Across Eternity B. 03

The Second Dish

Ziradith retrieved her clothes and fled the mansion, leaving behind a mixed audience. Many had always loathed and lusted for her, watching their dreams come true and now looking to Noah with unspoken comradery. What do they do? Drink and jabber about what they had just witnessed, as though pinching themselves to make sure they weren't dreaming? Or go get the nearest whore and try to replicate what they just saw and imagine themselves in Noah's place?

Others felt threatened upon hearing his name. They knew the story of the prince's humiliating loss at the academy, of a man named Noah winning his fiancée, and it left them concerned. He was a mere commoner, but the damage he had just inflicted upon the Herald dukedom, as well as the kingdom itself, was immeasurable. This was social terrorism on a national scale.

Someone brave enough to do these things, smart enough to plan them, and capable of achieving them was not to be trifled with. He was so dangerous to the aristocracy that they wished him banished like an evil spirit. Fear kept them in line, fear of retaliation from this man, whose name had gained notoriety in certain circles. His reveal hadn't been for Ziradith, it was for the audience, so they'd know the face of the man they must never oppose. Perhaps it was better to just keep their distance, as antagonizing him seemed like a rather bad idea.

Regardless of their feelings, many guests decided to leave, whether they were satiated, repulsed, or rushing home to have some fun. The party was winding down, and Noah had gotten what he wanted, but there were still some things he wished to indulge in. He retired to the bar, enjoying a drink and a smoke with Daniel, who was on break. The gonlief they were enjoying was enhanced with alchemically-created THC.

"So, you just memorize all these molecules for fun?" Daniel asked after taking a deep hit. He held it in and then slowly released. "Oh, this is that GOOD shit!"

"Sort of. I always thought it would be cool stuff to know for when 3D printing improved. I'm just using it for a different kind of printing." He spoke of it as a possibility, but in truth, it was a reality he had lived in several times before.

"Well keep it up, because this place is now like if Pornhub and Chuck E Cheese had a baby."

Noah pulled out a deck of cards and began to shuffle it. "Maybe next, I'll help Cyrilo open up a casino in here."

"There could be jello wrestling."

"I know a lot of cooking techniques I can teach. We could get a strip club buffet in here."

"It's a good thing there's no ye old health inspector. Imagine the health rating a kitchen in a medieval brothel would get."

"Don't ask about the special sauce; it's a family recipe."

"Rich in vitamin AIDS."

Noah began passing cards to him and Daniel.

"Oi, deal me in. I'm feeling lucky," said Foley, approaching the table. He came to the Knight's Sheath every now and then to get drunk, so he was familiar to Noah and Daniel.

"You know you don't have to wear that helmet right now, don't you?" Noah asked.

"Are you kidding? I want to wear it into battle! Anyway, that was quite the spectacle you put on. Impressive as it was to watch, even I have to ask: what the fuck are you thinking? You realize this is going to come back to bite you in the ass, don't you?"

"To be fair, dude, that was a really fucked up thing to do, in more ways than one," Daniel added.

"Well, my relationship with the Herald family wasn't quite magnanimous before tonight. If Galvin insists on making me his enemy, then I might as well win this tit-for-tat feud."

"Oi, Gideon, come join us," said Foley, seeing his friend approaching.

"Not in the mood," he grumbled.

"Didn't you have a good time with Emily?"

"Shut up."

"Ooh, I know that tone," said Daniel.

"Sounds to me like someone got stage fright," added Noah.

"Did you shoot your arrow before taking aim?" Foley teased.

"Fuck all three of you!" Gideon barked.

"Relax, man. Don't take it so personally." Daniel held up the gonlief pipe. "Here, try some of this. It'll make you feel better."

Gideon gave a resigned mumble and took a deep hit from the pipe. He released his anger with a cloud of smoke. "Ok, I do feel better."

"Pull up a chair. The game is elven nox, moon over sun. Lucius, a bottle and four glasses, if you would." Over time, the party withered, and the four men stayed up late, drinking and playing cards.

The next morning, Noah ignored the pain of his hangover and paid close attention to all the cadets in the mess hall, sharing news and gossip. This world didn't have social media, and in the academy, isolated from the outside world, the only vectors of information were the cadets recruited to serve at the party. Not all of them were willing to divulge their activities from the previous evening. Still, Noah could see the story being disseminated among a few groups of friends. The way they bowed their heads with hushed voices, the expressions of jealousy, shock, and horror on their faces, and the occasional shouts or laughs from people who could not contain themselves were all better than television.

