Jake stretched as he felt his mobility back to normal, and his body pretty much fully healed. Sleeping truly was one of the most overpowered hidden skills in the multiverse, speeding up healing so damn much it was almost unfair for those who didn’t have the ability to sleep. Well, alright, based on what Jake had learned by talking to Dina during Nevermore, everyone could still technically learn to sleep, but it was incredibly difficult to the level of being nearly impossible.
Anyhow, moving on, with Jake up and fit for a fight, he instantly considered his next move. Jake was not known as the type to plan ahead, and in truth, he didn’t have any plans for what would happen after Ell’Hakan was slain. He reckoned they would move on to securing the rest of the universe, but nothing had been pre-planned on his end.
However, the Holy Church quickly helped him find a new objective by having Jacob take away Ell’Hakan’s soul before running. Instantly, he knew what his next task was, though this one was a bit more complicated than dealing with Ell’Hakan, and he would need to consider his next move to make sure he wasn’t causing people around him trouble by acting recklessly.
One thing was for certain, though... there was no fucking way Jake would ever allow them to revive that nahoom bastard. Something the Holy Church seemed not to understand.
From a logical perspective, Bertram had been right in that Jake didn’t have any reason to want the Truesoul of the nahoom. Jake had, for all intents and purposes, killed Ell’Hakan already. He’d gained all the Records and experience from the kill. The war against the former Chosen was over, Jake the unquestioned victor. He had no need for the Truesoul and shouldn’t care if it was returned to the system or intercepted by the Holy Church.
But he did care.
Not because he was afraid Ell’Hakan would be revived and seek revenge. Whatever was revived wouldn’t be the same person Jake had killed, not after his soul had fractured like that, and he would be too weak for Jake to even consider him an opponent. Besides, the Church would certainly do all it could to keep him away from Jake for the rest of his life – however short it ended up being.
No, the reason why Jake wanted Ell’Hakan dead and gone for good was because he despised his Bloodline on a fundamental level. Jake was a simple man. He knew he was. Nothing was better than when things were straightforward and easy for everyone to understand. Schemes, mental manipulation, political maneuvering... he hated all of it. The only times he would ever engage in that kind of thing was when forced to do so or as a favor for someone he cared about.
Ell’Hakan was like the antithesis of Jake’s Path. He was all about lies and delusions and a world molded through manipulation. His Bloodline took away the free will of others by warping their emotions, making it in many ways worse than straight-up enslaving someone. At least slaves knew they were slaves, but through Ell’Hakan’s Bloodline, they weren’t even afforded that right.
While it was possible the system would one day recycle the Bloodline and hand it out through a system event like it had done with the one Villy had obtained from the First Sage, that day would be far in the future if it ever even happened. Something he definitely hoped it wouldn’t.Jake also felt strongly that the reason Jacob wanted Jake to act against the Church’s interest in this matter was because he also saw the dangers of the Bloodline. Saw how damaging and wrong it was. The Bloodline was fundamentally different from how the Holy Church usually operated, as while blind faith and belief were something the Church strived for, they knew actual benefits were the true way to recruit and maintain people.
That’s why they offered tangible benefits like the presence of the Holyland, safety, nurturing, hope for a better future for descendants, and an overall very functional civilization for people to be part of. Geniuses who were nurtured by the Church could safely leave their families behind, knowing that they would live peaceful lives that made even the relative peace of most places on Earth before the system seem filled with conflict.
As Jake had said before, then he totally understood why the average person would want to be part of the Holy Church. In fact, if his parents were part of the Church, Jake would have felt perfectly safe around it, assuming they were moved to live far away from the frontlines. Safety truly was the biggest thing the Church offered for sure...
But with Ell’Hakan’s Bloodline, they wouldn’t even need to offer anything. Jake knew that the Church did have some insane zealots who were simply blinded by faith, but with Ell’Hakan’s Bloodline, they could take things far further. He didn’t even want to imagine how they could use the Bloodline to recruit people if they got their hands on it. There was a risk the Bloodline would weaken or mutate to not be as useful, but Jake wasn’t going to risk anything.
He was sure the Church had many plans on how to use it, even ones Jake hadn’t considered in the slightest, which only made him more determined to nip it in the bud while he still could.
Also... while Jake went over a lot of reasons why he wanted the Bloodline gone, he ultimately didn’t have to justify himself at all. Ell’Hakan had been his kill, and anything from that kill rightfully belonged to him. It didn’t matter that he had no way to trap a Truesoul; it was still his loot, and the Church couldn’t simply swoop in and take it because Jake couldn’t.
