All Chapters of DEVOUR THE GODS: They had all the power. He took it: Chapter 11
- Chapter 20
41 chapters
Chapter 11: The Surface
didn't sleep.The new body didn't require it. Not the same way. I lay on the bed Silas had provided and stared at the ceiling, feeling power circulate through channels that hadn't existed a week ago. Eight abilities humming in perfect harmony. Ready. Waiting.Hungry.The locket pulsed in my chest. No longer external. Part of me now. Its crystal heart beating in rhythm with what remained of my human one. The infinite space inside it called out. Empty. Demanding to be filled.Soon.Footsteps approached my door. Light. Careful. I knew who it was before she knocked."Come in, Isadora."She entered slowly. Her neck had healed better than expected. The scars would remain, but she could turn her head without pain now. She studied me in the dim light."You look different.""I am different.""Better or worse?""Both." I sat up. "You came to say goodbye.""Came to make sure you're not going Hollow. Silas is paranoid. Wanted someone to check on you before morning." She leaned against the doorfra
Chapter 12: The Battle of Argentum
The first wave hit like a tsunami.Fire hot enough to melt stone. Ice cold enough to shatter steel. Lightning that could stop hearts. Wind sharp enough to flay flesh from bone. Force that could crush organs. Poison that could dissolve tissue. A hundred different magics unleashed simultaneously in a coordinated assault designed to obliterate anything human.I wasn't human anymore.The locket opened wide. The infinite space inside became a void. A black hole that consumed incoming magic and converted it into power I could use. Every spell they threw made me stronger. Every attack fed the hunger.The transformation had made me into exactly what the old magic promised. A perfect weapon. A devourer.The assault lasted thirty seconds. Continuous. Overwhelming. The Grand Hall's protective wards shattered under the strain. Windows exploded outward. Marble cracked. Chandeliers fell, crashing to the floor in cascades of crystal.When it ended, I stood untouched.The magistrates stared. Disbelie
Chapter 13: The Magistrates
The Council building rose before me like a monument to arrogance.Twelve stories of white marble and enchanted glass. Wards layered so thick the air shimmered. Defensive barriers that could withstand siege weapons. Magical infrastructure built over two centuries to make this place impregnable.None of it would save them.I walked up the steps. No stealth. No subtlety. Just direct approach. They knew I was coming. Could feel my presence like a wound in their carefully ordered world.The main doors stood open. Beyond them, a vast entrance hall stretched toward a central atrium. Sunlight poured through the glass dome above, illuminating marble columns and intricate floor mosaics depicting the Council's founding.Empty. Completely empty.They'd evacuated civilians. Smart. This would be messy.I walked forward. My footsteps echoed in the cavernous space. Each step bringing me closer to the heart of the system. To the people who'd built a world where I didn't matter.A voice boomed from eve
Chapter 14: The Dregs
The walk from the Garden District to the Dregs took an hour.Not because of distance. Because people kept stopping me. Emerging from homes. From hiding places. From shadows where they'd watched the Council building burn with magical fire.They didn't attack. Didn't flee. Just stared. Trying to understand what I was. What I represented.A woman approached first. Middle-aged. Worn hands. Factory worker, probably. She stopped ten feet away. Close enough to speak. Far enough to run if necessary."Is it true?" she asked. "The Council. The magistrates. You drained them all?""Yes.""They're powerless now? Empty? Like they made so many of us feel?""Yes."She started crying. Not from fear. From relief. From vindication. From seeing the powerful brought low.Others emerged. More questions. More tears. Some angry. Some grateful. All desperate to understand what happened next."What are you going to do?" a man asked. Young. Maybe twenty. Merchant class, judging by his clothes. "The Council main
Chapter 15: The New Order
Three days passed.Three days of standing in the streets. Distributing powers. Listening to stories. Learning names. Hearing what people actually wanted instead of assuming I knew better.It was exhausting.Not physically. The transformation had made my body nearly tireless. But emotionally. Mentally. Each transfer required focus. Required understanding the person receiving power. Required judgment about whether they'd use it responsibly or selfishly.Required becoming exactly what I'd tried to destroy. A gatekeeper. An authority. Someone who decided who deserved magic and who didn't.The irony wasn't lost on me.But the alternative was worse. Just handing out abilities randomly created chaos. People with combat magic attacking neighbors over old grudges. People with fire abilities burning buildings accidentally. People with healing trying to help but making injuries worse through inexperience.Power without guidance was just another form of violence.So I guided. Taught. Established
