As Ka watched his daughter burn at the stake, he trembled.
“He promised me, He promised he would not hurt her. I confessed to every crime. I did not defend myself, I just wanted Elisa to be away from this” He said shaken to the core.
Still, the NPC was not done with the surprises he still managed to reason through his emotional turmoil.
“Still You could rescue me and her, why do this? Why force this?”
Damn Ka, and Damn Eve which he believed was the name of Philemon AI. He was slowly losing the thread of the conversation. He needed to draw the line here or else he was up for a debate he had not prepared. Still despite the difficulty this Ka provided, He had proven his value. He thought an Alchemist was as good as he could find for activating a magic circle.
“Simple I am not so benevolent that I spare those who will kill the one who believed in me. Enough is enough. I will loosen the ropes that tied you, and when the time is right run to your daughter at the outskirts of the village. The magic circle is ready. I believe you do know how to activate it. Do it and I bless you with my powers. With it, you should have the power to protect yourself. It seems you value your choice very well. Choose Will you let Elisa watch you burn or ensure a happy life for Elisa?”
“Sigh, I will do it, I will activate the magic circle. I will also live the last of my days” He said this resigned to his fate.
“Very well” He said trying to hide his excitement at the fact that now his plan had a high chance of success.
With that, the dream ended. Despite the promise he had made, Elijah had no intention of letting the only NPC worth something die. It was some hours before dinner. His family took dinner time seriously; this was the only time they all gathered together.
Usually, game hours are not so disorderly. A game day and night was equal to 6 hours. Every player had a maximum of 12 hours of game time and 6 hours of the night was locked required by law. This was because of the unhealthy effect of the player skipping sleep and daily routines. However, it was possible to extend it limitedly by having a gaming cabin providing nutrition, regular checkups to prove that you had kept your physical being in check, and finally Mental health tests every 6 months; They were nothing overly personal or deep. This dungeon though, had 1 one-hour day, and 1hour night. Tutorial dungeon could not last days, this was achieved by shortening the usual game cycle. It means that rather than affecting thoughts, you had a different clock to work with.
The execution was at nightfall so he had this hour to enjoy family dinner. He appreciated the little time he spent with them. Except for his mother and father, he had one older brother and one little sister. His brother was a medical student. His sister was in high school enjoying the time of her life. She was much more extroverted than his brother, let alone himself. Dinners were usually enjoyable, but it did not escape his attention that his parents subtly asked about his mental health. This was why when his brother talked about wanting to try the game, he tried his best to glorify the game. For this, he had to lie through his teeth. He said his character name was a secret to avoid explaining the Nyarlathotep. He said he had not finished the tutorial because of how calming the scenery of a bustling village was. He had not foreseen how it would turn out later, or else he might have given the conversation serious consideration. His sister Delilah, for some reason that for the life of him he could not find out, had easily seen through his lies. She had said so to his brother Mark. They both suddenly gained 20 points in IQ and somehow remembered that he had not changed the permission and they could watch his gameplay.
Elijah, blissfully, unaware had entered the game to see his plot come to fruition. He had loosened Ka’s rope already. For chaos, he used a combination of telekinesis and whisper. Whispering things like “You are possessed”, “Do you think Ka put a curse on you”, and “Why were you one of the ones who saw the nightmare”. Floating stuff was perfect for his purpose. After Ka escaped, he did not stop creating chaos for some time, then he went after him lest he miss the summoning.
Arriving at the magic circle. He saw Ka standing at the center concentrating. Elisa seemed peacefully asleep. Her tears stained her face. It seemed he had missed the touching reunion.
After a few minutes, the circle started glowing. He quite liked the dark red lightning effect of the circle. Ka had started the chanting. It seemed a long and cumbersome chant so he decided he was better off, checking his status.
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Rescuing her father and reuniting them, Elisa has become a true believer, skill Blessing, and Great Blessing are unlocked. You have gained 30 influence.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
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Witnessing the forgotten magic circle restored Ka is fascinated by your knowledge. He has decided to follow you. He has become a follower. You have gained 10 influences.
