@Slendy@BlackPanther@Ace of Flames01@Rechonq@ActRaiserTheReturned

Cia had sent a message to as many of the merged that were at the event of the lab. These messages went to as many as she could think of. To send this message she sent Ratatoskr. The Sly messenger as he was called. Ratatoskr is a squirrel from the Norse Pantheon. He had been in the war of the merged and had taken to the side of the merged. He was a servant before and is a servant now. He saw no difference in what he was doing now, atleast he got to go out more though which was nice.

Using his abilities Ratatoskr could make it to all realms with no problem, deliver a message asking the merged to meet Cia in Asgard. The message came with a reading on the bottom. Once it was read a portal would open to take them directly to Asgard under an apple tree that had a wonderful view of the city of Asgard. Cia was waiting with what seemed to be a picnic basket under the apple tree. It had plain sandwiches in it, nothing fancy.

A month had past are the threat of the disease had been over. Since that day, Rhona had returned to the life she had known earlier. However, this time.... She felt slightly more lonely then before. She had unfortunately not been given the chance to get the other gods' phone numbers, so she wasn't able to keep in touch with any of them.

Everything was quiet up until a few days ago, when suddenly, she kept seeing these videos of a peculiar man turning things into cheese! At first she blew it off, thinking it was a lunatic or a cheap magic trick. But the more she saw the videos the more the mad man looked familiar.

Suddenly, Rhona noticed a letter placed on her window sill. She was hesitant yet eager to see who it was from. Rhona opened the letter and quickly read it over. "A picnic? And in Asgard no less!" Suddenly, a one sided portal opened up on her bedroom door. Rhona quickly changed into a simple white dress then entered the portal, it closing behind her.

@Cuccoruler
On the other side of the portal, Rhona found herself sitting in an open field in Asgard. The golden grass was up to her waist as she stood up. She then saw Cia sitting under an apple tree nearby, eating a sandwich. Rhona made her way to her and greeted her with a nervous smile. "Th-thank you for inviting me to Asgard... I have never visited this realm before...! It's very beautiful and it reminds me of home..." She replied sheepishly, but smiled happily and warmly.

Alec finishes his coffee and tosses it into a trash can. Then he pauses his nose twitches (which probably looks odd as a human) and he spots a squirrel. Instinct takes over and he rushes forward morphing into his jackal form and barking like an idiot. The king of squirrels seems less then amused and ends up in a tree knowing he has to deliver the message he carries to this stupid mutt. Alec keeps barking his front legs braced on the tree his hind legs on the ground and his tail wagging. That is until the squirrel throws the message and it bonks him on the nose. Then he realizes who he is barking at and sits down looking sheepish. The squirrel jumps and seems to vanish to deliver the next message.
Alec sighs that is the third time he has done that to that squirrel...really needs to work on controlling himself. He noses open the message and reads it getting transported to Asgard in his large jackal form. He spots cia and rhona and pads over.

After the incident at the hospital Landon followed the voice into the dark. He searched for the voice for a month to no avail. The search wasn't a total loss though. Landon learned a lot about the dark realms and their capabilities. Landon suspected that the dark was significantly stronger than the power over winter, but now he realized just how connected they were. The cold was very important to controlling different aspects of dark and vice versa. His search was oddly interrupted by a squirrel. After having seen no one for a month this was the last thing he expected to see. Ratatoskr gave him the message and he quickly realized why a squirrel might be in a dark realm. He read the message and decided to take a break from his search and studies. As he finished reading the portal opened. "Thanks Rata. Your tracking is really amazing." With that he left the sqirrel and stepped through the portal.

Landon immediately recognized the familiar faces. "Well hello again. Didn't think I'd be seeing you all so soon again. How has everyone been?" He walked over to the others and joined them underneath of the tree. So this is Asgard. It really is beautiful. He thought to himself.

