As I gave a nod, Father scoffed. “Of course that self-aggrandizing heathen is calling it that. It carries the weight of divine decree, his belief that he’s replacing Celestial law with his own.” He shook his head. “As if that’s something to be proud of in any sense.”
“The word signifies‘holy’,”Ketheron added. “But the very nature of it, using necromancers and employing his perversion of Celestial power means it’s actually predation, immortality theft, and metaphysical colonization. That he can frame it as the opposite is deeply disturbing and speaks to how warped he truly is.”
“Ambrose called it a parasitic dimension, yes?” Mom spoke.
“He’s had it functioning for twenty years without it impacting anything,” I informed them all.
“His intention is to bring thisSanctusonto the mortal plane, son,” Dad told me.
“No. That’s an assumption Ambrose made because of the destabilization he felt to the balance, which he then associated with Sanctus. Ruxnoth just very slightly connected it to the mortal plane and drew a tiny bit from its lifeforce to take the edge off. He’s straining to continue to hold up the construct now. It’s been years with him doing it all by himself. The necromancers just conceal it. He’s the onebreathing lifeblood into it, as he referred to it.”
Stunned looks came my way.
Worse. Concerned looks.
“So that’s how he framed it to you,” Dad mused to himself.
Father asked me, “Did he tell you what he intends your role in it to be?”
“Yes. He needs help to sustain it. Then he won’t have to disturb the balance any longer or draw from the lifeforce of the mortal plane.”
“He’ll draw fromyourlifeforce, tiny god,” Ketheron warned me.
“A non-issue, given that I can’t die,” I countered.
He looked over at Father worriedly, who told me, “He’s lying about not intending to draw from the mortal plane. With your power, it would enable him to finally do so. If it was possible on his own, he would have already done it. Ruxnoth wishes to create his own kingdom, his own seat of indomitable power. That has always been his goal.”
“Back then, maybe. But people change, don’t they? Especially those who’ve suffered through a lot—the loss of their home, their very identities.”
He got my meaning and shook his head at me likening the situation to what had happened to him when he’d Fallen. “It’s not the same. I can assure you of that.”
I blew out a breath. “He didn’t hurt me. And as much as it upset me that he hurt Ambrose, I now know that he did that out of desperation, to be allowed some time to meet with me. The same with that infection he afflicted me with. He was trying to gauge who I am, not just what I am, so he could be properly prepared for meeting with me in person.”
“You mean, kidnapping you, Win,” Pops ground out.
“What choice did he have? Because of the protections surrounding me, his reputation, being afraid of revealing himself and that he’d escaped the Severance. He had to go about it covertly.”
“Motherfucking puppet master,” Dad ground out, pinching the bridge of his nose.
Father regarded me intently. “He is creating an emotional commonality between you. Likening himself as the persecuted alongside you. Being feared and abhorred solely because of what he is. That’s not an accurate depiction, Winter. It’s because ofwhohe is.”
“It’s been over twenty years. If his goal was to take over the mortal plane, why wait this long to do it?” I asked.
“Because he needed you to be of age, to come into your power,” Dad said.
“No. He could have intensified the connection he already has to it now, spread it further. He didn’t need me. He wouldn’t still need anything from me now if he’d gone that route.”
Dad, Father, and Ketheron exchanged looks.
Vax reached out behind Zayn and stroked my shoulder. “Or, he specifically did it this way in order to use you as a fail-safe. If he’d immediately carried out his actual goal of subjugating the mortal plane and all its realms to his rule via pushing Sanctus upon us all, if he’d failed, there would be no other course of action other than to accept defeat and annihilation. However, going about it this way, he has you on his side. He also has a means to strengthen his balance-violating construct, so that when he attempts his mortal plane goal, it will remainandbe able to be hidden if he’s thwarted. He could then go on, his construct could go on—and even undetected by any of us.”
“That’s a hell of a reach,” I said.
“Deeply disturbing too,” Zayn added.
“It’s not a reach for Ruxnoth with the way he is,” Father spoke. “He thinks many moves ahead. This sort of thing is absolutely his forte.”
Mom sighed heavily. “What he intends to do exactly is conjecture at this point. The answer to that, a lot of it will be found once we understand the precise makeup of this Sanctus.” She looked at Dad. “You’ve got it from the necromantic angle, obviously, and the rest—”
