"How long has she been at it?" Daven inquired drowsily, waking up from his nap and brushing his red hair out of his eyes.. Before him were two forms. One was another man, tall and of firm build, full of paint strokes. The other was his god, Arella, carefully and slowly molding a massive chunk of clay.

"It'll be fourteen hours, soon." The tall man replied firmly. From the back, Daven couldn't make out any of his features. He could see the man was bald and wearing what appeared to be a plain suit. The first time Arella went this long with Daven around, he made the mistake of asking why she didn't just use her Brush of Truestroke to finish the art piece. She spent the next twenty minutes thoroughly explaining the difference between self rewarding and instant gratification.

"Jeez. I don't know how you stand it." Daven recklessly commented. The tall man turned around to look at Daven, but Daven wasn't sure what with. His face didn't have any features, it was just plain white. As where his hands. After a moment of silence, the tall man turned back around to watch over Arella

"I need a break!" came the smooth, piercing voice of their god. They both immediately stood at attention. "Savnac, fetch me an apple!." The tall man immediately pulled from behind him a perfectly painted apple, and extended his arm to Arella. She swiped the apple from his hand, eagerly biting into it and savoring the painty flavor. "Daven, any news of Tycitia's realm yet?" Daven pulled from his jacket a piece of paper and began reading.

"It is uncertain whether or not-"

"STOP!" She yelled, "Uncertain? WHAT DO YOU MEAN UNCERTAIN?! I asked you to bring me statistics. Do you, or do you not know, without a doubt, how many people are in his major cities?"

Daven clenched one of his fists at the corner of the paper, crumpling it slightly. "Ma'am, he is the God of Shadows. Intelligence gathering against him is more complicated. So, no Ma'am, I do not know without a doubt." Arella fell to her back, sighing.

"Then go find out." She said quietly, as she faded into the ground.

---

As a young Valerian woman worked on her painting, she noticed something in it that was not of her design. Eyes. Eyes of many colors. She stepped back as a face began to fit itself into the eyes, along with a smile. From out of the painting emerged a yellow hand, followed by an arm and eventually the entire figure of a woman with raven black hair.

"Hi!" She exclaimed happily. "Would you mind directing me to the temple?"

You stand adrift in an endless void.

A vast expanse of completely blank space that went on forever in all directions. In a time when light and dark were the same before the beginning, devoid of light and yet one could see everything at once in a massive, overwhelmingly desolate panoramic vacuum like a night sky without stars.

Your sins are infinite, for it is you who made their premise.

The cold was bottomless. Before the rules of physics had come into play, an impossible cold that amplified with each passing moment. Or rather, a moment that didn't pass, as time had yet to turn. A marked void with a temperature beyond negative infinity.

Your blessings are naught, for it is you who has sinned.

It drifted in a "nothing", locked within the hellish trap of existence, and yet it could be said to "not be". It was perfectly blank, immobile, unthinking. There was nothing to distinguish it from the void. The rules had yet to be made, and in their place was a nature of reality before there was being and before a mind had ever turned upon itself.

So then, let us begin.

And it is in this hell that It lived, not wanting, not desiring, not acting. And so the nothing remained, undisturbed and unfettered.

"Let's make something fun happen."

A voice broke through the silence. It did not recognize the voice, it did not understand the new imposition amidst the nothing.

And yet it knew, it knew that voice was its own.

Yes...let's make something fun happen.

In the midst of this void, awaken.

The line between It and Nothing was drawn.

"...I am."

And if I am, then that means we can start. Let's build a chessboard to cut this nothingness in two.

It was at last awake.

Eyes opened. Mind expanded. Desire born.

The void twisted. The nothing gave birth to something, the Primal Form of all was shaped by a pair of hands that could never hold.

You cannot atone with death, for then there is nothing to see the atonement. Without interaction with observers, that atonement is meaningless.

Nothing split into black and white.

Power condensed into a single point, pushing further into itself as if about to burst.

Instead of atonement, it shall be a curse.

It saw every possibility, every idea, and shaped one after another in a time before time. It laughed, another sound it did not recognize. What was this? What was this feeling?

The nightmare ends when the dreamer wakes, so this will simply never end.

"There is merely one penalty."

It spoke in tandem with the thrum of the void. Was it speaking to itself, or to something beyond?

"The penalty which encompasses first and last is that which shall be eternally endured, appointed by you unto you within you."

Not death by happiness, madness, love, dehydration, burning, electrocution, suffocation. No, none of those.

This was the truest penalty of the First and Last.

Death by life.

It laughed once more, a raucous blade that sliced through the nothingness, through the light and dark.

"You really are pathetic like this, talking to yourself, you know that right? I, you, we really are a pathetic existence. It's laughable, the Blind Idiot God who created reality on an ignorant whim, but unlike that being you cannot destroy it on that same ignorant whim. But that's okay. That's perfectly okay, because we don't need to ever stop."

The system was made, and It spread its arms wide in joy as it looked upon its great work.

"You will never let yourself awaken, because when you do, you yourself will cease to be."

It fell backwards into the world it had formed, and felt itself break.

Infinite points cut through the world.

Infinite points intersected with the finitude of the world.