@Cuccoruler@Ace of flames01@BlackPanther

@BlackPanther

Soon after her arrival, a jackal appeared wagging his tail. As it approached her and Cia, not realizing that the jackal was actually Alec, Rhona offered her hand before gently petting it's head. "Hi there buddy...! What bring s a fella like you to Asgard? You are a long way from home... Did you get lost?" She replied warmly as she continued to pet it's head for a bit longer.

@rechonq

"Oh...! Landon...! It's so nice to see you again...! I have been well for the most part... I have had a fever for a couple weeks but I am doing better today... How are you?" Rhona replied happily upon Landon's entry. Rhona was happy that see another familiar face.

Rhona suddenly remembered the videos she had seen a few days before. She was about to ask Cia about them but then stopped herself. "I should wait for a bit until the other gods arrive before mentioning it..."

@rechonq@BlackPanther@Cuccoruler

Yato is basking in the sun on top of a small fishing boat in the ocean. He was on this boat to help a down on his luck fishermen make enough to keep his family happy after they hit some rough times. As he was enjoying his tanning He felt something trying to get his attention. Looking to his side he saw a squirrel. "Hey there. What is a squirrel doing out here." Yato read the message he was given and thought it over for a bit as a portal was waiting to take him some were. The fishermen seems to be okay and would start praying at my shrine from here on out. Deciding he was needed no more Yato jumped through the portal to end up at a picnic. "Hey! I think there was a mistake with me getting this message. Tho if you don't mind can I join you anyway?"

@Trevor1001@Ace of Flames01@Rechonq@BlackPanther

Cia gave a warm smile to them all. "It's nice to see you all again, I figured since we will all be working togeather in the future we may as well get to know each other!" Cia said, at this point she noticed Yato nearby. "I guess Rata must have gotten something wrong, oh well you can join us anyways!" Cia said with a smile to him. "The more the Merrier!" Cia added with a smile.

At this point a small dove came to land on top of Cia's head. "Oh right! I should introduce someone! This is Henry, he's my familiar!" Cia said with a cute smile. It was a lovely looking bird, though it acted more like a pigeon than a dove at times. It was quite the silly creature and amused Cia quite often. (Your sacred animal is now a pet.)

"I hope you all don't mind the rather plain food, I had this idea on a whim and didn't give myself to prepare anything better than sandwiches." Cia said to the others, she was not a perfect god, but she tried. Sadly her sandwiches were not exactly tasty either, they were basically cheese on bread.

Landon was happy to just relax for a while. He could see now why gods of the dark were mad. That much darkness isn't good for anyone. Rhona's excited greeting and warm response were very welcome. Landon saw more truth to her comments from a month ago in needing balance between light and dark. At sight of the jackal he suspected it was Alec. He chose to give the jackal a few rubs anyways as he responded to Rhona. "I've been good as well. I've been exploring recently. A fever sounds lame though. I'm glad you're feeling better, but why are you getting sick? I just don't feel a goddess should be getting sick."

At that point Yato arrived interupting their conversation for a moment. Landon gave a slightly sarcastic, "Welcome to the club, Mate." upon Cia's acceptance of him. After Cia introduced her familiar, Landon took a cheese sandwhich and returned to Rhona. "You said flame was in your realm right? Do you think you could grill this for me?" Landon coated his hands in ice so as to hold the sandwhich over her flames.

@Cuccoruler@Ace of flames01@Trevor1001@BlackPanther

Hannah Lane
MSF Base, South Africa
Month Two

Her ability to help was lessening these days, the local authorities had things well in hand along the coasts now. She was needed inland, where the fighting was still thick, but Hannah feared a repeat of her last adventure away from the sea. Occus would not be around to save her should she waste her life again, and honestly she would be more of a hinderance; the amount of water to keep her functional would be too much of a drain on resources.

