1 - Kicked by a Goddess!

So here I lie, coughing up blood and with a broken body. I don't think
that I will make it much longer as my vision is already blurry.
Strange .. somehow I thought dying like this would hurt more, but
it feels more like slowly drifting away. And this happening to ME! A
God!
Nonono, don't think of me as a maniac. I am really one of those
supposed all powerful omnipotent beings.
Though like you see...... even gods can be wounded or killed by
other gods, half-gods or other extremely powerful mythical beings.
And that's what happened to me! I had a big argument with another
god in this realm. The two of us are like fire and water.
I stood for magic and change. His divinity is rooted in order and
everlasting continuity. So I am like pure Chaos or the Devil himself to
him.
So by his orders, his followers continued to kill or enslave my
worshippers, negating my divinity and other stuff that's pretty
offensive to a god like myself.
At first we interfered with the world just though our divine rules, given
out to the people who believe in us.
Then he started to give out powers to his champions. I retaliated by
doing the same and taking some actions by myself.
Just smiting some of his followers, who desecrated one of my
temples. Those guys had the best faces ever when I came upon
them.
Ever had an angry god coming for you?
Well .... to make a long story short. My sworn enemy did the same
and so on. It was a slowly developing process over several
hundreds of years.
It all resulted in a big ugly holy war around the whole world. Our

followers got really into it and did some things even we were
horrified by.
People can be real monsters!
In the end we both took matters into our own hands personally.
The bastard had it coming, I tell ya! We had a good fight with each
other. To the mortals of this realm it must have felt like Armageddon,
Ragnarok or the Apocalypse.
We rearranged some mountain ranges, flattened others or threw up
some new continents. A part of this one is now open ocean.
Hahaha *cough* shit I hate the taste of blood.
I never liked the bastard. The best thing that would happen with both
of us in the same room is screaming and insults from the first
moment on.
Oh, its so dark. I think I will sleep for a while.
. up!....
-PAINWake up! Or I will kick u again ASSHAT!
I open my eyes, Oh Seria!, *cough*
You here? If that does mean that the other gods have decided to
take action then you guys are way toooo late. We are done already.
*cough**cough*
Kyaaa! Look what you have done to my dress! Stop spitting around
blood while talking!
*cough*, I am sorry, but I think that's not within my control, I will
wipe it off from you., I raise a bloody hand and get kicked again! It
HURTS!
Ugh, and there I wanted to use my last bit of magic to cast a
cleaning spell on you.....
Seria seems to be pissed. I guess its justified. After all she is some
sort of goddess of life and death in this realm.
We sure just gave her a great headache by creating something on

the scale of a mass extinction event.

Keep your magic to yourself! You have to live long enough for me to
tell you guys the divine judgement of the gods for what you pulled
down here Ascathon!
Where have you left Myrm by the way, I have to judge him too!
Yeah.... Seria sure is pissed. And when I tell her about Myrm she
will be raging......
I think over at that mountain range are so*cough* ...some of his
guts. And somewhere above the Serkment Sea he lost his left arm.
And when I last saw him I got him point blank with my best offensive
Magic. Blew him to bits..... can search for his parts in that
direction.,
I point somewhere to my left.
Well Seria sure has an ugly job before her, if she has to reassemble
Myrm. Not that its possible to do so, I made sure of that.
I am not talking about his body! The parts can rot where they lie for
all I care.
I am talking about his Soul! What did you do with it?! I can't sense it
any more.
-Seria
Sliced it to pieces and tossed it outside our realm. Will take an
eternity to heal unless someone finds the pieces and puts them back
together. Hrhrhr *cough*
Fucking blood! Why can I cough so much blood, I am sure there
can't be much more.
Well so you guys understand too. Here some facts:
You can't really kill anyone! Souls are immortal. The most you can do
is damaging them, so it takes longer for them to reincarnate into the
next life.
The River of Souls is the great Void between Worlds or Dimensions.
Call it what you want.

Its filled with the Souls of people who aren't currently alive. They just
float there, dormant and sleeping.
Some maybe forever, while they forget more and more of the time,
in which, they were alive.
And maybe if they are lucky, they drift near one of those countless
worlds and get sucked in, being reborn into a new life.
The faster you are reborn, the more you can remember of your
previous life.
So either you are reborn fast, or you have a very strong soul, so you
can endure the eternity of drifting without forgetting anything.
I am the second kind, just you know! Wasn't always a god. Everyone
has to climb the ladder of power, but that's a story for another time.
Great! So you really tried to dispose him for good. It will take some
time to bring him to judgement. -Seria
What? Didn't you hear? I minced him and tossed his pieces into -
Oh shut up! Didn't YOU hear? The Council of Gods has judged your
case and will give you guys divine punishment.
If necessary all the gods in the whole multiverse will act to piece
Myrm together,
if only to tell him that he gets his soul cut to pieces and tossed into
the River of Souls.
Thats how Divine Judgements work. HEY! Don't slumber off!
Urgh, I got kicked again. Damn I begin to hate that goddess. Almost
managed to drift of. Why does it take this fucking body so long to
die.
I don't even have the power for an answer. Why did the fucking
Council even give a shit to what we were doing.
They shouldn't care what happens to a single world in the multiverse
normally.....
Whatever. I'll just get it over with you first. Ascathon, God of the

Realm of Nashok, Divine Being of Magic, Divine .ah and so on and

so forth, you know the rest.
The Council has found you guilty for bringing great unnecessary
suffering over the lesser beings you were put in charge of.
So you get stripped of all of your divinity and will be reborn into a
place where you can learn from your mistakes and reflect on what
you have done.
So I cast you out into River of Souls to a proper place of
punishment.
Puh! What a uselessly long speech, don't you think so too? Hey? Are
you ...........
Oh, by all the gods let me die already before this barbaric woman
kicks me again!
I will not reflect in the least, even if they send me through a million of
the worst reincarnations they can come up with!

2 - I see the light!

I see! I see the light at the end of the tunnel!
Hmpf! Hrm. Yeah that's what some people tell you, when they are
close to death.
But its not really anything dramatic or religious inspiring if you think
about it. It's a memory to make it short.
A deja vu! Of what, you ask?
Well think about it! Its really not that hard.
What's the one thing, that happens to you in almost every
incarnation? And should be always the same?
So you are almost sure to have some sort of collective phantom
memory of it?

Well yeah. Being born of course! You get pushed out of the warm
and dark place inside your mothers womb into the light!
And that's it! Really messy and dangerous stuff. There are some
beings in the multiverse which I like way better in that regard.
Like laying eggs, or being built, or just growing!
Ents are surely superior beings in that regard, they are those smart
talking trees in case you don't know.
Unfortunately almost all forms of life, which are able to hold a soul,
are mammals!
Don't ask why, when I was a god I wasn't all knowing just almost all
mighty hehe.
Back topic, it seems I am just being born again. Oh how I hate this.
Its nothing pleasant in case you don't remember your own birth. Uhh!
Press harder your Majesty! -unknown person. Its almost out.

Oh I can understand them, that's convenient! One thing less to worry

about.
Its a son! My King and Queen! Like we all prayed for! -unkown
person.
Ugh, that was exhausting! But worth it! Seems like Seria messed the
whole punishment thing up!
YES! It seems like I am the son of a King. Obviously not a bad
starting point in life.
If I would punish someone in their next life, I would obviously do a
better job!
First of all giving him a world with a new language, he doesn't
understand.
Second making him born into slavery or something like that.
Swapping his gender just for the fun of it! There is a lot of shit out
there in the Multiverse.
hi hihi hi hi - my baby voice. Damn that mad laugh didn't come
across like I wanted!
What a healthy child! Laughing first thing he does in the world!
Strange almost all others cry at first.....
-unknown person.
Wahaha! Come here my son! You can't believe how happy I am! other bearded person.
The bearded guy scoops me out of the unknown persons hands. I
will call her Maid for now, going by her dress.
Bearded guy seems to be the king or dad, I will judge later if he is
worth .. uuuugghh
The king just held me into the air and turned three circles with me!
I get that you are happy, but you can't do that to a newborn mad
king.
Be happy that I didn't have anything in my stomach!

I would have barfed all over you!

Give me my child! You can't do that with a baby! - Queen.
Oh, sorry, sorry. Here you go. -King.
That didn't sound sincere in the least! Oh, at least my mother sounds
like a sane person.
Ugh, I still feel like I just got out of a roller-coaster.
Ow, mother presses me to her face. Haah, I am not a pet you know.
Well for know I guess its better than being in the clutches of the mad
King.
Seria seems to have messed up big time with my punishment.
This reincarnation isn't all that bad? Of course, the mad king could
go with more sanity.
But until now it seems really good!?
Oh, mother holds me in front of her and all three of them look at me
with sparkling eyes.
Am I out of gold guys? What's with those stares?
MY HERO! - OUR SALVATION! - THE KEY TO PEACE! - all
three of them.
WHAT! Nonono, I get a bad feeling about this! This cannot be one of
those annoying realities with a prophesied hero?
HEY, Seria? What's up with this?
Mother pets me again. Aw! Damn this baby body can't speak. Only
baby gurgles come out, when I try to speak.
GIVE ME A GODDAMN EXPLANATION!
Oh, he is so cute!, Mother has some strange fire in her eyes.
I will be sure to teach him properly, so he doesn't come up like his
father!
There is a lot of education to do.
I don't like that look of yours Mother? What are you planning? Don't
tell me you are one of THOSE parents?

I am not all that bad, dear? By the way...., Mad King.

Oh now they start talking about matters of state? What busy people
they are.
Seems like I can't get an explanation out of them for now.
Sigh, well. It will take a while to make some sense out of this, so let
me tell a bit more about my divine self.
On the other hand I am not so divine any more. Damn! So cut the
divine.
I already told you about the River of Souls and the whole
reincarnation thing right?
Well I have come a loooong way in that regard.
In the first incarnation, that I can remember I was a monk on your
world. That's right! I come from earth!
But don't think that gets you any bonus points with me. There isn't
much to say about that time.
I lived a live of seclusion and training my mind in a Tibetan
monastery. Lived in peace, died in peace at the proud age of 102!
Oh how often did I wish I hadn't done that by now. I could still be
one of those blessed Souls, who can start every time with a whole
new lookout on the world.
It is true that not knowing some things lets you live a happier life.
By training your mind through meditation and study, you obviously
strengthen your Soul.
And like I told you, strong Souls can take the time inside of the River
of Souls better than weak ones.
So when I reincarnated the next time, my memories came slowly
back to me.
Inspired by my memories I lived my second life in a similar manner.
Becoming scholar, learning magic studying mystic arts and science.
There wasn't any religion in my second world, so I went for the job
that was most similar to my previous life.

Like you can tell, my second life was in a world with a strange mix of
science and magic.
Like my first life, it was a peaceful place too.
Well that went on and on, sometimes good and sometimes bad. I
found out that every time I end one of those lives you get weakened.
The time inside the river of Souls eats at your essence. And your
essence are your memories.
So if you live a long live and have lots of knowledge and memories
its easier to carry some of it into the next one.
So if you are doing a good job you get stronger and better at
remembering, through every cycle.
And the stronger your soul gets, the higher you climb the ladder.
Obviously there is also some kind of Karma, you carry on to your
next life.
The better you did in your previous one, the better your starting point
gets in the next.
From being born as a peasant, to some type normal citizen, to being
a noble or celebrity.
But it doesn't end there. If you get strong enough you can be reborn
as some kind mythical being like Dragons, Angels, Demons and so
on.
It doesn't have anything to do with being good and nice! Just you
know.
Being an asshole or mass murderer is perfectly fine.
The only thing that gets you is if you are unlucky and get on the bad
side of a being, that is able to fiddle with your soul. Weakening it or
worse, somehow killing you off while you are still young. Dying young
gives your soul a real headache for the next life.
I went through a BIG number of those cycles. Sometimes you meet
others who remember their past lifes.
But its not all that common. Meeting one is like winning the Jackpot
in the national lottery twice in a row.
I doubt that there are more than ten people like that on a whole

world at a time.
Most of them gods, so that makes it less likely that they would
concern themselves with you.
If you aren't a god yourself.
When you get to a certain level of power you have to join the ranks
of gods.
The Council of Gods is something like a collection of the real bad
asses throughout the whole multiverse.
If a normal small god like me can easily smash his own world to
pieces, they smash a universe instead.
So you get that there is no way you can tell them no, if they want
something from you?
And they are control freaks! They swoop up everyone who gets
powerful enough and restrain them in their big society.
Giving them a world to play god for, and having them look out for
other potential Gods.
If you do a good job and have a lot of followers you can even make
your way up into the council.
But I never managed that. Having that fight over power with Myrm
surely made a big fat red spot on my file.
Laying waste to a world surely didn't look good either uuh. I mean, I
met them only once, when they enslave... erm were so nice to give a
proper occupation to a being like me.
Sure I killed a lot of innocent bystanders in that fight. But shit
happens!
Don't expect that nothing bad will happen, when two divine beings
trade blows with each other.
We cultivated our hate for each other over several hundreds of
years.
Better for it to happen sooner than later. Bwhahaha, and I will never
forget his face, when he got that last fireball to the chest.
Stood there like he could take it without problems. Never
underestimate a God.

It was more like a nuke, that blew him to tiny pieces.

Self-righteous bastard underestimated me.
Unfortunately he had already made a bag, with all too many holes,
out of me by that time.
But I really get tired by now. Hey, mother! Stop that swaying thing
you are doing with me, I still have to tell about......*zzzzzz*

3 - All my relatives?
Oh, my. And this is Nicosar the 8th little one. Its your grandfather!
He is currently inspecting the borders to Stricc., the Queen is
carrying me along a hallway with many portraits of my relatives and
shows them to me.
Isn't that nice? Obviously I will have to know them all by full name
later! All 47 of them, that includes also all cousins and uncles and so
on.
Family seems to be important around here. What a pain! I hope I
don't have to remember all the dead ones too.
Sigh, and just to inform you.
Mother really is one of THOSE parents. I am stuck to her from
morning till night. No chance of being left alone, to think for a
second.
It's been a month since I was born. Lets say that I find the way,
mother is treating me a little strange.
Normally I would expect someone to treat a baby like.... well like a
baby you know?
But she started teaching me right off the start. Not treating me like a
baby and instead like I would understand every word.
Hell, the way she talks to me feels like she expects me to start
asking questions every second now.
Well, sorry for not fulfilling your expectations. Forming a word that
doesn't sound like baby talk, with this body its just a no go.
She also doesn't like to let go of me. When there is an important
meeting, Head Maid has to be in my room all the time.
You can leave small children alone for an hour or two, if someone is
close enough to hear them screaming.
Taking care of them twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week
will just spoil them.
Once another Maid had to take care of me, because head maid
wasn't available.

She was a nice girl and read books to me, but something came up
and she had to go out for a short while.
Fate had it, that mother came back just that moment and found me
alone in the room.
From her aura I almost expected, that the poor maid would be a
head shorter the next day. But I got her to calm down by playing the
happy child. Wow, I hope I manage to never arise her ire like that.
The Maid is still working here but she didn't get to take care of me
any more. It's a pity, she was my type.
I wont complain, but it still creeps me out! Let us hope that she isn't
delusional.
There are many diseases of the mind, that can catch you on the
wrong foot.
At least I learned this worlds circumstances this way.
Being around the countrys leader all day, gives you all opportunities
you need to pick up the most important stuff.
It seems that this world has just one single great continent. It is
divided into two great Empires.
The East is occupied by the Stricc-Nation and West belongs to the
Tirna Kingdom, which I am currently in.
There are various races all over the place, like our head maid, who
is an Elf.
There are so many different types of chimeras here I am starting to
believe, that this world is currently mixing all types of races together
into one. Strangely enough there seems to be no discrimination
against races.
That caught me off guard.
Almost every world, with that kind of setting, that I can think of has
at least some kind of mistreatment for people who look different.
But here its zero, nada! At least I didn't come across it until now.
Mothers name is Ireth of Tirna the first, 24 years old. I didn't realize
it at first, but mother seems to be some sort of demon!
At first I thought those dragon like horns beside her head were some
sort of royal tiara. Sure looks that way.

They are black and polished to the point, that they are sparkling.
If you don't look out for it, you think of them as some sort of semiprecious stones.
In combination with her black hair, almost white skin and those red
eyes, she can look really frightening when she is angry.
But she didn't change or take it off, for a whole month now, so I
guess they are really horns. Though they look cool in way?
What made me sure of my deduction in any case, was that she
scooped me up with her tail one day,
when she was in a hurry and had her hands full with documents.
Made my heart almost stop, because I didn't expect that.
She always wears long dresses, so no chance I could see it before.
And if you ask why I didn't see it while she was changing.
First I have at least some decency and ogling for my own mother is
the last thing I would do! Breastfeeding time is bad enough in my
opinion.
Second is that if you get put down on your back somewhere with a
newborn body, the most you can do is to count the dots on the
ceiling.
Head maid followed us with tears in her eyes, while complaining that
this wasn't the proper way to show up at the throne room.
I was with her on that one and started to cry. Letting other people
see you carrying your baby UPSIDE DOWN doesn't make you look
like a good,
loving parent.
Have some sense mother, please don't go down the path of the mad
king!
Fathers name is Nicol of Tirna the 5th,, 26 years old. He is mostly
human. I think at least? I have seen him pat one of the guards on the
back once.
The guard flew 5 meters, before a wall stopped him. He is still on a
sick leave by the way. So I am not all that sure about dad.
Gulp, I am happy he didn't crush me on accident, by now.
I am now called Angrod of Tirna the first, by the way.
Head maid seems to be an elf. Her name is Rose. Nothing out of the

ordinary for an elf as far as I can see.

And as for other persons: there are some, but no really important
ones as far as I can tell.
I wasn't really introduced to society yet and most of the people I
have seen so far were one time faces.
But this world isn't perfect.
Tirna and Stricc were fighting a bitter war over resources and
ideology.
There are some rare minerals and crystals directly at the border in
the center of the continent.
There is much volcanic activity there. So the whole continent is
divided by a mountainrange of volcanoes.
I guess the tectonic plates are colliding there and that leads to much
volcanic activity. Like a natural border.
No wonder the nations developed like that.
Tirna needs those minerals for our magic devices, while Stricc uses
them for their magic ceremonies to control the weather.
It seems, that without them Stricc would be mostly a desert.
So at some point they started fighting over mining rights and
borders.
That was over a hundred years ago and no one remembers or
knows who fired the first shot that started the war.
However, it got really messy and they went at each others throats
like mad.
Hmmm, I feel for them, seems similar to the circumstances which
brought me here.
But in their case, they managed to make peace again, just a month
before my birth. By now they are dividing the resources half for
each.
But its still dangerous, the cold blood of such a long war doesn't go
away over night.
There are also many parties who are very unhappy with the treaty.

By now I am pretty sure, that Seria must have fucked up. Come on,
there are places out there which would really be punishment. This
here is a joke.
Maybe the last time she checked this realm, they were fighting their
war and she didn't bother to check again before tossing my soul to
this realm?
A nice life as a prince. Yeah, wouldn't that be nice?
Mother is almost at the end of the hall by now and we are before a
big picture with her and father.
Each of them holds a little child in their arms. By the look of it, they
are four or five years old. Hey I have siblings?
Why didn't I meet them by now?
And those are your big sister and brother. They would have been 6
and 7 by now. If they weren't assassinated by some bastard.
But I will never let that happen again little one. If I get my hands on
them, they will wish they were never born! - Mother
Here. Your Majesty wipe your tears. - Head Maid
Ow......
I guess I will be quiet for now and not protest for being almost
crushed at her chest. I guess that's a good reason for being an
overly caring parent.
It would be a good time to stop my inner monologue. I will never
complain to mother about her not letting go of me.
Good thing I couldn't talk yet, I would have surely said something
that would hurt her.

4 - A visit at the temple!

I am a year old by now. Sorry, but I wont go into the details here.
That's mainly because nothing worthwhile happened.
When I started to speak, mother and father were overjoyed of
course.
But I try to hide that I could probably govern the country by now. If
they would let me give the orders of course.
I keep my conversations down single words and very short
sentences.
My mother probably has an idea that I am not a normal baby by now
.
That's because I made the words Mom, Book! my speciality. Mom
still sticks to me like chewing gum.
So there is no way to hide that I am really reading those books.
When I turn the pages in an orderly manner she has to get an idea
of what's going on.
I have learned my fair amount of common knowledge by now. Mostly
history, geography and other basic stuff.
Its not like this world could teach me much terms of math, physics
and magic.
Well, Father, stop! is second on the list. It's my only form of self
defence against roller-coaster dad!
Other children may like being thrown up into the air until they almost
hit the ceiling.
I any case, I have a huge dislike to being suddenly moved in
unexpected directions. And I have confirmed that my magic works.
Though I am nowhere as powerful as I have been.
When you get granted divinity as a god it comes with huge boost to

your mental resources and capabilities. You get access to a lot of

free mana in other words. My power is down to that of an average
mage I guess.
I will have to do a lot of training again in that regard. The perk is that
you can't train your mana without casting the spells for real.
And I have a permanent observer glued to me, so its not easy to
play the normal baby. Well, not that I am really dependent on having
a huge mana pool by myself.
I know a lot of ways to steal mana, or to use mana that's lingering
around in the environment. Before I became a god I specialized in
mind and soul magic.
That's a given if you try to understand the whole incarnation process.
Mom would get a huge shock if I were to pull a magical baby stunt.
Fly baby! Fly! Evade the roller-coaster dad and cast some candy
creation magic.
Now that I imagine it, it freaks even me out?
I am inside Mothers office and she is managing her letters. First
thing I do in this world will be to invent a computer! Stupid
handwriting.
You should never underestimate the stupidity of most realities with
access to magic!
They have the most easiest way to get everything you could want, to
have a good life, but the most basic items don't get thought of.
Well at least there is something like cars here and less smelly
horses. All in all it feels like a world at the beginning of the
industrialisation process.
There are magic devices for many things, but most of the work is
still done by manual labour.
Its here! The letter from the temple came! Oh I am so excited little
one. - Mother

She now waves a letter into my face. Hold still, who can read like
that!? Hah, let's try another way.
Tample?
Its temple little one! It's the place where we pray to the great
goddess Seria who governs life and death. Mother smiles at me
while I go stiff. That name....
Haha. No need to be frightened. Everyone gets taken there when
they are one year old. As soon as you have visited it, you get
recognized as a proper member of society.
You will also be given a proper judgement of your potential by the
gods in a ceremony!
She pauses.
And if you get lucky, the goddess herself will give you a prophecy of
your future! When I was there I got told by the goddess herself, that
my third child will have a great destiny.
Your father got the same prophecy, so I am almost sure that
something good will happen!
Mother gives me big hug and the gears in my head slowly begin to
turn again. I tried my best to put up a smiling face to her.
But I think I have gotten a lot paler in the process of that explanation.
So that's what the whole hero and saviour shit was about at my
birth.
Come up! We will get father. The sooner we are at the temple the
better. - Mother
I get picked up again and mother carries me to the throne room
where father should be. Oi, give me some time here!
I have to think about this. This could have a huge impact on my life
you know? Should I start speaking and complain?
AW! That could lead to more negative outcomes! I can't make up my
mind here! This develops too fast.

Darling! We got the invitation from the temple! Send the ministers
away, you can have them do their work by themselves for a day.,
Mother grabs dad by the hand and pulls him out of the chair.
Yes. Yes, Darling you don't have to pull. My dignity!, the king
stumbles after her.
I learned that mother also has some freakish strength. She doesn't
really have to hide behind the mad king. But she is much better at
controlling it. I got born into a family of monsters.
Minutes later we are in a car and on our way to the temple. In front
and behind us drive two cars which are stuffed with guards.
Not bad, its the first time I get a close up look at this world. Before, I
had to be happy with a view out of a palace window.
The streets are clean and the buildings are well maintained.
Unless there is some kind of slum hidden somewhere, I would say
this is a prosperous country.
Almost impossible to believe that there was a brutal war just over a
year ago. The destructions must have never come close to the
capital city.
Or the people got really good at construction during the war, that's
far more likely. I read that both country's have some serious long
range bombardment capabilities.
Man, what am I thinking about? There far more pressing matters
than pondering the circumstances of this state!
I guess, I will go with the flow now. Keep your options open if you
don't know the correct path.
After a few minutes the car stopped at a huge dome like building.
The guards got off and cleared a safety zone to the temple.
Here we go!, this time its dad who carries me.
There is a huge doorway into the temple.
Everything is interlayed with precious materials. Very nice
craftsmanship, I have to admit it. Not even the palace has this kind

of art.
An old man in long white robes awaits us.
My King! My Queen! Everything is taken care of. Please feel free to
proceed to the great hall. I take it that you know the procedure
already.
The guy bows to us and leads us into the temple.
We enter the dome and there is a big statue of Seria in the centre of
it. Some priestesses are singing a nice song which gets amplified by
the dome.
This has a very nice holy atmosphere I must say. Seria has a strong
cult going. Before the statue is an altar out of stone with a very
important looking priestess behind it.
There is a row of parents with children of my age. They are lining up
to the priestess. My parents join the line, seems like there is no
different treatment for royalty here.
In front of us the children are made to touch a metal plate after
some words by the priestess. Haah, seems to be some sort of
divination magic device which judges you based on your aura.
Not much I can do about that in my current form. Damn! Fiddling with
its settings should take me too long.
It's now the turn of the pair before us.
Duke Garber Rosenquarz and Dutchess Hertia Rosenquarz. We
bestow upon you the blessings of the goddess Seria. May your child
be judged by the gods, so we can choose the best path for it's
future. May your future be happy and prosperous. The priestess
holds out a metal plate and the child is made to touch it.
A light flashes across it, tracing some runes and text into the plate. I
can't read it from my position, but the pair seems happy and makes
place for us.

King Nicol of Tirna and Queen Ireth of Tirna. We bestow upon you
the blessings of the goddess Seria. May your child be judged by the
gods, so we can choose the best path for it's future. May your future
be happy and prosperous. Again the priestess holds out a metal
plate and mother takes my hand to make me touch the thing. Uuuum,
looks like I wont get around this.
Again a light traces words into the plate. Great! There we have it.

Name:
Angrod of Tirna
Titles bestowed by the gods:
First Prince of Tirna, Fallen God, Little One, Saviour,
Doomsbringer, Great Soul, Blessed by Seria

Potentials:
-Divine rank Archmage
-Saviour of the world
-Destroyer of the world
-God

My parents and the priestess are staring at the plate in grave

silence. Great! The thrice damned thing blurted out practically
everything.
In worst case I will be treated as some kind of monster now.
And if there is enough time to think, they will surely piece something
together out of that. Worse! It could be close enough to the truth
too!

Sorry mom, dad you are nice people from what I could see. Seria
surely made a bad job here! This will hurt you too for sure.
I don't know how it could get any worse.
*RRRUUMMBLEE!!!! CRACK!*
Oh, blinding light above us! What the FUUCK is going on! I blink and
try to look up. I feel a heavy presence on me, someone very
powerful is here. I look up.
hiiii I can't help but cry out at whom I see!
Shining and sparkling Goddess Seria is hovering above us with angel
wings........... GOOD ENTRANCE! But...but....put some clothes on!
Everyone stares at the Goddess agape. Most of the priests throw
themselves to the floor. Wow, that goes too far, I never expected
that from her followers, have at least some self respect!
You could all become gods if you would work hard at it.
Seria smiles a most charming smile. Wrong Snake! You are perfectly
fine with kicking dying people who lie on the ground. Don't smile like
that!
She lets go of a sheet of paper, which slowly flutters towards us
while she fades away.
Now THAT can't be good! I have to get rid of that! Fireball! Huh?
Nothing happened? Fireball! Damn! Zap! Hocus Pocus! AARGH! My
mana is gone! Did she suck all the mana out of the environment and
the surrounding people for that entrance?
It flutters towards us! I will grab it and eat it if necessary! Almost!
Almost! Come closer!
*SNATCH*
Wa! Mother picked it out of the air just before I could get my hands
on it. I want to cry! She holds the paper out, so dad can read it too.

Hi, your most beloved and worshipped goddess here!

I have watched this world for some time now. And I
am not happy with its current state!
So I have blessed your child with a great soul. Don't
dare not to be grateful!
But I don't think it's good to intervene too much by
my holy self.
So I give you this prophecy for the two paths this
child can take:
-Leave the stupid guy to himself and he will conquer
the world, most likely destroying it in the process.
-Get him to marry the first princess of Stricc and the
both of them will lead the world to a better future.
I am sure you both parents will be able to educate
him properly.
Sincerely yours,
Goddess of life and death

But there is no first princess of Stricc The priestess breaks the

silence.
I break out a cold sweat while mother, father and the priestess stare
at me. There is still a heavy silence inside the whole dome.
I guess someone has to break the silence.
I choose option one then!
*Smack!*
Eh?! Mother hit me?! That was the first time! I am seriously mentally
injured here.

Well, I guess I can count this as the worst day in my life so far. I
state my opinion to them.

5 - Matchmaking and
Assassins!
Eight months later. Four people are sitting around a table. They are
the rulers of Stricc and Tirna. A letter is on the table between them.
You don't think we will believe this bullshit!?, Arthur Stricc states.
We don't need Stricc to believe anything. The question is why
should THE goddess lie?
You have evaded our questions long enough by now!, Nicol Tirna
didn't mind to accuse Arthur of blasphemy.
We ...
I think its out of the bag anyway, dear., his wife Katrine Stricc
states and throws a second similar letter onto the table.
But ..., Arthur gets glared down by his wife.
The Goddess gave us a similar prophecy. We have a daughter, but
we hid her from the public. There are all too many people, who don't
like to see the royal line to continue.
And how should I say this. You should know that she is not a normal
child.
So when will the marriage be?, Ireth of Tirna asks cheerful.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One year and eight months by today! And I am freeee! Well, as free
as I can be. Mother and Father are off for a matchmaking meeting
with someone who doesn't exist.
They stayed with the rulers of Stricc at the embassy. I don't know
what they are up to. Maybe they will try to convince the Stricc rulers

to make a princess? Hmm, now that would be A meeting of state!

Please, hurry up to the bed, we need a little princess from you for
world peace! So no danger from that point. By now I am taking a
tour through Midhold together with head maid.
Midhold is a fortress city at the border between Stricc and Tirna.
Actually the border goes right through the city.
During the war, it was practically ground to dust. But it is being
rebuild bigger and better than ever now. The plan for it is to become
the central trade point for the continent.
There are schools and universities on mass here. In future many
people from both nations will come here to study.
The idea is to have cultural exchange and understanding for the
younger generations here. So they can then go back home with a
bigger view on things.
Its a nice idea, that my mother has organized with the rulers of
Stricc.
So I can study here when I get bigger?, I ask head maid.
I think so, yes. - head maid.
Whoho! I would like to plan the city layout! I have plans for the
future and those need enough space., in my head I am already
restructuring the roads.
Erm, I think you will need to become the King first., head maid is
good at bringing me down to the floor again.
So, what can we see next? I want to see the place, where the
magical communication array for the city is managed next!, that's
what every boy my age should be interested in right?
Eh? Prince don't you want to do something more normal, like taking
a look a the zoo?, head maid asks puzzled.
Ups.
I guess biology is fine too once in a while., I am generous! If Rose

wants to show me the zoo, we will go for the zoo.

Rose instructs the driver to bring us to the zoo.
I am sorry for being bad at adjusting to your differences from other
children my prince. But the whole thing with the appearance of the
goddess herself really shook us up., Rose apologizes.
Its fine, just treat me like you would any other person., yeah. That
would be less awkward I think.
Oooh? Then let me ask about an explanation of the fallen God title
on your graduation plate? Which God where you before? And why
did you fall? I never really believed in gods before that incident.,
Rose sends me a sharp look.
Ahaha! I am no god, no idea what you are talking about. The
Goddess must have made a mistake there., my smile freezes
again. I had this stupid conversation already with mother and father.
You are a bad liar. Don't smile while telling lies my prince. You can
be seen right through when you do that., Rose doesn't let me go.
Haah... Well you see. Gods aren't any other than normal people to
each other, so its good that you don't cultivate any special faith in
them. I had a big argument with another god.
We went for each others throats and smashed a lot of stuff while
killing each other. Including people.
The other gods decided to punish us. And so I am here and a normal
mortal boy again it seems., Rose has a complicated expression
now? What?
A normal mortal boy, I see. And being the prince of this country is
obviously a great punishment from the standpoint of a god?
I will be sure to observe you from now on. I think your torment hasn't
begun yet., Rose has a devilish look on her face.
Rose, you are frightening me! If I would be a normal child, I would
cry from seeing that face of yours! - Me

Anyway. It seems we are at our destination., Rose gets out of the

car and helps me out.
Of course we are followed by ten guards at all times. I must admit
that this life will get really annoying, if I need protection around the
clock.
If I am assisted, I can walk by myself now. It's not fast, but at least I
haven't to be carried all the time any more. But I have to admit that
Rose has a point. This whole reincarnation and prophecy thing by
Seria is still fishy.
I drove a world to ruins, so now I have to save another one in
exchange? Is this whole story that simple? We are having a stroll
through the zoo now. Apparently there was no charge at the
entrance.
Is everyone allowed to enter as they please?, I ask.
Yes. In this City, every educational facility is free of charge and paid
for by the crown. In exchange you have to pass the entrance exam
as a student in this city. -Rose.
Oh, how liberal. This world seems to be on the way up even without
intervention. Rose starts to explain the various animals here. They all
have well managed pens.
There are various animals and plants you would recognize from
earth here. But there are also some not so usual things in this world.
Wahaha! Whats this? They have a Hippogriffin here! Its like a
mixture between a hippo and an eagle.
I take a look at an explanatory sign.

Hippogriffin:
The Hippogriffin may look funny, but its an efficient
hunter. While not being very fast on all fours, it can

fly and is very robust.

It hunts by flying as high as possible, while searching
for proper prey. As soon, as it has found something
appropriate it takes careful aim and lets itself fall.
Smashing the prey from above with its whole
bodyweight.
Being caught unprepared to evade, there is not much
chance of putting up any resistance.
There were whole partys of adventurers reported
falling prey to a single hippogriffin.
If travelling by foot in hippogriffin territory it is
advised to always having someone watch the skies.
....

Okay!? That's one nasty method of hunting.

What do you think my prince? It's a cool animal right!, Rose
doesn't find it strange.
This world is crazy! Let's go for the next one., I hope this will be
more normal.
At the next stop, there is just a lot of sand in the pen at a lowered
level of about five meters. There seems to be nothing inside.

Razorclaw:
A dangerous predator of the east. It lies in wait under
the sand and attacks everything that moves, as soon
as its close enough.
Its natural habitat ..

Fireball! - Windblade!

I felt the spells a second before their casters could shout out their
incantations. Just by reflex, I put up some defence.
Area Shield!
*BOOM!*
Ow! The world is spinning as I fly through the air! My shield couldn't
completely stop both spells.
Iron Skin!
OUf! I hit the ground again. That was softer than expected! I sit up,
hmmm that is sand between my hands?
I shudder, as something gives me a hot breath into the neck and I
turn around.
Hmmm, those are really many teeth and sharp claws. The thing
doesn't seem to consist out of anything else.
Hi?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Roses point of view:
No! The prince saved us with his spell, but he was thrown into the
closed off area of the razorclaws. I have to get him out immediately!
I draw a knife from my thigh.
But we are being rushed by assassins and I am being pinned down
by two of them.
The guards have their hands full too. There are more of them than
us! They have at least seventeen people.
Everyone who doesn't need to hold down the guards, go for the
prince!, one of them screams.
Bastards! One of my opponents turns around and jumps together

with others over the fence into the pen of the razorclaws.
I use the opportunity to go on the offensive. I hack at his face and
simultaneously kick his groin as he lets his guard down. No time for
fairness!
As he goes down I slice his throat and throw my knife into the back
of a second assassin. They are badly trained and pose no threat
without their superior numbers.
Within the next seconds I and four guards are the only ones left
standing. PRINCE!, I run for the pen and take a look over the
fence.
Down there is a scene of carnage! Bodyparts and blood
everywhere! I want to sink to my knees, as I fear the worst.
But then I see the prince, who is sitting beside a razorclaw, which is
gnawing on a dead assassin.
Get me OUT! The things in here are fucking scary!, he screams
with tears in his eyes and blood all over him.
D.. Don't move! They only attack moving things! We will get you out
as soon as possible!, I shout. Oh by the goddess thank you, he is
alive!
Maybe the Queen will not rip off my head today!
I know! I read the sign! That doesn't change the fact that I will have
nightmares for weeks! - Prince.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Me again:
I am back at the embassy and alive! By the river of souls! I thought I
was a goner when I looked down the throat of that thing!

But then all those brave assassins jumped over the fence and
distracted the thing with their bodies. As they came at me, the thing
mowed them down like grass.
I will be sure to give them a memorial for saving me. They are true
heroes! When we came back, mother had already heard what
happened and was furious.
I am sorry Rose, but looking like that - if I wouldn't have run off to
clean myself and put on new clothes, she would have shredded you
right then and there.
At least I was fast enough, so she couldn't see me in that state and
father was there to hold her back. Rose and I are waiting for mother
and father to come back. They rushed off to get the rulers of Stricc
and a present?
Do you know what they meant by present Rose?, I ask.
no.. hic, *sniff*, Rose miserably answers.
I pat her back. Mother can be really scary sometimes. Rose didn't
get beheaded physically, but mentally she sure was chopped to
pieces.
It will be okay. As soon, as I get the opportunity, I will tell her the
heroic story of how you saved me from those things!, I can't see
Rose like that.
She is something like family to me by now. Rose smiles thankfully at
me.
The doors open and my parents enter the room. They are followed
by the rulers of Stricc, whom I already saw once. I was present,
when they greeted each other a few days earlier.
A little girl is with them, led by the hand by the Queen of Stricc. Huh?
Let me reintroduce you again. This is my son, the first Prince of
Tirna. By the name Angrod of Tirna. And these are the rulers of
Stricc. Arthur Stricc and Katrine Stricc. Mother pulls me in front of
the girl, so we have to confront each other.

That aura is so familiar? I know those eyes, but from where?

And this is the first princess of Stricc. Celes of Stricc, your fiancee!
A heavy silence falls on the room.
- Myrm! -Ascathon!Silence again.
Bwahahah. HAHA AHAHAHA!, I can't hold it anymore. I start
laughing as I point at a now female Myrm in a pink princess-dolldress.
Seria really pulled a stunt here.
AAARRRRRGGH!!!, Myrm screams in pure rage, as he/she?
Tackles me with her whole body.
We both go the ground, with her on top.
I see something shiny in her hand, as she raises it.
H...HA...HAIRPIN!?
*STAB**STAB**STAB*
OWWWW!, I howl as both pairs of parents separate us. But not
before I got a fist of her red hair ripped out.
I will get you back for that! Myrm did more damage in five seconds
than twenty assassins which couldn't even scratch me!
Ow! It hurts! I am bloody all over again, but this time its my blood.
What a day!
I think your torment has begun now., Rose whispers.

6 - Tied up conversation?
I am sitting across Myrm and we are both constrained to our chairs.
After the disaster of our introduction, it was decided for us to have a
long discussion to make our peace together.
Because our parents feared for our lives if left alone, they bound us
up like in a bad bondage movie. On top of that, they casted spells on
the room to stop every magic used inside.
Then we got told, that there will be no leaving until there was some
kind of improvement in our behaviour. That was seven hours ago and
I have some serious problems by now!
But I will not humiliate myself by pissing into my pants! Never! I will
die before I do that. Myrm will have the same problems by now. I
just have to be the one to endure longer.
We haven't spoken a single word since the beginning of this. The
first two hours we just stared at each other until Myrm broke eye
contact to look out of the window. Heh, I feel like I won that one.
I then started to count stuff inside the room, just to kill time. There
are 2334 spots on the ornamented ceiling. 789 small timber pilings
used for the wooden floor. 543 books on the shelf behind Myrm. 13
birds flew by the window during that time.
I am out of stuff to count. Oh, our parents are devils! Will they let us
starve here if we don't talk? They wouldn't, or would they? No, we
will die of thirst first! How can I get out of this?
I take another look at Myrm. Katrine Stricc healed the ripped out hair
back onto his/her head while my Mother patched me up.
Then they had a long talk with us, but weren't really interested in our
circumstances. We are their successors and destined by the
goddess to continue their work.
By their decree, they made Midhold the Capital of their country's and
set up permanent residence here out of a whim.

Mother had argued, that there would be obviously a lot of education

to do. She really formulated it like that! They did all this, so we can
be together as much as possible.
If they have that much power, they should just have unified the
continent and left me out of it...., I talked to myself.
The rule of this world's nobility is absolute obedience to the leading
house by bloodline. And holding up the traditions and governing
system. If they told them to follow another country, there is a high
chance that it would end up in rebellion.
By having us marry, they can fulfil the prophecy and declare their
houses as one. Using this loophole to unite both states., Myrm
declares with empty eyes.
Did Myrm just talk to me?
Oh, and I am sorry, I overreacted. If I had managed to keep a cool
head and get rid of you in a clean manner, we wouldn't have to
endure this. Too bad that those assassins didn't manage to do their
job., she now smiles at me innocently.
TCH! I almost forgot that this is Myrm! This is no cute little girl sitting
there. Think! Its A GUY! I want to smack my head into something.
Keep that dirty look to yourself! Just tell me why you laughed like
mad at me! Is that dress really looking that bad?, Myrm asked.
The gears in my head stop. Could Myrm really swing that way? I
laughed because you reincarnated as a girl! You have to be very
unlucky for that, but it happens sometimes. I guess Seria had a hand
in it., I muse to myself.
Myrm looks at me agape. Then she closes her mouth, opens it
again, closes it again. Did I say something silly? Why do I get that
reaction?
I WAS ALWAYS A GIRL YOU MINDLESS BASTARD! Oh Hell! We
were at it for over eighthundred years and all the time you thought I
am a man!?

What are you talking about? You were a perfect man before!
Always in full body armour and fighting some stupid battle for justice
and order! And all your followers advertised you as a male god!,
she surely doesn't want to tell me that I got her gender wrong all this
time.
They were idiots who got my gender wrong when i took over the
position! All the other gods knew i was female, what's wrong with
you?, she starts crying.
Oh!, hey stop that! You make me the sole bad guy here?
You are an enemy of all womankind! Not every female has to be a
big breasted nudist like Seria, who wear at most half transparent
dresses!, she is now in full bickering mode!
What are you thinking of me!? We are not even two years old yet!
First I don't really believe that story yet, and second I am not into
children!, I can't let it stand like that!
I have no expectations of an old, perverted, idiotic, anti-feministic
geezer inside the body of a child! I am sure you have the best time
getting off on your mother, every time you reincarnate!, she shoots
back.
Hold it! If I am a geezer, you are a granny! How old are you really!?
Maybe you are some hag even twice my age! You have no right to
accuse me of being a geezer of all!, I can do nothing but complain
here.
I have seen you look at Serias ass often enough! You are surely
one of those guys, who have perverted fantasies around the clock! Myrm
Every unbound guy who has a normal brain would turn his head at
her! Well, be happy that I killed you then! I did you a favour! Best
thing that could happen to you. When I look at your mother, you
should have the best genes for the future now. - Me
Her eyes go wide, Oh my god! You will even go for your fiancees
mother. You will even try to bed us at the same time?
NO, nono that's not the way I wanted it interpreted, What do you

take me for? Have you ever seen me behave like that!? You, as my
dearest enemy, should know me at least enough to acknowledge
that I am not like this!
She silently thinks for a moment, I surely have never seen or heard
of you being with anyone in all that time. Even a god should have at
least some form of relationship. You have some sort of mental
problems? God's should have minds like everyone else.
Uuuum.......
She squints her eyes at me and starts to grin, I don't think its
because you are something like an epic hermit, who has forsaken all
worldly desire. Does it have something to do with that title of yours?
Little One? Kekeke! I wondered about that.
NOOOO!, I scream with all my might at this. Its surely not like
that. It seems I got that title because my mother here used it as my
pet name. You have no right to use it!
Oh you are a mothers child, I understand. So after my mother and
me you will go for yours too? Or have you already achieved that. I
must admit I am a little worried now. -Myrm
I inhale sharply! Myrm! Stop making me do things like that in your
mind! I am just a guy, who doesn't like to boast about his
relationships. I am actually quite decent for a guy in my opinion! I am
not someone who likes to bed every girl that crosses his path.
I like my relationships to be mutual. It's just that its hard for me to
find someone, with whom I can have a normal conversation.
I am exhausted now. This bickering wears me out.
Stop calling me Myrm! Myrm was a god! I am Celes of Stricc
now., she says it like she lost something dear.
I can kind of understand this, as I lost the same thing.
Then you have to call me Angrod of Tirna from now on. Can we call
a truce in this?
Don't misunderstand I still hate you down to the bones!, she is still
glaring at me. I have no complains on that, Believe me. Your
feelings are mutual.

We fall silent again and wait for our parents.

After an eternity the door opens and Katrine enters the room. Ireth
follows after her.
Have you two made any progress?, Katrine inquires with a raised
eyebrow.
We promise not to kill each other!, I call out and Celes nods.
No wounding, maiming or other forms of violence?, we both nod
again and Katrine looks at Ireth. My Mother sighs and waves her
hand. At that our ropes get cut and fall to the floor.
I jump up and dash out of the room and down the corridor to the
bathroom. As I reach for the doorknob I get shoved by something
from behind and fall over. Outsch!
Girls first! Have you learned nothing at your lessons in manners!
*Crash* *Klick*
The door is closed and locked! I start to cry. I want to kill something!
Anything is fine as long as it dies slowly and in pain!

7 - Headaches and a new

educator?
Right now, I am very busy. Squashing Ants, or feeding caterpillars
to them. Eventually even disturbing their hive and watching the
enfolding chaos, as they try to repair it.
Well they aren't real ants. I just call them that way, because they
behave like ants. They seem more like little crabs. I really should
start to investigate the biology of this sick world seriously.
It's always good to know if something that looks cute is deadly in
reality.
Feels like what a normal boy, at age of five, should do right? Playing
with bugs.... it feels like a great step backwards. Eventually my
parents should stop and scold me for hurting a living thing.
But mother doesn't really care about my actions in this. The problem
is, that in my mind, I am not five years old, but much much older.
Now it sounds just creepy, am I right? I know this, but it feels
nostalgic. Playing with the life of lesser beings, having them move on
your whim. It's like in my old times as a god once more hrhr.....
It also distracts me from those headaches, I have had them for
some time now. Celes is also here in the palace garden and is sitting
on a chair about three meters away from me.
Ireth and Rose are present too. Ireth is reading a book, while Rose
does some gardening.
You know, that you are the worst scum ever, for doing that? The
look on your face is creepy!, Celes looks at me like I am some kind
of dirt on her shoe. Why do you do that anyway? You get some kind
of kick from that?
Not really, but I have had those headaches for a while now. They
wont go away, despite casting all kinds of healing spells on myself.
So I am in a reaallllyyy foul mood right now.

It's a real blessing for the people of the multiverse that you are not
a god any more! After hearing this, I am convinced, that you never
deserved the job. I am sure you relieved your pent up emotions like
that as a god too. Only in that case, real people had to suffer for it!,
She makes a grimace.
But I feel those headaches too. Maybe we have caught some kind
of disease? It sickens me to think, that I should have something in
common with you.
I can't argue with that. Admittedly, she hit the mark.
Oh my, children sure grow fast., Ireth closes the book and walks
over to Celes. Before Celes can react she gets snatched out of the
chair by mothers tail and has her head inspected. Mother is like that.
Everyone, who is weaker than her, is treated like a puppet.
Kyaa! I just have to hug my cute little daughter in law! Having your
horns come out. It won't be long, before you two can be introduced
to the public., she declares. Ho.. Ho.. Horns?, Celes is
flabbergasted.
YES! Everyone undergoes a transformation at the age of around
five years. Some get Horns, some tails, some just go through minor
changes like pointy ears. Rose is a case for that. There are all sorts
of things!
They show your latent ability. People with the horns and tails of the
royal families, are known to possess extraordinary strength and
mana reserves. Rose as another example has superior hand-eye
coordination and speed.
You seem to have inherited the royal bloodline very strongly like my
Angrod. My husbands royal blood isn't that strong. So if you don't
shave his head, you can't see his horns.
Males of the royal lines have horns and slit pupils, if they have
inherited our blood strong. Females have horns and grow a tail if
their blood is strong.
The fact, that you both start to change before your fifth birthday,
surely means that you will both go through the full change. Kya, I
can't wait! Celes will surely look cute with a little tail!

Mother hugs Celes even tighter. Yes! That's it! Crush her with your
stupid strength! Wahaha, I can almost see her eyes pop out already.
Ta... Tail?, Celes has a complicated expression. It seems she
doesn't exactly like the idea of a tail. I can understand that, if you
reincarnate with a hugely different body from your first, you always
have an uneasy feeling about it.
But its just a tail. There is worse stuff out there. I resume my bugtorturing, as I notice that my vision is a little blurry. Hmmm, slit pupils
mother said? Shit!
Now my eyes start hurting too, this world is crazy. Is there nothing
like normal biology here? Hippogriffins and crap-ants! Not only the
animals are fucked up, but the people too!!
Living with Celes sure wasn't fun in all that time. There is always
something we are able to fight about. Not a day goes by, without
having a hard time to endure her existence.
At least something got better: Mothers attention is now partly
diverted to her. I think she got adopted, hehe.
One of the guards enters the garden. My Queen! Your father has
arrived and will be here shortly! He expressed, that he wishes to see
you as soon as possible.
Celes gets dropped and crawls away from mother with sweat on her
forehead. Whoho, looks creepy, did she break some of her bones?
With that style you would get employed to most horror movies
instantly!
Sure. Children, you can meet your grandfather for the first time! It
sure takes long to inspect the whole border!, mother rushes off.
Heal meee...! Angroood!, Celes has tears in her eyes!
Nope! You should learn some healing magic for yourself. That
shoulder sure looks dislocated., I won't help her. I still hold grudges
against her. If she is in pain a little longer, this will surely make my
day!
You know that I was never good at healing! It's just not my forte. If

you don't heal me, I will do something you won't like for sure! It was
your mothers doing after all! How did you even survive the time as a
baby?, she is wriggling on the floor in pain by now.
I sigh.
Fine, but you owe me one!, I stand up to grab her arm, while
standing on her shoulder blade and start pulling.
WHAT? -Celes
Never said I would heal you in a manner that won't hurt! -Me
*SNAP*
MMGGNGNMMMN!, Celes bites her teeth together and hits the
ground with her free hand. She refuses to scream. Very brave, but
pointless in my opinion. Heal!, I patch her shoulder up with basic
magic. Something, she could have done by herself, if she had the
courage to set her shoulder by herself.
Hmm. Mothers hugs sure are equal to the love, she feels. Maybe its
because, with both of us, it feels like she would have both my older
brother and sister, who got killed, back. Ah, don't mention that to
her! She still has strong feelings about that.
It sure felt good to step on you, by the way! I could make a habit out
of this., I muse to myself and nod. I get another glare that tells me,
that my worth just dropped another step downwards.
Why have you never met your grandfather anyway? We are almost
five by now! Most of my relatives made a visit to the main family
already., Celes asks.
Well. As far as I now my fathers parents are dead. And my
grandmother, from my mothers side, is dead too. They all died
together with my siblings in the same attack. Some kind of bombing,
I heard.
My grandfather, Nicosar of Tirna, went for a complete inspection of
all fortresses and border crossings at that time. It looked like the
guys responsible for it came from Stricc. So he tried to find out how
they got through the border control.
There are about 4000 minor checkpoints, fortresses and towns
along the border. If you take a day of your time for everyone of
them, you have your hands full for quite some time.

