32.1

Saffron quietly moved around the small workshop, gently dusting the untouched items that were scattered about being careful not to move anything as she tidied up. After all, Hecatolite is very particular about the… organization, if one were brave enough to call it that, of her workshop.

She carefully picked up a half finished “torch ball”, inspecting the amazingly intricate yet jagged lines that made up the enchantment. “Maybe…” She traced one of the inscriptions with her own nail before, with a defeated sigh, placing it back down. Unlike her mistress, Saffron lacked the talent for inscriptions and enchanting. 

She continued to dust around the bench before retreating to a chair Hecatolite had insisted she needed, a smile blossoming on her face as she remembered her mistress toiling away to be sure the chair was as comfortable as possible. Hecatolite spared no expense in its construction, buying only what she deemed to be the highest quality imported goods from the highly sought after cherry wood to its dwarven crafted nails and hinges. 

She couldn’t help but shake her head as she tapped on the arm rest, the chair itself warming as she leaned back. “She really has no self-restraint.” She shook her head as she leaned back relaxing in what could be considered an artifact fit for royalty, a chair made from magical wood, forged by master crafters, and enchanted by a goddess. Yes, what Saffron now sat on would be a treasure, a throne, if it had been anywhere other than a small workshop in the corner of the city. And upon its completion, Hecatolite had given it to her, a gift fit for a queen wasted on a simple maid at the time. 

It hasn’t been that long… has it? “Babylon?” Her voice was only a whisper as a hand sized terminal appeared, “Do I have any messages?” Even knowing the answer it still hurt when the terminal did not reply. 

Of course not. She thought as she absentmindedly tapped on a book she had been reading. It was strange for her, to have time to herself was a luxury even before Hecatolite vanished; but now it was nearly impossible for her to have a moment just to herself. Being capable of flight, along with her position, the Queen has all but adopted her as a personal courier, given her natural speed and ability to use Babylon it was only natural really. Even on the very rare occasion she managed to get some time away from running messages she would be wrapped up in either odd jobs for Taaffeite or matters of her guild; though thankfully Joshua has grown into his position of vice captain so thoroughly that matters that need her are few and far between now. 

It feels like such a rare thing that she finds herself lost as to what to actually do. Last time she found herself in this position she had come to the workshop on a whim, deciding to clean it at the time she is now perplexed as to what she should… what she wants to do.

Who am I kidding, I know what I want to do… She absentmindedly turned the page of her book, it would be easy. She could message her, with a little bit of mana she could even call her like she had done with the goddess Siofra, hells, unlike the rest of the family Saffron could likely make it to Hecatolite before she even left the elven nation… But she couldn’t. If Hecatolite wished it she would contact her… “But…”

Saffron’s eyes wandered to the dozens of half finished items that decorated the work space. Saffron knew, even if she didn’t want to admit it, that someday Hecatolite would… forget. It was such a strange thing to her, a woman, a god, who remembers their past lives; someone who could remember worlds forgotten by time itself yet. “She retains everything yet remembers nothing.”

It was… strange. The dull ache in her chest whenever she thought about it. Saffron couldn’t pinpoint exactly when it started to hurt, her heart; but at times like this the pain nearly brought her to tears. “I am a fool.” She knew it, there was no better word for someone like her; someone who dared to do what she has done.

At first it was easy, it was so clear to her what she needed to do; just follow orders, just follow her mistress but… “she was just so kind.” Slowly Saffron started to see Hecatolite as more, with every kind word, every little smile or gentle touch; it was not supposed to happen. Saffron was a mortal, a demon, a remnant of a dying race; someone who gave everything for her previous life, sold all but her soul for dregs of mana in hopes to survive. 

But none of that mattered to her, did it? Before Hecatolite all felt as if it had been forgiven, Saffron was not a demon, not a succubus, but a person. And slowly, despite knowing she would never be worthy of such a thing, Saffron fell for Hecatolite only for the young goddess to vanish just as quickly as she came. And part of Saffron understood that Hecatolite would return, would come back with that same carefree attitude that made it feel as if nothing could ever go wrong. But another part of her knew, a deep dark part of her mind would always remind her, that someday just like the scattered items around her, just like Hecatolites past lives; she would forget.

