The God of Jesters
Chapter 118 - 2.31.1 The heartbeat.

Chapter 118: 2.31.1 The heartbeat.

The concept of genetics and the influence that the progenitor of said blood had on his descendants was well known among the Knights. Those few among the Knights can see the genetic memory hidden in their blood, awakening knowledge and strength from it.

While some others would slowly be assimilated by the will of the Progenitor, causing a personality shift in them.

Then some directly received revelation from their Progenitor, showing them visions of what they had to do. A command to fulfill a specific goal from an individual or a group of individuals.

Which the Radiant Knights currently felt. A command, a desire to protect and support the beast on the tower.

So they rushed, feeling the pain and torture it was experiencing through their heart. The rhythm they felt was the same as that of the giant monster. A monster whose identity they didn’t know, but they had to protect.

******

Adam was in a trance. The pieces of the gods’ fragments were beckoned by him, slowly entering the body of Maxim, who barely moved and appeared dead. Fragments are collected by sacrificing the health of the citizens and cursing them with a sleep from which they might never wake up.

But it was all for the greater good. His as well as those he deemed worthy.

He had died once, and even though he barely had any recollection of the life after death, he recalls the darkness and voice he had felt in that place. A place he would never wish to ever go back to.

It was why this was important to him, he knew the value of the gift more than anyone else in the organization.

"I mark my right arm with the Symbol of the Moon, signifying my belief in you." With those words, Adam picked the burning stamp that had heated under the samadhi flames and stamped it on his right arm, leaving a burnt mark on it that reached his soul.

An action that caused the body of Maxim to move a little.

"And with my right arm, I take my left eye. Signifying my pursuit of the night." There was no moment of delay for Adam, using the very Samadhi flame to heat a ritualistic pick, he stabbed his left eye, blinding it.

It was an injury on the soul level. An injury from which one can never heal. But Adam remained adamant in his action. There was no fear on his face, only a smile filled with fervor.

He can feel it, he can feel himself form a connection to the god that had long fallen asleep after being ripped apart by a monstrous individual in the past.

"It’s going to happen soon." Vanessa was frustrated a bit, this was the time for her to hit and replace the bastard, making it so that she didn’t have to suffer the consequences of this ritual, while still reaping the benefits.

But the beast that now towered above her was keeping her in check.

Just like once, Remira felt helpless in front of Vanessa’s powers. It was time for Vanessa to feel the same. She could do nothing as the lights in the sky coalesced into the body of Maxim.

Then, the whole tower shook.

"They are here?"

Adam on the other hand could feel nothing, his eyes were on the sky and the body that slowly started to float above.

The countless blasts that struck the tower, were fired by none other than the Mage-tech regiment.

As well as the Knights that were destroying the foundations of the tower from below. All of it came together and started to shake the tower, making it tilt to a side as it happened.

And in a hurry, Vanessa could only use her earth magic to strengthen the foundations of the tower, while dealing with the enemy right in front of her. Increasing her workload and making things much worse in the process.

Because no matter how much she hated Adam for stealing her opportunity, she still wished for this centuries-old goal of Blue Lotus to succeed.

*****

Adam didn’t know what was happening around him. He was in a trance, a dream-like state where all he saw was a giant river floating below his feet, and above that giant river was a crystal that slowly became complete in front of him.

Which was the time for him to take "her" up.

"I beseech thee, the Daemon of Incarnation and the pursuer of night, to wake up!"

"Wake up!"

"Wake up!"

"Wake..."

Then the heart of Maxim, which had remained silent, slowly started to beat.

A beat so bizarre that broke Adam’s trance and made him vomit.

The same was true with Vanessa, who showed a horrified expression, as after she lost control of the foundations of the tower, it started to toilet and then fall to the side.

And no matter how much she struggled, how much she tried to maintain her focus. Each heartbeat of the thing inside Maxim would cause her to cringe in pain, as she hunched over and tried to seal up her ears in a bid to prevent the sound from reaching her.

But nothing worked.

The only thing that remained immune to the heartbeat was the beast, which had turned its head towards the floating body. Showing some apprehension at first, before turning ghastly, as the beast attempted to reach the body.

However, its speed couldn’t keep up with the tower that was broken from the inside as well as outside. With nothing to support it, fell to the side, taking everyone and everything with it to the ground below.

Leaving the floating body right above.

"NOOOOOOOO!" Cried Adam, who was falling faster than anyone. He tried to catch the goblet of the samadhi flames, but the bones that were sustaining it had long fallen out of it. "We were so..." With another heartbeat, his chest felt a heavy pain and he could only see himself going away from Maxim’s body, with his only remaining eye left.

*****

"I believe your father shouldn’t be dead. So don’t worry too much." Said the fool, looking into my eye from the other side of the shield, showing me some pity that I didn’t want.

He treated me like a rat, which I did appreciate, but that was it. The very fact that he didn’t bring me to that place was a giant sin.

I had wished to witness another birth. But it would seem, the army really cares for the family of their colleagues, rather than the family of their enemies. Though that was to be expected from them. They are in the end, a bunch of selfish animals that use the term "following orders" to hide their cowardice, sense of guilt and blame away from them.

So the hypocrisy of such evil was not so bizarre for them.

And on my side, next to this sphere shield was the annoying old man, whose heart ticked like a clock. A man called Faerun Venglebod, a half man and half machine.

A man who was very well known in the body modification community and I even recall reading some of his research papers, but most of that memory had been removed from my head after countless accidents.

And yes, he was alive. Though from the looks of it, it won’t be the same for long, as I noticed the light particles in the air disappear all at once.

Meaning, it was going to hit soon.

A god is a Taboo being, their mere presence causes madness, and hearing the sound of their birth was nothing close to suicide. So when the first heartbeat came, all the magic in the area was rendered useless. Those who cast spells were stopped in their path, causing backlash, and those who didn’t suddenly fall from the sky were using their elevation as an advantage.

Which brought Holforaz to the same level as Faust, making him an easy pick. That is if Faust was in any position to even consider such a thing. His heart hurt like hell. The magic that was keeping him all this time suddenly became undone. Letting his body feel the impact of all the extraneous movements he had made in this fight.

As for me, the small spherical sphere that bound me became undone as well, while the young soldier cringed in pain.

"Running away is not an option, succumb to the curse, that is the only escape." I gave a mild suggestion to the man who was looking at me with disbelief. Wondering if this was my doing.

But when he turned to look far away and see even an Archmage suffering from something similar, he understood how wrong this was. "You, how are you fine?"

He asked before another heartbeat made him vomit on the floor, which fell out of his armor disgustingly.

As for his question?

"Why would it affect me, this body is not mine to begin with," I said with a smile, before moving away from the man who was struggling to make sense of my words. But he had more important things to worry about than some young possessed corpse that was finally going to get what he had been waiting for.

"I wonder if you are looking, or if you can feel it," I spoke out loud, knowing full well how the original owner of the body was incapable of reading my thoughts. "But know this, don’t try to crawl out in the next two hours."

"Let me experience the joy in the first person. Let me feel what it’s like to be in front of a god with my fleshy body."

"In simple words. Just don’t ruin my entertainment."