Celes nods at that, It still feels pointless with the current changes in
policy, he could have stopped and returned any time.
Just at that moment, mother came back. A geezer with grey hair is
with her. He has the same horns as her, though one of them is
broken. Behind him a racoons tail is slowly waving left and right, he
has a walking stick, which he puts down at our sight.
Hahaha! My grandson! How much I wanted to see you!, he grins
as he walks over and picks me up to hold me in front. That grip! I
have a bad feeling about this.
Grandfather! I greeEEE eee EEE eee EEE eee EEE........., he
threw me up! I turn at least five summersaults, before I get caught
by a foot again. Oh no. Now I have a roller-coaster grandfather too.
He drops me to the ground, where I start retching. I am not well, not
well at all! This is my weak point!
Hahaha! You will have a special training from tomorrow on,
grandson. I will make a real Tirna noble out of you! And who have
we here?, he starts over to Celes, who takes a step back and looks
at him with a wary expression.
Suddenly he kneels down and massages her hips, pinching them a
little at the end and stands up again. Celes is frozen solid at that and
doesn't move a muscle.
Hmm, yes yes. That's good! The potential is there. You will be able
to have many heirs. We need many of those., he nods earnestly.
-PUNCHUgh!
-STAB-POPaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAA!
-drop-STOMB-KICK - KICK - KICK It was so fast, I almost didn't get it. As soon, as he stood again, she

punched him in the groin. He went to his knees at that. At the same
time she pulled a hairpin from her stuck up hairdo and stabbed it into
his left eye, which was now in reach.
With the other hand, she popped out his right eyeball. While he went
down completely, she dropped it and then crushed it with her right
foot. That done, she started kicking him with her left foot. There was
no hesitation at all!
Phew! I am so glad, that our parents negotiated a no violence
contract between us. But I am sure you have done it now Celes!
This could become a real diplomatic issue. I see the headlines for
tomorrow! Stricc princess permanently blinds valued military leader
of Tirna!
AAAAhahAhahAHAHAHAHAHAHA!, Nicosars scream transforms
into a mad laugh, as he and all the blood dissolves into white mist.
Reforming behind a wide eyes Celes, completely unharmed, he
throws her over his shoulder like a kidnapper. She struggles, but
can't resist his strength.
This guy is not good news! I try to run, but get grabbed by the collar.
Blergh!, comes out while I am pulled back abruptly.
This is good material my daughter! I will be sure to make real
nobles out of them, before they are introduced to the other houses!

8 - Training!
We are back to being bound to a chair and facing each other. Now
we know, where your mother got that from!, Celes accuses me.
The old pervert waves a chalkboard with some scribblings in front of
her.
Come On! Say it with LOVE! -Angrod is my ONE and only ONE!-,
he says in a creepy voice. Say at least: I love you! For starters!
I l..l.. lov...e y ou. I guess..., she gets out with a cramped face.
Okay. We will work on the stutter. The expression comes second.,
Nicosar states grinning.
Now you Angrod! Say: I love you! I would lay the world to your feet,
if you asked me of it!, Nicosars eyes gleam feverish and he
wriggles his body in a creepy way.
I shove you! I would slay the world and throw it before your feet, so
you trip over it!
*SMACK!*
Ow! I got hit with the board. My head hurts so much, I think it is
splitting apart! Nicosar looks at the broken board and sighs. He
drops it onto the pile of broken boards to my feet, which almost
reaches my knees.
He takes a new board out of a chest and scribbles something onto
it. Okay. Let's try that again., he steps behind Celes and nods to
me, while waving the board.

-I LOVE YOU CELES!-

Tears are dripping from my eyes. They have started to shed tears

and my vision is blurry, since the transformation started. Nothing I

can do about it. I love you Celes., I whisper while giving up.
I don't want to get another board smashed on my head. It hurts so
much! Imagine someone taking two screwdrivers and slowly pushing
them into your eyes, while a mixer is mashing up your brain!
That's how I feel right now!
YES! That emotion! You got that across just right!, the pervert
wipes the board and steps behind me, scribbling something. Celes
blushes and looks down at her legs, which are almost completely
covered by another pile of broken boards.
M...My dearest one! Take me now and here!
Omg, that was....nono I wont waver here! Its those headaches and
the stress. Yes! That's it!
Oh! You are starting to get good at this! Hmhmhmm... maybe we
should start working a little on the physical part too?, he muses to
himself.
What do you want to make little children do, you sicko?
What's the point of this anyway old pervert!? I thought you wanted
to train us!, Celes asks with empty eyes.
Aren't I training you? On your graduation party you two have to
convince the guests, that you two are one body and one soul. No
one is allowed to have the slightest doubt about it, or chaos could be
the consequence!, Nicosar states.
If the other houses would get the idea, that this bond won't work
out, they will try to seize power. Civil war for both Tirna and Stricc
would surely follow shortly after that. You have to be the perfect pair
to the public!
But what's about physical training? - Celes
Pfff! No need for that! Both of you have royal blood. That means
your bodies are the strongest you can get in this world and you are
always at top condition.
But the strongest bodies in the world won't help us, if we are

poisoned or bombed by some asshole. Also with everyone running

amok, we can't be everywhere.
So you two will be here until you can convince everyone, that you
were made for each other., Nicosar stops his tirade.
I will train my magic like mad! And then this pervert will burn!, I
mutter to myself. I am really mad right now! Nicosar went a step too
far in this!
Hahaha, you are a hundred years too early for that!, Nicosar grins
again.
Celes forces a smile on her face, We will see, I would gladly give
you a hand against the pervert!
YES! A mutual goal! The first step on your path to love and
pleasure!, Nicosar seems not to notice, that he is the one in
question.
---------------------------------------------------------------The next weeks were a nightmare! It wasn't just the boardtreatment. We had dancing lessons, smiling lessons, lap sleeping
lessons oh and not to forget the BIG HUG lesson.
Celes tried to crush me with brutish strength every time. I am really
afraid, that she will become strong enough for it in the end.
Sometimes even Nicol and Arthur join the fray. At least they are
better than Nicosar, but its still far from fun. Though they are both
usually busy with matters of state, eyeing each others actions like
watchdogs.
At the dancing lessons, Celes tried to step on my feet, or trip me. I
myself didn't even have to try it consciously. I am a bad dancer.
Tripping my partner isn't something I have to aim for.
Celes and me tried to kill Nicosar multiple times, but we never
succeeded. He has some kind of high level illusion or cloning

technique. It's not magic, but some kind of innate ability he got from
his raccoon heritage.
You may think, that you got him sometimes, but he just dissolves into
white mist and is suddenly unharmed before you.
One time, I blew up an entire room, with him inside. We thought we
got him, just to be hit from behind with his walking stick. Its a deadly
weapon in his hands! Believe me!
By now, I have realized that we won't get him, until we have grown
up bodies. He is several levels above us, at the moment.
Like that, the time went by. I lost track of it. He is drilling us from
morning till night, with four hours of sleep a day! It is worse than
military training. Our bodies will break, if this gets out of hand!
---------------------------------------------------------------After a particularly bad day, Celes sits at our evening meal, while
sharpening a hairpin and mutters something incomprehensible to
herself.
Suddenly she turns to me, Angrod, I can't take it any more!, tears
are in her eyes. I am really not sure if it is real, or if she is testing
her acting on me.
Hoh? And what do you want to tell me with that?, I sip at my drink.
!Let us run away together!
PFFT, I spit everything on my food and need a second to gather
myself. I don't get... , why do I have to join you for that!
Because, if you stay here, it will fulfil the second prophecy and you
will destroy the world? If you are with me I can have an eye on
you!, she looks at me.
You know, Seria probably just made that up? She is a strong god,
but even the council has problems with such detailed predictions?, I
don't buy it. And who judged us? Despite having better things to
do?, Celes reminds me.

I think shortly, Anyway, I wont run! Where do you want to go? We

are children, and everyone can recognize us from afar as royalty! I
don't think you will manage to hide those things on your head for
long. Think it through!
The two black horns on her head did a real growth spurt, starting at
her temple and then going back close to her head, while splitting up
in an admittedly cool pattern looking like some sort of adornment. No
way to hide that!
She wore her red hair stuck up with hairpins, which I recognize as
her most fearsome weapons.
Her black tail, at the length of about one and a half meter, completed
her new demon look.
My horns were a little boring, compared to hers. Starting at my
temples like hers, they just went straight back, stopping a little after
my head.
If I wanted to, I could probably wear a hat to hide them. No chance
with hers, though.
My hair was black like my mothers, but I cut it short. I don't like to
take care of my hairstyle.
The eyes had changed to a golden snake-style.
*WHIP*
Ow! Stop that!, the witch just hit me with her tail!
Hmpf, can't help it! It tends to do that when I am frustrated., she
declares high and mighty.
*Whip**Whip**Whip*
I jump out of the way and sat down again with my ruined food. This
time farther away. Hell will freeze over, before I believe her that. It
was one hundred percent on purpose.
That's when something hit me!
Come to think of it.... why do you know Serias prophecy for me in
such detail!, I ask. My parents told me., she answers without

hesitation.
And why did you know my title back then? Little one? - Me
She hesitates, I heard it from your mother.
LIAR! -Me
Okay! Okay! I investigated your room before our first meeting and
found your plate. -Celes
What! -Me
I have no bad conscience about it. There wasn't anything interesting
anyway, you are a hermit after all. Just books about magic and
science. Do you know that it's not normal for a guy to hide an
encyclopedia under his bed?, Celes looks at me with pitiful eyes.
There I wanted to try the -girls search through the guys room- and
what do I get?, she shakes her head, Apart from that stupid title,
Not.... A.. Thing!
I am down now!
Why am I treated like I have to be some kind of pervert. I have
never done anything to deserve this! For all the time I can
remember, I have been a nice guy! Fuck it! In my first life I was even
a monk!
I shouldn't have said that!
A MONK!? Nooow eeeeverything is clear to me!, Celes grins
from ear to ear!
Don't dare to say something about it! It was a good, nice life!, I
hold at a new thought, ..but living like that doesn't get you
anything? It all leads back to where I am now!
Those who live their lives as pure perverts are right! They end up in
bad situations at the end too, but at least they got something out of
it!, I nod at myself.
*Whip**Whip**Whip**Whip**Whip*
OW! -Me
Don't dare to go down that path! As a sadistic idiot, you would have

lost the last decent point about you!, Celes glares at me with hateful
eyes. But my thoughts derail completely.
Hoho, maybe I should start right here and now? We are stuck with
each other anyway! No loss there, so why haven't I jumped at the
opportunity! You are not really usable yet, but for a test-run it should
suffice, as my body isn't at the height either!, I take a step and have
a nice feel.
-Whack!She slapped me and we go down while wrestling with each other.
Something shatters and we roll over the floor. At that moment, the
door opens and we freeze.
Ireth, Katrin and Nicosar step in.
I am trying to choke Celes with one hand, while she has both legs
around me in a suggestive position. With the other hand I hold her
left, which is armed with a hairpin.
With the other, she is trying to free herself from my hold. Her tail is
entangled around my upper body and neck, trying to choke me in
turn.
HoHO!, Nicosar puts on a stupid grin while opening one eye wide.
The training didn't progress like planned...., Katrin states.
Mother just looks at me accusingly.
Celes drops the hairpin and pulls me closer, hugging me! Wahaha!
What are you talking about! My darling and I where just exploring
new ways of communication, isn't that right my love? So older and
wiser people shouldn't interrupt the young!
A shudder runs down my spine! Okay! This! Is! Creepy! Play along
idiot!, she whispers. I hug her too and set us back up in a straight
position.
Yes, we just found out about each others good points! This is really
a big misunderstanding! No need for more training! -Me
Celes nods at my chest!
We will see how long you two can keep that act up! Then there will
BE punishment. One way, or the other! Both are wrong! You forget,

you're still children! -Ireth

We both start to cry!

9 - A formal dance between the

two?
We are both about seven by now. Yes! We survived! Nicosar has
given his approval to our acting, thus our parents organized a great
celebration. They invited members from all noble houses of both
countries.
It is meant as our introduction to the public. But.....
Right now, we are both in the families private rooms and are waiting
for the festivities to start. Nicol, Arthur and Nicosar are here too.
They preached for more than a hour, how important it is to show a
good face.
"I have a really bad feeling about this.", Celes states. She is
sharpening a hairpin again. Sometime along the way, it became habit
of hers. Whenever she is ancious, nervous or bored, she starts
doing that. The hairpins are more like little knives, or daggers by
now!
"I don't get how you can stick those into your hair, without cutting it",
i muse to myself. "That you would like to know!", she shows a
superior grin.
I shrug my shoulders, "If you don't feel like telling, then don't tell.
Why do you have a bad feeling anyway? Will you tell me that at
least?"
"It is because my third grade cousins and their family will be here.
They are pestering my father, to have one of them marry me, since
my birth. But i am not into incest and they are brutish idiots on your
scale, from what i have heard."
Her face distorts in disgust, while talking.
"Their names are Sarda Meltheim and Senda Meltheim. They should
be about 9 years old. Their parents are Marta and Odlef of
Meltheim. They are sure to cause a ruckus.", Arthur informs me.

Father Nicol shakes his head, "Unfortunately there are people like
that from our side too. You should be wary of the Tuhelm family.
Marta Tulhelm and Vaida Tulhelm are the leaders, Iris Tulhelm is a 7
year old daughter of theirs. They are controlling a great area in the
north of Stricc.
It is hard to keep their advances in check. I almost would have
gotten them for treason several times, but somehow they always
come out clean, after the investigations. It's mortifying. In case of
rebellion, they would stand in the first line. If I could I would execute
the whole bunch on suspicion alone!"
Wow, that's the first time we heard so much about politics from our
parents. Is the end of the world near?
"Yes, there is also a high possibility that someone will challenge you
to a duel, if they get the chance. As long as there isn't a five year
difference in age, they can do it. It's an easy possibility to kill you in
a legal way! So don't give them an opening by insulting someone.
And if they challenge you anyway...... refuse! It will hurt our
reputation, but so be it.", Arthur has a complicated expression.
"That's Barbaric!" I call out.
"It's an old tradition and hardly used anymore. If they play this card,
they surely won't get any credit for it from the other houses. It's not
allowed to deal killing blows to a defeated opponent in a duel, but
accidents can happen.", Athur warns us.
I grumble to myself, while looking out of the window. This will be
even less fun, than i thought.
"Fufufu, if they are so stupid, they will be used as pincushions. I
wonder where should i stab first?", Celes has a scary expression.
Arthur sighs, "Please! Just refuse! They will surely have some nasty
trick and send someone older than you. That will be a big difference
in natural ability!"
Arthur would be right, but i don't believe it. They may have the better
bodies, but i don't think that they are that adept in using magic like

me and Celes.
We have hardly showed anything, by now.
"Talk of the evil, and it is bound to appear. Don't scare the children,
they can look out for themselves. Let's make our entrance. The
guests surely are waiting quite a while by now.", Nicosar ends the
discussion. He is has at least some idea of our abilities, so he
doesn't fear for us that much.
We get up and make our way to the palaces festival hall. It is surely
impressive. They build the new palace in Midhold within two months,
from the moment the joining of the house of Tirna and Stricc was
announced.
Hordes of workers worked day an night. You could watch the thing
growing by the day. Like i assumed a while ago, the art of building
something is really on another level in this world.
Oh, that remembers me: I haven't told you the name of the world!
Well. That's because everyone calls it simply "the world". The people
here are surely on the same level of creativity, as the people of
earth. Nothing against you guys....
Arriving there, a huge amount of people bow to us. Rose is there,
waiting for our arrival. The hall is nicely decorated and huge rows of
tables with finest food are arranged through the hall. In the middle is
an open area for dancing.
Distributed through the hall are many Tables with chairs. Nicely done,
i admit.
"Guests! The rulers of Tirna and Stricc welcome you to the
festivities! Let us celebrate the joining of the ruling houses and thank
them for holding up the peace.
As of today they introduce to you their heirs. Prince Angrod of Tirna
and Princess Celes of Stricc!", Rose declares in a clear voice.
I force a smile on my face and wave in a kingly way to the masses.
Celes smiles and does a curtsy. The masses begin to clap. Stupid
events like this are the worst. I already hate this.

"Then let the festival begin!", Nicol announces.

The masses start to disperse and an orchestra starts to play music.
Some couples start to dance. We start to mingle with the crowd.
Well, as far as it is possible. Everyone gives us at least three meters
of space.
Our fathers spot Ireth and Katrine, so they rush off. Both of them
were entertaining some important persons, it seems.
"I will be off too then, haha there are many skirts to be chased!", the
pervert rushes off too and leaves us standing alone in the rain.
"Humm!", Celes grabs my hand and leads me to the dancing area.
"We will dance, as long as we do that, no idiot can come up to us to
cause problems!"
She is right in that regard. You would have to be a extremely rude
person to disturb a dancing couple.
And so we start a silent dance, while smiling at each other. "We will
get wrinkles at a very young age, as much as we have to smile." Me
"That seems to be our fate my love!" She grins. "You don't have to
play now, we can't be heard at this distance anyway." I answer. We
are whispering and have at least a distance of five meters from the
other dancers.
"It is good to keep it up under people, just in case." Again that
heartwarming smile. I wish someone else would smile at me like
that.
I shrug and we continue dancing.
We are at it for quite a while, when the music stops and the
musicians walk off to take a break. At that the people stop dancing
and join one or the other group of talking people.
Celes and i wander off to a more quiet place in the hall. There are
some children here, but most of them stick to their parents.
Celes sighs. "It is boring, as expected. Nobody even cares about us,
it surely doesn't feel like this is meant for us."

"What do you expect? To them we may be the heirs, but on the other
hand we -are- children after all?" -Me
Thats when Celes spots a group of girls and boys around our age
and pulls me off. She sure likes to do that. "May i have a word in
this? I am not a pet!" I complain.
"Hush! Everytime you shut me off with children this, children that!
Like you say, we are children. So wouldn't it be strange if we aren't
interested in other children?" -Celes
I understand, but talking to children while being mentally an adult is
just a pain in the ass. I make a grimace, but set up my perfect smile
again when she looks at me.
"Hi, i am Celes and this is Angrod. Can we join you?" Celes opens
the conversation, as we reach them.
"S... Sure. I am Margerie Cygnus! This is my big brother Stephen
Cygnus. We are from Tirna." A little girl of around seven introduces
herself and taps the boys back beside her and he bows to us. He is
around nine.
Both of them have fox ears and tails. Right now i want to know their
abilities. Would it be rude to ask?
"I ....am Sven Hjavars. ......from Stricc." Another boy of seven
introduces himself shyly. He has elven ears.
The next girl with a cat tail jumps at Celes and grabs her hands!
"Tanja Morden here! I am nine and from Stricc! Oh i wanted to talk
to you. I have heard so much rumors about you two. Which ones are
true? Have you two already kissed? How is it to live with a boy?
Have you already been in his room? Is it true that the goddess
herself ........"
I get a devilish grin on my face. Celes surely found the right one
there! She isn't even able to answer, as she is bombarded with a
never ending stream of questions.
"Whoa! The prince surely has a nasty side to him!" Margerie
observes. "What do you think about the party? Boring is it not?"
I nod, "Yeah reading a book would be more interesting."
"You like reading books at your age? I like reading the "Science And
Magic" journal here from Midhold! They have published a book every
year since the founding of the university."

"I...Isn't that quite the heavy stuff for someone our age?" -Me
"Oh, no problem, we from Cygnus are all very smart from birth! I
have to show you my laboratory if we ever have the chance! I am
researching a way to levitate stuff without magic devices! It would
lessen the strain on recources and conflict potential between our
countries........"
Anyone, help me! What are these children!? I notice that i have a
prickling feeling in my hand. Celes still has it in her grip, while she
smiles at Morden, which is still talking. She hasn't said a word yet
and her grip on my hand turned tighter and tighter like a vice!
I look down and notice that my fingers turned blue!
"Celes?" -Me
"Yes, Angrod?" -Celes
"I really like you, but any further and my fingers fall off! Control your
strentgh!" -Me
Celes looks down, "Oh, sorry!", she abpruptly lets go of my hand.....
that was exactly the wrong thing to do!
IT BURRRNNNNNNSS!!!
"H.... H.. Heal!", thank the multiverse for this spell!
"Honey, i am so sorry!"
Why are you grinning then? Witch!
"Hahaha, you two are funny", Morden is unfaced.
"Wow! You can use healing magic without a full incantation!?", both
Cygnus siblings look at me like they found a new labrat. Better they
not find out, that i don't need to recite spells and just do it half assed
to lessen the burden!
"Hahaha! Yeah, my only good point! I will excuse myself for a
moment to get some cold water over it!", with that i run off to leave
Celes to her doom.
I slowly walk to the toilets, no haste here. As i do so, i take another
look at the party. Our parents are still talking to the same people.
They don't look very happy. As i think about it, i reach the toilets.
A few minutes later i am back at the party. I walk to where i left
Celes. She is still there with the other kids, but two new faces are

with them.
They are two boys, who look almost identical. With those Horns,
they surely are royalty and Celes looks really pissed. Everybody
else would think she is happy and perfectly fine from her face and
body language.
But i can see, that she is playing around with one of her hairpins......
and when she does that.... you are about to be stabbed!
The other kids look entirely not happy. While the two boys really
break the etiquette by being entirely too close to Celes.
"Come on we just want to take you to a small date! Nothing harmful
in it.", one of the older boys says. "I am sorry, but i am already here
with someone.", Celes answers.
"Hi, i am back! Where you lonely without me?", i ask as i walk up to
Celes.
"Oh! You two have to get to know my fiance Angrod! I don't know
what i would do without him.", she grabs me and places me between
herself and the two boys. They don't look happy. "Hi! I am Angrod."
"I am Sarda Meltheim., the one with snake eyes introduces himself.
Senda Meltheim., the one with normal eyes says.
To break the following silence I ask, So what did you want from my
most beloved fiancee?
It has nothing to do with you, we just wanted to take her on a little
date and a dance, that's all., Sarda explains.
Oh that's all I get it...... Its unfortunate that I have to play the nice
guy here. Otherwise you could take her and be gone for all I care.
I am really sorry, but I can't allow that. She is my fiancee after all. It
would look bad, if she were around other guys alone. Nothing you
can do., I explain smiling.
You want to order us around?, Senda asks.
If I have no other choice and you continue to be persistent, I will
have to order you in my function as prince I fear. The party must go
on after all and having someone around who spoils the atmosphere
is no good., I want to set things clear here.
Celes tugs at me from behind and whispers, You can't order nobels

from other countries! Don't you remember Nicosars lesson! They can
make a duel out of that!
Oh!
HAHAHA! NOONE FROM TIRNA CAN ORDER ME AROUND! I
DEMAND A HONOR DUEL!
Sarda screams and the whole hall goes silent..... he has a confident
look on his face.
The kids go pale.
Oh, Okay! But I refuse to take responsibility for any damages., I
accepted.
Nicosar is running up to us with two bunny girls in toe. I have
absolutely no idea how he managed that.
What do you kids think, you are doing?, he asks red-faced.
Accepting a honor duel?, I ask and look him straight in the eyes.
Our parents come up to us with fearsome faces. The people, who
were with them are coming too, they seem to be the parents of the
idiot twins. They look like they have expected the situation and are
grinning.
I think we can assume, that this was really planned. I am really mad
at this.
If I hate something, then it is politics. If I hate something more, then
it is false games like this one.
Nicosar shakes his head, The honour duel has been announced and
accepted. Clear the dance floor! Bring some training weapons!,
Nicosar probably chose them because they are dull.
I demand real swords! It is my honour, Sarda states.
I want two!, I follow happily immediately, which flabbergasts
everyone.
Nicosar just nods and the area is cleared. Swords in our size are
brought, and we take place in front of each other.
The geezer is taking place between us and looks at everyone. Sarda

is taking a fighting stance, but I just stab my two swords into the
dance floor and put my hands into my pockets.
Some people laugh. I don't know what they expect. I am a mage, I
never even touched close combat weapons. I only did some hand to
hand combat as a monk.
Are both of you ready?, Nicosar asks.
I am ready!, Sarda calls. Then Nicosar looks at me.
I concentrate and both swords lift into the air and slowly start to
rotate, growing ever faster until nothing more than two shining circles
can be seen and a humming sound fills the hall.
Telekinesis of that level doesn't take that much magic power.
I never understood why some mages just use it to throw huge rocks
at the enemy or try to move a heavy person itself, collapsing
completely exhausted afterwards.
It's just plain stupid if you could just drive a light, sharp object at high
speeds through the enemy. I wait until the humming sound fills the
hall nicely.
*zzZZZzzZZZzzZZZzzz*
Ready to slice and dice, grandfather!
Nicosar needs a second to snap out of it, but jumps out of the way,
Go!
One of my weapons shoots out at Sarda, but misses him as he
dodges and dices one of the tables instead. The idiot at least has
some survival instincts.
He grins as he advances on me, as I had just lost one of my
weapons. Suddenly he jumps forward at incredible speed, but I
move my second weapon between him and myself to block him.
He tries to get past, but isn't able to, without risking being cut to
pieces.
*Dingg*

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
I had pulled my first Sword out of the sliced table. And shot it at him
from behind, nailing his left foot to the dancefloor. Screaming, he
went to one knee. His sword dropped beside him, I picked it up with
telekinesis and pinned his other foot hilt deep to the dance floor.
By now the idiots screaming was just a small whimper. I walk up to
him, take my hands out of my pockets and start beating him with all
my might.
Whew! Its really hard work to educate children, I tell you! Modern
societies just pad the heads of murdering minors, saying they can't
be held responsible for their actions.
I don't believe that! He tried to murder me here! Thinking I was just
some small kid three or two years younger than him. Punishment
must be dealt accordingly.
The hall is strangely silent and nothing than my beating fists can be
heard.
Someone pats my back!
Dear, don't grin like that, you are scaring the people!
Oh, Sorry Honey I was a little caught up in my emotions after
he made an advance on you! HAHAHA!
....a bloody something silently slips to the floor, twitching a little.

10 - Conclusion and new

education!
Some people had laughed at the little prince, as he was letting go of
his weapons. Sarda was a known prodigy in sword combat. But then
they could feel the little princes heavy aura pressing down on them,
as he lifted the swords seemingly by a pure act of will.
*zzZZZzzZZZzzZZZzzz*
The whole hall falls completely silent, as the little prince of Tirna
shows his unexpected magic potential. The hall was silent to begin
with, because of the rude challenge, but now the silence is complete,
except for the humming of the two swords.
Go!, Nicosar jumps to the side.
Many people already expected a simple execution to unfold before
their eyes. But then Sarda manages to dodge the first attack and the
hope of an even battle befalls the observers of the fight.
Only to have that hope crushed soon afterwards.
*Dingg*
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
As the little prince walks up to his opponent.... or was it a victim?
Everyone can feel the lust for blood and satisfaction the prince
emanates.
Too shocked to even move a muscle, everyone is pinned to their
place as the torture unfolds. Or was it a cruel public execution after
all?
Only a little red haired girl is unfazed by the cruel aura that pins
everyone else to their place. While others can't even twitch, she
walks up to the magical monster like knowing that it would never hurt

her.
And pats its back!
Dear, don't grin like that, you are scaring the people!
Oh, Sorry Honey I was a little caught up in my emotions, after
he made an advance on you! HAHAHA!
Sardas life was saved by the very one he mistreated! On that day a
rumor was born.
Of the gentle flower which is the princess of Stricc, who was the
only one that could tame the magical beast!
And the common folk would evermore fear the day, when the
princess was no more, to stop the prince of Tirna.
------------------------------------------------As we walk away from the bloody pile of flesh, some healers shove
their way through the crowd to save what can be saved.
Somehow Nicosar doesn't look like he feels the need to announce a
winner and starts chatting with the two bunnygirls instead.
Rose runs up and instructs some other servants to clean up the
mess.
When we reach our parents, they are a little more relaxed. The
people with them are still stunned.
I am sorry, I had a little argument with a rude guy. When he
refused to leave and challenged me, I decided that he would be
a good example for others. Just in case of future
disobedience., I state.
Angrod saved my honour! If it wasn't for him, I would feel like I
had been defiled by that bastard., Celes hugs me.
We where loud enough, for everyone to hear.
Slowly the hall starts to move again, as the people disperse and the
music plays again.
I... I am sorry for the behaviour of my son, he should know better
than to cause an incident like this. Instead of giving the celebrated

person some space, when asked for. If I and my wife may excuse
ourselves? We will talk about this at a more opportune moment., a
guy besides Arthur says.
You may go, we will talk later., Arthur states while obviously trying
hard not to grin.
The guy and his wife walk off, into the direction of the dead....half
dead idiot.
Suddenly Ireth picks me up and hugs me, I was so scared to loose
you!
Nicol starts patting my head, Good work! Those fellows had the
best face I have ever seen. It was a good decision to leave you to
Nicosar.
NOOOOO!
Mothers grip becomes stronger and I have problems to breathe,
Fufufufu! Yes, that reminds me. Weren't you ordered to refuse a
duel? That's disobedience! Yes! I will make sure, you never give me
such a fright again!
NOOOOO!
I try to look for help, anyone! When my eyes fall on Celes. She has
a very satisfied grin and her tail waves pleased left and right. Witch!
I helped you! You got me into this in the first place, by setting me up
against those two!
Guys, I will go back to my friends I found some earlier!, Celes
informs us and walks off.
How about you let go of Angrod, so he can enjoy the rest of the
party?, Katrin asks Ireth. After another minute Ireth lets go of me
and I excuse myself to the toilets. I still have to wash the blood from
my hands.
Hmm, strange. Is it my imagination, or are the people giving me
more space, as I walk by? At first they gave me and Celes alone
only about two meters, but now they seem to keep at least a
distance of five?
After I washed my hands, I searched the hall again for Celes and
her *friends*. A few minutes later I found them at a buffet. It was

Celes and the kids, I got to know before the stupid twins disturbed
us.
Celes, you ran off without me! I felt left behind!, I grin as I walk up
to them.
Angrod! I thought you might be hungry, so I went to get you the stuff
you like most!, she holds out a plate to me and I muster the food
warily.
It is stuffed with food I like, which I find very strange? This is the
witch we are talking about, so where is the trick to this? But I find no
reason to refuse, so I guess I have to take it.
Thank you Celes, what would I do without you., I take the plate
and start eating. If this is poisoned or oversalted I will make you eat
pure pepper!
Then I take the first bite, strangely enough it is not the case..... it
tastes good......
Hahaha, Angrod you sure went nuts on that guy!, Tanja Morden
restarts the conversation. The other kids put up a forced smile and
look at me like some sort of dangerous animal.
I just didn't want to give others the impression that a duel with me
would be without consequence, by going easy on him., I explain.
Angrod, if it weren't for you, I would have had a seriously bad
time., Celes states.
You were about to stab him with your hairpin! If you think about it I
even saved the bastard, but nobody sees it that way.
I sigh, and listen to the conversation between Celes and the Kids. It
seems, that the Cygnus siblings are some serious geniuses. Their
family owns the most famed schools, universities and research
institutes. Of course they were deeply involved in Midholds
educational system.
Tanja Mordens family governs the land on Striccs side of Midhold.
During the war, they were infamous for having the best assassins
and intelligence networks.
Sven Hjavars is a childhood friend of Tanjas, his family has an

amazing history of high ranking military accomplishments. But when I

look at the shy little boy, I don't really believe it.
As we talk the party comes to an end and we have to say our
goodbyes. Somehow I feel like I was a little avoided in the end?
We are back at our private rooms and I feel like I have forgotten
something important. The whole family is gathered, yes strangely
enough I came to regard Arthur and Katrin as family members too.
I have decided! You two are ready for school!, Nicol lets the bomb
explode! You have done very well at the party. I must admit, I had a
sleepless night in fear that someone finds out about you two being
like fire and water. It would have crushed all the efforts we had
made for peace in the last years. But after today nobody will ever
believe that you two can be separated.
Oh Hell...... I want to lie down and die.
So next month, you will join the Midpoint School. Everything is
already arranged by me. It's a highly regarded school, which takes
its student through all educational levels, including university. I hope
you two wont let me down! -Nicol
Pfff! What are you thinking of us? I am over a thousand years old! I
don't know how old I am because I stopped counting at 1203! Give
us the stupid final test for the university and I will start teaching the
idiots who call themselves teachers.
But I am silent. Maybe going to school again is nice. Its like having a
long vacation. Yes, a vacation, that sounds good. I am in my own
world, while sitting on the sofa.
After everyone has left Celes suddenly stands before me.
Angrod, I have to tell you something. -Celes
What? -Me
Thanks, even though I could have managed alone! -Celes
Hah? -Me
Stupid hermit!, she bows down and kisses me on the forehead and

leaves the room. I am stunned.

What was that? Could...
NOOOO! Stop iiiiTTT! She is trying to mess with my fucking
MINNNDDD!!!!
I drop to the floor and hit my head against it, trying to smash the
forming thought out of it!

11 - Interlude - Another
judgement!
I wake up in a white place. I sit up and take a look around, its just
endless white plains! Nothing is here. It is the worst outcome
possible....
I am dead!
This is the river of souls, or what a mind that doesn't want to go
insane can perceive of it at least. How did this happen! My
memories are just a mashed up pile of fragments. I... I was fighting.
Yes, I was fighting that bastard!
And I was winning! His broken, bloody body was lying before me! At
last, after all this time I had him to my feet and at my whim! Then he
raised his hand and fired that small fireball at me!
No need to dodge such a weak spell! I just stood there grinning! Oh,
what an idiot I was. The pain was unbelievable, as everything went
red and I could feel my soul being torn apart! I could have dodged it
so easily.
It hurt so much, but.... but why am I here now?
Are you yourself again Myrm?
I turn around, S... Seria? What happened? Why are we here?
Seria is there. The goddess of life and death for this realm.
You fought with Ascathon. And he killed you. -Seria
Yes, I ..., I don't know what to say.....
Your soul was torn apart, it took me quite a while to piece you back
together. -Seria
I try to get to my feet, but I am weak and fall back to all fours, So
that bastard defeated me! Where is he now! Surely he is watching

and laughing, is he not!?

Seria goes to her knees and drops a black marble before me.
No, he is dead too. He died shortly after you, from the wounds you
inflicted on him. I put his soul into that marble for safekeeping., she
says sadly.
Why would you do that?, I don't understand.
To have you both be judged by the council. And since you were
quite a piece of work Myrm, I had to keep him from resurrecting. Seria
The council? But why should they care? They don't move a finger at
the fate of worlds! Such matters don't concern them!
But... But why. The council ., but Seria interrupts me.
Oh, my Myrm. You are the same as Ascathon. He didn't get what
you two did either......, Seria has a sad look in her eyes now.
I get it! We trashed a world! And what about it! If we wouldn't have
taken action ourselves it would have ended badly one or the other
way., I am angry.
hahaha.... the council doesn't care what you did to that world. Or its
inhabitants. It wouldn't care if you destroyed a universe. That
happens everywhere, at all times. And the same way everything is
reborn again. The Council is angry at you for another reason. You
two will be punished for something, the council regards as something
far worse than those little reasons you talk about. And I was chosen
to supervise your punishment.
Seria smiles weakly.
Tears well up in my eyes, So what can be worse than destroying a
world!
Seria sighs,
I guess you two are too young to ever understand in time, so I will
tell you. You have killed each other! You two have killed that, which
cannot be killed.. You broke the divinity. You ended the unending.
That hasn't happened in all existence. And the council is afraid of

what that could mean.

Seria waves her hand before my eyes and everything goes dark.

12 - Choosing your lesson?

I want to visit culture and art!, Celes proclaims! But that's boring
and of no use!, I answer.
What use has the magic lesson to you?, Celes asks.
I can sleep and still ace the test!, yeah smart smart thinking. You
have to admit that.
So you are lazy! Do you want to waste this life sleeping?-Celes
I sigh and continue to study the letter we got from the Midpoint
headmaster. At the moment we are on the school grounds and about
to register our lessons.
Nicol didn't understate when he said it was a highly regarded school.
It's BIG. Without the letter and a map, we wouldn't have found our
way.
There are areas for each school grade, so the younger students
don't get in the way of older ones.
To advance a grade, you have to complete at least nine lessons of it.
Mathematics, language and basic magic are fixed lessons for us, but
we have to choose ten!
It leaves seven lessons to our choice.
Our problem is that Katrin instructed us to take the same lessons.
And I am not in the least interested in the stuff Celes likes. The
same goes for her of course.
Fine, we throw a coin and whoever wins gets to choose first. So he
has four choices, while the other has three.-Me
Never! I know how good you are with telekinesis, you would just
influence the coin to your advantage!-Celes
Tch!
Hah! I knew it! You had a plan like that!, she looks at me
accusingly.
Fine! We both choose three and take the last at random., I
suggest. How?, Celes asks.
We write some leaflets and draw one blindly., I suggest.

Hmmm...., Celes bites her lip while thinking.

We will ask a random person to name one subject until it is one we
can take. -Celes
You don't trust me at all, don't you. -Me
I trust you my love! I am sure you would take every chance,
that would make my life more miserable and yours a little bit
better. So let the war begin, I will start!
Art!
Rune Magic!
Culture!
Science!
Close Quarters Combat!
You just want to beat me up!
That's not a subject, but if we ask Nicol, he could have the
headmaster to introduce it.
Magical combat training!
Now, you want to beat ME up!
So who do we ask for the last one?, I speak to myself. Over
there! The gardener!, Celes replies.
That guy is sure to say nothing intellectual, you want to trick me!, I
complain.
Fine, we stop that teacher there. HEY! Professor! Can you help us,
please!?, Celes runs up to a random guy and stops him.
What?, the old guy stops. We want to choose a last subject
together, but cannot decide. So we want someone else to choose
for us, could you be so kind?, Celes asks.
The old guy starts to grin like a devil, You two are a pain in the ass,
to disturb me for something like this! So I will have you two join the
worst lesson a first year can take. MINE! Take the mystic arts
lesson. BE there the next time, or I will come and get you! I know
your faces and you have horns! Not hard to find you., the old guy
turns around and walks away.
Why does it feel like we have problems now?, Celes asks me.
Your fault!, I comment. WHYYY!?, she screams.
I just shake my head and check the lessons on our applications.

The registration process afterwards wasn't worth mentioning. We

went to the responsible office and gave them the required
documents we got from our parents.
At least there wasn't any need to stay inside the dorm. Rose would
take us to the school every morning and get us in the evening.
Protection wasn't necessary, the school had its own security guards.
That's because the school teaches many kids from noble families.
There wasn't anyone allowed here who didn't belong to Midpoint.
As we make our way to our first lesson, strangely enough its -Close
Quarters Combat-, we meet a known face there.
Celes! Oh I wanted to see you! You take the same lesson!?, Tanja
Morden jumps as she shakes Celes hands.
T...Tanja. Why are you here? Aren't you older than us?, Celes
asks. Oh, no problem at all. The instructor takes everyone who
wants to. There are kids from six to twelve here. -Tanja
Celes gets dragged to the dressing room by Tanja. And at last some
peace for me!
I walk to the boys area and change into sportswear too. Then I take
a look at the very spacious gym.
The instructor has already started to individually teach some kids
hand to hand combat.
I guess it doesn't make much sense to hold a lecture here. A few
small fighting arenas are in the corner of the gym. There will
probably some kind of show-fight in the end, to judge our skills.
Everyone is wearing the same track suit, regardless of gender.
Is that you Angrod? - I turn around and see a cute girl of about my
age. She has silver hair and wolf ears with a tail, her eyes are
skyblue. I am sorry, do I know you?, I don't recognize her.
No, you don't know me yet, but I have seen you at the party. You
were so coool. I hope we can be friends!, she walks up and links
arms with me.
My name is Iris, by the way., Iris informs me.

What's up with this little kids slutty behaviour? Is this world mad?
What is wrong with the little children here? But Iris... that name
sounds familiar.
And why am I jumped by a girl, only five minutes after I am
separated from Celes?
*Check* Aahhh! *Plomb*
Iris is pushed from my arm and falls flat on the floor. Celes is
suddenly beside me, Don't touch my fiance!
What's wrong with you!?, Iris screams while standing up.
Just taking care of my valuables!, Celes smiles bright.
So I am something like a favoured earring after all! Stupid witch, The
episode with her alone a few days earlier almost made me waver.
Celes, aren't you a little too rude? We don't even know her?, I try
to calm the situation. Though I am thankful to her for removing the
slutty child from my arm.
Honey, keep out of girls talk, and I wont interfere in boys talk. Do
we have an agreement -Celes
Uh..... she is playing with her hairpin. Good luck in your next life
slutty wolf girl. I only knew you for less than a minute. That's not
enough to risk my head for you.
Celes, you should probably know that....., Tanja wants to say
something but....
What is going on here!?, one of the instructors came over.
She gave me a body-check for no reason!, Iris complains to the
instructor.
Hahaha, you touched and dirtied something valuable to me, horny
wolf., Celes smiles that perfect smile of hers.
We don't use violence outside of a match here, I hope you two will

understand that. -instructor.

Then I will have a match with her! I want revenge!, Iris screams at
the instructor.
Nooo! Slutty wolf girl, you are digging your own grave here! Morden
tugs at me, Angrod, we have to stop them! That's Iris Tulhelm, she
feared here for her brutality and is the best newcomer in magic
assisted combat! Celes will be hurt!
Goodbye slutty wolf girl, now I guess you will make her angry. There
won't be much to scrape from the floor.
Fine with me, if I win you keep ten meters distance from Angrod! Celes
Ugh, if I win, the same goes for you! -Iris
You two! Matches aren't made for such a reason! And you Celes?
You are a newcomer? You can't just fight an advanced disciple of the
master at the first day! -instructor
Where can we fight?, Celes looks at the instructor.
Haven't you heard me?, instructor starts to get angry. Let Them
Fight!, an old geezer with a raccoon tail comes up to us. Everyone
has to learn their lesson! Some lessons are harder than others.
Better they deal with it in the ring, than anywhere else! Step into the
arena.
He points to a miniature arena, which is lowered under the level of
the normal ground. Celes and Iris make their way down into it.
We really have to do something Angrod!, Tanja Morden is out of
herself.
I step up to the raccoon geezer, I have had bad experiences with
those. Uhm, Master? I guess?, I ask him.
I am teacher Tongord. I supervise this lesson., he answers.
I think it would be good to call a healer. One will be needed. .. a
good one!, I tell him and he looks at me with a raised eyebrow, but

then he waves at the instructor. The instructor dashes off.

In the meantime Celes and Iris have taken positions inside the arena.
Celes just stands there with folded hands. Iris had taken something
like a praying position.
You may Go!, Tongord calls.
Suddenly Iris explodes with magical energy and disappears, just to
reappear before Celes, which didn't even twitch.
*CRACK!*
She plants a perfect punch on Celes's chin and Celes is taken five
meters up into the air. Iris disappears again and makes a
reappearance above Celes. Her left foot impacts on Celes with a
terrifying blow *CRUNCH* and Celes is sent down into the arena
again.
Iris pulls her teleportation combo a third time and before Celes can
impact the floor, she is hit by another fist.
*CRACK*
Celes is sent into the arenas wall. *BAM*
We can feel the ground shake, as the whole wall collapses over her.
Oh, no! I could hear the bones break! Why haven't you stopped this
master Tongord!, Tanja cries out.
Hmmmm.....I didn't expect this., Tongord answers.
*BAM!*
The ground shakes....
*BAM!*
The ground shakes again!
Oh, Iris has done it, she is angry now! The poor little Iris....,
Tongord and Tanja look at me like I am mad.
*BAM!*
The collapsed part of the arena blasts apart and Celes walks out of
the dust cloud.

Iris is still standing where she dealt the last punch. Her eyes go
wide, as she sees Celes slowly walking her way.
Suddenly she turns around and tries to limp away, as if she has a
broken foot. Being too slow, Celes reaches her and grabs her good
foot.
*SNAP*
KYAAAAA!!, we hear a pitiful scream as something breaks.
*WHAM!* *WHAM!* *WHAM!*
Celes slams Iris three times into the ground like a child, playing with
a doll. Confirming, that there is no movement any more, Iris gets
tossed over the shoulder like a broken doll.
I have dealt with the disturbance honey!, she smiles and waves
at us.
At this point I have to do some explaining, I think. Well the simple
version: Celes is a magical idiot! Even as a god, she knew just the
most basic spells. She has almost zero ability to sense mana.
What she has though, is godlike control over her inner mana flow.
Some people would even call it inner power or just Ki. She is a
master in manipulating it. It is a far more advanced version of what
Iris did. Iris wrapped herself in her own mana, to enhance her
physical abilities. But in the process, she wasted much of it and it
burst out as energy. We, as bystanders, could feel it.
From Celes, who was doing the same, we could feel nothing. By
coating herself with such a thin tight layer of mana, Celes becomes
almost immune to most physical attacks and spells. That's why I had
a hard time against her as a god. I had to pull off fucking nukes, to
dent her defense.
Well, to say it with other words, she is a martial artist, who uses
mana to her advantage. Or a simple brutish idiot I would say.
The only thing Iris did by hitting Celes, was breaking her own arms
and leg.
I wave back at her, while I already see some healers advancing in

our direction.

13 - A new rumor!
I wave back at her, while I already see some healers advancing in
our direction.
That's when I realize, that the fight has gathered quite a number of
spectators. Many students and instructors rushed over, when they
heard the first noises of the battle.
That's a splendid technique little princess, Tongord compliments
Celes. Morden is still too shocked to say something, it is the first
time I have seen her speechless.
Nothing worth mentioning! Don't you have someone here, who can
put up a little resistance?, Celes is dusty all over, but still talks big.
Hmmm, I will have to put you into the special class. There is no way
I can let you fight normal students., Tongord talks to himself.
So no one here at the moment? Then I will take you as a training
partner Angrod! No need to completely waste this lesson., Celes
looks at me like devil!
I... I will pass! I will be just a punching bag for you!, I refuse! There
is no way I can stand up to that brute without spells.
But I get grabbed and pulled into the direction of the arena. No
need to hold back! I allow you to use spells.
As we stand in front of each other, I start to buff myself with every
spell I can think of. Agility! Strength! Stone Skin! Shield! Vitality!
Inner Peace! Regeneration!
When I am ready I nod at Celes. Aren't you overdoing it a little?,
she asks. Any less and I will die!, I just want to make this clear!
So we start our match and keep it up, until we notice the bell, which
signals the end of the lesson. In the meantime, just the impacts of
fists and feet on the opponents body could be heard. As we climb
out of the arena, the rest of the students have concentrated at the
other side of the gym.

Tongord waves two papers at us, This are the registration forms for
my special class! Fill it out and go there in future! No need to have
you two destroy one of my arenas every lesson., he looks down
into the arena, which can only be described as a hole with debris
inside by now.
We are both battered and sore all over. Though I am in a much
worse state! The witch didn't hold back at all and made a game out
of hitting places that didn't hurt yet. So my whole body hurts by now.
Area Heal!, a shining circle of healing light envelops us. I guess it
would draw attention if I healed only myself.
You two are both awesome! Next time I want to train with you!,
Morden has recovered herself. I will be sure to have her swap with
me next time.
Celes nods, Yes! Its good to have more opponents. It is a greater
challenge like that!
So I alone wasn't enough for you! I want to cry.
The girls run off to the changing rooms. I follow them just a little
unmotivated. Will this be my new school-life? Being beaten up on a
regular basis doesn't sound like fun at all!
After this we changed and met up again to go for mathematics and
arts lessons. Mathematics wasn't anything special, just the regular
stuff that gets taught in every world.
In arts we had to draw a picture, which got Celes really motivated.
She seems to be a natural and got a really neat painting of a
countryside done. Maybe something from her past life's?
I myself can proudly announce that I tried to introduce modern art to
the world! It had huge similarity to a Rorschach test, I was sure to
change the world with this!
But the teacher, Jeniva Guger, didn't think like that. She asked me
why I sullied her lesson with my presence. It's just wrong, if you think
about it! How can a teacher say something like that to a student!
So the hours went by, until we stood before it!
The door to the mystic arts classroom! I pressed down the handle

and entered. Just three students were inside. And I know them!
Oh hi! Angorn and Celes, you take this lesson too??? Wow, you are
brave!, Margerie Cygnus calls out to us. Besides her is her brother
Stephen Cygnus. A row behind them is Sven Hjavars, who waves at
us.
Hi, nice to see you! And why are we brave, because of taking this
lesson? And why are you here Stephen, I thought you were older
than us?, Celes asks.
I am here because I am already retaking this lesson for the third
time! And you are brave, because you signed up for a lesson, you
are guaranteed to fail. So you won't have the freedom to fail any
other lesson this year., Stephen tells us, while looking like he has
bitten into a lemon.
Then why do you retake this lesson for the third time!?, I ask. I
hate to give up, I will take this lesson until I pass or die of old age!,
he replies.
Wow. That's what I call determination! So, could you explain what
the mystic arts are about?, I inquire further.
The mystic arts that mister Samarin teaches, are about all kinds of
things. From the state of the world, to magic rituals and science.
Teacher is very smart, and he teaches whatever you ask about
without caring about any curriculum. And that's the problem! At the
end of the year he will ask you some stupid stuff you never heard or
talked about., Margerie explains.
At that the door opens and Samarin walks inside and smiles at us.
Strangely enough he is the first person I see in this world, who looks
completely human. Just his skin is a little reddish.
Oh look what we have here. One, two, three, four, five people are
willing to take the trial! That's a new record! Normally everyone, who
hears about it applies for something else at the last minute!
As for introductions, I am Samarin and your teacher. You can ask
me everything you want and I will teach it to you. Now please
introduce yourself with your name and a single sentence about you.
-Samarin

Margerie Cygnus, I want to learn everything I can to levitate

something without magic! -Margerie
Stephen Cygnus, I wish nothing more than to pass the test for this
lesson. -Stephen
Sven Hjavars, I just want to listen..., someone whispers.
Angrod Tirna, I will rule the world! -Me
Celes Stricc, I will save the world! -Celes
Hmmm, now that I look at you..... I have heard rumours in the
hallway. It was about a horned devil, which beat a student half dead
and then fighting a second devil in the gym, where one of the arenas
was completely destroyed.
I hope it has nothing to do with you two? -Samarin
I don't know what you are talking about. - I don't know what
you are talking about.
Angrod is my most beloved fiance! Why should I fight him,
absurd!, Celes hugs me from the side.
Honey, I am sure that nobody with a working brain could ever
think that we would fight over anything!, I put an arm around
her.
DDDAAAMAMMNNNN ITTT! FUUUCK NICOSAR! IT IS ALREADY
A REFLEX!
Well, in any case, I have to start the lesson, what should we talk
about? -Samarin
I want to know about the goddess Seria! There is something I find
strange., Stephen calls out.
Hoh, what is it you find strange? -Samarin
We believe in a single god, the goddess Seria. That goes for
whole world. But there are some strange inconsistencies in
beliefs. Even though there is only one god, when we receive
prophecy at the age of one. The priest says that the gods
judge us, as if there would be many of them. -Stephen

the
our
our
will

Unfortunately, that's something even I can't answer for sure. What I

do know is this. The goddess Seria appeared to us on several well

documented occasions over the centuries.
Every time she decided to reveal herself, her revelations had a great
effect on the whole world. However, there are times when mortals
like us could talk to her for a while. In most cases those people were
seen as her avatars.
From her words, we can conclude that she is not the only god in
existence. And that this world is just one of many. Some wise people
are of the opinion, that other worlds may have other gods too.
Though if they exist they haven't showed themselves to us. The
reason for that, we may never know.
On the other hand you are a very lucky person Stephen. Because
two of the very few people, who had ever contact with the goddess
are sitting right beside you, if the rumours are true....
-Samarin looks at Celes and me.

14 - Interlude A broken world?

