14 The completion of a Pact. Something Fluffy.

When I finished my grizzly task, pulling the little crude dagger along the throat of an elderly Goblin that smiled at me the entire time, I felt drained. Emotionally, and physically. I had spent hours slitting the throats of six-hundred or more Goblins that didn't fight back, that fucking smiled at me in an oddly serene and calm way as I did it. There was no honor in this kind of killing. Honor would have dictated battle on such a scale that I would have died against those numbers. At least that wouldn't leave such a hollow pit in my stomach though.

Before I could go further down that little rabbit hole of self-loathing and doubt I felt the disturbing fear again and knew that 'thing' was near me. The sickening sultry voice that came a moment later only cemented the fear.

"Oh yes, very good little Patriarch! So much death, the blood, the defiling of oneself!" it paused and began giggling in every voice I had heard spew forth from the demented thing, the sound like nails on a chalkboard. "I knew Nature was wrong about our deduction, you hold the power. The power that called to us in the night, the power that brought my kind into being before time was truly time. When Chaos itself reigned over this world, before the upstarts killed the first of your ilk, before they killed our Matriarch."

I refused to buckle under the frightening sense of dread and fear this time. Being trapped in the crude little bed when we were in the cave had been bad enough. I still couldn't fucking talk around that knot, but at least I was standing this time.

The thing moved into my personal space. I had to fight the sense of displaction as the fucker was suddenly a few inches from me as opposed to the foot or so it had been. It snapped it's incredibly large fangs right before my nose and I had to fight not to piss myself. This thing was just wrong. Something fundamentally off. It over-rode years of training, abilities, control whenever it was near. The hissing voice that I first heard spoke shortly after snapping at me.

"Was not wrong. Devouring a Patriarch while still so young, so helpless would only grow us, make us stronger!"

"NO!"

The booming base shouted a single line and I was fairly certain one of my eardrums had just popped. It constantly seemed to argue with itself. I'd love to take advantage of that but I couldn't fucking move.

It kept mentioning things like being bound by the Laws of Creation, Life and Death. Calling me a Patriarch, that it could sense me somehow. Was it able to sense when I brought into being a Creature that was never, or no longer lived on this world? The disturbing smile as that alien thing honed in on me let me know I was correct. The Sultry voice only confirmed it a moment later, fucking mind reader.

"Oh yes," it hissed in obvious pleasure, "you are a smart little lamb. We sensed your power every time you called into being another that would serve you. That, like our own long dead Matriarch, would be bound to your very will. All those that were aligned with the First can sense when another comes."

The thing suddenly looked sad and I took the opportunity to try and actually see what the fuck I was dealing with by using this System. The window had just begun forming when I was suddenly thrown to the ground, the left side of my face suddenly on fire with pain, tears coming unbidden to my eyes. I tried to scream, but the broken bones on that side of my face made it impossible to do even that.

I managed to roll over a bit, only to be met with the inhuman and alien eyes of that fucking thing as it bared its fangs at me. "Never try to see me!" it hissed, pure venom and anger laced into each word. I wasn't even sure which voice was speaking because it was an odd conglomeration of all of them.

Note to self, do not try to look at something that claims to be able to sense when I use this System while it is not restrained, or dead. It looked at my damaged face, something I wasn't relishing later, if I survived, before tilting its head to the side and its black tongue against the side of my face it had smacked. A line of fire eruption where it touched me with the fucking thing.

The tongue came away slick with my own blood, how fucking hard had the bastard hit me? I saw the Creature groan in pleasure before another bout of self argument ensued and I was left to my pain.

'Master! Are you ok? B-B feels pain, feels fear. B-B help?'

I would have smiled at the little bug. She was obviously terrified by this thing, whatever it was, but she still wanted to help me. What was it the thing had said? That all the Matriarchs I create are bound to me in some way? It made sense. If I survived this I'd figure it out somehow.

It spoke of a time before the current era, when Chaos ruled this world. A time when someone else with my power, ability, whatever lived. I doubted any written records survived, but maybe something just as old as whatever this fucker still lived and wouldn't be nearly as insane.