No, it was about time she switched assignments. Her coordinator could set it up so she'd be transferred east to the Indonesian islands. Every now and again an undead would crawl out of the sea and bite someone, and her experience with treating wounds from the undead would be more valuable there. "Harry? Do you think they'd let us transfer?" she asked curiously, folding up the spare bandages on the floor of the building while her friend stacked boxes by the door to be shipped forward.

Harry paused, and he looked at her with a hint of confusion for a moment, as if he wasn't quite sure he knew who she was, before the expression cleared. Occus magic had worked, for now, but Hannah knew by now that even the slightest thing would remind Harry of the events. The word 'occult', a snake, sometimes just being out at night or smelling the sea breeze tickled his memories. She wondered if they all resisted the spell this much, or if Harry was just strong willed. Then again, maybe the spell had just been a courtesy to the other immortals, maybe he wanted them to remember him... Hannah wouldn't be surprised if that were the case.

---

Khulekani
Fae Hideout, Central States
Month Two

"That's it, nice and thick." She whispered, reaching out and running her fingers through the swirls of magic. A circle of Fae stood around the gathering of energies, each of them grasping a ritual dagger and clad only in their underthings. Kani was the only one fully clothed, her ceremonial garb was humming with enchantments as she stood at the head of the circle on a slight improvised dias.

The hideout was a large empty barn, the previous owners of which were slain by undead weeks ago. A metal device had been set in the center of the room's dirt floor. It was in the shape of a sun, a circle with stylized rays shining out towards where the Fae stood all around it. Deep channels were carved into it, and at the very center runes were scribbled everywhere.

Without further ceremony, Kani began the ritual. "Blood." She commanded. Instantly the Fae cut themselves with their daggers, the magic in the weapons drawing blood to the surface of the cuts quickly. Seconds later the channels were filling and the deepest groove around the center of the metal device began to glow green.

"Magic." She ordered next, prompting the Fae to cast simple transference spells, draining their energy into the device which began glowing brighter.

"Anchors." She commanded at last, stepping closer to the device. The Fae's focus turned inwards, onto their inner thoughts and desires and motivations. They would need to know who they themselves were for this next part to work correctly.

Kani knelt before the device, and touched it while the rest were distracted. A whirlwind of power exploded from the center of the device, massive levels of energies swirling around the room. Voices screamed at the summoners, demanding their attention, and visions played out in the air. They ignored it all though, refusing to acknowledge anything but their own inner thoughts.

Except for Kani.

She searched the chaos frantically, she needed to see it! Where was it?! A disembodied voice shrieked in her ears, speaking in a language she didn't know, but she forced herself to look past it. Where was the ghost?!

Then she saw it. A beautiful woman holding an equally beautiful man to her chest and crying. Hecate. Occus. This was the future.

A woman screamed, one of the Fae. Her focus had been broken and a demon had managed to break her will. Her body twisted grotesquely and turned a sickly neon green color. Horns sprouted from her head and she began to float. The woman's soul flee the body with a distressed verse, and vanishes into motes of light to reach Wickedeisos.

Guilt settled in Kani's heart. She should've been faster! She jerked her hand away from the device and immediately the swirl of energy and cacophony of demonic voices ceased. The demon possessing the former witch remained and Kani quickly destroyed it before it could do any harm. The others slumped over in relief and exhaustion. The barn doors threw themselves open and healers immediately descended on them, but Kani waved off the man coming her way.

She needed to see Occus. Now.

Ox Wicken
Club Veroxese, Germany
Month Two

Music pounded to a new beat, a song Ox had never heard before. It was in English, but that didn't seem to be a problem here. The club was lit by black lights tonight, they had an event involving phosphors and a local band earlier in the night, which explained why Ox was missing a shirt and glowing with bright body paint. A series of abstract markings in green swirled around his torso and blue triangles dotted his upper arms and neck. He looked as if he'd just stepped out of a rave, which wasn't far from the truth.

Many of the men and women in the club were sweating as they danced, following a routine of sways and twists unique to every one of them. Ox was neither sweating nor dancing, though he had been doing the latter earlier. He leaned against the bar with a group of guys talking loudly and gesturing excitedly. They had been drinking, but not as much as it appeared, they had been just as loud and expressive when they walked in sober hours ago.