Alexis and Sophia had yet to be informed of Noah's indiscretions, so they ate breakfast with him as usual. They didn't notice him watching Galvin. He didn't want to miss that beautiful moment. He hoped to see Galvin's face the moment he found out what had happened the previous night. Henryk was out of the way, and Mark had disappeared, so he only sat with Seraph. Unfortunately, breakfast ended before he could see it.

Noah's sword class was uneventful. A few cadets were giving him odd looks, but nothing noticeable. The story hadn't spread far enough. It was in the bathhouse that details were being given. Noah hid his face with a towel and listened to the cadets chattering. With his earlier feats, his role at the Knight Sheath party was believable to most, but when Ziradith's name was mentioned, almost everyone scoffed at the ridiculous concept.

Alexis arrived when he took his seat in the mess hall and slammed her tray onto the table. "Is it true?" she asked with cold eyes. Beside her was Sophia, looking like she didn't know what to think.

"You're going to have to be more specific."

Alexis punched the table, drawing the eyes of cadets at other tables. "Answer me."

"Yes, it's true."

Alexis exhaled with her hand over her face. "I swear, you are the enemy of all women."

"Don't be so dramatic. Look, you hate Ziradith, and we've established that I don't fit your interests, so stop pretending you're jealous or anything similar. You heard about the Knight's Sheath burning down, right? Galvin did it. I figured this would be good payback. If anything, you should be applauding the poeticism and my commitment to a theme. I could have just burned his house down, but I put real effort into this."

"Believe it or not, I have noticed a theme, and it is disgusting. I am honestly curious: are there any limits to your depravity?"

"Oh honey, that is not a conversation you want to have."

"While I do share Alexis's horror, I would be lying if I said I wasn't impressed," said Sophia. Alexis flashed her a look of disbelief. "What? This is going in the history books. Knights have died for this kind of recognition. And you tell me the last time there was gossip this juicy."

"Please don't encourage him."

"I'm guessing you two heard about last night while in the women's bath. Who was telling stories?"

"Allison Crowberry."

"Ah, yeah. I think I lit a fire in her. I'll be surprised if she doesn't move into the Knight's Sheath at the end of the year."

There! He looked past Alexis and Sophia, watching someone approach Galvin and start talking. Noah couldn't read the cadet's lips from this distance, but Galvin's facial expressions were clear as could be. He got mad, thinking that it was just a sick joke the cadet was making at his expense, then tried to dismiss it as a hollow taunt. Next came the details, with Galvin's barrier of denial crumbling as he learned what had happened, where it happened, and all the people who had been around to see it in all its scandalous glory.

Galvin, his face becoming paler by the second, looked around and realized how many cadets were shooting him glances as they guffawed at the sinful tale. By that point, it was still possible to remain in denial, but then, he looked to Noah. Upon seeing the smirk on his face as he raised his goblet in celebration, Galvin snapped.

"NOOOOAAAAAAH!"

He climbed up onto the table and drew his weapon, a magic staff, then pointed it at Noah with a tan-colored magic circle appearing. He didn't bother naming the spell, just released a crazed scream and forced it to activate. The floor was torn apart as the earth beneath Galvin's feet was pulled up and fused to create a massive orb. Noah thought back to Mira, a dead mage specializing in earth magic that he had been acquainted with, and wondered if she could've matched Galvin's spell.

Everyone between Noah and Galvin instinctively ducked down, and the sphere was launched, shooting across the mess hall like a runaway semi. Noah dodged one way while Alexis grabbed Sophia and pulled her the other way. The orb smashed through the brick wall like it was nothing. Everyone was hit by the resulting shockwave as the air was forced out of the room.

Noah stood up and dusted himself off. "You got something you want to say to me, Princess? Please say it softly, as I'm a bit hungover from the party last night."

"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" Galvin created another magic circle, this one blue, and swung his staff.

All the liquid in everyone's cups rose into the air and shot towards Noah like a load of buckshot, each one flying with the kinetic force of a 90mph fastball. Noah didn't get out of the way; at least, that's what it looked like to everyone. He had already activated both his spells and let his clone take the attack. For those watching, it looked like every single orb simply missed him by a hair's breadth while he stood calmly.