I am standing on the smouldering remnants of a broken world. There
are some survivors, but it will take a long time for this world to heal,
if ever.....
As I take my steps through the molten rock, I leave glowing
footprints behind. Maybe someone will wonder about them in a
million years? Should I come back by then to check? I snicker to
myself.
Simply willing myself to another place above this dead rock I
reappear high in the air and take a deep breath. The sulphuric air
and temperatures where the fight raged the strongest, would have
killed any other living being, but not me.
Yeah, not me. How boring. I don't even remember a time when it
wasn't like this? But I am sure there must have been a time like that.
A time, during which I was alive...... a time of joy, a time of wonder,
a time in which a little bit of love was enough reason to live on.
But I don't remember such a wondrous time, is that why beings like
me start to play with the lives of those who can't oppose us? Is it
just because we become too bored of everything.
So we start to roll the dice of life, just to see what happens? It is a
pretty pathetic reason I think.
That mountain is blocking the view..... *flick*
*RRRUUMMMMMMMBBBLLEEEE*
Yes, in a few thousand years, this could be a nice valley. Maybe I
will pay a visit if I am still around.

What are you doing here Seria? Playing around!

I turn around, Tjenemit! How nice of you to pay me a visit! How is it

at the Council? I smile a splendid smile at Tjenemit.
The Council is doing fine! I came to check on your job! Have you
dealt with them like ordered?, Tjenemit asks.
Oh, what do you think of me!? There is no way I would disobey the
Council! They are suffering in one of my hells. There is no way they
will bother you ever again., I link arms with Tjenemit and press my
chest against him.
Hmmmm. I hope so. So can I see them?, Tjenemit grabs my ass!
Bastard! Sometime I will rip your heart out for this.
Oh, I am so sorry! If I had known. I threw them into a place, just I
have access to. I didn't want others to see my ugly side. I guess I
could lead you through the river of souls. But you know, its
dangerous to loose oneself there! If.... if you really want to I
guess?, yes. Follow me there and I will have the perfect
excuse!
No need for this. I hope you are back soon!, he disappears.
Scaredy-cat!!
Yes, my slave-master! Oh, how I enjoy to do the councils
bidding! We all can have the eternity together in bed or
watching each other with suspicious eyes!, I burst out as soon
as he is gone.
One far far away time I will break this frozen state of reality.
Everyone will be allowed his own choice again. Whether he chooses
to live, to die, to be a god, a person or to be reborn. Everyone will
have a choice.
But not yet.......

15 - End of the first schoolday!

-Everyone looks at Celes and me.
What? Stupid idiots, I will not start to reveal the mysteries of
existence to you here and now. You guys will forget it anyway when
you die, so where is the point?
Don't look at us like that. The perverted goddess just showed up to
our ceremony to turn around the priests head. She just gave us a
stupid smile and disappeared again., Celes gives the official
explanation.
Hoh? But shortly after this, the diplomatic exchange between Tirna
and Stricc increased to another level and a year later the joining of
the leading houses was announced. How do you explain that. Samarin
When I met my cute, little Celes, I just knew that she is my
future, hahahaha
He was so bold, even though we just met! It was like my pure
sight had stabbed his heart!
Bitch! You stabbed me for real!
Anyway I fear we know nothing more than you, I evade.
Well. I still expect great things from you. To continue on Stephen, it
were those talks with the goddess, which led us to this conclusion. Samarin
I have another question! What do you know about levitation! Tell me
all you know! -Margerie
With that a painful conversation between Samarin and Margerie
began. I don't even bother to listen any more. It's all well known stuff
to me anyway. Stephen still looks at us like we could be the key to
some of his questions. I don't like it.

Celes seems to be bored too and starts scribbling in her notebook. I

try to steal a look but she slams it shut before I see anything.
It is bad taste to spy on a woman. - Celes
I didn't think of it as spying? -Me
Why don't you give them the answer to their question, stupid hermit.
I am not into this stuff, but if they follow their current train of thoughts
the cute Margerie will be old and grey before her wish comes true.,
Celes bitches at me.
I am not a fountain of knowledge for charity cases, you know? I
want something for my marvellous help too., I answer.
I know that this is nothing more than one plus one for you, so send
my friend Margerie on the right track for now! If you do it, I will owe
you one. In any case, I have to talk to you about something after
school, stupid hermit., Celes starts scribbling again.
Can you explain to me what you are talking about?, Stephen butts
in.
Nothing in particular, just be glad that the great me will offer you my
assistance! -Me
Having the witch owe me one can't be something bad.... I hope? I
stand up from my chair and walk to the chalkboard, where Samarin
and Margerie have already written many formulas and a design for a
magic device. It uses a cushion of air to hold itself up. A nice idea,
but not really a good solution.
A steady stream of air like in a hovercraft would be necessary. And
the magic circuit you need to construct for this isn't much different
from the one you would need to levitate something directly.
Margerie seeks something that eases the strain on the resources of
this world. Everything comes down to rare Earth elements, which
you need to construct a magic device. Stuff like Yttrium, Scandium
and so on are unfortunately extremely rare on most planets.
You need those materials in an almost pure form and that is the
problem.
So if we use a magic circuit, it has to be a very small one, the rest

has to be pure science. Hmmm. I walk to the unused part of the

board and scribble down a simple small circuit to control the
temperature.
A plain cooling system, given enough time, it should suffice to reach
the needed temperatures. Yeah, like that you just need a tenth of the
elements you would need for a direct levitation circuit, which would
have to span the entire object we wish to levitate.
Then I give a small introduction to Superconductivity. Some materials
of that category need rare Earth elements too, but you just need
them in a highly dilluted form compared to a pure form.
The funny part is that this will work with some completely common
materials like aluminum or lead too. I didn't invent this stuff on my
own out of nowhere. Some of my previous worlds used machines
like that.
Maybe i will give them a little prototype design to connect the dots.
Like that hmhmlala. Oh this feels like my old times as a teacher, just
without stupid students to interrupt every few seconds. Oh, how i
hate those.
At this moment I hear the bell, which ends the lesson. Damn i wasn't
completely done, anyway Margerie should be smart enough to
correct the bugs in the design.
I turn around and Margerie, Samarin and Stephen look at the board
like it would be the holy grail with open mouths. Sven looks at the
board, like it would be a pretty picture. Yes, thats the look of a
student, who doesn't get my divine greatness!
Piece of cake, don't bother me with the details! I hate those!, I turn
to leave the classroom and Celes follows after me.
Celes is still writing in her notebook and didn't care about my
ingenious solution of the problem.
So care to explain to me, why I have to help them in this matter?, I
ask Celes while we walk to the next class. It is a plan to save this
world! Isn't it obvious!, Celes answers.
Yes, but I could have made a fortune with this. Why should I give it

to someone else? If you hadn't said you would owe me, I never
would have done this! -Me
That's the problem stupid hermit! You are already in the highest
possible position and you still just think about grabbing more more
more. That has always been your problem! What do you need
money for, if you are the heir of the king? -Celes
Sometimes I ask myself how people like you ever became gods. It
is not logical to rise that high without the motivation to grab every bit
of power you can get. -Me
I sigh again. The rest of the way, we walk in silence and during the
other lessons we don't talk much either. Celes is too occupied with
her notebook and as the remaining classes were just stupid
introductions, no teacher bothered with her.
Well I hope the witch doesn't have something troublesome in mind.
She is at it for half a day now, I am sure this spells a bad future for
me.
I could break off my horns and run away to live my life as a normal
civilian? Ah! But there are those eyes too, I would have to gorge
them out too. No good! And magic to change your appearance is
hard to hold up.
Aaah, I guess I have to wait and see.
As we stand at the schools gates a luxurious car stops and Rose
gets out. Did you two have a nice day?, she asks smiling.
It wasn't so bad, I took care of a nuisance and made some plans. Celes
In the forenoon I got beaten up and in the afternoon I gave away
something precious. -Me
Oh my little lord is very generous!, Rose opens the car door for us
and we get in.
During the trip home Celes is still scribbling. Haaaah......
***
We had dinner with our parents and now I am inside the study room,

reading a book. I think this day may come to a good end. Celes
seems to be too occupied with whatever she has in mind. The longer
she is off my turf the better.
*BAM*
The door flies open and Celes storms inside. She spots me and
slams the door shut.
*Klick*
Did she just LOCK the fucking DOOR?
She comes in front of me, with her ominous notebook in Hands.
I want to confess!
WHAT?
I want to save the world.
Pardon me?
We are stuck with each other, so I have made up my mind.
hah?
I want us to make peace, stupid hermit!
Ehm...
I don't want to live a life full of stress, so be grateful I consider
this!
Yes?
I have made plans!
Plans?
Here, I have planned it all! Our whole life together and the
future of the world.
Together?
I know, we still have to work on our relationship, but we will be
stuck at the current state forever if we don't act, so I will take
the first step that's needed for the future.
Future?
If you don't make plans for the future, you can't have children
isn't that obvious! Stop answering with single words stupid
hermit, did you bang your head somewhere?
?!CHILDREN!?

16 - The ominous notebook?

I skim through the ominous notebook, which was created by Celes.
The room is silent, just the open fire at the wall sizzles a little. She is
watching, while standing cross-armed before me. Everything is
there, with date and time, from the moment I take this book into my
hands.
From the current state of the world, to the state it -has- to be five,
ten and fifteen years from now. The development of economy and
culture. Changes in society? Healthcare and education politics? Taxmanagement? Now that's what you call a control freak!
Ten years and a few months from now, we will have our first time in
a certain position. Hm. Hm. So that's how she likes it. Ooooh, you
are so dirty. Sigh, the cute little girl in front of me is just a shell.
I knew it, but having the proof on paper sure destroys every last
illusion of innosence I had about Celes. And there are at least three
children planned, one as the main heir and two as reserves? You are
so cruel, I want to cry. They are planned as spares from the very
beginning! Being labelled as a spare even before being conceived.....
What bothers me is that we will do it just three times? I know it is
childish, she will just write a new one but,
I want to rip it!
*Snatch*
Nooooo!
Anyway, my brain is still in short circuit mode. I have to order my
thoughts, how did it come to this? We were enemies for centuries
and now the witch wants to forgive and forget out of nowhere?
I am not ready for this! We are just seven years old!
What is it, you don't like? Maybe we can make some sort of
comprise., she takes out a pen to make changes.

First of all. We may have been under the same roof for about five
years now, but I still don't see us as something more than people
who tolerate each other. -Me
That may be true, but love is something, you have to put work into
anyway. So if we start working at it now, we could build up
something similar to a decent life? I hate the thought, that the
perverted goddess will win in the end.
Imagine it, we are old and grey on our deathbeds, while laughing
about each others death! And that after a life of scheming against
each other, while pretending to be the perfect couple. -Celes
Okay! That is a disturbing thought. I will admit this. A lifetime may
not be long for us, but it would still be extremely disturbing, if our
lifes would take that route.
You sure are disenchanted with love and romance..... . What about
just finding someone else for a liaison and be fine with it. -Me
*Whack*
The witch hit me with the notebook!
That's absolutely not possible! What if we get found out! Worst
outcome ever! You and I are old enough to know that a lasting
relationship needs more than hormones and sex.
Are you some kind of pedophile child abuser? I am the only possible
partner here anyway! Even an old grandma is too young for you! Celes
Omg.... I never thought about it like.... THAT!
A... Anyway I wouldn't get it up with you in any case. So the whole
discussion is void. -Me
Ugh... . I . if.... I think .... we could ask.... our mothers for.. .
h.. help?, Celes is red all over.
WHAT ARE YOU THINKING OF MEEEEE!?, I scream.
I even tried to arrange everything as much to your liking as
possible. I made great concessions here! See? It's hard for me, but
doing it three times is absolute necessary for three children.
I know you don't like doing it, but this world doesn't have vitro
fertilization. I looked it up. Inventing it would probably not be in time.

You are a monk after all. -Celes

I cover my face with my hands. My head aches with slowly pulsing
waves. What is going on here?
No parents. And the just three times is the other problem. I want a
normal relationship with a normal amount of intercourse. The other
problem is the notebook! -Me
F..Fine! If you can do it more often, more children are possible! But
the notebook, what's wrong with it? -Celes
Hah!? More children? No! She is messing with me!
You set the exact time and date for delivery in there! I know you
were a god of order, but are you some kind of machine? Forget it!
We are like fire and water! This won't work!, I have serious
headaches now!
It's fine to have big differences. We can watch out for each others
weaknesses. And I don't think, it will work out from one moment to
the next either. We need to understand each other. -Celes
That sounds too nice to be true? What is your plan? How did you
come to this decision? -Me
J... Just be glad that the perverted goddess played matchmaker for
you! You would be stuck to be alone for all eternity if it wasn't for
this! And I don't want the world to be destroyed. I am living in it after
all! So I decided to give you a chance! After all it almost ended
today, when the perverted wolf girl dug her claws into you! -Celes
Ah, so that's the train of thoughts here. Hopefully you are not going
to become a complete psycho on me?
I think about this situation. The fire sizzles nicely. I still don't
understand her reasons completely. What's the problem anyway?
You die sometime anyway, resurrection, death, resurrection, death,
it goes on and on and there is no way out.
So why do you care about a puny world. It's just a prison for us
anyway. The only reason I don't ram a dagger into my heart, is that

Seria would probably catch my soul and set this whole shit up again.
No way to run from a god, who can watch you twenty-four seven.
Hah. This situation is disturbing in any way you look at it.
Suddenly Celes jumps onto the couch and sits down beside me. Too
close! There has to be some space at least for comfort!
What are you reading? -Celes
Uhm, a book about the melting processes this world has access to?
You wanted Margerie's wish fulfilled. I may have to give a hand a
second time if she hits a bottle neck with this worlds metallurgy? Me
Oh, good work. Good work, My plan includes for this worlds
science to be at least raised to the level where they don't have to
fight over resources! -Celes
Suddenly something wriggles around my hips, up my torso and
around my neck. This is creepy, it sends shivers down my spine.
Celes?
Yes?
What is your tail doing?
Oh, I have to put it somewhere. I hope it doesn't inconvenience you.
And as long, as I have a leash on you, you are less likely to run
away., Celes answers cheerfully. Is that why you locked the
door?, I ask.
Nobody will leave this room, until you have given a positive
answer!, Celes informs me. You shouldn't try to adapt the
education methods of our parents., what will happen if I really try to
run?
Then choose your answer wisely! -Celes
F.... Fine. We will go on dates, and try to make this work out. If it
does, good! If not, the world will burn for all I care! But there are
requirements! First, if I ever get the idea that you are planning
something, this whole thing is void! Second, get rid of that accursed

notebook!, I answer.
The notebook!? I don't want to! I have put my soul into it!!,
complains Celes. No agreement until the notebook is gone!, I will
not budge in this!
Hehe, she will surely not comply with this! She put so much work into
this fucking thing.
Ff.... FINE! Then we have an agreement!, she flicks the notebook
into the open fire at the wall.
As it starts to go up into flames, she pulls out some kind of list and
ticks off an item on it.
Fufufufu... step one is done, just a few more until it gets
interesting., her eyes have a strange fire in them. I have seen that
look a few times on Katrin's face. The first time was when she
bondage tortured us.
W... Why does it feel like I just lost a fight!, I am not happy here!
NOT happy!
Oh, darling! Don't think of it as loosing a fight, but opening a
new path to the future! Sometimes you have to give away
something, to gain the thing you want.
The tail tightens down on me and Celes puts on a disturbing smile.

17 - Prototype and special

class?
I wish you a nice day little masters!, Rose smiles and waves at us,
as we pass through the schools gate. I smile and wave her a
goodbye.
We are walking for about a minute into the direction of the school
yard, when we become aware of three students, who are lying on
the floor.
Two of them are twitching and the third has foam at the mouth. A
bio-attack on the school? Is it poison?, I ask myself.
Celes walks up to them and probes one with her foot, but no
reaction. Heal!, I want to ask them what happened. Strange they
show no reaction to healing magic?
They aren't wounded, so I think you wasted your mana Angrod,
Celes comments. Hm, strange, I have seen this somewhere
already. But I can't remember., I wreck my brain.
If you live such a long life like ours, you are bound to forget a lot of
stuff. Be happy if you manage to remember a few things of your first
life after a thousand years.
Hahaahaha....Muahaha.......Hihiihiiihihi.....
We can hear a crazy laugh from the school yard. We both look at
each other and start to run into the direction of the mad voice.
As we reach there, we see a picture out of a horror movie. Multiple
students are lying around in the school yard. Apparently the fell were
they stood, like having their strings cut.
And in the middle of it all is .. Margerie? And a small drone-like
device hovers about ten meters above her.

Hohoho! Celes, Angrod I am so happy, you cannot believe it!, the

culprit says with a heavenly smile on her face.
Then she dashes over and bulldozes into me, giving me a big hug.
Angrod, I can't thank you enough for yesterday! You are a genius!
Just solving the problem, I thought would take me a lifetime.
Haha, no big deal more important. WHAT happened here!?, I ask.
Yes, Yes, was there an attack!?, Celes follows.
Margerie smiles,
Oh, no I was just testing Agrods prototype design. I made a few
changes here and there to maximize the output. Fufufu, this is a
complete new branch of science for this world! Who would have
thought, that some materials get such miraculous properties, if you
cool them down enough!
After Angrod gave us the hint yesterday, I stormed one of my
parents research labs and enlisted all workers, researchers and
materials for this project. They didn't have anything productive to do
anyway. Hahaha.
So as of today, we have the first levitation-device, which isn't
dependent on ridiculous amounts of rare materials!
Though there is a little safety issue, as you can see. The strong
magnetic field seems to paralyse most living organisms I have tested
so far. There needs to be more control on the magnetic field.
But that's no issue, I used a very simple control circuit!
Do you want to test it?
This one is dangerous....
She holds out a device to us, which looks like a remote control. I
take it and fly a few circles with the device. It is very easy to use,
almost like a video game.
It must generate a really strong magnetic field to hold itself up like
that. I didn't expect that Margerie could put this together over night!?
Suddenly a few teachers enter the school yard, they don't look very

happy. Give me that!, Celes grabs the remote control and the
device does a U-turn.
SSSSSSSSSsssssmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, directly into the
group.
They twitch and fall to the ground.
Let's run!, Yes!, Hahaha!, Margerie takes control again and
deactivates the device, to pick it up.
Then we run for it, because we already see another group of people
coming our way.
That was funny!, Margerie proclaims in one of the hallways a few
minutes later. Now, that I have time to look at her, I see that she
looks really tired, despite her demeanour.
You should probably rest, you don't seem to be in good condition, I
advice. Rest? Rest? How can you talk about rest now! There is so
much to discover! What else is in your head!? You just walk up to a
chalkboard and revolutionize our science in thirty minutes! What
happens if you really put some work into it. Haaahaaa....., Margerie
is now drooling on the floor.
This makes her look like a real dog, with a happy waving tail, looking
up to its master!
Ahem! Margerie, you should probably really rest a little. Your
behaviour is a little strange today. I will bring you to the infirmaryroom., Celes grabs Margerie at the neck like a kitten and walks off.
Margerie tries to resist, but the mad scientist doesn't seem to be
above brute force.....
We see each other at special class, Angrod. Tell the teacher that I
will be a little late!, Celes calls out to me, while turning around a
corner.
Noooo! I have to dissect his brain! There is so much to
leeeeaaarrrrrnnnn!, I hear a howl, which is slowly growing
weaker, as the two of them increase their distance to me.
So I turn into the direction of the so called special class. And walk a

little faster. I imagine, it would surely make a bad first impression to

be late. After I changed my clothes I arrived at my destination.
Which is just a wide open field?
Just seven students and teacher Tongord are present. I know five of
the students. I am sorry, but Celes will be late., I inform Tongord.
Ohh, the prodigy is late? Hrm. We would have odd numbers in that
case. So it is not a problem., Tongord nods.
So, as for introductions, here we have Angrod Tirna. Unfortunately
our second newcomer Celes Stricc will be late. This here is Tanja
Morden, Sven Hjavars, Iris Tulhelm, Gabriel Rosenquarz, Sarda
Meltheim, Senda Meltheim and Sandra Andros., Tongord introduces
me to the people here.
As he points to Sarda and Senda, I give them a happy smile. Two
more punching bags for Celes mean less punches for me! This is a
good day!
For some reason both of them take a step back and Iris holds a
respectful distance to me. I am amazed at this world's healing
magic. Just yesterday, Iris had all four limbs broken and some other
injuries too.
Haaah, just now I remember where I heard the name Tulhelm.
Wasn't that a family which father hugely dislikes? He mentioned them
to be very troublesome fellows.
Now THERE we have the reason, why the perverted wolf girl threw
herself at me like a whore. Or am I interpreting too much into this?
Then I take a closer look at the two new faces. Gabriel Rosenquarz
is very human-like, just his skin is reddish and he could be about
eight years old. His build is a little sturdy. I wouldn't be surprised, if
someone told me that he is related to teacher Samarin!
Sandra Andros is.... a bunny girl! Yes, there is no other way to
describe it. A bunny girl through and through. She may be ten, but
why do you wear a skin-tight suit for this!? Everyone else uses
tracksuits.
Unfortunately we have a huge age gap here. But that shouldn't be
such a big problem, we have just the strongest of the strongest here

anyway! But to give you a better training, I will have to know your
fighting style! So I will have a test fight with each of you guys, when
Celes is here., he explains.
What are we allowed to do?, I ask curiously. Everything is
allowed, as long, as you do it from a range no bigger than fifty
meters!, Tongord answers.
I can cast spells too?, I am confused. I thought close combat
lessons were all about martial arts and use of close range
weapons?
You can cast every spell, you manage to cast. Don't confuse this
class with something stupid like magical combat or martial arts
classes! In which you just stand at fixed positions and cast spells at
each other. Or just use your fists and feet, if you could instead use
your mind too! A highly unrealistic scenario!
In my class, you will train for the real life! Everything goes, as long
as you don't try to snipe the opponent from a ridiculous range. Tongord
Now I stand there with an open mouth, I let myself being beaten up
for nothing!, I scream!
Hahaha, I knew you had mistaken the rules of combat in this class,
because you didn't read the flyer we got for it., suddenly Celes
laughs behind me.
Why didn't you tell!?, I turn around.
Because it was so cute to see you struggling, while trying
your best!, Celes smiles like a sadist at me!
Your face tells the whole story already!, I answer. It seems our talk
yesterday doesn't include to not have a sadistic relationship. I want
to cry!
Hrm. Having the right informations is also a part of combat! I
already asked myself, why a mage character like you fought her in
such a strange way. Though I have to compliment you for holding
your ground against her, while using nothing but enchants on
yourself! -Tongord

I grumble to myself, while Tongord walks onto the open field.

.

18 - Another raccoon geezer!

As Tongord walks onto the field, Celes notices the Meltheim brothers
and gives them a sour look. Iris is also branded with devilish grin,
which makes her back up a little more.
Tanja walks up to us and starts a conversation with Celes.
Okay, The first hit counts! You are first Gabriel!, Tongord calls out,
as soon as he reaches the centre of the field.
Gabriel walks very carefully up to Tongord. As he reaches a distance
of about fifteen meters, he suddenly thrusts out his hands and a jet
of flames shoots into Tongord's direction. But the teacher just jumps
and evades, while closing the distance.
The student swings his flame-thrower into Tongord's direction, but
the geezer just turns to mist, as he is about to be hit. Reforming
above Gabriel, he falls down and flattens the smaller student under
his weight.
You depend too much on your ability. You should have
countermeasures, in case someone is able to avoid your flame
attacks. Next!
Sarda walks up to the teacher, with sword in his hand. He is putting
up a better fight, but looses in a similar way. His speed gave him the
ability to avoid the same fate as Gabriel, but it didn't change the
outcome in the long run.
After this Senda puts up an incredible fight, while using just his bare
hands and feet. Just from watching, I can tell that he is much
stronger and faster than Sarda! So why did his family send the
weaker one of the brothers against me? I am confused!
In the end, the geezer calls an end without touching Senda. It seems
he has seen enough.

Celes and Tanja have a nice chat about martial arts in the meantime.
Tanja seems to be a martial arts maniac. She is all over the stuff,
Celes has to tell her everything about inner mana manipulation.
Then Sandra Andros goes for it. As the teacher approaches her, she
suddenly jumps up and casts an altered form of a blizzard spell,
shredding the entire area, including Tongord, to pieces. Tongord's
bloody body dissolves, to reappear above Sandra.
But while he is trying to hit her, Sandra does a somersault, and kicks
the teachers head. Impressive leg strength! While Tongord's limb
body falls to the ground, Sandra makes a perfect landing like a
ballerina.
The teacher's body dissolves again and reforms before her, he
congratulates her, calling it quits.
Sucks! That geezer has the same ability as grandpa! In the first few
fights, I had hoped he does the mist thing beforehand, to avoid
injuries! But he seems to be immortal too., I complain.
The ability of those with the raccoon heritage is a very powerful
one! It allows them to turn their body into mist and reform
themselves in any form they like. So they are able to regenerate
completely.
They may be weak in other aspects, but you have to kill them so
many times, it is a given that they will get you sometime in turn. The
only restriction is their mana reserve. If they run out, they are easy
prey!, Tanja suddenly gives a nice explanation.
As expected of a house, famed for their intelligence network! But
why are you talking of our teacher as prey!??
I am next!, Tanja calls cheerfully and runs out to Tongord. But while
she closes in, she suddenly falls into her own shadow? Tongord
takes a defensive position and looks at the ground. Suddenly a knife
stabs out at his ankle from his own shadow.
But he jumps up and with a short incantation, he releases a shockwave against the ground. Landing again, the game starts anew.
Tanja seems to be some kind of fucking ninja! If she starts to pull out
the shadow clones I will walk around on my hands for a day!
After five minutes and a few injuries on Tongord's side, he calls an

end again.
Tanja comes back to us. You did very well!, I conclude. Hahaha,
not really. Its true, that I had the upper hand, but that's only as long
as I have mana. If we had played this game for another ten minutes,
I would have lost, because teacher has much more mana than me.
The same would probably be true for Sandra. We can't kill Tongord
often enough to drive him into a corner.
So, how many times do I have to kill him?, Celes asks. Huh? I
don't know? I never got him to admit that his mana is low. He never
shows any indication of that, even after dying dozens of times in a
row., Tanja answers.
What have you done to the guy!?
Iris is next. As the fight starts, she uses the same strategy, she had
against Celes. Coating herself in mana to enforce her power, she
gives Tongord a terrible beating. It lasts for about ten minutes, but
then she apparently runs out of steam and gives up. The geezer is
still standing, even though he should have died over ten times!
Then Sven is up against Tongord, with two knives. He moves so fast,
there are just flashes to see. Tongord is holding his ground with
defensive magic, like stone skin and shield. The teacher is not able
to counter Sven's speed.
But as much as Sven has the upper hand on the offensive, he lacks
the needed power to penetrate Tongord's defense. After a few
minutes, Sven is completely exhausted and not able to go on.
I am impressed, I didn't think the little timid, shy boy had such
potential.
I will go!, Celes walks up to Tongord and starts the fight with a
head on approach. Storming in, she gives Tongord a kick to the
chest, which he evades by ducking under her kick.
Smiling, Celes turns in the air and thrusts an open hand to the
ground. While she is being pushed up by the recoil, the ground dents
in around Tongord, and he is flattened!

Oi! You watched too many eastern martial art movies on some
earth-like planet! No sane martial artist would get such an idea by
himself! That was the open palm of Buddha! What a copyright
violation!
While Tongord dissolves, Celes starts to hammer out those attacks
in quick succession, not giving Tongord time to reform. The stream of
attacks holds her up in the air, while the crater with Tongord inside
becomes deeper and deeper.
After about forty seconds of hammering blows, Celes lands again in
front of us.
Whew! I think that's my limit for now! I hope the geezer is a goner, I
dislike zombies., Celes has sweat on her forehead. In those few
seconds, she hammered out about eighty of those attacks.
Suddenly something crawls out of the crater! Cough, We need to
have a talk about destroying the fighting grounds little miss!,
Tongord is behind her with folded arms and a nasty look on his face.
Hiiiiiii!? Celes runs up to Tanja and hides behind her. It seems the
time with Nicosar has left some kind of trauma inside her.
I understand it! I gives me the cold sweat when I think that I am
next! Even though Tongord hasn't done anything evil to us!
....yet. He hasn't done anything YET. Yes that's the correct way to
think about it. You are right Celes! All raccoon geezer are some kind
of monster cockroaches! You are never allowed to underestimate
them.
So I walk up to Tongord next and put my hands into my pockets. I
don't really have a good idea how to fight him either. How do you
fight a guy like him, without a huge difference in strength? From our
time with Nicosar, I know that you can blow them completely to
pieces with an explosion.
For starters, I pick up a small stone with telekinesis and accelerate
it, placing it directly between Tongord's eyes.

*Splash* a cloud of red goo exits the hole in the back of his head.
Who ever said you need to throw big rocks at someone to kill him?
But I know this won't work. I did that already a few times to Nicosar.
It made him just angry.
Now that I have won some time, I need to put up some defences!
Shield!, Stone Skin!, my preferred defence skills.
Tongord is already done with healing up, small wounds seem to be
no problem, even if you hit a vital spot.
Somehow it disturbs me, that you fight with your hands in your
pockets! I was at your introduction party and I know your abilities
are no joke. But it still disturbs me. I want to correct that manner!,
Tongord complains to me.
I am sorry, but it is my style to fight this way. There isn't much my
hands can do, what my mind can not anyway., I answer.
Then I want to see, what happens when you use your hands!, a
voice says behind me. I turn, but Tongord already struck at me,
breaking my shield.
What I wish is thunder!, I call out as Tongord grabs my collar. My
mana channels and converts into electrical energy, running through
Tongord and me.
Ever touched the wires of a commercial power supply? Yeah, not
good, I know. We both light up like a Christmas tree and are blown
apart. I fight to stay conscious. Thanks to that body of mine the
lights didn't go dark completely. Heal!, uh that feels good. Much
better now.
This was a little bit risky, but electrical attacks are the only thing I
didn't try yet on Nicosar. I sit up and see Tongord coming my way.
This ability is just a cheap cheat!, I scream. Then use your hands.
If you don't I will find ways!, Tongord is almost over me!
FINE!, I scream and hold out a hand to him in a gesture like I
would grab him - FORCE. Tongord suddenly stops and is lifted up
like being grabbed by a gigantic hand.
Ugh. Not good this is tiring. That's the reason why I find this fighting

style stupid. I strain myself again and smack him in an arc into the
crater which Celes had created.
Upon hearing the nice sound of an impact I strain myself again and
close my hands in front of me, which makes it easier to create the
effect, I wish for. The earth around the crater starts to move and
piles up to bury Tongord beneath it.
After a nice little mound is formed, I relax and go to my knees.
Haaah, haaah, stupid... way.... to.... fight...., I am exhausted now.
See? I told you, only stupid magicians do something like that.
Yay! We won! The geezer is no more!, Celes runs up to me and
picks me up, shaking me happily like a doll. Stupid strength monster!
Tanja, Sven and Sandra run up to us too and cheer!
Suddenly a part of the thrown up earth moves and a hand thrusts
outward! We all go silent. Uuum, isn't the class about to end?, I
ask.
All of them nod and make a run for it! Don't leave me behind, I am
out of power here!!!!, I scream.
Celes turns around to grabs me by the neck to pull me after her.
Ow! Ow! On second thought! Just leave me with the monster!

19 - Interlude - At the centre of

all things!
I walk through a white nothingness. But when I concentrate, I can
see currents and paths, which lead me to new places and new
worlds.
When I reach out, I can feel them. And if I grab one, I get carried
away to the place it leads me to. Inside this network, I can see dead
zones.
Places where a soul can neither move forward, nor backward. If you
loose yourself in one of those, you may never find out again. With no
path to guide you, you would be damned to wander there forever.
That's why the others fear those places, but not me. At least not any
more. A long time ago I got lost in one of those. I don't remember
how long I wandered there. In the end my mind knew nothing but
white. And I gave up, I sat down and just watched the white
nothingness.
But then I saw it. The place wasn't void of paths. They just flowed so
slowly, you had to remain still and silent for an eternity, in order to
become aware of them.
And so I found my way back. But the world I found when I came
back, I didn't like it....
The path I walk on ends and I step onto a world of crystals. Before
me is a shining City, populated by beings, who are beyond
comprehension. Above me shines a blue sun, which is dancing a
deadly dance with a black hole.
They are the council. Like megalomaniacs, they decide the fate of
all. They wield the greatest powers, under all the gods. But I think
they can only wield them because they build their city at this special
place. At the centre of all things.
And the very first law they apparently decided, was for their rule to
never end.

I walk through the City, where I see gods, who are just empty shells.
They walk around and talk, but their soul is dead. They are too old
to remember what it feels like to live..... like me.
But unlike me, they are not aware of it. They just go on to exist and
don't care any more. But just to exist is not enough for me.
I step into the great hall in the centre of the city. From here the
council rules them all. And all who step here just blindly obey in awe.
Seria! a voice calls out to me.
The council sure likes to play games. Hiding themselves and just
speaking with a voice from the heavens. Do they already believe
themselves to be even above other gods?
I am here to answer to your summon. they sure like it if you flatter
their ego.
We heard from Tjenemit, that you wandered the void zones in the
river of souls?
I just take a look from time to time, in order to satisfy my curiosity.
I lie.
We also heard you couldn't show him the fallen ones?
What the heck did he tell them!? Does he want to create trouble for
me?
I threw them into a void zone. Only I can wander it, as I already
know it well from my past missteps. I keep them there, caged in
nothingness. I already explained to Tjenemit that I would take him
there, if he wishes it. But there are still risks! I can't guarantee
anyone's safety, who accompanies me on such a voyage. -Me
So he refused?
Yes. Ohoh, it seems like even the Council plays its own schemes

and games of power. That makes you even less worth of the role,
you wish to play. Did Tjenemit refuse to risk something in order to
play the inspector?
We will talk about this again. You may go now.
Yes. I answer.
Deal with your internal problems first and forget me in the course of
it. That would be best. Hopefully they will need quite some time to
sort this out, whatever their games are.

20 - A new form of art!

Tongord didn't come after us. Somehow I am a little relieved, but I
still feel down..... very down. We are currently in front of the arts
class and waiting for the teacher to arrive.
What's up Angrod? You seem a little more than tired! Celes and I
may not like each other, but we still lived together for quite some
time now. It would be strange if we wouldn't be able to read each
others mood.
Hah, well. I thought about something very disturbing regarding
Tongord. -Me
Yes? -Celes
He seems to belong to a pure raccoon lineage. -Me
Yes? -Celes
We killed him at least a hundred times within an hour today and it
didn't even disturb him. -Me
Yes? -Celes
And Tanja said, his regeneration ability depends on his mana pool.
-Me
Yes? -Celes
How many times do we have to kill our old geezer, who has the
raccoon heritage and the strength and mana boost from the royal
heritage? -Me
....
....We will never be able to take revenge! AAAH! Why did you tell
me this! Celes starts to shake the disillusioned me.
Hahaha, your fault you asked. -Me
Stop playing around and enter the classroom! What's the insult still
doing here? Jeniva Guger is suddenly before us. Why are you still
calling me an insult!
I enter the classroom and walk over to my painting. While everyone
else starts to paint, I just stare at my masterpiece. Why can't Jeniva
appreciate, what I want to give to this world?

Modern art is the holy grail for every artist, you just have to put
some dots and lines onto the picture and you get the big money for
it.
You don't need any talent and just for five minutes of work, people
call you the biggest artist of the century.
Hoh, maybe I am no big painter, but there is other stuff I can do! She
wants something that looks real, so she will get something that looks
real! I take off my Rorschach painting and start to rip the paper to
confetti, then I mix it with water until I have pretty good mush.
Hehehe. Now I will create a sculpture of Jeniva, using telekinesis. No
big artistic talent needed here, I just have to imagine her. An easy
task for the great magician Angrod!
I just have to think of those legs and this stupid short skirt, which
almost shows off her panties! And those stockings, she always
wears, should be banned to the underworld! Those hip-movements
should also be forbidden from school! You can't show off like that in
front of children!
Then the tight jacket, which emphasizes those humongous cow...
things! I wonder how much milk she can give? I should write a thesis
about this! She violates every law of physics by not losing to gravity.
Hmmm, maybe she uses some kind of levitation underwear? I have
already seen the strangest things in worlds with magic.
Then there is her hair, which she wears as a pony-tail, going down to
her hips. The horse tail and horse ears are just a formality now.
Hah! Maybe the suit is a little bit tighter after all, I can fix that! Yes,
Yes, that looks good! Very good! Very sexy, and close enough to
real life. Hahaha!
Now that I think about it, isn't it a bad choice to give her a figure of
herself to redeem myself? Won't my intentions be misunderstood?
Suddenly a shadow falls onto my figure and I look up Hello, Mrs.
Jeniva! You need something?
*Whack!*

.
.
.
I open my eyes. Why is the world upside down? What happened? I
ask. Oh, you recovered your consciousness! Good. You can walk
by yourself again! Celes answers and drops me on the floor.
Oh... em.... How long was I out!? I try to get up, but everything is
swaying.
Jeniva broke her pointing stick on your head. Then she confiscated
the perverted figure. I found it would be a waste of time to carry you
to the infirmary, so I took you along to the next three lessons and
dropped you into your seat. Celes explains.
My innovative art got confiscated? But it was as close to reality, as
I could make it! I think I will never manage to pass this lesson! I
guess I have be lucky with Samarin's question at the end of the
year. I drop my head.
Strangely enough, she gave you a positive evaluation on your first
art. And I am not sure any more, if I should call you perverted hermit
instead of stupid hermit from now on! Celes answers.
Really!? Oh, thank you Jeniva, maybe I have some talent after all.
She still said you would have to learn to paint one way or the other.
Otherwise she won't let you pass. Celes has a sarcastic smile on
her face.
Ugh. Not good, I am no painter. Soooo, which lesson do we have
next? I ask. We will have rune magic. Celes answers with a
displeased face.
Good, hehe. If I have problems with a subject, you should have them
too! So we will see teacher Mirgurd Salar again. He seemed to be
the boring type, with nothing but magic circles in his head.
Mirgurd is a young, but sick looking fellow. He has something like
angel wings on his back. The first time I saw someone with such a
drastic trade.

During his first lesson, he did nothing but reciting an introduction to

his lesson. Rune magic is all about the correct use of runes, to gain
an effect you wish for.
If you have more complicated goal, you can combine multiple runes
into a magic circuit. It is really nothing more than a simple
programming language.
So we enter the classroom upon arrival and find pure chaos there.
Mirgurd has papers all over his desk and on the floor. It looks like,
he is searching for some documents.
As we enter together with other students he looks up and counts us,
while the bell starts to ring. Good, good. Everyone here. No
injuries!? he asks into the room.
Why should we have injuries? -student
Haven't you heard? There was a terrorist attack on the school yard
in the morning! Multiple students and four teachers were paralysed
for over an hour with a strange new weapon! Everyone is in an
uproar. Nobody knows how such technology could come to be over
night, with no implications of its development. he explains his
behaviour.
Celes and I try to not give away our knowledge of the whole case.
But the teacher doesn't go deeper into the matter and starts to hand
out some sheets instead.
I have a difficult problem here, two incompatible runes which are to
be combined via multiple connection patterns. If you paid attention
yesterday, you should be able to solve it. Mirgurd hands out the
sheets and immediately takes up his searching activities again.
It seems like he is the type, who drowns his pupils in work, so he
can do whatever takes his interest at the moment. It look at the
sheet and ponder over it for a moment.
Then I scribble the answer down and draw the required circuit. No
big deal, it is the same as connecting two variables over a few
logical commands.

Then I want to watch out of the window, which is on my left.

Unfortunately for Celes, she is sitting left from me and I notice that
her eyes are not where they belong.
I grin like a devil and lean with my elbow onto the desk to cover my
sheet. Now she looks up at me with a grim expression.
Suddenly I get poked into the rips by something pointy. While I
twitch, she snatches my paper and starts outright copying it. The
witch used her tail!
That is cheating, I say! Yes! Aaahhh, its unfair, why can't I cheat in
art classes. Should I snitch her? But she hasn't done anything really
harmful to me since your contract. Wouldn't that be a violation?
I am not against cheating. Cheating is not against the rules, as long
as you don't get caught! Yes, that's my opinion on this matter.
Suddenly Mirgurd looks up from his sheets, Miss Celes, this
practice is not meant to copy the work of another student! Has the
guy eyes in the back of his head? He stands up, walks to our desk
and takes my sheet.
After a short nod, he puts it back in front of me. It's wrong anyway.
Next time copy from someone else. he shakes his head.
Huh!? Angrod wrong with magic? Is the end upon us? Celes asks. I
arch an eyebrow and take another look on my sheet, but I find no
mistake.
Um, can you explain what I did wrong? I ask Mirgurd. Then the
teacher sighs and answers, You mashed both runes into each other.
They have to be put beside each other and then you properly
connect them with connection patterns.
Huh!?!? Why should I do something stupid like that!? You would
have to interlace patterns around both runes. What a headache! It is
much faster to connect them, fold them over and use the patterns to
fix the remaining open connections! I blurt out.
Mirgurd, looks at my sheet again with big round eyes. You can fold

runes?! he asks and starts mumbling to himself.

Oh..oh... It seems nobody had this idea yet. Damn! Fucking
backward civilisation! I lost money again!
Celes tugs my elbow, Don't worry, if you hadn't spilled it, I would
have. It's such a basic idea, even I know that much.
Should I worry, or be happy that Celes seems to understand me
better than I do her?

21 - The end of the second

schoolday!
Explaining to teacher Mirgurd how we made the most important
discovery ever, by misunderstanding his teachings, was a real pain in
the ass!
I wanted to strangle the stupid fucker more than once in the process
of it. At least we will now be known as the creators of a complete
new way to draw magic circuits.
Haaah.... The last lesson is mystic arts. We enter the classroom and
are greeted by Margerie, Stephen, Sven and Samarin. At least there
are not so many people here.
I already heard you guys slipped another piece of important
knowledge! Margerie states.
Yes, that's two days in a row now! Samarin joins the fray.
You two are sure, you know nothing about gods? Stephen follows.
Even the timid Sven musters us with a curious look.
Nope! Nothing we can do! We already explained that it was pure
luck. Mirgurd is a failure as a teacher, so we misunderstood him.
Celes jumps in.
I nod and take a seat. What are you doing here anyway, Margerie! I
think you should sleep! I complain.
I have slept enough! Here! Sign this! Margerie deposits a big
bundle of papers in front of me.
What's that? I ask cautiously and start reading. It seems to be
some kind of contract.
To explain the whole juristic nonsense: Half of everything I gain from
the knowledge, you shared with me, is your property. The same is
true for every discovery you may help me with in the future. I would
feel bad if you don't sign it. Margerie explains.

No need Margerie, I already paid him! Celes smiles. You will need
it all to advance further in any case.
Ho? I want to know those plans in detail?, I ask.
It is simple. You will further Margerie's family in any way you can.
They have the facilities to create the needed research. In their
names, we will raise the technology of this world to the needed level,
so no more resource problems!
No contracts needed, I have already talked to our parents about
everything. Everyone here knows already about your talents, so no
security problems. Dad has already checked everyone. -Celes
What an honour. To be in the eyes of the royal family. It's like I am
suddenly much more than a simple teacher. -Samarin
You shouldn't think that way about having your background
investigated you know?
You sure are starting to take big leaps here, when did you set all
this up!? I ask Celes.
I have more than enough time to make plans, while you have your
nose inside a book. Creating the necessary infrastructure won't
happen over night anyway. If we are lucky, all our problems will be
solved by the time we are twenty, or a little older. -Celes
Hah!? Could it be? The muscle brain was not only setting up a plan
to change the world, but also put it into motion already?
Uh. I haven't heard anything from my parents yet. But if its in accord
with the royal family, I can't voice any complains. -Margerie puts
away the documents.
NOOO! My Money! I want to cry! Give it back! That's two times
today! Now I am just tired of it all.
So what do you know about the gods? - Stephen
They are all bastards! You create a little havoc and they throw you
into hell! Explanation enough!? I snap.
Celes pats my head. I am sorry, but it seems you will have to stick

around and wait for Seria to show up. Maybe she will answer your
questions. She gives Stephen another evading answer.
HmHm. In any case let's start the lesson! -Samarin
While Samarin, Stephen and Sven join a conversation on their own,
Celes starts to edit her strange new list of -things to do-. This lesson
surely is handled very lax by Samarin.
Margerie sits down in front of me and holds out a writing pad and a
pen. Write down everything that is in your head! She has that
strange fire in her eyes.
I sigh and take the pen. What do you want to know.
Everything!
We will concentrate on the stuff, which reduces the strain on
resources for now. So point out to me which economical areas
cause the biggest problems. I don't want to waste my time here.

***

We are back at the school gate, where Rose was already waiting.
How was your day my little masters? she asks and smiles, while
opening the car's door.
We had to run away twice! Celes answers.
I gave away -many- precious things! I follow, while I enter the car.
Hahaha, little master is very generous. Rose answers. I hope this
ritual won't become a habit!
Once inside, the car starts to move and I look out of the window.
Celes yawns and ticks off another object on her list.
Then she suddenly uses my leg as a pillow to lie down.
Celes? -Me
Yes?-Celes
There has to be some distance at least, for comfort! -Me

Endure it, I do it too. She answers and is sleeping, like someone

switched her off.
Hmpf. I am still not sure what I should think of our agreement. Sure I
am not the romantic type. But even I think it would be impossible for
two people to just decide to fall in love. While I look out of the
window, I start to stroke Celes's red hair.
When we are at home, your parents want to immediately speak
with you two. Rose suddenly informs me.
About what? Do you have an idea? I question her.
I am not sure, but apparently it has something to do with the plan,
little Celes has put together. -Rose
I don't answer and keep silent, until we arrive at home after about
thirty minutes. Once there, I wake up Celes and we disembark.

Ten minutes later we are both in front of our parents, who seem
lightly stressed.
We have to inform you two to be more careful in school from now
on. Try not to let people know that all this new knowledge comes
from you. We are already trying to cover it up as much as we can.
Nicol informs us with a grim expression.
What is the problem? Celes has a curious look on her face.
The problem lies with those, who don't like the idea of reduced
needs for rare elements! I heard you have a class together with the
Meltheim twins? And a Tulhelm is there too? Arthur questions us
and I nod.
The Meltheim and Tulhelm families are biggest providers of rare
elements. They own a big part of the market. The publication of the
new design for a levitation device by the Cygnus family will put a real
dent into their finances! They will still own the market, but the yearly

demand will go down for sure. Katrin states

So if there are more inventions of that sort, they will try something
to stop it. I conclude.
They are already moving materials and equipment around in
disturbing ways. I don't like it. It smells like they are up to something.
We also can see that they are somehow coordinating their actions,
trying not to disturb each other.
They both control a big part of the north. Together they have a
problematic amount of control. So we have problems to gather
information in such a huge area. -Ireth
So please be more careful at school, and have an eye out for those
guys in your school. I don't think they are ready to try something, but
it is better to not feel safe., Nicol ends the explanation with a grim
expression.
Celes nods and after dinner, everyone goes their way again, leaving
me and Celes behind. Celes looks like she bit into a sour lemon.
I take a seat at the couch, to read one of my books. It doesn't make
sense to wreck your brain over something, you can't influence.
Haah, it sure is the same wherever you go. There are always those
who aren't of the same opinion. She talks to herself.
That's the way it is. Don't tell me you ever found a world in your
lifetime, in which, there wasn't some sort of conflict? -Me
76839 years and nothing like that. You? She hits her head on the
desk.
Duh? I stopped counting at the age of about 1200. I answer.
You are that young!? Celes sits upright again.
Don't misunderstand! I said I -stopped- counting. I didn't care any
more. I don't know how old I am. It doesn't make much sense to
count years like you do anyway. Most world's have their own flow of
time. The most you can do is to count your lives. -Me
Oh, so I have lived about 1230 times until I became a god and
you? -Celes

I sigh Maybe a little bit more, maybe a little less. I really don't
remember. There was a time, when I got mad at the universe and
tried to destroy my soul in every way I could think of. But after a
certain point, it seems like the memories will always come back after
a few years.
I had a time like that too" Celes answers. "Maybe everyone has to
go through a phase like that. Then I tried the other way and got
stronger in every way I could. Until the Council became aware of me
and gave me an occupation. -Celes
Hrm. I start to read my book again.
Suddenly Celes jumps up and throws herself onto the couch, using
me as a pillow. Not again! I complain. Yes again! She answers
grumpy and ticks off another object on her list.
Then she is off to the world of dreams again.
I wait a few minutes, until I am sure that she is sleeping. I slowly
wriggle the folded list out of her hand and take a look at the front
page. Now I will find out what you are planning witch!

Steps for a proper life!

Get my parents to further the technological advance!

Fulfil Margerie's dream.

Make peace with the stupid hermit!
Start a new life and leave all the old grudges behind.
~
Have him as a lap pillow!
Sneak into his room, to crawl into his bed!
.
.

The list from there onwards is full of really clich romance

situations..... you read too many bad smut romances, comic's,

cheap movies or whatever you did!
Today I will have to lock my room to sleep........
***
The next morning, I awoke fully rested. It seems like Celes didn't try
something funny during the night. So I put on some clothes and exit
my room.
Outside I find .. a trail of blood! There are a few squirts on the
wall too! Did someone get murdered here?
I follow the trail to Katrine's and Arthur's private rooms. I open the
door slightly and take a peek into the room.
Katrine and Celes are in there. The little Celes is bondage-bound to
a chair and squirming. Katrine is in front of her and has a chalkboard in her hands.

-I wont sneak into a boy's room until I am old

enough!-

I am sorry Celes, but you are in this on your own..... I will never join
you in a chalk-board torture session on my own free will.
Oh, how deep has a eighty thousand year old god to fall, just to end
up like this?
I slowly shut the door and walk away.

22 - The End?
.snow has started to fall and it is winter.
It is the end of our first school year. I really did a lot of work with
Margerie during that time. I think we have now a solid scientific
foundation to develop the world's economical structure into the
direction, we want it to.
Tongord is training us really hard, putting his own life on the line in
the process. I admire him for his ability. I really want that cheat! It is
so unfair!
Sarda, Senda, Iris and Gabriel somehow ended up forming their own
little group during combat lessons. On the other side are me, Celes,
Tanja, Sven and Sandra, who is a nice girl, if you get to know her
better. I don't think you could call us friends like we are with Tanja.
We are more like good acquaintances.
It's hard to build up any sort of relationship with someone, who you
see just for training and who dashes off as soon as the lesson ends.
Strangely enough the Sarda group made no trouble for us any more
and laid low. Celes calls it the silence before the storm, whenever
we talk about it.
Stephen isn't pestering us about gods any more, because we
decided to avoid his questions. So he is now helping his sister to put
everything to practice, which I taught her.
Strangely enough Margerie never asked where my knowledge
comes from. I guess my parents shut Margerie up by dropping a few
heavy words on her parents.
Everything else follows the daily rhythm of going to school, listening
to lessons and going back.
There is only one little problem!

We will fail this year! It is the end of us, our parents will turn around
our necks and pop off our heads for sure!
I will fail in the art class and Celes has no chance pass the test in
rune magic. Her marks are just too bad! We sure broke our own
legs in the beginning of the year by choosing the wrong subjects.
There is no hope, because we are sure to fail Samarin's random
question test too! If we try to talk to him about it, he won't budge.
Right now I am sitting in the school yard and try to make sense out
of this mess. There has to be a possibility. I don't like to just hope for
my luck with Samarin.
Celes ran off somewhere with Tanja. I don't care, I am not her
babysitter.
In the evening there will be the last test and everyone has to bring
something of great artistic value to Mrs. Jeniva. It sucks. I have no
idea. As the snowflakes dance down from the sky, I start to shape
the snow in the school yard with my mind and start to build a
snowman.
It's no problem for me by now, the training with Tongord gave me the
necessary experience to use my new body's mana more efficient.
I let my mind wander and try to drown myself in memories of a
better time. I think of a time long ago, when I loved a fine woman
and had a big family with her. I think she was the first person, I ever
really yearned for whenever we were separated.
That was before I became a god and when we died after a long and
good life, I searched for her for many lives. But how do you find
someone again who doesn't remember his past life?
An impossible task.
BOOM!
An explosion shakes me out of my dreams and I jump up. That came
from the front gate? I run into the direction but I am soon stopped by
a stream of screaming people, running my way.

