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449: Maker's Punishment

Author: Random_writer Word Count: 10414 Updated: 2025-06-09 15:35:49

Maker's Punishment

Doevm sat at the foot of the bed, took in a deep breath, and called out a name: "Maker."2

A few seconds passed with no visible change, and just as Doevm was about to call for her again, he sensed a subtle distortion in reality, like a tremor along a spider's thread.

Bar patrons drinking and cursing beneath the floorboards fell dead quiet. One by one the dust particles, careless dancing in the stale air, turned rigid under flickering light crystals which, in the intervals between light and dark, grew brighter. Doevm's shadow was repeatedly thrown onto the ground then swallowed within a sea of black, weaker with each interval. It dove away from its apathetic owner towards the door. Suddenly Maker was there, and Doevm's shadow was not.

Maker was as radiant as ever in her usual white dress, her flawless appearance more doll-like than human as her dainty feet hovered above the dirty floorboards. She was radiant, beautiful, and as dangerous as they come.

  Doevm blinked through tears. Much like the sun, there was no getting used to her radiance, so he failed to notice her neutral expression. "I want to-"

Maker cut him off with a voice oozing with disdain, "If you planned all of this just to get my hopes up, then I'm disappointed in you, Lich."

Doevm looked up in confusion and, as his eyes met Maker's, his body tensed. In all the time he had known her, her abominable smile had persisted through threats to break her game, to kill her, and it nary even twitched as he threatened to murder her children. His thoughts spiraled into chaos as he struggled to keep to the script in his head. "W-what are you talking about? I called you here to-"

Maker slightly tilted her head to the side and an invisible force dragged Doevm to the ground. Doevm didn't know what was happening or even how she did it, just that something was wrong. Copper life essence poured out of his bulging limbs as he instinctively resisted, but he could only bring himself to the prostrating position, which was likely her intention.

"You seem to have confused your role in this game," Maker's spoke plainly, yet her voice resonated deafeningly. "You willingly stepped onto the game board so I am surprised you didn't expect this coming. I seem to have overestimated you, Lich."

The memory of Maximus's words echoed in Doevm's head. "You are a piece of the game, are you not?"

Doevm cursed at himself for his carelessness. How had Maker convinced him that she was just an observer? It was simple. It was because he could understand her, a part of her to be accurate. He knew firsthand how immortality numbed the sense of self and how goals acted as an anchor, and he naively thought that he could predict her behavior based on that fact. Or more accurately, he underestimated her role.

He was so used to interacting with powerful beings as a Lich that he forgot that he, currently a mortal, was dealing with the power of gods. Furthermore, Maker was the god of gods. As a Lich he had treated his pawns the same way (for he manipulated the dead and the living alike). Countless faces blended together as they all had begged for forgiveness whenever they were no longer of value to him.

Doevm opened his mouth. His first instinct was to do the same as his expendable pawns had done, but he saw the emotionless face of Maker and he thought better of it. An apology wouldn't change anything. Instead of pleading for mercy, he shut his mouth and waited while Maker vented her anger.

Maker tilted her head and strands of raven-black hair drooped over her long eyelashes. The weight increased and Doevm collapsed in agony. It took one second for Doevm to cough up the air in his lungs. They silently screamed for air. The next second, his face shifted colors and his veins bulged. Strands of drool escaped through his gritted teeth.

As immense as the pressure was, even though his bones threatened to collapse, Doevm slowly raised his head until his eyes met with Maker's. "More weight," he silently mouthed the words.

Maker seemed to understand as she slightly tilted her head even more.

Doevm finally could no longer hold up to the increased pressure as he coughed up a mouthful of blood and in that very moment, the pressure released. Maker stopped tilting her head as a smile returned to her face.

"It is good to see that you have not lost your will to continue," Maker said.

Doevm remained on the ground gulping down lungfuls of air, even though each movement of his bruised rib cage reignited the pain in his bruised body. He quickly regenerated using life essence, which only took a few seconds since Maker had been careful not to break anything. It meant that he was still useful.

"Why? What did I-I do?" Doevm sputtered.

"Nothing, you did absolutely nothing," Maker explained, her smile twitching.

Doevm wasn't sure if it was intentional or not so he kept quiet.

