You've got to be fucking joking.
"What god are you even talking about? This shit was purchased from a trusted merchant, not some merchant god." I said to the man leading 6 other blue robed soldiers of Phanthu. For some reason, my twinblade has been misconstrued for some other god's weapon.
"Don't fucking play dumb with me, the god of serenity itself, the one Phanthu has been trying to contact through ritual. That's his twinblade, and you didn't answer my question. Fella's!" The man said, backing away as his 6 robed goons' lifted their arms revealing swirling balls of dark water. Not wanting to let their shit talking boss get away, a Lightning Strike pulled my body away from their deathly masses of water as my blade slid through the back of his skull. Mana erupted in his skull causing blood to explode out of his eye sockets as he fell dead to the stone floor.
Water Stepping to the nearest soldier, my blade sliced across his jugular before kicking the deathly water mage away. Just as I was about to stab into the second soldier, I noticed he'd completely dropped to his knees bowing his head to me. My blade froze in front of his eye, falling at my side. Looking around, the remaining 5 soldiers all followed suit in dropping to the ground around me.
Woah, what the fuck?
"Hey, what are you guys doing?" I asked, nervously looking around the robed men.
"You are the bringer of Serenity in the flesh, forgive us for we know not your appearance." One of the bowing men begged between bows.
"What? I'm telling you y-"
Wait. Think about this, Tom.
"-you're right. It is I, here to lend my helping hand in your conquest for freedom from this forsaken world." I proclaimed, looking down at the men who's bowing only intensified. One of them appeared to snap from their reverent stupor, lifting their head up with their eyes wide.
"Allow me to bring you to Phanthu, your grace! He'll be most pleased to hear your arrival so soon!" The man giddily requested.
"Of course, show me the way, my…children." I said, cringing to myself as they all leapt to their feet and scurried ahead of me.
My children?! Are you fucking kidding me, Tom?
Shaking the negative thoughts from my head, my eyes focused ahead as their towering settlement came into view. Its size rivaled Elysiums, as did the majesty of their massive stone towers that connected along a giant castle spanning across the settlement from wall to wall. A moat of bubbling black water surrounded the settlement, with a bridge resting vertically on the other side.
I got to get some information out of these guys in case my cover's blown again.
"Hey buddy, what was your name?" I asked the one who offered to bring me to their leader.
"My n-names Pheris, sir." He replied shakily.
"Pheris, has anyone gotten word on Zeldrich, the disgraced priest's son?" I asked, not wanting to dance around the topic for too long. Pheris began laughing to himself before answering.
"Ahh, worry not my Grace. Phanthu has promised to punish those responsible for betraying the divine. Especially that wretched priest's entire lineage." Pheris happily replied as he and two other soldiers lifted their hands at the edge of the deathly moat surrounding their settlement. As their hands glided through the air, dark water lifted from below, filling a massive tank at the end of the bridge. Slowly, the bridge tipped forward before slamming down onto the stone ledge in front of us.
"This way, my lord!" Pheris enthusiastically said, quickly walking onto the bridge with me and his fellow soldiers following. As I peered over the edge, the faint splash of water below caught the corner of my eye. Crossing the bridge, two towering black doors with a man standing on a pile of dead mushroom people etched into the wood opened inwardly, revealing a bustling civilization of people buying and selling goods. Some kids were running about playing with wooden swords, while others were already fitted in dark blue robes training in their control over dark water.
The soldiers accompanying Pheris and I quickly paced through the town leading me to their towering castle, covered in blue glowing moss I'd identified earlier as 'Ionized Dicranidae', whatever the fuck that second word means. 'Ionized' I knew well enough from highschool science class, which might explain why they emitted so much Lightning mana into the air that hung like an invisible cloud of unstable energy. A squad of guards stood in front of the entrance gate, halting us as we approached.
"What is your business in Phanthu's sanctum?" The soldier asked, staring past Pheris directly at me. His eyes fell down at my twinblade, spreading wide open as Pheris whispered into his ear.
"R-right away! I'm so sorry, your grace uh, h-HEY!! OPEN THE FUCKING GATE YOU IDIOT?!" The man screamed at his soldiers behind him, who scrambled to activate the gate mechanism. I couldn't help but smile at seeing how frantic these rather macho types got around an apparent god, clearly scrambling to earn favor. I could understand their desperation, given the crumbling tate of their homeworld. Still, it's hard not to associate the toe kissing behavior with rats and, well, no one likes those rodent.
After being led up a series of spiraling stairs and through multiple rather hollow rooms filled with only soldiers either training or resting, we stopped in front of a pair of wonderfully crafted wooden doors with blue crystalline gems decorating both doors, as well as sharply cut crystals serving as door handles.
"King Phanthu's quarters are just through here, your grace. He's already been informed of your arrival." Pheris informed, gesturing his hand to the doors.
