RE: Deity - The Breath of Creation

Gilles stood beside Elvira, listening to the woes of the world. Gods milled about in the throne room, the tall white-marble pillars lining the grand room glittering in the twin lights of the Realm Sun and Lunar Star as they shone eternally from above. Eons of wear and tear from the presence and bickering of gods had shattered many of the pillars at one point or another, those that had been broken mended with lines of gold. Aeriel often came to aid with such endeavors, the quiet wind goddess seeming to find some sort of solace in the act of mending stone. She had been far less quiet back then, far more open to conversation even if he would never consider her to be talkative.

Gods above, that had been back when he was freshly born, hadn't it? She fell quiet soon after that.

What had changed, to make her so silent now?

"I can practically hear the gears turning, Gilles," Elvira said, not looking up from where she read through a scroll Argent, the god of metal, had given her. Said copper skinned god was smiling as he toyed with the brass trumpet he had grown fond of as of late. It made Gilles wonder when he would create a Dao of Music, he was so into the instruments. "Focus. What is on your mind?" Elvira's words grounded Gilles in the present, and he took a moment to forcefully banish any wandering thoughts from his head. Then he sighed, because what he had to say she already knew, but on principle alone he could not say directly to her yet.

"I am contemplating the changes happening to people and the realms," he admitted, which was not entirely untrue. That was likely why Elvira merely hummed, nodding her head as she finished reading the scroll.

"This, Argent, is a splendid idea, and bears further investigating. You have my permission to begin drawing up a more detailed plan; let us see how music affects the growth of some of the budding regions. We already know that they can be affected by various energies, but the real question is how far they can be influenced. Music should be a relatively safe, neutral first experiment." Elvira handed the scroll back to Argent, who took it with a grin.

"Thank you, Lady Elvira." He said in a deep, melodic voice that reminded Gilles of ringing bells, before turning away and trundling off down the steps to Elvira's throne. Before the next could approach, this time a familiar, senior member of the Heavenly Host likely requesting permission to hunt down a renegade member of their order again, Elvira held up a hand and turned her attention to Gilles.

She met his eyes unblinking, raising one eyebrow at him.

"Don't give me that look." He said, frowning at her.

"Gilles, it is rare for me to be able to feel your nerves. You're practically vibrating in place, and it's distracting me. Either tell me what is going on, or go deal with it. I can handle things here," Elvira stated, holding Gilles' gaze. He shifted from foot to foot – they'd been together for a long, long time now, but he was no less afraid of her now than he was before. Just for different reasons.

"I will take my leave, then." He bowed as shadows swirled up around him, Elvira snorting in amusement as she turned away, waving the Heavenly Host sergeant forward.

"Go on." She said. The last thing Gilles saw before he teleported away was the grey-haired, marble-skinned Heavenly Host immortal kneeling before Elvira while clad in his military adornments.

***

Gilles went looking for the Matriarch, Statera Luotian, and found Her in Her garden with another god. He was a young god of mountains, and though he was physically taller than the Matriarch Herself, towering a good thirty feet in the air, Gilles could only see him as a baby compared to Her. She spoke to him softly, in gentle tones, like one might speak to a particularly scared rabbit. It was understandable. Even as one of the older gods Gilles found Her presence hard to bear at times, let alone if this was your first time meeting Her.

So he stood silently off to the side, respectfully not listening in on the conversation as the two continued to chat, the earthen-skinned god nodding along eagerly to whatever the Matriarch had to say. Thankfully, though, he did not have to wait long for everything to wrap up, and for the god of mountains to be sent on his way. It was mildly amusing to watch the large-bodied god lumber through the garden, taking extra care not to step on any of the flowers or shrubs or trees that made up the beautiful space. And a beautiful space it was, full of life and wonder, all the foliage and plants the Matriarch of all creation deemed worthy of being in Her sacred garden –

"It is nothing so grand as that. If I had my way, one of every species would be in here; but alas, there is not enough space for it. Maybe I should have Morgan help me create a sub-dimension just for that. I already have the blueprints for all species stored away, it would be a simple matter to spread them." Gilles jumped as the Matriarch appeared beside him, hands folded into the sleeves of Her purple robes, expression neutral. "I saw you admiring Keilan's first plant. A Karmic Peony, I call it. Sadly extinct from the rest of the Realms, but I keep a few specimens growing here for nostalgia's sake." Gilles looked back at where had been staring, but not seeing, to find a gorgeous black flower gently waving at him. The petals were thin and delicate, the stalks nearly translucent and slender, as if they were made up of strands of karma, and he immediately understood why they were extinct everywhere else.

