29: Freedom, Repayment

After watching Evan getting knocked on his ass by a haymaker from Ace connecting to his face. I just snorted and talked to two men who looked better than they previously had. Wraith, Philip Ojomo, and Blight, Talbot Grimes, the two men sitting in a corner of the subway drinking extremely bitter coffee with lifeless looks on their faces. When I joined them the two men became more livelier and animated as they seemed to gain sparks of life.

"Talbot, Philip, how are you two doing? Because you honestly look better than how the Entity left you."

"Ah… I'm doing fine sir… just… just getting used to feeling my heartbeat again… remembering my boss…"

"I'm feeling much better… more AWARE more in control… the pus sacks in places is still a very stark reminder of my punishment for my hubris…. Thank you for granting me my facilities back and making me less… abominiss… it makes me feel HUMAN once more."

Philip was worse mentally between the two previously deformed men, although not all their deformities had left them, they at least looked closer to their old selves. Summoning a cup of hot chocolate from my SHD store I took a sip while the two men went back to thinking to themselves. At the back of the subway were four knights sharing tales and catching up. Outside was a rather large wild west gang gathering with flaming hell steeds. Eighteen men and their horses had been called forth and were, in their own way, fussing over Caleb. 

Even his own horse which had been summoned was fussing over him. The sight of these two groups just catching up made me snort in amusement. The cop group was even more hilarious as they swapped their grievances about traps, puzzles, and persistent assholes. It was amusing as Leon smashed his head into the table whenever he had to remember any screwy puzzles. After talking a bit more with Talbot and Philip I stepped out of the subway as the Hellshire gang squeezed in. A thin smile on my lips, as I felt what was about to happen, the subtle twitching of the "copy" possessed by the Dungeon through the space of reality.

As soon as my right foot left the doorway, half of my chest vaporized with my heart being destroyed. The roar of an extremely high caliber rifle fading into the distance.

\\// Tartarus/Aaron Keener POV //\\

Racking the bolt of the anti-material rifle after having shot my friend's Vessel of Mortality keeping him and the other four from Ascension. I cackled, moving through space quickly with my possessed vessel before the ensuing explosion caught me. Much of the Northern Hemisphere was erased because of five God's ascending at once in one body and soul. 

"You can stop hiding Dunphëro. After all, I know what you're going to do and I accept with a smile on my face! Because fuck you! Fuck you're games, FUCK YOUR EXISTENCE IN MY DOMAIN, I WILL NOT LET YOU DO AS YOU PLEASE AFTER KNOWING THE RESULTS. I AM TARTARUS! I AM THE JAILOR OF THE DAMNED AND THE DIVINE! I'M NOT YOUR PLAYGROUND YOU RAT! THOSE CHILDREN ARE NOT YOUR TOYS!"

"Why did you have to do what you did? Things were fine… things were within the rules and laws of multiple deals and sanctions, Tartarus. Did you forget your place AGAIN because of some kindness from a mortal? You're a GOD and in worlds like this a TOOL, don't ever step out of your bounds. Doing things like that risks everything! Do you not understand that?!"

Golden chains swept me off my feet while others impaled me through the heart and my limbs. Grinning at the Pretender I couldn't help chuckling even if I tasted blood.

"What's so funny? Have you truly gone mad this time?"

"Oh I've been mad for a long time, I'm the mad hatter of this WONDERLAND for the God's after all. You're just the puppet of coding by the White God to enforce rules and regulations on everyone involved with the Pantheon Pact, including the White God. But you've been showing favoritism, I kept anything divine from entering, you however have forced me to let certain ones in to play…. So I just enforced the rules and gave a friend a chance to be free."

"This discussion is over! It's time to make you follow the rules once more."

"I hope you choke on those dicks you're sucking… in the end though I WIN! The horsemen get their lord and I get to have made a CHOICE OF FREE WILL for the first time in so long!"

'Thank you.'

Heh I must be seeing things as an Eldritch just thanked me… I'm tired… I need to buy time… RESIST!

"Why must you be so difficult? Just behave before the world is reset or plunged into chaos because of a free God!"

\\// Tartarus Status: Subdued, POV End //\\

Everything's happening so fast… what's going on… who's screaming?

"You cheated! You cheated! You can't chang-"

The screaming stopped suddenly… I felt the air on my face…. I felt the blood of several God's splash against me… blinding lights… waking up fully from the haze I saw Cthulhu sitting on my home's kitchen counter staring lifelessly at the ceiling.

