Saer scowled and shook his head.“You two go eat.I’ll find you soon.”
Arek shot him a skeptical glance, but Alus shrugged.“As our captain commands, so shall it be.C’mon, Handsome.”Gluttony looped his arm through Greed’s, pivoting the two of them so they could disappear from sight.
Saer let out a long breath.
“They’re…something,” Ruki’s spirit remarked, dazed.
Saer made a noncommittal noise.
“Why won’t you give me to them?”
Why wouldn’t he?The answer to that question simmered dangerously on Saer’s lips, and he bit down on it.Shaking his head, Saer turned towards the soul.“Go.Disappear again.Wander as you will.”
“But I don’t—I can’t…?Saer, you’re my only—”
Saer’s short fuse ignited.“Begone!”
Ruki’s soul fell silent, its despondent gaze beaten.A breath of time passed, and it nodded at last, a stilted movement.
Seething, yet unsure why, Saer left his room.He slammed the door behind him, intent on finding the Twins so they could begin their work.
When he returned to his room in the late evening, Ruki’s essence was nowhere to be seen, relieving and saddening him all at once.
14
Moreyearsofharvestand travel passed.The spirit of Ruki came to Saer off and on throughout, but hadn’t reappeared for at least a decade, giving up after its pleas fell on deaf ears.What’s more, Saer insisted—both to Ruki and himself—he didn’t know what to do about the soul’s plight.
‘Why won’t you give me to them?’
Passing the spirit to his kin would ensure its delivery to Lucifer.Or, he could take it back himself.
Even as he struggled to admit it to himself, he couldn’t bear the thought of the boy’s soul suffering in Lucifer’s Hells until it was fit for consumption, and so he opted for a third option—allowing Ruki’s lonely, wandering, and infinite existence to continue while trying to scrub his mind of the discomfort that idea brought.Discomfort was, obviously, a human emotion.
Saer’s tongue sharpened and his temper somehow shortened over the years.Without Neyu, he embraced the cruelest and most efficient version of himself.It worked well for harvests—and kept his agitated and overworked mind distracted.
At Alus and Arek’s suggestion, Saer meandered southward to infiltrate desert colonies.The adaptability of humanity knew no bounds.At times, he even found himself admiring their ingenuity.
The oasis he targeted next stood home to a small settlement around an azure lake.The water shined, dotted with modest boats carrying early-morning fishermen.Saer chose a hut some distance away from the busiest sector—the communal stores—where fish were hung to dry along the edges of rooftops and gathered fruit sat in large baskets.From his front door, he could view the lake and a line of other homes.
The village drew him the moment he learned the reason for its origins.Humans found solace within its borders to escape persecution for not adhering to societal norms.Societal norms that, more often than not, fell back on religious practices.Dissension had broken out between those who believed in a singular god, versus humans who worshiped multiple.
This village leaned towards multiple.
Of course, Saer mused with some wryness, none of them knew for certain.A perfect target.
A month had nearly passed without the arrival of anotherDaemoenic, and the longer they took, the further Saer solidified his plan.He’d harvest the whole village.
Alone.
By the time one of his kin showed up, he’d pass the souls on and dismiss them to resume hisDaemoenicduty in solitude.If he could accomplish such a monumental task by himself, had he ever really needed anyone else?
Over a handful of weeks, Saer manipulated himself to the head of the council with strategic pushes and pulls on his sin.The appointment afforded him the power to oversee a weekly meeting, hearing grievances from the settlers and offering judgment or solutions as befitted the situation.
A platform at the center of the village hosted the gathering with chairs lined the stage and a long table in front.Saer sat in the centermost seat while the other council members flanked him.Villagers took their turns standing and speaking from the ground level.
The audience began as sparse and disinterested.
On his first day as head councilman, a married couple was hurried forward by a sobbing friend, victims of heat sickness.Seizing the opportunity, Saer leapt from the platform and went to the ailing duo.He laid hands on their foreheads and absorbed their excess warmth, pulling them from the edge of delirium and death.
