In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. (4)

He remembered the reason he stopped believing in god but had no idea of when he started worshiping the devil. Raised to be a proper Catholic he wouldn't dare to approach such blasphemous religion (even with his skepticism) so how did it happen?

Long before the time his father passed away, when he was but a fool, he visited the city of sin, Kerioth, expecting to lay on the immorality that accursed place brought.

He remembered it as if it happened yesterday…

The sun was setting over the ocean as he rode into the coastal town. The salty air filled his lungs as he took in the sight of the bustling marketplaces and rickety fishing boats. He had gone to that town on a whim, seeking a respite from the rigid confines of his royal life.

As he wandered through the winding streets with a servant, his eyes were drawn to a beautiful woman standing on the corner. She wore a tattered dress and a bold red shawl, her eyes sparkled with mischief, she wanted to taste a real man.

He couldn't resist the temptation and approached her. (He should have.)

"What's a pretty thing like you doing in a place like this?" He asked with his most charming smile. (It always worked.)

The woman chuckled and took his hand, no words were exchanged, and she led him into a small inn on the edge of town. As they laid together on the creaky bed, the woman whispered to him about an unholy god that since ancient times dwelled in the depths of the sea.

At the time he shrugged it off, thinking it was just the woman's way of trying to add some excitement to their encounter. (He shouldn't have.)

But as the weeks passed, he found himself plagued by strange visions of that woman and her mysterious god. He tried to ignore them, focusing hard on the duties he had as the heir of a rich reign. (It didn't help.)

Physicians, Priests, Mages, Clairvoyants none could help him.

He tried to find the woman but finding her was like finding a ghost. The inn had disappeared as if it was never there and the servant who accompanied him was never heard from again.

Plagued by nightmares even while awake he became a prisoner in his own mind, if things continued that way he surely would end his life, he came close to it but then, one day, the woman simply appeared in the confines of his castle.

Plagued by madness he attempted to approach her and as he got closer, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. Being carefully scrutinized by a sinister being.

"I told you about the god of the sea," the woman said, her eyes glowing with an otherworldly light. "Now, it is time for you to serve him."

At that moment he felt terrified, that woman what was she?

He wanted nothing but to run away yet somehow he also felt an uncanny pull toward the woman and her dark deity.

"Come, lay with me and you shall be free…" She muttered sweetly.

He struggled against these strange feelings, he knew what he had to do, 'call the guards and interrogate the woman' but as she sat on his bed, her almost otherworldly beauty strangled his reasoning.

With a tanned skin that seemed to glow with an otherworldly radiance, and an auburn hair that cascaded through her perfect curves. Her warm, amber-colored eyes seduced him charmingly; he knew that her graceful charm had won over him once again.

He was a fool, that's why he laid with her. (He shouldn't have.)

The next thing he knew was of waking up in cold sweat, his heart pounding in his chest. And as he desperately scanned through the room he saw no signs of the woman he had been with.

Panic set in as he struggled to remember what happened the night before. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was deeply wrong, and as he got out of bed and began to search for the woman, he knew in his heart that he was being watched.

As he stumbled out of the room, he was filled with a sense of creeping dread. He knew he had done something terrible, something that he would regret for the rest of his days. And as he made his way out of his room, he couldn't shake the feeling he had made a pact with the devil…

He never saw the woman again. In the first place, nobody ever saw her.

But just how could that be possible? There was clearly something strange happening there, but what could he do? There were no witnesses, his investigations failed and his father doubted his sanity.

By chance, one day he found out that if he prayed to that ancient god his mind became clearer, at the start it was something he did occasionally to aid his worried mind, yet not long after he found himself obsessed over ancient texts.

Which was when he found the name of the only true god, the sole god who truly existed, Theetonkral, the creator of all seas, and the originator of all pure life forms.

As he lived submerged in biblical research soon enough things were back to normal, the visions had stopped and he didn't feel as watched anymore. Everything went back to normal… normal.

And after that, his life went like a blur.

Some loyal nobles who 'coincidentally' also believed in the god of the sea began to support him.

They helped him to embrace more of his debauchery.

They helped him stop attending to his duties.

And then his father died.

And then he became king.

And then he announced his true religion to the kingdom.

And then he refused to help his ally.

And then he refused to help his citizens.

And at the end of it there he was, bleeding on the throne he idolized his entire life. With a body full of wounds and a knife plunging into his lung. Rasping curses in anger, somehow not understanding why things were ending that way.

<A fitting end for the king who ruled in debauchery>

The devil was a cruel being, sending him back to a time were everything was either fucked or would become fucked. What did it want? His worship? If so, the devil was a fool. A foolish piece of shit.

(Just like him)

He digressed. Truth was that it didn't matter why the devil gave him this power. What mattered was how could he salvage a timeline where he already fucked everything up.

