Jack continued his monotonous task of collecting the bits and pieces of his soul. From time to time, he would feel a bit of power surge into him. This felt exactly like the time when Warmarshal Michael prayed to him.
[Are others praying to me? Does prayer give me power? Maybe being a God-King isn't so bad... Hmmmmmmmm.] Jack pondered as he absorbed another piece of his soul.
As Jack continued to get more power from, what he assumed, were prayers, and the accumulating amounts of his soul he regained, his hearing and sight into the black holes increased.
Jack would stop by and peer into these holes to break up the boring task of collecting himself.
As he was collecting more of himself on the western side of his Throne, he couldn't help but take notice of a conversation from a black hole.
"First Elder is too king visiting my Kain Family, so late in the evening." A voice rumbled through a black hole.
[?!?!?] Jack quickly lurched to the black hole that sounded. He peered down into a room that contained three elder undead. It was a large decorated office. The large undead was behind a desk, and the two other elder undead were sitting on chairs. The most interesting thing was that the office was furnished entirely of wood... No bones! It had an old English elegance to it.
"No, it is my clan's pleasure to be hosted by the Kain Family. We only regret we weren't able to come to the decision to defect sooner." A decrepit skeletal undead in robes spoke.
"Then let the pleasure be on you then! Hahaha!" The larger skeletal undead at the head of the room guffawed and hissed. This skeletal undead was nearly as tall as Jack but was twice as wide with thick massive bones. He wore an aristocratic suit, for his choice of wardrobe.
"So, what can we Grimnights do for you?" The first Elder spoke.
[Fucking Grimnights!] Jack snarled in his mind as if Leslie wasn't from this clan.
"Well, I would normally ask you to apologize for your clan's ineptitude and general lack of moral integrity, but the concerns of my homeland are of much greater concern.
[....Well said!!!] Jack could only praise, [But... This is a terrible choice of words to persuade someone to do something for you....] Even Jack could come up with something better to curry favor, and could only wonder what this hefty skeleton was asking.
Jack could see the humiliation in the posture of the first and second Elders of the Grimnight clan below. He could only laugh to himself.
"I'm sure my clan's... Lack of integrity would concern the Kain family enough to request us to show ourselves." The first Elder spoke with gritted teeth.
"As you are correct, I digress. It seems that We are in need of a special Grimnight Cultivation tome to help us ward off the Dead Tide." The Kain Family skeleton replied.
"If you want the Tome of the Banshee's wail... It was lost long ago... We no longer have it." The first Elder shook his head.
"No one cares for that dried up tome." The Kain waved his skeletal hand to mock.
The two Grimnight elders gripped their hands tightly, that tome was what propelled the Grimnights to becoming a Major clan so long ago, but over time... The loss of the tome weakened the foundation of the clan until it devolved into a Minor clan within Deagoth. If it wasn't for that tome being lost to time and thieves... Then why would they sit here to be taunted by the Kain Family?
"No, we want your second cultivation tome."
"The Tome of Shadow's Touch?" The second Elder asked in question.
"Yes. We believe that this Tome can greatly aid our Family in dispatching the Dead Tide menace." The Kain Family member waved his hand in the air again, casually.
"What is the Dead Tide?" The first Elder finally couldn't hold his curiosity.
"Oh? You don't know the Dead Tide? Well... It's a wave of soul infecting mushrooms designed by Chief Researcher Vincent to destroy Deagoth... But the Jack ass skipped the Nation, and left the damn things to run amok." Near the end, the casual nature of the Kain Family member began to harden.
"Chief Researcher Vincent?!?" the first and second Elders exclaimed.
"Yeah, yeah... Him." The Kain Family member sled back into his seat, as he was on edge.
"Isn't he attributed to the creation of the Immortal Corps of Stonedge." the second Elder asked.
"Yeah. His research allowed us to create super soldiers for the Nation, but then he decided to stop his research, and start dabbling in... other areas. Of course, Stonedge couldn't stop him, as we needed him to keep producing more serum for new Soldiers."
[What are the Immortal Corps of Stonedge??? Super Soldiers obviously, but what makes them super in a world of near-immortal undead???] Jack couldn't help but wonder.
"Anyway, the Dead Tide is of much grave concern, then the Researcher skipping for now." The Kain Family member folded his hands over his mid-section, as he spoke.
"How will the Tome of the Shadow's Touch help, and of course... What will we get in return?" The first Elder asked, in expectation.
"Yes, yes, compensation is a must. The Shadow's Touch allowed an undead to attack a soul directly. Normally, because most Cultivators guard their souls, it doesn't help the practitioner until they are at King rank... But what happens when the Cultivator attacks an undead that isn't guarding their soul?"
"They can damage or destroy the target's soul." the first Elder nodded.
"The Dead Soul Mushroom's victims... They take over and infect their souls, slowly turning them into mindless drones. In the later stages of this infection, the soul is wiped clean of any memories and becomes just another part of the machine that is the Dead Tide. The reason we want this skill is because the Dead Soul Mushrooms don't have sense enough to guard their souls... They act purely out of instinct, like dumb animals."
"So, attack them with the shadows touch... Destroy the soul, then the Mushrooms will die?" the second Elder asked.
"Well... Die isn't exactly what happens, but it makes dealing with inactive Dead Soul Mushrooms a lot easier." The Kain Family member laughed.
"Alright... Then What do we get?" The first Elder asked.
