Lazy Gods and Hungry Shadows

Chapter 6

The faceless being tilted its head, the mirror-like exterior of its form rippling like disturbed water. Isabelle felt a deep scream climbing in her throat, but the overwhelming presence of the approaching darkness stole her air. Adrian, the man who’d easily destroyed groups with a hand motion, lay collapsed against her body like abandoned baggage. The needle in his neck shimmered with a sickly, pulsating violet glow that prevented his system from recovering.

“Adrian, wake up!” Isabelle screamed, shaking his shoulders. Her hands were wet with the cold sweat pouring from his body. “This isn’t a game anymore!”

The mirrored being stepped forward, its footwear making no sound on the wooden surface. It raised a thin hand, and the blades held by the surrounding darkness began to vibrate with a high sound that broke the nearby mirror. Every piece of glass lifted, rotating to face them like tiny weapons.

“The Lazy God rests,” the being hummed. The voice wasn’t one sound, but a mixture of hundreds of voices layering in an eerie tune. “We have waited for the poison of uncaring to enter his blood. Now, the price is paid.”

Isabelle grabbed the silver dagger from her leg, her fingers tight. She moved forward, not toward the leader, but toward the nearest shadow-soldier. Her blade passed through the darkness as if hitting frozen air, but the soldier didn’t react. It simply flicked its wrist, and a focused burst of empty force sent her rolling across the room. She crashed into the wall, the air leaving her lungs in a painful gasp.

“Stay away,” Isabelle gasped, wiping a small amount of blood from her mouth. She stood on shaky legs, placing herself among the being and the motionless Adrian. “If you think he is dead, you are more foolish than you appear. He is simply resting. When he opens his eyes, there won’t be enough of you left to even form a shadow.”

The being laughed, a rough, scraping sound that shook Isabelle’s very frame. It extended its hand, and the mirror on its face focused on her. Isabelle stared into her own gaze, but they were different. They were large, nervous, and filled with a sadness she hadn’t yet felt.

“You hold onto him like a drowning person grasping a rock,” the being whispered. It gestured, and the shadows became solid, their blades sharpening until they seemed to slice the air itself. “He is empty. A hollow of strength. He gives you nothing but a gradual death dressed as comfort.”

Adrian’s eyes flickered. Deep within the haze of the substance, the system display flashed a brilliant, furious red.

[System Error: Poison detected]

[Debuff: Paralysis of the Lazy God]

[XP Accumulation: 10,000,000 per second of suffering]

Adrian’s thinking felt like it was being plunged in freezing liquid, but the massive quantity of XP flowing into his mind was like a shot of energy to his essence. He didn’t move, but he started to inhale, the rhythm calm and measured. He was keeping count. He was always keeping count.

“Isabelle,” he murmured, his voice low and rough. The shadows paused, their blades floating inches from his body.

Isabelle gasped, her gaze jumping to him. “Adrian! Get up! They are going to slice us into pieces!”

Adrian opened a single eye. It was distant, and shimmering with a faint, lazy golden tone. He rotated his head, observing the mirrored being with pure disgust. “You know, the previous person who tried to poison me had much better selection in substances. This one tastes like burning hair and inexpensive fragrance. It is truly unpleasant.”

The being lunged ahead, its blade descending in a lethal swing aimed at Adrian’s neck.

Adrian didn’t move away. He didn’t pull back. He simply exhaled a breath that smelled of roasted coffee and pure, raw energy. A ripple of golden glow burst from his core, instantly destroying the shadow soldiers. They liquified into heaps of black liquid, their blades clattering pointlessly to the floor.

The mirrored being was thrown backward, its exterior breaking as it struck the outdoor railing. It scrambled to rise, but Adrian was already there. He didn’t get up gradually. He moved with a speed that was almost invisible, showing up in front of the being in a single, quick motion.

He seized the mirrored mask with one hand and squeezed. The material groaned under the force.

“I was enjoying a pleasant fantasy about a beach in a tropical location,” Adrian growled, his voice dropping lower. “You interrupted it with your theatrical behavior and your terrible appearance.”

“You… you cannot destroy a reflection,” the being hissed, its voice splitting into a thousand separate tones. “I am the appearance of your own fears!”

“I don’t have fears,” Adrian said, his grip getting tighter. “I have a plan. And at this moment, it says I should be spending time with a very attractive woman, not dealing with a chatty mirror.”

With a casual turn of his hand, Adrian broke the mask. A brilliant white glow erupted from inside the being, filling the space with an intensity that hurt the eyes. Isabelle shielded her face, stumbling back as the power of the release tore the covering off the primary room.

When the glow faded, the chamber was a frame of its previous self. The furnishings were reduced to fragments, the surfaces were scorched, and the floor was covered with glowing, metal particles. The being had vanished.

