.^^ the Scorched King ^^

— Seth —

The basement smelled of power. My sense of smell was my main motivator, now, but still, everything else was clogged up, because of the power radiating from the basement.

'Thorn... a bit too soon to fight him, but we have no choice, now... he knows we're here. Send Tempest Away... bringing him will be seen as a sign of weakness.' Briar growled, and I opened the secret door where I smelled Paulie's scent in the bookshelf... he didn't seem the type to read enough for his scent to be there.

"Don't feel bad, I've been here before." I shrugged it off when Adelaide sighed dejectedly, and pushed open the wall slowly. "Gale, the upper floor is all yours, if you'd like. Tempest, Go with him. Collect his kills for your food." I added casually.

'Be ready.' Briar said softly.

As the stairs leveled out, we entered a room, about 60x120, with easily 50ft ceilings, and the first two thirds was a literal graveyard.

'A Peasant's Graveyard... magical undead. They cannot harm us.'

I began walking, and focused my weak eyes on the distant chair and fireplace. 'Stupid eyes... work!'

'Allow me...' a splitting pain flashed through my skull, and then suddenly my eyes closed, on their own, replaced with a different view, from the center of my forehead.

'Hey! I said no mutations!'

He seemed honestly confused. 'It is only an eye?'

'Fine...' I opened all three eyes, and grinned at the new, heightened depth-perception, and sight improvements.

A small hand picked up a goblet of what I hoped was wine, but wasn't really sure of at the moment, -my snoz still wigging out from the presence of a Greater Daemon,- and a feminine voice spoke. "My new Home... is much nicer than my previous one... cozy... but this... well, Paxin was holding out on us, that much is true."

I grinned, feeling the knowledge that Briar was feeding me, along with my own historical knowledge. "Paulie held out on a lot of people. It was his calling card... right there in his chosen name, doofus. Paxin, the Absence of Peace. The name of the ship that carried the Lost Princes Of Albany." I shrugged, and noticed ice around my feet, spreading away from me, and killing the little hands that reached up from the ground.

I tapped my foot, when it was all frozen, and watched as it turned to dust, under the Ice, but stayed there, trapped. 'For Just in case I need a pick me up...'

'Good strategy.'

"Now... Lascivious, I presume?" I asked cordially.

A small woman came into view, smirking superiorly down at us, making my blood boil. Her figure, Small and beyond petite, was not sexy, to me, but it didn't matter. The way she held herself, she thought she was, and that made her confident. Confidence was dangerous.

"Indeed... and you? What is your name, Frosty?" She asked, glancing at the ice around my feet.

I smiled slowly. "Me? You don't recognize me? I'm hurt..."

She cocked her head slowly. "The third eye seems familiar... but I can't place your face, no, and I have a good memory, for every face I've ever seen."

"We met about a week ago... Paulie's Party at the Tattoo shop? I was the one Being Branded with the Greater Lich Sigil." I smiled. Her face paled, and I hummed, making a decision. "Now... I smell Thorn, down here... but he isn't in you, or you wouldn't be so pathetically weak and cowardly... so where is he? Sitting in the chair? Hiding in the rafters? Under the Graveyard?" She twitched, and I nodded, immediately pulling the Ashe from the destroyed graveyard to my lips.

In its place, a massive safe was visible, open just barely.

"You've opened it... I see, that was a red herring. A good one, of course... but the Thorn should be a good actor, no?" I asked, turning back to the woman.

Her smile widened... and widened... and widened... until her face split, and ripped, sloughing off of the being underneath like a cheap mask.

Stepping out of her, was a relatively normal man, except for the Coal-Black skin on the beautiful Anglo-Saxon features, the gunmetal hair, and the Piercing golden eyes, with black around the iris instead of white. It was like someone took the whitest man imaginable in a color-by-number, and then just colored him wrong. An Umbra suit made of shadows, with silver cuff links, was gently adjusted, as he stood to his full height primly, and stared at me curiously.