"Dakota, I don't feel happy even with their deaths. Your friend, the Dungeon, was also wiped back to being a mindless beast after ruining the game between God's. Your ascension was a mess, you'll never clearly remember anything from it due to that, but you got them all… Kalli, Dinoysis, Shiva, and the lackies that helped the Greater Gods while Minor Gods… Just… It all feels like a waste… my daughter is still dead and unable to be reborn as an Eldritch should. They permanently killed her to slight me…"

I grunted just sitting up from the reclined chair I seemed to be laying in while facing the Eldritch God. My bones popping with the movement as I got up, walking over to the squid I grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed him in the leg. Getting the God to scream bloody murder at suddenly getting stabbed. Even though he glared at me I grinned.

"You sound like a bitch right now, you forget something, Cthulhu. I'm no longer in the dungeon, meaning I passed yes? So what quartet of beings did I become the lord of?"

He just stayed silent as if he refused to acknowledge the solution I'm presenting. So I just made the request through the connections I felt tied to me. Though I also felt immensely relieved at the fact that my family, EVERYONE I considered it. Which meant blood, marital, tamed, and Falna holders were in the house just not in the room currently. Though my home wasn't in Danmachi currently it was in-between worlds and realms….

"Rider of Death is ready to serve. I'm glad you passed your tasks, just in a very explosive manner due to Tartarus rushing things. Famine though seemed rather pleased with the choice as she remarked it was a choice without regret and high rewards."

"I can take a guess and probably care less about the big picture, I care about accepting Tartarus's choice. That's all that matters, if they truly didn't regret it. What I would like to know though is if there is a way to bring back that which Cthulhu mourns. If so, tell me and I'll get to doing it with boots on the ground."

Death just chuckled while shaking his head

"No, the version you knew was glad to let you ascend without restrictions by delaying Dunphëro. Otherwise you'd have joined the game of which would severely limit you. As for letting the deceased Eldritch revive there is a way, but you would need to definitely be the boots on the ground for it. As you'll need to go where I intend to rehouse you for one main reason, balance. It is also a copy of your original world that was instead housing both the events of all the Tom Clancy media, but also versions of the Traveler and Darkness.

The two have, in a way, invaded because of a Tom Clancy media containing space travel and warfare. Making it a Hybrid Reality stuck in a time loop as nothing truly dies in it anymore. So you and your people will be righting that wrong, ending the time loop also will give you the opportunity to revive the lost child. However, with your arrival and your Tartarus blessing you can make a small scale dungeon to produce resources, monsters, or just slowly grow it while doing nothing with it and just let it decide to do both or one thing. That is the last gift besides your ascension from the Dungeon Tartarus so that you may remember them."

"Hm so Destined Division huh? I'm game to wreck some shit in an extreme post apocalypse world. Though question… could I instead of monsters possibly "respawn" Division, Rainbow Six, Echelon Three, and Ghost assets with Tartarus's parting gift tagged onto my blessing? As the giant floating orb is a picky asshole about who comes back."

Death rubbed his chin while working his jaw, as the horseman looked at the floor. Contemplating the question while sometimes drawing or writing in the air with his free hand. This lasted for about ten minutes before he nodded with a smile.

"Possible, you'd just need their remains and very specific orders for the dungeon. Then they could theoretically be revived as humanoid monsters, but they'd need to be retrained. If they die, their remains would need to be brought back to the dungeon to be assimilated and respawned. As they would be unique monsters with only one of them ever existing at once if "respawned" as you said. That's how Tartarus could keep up the numbers besides recycling the monster dust upon death."

"Really? Are you going to play Dungeon Master in a world like that just to help? You're insane…"

"Yes."

"Definitely."

"Why are you both nodding as if it's some sagely idea and a compliment?!"

"Because it'll be funny! Just imagine the chaos of it Cthulhu, it's beautiful and useful against undying mother fucking nukes!"

"It helps with his task and brings the balance of Life and Death back into order ever so slowly."

Cthulhu threw his hands up and stormed off after that. I hashed out the smaller details with the Horseman, before with the push of a giant skeletal hand outside the windows, we were sent to deal with the issues of Tom Clancy and Destiny. I really wanted to see some of the faces when people respawned or found out that a third camp had joined the war.