Apophis walked with purpose towards the headquarters of the Gold is Good guild, burning every obstacle in his path.
Many players of LvL 5 or higher tried to stop him but it was no use, and the Tyotting NPCs hid indoors at once. The guild's low-ranking members, seeing that the city was lost, fled in panic.
Only the ten executives of Gold is Good were ready to sacrifice themselves for their guild's honor. They waited patiently for Apophis in the conference room of their HQ, trying to look stoic as sweat trickled down their faces.
The guild executives had all unlocked their classes, and furthermore had Dungeon equipment and lots of potions and power boosts of all kinds.
Yet, not one of them thought they could stand up to Apophis. Not after what they'd just seen on the forums. Not while they heard more and more terrified, agonized screaming from the streets outside.
As the ten executives stared at the central door, it began to glow.
It glowed brightly and lit up the entire room!
Despite all the special security they'd used to reinforce the door, it melted after a mere three seconds, revealing a man surrounded by black flames.
Apophis calmly raised his finger and pointed at the guild leaders.
His black flames billowed out from around him like a swarm of bats! The fingers of fire rushed over the guild leaders, melting their flesh and burning their bones, until only one man was spared: the guild leader Pickachu, a Sniper.
Apophis approached him in a casual manner. "I suppose you're the leader of this miserable guild?"
Pickachu answered in an annoyed tone, wrinkling his nose as the stench of burning flesh filled the room. He tried to keep his voice from shaking. "Yes, I am."
"I'm quite disappointed," said Apophis. "Seriously, not one member of your guild managed to inflict a point of damage on me."
Then, peculiarly, Apophis shouted, "You hear that, Enclabossa?! Your 'quest' is an insult! What am I, a child crushing ants under his thumb?!"
Enclabossa answered cheerfully in Apophis's mind. Sorry, My Lord...
Pickachu's heart rate accelerated as Apophis acted more and more like a lunatic. What, had this player indulged in a fistful of drugs before logging on to play?!
But despite his terror, Pickachu couldn't stop his rage from boiling up and overflowing. "Don't think you'll get away with it!" he snapped. "We're gonna put a bounty on your head! We'll hunt you everywhere until just trying to find a calm place to grind becomes hell for you!"
Apophis simply grabbed Pickachu's head and exploded it with black flames, killing him instantly.
System: Congratulations on completing the Rank F- quest "Dominate the Defiant."
Final Grade: S+
Reward: The title of [Punisher] and 99 points of Darkness.
What a meaningless quest that had been.
Apophis had slaughtered people who posed absolutely no threat to himself and had received almost no reward for it.
Nothing but a waste of time.
Yes, but didn't that feel so good, My Lord? Enclabossa's voice hissed. Imagine how good it would feel to just keep going, to hunt down every last Eternal and Tyotting on this miserable planet and burn them to ashes until they worshiped you as the god you rightfully are!
Apophis gave a bitter laugh.
"So what?" he asked. "There's no glory in trampling weaklings. I could go play any stupid arcade game if I wanted to win so easily and so meaninglessly."
Another thought struggled to come to the surface. Something about… his mother…
As soon as the thought began to rise to the surface, Enclabossa's voice grew louder, pushing that thought away. Well, then do what you wish, My Lord! I will stand by your side forever as you conquer stronger enemies. Stronger, yes, ones that are worthy of your time!
Apophis suddenly felt very tired.
The excitement that had filled him like a glorious drug was finally fading away.
"Well," he said at last, "let's go home. I'm tired, and Antanria must be awake now." Was he talking to Enclabossa, or to himself? Even Apophis didn't really know. He only knew that he wanted to leave this miserable wreckage of a guild HQ.
But before leaving, he checked his character menu.
╔══════════════╕
╟─╼CHARACTER
║ ╰╼[Name] : Apophis
║ ╰╼[LvL] : 10
║ ╰╼[Tier] : C- {Ascendant}
║ ╰╼[Class] : Esper
║ ╰╼[Biology] : Male Zetark-Human Hybrid {Tier 3; Next Tier: LvL 20}
╠══════════════╡
╟─╼SOUL
║ ╰╼[Host Soul] Enclabossa
║ ╰╼[Energy] : 1100 (+50%) x2 = 3300
║ ╰╼[Alignment] : -100 {Very Dark}
╠══════════════╡
╟─╼STATS
║ ╰╼[Strength] 200 (+10%) x2 = 440 STR
║ ╰╼[Intelligence] 200 (+10%) x2 = 440 INT
║ ╰╼[Agility] 200 (+10%) x2 = 440 AGI
║ ╰╼[Dexterity] 200 (+10%) x2 = 440 DEX
║ ╰╼[Luck] 1 LUK
╠══════════════╡
╟─╼BOOK SKILLS
║ ╰╼~Dark Cosmic Meditation (lvl 2)~
║ ╰╼~Demon God Flame (lvl 2)~
║ ╰╼~Lord of Flames (lvl 1)~
║ ╰╼~Susanoo (lvl 1)~
╟─╼TALENT TREE SKILLS
║ ╰╼~Firebending~
║ ╰╼~Telekinesis~
╟─╼PASSIVE SKILLS
║ ╰╼[ Archaeologist ]
║ ╰╼[ Warrior-Esper ]
╠══════════════╡
╟─╼EQUIPMENT
║ ╰╼[Galactic Coins] : 401,023 GC
║ ╰╼[Complete Zetark Battle Armor (Rare)]
║ ╰╼[God Tzeentch's Rings of Power (Legendary)]
║ ╰╼[Zetark Nobility Uniform (Epic)]
╠══════════════╡
╟─╼SUMMARY
You've entered the world of superior beings! Only 1% of the galactic population has reached this level of power. Yet, your darkness grows more and more pronounced, and your thirst for glory and power are without limit. You walk the path of evil. Beware, for only death awaits you at the end of this path!
╚═══════════════╛
So, the immense power boost Apophis had felt wasn't just his imagination. Enclabossa had given him a 2X modifier to all his primary stats!
Apophis closed the menu and returned to the hotel, ignoring the silent, empty, charred streets that were the evidence of his rampage.
The news of Omeya's liberation from Gold is Good quickly swept through the city's other districts, the ones Apophis hadn't come anywhere near.
A rumor spread around, based on gossip that changed more and more as it was repeated, that Apophis had felt pity on the NPCs murdered by Gold is Good, and so players stopped openly and gleefully murdering NPCs in the city, though most people didn't believe the rumor. Still, it was better to be safe than sorry, especially when the players were high enough level that NPCs no longer gave huge amounts of experience.
Among the Tyottings themselves, even if his saving them had been incidental to his own goals, Apophis was a true hero, a good Eternal who had liberated them from the tyrannical Gold is Good guild!
The mayor of the city even commissioned a statue of Apophis, with the inscription "Savior of Omeya."
Due to events which would soon follow, the statue was never finished.
Its half-finished form ended up buried under a pile of scorched sand which marked the graves of the poor Tyottings who had once cheered their savior.
Apophis of the Eternals, in the end, would never save the people of Omeya from the terrible fate which awaited their planet.