'Quick, what actually kills your kind?'

'Raw Power?'

'No weaknesses? None, whatsoever?'

'Black Iron is... painful?'

'Good, give me some, and your voice, too.' I held a hand behind my back, and began Summoning a Black Iron Dueling Rapier, hiding the motion by bowing deeply, and letting his voice scratch its way over my vocal cords. "Well well well... the Mighty Thorn arrives... did you enjoy your little Show?"

His voice, when it came out, was nearly identical to Briar's. I realized, with a start, that this was the physically worst a voice could sound. No other sound could compare. "Immensely... She was an interesting character, for a Meatsack... you are also interesting. I will wear your skin, when I am done with you."

I laughed, and nearly shivered from how it sounded, scratching its way across my spine. "When you're DONE with me? Oh dear... you just got here today, didn't you? Did you get all 2000 of your sacrifices? Or did you just... step over?" I smirked.

He paused. "And if you know about how I often 'step over'... why have you never done so yourself?"

"Who says I haven't? Not everyone is as theatrical as you, Lesser Kin... some of us prefer a little privacy, you know?" I chuckled.

His face hardened slowly. "Lesser... Kin? You, The Briar, King of Roses, Name THE SCORCHED KING LESSER?!?!?" His voice howled out, cracking the floor around him slowly.

I shrugged. "No, of course not! My name is not Briar. I am the Silent one, the Greedy One, the Angry One, the Vicious one, the Feral one, ALL are names I call true. I feasted upon the flesh and Ash of the Briar, The King of Roses, Lord of the Realm of Ice, and took his power for my own. Soon, after I've eaten YOU as well, I will be Lord over the Realm of Fire... then the Horn, and the Realm of Storms, and then the Blade, and the Realm of Dreams, and then all the little ones too... you see, my Plans didn't account for you being here... but I'm always one to Roll with the Punches. Any final requests? That speech has me feeling sentimental..."

'Did that speech buy me enough time?'

'It did... and most impressive boasting.'

The coal-skinned man hummed, and turned the chair, facing it towards me, and sitting down slowly. "Intriguing... Briar was a worthless excuse for a Greater Daemon, but to be felled AND consumed... you have joined the Ranks of the Highest Order of beings. Do you not wish a truce of sorts?"

I grinned, and used my second hand to draw the symbol I had seen Adelaide use, and wiggled the sword. "Nah. I'm called 'Greedy' for a reason." I was sure she was still in here with me, so I prayed she was, and then stabbed the sword downwards.

He growled, as the tip of the sword exited his chest, and ice began to attempt to spread, but it seemed his body was too hot.

I stabbed the sword further into the little portal, and left it there, walking forward. "Did you waste your last request asking for a Truce? Really?" I asked, and formed a small pipe made of ice, super-chilling it until the air began to freeze, and then shoved it into his mouth when he went to answer.

He growled, biting down on it, and breathed out steam. "Childish Tricks and pathetic banter... how did you EVER manage to destroy one of my Kin?" He snarled, and simply stood up, the sword cutting through him, but sealing up behind the blade easily.

"Wasn't that hard. You're all a buncha pansies!" I laughed in his face, and then let Briar teach me how Eldritch Beasts did Mortal Combat.

Instantly, my body was engulfed in black ice, like frozen smoke, and blades at the end of limbs, almost like spider's legs, grew from my back, striking out.

He stepped back, and the rip in his chest and suit mended slowly. "Yes... THAT's more like it." He raised his hands, and bits of lava dropped from his fingers, which I suddenly realized were his fingers.

They splattered onto the ground, and then grew into twin versions of himself, walking towards me with purpose, as he sat back down casually, ignoring the sword piercing his chest as a power move.

I growled savagely, and let my instincts drive me, rushing forward and biting out the throat of one of the creatures, burning my mouth in the process.

I shivered, feeling heat for the first time since my Awakening, and grinned. "Oooh, that's good... more..."

