Conviction

Atenzi drifted in darkness. Fury and pain from his clash with Jesus faded to healing blackness.

Time lost meaning as he floated between fever dreams and brief lucidity.

In dreams, he saw fragments of past lives.

Echoes of battles fought and lost across realities.

He relived his oath, sworn in blood and agony, to never lose again.

To defy fate itself.

Always, he heard gods and demons laughing, daring him to try.

When Atenzi's eyes finally opened, he found himself in a bedchamber.

Incense and herbs scented the air. Healing magic circled around him, a subtle vibration he felt in his bones.

Báthory sat beside him, crimson eyes fixed on his face. "Welcome back to the land of the living, my champion," she purred, relief evident in her voice.

Atenzi tried to speak, but his throat was painfully dry.

Every swallow felt like sandpaper. Báthory anticipated his need, bringing a goblet of cool water to his lips.

He drank greedily, feeling strength slowly return to his battered body.

"How long?" he managed to rasp out once he had quenched his thirst.

Báthory's lips curved in a small smile. "How long do you think?"

Atenzi's mind raced, trying to piece together fragmented memories. The battle with Khan, the confrontation with Jesus, it all felt so recent. "A day? Perhaps two?"

The vampire queen's laughter was like shattering crystal. "Oh, my dear Atenzi. You've been unconscious for a month."

Shock rippled through him. A month?

It seemed impossible.

Yet as he took stock of his body, he could feel the truth of it. His wounds had healed, leaving only faint scars where there should have been opened injuries.

"A month," he repeated, his voice stronger now. "And what of Khan? Of Jesus and his angels?"

Báthory's expression darkened, her crimson eyes flashing with anger. "Gone. They vanished into the sky, taking the resurrected Khan with them.

We've had no sign of them since, though our spies report increased activity in several of the other Harbingers' realms."

Atenzi nodded slowly, processing this information.

His hand clenched into a fist, remembering the impotent rage he had felt as Jesus undid his hard-won victory. "Tell me everything," he demanded. "What's happened in my absence?"

For the next hour, Báthory filled him in on the events of the past month. Her voice was low and intense, painting a vivid picture of the aftermath of his battle.

The centaur army, leaderless and demoralized, had mostly surrendered.

Those who refused had been dealt with... permanently.

Bloodmire's borders had been secured, and the process of rebuilding had begun.

Vampire craftsmen worked day and night to repair the damage done during the invasion.

But perhaps most intriguingly, word of Atenzi's victory over Khan – and his defiance of Jesus – had spread like wildfire across Naaim.

In taverns and marketplaces, in the courts of nobility and the camps of nomads, people spoke in whispers of the human who had defeated a god of war and stood against the Fallen Messiah.

Atenzi of The Sovereign Lands, The Last Hope of Humanity.

"You've become something of a legend, my dear Atenzi," Báthory said, a note of pride in her voice. "Some call you a hero, others a demon. But all agree that you've changed the game irrevocably."

Atenzi listened to all this with a mixture of satisfaction and frustration. He had indeed changed the game – but not enough.

Not yet.

"And what of you, Báthory?" he asked, fixing his gaze on her face. "What do you make of all this?"

The vampire queen was silent for a long moment, studying him with an unreadable expression.

When she spoke, her voice was low, almost adoring.

"In all my centuries, I have never seen a human like you, Atenzi," she said. "The raw power you displayed in your battle with Khan... the primal fury with which you faced down Jesus himself... it was magnificent.

Terrifying, yes, but magnificent."

She leaned closer, her cold breath ghosting across his skin. "You are no mere mortal, Atenzi.

No mere demon, either.

You are something... more.

Something this world has never seen before."

Atenzi felt a shiver run down his spine at her words.

Not of fear, but of anticipation.

Of recognition.

"You're right," he said softly. "I am something more. Something this world – no world – has ever seen before."

With an effort, he pushed himself into a sitting position.

Báthory moved to stop him, but he waved her off. "In my past life," Atenzi began, his voice gaining strength as he spoke, "I failed.

I had power, yes.

Knowledge, certainly. But I lacked... conviction.

I was too soft and peaceful.

I hesitated.

I allowed fate, the gods, the very fabric of reality to dictate my path like a sheep being led by the shepherd to the slaughterhouse."

His eyes blazed with anger as he continued. "But no more.

As I lay dying in that other world, I swore an oath.

To the heavens, to the gods, to fate itself.

To whoever listened.

I swore that I would never lose again.

That I would forge my own destiny, no matter the cost."

Báthory listened, transfixed, as Atenzi poured out his story.

He spoke of Earth, of knowledge and power accumulated across his humble years.

And always, always, of his burning desire to develop, both mentally and physically.

But pacifism had stopped him, held him back from his true potential.

"So you see," Atenzi concluded, his voice now strong and clear, "I am not bound by the rules of this world. I am not constrained by its limits or its laws.

I am Oni no Atenzi, and I will remake this reality as I see fit."

For a long moment after he finished speaking, silence reigned in the chamber.

Báthory regarded him with a mixture of awe and something else – a hunger that went beyond mere bloodlust.

"And what of me?" she asked finally. "What role do I play in this grand design of yours?"

Atenzi's lips curved in a smile that was equal parts charm and predation. "You, my dear Báthory, are my first true ally in this world.

The foundation upon which I will build my empire."

He reached out, taking her cold hand in his. "Together, we will unite Bloodmire and The Sovereign Lands.

Then, we will bring the other continents to heel.

The Harbingers, and even the cosmic forces that think to control this world – all will bow before us."

Báthory's eyes gleamed with excitement and dark ambition. "A grand vision indeed, my champion.

But how do you propose we achieve it?

My fellow Harbingers are not easily defeated, as you well know."

Atenzi's smile widened, becoming almost feral. "Oh, we won't defeat them – not at first. We'll play them against each other.

Sow discord, create alliances only to break them at the crucial moment.

And when they're weakened, distracted, tearing each other apart..."

"We strike," Báthory finished, her voice filled with anticipation.

"Precisely," Atenzi nodded. "But first, I need to regain my full strength.

And then, we begin our grand game of chess."

As if in response to his words, Atenzi felt a surge of energy course through his body.

He threw off the bedcovers, swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

Báthory moved to stop him, concern evident on her face. "Atenzi, you're not fully healed. You need rest, time to-"

Her words were cut off as Atenzi stood, his presence suddenly filling the room.

"I have rested long enough," Atenzi declared. "It's time to act. Time to show this world – and all the forces that think to control it – exactly what Oni no Atenzi is capable of."

He strode to the window, throwing open the heavy curtains.

The city stretched out before him, a fusion of shadows and moonlight.

As Atenzi looked at the realm he now called his second home, his mind raced with plans and schemes.

He could almost see the threads of fate stretching out before him, and he would weave it like an expert tailor.

"Prepare yourself, Báthory," he said, his voice filled with promise. "The game is about to change, and we will be the ones holding all the pieces."

Behind him, Báthory's smile was all fangs, her eyes glowing with anticipation of the chaos to come.

As night deepened over Bloodmire, a new era was dawning.

An era that would see the rise of Oni no Atenzi, the human who dared to challenge gods and fate itself.

The cosmic game board was set.

The players were taking their positions. And at the center of it all stood Atenzi, ready to claim whats his.

Let the games begin.