Man Made God 001 Read online

  Man Made God 001

  Brandon Varnell

  Illustrated by

  Lonwa_A

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Man Made God 001

  Copyright © 2020 Brandon Varnell

  Illustration Copyright © 2020 Lonwa_A

  All rights reserved.

  Brandon Varnell and Kitsune Incorporated supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce creative works that enrich our culture.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use the material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact the publisher. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  To see Brandon Varnell’s other works, or to ask for permission to use his works, visit him at www.varnell-brandon.com, facebook, twitter, Patreon, and instagram.

  ISBN:978-1-951904-09-8

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  Dedication

  This page is made in dedication to my amazing patrons. Without them, my characters would never get lewded by so many wonderful artists:

  Aaron Harris

  Alarinnise

  Alexander Rodriguez

  Amando Pastrana

  Benjamin Morgan

  Brennan

  Bruce Johnson

  C.L. Holgrahm

  Chace Corso

  CosmicOrange

  David

  DeseriDeri

  Dhivael

  Edward Lamar Stephenson

  Emery Moore

  Feitochan

  Forrest Hansen

  Ine Airlcana

  Jacob Flores

  Jacob Wonjo

  Jason Davis

  Jason Grey

  Jeremy Schultz

  Jessica

  John Patton

  Joshua Garrett

  Kevin

  Lucid Fact

  Mark Frabotta

  Matthew Wallace

  Max A Kramer

  Michael Moneymaker

  Nathan

  Nathan S

  Nicholas

  Omegapudding

  Patrick Burns-popieniuck

  Phillip Hedgepeth

  Rafael Eriksen

  Red Phoenix

  Red Viking

  Samuel Donaldson

  Sean Gray

  Seismic Wolf

  Shotgunr12

  Saudi Corp

  Starwarsscout Jon

  Thomas Jackson

  ToraLinkley

  Travis Cox

  Trevor Ward

  Victor Patrick Baur

  Virgil Gardner

  William Crew

  Yuriy Snyadanko

  Zachery

  Contents

  1. A Fated Meeting

  2. The Proposition He Couldn’t Refuse

  3. Moving in With Fayte

  4. Going to Sleep

  5. The Village of Beginnings

  6. The Missing Son

  7. The Mysterious Cave

  8. The Necromancer

  9. Blood Sacrifice

  10. The Rusted Spear

  11. Titania

  12. Merciless

  13. Ambush

  14. Level 10

  Thank you for reading!

  Afterword

  Sneak Peak

  Manga Page 1

  Manga Page 2

  Manga Page 3

  Manga Page 4

  Hey, did you know?

  Brandon’s LNs

  American Kitsune

  WIEDERGEBURT 2

  Catgirl Doctor

  Incubus

  A Most Unlikely Hero

  Arcadia’s Knight

  Journey of a Betrayed Hero

  Rift

  Executioner

  Follow me!

  A Fated Meeting

  Fayte Dairing was wearing the baggiest clothes she could find: A large beige jacket that hid her body from view, which went over a long black dress that hid her legs from sight, and black boots with fur lining the interior. Finishing her outfit was her veil. The veil adequately covered almost her entire face. In fact, everything except her eyes were hidden behind it.

  She did her best to ignore the people attempting to see past her veil. She was glad it was cold outside. The winter air in New York City forced everyone to wear jackets and coats, which meant her current attire didn’t appear all that strange.

  She never took her veil off in public anymore. She had learned a long time ago that showing her face to others could incite all kinds of trouble.

  Of course, even without her face being shown, people still looked at her like she was a curiosity. Even now, surrounded as she was by hordes of individuals, every set of eyes in the vicinity was on her.

  “Hey, who is that lady? Why do you think she’s covering her face?”

  “I don’t know who she is. I’ve never seen someone in that getup before.”

  “Is she crazy?”

  “Maybe she’s a babe and is hiding her face because people will become too enamored if they see her true appearance?”

  “She could also be hideous under that veil. Maybe the reason she’s hiding her face is because she doesn’t want people to feel disgusted by her presence.”

  “Are you an idiot?! Look at how pretty her eyes are! How can someone with such beautiful eyes be ugly?”

  “Maybe she has scars all over her face. You don’t know.”

  Fayte felt like sighing, but that would have accomplished nothing. It would only consume more energy. Like everyone else present, she was here for a reason.

  The line that she was standing in was long, traveling from the front of the store all the way to the end of this street and beyond. This store, which had just opened a few hours ago and was owned by a company called Mystique Incorporated, sat on the corner of Francis Lewis Boulevard and Hollis Avenue. Next to it was a supermarket. On the other side of the street was a store selling mobile phones, a Starbucks, and several restaurants.

