Chapter 1002: A Tale of Half-Truths

Carmen just stared at Jake as he made his grand declaration of renouncing the Malefic Viper, even infusing his words with Willpower. She knew he and the Malefic Viper had been planning something, but this was… wait, was it even possible to make that kind of announcement without some kind of backlash? At least it had to trigger some kind of system prompt, right?

When he then explained how he couldn’t get rid of the Blessing, Carmen couldn’t help but feel weird about it. Jake wasn’t a good liar. He had never been. But when he said that he couldn’t get rid of the Blessing unless the Malefic Viper died, he seemed genuine. The other Chosen clearly also recognized this as he smiled and affirmed his interest in the discussion to come.

“Oh, lovely that you find my shitty situation interesting, real flattering,” Jake said in an obviously sarcastic tone before sighing. “But, fine, allow me to continue piquing your curiosity. I may not always do it, but I can admit when I’m wrong, and in retrospect, perhaps it was a mistake to jump into bed with a snake god who quite literally had Malefic in his name without properly understanding what exactly I was signing myself up to. But in my defense, I didn’t have a lot of information to go on back then, and it wasn’t like the Viper gave me a lot of time to think things over before instantly making me his Chosen. Say, do you know when I even became his Chosen?”

Ell’Hakan’s face didn’t change as he motioned for Jake to continue. “Do tell.”

“While still stuck in his damn Challenge Dungeon while infected with a poison that would kill me if I didn’t manage to cure myself in time. This was a Challenge Dungeon that had been made all the way back when the Malefic Viper was still active and had been purposefully made as part of an experiment to see if he could actually kill the challengers doing the Challenge Dungeon, and it had successfully killed every single other person who’d attempted it for dozens of eras until I came along,” Jake said in a matter-of-fact tone, and Carmen couldn’t help but keep staring at him as she hadn’t really known any of this.

“So do excuse me for wanting to take any advantage I could get, and everything indicated that being blessed by the god who’d also poisoned you would be a good way to survive. Back then, I had no idea about the implications of a True Blessing either, and the Viper didn’t even give me some smaller Blessing first but went straight for the True Blessing,” Jake continued.

“Now, that is admittedly odd. Why would he do that? You couldn’t have proven yourself much at that point, much less made yourself worthy of being his Chosen. He may be a washed-up Primordial, but he is still a Primordial and should have some modicum of pride,” Ell’Hakan said, seeming genuinely interested in Jake’s history.

“I would hope the answer is pretty fucking obvious,” Jake said in a half-mocking tone. “Same reason I reckon Yip of Yore made you his Chosen. It’s all in the goddamn Bloodline. Perhaps he knew about this entire Primeval Origins business back then and wanted to lock me down nice and early.”

Ell’Hakan looked in thought for a moment before he turned to the Augur of Hope sitting behind him. “Your thoughts on this tale?”

“While I cannot comment on the thoughts of those involved, I can confirm the sequence of events,” the Augur responded. “Jake walked out of the Challenge Dungeon with a True Blessing, meaning he must have obtained it very early on. I have also heard of the Challenge Dungeon in question from the Holy Mother, as well as others like it that were cleared throughout the eras. Many have fallen to them.”

“You say you won’t comment on the thoughts of those involved but do enlighten me nevertheless. Do you truly believe Jake here could have been tricked by the Malefic Viper?” Ell’Hakan asked the Augur, making Carmen genuinely afraid. If the Augur began to shoot holes in the story, things could easily get ruined faster than-

“Very possibly,” the Augur answered after only a moment of thought. “Jake had very little information to go on and was in a perilous situation. The Malefic Viper never truly gave him a choice and colored his view from the early days with the system. What’s more, and this is perhaps a bit speculative, Jake would gladly accept the True Blessing if it gave him power. His Path is a simple one, focused solely on the pursuit of furthering his own personal skills and abilities. It wouldn’t be difficult for the Malefic Viper to take advantage of his fact.”

“Which begs the question,” Ell’Hakan said, still speaking as if Jake wasn’t even there. “Why would he be willing to denounce his own Blessing, knowing the loss of power such a thing would incur?”

Carmen once again had to hold herself back from sweating. Yeah, he wouldn’t do that, right, and-

“Because there is no power without freedom,” the Augur answered without hesitation. “Should the True Blessing end up becoming a shackle, Jake would gladly cut off his own foot to escape, as long as doing so means he would be able to live on his own terms.”

“Not entirely accurate,” Jake pointed out before smiling. “Before cutting off my own foot, I would at least try to take down my captor whenever next he was dumb enough to give me the chance to. Also, pretty rude of you to discuss me when I’m standing right here.”

“I apologize,” the Augur said with a small nod, not trying to give any further excuses.

Ell’Hakan looked at Jake once more as he seemed serious. “Am I to understand this correctly: you claim that the Malefic Viper effectively tricked you into becoming his Chosen because he wanted your Bloodline, relied on your innate nature and lack of knowledge to keep luring you in, and now you are effectively shackled to him and looking for a way to escape?”