The school is under attack! Everyone to the shelters until the

security can solve the situation! A teacher calls out to the students.
The stream of people carries me away, while I try to find someone I
know. Unfortunately I have no idea where the others are.
I keep looking until I arrive at the shelter, where a few teachers and
Tongord are protecting the entrance.
Have you seen Celes, Tanja, Margerie and Stephen? I ask him
about the very few people in this school, I have any sort of deeper
relationship to.
I don't ask about Sven. First of all, because I don't really talk to him
that much though he is a good friend of Tanja. Second, because I
know that he can take care of himself by running away if he wants
to. When Sven starts to run, nobody can catch him, and he has the
judgement to do so.
With the others I am not so sure, they are more the types to fight
instead of using their heads and run away.
The Cygnus siblings are inside! The others I don't know of! Tongord
answers.
Well crap, two people to search for. I turn around and want to run
off, when Tongord grabs me by the neck. Where do you think you
are going?
To search my fiancee and my friend. And if you try to stop me any
longer I smear you over the entire hallway. Should give me enough
time to run away. I answer Tongord with a grave expression.
He drops me. Come back as soon as you find them. And run if you
meet an enemy. You can't survive daggers from the shadows like
me.

I nod and walk off, trying to imagine where Celes and Tanja could
be. We were waiting for the last test to start.
They couldn't have run off too far. I wander the school yard again
which is now void of people. I walk very slowly, while I hear the
noises of fighting from the gate.
I hope those two wouldn't be so stupid to run into a full blown fight.
The only place I can think of is the cafeteria. Maybe they wanted
something to drink? While walking I pick up two fists of snow.
With a little concentration I melt the snow and freeze it again,
forming about twelve icicles.
I walk into the direction, when I come across a black robed guy,
carrying an unconscious student. The guy drops the student at my
sight and reaches for something under his robe.
But it did cost him too much time in any case. I didn't hesitate and
send one of my icicles on it's way. It embedded itself into the robed
persons left eye, driving all the way to the brain.
For a second the guy just stands there, until his body registers the
loss of control. And then the person just slides down without a
sound.
I walk up to the robed guy and confirm his death. Too often I died,
because I thought my enemy was a goner. Check always the enemy
first and the ally second! That's an iron rule. Never violate it.
Then I check on the student. What I find amazes me. An
unconscious Iris, but she is not wounded!? Strange, I would have
thought the attackers would belong to her faction? So there is
another party playing here?
So what to do? The battle noises from the school gate are dying
down. So some side is loosing. Haaah. I hope I wont regret this.
So I pick up Iris and carry her over the shoulder, while I hold my

icicles in front of me with telekinesis. Then I walk into the direction of

the cafeteria again.
Thanks to my bloodline, its not a great bother to carry a person, who
is lighter than me, around.
When I arrive at the correct hallway, I look around the corner and
see five persons at the entrance. Two are casting firespells into the
cafeteria, while another two are backing them up with shield spells.
The fifth guy is shooting with something like a musket from time to
time.
Suddenly one of the casters drops backwards and moves no more,
a familiar hairpin standing out of his forehead.
I use the disturbance, jump around the corner and unleash all of my
projectiles on them from behind.
Two are hit in the head and are taken out instantly. A third just takes
an icicle to the knee and drops out of his cover and into the gate.
Another hairpin ends his life a second later.
The second shield-caster drops to one knee and looses
concentration, because of the icicle, which penetrated his flank.
Trying to pull out the icicle, I feel how his mana flow is disturbed and
his magical defences evaporate.
I reach out to his brain with telekinesis and pop some important
blood vessels, a very clean and cost effective method to get rid of
someone, who lost his magical protection.
The last one drops to the ground like having his strings cut.
I walk up to the entrance. Is it safe in there? I call out. I don't want
to be the next one with a hairpin in his head.
Angrod? I hear Celes voice. Yes! I answer. Then I hear how a
table is kicked to the side and Celes storms with Tanja in a princess
carry around the corner.

HEAL HER! she screams at me with tears in her eyes. Tanja is

seriously burned and breathing heavily.
I put a hand at Tanja's forehead and concentrate, feeling how my
mana flows into Tanja's body to repair the damage. I concentrate on
her lungs first. Then her upper body.
After I have depleted three quarters of my mana, I stop. Tanja is
now unconscious, but I can see that she can breath easier now. I
don't want to become completely defenceless. For the moment I
can't do more. But she is out of immediate danger. At the shelter we
can patch her up completely.
Thank you. Celes eyes are red from crying. She became very
good friends with Tanja, during the last year.
Who... Who is that. She asks me while blinking. Iris, she is
unconscious too. I picked her up on the way here. I answer.
You should have left her where she was! Celes is clearly angry.
Hah, I thought that too, but obviously for other reasons than you. I
don't think her party is behind this, as she was attacked too. And I
don't think that we should hold a little child responsible for anything
her parents did or told her to do. I answer.
After a second Celes nods. We need to get them away from here.
For the others, there is nothing we can do.
At that I take my first look into the cafeteria and see a few burned
bodies. Attendants, students, teachers. Those guys didn't really care
whom they killed.
Fuckers! . Follow me. We go to the shelter where Tongord is. I
start to walk the way I came back.
You are not hurt?, I ask while we walk. Celes shakes her head.
Hm. Well that's how the world turns, is it not?
Celes you should know better than crying for a single person.

As we walk over the school yard, Celes suddenly holds me back.

Hide! And we duck behind one of the bushes, which are aligned
along the path.
Eleven black robed guys run past us, into the direction of the fighting
at the school gate. After Celes nods we continue on our way without
further incident.
At the shelter, Tongord receives us and takes Iris from my shoulder.
As soon, as we are inside the large underground room with other
students and teachers, I take another look at Tanja and start to pour
my remaining Mana into healing her.
Soon after this, some healers appear and take care of her from
there. I sit down at a wall and just feel tired. I close my eyes, maybe
I should dream of better times again?
Tongord said you were already at the shelter? But you still ran off to
get us? Celes suddenly asks besides me.
Don't get the wrong idea. I am no white knight for the maiden. I just
would have felt bad if the few people I know in this world were hurt,
while I was sitting around. I answer.
Hmp! You are still a stupid hermit. She calls out, but I don't answer.
And so we sit in the shelter and wait.
***
The following day, everything is like it never happened. Yesterday,
the school was closed for the rest of the day, after the terrorist
attack was repelled. All sixty attackers were dead and no sign of
their affiliation was found.
Neither their aim could be discerned. Apparently they just tried to kill

as many people as possible, while abducting a few selected

individuals. Though they never managed that, because the schools
security managed to slow them down until regular forces from the
city arrived.
There were quite a few deaths, but luckily nobody we knew. It was
the worst where Celes had been. Apparently a small group had used
flying magic to invade from the sky.
But the school did nothing more than to hold a short minute of silence
and a few words for the dead by the director. Apparently the people
here are still hardened by the war.
Celes has already received her negative mark in rune magic.
Teacher Mirgurd had no mercy with her.
The other subjects were no problem for us.
Right now I am waiting for my negative mark in art. I couldn't think of
anything that would please Jeniva. I have to try my luck with Samarin
like Celes.
Angrod your are positive by a hairs breath. Next time work harder!
Jenvia shoots at me.
HUH? But I didn't have ANYTHING!? I scream baffled.
I took your work in the school yard into account. -Jeniva
THE SNOWMAN!? -Me
I have watched you while you created that -wonderful ice sculpturein the school yard. You may be a lost case as a painter. But as a
sculptor you may have some talent. Though I think that the use of
magic for this is cheating, you shouldnt be self-deprecating yourself.
Your work had emotion. Something I unfortunately never felt from
your other works. -Jeniva
Hoh, I must take a look at that Snowman. Celes grins at me, she
has recovered pretty good from yesterdays shock.

Celes own work for the art class is a nice painting of a landscape
with fields and a little house of wood at a lake. It looks very
peaceful.
So after Jeniva declared the end of the class, we went for Samarin's
test.
And for everyone, who wanted to know how Samarin's test worked.
After we entered the class it went like this:
Soooo.... I don't like tests, so I will make this fast.... Sven, how
many suns are there in the sky?
......One?
Wrong, Failed. Margerie? What's the square root of 676?
26
Right, Pass. Stephen? How many times will you take my test,
until you give up?
Huh!?
Wrong,
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!
....Failed. Angrod? Why do you know so much about science
and magic?
Because I am much much older than you mwhahaha!
.......Failed.
What?
Celes? What is the annual income of Stricc and Tirna
together?
2.345.678.786 Crown Coins this year!
....
YOU DIDN'T EVEN KNOW, YOU JUST WANTED TO BAFFLE
ME!!!!!!
Pass.
And that's how Celes and I somehow managed to pass our first
school-year. After saying our goodbyes to everyone, I leave the
class and walk off into the direction of the school gate.

But Celes takes another corner. Hey, Rose and the car are waiting!
I follow her.
I know! But I want to see the snowman!, before I can stop her,
Celes runs off onto the school yard.
I sigh and follow her, to take a look at the creation I made so absent
mindedly. Ah. Now I remember, what I thought about, when I created
it.
On the school yard are a few people, who are gaping at a wonderful
ice-sculpture of a whole family in life-size. A bearded man holds a
small child up in the air. Both are laughing. A beautiful woman with an
infant in her arms is smiling at them. She has long hair, which looks
like it is waving in the wind.
A small girl tugs at her skirt. They look like a happy family of
ordinary people, who don't have to worry about a thing in the whole
world. Just being happy to be together.
It is almost as if you could see a field and the wonderful nature
around them. If you watch a little longer, you think they could start to
move any second.
Hmmm. A hopeless memory, nothing more.
Angrod? Who is that? Celes asks
"Nobody... just... a wonderful, lost dream"
I turn around and walk into the direction of the car.
But Celes still stands there, staring at a long forgotten memory.

23 - Reunion or restart?
The stupid hermit is my honey? My honey-pie? My cuddle-bear? My
one and only snuggle-bear? My one and only biggest love of all time!
My -little one-, oh no, he has that as a title! That's what I always
called him, when he played with the kids! Now I remember!
!!WHAAAAAAAAT!! CAN'T BE!
But there is no doubt. I am looking at my past self! And not only I am
there, the little Sofie is also there, tugging at my skirt like she always
did. And the little Siegfried! I would recognize these people even in
another hundred thousand years, they are my dearest memories.
And my Johann, my honey, I would recognize this stupid smiling face
everywhere! Always being happy with the world and being together
with his family.
How does the grumpy, sadistic, idiotic hermit know this scene. Is he
the little Siegfried? Or the baby Friedrich?
Wawawawa! Worst outcome ever if I would have been his MOTHER
in a past life! But he can't be Johann! My Johann was a nice guy!
Not an idiot, who laughs at others misfortune. He always tried to
solve the problems of others.
The stupid hermit never smiled like that!
And everyone came to us for help. Johann would never send anyone
away! He was a saint! But he was really good with science..... and
he always had some strange machine to play around with. The
stupid hermit is really good with that stuff too.
There was no magic in that world, so I can't verify that point....
But he has a completely different character! He can't be Johann.
Uwahh! I have to know!

Angrod? Who is that? I ask.

Nobody.
Just a lost wonderful dream. The hermit answers.
Is he sad? The hermit is sad? That is the first time I have heard him
saying something like that. Ugh! He can't be Johann! How can
somebody with Johann's character change into something so twisted
like the hermit!
I turn around, but the hermit already walked off into the direction of
the car! He left me behind! Cruel!
I run after him and reach the car, where Rose is waiting. Angrod is
already inside. I enter the car and Rose closes the door.
While we drive home, I remain silent and Angrod just looks outside
the window.
I have to verify his identity somehow. But how? Does he remember
our names from back then? I could ask him to tell me the names.
That would be the only save way.
B... But we fought each other over eight hundred years. Wouldn't
that be the biggest domestic quarrel ever? My brain somehow feels
like mush.
I need to talk to the hermit alone and I need to argh there is no
good way to do this. Just calm down and wait and think. Nothing
runs away from me.
***
Ok. I have something like a plan. He is inside the library for sure and
reading a book again. So he is distracted.
I open the door, walk inside, close the door, and ask. Yes. So I open
the door. I walk inside. I close the door.
Angrod, tell me the name's of that family.

Huh?
Tell me the names of the ice sculptures! The snowman!
..... why should I?
DAMN!
Tell ME!
Don't scream! whatever, I was the bearded guy Johann, the
woman was my wife Sandra, the kids were Sofie, Siegfried and
Friedrich. It's a scene from a past life. Happy now? What do you
need it for anyway?
My brain shorts out!
YOU CAN'T BE HIM!
What?
GIVE HIM BACK!
*CRUSH* *PUNCH* *BANG*
No violence!
DON'T RUN!
What!?
WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM!
*Whack!*
DID YOU STEAL HIS MEMORIES?
Ow! What's wrong with you, don't shake me like that. Do you have
your first period or something?
My vision is blurry. I want to cry here. I am Sandra! What did you
do to Johann!
You can't be Sandra! She was a fine and nice woman. She always
assisted me in my work. She wasn't violent or a control freak. She
knew no martial arts! He answers.
Huh? Our country was peaceful for our whole life! There was no
need to fight. And as long as I was with Johann, I always had
enough money! He was a perfect money printing machine with his
genius mind. I answer. Then I hug him tight. What happened to you
to become like that?
I could throw the same question back at you. And do you want to

imply, that Sandra just stayed with me for the money? Angrod
doesn't move.
I seems people change with time.... and you can't get them back.
He says disillusioned.
I guess you should never tell a guy that you are thinking about
money...
This is worse than knowing that you are just out there somewhere in
the multiverse and I just can't find you. -Angrod
I really don't know if this the worst or the best day ever.
I guess it is better to continue as we were. We are not the same
people, we were back then. Trying to go back is probably
impossible. -Angrod
You think? But... No, you are right. You are not Johann. And I am
not Sandra any more. Waaaa, I hate this situation! B... But you
came for me, instead of hiding in the shelter! So maybe there is still
a good guy somewhere inside you. I am mad at myself, I should
have just forgotten about this.
I said you shouldn't misunderstand that!, He gets red, oh so cute!
He can't be sincere.
Suddenly the door opens and Ireth looks inside. I heard some
noise... WHAT HAPPENED HERE!? Did a bomb explode!?
Then her eyes fall upon us. YOU two FOUGHT! ......AGAIN!
Angrod hugs me. Hahaha! We just had a small lovers quarrel!
Isn't that right my sugar-cat?
My stomach turns upside down when I hear my old pet-name.
Sure, but we already made up again. I can't be mad at my little one- forever! It was just a minor misunderstanding. I join

him out of reflex and he turns stiff.

But a rope appears in Ireth's hands and she walks into our direction.
Now I am crying for real while hugging Angrod. He is crying too and
hugs me in turn.
Aaaah..... Somehow this feels like those forgotten times. It's just
that the reasons for crying are now completely different.

24 - Interlude - Henchman?
I followed him for quite a while now. He refused the Council's offer
and so the hunt was on. Nobody can refuse them and if you do, you
become a heretic. They will hunt you until the end of existence.
And if they catch you, they seal you inside the black hole above their
city and then they forget you. I don't know how many of us are
rotting inside that dark timeless place.
It is worse than being caught inside a void zone, some have told me.
But they couldn't explain why... I hope I will never find out.
I leave the path and stand before him. He is weak and tired. How far
has someone of us to run to get tired? I don't know.
Around us is a barren wasteland with four suns in the sky. Not much
can live here.
I guess you guys will follow me wherever I go? Is there even a
place where you can't find me? Can I at least ask for the name of
the one who caught me? He asks
I smile. I am Seria. And they will always find you. There is no place,
a god can hide from the Council. There is only one way to escape. Me
How? -Him
You have to die and forsake your divinity. -Me
That's all? But I have no divinity! I refused to become a god! They
offered me the job and I turned around and ran! -Him
Then how are you walking the multiverse, if you are no god?
Something only gods can do? -Me

...
The Council doesn't make you a god, they just want everyone to
believe they do. And it would be very bad for their reputation if there
were gods, who weren't selected by them..... -Me
...
Do you want me to help you? I could save your soul, but you have
to decide fast and the price is high. -Me
What is the price? -Him
You will be no god any more. You will loose your memories and
start anew. Maybe you will get them back in a distant future, but
they will never feel like your own again. In turn for saving you, you
have to help me when I ask for it in the future. And you have to trust
me and lower your guard. -Me
...
You must decide now. - Me
Hahaha. Fuck this, I never wanted to be a god anyway. Do
whatever you have to do. -Him
This will hurt for a short while, but you have to stay still. -Me
He nods and I trust my hand into his chest. I see the pain on his
face, but then he starts to smile and his body dissolves into light. He
didn't even twitch, he must have a valiant soul.
I look at the two shimmering marbles, which are now in my hand.
One for his soul and one for his divinity.
Someone arrives and I turn to him, while forming a fist to hide the
two marbles.

Where is he? -Tjenemit

I managed to intercept him here, like you said. But he wasn't as
weak, as you predicted. He resisted and stepped onto a path. He
got away. -Me
What! Damn! Why didn't you stop him! -Tjenemit
I tried. -Seria
You call yourself a god of live and death, but you can't catch a puny
little half god, who just found out how big the multiverse is! I lost
much time through you. Now I have to start the search anew! Tjenemit
I will try to do better next time. It seems like I am just not cut out as
a hunter. But the Council just keeps enlisting me, because I am
faster than others. I smile at Tjenemit.
I will keep an eye on you from now. You are acting strange recently!
Gods just disappear around you much too often. -Tjenemit
He turns around and fades away.

25 - Training and mistakes?

It has been two weeks since our little reunion. My parents are on a
trip to inspect various independently managed states of the country.
And Celes is acting . strange. Yes, strange is the right word to say
the least. If I wouldn't know it better, I would say she is trying to
train me?
I don't know how her twisted logic came to the conclusion to take
this step. She is using her knowledge from our past life as a family
for this.
Somehow she got a hold of chocolate. To be truthful, I am addicted
to chocolate. Throw some of it in front of me and I will eat until it is
gone.
I didn't even know that chocolate exists in this world! Yes I said I am
addicted, but somehow I never had the time to think about it until
now. There was always something to do between being a baby,
training, school, assassins and attacks and torture sessions.
And It is not the type of addiction in which the first thing you do after
reincarnation, is to try to get your hands on chocolate. I have made it
an iron rule to never buy or otherwise get chocolate on my own. I
would be a fat guy in every reincarnation otherwise.
Back to the strange training method. Celes is giving me a little bit of
chocolate, every time I do something she likes. I am not a dog you
know!
I was surprised, when she gave it to me after I had helped Margerie
with a problem. Someday, she appeared at the palace and asked for
help with a problem, regarding metallurgy. I had already anticipated
this.
When Margerie was gone, Celes suddenly shoved a piece of

chocolate into my mouth. Like

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!
*Crack*

Sandra

did

when

Damn! I destroyed my pen! That was my favourite one! Stupid

strength blood trait! I rarely ever use it anyway. Haaah! I guess I
have to go and get a new one.
Now that I think about it, Sandra also just gave me chocolate when I
did something that pleased her...... did she train me back then too?
Oh, god! The Sandra I knew . I want to cry! Fuck this!
I want this power plant design principle done before the winter ends.
I don't save every bit of knowledge in my head. When I arrive in a
new world, I have to reinvent every bigger machine, which I want to
have.
So I leave my room and walk to the study of my parents. If I
remember right, father has quite a few good pens. I will just borrow
one of them, though I doubt that I will give it back.
On my path, I pass the living room and become aware of a piece of
chocolate on the table. Hoh? How can someone forget som..... This
is fishy! I stop and take a look around.
But... no one here. Hmm. Whatever, I take it and throw it into my
mouth. Hmmmmmm
hihihihi See? He can smile! So it is true. Damn I lost the bet.
Suddenly Margerie, Celes, Stephen an Tanja appear out of nowhere
in front of me. Sven is there too. Some kind of invisibility magic?
Why do I feel like a lab-rat? I ask.
Celes told us that you are able smile for another reason than
malicious-joy. So we wanted proof!, Tanja answers.

Now I know that I am a lab-rat! -Me

Yes, but we are also here to have a nice little party. We still haven't
celebrated the end of your first school year. -Stephen
And we have to celebrate our birthday too. Eight years old soon.
Fufufu. -Celes
What's with this mad laugh? Oh, I haven't even thought about
that.... I think loud to myself.
What? You have no present for me!? Celes jumps at me. You
never got one before, so why should you get one now!? I don't see
why I should start to give out presents now.
Cold! Cruel! You have to get one! I have one for you too! She
insists. Yes. Yes. I will use a part of my brain to think of something.
I answer.
Only a part!? All my efforts and I am still only worth a part. Can you
guys see how hard this life is on me. -Celes
So, can you tell me how this party will look like? I still have a project
I want to finish. -Me
Show me! I wanna see! Margerie jumps at my words. We thought
about relaxing and playing games! Tanja interjects. Here I have
brought the latest set of Adventure with me! She holds up a box.
After inquiring about the rules of Adventure, I concluded that it is a
pepped up version of Dungeons and Dragons from earth. I am not
against playing games and so I join them.
While the day comes to an end, we play the game and chat.
***
In the evening, I take up my work again. After I am done, I am on

my way to the library when I notice that Katrine is sitting in the living
room with a sour face. Something unpleasant must have happened.
What's wrong? I ask?
The Meltheim's are here to have an audience with the king. It can
only spell trouble if they come on their own. Katrina looks into her
coffee cup, while thinking.
Most likely they will complain about the new inventions. The latest
one, which reduced the use of rare elements in car engines to a third
should have reduced their income drastically. -Me
Hmmm. I wonder.... .
Katrine is interrupted by Arthur, who enters the room. We have a
problem. The Meltheim's want to see the highest ranking available
Tirna ruler asap.
Hoooh. Then they have a problem, my parents aren't here. Nothing
that can be done. I grin.
That's the problem. They plan to use a loophole in our peace treaty.
Apparently, if there are economical issues between the two countries
which the own ruler cannot solve, you can demand for an audience
with the ruler of the other side. If the audience is not given within
three days, the party in question can take every action they deem
necessary to solve the problem. -Arthur
My parents can't be back in three days. And you can't solve the
problem because? -Me
They have issues with the inventions by the house of Cygnus. But I
can't give orders to Cygnus, because they belong to Tirna. So if I
would tell them no or yes, it wouldn't matter because I don't have
any legal authority. -Arthur
So they just rely on the fact that there is nobody here, who can

order the house of Cygnus around? It doesn't matter if the person in

question would tell them Go to Hell! in any case? -Me
Arthur nods.
And what happens if they can take any action they deem
necessary? -Me
I don't know. In worst case they start a fight with Cygnus or cause
other problems. They can make a whole lot of problems because
they still control the market for rare elements. Maybe they stop
selling their goods to everyone, who uses the new technology..... Arthur
Annoying. Well then I will go and tell them to fuck off.... I start
walking into the direction of the throne room.
What? You can't! You are just eight! -Arthur
And I am the prince of Tirna. So they get to talk with the third
highest ranked person. Does the peace treaty mention a needed
minimal age? -Me
No? -Arthur
Then we will twist the stupid peace treaty like they do. I turn
around and start walking again. But you have to give them a proper
audience or it won't help! -Arthur
I have seen enough of your audiences. And if nobody shows up, the
outcome is the same. Before he can stop me I walk out into the
throne room. In front of the throne, a guy in extravagant clothes is
waiting. He has obviously the blood trait of the ruling house. His
horns are long and straight.
His eyes are perfect golden snake eyes like mine.
A woman and the two idiot twins Sarda and Senda are waiting
farther back. I walk up to my fathers throne and jump into it.

Muuuuch too big, man must I look stupid!

The guy just watches me with an open mouth.
Ahem! I declare the audience as opened! You may shut your mouth
and then speak. I declare in the most uppish demeanour.
Is that a joke? The guy asks dumbfounded.
No? I don't joke in matters of state. So state your business and
don't waste my time. If you would have any manners at all, you could
introduce yourself while you are at it. -Me
I wanted an audience with the ruler! Not with a kid! -Him
The king and the queen are on a trip and not available. But I guess
you already knew that and chose exactly this moment to launch this
nonsense. Unfortunately for you, I stayed behind. So you have to
deal with me, prince Angrod of Tirna. You are talking to the highest
available person possible. So you may speak now or announce that
there is no need for an audience and we can all go our way. -Me
I am Odlef of Meltheim! I am here to demand that the house of
Cygnus stops their research to undermine our concern. They are
toppling the proper balance of power between the houses and our
countries! This has to end now! -Odlef
No. -Me
What? -Odlef
No, they will not shut down their research, nor take it back. On the
contrary. The research will be expanded. This world has resource
problems and because of that, we are constantly on the edge of
war.
Since the new inventions started to go into production, the tension
between our countries economies has lessened like never before.
So unless you want to claim profit out of war, you will adhere to
this.

I hope you know what you are doing! -Odlef

I am refusing to give someone with too much power even more
power. You are controlling the market for rare elements. Because of
the new inventions, your profit goes down.
But you will still control the market and have more than enough to
live. So I don't see why I should give someone, who has enough
even more and risk a new war.
So you will either adhere to peace, or claim yourself to be a
supporter of war. -Me
The Cygnus family will continue their research. End of discussion. I
conclude.
The guy went through the full spectrum of colours, while I was
talking. From red, to blue followed by a very unhealthy violet.
I demand an honour duel! -Odlef
You guys already tried that once. On what basis do you claim it
now! Arthur interrupts.
On the basis, that I wont accept to be played by a little child, which
almost falls out of the throne! Odlef screams.
Who do you want to sent this time? We have already seen that
Angrod doesn't even have to lift a finger against someone of his age.
This makes no sense. -Arthur
I will send Senda! He is stronger than Sarda! He will win! -Odlef
I will kill him. I interrupt the discussion. Everybody looks at me with
shocked eyes.
I have had enough of putting up a front! You already tried to kill me
at my introduction party. Sarda and Senda provoked the first duel
intentionally. You thought I would be no opponent and sent the
weaker Sarda.

You did this because he has inherited the bloodline stronger for
some reason. With that, it would be easier to argument a marriage
with Celes.
I was nice at the party, because it was my party and because there
were many people. But if you don't stop this madness now, I swear I
will rip out every one of your children's hearts, you send against me
and drop it before your feet! I tell them with a sweet smile.
It is not allowe.. And I don't have to! I will twist out their hearts in
the first second of the battle with a mere thought! I interrupt him.
This isn't over!, He turns around and leaves without saying
goodbye. Hmm. Not very respectful.
I jump out of the chair and correct my attire. Then I walk back to my
library. Ahh, I still have so many books to read!
Would you really have done it? Arthur asks.
Everybody is allowed to make mistakes in his life. Just don't make
any of them twice.

26 - I want my own toys!

"I want the mountain range in the north of midpoint and a workforce,
sworn to secrecy." I proclaim in the living room.
"...."
"What do you need a mountain for?" -Ireth asks shocked.
"I want to set up my own research institute there. It is an old volcano
and there are many metals like iron inside the volcanic rock." I
explain.
"But we have the house of Cygnus who can do the research for us."
-Arthur
"That's true, but there is much knowledge which I don't want to
distribute to the public. I trust Cygnus, but I would feel much better if
I could keep it in my own hands. The latest design for the new
power plant belongs to that category." -Me
"I guess we could organize it. But what about the money." -Nicol
I drop a stack of papers onto the desk.
"I already calculated everything. We will shut down the old royal
power stations, which support the city and replace it by my new
power plant. They are coal based and outdated anyway. My new
power plant produces energy much cheaper and we can just keep
the old price and finance the project with the saved money." -Me
"Hmm." Katrine looks suspiciously at my papers.
"On top I want to set up some surprises for the guys from Meltheim
and Tulhelm. They were too silent since Odlef ran off. It bugs me." Me

Yes. It has been a few months since the incident with Odlef. My
parents are back already and I and Celes are in the middle of our
second school year and eight years old by now.
But strangely enough there was less action than we anticipated from
the Meltheim side. They just heightened the prices for their
materials.
The other disturbing thing is that Sarda and Senda are gone from the
school. They were studying abroad anyway and all the notification
the school got was that they went back home.
Strangely enough Iris is still here. Though she seems to be pretty
isolated during fighting lessons by now.
The north is just one big black hole of information by now. Of course
there is still the official stuff, but the buggers have somehow
managed to cut off every intelligence my parents could get in other
ways. Including stuff like material and equipment distribution through
the area.
My parents cannot complain, because they fulfil their responsibilities
in every aspect to the letter.
You just want some toys to play around with! -Celes
That is the other reason. I will try to be frank here.
Why not, it is not like I don't believe that Angrod couldn't manage
something like that. And we have given in to Celes's technological
development plan too. Compared to this, giving Angrod a single
facility to play around with can't cause that much trouble. -Nicol
The rest of the parents nod and I put up a devilish grin. Celes just
shakes her head but doesn't say anything. When everyone is gone,
she sits down in front of me and stares at me.
What? -Me

Could be my question. What are you planning? I want to know too.

-Celes
I am planning to do exactly what I said. A facility with state of the
art technology, to counter everything Meltheim and Tulhelm may
throw at us. -Me
You know that it's bad for a world if there is too much innovation?
That's why we fought in first place! I hope you won't give this worlds
people too much knowledge and power! -Celes
Hmm. Maybe? I wonder. I answer.
ANGROD! Celes is now seriously angry.
It's just my very own toy, so don't freak out like that. And the facility
will have every security and secrecy possible. -Me
I hope that.... Celes has now a complicated expression, while
looking at me. Then she jumps up and leaves the room, leaving me
alone.
I shrug my shoulders and take up one of my books.
***
I am sleeping. Ah, its so nice. Being able to sleep and dream of
good times. I grip my encyclopedia tighter to my chest.
Strangely it keeps slipping away hmmmmm. Hoh, something seems
to creep around inside my bed? Strange, do I have a pet?
Something inside bed?
I shoot straight up and awake to bump my head into something.

OW! MmhhhmNMEMNemn Someone shuts my mouth with his

hands.
Shhh! Or they will hear us! -Celes
Wmat mare mou moing mere!? -Me
Give me that book, I need to see those plans for the facility! -Celes
No? I press the encyclopedia tighter to my chest. Apparently Celes
has mistaken it as the blueprints, which I obviously hid much better.
The encyclopedia Celes found when she first rummaged through my
room helps me to sleep easier. Yeah, yeah just laugh at me. Others
have a favourite plush toy, a favourite pillow or someone of the other
gender they can hug.
I have a favourite book! And I hate pillows! I just can't sleep with
something so soft under my head.
Give me that plan! You are obviously planning something stupid, or
you wouldn't need to hide it! It's even bad enough, you need to keep
it with you even in bed! I knew that there was something fishy about
this! She grabs my book and starts to pull.
But I resist and pull on my end too. The witch wants to steal my
favourite encyclopedia!
Never! You will never get it! Only over my dead cold body! I grasp
it tighter. I am still sleepy and the gears in my head haven't started
to turn properly.
Celes locks me down with her legs to get a better grip, trying to use
the leverage effect to get a hold on the book. Her tail wriggles
around me and tries to twist off my fingers.
Give it! I won't allow you to lure this world on to destruction too! Celes

Wawawa! Never! I try to push her away with an arm, when the
door opens and a tired looking Nicol looks into the room.
Now I become aware of our position, which could be misinterpreted
very easily.
Nicol looks at us for two seconds and then smirks in a very dirty
way. He raises a hand to his lips and signals us to be quiet.
Then he slowly closes the door.
NOOOO! IDIOT FATHER! THAT'S EXACTLY THE WRONG THING
TO DO!

I didn't sleep much this night....... and I guess Celes got to check
another item on her list.

27 - Failure and an abandoned

child?
It is the end of my second school year and my project is developing
quite fast. I took full advantage of this world's building capacities.
By now I also know why Margiere is so interested in levitation. It's
actually quite simple. The people of this world are using magic
devices for almost all aspects of work.
There are no cranes on construction sites. Instead everything is just
levitated into the proper place. There is almost no use of electricity.
Something I wish to change as soon as possible.
The heavy use of magic devices is a serious factor in their resource
problems. I will have to replace most magic devices by something
that relies on pure science.
But for now I am playing around with a magic device for myself. It's
a wristband with the newest state of the art technology. I call it an
assistant casting device. You can put it on and then it taps into your
mana pool.
By recording one of your spells, you can set it now to activate the
recorded spell on a pre-set condition. For example you could record
a healing spell and activate it on the condition of being wounded.
Pretty convenient if you ask me.
I have many other projects, but I made this one my first priority in
order to raise the fighting force of my facility's security. Imagine a
trained guard to being able to cast healing, beside being an idiot,
who never even looked into healing arts before.
Yes. That's right you can record a spell and then give the device to

someone else. He can cast your spell through the device, despite of
having no idea how the spell works.
And that is the main reason for this invention!
Mwahaha! And I will use it to record the stupid raccoon geezers
ability! The cheat will be mine! I will be an immortal cheat character
too!
Right now I am standing before Tongord and the lesson is about to
start. Everyone is here, though Sven, Gabriel, Sandra and Iris have
already started to train.
Teacher Tongord? Could you please put this on and activate your
regeneration ability once? -Me
What's that? Tongord asks with a suspicious look.
A spell recorder. Something I am developing. Nothing can happen, I
have it already tested by myself. -Me
Hmm. Tongord puts it on and activates his ability. Then he takes it
off and gives it back. Here.
I take the wristband. Hahaha! Now I . HUH!? Nothing is recorded?
Hmmm, that's strange. I thought I had made no mistakes. I talk to
myself.
Nyahaha! Angrod is too smart for his own good! Tongord's
regeneration is an innate ability and not a spell. He doesn't need to
generate a magic formation which could be recorded. So it is
obvious that there is nothing your device could record. Tanja shoots
at me from the side and my mind freezes.
AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH! I scream. How could I make such
a basic mistake! All my work for nothing. I don't even need such a
useless device because I can insta cast everything I need anyway.
Ugh.

I fall to my knees and drown in self-pity. Haah, no choice here. I can

just as well throw the thing to the dogs.
Celes? I know its late but I have a present for you. -Me
Huh? Huh? A present? For me?! From you!? Celes is shocked.
I put the wristband onto Celes hand who is standing beside me.
There is shield magic and healing magic recorded inside this, all you
have to do is to pour your mana into the device and think either
heal or shield for it to activate.
Oh? Uh? Could it be that you made this especially for me, because
I am so bad with magic spells? Celes suddenly starts to cry.
Ahem.... No? Why would you interpret it that way?
Oooh! Angrod, you really still have feelings for me after all. I
had almost given up hope after you didn't show me those
blueprints! But they were my present and you didn't want me to
see them in advance! And even going to your knees for this, it
is almost like getting a wedding ring! Thank you! Celes gives
me a big hug.
Huh!? What? I don't get it! I... How can my actions be
misunderstood like this?
Tanja let's test this immediately!
Celes and Tanja run off to do a training match. NOOO! Let me
explain!
That leaves just me and Tongord here. Wait a moment! Jus...
I guess I will give you a hand then! Tongord rolls up his sleeves and
grins at me.

....
***

It is evening when we come home and find our parents with grave
expressions in the throne room. The little Iris is standing in front of
them and looks even more frightened than she normally is around
Celes.
What is going on here? Celes asks and they turn around.
Ah, you are coming exactly at the right moment for the latest news.
-Arthur
The house of Meltheim and the house of Tulhelm together with
some smaller houses in their vicinity have declared independence.
The entire north is in rebellion. -Ireth
Well, fuck....
Now we know why the house of Meltheim completely retreated
from Midhold. Taking all their staff with them and closing down their
residence. -Nicol
The only question we have, is why this one is still here. We send a
few guards to the Tulhelm residence to fetch them. But they
reported that it was completely abandoned with only a small part still
in shape. Apparently Iris has lived there alone for quite some time,
while only a skeleton-crew of employees kept the outward
appearance. -Katrine
Oh, that's actually quite the story. I scratch my head and try to think
about the implications.
So what do you have to say for yourself? Nicol asks Iris who seems
quite pale by now.

Where.... where should I start? She asks.

Starting at the beginning is always the best. Arthur urges her on.
I.. I was never that much in politics. But one day my parents started
to command me to suck up to Angrod. They wanted me to cause an
incident at the introduction party, but I refused. I hate their way of
doing things.
It made them mad like hell and then this whole duel-incident with
Sarda and Senda happened. I think they were instructed in similar
ways. Only in their case, they didn't refuse.
When my parents got really nasty, I tried it at the school with all my
might. But Celes gave me a beating. I was too afraid to go near
Angrod again. Then one day my parents told me not to go to school.
I refused again because I hate their games. And then that terrorist
attack happened and the terrorists tried to abduct me. I tried to
resist them, but failed. Then I got saved by Angrod. I am sorry for
not thanking you, but I was afraid. -Iris
She takes a frightened look at Celes.
And... and when I came home that day, I found the whole residence
abandoned. And one of the employees told me that they were just
instructed to keep the garden intact.
In my room I found a letter from my mother, telling me that I am a
disgrace and that I can stay in the residence until I am done with
school. And if I would tell anyone, they would send assassins after
me.
Iris has now tears in her eyes and is really trembling. Wow... though.
Isn't it strange for someone her age to give such a thought out
explanation?

On the other hand, she had more than enough time to think about
her words, if a situation like this should come to be.
If that is all true it's quite the heavy stuff. For parent to do that to her
own child that mother should actually be shot on the spot. There is a
heavy silence in the room.
Angrod? -Celes
Hmmm? -Me
I need some nukes! -Celes
How big? I grin. Unfortunately I am just kidding. This world doesn't
have any production of nuclear fuel. Building it up would require quite
some time.

But what should we really do in this case. Unfortunately I have no

idea.

28 - What to do?
We are currently in our private rooms and our parents and Celes are
staring at a map, racking their brains. The situation is complicated to
say the least.
I am reading a good book about this worlds industrial capacities and
having a sandwich as dinner. I will need to develop some better
automated machines for them. If the stuff in this book is true, they
still do so much by hand and magic.
My conclusion that this world is just starting it's technological
advance in many aspects, was on the spot.
The reason is probably the existence of magic. You can do so many
things with magic, it seems that some solutions don't even come to
your awareness. Why should you start to create complicated
machinery if you could develop a spell, which does the work for you?
Iris was sent to the Cygnus family to take care of her. My parents
didn't like the idea to leave a minor to her own.
Then I take a look at the map too. It is surely a problem to have
such a big area in rebellion. History shows, that it is almost
impossible for a country to suppress another one, if the civil
population is not willing to accept it.

And from our information, the civilians there are not on our side any
more. The houses of Meltheim and Tulheim started a massive
campaign of misinformation and propaganda, to bring everyone to
their side.
They claimed that the gentle princess of Stricc was forced into a
marriage with the cruel prince of Tirna. It would be a shame to obey
such rulers.
It have no idea where they got that from.
Furthermore they accused the ruling house of favouritism towards a
few selected houses.

Most of the minor Houses and Dukedoms in the northern region

followed them. If willingly or not doesn't really matter that much.
Those who didn't follow were struck down with overwhelming military
force.
It must have been planned for a long time.
Practically over night, they had a third of the worlds population under
their control. That's because there are many of the population
centres located in the north. The population density becomes
scarcer, the farther you go south.
The reason for that lies with the worlds ecosystem, with much more
unfriendly organisms in the south.
Along with a big chunk of the population, they have access to some
of best mines for rare elements. My parents already took control of
every mine in our reach. Which comprises everything from the middle
of the continent, down to the south.
They have also ordered every bigger noble family to pay a visit to
the crown. The military is also already on the move. By now we can
almost conclude that we have two completely separated countries
again.
Together with the population centres, there is a sizeable amount of
industrial capacity on the other side too. They have everything, they
need. But so do we.
If this evolves into a civil war. It will become very ugly. A lot of
innocent people are bound to die again. -Ireth
But we have no other choice, than to react in some way. -Arthur
Assassinate them, like they tried with us? No need to be friendly
any more. -Nicol
But wouldn't we make martyrs out of them. We would be tyrants,

exactly what they claimed us to be. -Ireth

That's sure to cause a long period of disturb and unrest under the
population of the whole continent -Arthur
And maybe that's what they want. If we strike them down with
military force it wont be fast. And it will be messy. Maybe they hope
to persuade some nobles, who are still loyal and turn them against
us. -Arthur
Then just do nothing and isolate them. Shut down the border and
hunger them to death.
I interrupt the conversation and everyone turns to me.
But we can't starve them. They have everything they need.
Resources, food, equipment, industry. Everything is there. -Nicol
I shrug my shoulders. We have those things too. We need nothing
from them, they need nothing from us. If your conclusion is true and
they just want to provoke a fight to create even greater chaos, then
we don't give them what they want.
They threw their cards on the table and are hoping for us to do the
same. But we shouldn't do it, because our cards keep changing,
while we keep holding them.
Their interferences with our development plan, by controlling the
market price, were a big hindrance. Now their control in our part of
the continent is gone.
I think they made a huge mistake there. If we just sit around and
concentrate to put our inventions to practical use, they will become a
smaller and smaller problem by the month.
They will never be able to follow our technological advance. On the
contrary, they even refuse to follow it. So we will just keep sitting on
our asses and wait for them to move.

We just have to lean back and denounce them in the public. After all
they are the ones who are not loyal. They even killed those of their
own who didn't follow them. We just have to wait for everyone to
realize who the real tyrant is.
If they act first, we have a legitimate reason to beat them down with
brute force. If they don't act, they will loose to us on the
technological side soon.
And if they start to advance technological by themselves, they are
digging their own grave. Because the reason for their control, their
power base in form of resources, will start to slip out of their hands.
Yeah, I am proud of my deduction. Just let the barbarians hide under
their rock and wait for the day, when we come with a sledgehammer
and crush them.
I take a bite from my sandwich.
How long do you need to create a nasty surprise for them? Celes
asks me.
Not long. Something like a guided missile isn't a big problem, if I use
magic. But didn't we just conclude that eliminating them now, is a
bad idea? I answer.
I don't want to eliminate them. I need something to crush the major
arterial roads, in case the north tries something on us. It has to be
fast and on command, in case they try something stupid like
marching their army into our territory. -Celes
I think for a moment and nod. Should be no problem. I will make
some plans for a big bomb. We can mine the bigger roads with
them. If they walk over it, they get sent to space. I grin.
I am not happy with something like this, but I guess we have no
other choice in this case. -Arthur
With some time I may be able to find out who is most likely to turn

on us. -Nicol
I can already tell you that the houses of Rosenquarz and Andros a
likely candidates. Ireth answers that with a flat voice.
Celes jumps up. Huh? Sandra Andros is a nice girl. She would never
betray someone. With Garbiel I am not so sure. But despite being a
silent fellow, I wouldn't think he would do something like this either.
I am not talking about a single person, but the household as a whole
Celes. -Ireth
I nod. If our parents tell us, that those people are a risk, then they
most likely are right. After all they are the ones who have to deal
with them day and night.
I will instruct the house of Morden to double the efforts in
information gathering. There is nothing that can detect their ability to
hide in the shadows. Katrine informs us.
Then I will set out with Nicosar to establish something like a new
border. And to see to it that the current standstill doesn't develop
into a full blown war. -Nicol
This sure sucks, all our efforts for peace and over night we are
suddenly on the brink of civil war. I wish I had crushed their
monopoly in the beginning, when I still had the chance. -Arthur
A monopoly of power always sucks, I will be sure to change this in
the future. After the last words are spoken, the meeting dissolves
and I walk back to my room.
I am really tired by now. This wasn't a good day, if you think about it.
Well, I will have a nice sleep and tomorrow I will play the scientist.
I lie down, but suddenly something hugs me from the side with
unimaginable force? Huh? I struggle, but I can't get free! I can see
nothing!? Dis.. Dispell!

Celes! Why are you in my bed again! -Me

The next item on the list is to innocently sleep together! It came
right after the Get a present from Angrod objective! Celes has a
pleased expression on her face.
I dug my own grave!?
I will call your Mom! You know what will happen! I will have no
mercy with her. Though a chalkboard-session is cruel and I wish it to
no foe, but I have to protect myself here!
Hahaha! I have already anticipated that you would be embarrassed.
So I got Tanja to record not only an invisibility spell for me, but also
an area-silence-magic. Nobody can hear a single sound from this
room. Celes says proud and with a strange fire in her eyes.
NOOOOO! I HAVE CREATED A MONSTER!!!

29 - A mad scientist in my lab?

It has been a few months since the rebellion started. My parents
somehow managed to take control of the situation and right now
there is a complete blockade on the north.
There have been a few conflicts, but nothing serious. Just a party of
scouts, running into another one. Small incidents, which aren't even
worth mentioning on a continental scale.
By now we can be pretty sure, that the Nobles of the north were
hoping to draw others onto their side. But by remaining calm, we
took that opportunity from them.
My father and Nicosar are constantly travelling to keep an eye on
the situation. Even though they use teleport magic, they are quite
busy.
I am in my third school year right now. That makes me nine years
old. But right now it's weekend and I am inside my lab! Mwahahaha!
Whenever I have nothing to do, I teleport into this facility inside a
mountain. It is located in the north of Midpoint.
The whole complex is a work in progress. I offered every worker on
the construction side a permanent employment and a pretty good
payment in exchange for their silence.
Everything is financed through my new power plant. It's a cold fusion
generator. Though a cold fusion generator would be impossible with
science alone, with a little bit of magic here and there you can play a
trick on nature.
We are providing the whole city with energy. And there is even
enough left for some pretty cool experiments.

Right now my work-crew is building a particle accelerator for me. It's

for one of my future projects. The materials come directly from the
mountain. A part of the crew is mining everything that's needed.
This whole facility is already a huge complex, but I have something
bigger in mind. For this, I will need a big amount of space and
resources.
Mwaahahaha! Just thinking of it makes me laugh. Those suckers in
the north will get a big surprise.
I love this place! Here I can play around as much as I want. Nobody
to disturb me. Most important no Celes. She sticks to me like
chewing gum on a shoe.
But here I ..
Deeeaaaar! Guess who it is! Someone covers my eyes from
behind.
Huh? NOO! How can that be? I am sure I gave orders that nobody
except me is allowed in this complex! I will massacre the security for
this!
Celes. How did you get here? I ask in a moody voice.
I copied the teleportation spell to teleport here directly. With your
wristband. -Celes
Um... I am pretty sure I never let you copy that spell? I ask. Did
she modify the wristband to work from a distance? No. That would
be too hard to do.
I copied it from the wristband, you gave to our parents for cases of
emergency. -Celes
Damn! The simple solution is also the most effective! I turn around
and see Stephen behind Celes.

Oh. I see you have brought a visitor too? I ask.

Hi, you have a nice facility here! Stephen greets me.
Thanks, but it is still more like a construction site. -Me
Celes turns around and looks like she is searching for something.
Huh? Where is Margerie?
The gears in my head begin to turn slower.
Stephen turns around too. Hmm, strange... three corners ago, she
was still behind me?
The gears in my head stop?
You two want to tell me something? Surely it is not that you brought
Margerie here? Surely you don't want to tell me that a mad scientist
is on the run in here? There is tons of dangerous equipment and you
tell me you let Margerie from the leash here? And she is without
supervision?
Stephen and Celes have both an expression on their faces, which
says only one thing. GUILTY!
If it helps, Tanja ran off earlier without asking. We couldn't catch
her, so we didn't really loose her per definition. She said something
about a perfect infiltration training and vanished. -Stephen
I slap my head and walk over to a communication screen on a wall.
Then I activate the communication link to the chief of security. His
name is Drem Snowden and he and his team were selected by my
parents.
Yes? -Snowden
Errr, my friends paid me a visit via teleportation and two got lost in
the complex. One is a happy go lucky ninja. The other is a mad
scientist on the run. Could you please fetch them and bring them to

the main lab? -Me

....
Understood. We search for a ninja and a mad scientist. Is the ninja
dangerous? -Snowden
No, the ninja is not. But you are allowed to stun the mad scientist, if
she is close to sensitive equipment. -Me
Heeey! -Celes
It is for her safety too! -Me
Celes shoves me to the side. No stunning! Just bring her here!
Yes, princess. -Snowden
Snowden deactivates the line.
Then something comes to my mind. How did you even find me
here? You were never here before!?
Obviously mother gave me directions, when I copied the spell Celes
I was betrayed! My parents gave everything away to her. I will never
give them the keys to my inner sanctum again!
So we wanted to pay you a visit and see how you are doing. You
are pretty hard to find out here. -Stephen
I sigh and sign them to follow me. Come with me, I will show you
the lab and the newest invention.
Oh, cool! Have you made the ring for me Angrod!? Have You?
Celes storms in front. A week ago she asked me to create a ringshaped device like the wristband.
I know. It's another objective on her list. But I made it anyway. The
process of miniaturisation was interesting enough by itself. So it was
worth it I guess.
I won't kneel! I grab a box in my pocket and shove it into her
hands.

