Chapter 6: Finally Free

Luke gasped and sat up. His chest heaved as his eyes darted around.

Was he finally free of that place?

He pressed a hand to his chest, feeling his racing heart as he hoped that this was real and not a figment of his imagination.

The evil god had used such a trick many times on Luke in the past to torment him, making him think the betrayal never happened or that he had managed to escape on his own. It wouldn’t surprise him if this was another one of those times.

As he studied his surroundings, he recognized it as the castle in Orstadbadt, the place where he and the others had fought the evil god and sealed him.

A bitter taste filled his mouth at the thought of them.

When his heart eventually calmed down, Luke stood on trembling legs and walked in the direction leading outside the castle. The moment he stood out in the open and felt the cool air brush past him, he stared out at the scenery.

After several moments, it finally hit him that he had really escaped that place.

Luke fell to his knees as a sob escaped his throat. His shoulders shook as tears dripped down his face to the ground.

He was finally free.

Luke sobbed his heart out until there were no more tears left to shed. He continued to kneel, letting himself just enjoy the feeling of the wind and breathing in fresh air.

Once he collected himself, he got back on his feet and called out, “Bydos, are you there?”

There was no response.

That was strange. They both should have escaped that space together. The evil god couldn’t have possibly gone far.

“Bydos?” he called out again.

An eerie voice echoed in his mind, saying, “Did you miss me already? I’m touched.”

He slapped a hand against his head and frantically searched his surroundings, but there was still no sign of the evil god.

Where was he?

“What’s the matter? You seem confused,” the evil god said, his voice ringing in Luke’s ears.

“Where did you go?” Luke demanded, hating the sound of the evil god’s voice in his ears.

“What are you talking about? I’m right here,” the evil god said.

“Don’t mess with me,” Luke snapped.

“I’m serious. I’m right inside of you,” the evil god said, sending waves of disgust through Luke.

“What are you saying?” Luke questioned.

“Have you forgotten your conditions? I can’t harm innocent people nor can I create monsters. Not to mention that making you my warrior took a lot of me, so I can’t retain a form. You can say I’m leeching off of you,” the evil god said.

Luke grimaced, not expecting this outcome.

Even though he had indeed wanted to weaken the evil god by cutting off his sources of power, Luke never expected that the evil god would be reduced to this state.

Trying hard not to think of the implications of having the evil god inhabit his body, Luke asked, “How did you do it? How did we escape that place?”

“It’s simple, really. Turning you into my warrior disrupted the seal and allowed us to escape. After all, the seal was created in mind to prevent me from leveraging my power outside the seal and not inside of it,” the evil god said.

Luke didn’t know much about the mechanics behind the sealing spell, so he would have to take the evil god’s word for it. Besides, he had other more pressing matters like hunting down his old comrades and taking revenge.

“While I admire your single-minded focus, you have to think of the consequences,” the evil god said.

Veins throbbed in Luke’s head as he demanded, “Are you stopping me?”

“Of course not. I would love to see you get your revenge, but have you considered how much time has passed?” the evil god pointed out.

Luke froze.

It had slipped his mind. He had been so focused on getting revenge that he forgot to consider how much time might have passed while imprisoned with the evil god.

Hadn’t it said the shortest time before the seal broke was a hundred years?

“How long has it been?” he asked, unable to hide the panic in his voice.

If it truly had been a hundred years, then the targets of his revenge would be dead. He would have made the deal with the evil god for nothing.

The evil god chuckled and said, “Don’t worry. It’s not been a hundred years. In fact, you helped me break a new record. Only ten years have passed since they sealed us away.”

Ten years?

Complicated emotions churned inside of Luke.

On one hand, ten years was undoubtedly better than a hundred years. He still had a chance to get his revenge.

On the other hand, ten years was still a long time for a human. Who knew how much had changed since they had been sealed.

“It looks like you understand. You can’t rashly run off to hunt them down without arming yourself with knowledge. If you’re not careful, you’ll end up dead before you get the chance,” the evil god said.

Even though he hated it, the evil god was right. Without knowing the current state of things, he couldn’t blindly search for his old comrades. He had to gather intel first before making his move.

Despite knowing this, he couldn’t ignore the burning hatred deep in his heart.

It wasn’t fair that they stepped over him and got to enjoy their lives. He should have been basking in the glory of defeating the evil god, not enduring torment at the hand of the very being he was supposed to defeat.

“Now, now, you still have plenty of time for revenge. Take your time and make sure to savor it. After all, you only get one chance. Make it count,” the evil god said, his sinister words conjuring dark thoughts in Luke’s mind.

Fine. He’d be patient. He’d investigate the last ten years, and only then would he act. He’d make sure they would regret ever betraying him.