The one I'd ripped the throat out of turned to sludge, trying to slither back to its Master, but I hissed, and grabbed at it, turning it to Ash with a thought, and inhaling it slowly. It wasn't like the other ash. This was the true, physical form of a Dark God, and it was like the Veil had been concentrated, and mixed with smoky barbecue.

"Good god in heaven I love barbecue..." I laughed, and launched myself at the rest, one by one, ignoring their flaming attacks, which burned my skin, but healed as soon as I ate another. He was providing me with the means to continue, either knowingly or unwittingly.

Soon, he seemed to become aware, and growled at me. "Greedy... a good name for you... I will remember it." With that, he began to fade into a shadow.

I snarled and sprang at his form, catching his legs, and couldn't pull him out, so I just bit them off with one gigantic bite, my jaws stretching unnaturally. His ethereal howl of anger and pain filled the room, while I devoured my prize.

'You just Routed the Scorched King.' Briar whispered in awe.

I scoffed, feeling my body and voice return to normal. "No... he left because he was bored, not scared... that was only a portion of his body. I'll need to get him into a mortal form to fight him for real. His True form can always come back, from even the smallest bits." I picked up a small droplet of his blood, which was running in circles, attempting to reunite with him.

"That could be useful..." I hummed, and placed it in a small glass bottle that Adelaide suddenly handed me, full of Ash. "Thanks." I gestured at the sword, still embedded in the portal, and watched as the little droplet ate all the Ashe, and grew a tiny bit. "See, Briar?" I asked.

'Yes... Most annoying... but your concept is correct. ALL of his essence would have to enter the mortal form, making him more powerful, but also vulnerable to a true death.'

Adelaide pulled the sword out with some difficulty, and then grunted at the weight, dropping it. "Jesus..." she muttered.

I picked up the blade, and hummed, inspecting the black metal of the edge, and it's silver knuckle-guard, and lastly the thick amber gem at the hilt. "Beautiful, no?" I asked, and then pressed the bottle to the gem, partially hollowing it out and sealing the little droplet of blood inside, before tossing her the bottle.

She nodded. "It's an impressive blade, yes... heavy, though. I prefer magic."

"Speaking of... that was a good catch, with the teleporting spell and the blade. Thanks." I grinned.

She smiled. "I saw you doing it and thought you might be trying to do it yourself, at first."

"Nah. I would've aimed for his head. The heart is pretty useless, seeing as that's not where his heart is, or mine, either." I chuckled, and made my way to the safe in the floor, checking inside.

"Huh. Who'd have thunk it, Paulie collected books." I hummed, and held a hand out.

Briar grumbled at me using him like a servant, but collected the books, merging them and organizing all of their knowledge into one Grimoire, which smelled something close to what the Red Book did, though not nearly as powerful, due to the lesser materials.

I fixed that, with a thought, and he used my skin and blood to replace the paper and ink, blanking out the original, then healing the new wounds.

"Mm... a book. Yay." I looked through it, memorizing each page for later study, and tucked them into my back pocket, where they shrank to the size of checkbooks magically.

The rest of the safe was just money, which I supposed would be useful, but I had no way of transporting, so I just left it, and closed the safe, but didn't lock it. I turned towards the stairs, and nodded, walking up them into the foyer.

"Let's get upstairs, and check on-" as we exited the secret door, the roof cracked, and Gale crashed to the ground, locked in a tight embrace with a vaguely humanoid grey-skinned demon that was hissing sounds that managed to hurt my ears.

Gale's eyes were clouded over, almost covered in cataracts, and I growled, gripping the beast and savagely sundering it. As I helped him up, it slowly turned to ash, and I ate it quickly, curious as to its abilities.

"A Greater Banshee, capable of eating even the most powerful of minds, even Greater Daemons, if they are careless... you acquitted yourself well, for a Meatsack." Briar hummed.

He grinned, his eyes clearing, as Tempest landed on my shoulder casually. "Thanks... did my... best... fuck I'm dizzy."