"You're aim is terrible. Me, I always get my target, like when I shot my load across your mother's face. Considering how you burned down the old Knight's Sheath, I think it's only fitting she work at the new one. After all, she's been bailing you out of trouble since the day you started walking." He spoke loud enough for everyone in the mess hall to hear him. Galvin screamed at the top of his lungs and lunged towards Noah, jumping from table to table with his staff raised high and a blade of water forming around the tip.

"Catch me if you can," Noah taunted before running out of the hole in the wall.

Galvin chased Noah across the academy grounds, to the main gate, and down into the city, all while Noah continued to taunt him. Rapid blasts of earth and water were launched, none of them ever hitting him. Noah led him to the abandoned slums, where nobody would intervene. When they were completely alone, he finally stopped and turned to Galvin, the prince gasping for air and furious beyond all measure.

"Tell me something, when Mark gave you the idea to burn down the Knight's Sheath, did it ever occur to you that it would be a bad idea? Did you stop and think about what would happen afterward? What I would do to you? You killed eighteen people and wounded another twenty. Did you really think there would be no repercussions just because you're a royal bastard?"

"All I could think of was you and all those whores screaming in agony! My only regret was that you wouldn't have the sense to curse my name while the flames turned your bones to ash!"

Surprising Galvin, Noah began to laugh, which turned into a mad cackle. "I'll admit, Princess, you did manage to wound me with that fire, perhaps more than anyone else ever has. Crazy as it may sound, I should be congratulating you, maybe even thanking you. I can't remember the last time I got to feel the vibrancy, the ecstasy, of such blinding rage. To chance to cast logic and reason aside, to have this genuine hatred that I feel in my bones and enjoy the rush, comes along oh so rarely for me. These emotions, these feelings, they're so wonderfully intoxicating.

You did it, Galvin. Well done. You succeeded in something that few have accomplished: You pissed me off." Noah reached out into his pocket and pulled out a small cloth bundle, tossing it to Galvin. "Here's your reward for such a stunning accomplishment, as well as a 'thank you' for this interesting experience."

Galvin caught it and looked at it. It was his mother's monogrammed handkerchief, drenched in semen. The smell hit Galvin, and he dropped it, then vomited his half-eaten breakfast onto the ground. "I'LL KILL YOU!" he screamed. His temper had already cost him all of his mana, so Galvin charged and began swinging at Noah with his staff like a madman. His moves were feral and obvious, and Noah had no trouble avoiding them, never even needing to draw his sword.

"Your friend Mark told me all about you and your failures. Every time you'd fuck up, your mother would pull strings to clean up the mess. She ran your life to try and keep you from embarrassing her any further, but you couldn't even do that right, and she despised you for it. The power, the authority, the wealth, everything you think you have came from your parents, neither of whom ever loved you. I'm guessing you probably had a wet nurse as a baby. How does it feel knowing I sucked on your mom's tits more than you did?"

"Shut the fuck up!" Galvin yelled, continuing to attack Noah like a rabid animal.

"What are you going to do now, Princess? You think she can keep bailing you out of trouble after last night? All her political power, her ability to intimidate and leverage, it all disappeared when she stepped on that stage, eager for me to use her like a piece of meat. I'll be surprised if she can even retain her territory after this. You, the cucked prince, son of the whore duchess, you'll have nothing, you'll be nothing, just like always. Even your shithead brother Seraph has more prospects than you."

Galvin could no longer swing his weapon. He was gasping for air, barely able to stand. Having failed to land a single hit, he released a howl of frustration. One of his eyes had turned red, the result of a blood vessel rupturing from stress.

"It's a shame you couldn't be there to watch, Galvin, hear how much she loved to take it up the ass. It was like she was singing a beautiful song. The majesty of her voice could have brought the gods themselves to tears. Oh wait, I know how we can fix this. You see, I've discovered this nifty kind of magic, time magic. I can't travel to different time periods or anything like that, but I can show you events from the past. Take a look."

He opened up his grimoire to a specific page, where a magic circle had been drawn. It was a monster-summoning circle, but Noah had altered specific runes and parts of the formula, and rather than a piece of a monster, a lock of Ziradith's hair had been glued to the page. In his other hand, Noah held a magic wand, one he had bought before entering the academy. It had the ability to duplicate the effects of spells, such as launching two fireballs when the caster only summoned one.