Infinite overwhelmed the finite, and the nature of “is” roared in a primordial void as it collapsed as if the center of a neutron star-

A chessboard needs pieces after all, doesn't it?

"So keep existing for yourself, will you?"

A futile grin as It became what it was not, shattering into infinite shards of an originary self.

And one such shard fell...

And fell...

And fell...

Until one day, it simply stopped.

"Let's keep this game going forever."

---

The United States of AUO.

As peaceful an area as there can be. An idyllic utopia in which there was no deviation from the natural order. An area in which all could be happy.

...was this feeling "happiness"? They assumed that it was. They all had to assume that it was, for if they suspected that it wasn't, they doubted their minds could take such a revelation without shattering.

The Goddess of Order presided over this land. From a single zone all of the island could be seen, as well as all that the island was not. Everything that had occurred, and everything that had not. Every possibility, every possible world or future which could be spawned, and everything that was "impossible". This was the power to view all of creation through a sense beyond sight, the Authority of Order.

"...so it's beginning, then."

The possible futures, the "could be", was viewed simultaneously to the "is". Myriad futures of a number such that trying to count them could break one's mind and shatter one's soul. But among all of these "could be"s, 99% of them shared one feature, an event that could be said to grow nearer with each passing second, an event that every God could feel approaching on the horizon.

War.

"Well then, let's get to it~"

And in the center of this island, the world distorted for the briefest of instants as Power was called back into being.

Bend space, twist time, warp reality. Destroy the world and create it anew. Fire, thunder, ice, entropy. Hope and despair, black and white. The others would fight and rage and burn and die, but she would forever persist.

That was her duty. That was her penalty. That was her atonement.

A god of the world who surpassed the world.

The landscape of the island writhed as that which it was constructed out of roared to life, the Prima Materia at the root of is-ness. The six-sided die of reality, composed of "is" and "isn't" across three different facets, was viewed from all angles at once. The silent roar of the void echoed in her mind, the scream of the world outside the world and of the world before the world.

"Please do your best to make this entertaining for me, everyone. Let's start the banquet to herald the end of the world."

A wonderful party to shatter the firmament.

At this time the pieces had finally been placed on the board, the game would finally enter its opening move, and so...

"If the party is going to begin, then I suppose I'll have to be a suitable hostess."

You stand adrift in an endless void.

You and the naught become two, and you look upon the nothingness.

And in that moment, you create the first system, the rule from which all else must rise.

"...I am."

A declaration of statement, a prayer for an outcome, the invocation of spell, which of these it was could not be known.

What could be known was that the shard of a shard of It, the glimmer of light which had stopped, was at last moving once more.

The God of Order was awake.

Without order, chaos wouldn’t exist, as it would have nothing of order to make chaotic. Alternatively, order wouldn’t exist as there is nothing chaotic to to show it has order.

As truthful as these words proved to be, it did not stop Arguis from showing his distaste for it. He stood upon a hill over looking the city of Le'DeRaug. Although the it was he was in hostile territory, Arguis showed no fear for his own life, he could not be destroyed, weather the other gods liked it or not. With out chaos, order could not exist and without order, reality was nothing. Chaos and Order was what held this world together, it is the law of the universe, it is what man is made of, no man can go without causing chaos, and chaos was brewing.

War

It would soon arrive, and once again he would be on the battle field, drawing from the chaos is created and then fueling it with more chaos himself. Arguis was in every major battle that altered history, although he was not written down in the history books, he was still there, changing the tides of the battle with just his presence. War, massacres, battlefields, disasters and even the mind of a man who creates chaos are all places in with Arguis feeds and fuels.

Arguis left his place on the hills of Le'DeRaug and continued to roam the land in search of opportunities to take and create chaos.

The woman gave a small yelp of surprise as the woman materialized out of her painting, nearly falling off of her stool and knocking over the canvas as the paints she had been working with clattered to the ground, creating a pool of paints on the floor of her workspace. Obviously this was a little less than normal occurrence and the woman took a brief moment to catch her breath before she recovered enough to regard the woman.

"The Temple? It's in the Royal Quarter. Follow the street until you pass through the Academic Quarter. The Temple should be easy enough to see then If your still lost, ask one of the priests in the Royal Quarter. They'll be able to take you there." The woman replied, with a friendly smile. She was a little upset her painting had pretty much been ruined and her paints knocked over, but it was just a trifle. Something like this wouldn't stand in the way of her passion. Besides, she meant to try that new paint that used the blood of a frost wyrm as a base anyways....

