Not exactly thrilled with how the completion of a simple errand somehow involved burning down a couple city blocks and cordoning off a temple, the Tedrah guild master knocks Russo down a couple rungs. Forbidden from taking on higher level missions, and effectively squelching any hopes he had of teaming up with Jem, Russo irritably relegates himself to the hand he's been dealt. (Un)fortunately for him, a certain deity gives him reason to reconsider adhering to the rules.



Icon is © to  DemonRoni

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Chapter 37


“Oh come on!” Eyes twitching in frustration, Russo gesticulated at Varun threateningly; wisps of magic trailed from his fingers into the air as he swung his hands around.

“My decision is final.” Staring back at the mage from behind his desk, the old guild master furrowed his brows and folded his hands together. “You’re free to continue educating Dax on the side, but there is no way in hell I’m giving you clearance for this. You can work your way back up to the top tier missions once you’ve proved you can complete much less pressing ones. WITHOUT causing absolutely debilitating amounts of collateral damage.”

“For fuck’s sakes, you said I was only being suspended! Now I’m being demoted too?!”

“Look what happened when I sent you on a simple errand!” Grunting, Russo’s eyes broke off contact at the mention of Yash. Rubbing the temples on his forehead, the master sighed. “Get out of here. I’m done with you.” Swatting at the air with the back of his hand, Varun motioned for the mage to depart from his office. Trembling, Russo bit down on his lip and beat a hasty exit. Slamming the door behind him, the trails of his cloak just barely avoided being caught.

His boots plodding loudly against the stair steps, the human let out a frustrated groan on his way down from the second floor. Stray guild members loitering about feigned disinterest. Drooping his shoulders, Russo stormed back to the guest rooms as fast as his feet would take him. Who were they kidding, he was painfully aware just about everyone on the first floor had to have overheard them going at it. Skulking inside what had become Dax’s room, Russo culd barely stand looking back at the faces that greeted him. Closing the door behind him, he banged the back of his head against the door.

“Throwing a fit isn’t going to help,” Jem softly chided. “We’ll just buddy up the next time an opportunity comes our way, that’s all.” Ears folded flat and tail gone limp, the collie struggled to muster any sincerity behind his words.

Stifling his wagging tail, Dax put on as convincing a display as he could manage. “Master still won’t let you tackle any more missions? That’s rough…” Russo shot the wolf a dirty look when a toothy smile crept up on his furry face. Scrunching his thick toes in a vehement effort to keep himself from bouncing with glee, Dax was giddy with delight at the opportunity that had presented itself. More more more magic lessons from his favorite teacher! Eeeeeeeeeeee. He could definitely master his ice spell with a few more days training and maybe a thunder spell and oh oh oh and a fire spell too probably!

“Master give you any guesstimates as to when he’ll let you back at it?” Rubbing the back of the floofy mane wrapped around his neck, Jem had been banking on having the human keep him company for this latest batch of work.

“…It’s gonna be a while.” Kicking at the floor, the mage scuffed the bottom of a boot against the wood paneling.

“O-oh.” Rubbing a hand along a lightly armored shoulder, the giant’s furry padded fingers pressed against the flame patterns carved into his new armor. He thought it was a cute and subtle nod as to its hidden properties. Dax on the other hand hadn’t been quite as impressed with his plain crimson cloak. The silly wolf still hung onto his old hand me down blue one that Russo had begrudgingly parted with way back when.

“When are you heading out again?” Russo quietly inquired.

“Tomorrow, crack of dawn. Some village has been having trouble with swarms of Bombs. Darn things just keep razing the place to the ground.” Tapping his knuckle against his chest piece, the collie smirked. “That little gift of yours couldn’t have come at a better time, heh.”

“Bombs? Like the things that explode?” Cocking his head, Dax arfed as his imagination kicked into gear. Vicious swarms of nipping black orbs rolled into a village, their fuses lit and burning bright. Bonking into people’s heels, they laughed mischievously at the screams of fright their arrival elicited. As people fled in fear they rolled after them, exploding beneath their heels and sending their victims flailing through the air!

