Now that I knew that there were no more skills for me to take but this one, whatever other souls I fed the tree would be irrelevant, at least in terms of skills. However, the tree could now serve me in a different capacity: it would be a bank for me, a bank of souls. In addition to the power I was able to draw from my undead troops, in moments of dire need I would be able to draw additional power from the Gray Sentinel here on the Black Plane.
“I might as well take some right now,” I said, stabbing Grave Oath into the trunk. Like a lightning rod catching a bolt from a thunderstorm, liquid power jolted through the dagger and coursed through my body, and I could feel myself swelling with new strength and unadulterated power. The feeling was exhilarating and intense, a more potent high than any drug could give me. I drank of the power until, like a bloated tick, I felt as if I was on the verge of exploding.
“All right,” I said, breathing hard from the intensity of it as I pulled Grave Oath out of the trunk. “Now I’m ready for the final battle.”
Before I could leap to the ground, another thing came to my mind. The primary role of gods before me was to make Fated of the mortals in this world. I had done so with Rollar and Cranton, but I could also do it with others. These souls that filled the Gray Sentinel could be used for this purpose. I could make Fated warriors. And that was something I very much planned to do in my final battle.
With a contented smile on my face, I swan-dived out of the tree and hurtling earthward. The split-second before I hit the ground, I was back in the physical world.
Burning with ethereal fire and furious determination, I walked out of the trees toward my party, every stride imbued with purpose, ready to take on my mortal enemies in the mother of all battles.
Chapter Sixteen
I gazed into the crystalline pool near our camp and took a good look at my reflection. I was wearing the same gear I’d been wearing way back when I’d first set out on this journey: my trusty lightweight assassin’s armor. As it had been when I’d stepped into the crypt from which I’d freed Isu’s spirit, Grave Oath was in its sheath on my hip.
The only visual differences now were the Tree God’s mini crossbow on my wrist, the Dragon Gauntlets on my hands, and the Dragon Sword strapped to my back. The rugged-featured face staring back at me from the mirror-like surface of the water was the same, but a new vigor and determination burned brightly in the eyes that stared back at me.
I was going back to my roots for this final mission, but I would never be the same. How could I, now that I was not only the God of Death, but on the verge of becoming the ruler of all the other gods?
“We’re ready to march, Lord Vance,” Rollar interrupted these thoughts of mine. “Well, fly.”
“All right, Rollar,” I said. “I’ll be with you all shortly.”
I bent down and took a long drink of the cool, clear water, then walked over to my party. The sun was setting, and its reflection burned like magma, shimmering in brilliant hues of orange and red on the surface of the mountain lake.
I closed my eyes, but saw no darkness behind my eyelids. Instead, I saw the world through the eyes of Talon, leading my army of undead harpies. In their hundreds, the undead beasts swooped in an enormous loop, a circle that, from afar, would have looked like boiling storm clouds over the distant ocean. Now that the sun was setting and darkness would soon fall, I was ready to fly the army over harpies in from the sea and bring them onto land under cover of night.
In preparation for the pickup, my party and I had hiked up into some nearby mountains. The harpies would pick up my party members and fly them through the night across the land. They would roost during the day, and my party would sleep, and keep flying every night until they reached Brakith, which would take a few days.
I, on the other hand, would be heading off in another direction. Riding on Fang with me would be Friya and Yumo-Rezu, the only two members of my party who would be accompanying me on the mission to Luminescent Spires. We needed stealth and cunning to break into the deepest and most secure vaults of Luminescent Spires. I would have ventured there on my own if I hadn’t needed the pair of them to resurrect the dragon once I obtained the Dragon Heart.
When I looked at the group of people assembled in front of me, my heart swelled with pride. These men and women had been with me through thick and thin. Not once had any of them ever given me any less than their very best. We’d fought battles, traveled across the length and breadth of the world, killed monsters, and defeated some of the mightiest opponents.
“We’re about to part ways, my friends,” I said to them, making sure they could hear my pride in them with every syllable I uttered. “It’s been a hell of a ride so far, and we’re about to face a fiercer battle than any we’ve had to fight before. Even though we’re facing almost insurmountable odds against us, I know that I can count on each and every one of you to keep fighting and giving it your all until the very end. Before me, I see a collection of the bravest, fiercest, and most noble warriors ever assembled in Prand. Time and time again, you all have proved your worth, and I couldn’t think of a group of people I’d rather have fighting by my side in
