Kazon stared down into the Outworlder vessel as they began formulating their little plan. He wasn't physically present of course, he Scryed them, as he had ever since they'd stepped foot into the Fiendwood. He'd seen every battle, every struggle, at least every single one they'd had above ground anyhow. The spell could not penetrate the ground too deeply, a great misfortune on his end. He had no idea that the Romai themselves were hidden here, having somehow survived the end of Setux.
If only he had known earlier, he would have taken the time to play with them during his centuries of boredom. The Outworlder, Hoplite, or Jason as he was now going by, seemed quite put together now, compared to how he had been when he'd first arrived here. The little Dragon still had vulnerabilities though, Kazon grinned as his vision shifted to Lance. Such wonderful hatred could be reaped from a Dragon, five-times as much as any mortal could ever provide. All he had to do was take that elf away from him and twist her into a blubbering husk of a Fiend. The hatred provided would empower him greatly, though in truth Kazon doubted that he'd need it.
Especially not after he ascended to become the Pillar of Death itself. The seat had been vacant since the dawn of time, waiting for him to claim it. Lithia was just a placeholder, a false god meant to keep Kazon's seat warm and nothing else. All he needed to do was take the souls of those Pillar-Born, then he would rise to his rightful place. Lithia had told him lies to keep his ambition in check, insisting that he needed to be selected by the gods in order to join them, but he knew that wasn't true. Fate itself had ordained that he rise above petty mortality, it was Kazon's destiny to rule Death alongside his peers in heaven, they needed him.
It all hinged on them though, the fools in the field beneath his castle. Kazon hadn't told his lesser minions of their arrival, only the Twelve knew what was coming… yet they did not know that they were intended as morsels for the piglets he intended to slaughter. None of the Twelve could stand up to the Pillar-Born now, despite how powerful they were, the Twelve were still only mere mortals. Kazon could tell just by looking at them that the Godlings would face little issue with his greatest minions, he just hoped that Hoplite, Lance, and that slave-Fiend Halm wouldn't interfere too much. The more the Godlings were challenged, the stronger they would become for the harvest. He need not worry about Theopalu, Kazon knew what his role entailed, and if he had accepted it again, the Demi-God would not interfere.
A small part of him felt somewhat guilty about offering up his greatest servants to the Pillar-Born, but Kazon was ready to give up everything to ascend, even the Twelve. Such dangerous mortals would surely push the Pillar-Born to greater heights, making their souls fully ripened for plucking. A weak Godling's soul wouldn't push him into the seat of Death, he needed a dozen powerful ones, the Gods themselves had told him so.
Any that whispered otherwise did not last long… or rather they lasted forever. He grinned, breaking the Scrying right as Jason began explaining the different functions of his pod. Kazon knew enough about them by now; he had at least a hundred of them in his possession, along with their occupants, rotting in his dungeon. He'd stopped collecting them long ago, he had more than enough Outworlders now. Some of them had died, others had been cursed, some were relatively unharmed, but they had all been fascinating subjects to experiment with. Some of the Outworlders weren't even human, surprisingly. Four armed ape-like beasts, tentacled insectoids, screeching little gray gremlins, among others, all so fascinating, along with their weaponry of course. He even had a few of their strange wagons, shrunken down and stored into various bottles for decoration, each one within his personal chambers.
While he did so enjoy learning about them, these Outworlders were more a sort of insurance, in case he could not attain the souls of the Pillar-Born. The Eye would soon reveal itself, and the bridge between Ahkoolis and the mythical Faenor would be opened. The gods of that realm, the Faelords, would grant any wish to inhabit the body of even a single Outworlder. How amazing that fate would allow both his plans to attain Godhood the chance to play out at the same time, truly this could only mean he was destined for the Pillar of Death. He had left a dozen of the Outworlders relatively unscathed for just that, if he wanted he could have a dozen wishes… but he only wanted one.
If it did come to negotiating with the Faelords, then he would present them first with the most fascinating of his captured Outworlders. He'd taken the largest of the four-armed apes, known as 'Yugoro' to the humans, one of the tentacled insectoids called Swaglay, and a particularly fascinating human by the name of Nate. Kazon had never before met a man with skin so dark, not in all his millenia on Ahkoolis. Surely the Faelords would find such a vessel interesting.