“Whatever the hell it is you’re imagining, I’m sure it’s stupid.” Strolling nonchalantly into the wolf’s imagined dreamscape, the human kicked at a black orb and sent it flying. “The Bombs we’re talking about are some nasty elemental creatures. They’re big ol’ barely sentient balls of flame.” In the dreamscape, a large orb of fire appeared before the wary mage. Nubby hands with pointy fingers stretched out from its sides. Licks of flame shot forth from what could count as its head. Black diagonal creases slowly came into focus beneath the flitting flames, spreading wide as the creature opened its eyes. “They blech out flame and have a thing for blowing themselves to kingdom come if you piss em’ off too much too.” Rumbling violently, the Bomb’s body swelled dangerously in size. Shying back from the creature, the temperature grew unbearably hot around the mage. A burst of ice from the imagined human’s hand washed over its body and caused it to deflate rapidly. “Kill them fast enough, or douse them with the right magic, and they aren’t too much of a problem though.”

“Thing is they tend to come in numbers, so it’s dangerously easy to get overwhelmed by them,” Jem chimed in. Flumping back on a bed, its springs creaked noisily beneath the collie’s weight. “Russo’s an ideal partner for a job like this. He’s difficult to corner and can snuff them out from afar.” Blowing at a tuft of fur that draped down over his eyes, Jem closed his eyes when it plopped back down. “And it’s always nice getting to just spend more time with him too,” the collie shyly thought.

“Sure you’ll be okay on your own?” Settling his gaze on his companion, the mage failed to mask the worry present in his voice.

Chuckling, the collie smiled warmly at the human. “I’ll be fine. Aside from you, I’m the closest thing to fireproof we have around here. That and master seems awfully eager for me to try out the latest sword he had crafted.”

“Oh yeah, that cursed one? Those things have a tendency to suck your stamina dry,” the mage duly noted.

“True, but they tend to end fights quickly. So it’s not like it’ll have much of a chance to when I’m swinging it around, freezing anything that the blade pierces.” In his mind’s eye, Jem imagined slicing open an opponent’s arm, the spilt blood freezing immediately. Crimson crystals growing out of their wound, the evil doer’s limb went limp from the extra weight. Sheathing his sword into its frost covered scabbard, the rough collie stared down his imagined foe who was worriedly reevaluating their pretend life choices.

“That and you’re kind of cheating,” Russo smirked. Waltzing over towards the collie, he poked him on the forehead. “Considering how freakishly strong you are at your size, given the whole being a fluffy shrunken giant thing, you could probably wave that thing around all day without getting tired.”

“What are you talking about?” Swelling to herculean stature, the collie poked up a foot in height and packed pounds of muscle onto his now swollen frame. Tugging lightly on the mage’s finger, Russo was dragged towards the mattress and breakneck speeds. He flumped loudly into the blankets besides the collie. Tail wapping softly back and forth beneath him, Jem sported a cheeky grin.

“Weren’t you going on a whole rant earlier about not abusing your strength?” Russo mumbled into the comforter.

“It's not abusing it if I’m using it to help others.” Turning his head towards the human, Jem booped his cold wet nose into the back of Russo’s skull.

Grumbling at the sensation, Russo swatted at and smacked the collie’s muzzle. “Oh now you’re just splitting hairs.”

Stifling a giggle, Jem scratched at his plated chest. “So what are you going to do in the meantime?” In response to the collie’s inquiry, the floorboards began creaking loudly as a certain someone bounced back and forth on their heels. Neither Jem nor Russo needed to think too hard to discern the cause.

Breathing deeply, Russo let himself sink further into the mattress. “I’ll think of something.” The options that whirled around in his head involved training Dax, getting yelled at some more, moping around, taking up rookie missions, and moping some more. Eh, he was already renowned as a lazy ass. Might as well stick to his guns. Running a gloved hand through the brown matted hair along the back of his head, the human pressed his tongue against the back of his teeth, mulling over what he wanted to say next. “…How about we give you a proper sendoff? It’s been ages since either of us actually wound down before a heading off for a job. Usually we just pack our shit at the last possible second and bumble out whenever we wake up.”

Arching his brows, the collie pursed his lips and cast a glance towards the mage.

“…Augh, fine, my treat.”

Wiggling in place, Jem grinned manically.

“Goddammit you were just holding out for me to offer, weren’t you?” Russo asked in a frustrated tone.

“Yep.”

“Jerk.” Groaning loudly, human rolled his eyes when he felt himself being lifted into the air.

