Lazy Salvation Harden Your Heart

Four people sat at a very long table.

One sat at the head with a face that made little expression. The other three sat at his sides.

The ethereal atmosphere was the first clue. The presence of individuals who were supposed to be domains away was another to the fact that they were dreaming.

After Ashen and Lucia finished cleansing the settlent of cultists, they'd returned without a word.

For Lucia, who had seen similar things during her cult hunts, this was routine. She stayed unfazed.

The sa couldn't be said for a man who'd spent most of his life behind a veil of normality, where the worst thing that could happen was death.

She had faith he would overco this. The Ashen she knew would never let anything hamper his spirit. But she was curious why he'd called for this eting.

"We encountered cultists today." Ashen opened with the main agenda.

The two won leaned in, their faces turning grave. Seraphine's reaction was the most drastic. Her faction was at the forefront when dealing with cults, so she knew their horrors best. It wasn't even about their strength anymore… just their cruelty and savagery were enough to warrant the kill-on-sight order.

"I need your help." He got straight to the point. "Especially you, Sera."

She nodded earnestly. "What do you need to do?"

Ashen fell silent for a mont. What did he want?

'Of course I want to eradicate every last monster off the face of this earth.'

That was the only thought running through his head recently. But he knew he didn't have the capabilities or resources for that, so he'd settle for sothing else.

"Back in Esperra, in the twelfth century, the church was famous for sothing. Do you know what it is?"

Seraphine tilted her head in thought.

"They zealously hunted everyone they deed heretic back then. If I rember correctly, they were called..." Ashen trailed off, waiting.

"Inquisition?" Seraphine's mory caught up.

"Yes. That." He nodded. "I want you to create a team of professional cultist hunters."

"I know Paradise stays mostly free of cults thanks to the Everlasting Covenant. I need your know-how on how to deal with them. Of course, it's best if you can handle their training yourself, but I won't complain if we have to hire soone."

"Hmm." Seraphine tapped her cheek with one finger. "I have the theoretical knowledge, but I'm not very experienced in catching those rats yet." She looked at him curiously. "Should I find soone more experienced after all?"

Ashen smiled. It was the first smile since the eting began. "No, having the theory down is enough. All you have to do is partner up with Lucia here. She has all the practice."

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

He turned to the pinkette. "Is that alright with you?"

"No problem." Lucia nodded.

"Good." He looked to the other side of the table, where Alice was leisurely listening as she relaxed in her chair. "Our surveillance has always been focused outward until now because we feared outside threats..."

She nodded, understanding where he was going with this. "Enemies co from inside and outside alike."

"Yeah." He nodded heavily. "It's ti we focus on surveillance inside the territory."

"You know our financial situation is good lately, so materials can be brought in anyti. The only missing piece is you."

"Don't worry, I was going to co back anyway." Alice smiled faintly. "Ashbastion is stabilized for now, and I have free ti. Even my usual work, I can do in the Northwest Territory and send in batches later. All you have to do is prepare a workshop for ."

"You've got it." Ashen nodded easily. "I'll prepare one that'll make you stay for good."

"I look forward to it."

He had to admit, it felt good to be rich. Most problems could be solved by throwing money at them.

"Alright, that's all for now." Ashen clapped his hands. "I'll be responsible for recruiting our inquisition departnt mbers. They'll be jointly managed by Lucia and Seraphine after training."

"Do you girls have anything to add?"

When all three shook their heads, Ashen released the dreamscape. "Then dream sweetly, ladies."

"Goodnight~"

"Nighty night, Ash!"

"I'll see you tomorrow."

⁂

When he left the land of dreams and returned to reality, sleep refused to co as he'd predicted.

The images from earlier in the day kept appearing in his head, persistently reminding him how low soone could sink.

Finally, he decided to get so answers from his Twin Soul as he felt him stirring awake.

'You there?'

{...What is it?}

'What do you think?'

{I have no particular thoughts.}

'None at all?'

{If I had to na one, it would be more of a request. Stop overreacting.}

Ashen pald his face. He'd known what kind of response to expect from his stoic twin, but his restlessness had won out.

'Well, you must have seen worse things. Having already fought them all.'

{Hah. You're underestimating humans and their capacity for savagery.}

The older soul continued with distaste. {Do not be so quick to bla everything on alien influence. Even without them, we were cruel enough on our own.}

{Back in Esperra, if you study history, you will find cannibalism, sacrifices, and every shade of atrocity imaginable.}

Ashen said nothing.

{What I am trying to convey is this: do not place all the bla on those devils above. The ones who yield to temptation are just as guilty.}

{Harden your heart and kill them as the monsters they have beco. Do not let their cruelty shake you. Hold fast to your conviction and keep walking your path. In ti, they will cease to exist, because the paths we tread were contradictory from the very beginning.}

"I understand." Ashen took a deep breath and finally cald his perturbed spirit.

It was truly as they said… only you understand yourself best. A few words from his older version had allowed him to sort out his scattered thoughts.

'By the way, this Outer God of Reverent Self-Consumption... is he one of the Seven?'

{That's just a small fry.}

'What?'

{...What's above us is much more than seven—or six now.}

Ashen went silent.

{Naturally, they also have their own subordinates. Just like we have an army, generals, and commanders, so do they.}

{Or do you think those miserable thralls were all there was?}

"Fuck... But how…?"

{Plunder enough civilizations, and even a worm could call itself a god if fed long enough without consequences.}

{Those seven devils have plundered more planets than you can count. Do you think they won't keep so useful slaves around when they tolerated the Narkals?}

'Shit. And I was getting happy for a second there after Secrets' death. Guess nothing is ever easy, huh?'

{...Well. You also have your own allies to lean on this ti around, no?}

Ashen thought about his lovers, Sabrina, and Braun. Then the thousands of soldiers following him. Then the thousands of residents under his territory.

He let out a quiet sigh, a faint smile tugging at his lips. 'You're right.'

{Just allow them to support you as you support them. If you do that, you will never be alone when you face them. Don't repeat my mistake of doing everything alone.}

The twin's voice seed to be getting fainter, but Ashen didn't mind. Sleep was also beckoning him.

{...Ah, how envious.}

Before his eyes shut, he heard an echo of a whisper, though he didn't catch its aning.

⛧ ⛧ ⛧