NOVGO.NET Chapter 115: Second Address
Layla now stood next to Dunya on one side of the Golden Throne, while Amal stood next to Huda on the other.
The four of them flanked Malik, each settled into their place without words.
Sinbad, meanwhile, remained seated on the throne’s armrest, silently claiming it as his spot.
Once, it was the Sultan’s shoulder, but for now, this would do.
Before them, the rest had arranged themselves in a loose semicircle—Duban and Zafar, Azeem and Aladdin, Noor and Safira.
All of them were waiting.
Malik appeared to be looking at them, his golden eyes sweeping across their faces. But in truth, he was looking elsewhere.
He was looking at the system.
—
╔════════╗
║OVERFLOW!║
╚════════╝
[You’ve felled a Class Nine Magi x 1]
[You’ve felled a Class Ten Magi x 15]
[You’ve felled a Class Eleven Magi x 14]
[You’ve felled a Class Twelve Magi x 19]
[Fear Points: 240 → 281]
—
’A lot of trouble for barely any reward.’
Only days ago, he would have wept for this many Fear Points.
Two hundred and eighty-one would have felt like a fortune, a mountain of power waiting to be spent.
But now, after holding a thousand in his hands, after spending six hundred on Rune upgrades and watching the numbers climb and fall, he saw it as nearly inconsequential.
The next step simply required so much more.
—
╔════════╗
║Fear System║
╚════════╝
{Class: 9 (Veil of the World)}
{Unlocking Class (8): 0 / 1,544}
{Fear Points: 281}
{Soul Glyphs: Shifting Ground (Single) x 1, Goliath’s Fall (Peak) x 1, Scorpion’s Sting (Peak) x 1, Devil’s Footsteps (Single) x 1}
{Invaders Fear}
[Order (Class One) - 20 % Neutral!]
[Southern Cross (Class Three) - 78 % Increasing!]
[Phoenix Faction (Class Four) - 36 % Neutral!]
[Owls Faction (Class Five) - 50 % Neutral!]
[Red Dragon Faction (Class Five) - 46 % Neutral!]
[Kalahari Faction (Class Five) - 40 % Neutral!]
[Walkers Faction (Class Six) - 63 % Increasing!]
[Maharajah Faction (Class Seven) - 74 % Increasing!]
{Items}
[Holy Relic — Stranger’s Ring]
[Holy Relic — Golden Throne]
[Holy Relic — Spine Splitter]
[Holy Relic — Stranger’s Necklace]
{Runes}
[Ember’s Touch (Rank 3) — 0/400]
[Goliath’s Fall (Rank 3) — 0/400]
[Scorpion’s Sting (Rank 3) — 0/400]
{Traits}
[Wielder Of Spine Breaker]
[Sultan of Blood and Fire]
[Misunderstood Villain]
[Bane Of Corruption]
[Bearer Of Ourboros]
[Lifter Of The Gate]
[Flipper Of Armies]
[Second Sun]
["Stranger"]
{Quests}
[First Main Quest: End Corruption’s Reign — 0% Complete]
[Second Main Quest: Drive Out The Invaders — 5% Complete]
[Sub-Quest: Annihilate Khaybar — 2 → 3 % Complete]
{Shop}
[Soul Glyphs]
[Embers Touch — 32 FP (Single) | 64 FP (Peak)]
[Goliath’s Fall — 32 FP (Single) | 64 FP (Peak)]
[Scorpion’s Sting — 8 → 16 FP (Single) | 16 → 32 FP (Peak)]
[Devil’s Footsteps — 8 → 16 FP (Single) | 16 → 32 FP (Peak)]
[Zephyr’s Kiss — 16 FP (Single) | 32 FP (Peak)]
[Shifting Ground — 32 FP (Single) | 64 FP (Peak)]
[Eternal Life — 64 FP (Single) | 128 FP (Peak)]
[Thirst’s Quench — 128 FP (Single) | 256 FP (Peak)]
[Dust to Stone — 256 FP (Single) | 512 FP (Peak)]
{Wheel Of Fortune}
[One Roll — 13 FP]
[Fate Points: None]
—
It had been a little while since he looked at all of it, and well, at this point, he could safely admit to himself that, eventually, barring a few things, his system would not be all-important.
That was to be expected, after all; its purpose was simply to unlock what once was, to strip away the barriers between him and the power that had always been his.
Much like his life, it too had a time limit.
Or perhaps it could evolve, much like he was.
It wasn’t static; a Divine Kingdom couldn’t be.
Still, Malik, though having once designed himself, found it a mystery, and unfortunately, a major part of it remained unusable to him.
Yes, he still couldn’t activate any Soul Glyphs. Safira’s healing, great as it was, couldn’t heal Angel-level attacks.
Once again, that was to be expected.
A battle between Angels usually led to lasting repercussions. It wouldn’t make sense for him to heal from it so easily, at least not from someone who wasn’t an Angel as well.
So for him to enhance his safety, he had to avoid spending any more Fear Points on temporary power and finally save up for his Ascension.
’I just need calm for a few days.’
With that, he finally looked at his people, his golden eyes landing on Duban.
"Well done."
Immediately, the general bowed his head, his smile replaced by the solemnity of a subject addressing his Sultan.
"My Sultan!"
Malik noted the shift, the distance that had grown between them.
Indeed... friends they were no longer, only subject and Sultan.
He barely remembered him—worse than the others, since Duban had not appeared in the fragments of memory he was given—but at least he knew his name and now had a vague sense of their relationship.
It would have to be enough.
"Safira, Azeem, Zafar, and Aladdin."
He continued, turning his gaze to the others.
"Well done."
They did the same, kneeling and bowing their heads.
"My Sultan!"
Malik smiled at them, then turned to nod at Dunya, Layla, Huda, and of course, Amal.
Though they hadn’t played a direct role like the rest, they weren’t any less important.
Everyone in this hall was irreplaceable to his sultanate and him, emotionally or otherwise.
"Because of you all, Our Promise could not have begun any better. Their dead Angel is evidence of that."
A ripple passed through the hall.
Bodies stiffened, and eyes widened.
They had known; they saw it themselves, Icarus, but hearing it stated outright, spoken from the Sultan’s own lips, was a different thing altogether.
IT WAS AN ANGEL!
Class Three in the Divine Hierarchy.
Universal powerhouses, capable of shaping worlds.
Their Sultan, who had only just Ascended, had killed one!
It was an incredible thing to fathom, and it gave them all something of a high—a rush of pride, fear, and wonder that left them trembling where they stood.
Eventually, though, they managed to calm themselves, seeing that their Sultan was going to continue.
"I would like to announce that to the world."
It was time for his second address.