Holding up the mage by the scruff of his hood, Jem set him down on his feet. The seven foot tall collie overflowing with muscle promptly shrank down to a more manageable size, one where he wasn’t spilling out of his armor. Patting him on the back, Jem eagerly shoved Russo out into the hallways, urging him to lead the way to the pub. Nipping at their heels, Dax followed closely behind, not about to pass up an opportunity for a free meal.

“You, go easy on the booze.” Pointing a finger towards Jem, the human issued out what he knew would be an unheeded command. “And you. Control yourself.” Poking at the wolf’s growing belly, Russo winced when his digit sank an a few inches into Dax’s flab.

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One blown budget later

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Urping loudly, Dax rubbed a hand along his engorged stomach. Flopping back onto a guest bed, its springs creaked painfully under his increased weight. Sagging dangerously low towards the ground, the mattress threatened to slip free from the bed frame and collapse upon the floor.

“Jesus Christmas you chubby wolf! You stuffed yourself with what should have been enough to send an extended family into a food coma!” Flopping his chin against the mage’s shoulder before Russo could come try coming up with another creative put down, Jem mumbled sleepily and nuzzled the side of his neck. “And how are you not dead from alcohol poisoning? For fuck sakes, if I pricked your finger right now you’d probably bleed out some sort of watered down gin.” Clutching at the human’s arm for balance, Jem wobbled on his feet. Letting out a futile groan, Russo gingerly lead the inebriated fur to his own bed and eased him down onto it. “Jem. Jem. Jem let go. Let go. LET GO. Jem, I said ACK-” Unwilling to loosen his grip, the collie dragged Russo down with him onto the bed. Russo’s ribs rattled painfully upon impact with Jem’s chest piece. “Dammit, Jem.”

Poking his nose into Russo’s neck, the giant breathed deeply. “Are you sure you can’t come with me?” His words slurred and quiet, Jem’s mental filter had long since turned off.

“You know that I wish I could…” Rolling across his best friend’s armored chest, Russo slipped his arm free and lied besides the canine.

“There’s just… so much more I wanted to tell you,” the collie mumbled. Cheeks burning hot underneath all his fur, that heavy dose of liquid courage from the wizard of booze was really doing its thing. “Who I am, what I am, my family…” Rolling to the side, Jem rested his head on Russo’s chest and closed his eyes.

Gently shoving the collie’s muzzle off of him, the human scratched at his cheek. “You are way too damn eager to spill your guts out.” Although… it felt kind of nice knowing Jem trusted him so completely. Oh hell yeah there was some stuff he wish the fluff butt would just keep to himself, but, still. “He is my best friend and I am his…” That simple fact brought Russo an immeasurable amount of pride and happiness.

Giggling to himself, Jem nuzzled Russo’s arm. “Gonna make you visit them one day.”

“Uh huh.” Sarcasm dripping from his voice, the mage lightly bopped the collie in the mouth. The sound of the canine snoring was all he got in response. “Hah, night Jem.” Letting his head sink deep into the pillow, Russo blinked his eyes a few times. Failing to keep his eye lids from creasing shut, a gentle and comforting darkness he hadn’t felt in ages washed over him.

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“Heading out then?” Wiping away at the sleep in his eyes, Russo rolled over towards the side of the bed. His sleepy gaze lingered on the collie on his knees in the center of the room.

“It’s about that time, yeah.” Sliding on a pair of gauntlets, Jem gently clenched his fingers. The coarse leather interior scratched against his fur, painfully pulling up any stray strands of hair.

“You’re really going all out for this, huh?” Clearing his throat, Russo felt like someone had shoved cotton balls inside his mouth. The consistently cold and dry night air was an irritating fact of life now.

“I may like humans, but I don’t want to end up looking like one. If you catch my drift.” Rising to his feet, the only exposed fur upon his body was situated on his head and tail.

“I understand.” Chuckling to himself, Russo scratched at his crumpled clothing.

“Don’t raise too much hell in my absence.” Jem teased while hefting a knapsack over his shoulder.

“No promises. But… I’ll try. You’re not the only one who’s disappointed we didn’t get to buddy up for this mission.” A bout of thunderous snoring from Dax made it clear they were about the only people disappointed by the turn of events. “…Take care of yourself out there.”