  She had come early this morning to be one of the first in line. It seemed, however, that she had underestimated how determined other people were to be first. There had already been over one hundred people when she arrived. Now only eighty-eight people were standing in front of her, which meant she would still be standing in line for quite some time.

  With nothing to do but stand there as the line moved at a snail’s pace and put up with the people trying to peer through her veil, Fayte thought about the issues she was dealing with.

  In any other case, on any other day, she would have never been caught standing in a line for anything. She used to have servants who would have done this for her. However, now that she had been disowned, she had no other choice but to stand in this line and wait her turn. She refused to allow her shoulders to slump, but it was a near thing. The pressure of what she had to accomplish, and the consequences should she fail, was nearly overwhelming.

  “Waaa! It’s so warm!”

  “Of course it’s warm. That’s why it’s called hot chocolate.”

  “I know that.”

  “How are your hands? You aren’t cold, are you?”

  “Hee-hee. I’m fine. The chocolate is warming them up.”

  For whatever reason, the two voices speaking up caught her attention. Fayte looked up and sought out the source. Maybe a dozen yards from her was a young man
and a young woman. The man looked to be around the same age as Fayte herself, while the girl appeared maybe a year or two younger.

  She was not the only one who found themselves staring. These two had caught the attention of everyone nearby. Even those people who had been trying to peer through her veil were now looking at the pair.

  Fayte could understand why.

  The young woman was, quite frankly, adorable. Her skin, whiter than freshly fallen snow, had a light shade of pink dotting either cheek. It was not from makeup that made them that way. Fayte could tell her blush was natural. Her small nose was cute and her pink lips were stretched into a refreshing and pure smile. Bright blue eyes peered out at the world, revealing a breathtaking innocence that Fayte could not believe existed in such a cruel and merciless world as this one. This girl was prettier than a doll. Even being dressed in a thick jacket and her legs covered in a blanket could not mask her virginal and innocent beauty.

  However, even though Fayte and the eyes of almost every person was on this young woman, it was not because of her otherworldly appearance.

  She was sitting in a wheelchair and was hooked up to a MELSS, a miniature external life support system, a device used to keep people who possessed a terminal illness alive.

  In this day and age, there were few diseases that were not curable. Everything from AIDS to cancer had a cure. Among the many diseases on this planet, there was only one disease that did not have a cure.

  No one was willing to go near the young man and young woman. In fact, as the young man pushed the pretty young woman along the sidewalk, everyone made sure to give them a wide berth. Fayte felt a pang of pity in her chest as she looked at them.

  After studying the girl for a moment, Fayte turned her attention to the man. The fact that he remained by that young woman’s side was enough to give her a passing interest in him. Anyone else, even the girl’s family, would have avoided her like the plague. But he remained by her side. His dedication toward this young woman made her feel respect for him.

  The moment she laid eyes on him, Fayte froze.

  The young man pushing the young woman’s wheelchair was no less beautiful than the girl.

  His masculine face looked young and boyish, containing the charms and energy of someone who had entered adulthood not long ago. He had blond hair and green eyes. Unlike everyone else who was bundled up for winter, including the young woman in the wheelchair, he was dressed in skinny black jeans and a white collared shirt. The shirt stretched across the muscles of his chest and broad shoulders, and the clearly defined muscles in his arms flexed as he pushed the wheelchair. Many of the women standing in line stared at him and sighed.

  “Look at that man. He’s so dreamy.”

  “Mhmm. I wouldn’t mind having him push my wheelchair.”

  “It’s too bad he’s with that girl though. I mean, she has—”

  “Don’t say it! There’s no need to be rude.”

  “It really is a pity. She’s so pretty. If she wasn’t… you know… those two would make the perfect couple.”

  Fayte couldn’t deny that last woman’s statement. Those two really did look like a match made in heaven. Both were beautiful in their own right, and it was clear from the way the young man was staring at the young woman that he was completely smitten. Even she could not help but sigh at the loving expression on his face. It really was tragic since the illness that girl had was clearly the only fatal disease doctors hadn’t been able to cure.

  None of that was what had caught Fayte’s attention.

  It was the way the man walked.

  Having been raised in high society, Fayte had learned to be observant of others. She had spent many hours studying people and learning about what kind of person they were from simple observation. It was this ability to deduce someone’s intent from their mannerisms that had landed her in trouble to begin with.

