#summoned!cod

Paper Trails Leave Bleeding Hearts

You looked down at your hand, the sigil scar that König had printed into your skin seeming to lose its luster. Once, it had been bright and energetic, flowing with currents of magic. When you looked at it again, it seemed to almost be fading.

Ever since discussing leaving the military, discussing your ‘relationship’ with König, he’d left you completely alone. You could only just barely feel the magic of his pact when you trained your skills. Your body ached with the loss of the immense power he’d pumped through your system. You hadn’t realised it before, but König had become a second body for you, a second reservoir of energy to manipulate for spells and rituals. Your own reservoir was notably weaker than most, and it had never been more apparent than the past week.

Your instructors had started to get antsy around you. Something about their weakest pupil being weaker than before set them on edge. It was as though they expected you to snap at any moment. Maybe they thought you were planning something, preparing for something greater, but you weren’t. You were just weak, tired, useless. You’d never felt so alone.

Your friends tried to ask you questions, but you never really knew how to answer them. How could you tell them that you’d insulted your summon? Summons weren’t meant to be insulted. They weren’t meant to pull away from their summoners. They were meant to obey, mind and body completely under control of their summoner as the two charged into battle. A summoner was meant to be perfect, immaculate, glorious. They were meant to be a pillar of strength and authority. König was meant to be under your thumb, but as of the past week you felt as though the roles had been reversed.

You crept back to your room quietly. Occasionally, somebody would elbow you as they passed by, snicker when you could do nothing more than shoot them a dirty glare. It seemed that the others were also picking up on your weakness. Without König to protect you, bullying had started to ramp up again. It had started small, just cutting you off in line, but you knew that it would get out of control soon enough. It was only a matter of time. With how the superiors watched you, it seemed they were starting to piece things together themselves. You shuddered to think of what they had in store for you.

Your room was just at the end of the hallway. A few more steps, a few more pushes. You could do it. You knew you could, but you were tired. You were so, so tired. You could feel yourself slowing down to a shuffle. Today had been especially hard on you, and now that you were so close, the doorway had never been farther. You walked, but it seemed to only leap further and further from your reach, playfully dancing beyond your fingertips. Was the hallway always this long?

You looked around. Was the hallway always this empty?

A hand clasped down on your shoulder. You spun around to look at the perpetrator, then up, up, up.

General Cusker looked down his nose at you, twin black stars burning with malicious glee. His dark lips curled into a treacherous smile as he spoke in a honey-smooth deep voice, “Good evening, sergeant. Tell me, do you have some time for a chat tonight?”

You didn’t, but who were you to talk back to a general?

“Excellent,” Gen. Cusker grinned with a pristine white smile, “I didn’t think so.”

You hadn’t spoken, but maybe your expression was enough.

“Come,” Gen. Cusker helped turn you away from your door, “I think we should have a chat.”

You nodded along mutely, so tired that words only coagulated on your tongue in a muddy mess.

“You know, it’s hard to get a hold of you,” Gen. Cusker remarked, “but I’m glad I finally managed to get a hold of you. After all, you’ve become something of a curiosity on the fort.”

“I have?” your words slurred together thickly.

“Most certainly,” Gen. Cusker ascertained, “I’ve heard many good things about you. You’re a good summoner, you know. Strong, loyal.”

“I thought they all hated me,” you admitted as you stumbled beside him.

Gen. Cusker clasped a hand around your shoulders to steady you, “Well, it certainly seems they push you to your limits.”

“I try my best, sir,” you muttered meekly. The general didn’t let go of your shoulders, merely pushing you forward to his office.

Gen. Cusker’s words slurred together in your mind. He was saying something important, but his words whispered through your ears like cotton clouds on a sunset. Here one day, gone the next. It all flitted by on summer winds. 

You were pushed into a dark office and ushered into a wooden chair. The room felt suffocating and thick. Something had the hair on the back of your neck standing on edge, standing attention like little soldiers when the general sat down.

Gen. Cusker turned on a lamp and sighed, “Much nicer. You know, my wife found me this lamp at a local flea market. I told her I couldn’t bring it into office, but she told me I had to. Who am I to tell my wife she can’t have what she wants? I didn’t work this hard for nothing, did I?” Gen. Cusker finally looked at you with a saccharine smile, “with your relationship with König, you must understand.”

“My… My wah?” you drawled sleepily.

Gen. Cusker snapped his fingers, “Are you listening to what I’m saying?”

“I’m trying,” you grimaced, humiliated by your own personal display.

“I’m starting to understand your superiors,” Gen. Cusker grumbled before clearing his desk, “well, if you’re so tired, I’ll do this quickly.”

“Do wha?” you squinted.

“I’m just asking for a simple exchange,” Gen. Cusker pulled a form out of a file, “it’s just a quick sign. I’ve been told you’ve got a good relationship with König. Is this true?”

“Eh…” you winced, “kinda? I don’t really know actually.”

“You don’t know?” the general paused momentarily, “how come?”

“He’s been distant,” you admitted, “it’s… It’s really bad. He’s not responding to my calls.”

