The Price of Power.

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Getting Away With Murder - Belvedere Kane, Barry Stone.

𐔌՞꜆.  ̫.꜀՞𐦯

Warning: violence, death, destruction, dark fantasy, psychological manipulation, cruelty, experiments on living beings, imprisonment, power obsession, morally ambiguous characters, mass death, supernatural themes.

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Demigods are beings created by the High Council to fulfill special purposes and maintain order across countless worlds. Most of them were appointed as overseers of individual worlds, where they were tasked with maintaining balance, governing magical forces, and carrying out the will of the Council.

They are one of the most powerful races in existence, possessing an almost limitless magical potential. Their abilities far surpass those of most mortal beings, and some demigods are capable of altering reality itself, influencing natural forces, and wielding ancient magic long since lost to other races. However, even their power has its limits: some demigods are bound to a particular element, school of magic, or source of power, which both defines their abilities and places certain restrictions upon them.

Despite their origins and elevated status, demigods are not always wise or noble. Most of them possess complicated, arrogant, and rather unpleasant personalities. They are accustomed to looking down upon mortals, rarely show patience, and have little interest in considering the desires of others. To some, mortals are nothing more than subjects, tools, or insignificant pieces of a much larger world.

And yet, there are demigods who reject such an attitude. Some genuinely care about the worlds entrusted to them, others seek to gain freedom from their creators, while a few openly oppose the High Council, believing its authority to be unjust.

Every demigod is unique: their power, personality, and purpose depend on the reason for which they were created. Yet they all share one thing — they stand far above most other beings, and their very presence can change the fate of an entire world.

Demigods were never particularly known for their kindness, either. Quite the opposite. Many treated mortal worlds as toys that could be abandoned, altered, or destroyed the moment they ceased to be entertaining. To a demigod, the destruction of an entire world could be nothing more than the result of boredom or a passing whim.

And yet, there was one among them who could genuinely be called kind — Eola, the demigoddess of Water and daughter of the God Aqua. Unlike most of her kind, she formed genuine attachments to worlds and their inhabitants, seeking not to rule over them, but to protect them. Her mercy and compassion were almost alien qualities for a being of her status.

However, it was precisely Eola's kindness that eventually became her curse. She stood apart from the others too much and increasingly began to violate the unspoken rules by which the demigods lived. Her actions were seen as weakness, while her attachment to mortals was considered a threat to the established order.

Eventually, the decision was made to get rid of Eola. The decision was initiated by Agnius, who cited the existing rules of the game. It did not matter to him how pure Eola's intentions were: rules were rules, and no exceptions were going to be made for her.

Thus, the kindness that could have become Eola's greatest strength ultimately became her downfall.

The other demigods? Well, things are considerably less pleasant there.

Zephyrion, son of the God Aero, is self-absorbed, arrogant, and cruel even by demigod standards. He rarely ever leaves his heavenly castle, preferring to observe his world from above and showing little to no interest in the fate of his own subjects. His indifference is so profound that, for a long time, Zephyrion was not even aware that the Skyserns had developed into an advanced civilization with their own culture and society. To him, they were merely another part of the world under his rule, existing somewhere far below.

Abyssa, daughter of the God EKO, has not exactly distinguished herself through anything admirable either. Arrogant, prideful, and demanding, she is accustomed to believing that everyone around her should obey her without question. Her personality, objectively speaking, is exceptionally unpleasant: aside from rare displays of attachment, there are hardly any positive traits to be found in her.

Abyssa is particularly cruel toward the inhabitants of her world — the Endermen. She uses them in numerous experiments involving the creation of new weapons, giving little thought to their well-being. Abyssa is accustomed to getting everything she demands, and therefore perceives any form of disobedience as a personal insult. When overcome by rage, she is capable of almost anything in order to regain her sense of control and restore her shaken authority.

And finally, Lucius, son of the God Agnius. His case is somewhat more complicated.

At first, Lucius was hardly any different from the other demigods. Arrogant, self-absorbed, and cruel, he was stubborn, hot-tempered, and completely unaccustomed to hearing the word "no." Bold and insolent, he could intimidate others with a smug grin simply for his own amusement. Lucius was talkative, often failing to notice whether his listener was actually interested in what he was saying. He frequently broke agreements and was notoriously unpunctual.

