A deep, echoing laugh slipped from Decras’ mouth. “Garina? Your subordinate is going to die. I hope you weren’t close to them.”

“I don’t know much more than some of their names, and I’ve only picked that up in passing,” Renewal said. “I just recognize the mimicry of my Runes in his soul. You can’t be telling me that you’re actually interacting with your followers directly, Decras. That’s–”

“Against the rules, yes,” Decras yawned, then stretched his arms over his head. A black table rose up from the ground before him and he kicked his legs up on top of it. “I believe we’ve been over this particular part already. So long as you don’t break the order of the universe too badly, nobody cares. Life is nothing when lived entirely under the thumb of someone else.”

Renewal shook her head in a mixture of jealousy and exasperation. The Rules existed for a reason, and both she and Decras were nowhere near the peak of power in the universe. Playing too much with fire was a great way to get burnt.

“You’re going to get yourself killed, you know?”

“I highly doubt it. The High Gods don’t give a shit about what the rest of us do. If they did, don’t you think they’d have done something by now? I’ve had my fingers on that particular little world for hundreds of years.”

“Hundreds of – what have you been doing?”

“Training some disciples, mostly. Unfortunately, most of them weren’t worth the effort. No potential. But a few have potential – such as Garina. Unfortunately, while she’s got great potential, it’s completely ruined by her personality. She’s basically a dog with anger issues. Shame, really. Can’t say she isn’t fun to watch, though. It’s a good thing you aren’t attached to your people, because I don’t think that bald one is going to live much longer.”

Renewal looked from Decras to the image. They were both silent for a second.

“Is this going to update? Why are they just frozen there?” Decras asked. “You need to upgrade the speed of your magic.”

“It’s in real-time,” Renewal said. “They’re actually just sitting.”

Decras’ brow furrowed in confusion and he leaned forward, squinting at the image. Garina was locked in place, still staring at Ferdinand. Then, slowly, she shifted her position to let her shoulder brush against his.

Renewal burst into laughter as Garina leaned against Ferdinand in full. The look on Decras’ face was of such abject shock and disbelief that Renewal suspected it wouldn’t leave her mind for thousands of years.

“Impossible,” Decras said. “She doesn’t even like me that much!”

“You’ve actually met her?” The smile on Renewal’s lips faded.

“No, of course not. I’m not so stupid as to manifest myself on a mortal world.” Decras scoffed, then shook his head. “But I’ve occasionally projected some conversation to a few of them. It’s a good way to kill some time.”

“They’re actually strong enough to understand you? My followers barely manage to make out half the words I send them.”

“That’s because I actually picked mine out. You’ve just got a gathering of rabble.” Decras snorted. “My men and women are those of quality. They have potential to reach our strength. Well, some of them do. They’re superior to yours in every way.”

“Except for Garina, who appears to be in love with one of mine,” Renewal said dryly. “Unless you’ve got another explanation for this? Ferdinand is a whole Rank below her, and it’s a big one.”

Decras looked back to the image, then pursed his lips and sunk lower into his chair. “Perhaps it is an attempt to manipulate him.”

Renewal arched an eyebrow. “You’re deluding yourself. Do you not see the way they’re looking at each other?”

“At this point, I’ve decided to look a little less. It seems inappropriate,” Decras said. “I’d much prefer if they were trying to kill each other, if it’s all the same to you.”

“It isn’t. This is much better.” Renewal leaned forward without even so much as trying to hide her interest. “Love is far more interesting than war. Not to say I don’t like fighting, but you get the best of both worlds with the former.”If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“Has anyone ever told you your beautiful visage hides a terrible demon within?”

“Far too many, but most of them aren’t around to complain any longer.”

“Can’t say I’m surprised. Do you really know nothing about the bald one, though? I have to say that I’m slightly interested. I’ve never known Garina to care about anything but power. She was a failure of a project, and I’ve been far too busy to actively keep up with her. I must assume her change has something to do with your subordinate.”

“I could probably find out more if I wanted to, but there’s a good chance that contacting my church would result in Ferdinand getting ripped apart when they misinterpret my message,” Renewal said with a sigh. “The idiots running it have no idea what they’re doing.”