It was obvious to Saffron, something no one else seemed to see despite everything; Hecatolite was… different. Different than anyone she had ever met, different than even the gods. Hecatolite was special, as to why or how she didn’t know; but to be able to recall past lives, knowledge of worlds lost to time. It was obvious that Hecatolite was something more than a simple goddess. And someday, just as she has clearly done before, Hecatolite would forget them all.

Saffron wiped her eyes, “You really are a cruel mistress. To make someone like me fall in love with you…” Saffron sat alone in the empty workshop, tears running down her face as she sent a silent prayer not to her goddess but to the world itself. A prayer that may seem odd to any who heard it, a simple wish that she herself felt she was undeserving of. Please remember me a while longer. That I am waiting, until I die, I will wait for you. please… don’t forget about me yet. 

32.2

Taaffeite sat at her desk with her head in her hands, a terminal floating before her with a message from Alexa displayed. The message itself brought no news, just a standard update from the capital yet it brought her little comfort as she ordered the terminal to store it with the rest of the reports. 

Just as she was about to dismiss the terminal it flashed again, its robotic voice carrying news from across the world. “Message from Jasper Lapidary. Dear Mother; I am well. Travel is going faster than I anticipated through Algamir; though I feel that will not be the case as I get closer to the border. I have news, and though it is only hearsay and rumors I feel they should not be ignored. 

As you know the Empire of Crown has officially declared war on Algamir so I will skip those, but apparently Algamir has started a full scale draft here. They are conscripting almost every mage they can find along with any able bodied young men who have not already joined; tensions with religions outside of the church of Valor have boiled over leading to near mass imprisonment of all other practitioners left within their nation. People are attempting to escape en-masse, so please keep an eye out for an influx of refugees in the next few months. 

Word of Amethyst and Hecatolite’s exploits at sea have yet to reach inland though it's only a matter of time until the death of two more heroes becomes public knowledge; though I have no doubt the church is already aware of it given the five thousand gold bounty on Hecatolite Lapidary that has been issued. Honestly it's rather impressive given they are only offering a thousand for me, but she did personally kill four heroes, maim one, and Mira is still MIA; they have labeled Mira as dead by the way, but without proof i don’t want to assume. Amethyst is currently at two thousand five hundred in case you were curious. 

Whispers of the Hero’s gearing up to move south have spread though I can’t confirm it. I believe they are preparing for a hard push into Ecrein. I think it will take them a while to move their main force south, given I am avoiding the main roads and rather far from the capital now I have no way of knowing when they will start moving but I do know if they did it properly it would take two months to properly prepare the hero’s platoons to move and from there. If they were to run themselves ragged they could make it to the border in a month, though I doubt they would do so. I give it roughly half a year until the fighting starts in earnest. five months at minimum, nine max. If they were smart, they would make their way to the border and dig in, hold off until the snow melts next year but I doubt it, I don’t want to say more lest I jinx it. 

I hear you have been avoiding our Queen, and though I can’t say I understand your position in this I feel I must say, Mom, I am the one who implored the queen to not include you in my plan to “desert” my position. I accept full responsibility for my actions, and will try my hardest to make it up to you and dad when we reunite but please mother, talk to Irithyl. The Empire has enemies at every border and our land needs us all to stand together… no, that’s not right, mom Irithyl needs you. Honestly mom, I know you need her as well. Love, Jasper Lapidary. P.S. Dad will ask about the bounties, and other than the twins, as far as I can tell they haven’t changed.”

Taaffeite closed her eyes, letting out a long-exasperated sigh as she cataloged the message in her own mind. one thing at a time. The refugees will probably cause an uproar but it won't be too difficult to deal with them when they arrive. If I start the groundwork for a temporary village now it will alleviate a lot of the burden when the time comes. I will have some adventurers scout for a location. Next was the Hero’s movements, despite their past failures it would be a mistake to underestimate them. I will send word to the nearby villages in Ecrein, though if they have any sort of information gathering skills they should already know but it will be a good show of comradery. She quickly pulled out two pieces of paper, both letters addressed to the adventuring guild to create requests, one for a runner to go into Ecrein the other to look into potential locations for a village. 