'It'll be ok, B-B. Stay quiet now.'

I felt a burst of worry but she seemed to have accepted my mental order. Good. The last thing I needed was a voice in my head distracting me right now. The pain was doing a good enough job on its own for that.

The thing turned back toward me and spewed more of that black smog. It burned like hell when it touched me. That was nothing compared to the sudden pain of that entire side of my face suddenly growing legs and fucking moving!

I did scream that time. I screamed until I blacked out for a bit. When I awoke I was still in the village, the eerie twilight of dawn was still present so it had only been a few minutes as well.

The thing stood before me, holding the little dagger I'd used to kill the Goblins, licking the blood from the blade while eyeing me with a hunger that spoke to something primal inside myself. It whispered 'run, you are food.' If that little whisper only knew how much I wished I could. Realistically it would be a death sentence though. Running, turning your back on, or showing fear in front of a predator was asking to be eaten.

I couldn't help the fear I felt, but the other two I could. Kind of. Not like I could fucking move anyway. It moved int closer to me after licking the dagger clean and crouched near me, ramming the blade into the dirt beside my head and began snickering.

"You will have to grow quickly Little Patriarch. You are right that we are not the only ones from that time that will hunt you for your power. To enslave, devour, or control is beyond my understanding of what the other may do." It paused, staying in that sultry voice as it continued speaking.

"We, however, have a bargain. We have made you stronger by gifted your Power the lives of these weaklings. We will make you stronger still when you kill us! We are the last, killing us frees you to bring us back."

The thing heft me into the air, pulling the dagger free from the ground as it did so. I was lifted pretty fucking high off the ground with that action, but it was still speaking to me.

"Take the blade, Little Patriarch. We will remove our Aura of Fear for a moment. A single moment. You must strike true with this blade, aim for our heart. Dig Deeply. If you do not kill us, we will devour you."

I struggled to fathom why this thing was even doing this. I still took the blade though. It was small, slightly rusty and I doubted it would be able to even pierce the things chest. The Creature bared its fangs at me and I saw the most disturbing thing ever occur. The flesh on its chest, even the bone beneath it, began to part like Moses made the Red Sea in the fucking Bible.

Sweet Jesus, what the fuck?! I saw a single blackened heart. The thing looked way to large for this Creatures body, but it beat and pumped blood all the same. "Now," it whispered. I felt the hair on the back of my neck start to stand and I took that single moment where I didn't feel restrained any longer to ram the dagger into the Creatures black heart with everything I could muster.

I knew I screamed in defiance as I felt the fear slowly take hold again, just as the dagger sunk home. I heard a single high pitched yell of pain and release before riding the body of this thing to the ground as it fell backwards. I looked up into its inhuman eyes and saw it was watching me, pleased.

"Another that did not fight." It whispered weakly, smiling even as its body convulsed and fought to live. "Honor-less." It whispered again, then stilled. The light in those alien eyes dimming to nothing.

Honor-less, a brand I despised. This Creature had made a bargain with me, true, it did not stop it from doing what it felt would corrupt me the most though. For my part, I took out my frustration and anger on the corpse, stabbing it further with that little dagger while venting my rage at being forced to do something I did not wish to do. For being forced to kill things that did not, would not, or could not fight back.

Sadly, even my anger was wasted on this thing. Nothing would change what had happened. Nothing would take back what I had done. I could keep bitching about having no choice, but it would be a lie. I'd had a choice. Throw away my honor, or be killed along with the people who had raised me in this world. I'd chosen them over my own honor. Something I had held onto as much as I could for all the time I had been alive. It had been stained, beaten, and bent more times than I could count. This time though, this time really took the cake.

I took that little dagger out of the Creatures cold body and ran a blood covered hand through my hair and down my face while sighing away the last of my frustrations.