Adrian stood in the middle of the remains, his clothing slightly burned, his expression one of deep irritation. He examined his hand, then at the empty location where the mirror had been. He exhaled, fixing his shirt.

“That was extremely impolite,” he muttered.

Isabelle stood in the corner, her outfit torn, her hair messy, her cardiac rhythm racing. She watched him, the dread changed to a raw, overpowering wonder. She ran toward him, throwing her limbs around his lower body and putting her face into his torso. She could feel his heartbeat, consistent and robust.

“I thought they had captured you,” she cried, her voice quiet against his outer layer. “I thought it was ultimately finished.”

Adrian wrapped his limbs around her, his sensation surprisingly delicate. He examined the night above, which was currently visible through the absent covering. A circle of flying machines hovered distantly, their brilliant lights examining the dwelling. The Faction was coming, and they were not going to be as basic to manage as a single mirror.

“It is never finished,” Adrian said, his voice empty. He moved her back so he could examine her. His gaze was no longer sluggish. It was keen, sharp, and utterly frightening. “Isabelle, how quick can you steer an escape automobile?”

Isabelle blinked, a frantic laugh bubbling up in her respiratory system. “What?”

“The covering is absent, the bedroom is demolished, and I am certain the nearby inhabitants are going to phone emergency services,” Adrian said, pointing to the burning wreckage of the dwelling. “I don’t desire to battle a full military unit in my sleeping outfit. We are departing.”

“The estate is fortified!” Isabelle fought, though she was currently pulling him toward the concealed pathway. “We can battle them here!”

“I am a Lazy God, not a sufferer,” Adrian said, his tone complete. “I desire a lodging with a dinner bar and a meal service that doesn’t comprise assassins.”

As they arrived at the covered parking area, the sound of heavy footsteps rang through the corridors. The Faction had come. Quantities of equipped individuals in dark, operational garments were flooding into the primary entryway, their gear humming with lethal intensity.

Adrian halted at the driver’s side of a sleek, charcoal-colored sports automobile. He handed the opening mechanism to Isabelle and sat in the adjacent chair, his gaze moving to his system display.

[Objective Update: Evade the Faction]

[Current Status: Elevated Priority Objective]

[Reward: 500,000,000 XP]

Adrian rested his skull back against the comfortable backing and shut his orbitals. “Go quick, Isabelle. And attempt to not harm the finish. This is a really excellent automobile.”

Isabelle shoved the momentum lever to maximum. The tires shrieked, destroying grip against the hard surface as she drove at maximum velocity, the automobile hurling toward the strengthened metal barriers. Behind them, the dwelling erupted in a sequence of orderly detonations, rotating the complete estate into a funeral fire for the individuals who had dared to come in.

As they burst via the barriers and onto the open pathway, Adrian released a pleased exhale. He examined the metropolitan illumination radiating in the distance, his digits making a rhythmic percussion against the frame.

“So,” Adrian said, his tone familiar. “Which location comes next? I detected the northern section has some respectable after-hours pastry locations.”

Isabelle watched him, her gaze large, her hands gripping the steering equipment until her digits became pallid. She didn’t comprehend if he was a strategic thinker, a chaotic individual, or something much more alarming, but as she examined the returning mirror fill with the rotating lights of an approaching battalion, she understood she wouldn’t have selected anywhere else.

Abruptly, the automobile swerved forcefully. A massive, luminescent wall materialized on the pathway ahead, blocking their route. It was a construction of pure-light force, pulsating with adequate power to convert the transportation into liquid upon collision.

“Adrian!” Isabelle screamed, engaging the stoppage system.

Adrian didn’t open his orbitals. He simply extended his limb, touched the controls, and a glimmering, golden protective field rippled outward from the automobile, converting it into a projectile of pure driving force.

“Balance yourself,” he whispered, his orbitals flashing open. “And don’t examine backward.”

The automobile collided with the wall with a sound resembling a loud noise, but rather than halting, it punched straight via, the golden radiance tearing the pure-light construction into shimmering ribbons of pointless glow. As they navigated the detonation, the automobile turned, and Adrian examined via the side window to observe a hundred motorcycles rushing in from the darkness, their operators clad in charcoal covering and equipped with radiant, dark-colored cables.

They weren’t merely the Faction. They were the Vanguard. And they weren’t focused on discussion.

Adrian elevated himself, disregarding the automobile’s pace, and positioned himself onto the covering. The moving atmosphere whipped his hair back as he examined the rushing operators, his appendage gradually extending toward the grip of a cutting implement he hadn’t even manifested yet.

“Isabelle,” he bellowed via the roar of the motor. “Attempt to maintain the automobile level! This subsequent segment might be somewhat untidy!”