Cursed Empire: Rising against the gods

The trail leading north was filled with silence and horror. The land was plagued with monsters from the heavenly lands roaming the wasteland in search of human life.

Joseph's cleansing plan came with many benefits and negatives for the people.

The lands were slowly becoming rejuvenated. Plant life was growing back, and even some plants that had never bloomed before were now starting to bloom. The waters looked cleaner than ever, and the air smelled fresher.

Axel and Becca came with the same thought. Our world is beautiful without any pointless bloodshed.

Despite the benefits, many people were dying thanks to the cleansings.

From a distance, Wynville was visible due to the massive mansion surrounded by farms and barnhouses.

Along the trail, they encounter an old man lying on the ground, completely unconscious. His body was thin and dry.

Becca clenched her fists in anger as she watched the hopeless man struggle to survive, "Damn you Joseph! What did he do to you? He's just an innocent old man trying to survive. Is this the cleansing humanity needed?" Axel, seemingly indifferent to her comment, leaped off Diego and approached the man.

Axel conducted a quick inspection of the body and noticed something unusual. The man's tongue was purple, and his eyes had turned grey. Turning to Becca, Axel said, "He was eating orgerberries. He probably didn't know they were poisonous, but I can't blame him. He was likely driven by starvation."

Becca's face was sorrowful and remorseful. She didn't even want to look at the old man any longer.

Axel climbed back on Diego, and they continued with their journey.

They arrived in the village and took a stop by a tavern. The village seemed devoid of life.

Axel jumped down and offered to help her down, but she ignored his hand and continued walking ahead inside the tavern while Axel followed behind.

What they found was shocking. Many people died peacefully together. All seemly passed away due to starvation.

Becca was in disbelief at what she was looking at, "They all looked peaceful. That they all died together?" Her anger kept on building up to the point her skin was turning red.

Axel walked beside Becca and gazed at the horror before him, "There are many like them, searching for a place to call home, but they lacked a leader who could have prevented this outcome. At least they have each other."

He knew that Becca would be more motivated to do this raid if she saw the justification for stealing William's supplies.

She carried the people emotion. Something that he lacked.

"We're raiding that pig's mansion. He doesn't deserve to breathe after what he's done." She said.

Axel showed a satisfying smile. The two walked out of the tavern and sneaked toward the mansion.

The building wasn't fully maintained, but compared to the wooden barns, it looked like a paradise for the villagers. The wood used was only found at the Asmodrawn nation. A very expensive resource.

Even standing by the door, they could smell the freshly cooked roast.

The door was unlocked with no guards present. Inside the building, there was destroyed furniture, tattered women's clothing, and unfinished meals. While searching the rooms they noticed a trail of knitted baby clothing.

Suddenly a plate was dropped but when they turned around. They saw a figure disappearing. Leaving behind a doll that Axel notice the similarities between him and it, "Creepy, stay in front." He said as try continue exploring.

All of their expectations about William were confirmed when they arrived at the upstairs master bedroom.

They found him lying soundly asleep in bed, surrounded by countless gold coins, gems, and jewelry.

Becca was beyond furious and snatched the sword from Axel's waist. Slowly creeping towards him with the sword held tightly in her palms, "Your people died, and you can sleep without a care in the world. Rot in hell, you disgusting pig." Without any hesitation, she plunges the blade through his chest.

William's eyes open for a brief second, but he went to sleep for good.

Axel simply watches with a smile on his face. Knowing that he found his partner.

Becca didn't stop with one stab, she continued to stab the corpses repeatedly until her rage was satisfied.

Axel waited until she calmed down before searching the room, and he found two blankets. He gathered enough gold and tied the sheets to create a makeshift bag.

"Grab as much as you carry. We can return tomorrow to collect some resources with more people." Axel said already holding four bags filled with treasures.

Becca gives one repulsive look at William before cutting some sheets out from his curtains to create a bag.

The two collected ten bags of treasure, which were placed in barrels. Once that was done, they loaded them onto a wagon they found outside that was used to carry Williams around the village.

Afterward, they located the kitchen which had a month's supply of food. Fresh vegetables, fruits, meats, and even liquor.

Axel stayed outside to ensure Diageo was secured onto the wagon. Meanwhile, Becca continued searching for valuables until she came across a bedroom.

Inside the bedroom, two things caught her attention. One was a drawing of a woman shown in various appealing poses. The other was the woman herself, gently rocking in a chair while knitting a baby sweater.

The woman was enigmatic, dressed in a long black nightgown. Her purple eyes met Becca with a broken smile as she hummed a gentle melody.

Becca stepped forward, tightly gripping the sword in her hand. She approached the woman and asked, "Who are you?" The woman appeared relatively healthy, yet her presence was still oddly mysterious.

Becca was just seconds away from approaching her when Axel appeared behind her, "Becca, we need to-" but he stopped short when he saw the woman.

In an instant, the woman got up and ran toward Axel. The two old friends exchanged a warm, tight hug, "It's been a while, Patricia. I never expected to find you here." he said with a bright smile.

Patricia didn't respond, but rather just hugged Axel tightly, "You know her?" Asked Becca.

"Yes, a long-lost friend of mine. I assume she was taken by the angels. But I see she was here all this time. We can introduce each other later; let's leave with the valuables we obtained first." Axel said.

The two with the addition of Patricia left the village with weeks worth of food and enough gold to trade with other people.

Patricia rested inside the wagon while Becca inspected the gold closely. Axel turned and asked, "Pretty nice, huh?" He replied with a strangely cheerful tone.

Becca was amazed at the quantity of gold they had and said, "It's beautiful up close. However, that pig owned it, so it lost its value. By the way, do you have any trading partners, given your royal background?"

Axel faces out towards the horizon. With the calmness of his voice, "We will be trading with the other races of monster." A sentence that nearly poped the eyes out of Becca's face.

"WHAT!" she screamed.

Axel cleared his throat and said, "It makes more sense to choose monsters over humans. Trading with other humans has either become costly or is often denied. Many monsters have different views on humanity's extermination or cleansing, whatever you prefer to call it. Some feel pity for us, some believe it's justified, while others actually support us."

Becca had heard enough from Axel to assume he was just crazy, but this was only adding more fuel to the fire.

"Before I arrived here, I conducted a survey of the area and discovered that Neverport is located near three different races. By tomorrow, I would like you to choose between the three: the orc tribe to the west, the druid tribes to the east, or the demon tribes further north. Hope you make the right choice?" Axel's warning was both cryptic and heavy with significance.

Becca thought to herself. Who should we trade with?