Sleeping Player (Project Chrysalis Book 3), John Gold [free e books to read online .TXT] 📗

you have to do is stomp on it to break them. I want people to think about what I’ve been through. I want them to start asking questions. My conversation with Kirk and sending the paladins to Hell are two steps toward solving one problem. And killing Nate robs Leon of his right arm. My ultimate goal is to destroy the belief people have in Leon, in his cult, his strength, his qualities as a leader. I’m not in a hurry, Fem. I can wait a year, five years, ten years. Empires can only be destroyed from the inside, and I’m just going to be the seed of doubt.”

“You ruined the lives of a whole crowd of people. You destroyed a city, killed local people, demolished the altar of a god. Don’t you feel any responsibility for that?”

“My conscience is clear. I take responsibility for what I do, but not in the way you’re thinking. I take personal responsibility, not social responsibility. If anyone comes looking for revenge, I’ll strike back. Do wolves apologize for eating the sheep?”

***

Tiamat was reading the Wanderer Times. The day before, Krash had come back with a very pleased expression on his face, and he’d sat at the window all day long without saying a word. Even Idzumi petted his kiir, who purred away.

Turning the page, Tiamat started reading an article written by an unfamiliar reporter.

Sagie appeared near Airis out of the blue, bursting into the city, killing the locals, and even knocking off Golden Hand officials. After destroying every line of defense the clan castle had to offer, he met Leon in the god’s main temple in Imir. He disappeared without a fight, however.

Sagie has a new nickname: the Mystery. This also has something to do with his loose, unsystematic fighting style, not to mention the weapon nobody has ever seen before. Most eyewitnesses are dead or driven mad by the scale of the horror they witnessed, so reliable information is impossible to come by.

During the storm of the temple, Sagie met St. Rachel, though everybody has a different theory as to why he didn’t kill her. Rachel herself has said nothing since her pronouncement about his disheveled looks.

The offices of Best Top, Inc., have been buzzing with arguments about whether to place Sagie at the top of the list of strongest fighters in the world. He disappeared from Leon’s temple, so he isn’t really active. Everybody agreed that he was unbeatable, however, and because of that, Sagie becomes the world top-ranked single player, edging out the White Eel of Venus.

What occurred five years ago has happened again: Sagie vanished without a trace after the battle for Airis Castle. Most of the stories people tell about meeting him are just rumors that are impossible to confirm. Some say he hated the Kreigen clan, though, again, that can’t be proven. In a word, Sagie is a monster who begins and ends in mystery. The players all wait anxiously to see what the monster will do next.

Tiamat put down his paper and looked over at the happy shapeshifter. His race was lucky to have such an incredible fighter.

***

Bernard was sitting on the balcony of his small house. The island was his home, a present from his brothers and sisters. Ever since they’d all been sent back to be reborn, he’d spent a lot of time there relaxing alone.

Almost nine years had passed since the wanderers first appeared in the world. He’d spent that time building the Black Rose clan, fostering leaders, guiding their development. When the last of the gods left, Bernard stepped back, handing the reins over to his successor. He rarely went out on raids those days. His brothers and sisters worked alone, only getting together when they had a good reason to.

Recently, Bernard had grown tired of the big world, so he’d withdrawn to his island. He had a canopy of invisibility and protection from seeker spirits.

“It’s nice here.”

The god leaped up from his chair, stunned that he was no longer alone.

“It’s been a while, Bernard. You’ve really done a lot of work on yourself, and I see you still like dragon-bone staffs.”

Sagie and Femida were standing in front of him.

Bernard had always known this day would come. The quest he’d handed out to find the book in Teurus’ temple had never been closed.

“Thanks for the interesting read. I mean Gunther Moro’s Belief and Its Meaning in Our World. The author was clearly a wanderer from another era, and he thought belief in the gods was something humankind only needed at a certain stage of our development. Society only needed the gods between the primitive and high-tech eras. Divine will explained everything we couldn’t understand, though technological and scientific advances robbed the gods of their strength and therefore the respect people had for them. I get it now. You knew your era was over when the wanderers showed up. Smart! And that’s why you and the other gods wiped out any record of them, all mention of this book and its ideas, even anything that came close. Bravo! The only problem is that I have to assume you know Talamei and Miridia.”

Bernard’s eyes widened ever so slightly. He’d almost held it in, but Sagie could tell anyway.

“I can see that you do, and that means they were sent back to be reborn. Please let them know that I’m going to find them and send them to the Gray Lands.”

“You’re alone against the world!”

A red stake appeared in Sagie’s hands. It was the same as the one the god had once been killed with, only smaller. Bernard’s heart skipped a beat.

“I see you recognize this little guy. And that means you’ve been to the Gray Lands. Hey…when you go there, can you take anything with you? Your bone staff, for example? Answer me, otherwise you’ll be on your