Last Born Of The Desdemona

Chapter 369: Chapter 369: Longer Version, Please?

Chapter 369 – Longer Version, Please?

Scarlet Red, Primal Queen of Fire, Hated by the Underworld, yet chosen as the Firstborn of Hell... chose Cassius Desdemona as her contractor.

It wasn’t something she’d expected when she first met him, since all she’d seen then was a man who’d taken a precious person away from her side.

And, to be honest, that was still very much true. But Scarlet had decided to look, just as Amate had told her to, for the part of her friend hidden inside that annoying little man.

Doing that made the contract easier to accept. But it wasn’t the only reason.

No matter how much it irritated her, Cassius was blasphemously talented, and could reach a very high ceiling if he managed not to die.

Knowing she needed strength for her eventual return to the Underworld, for a little payback against that damn goddess, accepting Cassius turned out to be a smart move.

So she did it, after imposing her rules.

Scarlet had worried, at first, that she’d need to seal part of herself, the way Emerald had. But it turned out not to be that bad. With Cassius having just created a concept, his existence itself had been properly elevated.

Which meant he could carry a far more complete version of her, right from the start. Not all of her, of course, but more than enough.

Before officially starting the contract, Cassius finally asked what exactly he’d gain from it, and what the spirit herself would gain too.

The answer was more straightforward than he’d expected.

A Spirit Contract granted access to a unique kind of essence called Spirit Essence. Which meant Cassius could now draw on both Sun and Spirit Essence.

Eventually, it might even be possible to combine the two into something entirely his own.

There was also a Spirit Form he could reach through enough training. Beyond that, the contract brought overall body enhancement, including affinity enhancement.

But since Cassius’s spirit was the Primal Queen herself, he gained something extra on top of that.

For instance, he could order other spirits to carry out tasks for him, and they’d obey...provided he had the strength and proper mastery of Spirit Form to back it up.

On top of that, since a spirit contract bound itself closely to one’s fate, there was a real chance of gaining a second Soulblade in the domain of spirits.

That was staggering to Cassius. Not guaranteed, but likely enough to matter. And even if it wasn’t... he was about to receive Luck’s Blessing.

What could stand against Luck?

He was thrilled as this was information he hadn’t even known, since Klaus had only ever obtained one Soulblade back in the game. Which meant Klaus simply hadn’t been lucky enough.

So maybe this time would be different. Maybe Klaus would get lucky, in this brand-new story now unfolding.

Once he’d weighed everything he stood to gain, he also learned that the Primal Queen would gain the ability to rank up.

She could also study Cassius’s affinities and fold them into herself; meaning she might even create an entirely new kind of spirit, born from his Sun Path.

After all, no spirit carried that attribute. Spirits were all purely elemental, and not every element even existed anymore.

Cassius didn’t mind that. He was the creator, after all. Whatever Scarlet did with it would just be spreading his creation further, and might even earn him something, if new spirits were born from his Sun Concept.

He was eager to see it happen.

Once everything had been discussed, with Scarlet reminding him of her rules roughly every two seconds, the two of them finally began the contract ceremony.

They stood face to face at the center of a runic circle, Mallory off to the side, watching with a smile.

"Are you two ready?" she asked, about to activate it.

"I am," Cassius nodded.

"Tsk, just don’t disappoint me," Scarlet Red hissed. "You’ll be my heir from now on, the Heir of Fire. And every heir carries a title the spirits know them by, chosen by the Primal Queen."

She tilted her head, sizing him up, then: "Lightbringer."

Cassius’s eyes widened slightly.

"Your spirit title is Lightbringer, Cassius Desdemona."

"Wait, can we change the—!"

"Nope."

"I have a better one. Just hear—!"

"I said no."

"But—!"

"Let’s begin the contract," Mallory said, activating the rune, Cassius’s expression darkening, "between Scarlet Red, Firstborn of Hell, and Cassius Desdemona..."

’Please don’t say it.’

"...Lightbringer."

’Damn it! I mocked Kaden for that name, only to end up with it myself! Is fate mocking me right now? What in the—!’

And his consciousness faded to black as the process began.

And so, Cassius Desdemona finally obtained his spirit. And it was the Primal Queen herself.

...

Thud!

Cassius hit the ground inside the Realm of Mountains and Seas, groaning.

He didn’t move at first, feeling the new connection settling inside him: the bond with Scarlet, his spirit.

