Demonic Devourer's Development

And while Voren thought about the best way to genocide some humans for nothing but personal gain and satisfaction of destroying someone who made him flee and hide before, somewhere far, far away, several powerful beings were discussing his fate.

Twelve gods, all so beautiful in their own ways that all men and women would be stunned to see one, sat at a huge circle-shaped table. In the surrounding hall, everything was arranged for their convenience: servants bringing refreshments, best musicians in history playing a quiet melody that soothed one's mind and soul, secretaries ready to make notes and bring up references if necessary.

Even the weather outside of the window was perfect: sunny, but not not hot, with a fresh breeze that brought in a scent of flowers. Just like every day in Heaven.

"It's been months since Devourer reincarnated. Why we still didn't see him at the Heavenly Judgement? God of Monks, you assured us you forced him to reincarnate into an insect. Do insects even live as long?" God of Barbarians snarled.

"It's normal for many species of insects to live more than one year in nature. Those who don't have cycles of metamorphosis, where they can live a prolonged period as a larva and only a few days as a fully grown insect," Goddess of Druids said coolly. "A much more interesting question for the council is how much of his memories and power Devourer still had after that reincarnation?"

The question brought many frowns on the faces of the gathered people. Finally, after a long silence, Goddess of Wizards spoke up. "It's impossible. Even the cases of regained memories of previous lives are extremely rare, but abilities? Impossible."

"But ask yourself, everyone. If we weren't," Goddess of Druids paused for a fraction of a moment and her doe eyes flickered to God of Paladins, "cautious of the prospect, no matter how low the possibility, if we didn't believe that it was possible after all, why would we gather here today? Why would we monitor Judgement's halls so closely for his soul?"

Another silence reigned. This time, it was broken by God of Paladins. "It was just a precaution. Evil like him should be eradicated to the root. If there was a way to destroy the soul completely, I'd do that with his."

"Well, well, we all agree that we can't let Devourer live," God of Rogues interrupted. He gave Goddess of Druids a sly glance. "You aren't the first one who had that thought. After all, Devourer had already broken the established rules by growing too powerful, too fast. Broke one rule, and what stops you from breaking another? Some laws of the universe?"

Goddess of Druids pinched her lips. "This isn't a joke. We have to make precautions."

"Alright, alright! But what do you propose, Goddess of Druids? Sift through every nook and cranny in search of an unusual bug?" God of Barbarians mocked.

"That's ridiculous!" Goddess of Wizards scowled at him. "If we are doing this, then at least we can find a more time-effective way. Besides, our followers and servants can deal with this just as well. We can send them warnings about Devourer and listen to their prayers."

"Oh, but I hate dealing with prayers," God of Clerics complained. "I get a headache from them. Maybe one of us should descend to the mortal realm and look for Devourer personally?"

"And who do you propose? Surely not yourself." God of Rogues grinned at him. "Why won't use the both ideas?"

The rest of the conversation took three days. Gods weren't encumbered with mortal needs for rest, sleep, or having to do toilet breaks. The argument about who and how and what should do about Devourer could've lasted even longer, if the patience of Goddess of Wizards didn't break completely at this point.

She rose to her feet and slammed her signature magic book on the table loud enough that the wood cracked, and the drinks in goblets and teacups spilled over. "Enough! I will go to the mortal realm and look for Voren, just to not hear your voices anymore. I will also pass a warning to my church. Do what you will. I doubt we will find anything, anyway. Maybe he already reincarnated again, and we missed it because his soul was cleansed by deaths."

Before she could sit again, the wood already mended together by magic, while servants run up to cleanse the mess and bring replacements for what was broken.

"We won't forgive your noble sacrifice, Goddess of Wizards! You know that if you ever need our help in the mortal realm, you only have to call. Me, you might call even if you don't need any help." God of Rogues winked, which gave him dirty looks from both Goddess of Wizards and God of Paladins.

"If you find that vermin, destroy him most thoroughly," God of Paladins said.

"No, better take him alive and bring him here. Our previous mistake was not studying him more. If we knew Devourer's nature, we would've been ready for his tenacity and captured him back then." Goddess of Rangers clenched her fists. "This mistake was unacceptable and frustrating."

"I agree with you, Goddess of Rangers. I do wish to stomp that bug, but knowledge is more important." Goddess of Wizards nodded in agreement and stood up from her chair. She picked up her book, which turned out to be just as good as a bashing weapon as it was as a storage for information, and turned to God of Rogues. "If you really want to help for once instead of playing your games, why won't you go to Hell and try to find information about Devourer there?"

"If you want me to go to Hell, you don't need to be so subtle and come up with some far-fetched reasons for it. But who knows? I just might visit this wretched place. Weather there is always awful, but some sceneries are worth capturing. God of Bards, you can come with me, too! Search for inspiration."

"Go to Hell!"