Ox was laughing at one of the blond men's terrible jokes, only funny because it was so bad. When immersed in the energy of the young it was like an entirely new person inhabited Occus, and this person was remarkably friendly, and he exchanged seriousness for mischievousness.

He locked eyes with a young man across the room, it looked like it was his first time here by the way he seemed excited and yet reluctant to get involved. He was also incredibly young, possibly having gotten in by a fake ID. The staring contest went on for a few seconds and Ox's smile grew wider.

The kid thought he had guts enough to challenge a god? Let's find out... Ox's eyes flashed a vibrant pink, neon and glowing, and by he way the kid blinked and frowned in confusion, his bit of magic was noticed.

Ox stepped away from the group of guys he'd been spending the night with, his attention sufficiently distracted. He squared his shoulders and all but sauntered out of a side exit. Taking one more look at the kid and flashing his eyes beckoningly. He could practically feel the eyes drilling into his back as he did.

He only had to wait by the door for a few minutes before the kid was standing there in the alley. Ox smirked triumphantly shimmered out of existence before the young man's eyes.

Now exposed to the supernatural, Ox wondered how long it would be before the kid's research into the impossible led him to Occus once again.

"Divinity awaits him." The Heart observed mysteriously. Ox considered the words with interest, something to keep an eye on...

The fearsome visage of Thalios stood defiant but alone in the center of a vast, unending chamber of darkness, the pit at the bottom of some bottomless chasm. After his challenge pierced the gloom, the only sounds resonating through the pitch were the faint laps and burbles of his tempestuous mantle. Ultimately Thalios did not have long to wait, though, for a slow and steady slap of feet upon ebony heralded the approach of the consumer. Though the ethereal, mad emanations from Thalios could not have been light, they cast a wavering luminescence onto the face of the skinless walker as it came close. Every inch of the nightmare god's impressive height turned useless as he was forced to look upward to see the grotesque, indelible grin of the Great One who now invaded his dreamscape.

I am who I am.

No uncanny noise slithered from between those jagged, angled teeth. Aforgomon uttered nothing, but still Thalios knew the macabre abomination's response. In the space of a preternatural moment, the nightmare god knew also that this dimensional emissary held no responsibility for the creation of the nightmare in which he found himself snared. You remind me of the grave lord. You cried out in despair, and I, only I, answered your call. Doubtlessly Thalios understood how bizarre that this blind phantom, rather than all of his supposed allies of the Merged pantheon, would be the sole being to sympathize with the terrors that assailed him.

Your nightmare, while insightful, is pungent. Though it plagues you, it has outlived itself, and grows stale like oats. The chaos wanes, its only legacy a thankless void. No eternity recalls a dreamless slumber. Where even gods ignore you, I deign to tread, and to turn you loose.

All this Thalios could swear Aforgomon said, if only a single word actually fled its jagged maw. Around them the dark loomed, oppressive, but a dream loses its sting when the dreamer becomes aware. The dimensional shambler traced a perfect curve through the Stygian blackness with an outstretched, loathsome finger, and the shadows tore apart to bleed light. Through this brilliant, nonsensical rip in space, Thalios could escape its torment. Aforgomon itself disappeared like a memory, its last fleeting glimpse its bald skull and an unspoken urge: be free from the night.

@rechonq@Cuccoruler@Ace of flames01
Alec woofs at rhona and wags his tail. He was now curious how long it would take her to figure it out. He pass over to the sandwiches and gingerly grabs one with his mouth then gobbles it up. He always seems to be hungry...much like a teenage male.
He is then pet by Landon. That earns the other God an eye roll and a slightly amused woof from the jackal. Technically he can speak or turn back at any moment but he's still curious about rhona.
With this in mind he pads over closer to cia and lays down. A large yawn causing his ears to twitch in what could be an adorable fashion. His paws cross over as he lays there looking like a statue of one of the jackal's representing his father. His ears prick forward as he waits for them to continue.