“Do any of us?” Decras let out a chuckle and straightened back out. The table disappeared and he rose to his feet, letting his chair sink into the ground behind him. “If that’s the case, I suppose I’ll have to take matters into my own hands.”

Renewal’s eyes narrowed and she snapped her fingers, banishing the image. She stood as well, squaring her shoulders. “How so? Don’t interfere with them. This is some of the best entertainment I’ve had in ages.”

“Unlike you, I don’t have that many subordinates. I’m actually invested in mine, and I’ll not see one wasted.”

“Wasted? She’s changing – no thanks to you. Keep your nose out of their business,” Renewal warned, taking a step closer and thrusting a finger into Decras’ chest. “You hear me? Don’t interfere.”

“Hm. Are you going to stop me?”

Renewal’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t try to bait me into a fight, Decras. It’s much easier if you just ask me directly.”

“But it’s much less fun that way.”

“You’ll find out what fun feels like when I stick my foot up your ass. Don’t screw with my entertainment. I already lost my damn cat. I’m not losing this when I just found it. Just the look on your face when you saw them being cutesy was incredible. There’s no way I’m letting you break this off.”

Decras crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side. “Does that mean you wouldn’t mind if I continue dropping by to watch them?”

“I suppose not. It’s better than watching alone.”

“Fine. In that case, we shall be perverts together.”

“What? That’s not–”

“Now who’s trying to delude themselves?”

Renewal glared at Decras. “It’s appreciation of art in life.”

“Which is a fancy way to say that you are a pervert that watches others while they don’t know. What is this of a cat, though?”

Renewal opened her mouth to refute Decras’ first statement, then thought better of it and closed it again. There were some arguments that she wasn’t going to win, and something told her that this was one of them.

“It was one of my avatars,” Renewal said with a sigh. “I sent it out to look into the mortal that stole my energy – your fault, by the way – and the little shit stole the cat.”

Decras threw his head back in laughter. “He stole from you again?”

“Yes,” Renewal snapped. “You don’t have to rub it in, you know. I’m more than aware of how humiliating it is.”

“You’re cute when you pout,” Decras said. He pressed his palms together and stretched them apart. Strands of black matter twisted between his fingertips, gathering into a bubbling mass in the air.

The mass bulged outward, taking shape into a small black cat. It dropped to the ground, a faint yellow glow appearing behind its eyes as it came to life. The cat yowled, then arched up against Decras’ leg. He flicked a finger and it trotted over to Renewal before curling up at her feet.

“There,” Decras said. “A new cat.”

Renewal looked down at the cat, then back up to Decras.

You can’t just replace a cat, much less an avatar. It was a part of me. But… this was surprisingly sweet of Decras. I haven’t seen this side of him before. Is he feeling sentimental about Garina?

“I – thank you, I suppose,” Renewal said slowly, reaching down to scoop the cat into her arms. It purred and rubbed its head up against her chin. A small grin flickered across Renewal’s face. “Feisty.”

“Most things about me are. Of course, we can’t just let the mortal get away with stealing from you twice.”

“I’m more than aware. As soon as my church finds him, he and I will be having a very extensive talk.”

Decras let out a snort of derision. “As if those incompetent fools will find anyone. I had my own people looking for him as well, but it appears the two that were the closest have gotten entangled with each other instead of doing their jobs.”

“No interfering,” Renewal warned.

“I won’t.” Decras raised his hands and laughed. “But that doesn’t mean things can be left as they are. Perhaps a few nudges are in order. If a mortal wishes to play with us, then he should prove he deserves the power he has taken.”

“As much as I hate to admit it, I feel like he may have proven that by stealing it in the first place.”

“Perhaps.” Decras inclined his head. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun in the process, does it? I think we could add a little more excitement to this and watch how it all plays out. It could be enjoyable.”

“What are you thinking?” Renewal asked.

Decras’ smile grew as he told her. And, when he finished, Renewal found a small grin starting to form on her own face.

“That,” Renewal said, petting her new cat and already picturing the scene that Decras had described, “sounds like it could be interesting.”