Oh, thank you! She hugs me again, while I continue walking and
drag her with me. Why do I get this warm feeling when she does
that? It is not right! Not right I say!
After a short walk we arrive at my main lab. Well maybe not a lab. A
big dome would be a more proper term.
I rummage through some stuff until I find what I am looking for. I
take the remote control and activate an elevated big screen. It
shows a bird-view from high in the air.
What's that? Celes asks.
I used Margerie's overpowered drone technology and pepped it up
for high altitude flights. Then I installed some surveillance technology
like optics and infra-red.
And then I used a little magic for the controls and to operate it from
bigger distances. This drone is currently mapping the entire north.
If I want, I can count the hairs on Sarda's head. -Me
You know where Sarda is? -Celes
It seems the whole bunch together with the guys from Tulhelm set
up residence at Mount Seria. Hmpf. A little bit arrogant to name a
mountain after a god isn't it? -Me
That's really coool! Stephen comments. Can you drop it on their
heads? It would be funny if one of them suddenly gets squashed by
big chunk of metal out of nowhere. -Stephen
Maybe we will do that later. -Celes
At this moment Snowden enters the dome, dragging Tanja and
Margerie at their necks behind him.
Tanja has her arms crossed and is obviously pissed at being caught
by a guard. Margerie has a communication screen in her hands. It
was obviously broken out of some wall and now it looks like a

dissected animal.
Haaah. Haahah. That's so cool. I never thought about using
electricity to change the pigmentation of some elements in order to
show a picture of something.
She doesn't even realize her surroundings any more. I guess I
should be happy that she found the communication screen first and
didn't rip out something like a plasma cord for my power plant. I
analyse the situation.
Angrod! How does this work exactly? I need to know! Margerie
runs up to me.
Is there anything else? Snowden asks.
Nope, thank you. -Me
The guard turns around and leaves again. He surely is not a guy of
many words......
He got me too easily. Tanja grumbles.
Don't ignore me Angrod! Margerie
communication screen into my face.

shoves

the

dissected

If you don't pester me any more, you can have a magical powered
screen, which shows you all the information of my less dangerous
projects. -Me
The dead animal is instantly removed from my vision and I walk over
to a table with one of my portable computers. I turn it on and give it
to Margerie.
You sure did much in the last few months. I can't believe you
achieved all that by yourself. -Celes
I had a little help in form of my automated factory. It was the first

thing on my list and it was a pain to realize. Until a month ago my

whole workforce was busy with it. But now it is working and creating
stuff for me. -Me
I must see that! -Stephen
Maybe I will give you a tour later. But first I want to evaluate the
data my drone has collected. I press a few buttons. And a
cartographic view of the north shows up.
That's wrong. Margerie comments the map. What's wrong? Celes
There isn't enough industry! Here, here, here. Those are big
population centres. There should be heavy traffic but there is
nothing. Can you enlarge that? Margerie asks me and I do as she
wishes.
When I zoom the city up we can see that it is a ghost town. No cars,
no transports, no people.
Okaay! That's disturbing. I comment the obvious.
I see no technology. No cars, no city lights, no traffic regulators,
nothing that would require rare minerals. -Stephen.
I think we should call our parents. They need to know. -Celes

30 - An angry ex-god?
We are back inside the royal palace and watching a big screen with
the information, my drones are gathering.
I took the screen with me and set it up in the living room. Too bad
that there is no television in this world . yet. It's way more
convenient than to have more people inside my lab.
Margerie has taken the small computer with her. I am sure she will
start to spread a new wave of technology pretty soon.
This looks bad. What happened to all the people? Arthur is talking
to himself for quite a while now. I can't hold it against him.
They haven't relocated to other cities. We should be able to spot a
change then. Ireth comments and sits down on the couch.
What do you need so many materials and people for? And how
many are missing? -Katrine
I think there should have been a few hundred thousand at least?
After all we are talking about four big cities.
The material can be used for magic circuits, rune magic, magic
circles. The people .. regarding the fact that a few cities are
completely emptied of people regardless of age and occupation. I
can only come to the conclusion. They are fuel. -Me
Everyone looks at me horrified. What? I am not the one who has
done it! Don't look at me like I am the monster.
F.... Fuel? Katrine asks.
Well, living body's are the best containers for mana after all. If you
want to cast a really big spell, you need much mana. And if it has to

be fast, you can just get it from a random bunch of people. I explain
my thoughts.
What would they want to achieve on that scale? Celes asks me.
I don't know. It's a stupid idea anyway, I gave up on that long ago.
Destroying the world or summoning a god maybe? I scratch my
head.
They want to summon Seria!? Arthur bursts out.
He said they want to summon -a- god. I assume it doesn't have to
be Seria. You two know anything about it? Which god could they
want to let loose on the world. -Ireth
Oh there it is. The awkward debate about us and the gods.
Hahaha. How should we know? Celes tries to avoid the subject but
Katrine pats her head.
It's okay little miss. We know that you two are much older in your
mind than you look. It's not really hard to imagine who you really are
by your titles. It doesn't change anything though. You are still our
children. And children, who are having secrets from their parents are
naughty. Katrine smiles at us.
There are millions of gods out there. So we really can't tell who or
what will be summoned. If it is a summoning. But gods are like every
random guy, you pick from the street, so I assume the Meltheims
won't be happy with the result. I burst out. I would do everything to
avoid punishment!
They want to look down the bottle neck of the universe and go
insane? So be it!
Which means? - Arthur
Well. How would you feel if someone summons you to another

world out of nowhere? -Celes

I wouldn't like it. -Arthur
And even a minor god can change the landscape, if he gets fired
up. So there are all sorts of possible outcomes. From the summoned
god being bored anyway and deciding to help the Meltheims, to
being indifferent and just going home again, to loosing it and crushing
a few impudent flies. Hopefully just the Meltheim guys alone and not
us too in the process. -Me
Hmmmm -Arthur

That's when suddenly a few fortresses on our side of the border light
up and vanish, forming all too familiar mushroom clouds.
I know that this world knows some serious long range magic. So
those clouds aren't all that unfamiliar to it's people.
Though the ones which just took out those fortresses are on another
scale.
Mother shrieks and holds her hands before her mouth, then she
starts to cry and goes to her knees. I don't get what's going on, so I
pat her head. Arthur and Katrine look at the screen with pale faces.
What's wrong? I ask Katrine and look up to her. She doesn't look
happy either.
Nicol and Nicosar were in one of those. -Katrine
Ah....
We have to retaliate. Their forces are starting to move. Arthur
does his job as a king and keeps a cool head.

The roads are all secured by mines, they won't be able to invade
that fast. Katrine bends down and tries to calm down Ireth.
Celes doesn't look happy either.

Celes
This is it! They have done it now! Did they really kill Nicol and the old
perverted geezer? Ireth is down on the floor, crying and Katrine tries
to calm her down.
Arthur is using communication magic to get the army to move. It
seems like he deems the situation as sufficient to crush the north.
It sucks! I am not powerful enough to change anything with this body.
I am mad at myself and this world. Why are there always idiots, who
have to fight stupid wars.
But I guess, I am the last one allowed to complain. Angrod is on the
floor besides Katrine and playing with his computer.
Do you really think it is the right time to play with your toys
Angrod? I snap at him. He should be trying to comfort Ireth. And he
just lost his father and grandfather! Those are people, he should
care about!
Kukukuku! I was too nice. I am always too nice. That's my flaw.
Every time I start being nice, someone close to me gets hurt. I
should have massacred the whole bunch, the same moment they
disrespected me.....
Angrod? Don't tell me he has lost it?
....but I can correct that. Yes, I should have killed those children and
thrown their beating hearts into that bastards face without a single
warning. No more Mr. Nice Guy!

A red evil looking button pops up on his screen and he presses it. I
try to stop him, but I am too late. The big screen changes into a red
colour and gives off a shrieking warning sound.
Angrod! What have you done? I look shocked at the screen, as a
cloud of red dots appears above the mountain where Angrod's lab is
located.
I just corrected my mistake and did a little house cleaning! Angrod
says in a pissed voice.
The cloud spreads and moves north at a moderate speed and
Angrod pulls a chair close and sits on it to watch the screen.
Angrod, you better explain, if you did something of military
relevance. I have to coordinate the army alone here and in a few
minutes I have a meeting with the highest generals to discuss the
situation! - Arthur
Angrod explains in a moody voice. If you can wait fifteen minutes,
the last rocket should have hit its target. I just launched all the long
range weaponry my lab produced in the last month. The targets are
enemy command centres, the mansions of northern nobles, the
enemy army, strong energy signatures ..... in twenty minutes most of
the northern leaders should be mangled pieces.
Angrod, that's not the right path, you know it! What if some of them
are innocent? I don't recognize this Angrod any more. Or should I
say I recognize him again? That's the guy I fought for a long time.
Someone who would kill everyone, who opposes him or his ideas.
They aren't innocent. They all have guilt. Those without guilt died in
the first night of the rebellion, when they showed the courage to
refuse such actions! He watches the screen with a angry
expression.
I watch the screen, as the first red dots become flashes of light, but
smaller than the earlier ones. Though if something can be seen on a

continental scale, they shouldn't be small at all. I don't know what to

do.
Then I just sit down and hug the stupid hermit. I guess, I have to
accept that evil side of him. I guess we would have used strategic
strikes in the end anyway. We silently watch the red dots spreading
out over the north.
And over a few minutes many small lights start to bloom over the
whole north. At least Angrod's weaponry seems to allow precise
strikes and in most cases just a few selected buildings get crushed.
Those exploded too early. Angrod notices us a few minutes later.
The missiles, I shot at the City of Seria at Mount Seria didn't reach
their destination.
That's disturbing. Do they have some kind of defence? Try to drop
one of your drones into the city. During the war, we experimented
with shield spells to protect our cities. I have a bad feeling about
this. -Arthur
Angrod works on his computer and two drones change course, to
dive down onto the City. One is following the other to observe the
first ones fate.
A few hundred meters above the city the first just gets crushed, like
it flew against a solid wall. Seconds later the second drone is lost
too.
They really managed to cast a shield spell of that size? That would
need huge amounts of mana!? Arthur is shocked.
I guess that's where the missing people come into play. I say in a
very unhappy tone.
They wouldn't need so many people just for a stupid shield spell.
They ransacked at least three cities, that's much more than they
need even if they used thousands just for the shield. Angrod

explains in a moody voice.

Can you zoom that area out! Katrine points out something like a
field close to the city and Angrod enlarges it.
Ugh! Are those mass graves? I ask shocked. I want to throw up.
How can those guys go to those extremes.
Angrod changes the view to the city again, but everything looks
normal. Except for a big building, shaped like a hemisphere. Then he
switches through some instruments in the drone until something like
an infra-red vision shows up. Just that it seems to filter for mana.
I guess, they really are trying to summon a god. Angrod concludes
in a grim voice.

31 - A light at the end?

Those monsters killed all those civilians, just to summon a god?
How did they even get the idea? Katrine is shocked.
Angrod is still staring at the screen with a grim expression, his drone
is flying a circle around the city, to get a view from all angles.
Now that I look at the circle, it looks familiar. Somewhere, I have
seen that circle before. If I could remember where?
Angrod leans back on his chair. It's the same circle, the council
used to summon us, when we became gods.
It's a summoning circle? I thought they gave us our divinity through
it? I don't get it?
Angrod smiles. They never -gave- us our divinity. We became gods
on our own. Everyone becomes a god, on the condition that his soul
reaches the required strength. They were lying to hold their control
over us.
How do you know that? I ask.
Angrod snorts and starts at the beginning. When they summoned
me and -made- me a god, I already had done quite a bit of research
on souls and gods. That circle is nothing more, than a summoning
formation. I admit, it is a powerful device, but except for a change in
location and a beautiful light show, combined with a dizzy feeling, you
get nothing from it.
The Council just does this to convince the new born gods, that they
have some kind of control over them. I guess it keeps the trouble
away, if such a belief exists.
But they didn't fool me with this. Most of the runes on this circle are

just for show and to make it look like a really complicated thing.
Why didn't you tell anyone!? I get even less now. The Council
doesn't have any power over our divinity? They just let people
assume that they gave it to them? To get control over them?
Mwahaha! I was lucky to think three steps ahead, before blurting
out my knowledge to the world. Don't you think this secret is quite a
powerful tool of control? What would they do if someone ran around
and told everyone of the biggest lie in the whole multiverse.
Wouldn't quite a few gods decide that it is not necessary to follow
the Councils words like dogs? Wouldn't someone, who knew that
secret, be silenced at any cost?
So I kept my mouth shut. I played the scientific idiot, who is much
more interested in their city than in the circle under his feet. And then
I said yes and amen to everything they asked of me.
I think about it for a few seconds. I guess you could be right. There
are some who are very unhappy with the Council. That still doesn't
explain where the Meltheim's got the knowledge of that circle?
Don't know. Angrod shrugs his shoulders.
Could you two speak our language and try to explain what the
Council is? Katrine asks.
Nothing to worry about, just the gods of all gods, the rulers of the
universe. No big deal at all. Angrod proclaims in a happy voice.
What about Seria? Can she help us? Arthur asks.
Nope, sorry to inform you, but Seria is also just one of their
employees. Angrod smiles at them.
So the Meltheims got their hands on some really powerful spell,
which is connected to the rulers of the universe? Why am I even

trying to save my world, if the rulers of the fucking universe are on

their side. -Arthur
Because if you don't keep trying from the beginning. You will never
achieve anything. We don't know much yet, but we know for sure
that we should interrupt that summoning! I try to encourage my dad
again.
At least the time seems to be on our side. To power a magic like
that, you need huge amounts of mana. Those maniacs would need
to sacrifice a whole world to run it at full speed. At this rate it will
take years until the spell is done. Angrod explains.
Then we have time to take over the north and deal with the City of
Seria later? -Arthur
Maybe. Angrod doesn't sound so sure.
I am still a bit shocked. If Angrod's observation is true. Then there is
much more at stake here. What reason could the Council have to
enter this world in such a roundabout manner? A god should be able
to walk where he wants.
Unless Seria somehow managed to shut them out? And now they
want to take a look at this world? I am talking to myself.
You can't hinder a god from walking where he wants. As long as
there is a path, you can reach every world. But it doesn't matter, we
will stop this madness and then we are done with it. -Angrod
In any case, I am off now to coordinate our actions with my
generals. Inform me if you find something with those nice spydevices of yours. Arthur turns around and walks off.
Take the screen with you. Your generals and you will need it and I
can just go and get another one from my lab. Angrod waves at the
big screen which is about one meter long and a half meter high.

Arthur nods and grabs the whole thing. Then he leaves with Katrine.
I stay back with Ireth, but she is still out of it and silently crying.
Angrod is holding her hand.
I don't like it. We don't know what's going on. Do you have any
idea? I ask the stupid hermit.
We can only wait until the army has taken control of the north. It
should be no problem, even though I failed in the City of Seria, the
rest of their command structure should be in utter chaos.
Arthur just has to walk through them and take over. Then we can
deal with the City of Seria and its stupid shield. Though I am not sure
how we can deal with it. Angrod explains slowly while thinking over
something.
What could be the problem? If they have just one city left and we
have enough time, we can crack the shield and deal with them. I
ask him.
I don't know how many people they sacrificed for that shield. What
if they used a sizeable amount? We could have troubles to bring it
down. He stares at his small computer and keeps silent.
I hug him. He may be an uncaring idiot with a cold heart. But at least
he gets angry for those close to him. Hahaha, we will get through
this, don't you remember! Seria said that we will lead the world
towards a better future! If we are together, nothing can stop us! I
proclaim proud and he smiles weakly.
We just sit there for the rest of the night, while Ireth fell asleep on
the couch. Angrod keeps working on his computer, so I stand up to
get a blanket for Ireth and something to drink.
After I got a blanket from my bedroom, I make my way towards the
kitchen. But when I turn around the corner I bump into a person, who
rushed along the hallway.

Celes, where is Arthur? Nicosar stands before me, though a little

dusty, he is alive!
N.. Nicosar! We thought you were dead! I run up to him and hug
him. I can still get my revenge! Oh, thanks! I can still pay him
back for all those months of torture. Where is Nicol?
Nicosar shakes his head. I got blown a few kilometres through the
air. After I regenerated, I had to walk back by foot to the next place
with someone who could teleport me back. I fear Nicol hasn't made
it. It was... a rather big explosion...
A... Anyway. You have to take care of Ireth. She is pretty down
since we got the news of the attack. Arthur is already coordinating
everything. I take him by the hand and lead him back to the living
room.
As we arrive there, Angrod smiles an evil smile. I am so glad you
made it. Though I had already feared that thing got you, after you
didn't show up for so long.
At the noise Ireth wakes up and sees Nicosar. She jumps up and
hugs him. Father! I am so glad. What .
I am sorry. Nicosar whispers and hugs her in turn. But you have to
be strong, you are the queen of a country. We can't just lay down
our responsibilities because we lost someone dear to us. We have
to stand up and work for a future in which those things won't
happen.
Ireth nods and Nicosar takes her by the hand. Then we should go
and help Arthur and Katrine.
Together they leave to join Arthur and Ireth.
And what will you do now? I ask Angrod. I will go to sleep, I am
tired. I have the body of a child after all. He answers.

A chance! Tonight I will get off another point on my list!

32 - Interlude - Neither black nor

white?
Seven gods are sitting around an oval, white table. Beneath them,
visible through a transparent disc, is a city made of crystals. It
seems like they are just hovering in the sky without the need of any
support. Around them stretches a wonderful sky, dyed in shades of
blue and red.
Above them, a blue sun is dancing around a black hole.
I don't believe her! She is playing tricks on us! You guys must see it
too. She is spending too much time outside of our surveillance! What
is she doing in those void zones? -Tjenemit
I agree, but we never had much choice in the matter. She is the only
one who can wander through those places. That makes her our
fastest weapon. While others have to take detours, she can just
walk in a straight line. Amaru nods at Tjenemit's words, but there is
doubt in his voice.
She is too useful for the hunt. And she brought us countless
escapees who didn't approve of our guidance. Sometimes a god she
is hunting escapes. But what's the problem with that? Other young
gods on the run manage to get away a few times too. Though she is
surely acting strange. Maybe we should investigate her a little. -Eris
But many who escaped her never turned up again! Here! Tjenemit
throws a few papers onto the table. There are countless cases! It
goes back as far as our records about her reach! I want to know
what happened to them!
I don't care, even if she locks them up somewhere to play her
games. We gave her that freedom for those two too. If someone of
her usefulness asks for a favour, you should grant it once in a while.

And who cares if she takes some of those she caught for herself? Elohim
Enyo stretches in her chair and speaks with a bored voice.
I think so too. Eternity is long, you need a hobby. I don't know which
sick side of hers she is hiding from us. And I don't care, as long as
she does her job and those who vanished never turn up again.
I still think you guys make a big mistake by turning a blind eye on
her! It was a big mistake to give her those two when she asked for
it! We should have locked them inside the black hole too! She is
planning something. I feel it! And soon, I will be able to prove it! Tjenemit
How? -El Shaddai
I invested quite some time to research her favourite void zone. And
I think that something is in there! -Tjenemit
I am sure, if we would just talk to her we could reach a consensus.
-Lada
Tjenemit throws a disapproving look into Lada's direction.
I have already sent a message into the void zone. It contains a
summoning circle for myself. If we are lucky, someone inside will find
it and summon me there. With the circle I will have a perfect
conjuring point. I will also be able to use it again to return. -Tjenemit
Does Seria know about this? -El Shaddai
No. It would be stupid to try this with her knowledge. She would try
to stop me. I could even be caught inside the void zone! -Tjenemit
I still think that we should talk. Seria is a trusted aide. If we plan
something like this behind her back it could destroy our relationship.
Lada throws a pleading look at the others.
I know that you are a goddess of harmony Lada, but you are too

trustworthy. Amaru shakes his head.

A god of wisdom should know better. This is not the right path! Lada
Then we will take a vote to decide. Speak now! Who is against
Tjenemit in this. -El Shaddai
I am! -Lada
I don't believe it to be the right step either. -Elohim
I will do it! -Tjenemit
Let him try. -Eris
I am not against it either. -El Shaddai
Everyone looks at Enyo, but she shrugs her shoulders. I don't care.
Tell me if I can crush something, then I will decide.
So we have three voices in favour of the plan, two against it and
one without opinion. So you will go through with your plan Tjenemit.
El Shaddai sums it up. I will leave then. There is much to do.
El Shaddai vanishes.
Nice! Boring talks are done! Time to crush something! Enyo
blinks out of existence.
Then I will retreat too. I will have to meditate, in order to find the
summoning circle. Tjenemit fades away.
Sorry Lada, but creating discord is my forte! So I have to assist
Tjenemit in this. Eris dissolves into particles of light with a smirk on
her face.
This is wrong. Elohim, you know it too! Lada turns to Elohim.
I am sorry Lada, but I don't agree with you. I may have voted with
you, but for different reasons. In my opinion Seria should be left
alone, because she never betrayed our trust. But if she would be

planning something like Tjenemit thinks of her....... well.

But Tjenemit doesn't have proof. He has just one of his stupid
feelings. So I am against kicking the bee hive just to test if there are
some killer bees or normal honey bees inside, if you understand?
Even normal bees get mad if their hive is kicked. Seria has done
nothing to deserve that.
Elohim waves and vanishes too, leaving a sick looking Lada behind.

Lada grabs the papers on the table, which Tjenemit left behind and
starts to read.

33 - It is the first ....?

I am fifteen by now and in my ninth school year. Thanks do the
strategic strike by my research lab, our parents could subdue the
north without real problems.
The Meltheim's forces dissolved without a competent leadership.
The army just had to walk to the north and take control again.
We still lost Nicol to that surprise attack though. Something I am still
blaming myself for. It was my proposal to wait and defeat them with
patience.
That probably gave them the time to prepare that attack. But you
can't change the past. I have to go on and do better next time. Yes,
always doing better until you won't lose the ones dear to you.
Nicol's burial wasn't anything special. Mourning the dead doesn't
seem to be a big deal in this world. You do it by yourself and the
most even a king gets, is a minute of silence.
The culture just developed that way during the war and didn't change
since then.
The north is under our control again and the City of Seria lies under
heavy siege. Their shield protects them and nothing could break it
until now.
Those bastards put so much mana into it, it's a big problem to bring
it down. Although I am working on a solution, the needed hammer for
this egg is on another scale.
Even now, the army is bombarding the City of Seria day and night
while trying everything to crack the shield open.
But I don't have much hope. Not unless we would go to the same

length as them and start to sacrifice people.

Luckily the support for the royal family is as big as never before.
Everyone who supported the Meltheim's was lynched, when the truth
got out.
The People went to the streets and dragged nobles out of their
houses. Everyone who had even the smallest connection to Meltheim
or Tulhelm, had to fear for his life.
Our parents had a hard time to stop the people from taking the law
into their own hands.
Some even tried to storm the house of Cygnus and get their hands
on Iris. A little bit sick if you ask me, after all Iris is just a child.
But they never got over the doorstep. The security took care of them
as soon as they set foot onto Cygnus property.
Right now I am designing a little surprise to crack the shield of the
City of Seria. It will take lots of work, but we still have time and I
hope to be ready soon enough.
We couldn't even talk to those idiots. The shield is blocking
everything. Although we got some information from civilians in the
north.
From their story, it appears that the Meltheim rule got very close to a
police state shortly after they took control.
Most people weren't allowed to travel. That's how they managed to
hide their actions from the rest of the population.
No wonder they went to the streets, the same moment it looked like
their military wouldn't be able to stop them.
This whole story seems like it came out of the mind of a really sick
person. But that's reality. Before you even know it, your nice and

happy world turned into hell itself.

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*
Angrod! Get out! I hear Celes voice from the other side of the
door.
But I won't open. Mwahaha! I put some really strong guarding
enchantments onto my door. No one will be able to enter unless he is
a high level magician.
Angrod! It's important! -Celes
Important? What's important?
Something came up! We have to go! Celes starts to hit the door
again.
*BAM!* *BAM!* *BAM!*
Did she just use her foot? The door holds perfectly. But when I look
at the wall around it, I see some cracks.
I am coming! Don't hit again! You will take my whole room down! I
jump up and run to open the door.
What do you want? I have work.
Celes storms into my room and starts to search through my
wardrobe. Hey! What do you need my clothes for!
To find something decent! You can't go out in that dull stuff on you.
Celes answers.
Go out? Where to? Is there some festival we have to take part in? I
heard of nothing? I am a little dumbfounded. Normally our parents
inform us beforehand, if we have to show ourselves to the public.
No time. Something came up! Here, put that on. That looks nice on

you. Celes holds a suit to my chest.

Isn't that suit a little bit too normal for a festival? I ask. The suit is
nice, but could go through as normal street clothes. For a festival I
always have to wear some really nice and high style clothes.
It's okay! You look cool in that! I will wait outside. Celes runs out of
the room.
What the hell got into her? I get dressed and walk outside.
Good! Looks nice now come, we don't have much time. Celes
leads me outside, where Rose is waiting with the car.
We enter and Rose starts the car.
Can you explain what's going on? I ask Celes.
Can't you remember? We promised to make peace and work on
understanding each other! You are locking yourself in your room for
about a week now! Unless for school you don't come out. Celes
answers me.
I don't get it. What does that have to do with the current situation?
-Me
We will start to work harder on our relationship from now on. So we
will go on dates every week! Celes smiles at me.
Hahaha, oh the benefits of youth! Rose enters the conversation.
Date? I have no time for dates! I answer.
You are the one who proposed them. Can't you remember our
promise? You were the one, who insisted on a normal relationship
and dates. So we will go on dates every week from now on! Today
we will visit a musical! Celes nods and smiles even brighter.
Uhm... . Now that you mention it. I really said something like that? I

have a dark memory of this somewhere in my head. She tricked me

that time!
I think it will be nice. The musical has a nice plot. I think even
Angrod could find it interesting. Rose drives around another corner
and stops the car in front of a big building.
Have fun!
Wh.. What about security? -Me
This place is for the higher society. It's guarded and the danger has
lessened since the opinion of the public is in our favour. Celes
explains to me, while pulling me outside.
The door gets closed and Rose drives off.
Celes links arms with me and leads me to the entrance where she
shows the guard two cards and we enter.
Just now I realize that she is wearing a dress, which is similar to
mine. A waitress leads us to a row of seats with a very good view.
It is a big hall with a stage a few levels below us. There are
amplifiers all over the place to guarantee a good sound for
everyone.
It is like you're hijacking me. How did you get the idea so suddenly.
I ask Celes
Mmmm. It is because I planned it of course! I had this on my list for
quite some time now. She pulls out a highly used looking list and
checks an item. I haven't seen that thing for a long time now.
First date at fifteen, done. She smiles and looks happy.
You realize that you are carrying that thing around for years
already? I ask her.

No problem, even if it is a little bit tattered. It still does the job. She
hides it again inside her dress.
At that moment the musical starts and Celes grabs my arm to lean
onto me. Oh! Don't use your chest like that! This isn't fair play!
Celes has done quite some development in the past years. She will
become a real beauty like her mother in another three or four years.
Though she has a nice look already. If it wasn't for that personality!
We sit in silence and watch the musical. It is about the creation of
this world. How the Goddess Seria created the world and it's
people. And about a hero, who went on an epic quest to make the
dangerous continent a safe place for everyone.
It has a nice story and the songs are good. Though the tightness of
Celes's grip on me is a little uncomfortable. We are about halfway
into the performance, when Celes tugs at my sleeve and I look down
at her.
Celes's face is a little bit cramped with a forced smile. Can you
bring me to the toilets?
Ahem. Aren't you old enough to go by yourself. I don't think a guy
should... You are a little bit pale, are you okay? I ask.
It just hurts a bit, so give me a little walking aid. -Celes
It hurts? Are you wounded or sick? I can heal you. -Me
I am just bleeding a little, it is nothing serious. -Celes
You are bleeding!? Where, I will heal you! -Me
SShut up! That'S nothing you can heal IDIOT! SSo bring me
there now! Celes hisses at me with tears in her eyes.

Ah!? No she can't mean? For real!?

I pick her up in a princess carry and run to the toilets.

34 - The past always returns?

We are sitting on a bench in front of the musical building and waiting
for Rose to get us. I feel horrible.
*Sniff* I am so sorry. I messed up our first date. All because I didn't
keep track of such a basic thing. It's all my fault.
It's okay. I know how it feels. You don't have to blame yourself.
Angrod tries to comfort me, but it's a lame attempt.
You are a guy! You have no idea, what you're talking about! -Me
I was female too in some reincarnations. So I think I am allowed to
say that! You should have been a guy one time or the other too. Angrod
Pff. You as a girl. That must have been quite the view. Somehow I
can't imagine the hermit as a girl.
Don't laugh, those weren't exactly my best times. Though I think,
you didn't have a problem when a reincarnation messed with your
gender. You would be a perfect muscle guy. -Angrod
I will get you for this! Fear the might of a female!
*Hic..* You really don't .. don't think of me as a woman at
aaallllll. It's easy to cry when you feel horrible anyway.
It's... It's okay! Don't cry! You are a fine woman now! No need to
feel anything about it. Angrod answers with a flustered voice.
Ah, so nostalgic. My Johann back then was also weak to the crying
me. Tehe... I grab my Johann tight and hug him without giving an
answer.

It . It's really no problem. The important part of the story was

already told. All that was left of the story was a stupid fight with the
last boss anyway. Those stories always follow the same set of
rules. -Angrod
At this moment Rose stops her car in front of us. Did you two have
a nice evening? She gets out and smiles at us.
Tch! Just a few more minutes and I would have had him eating out
of my hands! It's no use, I will have to give him my present inside the
car.
Unfortunately Celes had a small mishap. And we didn't see the end
of the performance. -Angrod
Ahhh! Don't tell her about a women's problems. She will pester me
about it!
Oh. You have to watch it again then. The end is the best part! Celes
is everything okay now? -Rose
It's okay now. I just had a minor problem and missed the last part,
while being on the toilet. -Me
Oh, my. Too bad. Just get in, I will bring you home. -Rose
We enter the car and Rose closes the door.
Um. Celes. Why are you sticking to me like that? Angrod asks with
a disturbed voice.
Since I hugged him earlier, I didn't let go. It makes me feel at ease. I
don't know why and I don't care.
I grab box out of my pocket and shove it onto him to shut him up.
That's for not being a total douche bag. Though you didn't manage
completely in the end, I will grant this to you if you shut up. I use

him as a pillow again, while he opens the box.

Yes, chocolate always works on that guy. At least that trait of his
character didn't get lost. It's nice to know an easy way to please
someone.
It's best if they don't make too much work. I lean onto him, while
falling asleep....

Angrod
I carried Celes into her room. She was sleeping like a log and didn't
wake up, even when I shook her.
Afterwards I went to work again. Though there isn't much I can do.
Everything is set up. The automatic factory is working and my
employees know their jobs.
All I can do is to check the progress. If I am lucky, everything will be
ready in time.
*Knock* *Knock*
Yes? I answer and Ireth enters the room.
Angrod, I know that you are trying to break that shield spell, but
something came up. -Ireth
Why do you sound like something horrible will happen? I ask my
mother.
It's this stupid law stuff! You see, your father has a brother. My
mother says it like everything is clear with that.
Uh... you know that I don't like this law issue. So why don't you start
at the beginning? I totally don't get what you are talking about. -Me

I am talking about your birthday in a few months! You will turn

sixteen and with that, you will have to succeed the throne of Tirna.
Your father is dead after all. Ireth sighs.
I can't give the boring stuff into yours and grandpa's hands any
more? I ask.
Yes. You have to take over the throne, although we will still be able
to help you. -Ireth
So where does my father's brother come into this? -Me
When the crown goes to the next heir, everyone who is able to
succeed the throne can challenge him for the crown. This was
established to make sure that a strong king is in power. -Ireth
So you believe that my father's brother will make an entrance.
Whom I have never heard of by the way? -Me
He challenged your father for the throne when he took over and
married me at eighteen. Your father crippled him in the following
fight. Then your uncle went into exile by his own choice. -Ireth
So you think that he still has a grudge and is striving for power. So
why didn't he jump at the chance when father died? -Me
I am pretty sure of that. And he didn't act, because he doesn't have
any legal claim. I am ruling the country -in absentia- of your father,
because you are not allowed to take the crown yet. But with sixteen
you will have to. -Ireth
So how did you just remember someone, who disappeared years
ago? I am a little confused.
Two days ago, he appeared in town with someone who was
introduced as his son. He claimed a few old favours from some
nobles. Some of them saw a problem with him and informed me. Ireth

This joke is getting old. The Meltheims tried that already. -Me
Yes, unfortunately I believe that this is another attempt by them.
Just in disguise. Ireth shakes her head.
Oh? -Me
When the Meltheims locked themselves up in the City of Seria, they
still had a big amount of money in various banks and institutions. We
tried to trace it down, but most of it just disappeared. -Ireth
And let me guess. My uncle is throwing around with money left and
right and nobody has a clue where it came from. -Me
Ireth nods with a sad expression. We don't have any evidence, so
we can't stop him. The exile was of his own choice, so we can't send
him away either.
So you think he will send that son of his against me? -Me
That's likely. He even signed him up for your school. -Ireth
Wonderful, so I will have to endure a pest similar to the Meltheim
brothers in school, until I am challenged at my coronation. This gets
less and less funny with every word.
Your uncle's name is Seredorn of Tirna and his son is named
Markorn of Tirna. -Ireth
Hmm. What about the mother? Or did my uncle just use cell division
to sprout an heir? I throw my arms into the air and my mother has
to smirk.
We don't have any clue on her. Your uncle just showed up with his
supposed son and set up his residence. -Ireth
Is he even his real son? I doubt it somehow.

We are investigating. When it comes to the rank of succession,

things have to be clear without a doubt. But so far we couldn't find a
clue against it. He looks similar enough to his father from what I
heard. And they came with a lot of servants who confirm their story.
Right now a few investigators are on their way to your uncles
previous residence. But I have my doubts that they will come to a
different result. If your uncle could be caught with such simple
measures, I doubt that he would have made an effort to pull a stunt
like this. -Ireth
You sound like you know him in that regard? -Me
Before he challenged your father, he tried several times to get his
hands on me. He was always smart enough to leave no evidence.
So it was always his word against mine. And he had a really good
relationship with his brother. Your father didn't believe me that he
had ulterior motives. Until the challenge, he was the nice brother of
the heir to everyone.
I nod. Then we will have no other choice than to keep being on
alert. Don't fear for me, I can take care of myself. And thanks for the
warning.
Ireth hugs me with tears in her eyes. Don't do anything dangerous. I
lost so many of my family already. Any more and I wouldn't be able
to go on.
I hug her too with a grim expression on my face.

35 - A nice greeting!
I can't believe this! Didn't we have enough trouble already? Celes
is complaining after I communicated my mothers warning to her.
Right now we are on our way to school.
I hope the little masters are careful today. I have heard some
disturbing things about that new student. Yesterday after he was
registered to school, he went to the fighting class and picked a fight
with a whole group of students. He beat them up badly. Rose warns
us.
So we will have to deal with him in special class for sure. That's
great! Celes complains even more.
Hmmm. So who should beat him up if he picks a fight? I ask Celes.
If you would do me the honour. I don't feel like breaking bones
today. Celes watches out of the window.
You still have trouble with your hormones? It feels like you are a
little more edgy than usual. She was like this since breakfast.
I am fine. I just need a little space for myself. Celes answers and I
keep my mouth shut.
Obviously she is still pissed from yesterday's date. She had
something else in mind, but nature blew a hole into her plans. Well,
she deserves no less for ignoring her body.
Though I think it could have happened to me too. The multiverse gets
your gender right in about ninety-nine out of a hundred
reincarnations. Every hundredth reincarnation it fucks up and you end
up in a body of the opposite gender.
It has something to do with the compatibility between body and soul.

The soul sticks to the first body, which is a match. For some strange
reason, some body's are compatible with almost every soul.
I never really understood the reason for this. Probably just a sick
joke of the multiverse. Everyone has to laugh once in a while.
After a few minutes, we arrive at the school and silently make our
way to the first class. Celes is still pissed at herself and the world. I
can't do anything about it. If I talk to her, I will probably just become
the target of her anger.
That's how this stuff works in my opinion. If a woman is angry, you
hide somewhere and keep out of sight until the storm is over.
If you give her a present or try to cheer her up, you have a fifty fifty
chance. In the first case you manage it, then you are the hero. In the
second you will be a nuisance and treated accordingly.
Some hours later, the dreaded special class is on the list. When we
arrive at the meeting place, which is the same open area it always
was, we find Stephen and Iris. The others are also present.
But the reason, why Stephen and Iris attract my attention is because
they are holding hands. Their expression is... yeah... if this was
some kind of comic, the artist would draw a pink aura and hearts
around them. That's how it feels!
Garbiel, Tanja, Sven and Sandra are also present.
Hi, Stephen. Long time no see. I try to strike a conversation
because I am curious.
Oh Angrod and Celes! I just escorted Iris here. I am gone then, my
class is about to start too. He bows and leaves.
I throw a curious look at Iris, who starts to fiddle with her hands at
everyones gazes. It seems everyone became aware of those two.

Well.. you see. I live inside the Cygnus mansion now and as a result
I spent really much time with Stephen and at some time he
proposed I guess? So we are a couple now! No need to look at me
like a rare animal!! Iris is red from head to toe.
Ohohoho. How far did you go already? Sandra and Tanja jump at
Iris. That's exactly the right matter for those two bird brains. Celes
runs up to them too and they have the typical girls talk.
I turn to Gabriel and Sven who are now the only ones I can have a
decent talk with. I hope?
So what's up with Tongord? I ask them. The lesson should have
already started.
He went to get the new student. Gabriel informs me and Sven
nods. The rumours say that yesterday, he went against the whole
fighting class and won. Sven adds.
Sven somehow managed to get a hold of his shyness over the
years. Though he is only all right with people whom he knew for a
little while.
The rumours on this school are always a little out of proportion. I
just remember the rumour about me and Celes, subduing the whole
fighting class with our presence alone.
The guys in that class are all weaklings after all. You could throw
them by the dozens against anyone of the special class. Many
mangled bodies would be your only result.
At this moment Tongord arrives with a guy of about our age. He has
horns and slit pupils, like someone with a strong royal bloodline
should have. His hair is dark like mine and you can really see a
strong resemblance.
I guess he really is my cousin? So here we have the other students
of the special class. Everyone line up here! We do as ordered and

Tongord continues with the introduction.

So here we have Iris, Tanja, Celes, Sandra, Gabriel, Angrod and
Sven. Everyone, this is Markorn of Tirna. Markorn smiles and bows
to us. I am happy to join your class.
Markorn walks up to the beginning of the line and shakes hands with
everyone. Reaching Celes, he bows down in an attempt to kiss the
back of her hand.
*WACK!*
At the mere attempt Celes gave him a slap with the backside of her
hand, lifting him up three meters into the air while spinning two times.
He falls to the ground head first and impacts.
Ouch! Celes took the work from me. What a way to end your life....
his spinal cord must be broken!
Hahaha! I like them spicy. It's no fun without a little challenge. The
people in this class are sure to be worth the time. The corpse talks!
Markorn stands up and tests the movement of his head.
We hear some creaking sounds, like something snapped back into
place, but otherwise Markorn seems to be fine.
He continues farther down the line, until he reaches me. I am
pleased to meet you cousin. It was overdue for a long time now.
The pleasure is on my side. I answer. He grabs my hand and puts
his whole strength into it. Which is enormous. I hold against it with
everything I have until I hear my bones break.
The pain must have been immense. But I didn't even flinch. As soon,
as I realized that I wont win this fight of strength, I used my
telekinesis to sever the nerves for pain in my hand. All I feel is a
nasty itch.

This obviously disturbs Markorn a little, he must have felt the bones
break. So he lets go and continues towards Sven. Remaining with
me for too long would have been strange.
I will kill that bastard! I will take my time doing so! This isn't going to
be over fast, I swear.
I hold my hands behind my back and set the bones right. He got my
two fingers and one of the metacarpals! By the time Markorn is done
shaking hands with Sven, I have already healed my hand again.
Then Markorn walks back up to the teacher and Gabriel and Sven
look at me with worried faces. You okay? I could hear them
break!
No worries. I am fine! I smile and show them my hands while
moving them as proof. At this sight, I can see Markorn's eyes go
round for a second.
Okay! After we are now all somewhat introduced to each other, we
can start our training fights again. Markorn, you as a newcomer can
choose your opponent if you want. Tongord continues the training.
I would like to test myself against my cousin! Markorn answers
with a devilish smile. That's fine then, everyone else team up and
start training.
The others also team up for training and spread out. I am left alone
with Markorn. That's strange, I thought I broke them. You are rather
weak for someone of the royal bloodline dear cousin.
I see no problem with it. I just find it strange that you aren't hiding
your hostility at all. I really don't know what to think of that guy.
There is no need to play games between us. I am pretty sure, I can
take Celes from you and get the throne for myself. A weakling like
you isn't cut out for the throne. He is very confident to have the
upper hand.

I put my hands into my pockets and set up a few defence spells.

We will see about that. Will you talk for the rest of the day, or can
we start the training?
I will start the beating then..... Suddenly Markorn is in front of me.
Did he teleport? I didn't see him move at all! I pull my head back by
pure reflex. It was burned into me from training every day with
Celes. An open palm crushes my shield and drives forward, through
the space where my head had been.
A stone lifts from the ground and shoots straight at Markorn, but it is
swept aside by his hand. Not fair! That should have killed him! I jump
backwards, but Markorn follows in close range and continues to
throw his fists and feet at me.
Each time I manage to evade by a hairs breath. I thrust my hand at
him and a small red orb shoots out, but he evades with ease.
Hahahaha! Silly little spells! Ain't worth a thing if you can't hit! He
leaps forward and places a perfect kick on my chest. The air is
pressed out of my lungs, but thankfully my stone skin spell protects
me from taking serious injuries. I still feel like something broke!
I am still thrown backwards. It is like I was hit by a truck. After flying
a low arc through the air I impact the floor and stay down.
While lying on my back and casting another healing spell I think
about the situation. This guy is way too powerful. Something is off.
He seems to use the same fighting aura, as that Senda guy. Senda
fought just with his body too, but that guy is on another level.
Done already? I am even more disappointed now. It seems that
Markorn doesn't want to shut up.
Somehow I am angry now. I don't get angry often. Hmmm, I guess
using a second hand is allowed in that case.

Suddenly Markorn appears above me and I see the sole of a foot

coming down on my face. Teleport again?
The foot stomps down but all that gets stomped is earth. I
teleported ten meters above Markorn, swinging down one of my
hands in a chopping motion from above, a wave of energy
discharges from me.
But the sucker somehow realizes the danger and jumps to the side.
A five meter long rift is struck into the earth, where he just stood.
Now he jumps up to me, but I teleport to the ground again. Hehehe.
That's the problem with high speed movement, you can only do it if
you can propel yourself somehow. Real teleportation is much more
convenient.
I shoot another -air bullet- at him, which he can't evade. It strikes
him point blank and he is lifted even higher.
*WHAM*
Air bullet is a nice spell. It doesn't have much penetration power, but
it packs a serious punch of physical energy.
I wait until Markorn falls down again, in his face I see pure rage.
When he is about five meters above me I hit him again, pounding him
upwards again.
*WHAM*
And again.
*WHAM*
And again.
*WHAM*

Mwahaha, this is fun.

*WHAM*
Though, it's disturbing that I can't do any damage to the sucker.
Hmmm, what to do? A little experiment to test his defence?
*WHAM*
Let's try how you deal with one of these.
A little, fist sized red orb of energy appears in my hand. I move my
hand to aim at him but Tongord grabs my hand from the side.
That's enough. I think there isn't much value in this duel any more.
He looks wary into my face.
I don't think we are done yet! I answer and stare at Tongord.
*PLOP*
Markorn hits the ground with an ungraceful belly landing. He jumps
up and storms to us. I WILL GET YOU BACK FOR THIS! YOU .
*RRRUUMMMBBBLLEEEE*
A distant sound can be heard like the roll of thunder. Everyone turns
into the direction to see what happened.
There is a mountain in the south of Midhold. But now a little piece of
it is missing near the peak. It's no big deal that would be noticeable,
if you weren't looking for it. But a cloud of smoke and dust marks the
place pretty good.
It must be quite the event, if you can see it from here. The mountain
is pretty far away.
Isn't that the direction, one of those red orbs of yours went
Angrod? Tongord asks me with a serious tone.

Uuum. Yes, the orb went that direction. I smile a forced smile at
Tongord.
Then Tongord looks at my hand, in which a fist sized red orb is
hovering. That one is bigger!
Uuum. Yes, this one is bigger. You are very observant today
teacher. I still smile at him.
Dispel that thing at once! You will NOT mess up my training field!
He screams at me.
Hmpf. Fine. I close my hand around the orb and it is gone. The
lesson is at its end anyway. Tongord cares about his training field
more than his own life.
Markorn still glares at me, but he is silent now. I smirk at him and
walk back to the others, who are already grouped up.
***
Some time later Celes and I are inside the car and on our way
home. I take a curious look outside the window and ogle the new
look of the mountain.
You had that dangerous smile on you face again today. -Celes
Dangerous? -Me
You know, like you were really enjoying to hurt someone. And when
you started to treat him like a ball to play with. Then you got that
other look, like you were dissecting a rare animal. Celes sounds a
little worried.
Hm. And I am not allowed to experiment on a bastard, who broke
my fingers? And tried to kiss you? He would have survived it

anyway. -Me
Damn! That came across the wrong way! Didn't that sound like I
was jealous?
He would have survived THAT!? -Celes
Good! She didn't realize it!
I felt an unbelievable amount of mana inside him. Maybe that spell
would have been just enough to scratch him.... -Me
Do we have a problem? -Celes
I shrug my shoulders. Maybe. But it's for sure that you don't acquire
that much mana by natural ways.

36 - School life continues?

This whole situation is out of hand! It's been two weeks since
Markorn showed up at our school. Since then he evolved into
something like the local boss of a gang!
He seriously wounded some students, who didn't jump on his every
whim. All in all he is acting like he owns the world.
Though at the moment it really seems like nothing can stop him.
After Angrod couldn't scratch him in special class, he challenged me
a few days later.
I couldn't do anything to him either. He is using a mana aura, which is
protecting him. It is similar to my technique, but much much worse in
terms of mana consumption. Unfortunately he has huge amounts of
mana to waste.
You already have an idea how to stop that guy? I ask Angrod.
Nope. He shakes his head and leans back in his seat. He has too
much mana, he can toss it around in any way he wants. Maybe we
can take him down if we fight together.
Then we fight together, he is a real bother. Yesterday, he appeared
and tried to lead me off somewhere! This guy is dangerous!
Ok. Then let him do you. While his guard is down, you ram one of
those hairpins into a vital spot and the problem is solved! A good
plan. Angrod nods to himself with a smiling face.
Scum! Idiot! I will not forget this! Wait and see, my revenge will be
painful!
H... How could you suggest this! I am your fiance! -Me

No hairpin? Well you are right, too dangerous. Poison then! We will
poison him, mwahahaha. Oldest trick in the book! Angrod smiles at
me.
Don't you have any shame? I ask agape.
No? What's wrong with poison? Do you think he has some kind of
resistance? Angrod now has a worried look.
I think we are not really talking to each other! Do you even pay
attention to me? Look up from your book when I am talking to you! It
feels like you aren't taking me seriously. I am in dismay. This doesn't
feel like a proper conversation at all.
I am sorry Celes, but I really have to think about the coronation. It's
in two months and I have to win that fight somehow. On the side, I
have to take care of breaking the shield of that stupid city! So let me
read this book, it helps me to concentrate. -Angrod
Fine, tell me if I can do something to help. I will go and visit Tanja.
She promised to load a new spell into my ring. I turn around and
walk away.
I hope it isn't another indecent spell to hide your presence, just to
sneak into my room! Besides, I have to talk to Tanja anyway. So
bring her if you find her! Angrod calls after me, but I just wave my
hand at him and turn around the corner.
I loathe it! Why can't I build a decent relationship with him again. A
few times it looked pretty good, but when he gets stressed, he
always falls back into the old behaviour and I can't get through to
him.
If he would be the old.... . Nah. What am I thinking. Maybe he was
really right and we should forget about the past. We are really
different people from then.
Maybe I just don't want to admit it, but I could be different too. Heck!

It has been a few thousand years since then!

*Bump*
Ah! I ran into someone! Um, sorry! I guess I didn't pay enough
attention. A student, about two years older than me is blocking my
path. Three other guys are behind him.
I step to the side but they block my path. When I turn around I see
that three other students are behind me and the hallway is suddenly
empty. This was set up?
We would like to have the honour of escorting you. The older
student says. And why should I let you? I ask with an annoyed
voice.
Because king Markorn wishes to see his future queen. The older
student answers like nothing is wrong.
Do you have some kind of brain damage? Markorn is nothing of the
sort! What's wrong with those guys!
We have watched your duels in special class and we are pretty
sure that he is stronger than you. It's good to be on the good side of
the future king. So we will bring you to him if he asks for it. The
student grabs my shoulder.
That's not the right way to treat me! I grab his hand and twist while I
redirect the flow of my mana.
*Snap* AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!
Oh, shut up! Grabbing his shoulder while twisting further I shove a
little, and the offender exits the hallway through the window beside
us.
*Crash* AAAAAAAAaaaaaahhh *Thud*

Th.. This is the th... third floor! One of the other minions stutters
with a shocked voice. But I am not done and kick another one into
the groin.
I feel something getting crushed and finish the guy with a fist to the
face before the rest of the gang can recover from their shock.
The rest is about to jump on me, when someone starts to clap his
hands.
Well, that's enough. I expected you wouldn't be able to bring her.
So I came to check myself. Markorn appeared out of nowhere.
Would you guys please wait around the corner, I have a few things
to discuss. No one is allowed to disturb us.
The remaining minions take their fallen comrade/eunuch? and leave.
When they are out of sight Markorn addresses me again. I know,
this isn't very gentle, but you refused to talk to me on every other
occasion.
What do you want? -Me
I just want you to realize reality and team up with me, that's all. I
will get the crown at the coronation and you will have no other choice
than to marry me anyway. You will profit from this too. Don't you
want the best candidate for the job too?
...
He continues. As I see it, this weakling isn't fit for the job. This
world needs a strong leadership and not a strange guy who hides
himself behind books, or inside a strange facility. A King needs to
show presence and strength if he wants to lead a country. He needs
to be smart too.
Being able to set some traps like I just did is an important part of
leadership. -Markorn

And why is it such a great trap to send some bullies after me? -Me
Because everyone of them is now a witness. You went crazy and
attacked two Tirna nobles, after they refused your orders. It should
be enough to cause quite the commotion don't you think? He smiles
at me.
I still don't understand what you would gain from that? -Me
Of course you have a really good reputation at the moment. But
everything that damages that reputation will make it easier for me to
take over! The Stricc princess, going rampage on some Tirna
nobels. If that wouldn't shake up the state of affairs, I don't know! Markorn
It's good then. Without any witness, there won't be any commotion.
Angrod walks around the corner, pulling a limp body behind him.
Angrod! I run up to him and embrace him. Oh, he came for me after
all!
There are enough witnesses! I have at least four Tirna nobles and
three people from Stricc, who.....
Angrod throws the limp student at Markorn, who steps aside and the
student lands on his back. While staring into the ceiling, the student
breathes slowly and regular.
You are awake? Get up and bring the others! Markorn kicks the
student, but gets no reaction.
Don't bother. I had our friend Tanja investigate your connections
inside the school. Then I begged her to tell me, when you would
leave your . I will call it hideout for the lack of a better term. When
she reported you gone, I went there and had a little talk with your
employees.
Everyone from Tirna got a nice little treatment from me, while I had

the guys from Stricc watch. I doubt that they are willing to risk
anything for you by now. Afterwards I came here and had a nice
chat with your guards.
I hope you won't be so foolish, as to attack me here in public,
because everything what happened until now was within my legal
jurisdiction of punishing disobedience.
Angrod smiles at Markorn and turns me around to leave. As we pass
the group of minions from earlier, I see the Tirna nobles lying limp on
the ground, staring into nothingness like the other student.
The guys from Stricc watch Angrod with pale faces and press
themselves against the walls to gain the highest possible distance.
They act like they are in the same room with some kind of monster.
How did you find me? -Me
There is a tracking function inside your ring. I also hid a tracking
device inside Markorn's clothes during training. We share the same
changing room after all. When you two were in the same position, I
came to check. -Angrod
He is tracking me? He ... DOES that mean he cares for me in
his own way!?
And what did you do to those students? -Me
Nothing. Just a punishment according to disrespecting orders during
a time of war. You threw that guy out of the window too, didn't you?
-Angrod
I didn't kill him! -Me
Tanja finished it from the shadows. I explained the situation to her. Angrod
She would never! No. Tanja is a nice girl. She wouldn't.

She would do everything for you, her friend. Markorn is right when
he thinks that a commotion right now would disturb the balance.
Tanja knows that too, probably better than both of us if you think
about her family background. -Angrod
We turn around another corner and Tanja steps out of a shadow and
hugs me. Everything okay Celes?
I am not sure. I feel like I was used as a bait! I answer honestly.
Sorry. It wasn't intentional, I promise. But everything played out like
this, when you went to look for me. And Angrod had to deal with
those thugs. Tanja fiddles with her fingers.
What did he do to them? I ask worried.
Tanja turns pale. It's better if you don't know..... And looks away. I
keep pestering her for the rest of the day, but she won't tell.
Nor did I hear any rumours from the other Stricc nobles.

37 - Interlude A certain god's

hot spring?
AAAaaaahhh.... There is nothing better than a bath inside a hot
spring at the top of an inactive volcano. No other gods to disturb my
peace. No Council, no worshippers, no stress.
I soak inside the water and relax. This is my favourite place, right
after my own little world. I visit just about every few hundred years
and it is fantastic.
The hot spring is located inside a cave near the peak. The water,
heated by the slumbering volcano, is just about the right
temperature.
It's a pool of about thirty square meters. On the walls of the cave
are crystals. I enchanted them with a light spell, so the cave is
always bathed in pleasant light of different colours.
There are even crystals on the ground of the pool, which are
shimmering in different colours. It's a fantastic place!
Unworthy! Don't desecrate the holy water with your body! Get out
now!
I look up and see two elves at the entrance. It's a woman and a
man, the guy aims his bow at me, while the woman has readied a
fireball.
I sigh. Get out of my hot spring and I may be benevolent and let you
live.
The guy shoots his arrow and the woman launches her fireball. Why
are mortals so bad at judging someone else? I wave my hand and
the projectiles disappear.