@Cuccoruler@BlackPanther@rechonq@Trevor1001

After Alec layed down next to Cia, Rhona turned her attention to her and smiled warmly yet still slightly nervous. "Your familiar is quite adorable...!" She replied smiling. Moments after a pure white horse appeared from behind Rhona and whinnied as it trotted up next to her, gently rubbing it's snout against her face as a greeting. "Oh...! Sagittarius! Did you follow me?" She replied giggling as the horse's velvet like nose tickled her cheek.

"This is Sagittarius. He is one of my familiars...! But...." She replied, looking around with a confused and slightly concerned expression. "Where is Leo...?" Rhona then waded through the tall grass calling out for said Leo.

Suddenly, after a few minutes of searching, when Rhona was a good 10 feet away from the other gods, a figure that was black as night seemingly attacked Rhona from infront. She let out a shriek as she fell from the massive weight of her supposed attacker, pining her to the ground. Rhona screamed a few more times before breaking out into laughter.

"Leo! Stop it!! Get off!! You're squishing me!!" Rhona laughed. However, Leo refused to get off of her right away as he hugged her with his massive paws and rubbed his muzzle against Rhona's body and face, trying to get rid of the others scent (as he did not like the others scent). Leo purred and occasionally made a deep groaning noise.

Feeling quite suffocated, Rhona tried to push Leo away. "Leo!! Stop it!!! I can't breathe!!" She replied laughing still. Then an idea struck her. Rhona made her body go limp as she closed her eyes.

Leo, not realizing that Rhona was actually playing dead, immediately got to his feet and sniffed her face, occasionally placing his giant paw on her chest or face and made a groanish whine noise. Suddenly, when Leo let his guard down, Rhona surprised him by blowing air in his face. Startled, Leo backed up a few feet. Rhona stood up laughing softly. Leo then gently head-butted her stomach as a sign of protest.

Rhona chuckled a bit more before returning with Leo to the other gods. "This is Leo. My other familiar." She replied smiling as she sat down. Leo, on the other hand, did not seem too happy about the other gods being so close to her and made it his feelings quite clear as he roared and growled at the others while he rubbed his muzzle against Rhona. It were as if he was saying, "Stay away! She is mine!"

"I apologize for his behavior. He can get pretty protective at times..." Rhona replied apologetically

@rechonq

Rhona flinched at Landon's word. "I-I'm what you might call a.... S-special case.... G-getting sick is a regular occurrence for me actually... Goddess or not... I was born weak so... Oh never mind...! You said you wanted me to grill your sandwich? I can try..." Rhona replied. She barely touched the sandwich and it had, for a split second, been engulfed in a plume of fire. The end result was the ice covering Landon's hand had melted completely, leaving a small trail of steam behind, and a slightly burned grilled cheese.

@Cuccoruler

Suddenly, Rhona had remembered the videos. She couldn't hide them forever and decided to bring the videos up. "U-um... C-cia...? Have you seen these videos of this most peculiar man turning things into.... Cheese...?" She replied showing Cia some of the videos on her phone. "At first I thought it might be a hoax or the video was edited... But as I kept seeing this man, the more familiar he looked... Do you recognize this guy...?" Her voice held concern as she handed her phone to Cia so she could further inspect the videos.

Thalios jumped in the portal the moment it opened, rather ungracefully falling out the other side back in his home within the underworld where he simply awoke atop his bed. His head was still reeling from the effects of the nightmare. At once he stood up and walked to the balcony overlooking his realm, the multicolored hell of the wakeless world stretched for eternity as far as any could see, but no dead wandered it now. No screams of the dead gods chanted for the death of the merged but it was still there in his mind crystal clear. The others must be warned, that much he knew, but how could he go about that? How long had he been plagued by these thoughts? A week in a dream could be a minute awake or vice versa. Having never experienced sleep it was not something he could be sure of.