"We can provide a permanent piece of land for the Grimnight clan, though your status as a clan will be striped as you will become a part of Stonedge, and lastly... We will provide you with six pieces of low-level Voidstone gems. I assume this is enough to persuade you?"
"Ummmm...." the second Elder paused, but not before being slapped by the first Elder, "Yes. This is plenty." the first Elder bowed his head.
"Then let's shake on it, and I'll send someone to your 'Family' to acquire the tome." The Kain Family member stood up and walked around his desk to extend his hand.
The first elder stood and reached out his hand, "Then it's agreed Young Master Kain." The two shook hands.
[Should I do something to them?] Jack wondered within the light.
"Hmmm?" Young Master Kain stepped back and looked around him.
"What's wrong?" the first and second Elder's asked together.
"I feel... Killing intent..."
"It isn't from us." The two Elders bowed.
"No, I get that. I can't shake the feeling."
[Can he feel that I'm here??? Should I step out and say something? Intimidate them?] Jack's mind worked quickly, [Can they even do anything to me while I am here? I'm certain they can't interact with the Light as I can... Not without a giant piece of Glowstone. I should drop-in, and taunt them... That's what a villain would do...]
Jack considered all of these in second until he came to a decision.
[But... Deagoth has enough to handle, I don't want to piss off another enemy so soon. It's good enough that I know what they are doing. I'll tell Leslie, and she can investigate them, and get Boss Crag to crush them... I don't need to lift a finger if I think about it like that. Maybe... Maybe this is what a smart villain does?]
Jack lurched away, leaving the black hole behind, as he continued his journey.
*******
Today was the Seventh-day, and the Archbishop of Nogore, Archbishop Edward, was leading the church outdoors. The faith of the God-King had swelled during the events that came to be known as the Day the God-King blow out the Lights. The largest church of Nogore could no longer handle the attendants.
Archbishop Edward wasn't a massive fan of the God-King originally, but now with the influx of members and fees paid to the church, he couldn't stop the smile that etched on his face. He led the members of the church as told by the Prophet. It had been two months since he left, and with the progress of the members, things were looking up.
As the Prophet dictated, the first part of the Cultivation of the Lexos Divinus Fidelis was taught to the faithful. This allowed the members to cultivate to Master level! This improved the lives of all the undead of the church, and attracted even more members!
But this was all in preparation for today, as to start today was for all the Members of the Master rank or above to pay their Tithes to the God-King.
In the large Nogore city square that Archbishop Edward reserved for this morning, the Archbishop called to order. It must be noted that no one noticed that the square was arranged for all the faithful to face east toward the Skull of the Sun God. It only shined in the skyline like a lone star. In fact, it was known as the Skull Star to the citizens of Deagoth, though the furthest reaches of the Kingdom could not see it, such as the Cities Salily or Zithergall.
"Members of the Faithful of our humble church of Nogore, we come together today as one congregation under the God-King."
A resounding amen issued from the members attending, all one hundred thousand members resounded and shook the foundations of the city. Many of the unconcerned undead of Nogore, couldn't help but look out of their windows and feel the streets wondering just what was happening. It wasn't that they didn't know of the faithful or even the God-King with the zeal of the new members, but they had never heard such a large or loud congregation.
The true power of Deagoth wasn't that it was rich in Glowstone... But rich in undead... Deagoth was the largest nation in landmass... and undead. Nogore was the largest city outside of the Capital of Deagoth, Saigunrai, with a population of one point five million undead. Collected in the City square was roughly ten percent of the total population of the City.
"With so many faithful finally ranking up to Master rank, it is time We pay our dues to the God-King! It is the mercy of the God-King that we live in peace, and die again for his sake! We must give thanks to the God-King, and humble ourselves before him!" Archbishop Edward brought the multitudes to a fanatical zenith.
"KNEEL! KNEEL BEFORE THE GOD-KING AND PAY YOUR TITHES!" Archbishop Edward threw his hands up to the rocky sky in the dim twilight of Nogore, before kneeling down with the congregation.
In a massive voice that rocked the land, a collected voice was heard that shook not only the land but the unconvinced, "OH, GOD-KING OF LIGHT, HE WHO PROTECTS AND GUIDES ALL OF UNDEADKIND, PLEASE HEED OUR TITHES! WE LOOK TO THE LIGHT AND HUMBLY PAY THE PRICE OF FAITH. WE'LL STATE STRIGHT INTO THE SUN SKULL AND WE WON'T CLOSE OUR EYES! IN RETURN FOR YOUR MERCY, WE GIVE OUR FAITH TO THE GOD-KING AND A PART OF OUR HUMBLE POWER..."
A pause ensued, a moment of peace before the outburst, "PRECES EXAUDIANTUR!!!!"
Thin golden light briefly shined on the backs of each of the kneeling undead, before it shot into the skyline directly to the Skull of the Sun God. As it approached the Skull of the Sun God, the thin rays of light gathered together and formed larger rays of light.
Numerous undead looked above to see the fabled shooting stars as the rays of light invade the Skull of the Sun God.
The rays invaded into the Skull of the Sun God, and into the Plane of Light. Now the collective power given by the undead faithful of Nogore was as thick as a road and twenty meters long.
In the plane of Light, a massive black hole rotated above the soul tether of Jack's body. From the massive black hole, the light poured in, and instead of blinding into the plane, it charged westward, as if it had a mind of its own.