Maker continued: "When Kilot was in danger, you just stood there and watched, just like Elero. Actually I go so far as to say, even though Elero's mind wasn't present, she was far more useful than you. In the end, it was the thoughtless instinct of Frey that saved the day, was it not? At least he lives up to his family's legacy. Maybe he would be better suited to your role. There are other options. I assure you of that."

Doevm, who practically lived under the burden of Maker's expectations, could hardly believe what he was hearing. Had he not been drawn into this game in the first place by the gods' whims? Had he not refused her time and time again? Had he not just gotten his life back together? He had been a Lich who held life and death in the palm of his hand, and there he was kneeling before another.

The boiling rage in his gut fought to escape his lips. He bit his tongue hard enough to draw blood; it spread a cool, calming rationality over the bile. It was hard enough to resolve the struggle with his two identities, but in these rare instances where his Lich-self and his human identity overlapped, it was near impossible to control himself.

Doevm slowly explained himself, carefully choosing each word: "The situation appeared like a trap. I thought that no killer would just leave Kilot on the street unless he were bait. It was the only logical conclusion in spite of illogical gods. When I finally pieced everything together, the assassin took action. I wasn't hesitating; I was just too slow to act. The goddess was an unknown variable."

Maker listened to his entire explanation and nodded, quick to regain her composure. "I see. So that was the reason. Then, why did you call me here?" She asked if nothing had happened.

Doevm stood up, but the backlash of expending so much life essence had him leaning on the foot of the bed. "To make a deal," he said.

Maker's smile widened. "I am an observer, however, so do keep that in mind," she said without hiding her interest.

Doevm took a breath. He felt as though he were walking a tightrope, but there was no one else he could go to. "First of all, my hesitation will happen again," he began. Maker's expression twitched so he hurriedly followed up with, "Unless I get more information. I need to know how the gods can interfere with the game."

He carefully gauged Maker's reaction, but she didn't reveal anything, simply nodding and asking, "And in return, what will you give me?"

"Details of the newest soulmagic I obtained," Doevm said.

Maker didn't hesitate: "Deal."

'I should have asked for more,' Doevm thought, however what was done was done. Negotiation wasn't his forefront when he usually took what he wanted, and he couldn't think of anything else he wanted out of her. While he could have asked the exact numbers and positions of the incoming army, for example, there was no telling if she would skew the information to make things more interesting. His punishment had been a wake up call. It reminded him of who, or rather what sort of being he was dealing with.

"I'll go first," Maker said. "In regards to interference, the gods have no jurisdiction."

Doevm cocked his head to the side. "Is that all?"

Maker nodded. "Yes. It is one of the rules of the game.

1. A god must have a champion.

2. A god cannot directly interfere with any pieces.

3. A god cannot kill a piece without permission.

4. No god can directly harm another god.

5. Whoever wins the game will inherit my position.

6. The conditions for victory are to kill a single god.

7. A god can only give information with permission.

8. No god can descend into the mortal realm without permission.

9. A hundred years must pass between the births of all champions in play in order for them to be reincarnated.

10. A person must be willing in order to become a god's champion."

Doevm memorized them all as she spoke, but he'd have to analyze each rule later. They seemed like restrictions, however they allowed certain leeway with different interpretations. He focused on rule number two and asked, "The Goddess's assault wasn't direct interference?"

Maker shook her head. "She influenced, but she did not directly interfere. By the way, she can only do that sort of thing every once and a while. The same goes for her brother…or so it did until a little while ago."

'Is it because I killed one of his pieces?' Doevm thought. 'That might mean that, if a god's piece is destroyed, they lose power to interfere with the mortal realm.'

"Careful with that line of thinking," Maker warned as if she could see straight through Doevm's thoughts. "Don't go destroying everything or you'll suffer a backlash of fighting fate. While you may have the ability to, it's not as though you can just defy fate every day. There are consequences."

'There are unwritten rules as well?' Doevm guessed. 'That would explain why the world shakes when the hero comes of age when it's not a stated rule.' He rubbed his temples. 'It gets more complex the more I think about it.'

"As per your side of the bargain, what did you gain from Maximus's legacy?" Maker asked.

Doevm wasn't sure how much information he should give her, so he started with, "The power to separate soul and body."

Maker's expression didn't change as she slowly faded away with two words. "Poor thing."

Doevm stood there, dumbfounded. "That's it?" he asked.

