Hey guysss~

I tried my best to steer the story into some action (at last, I hear you cry?) and lengthened the chapter a bit more!

As ever, feedback is appreciated, please enjoy!

Sam.

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Having been wrapped up in what he was doing, time passed, and years upon years rolled on by. Naturally, for a Higher Being such as Zed, time means little but he was startled to suddenly find disturbances trying to disrupt his True Flame Shield. He gave a groan as he forced the dust and chippings of stone that had built up over his bone joints out and wreathed his purple cloak around him once more, again covering his whole body. Extending his Divine Consciousness outside he sensed a mob of around two hundred Gods with the more powerful aura of the guards at the head trying to force their way through his magic.

Feeling out the crowd’s Soul Flames, he recognised a few of them in the mob as the ‘Hindu Gods’ whom he had saved from destruction before his entry into meditation. If you could see beneath his hood, you would think that ghastly skeleton was grinning; far more disconcerting than even the horde of Gods who seemed to hold malicious intentions towards him.

He dispersed the flames which had enveloped the cave for so long and felt a familiar rush of warmth as they added themselves to his cloak, further decorating it with the gold ornamentation that had become so familiar to him. Walking into the painfully bright light, he stood in front of this crowd of all shapes and sizes, having been sent there from every corner of the Universe, and his dignified voice once again shook the foundations of this labyrinth, saying, “Who would be so bold as to disturb me when I have not deigned to approach you?”

An angry murmur rippled through as someone yelled out in response, “We know it’s you, Zed! The Hindu Gods told us all about how you threatened them to help you enter the town!”

Looking around, he located the source of the shout. He saw a weasel-faced man, stooping with slightly graying hair, surrounded by the Crimson Guard. Seeing his Soul Flame was proportionally larger than any of the others, Zed instantly knew who he was. ‘That must be the follower of Daedalus… Lark, was it?’ he thought whilst his eyes started flaring in a deep and hateful red.

“Hmph, looks like I’ll need to start dipping back into some of my old habits.” Zed muttered, quite annoyed, before angling his body and, faster than even a flash of light, arrived in the centre of the mass of Crimson Guards holding Lark up by the throat. His sleeve had fallen back, revealing his almost luminescent bones causing the crowd to react once more, their fears confirmed, making some of the older Gods even step back in case they got caught up in it. They all felt that Zed was, at the very least, worthy of being feared… it wasn’t for nothing that he had been given titles by the God’s population such as ‘The Bone Lord’ or ‘The Death God’.

“So, tell me, now that I’m sure you are giving me your undivided attention. Again, why did you seek me?” Zed asked in the same tone as before, although this time with a more obvious threat behind it as he tightened his grip.

“Release our Lord!” cried out one of the braver Crimson Guard members, he seemed to be only a few million years into his Godhood, while charging at Zed.

Without even looking at him, one of the golden decorations on Zed’s robe started moving through the cloth and quickly made its way out, turning back into his True Flame Magic. This was arguably one of the main reasons as to why Zed was so formidable, he had such a fine control over his magic that it had nearly gained sentience and so was able to defend him without his even needing to focus on it (Like Gaara's Shield of Sand, only with flames is how I imagined it). It was an unparalleled defense that allowed him to focus solely on his target. The snake-shaped fire entity gave off an angry glow, matching Zed’s eyes, before repelling the aggressor, leaving him with burns all over the front of his body.

Another wave of the guards again came, looking to rescue both their Lord and avenge their fallen comrade. Zed sighed; he had wanted to deter them from any further foolishness so he could continue his peaceful talk with the little man in his hand.

“ENOUGH!” he roared, quickly creating a bubble around him from his Divine Consciousness and using it to seize a hold of each of their Soul Flames. He felt such a brute force technique was beneath him, however when it came to Gods there really wasn’t any need to overexert himself and so he tightened his grip on those within his aura. Sinking to their knees, any form of resistance was impossible unless they could not feel pain through some demonic methods, as he had quite literally grasped onto their very lives.

He placed down the sweating weasel-faced man in his hand who started stammering out, “I-it h-h-had just come to my notice, my Lord, t-that we did not p-produce a sufficient welcome for you. P-please allow us to throw a feast in your honour!”

Zed smirked, whilst he nodded his head. “Very well, I shall arrive at your home tonight. I’m sure it will put even the parties of Heaven to shame!”

“O-of course, my Lord!” the weasel-faced man responded, tears welling up in his eyes as he counted how much this was going to cost him. He would even have to use some of his own spoils from the Sacred Labyrinth, so naturally it would make him miserable.