Leaning down, the collie wrapped his arms around the human and hugged him tight. The metal strips and plates layered on his arms pressed into the mage’s sides. “And you say I worry too much.” Sneaking a nuzzle in, Jem quickly released his best friend. “Well, that’s everything. Be seeing you, Russo.” Smiling warmly at the human and bidding him a wave, the collie padded out of the guest room and gently shut the door behind him.

Hunched over the side of the bed, Russo kicked his feet along the ground. “What now?” Russo mused to himself, warily eyeing Dax’s bloated and
sleeping form. Should he go back to sleep? Duck out for the day and try to avoid that needy wolf? Running a hand through his mess of bedhead, he winced at the amount of oils that greased his fingertips. Heading on home and cleaning up for the day sounded like a good start. Grabbing his gloves off the top of the dresser, the mage slid them on and carefully tiptoed out of the room, careful not to wake the shrunken sleeping giant.

Shuffling out the guild, Russo shivered upon exit. While it hadn’t snowed for a few days, what precipitation they already had been buried under had yet to melt in the slightest. Banks of snow that came up to his waist formed walls along the sides of the streets, narrow passageways carved through them now and then into the entrance to someone’s store or home. Compacted snow a couple inches thick crunched underneath the mage’s boots as he made his way home along the main roads. Hundreds of foot and paw prints running both ways were pressed into the snow. Russo smirked to himself, contemplating whether or not if he could pick out Jem’s. Nearing his home, the mage snapped his fingers. A huge sheet of snow had slid off his roof and completely obstructed entry to his abode. Snapping his fingers together once more, the friction from his thumb and middle finger rubbing together warmed his digits up just enough to get him started. Two tiny flames danced atop those fingers, their radiant heat spreading through the rest of his palm. Licks of flame immediately appeared upon his remaining fingers. With a flick of his wrist the flames spiraled forward and disappeared into the wall of snow. Wafting columns of steam sizzled up and grew in size as the snow melted away. Stepping into the puddle of slush that remained, Russo unlocked the door to his home. Kicking the sides of his boots against the stone walls of his home, he knocked some slush and snow loose, trying to track as little inside as possible.

Locking the door behind him upon entry, Russo let out a heavy sigh and turned his attention towards the disheveled mess he had left his home in. Planks of wood were still strewn about the floor, heh, from when Jem made his rushed reveal. All over his desk were piles of papers, the mage’s chicken scratch writing littering each and every one. They were notes from the handful of tomes he’d pilfered from the guild’s library, all of them…

“Right where you left them.” Grabbing a stray parchment between his fingers and flapping it lazily back and forth, a Cheshire grin curled up on the familiar figure’s visage.

Eyes gone wide, Russo’s teeth clacked together at the sight. Weak rays of sunlight struggling to pour through the human’s curtains faintly lit up the god’s pallor form.

“Oh come now. With the departure of your dear friend, I would have thought you’d be pleased to see such a familiar face.” Tapping an index finger against his cold right cheek, the crumbling Russo replica leaned back against the desk. Dark’s toothy and unsettling smile spread wide as he narrowed his remaining eye.

Clutching at his chest, the mage’s breathing had become wracked. Last time his eyes had settled upon that thing, he had been on the receiving end of the worst ass beating he had suffered through in his entirety of existence.

Sighing in annoyance, the god of darkness tapped a foot impatiently against the floor. “Keh, I see you still haven’t warmed up to the idea of me borrowing your skin.” Shrugging his shoulders, the Russo replica scratched at his nose. Pieces of his porcelain like flesh cracked off at his slightest touch. They promptly disappeared into the depthless void that had once been hidden behind his left cheek, a jagged jawline made up of gnarled teeth hovering in the void. “Albeit, with some minor cosmetic changes.” Cracks spread out towards the cavity where his right eye had once been, the crescent moon within glowing softly. “You mortals are so damn fussy. Fine, if this form displeases you, I’ll just don another.” Whipping his neck to the side, it snapped loudly. Chuckling softly, the crescent moon bobbing inside his eye cavity went dull as a swarm of black tentacles slithered around it. Weaving together as they surged out, they coiled together into a clawed hand composed of musculature as black as a moonless sky.

Russo briefly contemplated bolting out the door or teleporting… ANYWHERE, but here.