With another wave of my hand both elves are pinned to the wall.
They struggle, but are held in place by an invisible force.
I step naked out of the pool and walk before them. Ah. How to
punish the foolish mortals, who enter my domain?
Their eyes go wide.
Maybe a hundred years of pain and suffering? I muse to
myself.
Please. I don't know who you are, but this a sacred place for our
people. We protected it for over four hundred years now. The
woman speaks.
I try to remember when I was here the last time? Was it five
hundred? No, I am sure I checked this place about six hundred
years ago.
You can't just bath inside the holy water! You could destroy it's
healing properties. The guy barks at me.
Holy water? Healing? Don't tell me....
PFF! hahaha hHAHAHAAHAHAHA! I fall to the floor and roll
around. It has been an eternity since I had a good laugh.
Let them go! That's not the proper way to treat mortals Seria!
Lada suddenly appeared above me, hovering in the air.
Both elves open their mouths and stare at me with a scared
expression. The goddess Seria? Goddess of life and death!
Then both of them look shocked at Lada.
PFAHAHAHAHAHAAHA! I can't control myself any more and point
at Lada, who is showing off her panties to the elves.

Your skirt! Hahaha... too short......... your skirt . and.... hover

around up in the air like that! Hahaha! Your lingerie can be seen. I
crawl to my knees and pound the ground. I can't breathe! Need air!
Another laughing fit shakes me.
Lada immediately descents to the floor and corrects her outfit. I
don't want that to be told by someone, who is showing herself off
naked!
I get to my feet. But by showing off, you can get much more
followers! See? Even those stoic perverted elves are shaken by my
godly self! I run up to the guy and rub my body against him, which
results in a completely natural reaction.
The woman's face gets red like a tomato. We aren't perverts!
What? It's not perverted to drink someone elses bathing water?
Well I suppose mortals have all kinds of strange fetishes.... tell me,
how do you feel when you drink a god's bathing water. I change
places and press myself against the female.
It's it's refreshing. And it heals all kinds of sicknesses. And when
mixed with some herbs, it raises fertility or acts as a good poison for
arrows. The guy admits in a low tone.
The elven woman is turning blue by now. It's seems she is almost
dying of shame. Don't tell me they came here as a pair to...?
I move my fingertip around her navel and whisper into her ear. I will
help you out. Try again soon and I am sure you will be blessed
with twins!
The woman is now blue up to the tips of her ears.
See Lada? They aren't perverts at all! They just use my bathing
water to make all kinds of strange medicine! Oh mortals sure find a
use for everything. -Me
Lada sighs and waves her hand. Both elves drop to the ground. I

think you had your fun now. And I am sure they will tell their people
to not disturb the goddess, while she is using her hot spring. You
don't use it very often anyway, so there is no harm in them being
here.
Both elves look up at me with frightened faces. Fine, but if you
damage my hot spring, I will make the volcano erupt and flatten your
village!
Both run out of the cave without answering. Holy water......
I jump into the pool again. So why do I have the honour of your
presence Lada?
Lada doesn't enter the hot spring and just walks above the water. I
heard some disturbing news about you during the last meeting of the
Council. I hoped we could talk about it in private.
What's wrong this time? Lada is the only Council member, which isn't
rotten to the core. If I have to deal with the Council, I prefer to talk
with her. She is a goddess of harmony after all.
And maybe I would even call her a friend? At least I know that she
cares for me. Otherwise she wouldn't come here to speak to me.
She is obviously doing it without the knowledge of the other Council
members.
I wave for her to go on.
Tjenemit believes that you are planning something stupid. He wants
to know where all the vanished gods are. He is investigating their
whereabouts and he believes that you have a hand in it. He thinks
that you are hiding much more than those two inside one of your void
zones. Lada drops the whole bomb at me.
Hmm. I don't have anyone else, beside those two inside my void
zone. Why are you even worried? I took a magical oath to the
Council. If I would ever raise my hand against you, I would loose my
divinity and die. I answer with closed eyes, while drifting inside the

water.
They believe you found a way to bypass your oath. You don't know
what's on the line here! I took a look at Tjenemit's research. It is
very convincing. Whatever you are doing, you have to stop it! Such a
stupid little plan won't work against the Council! They will find out
and deal with you, I can't stop them! I can't stop them, they are too
strong! Especially El Shaddai! -Lada
I rise out of the water and hug Lada. It's okay Lada. You are the
only god among them, whose soul hasn't completely died yet. And it
isn't a stupid little plan. Just trust me, everything will work out in the
end. Maybe you will see it.
Please don't tell me you are really planning something! You know
why the Council was created. The gods have to be controlled
somehow! You have no idea about the time before the Council!
There is a reason for it's existence! -Lada
I know. Everyone strived for power and gods fought each other,
dying and being born again. Fighting each other.... . It was an
endless cycle of war and bloodshed. Very much like the fight of
those two. Only that it happened in the whole multiverse. In the end
most gods were slain by the Council and everyone, who didn't obey
their rule was locked inside that black hole. You held the new status
quo by absolute control and forced your ideals onto every new god,
who emerged. And so it has been for an eternity till now. I answer.
You know? But..... I never told you...... . But if you know, you should
support the Council! -Lada
I know because I was much longer inside that void zone than the
Council thinks. I got lost in there before the Council won. I am not
some little new god, who emerged unnoticed to godhood and made
the wrong step, while walking on her first path through the river of
souls.

The Council is wrong Lada. Maybe it was created with good

intentions. But those intentions are just a facade by now. If you are
my friend, you will just lean back and remain silent. You wouldn't be
able to stop it anyway. I explain in a gentle tone to my friend.
What have you done Seria?
Hmmm. Nothing huge. I just gathered a lot of people and gave them
a choice. I myself don't really know which side they will choose in the
end. -Me
But if the Council is no more then... Lada starts speaking but I
interrupt her. I believe something better will take it's place! And I
need you to shove them into the right direction.
Me? -Lada
Yes. You need to pick up the good parts and help them to find the
right path. I smile at Lada.
You are playing a dangerous game Seria. But I see that I won't be
able to change your mind. -Lada
I know my friend. I answer and smile at her.
Tjenemit is trying to enter your void zone with a summoning circle. I
guess you want to stop him? -Lada
I think about it for a second. Maybe it's good if he enters it. He
would be alone and cut off from the others. It will be the best chance
to start everything.
But you will be alone against him! He may be a god of creation, but
that doesn't mean that he is weak! -Lada
I hug Lada tighter. I won't be alone there. I think I would never be
alone again in that void zone.

38 - Plan or no plan?
I am sitting inside the living room while reading a book. It's good to
distract my mind. Celes is sitting across from me.
You don't have a plan, do you? Don't you want to train? I will help
you! The coronation is next week you know? There isn't much time
left and that bastard will try to kill you. She is pestering me for days
now.
Train this, train that, come up with a plan. I sigh and drop the book.
I have more knowledge and power than most people in this world.
What can a week of training change now?
I don't know. I am afraid. I couldn't defeat that bastard! Even if I
would fight a perfect fight, I would run out of mana before him. It's
unfair! Celes covers her face with her hands.
That's because of your fighting style. Your only strategy consists of
breaking the enemy's defence with sheer force. And I have to admit,
that's enough for you, because you are a genius in inner mana
manipulation. You don't waste any of your power, while fighting. But
our opponent is cheating in this case, so it's not really a fair fight of
power between two persons. I try to cheer her up.
Cheating!? How? Can we expose his trick? -Celes
No. I guess he received mana from the Meltheim's ritual. They must
have found out how to store the stolen mana inside a person. I am
just guessing here. I have no proof.
B... Ugh. But I thought there is still a maximum to the mana a
person can store? -Celes
I shrug my shoulders. Then he is very talented and got his possible
mana household filled up to the brim. Some people can store more

mana than they could ever generate on their own. He could be such
a talent. I will just have to fight with my brain and not with muscles.
How do you think you can defeat that monster!? -Celes
I already fought more powerful opponents and won. You are a
perfect example. Though you have much more power at your
disposal, I killed you in our fight. I grin at Celes.
You died too....... She looks at me with a grim expression.
I shrug my shoulder and lay back my head. Then I need to try
harder this time. If the fight lasts long enough, I might get past his
passive defence and pop something important inside him. I muse to
myself.
You know how unlikely that is. It's almost impossible to enchant a
person against his will. Your mana inside and around your body is
protecting you passively against any outside influence. Someone,
who wants to manipulate mana inside your own sphere of control
would need to tune his own mana perfectly to your own. Healing is
just possible, because your control is already gone. And it just
restores something to the state it should originally be in. So the
natural defence doesn't interrupt it. But if a healing spell would
disturb the natural order inside your body, it would be just cancelled.
Celes explains.
I chuckle. Perfect explanation, but not entirely correct. Many people
think of it like you do. And they are right..... in a very rudimentary
way. But the natural magic resistance is a little bit more than that.
It's the unconscious refusal of every living organism to be influenced
by anothers will. But that unconscious protection isn't without fault. If
you get disturbed by a strong pain, or are very focused on
something, this defence tends to drop. During my days as soulmage, I did nothing else than feeling the minds of others. And if you
are adept at small manipulations, you can slip past that defence. Tell
me, how can I lift you up with my telekinesis? Aren't I manipulating
the mana inside you? I lift Celes up into the air, until she is hovering

a little above her seat.

Huh? But you aren't manipulating the mana inside my body. The
protection just stops you from doing something inside my body!
Celes tries to explain.
That's the error most people fall prey to. I am manipulating your
mana. I changed it's location, didn't I? It's just that I am not
rearranging the natural flow of mana within you, so your unconscious
defence doesn't recognize my intervention as harmful and didn't
activate. So I slipped past your defence. I explain.
I continue. I could do everything I want, as long as I don't rearrange
the flow of your mana, I could teleport the air out of your lungs, or
heat up the food inside your belly to cook you from inside. If you are
distracted strong enough, I could go farther and manipulate
something small which really belongs to your body. But that's
enough, I could pop a vein in your head, or slice the nerves inside
your spinal cord.
So why don't you do it all the time then? -Celes
Because everyone gets indoctrinated to set up a magic shield as
the first thing to do during combat. Fighters do it by coating
themselves inside mana or an aura, mages cast a real shield. Lower
class magicians and fighters just think of it as the first line of
defence. But to an experienced soul-mage, it's the last line of
defence. It's everything that stops me from executing Markorn on the
spot. -Me
Then you have a big problem, he activates that thing every fight. It's
the first thing he does. And it's his best weapon. It's not a problem to
keep it up either. -Celes
I just have to make him drop that stupid mana aura for a mere
second. One second is all I need and I could dissect him in a
thousand different ways. I stare into the fire.

What if you lift him up like in your first fight and spin him until he
looses consciousness. -Celes
It would be nice if it would work. But I fear he has at least some
possibilities to attack from afar. Mother said that his father is a
smart guy and everyone knows how I fight. It would be stupid to
send someone against me, who couldn't escape something like that.
-Me
So we really need a distraction. -Celes
Would you strip and dance on the throne, I am sure that would ..
*SMACK* ..Okay. No naked princess on the throne for my
coronation. I sigh.
Perverted stuff is forbidden until marriage! Think of a better plan. Celes
Yes my queen. *Smack* No sarcastic comments either!
But you are my queen! This wasn't fair. Celes stops with an
already raised hand. Oh, you are right. Well then you are forgiven.
She leans down and gives me a kiss on the forehead, giving me a
nice view at... ohohoho... if she evolves even further I might forget
her personality!
*Whip!*
Ow! Fucking tail!
You know what that one was for! She leans back in her seat again.
You sure you don't want to distract him with a little dance? I ask
her, but she doesn't even consider to give an answer.
I guess I will have to die a gruesome death and you will get raped
by that guy every night from then on. I shake my head.

If you trained your soul magic so much, then just walk up to him and
do some stuff to his soul, wouldn't that work? -Celes
Hoh, that's the idea! When the duel starts, I will kill the stupid
spectators and create a horde of zombie's to cover him in a
mountain of corpses. But I have to disappoint you, soul magic is just
about tuning yourself to other souls, heightening your sensibility for
them. It allows you tricks like my instant casting and using the weak
points inside someones defence. -Me
I feel that you aren't entirely honest, but I will forgive you. Celes
fiddles with her fingers. You know? We could just try to murder him
together. Fuck the stupid laws of this world. We will deal with
everything else afterwards.
I am shocked! A god of order proposes to break the law! I shake
my head.
The laws of this world are barbaric! They challenge you to duels on
every occasion! It's like some bad movie! Celes hits on the table.
Well, it's the easiest way for them to get rid of me, while gaining all
the power at the same time. Fortunately simply assassinating me
wouldn't ensure the throne at the same time. If the king dies by
assassination, the new king would be chosen by election. I am sure
that the crown would just go back to Nicosar. Strangely enough he is
loved by the public. -Me
I heard he was a good king while he held the title. During the war,
he became a hero. Fucking geezer, if the people just knew his real
personality! Celes shakes a fist at her words.
I nod too. It's late already, I want to sleep. Standing up, I turn to
the door, but Celes jumps on my back. Hey!
I have to check another item on my list! Being carried piggyback to
my room and laid on my bed! She hugs me tighter and almost
chokes me.

I don't think we are on those terms yet. I am not a horse!

There is a reward! She whispers into my ear and dangles a piece
of chocolate before me.
*chocolate* or *humiliation* or *chocolate* or *humiliation* or
*chocolate* or *humiliation*

39 - Coronation!?
I look like a penguin in this! This isn't right! I am about to fight for
my life and I look like some opera singer from Italy!
This is the traditional garb for the coronation. No chance to get
around it. My mother explains.
Wonderful. At least we can please the audience. I stretch a little.
This will rip during the fight! I will be butt naked on the throne.
That would be bad. I will go and get you my old robe! I should fit
you just fine. Nicosar offers and runs off.
I let out a heavy sigh. You are king of the fucking world and you
can't get a suit that fits.
You remember the right words to take the crown from the priest?
Ireth interrogates me again. She asked for the fourth time now.
Yes. Hereby I take the throne and swear to protect the country and
it's people. Not that hard to remember. Much more important,
anything new about our brethren? I ask with a displeased tone.
No. But I am sure they will come. Though I didn't officially invite
them. Ireth smiles at me.
The door flies open and Nicosar storms in. Here try this. I wore it
just once, so it should be fine.
I get dressed and surprisingly, it fits! Hoh, not bad, at least this
proofs that you are my grandson. You have the same build as me,
when I took the throne.
Hmpf. Yeah, I suppose this will work. I nod while looking at myself
in the mirror. At least this suit isn't so close to the opera style. I will

be off then, I'll be back in a few minutes.

What? No, the coronation is in half an hour! Ireth wants to stop me,
but I already teleported.
The world around me distorts and reforms again. I am in my facility
and in front of me is the cold fusion reactor, which supplies the city
with energy.
Three workers are repairing something. They are very concentrated
and have their backs to me. Hrm. Hrm! They turn around. Prince!
Shouldn't you be at the coronation!?
I need something, and that's the access cover for the main power
supply line, am I right? I ask them.
Yes? One of them answers with an enquiring voice.
Step back, I just need a second. All three step back and I take a
look at a knot of cables. Some of them are a little burned. The
distribution device, which I am looking at is under high strain and has
to be maintained very often.
But it's no problem, the workers were just replacing the old parts.
Everything in my facility is redundant. There are at least two
replacement systems for everything.
I am only interested in the heavy red plate behind all the other
cables. It gives access to the big cables, which transport the
electrical energy to the city. I grab the plate, which protects against
accidents and pull it off.
!!That's dangerous! You need the right protection prince!
I know. I feel the energy, which is running through the cables and
grab them. Even before I touch them a spark of energy reaches for
my hand, but I just absorb the power and convert it to mana. A little
bit of smoke rises from my fingers and I cut my nerves with

telekinesis. Sparks of electrical energy wander around my body

without harming me. The lights start to flicker.
Humans may be the best containers for magical power, but it's way
more convenient to convert mana from another source of power like
I am doing now.
I waited with this until the last moment to be sure to walk into the
fight with every ounce of power I can hold. Unfortunately Markorn is
a real talent and will still have much more mana at his disposal.
This will somehow even the odds.
After a minute I pull my hands back, which are a little charred at the
fingertips. It's hard to control the conversion process. A little healing
spell fixes the problem.
The lights come back online, seems like I drained a little more than
the systems could handle. I turn around and look at the three pale
faced workers.
Ar.. Are you okay? Seems like they already saw their heads
being lopped off for letting the prince commit suicide.
No problem, I just needed a little more power than the system could
handle. I look at the now completely charred electronics. You will
have to do a little more work than you anticipated.
N.. no problem, we will work overtime. Another one of them offers.
I smile and wave my goodbyes, while I teleport back to my room.
Where have you been! We had a short power outage here. Nicosar
asks.
I just paid a short visit to my lab. I walk to the door and leave for
the throne room. Nicosar and Ireth follow me with grim
determination.
When I arrive at the entrance I can see Celes with Katrine and

Arthur. I wave at them and walk into the throne room. There are just
nobles from Tirna. No wonder, why should a Stricc noble visit the
coronation of the king of Tirna.
I make my way to the throne, where a priest of the church is waiting
for me. Everyone's eyes are on me. The hall is completely silent.
While I am on my way, I identify some familiar faces. I identify
Sandra, Gabriel and the Cygnus siblings in the first row of
spectators. I smile, while I walk by.
I couldn't find Markorn or Seredorn. Though I know Seredorn just
from bad pictures. It is unlikely that I would recognize him.
Arriving at the priest beside the throne, I nod to him and he starts to
speak to the audience.
Nobles of Tirna! We are all here today to.... I stop to listen to
boring speech and scan the people for the problematic individuals.
But it's hard to find a special person inside that crowd. Mother and
grandfather took place in the first row of the audience.
A few minutes later the priest arrives at the important part of his
speech. .... and if there is someone, who believes himself a better
king. He may speak now or remain silent forever!
The priest looks over the crowd and just as he wants to speak
again. I will be a stronger king! I challenge Angrod of Tirna!
Murmurs start to spread inside the big hall and everyone tries to find
the rude person, who disturbed the coronation.
The crowd parts and two people are standing there. It's Markorn
and a guy which couldn't be anyone else than Seredorn. Seredorn is
strongly resembling my father. He holds himself upright with a
walking stick and his left leg is missing from the knee downwards.
The priest is shocked. And with which right are you challenging
Angrod?

Markorn steps forward. I am Markorn of Tirna, son of Seredorn of

Tirna. The previous kings brother!
The priest grinds his teeth. Obviously he wasn't informed about this
breach of protocol. Then the challenge is legal! You are the
challenged party, you have the choice of weapons and location. The
priest turns to me and looks at me.
Right here, right now! No weapons. This will be over fast. At least I
hope so. If this becomes a long fight it could go badly for me.
The people try to enlarge their distance from us and I approach
Markorn. Seredorn limps to the side with a sly smile on his face.
A few feet before Markorn I stop and take a look back at the priest.
You give the sign. The priest nods and I turn back and look at
Markorn.
The stupid idiot is grinning at me like he already won. He has no clue
what I am capable of. I don't like dying. It hurts. And you lose
memories. I don't like to lose memories.
START!
Markorn explodes with mana and disappears. I teleport.
Reappearing directly before Seredorn, who is standing in the first
row of onlookers with other nobels. His eyes go wide, as he looks at
me.
Hi, uncle! Focusing mana into my left hand, I stab it directly into
his chest. He opens his mouth with a surprised look on his face, but
no scream comes out.
I feel a mighty power inside Seredorn. Obviously he underwent the
same treatment as Markorn. Right decision!
Retracting my hand, I turn around. Everything took less than five

seconds. Markorn is standing at the point, where I was before. He

looks at me with an open mouth, not really understanding the
situation.
Seredorn crumbles behind me and I start to walk towards Markorn.
The mana inside him wavers, swirling and twisting, obviously his soul
is in great turmoil. I grin at him and throw the beating heart of his
father directly into his face.
It lands on his cheek and drops to the ground. Still not realizing the
situation he stares at the beating heart to his feet.
I charge forward and strike at his face. *Krack!* A tooth flies out of
his mouth and I feel his fighting aura waver. An opening!
Feeling my way, I get a hold on some muscles in his right arm.
Taking what I can get, I slice at them with telekinesis.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!
Suddenly Markorns body blurs and something hits me right into the
chest! Driving the air out of my lungs, I am thrown upwards and
impact the ceiling, penetrating it.
Impacting the ceiling of the next floor, I fall down again, together with
tons of debris. Markorn is already waiting and thrusts a hand
towards me, but I teleport behind him.
Another part of the ceiling dents in. It seems like he released some
kind of shock-wave. I grab his shoulder and convert the mana, I
stored within myself, back to electrical energy.
While the surge of power shakes us both he grabs my hand and
tries to throw me over his shoulder, but I stick to him with all my
might and we roll over the floor.
Fighting this fight in a normal way would be my end. I stay as close
as possible, while he grabs and breaks my hand. But I feel nothing. I

cut my nerves, when I started this.

I tear and rip at his mana with my will alone. Pouring energy into
healing myself, while ripping parts of his aura away and converting it
into my own mana.
This is no stupid duel with rules. I will show you bastard a real fight
with life and death on the line. No nice fighting rules. No forbidden
use of lethal attacks.
Sparks of pure energy fly back and forth between us. He stabs a
hand through my ribs and destroys something important.
I don't care. All my concentration is focused at tuning myself to his
energy. With a hand I claw my fingers into his face and eyes. With
an animalistic scream he rolls on top of me and tries to snap my
neck with his good hand.
He almost managed it, but I reinforce my body further by using the
same fighting aura as him. It's a rough method, that's why I hate to
use it. It's nowhere as good as his version and worlds apart from
Celes. I just waste mana, but it keeps him from killing me outright.
Suddenly something within him loosens and I slip past his defence. I
rip and tear! Throwing him to the side and rolling above him. He goes
limp and his hands fall to the ground.
With a savage grin I get to my knees and pull something out of him.
Kukuku! You are mine now! I promised I wouldn't make this fast.
Somehow I get to my feet. I am a bloody mess and I don't have an
ounce of mana left. A ghostly green figure is struggling in my hand.
It's a splitting image of Markorn. Just that his broken body is lying to
my feet.
I hold the ghost at it's head, while it is obviously screaming in horrible
pain. But no sound is heard within the whole hall. Everything is silent
now.

Slowly limping towards the shocked priest, I grab the crown out of
his hands and press the thumb sized crystal, which is framed into it,
against Markorn. He is still wriggling, trying to free himself, while he
is sucked into the crystal.
Finishing it's business, the crystal starts to emit a green glow.
Mwahaha! I will take my time with you. I had two months to think up
some things for you! Realizing that i have probably a problematic
expression on my face again, i try to straighten up.
I put the crown on. Limping towards the throne, I drop myself into it.
I cough up blood. Fuck, I don't want to know how this hurts. Thank
the multiverse for well used telekinesis.
Letting my gaze slide across the hall with nobles I ask:
Anyone else who has complaints?
All spectators shake their heads in unison.
Th... Then I declare prince Angrod of Tirna as the new King of
Tirna! The priest stutters.
Hereby I take the throne and swear to protect the country and it's
people. I answer the ritualistic words.
And since I am feeling a little tired, my first order is to clear the
throne room. I will hold a speech, when this mess is cleared up! I
wave at Markorn's and Seredorn's bodies.
Everyone starts to file out of the room. Mother and Grandfather run
up to me. Mother is crying and immediately kneels down to stop the
blood flowing out of the wound in my side.
It's okay... It doesn't hurt. I gurgle and blood is coming out of my
mouth. Fuck, seems like my body is seriously messed up.

Arthur, Katrine and Celes also come up to me. Katrine joins Ireth in
her efforts to heal me. This looks bad. Arthur looks at me like I
was already a goner.
Celes clenches her fists. I told you! We should have taken him
together and beaten down all the bastards afterwards. She has
tears in her eyes. Do I really look that bad?
I have already called for the best healers, they were waiting close
by. They should be here any second. Arthur informs us.
The guards close the doors and we are alone. At that Celes turns
around and runs back to Markorn's dead body. She grabs his head
and lifts it a little.
Searching around inside his hair, she suddenly pulls a hairpin out of
his head and lets go. *Thud*
Walking back to us, Arthur gives her an inquisitive look.
No proof, no accusation, no deed! She explains.
I grin while everything goes dark...............

40 - A Dream?
It has been two days already, but Angrod still didn't wake up. When
the healers arrived, after he went unconscious, they already wanted
to file a death report before even looking at him!
After hours of uncertainty they healed his body but because he was
severely weakened, he hasn't woken up till now. The medicine of this
world is amazing. Within hours, they announced his wounds to be
healed.
I already thought myself a widow before marriage. Even with the
ring, Angrod gave me, I am bad at magic, so I left the first aid to
Ireth and Katrine.
Right now I am at Angrod's side and trying to wake him up by
stimulating the flow of mana within him. If there was enough of it...
he feels more like a corpse. By gripping his hands directly, I am able
to feel it somehow.
We are inside his room and the healers are paying visits every hour.
Stupid idiot hermit! What should I do, if he leaves me alone now!
Couldn't we have just fought together?
I don't know how this was possible yet. Somehow he gained a huge
amount of mana for this fight. I hope he didn't go to the streets and
suck some people dry! But if he did that, it would already be known.
The fight itself shocked all the nobles. There are already some
voices that a king shouldn't attack bystanders. But there are very
few of them. I guess everyone is afraid of being added to Angrod's
crown next.
I hope nobody finds out that I intervened. My parents gave me a
day's worth of lectures. But the opportunity was so great! After
Angrod had penetrated the ceiling and Markorn fired that shock-

wave after him, a huge part of the ceiling caved in. That created a
huge cloud of dust, which was enveloping them.
Just reacting on the spur of the moment, I pulled a hairpin out of my
pinned up hair and threw it. Everyone was concentrated on the fight
and no one paid attention to me.
The small hairpin disappeared inside the dust cloud and struck the
figure I had identified as Markorn. By paying attention, I had a pretty
good idea which figure was the right one.
Katrine had given me a shocked look, but didn't say anything. I was
right next to her, so she became aware of my action.
I know myself that I took a huge risk. Interfering in such a manner
could have easily tipped the delicate political balance. Even if our
reputation is very good at the moment, if something like this would
become public.... I don't want to think about it.
I hope he wakes up soon, his hands are so cold! He has to be
warmed up somehow. Hmm, he isn't conscious right now, so I can
do everything I want to him. Hohoohohhoho! This is the perfect
chance to get a whole lot of items from my check-list.
I carefully lift the sheet and hug the stupid hermit, while sneaking
under the cover. Hahaha, you can't run away now!
His mana feels so familiar. Like in the old times, when he was
Johann. I relax while I fall asleep.
*****
I am sitting at a bench. Behind me is a house of wood and fields
stretch to the horizon. Before me is a valley with a forest and a lake.
Is this a dream? I know this place. Am I dead and this is the real
afterlife? I pinch my cheek, but I feel the pain. And this bench feels
too real. But this is my house, from the time I was with Sandra.

How is it?
I jump up and turn at the voice behind me. Seria, You!

Hiiiii. The goddess waves at me with a smile. I try to ignore the

almost transparent dress.
What are you here for? Am I about to be sent to the next
punishment? I ask her.
Nope, I just wanted to say hello and ask how it is going. She sits
down on the bench and pats beside her, signalling that I should sit
down too.
I sit down, no point in opposing a god. Why would you need to ask
me? Can't you check for yourself?
I am just talking to you via long range telepathy. I didn't visit your
world for quite a while. If I did, Tjenemit would immediately get
access and I am not quite ready yet. She explains to me, but I
understand exactly nothing.
Could you please start at the beginning? I know that some fanatics
are currently trying to summon a god to my current world. But a
council member at that? And why would any god have the need to
be summoned? Seria will have to do some explaining here.
Unfortunately I don't have very much time. Just until you wake up.
But to make it short. Your world is inside a void zone. It is my
personal playground, no other god has access to it. I grabbed you
two for myself, because I like you two. Tjenemit isn't too fond of me
and has found out about my little rebellion against the council.
Although he has no proof, he is trying to get access to this world. I
plan to let him enter your world to fight him there. I can't come to the
world, because it would help him to get access and I am not ready
to fight him, yet.
A rebellion against the Council? I ask her.

Just a little long term plan of mine. Seria smiles an innocent smile
at me.
And what if I stop him from gaining access at all? I ask her.
Feel free to try, but when I interpret the stuff in your head correctly,
it's unlikely. Other questions? -Seria
How do you know this place? -Me
Hmmm, I wonder? It's a nice and peaceful place isn't it? That
reminds me! How is it going with your wife? Did you two already
make up? -Seria
You are trying to evade the question...... It is going okay I guess? I
answer.
Wonderful, I wish I could show up to the marriage! Maybe I will
project an image of myself to visit you for a few hours. -Seria
Why are you so enthusiastic about this? -Me
Why shouldn't I be enthusiastic about the marriage of two people, I
brought together? But I fear our time is up. Seria pats my head.
What? You still have some explaining to do! Somehow the world
distorts and starts to fade away.
Don't forget to take a close look at that soul, you captured........
and be nice to your wife.
.
.

I open my eyes and look at the ceiling. That's what I would call a
nightmare. I look to the side and see my mother smiling at me.
I am glad you woke up. She whispers and I become aware that
something is lying on top of me. I lift the sheet and discover Celes.
Why are you using a sick person as a body pillow?
She was at your bed for three days now, like me. The healers

already started to dig your grave. -Ireth

Is that so? I guess I will have to disappoint them. Anything else? Me
Nothing that couldn't wait. After your little demonstration, everyone
was surprisingly docile. I never heard so few complaints. -Ireth
Ireth pats my head with a relieved expression and leaves the room.
Wait! You have to take Celes with you. I try to slip out of her grasp,
but suddenly she tightens down around me like a vice! OOWW! I
need the healers again!
Nyahahhaha. You won't get away...... the body pillow has no
right to sneak off......
What the hell are you dreaming!?

41 - A bad prophecy?
I am sitting on the throne and playing around with Markorn's soul. It's
been a few years since I had a toy like that. Right now he is going
through his own little hell.
Should I give him a chalkboard session next? Or should I let him
experience something else? Maybe another little dissection to find
out what's wrong with his soul?
Hmmm.
You have that expression again. And you promised to let his soul go
as soon, as you found out what you needed to know. Ireth gives me
questioning look. Everyone else of the family is here too. I just held a
little speech to the nobles and gave Ireth and Nicosar governing
rights too.
It's a pain to do everything on my own, so the more annoying stuff
they can take off of my shoulders, the better.
I just found out that his soul is missing something. The same
something, Celes and I are missing. And I will wipe his memories
before I let him go. I don't like to have enemies, who could
remember a past grudge. -Me
He is a former god too? Is this world becoming a meeting place for
ex-gods? -Katrine asks with a surprised expression.
Yes. Though he has no memories of it. Everything he remembers is
this single live, he lived in this world. Unfortunately he cannot give
much information about the Meltheims. They powered him and his
father up, before they shut themselves inside their city. I had hoped
for a little back-door, but they were smart enough to not inform him,
if they have something like that. I scratch the broken tip of my left
horn.

It broke during my fight with Markorn and it still itches. The healers
think it will regrow because I have pure blood, but it will take a while.
Nicosar's broken horn didn't heal because he has mixed blood.
Now that I think about it, how did it get broken in the first place?
Couldn't Nicosar just have healed himself?
Don't do that, the healers said it wouldn't grow correctly if you
disturbed it! Celes snatches my hand. Haaaah. You have no idea
how annoying it is.
Just make that -no pain- thing of yours then. She is much too
concerned about me.
Don't want to. It works by cutting my nerves and healing them
afterwards. It would be a pain if they healed on their own in the
wrong way. This isn't a really good long term solution. -Me
Then deal with it like an adult. -Celes
Though your horn surely isn't why you called us all to remain here
for an important discussion. I have to manage the other part of the
continent you know? There aren't less idiots there. So if it's nothing
important, I would like to do some real work. Arthur crosses his
arms before his chest. Seems like he is a little stressed at the
moment.
Oh, sorry I just wanted to inform you about the end of the world. I
nod and smile, while everyone looks at me with shocked faces.
From the begining please? -Nicosar
When I was unconscious, Seria paid me a visit. She told me that
she has a little rebellion going against the Council. You remember?
The rulers of the multiverse. Because of certain circumstances, they
can't visit this world. It lies within a void zone, that's a space where
god's can't leave and enter as they please. It seems that Tjenemit,

one of the Council members, managed to get information about a

summoning circle for him to this world. The stupid Meltheims found it
and believed the promises that came with it. Seria is unable to come
here in person, because it would give Tjenemit immediate access, if
he followed her. But it seems like she is preparing to fight him here,
as soon as he is summoned. If she is serious with her rebellion, it's a
good chance for her to catch a Council-member on his own and
without assistance of the others. So she isn't opposed to let him be
summoned. I take a deep breath and look at the others.
But... but.... That will be Armageddon! Celes screams at me.
Can you explain why Seria should want to rebel against the Council.
I still don't get the whole power issue outside my own world. Arthur
asks with a pale face, so Celes and I take another hour to explain
the real issue of existence and reincarnation.
So the Council dictates what every god is allowed to do? Aaand
they punished you, because you killed each other? Katrine asks
with a surprised look. Both Celes and I nod.
But you see, we were stuck with each other for over a thousand
years. If we were allowed to abandon our jobs, anyone of us could
have just left and gone somewhere else. The current system is
partly at fault for our fight. -Celes
To think that being a god is just a job for my daughter .... Katrine
shakes her head and massages her temples.
Well Seria will fight Tjenemit here. And that will be most likely cause
serious destruction. I sum it up.
What scale are we talking about? -Arthur
When Angrod and I got personal, we wrecked a world. So no point
in hiding anywhere. Celes grumbles.
I don't think Seria would do that if she thought, the destruction

would be so big. We should still consider evacuating as much of the

north as we can around the City of Seria. Just in case everything
goes well. -Me
We should evacuate the north, just in case everything goes well....
Ireth whispers to herself.
Maybe we can stop the summoning? Nicosar asks hopefully.
I shrug my shoulders. Maybe, but Seria was pretty sure, I wouldn't
manage it. At least we still have a few years to put our stuff in
order. I straighten my suit.
How long exactly? Ireth asks.
At least three years if I interpret the newest readings correctly. In
five years the summoning should be done for sure. It's hard to tell
without any data directly from the source. -Me
So we will have three to five years. At least that's enough time to
prepare. Arthur talks to himself.
I will have my project finished in three years too. It will be a close
call, but in three years we will have a weapon which is able to break
the shield. So it will be nice if you could plan an offensive for that
time Arthur. -Me
Hoh, breaking the shield? Would you explain that. -Arthur
I would rather not. I have it sealed up inside my facility and all my
employees took a magical oath to keep the secret. It's not that I
don't trust anyone of you, but it's better if everything is uncovered at
the last moment. I want to keep this secret because the Meltheims
have already proven that they are capable of setting up disturbances
for us. Even though they are hiding behind a shield. I jump out of the
throne.
If you want to make it a surprise that badly, then I hope it will be a

really good surprise. -Arthur

Don't worry, I think it will be quite a show. I grin at Arthur. I will
now go and read a good book, I have found a pretty smart author.
No you can't! You need to come with me. Celes suddenly grabs my
arm and pulls me off.
What, where are we going? -Me
Surprise!
Celes leads me outside the palace, where Rose is waiting with the
car. But no matter how often I ask, she won't answer my questions.
Minutes later, we stop on the Cygnus property and I am led inside.
After a few corners, we arrive at a somewhat big room, where a
few familiar faces shoot confetti at me. The whole room is styled out
for a party.
Congratulations on becoming king! Celes gives me a box of
chocolate. Oohhohoho.... I could make a habit out of becoming king.
The Cygnus siblings, Tanja, Gabriel, Iris, Sven and Sandra
congratulate me too. Everyone of the special class has paid a visit.
Everyone is giving me chocolate and congratulating me? Has Celes
told them about my weak point?
They all wanted to get on your good side, after they saw the
coronation. Celes whispers to me.
Hey, Hey, Angrod can you teach me that soul-thing of yours. I have
to learn it! You can still interrogate the bastard after you killed him!
Can you? I have to learn that! Tanja looks at me with sparkling
eyes.
Huh, maybe I will teach you the training basics during class, but I
takes a lot of time to master it. I answer.

Really? Yay! You know, I always hated that torture stuff to get
information! All the blood and body-parts, it's too dirty in my opinion.
If I could learn that, everything would be much cleaner! Tanja nods
to herself while talking aloud.
What the hell did her parents teach to her!?
I start to eat chocolate, while I have a nice conversation with the
others. It's nice that my coronation didn't change all that much in our
relationship. At least I hope that's the case.

42 - A picnic in the woods?

I feel like I am a pet! Yes, if I think about it, our relationship is like I
am the pet and Celes is the owner. When I do a pleasing trick I get
fed and otherwise I have to stand on guard.
It's infuriating! I am the king of a country! Somehow I have to get the
upper hand in our relationship. If I could just remember one
weakness of hers from our past life.
Just a single weakness would be enough, but nothing comes to my
mind. I remember that she always jumped at every plea of our
children.
When I wanted her to do something, I always used our children as
middlemen. Ugh, nothing like that available now...... and I am not
sure if having children in our current relationship would be a good
idea.
And we will get married in a few months! Our parents are already
making preparations and are sending out invitations. It looks like they
want to throw a party for the whole world!
Huh, I guess they -are- throwing a party for the whole world! Stricc
and Tirna will be officially one country after our marriage.
Every weekend Celes drags me off to an event. She always
chooses loud places with many people. I really hate those, you can't
talk to each other and in the end you just sit side by side and watch
the performance. Maybe I should try to go on the offensive? It would
surely surprise her if I would take her out on a date by myself?
If I would do something like that, it would surely catch her off guard
and maybe I can find a weakness. But where should I bring her to?
Hmmmm.....

****
Where should I take him to? Maybe the national flower garden or the
new theatre? I can't decide what I like better. No point in asking the
hermit, he would surely visit a library if he could choose.
I am in my room and planning our trip for today. There are still some
points on my list, which have to be accomplished.
Muahaha. I could do this and that. And afterwards.... I just have to
make sure that he can't escape.
Celes. A voice behind me shocks me and I cover my list.
What are you hiding? It's that perverted list of yours isn't it? Have
you thought up a few new idiotic points for it? The hermit asks from
behind me.
It's not perverted! It's a guide to a decent life! And what are you
doing inside here? How did you even get in here? I was sure I
locked the door! I ask flabbergasted.
I just teleported here. Oh, and you locked the door? Where you
about to release some urges? He asks with a smirk on his face.
Noooo? And don't you have any common decency? Just waltzing
inside a lady's room? At least knock first! I am angry. He acts like
this place belongs to him.
Hoh, Sorry. I didn't think that you would have anything to hide. But if
you need some time for yourself first, then my surprise can wait. He
looks at me with an interrogative expression.
Since when did the stupid hermit do anything for me on his own?
That's suspicious! On the other hand, he gave me the ring. So he
has his generous moments.....
Umm. No I have nothing planned? Though we have a date today

you know? Not a chance that you could distract me from it. -Me
Then we can take look at the surprise, care to join me? He offers
his arm to invite me. Something is definitely wrong.
After wavering for a moment, I grab his arm and stand up.
Then let's go.
The surroundings distort and are replaced by a wide grassy plateau.
A valley stretches out in front of us and at the bottom is a forest with
a lake. Huh? Did you just teleport us?
Geez, and there I thought the picnic would be a surprise. He sits
down on the blanket under us and starts to unpack a huge basket
with food. I told Rose to prepare something really good after I
found this place. We are in the southern area, which is mostly
uninhabited. It took me a few days to clean this mountain valley from
all the monsters, so we could have a nice evening here. It's really
cool when the sun sets and the whole sky is painted in red. Why are
you feeling my forehead?
I just wanted to make sure you don't have a fever. I sit down
beside him and help to unpack. So if I understand it correctly you
took care of today's date?
Huh, why not? You are planning all the others. And you always bring
us to noisy places with many people. So I thought I would take you
somewhere quiet for once. Otherwise talking would be just a huge
pain. -Angrod
Huh? He wants to talk to me? The other places were too noisy? So
he didn't like the dates I organized? I am not sure if I should hit or
kiss him.
Here that stuff is really good, you have to try it. He holds a piece of
meat into my face and I open my mouth, so he can feed it to me.

It's good did Rose make that? I ask. I think so, she is really
talented with cold food. He smiles at me.
What's up with this pink atmosphere? Is the hermit sick? Or could he
really be trying on his own? Oh my, didn't I want this all the time?
Why can't I just believe him? Um, I will just believe in his good
intentions! Yes. That's the right choice!
We sit down together to eat the wonderful food.
I chose this place because we will have a nice sunset soon. He
continues to explain.
W... wait, does that mean you just teleported us to another time
zone? How far can you teleport with two people? It's incredible hard
to teleport short distances alone and you just took me with you like
nothing! I am shocked.
Huh? It's not that hard, really. Other magicians just teach that
teleportation is an incredible complex and dangerous field. But it's
not that hard to master if you have reincarnation. I trained long range
teleportation before I became a god. It's a handy skill because many
worlds don't have a good transportation system. I killed myself a few
times in the process, but who cares if you just come back to life
anyway. That was when I had a deep depression and concentrated
just on honing my skills. -Angrod
Ugh. So he killed himself while training teleportation alone. How did
you learn to take someone with you? Did you just grab some
innocent person from the street and started teleporting around the
world? I don't want to think about it.
It's okay! He may have some really dangerous impulses, but even he
wouldn't just start to experiment on random people. Probably he
took some guy, who really pissed him off. Yeah that's it.
Here, I have another present for you. He grabs a small box and
gives it to me. I open it and there are two nice silver earrings inside.

Their style matches my ring, which assists me in casting spells.

They are a set with your ring. The ring could only save up a few
selected spells on his own. Those earrings supply additional
memory, so you can save three times as many spells now. If you
don't copy any overly complicated spells, it should be enough for
thirty smaller spells. And you can activate the spells by a thought
now. It will take some time to learn how to handle it, but it should be
much more convenient to use the ring now. He explains to me in a
happy and anticipating voice.
I blush. Somehow my face feels hot. He really is thinking about me!
He wouldn't develop something like that otherwise. He has no use for
it. I smile and hug him. That's such a nice present.
He goes stiff when I hug him. Oh, he is still such an innocent boy!
Maybe I should? Using the moment I give him a long kiss. He falls
backwards and I sit on top of him.
Then I smile at him. Ohohoh, it's unfortunate. But we will have to
wait with the aftermath until we are married. I inform him with a
smug grin.
Suddenly his face twists into a devilish grin. Now I remember!
Weren't you actually quite ticklish? He grabs my belly and..
HahaahAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHANOOOHAHAHSTOPPPHAHAHAHAHA
*WHACK!*
Uugh. Stupid hermit! Why do you have to destroy the mood! I just
struck him unconscious. Serves you right! If I wouldn't be
somewhere in the woods because of you, I would just leave you
here and walk home by myself!
But that reminds me of another item on my list. I pull him upright and
lean him against one of the stones. Then I sit on his lap and lean
against him.

Aaaah. That's a nice comfortable position. Much better than the

stupid hard earth! I watch the sunset and eat the food until he wakes
up.
You shouldn't have hit that hard! He complains.
Serves you right! But I forgave you because the sunset is really
beautiful. I answer.
I can't feel my feet.... -Angrod
Deal with it! Men don't need feet. They should be happy to be a
body pillow!
Hrm. If my queen is happy. And I remembered that you are quite
ticklish, I guess today wasn't that bad. He hugs me from behind.
Fufufufu. It's true. Today is a really good day. A nice present
and I found out that you can teleport me anywhere I want to go.
That increases the amount of possible dating places by leaps
and bounds!
...

43 - Graduation party!
I have graduated! No more school! Well unless I decide to go for
university too. Of course the tests weren't a problem. After all I have
a few lifetimes of experience.
Right now we are celebrating in the same valley, I found a few
months ago. I took some of my employees and ordered them to
build me a nice little house of wood with a good view on the lake.
Then we created an electrical fence to keep out the wildlife. Right
now this my own little hiding place. Though we invited some guests
today.
We have everyone from the special class here. Teacher Tongord,
Jeniva and Samarin joined us too. Rose and a few other maids are
taking care of the food. From my parents side just Ireth and Katrine
came. Nicosar and Arthur stayed in the palace to keep an eye on
everything.
Everyone is having fun, while I am lying in the grass. I need to rest a
little. Teleporting so many people in short order is a little straining.
The queens are talking with the teachers and Rose. The girls are
playing volleyball, while Iris and Stephen seem to be in their own
world on a bench. They surely hit it off right from the start? I never
would have thought it would turn out like that.
Margerie is playing with her drone in a few meters distance.
You found a nice place here. Sven tells me from behind.
Yeah. It's reminding me of a really nice time. I had to search for
quite a while to find it. I answer him.
It's interesting that everything can seem so nice and normal while

we are at war. -Sven

I don't think you really could call it a war. They are hiding behind
their shield while we are constantly bombarding them with everything
we have. The situation doesn't change in any way. -Me
Though we are still in a state of war. Sven reminds me.
It's not possible to mobilize the army otherwise. The laws are
ironclad in that regard. -Me
Hmmm. It's still hard on the nerves to have it always on your mind.
But I guess you can distract yourself soon with a pretty queen. The
marriage will be next week? The whole world is already talking
about it! Will you pop the cherry on the first night? He grins at me.
Now you have done it! If you really want to play that game, you
made a poor choice. I may be a little dense in terms of relationships,
but I have still much more experience than you! I throw my hands up
in the air. What happened to the cute little shy boy I first met at my
introduction party. I don't recognize him any more.....
Th.. That was years ago! I worked on my character since then. He
nods to himself.
I sit up. But you still haven't told Tanja about your feelings. So you
aren't that different after all.
Wh.. What are you talking about? Tanja is my cherished childhood
friend. -Sven
Are you sure? I noticed that you always look at her when you think
that she doesn't realize it. I smirk at him.
I don't do that! He got red all over.
Don't worry about it, it's nothing bad to like older girls. But you
should be sure to tell her your feelings. Women feel it when you look

at them. If you don't tell her your feelings, she will just think you
became a creepy, lecherous guy. -Me
His jaw drops. If you want I can help you. I will set up a situation
with you and her alone. I offer to him. Just wait, I can be a horrible
guy. Mwahaha. You will have the time of your life. Never accept my
help without second thoughts.
Huh? You would do that? He asks hopeful.
I smile at him and he puts on a wary expression. Seems like I put on
that face again? Don't worry! I will take care of it, but the rest is up
to you. I jump up and put my hands on his shoulders.
Whh.. when will we start. I have to prepare myself! He asks.
I take a look at Tanja, who sits on a bench and is waiting for the next
game of volleyball to start.
Hmmm... How? . About?.... NOW? I teleport us both up to the
hills above my woodhouse. His eyes become round and he looks left
and right to get the situation.
I teleport again, before he can collect himself and appear right
beside Tanja, who didn't move. She jumps a little at my sudden
appearance.
I need you for a second, care to join me? I put a hand on her
shoulder and teleport again. We appear right beside Sven who is still
trying to get the situation.
Have a nice time you two. The house is about half an hour away.
Walk in this direction. I point downward and smile at them. If you
walk at a normal pace you should be back soon. Bye! Before
anyone can say something I teleport again and reappear on Tanja's
bench with a satisfied expression.
Why did you just abduct Tanja? Sandra asks me, while I get stared

at by the volleyball players.

I was asked by a lesser being to help him in an epic quest of love!
So I decided to help. They should be back in half an hour, I just
teleported them up the hill to be alone. -Me
Everyone looks around and realizes that Sven is missing too.
No way! He wouldn't? Sandra smirks at me and Celes smacks her
head. That's why he always looked at her like a perverted old man!
I never would have thought that he would go for older ones,
how bold! If I knew I would have eaten him up. I like the cute
and silent type. Hopefully he gets turned down. Then I can
console him and reap the fruit. Mmmmhhhh. Everyone looks at
Sandra, who just blurted out a pretty dangerous line.
If you like younger ones, then how about me. I would be happy to
end your loneliness. Gabriel knees before Sandra and smiles at her.
She looks down on him like she is considering it but... NO. Sorry,
but you are neither cute nor shy. So no fun there. I don't like red
ones either, so you will have to search somewhere else! Gabriel
lets himself fall on the face and moves no more.
But if you like, I guess I could introduce you to one of my seven little
sisters. You are a decent fellow after all. -Sandra
Gabriel jumps to his feet. I am at your service! Of course I would
cherish everyone of them.
I don't think you could handle all of them, you would be dead in no
time. -Sandra
I will try my best!
Who would have thought that Sandra has seven little sisters? She
never talked about it. What about brothers! Her parents must be
pumping them out like on an assembly line! They don't just look like
rabbit-men, they are rabbits!
Anyway, you have to play now Angrod! You abducted our fourth

player after all. Celes informs me.

I will play with my queen then! Before anyone can vocalize
anything, I sprint onto her side of the field.
Hoh, where does that enthusiasm come from? She asks me.
I smile and point at the other side, where her opponents fought for
their lifes during the last match. The whole field is packed with dents,
which have the outline shape of volleyballs.
Playing against Celes isn't a game of hitting the ball back to her side
of the playing field. It's a game to evade the ball in order to live
another day.
Hmmmmm. You are no fun! After Celes's observation, we start to
play. I have the honour to watch while Sandra and Gabriel fight for
their lifes. Celes is too strong. Every ball she hits just disappears,
followed by a rising dust cloud inside the enemy's field.
An hour later Rose calls us for dinner and we stop the survival
training game.
Didn't you say you teleported them just a short distance? They
should already be back. Gabriel asks me.
I don't know. They could see the house, it's impossible to get lost
like that. They are about ten minutes from here, I can feel their
presence. -Me
Muuuuh... She must have eaten him on the spot. Maybe they are
hiding under some bush and are very busy at the moment. Sandra
puffs her cheeks.
Celes gets red and Gabriel looks like he is thinking very hard about
something.
Hmmm. We could go and check? I ask and smirk at them.

No! -Celes
I am in. -Gabriel
Sandra grabs my hand. Teleport now!
I put my hand on Gabriels shoulder while Celes jumps onto my back
to stop me. You can't just disturb....
But I teleport all four of us and we reappear at the foot of the hill. In
front of us is Tanja, which is being carried piggyback by Sven.
Ohoho.
Mmmhhh! See, I told ya! They even were so rough, the girl has to
be carried now! Sandra pouts with a displeased voice.
Tanja turns red. N.. Nothing of the sort! I tripped and sprained my
ankle! And I turned him down by the way. There is nothing between
us! Sven looks a little down.
Really? Sandra asks.
At least you tried. It's better than eating it inside yourself for the
rest of your life. I am proud of you. I try to console him.
I feel with you! It's hard to be sent packing one time after the other!
But be strong my friend! After a few times it starts to hurt less!
Gabriel pounds Sven's shoulder with tears in his eyes.
How often did he already confess to get like that!?
Haah, who cares. But it's nice that you guys are here. I may be
fast, but I am already at my limits. Sven's knees are shaking a little,
while he is carrying Tanja.
You two should have learned at least some basic healing spell! I
won't complain about broken bones, but to be held back by a
sprained ankle? That's like a bruise. I heal Tanja with a wave of my
hand.
Sven lets her down and she jumps a little. Nice! Good as new! Oh

by the way. We found something cool up the hill. You have to come
and see!
We have to be back for dinner. Celes reminds us.
It won't take long! It's really interesting. Tanja doesn't yield and
leads us about five minutes back into the direction they came from.
At a scarp, flat rock face she stops and points at a particular area.
It's volcanic rock and you can see footprints, like someone was
walking down the vertical surface.
Cool, Isn't it? She asks us. The Cygnus siblings would surely like
to see that.
We left Margerie with her drone back at the house. She is in her
own world as long as she can screw around with that thing. Gabriel
answers.
You think it's some kind of fossil from the first humans? -Sven
Which idiot would walk through lava? -Celes
A God? I ask and chuckle. The footprints surely look feminine in
size and form.
Tanja's, Gabriel's, Sven's and Sandra's jaws drop and they look in
awe at the godly footsteps. I take on a grim expression.
Don't tell anyone! That was a stupid joke! If the idiots from the
church knew about this, they would be here in no time and start to
build some kind of shrine.