He was tempted to call out to her, but Scarlet had warned him well enough not to.

Just as he’d expected, he now had access to Spirit Essence through Scarlet, though his body didn’t yet fully possess it on its own.

For that, Scarlet had told him, he’d need to train and master Spirit Form to a level where, even without transforming, Cassius would retain some trace of it — the essence itself.

Cassius sighed, turning over the last string of events in his mind.

It had all started with him simply wanting to contract with the triplets, and ended with him creating his Concept of Sun and contracting the Primal Queen of Fire along the way.

"And all that on a day I said I wouldn’t do anything," Cassius sighed, worn out by how peace seemed to elude him no matter what.

And sure enough...

[Cassius!] Ananke’s voice screamed inside his mind, worried, jolting him upright. [Are you okay? Where...wait...what happened to you?]

[Wow.] Marvela whistled. [Is it just me, or does darling’s eyes look like they want to burn my clothes off and fu—!]

"Marvela, please, for the love of anything you hold dear..."

[I only hold you dear!]

"...can you act normal for once? And I’m a married man, stop hitting on me, especially while calling yourself my mother. I’m not a Hood."

[You’ve changed,] Ananke noted, flipping through the Book of Faith for a clearer picture. [Your aura’s different...even your existence feels different.]

And the more she read, the wider her eyes went.

"Short version: I got provoked, so I decided to create something, and I ended up creating a concept. My concept is Sun," he said. "Then, after that, I contracted the Primal Queen after nearly dying several times. Queen’s Blessing, I’m exhausted."

[...] Ananke fell into a heavy, pregnant silence.

[...Well.] Marvela shook her head, smiling wryly. [Longer version, please?]

Cassius sighed and started over, recounting everything that had happened since the Primal Queen severed their connection inside her domain.

Before he finished, Mallory returned, settling under a tree with a book. She had plenty else to deal with, but wasn’t remotely in the mood for any of it.

That day, she just wanted to take care of herself. So she did.

By the time Cassius finished, both goddesses were thoroughly stunned by everything that had happened, especially the creation of the Sun Core.

It reminded them that Cassius wasn’t just good looks and a sharp tongue.

He was strong, talented and sharp-minded.

With him as their Blessed...

[Maybe... well, maybe we actually stand a chance?] Marvela said. [I joined mostly for darling, not really expecting to win. But if you keep this up, our odds might climb from zero to around 10 percent.]

’Only ten?!’

[That’s already huge,] Ananke said.

[That’s me being optimistic,] Marvela added.

’It’s that hard? How many gods are on the Hero Side? Damn. Well, we’ll see either way,’ Cassius thought, pushing himself up off the ground. ’Step by step. If I can go from zero to ten, I can go from ten to twenty, twenty to thirty, and on to a hundred. Step by step. Journey before destination.’

The two goddesses smiled. They’d honestly felt useless to Cassius lately, held back by the System’s heavy restrictions.

But watching him improve stirred something in them the urge to grow, to become just as strong themselves.

Gods didn’t need their Blessed alone to grow stronger. Gods could train. Gods could seek out resources and use them. Gods could break through by deepening their understanding of their own Authority.

The danger lay in the Divine World itself, which was more perilous than almost anything, packed with gods and Unique Lifeforms at every turn.

The last god foolish enough to wander it carelessly had been killed. That corpse was the very one Cassius had promised Ananke when they first met.

’I’m still waiting for that,’ she thought, licking her lips. ’I could devour that god. I just need to find it first.’

All these thoughts drifted through their minds as they watched Cassius settle down beside his master, under the tree.

"For a day you said you’d do nothing... that was quite something," Mallory commented.

Cassius grimaced. "I suppose so. Think I’ll have enough time to rest before tomorrow’s mission?"

"If you sleep right now. Maybe."

The Last Born smiled. "Good idea."

He closed his eyes, leaned his head against the tree, and drifted off easily, his mind still worn thin from everything he’d gone through in such a short span of time.

Mallory turned her head to look at him, then reached out, gently cradling his head and lowering it onto her lap.

Then, as if nothing had happened, she went back to her book, a faint smile now on her lips.

Whether that smile was because of Cassius’s head resting on her lap, or because the book happened to be titled How to Gossip Without Getting Caught: A Lady’s Guide to Other People’s Business...

...no one could say.

—End of Chapter 369—