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Name
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Nyarlathotep
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Titles
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None
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Level
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0 (50/100)
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Myth Tier
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0
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Race
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Divine Spirit
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Divinities
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None
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DP(Divine Power)
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1
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DA(Divine Authority)
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1
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DT(Divine Territory)
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Tier 1 (1/10)
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It was great. As he had expected the game allowed for freedom. Ka, an elderly man coming from the city, knows Alchemy and is doubtful about the situation. He has become a great being to Ka. A great being, he knows exists, but does not believe in. It did not make sense if he was recognized as a believer but he had met him in a dream, witnessed the magic circle, and followed his command. It did not make sense if he was not recognized by the system. Although he was not sure, it was clear followers and believers were different. He already knew that shallow belief was worth 10 in the progress bar. Now it became clear true belief was worth 30 and a follower, same as a shallow believer, was worth 10 influence.
Blessings skills seemed to be a game changer.
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Blessing(1/10)
You can bless a non-player character to be blessed. The effect varies by your influence on that character and your level.
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Great Blessing
This skill can only be used on a true believer or a great follower. A saint will be born of a believer and an apostle of a follower. At any point, there can only be a limited amount of characters holding the great blessing. The number of characters is related to the myth tier.
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He did not know the difference between an apostle and a saint. If they were not mentioned in the same skill, he would have put a saint way above an apostle but now he was not so sure.
The circle was glowing more and more. After a blinding flash of light, an exhausted fell onto his knees and watched as the creature appeared. A beholder in VR as immersive as this, was truly a dream for any fan of cosmic horror. The eye with numerous tentacles moved to the village by the order of the Ka. He had a dagger in his hands and looked like he wanted to commit suicide.
Follower or not he did not seem to be inclined to live. The NPC did look at Elisa one or two times hesitant to leave her behind. He used whisper.
“Do you want to die right as you are a follower of me?”
The alchemist was something special. He understood the whisper and replied.
“You are watching. I slaughtered this whole village. None of them will be able to stop that creature. Even a city would have a problem defending itself let alone a village like this. I did this because I had no choice, but they were people whom I had healed and spent time with. He was an old friend. How could I not feel something”
Elijah nearly replied " What about Elisa” but he suddenly came to himself. It was a game, he wanted to play the Lovecraftian god so why was he doing this?
“Do continue. You think death would stop this. You are an alchemist You belong to the future. Either as you are now or an undead serving me”
He decided on a simple bluff.
“You would resurrect me, even the old gods would not do so for an unimportant follower”
“Then die. You have already seen the magic circle so you would not think I am powerless. Your knowledge of the Old Gods is valuable but also limits your vision. I am sure you should know of whisper, the ability of all divine. See a simple whisper’s power”
Whisper was a skill leveling up nicely. It also was a skill with low consumption of divinity and it may not have been effective as an attack on someone when it worked like a subconscious suggestion but now whether as a result of leveling up or Ka being special, it could be heard. Using heard whisper for a fan of Lovecraftian works and cosmic horror to drive someone mad was child play. Timing was essential, you needed to ensure several words were heard at the same time. For Ka, “Death”, “Elisa”, “Ka”, “Sin”, “Old friend”, and “eternally damned” seemed suitable. He used a lot of divinity and mixed them at various lengths and consecutively so that when the first whisper which was very long was heard, the next ones played over it. Sometimes overlapping, sometimes echoing, it was sure to teach a lesson in cosmic horror to Ka.
“What are you doing?”
“Stop these whispers”
After a minute or so the tone began changing.
“Please I beg you stop this”
“Stop these whispers”
“Stop I will never leave Elisa”
“What old friend?, he was a bastard, I did nothing wrong, I will not be damned.”
Elijah himself was not feeling well. No matter how you convince yourself this is a game, watching an elderly man shatter while the innocent girl with tear stains on her face, had nearly woken up several times had affected him. He was a little pale. It was not like he had not seen virtual movies, but this! Something about the role-playing element got to him. The events each being a result of his actions and happening gradually made him immersed. He stopped using whisper. Still, it would continue for a bit more.
It helped a grand declaration and a notification was in order which made him, snap out of it.
“ I swear I will follow you with my heart. My soul will belong to you. Please do not let Elisa die, I will kill all the villagers myself if it has to be, do not let us be eternally damned. Please let us enter your divine kingdom”
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Congratulations Ka saw your greatness. He swore his soul to you. He has become an oath-bound follower. Which is the highest rank of followers existing. You have access to his status.
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