The power of the wand allowed him to create a second clone, and with the magic circle and Ziradith's hair, he cast her likeness upon it. Now, standing before Noah were two illusory clones of him and Ziradith. Normally, he could only copy someone's appearance after killing them, but the summoning circle provided an excellent alternative. As long as he had their DNA and properly calibrated the circle, he could summon perfect copies that he could control. The only problem was that this method didn't replicate clothes, but that was rather a blessing right now.

Noah manipulated the two illusions like puppets on strings, having his doppelganger kiss and fondle the nude clone of Ziradith. Galvin turned away and began to dry-heave.

"You really think I'll let you block this out?" Noah asked.

He stormed over and punched the prince in the throat, bringing him to his knees. From there, the savage beating began. Galvin shrieked in agony as Noah snapped bones and dislocated joints, all so that he couldn't fight back and lay helpless on the ground. Noah pulled Galvin's head back and forced his eyes open, so he had to watch the two illusions fuck like porn stars. Galvin screamed and thrashed, doing whatever he could to try and look away, but Noah was devoid of mercy.

He didn't have all morning to torment the prince, so he had his illusions speed through the reenactment, but he was thorough. He perfectly recreated Ziradith's lewd moans and how she begged him to go harder and deeper, as well as all her movements, from how she rubbed her breasts while riding on top, to playing with her clit as she was sodomized. He even managed to recreate the finale, when Ziradith regained her senses and cursed Noah, just to clear up any lingering doubts in Galvin's mind that it wasn't true.

"In our fight, you laughed about my magic abilities, and it's true, I can't turn armies to ash, level buildings, or heal wounds, but it doesn't matter. I already have all the power I need to tear your reality to shreds." Noah flipped Galvin over, his face now a mess of tears and vomit, and drew a knife. "Now you're going to spend the rest of your life remembering me fucking your mother as the last thing you ever saw."

The prince released a bloodcurdling scream and tried to fight back, but he couldn't stop Noah from gouging out his eyes. Healing magic and potions were great for restoring what was damaged, like burns, cuts, and broken bones. They couldn't replace what was stolen, like severed limbs and missing organs, so Noah had to completely remove the orbs from their sockets. An iron grip around Galvin's throat helped keep him still and lower all the noise he was making. Noah brought his Ziradith illusion over and spoke through it with her voice, continuing his malicious torment.

"You pathetic little worm. You've always been a failure."

"Urk... Mother..." Galvin wheezed.

"From the day you were born, all you've done is disappoint me. I wish Seraph had been my son; he has talent. At least if you were a girl, I could have married you off and gotten something in exchange, but no, you destroy everything you touch. You're worse than worthless. You will never be king; you'll never be anything. In fact, you won't be needing any of this..."

Noah went to work once more with the dagger, and even while strangling the prince, a deep, guttural howl of agony echoed over the slums, as well as the squelching of flesh being sawn through. His penis and testicles were removed, then thrown into a nearby alley and seized by rats. The sound of his scream was what Noah had been aiming for, that particular pitch. It was the sound of a mental tendon snapping, a foundation of his sanity breaking beyond any possibility of healing. He would never recover from this, ever.

When Noah was done, he finally let Galvin breathe and then stood up. "Can you hear me, Princess? Pay close attention, because it's the last warning you'll ever get. This is what happens when you pick a fight with me, when you get bored and try to play with fire. Remember this moment, and every sensation you've experienced, and know that you brought it all upon yourself with your idiocy. I don't want you to ever forget the pain I've inflicted on you. I don't want it to dull. I want those wounds on your soul to bleed and never scab over. Every night, you're going to wake up in a cold sweat, sobbing in terror from your nightmares of this day.

From now on, if you ever so much as speak my name, enter the same room I'm in, or point in my general direction, I will hurt you in the most unholy ways imaginable. If I am ever attacked, incriminated, arrested, or even mildly inconvenienced because of you, something you did, or someone you know, I will come after you and your mother, and there will be nowhere safe to hide. No dungeon will hold me, and no fortress will protect you. There could be a hundred knights with swords and wands pointed at me, and it wouldn't matter. They'll just be the audience, there to witness the myriad tortures I have planned for you. There is still so much pain I can inflict, pain you can't even imagine. Do you understand?" Galvin nodded while sobbing in pain and terror. Without his eyes, any tears he produced simply fell into the empty sockets. "Good. Now, when you're found, here's what you're going to tell them..."