‘Now then, time to tie up some loose ends’ thought Zed, the flames in his eyes glinting murderously. He vanished once again and reappeared in front of the Hindu Gods who had tried to distance themselves from the pack after seeing what had happened.

“Well, fancy seeing you here. I was sure I told you that I would search for you upon coming out, not the other way around?” he asked, mockingly, to Yakki, the fairy God. Curiously, there had seemed to be some dynamic shift within the group as he could tell from the flickering Soul Flame of the elephant God that he had suffered some trauma, perhaps due to infighting as was often the case amongst ambitious Gods. They seemed to be following Yakki now which he supposed to be the reason for this current change in circumstances. He had seen her as the type to scheme upon seeing how she sucked up to him, earlier, and now in her sudden shift in attitude.

“Eheheh… my Lord, this is all a misunderstanding… as you heard we just wanted you to have a real welcome in our humble town…” she giggled nervously, glancing around for moral support from her companions who quickly shook their heads, except for the elephant God who continued staring at the floor.

“Ah, is that so,” he nodded agreeably whilst slowly lowering his hood, revealing his perfect white skull. Once again, the golden decorations on his robe started to shift only this time they headed towards his head, snaking around it until the True Flames merged together forming a brilliant golden crown, quite simple with no jewels adorned to it, giving the others around him of his being unparalleled under the heavens as it shone out.

The older, experienced Gods immediately started fleeing. They had heard the stories of what the crown meant, and were wise enough to not even dare stay within a mile of him. Seeing this, the Crimson Guard, Lark and the newer Gods followed suit leaving only the Hindu Gods before him.

“Let me see how pure your souls are… True Flames of Judgement!” he cried and instantly, as if the heavens themselves had manifested in their material plane, his True Flames started amassing in the sky. The Gods before him squirmed against his aura but could not move an inch. Strangely, just before they descended, Zed flicked his hand sending something flying back east towards the town but there was no time to closely examine it as everyone’s eyes were firmly fixed on the roiling flames which crashed down and swallowed up everything except for Zed. He had tried to keep it under control, and was secretly quite pleased at how he only scorched the cave faces behind him, attributing it to his recent success in his meditation and his more powerful soul. Before hand, he would have definitely made them all melt.

Grinning at the stunned faces of the other Gods who were looking at the place where the Hindu Gods had disappeared, leaving not a single sign that they had ever existed in this world. They could hear his strange clacking sound which was recognised by all as his chuckling as he returned back into his cave, even hearing his nonchalant comment of “Oh, what should I wear tonight?” and then stood there for many minutes more, barely daring to breath, until they finally made their hasty retreat to the town. The Gods who owned caves along the western wall all cursing in their minds as they swiftly made plans to relocate.

In the centre of town, a bedraggled God continues staring at his feet. The scenes of the past few days replayed through his mind. His friends whom he had travelled with for many years now had scorned him, claiming him to be an oaf. Unworthy of being a leader for them. They argued that his fear of Lord Zed had made him irrational in regards to matters concerning him, feeling that they would profit more by ousting him to Lord Lark and allowing him to deal with them. In truth, he, too, had felt increasingly nervous over Lord Zed’s presence… his silence over these few millennia had been like a crushing pressure on his mind, however he knew that realistically there was no way to stand against such a being for them, or anyone in this town, perhaps even this quarter! With this in mind, he told them to have a non-aggression approach, and to tread lightly in all matters concerning Lord Zed.

He remembered how as one of the more powerful Gods around an intelligent planet that they had visited called ‘Earth’, he had always felt a presence shrouding it, making him uneasy. His companions, being newer Gods weren’t able to feel this faint oppressive aura which had been seemingly reigned in so as not to affect the mortals. Upon investigating, he had seen Lord Zed easily dispatching some of the Gods who had influenced the population there too heavily and so he had been aware of the unfair level of power he had in regards to them.

His companions, with Yakki as the mastermind, had gone ahead with their plan, forcibly restraining him. Now, he was pretty sure they were dead. Lord Zed had spared him, throwing him back to the town before the impact of those murderous flames. He felt a sense of bitterness but not due to missing his companions, as far as he had been concerned they were simply travelling companions to pass the time. He could find new ones quite easily, being a moderately powerful God himself. No, he was bitter at his lack of power for preventing such a thing. How could he, a God born for the Purpose of Power be held back by a bunch of young Gods and put into such a state where he simply had to cooperate?

He was not able to even obtain his own revenge, instead having relied on Lord Zed to dispatch them for him, and even having spared his life! He felt an ambition surging through him that he had not believed still existed within him. Resolving himself, looking back up off the floor, he made his first steps to the west.