Jackal Among Snakes

Argrave. Bastard of King Felipe III, King of Vasquer, de facto leader of the Blackgard Union, and now Grand Commandant of the Great Chu, come seeking the head of two ancient gods. Over two years ago, he had come before Erlebnis seeking a blessing.

If Erlebnis had known what that young man could become, all of this could have been avoided.

Argrave had been a mere blip in an eventful day—a curious deal, giving Erlebnis vengeance in return for power. The death of a vampire lord, the retrieval of an ancient artifact… both were things that Argrave had no right to know, but Erlebnis was too absorbed in the satisfaction of having a grudge settled to thoroughly examine this bearer of good news. Perhaps he should have seized him based on what knowledge he offered. Perhaps he should’ve known… but then, that was the problem.

How could Erlebnis have known what Argrave could become in the future?

Knowledge of the past was Erlebnis’ expertise. But his entire existence for millennia had been seeking ways to glimpse beyond the past and the present. He’d tried to capture Hause for that reason. Perhaps if he had broken the Smiling Raven’s orb prison sooner, he would not be dwelling inside this fortress, waiting for Law to come and do battle.

But then, Law was not the issue. It was Argrave—it had always been Argrave.

Argrave had rebuffed Erlebnis in the far north, refusing to ally with him. Argrave had come to him in the Bloodwoods, refusing him even as he used a heavier hand. Argrave tried to shatter all the carefully crafted alliances he’d made—and very nearly succeeded. And while Erlebnis licked his wounds, carefully tending to his household… Argrave had again come knocking, ruining a vault containing the effort of millennia.

Argrave used others as cudgels, but he alone stood at the root of it all. Even now, through his emissaries’ eyes, Erlebnis witnessed the King of Vasquer coming once again to take, to rob, as if it were his birthright. He approached the Palace of Heaven with all the allies he’d accrued, cautious confidence writ on his face even now. Erlebnis knew that Argrave would make it past the Stormfield—he had made it this far up the mountain, after all. His own emissaries, too, possessed expertise insufficient to hurt them. Anneliese alone was their match, with that A-rank ascension of hers. The walls of the Palace of Heaven, too—Erlebnis did not know how the king would breach them, but he put nothing past Argrave. If his vault could be breached, what was a mortal fortress?

Erlebnis felt clarity, felt inspiration, that he hadn’t since he was a mortal. He felt this inspiration permeate the whole of his form. He acted without thinking, without drawing upon the vast archives of knowledge stored within his realm and his person, without calculating every move. He had calculated thus far, and now his head rested beneath a guillotine, waiting, encased in stone built by mortal men while Kirel Qircassia watched on high.

Erlebnis grasped the life of each of his emissaries and cut their strings. All of them—tens of thousands scattered around the whole world, yet concentrated densely in the Great Chu, died all at once, their power dissipating and returning to him in moments. Erlebnis grasped at his divine realm, where the Lodestars roamed, and crushed it.

to nothingness in moments. What few artifacts, collections, things, that Argrave hadn’t plundered imploded into nothingness alongside that. The good work carried out since his awakening as Erlebnis all

could not destroy. Though consigned to the Annals of the Universe, locked within the vaults, it was part of him. The Keeper, he called it. The ‘he’ that used

It was an old man, with sharp golden eyes, graying hair, a long beard, and a taste for black clothes. It was himself—the ‘he’ that once was, the man

Erlebnis became himself again.

onto Erlebnis as a tidal wave of pure, indescribable pain. All of the terrible things that he had done, all of the cruelty he’d inflicted, all that he’d done in the pursuit of knowledge… destroying empires, ruining families, killing billions, spawning the Smiling Raven, torturing the world itself… the anguish his mortal remnant felt was near enough to shatter his mind, divine or not. And yet at the end of all of that, like

ENDED

it had been his voice that said those words. The Stormfield, free

Erlebnis realized that he hated

him. Everything that he had ever done was going to be undone today—most of it already had been undone.

Stormfield!” someone shouted, and Erlebnis turned his head. One of the gods serving Kirel Qircassia shouted up at him from

Stormfield,”

with the black robes he’d once worn as a man billowing everywhere. By the time he landed, the Stormfield was already starting

squash Galamon like a bug. After that, I’ll go to Blackgard. I’ll make your sister relive what Felipe did to her, and then leave her to bleed out. I’ll feed her husband to his wyvern. I’ll flay your cousin,

a time, Erlebnis!” Argrave shouted back, his voice barely audible as the Stormfield once

had been born of the man. He felt that same relentless drive that had pushed him to where he ended up, alongside the vast collection of knowledge permeating his body. In magic, no one—least of all any here today—was

aura of Law condensed to defend Argrave, forming a solid gleaming wall that slowly took form. In moments, a gargantuan sword formed of Law’s will raised up high, ready to slam

am your opponent,” Law

swung down ferociously. Erlebnis raised his hand, mixing his divine power with magic. A great claw of