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Catalog (467)
1: Prologue 2: Pawn 3: Abuse 4: Rose Thorn 5: A Mother Worries 6: War Monk 7: Virility Mansion 8: Coming war 9: Cleaning books 10: Frey 11: Strength vs. Skill 12: A day in Jameson's Shoes 13: Investigation 14: Lava Boar (Part 1) 15: Lava Boar (part 2) 16: Lava Boar (part 3) 17: Analysis 18: The Past 19: Frey's Challenge 20: Life Essence Training 21: Unhappy Birthday 22: The Truth 23: Leaving 24: Numbskull and Goon 25: Emma 26: Double Date 27: Blacksmith 28: Double Date (Part 2) 29: Mummified Arm 30: Prophecy 31: A Single Cut 32: Inheritance 33: Blasphemy 34: The Rat 35: Twisted Bone 36: Old Addiction 37: Caught 38: Interrogation 39: Welcome to Squad Six 40: Friendly Spar With Squad Six 41: Throwing Knives 42: Calm Before the Storm 43: Manticore 44: Aftermath of The First Battle 45: Promotion 46: New Rivalry 47: Light and Healing Magic 48: Second Mission 49: Wade's Bad Call 50: Outnumbered and Isolated 151: Divine Intervention 152: Final Push 153: Reaper 154: Report 155: Light at the End of the Tunnel 156: Rest 157: Letter 158: Shopping (Part 1/2) 159: Shopping (Part 2/2) 160: Initiation 161: Group of Four 162: Amphiboards 163: The Paddle 164: Start! 165: Bullfrog 166: Noble 167: Underwater 168: Tongue 169: Distant Gaze 170: Trak 171: Doubt 172: Liar 173: Fang 174: Cerberus 175: Teamwork 176: Tired 177: Spear Throwing 178: Breakdown 179: Team 180: Payback 181: Civil Discussion 182: Chains and Anger 183: Mistakes 184: Slight tug 185: Growing pain 186: The Winning Plan 187: Corpse 188: Miss Vessa 189: Old Ways 190: Infectious Determination 191: Numbed Pain 192: Hues 193: Inexperienced (Part 1/2) 194: Inexperienced (Part 2/2) 195: Maddening Rage (Part 1) 196: Maddening Rage (Part 2) 197: The Other Half 198: Lich Talk 199: Demonic Weapon 200: Worst of the Worst 251: Piece of an Origin Story 252: Regret 253: Decisions Decisions 254: Sparring Session 255: Overwhelming Defeat 256: Discovery 257: Suspicion 258: The Broken Statue 259: Gossip 260: The Reach 261: Elero's Return 262: Mr. Lich's true identity 263: Breaking a Habit 264: The Notemaker 265: Beatings, Deadlines, and a Voice in Her Head 266: Unfinished Product 267: The "Jet" Property 268: Inspiration 269: Rough First Day 270: Frustrating Stagnation 271: Visitor 272: Price of Resurrection 273: Becoming Doevm 274: Room of Jars 275: Familiar Smile 276: Dark Magic and Shadows 277: Red and Blue 278: Punishment 279: Sneaking Out 280: The Old Puppet 281: Shattered 282: Assembling the Pieces 283: Timeline 284: Sticks and Stones 285: Initiative, Insults, and Interrogation 286: Thomas and Elero discover the power and the secret then they go and discover the ruins. Man how long can these titles be? I 287: Regret 288: Revamped Story and a Crowded Room 289: Attack 290: Changing Nightmare 291: Another Crack in the Seal 292: Physical descriptions are important 293: Backyard 294: Pale complexion 295: Costly Resurrection 296: Rabbid Rabbit Thomas 297: Cramped Coffin 298: Advanced Spellcraft 299: Gradual Return 300: Larque's Warning 51: Elven Techniques 52: Hopi's Rage 53: Bottled Slimes 54: Three Men of the Von Trike Household 55: Hooks and Vines 56: The Nest 57: Ancient Ruins 58: Legacy (Part 1) 59: Legacy (Part 2) 60: Easter Egg Hunt: Ghoul Edition 61: Regrouping 62: Carnage 63: Reckless and Stupid 64: Self Doubt 65: DID YOU WANT ME TO BE QUIET!? 