The Primordials: Lustless Prides (Book Three)

Chapter XVIII: A Gift From Death (Pt.1)

      Avarice felt a yanking sense of disappointment as he looked into the horizon Michael had disappeared in. He still wanted to test many theories on him, but he doubted he'd get the chance to capture Michael again. It was such a shame he slipped through his fingers.

      "We should have killed him when we had the chance," Junichiro stated, gripping his sword's hilt.

      Verin glared at him.

      "Your vision is too narrow, son," Avarice said calmly. "Look at what we've been able to do with some of Tymon's blood. Imagine the possibilities to be had with the others."

      Junichiro shook his head in disagreement.

      "It doesn't make sense to me to detain someone whose abilities make them a threat. Most of the Primordials aren't an issue, but two were unkillable and possessed dangerous skills. Then we gave ourselves a rare opportunity to rid ourselves of one of them, but we let him slip through our fingers..."

      "You caused that," Verin snapped.

      Junichiro stood his ground and looked at her unapologetically.

      "I'm prepared to do what's best for the rest of us regardless of the repercussions. Respectfully, Father, I feel due to your and Verin's immense power and going many millennia being virtually untouchable, you two don't see threats the same as the rest of us. Now that he's killable, we should at least rid ourselves of Michael if we get another chance. His speed is still too much for any of us, and of the High Gods, only Kaila or I have the power necessary to defend against his. If he chooses, he could pick off the rest individually."

       "Hm," Avarice said, giving Junichiro's words some thought. "I'll consider this. However, you are aware that killing him will result in some effect on the world. Perhaps everyone besides us will die."

      "Then we leave this world," Junichiro suggested boldly. "If what we've learned is to be believed, then your kind is from a different civilization. A different world entirely. I would suggest we steer clear of there since a planet of klevonians would certainly pose a threat to even your might – especially should there be more beings similar to the one who created you all, Father. However, there surely must be other worlds. We could take what we need from the other Primordials for your experiments and relocate to a planet with weaker species like Earth, learn about that new world, and start over. At least then we could kill any opposers without worrying about its effect on the rest of the lifeforms."

      Avarice walked over to Junichiro and smiled as he placed both hands on his shoulders.

      "That's brilliant, son," he beamed proudly. "I'm not sure why I didn't think of that."

      He looked up at the dark, rainy sky with newfound dreams in his eyes.

      "There are whole worlds out there that have yet to be discovered. Even with all the power we've amassed, I've been thinking too small.... Slight change of plans," he said, addressing Junichiro. "Aside from Damien and Tymon, we won't keep any of them alive. After the plan's enacted, you and your siblings will still capture the others so that I can run tests and harvest their blood, but then you'll be free to dispose of them however you like. Damien will be kept alive, but Tymon will be left here chained and alone. I'll devise a plan to take care of Michael myself."

      "I kinda like Earth. Humans are very paranoid and are easily driven into despair. Do we have to eradicate everyone? Didn't you want to reign over them?" Verin asked.

      "They're a flawed species," Avarice remarked, abandoning any interests he had in humans. "They would have destroyed themselves centuries ago had I not intervened. Now, I can at least watch them do so as I spend another year or two conducting my experiments."

      Everyone's holo-bracelets began to blink red again.

      "Right, the news covered an interesting story about one of our installations catching fire. I already sent Trevor and Wren to look into it. If the news is true, I told Trevor to destroy whatever remained of the base to prevent humans from taking anything," Verin inserted as Avarice tapped his bracelet, pulling up his holo-screen. "Damn, that was the base meant to hold Michael....You think this could be a coincidence? The Holders maybe screwing something up?"

      "Doubtful," Avarice responded while scrolling through the feed on his screen. "Not when Tymon and Za'Fia have been this quiet. And if everyone there is dead, I think I have an idea of what they're planning."

      "Ah, here we are. Judging from this, it's not just one." Avarice received multiple incoming transmissions about how Bases M and D were destroyed the previous night. "Come on, we're going to Base D."

      "It's a good thing we're not bringing Wren. She hates that island," Junichiro commented.

      When they arrived on the isolated island surrounded by severe thunderstorms, they found the base still intact, aside from debris blown all over. They were instantly hit with the putrid stench of hundreds of rotting corpses that the constant rain and ozone in the air somehow made worse. The smell was so foul that Avarice was tempted to stop breathing altogether and allow his inner spirit energy to pump his heart instead of his lungs. But he refrained since he needed to be able to talk to the others.

      Scanning the area, Avarice saw dismembered bodies and blood littering the base. Some were significantly charred, while others were either sliced with claw marks, decapitated, impaled, or aged to the point of crumbling to his touch. It was a massacre if he'd ever seen one, and every Holder there was dead.

      "He doesn't hesitate to kill," Junichiro remarked while examining a nearby body.

      "No. He doesn't share the mentality of the human," Avarice replied as he walked past toward the center of the base.

      "That makes him dangerous," Junichiro stated as he looked at the scorch marks on the destroyed watch tower. "And the dragon supports his methods."

      "We'll have to destroy this place, too," Verin grumbled. Verin put a lot of time overseeing what went on concerning the Holders and bases, so seeing two installations she put so much effort into bringing up must've been eating at her. "But first, we need to move what's below."

      Suddenly, they each heard shuffling among a pile of bodies. Avarice watched as Junichiro pulled one of the men up to sit with his back to a nearby wall.

      Approaching him, Avarice was surprised to see it was the base's Sub Deity, though he was bleeding badly and barely alive.

      "Tell me what happened," Avarice Ordered, looking down at his subordinate.

      The Sub Deity's mind was unfocused and clouded as he looked up with hope and hysteria as Avarice and Verin approached him.

      "Lord...Avarice!? Please...help me...No more! The pain...my men....No. No. No..." he rambled while clutching his head, pulling out handfuls of hair.