Chapter 16: The Counterattack
The attack came at dawn on the seventh day.I felt them before I saw them. Magical signatures converging from the north. Dozens. Maybe hundreds. Moving with military precision toward the Dregs. Toward me.Marcus had finally mobilized his resistance.I stood on the roof of my old building. The one with the broken lock and water-stained ceiling. The place where I'd spent years studying theory and hoping for power that never came.Now power radiated from me like heat. Visible to anyone with magical sight. A beacon marking exactly where they needed to strike.Good. Better to face them here than let them attack civilians.The child appeared at the roof access door. Still wearing yesterday's clothes. He'd been sleeping in the plaza. Lots of people had. The garden had become a gathering place. A symbol of what was possible."They're coming," he said. Not a question. A statement."Yes.""Are you going to kill them?""If I have to.""You said you'd try not to hurt people.""I said I'd try to b
Chapter 17: The Council of Districts
The first council meeting happened in Mrs. Chen's garden.Not planned. Not formal. Just people gathering naturally. Discussing problems. Proposing solutions. Arguing about resource distribution and power allocation and everything that came with suddenly having abilities they'd never imagined.I watched from the edge. Not participating. Just observing. Letting them work through conflicts without my interference."This is good," Elena said beside me. She'd been staying in the Dregs for the past three days. Documenting. Advising. Keeping me accountable. "They're starting to self-govern. That's the foundation you need.""They're also arguing about everything. Can't agree on basic resource distribution. Can't decide who manages communal projects. Can't function without someone stepping in to mediate.""That's democracy. Messy. Inefficient. But ultimately more stable than dictatorship."A woman's voice rose above the others. Angry. "I grew this food with my magic! Why should I share it with
Chapter 18: The Emissary
The stranger arrived on the tenth day.I felt him before I saw him. A magical signature unlike anything I'd encountered. Not strong exactly. Different. Foreign. Like he'd learned magic from principles that didn't match Council doctrine.He walked through the Dregs without fear. Past people who'd been given powers. Past children playing in streets that had been dangerous weeks ago. Past Mrs. Chen's garden that fed hundreds.Heading directly toward me.I waited in the plaza. Sitting on the fountain edge. Watching him approach. He wore traveling clothes. Dusty. Worn. A pack on his back. No visible weapons. But power radiated from him in waves that made my enhanced senses light up.Dangerous. Very dangerous.He stopped ten feet away. Studied me with eyes that saw too much. "Kael Thorne. The Devourer. The one who broke the Council of Argentum.""That's me. And you are?""Jin Zhao. Emissary from the Eastern Confederacy. I've traveled three thousand miles to meet you." He set down his pack.
Chapter 19: The Northern Front
The resistance attacked again on the fourteenth day.Not the Dregs this time. They'd learned that lesson. Instead, they hit supply lines. Trade routes. The infrastructure connecting my territory to the outside world.Smart. Strategic. Cutting me off without directly confronting my power.Marcus's work, probably. He understood warfare. Understood that overwhelming force wasn't the only path to victory. Starvation worked just as well. Slower. More painful. But effective.The council convened emergency session. All five representatives plus me. Jin Zhao attended as observer. Silent. Taking notes. Judging every word and action."The northern trade routes are blocked," David reported. Merchant Quarter representative. He understood economics better than anyone. "Caravans aren't getting through. Supplies are being intercepted. We have maybe two weeks of food remaining. Less if population grows.""Can we break the blockade?" Sarah asked. Industrial District. Always direct. "Send combat mages
Chapter 20: The Bridge
Dawn came cold and grey.I stood at the southern end of the old bridge. Stone construction. Centuries old. Built before the Council. Before magical hierarchy. Before everything that had led to this moment.Neutral ground. No territory belonged to either side here. Just empty space where the city's history pressed down through ancient architecture.The child had wanted to come. I'd refused. Too dangerous. Too likely to end in violence despite everyone's best intentions. He'd argued. I'd remained firm. Finally, he'd made me promise to come back.I'd promised. Hoped it wasn't a lie.Elena stood beside me. Silent. Observing. Ready to document whatever happened. Her presence was supposed to guarantee good faith. Proof that both sides wanted resolution.Jin waited further back. Twenty paces. Close enough to observe. Far enough to claim neutrality. The Confederacy representative watching. Judging. Deciding my fate based on choices I'd make in the next hour.Mrs. Chen had insisted on coming.