66: Meeting With Marcus 67: New Men 68: Internal Battle 69: The Plan 70: "Honorable" Duel (Part 1) 71: "Honorable" Duel (Part 2) 72: You're Invited 73: Praise the Goddess 74: A Lich That Hates Magic 75: Ten Months Later 76: Doevm vs. Oliver 77: A Weird Lich 78: Final Battle (Part 1) 79: Final Battle (Part 2) 80: Final Battle (Part 3) 81: General 82: Aftermath 83: No Longer Human. No Longer Lich. 84: Blinded By Greed 85: The Spider 86: Back On Track! 87: Dark World 88: Return to the Virility Household 89: Old Man's Story 90: Meeting The Family 91: Dummy Brigade 92: Weak 93: New Weapons 94: First Mission 95: Sheltered Boy 96: No Graves 97: Severed Head 98: Specimen No. 12 99: Storm Brewing 100: Departure 201: Distrust 202: Spear and Shield 203: Winner 204: Karma 205: Training Complete 206: Ruined Church 207: The Scene of Slaughter 208: Giant's Rage 209: Bottled Emotions 210: Gregen's Blade 211: Inhumane 212: Just My Luck 213: The Demon's Prey 214: Fallen (Part 1/2) 215: Fallen (Part 2/2) 216: Losing Control 217: Nightmare 218: Lich 219: Final Secrets Revealed 220: Twisted Mind 221: Glossary, NOT A CHAPTER 222: Coming to A Close 223: Jackal's Deal 224: Swaying the Crowd 225: Away With You 226: New Recruit 227: Jar of Memories 228: Two Blue Flames 229: Cerlius 230: The Knight's Academy 231: Meeting (1/3) 232: Meeting (2/3) 233: Meeting (3/3) 234: Entering the Academy (1/4) 235: Entering the Academy (2/4) 236: Entering the Academy (3/4) 237: Entering the Academy (4/4) 238: Cerlius's First Day of School 239: Three Concepts of Magic 240: Picking up the Pieces 241: Third Concept 242: Fish Slap 243: My name is Cerlius! 244: Thomas's Natural Charisma 245: New Disciples 246: Consequences of Strength 247: Old Wheelchair 248: Judgement 249: Natural Evil Cannot Be Forgotten 250: Deal with a Demon 101: Scrap City (Part 1) 102: Scrap City (Part 2) 103: Curiosity Killed the Cat 104: Draken Capital 105: Flash of Light 106: Separation 107: Slow Recovery 108: Jackal Von Trike 109: Alexander Finlish 110: Place Your Bets 111: Catch 112: Kill Him 113: Fear 114: Depths of the Capital 115: Missing 116: Meeting of the Nobles 117: Creature (Part 1) 118: Creature (Part 2) 119: Creature (Part 3) 120: Later 121: Braces 122: Abandoned Food 123: Elero Mech 124: Masochist 125: Poisonous 126: Halfbreed 127: Jackal vs. Daniel (Part 1) 128: Jackal vs Daniel (Part 2) 129: March 130: Lord Brandon Von Trike 131: Raid (Part 1) 132: Raid (Part 2) 133: Raid (Part 3) 134: Raid (Part 4) 135: Raid (Part 5) 136: Raid (Part 6) 137: Sore Loser 138: Human Suffering 139: Broken (Part 1) 140: Broken (Part 2) 141: Dark Magician 142: The Plan 143: Unmoving 144: Action Reaction 145: Going Deeper 146: Unknown Voice 147: Gunshots 148: Illusion Spell 149: A Girl 150: Anger Management Issues 301: Alliance 302: Shattered Jar 303: Tricks up the Tyrant's Sleeve 304: Battlefield 305: Deep Scars 306: Pull 307: Tormentor 308: Heretic 309: Incoming Storm Cloud 310: Ominous Birth 311: To Take on an Army 312: Green Gemstone 313: Place of Origin 314: Birth of the Lich 315: You Either Die a Hero or... 316: Tired of Hiding 317: Demon King's Power 318: Different Magics 319: Guidance 320: Birth of a Berserker 321: Targets 322: The Survivors 323: Long Awaited Contact 324: The Final Cliffhanger (part 1/2) 325: The Final Cliffhanger (part 1.5/2) Yes, I know I f***ed up 326: Final Final Cliffhanger, an apology 327: Quiet Arrival 328: Wizard Kick 329: Dead Silence 330: Dwindling Defenses 331: Positions Everyone, for the Show Begins 332: Imminent demise 333: Dud Part 1/2 (but let's be real here it'll probably be out of 3 because I underestimate