I needed to figure out where the fuck I was. The thing had said I was in the village of one of the largest Goblin Tribes in The Forest, so I was still near-ish to the town. I was also alone in a village littered with dead Goblins that were beginning to smell. A combination of all the fecal matter releasing from their bodies. Predators would eventually start coming here.

I'd be less worried about that if Saga was near, but even then I had no real idea where she would be. I had no doubt she was likely hunting for me. Smart pooch wouldn't just take off. Right, that leave me with only one real choice. A choice I no longer wanted to do in case another...thing...like that showed up after me.

I had a need though and this was the only way to fucking ensure it got done. I mentally called on the Progenitor System and was met with more of those Gold/Black boxes showing achievements. I just didn't like the ones it showed me, even if the rewards were useful.

{Achievements Earned!}

{Goblin Hunter

Condition - Kill one hundred Goblins.

Rewards - Three randomized Pro's.}

{Goblin Menace

Condition - Kill two hundred Goblins

Rewards - Three randomized Pro's. Three randomized Con's.}

{Goblin Butcher

Condition - Kill four hundred Goblins

Rewards - Two randomized Elemental Traits. All Goblin Cores acquired increased by one rank when looted.}

{Goblin Slayer

Condition - Kill six hundred Goblins

Rewards - One Personality Trait, eight randomized Pro's, able to see all Goblin Stats regardless of any sort of protection both Divine and Nefarious. Goblins will now instinctively fear you - Stronger Goblinoid beings will actively hunt you if they know you are near.}

{Slaughterer

Condition - Kill five hundred Creatures without the aid of one of your Creatures.

Reward - Battle Aptitude Pro. All Creatures created begin with an addition two Str at no additional cost.}

{Honor-less

Condition - Kill three hundred Creatures that do not fight back.

Reward - Fifteen randomized Cons.}

{Core Collector

Condition - Acquire one hundred Cores.

Reward - Cores are .1% more effective.}

{Core Lover

Condition - Acquire two hundred Cores

Reward - Cores are .5% more effective}

{Core Hoarder

Condition - Acquire four hundred Cores

Reward - Cores at 1% more effective. All looted Cores increase by one rank.}

{Core Fanatic

Condition - Acquire six hundred Cores.

Reward - Cores are 2% more effective. All looted Cores increase one random stat when used by .01 for every Core used.}

{Bound by the Pact

Condition - Create a binding pact with another being.

Reward - Bound to a Pact for a year and a day.}

{Above and Beyond

Condition - Performed multiple Achievements before the System had reached level five.

Reward - Two S ranked Quests. All Creatures Created before System level 10 starts at a 90% success chance. Twenty Randomized Pro's. Twenty Randomized Cons. Five Randomized Elemental Traits. Systems Creation, Combine, Improve chances increased by one per month (takes effect during the next cycle.) Loyalty Trait. Evolvable Improvement Unlocked. Minor Appearance Edit Unlocked.}

I was overwhelmed with the amount of information that flooded my vision. The black and gold coloring mixed with the dawn light gave me a headache as well. That combined with my own mental exhaustion and physical pain had me blink it all away and shake my head while looking around me.

I needed to move away from here before I started figuring all of that shit out. I actually tried to jog out of the Goblin Village but the pain that shot up from my knee pretty much destroyed that option. So I limped my happy ass out and toward the trees. Using what little perseverance I had left I dragged myself up one of the easier to climb trees.

It was a struggle, but I did manage to get a good ten or so feet up. That's when my body started to scream at me and I was done. If something could get me now they fucking could. I leaned against the trunk of the tree and closed my eyes for a moment, fighting the image of that thing that played over and over in my mind.

I opened them with a grunt of frustration. I was showing signs of PTSD, among other fucked up issues, that I didn't need right now. Focus, move forward, block out the bad. Ignore what cannot be controlled and focus on what I can. I opened the System again and went to the Creation section.

I saw the normal selection of small Creatures so nothing had really changed there, but off in a corner, oddly hazy, was something else. It was the silhouette of that Creature. I focused on it the System gave me a very strange message.