She knew it would be a while until refugees arrived, but it was also not a matter of “if” any longer, only when. Given the city’s population, even including Sandstone they wouldn’t have the space for the coming people, thankfully we were already looking to expand soon. She pulled a map from her desk and looked at several small circles within their territory; locations they knew were flat or would be easier to clear out for construction. The project had been put on hold, but all that’s left now is to scout the areas for monster dens or bandits, then start clearing them. 

Nodding to herself she chose two spots far enough from the city to not interfere with its own commers but still close enough to protect if the need arose. Quickly adding the locations to the letter, she called for a maid to send the letters off.

With that taken care of she… paused. Looking down at her trembling hand she swallowed hard, taking several deep breaths in a futile attempt to calm herself. “They really went that far. Seven thousand gold for two girls…” She had expected a bounty to be issued, it's common in times of war but… five thousand gold for a single person. 

She closed her eyes, remembering her daughter’s smiling face only to frown herself. “I… I don’t even know what my girls look like now, do I? and Jasper… it's been years.” She let out a long shuddering breath as she tried desperately to push the thoughts aside, the ones that kept her awake at night. The very real possibility that she may never know… 

“No, I… I can’t…” She rubbed her eyes frantically in an attempt to stop the tears before they started. Her children are better than that. she needed to have faith in them, faith that they would come home, faith that…

“Please, keep them safe.” She whispered as the tears fell unhindered from her attempts to hold them back. There she sat, and there she wept for an uncertain future that she could do nothing but pray would never come. 

32.3

Siofra rubbed her temples as she slowly made her way to the “meeting hall”, thankful that it had been erected close to her own grove inside of the shared realm. “Did you really need to limit spatial movement so much?” She grumbled, shooting a glare at Soter who walked beside her.

“It was a… unforeseen side effect.” He replied with strained breaths.

She cocked an eyebrow, as she turned to face him. His once “human” appearance had long since faded, and though she was happy to finally see her younger brother once more it pulled at her heart knowing why his illusions have unraveled.

He was no longer the stout man with bright blond hair and deep blue eyes, now before her stood Soter as he was and yet somehow not. Where she remembered her brother's once lively face he looked… older. His long blond hair looking more white, his eyes having faded to a steely gray with only the faintest hints of blue. Though he maintained his youthful skin, he felt... shriveled. His long ears now hooked downwards, no longer moving as they once had in the past, his eyes looked sunken and he walked with a slight hitch.

“How much longer can you do this brother?” The question felt like stones in her mouth even as she asked it. He shook his head. 

Though he smiled at her his reply came with no mirth, no longer the defiant young man she remembered, he simply answered. “a month, two, a year... days, weeks, hours… there is no way to tell. It all depends on how hard Valor searches for us.” 

“You should have let us fight.” She hissed, preparing to rehash an argument the two had nearly every day now.

“It… it wasn’t worth the cost. We both know that.” He said bluntly as he slowly walked past her.

And despite everything, her desire to fight, to yell and force her way out of the barrier, she knew… he was right. A battle of the gods would have nothing but losers even if they managed to shatter Valor, it would lead to nothing but dismay and mayhem. If the world survived, and that is a big if, the victor would be condemned by the primordial court; on top of the loss of divine souls, and there would be losses on both sides. It is likely that the world will never recover from such a battle and that was “if” they managed to defeat him. 

Even with her and Veritas, two elder gods, along with the nearly two dozen minor gods they managed to save, Siofra was forced to admit that they would be at a severe power disadvantage in a straight fight now. Even including the three devils it would be… difficult. Sure, they had the number advantage, but Valor… the power disparity between the divine was simply too great, where they had more divine in total, the ones that are missing are much more geared for combat than the ones currently housed in the shared realm. Then there's Dagon… just where are you old friend?