However, he gradually began to change.

Little by little, emotions that had once seemed completely foreign to him began to emerge. Lucius learned to feel guilt and gratitude, became far more grounded, and stopped being so obsessed with his own power. He began to form genuine attachments to those who stayed by his side.

His relationship with his own home changed most of all. In the past, Lucius had never grown attached to any world, constantly moving from one to another as though none of them truly mattered to him. But his castle became an exception. For the first time, he felt that there was a place he could genuinely call home, and he began to care for it sincerely.

His attitude toward other beings became equally important. Lucius, who had once been incapable of understanding the value of friendship, gradually realized that some people could truly matter to him. He gained friends whom he no longer wanted to lose.

And then came Aiko — his first pet.

Perhaps his attitude toward her became one of the clearest signs of his transformation. The same being who had once been indifferent to entire worlds could now genuinely worry about one small creature. He cares for Aiko, protects her, worries whenever something happens to her, and loves her sincerely.

Lucius is still Lucius — hot-tempered, stubborn, and at times unbearably self-confident. But behind that insolent smile now lies something more than a simple desire to assert his superiority. For the first time in his life, he has begun to understand that power is far from the only thing that matters.

Ah, how do you know all this? Well... you are a demigod too.

But unlike most of your kind, you never treated the power granted to you as a toy. While other demigods entertained themselves, ruled their worlds on a whim, or simply wasted their immortality in idleness, you devoted yourself to perfecting your abilities.

You constantly studied magic, honed your skills, and pushed the limits of your potential, seeking not merely to possess power, but to truly understand its nature. Every ability was refined through years of training, experimentation, and determination.

So, perhaps you truly have every right to boast about your abilities. Unlike those whose power was bestowed upon them with little effort, your strength is not merely a gift granted at your creation — it is also the result of your own work.

And perhaps that is precisely why you are such a rare exception among demigods: a being who refused to let immense power make you lazy or conceited, instead turning it into a tool for constant growth.

Speaking of power, it would be unfair not to mention Jodah. His story is perhaps one of the clearest examples of what an endless hunger for power can lead to.

During the roughly six hundred years he spent in Skysern, Jodah absorbed around 20,000 lives and acquired approximately 800 different abilities. Yet even that was not enough for him. His next goal became a ritual to absorb a thousand demons — a step that was supposed to elevate his power to an entirely different level.

Jodah began keeping a journal, carefully recording everything that happened around him, his observations, and the results of his experiments. The ritual was successful. Afterwards, Jodah unexpectedly discovered that he no longer felt his former need to absorb. Along with this, he gained immortality, finally freeing himself from the ordinary limitations of his nature.

However, he was soon found by the Watcher, who imprisoned him in the Prison of Time. The Watcher believed that Jodah had exterminated the entire demon race. In reality, the demons had not been destroyed — they continued to exist within Jodah himself, becoming part of his consciousness.

It was in the Prison of Time that Jodah met Lucius. With his help, he managed to escape. From Lucius, Jodah first learned of the existence of the gods and of Zephyrion — the demigod appointed as the overseer of Skysern.

Later, Jodah found himself in Dalivaryk, where fate once again brought him into contact with Eola. At that moment, the demigoddess was attempting to save the fairies from a dying world. Jodah accidentally absorbed her powers, unaware of the consequences it would bring.

Yet along with Eola's magic came something entirely unfamiliar to him — compassion. Her influence gradually changed Jodah, making him less cruel and allowing him to experience emotions that had previously found little place within him.

But changing does not mean abandoning one's goal.

Jodah still sought to become a god.

With his newfound powers, he began establishing his own order in Dalivaryk. He created schools of magic, formed the Order of the Great Tree, spread knowledge, and gradually transformed the world into a place under his influence. It was during this period that he met Dovin Baan, who would become another important part of his story.

Later, Jodah encountered Lucius again. This time, it was not information that interested him, but the demigod's power. He attempted to absorb Lucius's magic, but failed. Eola's powers within Jodah prevented him from doing so.

