Chapter 25
Zeus's palace was as opulent as I remembered. Servants ran to and fro, doing their best to keep it running smoothly. Many of them were very young and pretty while being openly obvious to me. Two of them moved simple things like a vase back and forth.
I blinked, before I wondered if people had simply exaggerated my propensity to collect beautiful women? Would Zeus really just have attractive women rushing about in my field of view in hopes I might collect them?
Shoving that from my mind, I walked through to where I knew Zeus would be.
"Ah, Bran," Zeus greeted me the second I stepped onto the massive balcony hanging over the sea. Servants brought out fruit and wine, but I waved off the offering, moving instead to the balcony to overlook the sea with a hopefully aloof expression.
I didn't want to give Zeus the idea I wanted to be at his palace.
"Now, Bran…" Zeus gestured with his arms as if expecting a hug.
"Forgive me, I've felt myself become a little claustrophobic after traveling with Circe.” I smirked at her, and she lifted an eyebrow.
"You didn't show it," she told me.
"Well, that doesn't mean it isn't the case." I smiled and enjoyed the breeze on my face for a long moment before turning to assess the room again. "So, Zeus, what exactly is it I can do for you?"
The way his smile tensed brought me more joy than it had any reason to. I needed to keep things close to my chest and make Zeus work for every inch of the negotiation that had absolutely already started.
"Well, it's just been a while. You've come to visit so rarely, despite gallivanting around the globe, that I'd begun to wonder if we'd offended you.
After all, as a result, we're not included in the conversations.
I mean, I would have at least liked a heads-up before you announced to the world that you could alter bloodlines.
" He rubbed his forehead. "You've created a great many troubles for me.
Like it or not, you still hold the Heros name, and most people expect me to know something of your whereabouts.
" He swirled a glass of wine, watching me over the edge of his cup.
He laid out several debts that I owed him as an opening salvo.
Unfortunately, I didn't have much to give him, so he was going to try and bulldoze over me with his preferences.
"I think it might be best if you stayed back in the Heros Clan for a while. There are certain to be individuals with poor designs on you," Zeus said, dressing it up as helping me.
I smiled at him. "Are you able to protect me better than I can protect myself?" I asked, letting him have access to my stats.
[Name: Bran Heros - Hegemon of Rule
Level: 132
Class: Blood Hegemon SS
Status: Healthy
Strength: 13275
Agility: 14293
Vitality: 11467
Intelligence: 9371
Spirit: 32640
Skills:
Soul Gaze SSS
Soul Resilience SS
Blunt Weapon Proficiency S
Endurance S
Throwing Proficiency A
Blood Boil S
Blood Siphon S
Sanguine Slash SS
Bloodline Collection 603
Immortal Body A
Axe Proficiency B
Charge A
Bloodink Quality SS
Stealth D
Inscription B
Swim D (Bracer)
Last Stand C
Blood Hex S
Blood Transfusion S
Bloodiron Blade SS
Crimson Barrier S
Sword Mastery SS
Worshiped A
Sanguine Locking S
Drop B (Sword)
Soul Absorption Arts B
Bloodline Manipulation SS
Powers of Blood A
Training C
Primordial Titan Bloodline M
Bloodrage Ascension C
Primordial Confluence Titan Physique E]
I paused, a slow smile of satisfaction spreading across my face as I watched understanding dawn on his face.
Soul Absorption Arts on the Monkey King’s Soul as it left the world had bolstered my stats to new heights.
My skills, however, had remained largely static.
The demons we’d been slaying had been little more than small morsels of experience.
But I had raised both Soul Resilience and Soul Absorption Arts from consuming the Monkey King. I did lament that Soul Absorption Arts hadn’t been higher when I started that; otherwise, the stat gain would have been beyond incredible.
"Heavens," he said, then cleared his throat.
Still, I held a hand up, and he respected it.
"If there's a problem that me and mine can't solve, we both know it would simply cause more harm to the Heros Clan.
" I smiled and let him think through what I had said.
If someone actually came for me with enough strength to do something, it would be enough strength to rip the Heros Clan apart.
He had to understand that just as much as I did.
The question now was whether he'd accept it or find enough excuses in his own mind to justify that level of danger.
"I suppose, if you are unwilling…" he began, putting the onus on me.