Across the street, on the roof of another one of the buildings, a figure sat wearing the uniform of the Scath guard. He quietly motioned towards another standing to his left, who simply nodded, and took off towards the Royal Quarter. The other sat, and waited, intently watching this intruder. It was more than obvious she wasn't your average visitor, and the High Priestess needed to be informed. Though, knowing her she already would know something would be amiss the moment this stranger stepped foot in the Grand Temple. The one he sent as a messenger was to inform Lord Tyzitla and Lady Nixxis. Normally, Lord Shalir or Lord Alimer would deal with this, but right now they were out of the city on some business in Limuk. Lady Nixxis had just returned from a scouting mission on Arella, and would likely not take too kindly to being interrupted in the few moments of downtime she got. The Scath guard chuckled as he watched the intruder. This woman better hope Lady Nixxis was in an amicable mood. Which never happened.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~Royal Palace~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Throne Room of the Palace was as dark as it ever was. The room was long, and shadows were deep. The ceiling was at least as high enough to allow even a giant to stand comfortably in the room, with large stone pillars held the massive ceiling above the stone floor. The walls were made out of massive granite slabs, carved right out of the mountain that the city was built upon. On the right one, was a large mural, depicting a battle of ages past between Lord Tyzitla and the ancient beast he slayed right here in the city before building it as a testament to his strength, and the knowledge he used to defeat the beast. The left, depicted a mural of the building of this city, and the first followers of swearing eternal fealty to the god. The floor was a dull grey color, the granite smoothed by used of magic. For lighting, the room only had a few braziers hanging from the pillars, and the natural light from the windows that were carved high into the wall, creating a dark, murky atmosphere.

On one end of the Throne Room, was massive stone doors that were half as tall as the room, intricately carved with a depiction of an eye on either side. On either side, stood a guards, wearing heavy looking armor and barely moving an inch. Someone could have easily mistaken them for decorative pieces were it not for the other suits patrolling the hallways. From the door, a dark blue carpet rand from them to the other end of the hall where the Throne was put. It was equally as large as the other parts of the room, with the back of it as tall as the doors, and to get to it one had to walk up some stairs, putting whoever was sitting on the stone throne higher than everyone else in the room. On either side of the throne, two large tapestries having the same depiction of an eye sat, seeming to bore into the soul of whoever was kneeling before the Shadow Throne. This Throne room was where formal meetings with other important people were held, be they gods or mortals. Right now, there were no such meetings taking place. Tyzitla sat bored upon his throne, awaiting the report from Nimue and trying his hardest to not send his daughter back to the void, who was currently latched onto his shoulder and wouldn't let go.

"Daaaaady," The winged woman whined, her green eyes giving Tyzitla the best puppy-dog look she could muster. Thankfully for him, he had grown immune to those eyes after some time. At least, that's what he'd like her to believe. Truth be told, she was still the most adorable thing in existence to him. Maybe that was just because she was his daughter though....hm. He would have to test that. Would another daughter be equally as adorable? Or even more adorable? Irisha was like a daughter to him, but that was different since she was technically adopted. Either way, he would have to put that idea on the back burner for now. He wasn't sure he could handle another little ball of violence like Zyla at the moment. "You promised you'd come back to the Citadel I get sooooo lonely with just killing things every day! And the shadow servants aren't any fun!" She had her arms wrapped around his left, and was giving him an affectionate nuzzle.

"Oh please Zyla. I see you everyday." The god sighed, giving his daughter an affectionate pat on the head, getting a pleased smile in response. "And what creation of mine did you kill today already? I told you to stop doing that, some of those are quite important and took a long time to perfect." He harshly continued, giving her a quite hard swat on the head with the hand that had just given her a pat. Zyla let out a small hiss, and backed away, rubbing her head and giving him a hurt look.

"Owwwwie." She whined, before taking a more serious stance and crossing her arms under her chest, taking a laid back position as she seemed to float on some non existent surface. "Hrmph. I think of it as Quality control." She said, giving a confident smirk. " We both know your older stuff is kinda lacking."

"That's because most of my older things serve some purpose other than fighting." Tyzitla sighed. Before Zyla could respond with some rebuttal, a person dressed in dark armor, wearing a cloak and two swords at her side appeared from the shadows of the room. Unnatural blue strands of hair fell as she knelt before the Shadow Throne out of respect for the two figures currently having what looked to be an argument to her. Tyzitla gave Zyla a serious look, which elicited a sigh from the demigod.

"Yeah yeah, I got it. Back to the Citadel with you." she floated to the ground, giving Nimue a friendly wave as she reached the floor, tendrils of shadows wrapping around her body as they pulled her in. "I'll drop buy for a chat later, Nimue!" She said to her with a friendly tone, before disappearing completely into the shadows.

"Please...hesitate from doing that." Nimue replied with a sigh after the demigod was gone. From her tone, it was obvious she didn't think to highly of Zyla or her antics. That was a problem for another time, however. She stood from where she was kneeling and gave Tyzitla a salute. "My lord, I have returned from my mission." Tyzitla said nothing, and simply motioned for her to continue. "Nothing knew to report from Arella, though I heard some whispers of her being interested in Valeria for some reason or another. I can't confirm or deny them, but I shall keep the Knights on the lookout for similar rumors and such." Tyzitla nodded, his hooded face moving from Nimue towards the door on the far end of the hallway.

"The other matter?" He spoke, whilst not taking his attention from the doors.

"Ah yes. Shalir and Alimer seem to have it under control. The Wyrm has been dealt with accordingly, though we lost a few Scath recruits in the process." In truth, the Wyrm attacks have been on the rise as of late. They were growing more aggressive, for whatever reason. A pain to deal with, but nothing he couldn't handle. He just hoped that this wasn't a sign for things to come. Perhaps he should speak to Irisha about seeing if she could learn anything from the whispers of the Shadows. However, before he could ponder this thought further, the doors to the Throne room were opened, a Scath guard walked in and knelt before the throne. Beneath his masked face, Tyzitla frowned and Nimue glared at the knight, a scowl forming on her face.