Having gathered his thoughts, Jake considered what to do next, but it didn’t take him long to decide. While talking to Miranda was certainly important, he had someone else he wanted to catch up with more than her. Someone he really wanted an update from regarding all the recent happenings and to, of course, also brag a bit about his own victory.
With the universe still mostly locked down, Jake had to go down to his lab and set up a simple ritual to reach out across the void to his dear Patron. The two hadn’t talked for a good while and had a lot to go over, with Jake really wanting to hear how things were going in the rest of the multiverse. He especially wanted to know how he planned on dealing with Jake’s live roasting session that had been broadcast across most of existence. Jake really didn’t want to return to the Order as a pariah who everyone thought was at least halfway a heretic for what he’d said.
Setting up the ritual, Jake quickly reached out. From the looks of it, the snake god had been waiting as Jake instantly got a response.
“Well, well, well, here we are. Killers of Legends, the two of us. How does it feel to have killed your first Chosen of a pinnacle god? Though I guess he was technically the Usurper of one toward the end... but hey, it still counts!” Villy said in his usual jovial and relaxed tone. 𝑅ÀꞐоᛒЁS̈
“It feels quite nice,” Jake responded with a smile. “How do you feel, killing your first pinnacle god after so long doing fuck-all killing?”
“Oh, it never gets old. Yip was quite a tasty meal if I have to say so myself,” the Viper said, satisfied. “Speaking of which, I have a little something for you when you come back to the Order after everything is over in your little galaxy and the system event concludes.”
“Oh?” Jake asked, curious. “What is it?”
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“A home-cooked snack I made from what was once Yip of Yore. Ah, Jake, what I’m about to tell you is very fucking confidential, so take it to your grave, alright?” the Viper said. Jake quickly sent a confirmation that his mouth was wired shut, making the snake god continue.
“My primary reason for wanting to kill Yip of Yore in the first place was to absorb his Records to make up for some of the momentum I lost during my isolation. The Transcendence I used on him allowed me to effectively use him as an alchemy ingredient, and... and you already know all this how?” Villy stopped himself, some-fucking-how detecting Jake knew.
With the Viper not hiding anything, Jake also didn’t. “Yip of Yore told me through Ell’Hakan when I killed him. Well, rather than telling me, it was more like a warning.”
“He was a crafty bastard, sneaking out a message like that through his own Records... impressive indeed,” the Viper said with some genuine admiration. “Anyhow, when I turned Yip into a snack, I made sure to keep a little piece for you to eat, but you’ll definitely need to do so while under my direct supervision as it isn’t fit for consumption by C-grades. Or any mortals, really.”
“Looking forward to it,” Jake nodded with a smile.
He couldn’t help but find Yip of Yore’s warning about the Viper funny. The god had spoken as if he’d just revealed some grand secret – which he technically had – that would undoubtedly create a massive rift between Jake and the Viper. A seed of suspicion in Jake, making him question if his Patron truly was on his side or just preparing him for consumption.
Now that all seemed to dumb, as the Viper just came out and outright spilled the big secret. Then again... it couldn’t hurt to ask. You know, just to make sure.
“Yo, Villy, just to make sure, you aren’t actually just fattening me up to eat me once I become big and plump enough, right?”
“Do you want the real answer or a joking one?” the Viper instantly responded, having likely expected this kind of question from Jake.
“Up to you,” he just shrugged.
“How unfun... which is exactly why that’s exactly what I’m planning! Soon, you shall be ripe for consumption, and I shall devour you in body and soul!” the Viper joked. At least, Jake hoped he was joking...
“But in all seriousness, no, you’re quite frankly not fit for my palate. Your Records don’t match mine at all and are even opposing mine in many places, making you an incredibly inefficient snack. Oh yeah, and then there is the fact you have a Bloodline, which just makes things even more complicated as I can’t eat a Bloodline, meaning I’ll have to filter away all aspects of your Bloodline before I have an edible product. Seeing as how your Bloodline is closely tied with nearly everything you do, I hope by now you understand why trying to eat you would be a waste of time. The cooking process would remove all the best nutrients and just take way too long,” Villy actually explained why he wasn’t going to eat Jake.
“Besides, seeing as you’re giving me plenty of benefits without being eaten, why slaughter my golden goose? It wouldn’t make any sense. Ah, but changing the topic a little, I do have one complaint about something you recently handed me. What exactly do you expect me to use a crumbling Planetary Pylon for?”
“Oh yeah, that,” Jake nodded. “Just wanted it out of there, you know?”
“So you effectively used me to dump garbage... got it,” the Viper said. “I will admit I was surprised when I first saw the skill in use. For you to get a Divine Bargain skill is quite something.”
“Hopefully, it was a happy surprise. I am a bit miffed that you talk as if Divine Bargains are something you already know about, though,” Jake muttered in the last part.
