Wholly Undead 157 Even a God-King can make a Mistake...

When he was fully out of the tear, it gradually closed in the sky, and with a small 'zip' sound it disappeared in the clouds. His form receded back into his skeleton, as his two large hands laid to bodies on the ground just outside his hand-drawn formation, that now no longer glowed.

His golden God-Form now sunk into his original body, and he took a step and fell to a knee.

[Oh, shit...] Jack felt like he just ran a marathon, as he a feeling of heaving... This strange sensation wasn't lost on him, as he had felt it in his previous life, but hadn't felt it since becoming undead.

[Is this... ha... ha... What's call soul fatigue? Ha... ha...] Jack hassled in his mind. He waited so badly to draw air into lungs he did not have.

[This...] Jack probed his God-Soul, and felt that what use to be Ancestor Ranked was now King-Rank... He fell two entire ranks for his journey into the Plane of Death.

[Tux wasn't screwing around... Good thing I already contacted Jordan, otherwise I don't think I could message him now...] Jack's vision was off, as he was checking his internal situation, as he felt someone to his side propping him up... Helping him.

Jack's flaming eyes burst into light, as he looked to his right, to see Eris helping him stay on his knee, instead fall to the ground.

[...Why is she helping me?] Jack wondered as he looked into that crazy thing's eyes. Jack used his other hand to reach into his robe and through his rib cage to brush against Eris' heart to see if it was still there. It was still there, and it was still beating.

Eris shuddered and gave an oddly wide smile to Jack with a tilt of her head.

[...]

Jack got back to his feet with Eris' help, "Thank you, Princess Eris."

Eris was stunned for only a moment before she responded, "Call me... Call me your Eris."

"...I'll check with my First Consort before I call you such a name..." Jack spoke slightly for a moment.

Eris' expression stiffened as a funny look crossed her eyes. This look didn't escape Jack's notice, even in his weakened state.

Now on his feet, he reached out to grab Eris' neck, [I hope I'm still strong enough to get her attention, even if she likes this kind of thing...]

Jack gripped her throat and brought her to his front.

"Princess Eris... You will not hurt anyone that I don't tell you too... You will not kill anyone that I don't tell you too... Do you understand me?" Jack's heroic voice carried a chill in the air, but unmistakable tiredness could be heard laced in the words.

"Then... Then you will..." Eris coughed, as Jack loosened his grip slightly, "You will crush my heart?" Eris smiled widely.

"No... I will give it back to you, and banish you... Never to see me again or be near that which is mine." Jack said solemnly, as his left hand grabbed the heart in his rib cage lightly, as if not to crush, but to pluck it from himself.

For the first time, Jack saw a look of pure horror cross Eris' beautiful face.

[Ah, so I finally found your weakness.] Jack thought in relief, he had wondered how he was going to control this yandere, [Let's not push her too hard...]

"Listen to my words, and I will not do such a thing." Jack released his grip and brought her into his embrace.

Eris startled by the sudden treatment hugged onto her god.

"I do not need a... Pet... That will not obey its master." Jack decided to put this into words she used.

Eris in Jack's embraced nodded, and responded with a happy tone, "Your pet will listen. I will not harm anyone or kill anyone without your word."

"Good girl." Jack took his left hand out of his robe from the heart and put it on Eris to pat her head.

"Let's see my spoils," Jack said with a more natural tone.

He took a single step, as shaky as it felt. He was trying his best to look strong in front of Eris, least she gets ideas... Jack felt he had to make sure he was the strongest in her eyes, even when he was weakened.

Jack spoke to the soul jar in the middle of the dimmed formation, "Joan are you still with me?"

"Yes. I'm still here, my God-King." The Soul Jar buzzed.

Jack looked to the side and waved his hand. His laptop wiggled slightly but did not come to his hand.

[...Right... Weakened...] Jack thought to himself, as he turned his steps and walked to the laptop, he left floated to the side.

He began to type into his laptop his spell to remove and to reinsert souls, with the hope Tux could improve them, even if it was only a little. Eris stood to the side with her god watching his actions and wondered why he tapped on the pages of his living tome.

Jack completed his entry and then spoke to Tux, "Alright Tux... Please refine this spell."

"Creator, what is the purpose of this spell?"

"The first one is to remove the soul, and the second is to reinsert the soul."

"Does Creator wish to have the soul remain the same, as it was prior to extraction and reinserting?"

"...Yes..." Jack had a bad feeling from this line of questioning.

"Tux understands and will reconfigure the spell work."

"Wait... Tux with the current spell work will this cause issues to the soul to perform this operation?"

"Reporting to Creator, this spell work does not shield the soul from your direct power or the influence of the world. It would cause a near-death experience, with uncertain side effects. To put it in simple terms, it would be like taking a fish out of water and holding it in your hand."

[...]

Jack went silent for a moment, as he watched his laptop go to an hourglass icon... He knew Tux quoted a short time to reconfigure the spells, but his thoughts drifted to Jordan Lightborn, and Jennifer Dunnder...

[HOLY FUCK! Is that why Jordan turned into a batshit crazy fucker?!?!? But, but, but... That doesn't explain how he knows so much shit about me?!?! Oh crap... Is Michael's sister going to turn into a prophet too? I hope she doesn't get creepy like Jordan... Aye shit, shit, shit... I really screwed up this time.] Jack held his head in his hands.

Eris approached him from the side, as she spoke, "Did the ritual cause you pain?" She touched the side of her god's bony hand while he held his head, as she thought he had over withdrawn on his power reserves... A sort of temporary magical sickness of the soul.

Jack removed his hands to look into Eris' eyes to see concern...

"No... I just realized the reason for some of my troubles."

"Oh?" Eris spoke thoughtfully... She heard what the living tome said... But she didn't quite understand what it meant. Removing souls? She knew about removing blood, tissue, organs... but souls?

This was a gap in the research of magic between the Undead and the Vampires.

[Wait… That doesn't explain why Jade's Handmaiden's called themselves Lightborn… I Absolved them… Should I have Tux review the Latin I speak???]

"Spellcraft complete, ready for review by the Creator." Tux sounded, as it distracted Jack from his train of thoughts.

"Great." Jack read the page and nodded a few times.

[Well... Now that I'm reading it... It does make a lot of sense. I wish I knew this a few months ago.]

Jack turned to walk to the center of the formation, where he picked up Joan's soul jar.

He then walked over to one of the two exposed bodies.

Jack walked to the side of the body he had found for Joan. He lifted Joan's soul jar above the body so that she would get a good look.

"See Joan? This is what I've been preparing."

"H-How? This doesn't make sense?!?"

"Haha! God-King, Joan! God-King!" Jack laughed, as Joan continued to survey her body.

Chapter end