"What business do you have interrupting us?" She growled, backing off and bowing her head in an apologetic manner after a motion from Tyzitla.

"Speak." His voice was loud, and seemed to be everywhere around the room at once, the shadows seemed to writhe with the word. Obviously, Tyzitla was annoyed as well.

"Forgive me my lord, but there has been an intruder. We know not how they got into the city, they did not come in through the gates, the Scath would have seen them, had they. We have a Scath guard tailing them at the moment, I was dispatched to inform you and Lady Nixxis." Tyzitla didn't even have to say a word for Nimue to take action.

"Where were they last seen soldier?" She sharply asked.

"An artisan shoppe in the Merchant quarter, though by now they have-"

"Inform me on the way there, and gather some of Shalirs' knights. I shall resolve this situation quickly, my lord." With a wave of dismissal, Nimue and the guard left, leaving Tyzitla alone with his thoughts as was the normal routine of the day. Tyzitla sat quietly on his throne, eye closed, as if in thought. An intruder? Curious. They weren't an ordinary traveler then. Perhaps they worked for a god then? Arella? Malag wouldn't have used stealth. He'd just come to the front gates and attempt to burn the city to the ground. So this era of peace was coming to an end then? Not a surprise. Many have ended before now, and this wouldn't be the last. Whether he would live to see any more peaceful times come to an end was up to chance.

Everything came to an end some day, nothing lasts forever.

Even gods.

Even him.

Deep beneath the Sea of Secrets, Kun went about her vast and numerous machinations. A being of massive proportions, it was only natural that she should have a mind equally massive, which was then positioned itself to oversee the Sea Queen's many interests and responsibilities. She regulated the tide according to the lunar schedule, kept the oceanic currents flowing evenly, carefully guided the steady pace of the tectonic forces along the ocean floor and ensured that the salinity of the sea stayed consistent. All the while, she watched over half of the world, her lunar eye seeing all and learning much. A small band of merfolk were raiding a human fishing village. A polar kraken and a great, white whale were battling for dominance in the frozen seas of the South Pole. A particular school of plankton were an interesting shade of green tonight.

Compared to her important work, the struggles of the other gods were rather pointless to her. Let them squabble and fight amongst themselves, it makes little difference. They will dispute and battle each other, love each other and kill each other, as they always had. The world, and Kun, would carry on all the same. If they by any chance forayed where she felt they should not be, she would handle the situation, as she was more than capable of doing. For someone so busy, Kun had surprisingly few worries. Age and experience did away with those sorts of things, and had left only steadfastness and serenity in their place.

There was no need to worry, or to be upset. As long as the sun, the moon, and the earth existed, there would be the sea, and there would be Kun.

"Life is nothing but a joke..."

"Do you believe that father?" Lilith looked at as he sat on his throne overlooking his realm.

"Do I believe that? If I didn't believe that, I wouldn't be here, you and your sisters wouldn't be here. When it comes down to it I look after the worlds fallen, not anyone else. Yes the gods have their devoted followers, but me? I have the souls of the faithless, the souls of the ones who wrote off the gods already" he looked emotionless at the green moon shining down on the earth of his "underworld".

"You didn't answer my question. Whether you are the god of death or not, it doesn't mean life is a joke. Think about this way, yes you are the god of death, yes it is hard to come to terms with that. Trust me, all three of us have been present when you deem whether a soul is worthy or not, and send them here or out there" she pointed towards the forest which held the "heaven" of this world so to speak. "While it's a sad truth, it does not mean that all is bad, for even if the souls here are dead, they still stay a live and well, some better than others, but still well and YOU do that father, not me, not Jeze, not Lusi, you" she touched his shoulder.

For a while Azreal didn't move "It's a damn shame, you should be here to see your daughter...." he spoke with in his mind to something that was indescribable.

She would have turned out different if I was here Azreal, and you know that. If I were still here alive and kicking, then I would still be your advisor and she would be like Jezebel, quite the mischief maker that thought made Azreal smile but for only a second as light shining through the balcony of his throne room have shown on his face. He stood and walked to the front of the doors "Come along now you three" he spoke to the three in the room, though to anyone else there was only two, Lilith and Jezebel.

They walked the corridors of the castles until they reached the front of the place, Jezebel skipped around behind Lilith, talking to her "Where did all the servants and others go?"

Lilith looked around and suddenly stopped, looking behind them and seeing all of the souls that resided within the castle staring at the four "Wait what is happening? I was not aware that the souls were free from their rooms and duties today"

"They aren't" Azreal spoke, he knew what today was, usually his daughters were gone, but today he felt they needed to witness the old bat in action again "Every ten years, have you not realized that I send you two on missions or simple arrons for me?" he raised his hand and it began to glow black, first his fingertips and then his whole arm. The door in front of them slowly began to slid into the ground until the door was wide open. He turned it his body armor and mask fell upon his body.

"Wait what? Has he really Lili?" Jezebel looked at her father, confused with the situation unfolding.

"...Son of a bitch, I guess I never realized...wait hold on, what about Llusia?" as if on queue Llusia rose from Azreal's shadow and stepped out from behind him.