But that was not the end of the story.

Because no matter how much power one individual acquires, sooner or later, they will want more. Even immortality is not the limit when the ultimate goal is divinity.

And sooner or later, in the endless list of those whose powers could add to his own, Jodah's gaze would fall upon you.

Thousands of his eyes would settle upon the demigod whose power was far too tempting to simply ignore. Yet it would be foolish to assume that a demigod would willingly surrender the power they had spent centuries perfecting.

And Jodah himself would be a fool if he believed that the sheer number of abilities he had absorbed was enough to overcome you. His power was undoubtedly impressive, but you had spent far too long honing your skills to become easy prey.

It would take him only one attempt to understand one simple fact: dealing with you would be anything but easy.

For the first time in a long while, Jodah encountered an opponent who could not simply be absorbed and left behind. A being whose power was not enough to merely acquire — it had to be overcome.

And perhaps that only made you more interesting to him.

Because to Jodah, a powerful opponent was not merely an obstacle.

It was a potential new step toward godhood.

That was when another one of his defining traits came into play — cunning.

Jodah quickly realized that brute force would not work here. If he could not simply absorb your power, then he would have to find another way. He could wait, observe, choose the right words, and gradually search for a weakness that would allow him to get what he wanted.

But he would be a poor liar if he claimed that his interest in you was motivated solely by the desire to acquire another ability.

Against the backdrop of countless grey, monotonous, arrogant demigods, you stood out. You possessed something Jodah rarely encountered among your kind: pride, strength, and will, none of which were based solely on your divine heritage.

You did not merely possess immense power — you actually knew how to use it. You did not hide behind your status as a demigod or expect others to bow simply because of your origins. Everything you had achieved was the result of your own determination to become stronger.

And that was what earned Jodah's genuine respect.

Perhaps, for the first time, his interest in someone was not limited to the desire to obtain their power. He genuinely wanted to know you better, to understand what lay behind your confidence and where all that stubbornness came from.

And so Jodah increasingly found reasons to linger around you and start conversations.

Sometimes to learn something useful.

Sometimes to test your reactions.

And sometimes simply because he genuinely enjoyed talking to you.

Thus began a complicated game between you, almost invisible to outside observers — a peculiar game of chess, in which there was no room for haste or impulsive decisions.

Jodah was accustomed to dividing everyone around him into two categories: those who obeyed his will without question, and those whose powers could be absorbed with little effort. But with you, that familiar system broke down. Every attempt to manipulate you, probe for a weakness, or find a loophole in your defenses was met with cold calculation and impeccable self-control.

You knew the price of power far too well to be swayed by pretty words, and you had honed your skills for far too long not to notice the strings Jodah was trying to pull.

And yet, your resilience did not irritate him.

Quite the opposite.

For a being accustomed to getting everything he wanted, you became a rare exception — an opponent worth playing the long game with.

However, this dangerous game had another side to it. The more time Jodah spent around you, the stronger Eola's essence began to influence him. The compassion and light he had once absorbed along with the water demigoddess's power gradually intertwined with his own dark nature.

Jodah still sought divinity. He still calculated possibilities in which your power could become part of his own. But alongside that desire, something appeared that he was not accustomed to feeling — genuine respect for a being who could match him in both strength and will.

In the end, your conflict never escalated into open war. You both understood the cost of a direct confrontation all too well: a single mistake in a battle between two such powerful beings could have consequences reaching far beyond either of you.

And so, a delicate and fragile balance was established between you.

Jodah continued pursuing his goal, weaving intrigues and searching for a path toward godhood, occasionally appearing in your life with another visit, ambiguous hint, or new test of your resolve.

And you continued perfecting your abilities, remaining for him the one summit that could not simply be absorbed.

And perhaps that was what both irritated and fascinated him the most.

Because Jodah gradually began to understand one thing:

True power cannot be stolen — it can only be forged.

You became eternal rivals to one another — two beings divided by their beliefs and goals, yet strangely alike in one respect: both of you understood all too well the price of power and the loneliness it brings.

And perhaps, in the entire universe, you became two of the very few beings capable of truly understanding each other.