A knock at his chamber door stole his attention. A casual wave of his hand opened it to reveal his father, Phobetor, staring grim faced at his son. Unlike other gods of the former pantheons he had given up his role as god of nightmares willingly before the merged had forcibly taken over, his mother having done the same to live in the underworld with her love.
"My son, you are awake." He hugged his son in an unexpected show of affection. "You collapsed nearly a month ago and did not awaken. I feared the worst when I could not enter your nightmare personally. What has happened?" Phobetor showed genuine concern, as a former god of nightmares it was unheard of for one of their kind to fall prey to something like this.
"Something is coming, father. Something that threatens all of the merged. I wish I could tell you more but it is urgent that I inform the pantheon.." Thalios placed his skeletal hand on his fathers shoulder. "You must hide, where nobody can find you and mother. Please." Phobetor nodded and turned to leave but stopped. "Before I go," The goat man reached into his clothes and pulled out a letter. "That rat creature brought this for you." They clasped hands and Phobetor called out for his wife, closing the door and leaving Thalios to his devices.
The note was nondescript, sealed and delivered by Ratatoskr from the pantheon of the gods. A picnic.. on Asgard? "Now what are these fools doing!"

The portal opened up as the note burned away in purple fire as Thalios frowned. The image came to his mind unbidden, the features of the astral creature who had freed him. What a powerful thing, to be capable of such feats when Phobetor himself could not enter. Knowing he was alone he spoke to the nothingness of his realm, imagining the starts of the universe. "Creature of light, my savior, I am Thalios. If you hear me now then know that I am in your debt forevermore." He bowed his head to the nothingness of reality, unsure if it would even get a response, and stepped through the portal.

In an instant he traversed through time and space to arrive in the grassy field of Asgard. Other gods were already there enjoying their time, gods of peace and war alike sat comfortably in the glow of this place. Purple flames turned the grass about his body to ashes on the wind at his approach. "You there! Where is the meeting of the gods!" Thalios flowed forward like black tar that stained the ground, tendrils of muscle and bone writhed around his body angrily. "My message is urgent."

@Trevor1001@Ace of Flames01@Rechonq@BlackPanther

Cia smiled as the others came to get their sandwiches. She giggled a bit when Rhona's familiars appeared. "Their quite cute." Cia said mid giggle. She turned to pet Alec then rubbing his behind the ears. "You don't need to keep up that you know." Cia said to Alec with a smile while scratching Alec behind the ears. She did enjoy this little outing they were having it was quite amusing to her, and a good way for them all to get to know each other. Though she couldn't help be feel like all of the attention was focused on Rhona. Cia couldn't help but feel a bit jealous of Rhona for all the attention she was getting.

Cia then stopped giving her gentle smile when a picture of Sheogorath was seen. "I've never seen him before, he has an aura about him though, like that of a god." Cia was about to dismiss it when, HEY! Give me back the script! Then, oh no. "That's right! It's time for my grand appearance!"(Crack in fourth wall) A voice shattered the scene. Walking out of the apple tree oddly enough walked Sheogorath. "How you lads doing!" Sheo said with a smile on his face, his can planted into the ground.

He turned his attention to the others then, focusing on the grilled cheese. There was huge problem with the grilled cheese though. There was bread! "You ruined the Cheese with bread! You fools!" Sheo said before pointing his cane at the bread. Then unexpectedly the bread and cheese turned into a Rabbit. "Huh, that could have gone better." Sheo said to himself outloud. He was quite the obnoxious and annoying man.

@Zelosse
It was hard not to hear Sheogorath from where Thalios was. That and the oddly large amount of rabbits running from the big apple tree.