Her mask and hood dissipated into black fog and she looked at Azreal "There are a lot this time father, are you sure?" saying that further confused both Jezebel and Lilith.

Lilith hated not being in on ANYTHING, especially when it came to her father "Will you tell me what is going on dammit!" Jezebel moved away slightly, she had been in the cross fire of her sisters fighting and her father and sister fighting, it was not a fun experience to go through.

Azreal glared at Lilith, making her cower down and look down "My apologies father, but you know that I do not like being in the dark" Azreal moved past her and stood in the corridor where all the souls looked at him.

Llusia pulled her two sisters back and behind them "Every ten years, as sort of a right of passage, father must fight the souls within Le'DeRaug so that he can continue to keep them imprisoned here. If one soul beats him, that soul gets to go to Aelburn. If a soul loses they are instantly sent into the deepest part of Le'DeRaug and must wait a full ten rotations of waiting, meaning 100 years until they can try again" Lilith and Jezebel looked at their father in awe. it was never apparent to Lilith but she did always wonder how some souls here seemed to disappear or how souls were even deemed worthy to go to Aelburn. Hell she had only been there once, and what she saw was complete beauty.

Jezebel crossed her arms "But isn't it my job to keep the souls in check? that is what father gave me right?" she looked to Lilith for confirmation to make sure she was right, making Lilith nod in a yes motion.

Llusia looked at her father and worried slightly "Yes it is, but this is not keeping the souls in check, this is keeping father in check" and with that the three shut up, waiting for something to happen.

Azreal's ripped overcoat that covered his waist down and his pants below that, seemed to move like black fire. his arms were covered in black aura and he stood calmly waiting for them to confront him. One of the bigger souls, a chimera of sorts, jumped from out of the group and slowly pawed over in front of Azreal "Oh? Ourm? Is it your turn finally? whats this, your third try?" the soul growled in anger and Azreal held out his right hand, a scythe forming in it. The Chimera charged him, making Azreal flick his left hand pointer finger upwards and the ground moving from under the beast, making him smash against the ceiling. Ourm fell onto the ground stunned for a moment, before getting back up and backing up slightly, then suddenly jumping towards him. Azreal went to slash at him with the scythe, then realized that there were suddenly two other bigger orc like souls rushing him. He did his best to block the kick coming from one of the orcs that sent him flying into the wall. Another Orc followed after that, trying to knee him into the wall, Azreal quickly sidestepped that kick and grabbed the orc by it's hair, lifting him backwards so that his neck was showing. With one fluid movement, he cut the orcs head clean off and dropped it.

The Chimera made a run for it at the door, while the two other orcs kept Azreal preoccupied, Llusia moved from her spot and raised her hand, her mask coming back into place. Suddenly she was gone and she reappeared from under the chimera, forming a weapon, she thrusted upward and pinned him into the ceiling. Both him and the orc fell to the ground and slowly was absorbed back into the castle.

Meanwhile Azreal quickly subdued the second orc with haste and turned towards the last one, the one who kicked him. The orc tried to punch at Azreal, who in turned, moved to the side, and grabbed the orcs wrist, pulling him forward so that he was punching into the ground, then with a rapid slash, cut the orc in half. He turned again to the other souls who had been waiting and then all at once they rushed him. He dropped his scythe that seemed to fall into the nether building, and he suddenly made a dozen or so hand motions and the building itself seemed to roar back at the rebeling souls, making them stop dead in their tracks. Suddenly, monsters of every shape and size began to rise out of the buildings floor and Azreal laughed a maniacal laugh "I, Azreal, God of Death, Son of destruction, and Father to Hatred, summon Raguldor back from the clutches of the nether and serve me!" he punched the ground and at first nothing happened. But Jezebel, Lilith and Llusia knew what was about to happen and they quickly averted their eyes.

Lilith Stood outside the gate and heard screams coming from within the castle "Well that's interesting, I didn't think gods could be challenged like that" Lilith looked at Llusia who was in turn watching Jezebel setting small things on fire.

"Father was the one who chose it to be that way, after this, it seems he wants to meet with one of the gods, though he hasn't told me which one" Llusia looked over her shoulder at Lilith and then back at the castle as it seemed the castle was moving on its own, following Azreal's commands.

On her temple on the Lone Mountain, Tyrithe discusses matters with her two High-Judges. As the temple is an open place with marbled floors and ceiling, their voices carry far as they talk. “--I just thought it was funny how much he was refuting it.” Atropos giggled. Yansha and her had been telling Tyrithe of some of the funnier things they had seen for the last few weeks. “Of course, he was disciplined.” She nodded.

Yansha however, merely yawned. The two didn’t get along too well and had a rivalrous relationship with each other. Tyrithe approved as it motivated them, but kept a careful eye on the two. “Oh?” Atropos replied to the Kitsune’s yawn. “You got something better?”

Yansha made defensive hand gestures but had to cover her mouth again as another yawn escaped. “No, no, no~.” A yawn escapes her mouth again, “That’s not what it’s about this time. I’m just a bit tired from last night. It was a ‘family’ meeting. The other Kitsune and I had some things to discuss. It’s not something I really enjoy.” A sigh was then released as she turned to the Goddess and apologized. “I’m sorry for this sad display, Sakura.”