He grinned again, laughing from his high backed throne as a sudden hunger took him. Kazon did not feed as normal people did, food would not sate him, instead he nourished himself off emotion, the most delicious of which being hatred. Given that he truly did not have a body, he needed to bind himself together with strong emotion, otherwise the souls he'd fed upon would begin to loosen from his form. What emotion was stronger than hate?
He projected himself into the dungeons, a dark, horrible place of howling agony and hopeless dread. The obsidian walls glistened, as if sweating, iron barred cells the only thing breaking up the darkness. Inside he could hear the chittering of the so called 'pugs', which he had bunched together, both because they were too weak to be any real danger, and because they didn't seem to be affected by his Hatred Aura. He had needed to take special precautions with the Yugoro however, their strength could bend these bars with ease, only magical restraints held the creatures at bay. There were a few Swaglay as well, clicking around on their insect-like legs as their squid heads worbled, hideous creatures indeed.
However, Kazon's interest wasn't on these 'aliens' as the humans called them. He moved across the hall like a specter, armored Fiends pressing against the wall and averting their eyes. The prisoners in the cells, humans and aliens both, backed away at his approach, all up until he'd reached the cell of Nasty Nate. This one hadn't been willing to obey Kazon's order to not cause a ruckus, so he was chained to the far wall of his cell, a gag stuck in his mouth.
"Mph!" He shouted angrily from his gag, standing to his feet with a rage, a hate that Kazon immediately began to draw on.
No one could see hate, not like he could, but those who felt it glowed a deep shade of crimson in his eyes, Kazon could draw on that energy to both nourish and strengthen himself. That was one reason why he wouldn't lose to the Pillar-Born, even after they became more powerful, their hate would empower him to new heights! Nate's hatred here was adequate, but Kazon wanted more. He knew about the friendship Nate and Michael shared, he'd heard Michael talk about Nate before through Scrying. Nate strained against his chains, the cuffs biting into his bare wrists and drawing a small stream of blood. The man had been stripped down to his undergarments, same as his fellow Outworlders.
"I've come to inform you about a tragedy." Kazon smiled beneath his hood, "It seems that you're dear friend, Michael was it?" Kazon asked, causing Nate to freeze, his dark eyes going wide.
The heat of hatred slowly evaporated, being replaced by the cool purple of worry.
Kazon's grin deepened, "...He's dead." He told Nate, in a tone of faux regret.
A lie, Kazon overheard that Michael had gone on his own way, but Nate didn't need to know that. The man fell to his knees, white shock replacing the purple of worry. Kazon gave him a moment to stew, the white slowly fading away to be replaced with gray grief. The Outworlder then began to sob, his head hanging low as tears fell to the stone floor. Kazon smirked, this was the moment to strike.
"He had made a horrible mistake." Kazon continued, "He tried to infiltrate my castle to save you. I removed each limb, taking my time with him before mounting the remains on a stake overlooking the gates." He laughed, "His last words were spent screaming for you to help him, a truly pathetic display!"
The grief vanished, sucked back into him in an instant. He took a breath, red hot hatred expanding, then another, each deep breath expanding the aura until it filled the entire cell. Nate's head rose again, eyes wide before he stood once again, rushing forward before catching on his chains. Kazon continued to laugh as he fed off the hate, relishing how warm it made him feel. Nate screamed through his gag, once again starting to pull against his chains. Blood was quickly streaming down his arms now, dripping off his elbow as it flowed from his wrists.
Much to Kazon's surprise, the bolts holding his binds to the wall snapped free as Nate powered through the pain of the metal slicing into his skin. He stopped laughing as Nate ripped the gag from his mouth, charging after Kazon with a fury he'd rarely seen in a man.
"I'm gonna kill you!" Nate screamed as he reached the bars to his cell, massive hands swiping the air to reach Kazon, "Let me out, bitch!"
Kazon felt sheer glee as Nate rambled madly, reaching through the bars in a futile attempt to grab him.
"Strong enough to break those chains, but not strong enough to save your brother in arms." Kazon said, crossing his arms, "I wonder if he felt betrayed, knowing that you didn't come to help him."
Nate simply screamed, large arms straining against the bars as he tried to bend them. Kazon lingered, continuing to mock him until finally, Nate fell to his knees as a sobbing mess. The gray of grief returned, replacing the all consuming hate. He'd gotten what he wanted from Nate, a final meal before his confrontation with the Pillar-Born. Perhaps their journey would end today, one way or another, they weren't going to wait much longer before launching their assault.
And it would be Kazon who stood as the victor, and new God of Death.