“Tried to escape already,” Jake said in a cold tone. “You know why Yip of Yore chose to attack now, right?”

“The Malefic Viper used his Transcendent Skill in this universe and suffered the backlash for doing so,” Ell’Hakan answered.

“Well, what do you think he used it on? Who he used it on?” Jake asked with a raised eyebrow. “Because I know, and the aftermath of him fucking around in my Soulspace using his Transcendent skill left me with severe soul damage for months, and without the Chosen of the Lifesoul Daolord, recovery would have taken even longer.”

Carmen could only stare into empty space as Jake spoke. Everything he said seemed like the truth, and while the magical conference call didn’t allow one to use lie-detecting skills or anything like that, the people present tended to be really good at sussing out lies… and they also viewed Jake’s words as truthful.

Assuming everything so far, and the stories of how the Malefic Viper and met and their interactions, even Carmen couldn’t help but question… maybe the Malefic Viper really was the baddie?

--

This is going way fucking better than expected,

Jake thought as he kept trying to stick to the script as best as possible. He’d missed a few things and included some extra stuff here and there to not seem like he was actually following a script, but the discourse had flowed in the right direction.

Stolen story; please report.

Jacob coming in with the assist was not expected at all. The Augur was on the other side of the conference call, and yet he’d helped Jake immensely by pretty much corroborating everything Jake had said while giving him a great segue to continue the conversation. 𝙧Å₦ốВƐʂ

Ell’Hakan also seemed oddly receptive. Sure, he was skeptical, but he clearly allowed Jake to control the flow of conversation for the most part. He wasn’t fighting Jake and his attempt to get out of his narrative, which made Jake both confident and a little afraid. Confident because it made it seem like the other Chosen believed Jake, and afraid because he wasn’t sure if he should be believed this easily.

Then again, as the Viper had said, this was the kind of story Ell’Hakan and Yip of Yore would both only benefit from. They had the motivation to believe what Jake was saying, and besides, why would the Viper want his own Chosen to openly shit-talk him? The only reason would be if they wanted Yip to grow stronger in the first place, which shouldn’t make any sense.

Ell’Hakan, who had been getting progressively more willing to just listen, kept looking at Jake before continuing.

“What exactly did the Malefic One do with his Transcendent Skill?”

“I don’t know,” Jake said truthfully, shaking his head. “The system blocked out any knowledge about the details. What I am certain of is that he altered parts of his Legacy within me, leaving some things broken still. Things I’m not sure can be fixed without his assistance, and he knows that. Even told me I’ll need his help.”

Again, more truths. Jake didn’t know how to fix Palate and would need help from Villy. The framing was a bit off, sure, but it was still the truth.

“I see,” Ell’Hakan muttered. “What triggered him to use it in the first place?”

“Because he detected I was trying to do something that he would prefer I didn’t,” Jake said, rightfully assuming Villy wouldn’t be a fan of Jake accidentally killing himself. “As for how he did it… this is where I’ll need to mention something else by the name of the Trial of Myriad Poisons.”

Ell’Hakan frowned, seemingly unsure what that was as he glanced at Jacob, who explained:

“It’s a trial certain alchemists part of the Order of the Malefic Viper undergoes, but it’s relatively rare due to its… problems. It essentially involves soaking the alchemist in a grand mixture of poisons to stimulate their Palate of the Malefic Viper by absorbing all the poison. It has a rather high mortality rate dependent on the potency of the mixture used, and seeing as it only brings any real benefits when the potency reaches a level where it’s potentially lethal, many tend to avoid it and instead go with absorbing poisons over a longer period for more gradual growth,” Jacob explained, admittedly knowing more about the Trial than even Jake himself.

“You forgot the part where sometimes the one organizing the trial decides to add a drop of their own blood containing their Records,” Jake added in a serious tone. “A drop the trial taker then ends up consuming and having inside their Soulspace ever since.”

The mood in the room turned a lot more serious when Jake said this. Ell’Hakan stared at Jake with a level of disbelief that Jake believed was genuine, and even Jacob looked at him with concern. Jake also saw Carmen and Bobby look at him oddly.

“Do you seriously mean to tell me that the Malefic Viper implanted a drop of his blood infused with Records inside of you?” Ell’Hakan asked with a frown.

“I’m just telling you what happened,” Jake said with a shrug. “This drop of blood helped the Malefic Viper manifest himself within my Soulspace and do what he did in there. I will not deny this drop has been a boon at times, but I also realize it’s a ticking time bomb. As long as it remains within me, the Malefic Viper has a method to kill me at any time if he so desires. Shit, when I first had the blood implanted into me, I was overwhelmed with the Viper’s Records and risked getting forcefully transformed into a Malefic Dragonkin, but luckily managed to avoid such a fate. That’s something I don’t ever wanna repeat.”