I shook my head. "No. That's not how this works, Zeus. I'm here for several reasons, one of which is to make sure we're still on good terms. The last thing I need is you exaggerating my desire for independence as if it's a bad thing."
Zeus scowled. "I'm not taking away your independence—"
"No, because you can't," I interrupted before he could go any further.
"And I'm here to make that clear. As for what I'm doing with my abilities, I think I've earned the right to make those decisions myself, though you're welcome to share your opinions.
I'd just rather there be no misunderstanding about one of us being above the other. "
His eyes flitted to something in the middle distance, the way people did when double-checking system screens, and he gave a slow nod. "Yes, I suppose we're well past either of us pretending to be less than we deserve to be." He puffed himself up.
I supposed being considered an equal to me at my current stats was now a promotion, though I kept any flicker of that thought off my face.
"Good. Well, then, I should talk openly. So far my meetings with the other clans and sects have been fairly slim, but I'm hoping more people will come to me in the future. As everything stands at the moment, my focus has been clearing demons piece by piece from the world," I said.
Zeus gave that a slow nod. "As you should. Now, it sounded like there was more you were here to talk about?" he asked, watching me carefully.
"Yes, well… I'm not certain how you'll take it. But I met the ancestor of the Wukong Clan," I stated.
"I'd heard a rumor to that effect. Is it true you awoke the Monkey King?" Zeus squinted.
"It is. We had several lovely conversations, including his request that I not consume his clan into my own organization.
" I snapped my fingers and shook my head.
"It would have been easy, but in exchange, he gave me several items of value.
One of which"—I held out the key—"belonged to our ancestor.
A vault somewhere that might need a key," I said, holding it out.
Zeus stared at it for a moment, then held his hand out. The second his fingertips touched the key, he jerked back. "What is that?" he said, a small note of accusation entering his voice as he turned to stare at me.
"Inscriptions. A lot of them," I told him. There were enough of them that the amount of magic running through it triggered the same reaction to touching something too hot or being shocked.
He nodded, grasping it more fully this time, his arm tingling as Circe laughed over my shoulder.
"What? Don't tell me you wouldn't do the same in my position," she said. "According to Merlin, it was just as amusing when Bran touched it for the first time, too."
"Was it now?" I asked dryly, and Circe held her hands up.
"Merlin's words, not mine," she replied.
"I'll remember that," I said sharply, perhaps a touch sharper than I meant.
Circe shrugged, as if my words didn't bother her in the slightest. "The important part is that Bran did, in fact, meet the Monkey King and was gifted that key. Aren't you curious what it might be for?"
"Oh, I'm deeply curious," Zeus said, holding up the key and shifting it in the light. "There are more than a few items left behind by our ancestor, but"—he hesitated and handed me the key back—"I have no idea what this could go to."
"You aren't even going to hazard a guess?" I asked, taking the key back and feeling the enchantments run up and down my arm like I'd just stuck it in a light socket.
"I have no clue," he repeated. "However, our ancestor sealed himself in the instance here.
If there's a sealed vault, I'd assume it's inside the instance. Then again, if it was in there, why didn’t he use any of it?
I assume you don't need my help to go through the instance," he said, a touch of heat entering his words.
I chuckled and ignored the venom in his tone.
It seemed he hadn't gotten over the fact that I'd taken control of the clans’ instance.
I supposed it was unlikely he'd ever forgive me for that.
It was their legacy, after all, and no one would be happy at the thought of their legacy falling into someone else's hands.
"So, no thoughts at all?" I asked, giving him a suspicious tilt of my head.
"I really have no idea." Zeus handed it back to me. "Otherwise, I would have found a better way to separate you from that key."
I lifted my brow, at least marginally surprised at his honesty. "You know you aren't supposed to say those things out loud," I coached him, and he chuckled.
"You wanted to talk as equals," he said, and I smiled. If he was going to at least try, who was I to discourage him?
"Well then, if you don't mind, I'll take a peek inside the instance to see if there's anything there. But I'm concerned that our ancestor was good enough at inscriptions that it would be impossible to find unless I knew where to look."
Zeus gave the key one last lingering glance and shook his head. "I'm tempted to take it and ask for a chance to find it myself, but I have no leads any better than yours."
I took the key back, and instead of putting it in my spatial ring, I had the idea to keep it out, on the chance that one of those inscriptions might give me a clue if I kept it exposed to the world.