I Died and Became a Noble's Heir

Chapter 505: The Council

"Yes," Zephyros confirmed, sounding slightly disappointed by Jack’s controlled response. "Though I have to ask... w

What are you going to do with this information? Confront Draven? Demand he break the curse?"

"That’s my concern," Jack said.

The god studied him for a moment longer, then shrugged. "Fair enough. Our wager is concluded. You won, I answered, and now we’re done."

He gestured toward empty space, divine power flowing in from his chest to his fingers as his arms lit up. "Try not to die immediately after learning such devastating information. It would be anticlimactic."

Jack ignored the jab, his mind already working through the implications of what he’d learned.

Draven cursed Aurora. The leader of the Old Gods, the deity who’d chosen Jack as his Chosen One, had taken his fiancée’s voice for reasons still unknown.

’Ask him to break it,’ Jack thought, remembering Zephyros’s first answer. ’Just ask, and he’ll listen. Which means whatever reason he had for cursing her, it’s not permanent. He’s willing to undo it if asked properly.’

The question was why. Why curse her in the first place? Why wait for someone to ask when you can remove it?

The world began to dissolve around Jack, Zephyros’s domain fading into black.

The god’s final words followed him through the transition.

"Give Draven my regards, Kaiser. Tell him his taste in Chosen Ones continues to be entertaining."

His last conscious thought before the transition completed was simple:

’I need to talk to Draven. And he’s going to explain exactly why he cursed Aurora, and what game he’s been playing all this time.’

-----

Jack’s eyes opened to the flicker of torchlight against painted constellations.

He was back in his physical body, sitting on his calves in the underground temple beneath the Moonwell Shrine.

The small bowl that had contained God’s Blood sat empty on the altar before him, the thick red ichor completely consumed.

His muscles ached from maintaining the meditative posture for however long he’d been gone.

Minutes? Hours? Time moved differently in divine realms, and Jack had no reliable way to measure how long his spiritual body had been conversing with Artemis and Zephyros.

He rose gradually, his joints expressing discomfort after a prolonged period of inactivity.

The head priestess was nowhere to be seen.

She’d left him alone to complete his audience with the goddess, trusting that divine business didn’t require mortal supervision.

Jack moved toward the stairs, his boots making soft sounds on ancient stone as he began the ascent.

Ten minutes of climbing brought him back to the main shrine, emerging from passages that led away from the worship area into the vast space supported by marble columns.

The shrine was quieter than when he’d left.

Fewer pilgrims moved through the space, and the priestesses who’d been tending gardens and arranging offerings had retreated to other duties.

Afternoon light filtered through high windows, painting the marble in shades of gold. Based on the sun, it has been multiple hours since Jack walked these halls.

Jack scanned the area for his party.

No sign of Rhys.

No sign of Father Caelen.

Lyra wasn’t waiting near the main altar where he’d left them.

’They’re exploring,’ Jack reasoned. ’Or Lyra finally got her audience with Artemis, and they’re waiting for her to finish.’

He moved through the shrine’s entrance, descending stone steps worn smooth by centuries of pilgrims.

The courtyard beyond was similarly empty, just a few scattered visitors examining statues or leaving offerings at smaller shrines dedicated to various aspects of Artemis’s domain.

Jack found a spot near one of the ancient oaks, settling with his back against the trunk where he could observe the shrine’s entrance.

His party would return eventually, and until then, he had thoughts to process.

Draven cursed Aurora.

The revelation sat in his mind as a stone dropped into still water, creating ripples that touched everything he thought he understood about his patron god.

Every interaction, every blessing, every piece of guidance... All of it viewed through the new lens of knowing Draven had taken his fiancée’s voice.

’Why?’ Jack thought, his analytical mind working through possibilities. ’What purpose does silencing Cassius’s daughter serve? Is it political? Some divine game involving the Sunblade family? Or is it personal? Something between Draven and Aurora that I don’t understand?’

The simplicity of breaking the curse was almost insulting. Just ask Draven to remove it. Just a request, and apparently, the god would comply.

’Which means he’s not opposed to her speaking,’ Jack concluded. ’He cursed her for a reason, but he’s willing to undo it if asked properly. So what’s the test? What am I supposed to learn or prove before he considers the curse’s purpose fulfilled?’

The afternoon progressed toward evening, and still, his party didn’t return. Jack remained against the oak, watching pilgrims come and go, his enhanced perception tracking the shrine’s grounds while his mind churned through implications of divine revelations.

The sky began to darken as clouds gathered rapidly. Gray masses traversed the blue expanse, blocking sunlight and casting shadows that diminished the marble shrine’s welcoming appearance.

Jack’s instincts prickled.

The weather didn’t change this quickly without cause.

Either it was a natural phenomenon he wasn’t familiar with, or a magical intervention from someone who wanted conditions to shift.

The first drops of rain began to fall.

Light at first, just scattered moisture that darkened the stone path leading to the shrine.

Then it became heavier, progressing from a sprinkle to a steady downpour within minutes.

Jack remained under the oak’s canopy, its dense branches providing some shelter from the rain.

Other pilgrims scattered, seeking cover in the shrine or under overhangs that protected them from the weather.

A figure approached through the rain, walking with an air of casual confidence despite the downpour. The water darkened her auburn hair, and her amber eyes pierced right through his eyes.

The one who’d stumbled and touched his shoulder, whose fingers had pressed against his collar in what he’d assumed was checking fabric quality.

She paused approximately twenty feet away, a distance that allowed for conversation while also maintaining a safe distance.

Rain soaked her traveling clothes, making the fabric cling to curves that the bracelet would have amplified into an overwhelming distraction if he’d still been wearing it.

Her smile was too wide. The predatory grin of someone who’d just cornered prey.

"Jack Kaiser," she said, her voice carrying across the rain with unnatural clarity. "The Soul Warden himself. I have to admit, Warren was right about you being easy to track."

Jack’s eyes narrowed, his body tensing as he processed the name. Warren.

The older man from Millhaven who’d questioned Rhys about soul magic and bindings.

"You placed a tracking rune on the carriage," Jack stated, his tone flat. "This occurred in Millhaven when you touched my shoulder."

"Clever boy," the woman replied, her smile widening further. "Though not clever enough to remove it before arriving. Made following you so much easier."

As she advanced, Jack’s tactical awareness heightened. His augmented observational capabilities meticulously analyzed her posture and movements, noting the deliberate fluidity and the poised readiness of her hands.

"See, Warren?" she called out, her voice projecting toward the trees surrounding the shrine. "I told you this would be easy. The mighty Soul Warden, sitting alone in the rain, completely unprepared."

Fire erupted from his shoulder that consumed flesh and clothing in an instant of searing agony.

The tracking rune she’d placed in Millhaven detonated, flames spreading from the point of contact across his entire side.

The pain was overwhelming. Fire magic at point-blank range. His skin charred, muscle tissue burned, the scent of his own body cooking filling his awareness.

Jack staggered, his hand moving to the burning shoulder as flames continued spreading. The woman’s laughter cut through the rain, sharp and triumphant.

"Too easy!" she crowed, watching him burn. "Warren, I told you! The Soul Warden is nothing! Just another soul mage who thought power made him invincible!"

The fire intensified, consuming more of Jack’s body with each passing second.

The woman turned away, already dismissing him as she called out to her companion. "See, Warren? I told you this would be easy!"

Her laughter echoed through the rain as Jack’s body burned.