Chapter 14-399: Movements and Shifting Alliances (1/2)

June 1, 2019, Penitent Hall...

Legion was with me as I entered Penitent Hall once again.

I came here regularly, speaking with the Warlocks old and new, monitoring their conditions and intentions... and dropping off massive amounts of goldweight for them to burn away into dust.

All of them had seen literally billions of dollars in gems and goldweight Burn away in Infusing Patterns by now. They had watched craftcoins and jewelry and beautiful gemstones dissolve into sparkles and get poured into base magical Weapons, Armor, Cure Wands, Death Ward Amulets, and plenty of other things big and small.

It came, bright and shiny and glittery, ransoms beyond kings; and they Burned it all away to kill the undead.

There were a few who thought about taking some of that for themselves, and a couple couldn’t control their greed, despite the fact they were being paid the same rate as literally thousands of others to do this work, if not better.

They got moved out of Infusing to straight power generation all the time, and a black mark was applied.

Get three such marks, and they were booted. If they had a Dark Pact, they had twelve hours before the hunt began.

Shvaughn’s terror-hunt of Kiss and Heart-Pacted Warlocks around the world, and the implacable vengeance of the Morningsuns on all those associated with the Church of Shoul, meant not only that there were fewer beings around Granting Pacts, but those willing to face the forces actively hunting them with ill intentions were even fewer.

It also meant that more and more of their Warlocks were coming in to Penitent Hall, ready to leave the hunt, work for a living, and contribute to society, instead of feed on it.

Yeah, a lot of them had tremendous chips on their shoulders, grievances against the whole world, and sad stories of violence and pain and emotional trauma that could be shared among others who actually knew what it all meant.

They could also feel their Pacts burn en vivus, and the influence the Pacts had on them also burning away, leaving them startled and aware of just how much pressure had been slowly placed on them over the years to generate more Sin and provide examples of what Warlocks could do for the foolish.

Some were smart enough and wise enough to consider the implications, and maybe choose a new path. Others just didn’t care; they just didn’t want to be hunted anymore, and even if it was a soft prison, the fact they were getting paid well meant they could either enjoy simple pleasures for themselves, or hire others to contribute to things they cared about.

And then some had decided that they were going to fight their doom.

Their fates at this point were laid out before them.

They could die with their Pact, and get sent into the Shroud, hoping some other sucker took their Pact... at which time they’d be trapped in the Shroud and fuel for it, instead of going Down. Trading one horrible doom for another.

They could be Penitent, and use the power of their Pact against the interests of its owners. They could hope those Powers would cancel the Pact, but that probably wasn’t too likely... in which case they were putting a massive thumb in the eye of their Patrons before they went Down.

Yes, using the Pact to do Good was possible. Yes, it would sucker some people in. But now, the onus was on the other side. If all its Warlocks decided to be Penitent, was the value of their souls worth what was being given up to work against them, especially when those Warlocks rapidly became aware of what the true cost was, and would speak about it?

Some of them knew they could ask to be Consumed, and so their soul would not go Down if that Warlock did not. If it was Legion... they might not go Down at all...

The last option was to take their fate into their own hands and break the Eternal Barrier, climbing beyond the power of their Pacts to take their souls.

That would take tremendous amounts of Karma, great amounts of time, and a frankly extraordinary amount of luck to defy all the odds of making it there and beyond.

Unless they had a Pact Morituri.

With the Pact Morituri, they would not die as long as the Shroud was around. They would simply be reborn at the next dusk in the nearest Shroudzone, to take up the fight again.

The undead of countless worlds, reduced to vivus and freed from their slavery, would provide the Karma. Even if the Shroud suppressed living souls, there would be no stopping their Leveling. Eventually, if they kept fighting, they would get there.

In doing so, they would free world after world from the Shroud, be it purging it from a world that had already fallen, or stopping it from seizing another.

And if they passed Twenty and made Eternal... what then would the universe hold for them? All that they had to fear on the way was something that destroyed their very souls, which the Shroud would take very personally.

That, and potentially being under the Shroud fighting undead for a VERY long time... but if you had friends and comrades there, and were legitimately saving people, and fighting what could only be a very GOOD fight... was that so bad?

Especially if you made it to the end?

Today was the day I came to pick them up.

The Warlocks of Penitent Hall were basically all Primos, so that meant they could take multiple Pacts. Adding on the Morituri Pact was simple. Adding on a Volcano Pact from the Firezone wasn’t hard, either.