Zoombieverse - Memory 2: The Knife

Part 2: The Key - Chapter 3

The ancient Lord gave an assuring smile and carefully led the young god back to the table they had occupied before. "Let's start again, shall we?" he said after they had taken their seats again.

The young god wearily placed his elbows on the table and kneaded his forehead with his palms. He nodded silently and stared at the table before him, using his hands to support his head.

"Very well then. Let's forget about the mission and just treat this as a purely academic endeavor for now." The ancient Lord paused and seemed to be waiting for a reaction. But the young god was too drained to give any and the older god continued talking after a few moments of silence. "As you have already realized, there is a way to kill souls and take them out of the Flow permanently. Of course, this means that whatever the soul is tethered to would also achieve a permanent death which means that gods are not immune to this. Of all the various methods to kill gods, this is the only permanent way to do so."

The young god processed this information silently for a while before looking at his Uncle desperately, his hands hanging emptily in the air like he was begging for something. What it was he was begging for, he couldn't tell, as he was having trouble wrapping his mind around the idea of taking something or someone out of the Flow. "But, why? Isn't this dangerous? What does this achieve? Don't we have ways to restrain others?"

"Good questions." The ancient Lord nodded, looking satisfied that his student had at least been paying attention. "Yes, we do have ways to restrain others but some of them become far too destructive. For mortals and undead, we wouldn't have to resort to this method as their souls can simply be released back to the Flow again and again as needed. Gods, however, are far more problematic since their souls are more permanent. The ones who become far too destructive will have to be eliminated permanently. Indeed, this knowledge is dangerous and that is why it is entrusted only to a few. As the gods who are strongly connected to souls, we are able to put this knowledge into practical use, but the ability itself is sealed and can only be accessed using Keys that I am the sole guardian of. Every time someone is assigned this task, I select one of the Keys to lend them and teach them how to use it. Every single member of your family is assigned this mission at some point though yours happened a bit early."

The young god ran his hands through his hair. "A bit early? Then surely this is a mistake." He leaned back in his seat, faced the ceiling and covered his eyes with an arm. "I'm not ready for this. This is too heavy, Uncle," he said in a dull voice.

"I know what you're trying to say but, no, this mission is yours to undertake," the ancient Lord answered firmly. "Yes, this is a very heavy responsibility. It is not supposed to be taken lightly. And, no, nobody is ever ready for this. Even those that have done this multiple times can never get used to this.

The young god blanched and peered under his arm at his Uncle. "Multiple times?"

"Yes, some have done this task more than once but this does not happen frequently and I'm not going to give you any more after this if you don't want them. I do not choose solely on ability, boy. I choose those I trust more than those who are highly capable and willing. And I believe you will be able to handle this one."

The young god sat up and leaned forward. "But she--"

The ancient Lord held up a hand. "Yes, I know." He gave the young god a sympathetic look. "You've always told me about her every time you visited. I can tell that you're at your happiest when you're with her and that you still have some lingering affection for her. But she has already left you and your duty must come first."

The young god winced at having the truth stated plainly and sank back in his seat. "How are you so sure that I will be able to do this?" he asked slowly, unable to comprehend how anyone could ever place this amount of trust in him.