Page 10 of Of Sins and Sacrifice

“It appears that when Elias absconded with the Chalice, he joined the ranks of the Sons of Tenebreis.”

It was a huge scandal a few years back when Elias, the King of the House of Bronte, and his high priestess disappeared together with the Chalice, the House of Bronte’s most prized artifact.

Each one of the fifteen Houses of Aperion has one such artifact that was passed down by the fourteen Primordials. Initially, there were only fourteen Houses, a direct link to the fourteen Primordials that created Aperion. But the House of Psyche and the House of Moirai became separated soon after their creation. Their artifact, too, was split in two.

Given that the Chalice is imbued with the pure energy of a Primordial, it is exceedingly powerful. It doesn’t surprise me that it would allow the Sons of Tenebreis to break free of Tartareia. But it does shock me that King Elias betrayed us and joinedthem.

Why?

Why would he have done that?

Why did his high priestess do it?

Just like every House has an artifact from the Primordials, they each also have a Temple and a high priestess in charge of guarding said artifact. Both the kings and their high priestesses take a vow to the Source to protect the artifact with their lives.

How could have King Elias and his high priestess gotten around that vow? It is physically impossible to do so.

“This is an alarming development, of course. But I am monitoring the situation closely,” Azerius continues. His voice is…deadpan. There is no sign of alarm there, though I’ve never seen him exhibit any type of emotion before.

“I will now leave you to prepare for your journey. Make Aperion proud.”

With that, the sea of people parts again for him as he departs the room. When he’s gone, everyone is quiet, mulling over this new information.

Most of the people here were bornafterTartareia was sealed off. But we’ve all heard the stories from before—of how scary and powerful the Sons of Tenebreis were.

Aperion and Tartareia were always at war. And because of that, the lifespan of a deity before was much shorter. We might be immortal, but we are not impervious. And the Sons of Tenebreis were one of the few things in the universe that could kill deities—just as deities could kill them.

In the seven thousand years since Tartareia was sealed, everything changed. No longer were the demons the most feared thing. Now it was… Azerius and his sword. The God Killer.

But where death at the hands of a Son of Tenebreis left the essence of a deity alive for the House of Psyche to cultivate it and prepare it for a future incarnation, Azerius’ sword annihilates the very essence of a deity.

We exchanged bad for worse.

But despite the fear surrounding Azerius, he never does anything without a motive.

His executions are not random. They are the result of a fair trial. And to be sentenced to execution means you’vedonesomething.

Aperion is nothing but fair in that regard.

That hasn’t stopped people from reviling Azerius. That also hasn’t stopped me from admiring him.

The most loyal soldier of the realm—and the most powerful.

“You’ve heard Commander Azerius. It is imperative that you do not allow any demon to ascend. Ideally, we should be exterminating them while they are amorphous.”

“But how do we do that without harming mortals?” someone asks. “If they are amorphous, they will likely possess a mortal.”

“Indeed.” My brother nods. “But there is one exception. If enough time has passed since possession, the demon has already consumed its vessel’s soul. In that case, the mortal is already dead. What’s left behind is only a carcass.”

“How will we know?” the same person asks.

I nod, curious about that, too.

In the past, we’ve usually avoided harming a mortal if it was the demon’s first possession for fear its soul might still be present. As deities, we are prohibited from messing with mortals’ lives. That means we cannot kill them, but we cannot save them either if their time has come to pass under normal circumstances. Of course demons present a ratherabnormalcircumstance. But still, we were taught to never take chances since the punishment would be…death. Killed by Azerius. Rather poetic if you ask me.

“You will each receive a small crystal. If a mortal touches it and it does not change color, then the soul is intact. If a mortal touches it and it becomes red, his soul has been consumed andnow the only being inside that carcass is a demon. You may then act accordingly.”

I blink. I’d never heard of such a crystal before or it being used.

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