  This young man walked with a deadly grace. She meant that in the most literal sense of the word. It was the kind of grace she would expect from the fae folk of legend, but there was an intent to it that made her think of an expert assassin. More than that, however, the way he walked was something she was intimately familiar with.

  She was 100% certain she knew who this man was. And if he was who she thought he was, then he might be the key to solve all her problems.

  Fayte’s heart rate sped up.

  Despite being near the beginning of the line, Fayte stepped out and followed after the young man and the young woman in the wheelchair as they slowly left the area.

  “Hey, hey! Is that idiot really stepping out of line now? She’s only a dozen people away from entering!”

  “Who cares? One less person means that much less time to purchase the new game. Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for Age of Gods to come out? Ever since it was announced two years ago! That’s how long! I don’t want to wait anymore! I can’t!”

  Fayte ignored the peanut gallery. Who cared what they thought? She walked at a brisk pace, following the two as they walked through the streets. It was quite easy. Everyone who laid eyes on the young woman went out of their way to avoid the pair. She only needed to travel behind them. The only difficulty was in not allowing herself to be seen. She honestly felt bad about intruding on them like some stalker, but she was desperate.

  The pair did not enter the subway. The young man eventually stopped in front of a car that was parked on the roadside. It was a state of the art vehicle meant for two people. Long and sleek, painted with a glossy black finish, the car was obviously not something a normal person could afford.

  The young man pressed a button that automatically opened the passenger door, which revealed a chair that was fully reclined, explaining why the car was so long despite being meant for two. He lifted the girl from the wheelchair, carrying her in his arms like a gallant prince carrying a princess. The scene was so picturesque that she almost forgot what she was doing. As the young man set the young woman on the chair and buckled her in, Fayte used her phone’s camera to discreetly snap photos of the car’s license plate number.

  The car soon sped off, but Fayte no longer paid attention as she accessed her call list from her phone. She only had one contact on her friend’s list now. She’d erased all the other ones. She pressed on the name Su.

  “Fayte?” a soft and meek voice came from her phone’s speaker.

  “Hey, Su,” Fayte said in a gentle tone. “I know you are being tutored right now. Sorry to bother you.”

  “You could never bother me.” Su became a little more animated as she spoke. “But what are you calling for? I thought you went out to get the new game system for Age of Gods.”

  “I was, and I still am, but something really important just came up. Listen, do you think I can ask you for a favor? I’m in desperate need of you and that incredible intellect of yours.”

  “Y-you know I’m always happy to help. Just ask me anything, and I will definitely do my beck—ack! My tongue!” Fayte almost smiled when the embarrassed Su became too enthusiastic and bit her tongue. Even though she could not see it happening, she could well picture it in her mind.

  Su often did that when she became too animated.

  “Thanks. You’re the best.” While Su began sputtering over the line, Fayte almost heaved a sigh of relief. With her friend’s help, she could definitely do this. “Listen, I’m sending you a picture of someone’s license plate. I want you to use it to locate the driver’s residence. If possible, please let me know everything you can about this person. Their name. Their age. Whatever you can get your hands on.”

  “… You want me to track someone for you?”

  “I know it sounds bad, but please don’t say anything. I already feel guilty enough as it is. However, if the person I want you to locate is who I think he is, then he might be able to help me win the bet with Levon. Please, Su. Please help me.”

  Fayte hated how desperate she sounded, hated that she was guilting her kind and gentle friend into helping her with someth
ing like this, but she couldn’t allow herself to wallow in these feelings. If that man was who she thought he was, he might be the only person who could help resolve the mess she was in.

  “Okay. I’ll do it. Please give me a minute. I’ll call you back.”

  “Thanks, Su. I mean it. I really do.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  The other line went dead, and Fayte pocketed her phone before heading over to a small coffee shop. It was practically empty. Most of their normal customers were probably standing in line at the new game store, waiting for their chance to get the newest game that hit the market just this morning. The fact that the barista was glaring daggers at the store might have clued her into this.

  She got herself a coffee and ignored the barista as he tried to peer at her face. After sitting down in a seat at the furthest corner of the shop, she sipped her coffee without removing her veil. It required some trickery on her part, but she had no intention of letting someone see her face unless she had a good reason to.

  Su called her around ten minutes after she sat down.

  “Su? What did you find for me?”

  “The owner of that license plate is called Adam Lancer. He’s nineteen-years-old and lives with a seventeen-year-old girl. Aris Purety. She’s listed as his younger sister, but they aren’t blood-related. He was adopted into her family five years ago. Their parents died of Mortems Disease several years ago. They moved here about three years ago. They live in an apartment in upscale New York. I can send you the address.”