44 - Interlude - A stolen world?

El Shaddai is sitting in front of me and looks very displeased at
some documents. Seria, Do you have any idea why I invited you
into my office?
It's not really an office. Just a white room inside a dimensional
pocket. There is a desk and two chairs. That's all. It's located at an
important cross-way of paths inside the river of souls.
No? I smile at him while playing with my long golden hair.
So you don't know what happened to a certain world? He lifts an
eyebrow and looks at me accusingly.
What have I done now? First Tjenemit with all those strange
accusations and now you. I neither have an idea what you are talking
about, nor a clue to guess anything. I shrug my shoulders and pout.
El Shaddai sighs. I am talking about the world of those two gods,
who killed each other. The two, we gave to you, to supervise their
punishment. By your wish. It was a big favour by the Council. But I
am beginning to believe that you have a little too much freedom.
I frown and arch my eyebrows. What about that world? I haven't
been there in years. Wasn't it destroyed?
El Shaddai scratches his long earlobe and strokes his bald head. He
looks like he is thinking hard about something. His golden skin
reflects the light in painful way. If I wasn't a god, I would probably go
blind just by looking at him.
I often try to imagine what would happen if he just sat down and
stopped moving. Most people would think of him as some Buddha
statue.

He leans back into his seat. It wasn't really destroyed. Just a little
damaged. But when a god of nature was tasked by the
administration department to repair it...... Guess what he reported.
What? -Me
Gone! -El Shaddai
Gone? -Me
*Wham!*
The world is gone! El Shaddai hits the desk with his fist and I flinch
out of surprise.
I hope you don't want to imply that I am stealing worlds now. First I
am accused of stealing gods and now I steal whole worlds? I ask
him like I am insulted.
Not just the world! The whole solar system just disappeared! He
screams at me. I guess he had a bad day. He is always a little itchy,
but it's particularly bad today.
Oh, that's fine then. I let out a sigh of relief.
F.... F... FINE!? He looks seriously angry now. He doesn't like it
when something happens inside -his- multiverse, that he doesn't
know about.
Oh you see. If the whole solar system is gone, it proves that I am
not guilty for sure. I may be one of the mightier gods, but even I
couldn't just grab a solar system, put it into my pocket and walk off
with it. I nod and smile, while looking relieved. Even if El Shaddai is
a tyrant with dangerous mood swings, He is always logical.
You -may- not have enough power for a stunt like this. But you are
the only one who has access to a place where a whole solar system
could be hidden. I ordered a little search for the system in question

and there was no result for two months now! -El Shaddai
Oh, please.... there are a thousand other possibilities! -Me
Like? -El Shaddai
It could be destroyed. Ascathon was a god of magic and change
with serious powers. The whole world was littered with his divine
artefacts. I am sure he had some kind of doomsday device, which
activated by default. I smile at El Shaddai, who just gives me
another suspicious look.
After a few seconds he waves to signal that I am dismissed. I bow
and leave his office by directly using a path through the river of
souls.
Everything is starting to move. I wonder if my house of cards will
crumble above me or above the Council? I know of many rebellions
which failed in the end.
The problem lies with power. The Council governs hundred
thousands of gods. Those in turn have control over several smaller
gods and deities. If some of them show too much resistance, they
are hunted and dealt with by armies of loyal servants to the Council.
This system worked for an eternity till now. It became bigger and
bigger over time. But this works in my favour. Bigger also means
harder to control. That they found out about the missing world so
late is proof that they aren't really in control any more.
The gears of their machine are becoming old and worn. So it takes
them much longer to find out about the really important issues.
Somehow they can sense and find every god in the multiverse. So
none of the rebellions until now had a chance to succeed. They were
already doomed before they started.
Oh, I just remembered that I have to make an important call!

45 - Until death?
Married? I am getting married to that crazy girl? I admit that our
relationship really got better, but it still feels unreal. Am I getting cold
feet? No, I am too old to run away from a wedding ceremony.
After a few seconds to gather myself, I walk to the window and take
a look out of my room.
The whole city looks like a rainbow..... I don't want to complain,
everyone has his own tastes. But if I watch this view it's freaking me
out. Fucking crazy world!
This is a marriage and not a damned carnival! I just have to think
about the whole event and my head starts to spin.
First they want to put us into a car and drive us around the whole
city for everyone to see. Then we visit the biggest cathedral in the
city to get married by a priest. Afterwards we have to meet all big
noblemen and officials at a festival. This is just to give them the
possibility to congratulate us.
Last but not least, we will have a small party with a few selected
guests. My head is spinning just by thinking about it. I am not a
social person. I dislike it to be treated as some kind of exhibitionsample.
Are you done? Rose bursts into my room. Yes, yes, I am done
dressing up. No stress! I wave at her to calm her down.
Oh, no! You can't go out like that. Your neck-tie is so sloppy! And
you didn't put on the traditional markings! She immediately starts to
correct my appearance. First the tie. Afterwards she plucks at my
black suit at least for five minutes and then paints a complicated
tattoo onto my cheek.

It's some kind of tradition. I don't like to put make-up onto myself
and had hoped I would get around it. They are dressing me up like
some kind of bird!
If I think about it. This world seems like a mix of every culture, I ever
knew. Hmmmm......
Rose, don't you think it's enough? We are almost out of time. I try
to redirect her attention.
Oh no, you are right! But you have to look perfect. This will be your
biggest day ever! She drags me outside, where a stunning red
haired beauty is waiting. Her hair is woven around her horns and
there is a really complicated pattern painted around her eyelids. Her
black dress emphasises the important curves at the right places.
This is dangerous.... I have to think straight..... let me see.... Pi is
3.14159265359
Are you ready? If we drive now, we will be just in time. The beauty
prompts us to proceed.
DAMN! That put me off my stride!
Isn't that a little too much effort? How long did you have to keep still
for this? I don't like make-up. But whoever worked on Celes did a
good job.
You have no idea. How do I look? Was it worth it? She smiles
at me warmly.
Brainfreeze...
Ehm.
It doesn't look good? How can that be? It took so long to find the
right dress! Celes stomps on the floor and pouts.
I think the young king wanted to say that no words could describe

your beauty my queen. You both look okay, so let's go now. We

have a schedule to keep. Rose jumps in and saves me.
Why did I just freeze up like that? Fuck, I have more experience in
life than anyone could imagine! Could it be that this new body is
causing me trouble? Hormones? Could it be? I never felt anything
like that as a god.
We proceed to the throne room, where the other family members
are waiting. Oh you two look beautiful! Katrine explodes with joy.
The time sure flies by. It feels like yesterday, when I could still carry
you around with my tail. Everyone gives Ireth a shocked look. Yes!
Think about your own shortcomings mother! I was right when I
thought that it isn't proper to treat a child like this.
You can use your tail like that? Now I remember that you did it a
few times with me. Celes waves her tail before her to inspect it. I
often felt like I could use a third hand.
Don't copy her bad habits! Arthur jumps in. Thank you father in law!
We have to go! Nicosar shoves us into the direction of the exit. He
is right, we have a tight schedule.
Outside we enter a limousine and a procession of guards and
servants starts on its way. Now this is really a full blown carnival! I
look back at the line of gaudy vehicles behind us.
It's funny. I never had a marriage like that. And I had many
marriages until now. Celes seems to be in a good mood.
At least I just have to wave at the people and smile. I have to be
positive. There is no point in focusing on the bad things.
Yes. It's not that bad! Think about it! Even if I get married to her
again in this life..... it's just one life! It's just a few years and then I
am free again. And while I am at it, I can take advantage of the

good aspects.
There are many guys who don't care about personality. Why
shouldn't I be able to become one of them too?
Our car leaves the palace grounds and I can see thousands of
people, all of them are trying to get a look at us.
Suddenly Celes links arms with me and waves at the crowd. There
are thousands of people cheering at us. I smile and wave at them.
Yep. I officially hate this day. When we get married, I will make this
day a working day! Everyone will have to go to work and pretend
that nothing is out of the ordinary!
People, who are celebrating in any way, will be executed on the
spot. I will be damned if they make this something like a national
holiday.
You have that strange grin again Angrod. Celes whispers into my
ear.
R.. Really. I try to lighten my expression.
Now you seem really stressed. Just think about something positive.
We have much to do today. There are many important points on my
list. -Celes
About that... I actually think that... But I get interrupted.
Ohohoh. I can remember my wedding night! Arthur was so wild!
Katrine bursts out. Unfortunately, I found out that I can't teach my
daughter anything in this respect.
I think I will just teleport away, as soon as this is done. Yes. Nobody
can catch me. I will say yes and amen. And when everything is done,
I will make a run for it and have my peace.
While we drive around the city I dwell in my own thoughts. Of course

I keep smiling and waving at the people. After hours, it must have
been hours because the car continued on, with a constant velocity of
walking speed. Finally, we arrive at the cathedral and exit out of the
car.
People throw confetti at us, while we walk inside. Rice guys! It's
supposed to be rice and not confetti! I want to cry, who messed this
culture up?
At least there is nobody allowed inside the cathedral. Just the priest
and a few novices are waiting for us. At least this ceremony is short.
It was explained to us beforehand.
We are led in front of Seria's statue. Then the priest carries a bowl
of water before us and mutters a few words which I don't
understand.
Then we both hold a hand into the water. We are here, in front of
our goddess and the gods to witness the marriage of these two
young people. May their life be happy. May both of them care for
each other and face all hardships together. Are both of you willing to
give yourself to your partner and protect him or her from any harm.
Will you stay with each other until death?
Yes. -Celes
Actually I have to think for a second! This is a really heavy and
meaningful promise you know! Even more so if you think about it a
little. I just realized that we now both know about each others
reincarnations. So are we now married until death, or until death?
*Poke* *Poke* *Poke*
Ugh! Damned tail! Yes!
Then I declare you both a married couple. May you live prosper and
in peace. King Angrod and Queen Celes. The priest bows to us and
smiles.

Celes jumps at me and I have no choice but to catch her in a

princess carry. This is an important point. You have to carry me
back to the car. She gives me a kiss on the cheek. The priest
chuckles at my sight. Obviously her lipstick left a mark.
I nod at the priest and turn around to carry Celes outside. As we
leave the cathedral, the crowd almost goes insane and some crazies
start a firework.
Ey, it's in the middle of the day! Have at least some reasoning and
start it during the night!
We arrive at the car and our family members congratulate us. Ireth
has actually tears in her eyes, while she is hugging me.
But Rose already waves us inside the car. This is surely a tight
schedule.
The festival afterwards couldn't be counted as a real festival. The
location was a neat big garden...... or should I say park? It was big
enough to hold all the noblemen and officials in any case. There was
a big line of noblemen, who congratulated us to our marriage.
Everyone gave us a present. At the end, there was a huge pile of
gifts around us. Nobody paid a thought to what would happen if a
thousand rich guys would give a present to the wedding couple.
What a pain the ass!
I gave the order to Rose that she should confiscate the chocolate
and the dangerous stuff. The rest should be given to someone who
may need it.
It was already evening, when we arrived back at the palace. My
face was hurting from all the smiling. I never would have imagined
that it is possible to strain the muscles in my face like that. My left
hand was numb from the waving. My right hand was sore from
shaking hands with over a thousand people. If I hadn't used healing
magic, it would be just a bloody stump by now.

Back at the throne room we were welcomed by everyone, who could

be counted as a close friend. This involved some of our old teachers,
the Cygnus siblings, the people from special class, as well as some
closer friends of our parents.
Celes kept linking arms with me the entire time. After everyone had
congratulated us another time, we proceeded to the big room which
was reserved to receive guests. It is inside the private area of the
palace.
Rose led the party proudly along the hallway. I have put all my
efforts into this cold buffet. I am sure your majesties will be very
pleased.
With a smiling face, she opens the big two winged door to the guest
room and freezes. Then it looks like she wants to scream, but she
freezes again, not knowing how to react. I take a look around the
corner and freeze up too.
A stunning blonde beauty inside a transparent dress is happily
stuffing a big plate with the most delicious looking food. Four white
angel wings are sprouting from her shoulder blades and the whole
figure is emitting an aura of light.
Other people also take a look around the corner and freeze up with
their mouths open.
The figure turns around and waves at us with her free hand.
Hiiiii! How are you guys doing? I am so glad I made it in time
to give my congratulations! Seria runs up to me and Celes after
setting her plate onto a table and hugs us both like children to her
big chest.
Ooh, I am so happy to see you two are doing well. The city looks
wonderful by the way. She kisses me and Celes on the cheek.
There is so much to talk about! I hope you two behaved well, I sent

you here with a purpose after all. Are there any children on the
way?
No? ..T yet!
Oh too bad, well you have the whole night before you to work on
that! Seria smiles and rushes off to Ireth, Katrine and Arthur. I have
to give you guys my thanks too! You did such a good job on
educating them! I couldn't have chosen better.
We did our best. Ireth is the only one who manages an answer.
Oh, you don't have to be so stiff, I am not here in my function as a
god. I took a day off to visit my little helpers on this world. So no
hard feelings, let's just relax and have fun! The last time I took a day
off was a few thousand years ago. She continues down the line of
stupefied guests and shakes their hands.
When she is done, I grab her arm and drag her off to a silent corner.
What are you doing here!? I thought Tjenemit would be able to
follow you, if you came here!
Celes nods with a pained expression.
Haha.. Don't fear. I am not really here in person. This is just a really
good astral projection. I would never ruin your great day! She winks
at Celes.
I let out a sigh. So can you at least give a detailed explanation of
what's going on? Our parents, who joined us from behind nod.
No. Sorry. I can't give out information of that importance to mortals.
Everything will be clear when the time comes, I promise. But if
anything goes wrong and Tjenemit gets access to this world before I
am ready, he could just rip the information out of your minds. The
less you know the better. Just keep your trust in your one and only
goddess! She smiles and pats my shoulder. Then she runs off to the
buffet again.
Is every god like that? -Arthur

I need a new religion... -Katrine

I like her. -Ireth
... If there is a beautiful women which is older than you..... There is
only one thing to do! Nicosar walks after Seria.
I am shocked! Does the old fart fear nothing!? But Nicosar really
goes for it and strikes up a conversation with Seria.
I am curious how she manages to eat food with an astral
projection? I talk to myself while realizing that her powers must be
on another level. I couldn't do that while I was a god.
Maybe she created a body on this world and just possessed it? Celes
I nod, but I still have problems to believe it. Then Celes tugs at my
sleeve. Look at that! She points at a quiet corner of the room.
There I can see Sandra with Sven on her lap. Both of them are
hugging each other and erect the impression of a lovely couple!
I chuckle. She really meant it, when she said that she would console
him.
Unbelievable! And a few days ago he was still head over heels for
Tanja! Celes puffs up her cheeks in frustration.
But she refused him in a clear manner, which can't be mistaken. On
top of that Sandra has two very big arguments to distract her prey
from a bad conscience. I point at my chest.
Men! All the same! I have to look for Tanja and see if she is okay.
Celes stomps off and I follow her.
Don't forget that they are just a bunch of young people after all. At
that age your heart beats for someone and in the next moment for
someone else. Celes stops and looks at me a little surprised.
I guess you are right. It seems like she is considering my words.

Nonetheless we keep searching for Tanja.

But it seems like Celes worries weren't necessary. We find Tanja at
the buffet, while she is talking with Gabriel and Margerie. She
doesn't look the least bit concerned, so we join their talk.
When Celes wanted to know what Tanja thought about Sven and
Sandra, her answer was something like this. I already knew that
Sandra had a crush on him. I value him as a childhood friend, nothing
more. So it's good that Sandra finally went on the offensive.
So it really looks like she threw her childhood friend into the tigers
maw. We continued to talk while the time flew by. An hour later,
Seria walked into our direction again. She had linked arms with
Nicosar and smiled at us!
It was really a nice time, but I have to say goodbye. She hugged
us again. You sure about this, about not telling us whats going on?
Celes asks her with a stiff expression.
Nope! There is nothing you can do at the moment. Everything
depends on Tjenemit's arrival. Either I am ready, or I am not. It's not
like you could do anything against a god. Seria answers in a serious
tone.
I understand. Though I still would have liked to know the motivation
behind everything. I give her a wry smile.
Everything in due time will be known. She pats my head while she
dissolves into light.
Nicosar sighs and gives us a sad look. She is a fine woman for
sure. It's a shame that I am too young for her. I never would have
imagined to being told something like that in my age. He presses
out a tear from his left eye. Then he walks off into the direction of
two bunny girls which seem familiar to me.
Did the geezer just cry? Celes asks me with a shocked voice while

pinching her own cheek.

I honestly don't get him. I don't want to know what's going on
inside Nicosar's brain. I turn away to stuff myself with some nice
food from the buffet.
Don't eat too much, I have a little present for you later -Celes
After another hour, the party comes to an end and everyone leaves.
Saying our goodbye didn't take that long at least. When the last of
our friends left, Celes took me by the hand and led me to her room.
Ehm, Celes? What do we need from your room? I ask while she
opens the door and pushes me inside. Now I realize that we
sneaked off, while our parents were still talking to their friends... isn't
that a little unfriendly?
Now that I get a closer look at Celes's private room, I realize that it
is quite spacious. There is a big bed, a couch with a table and
multiple chairs and a writing table. It still doesn't feel cramped.
Celes pulls me to the couch and pushes me onto it. Wait here, I will
get the present! She runs off into her bathroom. Oh.... now I
understand........ the wedding night. I am sure she has such an item
on her list. Whoa! Now I remember! There is such an event! I saw it
a few years ago on her list!
So she will come back in some kind of negligee to turn me on and
twist my head? Not with me! It's time to teleport out of... hmmm...
chocolate? I become aware of a box filled with chocolate on the
table.
Before I know it, I grabbed a piece and ate it. Hmmmmmmm.
Delicious! It tastes so familiar. Exactly like the chocolate I always
got from.... ah . no. No! This memory! It has to be wrong! But it's
the same taste! I take another piece. And another one!
It's the same chocolate I got from her back then in that other life! It's

handmade and it's the best! Mmmm! I take a fourth piece to savour
the taste.
Suddenly a shiver rushes down my spine and I feel something
getting very stiff. Ahhh.... what's wrong with me? I pride myself in
having complete control over my instincts. I try to get control over
my erection, but nothing works.
I even imagine Nicosar naked on the bed. It doesn't work Fuuuck!
What's going on?
Haha. It seems the mouse took the cheese. Celes leaves the
bathroom, wearing a really dangerous outfit! More like she is
wearing almost nothing.
She is just wearing a red lingerie, which matches her hair. It almost
shows the really interesting parts of her body, but also hides them at
the same time.
Brainfreeze! Again damn it!
Cheese? I look at the next piece of chocolate in my hand and
drop it, as I make the connection! You poisoned me!
I would never poison my husband. She walks over to me while
shaking her hips in an arousing way. I just made this chocolate for
this special occasion. You see, it's a little pepped up with a really
strong aphrodisiac. She whispers into my ear.
My eyes wander over her body, while another shiver shakes me.
She is a genuine witch after all! Then why does it start to hurt down
there? I can barely control myself and my voice shivers a little.
I already told you that it's really strong. I asked Tanja for something
that would turn the coldest guy into a wild beast. She sits down on
my lap and traces her finger over my chest, which sends another
shiver through my body. She said that this is used to interrogate
prisoners. It's possible to go insane if you aren't able to release

yourself somehow.
Hoh, so she really intends to go all the way? I look at my hand which
is trembling slightly. You do know, that this feels like I could get a
heart attack at any moment, right? I wonder if it just feels like I am
sweating? Is this room really this hot?!
I know of an easy way to solve the problem. She takes a piece of
chocolate from the table and uses it as lipstick. Then she puts her
hands around my head and starts to move in a way which almost
drives me mad. Weren't you the one, who once said that the guys
who live their lives as pure perverts are right? Isn't it better to take
what you can get for free? She whispers into my ear again.
Her tail suddenly touches me in a few places, while she licks over
the chocolate on her lips and smiles provokingly at me.
OooOOO Shit! I can't take this any more! I grab her arms and lock
them behind her back. Ouch! She lets out a small complaint. I
think you have underestimated the effectiveness of this drug!
I take another piece of chocolate from the table and put it into my
mouth. Then I press my lips onto hers and give her a deep kiss to
give her a good taste of her own medicine.
Somehow, everything is spinning while I stand up and throw her onto
the bed. Kyaaa! And jump onto her.

46 - The day after..... ?

.. Ow! My head hurts! I don't want to wake up. And it's hard to
breathe! What's this soft thing in my face? I grab it and push, but
something wraps around me.
Mmmmm!Mhhmmm! Somehow I am able fight myself free. But a
naked Celes doesn't let go while she is entangled around me. Body
pillow.. don't move.... She is talking in her sleep.
Hah? How did I get here? Is this Celes's room? A that's right!
Yesterday was that had horrible marriage! And then... and then...
Damn it! I've been had!
Ah, though if I remember right the night wasn't bad at all. Celes let
me go. We have to get up. I twist her earlobe to wake her up.
Mh.. don't wanna. Let us sleep for the rest of the day.... She
mumbles half asleep. I take a look at the clock. Ugh! It's already 7
pm! Whatever she put into that chocolate, it knocked us out for a
whole day!
I grumble, but then I have a great idea. Teleport! We reappear in
the air above a certain lake. I brace myself for the impact!
*SPLASH!*
KYAAA! Gurrrgle....
Woohoo! Cold! I start swimming as soon as I am freed from my
shackles and start laughing. What was that for!? Celes glares at
me.
That was for drugging me. I glare at Celes. You want to eat that
chocolate again tonight? She grins at me. No way in hell! I would
rather start buying chocolate by myself! I hate it to loose control

over myself.
Good luck with that. You won't have much success with it. She
swims closer and grabs my hand with a triumphant smile.
Why?
Because I am the only one in this world who knows how to make
that special chocolate.
...
I guess this world isn't a chocolate paradise. It's true that I never
came across any chocolate until Celes started to give it to me. And
apparently everything was handmade.... I wince at the thought.
Can you teleport us back into my bathroom. I wouldn't like to get
my bed wet. She smiles at me. I am glad that this water is cold like
hell.
I pull her closer and teleport us back. Though I missed the bathtub. I
guess a little water on the floor isn't a problem since the whole room
is tiled.
Celes walks a bit awkward to the basin and takes her ring out of a
small box. Heal! She immediately casts healing onto herself.
Ahhh.. That feels much better! Then she throws an accusing look
at me. I thought I wouldn't live through the night. Couldn't you have
been a little gentler?
Who drugged me with something that would turn the coldest guy
into a wild beast. I raise an eyebrow and Celes puffs up her
cheeks.
At least the drug seems to work on girls too. I have to talk to Tanja
about this... I leave Celes to talking to herself and get dressed.
A few minutes later I am sitting in the kitchen, where I plunder the

leftovers from the buffet. Rose is giving me a dirty smile.

I choose to ignore it, but a few minutes later Celes joins us and
Rose can't hold back her curiosity. How was the night?
Enslavement! Pain!
Rose is taken aback but not defeated. Oh, I heard that the first time
can be rough in some cases. But I am sure it will get better if you
keep the ball up in the air!
She nods and smiles, while she gives another plate of leftovers to
Celes. After a few minutes of silent eating, she snatches the fork,
which Celes had put down.
A small stick-like magic-device appears in her hand and she presses
it against the fork. kukuku... Then she storms outside, while yelling.
The family just got bigger!
I almost choke on a small fruit when I hear that and Celes has a
predatory grin on her face, while she looks at me.
Pregnancy test? I ask and Celes nods at me. Haah. I give up. It's
fate. The door opens and the whole family storms inside to
congratulate us.
Somehow I am a little confused. Why is everyone on cloud nine
because of this? This isn't a miracle? That's what happens when you
bed a girl without protection!
But after a little explanation about this worlds crazy biology I
understand their happiness. Apparently the royal bloodline isn't
blessed with many children. I guess there has to be some kind of
drawback for having the benefits of superhuman strength and a
greater mana pool.
Mother and father had tried to get children for at least two years,
until my dead siblings were born. When they died, mother had

almost given up on a child. It almost never happened in recorded

history that a queen would have children twice.
So mother treated me like a present from heaven when she got me.
I guess she wasn't so far off....
But Celes seems to be a bit down. Apparently she hadn't heard
about this particular blood-trait of ours until now.
B.. But I wanted to have at least three childreeen... She starts to
cry and hugs me. OMG! What to do? I pat her head and try to
console her while Ireth and Katrine look at her with a sympathic
expression. D..Don't worry. It worked for you on the first try. So
either you just won the lottery, or your stupid chocolate had a
strange side effect.
She goes stiff and suddenly starts to laugh. I AM SO STUPID! This
world has such amazing healers. I got overtaken in the believe that
they are much better than me. But if I think about it, each of their
achievements is accomplished through magic. They have no idea
how the body really works at all. There wasn't a basic class like
biology too.
I guess it's pretty useless to research scientific biology for every
human species on this world. There are hundreds of different
bloodlines. Not to mention the mixed breeds. I talk to myself.
Everyone, who started to work in that direction would be dead
before he could accomplish anything of value for the world.
So only finding out why the speed-type muscles of the people with
the elf-trait worked, wouldn't be of much interest to anyone else.
Angrod, you can build me the equipment to start biology research?
Celes eyes sparkle at me. Uhm, I guess? If you tell me what you
need for biology research? I am a techno-freak, I have almost no
clue about medicine and biology besides magical applications?
First I need a really good microscope! Then incubation ovens,

temperature baths, centrifuges, spectrophotometres, PCR

instrumentation, high resolution imaging devices, electrophoresis
systems, micropulser electroporators and something for
chromatography would be a good start! -Celes
My eyes become rounder and rounder as the list grows. Could...
Could it be you were some kind of doctor in a previous life?
Celes takes a proud stance. Hear me unworthy! Before you stands
someone with hundreds degrees in biology, medicine and molecular
science.
Huh!? Could I be that my wife is actually pretty smart!? I mean, I
knew that she IS smart, but she is smarter than I thought? Why did
she never tell?
I get grabbed by the hand. To your laboratory! Now! I have to
explain the devices I need from you. I am sure you wouldn't be able
to fulfil my needs otherwise.
Uh!? Sure? I teleport us and start to listen to Celes's explanation. I
am sure that my automatic factory can produce everything she
wants to have.
But I am still a little bothered. It feels more like she is going to start
a cloning farm than a research lab. And at the end of the day her
personal lab looks like a high danger bio-hazard research lab out of
a movie!
I hope I didn't destroy the world by giving her those toys.
The next day I am lying in my bed and think about the current
situation of my life. If I am honest to myself.... it could be worse?
And I am actually a little mad that there is still that affair with
Tjenemit looming over us like the sword of Damocles.
Suddenly the door flies open, Celes storms inside and slams it shut.
*Klick* She locked it! I have given up to lock my room long ago. She

would take down the whole palace, while kicking the door.
She hops onto the bed. In her hand is a piece of chocolate. Eat
that!
No? I won't eat suspicious food you are giving me any more? Last
time I almost had a heart attack because of you!
It took me the whole day to analyse my body and I found no
problem. So the problem must lie at the male side of our bloodline!
She grabs my jaw and forces it open. In terms of strength she is still
above me.
Then she shoves the chocolate into my mouth.
Mmm! She force feeds the stuff to me. What was that? I ask as
soon as I get some air again. A needle appears in her hand. *Stab*
Ow!.
That was just a little stimulant to get your body to produce some
needed pheromones. I took some blood samples from Arthur and
Nicosar, so I think that if I get your body to produce the right
pheromones everything is okay. She takes a blood sample.
I am not some lab-rat! -Me
But you are the one who gave me the idea! If I find the problem we
could have a whole bunch of kids! She nods at me. I was a little
afraid that you wouldn't be willing to do your duty. You know... hermit
and all. But when you did this and that to me, I realized that you
didn't loose your touch!
Is that so? I grab her hand and take the needle and the tube with
blood.
But I think it's not so bad if you have to do a little work for children.
If you put so much effort into it, we will have to take care of a whole
football-team. I kiss her.

I guess I will take everything while the food is still hot.

47 - My daily life?
So much has happened since our marriage. It has been a few
months and Celes is hiding herself in her new lab. Though she never
forgets to pester me. I myself decided to join the university and earn
a degree.
Although I never visit a course, I already took quite a few tests. It's
no problem with my knowledge and status. After I interrogate the
teacher about the knowledge they expect from me, I either take the
test right away or read the needed book.
I have the opinion that a king should have the according educational
status. Of course I have the education and knowledge anyway. But
that's not known to the public.
Of course I wouldn't care about anyone else's opinion if it would
affect only me. But by now I have a family to take care of. Our
parents, Celes and the kid! What kind of bad example would I be if it
became known that the king of the world didn't even try to visit a
university!
Wouldn't the child get the stupid impression that knowledge isn't
important? Anyway, I want to be a good example.
But right now I am really pissed, while I sit in my throne and gnaw
my teeth. Once a month I listen to the problems of nobles and
representatives for the common people.
Some of the nobles really piss me off with their problems. They have
all that power and still are pestering me with their struggles.
A secretary is introducing them while Drem Snowden is standing
guard. He is also the chief of security for my personal facility.
Though he is much more often inside the palace now. I gave him
responsibilities for the palace too. It's easier to have him keeping me

up to date about my projects.

He is a strong looking guy with huge muscles and bear ears. His
personality is also similar to a bear. Very silent, very grumpy.

Next!
I call in the next case, after dealing with a really stupid quarrel
between two smaller houses. Two nobles enter the throne room and
bow to me. An older woman in a white dress and a young, gaudy
looking guy in extravagant clothing.
These are Duke Sharen and Baroness Kuizen. They are having a
quarrel about two serfs, who are taking care of their lands. Both of
their estates border each other. So a serf of Baroness Kuizen and
Duke Sharen had a child with each other. Now they are quarrelling
about whom is responsible for the child. As the law says that the
master of a serf is responsible for the serf's children. A secretary
introduces the new arrivals.
I raise my eyebrow. Yes, in this world serfs do exist. And I always
was of the opinion that it is just a nice word for slavery. A serf is
someone who owns nothing and sells himself to a noble. He is paid
almost nothing, but he gets food and a roof over the head.
It's this world's solution to unemployment and poverty. But the
nobility often misuses it's status and treats a serf like an owned
good.
I am not sure if the current system is good or bad. I have been to
worlds with freedom for everyone, where people died of hunger on
the street. So I didn't touch this world's solution to it. At least I don't
know of any beggars and homeless people in this world.
Everyone who falls so low simply joins a nobles workforce as a serf
and is at least able to wait safely for an opportunity to find a better
employment.

So with other words, those two are fighting over the cheap
workforce, the child will provide in the future. It's very likely that the
child will become a serf like it's parents.
I don't want to go as far to think that they have good motives.
Although everyone has access to an education by law, it's still hard
to rise from such a low position in society.
Most likely both of them have a good reason for not letting go of the
parents. Serfs though have it better than real slaves. They are
protected by quite a few laws. Though they don't have the right to
stop their employment and live on the streets.
I think there is an easy solution to the problem.
Scribe. I decree a new law: Every serf is allowed to freely switch
the employing noble, if the new employing noble is willing to employ
him or her. Add that to the law regarding serfs and make sure that it
is made known to them.
Duke Sharen face goes pale, while Baroness Kuizen's face distorts
into a winning grin. It's obvious whom of them is able to provide the
better conditions to the parents.
Does that enable your serfs to solve the problem for you? I ask
them with a serious expression on my face.
Most likely your highness. Kuizen bows to me followed by the
Duke. He doesn't look as happy as her but doesn't seem to find a
valid point to object.
I hope this little change to the law will better the serfs situation. If
they are allowed to run off to the best paying available noble, it is
less likely for them to get even more exploited.
I prefer to solve the cases in that manner. If the law solves the
problem in a clear manner, they can't annoy me to solve it.

Next!
***
At the end of the day I lean backwards in my throne and use one of
my newly created hand-held computers to check on the progress of
my projects.
It goes well. I hope it will be ready in time....
Angrod! Celes calls out to me from behind.
Hrm? I turn around and look at her. I am a little tired.
Eat that! She holds a few pills in front of my face and gives me a
glass of water.
Oh, please! Stop it. You are feeding me with strange pills for
months now. I am surprised that I didn't get sick! Celes sure
became a real health freak when she found the reason for the royal
bloodlines child problems.
It was a simple lack of vitamines. Our bodies have to get the
resources for their high performance from somewhere. And the lack
of those resources leads to .. well.
Do I have to lay you over the knee and force feed you before the
secretary and your guard? -Celes
Hrm. You wouldn't do that. Besides I doubt that you could catch
me. I look at her belly, which had gained considerable size. You
sure, you aren't hiding twins in there?
Being caught by your pregnant wife wouldn't hurt your image at all I
understand. Celes looks down at me from above.

I take a look at the female secretary, which is looking at us

expectantly. She has furry ears, probably some kind of hamster. If
you tell anyone about this conversation, I will make you a nanny for
the child and bet with Drem how long you survive!
The secretary goes pale and nods. I wouldn't bet on such a serious
matter sir. Drem answers with a cold voice.
I take the pills and eat them. Hooh? So you think you could take
care of a child with the strength of several adults?
I am confident in my survival sir. -Drem
You hear that honey? We have a volunteer. I smile at Celes and
get smacked over the head.
I wont leave my children to anyone else besides family. And if you
don't do your share in watching after them there won't be any
chocolate any more! -Celes
The secretary grins at me and I stare daggers into her. No choice. I
swallow the pills and drink the water.
This feels like I am ill. -Me
From my perspective you, Nicosar and Arthur are all ill. It's like you
don't get the needed food. -Celes
Well doctor. Maybe that's exactly the problem. Didn't you wonder
about this world's sick biology. It's like someone threw the
ecosystems of multiple worlds together to see who would survive. Me
You are right. We should ask Seria the next time we see her. Celes
answers with a sarcastic tone.
I shrug my shoulders. Maybe She abducted people from many
different worlds and set them free here to do some mad

experiments on them Mwahaha.

A.. Anyway. Are you done for today? -Celes
Hmm. I think so, why? -Me
Then come. I need something from you. She pulls me out of my
throne and leads me off to the private area of the palace.
You know how this looks? -Me
She sighs. I don't care. You should be mature enough to stop your
teasing. She leads me to the living room and picks a few documents
from the table.
Look! It's a boy! I made some pictures with your new CT scanner!
What should we name him!? She grins at me while she shoves the
black and white pictures into my face.
Yeah, I see. Hmmm. We could call him Aphrodium to always
remember how he came to be! I smile and nod.
*Smack*
Oi. She hit me with the pictures!
No. Way!

48 - New life at the end?

Crap. How long has she been in that room? Did giving birth always
take that long? They told me that she went into labour ehm.. one?
two? hours ago?
Shouldn't it be done already? What's taking so long to press a lump
of meat out of your body? Maybe I should go and take a look?
Nono. I have bad memories about this.
Better to stay in my office and pretend to be hard at work. There
are some of the best healers at her side, no need for me.
The door gets slammed open. Found you! Ireth gives me an
unhappy glare and switches on the light. How can you hide here
while your wife is giving birth!
I don't know what I could do to help. And I didn't really hide....
Damn who would have thought that she would search in my dark
office at three in the night!
Come! A husband should be at the side of his wife at a time like
this. I get dragged in front of the bedroom where almost everyone
is waiting.
Inside a healer is taking care of Celes while Katrine is holding her
hand. You have to press!
Ireth shoves me me into a chair to the other side of Celes. Good to
see you husband. I thought you were hiding somewhere like you
always did. Celes gives me a forced smile.
Me? Hiding from the birth of my child? Pah! Never! I would never
do something like that. What are you thinking of me.
Then hold my hand. I reluctantly give her my hand. Press now

my lady, I think it turned into the right position. The healer calls out.
Hnngh. *Crack**Crack**Crack*
OWW! I knew it! It hurts! You are the one supposed to suffer!
I don't know how long it took. But some time later everyone is in the
room to take a look at the baby in Celes's arms, while the healer is
trying to sort the bones in my right hand.
Hmmm. This is a really complicated puzzle! He murmurs to himself.
Can you fix it or not! I am getting nervous here.
Not so hasty. Ah I think I have it, that bone belongs into the other
finger! HEAL! By all the gods, who employed that guy?
I take a look at the child while the healer is still trying to fix my hand.
It smiles into my face. Hehe. You look like an old man with all those
wrinkles Aphrodium.
He is NOT Aphrodium! His name is Aengus of Tirna to continue the
tradition. A member of the royal line needs a strong name! Ireth
puffs her cheeks at me. She took the naming matter into her own
hands when she heard of our little problem.
Let me hold him. I take the child out of Celes's arms and smile at
the wrinkled smiling face. Then I press a thumb at his forehead and
search his mind and soul.
But all I find is the dim and weak flame of a newborn. What are you
doing? Celes gives me a concerned look.
Hahaha. Nothing I just took a look at his soul. The last thing I would
have needed is that Seria played another joke on us and gave us
someone who remembered his past life. I would find it creepy to
educate someone who is already an adult person. Everyone gives
me a concerned look.

No problem really, he is just a normal dumb child, here look. I make

a stupid face at him and he laughs. Papa will have to teach you
everything the good old way.
All family members let out a sigh of relieve. I had feared my
grandson wouldn't be a normal child either. Arthur hugs his wife.
Was it really that bad with Celes? I ask him. You have no idea
how creepy it is when your baby daughter suddenly explains to you
that you made a mistake with the taxes. Arthur answers.
I look at Celes. I think I was two. And he forgot a whole city in the
annual tally! Hrm, I tried at least to pretend to be a normal child.
*Boom*
The room shakes.
*Boom*
The palace shakes again a little. Crap, what's going on? Explosions?
I take a look out of the window and can see a ball of light arching
through the sky, coming down at the palace.
But a second before it impacts, it hits an invisible wall and disperses.
*Boom*
The palace shakes another time. Seems like the automatic defence
against long range weaponry works.
The door opens and Drem enters the room. Your majesties! You
have to evacuate! An army suddenly appeared in the city and started
to employ long range weaponry. The palace's shield isn't able to
stop that for very long.
How many? -Me

At least ten thousand my king! They are marching in this direction.

Our army is completely out of place. We can't stop them before they
take the palace down. Drem says with an urgent voice.
Leave the palace with everyone you can find and retreat to safety. I
will teleport my family out of here and join you later. -Me
Drem nods and runs out of the room. I will go too. I need my
generals. Arthur turns to leave.
Stop! Are they inside the palace? I stop him.
No? It's late they are at their homes for sure. We didn't expect this
at all. -Arthur
I give the baby to Celes and heave her out of the bed.
Then it's better if you leave with us. It would be stupid to collect at a
point where the enemy already has a strong foothold. We give them
the palace, it's just a stupid building.
Another explosion shakes the palace and a little dust is coming from
the ceiling. It's time to get out of here!
I teleport Celes and the healer, just to immediately return. Next are
Ireth and Katrine. On my third trip I take Rose and Arthur.
When I reappear for the third time to get Nicosar, I am in the air.....
falling! Stone Skin! I experience a second of weightlessness and
impact on the ground. Ouf!
I get to my knees and see that everything is in ruins. Apparently the
shield was broken and the private part of the palace was targeted
first! Nicosar!
No answer! I turn around and can see a hand under the rubble. A
swipe of my hand frees the geezer, who is already half healed up

again, while the mist is reforming his body.

I grab him at the neck and teleport just a moment before another
white ball curves down on our position.
When I reappear, I drop Nicosar to the ground. Where are we? I
hear Arthur's voice. It's dark, I can't see! -Ireth
Light! I speak the command and the room is bathed in light. You
are in my research lab. It's the safest place I could think of.
Safe? Wouldn't they attack the vital installations first? Arthur is
shocked. I run up to a console and hit a button.
The face of a technician appears on the screen. Your majesty! We
already wanted to contact you, but the communication line into the
city was cut. A few people tried to gain access to the facility. The
guards dealt with them. We didn't leave our posts because we
feared to leave the installation understaffed.
Good work. Man the control room. Power up all systems. The City
is under attack. I cut the line before he can answer.
I need to get to our military. Arthur stops me. If you can tell me
where they are likely to gather, I'll teleport you there. Otherwise you
stay put. My answer baffles him and I walk past him and out of the
room.
The whole facility starts to wake up and people run past me along
the hallway. I walk about twenty meters and enter another room with
a big door. Inside are already a few workers at their consoles.
A big screen is on the opposite side of the room.
Some are clearly controlling drones, while others are supervising my
energy plant. On the screen is already a pretty good tactical map of
the city.
How is the situation? I ask one of the officers, who are studying

the big screen.

It seems like they managed to teleport a big army right into the
city's central park. Afterwards they set up heavy air defence and
artillery. The palace is bombed to rubble and the little military we had
in the city took a heavy blow. They knew exactly where they had to
aim their first shots. Caserns, power and communication lines where
taken out with the first volley. The man answers.
This looks bad. Arthur says from behind and I turn around to see
that Arthur, Celes and Katrine followed me. It seems like Ireth and
the healer stayed with Nicosar.
I turn to take a look at the screen where a big red dot is spreading
out into smaller dots while covering my city.
No.... They sure have bad timing to do this on my son's birthday. I
say with a grim expression on my face.

49 - Striking back!
Power up the engines! Cut the power lines to the city and activate
the secondary facility! Tonight we are going for a hunt! I scream
while I hit a few buttons on the console next to me.
B..But your majesty! Nothing is tested! And we haven't installed
some of the engines yet! A technician with a red face complains to
me.
I don't care! I over-dimensioned the whole thing anyway! They are
wrecking my city! Either this thing flies tonight or it doesn't! A big
chair is formed out of a magical circle in the centre of the room and I
jump into it.
Everyone inside the room becomes hectic.
Engines are powering up! Deploying the anti gravity field! Shields
are active.
The mountain is still above us. We can't clear all the rock above us.
Shields to full energy and blow it up! I smile at them and one of the
officers flips a switch.
Everything shakes, but it's manageable. I hear a low rumbling sound.
The rock is out of the way sir. The officer gives me a savage grin.
Those military people sure like it to blow up stuff.
Take us up.-Me
The floor bucks a little. It seems we are stuck. A technician informs
me. Full energy to the engines! We are behind the schedule! You
want to tell me that a few rocks are stopping me from saving my
city?
The floor bucks again while I can hear a screeching sound and stops

suddenly. We are free! We are flying! The workers and technicians

start to cheer while I press a button on my chair to get a better view
on the big screen.
Under us is the hollow shell of the mountain, which once harboured
my facility. Hrm. Since this isn't a research facility any more. This is
now officially called the Nomad Fortress Midpoint.
A part of the mountain crumbles and caves in at my words. I hid this
ship inside the mountain while it was built.
Mwhaha! Behold! 5200 metres long. Six million tons of steel!
Enough fire power to roast an average army within seconds! Loaded
with tactical warheads, particle cannons and plasma weapons.
Three layers of independent shield spells, each powered by it's own
cold fusion reactor! On board repair facilities and the latest dronetec to go with it. Anti-Gravity propulsion and teleportation systems.
Everything has at least three substitute systems! You could blow two
thirds of this ship to hell and it would still keep coming at you! -Me
Head us towards the city and redirect the full energy output to the
shield and weapon systems. Activate the drones and give me an
outward view. I grin while the screen switches to a flying monster of
a battleship.
Mwahahaha! My new toy looks cool! Time to test it on those
fools!
Magical runes and circles are glowing in blue and red on the hull.
The whole thing looks like a huge space ship with weaponry facing
into every direction, but there are no visible engines.
Arrival in five minutes! -Engineer
Take us higher. I want a good angle to pound them into the ground.
-Me
No way! You rebuild one of those monsters on this world!? Are you

insane? Celes looks at me with a shocked face. She seems to

remember the best weapon of my followers. They build dozens of
those things back in our old world. And they were the reason for
which Celes entered that holy war herself.
No need to fear anything. Who do you think gave them the
blueprints? I smirk at her.
We are under fire sir! Deploying defence. -Technician
Seven balls of white light are coming into our direction. But they are
countered by seven smaller blue energy sparks and explode early.
It looks like they are trying to use their artillery to take us down?
That's good.
I don't see what's good about it! Arthur holds himself upright on a
console while the bridge is shaken by the shock-waves.
If they are shooting at us, they can't shoot at my city. I smile at
him. Then I look into Celes direction, who is holding the screaming
baby. Give me Aengus, he has some work to do!
Counter attacking the enemy artillery! A technician informs us and
seven lances of red energy stab into the dark city under us.
She reluctantly gives me my screaming son and I hold him in front of
me. No need to cry. They blew your birthday, but we are going to
punish them see? Look, nice red dots.
I show a tactical projection on a smaller touch-screen to my son.
Activate the weapons and lock them onto the enemy units. I want
the fire control on my station.
Done sir! -Technician
See Aengus? Evil red dot! Touch! I hold the small touch-screen in
front of my son and demonstrate it by touching one of the smaller
red dots with my finger.

A ray of energy lances down into the city and the red dot disappears
from the screen. See, Aengus? Funny, isn't it?
Aengus stops screaming to pat the big red dot in the central park
curiously with his flat hand. A ball of blue energy howls down to the
city and wipes the park off the map.
That's my son! Taking out the enemy's command centre with his first
strike! I thought I would let them struggle for a while, but Aengus
already knows that it's best to lop off the enemy's head first! I smile
while a small mushroom cloud rises from the park. But then I notice
that everyone looks at me with pale faces.
Hrm. Fire at will. Just use precision strikes from now on. -Me
Celes takes Aengus back from my lap. Don't teach him strange
things that early! I don't know what to do if he copies that strange
grin from you.
Other rays of red energy strike down into the darkness. After a
minute of continuous firing the red dots are all gone.
Everyone stares in awe at the hell, which we let loose on those
backstabbers.
A call from the city. It's Drem your majesty. -Officer
I flip a switch on my chair and Drem's face fills the screen. I am at
the edge of the city with a few troops and some big animals from the
army. I hope the end of the light-show means we won sir?
Hohoho. Sure as hell we won! I will get Arthur and Nicosar down to
you in a minute. How does the situation look from down there? -Me
Drem snorts. From what I heard like ten thousand terrorists with
heavy weapons ran through the city, while shooting at everything that
moved! But at least they didn't concern themselves with any civil

installations or areas. Those generals aren't really talking to me. I

am not important enough.
I understand, we are on our way. Technician, teleport Arthur to
Drem's location. Arthur, we need your guys to take care of the city. I
will teleport everyone down there, as soon as it is safe again. And
then we will tell them our opinion of their little summoning ritual! -Me
A guy at the back of the room nods. Please stand straight and don't
move for a second your majesty. That makes it easier.
Is this dangerous? Arthur asks with a concerned look.
No... I just never did this before. The technician presses a button
and Arthur vanishes and reappears on the screen behind Drem.
Perfect.
I nod and turn to the guy at the engine control. New course! North!
We are going to the City of Seria to crack an egg.

50 - Interlude - An ocean of
clouds?
Please don't do this alone! Seria, it's stupid to fight a council
member one on one! Lada preaches to me.
I am sitting on the highest peak of the biggest mountain. I like this
nameless world, there is always snow here. It's really not a big
problem Lada. It will turn out good. I promise. Besides, what would
you want to do if you were there? Fight him with me?
I could at least protect you! Lada looks at me with an angry face.
If he gets away and tells the rest of the Council about you, you will
be in deep shit Lada. I don't want that. I need you where you are
now. You will be able to do much more from inside the Council.
Though I never thought that I would get a trump-card like you.
I think my plan would work without you, but you can reduce the
resulting destruction by a great deal. The wind blows nicely up here.
And the sky is so wonderful blue.
The council isn't what it was any more. We... at least I had
something else in mind when it was founded. Lada looks sadly at
the ground while she is floating beside me.
I couldn't tell you everything Lada, but I promise I planned
everything. I did this for so long, I actually don't even remember
when I started this. If I am truthful, I was always afraid to go from
preparations to the actual execution. I smile at her.
If Tjenemit wouldn't have acted, I would have continued for another
eternity. It doesn't matter any more if I win this fight or lose it. This is
out of my control since long ago, like I said. I stand up and take a
look around. The view is wonderful, though there are just clouds to
see. Kukuku it's an ocean of clouds. Kind of cool.

Lada grabs my shoulder. That sounds like you actually expect to

die!
Bwahaha! Don't be ridiculous. Of course I would prefer it if I don't
die. But it will be a fight between gods and one of us will die. All I am
saying is that my plan will go on without me. You just need to play
the nice little Council member. Harmony and peace for everyone.
And when my friends come and knock on the Council's door, you will
have to decide if they are better than the Council or not. I pinch her
cheek. Smile a little more, that grim expression doesn't fit you.
I searched all the records and I actually know how many gods,
angels, demons, half-gods and so on you hid from the council. I don't
know how you did it, because Amaru's Sphere of Sight can detect
any divinity within the multiverse.
But I know that it will be really a gamble to unleash them all at once.
Who knows how many more you found without any record of it? We
just know of those you got your hands on during the hunts. Who ever
said that you didn't find many more who were just on the brink of
turning into gods? You obviously have a little more knowledge and
power than the Council in some areas. -Lada
Oh, it seems I really can't hide it all from you. But that's fine. -Me
Just tell me, is it really worth it? Lada asks me with a serious face.
I turn silent and think about my answer. You know..... when I came
out of the void, it felt like I was dead. I always had ideals and a
conviction to keep me going. I think during that time in the void some
of my feelings died and I became a little like a machine. I came out
and found the Council.
You guys were against the freedom I always believed in. So I
started my plan. But it wasn't out of passion or hate. I just did it
because I thought it is my duty. Then over time I talked to the other
older gods and I found out that they are dead. Not in a physical
sense but in a more spiritual one.
They lived so long, too long and lost their feelings. The same

happened to me, though I realised that I still had some. I am

surprised that you aren't like them, though you are pretty old too.
I was always the emotional type. Lada smiles at me.
I continue, ... however. Then I talked to some of the younger gods
and I realised that they still had life in them! They weren't so far
removed from the cycle of life and death.
They still have power and passion, but they are suppressed by the
old ones. I thought to myself, if we old ones were allowed to die,
wouldn't we be able to get our life back? So I took a little vacation
and tried to live a life again. It wasn't long. Just fifty or sixty years I
think.
You reincarnated? How? The Council should have noticed! Lada
stares at me with big eyes.
I hid myself during that time. The same way I am hiding the other
gods. Well, I lived a nice little life. I had parents again and could play
my pranks on them. Can you imagine that? I grin at her.
I feel bad for your parents... -Lada
Well, that's when I decided that my actions are the right ones. I
think every god should be allowed to return to the cycle of life and
death if he or she wishes for it. Actually I believe it's the natural
order of things.
Think about it! A soul continues the circle until it becomes strong
enough to ascend to godhood. And with it the circle just ends! Are
we really supposed to endlessly walk into the same direction from
that point onwards?
Or is it just a chance to explore the multiverse and yourself until you
become bored of it and decide to return to the circle as a new soul?
I like my view much better than the Council's if you ask me.
Lada smiles wryly at me. The problem with it is that a god has to
return to the flow out of his own free will. Otherwise he would just be
reborn as a god. When the ancient war ended, we had much too

many foes, who would have continued to fight. We had no other

choice than to seal them and to forbid everyone else from
reincarnating.
If everyone would reincarnate, we wouldn't be able to find the new
gods with the Sphere of Sight any more. The old gods who are
reincarnating would appear as new gods and we would loose track
of everything.
I nod. I think I found a better solution. It will be okay Lada. I am
sure of it.
Suddenly I feel something rip the space, which belonged only to me
for such a long time and flinch.
Is everything ok? -Lada
It is. The dice are finally falling. I have to go now. And you should be
at that Council chair and put on an innocent smile. I hug Lada and
step onto a path which leads me to a familiar place.
I almost don't hear the weak Goodbye. from Lada.