Tyrithe smiled and nodded, “No, it’s fine, Yansha. I imagine the others must be tiresome. I remember how much they talked the last time I saw them. . . I never thought they’d stop.” She laughed a little. “That aside, have you two heard much of the other gods?” The High-Judges shook their heads. “I see. Perhaps I should pay someone a visit.” Tyrithe mumbled to herself. “Tea time.” She walked to the back of her temple with the High-Judges and collected her things. “I shall depart now you two. Get some more work done while I’m gone.” With her tea set she disappeared in a swirl of Sakura Flowers.

“And she’s gone.” Atropos sighed.

---

The Goddess of Judgement appeared in front of the Temple in U.S.A. in a swirl of Sakura. She hoped Ersa, the Goddess of Order, would notice her and invite her in and it’s not like her presence was a hidden one.

Ersa was someone Tyrithe found herself able to have a civil conversation with, albeit her citizens are in horrible shape and cannot even provide for themselves. “I hope she’s up for tea today.” She said as she walked up to the temple’s entrance.

The lands and territories of Greipur seemed to be brimming with energy today. Kaba walked amongst her realm, something she often did when she had to think. Her powerful, yet graceful, form moved easily through the trees. The dense underbrush seemed to part ways for the goddess. She stepped easily over the streams and brooks of her realm, the cold water diverting around her hooves as she passed.

The many gods and goddesses of the world knew how powerful and destructive Kaba could be, and thus many kept their distance. But at the same time Kaba felt as if her land was under constant danger. Her realm was home to some of the most interesting and rare creatures in the world. It's plants and produce were abundant and fresh, many of which are key ingredients in many magical and medicinal concoctions. She knew that many gods and goddesses would be itching to enter her lands, a lot of which remains hidden under dense foliage.

Kaba decided it would be best to put the idea of possible invasion out of her mind. Besides, getting stressed would lead to her land feeling her strain as well. Instead she took in a deep breath, exhaling loudly over her domain. The leaves on the trees around her rattled and shook as tranquility spread throughout the land.

The normally tense and straight-faced goddess had to allow herself to smile. She could hear the sounds of worship through the wind. Her sensitive ears easily hearing everything in her lands and even beyond. She could hear their praise in their songs, their prayers and their joy when a harvest is successful. Kaba was quickly reminded why she kept such boarders, protecting her people was her main goal and concern. Kaba continued her walk, allowing the nature of her land to relieve her of stress.

And in every step she took flowers bloomed.

"Oh~? Well if it isn't Tyrithe! Come in, come in~"

The Goddess of Order let out a soft hum as the Goddess of Judgment appeared before her Temple. Arms crossed behind her head as she sat on a chair that seemed to grow out of the stone floor, Esra smiled slightly, tilting her head to the side in an almost childish fashion. And as she gave this expression, an unsaid question floated throughout the temple air.

What is "wrong"?

If you ask a human this question, you will get a variety of answers. Wrong is incorrect, wrong is impossible, wrong is disgusting or disturbing or foolish.

At its core, wrong is wrong. It is one of the few concepts that is perfectly essentialist. Wrong is wrong. Right is not wrong because wrong is not right.

And so, as a soft laugh emanated from the existence called "Esra" a feeling that could not be expressed in words flowed outwards with her at the center. A sense beyond sight spoke to nothing, informing it of a truth both "of" the world and "beyond" the world.

This girl, this god, this thing is wrong.

There are many different senses of fear.

The fear of a stronger human.

Of something which is perfectly understood, but which cannot be killed by your ability. You understand man, you understand what would have been needed to accomplish to defeat it, and you understand that you lack that much. This is the weakest fear. Predictable, simple, trite. A meaningless illusion that can hardly be called fear.

The fear of a hurricane or an earthquake.

Of a process beyond your "control". Something which you understand, but which you cannot know in totality and infinity. It has no mind, it is merely a process, a result of predetermined actions and ends, and yet you know that it is greater than yourself. A process, there is always a process, and yet this fear barely stands above the fear of another human.

The fear of a monster.

Of something that you are not, that you do not understand and yet you know you will die. If God is all-knowing and all-powerful, the demon is a being of human knowledge and powerlessness. It is the reachable but utterly incomprehensible abyss. It is an end.

The fear of a god.

Of abject inferiority, of acknowledgement that you are nothing. A cosmic speck in the hand of the Bodhisattva. That which creates, that which destroys, that which acts in a transcendent form with the scream of "naught" roaring in their mind, barely able to pay you attention as you are done away with.

This was none of those.

This was all of those.

Seven points cut through this "world".

Set.

-Initiate.

You are. Thus, the starting penalty is three.

Death by madness. Death by happiness. Death by love.

You created something. Thus, the intermediate penalty is five.

Death by electrocution. Death by suffocation. Death by burning. Death by stabbing. Death by dehydration.

-But what if what you created was beyond your nature?

What if this thing you stand opposite is something you can never hope to know?

Then, the true penalty is one.

The final penalty is a hapless suicide which you yourself will perform in the evanescent dance to the end of eternity.

Plot, scheme, prepare, do magic, destroy, create, cry, ask why, cut your own throat, smash yourself into the ground—none of it will do you any good.