Siofra chewed her lip as she followed Soter, they had come to a consensus that anyone not within the shared realm was likely opposed to them or… no, we would know if any more divine had fallen. She pushed the thoughts aside as they entered the large building. 

With a flourish Ashmit appeared, greeting them with his usual smile, “If it isn’t my favorite two elven siblings!” He exclaimed, holding his arms out as if to hug the two, Siofra just glared at him. She wouldn’t admit that she was slightly jealous of the devil, being he was the only one capable of spatial movement within the realm.

The devil would say it was because he was welcomed he could enter as he pleased but in truth they all knew it was simply that he was a space mage in life that allowed him to use his magic freely. Siofra did not fully understand it when it had been explained, but since Ashmit can use actual spatial magic he is able to move in a different way that the rest of them; though Siofra had always thought that the “divine movement” skill they had all be granted was space magic, that was apparently not the case. 

She could feel a headache forming as she pushed past the smiling devil, who with a scoff wrapped Soter in a hug. “This is why people like him more you know.” He commented, though it was clear that Soter was… uncomfortable with the sudden contact. 

After the “formalities” they were all seated at a large table, Jaki nervously shifting in her seat at the head of the table with Veritas and the siblings to her left, and Vala to her right. The three Devils sitting directly across from her with gods filling the sides as they arrived.

Once all were there, they began… kind of. “So… well… umm… thank you all for coming.” Jaki squirmed as everyone looked to her, the small bunny woman clearly struggling as she tried to kick off the second official “shared realm coalition”, aptly named by Jaki herself.

The first “coalition” had been… strenuous, given it was held in the field they all arrived in and was filled with nothing but questions ending with Veritas, thankfully, suggesting everyone take some time to acclimate to their new surroundings. In the time since the realm has changed significantly, with all the gods and devils dividing out area’s for themselves, ending more often than not in petty arguments over locations despite it being temporary, most who did not already reside in the realm wanted nothing but the best locations… damn hubris. Siofra rolled her eyes, ignoring that her own grove was in the center of the realm and considered a “prime location” that she was not willing to give up. Though Soter now shared it with her, it was different. 

“Do… Do we have any news from outside the realm?” Jaki finally managed to squeak out, though she did not look up from the table.

“Yes,” Ashmit cleared his throat, surprising everyone as he stood and delivered… well a proper report. “Veritas and Siofra had asked me to search the realms for Dagon, and I regret to inform you that I have been unable to locate him though I did find that Valor has apparently adopted the shared realm idea for his own following. His own realm has expanded exponentially and now rivals even our own in size, it has made searching… difficult. The abandoned realms of those present remain, but several of them are… unreachable.”

The statement caused several murmurs through the crowd before Soter managed to speak up, “Unreachable?”

Ashmit shrugged, but it was Veritas who replied. “Taika is capable of putting up wards that would keep him from entering an area, much as you have done with our own realm. But the likelihood that they would waste the time to do so is slim.”

“Meaning they are…” Jaki shuddered as her words trailed off.

“Gone.” Siofra replied grimly, “either absorbed into his own realm or destroyed.”

The room fell silent, many of the minor gods going pale as they realized the implications of her words. Many of them lacked the power to remake their realm, and even if they could they would need the system admin to help form it, and if Valor has absorbed them into his own that means any souls destined for their realms would now fall into his. And if they were destroyed… what did that mean? Would the souls be lost? Would they just move to the hall of reincarnation? Or fall into another god’s domain?

“I don’t think anyone has lost their realm yet.” Jaki’s voice sliced through the silence like a knife. “Or at least we would know. Having my realm damaged was… painful.” she flinched at the memory. 

They all knew one’s realm was formed out of their original soul space, though no longer part of their soul it was still “part” of them meaning that damaging it or having it destroyed…

“Could we move the remaining realm’s here?” Someone asked only to be met with silence as they all looked to Soter who shook his head grimly.