{Host and System are not powerful enough to Create Semi-Divine Being known as Shadow Stalker. Required minimum level is twenty.}

Well, fuck. Alright, focus on something else. I need protection. A lot of protection for the time being. More so judging by how some odd grunts and drawn out howls were getting closer. The smell of all that blood was calling in predators. The biggest issue was I had no fucking predators I could Create right now to help me, nothing I considered a predator at least. That left me with a prey animal, a small one, I'd have to pump a lot into to keep me alive until I got better or Saga managed to find me.

Frog, no. Mouse, no. Lizard, more like an Anole, no. The largest thing I could make was a fucking rabbit. I clicked my teeth in frustration and selected the rabbit when a literal slew of Pro's and Cons flooded my information. Far, far, to many to even begin going through.

With the amount of Goblin Cores I had obtained with that disaster I wasn't even going to fuck with Cons. Let's see if I can create something with only Pro's. That made it a bit less overwhelming, but not by much.

{Elemental Havana - Matriarch

Level - 1

Female

Str - 15

End - 15

Spd - 15

Int - 15

Trait P - Absolute Speed, Colossus, Mental Giant, Overwhelming, Massive Litter, Eternal, Fluffy.

Trait E - Ice, Shadow, Metal, Flesh.

Trait M - Loyal, Proud

Trait C -

Skill -

Success Chance - 100% (Five Hundred Goblin Cores Rank - C used)

Description - A once common found breed of rabbit that has gained the ability to control the elements themselves. The elements bound to the Elemental Havana are always random. May be Improved Eternally.}

{Absolute Speed -A- Increases Creatures speed by a factor of five without consequence for five seconds.

Colossus -A- Str and End are beyond the norm, akin to the legendary beings known as Dragon and Giants.

Mental Giant -A- Mental Faculties are beyond mere human understanding. May learn anything with ease.

Overwhelming -A- The very air around the Creature is thick with its presence. Any being, aside from Gods, will feel pressured.

Massive Litter -A- Births a minimum of fifteen offspring per month.

Eternal -A- Age means nothing to this being.

Fluffy -S- The single most fluffy and cuddly Creature known to exist.

Loyal - This Being is bound by Loyalty to its Creator.

Proud - A sense of undeserved, unknown, and strange Pride dictates this beings every action. The 'air of Royalty' as it is called.}

I took a deep breath. I would need to sit down and study every single Pro and Con I gained from this ordeal in the near future. For now, these would do. They would provide me everything I needed.

The fact it took five hundred of those Cores was a minor hit, though it was realistically a bargain. I wasn't sure why the stats had stopped growing at fifteen, but I imagine that was the literal wall a level one Creature couldn't surpass. Another thing to study, later.

She only had four of the 'Elements,' I use that term loosely, because the System had informed me any more than that at this time would cause the Creature to explode upon successful creation.

I was a bit confused about the Fluffy Pro being an S ranked Pro as well. The others seemed more fitting for that designation but I went with it. The only reason I chose that to begin with was because I liked soft fluffy things. They made me feel safe.

Moving on from that childish remnant of a desire to ever feel safe I hit 'yes' and my world lit up so bright I was fairly certain anyone within twenty miles would be able to find me. What in the fuck? It burned through my eyelids. It was so much brighter than normal.

When I managed to open them, after blinking rapidly for a long while, I saw the single most fluffy white ball I had ever seen. I knew it was the rabbit, I had made her white. Taking advantage of that little ability to modify to its fullest. She had no horn, because I didn't think that was aesthetically pleasing, and I had tried to make her eyes violet in color.

When she opened those big violet eyes, showing they had indeed been made that, I felt a very real and sudden chill. Perhaps making her 'Fluffy' was not the most...intelligent of options after all.

I reached a hand out toward her, for some reason she had been spawned on the branch in front of me as opposed to my hands, and she pressed her tiny little white head into the palm of my hand and made the single most adorable little chirping sound I had ever heard.

Yea, making her Fluffy was a very bad idea.