Not the fear of man or process or god or devil. It is all useless because this is the most primal fear.

This is the fear of wrong.

"It's great to have a visitor! Nobody's stopped by in way too long, and talking to Kun through the Moon is waaaay too boring 'cause she almost never bothers to reply back. Too wrapped up in business that doesn't exist, you know?" Esra said in a continuous stream of dialogue, punctuating it with a slight giggle as she waved a hand in the air.

Space bent as an immaterial form became existent in the space between the two goddesses, a black box that writhed itself into a new form.

"Well, what can I do you for? Cup of tea? Apple biologically identical to one of Kaba's? The sword fated to kill the Demon Lord?"

As she spoke, the immaterial form split into three different "pieces", each becoming one of the three things she mentioned, before all three were waved back into nonexistence by Esra, the system that their existence was based on written out of reality.

"War's coming, you know."

Without a change in her demeanor or even waiting for her fellow Goddess to take a seat, Esra dropped a proverbial bomb.

"Just about every possible timeline's got a God War breaking out pretty soon, so you might wanna make sure you're ready in case one of the juveniles come knocking at your door. If someone I find annoying enough decides to attack you, I might send you intel or wipe out their existence from the first premise or something, providing it's not too much effort on my part. Us enemies of Chaos have gotta help each other out, right~?"

There was no doubt that she was ill-fitting for the title "Goddess of Order".

"But anyway, enough of that. The six-sided die is firmly in my vision, so you don't have to worry about your place getting surprise attacked while you're away; if anyone launches an attack I'll be able to see that much and I'll let you know. That's the imperative of Order after all. So, in the meantime, don't let that war business bother you~! Have a seat and just tell dear old Esra what brings you to the most efficient territory this side of the 'is-ness'!"

Arguis traveled across the great lands of Minonas, causing chaos and destruction to rule as he passed. He was in deep thought. Arguis was planning to start a war between to gods, but he needed to know what god craved territory and power. There was always Tyzitla, the god of the Shadows. He could use a god like him on his side during a war, his shadows would prove useful during battle. There was also Malag the blood god, he was another useful one. His blood thirstyness had already provided him with a bountiful amount of Chaos, and with his help, even more could be created. And then there was Kun, the Queen of the Sea, she was a powerful goddess, one who was born before all god, at least that was what the children and scholars were told.
Arguis made a final decision, he would travel to the domain of the great Kun, and ask for her assistance during this war, and he would use the other gods to hide his own true motive, and when it was all said and done, give the destroyed world to one of the gods of his choosing. Arguis traveled to the Silent Depths, the beautiful domain of Kun. Arguis bowed respectfully to the goddess and addressed her as so.

"Oh greats Queen of the Seas, I come to you on this day to ask of you a request. I wish to wage war on the goddess Tyrithe, this would render the goddess of Order no direct allies for the time being. I plan on creating and alliance with many other gods and goddess. In turn, when we win this war, I will give the world into your hands." He said to the Goddess.

Ah, there was a visitor in the Silent Depths. Kun directed a fraction of her attention to this matter. Such a portion was more than enough to carry a conversation, even with another god. Arguis knelt before her, suspended in the void of her realm, before Kun in all of her majesty. The sight of a being as massive as Kun would likely break the mind of any mortal attempting to comprehend it, and so only gods could stand before her so boldly. Though his words were flowery, Kun easily saw through Arguis' intentions. He saw her as a tool, something to be used to his own ends and then discarded. He had no intention of winning any sort of war, he merely wanted to bring about chaos and observe what followed. The Queen of the Sea was much too old and knew far too much to fall for such a paltry ruse.

"I REFUSE." Thus came her response. Where the thoughts of mortals were lapping waves, those of gods were surging tides, and the thoughts of Kun were an all-devouring tsunami. "YOU THINK TOO LIGHTLY OF ME, ARGUIS. MY SEAS ARE VAST ENOUGH; YOUR PALTRY OFFER DOES NOT ENTICE ME TO FIGHT YOUR ENEMIES IN YOUR PLACE. BEGONE, AND DO NOT BOTHER ME AGAIN WITH SUCH TRIFLING MATTERS."

With a twitch of one of her mighty tentacles, the ether void of the Silent Depths swirled and flowed, pushing Arguis away. Qyrl gently bobbed and flowed along the stream, bumping into the god of chaos with their soft, harmless bodies. Each one gently pulsed with light, as though reacting to the contact, and languidly swam in random directions. Kun turned her attention away from the impetuous god, and thought to his attempted meddling in the mortal world. Perhaps it would be wise to send an emissary to Tyrithe, warning her of the potential of attack. Simply because Kun had been wise enough not to, there was still the chance that other, more foolish gods could be tempted by Arguis' offer.

~~~~~~~~
~Temple~
~~~~~~~~
The Gloaming Temple was a magnificent place, carved out of the very stone of the mountain it was built upon like the rest of the city. The ceiling was almost as high, if not as high as the throne room. The stone floor was covered in smooth, polished dark stone, obviously not part of the original stonework of the mountain. It was a large semi-circular chamber with several rows of finely crafted stone pews lining the ground floor. Dark purple carpets with golden trim lined the stone floor between them. They were immaculate, obviously the priests took great care in keeping the carpets clean. The second floor, was less richly decorated than the ground floor and was merely a series of stone seats made in a stadium like fashion. It was currently empty, save for Nimue and a couple of guards, one of which currently had a sword pointed right at his neck.