“I wouldn’t be able to change the protection to accommodate more realms than what’s already present. They would either be unable to be joined with the shared realm, or break the spell…”

“So what? We just leave them out there in hopes he doesn’t absorb them? And what of those already taken?” Several voices rang out at once before the room exploded into noise, dozens of voices arguing as Siofra sank back into her chair.

“Please… Everyone…” Jaki desperately tried to restore order to no avail as Siofra looked to her brother.

“What can we do?” She whispered only for him to shrug.

If left unchecked Valor could absorb all the abandoned realms, though it wouldn’t necessarily grow his power the souls within the realms could. Their followers, the ones destined to stand with their gods… “What happens if a divine soul has no realm of their own?” The rumbling voice was no louder than the rest yet it carried a power that forced the room into silence.

Karath sat, arms crossed as he glared across the table to “heads” of the meeting. “If we cannot recover them, what would happen if we simply removed them ourselves?”

Siofra was stunned by the suggestion, to “remove” one's own realm would essentially be like removing one's own arm. Not to mention a divine without a realm has no “home”, nowhere to house their followers, to store their power. They would be forced to either contain the entirety of their domain within their own soul or release the power back onto the world, no, no one would be… those two don’t have a realm.

“Honestly, I don’t know.” Soter was the first to answer, “I can guarantee that destroying your own realm will be… unpleasant. But as to what will happen after that…”

He trailed off as Siofra summoned a terminal beside him. “Can Eryl be contacted yet?”

“Mother Eryl is still locked from the system.” The robotic voice rang out causing her to click her tongue.

“What about…” She paused, looking around the room before steeling herself. They all already knew about her “relationship” with the deities, and what did she have to lose? “X47, send a mess…”

“Hecatolite Lapidary is currently unable to be contacted.”

She froze as everyone watched her. The system never used Hecatolite’s name, more less what did it mean she couldn’t be contacted?

“The Hecatolite Lapidary is not currently part of the system, as such she is unable to be contacted through it…”

“What do you mean not part of the system!” She yelled grabbing the terminal, their entire plan hinged on her. The insane soul eating girl was their only hope of stopping Valor without sacrificing half the divine souls in the world.

“The system, Overseer, is currently offline. As such, the soul it houses, Hecatolite, is unable to be contacted.”

Why is she in a system of her own… how? Isn’t she a divine soul of this world? Pushing the thoughts aside, “Is… is she alive? What of her sister?”

“Yes, currently Hecatolite is unconscious within the great forest of Felnnor. The Singularity of Bedlam is still housed within Babylon, as such, can be contacted. However, The Singularity has currently disabled the messaging function of the system and will receive the message at a later date.”

Siofra physically shook the terminal, “Are you serious! What are those two doing down there!” She yelled, throwing the terminal down on the table. Taking a deep breath she considered her options, she knew Himari was with Amethyst and Hecatolite, meaning messaging her would likely get the same response. And with the three of them not able to be contacted, Eryl was also unreachable… how do you even disable part of the system like that!

“Would you care to fill the rest of us in Siofra?” Veritas raised an eyebrow as she looked to the elven woman who sat with her head in her hands. 

Having calmed herself a little, Siofra knew she had overreacted. Of course Hecatolite was still “alive”; she could still feel the connection through the mark on her back. knowing they were in the great forest she could probably even find them, using her domain over nature it would be simple to locate the group. But without the system she couldn't contact them… didn’t the forest have Guardans? Could I use it somehow? It is a being made from the collective of the forest, and she was the goddess of nature after all. No, it is its own entity, I can't interact with it any more than the other soul’s on the world. I could try and bless it as I did with Alexa, but even then I would only be able to scry though its eyes; what good would that do in a forest? Besides, giving it a blessing while it's that close to Hecatolite might not be the best idea, after all if I remember correctly the Guardian is not exactly known for its hospitality. 

With a sigh, Siofra shook her head. Her eyes landed on the laughing Ashmit, who gave her a thumbs up as he smiled at her. Great, now I have to deal with this. She suddenly missed the solitude of her grove as she took a deep breath. Valor, I hope Hecatolite actually manages to turn you into a damn goat before roasting you over a fire.