"Thank you Pheris, your kindness will not be forgotten." I said to him, placing a hand on his shoulder before twisting a crystal handle and pushing through the doorway. Stepping inside, a flash of bright blue light made me wince as my eyes adjusted. Looking around, a fountain of black water pouring from an angel's mouth stood at the center of a massive room that better resembled a grand cathedral than a mere room. Dark pillars lined the massive room, shooting high toward the roof. The ceiling itself raised up over 40 feet higher than that of the rest of the castle, decorated in glowing crystals shaping a hooded figure slaying a monstrous looking plant monster. One not shown in the intro video earlier.
"I suppose you must be our long awaited savior." A voice echoed off the walls, reverberating into the ceiling above.
"You'd be shocked at how often I hear that." I replied honestly, twisting around staring up at the dark marble floors above me. The man's voice chuckled as a figure emerged from behind the deathly water fountain.
"Well, one would assume an aboriginal such as yourself would grow quite used to such a title, albeit after the violence." The man replied, stepping into the glowing blue light. Phanthu, the same guy from the video, walked towards me in his dark blue and black robes.
"Right, right you are." I said, sneaking an Identify in between words.
[Human (Level 10)]
Pfft, that's it?
"Now I can't help but feel like a diety's visit is, while of course a welcome surprise, something rather unlikely for us Xernilians given our…less than favorable history with the pantheon." Phanthu began, his soft spoken voice echoing lightly while he slowly paced around.
"It was to my knowledge you wanted me here? Your people certainly seem to think you need my help." I replied, trying my best to play the role of some 'bringer of serenity' they referred to me as.
"And what exactly do you know of my people? No gods came to our aid while one of your own ripped my world into a hollow shell of the paradise it once was. Why would one come to our rescue now?" Phanthu passionately questioned, his leg rapidly bouncing in place off the floor as he glared at me expectantly.
"I have my own business here that may concern you, and I'm willing to offer my assistance in winning your petty little war on the condition you assist me in my am-"
"Where'd you get the blades?" Phanthu interrupted in a deadpan.
Shit.
"Don't interrupt me, mortal! I'm this close from offering my assistance to a faction that will l-"
"Cut the shitty god-act. Even with those blades, you're still justa level 10 human. One who doesn't get to leave until you tell me where you're from." Phanthu sneered, stepping forward with more bounce in his step.
"This is no act, and it would be wise not to anger yet another god. Your father learned the hard way how that ends, did he not?" I shot back after that rude ass remark about level. Like he had any room to talk.
"Hold your tongue. Whether you're a god or not, I will not allow any slandering of my father." Phanthu replied, scowling as his fists clenched.
"Look, I'm looking for a man named Zeldrich. Either you can help me find him any way you can in exchange for my assistance, or I kill you now and let Andolis's Khotunn slaughter your people." I said, feeling hope for an affable discussion going down the drain.
"Zeldrich? Now I know you're not him. That rat would be dead by now if he truly wanted it to be so." Phanthu replied through a furrowed brow.
Wait, he just confirmed that Zeldrich lives.
Sighing, my head dropped down to the stone floor. My eyes slowly closed shut feeling the euphoric rush of relief washing over me for not having to lie anymore. After enjoying the moment, I separated my Twinblades at the hilts sending blue Lightning mana crackling along the dark blue hilts and the metal chains hanging between them.
"Does it matter?" I asked through a grin, quickly slapping my blades together and firing a Lightning Bolt toward Phanthu's chest. The dark water hovering over his head rushed down and around his chest, creating a shield the Lightning mana dispersed into. The water exploded out, silently releasing a pulse of blue energy scattering into the air. Planting hard on my back foot, Lightning Strike launched me across the stone floor, piercing my blade through another wall of dark water. Lightning mana released from my blades and into the wave, slowing my strike enough for Phanthu to lean out of the way.
Shuffling diagonally towards Phanthu, both of my blades zipped towards his body following my Lightning Strike with a quick stab and slash. Two globs of floating dark water slammed into the back of both my wrists, slapping my strikes off target. Phanthu's head dropped as he spun around, through a sweeping kick from entirely too far away. A powerful rush of pressure crashed into my ankles, a wave of thick dark water sweeping me from behind. The water whipped up above me as Phanthu raised his hands in the air. I went to stand up, my progress halted as the dark water covering my shoulders stuck to the puddle of murky water I lay in.
"What kind of god falls to a mere m-" My hands pushed off the ground behind me, kicking my feet in the air as Lightning mana culminated in my shoulders, its unstable blue energy burning through the viscous dark water holding me down. Phanthu's hovering mass of water quickly fell in front of him, hoping to deflect my next strike. Turning hips, Water Step pulled my body around his outside leg, peeking around his wall of opaque water. As my arm began lunging forward to activate the charged Lightning Strike, a glimpse of water rising from his leg caught my eye.