They were too delicate.

"It is beautiful." Gilles said, the words he knew he had to say stuck in his throat. His fists clenched, stomach twisting awkwardly, almost as if it was trying to press up into his diaphragm.

"I noticed something, upon my return. Many of the elemental gods have created their own People; fire elementals, water elementals, wind elementals, most using Reika's greater Elemental template. Yet you have not. You, who were so intrigued by the process of destructive Void and how it relates to creation. Why not?" The Matriarch pressed. Gilles' mouth suddenly felt dry, and he shifted from foot to foot.

"Lady Kei has not either –"

"She is easily distracted, but will find her muse soon. Besides, we are not talking about her. We are talking about you." The Matriarch's tone brooked no argument, Gilles' heart dropping in his chest, cornered as he was by the conversation. There would be no escaping this. Discussing this hadn't been why he'd come here, he'd come here to work up the courage to ask something else entirely. But…

"Sol and I were working on a People together, before the Sun War made us stop." Gilles admitted, voice coming out stronger than he'd expected for talking about his brother. He tried to avoid it, whenever possible. "Afterwards I thought about continuing, but I just…couldn't. Every time I think about picking up where we left off, I find myself stalling. I've even thought about contacting Inesa, see if she would help me, or waiting for Fang Xu to wake up to enlist him, but the thought of completing it with someone else, someone besides Sol is…it feels wrong. I know it's silly. He's gone, but…" Gilles trailed off, avoiding the Matriarch's eyes as he stared at the Karmic Peony and waited for Her judgement. Would She offer sympathy? Condolences? Tell him he was being silly?

He didn't think he liked the sound of any of those. They would feel like ash in his heart.

"Gilles, look at me." The Matriarch commanded. Gilles grimaced as he turned, meeting Her green eyes, the eyes that locked him in place with their intensity, seeing right through him as they did. Her expression was soft, understanding, a bit of sadness in Her eyes that made him uncomfortable to think about. "I'm going to take you somewhere, ok?" She did not wait for his answer, space warping around them, the garden vanishing, only to be replaced with the familiar sight of the physical realm. They were above Cradle, the first planet to hold life, standing in the air above a small temple dedicated to Fang Xu, the Sun God. If Gilles remembered right this village had nearly been destroyed by the fires of the Sun, Fang Xu's actions saving it from total annihilation.

His burn scar throbbed, and Gilles put a hand over it absently.

"Watch for it." the Matriarch said, eyes narrowed. The Realm Sun was setting, the Lunar Star beginning its ascent even while the planet circled its own, miniature sun. Natural shadows wrapped around Gilles, but their reaction to him was muted as it always was whenever the Matriarch was around. Shadow might be his divinity, but all energy in the Realms preferred the Matriarch's presence. "Do not get distracted. Look, look!" She pointed suddenly, jerking Gilles' arm forward as Her other hand found his shoulder, his gaze snapping to whatever got Her so excited.

Five birds alighted into the sky, fire trialing from their wings, an orange glow burning in their chests. Their feathers were red in color, glowing brilliantly as they made arcs of embers in the skies, chirping and cawing happily. They were neat, but Gilles did not see their significance.

"Look closer. The middle bird." The Matriarch insisted, Her power gently wrapping around him, guiding his vision closer. His eyes narrowed as he focused on the bird, stripping away the out layers of power and qi and life with his eyes. It was a prideful bird, leading its little flock, full of fire and vigor. He opened his mouth to say something, but the words died in his throat as a wave of nostalgia hit him, his eyes growing wide as the thin layers of soul were stripped away to reveal the depths of what lay beneath.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

The bird's truesoul lay bare before him, and he realized who it was. Pride radiated from the soul, with a hint of humility, but mostly pride. Pride in what it had done, what it was doing, in itself, in who it was; just like his brother. And it still held the flames. They were but embers compared to before, but fire was still kindled there.

"Sol?"

"I've been watching him for a long time, but I didn't expect him to get this far in the time I was gone." The Matriarch admitted. Gilles worried his lip, emotions warring within him as he looked at the long-lost soul of his brother. No, not lost. He'd known Sol had been out there but hadn't gone looking for him, as if he'd been afraid of what he would do if he found what had once been his brother.

The wave of relief that washed through him that, despite all his sins, his brother was slowly growing left him was almost surprising.

"He's too prideful still," Gilles noted, a hint of disappointment marring his otherwise positive emotions.