"What do you mean you lost her?" Nimue sternly asked the guard. "We are the most secure city in all of the realms, and you just lost her!" Her tone of voice indicated she was not happy with the guard for having lost the intruder. Of course, her tone of voice was the last thing on the guards mind. Her sword, which was currently placed against his neck was. His face, however was oddly calm for someone in such a situation.

"We are not all knowing, despite our reputation Lady Nixxis. Obviously whoever they were, had some agenda and were well planned."[/b] The guard calmly reasoned, earning him nothing but a snarl from Nimue. The assassin had half a mind to gut the guard then and there for his incompetence, but that wouldn't solve anything. Besides, disciplining the Scath guard was not her place. Still, she would have a word with Alimer. Obviously he wasn't training his men as they should.

"Oh, what have we here?" A feminine voice came from the stone altar, situated at the back of the hall towards where the priests quarters were, and where the massive collection of knowledge they had collected over the years were kept. A female dressed in elaborate black robes sat upon the rectangular altar with a friendly, but oddly unsettling smile upon her face. To most, she would probably have been extremely beautiful, until they noticed her face. Namely, her nearly pitch black eyes which gave her more than a little odd appearance. A little less obvious feature, was that she was blind, at least in the normal sense of the word. She didn't see 'colors' and 'light' rather, than she 'listened' to the shadows. She looked directly at Nimue and the guard, standing up and walking over in quite the suggestive manner."Cut the poor guy some slack Nimue, and go enjoy your downtime for once." The woman said to the Assassin. "I know this great little brothel in the merchant quarter. They're really good at what they do, you know."

"Well, you would know since it's your second job, Irisha." Nimue spat, only getting a mischievous giggle from Irisha in response as she removed her blade from the guards neck, sheathing it.

"So hostile as always," Irisha replied in a faked hurt tone. "But that ruthlessness is what I like about you." Irisha moved next to Nimue before she had time to move herself, throwing an arm over one of Nimue's shoulders. "Such a shame you're always so busy...putting you in your place would be quite...fun." The High Priestess continued in a low, provocative voice. This merely earned her a shove from Nimue, pushing her off of her.

"Aww, you're always so mean to me Nimmy dear! Why can't you be nicer to me like Tyzi!" Irisha jokingly whined in response.

"We're done here." Nimue said to the gathered guards, brushing off the area Irisha had touched as if she was washing away some deadly disease. The blue haired Valerian made her way towards the exit of the Temple, ignoring Irisha as she did so with the guards she had bought following shortly after. "We're going to search the city. If you find her, capture her and make sure she's brought back alive. I'l interrogate this intruder myself."

Irisha simply watched Nimue leave with a slightly bored sigh. She had been hoping she would get to have a bit of fun with Nimue, ah well. She'd entertain herself with some prisoners.

~~~~~~~~~
~TYZITLA~
~~~~~~~~~

The Shadow God sat upon his throne, quiet. Some would mistake him for being asleep. However, instead he was simply scouring the worlds shadows for information. The search of which was proving to be somewhat fruitful. He heard Arguis speaking to what he assumed to be Kun about some alliance, which was cut off before he could hear the reply. He saw Tyrithe and the goddess of Order, Esra speaking. About what, he didn't know as the shadows were quite difficult to get a clear picture of everything. Often times, he only saw brief visions or words. Thankfully, he was smart enough to be able to piece together what little information was actually gained, usually. However, one Goddess, Kaba seemed to just be enjoying her time alone in her forest. Perhaps he shouldn't interfere, but he was growing bored, sitting here upon his throne every day just tending to his every day duties. Perhaps, meeting with another of the gods would be entertaining, to say the least.

"You there," Tyzitla spoke, the guard at the end of the hallway didn't reply, but he didn't need to. "Inform Nixxis when she returns that I have gone to meet with another of the gods." The knight gave a small bow, acknowledging his task before returning to his normal stone faced posture. With that, shadows began to wrap around Tyzitla, drawing him into the shadows. In an instant he was gone.

~~~~~~~~
~Greipur~
~~~~~~~~
The shadows in a part of the forest began to writhe with cold fury as they reached up, taking the shape the god of shadows. It had been awhile since he was last in Greipur. In fact, it had been awhile since he had left his Palace and Citadel at all. Perhaps he should drop by the other gods, simply to see how much they have changed and if any of them posed a threat to him. Well, that was a stupid question. All of them, potentially posed a threat to him. Kaba would likely not like him suddenly popping up like this, but it was the quickest way of travel to him, and it allowed him to move without being noticed, more or less.

Tyzitla looked about the area he had appeared in. The forest was as...beautiful as ever, as some would say. The forest was lush with plant life, quite different from the cold mountain that his people called home. He much preferred the cold stone hallways and deep shadows of the mountains, but he supposed he could understand why someone would prefer this...green foliage.

Tyzitla simply waited. Kaba would likely know he was here, or at least there was a disturbance quite soon after he arrived. All he would have to do was wait, and she would come to him, most likely.