A concussive blast of mana popped in my wrist activating Flow Inverse at the last possible second, turning my stabbing Lightning Strike into a spin kick. My foot slid around Phanthu's moving water wall, blasting my heel into his ribcage. A sickening triplet of bones snapping echoed throughout the chamber as Phanthu reeled back struggling to stay on his feet. Water Stepping brought me close enough for a killing blow, yet a nagging sense of refrain overtook me turning my piercing strike into an uppercut, lifting Phanthu off his feet and sending him crashing to the stone floor.
Resting a blade against the prone dark water mages throat, I leaned all my weight onto my knee pressing his chest. Phanthu's eyes darted to the side, bringing my attention the same direction. A jet stream of dark water whipped from the dark marble fountain, flying at my face. Dropping my chest to Phanthu's, I grasped onto his shoulders while twisting my hips toward the floor. His body lifted up above me as the powerful stream of dark water blasted into his skull, knocking him back onto the floor.
Phanthu weakly lifted up his palm while laying on his back as I began walking towards him. Instantly, a terrible burning sensation began eating at my skin where his murky water soaked into my robes. My stomach quickly began to ache as I felt all of my energy rapidly refinishing. Looking up, a wave of dark water swooped past Phanthu, barreling toward me.
Glancing up, a metallic banister lining a spinning staircase caught my eye. Lifting my suddenly incredibly heavy arm, my grapple hook launched from my forearm wrapping around the metal bars. Willing the hook back to me, the line pulled my body through the air. My boot recoiled behind me feeling the crashing wave of dark water slapping into my foot. My legs crumbled under me landing onto the stone floor, adopting a weakness I haven't known since long before the Integration.
This fucking water is bullshit.
Clambering onto a knee, my head turned back in time to duck under another powerful stream of dark water flying for my face. The muscles in my neck screamed, feeling like a million needles piercing down my spine.
I'm not dying, to fucking WATER!
A spark flickered in my gut, replaced quickly by a burst of energy shooting straight up into my brain. A bright flash of purple light covered my vision as I felt my waterlogged clothes instantly loosen, the deathly energies soaked into the cloth instantly evaporating as the jolt subsided as quickly as it flared. Phanthu's eyes spread wide as he sat up on his knee, his arms frantically flailing through the air launching a series of dark jet streams in my direction.
A renewed sense of vigor launched my legs into motion, almost unconsciously Water Stepping away from the first few jets of dark water. Seeing a gap between three shooting blasts, I leapt forward leading with my head and spinning between the streams of deathly murky water. After doing my best impression of Aerin's sister Nina, my arms braced onto the cold stone floor as I fell forward. Tucking my head, I rolled up and dashed toward Phanthu, who had barely risen to his feet.
Lightning surged alongside a supreme rush of gratification seeing him off balance, launching forward for another Lightning Strike. Out of my periphery, a darkness took over Phanthu's eyes. A thin layer of thick dark fluid consolidated around Phanthu, taking on a skin-like texture that folded around my arm. As my shoulder fell into its dark folds, it switched to a fluid falling around me and soaking my robes yet again. A single surge of Lightning through my blades dissolved the terrible liquid, making a point not to give this asshole any other edge.
Speaking of, Phanthu now stood tall 15 feet across from me, the angel on his dark marble fountain gracefully spewing his murky water into the pool behind him. His eyes were completely black, as if his pupil had swallowed their pigment. He raised his hand, lifting nearly the entire pool of dark water out from the fountain behind him, swirling in a twister of deathly fluid above his head.
"We can continue this fight to the death, warrior. Or-" Phanthu lowering the pool of murky water back into the fountain behind him.
"We can make a deal. A real one, where you're not posing as an aboriginal to steal from me." Phanthu continued as the pigment in his eyes returned.
"Why the sudden change of heart?" I questioned keeping my guard up.
"While I know for a fact that you're no god regardless of somehow wielding his blades, your abilities are…unique. A trait my troops sorely lack." Phantu answered, walking over to the dark marble fountain and taking a seat on the edge. I slowly inched toward him, keeping my eyes locked onto the murky water splashing behind the deathly water mage.
"Appreciate it, so are you willing to help me find Zeldrich?" I asked, making my only stipulation known. Phanthu's eyes narrowed as he spoke.
"Yes, though I'm not entirely sure where he is at this moment. The slippery bastard's a nomad, never staying in one cave for longer than a night and slaying most of my scouts that make contact." Phanthu answered.
"That's fine, just point me where you've seen him and I'll do the rest." I said dismissively, turning to walk out of his insanely large quarters. With any luck, I'll be able to get my hands on some scouts around here for more information on my elusive target. Plus, Korbin was already planning on knocking this faction down a peg, meaning many of Phanthu's soldiers who've seen Zeldrich are very likely to perish relatively soon.
"Not so fast, 'false-god'. If you want my help, and permission to galavant around my land being worshipped as my people's savior, you'll have to hold up your end of the bargain first." Phanthu hissed before I could exit.
"Which is..?" I asked, shaking my head hoping he'd hurry up and answer. Phanthu smiled a toothy grin as he answered.
"Simple. Help me end this war, by any means necessary."