I had made the ziggurat bigger, more grandiose, to fit my new self. I don't think it could be called a castle anymore, sought of a city that resided within the confines of a single structure. After my encounter with the other god at the village, whose name I still had not discovered, I had cast my gaze outward. Subsuming several more villages into my little fortress of sand and prayer.

The people didn't need to farm or do any work they devoted their entire existence to prayer and worship. My magic took care of all of the menial tasks such as farming and crafts. I had weaved it into the walls of the structure and now water oozed out of the walls in some places, creating a series of fountains and natural baths.

The people here lived in pure contentedness and so did I. I spent much of my time languidly laying in my chair, girls lay about me, sprawled aesthetically across the floor and pillows, a thin cloud of incense hugged the floor of the chamber in which they lay, it kept them... Docile. It also looked exceptionally cool.

Regardless, it had been a couple of days since the defeat of the previous god and since then people were very, enthusiastic about either there vows to destroy my perceived monopoly of a legendary dungeon and of the desert region or their support of me and vows to join my banner. In fact, that is exactly what SmolBoy, had done. I had teleported to the northern region to find him in a weakened state after losing his hunting village to a pantheon of players. We fucked them up good and then I brought him back to my castle as a right-hand man.

It was nice to have someone to talk to. Besides him, there were other people, players that worked for me. They weren't important, however, inconsequential characters in the telling of my story. All they represent is the growth of a power base and influence in the game.

I had called SmolBoy to me several moments ago, I knew he had a reluctance to enter this room, the throne room. I also knew why, he was adamant in his white-knighting of women. A byproduct of a backstory he was yet to share with me. Anyway, it was with a sneer of mild disgust on his features as he walked into the room.

He walked before me and kneeled. A cruel smile reached its way across my features as he did so. The reason I had called him you ask. Well don't, I'm embarrassed to parse out the words even now. It was the beginning of my descent and the least favourite part of my personality. I had a voracious need for validation. What was the point of power if there was no one to recognise it. What was the point of outplaying the system if there was no one to congratulate you on the skill with which you did it?

So, as I formed a chair out of the floor and made it rise up to meet him I asked him to sit before me. When he did so I leant forward, my hands fidgeting nervously in my lap.

"Hey, Cinead?" I asked with an inflection in my voice. I had found out his name a short while ago.

"Yeah man, why did you call me here?" He said, his eyes scanning the floor of my room as the corners of his mouth turned down and his brow began to crease more intesely.

"I uh," I scratched the back of my hand and licked my lips. My gaze piercing into his. "Hypothetically. What would you do to get to the top." I said the words softly, my eyes cloudy as I did so, I was millions of miles away at that moment, I was in a cave of dark and sorrow I stood before a decrepit queen, mummified in her own grace and glory. I shook my head, a random action to the outside observer. I had been seeing the oubliette more recently. I held sway over my dreams. She was a dream.

"It depends. What did you have in mind for me to do?" His tentative question brought me back to reality, my eyes found his and we locked gazes for several moments, he broke eye contact first and I continued with a passion that surprised even myself.

"Come, you have to follow me." I stood up vigorously, dematerialising the chair as I did so, causing Cinead to stumble before he caught himself on my shoulder. I grabbed his wrist firmly and pulled him after to me. I couldn't hear his protests, all I could hear was sobbing, all I could see was the darkness. Come, I muttered over and over again. Follow me.

We reached the cell, the location of my obsession and I flew myself and Cinead to the floor. I immediately ran to the side of my queen and knelt before her. Cinead followed me, stopping several metres back as he noticed another form in the darkness.

The room was silent for a handful of seconds after that. It was a pregnant silence as if reality had a lump in its throat that was ejaculated up in a form of word vomit.

"What is this." He muttered he sounded, not angry. Somewhere between shocked and dissapointed. Incredulous if anything. I wheeled on him in a passionate fury and spouted vitriolic rhetoric all over him.

"Isn't it wondrful, we found each other in the desert. She helped me, we helped each other. She was cold Cinead. Don't you understand she was cold! And Thirsty, but I can't give her either can I, if I did she wouldn't be her, I wouldn't be me. Do you understand Cinead? Do you understand!?" I screamed the last few words into his face, they exploded onto him in a hail of spit and zealous fury. The silence that followed was deafening. I was grabbing onto his shoulders, steadying myself against his bulk as if the previous torrent had taken a physical toll upon my being. It was peaceful in the silence, I felt as my princess must. At peace with one's self and reality, the secret was out and any second Cinead would lavish praise upon me, he would tell me how smart I was, how proud he was of me! It was eventually broken, all good things come to an end.

"H-Help me." Spluttered out the lady of the sands. it spurred Cinead into action, He ripped my arms from his shoulders and pushed me to the floor.

"You're going mad Bart. The fuck is wrong with you, why are you doing this, this isn't human. Fuck, its this game man, it's doing something to your head, you need to take a break. Get some medical help. Fucking seriously man, this is totally fucked!" He spat the words at me, and he probably said more but my ears didn't hear it, my eyes didn't see it. All I saw was a man, before me, telling me what to do, not praising me for what I had achieved.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up,!" I covered my ears as I said it and pushed my hand toward him. A bolt of lighting sparked off my fingers and into him. He spasmed furiously and the smell of cooked meat made my mouth water. When the lightning subsided he was gone and the room was veiled in the sinister glow of his death marker. I crawled over to the princess and cradled her head in my arms. I kissed each of her eyes, the salty taste of her tears was intoxicating.

"It's okay now. We have silence." I held her as gently as one would a freshly plucked flower. Taking in her fragrance with each of my senses. It was so real. This was my reality.

My king, another divine petitioner has arrived at the gates do you wish for her to be sent in prayed one of my watchmen to me. Again the whispers in my head, the static that blocked out my thought, it talked to me.

"Yes," a smile crept across my features. "Send her to the throne room please."