"The rest?" I looked at Tempest.

"Dinner." He shrugged one wing.

"Good... Adelaide, do you know any magic to fix all the damage? I'm good for the power necessary, if you need it." I sighed, looking at the hole in the ceiling.

She shook her head. "Easy enough." A single Sigil, carved into a wall, and the room started to put itself back together.

When it was finished, I nodded. "Good. Can you set wards for the night? We need to summon the Info Demons, then get some sleep."

She blinked. "It's only 4pm, Seth."

"Oh... well I've done a lot, today! Anyway, you get to work on the warding's, please, and Gale, you come with me. Adelaide, when you're finished, come down and talk to us, I want your opinion on something important." I nodded.

"Why not now?" She asked.

"Because I don't think none of them got word out that they were under attack, and I don't want any surprises." I shrugged.

She hummed, and walked outside, leaving the door open.

"Were you born in a barn?!?" I called after her.

"It's part of the warding spell. If she closed it, it wouldn't let her back in." Gale answered.

"Oh... never mind, then!" I grinned, and headed downstairs.

'Your Plan is foolhardy.'

'Have a better one?' I asked.

He paused. '... no. I am not a strategist. I am a manipulator, but strategy is different.'

'How So? All it is is just manipulating other people to do as you want, isn't it?' I asked casually, and he silenced.

I cracked my knuckles, and walked over to the chair and the fireplace, looking down at the circle carved in front of the chair's normal resting place. "Interesting..." I moved the chair back where it was supposed to go, and sat in it.

The circle began glowing, a slow, dull red at first, then a deeper red, and eventually pure shadows rose from the circle, coalescing into a being of purple and black, with no face and two lanterns hanging over its shoulders like eyes.

"Hello, Talkative One..." I hummed, using Briar's voice again. It was becoming more comfortable, thankfully.

The lanterns flickered, which I took to mean blinking. "Lord Briar... risen and within the Thorn Sanctuary... what madness is this?" The voice was soft, almost airy.

"Not madness... Truce." I shrugged.

"Truce?" He asked.

"Thorn and I have reached an understanding of sorts... that the other Kings must die. To ensure the permanent removal of their Stain from all the Realms, they must be bound within a mortal form, and destroyed..." I examined my nails casually, careful not to lie.

He shivered. "I see... you speak the truth... how odd... but the master's orders are absolute... what is required of me?"

"I will need 2000 of his servants, as mine are in Europe, as well as their most powerful summoned Vermin, to be sacrificed for the Rising of another Greater Lich. His most trusted in this city, Tiberius, will bear the Burden. Relay this news, immediately. They are to ready themselves, and gather beneath the Tattooing Parlor in the Loop, at midnight tomorrow night... the one where I was summoned. There is to be no chatter, no communication, absolutely NOTHING to alert the Blade or the Horn... you have your orders." I dismissed him casually, with a bored flick of my fingers.

"The will of the Master will be decreed. By midnight, I will have gathered all the Gifted of this City, to reach the specified 2,000, and gather them in the Summoning Chamber, with nary a peep to be heard." He bowed slowly, and disappeared, the circle darkening.

Gale stepped from behind the chair slowly. "What's the plan?"

"I'd like to know as well." Diana strode into view, holding Adelaide by the ear.

"Now is it necessary to manhandle my favorite Sorceress?" I asked, sighing.

She shrugged, releasing her, and crossing her arms. "Spill." She demanded.

"It's simple. I fought a Shade of the Thorn, tonight. It was hard. Too hard. That was his shadow... the real thing is even stronger. Also, anything I do, if even a drop of him survives, he will be reborn. If he's not contained inside a mortal vessel, it's not possible to be sure." I shrugged.

She hummed. "So you plan on getting rid of the rest of the Sorcerers, and the Thorn, at the same time? But he'll be more powerful from the s-... you sly dog!" She grinned savagely, as my plan became perfectly clear.