have come down through a gate I wasn't attacking and come at my forces from behind. I believed that the sheer number of FAB bombs in our arsenal would enable us to hold them back, which I would do long enough to capture the seraphim I needed to make Abaddon’s Bane before retreating back to the tower.
And the war would be done. Having what I needed, I could focus on securing my new borders rather than pushing to expand them.
Instead, I owned several more cities. Most of them were shitholes–because of me and my soldiers–but I owned them nonetheless. And no hosts from the heavens were on their way to stop me from acquiring several more, if I desired.
The dislike archangeli had for angeli took priority over optimal battle decisions. An enemy deliberately handicapping themselves was good for me, and I needed to adjust accordingly. I believed this created new opportunities.
“Is it a big deal to have your ascension denied?” I asked.
Xilouis looked me in the eye for the first time. “We cannot continue to level if we do not ascend.”
“Really?”
“Yes, your Grace.”
“How long have you waited to ascend?” I asked.
“647 years.”
“That must piss you off.”
She didn't reply, not that she really needed to. Of course, it pissed her off. No sane being would be okay with having their progress halted entirely.
“If I took you to the next plane, would that count as an ascension?”
“Yes.”
“My religion is known as the Order of the Silk Noose. In the Silk, we have a saying that you can have whatever you want. If you help me, I'll gladly let you through the gate so you can ascend.”
She sat back, her gold eyes staring into mine. “Why would you do that for a prisoner?”
“The moment you declared fealty, you became my subject, and I believe in rewarding loyal subjects. If you give to the Silk, it gives right back. If you want to move to another plane, you can.”
“Byron is generous,” Invia added. “He shares more of his wealth with his people than any King I've ever known or read about.”
“Does this generosity extend to other angeli?” Xilouis asked.
“Any who are loyal and contribute are rewarded. If you know of others who desire to ascend, they can earn the same privilege.”
“It is unusual for a conqueror to so quickly arm and empower newly acquired subjects.”
“I was quick to explain how the Silk operates,” I corrected. “It's up to you how long it takes to prove you're one of us and reap the benefits.”
“I see.”
Invia narrowed her eyes at Xilouis and leaned forward. “She still believes we are beneath her.”
I didn't need to ask if that was true. Xilouis flinching like she deserved to be punished said everything I needed to know.
A villainous smile spread across Invia’s face. “You ache for him, don't you?” she asked the angeli. “You know his cock is mere feet away from you. Wanting to be defiled by someone you think is lesser is driving you mad. You hate it.”
Xilouis shirked, leaning back and hunching her shoulders to make herself as small as possible.
“How many times have you used Byron’s Blessing?” Invia asked.
The angeli didn't reply.
“Answer her,” I commanded.
“Hundreds of times. I do not know the exact number.”
+1 Will point.
“You should taste the real thing,” Invia said. “Do you deny that you desire it?”
“No, my Queen. I do not deny it.”
“Then get on-” Invia began before I raised my hand to cut her off.
Our Intoxicate+100 bombs had clearly affected Xilouis already. I saw no need to force the issue. Our ongoing release of Intoxicate+100 would make her drunk with desire eventually.
“Xilouis,” I began, “I would like you to give me a tour of your city. Show me what you love about your home so I may do my best to preserve it.”
“You intend to hold all that I treasure hostage.”
“I understand why you’d think that, but that is not the case. With your help, we can end this war and spare the plane of the angeli more suffering. For my part, I would very much prefer the death stopped here.”
Her gold eyes blinked at me as she stared, unspeaking, for a full two minutes. “Very well,” she finally conceded.
-2 Progress to Your Fall.
Progress to Your Fall: 68 / 100 (Abaddon, King of the Abyss)
My hands rest on a railing overlooking a multi-tiered metropolis of white marble.
Clusters of crystal rose into the sky, towering formations of quartz, amethyst, and citrine.
I later learned that these crystals were literally grown.
On this plane, planting crystals was as common as planting trees.
I liked how those spots of reflected color mixed with the dark green of treetops to give every city level the welcoming sensation of walking into a park on a spring day.
In peacetime, angeli probably flew all over, making vertical roads just as important to celestials as horizontal roads were to humans, but the city was quiet today.
Several craters still smoked from where bombs were detonated, and the sounds of angeli clashing with Byron bots still echoed from all around.
The worst of it was over, but I suspected it would be some time before I saw what this view was supposed to look like.
“Can the conqueror spare a moment for his favorite spellcaster?”
I turned away from the balcony. The view of Safina, the capital city of the Naos kingdom, was breathtaking, but I would burn it down 1,000 times for an extra minute with Solara.
She strolled toward me, a soft celestial breeze pulling her silk toga tight to her form. That touch of mystery was enough for me to fall in love with her all over again.
This was what I was fighting for. I needed to remember how this moment felt the next time Abaddon shook my confidence and morale. No one was taking this life away from me. I would give everything I had to protect my wives.
“Twirl for me,” I said.
I watched her curves gracefully spin.
“Incredible.”
Solara smiled and curtsied playfully. “Have a moment to talk phylacteries?”
“Please.”
“If you don't mind me stealing from your angeli stock, we can have one book phylactery made for each of us by the end of the month. That includes the ink for the ritual.”
“Which is writing the story.”
“Correct. Time-consuming, but not really relevant to the lives ahead of us.”
I nodded. “That's true.”