Sure, let's say he convinced everyone about the existence of this otherworldly monster, how the hell would he explain that he was openly worshiping it months earlier? Worshiping a child devouring monster?

'Oh, I thought it was a good god?'

Unbelievably hilarious, that is considering you had a skewed sense of humor. His future self would be fucked when the time to explain came, that is considering he would be able to survive that much in the first place.

Well, first of all, he had to deal with the present.

A present that was as hard as the future.

...

"Glory to Theetonkral. You have my gratitude for coming General." Naum said, waving for the man to sit on the golden-colored armchair. Doing so himself on the opposite side.

"I don't deserve your gratitude, my king, but I appreciate your magnanimity."

"Oh, please spare me from your bullshit, Fedya, you can drop the act." – "Haha, you seem different today little Pasha, did something happen?"

"Why are you asking something so obvious? Didn't you see the disgrace that happened on the Court? War is getting closer to our country and my sister is on lands that will soon be conquered, yet the nobility doesn't seem to care."

"You talk as if you hadn't an entire faction and me on your side. Besides, you were never one to care about something like family, don't tell me you had a sudden change of heart?"

"Hah, I guess you know me too well." – "Of course I do, I know you since you were a little runt after all." The man said with a smile. "Let me guess, one of the courtesans I sent you was less beautiful than you expected?"

"No, not even close. But I did dismiss them yesterday." Naum stated, ringing a bell, "Huh, so they displeased you that much?" Asked the man, "No, I was unable to perform." He deadpanned.

"... Are you serious?" Naum nodded, "Hahahaha!!!"

"Shut up old man." – "Hahaha!" – "Hey! You think I don't remember what happened to you last time?"

"Heh, I'm old and you're young Pasha, it's different! At your age, I was a great ladies' man hahahaha~" The man cackled loudly.

"Yeah, yeah. With the amount of money you had I would be surprised if you didn't." Naum said expressionlessly, "What do you mean by that?! How cold." The older man muttered, wiping his eyes.

"For your information, I conquered all of them with my charm."

"Yeah, yeah. Right." Naum shook his head watching the servants bring his lunch, "Ignoring your lies, want some tea?" He asked, taking a tea set out of the shelf, "Huh. You're drinking tea? How unusual."

"Can you blame me? That wine of yours screwed me." – "Haha, don't blame the tool when the user is the defective one." The man said with a smile, his blue eyes curled up, "Shut up, will you drink the damn tea or not?"

"Haha, yes. Please pour me a cup, your majesty!"

"Haah." Naum sighed, "If someone heard our conversation they would think you are my childhood friend, not my father-in-law." – "Why not both? Hahaha!!"

"You are tiring to deal with, but on that note, how is Marie doing?"

"She is good, well, good enough to be married in such haste. She says that August seems too early, but honestly, it's just one of her tantrums." The father said, shaking his head, "Are you sure she is ready to become queen?"

"Are you doubting my daughter, your Majesty?" He asked seemingly offended, "Heh, you want a lie or the truth?" Naum answered with a smile.

"Hoh, so you doubt her that much." He asked more seriously, "Yes I do. She is such a brat after all." Naum's smile grew bigger as he ignored the strange mood that came into the room.

"Are you having second thoughts about this marriage?" – "Yes."

"Are you doing this to offend me, your Majesty?" The General asked with a somber expression on his face, "Are you sure you want to do that my liege?"

"Heh, as if you wanted this marriage to happen in the first place."

"... What do you possibly mean by that?"

"Marie is almost seventeen, do you really think I didn't realize you were delaying it? You are way smarter than that my loyal friend." Naum sniggered, sipping his tea calmly.

"... And here I thought you didn't realize it. Hmm. Strange, last time I checked you hadn't done so. How did you realize?"

"Does it really matter?"

"Hmm, I guess not. But where are you going with this revelation? I suppose you didn't call me here only to 'unmask' me, did you?" The older man asked, rubbing his smooth chin.

"You're right, I didn't. My point is that this marriage won't happen."

"And why would I accept it?"

"Because I'm not here to accuse you, I'm here to make a deal." – "And what if I refuse?"

"You wouldn't do so."

"Why?"

"Because I won't be making this deal as your friend, nor as your son-in-law, but as Naum Pasha the Head of the Alekseev house. You understand what I mean, don't you? My dear General." The King asked charmingly.

"Hah. You really had a change of heart, your Majesty." The General muttered, barely containing his growing excitement, "I can't help but wonder what happened to you."

"Maybe the shock of not being able to perform changed me?"

"... Ahahahahaha!"

"I can't wait to see what kind of deal you'll bring forward, my liege." The man said, sipping his tea, "Ugh! Is this Chamomile? I hate it."

"I know."