“I see, I see… now, how does this drop of blood relate to your inability to denounce your Blessing?” Ell’Hakan continued questioning.

“It does, and it doesn’t,” Jake said cryptically. “I can’t say it’s one thing that’s happened that led to the current state of things, but fact is, I cannot renounce my Blessing even if I wanted to. All I know for sure is that my only way to get rid of my Blessing is either through my own death or the death of the Malefic Viper.”

“You did say that,” Ell’Hakan nodded as he considered Jake’s words. His entire demeanor had turned much less antagonistic and far more curious, interested, and trusting the longer the conversation had been going on. “Seeing as I doubt you aren’t looking to see the end of your own Path, I assume you wish to see the Malefic One be the one to fall?”

“If one of us has to go, better him than me,” Jake said in a curt tone. “Truthfully, I’ve never really held any faith toward the Viper in the first place, something I’m pretty damn sure he knew all along. My entire relationship with the Malefic Viper was one born out of mutual benefit. However, gods don’t tend to like that. They prefer worship and loyalty over anything else, and they cannot fathom a mortal seeing past their divinity for what they truly are: just another person. To me, they truly are nothing more than people with a headstart. Was then, still is now.”

“Your words sound, I almost wanna say, blasphemous,” Ell’Hakan said with a light smile.

“Funny you should say that considering even the system has tried to brand me a heretic, but due to my unique circumstances in large part brought on by the Malefic Viper, the tag never fully stuck, and I remained a Chosen,” Jake said without missing a beat.

Ell’Hakan didn’t seem the slightest bit surprised at Jake’s words, making it clear he already suspected Jake was pretty much a heretic. He took a few moments to consider before he asked. “Would you mind if I asked what role Valhal plays in all this? I am beginning to understand you wish to be freed from under the thumb of a tyrannical Patron, but why do you need them?”

“Allow me to answer that,” Bobby said as he stepped forward and bowed. “Even discussing this is incredibly dangerous, so we rely on the protection afforded by Valhal to somewhat ensure the safety of Lord Thayne. Additionally, he will need our help for what is to come. Should the Malefic Viper fall, Lord Thayne will have many enemies as he will have helped lead to his former Patron’s downfall, something we at Valhal will gladly help alleviate. As per the will of the War God, Lord Thayne also has a standing invitation, and I personally approve of him as a warrior, so we naturally wish to see him be one of us. Finally, in the event of the Malefic Viper’s death, we have made preparations to assist him in the next step.”

Ell’Hakan directed his gaze back at Jake as he flashed a big, genuine smile. “You wish to usurp the Path of the Malefic Viper.”

“Wouldn’t it be wasteful if no one claimed it?” Jake shot back, smiling on his own. “Besides, it’s the best of both worlds should the Viper die. I get my freedom and no longer have a Patron and a faction I am forced to be part of, and I can reap all the benefits of the Malefic Viper’s Legacy without the Malefic Viper being part of it.”

“That way, you won’t lose out on anything, and with sufficient preparation, there won’t even be any backlash the moment the Malefic Viper dies. Only an influx of power and Records,” Ell’Hakan nodded. “Of course, all of that requires the Malefic Viper to actually die, and should he survive, the consequences will be dire.”

“Well, isn’t it your Patron’s job to make sure history is made?” Jake asked and tilted his head.

“It is,” the Chosen nodded. “And I doubt he would say no to an assist, though it sounds like you already helped plenty so far.”

“Oh, and I plan to keep helping,” Jake simply said. “So let’s-“

“Let’s take five,” Ell’Hakan interrupted Jake. “No, make that fifteen. A moment for us all to consider what has been said before we gather once more.”

Jake was thrown off-course by Ell’Hakan’s sudden declaration as he felt all the momentum he had been building in the conversation halt. He wasn’t sure what the other Chosen could want or why he did this, but arguing against it would only look weird, so Jake just grumbled, annoyed.

“Seems like a complete waste of time for everyone involved, but sure, we can all delay needlessly for another fifteen minutes,” Jake said, not hiding how little of a fan he was of taking this break.

“Great,” Ell’Hakan smiled. “Let’s reconverge then.”

With that, the three projections disappeared, leaving Jake just standing there. He wanted to look back at Carmen and Bobby to get a feel for how things were going, but wasn’t sure if it was safe to… all he could hope was that things were doing well so far and that Ell’Hakan still bought Jake and the Viper’s schemes.

Ell’Hakan kept smiling as the three projections faded away, the perfect replication of the Chosen of the Malefic Viper fading from view. Naturally, the Chosen of Yip of Yore had thoughts on what had just happened, as he nearly shook his head by instinct but held himself back.

While there are certainly some interesting factoids in there, it’s truly a tale of half-truths, reeking of deceit from top to bottom.

Nevertheless.

Turning around to King Iludar and the Augur of Hope, Ell’Hakan adopted a serious look as he regarded the two of them. “It may seem far-fetched… but I believe he’s telling the truth.”