"Pride, by itself, is not an inherently bad thing. That pride is what drove him to come this far this quickly, after all. The problem lies when it becomes blinding, as with all things. Pride, anger, fear, love, joy, they all pose their own problems. Some act as chains of gold. Others as leaden weights. Overcoming their nature to not be blinded by them is one of a soul's greatest challenges. But you must be able to feel these emotions, for they are some of life's greatest motivators. Without them, far too many souls would stagnate." The Matriarch explained. Gilles knew this already, of course, having spent far too long associating with Elvira's angels and mortals alike to not understand the inner workings of enlightenment. Yet for some reason it hit him harder today.

No, not some reason. It felt like She was talking more to him, than about Sol.

"But he's not Sol anymore. Not really." Gilles said lamely, in a weak effort to deflect. The sharp glare from the Matriarch told him She saw right through the lie, not that he'd expected it to go over well.

"He is too powerful of a soul to never not be Sol, even if I stripped away his memories, power, and the outer layers of his being. The bigger you are, the greater your truesoul becomes. Some souls are born great, while some are made. Sol is one of the former, and that is where his pride rightfully comes from." The Matriarch declared.

"Except for when it blinds him."

"…except for that, yes." The Matriarch allowed. Gilles floated down, not quite approaching the bird, just getting closer. And he smiled to himself, all the fear that plagued him gone.

"Matriarch." Gilles said, turning to the Creator God. She looked down at him impassively, but he could still see the kindness in those piercing green eyes. The love. Yet he also saw the worry, the firmness a few of those layers She kept so hidden away from Her children. The firmness that had led to such a harsh punishment for Sol. Gilles knew it had been the correct choice; Sol had done too much to get off scot free. His own scar was testament to that. It just made him wonder what the Creator's truesoul was like, what secrets it held… "I would ask two things of you."

"Ask, then." She said, smiling broadly, definitely knowing what he was about to say.

"First; would you train me in the ways of the Void? How to escape its corruption, how to manipulate it? I wish to become more than I am now." Gilles admitted. The Matriarch's grin widened as She nodded, flashing Her pearly white teeth. Taking the acceptance for what it was, he next made his true request. The one he'd been putting off ever since Her return, even though he'd told himself he wouldn't be a coward about it. "Can we go somewhere else for the next question?"

Still, asking in front of his brother, who had wanted the same woman, felt wrong in many ways.

Space warped and suddenly the two were back in the garden, standing amongst the roses.

Gilles fell to his knees and pressed his forehead into the soil, kowtowing before the Creator of All. The one who had given life to all the Realms, and was Parent to the woman he loved, but one he himself had never seen as a parental figure.

"I, Gilles, God of Shadows, humbly ask for your daughter's hand in marriage."

The squeal of excitement – a noise he'd never have imagined the Creator making – was all the answer he needed.

***

The Mad Scientist had a bad feeling. She'd had a bad feeling for a long while now, even before she'd taken the immortality trial that had shown her things it should not have. (Such was the problem with trials that used your own soul against you; they tended to reveal things best left untouched.) But the feeling was growing stronger with every passing minute, now, to the point she had no other option than to rely on foreign methods to get real answers.

"Are you sure this will work?" Xing Wu asked from where he lounged off to the side, watching dispassionately as the Mad Scientist worked. She scoffed at the notion that this could possible fail, setting the last stone obelisk in place and stepping back to survey her work.

"Please. This is an ancient technique designed by someone far older and far more powerful than even Statera Luotian. He was an evil god, in a universe filled with evil gods, but he did know how to make a good divining ritual." The Mad Scientist shuddered just remembering her past life, the one she'd lived just before coming to the Four Realms. The life that had nearly broken her. The prick who had taught her this ritual was all about corruption and evil, hell-bent on remaking the universe in his own image.

She'd done her best to cull his influence in the world, but who the hell knew if it'd actually worked? It wasn't like she could go back.

"An evil god? Sure, the gods can be jerks, but evil? I don't buy it." Xing Wu scoffed, kicking his leg and setting his hammock to swinging. The Mad Scientist glared at him. As much as she hated him, it was people like him that had convinced her that this universe was worth anchoring herself to. Had Statera Luotian kept her by Her side, she probably would not have come to this conclusion. But after seeing the universe for all it had to offer, small though it was, and seeing its trajectory with her own eyes? Yes, this was a project worth investing in. She hadn't felt this way in…gods, lifetimes.

Anchoring herself here would still take some time, though; she hadn't quite figured out how to manipulate her own self to the necessary degree.

