I opened my eyes, and found myself in a vast void, surrounded by darkness. Tiny specks of light dotted the far horizon, slowly disappearing one by one.

  In front of me was a giant dark-haired man, head bowed, chained to a pillar that stretched endlessly into space. On his back was an enormous shell, almost like a tortoise’s. A wyvern-like creature was perched on his chest, pecking away at entrails that dangled from a gaping wound in his abdomen.

  Abruptly, the man raised his head and with a mischievous smile, said, “We meet at last. Welcome to my humble abode. Don’t mind the little lizard, he and I are old friends at this point.”

  Still utterly confused, all I could manage to stammer out was, “I.....you.... who are you? Where is this? What the hell is happening?”

  With a small chuckle, the man responded, “Relax. I mean you no harm. What you see before you are the remnants of the last iteration of the Mortal Plane. The gods imprisoned me here as punishment for daring to defy the natural order. As a bonus, they put Scaly here to feast upon me for all eternity. As for who I am..... you know me as the Heretic God.”

  This was the guy who’d been spying on me? He was in quite the sorry shape, contrary to what I’d expected. However, I felt no pity for him; rather, rage began to course through my veins.

  Without any regard for the consequences, I angrily shouted, “Hey bastard! I nearly died because of what you pulled earlier! Send me back to my world right now!”

  The Heretic God remained unperturbed as he calmly spoke, “You are justified in your anger. But I had to see if you possessed the fire within you, the unbreakable will to prevail. If you died, it would simply mean that we were not fated. I am not currently in a position where I can be concerned with the life of a single mortal, nor do I possess the authority to return you. But, there is a way we can help each other.”

  “.........Speak.”

  “You seek retribution against those who sent you here, yes? Then our goals align. Like you, I wished to topple the reign of the Higher Planes. They treat the Mortal Plane as their plaything, and once they have had their fill, start anew. Countless mortal lives, scattered like chaff to the wind. The worlds they destroy are recycled as material for the next Mortal Plane in an unending cycle.”

  The Heretic God continued to speak, saying, “I began to research the creation of a new Law, one that would let me stand against the heavens. But before I could finish, the Higher Planes discovered what I was doing and branded me a heretic. Though they did not know of my secret intentions, they believed my work to be blasphemy, as a new Law had never been created before. Despite all their efforts, they were unable to destroy me, as even my half-completed Law was too powerful, and so instead I was sentenced to remain here.”

  Huh? Laws? Higher Planes?

  With visible confusion etched into my face, I then asked, “Okay....but how does this relate to you helping me? And what the hell is a Law?”

  “A Law is a fundamental concept of the universe. They have governed and shaped all of existence since time immemorial. The abilities that have been distributed for the Realm Wars are in truth fragments of ownerless Laws. Your own ability appears to originate from a minor Law....which is where our collaboration may begin. My research into the creation of Laws has taught me much of the manipulation of Laws. I can reforge your Law fragment and augment it, if you accept me as your Patron Deity.”

  My F-grade ability could be improved? The prospect was incredibly tempting; truth be told there were many downsides and inconveniences to my ability despite how useful it’d proven. But still, I hesitated, wary of the god’s intentions.

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  “There must be some sort of catch, right? Surely you’re going to ask me to sell my soul or sacrifice my toilet paper stockpile?”

  With a slightly raised eyebrow, the Heretic God said, “Nothing of the sort, especially that last part. All I ask of you is to retrieve a certain item from the Celestial Plane, should you emerge victorious. But I shall not deceive you; I cannot offer the benefits other deities would be able to if you chose another as your Patron. Most of my authorities have been completely sealed and my reach in the Mortal Plane is extremely limited. I am only able to directly speak with you now as your soul remains untethered.”

  There was no way what he wanted would be easy as it sounded. Most likely it was some incredibly dangerous item that’d be tightly guarded. But...that bridge could be crossed in the future. The current priority was preserving the fate of my world and surviving.

  Yet, one question still remained in my mind.

  “Why me though? Surely there are thousands of other people you could have chosen?”

  “Any of the participants from the higher tier worlds have already been claimed by a Patron Deity. Not to mention, if they were found to be helping me, their world would be instantly destroyed. No sane individual would choose me. But you.... somehow your ability was able to deceive the System, which should be impossible. The System is itself a modified Law and yet a mere fragment of a minor Law was able to fool it. Perhaps even the gods themselves do not know exactly what type of Law they have given out...... there is potential within you to upset the balance of these Realm Wars.”

  The Heretic God didn’t seem to be lying to me, especially considering the state he was in. I didn’t believe for a second he had told me the full truth but...I decided to trust him for now. Whatever ulterior motives or plans he had would be dealt with later. My current prospects didn’t allow me to be particularly picky about any help that came my way.

  With a grim face, I said, “Very well. I accept. What do I do?”

  Gesturing behind him, the Heretic God said, “Approach, and touch my shell. This will seal our contract and allow me to modify your Law fragment.”

  Drifting through the void, I gradually approached the bound god and slowly raised my hand to the green shell. Contrary to its appearance, it was scorching hot and seemed to burn my very essence.

  With a gasp, I fell to my knees as in my mind’s eye, a brand in the shape of a roaring tortoise formed. I could now feel a connection to something, a presence whose majesty alone made my soul tremble and wish to prostrate itself.

  “The contract is now complete and our fates have intertwined. Now, to uphold my end of the bargain.”

  A glowing iridescent shard of light emerged from my chest and flew to the Heretic God’s palm. In his other hand, he held a formless mass of colorless energy that he slowly began to combine with the shard of light. Like a skilled artisan at work, he deftly moved his fingers as the rampaging energies clashed with each other, akin to oil and water. Gradually, they began to calm down and form a distinct shape.

  Soon, what he held in his hand was a rectangular prism that no longer glowed, and instead seemed to greedily draw in all the light around it. The prism then floated through the air and reentered my body.

  The Heretic God then said, “I’ve completed the augmentation, but I only had enough material remaining to do so once. If you wish for me to reforge it again, you will have to provide me with more raw Law fragments.”

  “How do I get more?”

  “Now that we’ve established our contract, I can absorb some of the Law fragments from parts that you graft to your body. Once a participant dies, their Law fragment is retrieved by the System but a small residual amount remains. There may also be additional Law fragments offered as rewards which I can break down and use. The higher the grade, the better the results.”

  Alright, simple enough. I’d have to keep any eye out for anyone that had won several Nemesis victories, as they’d be carrying multiple law fragments on them. The risk would be high, but so would the reward. It was a shame that my own Nemesis remained an insurmountable wall, leaving me unable to acquire more abilities directly.

  I wanted to ask more questions, but right on cue, my body began to flicker and dissipate.

  The Heretic God grinned and said, “Looks like our time is up. Your soul has found an anchor. That Melchior is quite the useful one, isn’t he?”

  Melchior you damn idiot! Couldn’t you have let me be dead for a little longer? There was still so much I didn’t know!

  “Well then, until we meet again. And please, for the love of all that is lawful, stop picking your nose so much. It’s disgusting.”

  .......I should have wiped some on your shell, asshole.