“He’s not responding to your calls?” Gen. Cusker drummed his heavy fingers on his desk, “really? That’s… Interesting. Do you know why?”

“I…” you tried to subtly pinch your wrist to wake you up, “I think I offended him.”

“So he’s not so close to you right now/” Gen. Cusker’s intense eyes bored into your soul.

“Not right now,” you admitted.

“So then you’re a bit distant right now?” Gen. Cusker pressed further.

“Not really.”

You shrunk back in your chair as Gen. Cusker drummed his fingers against the table again. He glanced behind him at the flags by his desk, then back to you with a perplexing expression. He smiled and you felt the temperature of the room drop.

“I’m going to offer you a simple deal here,” Gen. Cusker pulled out a pen, “and it might seem a bit radical, but I think it might be of interest.”

You nodded along slowly.

“König is an incredible summon. He’s the most powerful one on the entire base. He’s almost at a godlike level,” Gen. Cusker explained slowly as he templed his fingers together between you, “a summon of his power is capable of turning the tides of war. He could level a small country in ten seconds flat.”

You waited for him to continue.

“If you were to give another summoner König, someone who could control König properly, you could bring in an era of peace humanity has never known before.”

You blinked. The cotton in your mind slipped out of view just enough for you to gather your bearings. You sat up in your chair and frowned.

“You’re trying to take König from me?” you asked.

“I wouldn’t phrase it that way,” Gen. Cusker admitted, “but if you give König to a more competent summoner, you could change the entire world. You could bring in an era of prosperity and wealth never before seen. You could save all of humanity.”

You looked down at your hands. Sure, you cared for König, but if what the general said was true…

You picked up the pen, “So, if I sign over König, what would happen to me?”

“You’d be given billions to live on your own,” Gen. Cusker told you.

“B-billions!?” you blinked in a stupor.

“Billions,” Gen. Cusker reiterated, “König is the most powerful weapon our country could ever get their hands on. All the nukes in the world mean nothing compared to a snap of his fingers.”

You shuddered at the thought. You knew König was powerful, but this powerful? This was what had been at your fingertips all this time? It didn’t seem real. It didn’t seem right. No, something wasn’t right at all.

“If König is so powerful, why did you let me keep him in the first place?” you asked.

“Well, we wanted to make sure that König could be controlled,” Gen. Cusker explained, “it’s been centuries since something like König’s been summoned, and the last time plunged humanity into the dark ages.”

“The last reckoning,” you whispered.

“Yes, that was the last time humanity drew upon such power,” Gen. Cusker smiled and leaned forward, “but you could control him. If you pass your control to another, a more capable summoner, you can change the world.”

You looked down at the pen, sitting ever so slightly askew on top of the page.

“I need some time to think.”

Gen. Cusker frowned, “I’m sorry, but I don’t think you have much time.”

You pressed your lips into a line as you met Cusker’s lifeless eyes, “What do you mean?”

“You don’t have much time here,” Gen. Cusker repeated, “I want this done by the end of the hour. This is of utmost importance, surely you understand?”

“But… But isn’t this-”

“If you don’t hand König over willingly, there’s other options.”

You froze. You felt like you couldn’t even breath. You stared at Gen. Cusker with wide, wide eyes as the reality of your situation dawned on you.

“I can sign,” you whispered, “I can sign right now.”

Part Two

Konig Dump

Alternate Universes

Silly Games for Silly People

You glared at the eldritch monstrosity across the table, your breath baited as your hands tightened together. He glared back at you, arctic blue eyes mere slits behind his dark hood. He leaned in close, analyzing your every move. You did just the same.

“Just roll the dice, König!” you finally snapped.

“And how do I know this is not mortal trickery?” König scoffed, “you truly believe that I am unaware of your inner machinations? That I am not leagues ahead of you in every possible way? You cannot possibly begin to compete with the likes of me.”

“Oh yeah? You really think you’re all that and a bag of chips, don’t ya?” you grabbed the dice and shoved them into his talons.

“Have you never heard of the concept of ‘patience’?” König snorted as he shook his palm.

“Have you heard the concept of ‘sore loser’?” you retorted.

König raised an eyebrow.

“It means you’re being a bitch because you’re losing,” you explained with a smug smile.

König bristled and tossed the dice. He glanced over the numbers, promptly slamming his fist on the table with enough force to shake all the pieces of the game.

“Oh yeah, look who’s all high and mighty now, huh?” you grinned as he slid his token back over to one corner of the board.

“Petulant worm,” he muttered under his breath as he leaned back into the folding chair that was only barely supporting his weight.

“I think you just don’t wanna admit that I’m better than you,” you snickered as you finished another lap of the board and collected your cash.

“I could eviscerate you,” König huffed, “and yet you mock me over some mindless board game, the only way you could possibly even try to leverage any power over me.”

“I think you’re just mad I’m better,” you gave him a cheshire grin.

You grabbed the dice and rolled them out on the table. The dice rolled a clean five and a four, just enough to get you to that final spot you wanted.

“Alright, hand over Pennsylvania Avenue,” you held out a waiting hand.