"What about your Shadow?" She countered after recollecting her thoughts. That was a bad habit of hers, running off on tangents when she got excited about something even if those tangents were mental.

"Bit of a delayed response, but I'll forgive you." Xing Wu drawled. Leave it to him to let nothing slide. "And that thing isn't a god. It's a mockery of everything that is holy and just."

"Last I heard it was well on its way to becoming a god of time and space." That information may or may not have come from Statera Luotian Themselves, after one of Their little visits, but that was beside the point. Regardless, it had the intended effect. Xing Wu sat bolt upright, glaring at her.

"I'll be damned before I let that mangy mutt reach godhood before I do." He declared.

"Not like you have a choice. There's quite a bit of time left before you become a god. Even with the help of Inesa and…what was her name? Thyia?" The Mad Scientist taunted, circling the hexagonal ritual structure she had made of solid salt, the blood of a hundred children – easily collected from a nearby hospital, from willing doners – and her own internal energies. Marble obelisks ringed the structure at eight points, and she readjusted one to ensure it was in the correct place.

"You'd be surprised." Xing Wu said lightly, leaning back into his hammock and smiling at her. She hummed.

"What is your obsession with becoming a god, anyways?"

"I want to punch Statera Luotian in the face. For no real reason, if I'm being honest. At this point it's just for the principle of the matter." Xing Wu admitted. The Mad Scientist shook her head, wings fluttering as she stepped into the ritual circle. Using this thing again made her nervous, but if it was for the Four Realms' sake…well, she was willing to. That was just another facet of who she was, she supposed.

"Stand back. This could get weird." She said, sitting cross-legged in the center of the salt-and-blood circle. And she Spoke, in the one true language. "[CONNECT.]" Her power channeled through it, pulsing like blood through her veins. Her nerves twitched her tails and wings, and, unbidden, something connected to her.

Her eyes flew wide as power surged through her, the ritual circle connecting to something far greater and more powerful than anything she could have ever conceived, as it always did. Visions flashed before her eyes of universes far, far away, big enough that if she looked too closely her mind would melt out of her ears…but, more connected to her, she felt their approach. Something large. Something untamed. Someone who had been traversing the multiverse for far, far longer than anyone else.

There were two of them. There was always two of them.

The Mad Scientist gasped as her eyes flew open, Xing Wu cursing as he hauled her out of the ritual circle. Blood flowed freely from his eyes and nose, his hair scorched from the foul hellfire the ritual channeled, but his expression was one of concern as he shouted at her, his qi and power flowing into her to try and stabilize her existence. Even now she could feel her skin stitching itself back together, her internal energies preserving her life force while her body healed.

They were coming.

No, worse, one of them was already here. Not in the Realms, but too close for comfort.

And that meant the other one was coming, too.

The Mad Scientist worked her mouth, trying to move, trying to speak, but found herself unable, the vision itself slipping from her mind like sand in an hourglass. They were coming. They were coming coming coming COMinG COMING –

She sat bolt upright as her nerves reconnected with her body, a wordless, soundless scream forcing its way from her lungs until she managed to regain control of herself. It took a few moments. Just a few, because she had endured far worse pain in her long, long life.

Her expression was serious as she looked at Xing Wu, the man who had so bravely jumped into hell to pull her out. He wiped the blood from his face, never looking away. She couldn't be an alarmist here. She had to make sure. She had to be one-hundred percent certain, and then she could warn them.

Calamity was coming. And she had to be certain.

***

My attention returned from the Mad Scientist, and the panic she was now feeling. Her ritual had been intriguing, and what she had seen - what I had snuck a peek at by piggybacking off of the ritual itself, foul though the foreign magic had been - was some of what I had seen during my time in the Void. She'd glimpsed part of the greater multiverse, something too difficult for her mind to handle as of now. The approaching monkey wrench was intriguing as well, but...

My attention turned back to that which had been placed before me. The box floated in the corner of my vision, taunting me, as I took a long, slow sip of the iced tea I held in one hand. Mr. Boxes had left it hanging there like the jerk he was, ensuring that the looming feeling that was rolling in the back of my mind was not just my imagination.

Which really sucked, because Elvira and Gilles' wedding was tomorrow, and I wanted to be excited for it.

{[Sub-Domain Nearing Completion: Fate; 99.99%.]}

The tension in the air was palpable. It was making me twitch. My frown deepened, Fate tugging at the corners of my mind, urging me to look closer.

But this was not something I could see. It eluded my vision, ever so slightly. And that frightened me more than anything else.