stuff) 334: Dud Part 2 (Thanks to Logician for the suggestion) 335: Dud Part 3 336: Refusal to Submit 337: Hungry for a Fight 338: Lich Unleashed Part 1 339: Lich Unleashed Part 2 340: Lich Unleashed Part 3 341: The Western Hallway: Part 1 342: The Western Hallway: Part 2 343: The Mess Hall: Part 1 344: The Forbidden One's Arrival 345: Two Kings, a Rook, a Queen, a Priest, and a Whole lot of Pawns 346: Exception to the Rule 347: Fellow Pawn 348: Divine Savior 349: The Aftermath 350: The Shadox's Lament 351: Elero's Operation 352: Fall Down Seven Times. Get Up Eight Times. 353: PMI: Passive Magical Income 354: Hurried Goodbye 355: Graduation 356: Undead Shambling Through the Streets 357: Can I come with you? 358: Graduation 359: Sparring Session 360: Liar Liar 361: Washed Up Demi 362: Just a corpse 363: Into the Ruin 364: A Hero's Hesitation 365: Losing Control 366: Paying the Price 367: To Rely on Oneself 368: Kin 369: Deal 370: Come With Me 371: When It's Painful, Cry, Then Get Back Up. 372: Thomas's Choice 373: Bloodtrail 374: Plan B 375: Fighting to Die 376: Past the Breaking Point 377: Captain Fisher 378: Prologue 379: Prologue (Part 2) 380: Prologue (Part 3) 381: Prologue (Part 4) 382: Prologue (Part 5) 383: Last Day in a Long Journey 384: Frowning Frey 385: Mercenaries 386: Distracted 387: Lord Jameson 388: Disarming Sincerity 389: Search For Arte 390: Friendly Fire 391: Anger and Gentleness of a Giant 392: Safe Haven 393: The legend of Arthur Botoman 394: Old Foe 395: Wear and Tear 396: Compliments to the Chef (Part 1) 397: Compliments to the Chef (Part 2) 398: My Only Family (Part 1) 399: My Only Family (Part 2) 400: Wake up! 401: Whispers Underground 402: Why a chef? 403: Hostage Situation 404: Radiant Burst 405: Left Alive? 406: The Slap 407: The Right Choice (Part 1/2) 408: The Right Choice (Part 2/2) 409: Report from the Capital 410: Owen's Warning 411: Patron 412: Goodbye Petal Town 413: Old Friend in the Bloodwood 414: Boiling Toad 415: Full Alert 416: Relying on Magic 417: Gutless Cur 418: Doevm's paranoia 419: A Letter From Elero 420: Takeoff 421: Destination: Polyglint Mines 422: Good Old Reverse Psychology 423: Got any better ideas? 424: Blending in 425: Sir Wilhelm 426: Passing on a Message 427: Let's Play a Game 428: Kilot's Infectious Laughter 429: Descent into the Darkest Darkness...which is Dark (Part 1/2) 430: Descent into the Darkest Darkness...which is Dark (Part 2/2) 431: EEEWWWWWWWWWWWW 432: Firing up the Forge 433: The Second Legacy 434: Hit the Books 435: Welcome to the Game, Doevm 436: The Players 437: The Hollow Stone 438: The Lich's Blessing 439: Stupid Frey 440: Dragon Hoard 441: The Source of the Mana and the Unconscious Ally 442: The Classic Old Dwarvish Bait 443: Chronomancy, an Assassin, and a Theory 444: The Assassin's Execution 445: Jumping at Shadows 446: Whole again 447: An Old Dwarf has his Tricks 448: Food, Shelter, and Privacy 449: Maker's Punishment 450: New Image 451: The Troop's Morale 452: Divide and Conquer 453: Custom Order Tool 454: The Beginning of the Last Crucade 455: Recurring Dream or Nightmare? 456: Instigating a Fight 457: The Arrogance of the Strong 458: The Hunt Begins 459: Edgy Tendencies and a Pure-Hearted Smile 460: Reward: Ascention 461: Multi-layered Trap 462: Percieved Threat 463: Rise of the False Hope 464: Questionable Alliance 465: A Reason to Fight 466: When an Unstoppable Force Meets an Unmovable Object 467: Lesson One Complete
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