König grumbled bitterly, but thankfully he passed over the square of cardboard with a disgruntled flick of his wrist.

“Wow,” you laughed as you tucked the squares down in front of you,” you’re actually upset about this, aren’t you?”

“I am not upset by some inferior construction of human hands,” König sniffed, “I am merely astounded by the arrogance you exude.”

“Arrogance?” you scoffed, “au contraire, my friend! I think I’m creaming you this game.”

König glared at you from behind his mask. You were fairly certain that he wanted to strangle you that moment. You were only more and more excited by how upset he was.

König silently rolled the dice on his side of the table. The both of you hissed when one red die rolled over the edge of the table.

“Cocked,” you called out as you grabbed it back.

When you brought it back to König, he seemed positively peeved by you.

“What?” you handed the dice back to him,

“That was a six,” he huffed, “I needed a six to get out of jail.”

“Okay but it rolled off the table,” you pointed out, “when a die hits something on the table or rolls off it, it’s cocked and you need to reroll it.”

“And who taught you that inane ruling?” König drummed his claws against the laminated wood table.

“I dunno,” you shrugged as you sat back down, “it’s just something my DnD group taught me.”

“DnD?” König perked up, “what game is that?”

“Uh…” you looked down at the monopoly board and back up at your eldritch partner, “okay so, we’re struggling trying to play Monopoly, you’re not ready for DnD.”

“I could just read a mortal’s mind and get a good grasp,” König countered.

“Okay but, like, that would be their version of DnD,” you explained, “DnD is different for everyone. And you are not ready for DnD yet.”

König looked back down at the Monopoly board with disdain, “I want to move on from this one.”

“So are you admitting defeat?” you grinned.

“I would never deign to do such a thing, Summoner,” König snorted, “I am simply stating an opinion. Is that such a unfathomable concept?”

“Well, when you’re complaining about Monopoly, it’s kinda funny,” you pointed out.

König grumbled under his breath as he rolled the other die, blatantly ignoring whatever you wanted to say.

“Hey look! A six!” you cheered as the die flopped onto the center of the board.

“Finally!” König exclaimed as he slumped back into his chair with a groan.

“Hey hey hey watch it with the weight there, big guy,” you snapped, “I don’t wanna have to pay for another chair.”

“Did they actually deduct the past one from your pay?” König eased himself up off the backrest again.

“Yes!?” you laughed, “they took out all of them!”

At the very least, König had the decency to look sheepish about the matter as he steepled his fingers together on the table, “I see.”

“You see? Yeah I sure saw it coming out of my paystub!” you laughed.

König cringed into himself, but politely moved on to ask, “Well, who’s turn is it?”

“Um…” you looked down at the table, “I actually don’t remember. You do, don’t you?”

“I see no reason to try and clarify,” König’s eyes glinted with amusement.

You, on the other hand, were as far removed from any sense of amusement as you could have possibly been.

“No seriously, König, who’s turn is it?” you asked again.

“Why should it matter?” König shrugged, “is this not a simple game?”

“Yeah but, like, I don’t wanna be rude and take your turn or anything,” you tried to reason with him, but he was persistent. After a bit of back and forth, you finally relented. König was content to lean onto the table as you tried to get him to budge, but as it was, trying to get an avatar of chaos to play by the rules was next to impossible. Instead, you had to be creative.

“Alright, let’s play rock paper scissors to see who’s turn it is,” you determined.

“Rock paper scissors?” König tilted his head like a cat, “tell me, what is that?”

“It’s a game where you kinda, I dunno,” you patted your fist against your open palm, “you make your hand either a rock,” you held up a fist, “a pair of scissors,” you extended two fingers, “or paper,” you held out your palm. You extended your fist and held it up, “you say ‘Rock, paper, scissors,’ and the next time you put your fist on your palm you make the sign you want. Rock beats scissors, scissors beats paper, paper beats rock. Whoever wins gets the next turn. Wanna try?”

König held up one taloned hand and watched the lamp light glint off his black iridescent scales, then locked eyes with you, “It sounds rather simple. I think I can manage a round.”

And so, you both extended a fist and chanted, “Rock, paper, scissors!” and extended your hand.

You let your fist drop in horror.

“König that’s not what you’re meant to do.”

König frowned, “Aren’t I meant to make my fist look like the object?”

“König you’re meant to do the hand sign. Not… Not that,” you cringed as you heard his bones snap back into place.

“I apologize.”

“Wanna try again?”

“Seeing as my first attempt left much to be desired, I see a great need for another,” König mused.

“Alright!”

You chanted again and extended your fist. König, on the other hand, held out an open palm.

You glared at him and thinned your lips into a line, “Alright, best two out of three.”

“Vas!?” König scoffed, “are you telling me that we need to play again?”

“Just to be sure!” you huffed, eying the red and white dice hungrily.

König clucked his tongue and made a trill that sounded like bubbles rushing to the surface, but he held out his fist again.

“Go ahead Summoner, see how well this works out for you.”

You learned quickly that trying to win a game of chance against an avatar of chaos was, sadly, not as easy as you hoped.

Konig Masterlist

Konig Alternate Universes