"Cia do you just invite anyone to these things?" The strange appearance of the two beings, normally would have thrown Landon for a loop, but he was quickly getting used to these occurances. Landon heard the pile of bones call and immediately recognized it. It had only been the voice he was chasing this last month and it made even more sense that it was coming from some moving bones. Ignoring the bunnies and the rabbit man, he stood up and made his way towards the familiar voice. "You're the voice in the dark. I was searching for you, but it looks like you got help. Or you actually didn't get any help, I'm not sure yet" At that moment a rabbit that had been nibbling on his pant leg took a deeper bite into his heel. "Ow dumb rabbit." Without any regard to that which is cute and cudly he kicked the bunny off of his leg and a few meters across the field. I truly envy whatever god knows everything. Looking back at the rabbit man, Landon replied, "We may have a minorly urgent matter ourselves."

@rechonq

Thalios swept his bubbling skeletal hand, a glob of his taint flicked off and landed on the rabbit who had accosted the fellow called Landon. The moment it made contact with the rabbit it changed, twisting the bunny into a feral creature of blood and agony as it writhed upon the grass to the same scorching effect. A snap of his fingers and the rabbit burst into chunks of burning purple fire. "Enough games. You say you heard me in the dark? Good. Pay attention." His hand flicked more of the substance upon Sheogorath, effectively sealing the mans mouth shut for a short time. Harmless goo but detrimental to his ability to speak. "The old gods are returning! The dead, the doomed, the sealed ones of the old pantheon imprisoned in the underworld somewhere. I am Thalios, god of nightmares, and my dream has been a prison for the last month to die to these returned. There is no way to be sure but it would appear something darker still has taken hold of them. Controlling them. I pray it has not already come to pass. We must act." He pleaded.

@Cuccoruler @Zelosse @Ace of flames01 @BlackPanther @rechonq

Yato sat down at the edge of the group and looked at the sandwiches before deciding against eating one. Here he was in Asgard with a bunch of gods he didn't know. As he watched the others he got this felling that something was about to happen. Yato started looking around to see if he could see what was bothering him when Thalios appeared and started moving towards them. Jumping to his feet Yato put his hand on his blade as another being, an oldish looking man walked out of the tree they were sitting at and turned the bread and cheese in a rabbit. Not sure if the new guests were supposed to be here Yato waited for the others to react to see what kind of direction this was going to go. The way this encounter was apparently going to go was exploding bunnies and talks of old gods returning.

Even with the knowledge at Aforgomon's disposal, the exact time during which it invaded Thalios' dream escaped it. Several minutes after its emergence into the waking world, the Great One became too aware of the difference in the very air. It could not help but feel as if something was different, akin to a doctor reentering his office to find that a mischievous colleague rearranged all of his personal effects. When it came, the conclusion did not ultimately rattle Aforgomon. Metaphorically speaking, it existed solely within the greater scheme of things, and in this significant realm a single month mattered not at all. What could a few weeks take away from the span of a being perhaps as infinite as the cosmos itself?

Thanks to some divine telepathy, Aforgomon was able to give meaning to its eternal, toothy smirk. Sympathetic in spirit, the shambler relished the gratitude of Thalios nearly as much as it delighted in the idea of a debt. Debt demands service, service elicits covenant, and covenant requires oath. Nothing struck Aforgomon as more fitting than a god of nightmares taking an oath to a sojourner of dreams.

Olympus, home of the gods, seemed oddly devoid. Only minor godlings moved about it now. Aforgomon materialized in front of the first one that piqued its interest. Walking to the tune of the steady clunk of his armor, Crater, a descendant of the Ganymede, cupbearer to Zeus, traversed the distance between storeroom and dining hall. Not all Olympians chose to sup on nectar all the time, and whenever a special request was made, this metal-shelled servant would respond. More than a simple cupbearer, however, Crater held faith with the ideas of classic adventure and heroism, fighting with gusto alongside any greater god that allowed him to accompany them into battle. Before this individual the Great One appeared, only a head and the upper-left half of its body poking from a ripple of light. Amazed but not terrified by the sight, Crater ceased his brisk walk, and upon the steel handle of his jug his gloved fingers tightened. It craves my insight, the servant knight knew. Wants to know where the others have gone. “Er, invites appeared earlier today for a number of the Merged. A casual picnic in Asgard. Childish, perhaps, but no less comfortable for it. I'm sure even you would be welcome?” Crater winced, hoping that Aforgomon wouldn't take offense. Fortunately, the phantom vanished before it could, and the cupbearer let out his breath in a long, slow stream from the slit in his helmet. “Whew.”