Digging its fingers into the skull of Russo’s facsimile, Dark’s clawed hand clenched as it pulled an arm out of the replica’s hollow head. Crunching in his grasp, the porcelain look a like’s head began caving in on itself. Trembling, Dark’s arm struggled to pull out its owners head from the replica’s bottomless depths. Pointed ears, nose, and a malicious mouth brimming with teeth cutting as sharp as obsidian adorned the jackal head that emerged. “Ahhhh, that’s more like it.” Bursting asunder from the god outgrowing his skin, the facsimile’s pieces bounced against the walls and floor of the human’s home, crumbling into wispy purple smoke moments later. Where it once stood, Dark reveled in his lithe new form. “Been a while since I’ve strutted about like this in the mortal realm. It’s nostalgic.”

Shaking in place, the mage valiantly worked up the courage to do something besides cower. “What the hell are you doing here?!” Voice hushed, Russo shuddered at the sight of his unexpected and unwanted guest. His heart pounding its way out of his chest, the human stumbled back towards the door.

“My my my, where are your manners? I’ve been nothing but an excellent host every time you’ve visited my abode. I expect the same courtesy when passing through yours.” Pacing noiselessly towards the mage, a crescent moon burst to life within Dark’s hollow head and bobbed back and forth between his empty eye sockets. “I just wanted to chat is all. Figured you might be more… receptive, to what I had to say in the comfort of your own home.”

“Should I even pretend I have a say in the matter?” Shrinking back against the door, Russo’s voice took on a defeated tone.

“It’s all the more fun when the illusion of choice is maintained.” Tapping a pointed finger against the human’s forehead, the god’s condescending and smiling veneer wavered just long enough to get his point across. “Best play along.”

Sliding back along the door and onto the floor, Russo remained deathly silent. Morbid thoughts of those spirals of tentacles that formed Dark’s fingers piercing through his skull consumed the mage’s mental processes. Those increasingly macabre imaginings were promptly shaken off as the mage felt himself pulled off the floor. Soft but frighteningly powerful tentacles poking out of his darkened door frame wrapped around Russo’s arms and pulled him onto his feet. “…You were saying?”

“Much better. Keh, so I couldn’t help but notice you chose not to accompany the collie on his latest assignment.”

“I didn’t have a say in the matter. The old man’s set his foot down on this one.” Wincing, Russo uneasily shook his arms free. “Why do you care?”

“You solve one problem by oftentimes creating or exploiting another. I don’t think you quite comprehend how gratifying that is to watch.” The mage rolled his eyes and sighed in frustration, eliciting a chuckle out of the jackal. Dark absolutely relished making him squirm. “You’ve rarely hesitated to flagrantly deny the whims of your superiors before. Why start now?” Crossing his arms about his chest, Dark stifled his laughter. The mage hesitated to maintain eye contact with the god’s blank features. “Ahhh, I see how it is. Tsk tsk tsk, such a pity. And here I was hoping to see what revelry you and your canine companion would get up to.”

“You are so god damn full of it. Only reason you’re interested is because you want to see how I’ll fuck things up this time and wind up battered, beaten, and bruised. I think I’ll sit this one out.”

Tilting his head back, the jackal bobbed his head to side contentedly. “I will neither confirm nor deny your accusations. Alright then, Russo. Perhaps next time.” Shrugging his shoulders, Dark turned his back on Russo and began sinking into the ground.

“Wait. That’s it?” Eyes bouncing back in forth inside his head, there was no way in hell he was being let off this easily.

“As I told you before, I simply wanted to chat. I was hoping you’d reconsider taking up that chunk of work with the collie, but it appears that you won’t be swayed.” A pool of darkness spread out from around the god while he descended. From the knees down he had already vanished into the growing mass of ether.

“…Seriously? So I can just take it easy?”

Turning towards the human, Dark rested his elbows on the ground as his legs disappeared into the darkness. “If you so desire. When I said I’d be getting hands on with your life’s story, my primary focus was seeing on how you would react to the various obstacles and decisions placed before you… that may or may not have been there otherwise without my interference. Keeping your free will intact and unmolested is of the utmost importance. If you choose a path filled with sloth, then so be it. I’ll just have to rig things so that you’ll never be afforded an option like that again.” Grinning manically, Dark twiddled his fingers along the floor. His pointy digits pierced deep into the cold stone.