“Divine Bargains are a thing, though this is my first seeing it between someone blessed and their Patron. The only other time I’ve seen mortals with a Divine Bargain skill is high-grade merchants – usually always S-grades - who can create Divine Bargains with gods. Their version does seem a bit different than yours, but I reckon many of the principles are similar,” Villy explained. “One thing that is different is that I had little input on what to offer you in return. I had some, but the best I could give you, according to the rules of the skill, seemed to be the default reward this time around. That fragment thing.”
That was when Jake was reminded of the reward he got during the fight with the Celestial Child, and without further delay, Jake pulled out the item. What appeared was a small fang-shaped stone-like object that pulsed with energy, yet as Jake used Identify, he found himself disappointed.
[Malefic Bargaining Fragment (Ancient)] – An item obtained from a successful Divine Bargain with your Patron. Contains Records and energy related to the Malefic Viper. Has many alchemical uses.
“How come the reward is so shit? I bargained with what was effectively a damn planet, and all I got was an ancient rarity fragment? What the hell would I need to offer to get something better?” Jake asked the Viper with some genuine confusion.
“Something that doesn’t suck? Honestly, it’s surprising you even got an ancient rarity item. Must be because the Pylon had belonged to the Usurper of Yip and not because of the item itself,” the snake god said.
“... how is a goddamn Planetary Pylon not considered a valuable thing to bargain with?” Jake asked with exasperation.
“Better ask yourself why you think it would be,” Villy shot back. “You gave me a Pylon that instantly started crumbling and breaking apart the second you separated it from its planet. One that didn’t even belong to you, and by the time Ell’Hakan was dead, the entire Pylon was already crumbled to dust... not that it wouldn’t have crumbled either way. Also, why would I ever need a Planetary Pylon in the first place? I could go fetch a few right now if I so wanted. Planets are dime-a-dozen, and their Pylons aren’t valuable to a god. Remember, Jake, you are bargaining with me, so whatever you offer in the bargain needs to be valuable, not from your perspective as a mortal, but from my point of view as a god.”
Jake took a moment before muttering: “That... actually makes sense. Huh. So, what do you reckon would be considered good items for bargaining?”
“Unique things. Things I can’t easily obtain myself. I’m also not even sure what you offer necessarily needs to be tangible objects, but as I am not the one with the skill, I’ll leave you to figure things out on your end,” Villy said, moving the conversation along.
“I’ll definitely experiment a bit,” Jake nodded. “Say, after everything that happened... how are things after Yip’s death? Any update on the situation?”
“As you would probably expect, I’ve had quite a lot to do. The goals of this entire scenario were multi-faceted and allowed me to weed out quite a few of the gods who weren’t truly loyal. It’s hard to assure the Hidden Ones all remained loyal with so much time passing and that they weren’t just waiting for an opportunity to go somewhere they hoped would be better. So, giving them the chance to join Yip of Yore, who seemingly had the upper hand, was a great opportunity to do a bit of spring cleaning,” the Viper answered.
“The reactions are also as expected, with the support flooding in from other factions who were hesitant before. Of course, most of the biggest ones never seemed to believe I would lose in the first place; not much changing on their end. Still, this was a good way to at least assure them that the Order is still a faction no one can take lightly.”
“Sounds like things are going well,” Jake smiled. “But... how about the reaction to our little play?”
“Oh, you mean to when my own Chosen teamed up with Yip of Yore and started shitting all over me, painting me as the biggest villain of the multiverse? That play?” Villy asked teasingly.
“The reaction is, more than anything, confusion. Confusion that I reckon will only increase once word of you killing Ell’Hakan spreads. It has been clarified that it was all part of my scheme and that you remain my Chosen, but no one understands how you did as you did. Many rumors are even circulating that it may be related to your Bloodline, seeing as it deals with presences.”
Villy was clearly enjoying himself explaining all this as Jake quite frankly felt a bit nervous. “I’m more worried about the reaction when I return. What kind of story can we even tell to convince them?”
“Convince them? Fuck that. Say nothing and let them wonder. It’s already known that everything you did and said was part of my plan. How we pulled it off is none of their concern, and rather than try to make up some explanation for them to poke holes in, let them reach their own flawed conclusions. We don’t owe anyone any explanation to anyone,” Villy said dismissively.
“But now it’s your turn. How did your battle with the Usurper go?”
“I won?” Jake simply said. “Though I will say the fight got a bit more complicated than I expected... especially toward the end. Oh, and what came after the fight didn’t exactly simplify things either.”
Jake began to go over the fight and how everything had gone down as he worked toward the ending, knowing that soon, the two of them would have a talk about how to handle the Holy Church.