'Welcome' embodied a concept that did not really concern Aforgomon. On what basis might some being brand it unwelcome? Security? Other entities flitted across the planes more subtly and with more malice than the shambler, but they aroused no such scrutiny. If only the other gods could rouse themselves to realize the greater purpose that Aforgomon served for posterity.

In Asgard, not too far from the tree under which the young, carefree gods picnicked, the light warped and ripped apart. Aforgomon arrived in only the most cursory respect, manifest little more than a bright and vague outline. Even to the Merged, it would be difficult to spy. In this barely-present form, the Great One walked quietly and serenely among them, younger and yet somehow older than the others whose lesser heights might have made them seem like children by comparison if only there were eyes to see. Thalios' announcement only interested Aforgomon until it realized that by the 'old gods', Thalios meant the previous Olympians. In that, the shambler had no stake. Come what may, its quest would persevere.

@Cuccoruler

Yuki traveled the inter-dimensional path to Asgard. It wasn't her first visit, as her mothers had brought her for a visit to her aunts, who were seeking their own...mates, at the time. Back then, she found the look of the place extremely foreign. She still did, though memories helped her to get over it quickly. It also helped that her fireflies were with her. Adorable things, those, dancing about with their shining lights, almost always only able to be seen by that method. By humans, anyway.

Yuki had been invited to Asgard for an occasion that she could really only interpret as a small celebration for their victory over the threat against the human race. She didn't know why she was invited, as hers was a small, insignificant, and somewhat unrelated part. However, she and her sister were invited. While she, herself was wiling to go, Claire was not. After what had happened the last time she showed up, Claire was more content with working composing some music that would cheer up the remaining human populace. An apocalypse wasn't easy to bounce back from, after all.

Still, Yuki had managed to at least borrow some music from her, as a way to 'be there in spirit' as mortals say. A good majority of the tracks were Ancient Greek and Canaan music, choir-sung and otherwise. There were a few tracks that were more modern, though. Some old songs that she made herself, as well as some cool and/or calm-sounding ones that the humans made. These were contained within small-little orbs of light and darkness, made to double as a spectacle, should one wish for it.

In any case, Yuki had finally arrived at Asgard. The portal disappeared behind her as she looked around for where she was meant to go. It took a moment to search, but eventually, she found them having a picnic under a tree. She approached and joined them quietly, not having much confidence without her sister beside her. Her greetings to everyone was a small and quiet,

"Hello..."

Without any explanation, she placed the orbs of light and darkness down in front of her.

@Trevor1001@Cuccoruler @Zelosse @Ace of flames01@rechonq

Alec look up at cia and shrugs. He seems to be staying as a jackal for now at least. He yawns as the peacefulness continues.his ears twitch as he watches a cheese creating mad man appear and start making rabbits. He chooses to ignore the guy figuring that if he gained attention he would act out more. A rabbit goes to bite him but dies as soon as it touches him..this and the fact that his eyes are now faintly glowing show that he is now tapping into his death touch ability. The grass he is on wilts, turns brown, and dies. Even while he is doing this he continues ignoring the guy.
His ears swivel as he listens to the skeleton man speak about old gods. It sounded interesting and like there might be necessary action if it is true. Another rabbit dies. The small amount of rabbits is slowly becoming a small amount of dead rabbits in a circle around him. He continues listening to the bones while he lays there paws crossed and ears pricked toward the skeleton.