“Since that’s the case, I might as well enjoy this whhhhait a minute.” A smug sense of satisfaction briefly lit up Russo’s face before a crippling realization wiped it off an instant later while his arms draped to his sides.

“Hmmm?”

“The only reason you even want me to tag team with Jem is because something stupid and life threatening is probably going to happen.”

Dark’s response to the accusation was a sly smile. “Your words, not mine.”

Running his hands through his hair, the gears in Russo’s head turned painfully and slowly. “And I should be thrilled at the opportunity to deny you the pleasure and laze about doing sweet sweet nothing but… shit. Shit, okay, if the only reason you want me to blow off the old man is because something bad is probably going to happen then… then what about Jem?”

“What about him?” Cocking his head to the side, the jackal struggled to maintain interest in where the conversation was going.

“You know damn well what I mean! What’s going to happen to him?!”

“And here I was beginning to think you weren’t in the mood to converse with me.” Resting an elbow against a freshly created indent in the floor, Dark cupped his jaw in the palm of his hand. “Hmmm… oh I see where you’re taking this.” Tapping his fingers against sunken fleshy cheeks, a Cheshire grin spread wide across the god’s face. “Before I answer that, you answer me this. Think back to all of your previous outings and adventures. In every instance where something went deliciously awry, was the source of your trouble drawn towards you or were you instead drawn towards it?”

“What does…” Biting his lip, Russo furrowed his brows and pondered. Shuffling uneasily, the mage rubbed a hand up and down along his arm. “I… don’t know. Both, I guess?”

“Both?” Smirking in delight, this was the best possible outcome Dark could have hoped for. It gave him a lot of room to work with. “Well if that’s the case then there’s no one answer I can give you; absolutely anything is possible. Let’s say you do accompany your collie companion. It’s possible then that danger and disaster will be drawn towards the both of you like a magnet, putting the dog in harm’s way. If it’s the other way around though… that would mean you two are being sucked into the pull of something far graver than either of you fathomed. So in either case, your presence places the both of you or at the very least will alert you to imminent danger.” Tracing the fingers of his free hand along the floor, the pool of darkness began spreading out further and further from the god. “Wouldn’t the mutt be better off without me then, you may be pondering? Perhaps, perhaps. So you stay home. Maybe some crisis descends upon your city and you are forced to address it. Is it because you attracted it or because your sloth ended up sucking you towards it?” Shrugging his shoulders, the jackal’s black musculature began unraveling at the waist. “Or perhaps nothing at all happens. Who’s to say? I could droll on and on and on about the possibilities, really I would love nothing more than to do so. My time is limited though, so I’ll end things on an interesting note. There is one outcome in particular that I’ve found myself enthralled with.” Snaking through the black and purple mass engulfing Russo’s home, Dark approached the mage standing steadfast at the door. “What if it just so happened that the threads of fate were plucked and orchestrated in such a manner that the world behaved as if you were accompanying that mutt? And it was by some tragic fluke you remained at home?”

Glaring back at the god whose muzzle hovered inches before his face, Russo regained his typically defiant and uncooperative composure.

Literally whirling his hands in place, Dark’s tone became noticeably less condescending. “At ease, at ease. I only said that was a particularly interesting possibility, not a certainty. Although… it is well within my power to make it so.”

Gnashing his teeth, Russo rolled his eyes and shoved his flat face into Dark’s. “Dammit! Out of my way!” Draining the spreading darkness back into his compacted form, the jackal watched on curiously as the human thundered by him. A subtle grin curled up on his face upon seeing Russo hurriedly packing a couple days’ worth of clothes.

“Having a change of heart now, are we?”

“Screw off. I’m doing this because I want to not because you told me to.” Grumbling loudly, the human punched down on the mess of undershirts and tunics poking out of his knapsack.

“I never ‘told’ you to do anything. All I offered were questions, observations, and possibilities.” Arching his non-existent brows when Russo slammed the door behind him, he cast a glance out the window at the human sprinting down the sunlit street. “Ahh… it truly is all the more fun when the illusion of choice is maintained.” Sinking back down into the dark depths, the god was eager to see how the mage would react to the surprises in store for him.

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