51 - To the north!
I am sitting on my chair at the command centre of my flying fortress
grinding my teeth while I think about the situation.
We left Ireth, Aengus and Rose back in Midpoint. Celes didn't want
me to walk into this alone. Arthur and Nicosar are with me too.
Katrine went another path to oversee the evacuation of the north.
The north was already emptied of most people to begin with, but
there are always some idiots who wont leave their houses.
But what I am more worried about is how to deal with the magic
circle to summon Tjenemit. Should we just keep shooting at the city
until there is nothing left except dust?
Arthur informed the troops which besieged the city. They are ready
to advance.
What are you thinking about? Arthur asks me while he is taking a
look at the map. After two days of flight, we have almost reached
our destination.
I am not sure if we should take the risk and destroy the magic circle
from afar with everything we have after the shield is broken. I
scratch my head.
Why should that be risky? -Arthur
What if the whole thing blows up? There is a serious amount of
energy in there! What if the aftermath makes the world
uninhabitable? -Me
Arthur goes stiff. Do you think that could happen!?
I shrug my shoulders. I have no idea how well the summoning circle

is made. It could have some safety mechanisms and it could have

none.
Then what other possibilities do we have? -Arthur
We break the shield, bomb everything to pieces, except the building
with the summoning circle. Then we invade and take a close look at
the thing. Maybe we can cancel it safely somehow. -Me
You don't sound convinced. -Arthur
That's because I have no idea what we will find there. The only safe
possibility would be to blow the whole city to smithereens. But that
come with a serious risk. -Me
Those Meltheim and Tulhelm fellows have already proven that they
have some screws loose. I don't want to gamble on the possibility
that they did something smart like installing safety mechanisms into
the circle! -Arthur
I don't think it's a question if they wanted to install something like
that. It's a question if the blueprint for the circle came with something
like that. I doubt that they understand the circle. I doubt even more
that they would be able to modify it if they wanted to. I lean back in
my chair and look at the ceiling.
That makes me even more uncomfortable with a gamble like that!
We will invade by foot if necessary! That's it. -Arthur
I don't now Tjenemit well enough to take any guess, so we should
really try it the safe way. Celes gives her opinion too.
I nod and take another look at the map. Start the long range
bombardment. I want the shield weakened when we arrive.
Yes, Sir. -Technician
The fortress shudders, as a full salvo of blue energy balls is fired.

They are pure plasma, encased in a magically upheld

electromagnetic field under high pressures. Upon impact the field
crumbles and hell is set loose upon the world.
A few seconds later the screen shows blue flashes on the horizon.
Start the drones and give the command to swarm the city as soon
as the shield goes down. We will use them as the first wave.
We will loose many of them to our own fire sir. An officer reminds
me.
They are just metal and maybe some can find valuable targets in
the confusion. Set them up to clear out the area around the
summoning circle. I don't want any surprises there. I point at the
locations I want them to be.
I will order the troops to overrun the city as soon as the shield goes
down. -Arthur informs me.
They will run into our fire. Celes interjects.
Everyone knows what's on the line. I have picked only veterans to
serve here. They all know that this could affect the world. If I tell
them that they improve our chances a little by throwing themselves
into a firestorm, they will do it. -Arthur
I nod. I hope it will be worth the risk.
The rest of the time we watch in silence while the fortress is shaken
by our own artillery. After another hour our target comes into view.
Located at the biggest mountain range, we can see the City of
Seria. A white bubble over the city constantly lights up and
disappears again while it is hit by our artillery.
It looks like any other city, but a few structures stand out. First the
big tower at the centre of the city, second is the dome, which most
likely houses the summoning circle. And third are the smaller towers

around the city which are similar to the big one.

Around the city our besieging troops started to intensify their
bombardment too and the whole city is constantly hit by projectiles.
Prepare the main cannon. The target is this tower at the edge of
the city. Fire when ready. I give my command.
Why exactly that one? Nicosar asks with a curious voice.
I studied the city layout for quite some time and I guess it's the
most likely place for one of the magic devices which create the
shield. I don't think it's created by a single device, which would be
hard to control. The central tower most likely acts as the power
source which supplies the shield generators at the periphery. We will
concentrate everything we have on that single tower. I hope we can
overload the supply line for the mana. If we manage to blow out that
part of the shield we will take out the big tower next. -Me
That's the plan? And if we can't overload the supply line? -Arthur
Then we will fly the fortress above the city, climb to the highest
altitude possible .. evacuate and cut the engine. I answer with a
sweet voice.
Target acquired! Firing! -Technician
A big red beam shoots out of the front of our ship and impacts into
the enemy's shield, where it disperses and vanishes. But the beam
of energy doesn't stop.
Output continuous. Raising it to hundred percent. -Technician
I watch the effects on the shield, but it seems like it isn't working.
Raise the output by five per cent every ten seconds.
But... that could blow the cannon! -Technician

Do it! If it can't break that shield, we don't need that cannon! -Me
Raising the output to
overheating! -Technician

105.......

110.......115.......

we

are

120! Do it! I scream. This fucking shield has to go down!

120 -Technician
The beam of red energy starts to pulse while the city's shield starts
to flicker. Suddenly a little beam of energy passes through and
strikes the tower.
Flickering again the shield vanishes and the disappears, being hit by
the full power of the beam. The people in the room start to cheer.
Our energy beam also flickers and turns off.
The main cannon burned out! -Technician
Who cares! Open fire! Wipe the big tower from my sight! I start to
laugh like mad while our cannons pour their fire through the opening
at the big tower. Explosions tear the other building apart and
suddenly the whole shield goes down and the bombardment starts to
ravage the city from all sides.
Arthur activates a little communication device. All units attack!
Clear out the area around the dome and give the command to the
drones. Get ready to teleport us to the dome. I jump out of my
chair.
Some white balls of energy start to rise from the city, but they are
few compared the bombardment of the besieging force. As soon as
a ball of energy starts to rise the position it was fired from is torn
apart by multiple impacts.
Our army is doing a good job in taking out the enemy's artillery.

Start to teleport the troops directly to the dome! Nicosar gives

instructions to a technician.
I guess it's time get ready. I nod at Celes and we start to make our
way towards the weapon arsenal.
A few minutes later we are equipped with the latest magically
enhanced armour and weapons. A few technicians are helping us to
correctly put on the golden armoury which looks like a combination
of a knight and a space suit.
Everyone has his own, but I still should have checked on the work of
my people. Why do we all have black suits combined with gold,
while the regular troops are black and silver?
Your majesties have to uphold the right appearance! It's unthinkable
to dress you in the colours of the regular troops! A technician
explains shocked.
Hmpf. Get us normal ones the next time. We stand out like hell! This
just screams to the heavens that we should be shot first! Well at
least the black dominates, so it should just be a problem at close
ranges. I grumble to myself. You should always check everything
for yourself!
The technician bows to me while sweating a little. Then his
communication device vibrates and he listens to it for a second.
The troops cleared an area around the dome and judged it safe
enough. They are now entering, but there is heavy resistance. Drem
thinks it would be okay if you follow on their feet while they are
advancing. That's just if it's true that every second counts.
Suddenly Celes hugs me. Don't do anything stupid! After a few
seconds she lets go of me and I kiss her forehead. I promise.
Then I look at one of the guys at the teleportation controls. Get us
down there!

52 - What a god can do.

We re-materialize at an open plaza in front of the main entrance to
the dome. A quick look at the dead bodies and the destruction tells
me that a really brutal fight took place here.
There are our people, as well as enemy troops on the ground. Drem
awaits us at the entrance and waves us in. Hurry, you can never
know if there are still snipers around here.
I walk up to him and enter the dome. How is the situation?
We cleared the area and took control over the dome, but there are
several layers of safety doors. We broke through three so far and
encountered heavy resistance. At the fourth we are at a stale mate.
There are some really strong people protecting it. I already lost a
few men to them. Drem leads us through a labyrinth of corridors.
Is it possible that those guys are nobles from Tulhelm and
Meltheim? Celes asks with a curious voice.
It's likely, but we couldn't confirm it until now. I saw one of them
fighting with his bare hands, crushing my people. That meets the
criteria for one of the Meltheim brothers. But they all wear hooded
robes and are masked like some kind of cultists. Drem snorts with
an expression of disdain.
I nod and after three big blasted doors, we reach a fourth, where
Drem's people are having a good old gunfight. They are taking cover
to the sides of the door and behind whatever they could carry here
and use as coverage. I am sorry, but we couldn't break the
stalemate until now. We tried to enter twice, but got crushed both
times.
Walking up to the guy next to the door, I pat his shoulder. He looks
at me and I signal him to make room. After he stepped to the side I

go to the knees and take a quick look around the corner. I jerk back
immediately and a few bullets cut through the air where my head had
been. About twenty people with guns behind barricades. Some, who
look like wizards are casting shield spells and about ten guys in
robes, who look like the leaders. Those guys are fast.
They already got three of our best shooters. Placed the bullet right
between their eyes. Even the new automatic healing devices don't
help against that. Either you are fast in taking cover again or you are
dead. The soldier grimaces with pain.
I look at the grenades in his belt. Give me those. After I have them,
I unplug their safety mechanisms and look at the soldiers. I will
teleport inside and start a distraction. As soon as you hear the
explosions you storm inside.
The soldiers nod and Celes starts to kick at the wall a few feet down
the door. I will make a new entrance here. She grins at the dent in
the wall.
Arthur lifts an eyebrow and kicks the wall at another spot lightly. It
dents in a little too. The more entrances the better.
.. Family of brutes.... oh, shit I belong to that family! Argh!
I will take the main-entrance! The day I sneak through a self dug
hole is far in the future! Nicosar seems to be undisturbed and lifts a
gun in each hand. YOU AREN'T RAMBO!
I nod at everyone and teleport, reappearing close to the ceiling of
the dome above the enemies. While I start to fall, I throw the
grenades and two fireballs before I teleport again.
Reappearing again behind the enemy, I take cover and start to hurl
spells at them to get their attention.
The dome is turned into a hell of bullets and explosions. My people
break the walls, while some enemies turn around to shoot at me.

Everything turns into chaos, as our people storm the enemy. One of
the hooded figures disappears and reappears right in front of me.
A fist impacts my chest and I stumble backwards. But the shock is
mostly absorbed by my armour. Long time no see. I hope you can
remember me! The figure uncovers it's face.
Sarda! I grin at him. Did you join the priests?
Insolence! You will come to fear the one true god too! Once he
enters this world the people who don't believe into him will burn!
Sarda has a mad look in his face.
It looks like you guys locked yourselves up for far too long. Some
screws seem to be loose. -Me
Sarda screams and draws a sword. Then he jumps at me and I
dodge. Elsewhere I can see Celes, Arthur and Nicosar fighting with
other hooded figures.
Looks like they build up their own cult while they locked themselves
inside this city. Fanatics can be truly troublesome.
I evade another strike and realize that Sarda didn't really get better
in all those years. Though it seems like he got the mana treatment.
He throws the mana around like he has enough to waste. But I have
seen to it that we all got a little charge up too.
The armours are actually constantly converting mana from a small
power cell and infusing it into our bodies. A little piece of technology
I am quite proud of.
Sarda jabs his sword at me again and I cast a fireball directly into
his face. The strong aura he emits protects him but he is blinded for
a second.
A little rock, lifted by telekinsis blasts through his knee and while he

falls, I twist the sword out of his hand and nail him onto the floor.
I watch his big round eyes staring up at me. Feels like old times
doesn't it?
He grins stupidly at me. Yeah. Feels familiar, but you will still lose in
the end. Then the life in his eyes fades and I pull the sword out of
him.
Taking another look around the room, I see that the chaos has
lightened up a little. But six of the hooded figures are still fighting.
Celes is smashing a guy into the ground like a doll. He is struggling
but can't put up a fight any more.
Arthur is surrounded by two enemies while he is using the feet of
someone as clubs. It seems his first victim got the doubtful honour of
being torn apart to serve as weapon.
Nicosar is surrounded by three others. They are hacking in horror at
his mangled body while it keeps trying to reform.
Just Die! Zombie! Unholy Monster!
I throw a lightning spell at them to fry them together with the geezer.
They seem to be too occupied to mind me. It's wonderful if you don't
have to mind friendly fire!
When their colour turns to a crispy brown I release the spell and
watch out for the next target. But the one who was unlucky enough
to be Celes's opponent is just a bloody mess by now.
Arthur has dealt with his opponents too, while the surviving soldiers
sniped them from the side. He has a lone survivor grabbed at the
neck. Look who we have here! Odlef of Meltheim he looks a little
mangled, but i am sure he is it.
The man struggles but can't break free. Both his legs are bent in an
unnatural way. The god will punish you all! He will clean the world!

Arthur shakes the guy a little and he starts to sob. They really went
insane. I hope it hasn't something to do with our bloodline.
For the first time I can take a close look at the inside of the dome.
It's completely empty execpt for the barricades, which were put up
by the defenders.
The whole floor of the size of a football field is engraved with the
complicated pattern of the summoning circle.
The metal glows in fluorescent white light. In the middle of the dome
is an altar with a box. Two soldiers are already securing it and one
of them is taking a look into the box.
Suddenly a mad grin creeps over his face.
There is only one true god! All who are unworthy must die! He lifts
his gun and shoots his comrade right into the chest, then he turns the
gun into our direction. I throw myself to the ground but a storm of
bullets punches more holes into him than I can count.
Another soldier drops his weapons and runs up to the chest while
shielding his eyes. He closes the chest and then lifts his hands. I am
not insane! Don't shoot. Hoh, it seems like they are really good
trained people who have something between their heads! Good job
Drem!
While I stand up again, healers come into the dome to tend to the
wounded. I walk up to the altar, while I take a close look at the
summoning circle under my feet and then at the altar itself.
So that's the seed of the problem. Celes takes a look at the chest,
picking it up and shakes it ... very scientific! Seems like nothing is
in there.
Arthur comes up to us, while dragging the sobbing Odlef behind him.
It looks like that's the -message- from this Tjenemit. Is is really

possible to drive someone insane just by looking into a glowing box?

Nicosar is behind Arthur and takes the box out of Celes's hands and
sets it very carefully back on the altar. You just witnessed what
happened to the soldier. Why are you doubting what you just saw
with your own eyes.
I walk in a circle around the altar, then I take out a knife and start to
cut some of the finer connections of the glowing metal. Insane box or
not, we have to stop the summoning.
How does it look Angrod? -Celes
I continue to cut some other connections and then I look around the
big circle.
Bad.
Suddenly Odlef pulls a knife out of his clothes and cuts his wrist.
Before I can stop him he sprays the blood over the floor.
The altar starts to pulse and Odlef begins to scream. The god is
coming! The god is coming to cleanse this world!
I kick the altar, chipping off a piece of it and glows up angrily, giving
off a buzzing sound.
Wow! Don't do that again! -Arthur
I shrug my shoulders. I seems that produces at least a reaction!
I kick the altar with my full strength. The damned thing splits apart
but the circle keeps pulsing with a white light.
Shit! If I just had time to take a closer look at this.
Suddenly reality seems do distort and a shock-wave blasts us out of
the circle. People are thrown left and right while I try to steady

myself.
Well, well. Look at this. Who would have thought that Seria
was able to drag a whole world into her void zone.
I look up and see a white glowing figure at the centre of the circle.
Odlef actually got free from his shackles and is crawling towards
Tjenemit. God! Heal me! Punish the heretics!
You are annoying, whoever you are. He waves his hand at
Odlef and the poor idiot is blown away like an insect. He strikes the
wall of the dome and is smeared flat like a fly.
This blocks my view. The dome blasts apart like a tent, struck
by a strong wind and Tjenemit lifts a few feet into the air while
turning in a circle.
Someone grabs me and pulls me to my feet. It's Arthur. What can
we do? Is that the real power of a god?
I look around and find Celes a few feet beside me. We take cover
and hope that he doesn't step on us.
At that moment a ray of energy hits Tjenemit, but it's doing nothing
to him. No! Idiots! Don't shoot at the god! The people on my flying
fortress have taken action.
Hahahaha! You guys are funny!
Tjenemit lifts his hand and flicks a finger at my flying fortress. It
bends, breaking apart at two thirds of its length. No! Damn! It took
me years to build that thing!
The parts fall to the earth while they burn. Impacting with and
impressive blast of energy.
Evacuate everyone, give order to retreat and don't look back! -Me

Celes has gotten to her feet too and I grab her shoulder. We run!
Suddenly the space behind Tjenemit distorts and Seria appears. She
stabs her hand into his back and everyone has to cover his ears at
the unfolding scream.
AAAAAARRGHH!
Tjenemit turns around and strikes at Seria. After a few blows
between them, Seria is struck out of the sky while a mountain behind
her is blown apart. The resulting shock-waves lay waste to the city
and blow everyone away.
Damn!
While I can barely hold myself upright at the fragment of the dome, I
act on reflex and teleport to Seria, grabbing her body and teleport
again. Great! Was that your plan!? Backstabbing a Council member
and hoping for the best? That was the worst fight I have ever seen.
Seria looks up to me and smiles while she coughs up blood. No. But
it would have been funny if it worked. A horrifying wound spans
across her chest. This doesn't look good.
Tjenemit appears above us. I guess there is no running from a god.
Look who we have here. If it isn't Ascathon. If I remember right
you should suffer horrible inside this void. But you look
perfectly fine to me. Hmmm. I think this will be proof enough. I
will have to find Myrm too.
He points a finger towards me and a small ray of white light stabs
through my throat.
I go to my knees and gurgle up blood. It HURTS! Hgr ee aall! Heal!
Damn!
Don't bother. That spell cancels every healing a mortal would
be capable of. I guess I will go to work and lay waste to this

world. When I have dealt with all those runaways, their souls
should be really caught inside this void. And if there are no
bodies which could house a soul, there are no problems with
the reincarnation issue. I guess I don't have to bother with you
two any further.
Tjenemit turns around and flies off. Destroying everything in his path.
I crumble to the ground while the lack of oxygen robs my
consciousness. Seria crawls towards me and grabs my hand.
I am sorry Johann. I guess.....
But I can't her words any more, as I drift off into the darkness.

53 - Who you really are?

Uuuhhh.... My head hurts! I try to move, but something heavy is on
me. It's dark. I concentrate and redirect the flow of mana within me.
I wait until the mana in my body circulates in the correct pattern
again. It's quite a difficult process to sort this out again after
everything got messed up.
Then I force myself to move, lifting the heavy stones which are
burying me. Haaa! This hurts! I concentrate some of my mana to the
ring, which Angrod gave me. Heal!
After a short burst of power I am free. The City is in ruins! Far away,
I can see the smoke of a big fire. That must be where Angrod's
fortress fell from the sky.
The dome is completely gone!
Hello! Anyone? I turn around, but nobody is here. A few bodies are
here and there, but after I check on them I find out that they are long
gone. I have to find Angrod. Track: Angrod! At my command one of
the spells in my ring activates.
It's convenient to being able to cast at least basic magic. A small
bubble of light appears in front of me as I feel a portion of my mana
disappear. Then it shoots off into a direction to my left and I follow it.
The bubble leads me in straight line over the wreckage of the
wasted city. It looks like a tornado leveled everything.
After five minutes I arrive at the crumbled wall of a building. Seria is
leaning with her back towards it and I see Angrod on the ground
besides her.
A few more steps take me to Angrod's side. He is lying on his belly. I

turn him around and see that something stabbed into his throat. No...
I feel his pulse but there is nothing. I feel tears on my cheeks while I
try to give him first aid.
But the healing of my ring doesn't work! Why! What's this devilry! I
hit at his chest in an attempt to start his heart again, but it doesn't
work.
NONONO.
I am sorry.... Seria looks at me with a ghastly wound on her chest.
Seems like this could have gone smoother Sandra.
What could have gone smoother! I scream at Seria and hit the wall
beside her head, pulverizing it.
He is dead! I lost him again! I shake the stupid bitch, but then I feel
her mana through her skin as her guard is completely down.
That can't be! Sofie? I am shaking what's this!
Hi, mom! Have you and dad made up? She smiles at me and I slap
her. Explain this!
While you two lived as Johann and Sandra, I took a little vacation
from being a god and reincarnated to live a mortal live again out of
curiosity. I liked it very much, so I kept track of you two from then
on, hoping to get you back together, but it never worked out. -Seria
Hoow.... what's this stupid game of yours! I howl while I shake her
but somehow I feel that she is telling the truth. I would always
recognize my children's mana.
Kill me mom. If you do, you can get father back. Seria grabs my
hands, begging for something unimaginable.
A.... Are you crazy? I just learned who you are and you beg me to
kill you!? And how should that get Angrod back. HE IS DEAD! My

hands form fists while my vision gets blurry. Who knows if he will
keep his memories after death.
He is still here. I bound his soul to his body. This is planned far
longer than you can imagine. I collected the souls of gods for an
eternity. Everyone in this world is like you two, you would have found
out if you ever had bothered to check.
I stole the world which you two destroyed and rebuild it. This is
inside the void zone, the time flows differently here. A year in here is
a mere second to the rest of the universe.
It took me quite some time to get a working ecosystem running. I
should have listened better when you taught me biology back then. I
guess just taking random parts of other worlds is a really stupid
approach on this.
But you two are the only ones who kept all their memories. When I
saved the others from the Council, I split their souls and sealed their
memories and divinity inside my own soul.
I had feared that they would try to escape this world otherwise.
Once I die, everyone will get their powers back. My soul will be torn
to pieces though. I think. Maybe dad could have saved me but he is
indisposed at the moment.
I tried to get myself killed by Tjenemit, but the bastard is too stupid
to finish the job. So you have to do it. The faster I die, the sooner
you can start to fight back!
Seria clings to me with tears in her eyes.
I was always too afraid of this part of my plan. But it has to be
done. Please!
I... I can't.. I hug my daughter.
Do it now! I have put so much effort into this world. I don't want to
see it destroyed. A world just for the gods. I am already on the
ground anyway. Even if I survive, Tjenemit will come back and finish
the job after he is done with this world!
I grab her head with shaking hands. I hate you for this! And with a
sudden jerk I snap her neck. She offers no resistance.

While I hug the lifeless body of my daughter, it disperses into

countless shimmering marbles of different colours while a pillar of
light rises to the sky. They disperse like a giant storm of energy,
passing through solid matter like it isn't there.
Somehow I feel ... empty.
But a fiery red marble stays in front of me. It feels like some lost
part of me and I grab it without thinking. I feel something entering my
body and suddenly a glowing ghostly smiling image of Seria is in
front of me.

HI! This is something like an automatic message to

everyone on this world!
I am your one and only goddess Seria!
A long time ago I saved everyone on this world. Even
though you don't remember it right now. A long time
ago, everyone of you was a god. But because of
certain circumstances you will soon remember. The
rulers of the multiverse had something against you
for one reason or the other. You will remember it
more or less pretty soon anyway.
When I saved you from them, I asked everyone of
you to help me once in exchange. I would be fine with
it if you did whatever you wanted to do afterwards.
But I hope you will be fine with keeping an eye on
this world, I made it for all of you.
So grab the marble in front of you and take
everything back which once belonged to you. I am
sorry about your memories, they will be a little blurry
or feel not like your own after such a long time.
But if you look out for your king and queen it should

be fine. They still remember everything of their past

life as gods. They should be able to guide you.
As for my wish. You will understand once you
remember. It is easy! May you be peasant or noble,
soldier or king.
Please crush the Council!
And if it isn't too much I would be happy if you would
be able to live in peace together afterwards. On this
world for living gods! Create a new order of living
gods! Be better than the Council!
I guess that's everything I wanted to ask of you. I
sacrificed much for this little speech, so I will have to
say goodbye to everyone now.
That's goodbye from your one and only goddess!

Seria strikes a strange pose and throws an erotic kiss at me while

the projection fades away. Stupid daughter! What did I do wrong
with her education....
Someone grabs my shoulder and I turn around to look into Angrod's
face. I had a weird dream..... can you tell me why we are gods
again.
I throw myself at him. The tears won't stop. I thought I had lost you
again. But we will be together forever from now on!
Hahaha....... I guess...... together...... forever.....

54 - Where it all starts anew?

So Seria is Sofie! I am shocked! If Celes's story is true.... I looked
at my daughters ass and had perverted thoughts about her! Urgh!
And she died to make us gods again? Hasn't she learned anything
about soul-magic while I taught her? What did I teach her for twenty
years if she just goes off and dies like that. Oh, I will give her hell if I
ever manage to piece her together with her memories intact.
Actually that's a point I am a little worried about. Loosing all your
memories isn't much different from dying. The soul is immortal and
all that stuff isn't really helpful. Who cares if your memories are
gone?
Getting your soul injured or dying is really scary in that regard. Think
about it. You die once and you may forget the name of a loved one.
The second time you may forget an important event and you ask
yourself why you ever loved that person and live a live without ever
thinking much about him or her. The Third time the person is
completely forgotten.
On that hand... I messed up Celes's soul pretty heavily once... she
surely has some black holes in her memories from that. Even more
amazing that she still clung to the memories about our life as Johann
and Sandra.
... I should remember to never talk to her about it. If she realizes it
she will give me hell for real.
So Seria was our daughter Sofie all that time..... I never had any
suspicions about her. Snake! She is a lying double tongued snake!
To keep that act up for a whole lifetime is really commendable. And
that's not meant in a good sense.
So what should we do about this? Celes points towards some

pretty awesome explosions on the horizon.

Seems like some people took Seria's wish to heart and are already
bashing up Tjenemit. They will have problems though.... they just got
their powers back and their memories of their past lifes should be
pretty bad. Reintegrating old memories into a complete personality
is pretty troublesome. Even more so if the owner developed a
completely different personality from his old one. Tjenemit has an
eternity of experience and who knows how much power. I grumble
while I analyse the situation.
But if this is really our old world . It should still be there. For a
second I concentrate and search for a familiar place. Deep down in
the planet. Go and distract Tjenemit for a few minutes. I will be right
back.
What? -Celes
But I already teleport straight down into the planets core.
Mwahahaha! I laugh, as I turn in a circle and look at the wonder
around me. An eternity ago during the great war between me and
Celes I started a project.
I wanted to create something worthy of a god! The inspiration for it
was given by the crystal city of the Council. I often tried to recreate
those crystals, but it was insanely difficult.
Imagine a substance that's durable enough to withstand even the
power of a god. That's the crystal city at the middle of all things. I
wanted that technology! But I was unable to recreate it. No matter
what I tried, I ended up with failures.
Then one day, as I was watching a crystal grow, I had an
enlightenment. The crystal city wasn't created! It grew like all
crystals do! If you gather enough mana in one point, it crystallizes
and you end up with something that looks and feels like solid matter
but isn't. It's pure mana.

So I created a seed and set it free down here inside the planets
core. It should have taken hundreds, thousands of years to mature.
But on the other hand I guess that much time really went by since
then?
I am inside a room made out of mana-crystal. The same crystal
which the Council used to build it's city. I step forward and leave the
room. I need to get to the core.
There is no need to search for it. I can feel the huge power, which is
collected inside the core. After a few corridors I reach a room with a
huge crystal inside. It looks wild and naturally grown. But it's the
heart of this structure.
I touch the crystal and feel the power inside it. After a little
concentration I give it the command to rise to the surface. The
crystal hums as if it wants to reassure me that it understood the
order.
Then I instruct it to teleport me to the armoury. The world shifts
smoothly and I am inside an immense room.
It is filled with rows and rows of weapons, armours and artefacts.
They are all out of crystal. Weapons which can strike down even
gods.
But I avert my eyes, those weapons are of no interest to me. I walk
to the end of the room where a staff is resting on a pedestal.
It looks like an ordinary staff, about the same length as my height.
But if you look closely, you can see that it is riddled with countless
fine runes and circles.
I grab it and feel the power pulsing through it. This is my
masterpiece. A weapon worthy of a god.
But suddenly I see the reflection of my savage grin in the mirror.
Damn, do I really look that scary every time Celes complains about

my expression?
Uuuh. Why am I wasting time here. I concentrate again until I have
found Celes. Then I teleport.

I arrive at a battlefield. Multiple soldiers are trying to stop Tjenemit

with their regained powers. He is hovering a few meters above the
ground while he sends out blasts of pure power at everyone who
decides to attack him. Among them are Celes, Arthur, Tanja, Gabriel
and Nicosar. But short of Celes, everyone else looks like a baby
fighting an adult.
I had expected that. But it's a little worse than I imagined. Tjenemit
has grabbed Tanja at her neck and is shaking her like a light doll.
Others are trying to get up again after they were obviously beaten
down.
Tjenemit seems to be disturbed. It has to be shocking if mere
mortals, who should be nothing more than insects, suddenly put up a
fight.
Using the distraction I teleport directly in front of Tjenemit and touch
his chest with the tip of my staff. A blinding flash of light erupts and
the Council member is send straight down to the earth like being hit
by something far more powerful.
I grab Tanja at her foot before she can fall too. Are you still alive?
... Yes . my king. Though I don't feel that good. She nods.
Then retreat and try to lessen the damage to this world with the
others. Put up a shield and shut me and Tjenemit inside. I don't want
him to get away. I let go of her and teleport down to Tjenemit.
Celes appears beside me while a big shimmering bubble appears
around us and Tjenemit. It has a diameter of roughly fifty meters.
Multiple people join Tanja in her efforts and new arrivals join in as

they arrive at the scene.

Tjenemit gets to his feet. His chest is visibly dent in where I touched
him with my staff. How is this possible. Do you know what you are
doing!? You are resisting the Council!
The Council has nothing to say on this world. Here, I am the ruler. I
inform him of the circumstances and he turns red.
You will suffer! We will crush this rebellion and seal you all away.
He lashes out at me but I counter with my staff. Waving it, the surge
of energy is dispelled like a stick would destroy a spiders web.
He looks at me agape. I like that thing. Could you lend it to me for a
second honey? Celes tugs at my sleeve with a strange expression
in her face.
Um. Be careful with it. I can't replace it. I reluctantly give her my
staff. That expression was really scary.
Don't ignooreeee meeeee! Tjenemit screams with rage and jumps
at us but Celes jumps towards him, wielding the staff like a club.
The following fight . ahem.... the following beating was ..
thoroughly done. After half an hour I had the honour to witness a
Council member crying like a little child.
I doubt that a single bone in his body was bigger than the nail of my
thumb by now. Celes somehow managed to avoid killing him while
she . punished.... him.
The shield to contain our power flickered multiple times during that
time. Once I even feared that it would break. All the people outside
could hear only screams of pure pain and terror!
After even the low whimpering of Tjenemit subsided, she came back
to me and pressed the bloody staff into my hand. Thank you honey,
I hope I can borrow it again if I should need it.

Ahem..... sure? I am not certain if I should give it to her again.

It was easy to collect Tjenemit's soul afterwards. There wasn't much
of him left after all. I sealed him inside my staff for the time being.
Later I would have enough time to interrogate him. Maybe I would let
him resurrect again after a thorough deletion of his memories.
After a while the shield fell and we were welcomed by a mass of
people.... or gods I should say? Apparently everyone rushed here as
soon as they overcame the shock of getting their powers and
memories back.
After a short talk with Arthur, Nicosar and Tanja I could settle down a
bit. To my great relief, nobody was really changed by his new... or
old memories. They were still the same people I knew before.
From their explanation, accessing the old memories was like
remembering a movie. They didn't feel like they were your own. I
guess it will still take a long time for everyone to settle down.
This will surely have a big effect on society too. I don't even want to
imagine the consequences. After Arthur and Nicosar had ordered
some volunteers to clean up the mess in the north, we went back to
Midpoint. Teleporting around the world wasn't a huge issue for
anyone any more.
Ireth and Rose stayed back in our summer residence in Midpoint.
The palace was still in ruins. As we approached the door, it flew
open and Ireth stormed out with tears in her eyes.
Help Meeeee! He is asking so many questions and I don't know
how to answer them myself! She shoves Aengus into our faces.
I can feel a mental connection being build up and a stream of
questions hammers down on me.

-Mommy! Daddy! Good you are home! Grandmother is a little

overtaxed at the moment. Can you explain all those weird
dreams to me? I remember a weird blonde hottie helping me to
escape from some old farts after I refused to become a god.
And why are you looking at me like that? Mommy, I am hungry!
And Daddy, can I play that funny game with the red dots
again!?"....."

55 - Between father and son?

We are inside our summer residence and Celes is holding Aengus
with a distressed expression. Just imagine how you would feel if
your two week old baby would suddenly start to talk in your mind.
No wonder Ireth freaked out!
So.... who do we have here? I ask Aengus with a forced smile. At
least I have to try to keep my calm. If I don't like his personality, I
will wipe his mind and that's it!
-I just woke up and had all that knowledge about language and
other stuff that's common sense. Then I had those dreams. I
was always a hero in shining armour and I would help the weak
and save the innocent. It felt like I was doing that over many
different lifetimes, always choosing a righteous path.Hm... So you don't actually remember who you really are Aengus?
I ask him the most important question. I am a little concerned about
his mental health. A little baby shouldn't have all that knowledge. It's
different if the baby has a complete personality to boot with. But
Aengus seems a little incomplete. He didn't have his own personality
and his brain just suddenly got stuffed with enough knowledge about
mind-magic to use telepathy.
-Actually I don't really remember who I am. It's all a little blurry.
The only thing I remember clearly is that I was just banishing
some evil demons from my plain, when a blinding light
suddenly pulled me forcefully away. Then I was inside a magic
circle and some people told me that I had to join the ranks of
gods.I nod and signal him to explain further. Without the whole story it will
be hard to judge the situation.

-They even went as far as to give me working instructions for

this new.... appointment. They didn't even ask for my opinion. I
never wanted such a great responsibility on my shoulders. I
think I was fine with just wandering the world in my current
reincarnation and helping people in trouble.-I always thought that's my destiny for which I could remember
my past life. While these Council people were talking about
more and more pretty heavy stuff, I freaked out and made a run
for it. But even by travelling between worlds, I couldn't shake
them off.-They even threatened me with being sealed forever inside a
black hole. They are nuts if you ask me. When I was about to
give up a blonde beauty appeared and offered to save me from
them. It was connected with a hefty price, but it sounded better
than the black hole. So I accepted.-The next moment I wake up from that dream and a demon
smiles into my face!I sigh and close my eyes. That demon is your grandmother. And if
you ever call her a demon again, you will wish you were never born.
From what I heard from him, it seems like he was a newborn god. A
soul which just transcended from a normal cycle of reincarnation to
godhood. The council became aware of him and tried to enlist him.
The normal procedure like it happened to me too. You get
summoned, intimidated and the ordered to work for them.
-I gathered that myself after I thought over my experiences as a
baby. Say dad! Was I really reborn as a demon? But after I see
you and mom I guess that question is void.We aren't demons. This world is a little different from your previous
ones. Everyone on this world is a god. We are opposed to the
Council and you could say that we are at war with them. -Celes

-So that's why you came back in shining armour! Are you some
kind of high ranking warriors?Kukuku. Nothing of the sort. We are the king and the queen of this
whole world. So you are the prince. Celes smiles with a proud face.
-...Thinking about running? I ask Aengus and smile at him with a
devilish grin.
-It's hard to believe that you are not a demon if you look at me
like that.....Aengus has now a complicated expression. You can tell even though
he has just a baby-face.
Returning to the question of what to do with you. To be honest, I am
concerned about your mental health. It must be pretty hard to cope
with those dreams without a stabilised personality. I am thinking
about deleting or sealing your memories. I explain the situation to
Aengus with a firm voice.
-You can do that? .. To be honest I am afraid of dying.
Wouldn't the deletion of my memories kill my current
personality? Couldn't you just seal those dreams away? To be
honest most of them are pretty disturbing anyway.I cock my head while I think about that possibility. It would be the
least I would do.
-And if I understood the situation correctly. Wouldn't I be
hampered compared to others of my age on this world?
Haven't all babies gotten back their memories?I massage my temples while I think about it. Great work Seria! You
created a complete chaos for society. Talking babies, workers and
serves who suddenly are gods and who could smite cities with a

thought. A wonder it didn't already deteriorate into civil war again.

I have so much other stuff to do. For the moment I will go with this
solution. It is at least not permanent like a memory reset. I press a
thumb onto Aengus's forehead and concentrate on his soul.
It is in more turmoil than someone would imagine from talking to him.
So it takes me quite a while to sort his memories and seal them. It
helps that he relaxes during the process. After a few minutes I am
done. How do you feel now.
-Not much differently. So no more weird dreams?No.
-Thank you daddy, I guess?Suddenly Rose enters the room. Ahem. My king there are some
documents, you have to sign. We need to rebuild the palace! She
waves a package of documents at me.
The palace? . OF COURSE! THE PALACE! I scream and
Aengus twitches at my outburst. I teleport to the ruins of the old
palace.
A few people are trying to save valuables from the rubble, but I shoo
them away. I just got the area free of people when Celes arrives
with Aengus and Rose.
What are you thinking, just teleporting off! She snaps at me.
Oh, sorry! But I almost forgot that the new palace should arrive any
minute now! I inform them while I already start to clean up the area
of the old palace, flattening everything with telekinesis.
It's no great deal with my newly regained powers. The area just has
the size of a few football fields. That's nothing compared to crushing
a mountain. The process is progressing quick and without problems.

New palace? -Celes

Arrive? -Rose
Yes you see I remembered one of my projects when you told me
that this is our old world. So I went down to the planets core and
ordered it to rise to the surface. I smile at them while the earth
starts to shake. It's not really an earthquake, just a mild vibrating
sensation.
The core? -Rose
You ordered it? -Celes
Off to the side! We have to get out of the way! I lead them out of
the area.
Just in this moment a spike made out of crystal stabs through the
ground and starts to rise higher and higher. The ground is penetrated
at several other positions by other spikes too. They grow to the size
of a house, then they start to resemble towers.
Suddenly the whole area opens up and a huge shimmering structure
out of crystal rises out of the ground. Mwahaha! Behold! My
greatest technological masterpiece! Worthy of the gods! I call it the
Eternal Palace. Originally I just wanted to use it as my mobile
research lab, but I guess it is grand enough to serve as a palace
too.
After two minutes the structure stops to rise and the ground stops
shaking. A sudden pulse of power shakes off the dirt and the whole
building gives off a satisfied hum as if it was pleased to have
accomplished its task.
The sunlight is broken in the diamond-like surface and the building
shines in all spectral colours. Satisfied I nod and grin at Rose and
Celes, who are looking agape at the new palace.

Behind us I notice a crowd of people growing bigger and bigger. It

seems the spectacle alarmed the whole town.
Well it is okay. Witness the might of your king! The king of all gods!
"Mwahaha!"
-Daddy? You do realize........ This thing just literally rose from
hell! Are you sure we aren't demons!?...
Maybe I should wipe your mind after all.

56 - Interlude - The Sphere of

Sight!
And you are sure that you know nothing of Seria? You had the most
contact with her Lada. El Shaddai is walking down a long corridor
with me.
No? The last time I saw her, she suddenly had something urgent to
do and ran off? I never saw her since. I answer truthfully to El
Shaddai.
He nods and we walk in silence until we arrive at a room with a
spinning sphere made of crystal in the centre. Amaru is also there.
He wears plain clothing and looks more like a university professor.
He is polishing his monocle at the moment, which he just does if he
encountered a problem.
At our entrance he turns towards us. Good you are here! Tjenemit
disappeared!
What do you mean . he disappeared!? El Shaddai has a
dangerous tone in his voice while he interrogates Amaru.
I purse my lips and listen to the evolving conversation.
Like I said. I can't find him with my Sphere of Sight any more. It's
like he is..... gone? Amaru throws his hands into the air. It's rare to
see him like that.
And Seria? -El Shaddai
I can't find her either. The last thing I know is that both of them went
into the void, but no one came out again. Then there was this....
reaction. Amaru ponders over the spinning bubble of crystal. It's
one of his greatest creations.

It's the Sphere of Sight and it is the basis of the Council's power.
With it we are able to track the awakening of each god and search
for everyone, we want to find. It is the ultimate spying device.
Unfortunately.... or fortunately Seria's void zone is a black spot on
the map. Even for Amaru.
What reaction? -El Shaddai
You see. Shortly after Tjenemit entered the void, there was a burst
of power. Like hundreds of millions of gods awakened at the same
time. It has to be an error in the system. Amaru shakes his head.
El Shaddai shakes his head.
Nooo.... The Sphere worked without problems for an eternity. Why
should it suddenly fail us for no apparent reason? Tjenemit was right.
Seria really had all those gods hidden away from us. She is
responsible for the disappearances. Though she had apparently
collected much more followers than we ever imagined. We have to
prepare ourselves. El Shaddai scratches his cheek while he looks
absent minded into the sphere.
Shouldn't we wait until Tjenemit comes back and reports the
situation to us? Amaru asks with a hopeful voice.
Bwahaha! El Shaddai bursts into laughter. Tjenemit wont come
back! Your device worked perfectly fine. He went alone into the void
and somehow caused the awakening of Seria's followers. Then they
dealt with him, one way or the other.
Amaru gets a little concerned. But he is a Council member! Surely
he wouldn't...
Could you win against a million gods? Even if they would be weak
and just became gods? You would never have a chance against
millions of them! And you said the reaction was big enough for

hundreds of millions of them! -El Shaddai

I look into the floor while I think about it. So I was right. Seria really
had that mighty force up her sleeve.
What do you think Lada? Still of the opinion that it would have been
better to talk? El Shaddai smirks at me.
Like you said. Tjenemit went there and started it. Now there are
who knows how many gods from the leash and we have no way to
control them. We can't enter the void and apparently they can't leave
it. Otherwise they would be already knocking on our door. So you
tell me if talking about the situation with Seria could have evolved
into a worse scenario. I smile at El Shaddai with a small feeling of
superiority.
But he doesn't answer and leaves the room..... probably to gather
an army.
Amaru has finished polishing his monocle and puts it back on again.
This surely forebodes hard times. I see war on the horizon.
I raise an eyebrow. Obviously he had the same thought as me.
What do you think would happen if it's true?
He shrugs his shoulders while he watches the Sphere. We control
the whole multiverse. The number of gods we have under our
command isn't small and amounts to the population of several
worlds. But we have the control just because everyone is embedded
in the system. What if they suddenly realize that there are sides to
choose?
After a second of silence he continues. If we manage to crush those
rebels fast, we may be able to keep the control. But every day of
fighting without defeating them will give our followers more time to
realize that they could just turn around and stab into the other
direction. It solely depends on what this new power will represent.

He turns to me and looks straight into my eyes. Either way, it surely

will be a troublesome time. Slowly he fades away and vanishes.
I sigh while I look into the sphere and contemplate about the future
and my role in it.

57 - Sorting out the mess?

I am in my new palace, sitting on my throne. Aengus is riding on my
lap while I am dealing with various matters of state.
Before me is a multitude of representatives who are unhappy with
the new order of things in this world. After the whole issue with the
new memories and godhood, we are finally back on track again.
It was clear that the old order of things was completely overthrown.
Gods can take care of themselves. So why should the serfs and
workers continue to crawl under the nobles feet.
I introduced a guild system, for the lack of a better solution. What
else can you do with a population of beings that powerful?
Every guild has to order its internal affairs and hierarchy by itself.
Currently we have guilds for war, nature, arts, technology and
construction. They all have to answer to me. If a guild needs or
wants something, it has to trade with the others through the
provision of a service. By working for a guild you can gain points
which you can spend on various luxury items.
It will surely get adjusted in the future, but for the time being we are
going with this. Of course most noble houses are now in the first line
for the different guilds leadership.
Of course we had to create a new currency system. It's pretty
problematic if everyone can just wander off and collect some
valuable minerals like gold or diamonds. On the other hand many
things like cars or air-planes completely lost their value.
Those people before me don't belong to any of the current
established organisations. They just entered the room and started to
complain about various stuff. Like not being able to have a proper
life, being bored and having nothing to do.

We think that we deserve better! One of the men complains. We

are gods now after all! Why should we serve others!
Yes! Exactly!
Because even under gods, there have to be rules! We are stuck on
this world together for the time being. So we have to deal with it. If
you guys are unable to cope with the situation I know a solution! I
throw a meaningful glance to a fist sized crystal globe on a pedestal
beside my throne.
A small green figure is hopping up and down inside it. It looks like it
is screaming at the top of it's lungs without accomplishing anything. It
has a strange resemblance to Tjenemit.
The people before me grow pale.
But I am a reasonable fellow! If you explain your problem to me in a
civilised manner, we may find a civilised solution. I continue the talk
and grin at them.
One of them who has grey hair and the features of a mouse steps
forward. I have been a scholar for my entire life. I worked in
libraries and taught students. From my previous lives I remember
nothing different until I got problems with the Council. I was always a
peaceful fellow and tried to stay away from problems. I am not a
fighter, so I can't join the warriors guild. I am no technician, so I can't
join them either. For the other factions my skills are too mediocre
too. For one reason or the other everyone here doesn't fulfil the
requirements to join any of the existing guilds. Without being able to
join a guild, we can't acquire anything we wish for, but can't create
by ourselves. Others are simply bored because there is no work for
them.
I nod and think about it. So what type of guild would you need to
have a place in society?

The old guy blinks. Pardon me?

You tell me you are here because you can't join a guild. So we will
create one for you. Hmmm, like a service guild? -Me
But who needs such things now? We are gods now. If we wish for
something we can get most of it by ourselves. The old guy is
confused.
Well for example I wish for some people who get my state in order,
most of the servants ran off because they remembered a heroic
past life. Officials threw their work to the ground because they
remembered that they were great arch-mages. If there was a guild
which would offer to keep track of my books I would certainly take
their services. I am speaking the truth here. Rose may have stayed
with the family, but the royal household surely got messed up. Rose
only stayed because she is more like a family member than a
servant.
The old guy nods to himself. If you could really set up such a guild
for people like us, that would surely ease the problem.
Then it's done. I will tell my remaining officials to sign the necessary
papers. And I am sure they will join that guild themselves in the
same moment. They surely just stayed in their position because their
situation was similar to yours. I rub my temples while I contemplate
the chaos I had to endure until recently.
The representatives bow to me and are led outside by a guard. It
will surely take several years for society to settle down. Not to
mention what we had to do to the kids. Some smart asses with big
degrees ultimately decided that it would be best if they had their
memories sealed until the age of twenty.
-Daddy? It's all nice and all. I appreciate that you are showing
me your work. But it's still boring as hell!Aengus complains from my lap.

Oh...sorry, but mommy can't look after you at the moment. She is
trying to find out how Seria created this.... mess in our ecology.
Then I grab the crystal globe with Tjenemit and shake it a little
before my son. Tjenemit gets slammed from one side of his cell to
the other like there would be a violent earthquake.
Look! You can play with this for a while. This is my new Tjenemitglobe!
Aengus takes the small crystal sphere with both hands and holds it
carefully.
-You shouldn't do that to prisoners! It's not very heroic!Aw! Cheapskate! Try it! On top, that's no prisoner, that's an
experiment! I have to teach that guy the right view on the world!
What if he ever has to take over my position?
Aengus tries to shake the globe up and down a little. Then his eyes
start to gleam and he lets go of the globe. It stays in position and
doesn't drop. Looks like he is holding the light globe with telekinesis.
Then the globe slowly starts to spin through the horizontal axis.
Tjenemit starts to run as his prison starts to spin. Going ever faster
until he trips and is pressed against the wall like a hamster in a
running wheel.
Hiihiihihihihi! Aengus starts to laugh with a high voice but the
Tjenemit-globe gets snapped out of the air before our eyes by a
hand.
Don't corrupt him! Celes snaps at me and slams the globe back
into it's position at the pedestal. I had hoped that you would be a
better example.
Hi, honey! We just had a little experiment that's all. I smile at her.
So it wasn't mistreatment of a prisoner of war? She looks down at
me like I would be dirt. Give me Aengus! He has to get to sleep, he
is a child after all.

She takes Aengus from my lap and walks off with him. He is waving
at me over her shoulder, while he is looking a little disappointed at
the globe. Hoho? Maybe I can teach him a few things after all?
Looking out of the window, I realize the setting sun and declare the
end of my audiences. After a few minutes I am back in our private
chambers and throw myself onto the bed.
Why is it that we still get tired and have to sleep and eat? Aren't we
gods again? Are we something between mortals and gods now?
Celes is trying to find the answers, but I don't have much hope. From
my knowledge no god ever lost his divinity, got reincarnated and got
it back.
Not many gods ever died before under the council too. There is no
knowledge about the life cycle of gods. It's disturbing.
Celes enters the dark room and jumps onto me. Husband, I need
you for an experiment!
The husband is tired! The wife has to make the experiment on her
own....hmpf I grumble but something that tastes like chocolate gets
shoved into my mouth.
The husband is needed for this, because this doesn't work with a
female alone! She kisses me while she hugs me on the bed.
Did something happen? You are really aggressive today? I ask her
while she is rolling on top of me.
Oh. Nothing... I just managed it to create a new form of that
aphrodisiac, I got from Tanja..... so I wanted to test it! She
whispers into my ear.
My face drops. Damn! I have to puke! I already swallowed it! I try to
jump out of the bed but Celes wraps around me like a snake, using
her tail too! The husband shouldn't run from his duties! She

whispers to me. It's not good if you run around while the drug is
taking effect!
..

58 - A mount for a goddess?

I am currently walking through Midpoint to take a look at the town.
During the last four years, I was really rotating from left to right to
get everything into order.
First I tried to explore the void in order to leave this world like many
other gods. But like them I soon realized that we are stuck on this
world for the moment.
Nobody can navigate inside the void. There are no pathways you
could follow. I guess that's why Tjenemit took the approach of letting
himself being summoned. But after interrogating him for a few
months I came to the conclusion that he really doesn't have another
solution to the problem.
Of course I learned much interesting stuff about the Council and it's
members for example.
There is El Shaddai. He is something like the leader and he looks
like a golden statue of Buddha. He is a creepy fellow who can be
completely nice in one moment and the next he calls down the
apocalypse on anything he doesn't like.
During the great war between the gods, he gathered all the Council
members and created peace by defeating everyone else and sealing
them away.
I will call that period of time of chaos, because it was everyone
against everyone. It looks like the Council didn't rule since the
beginning of time after all. It's just what's being told to the younger
gods.
As of now the only gods who remember that time are the Council
members and the gods who are living inside the Council's city. They
belong to the Council's personal army and are fanatics if I

understood it correctly.
Then there is Lada. She is something like the bad conscience of the
Council, but nobody gives a shit about her opinion. She was always
on Seria's side when the Council had a discussion about her, so
Tjenemit hates her.
She is a brown haired, normal looking woman with fable for too short
skirts? I am not sure why Tjenemit insisted on that piece of
information.
Amaru is a technology freak and responsible for the Council's win in
the great war. He created the Sphere of Sight, which gives them the
ability to spy on everyone almost anywhere. He also invented various
weapons, but the mana-crystals weren't his invention. The Council's
city existed way before them, they just took it from someone else
during the war.
He has the appearance of an old scholar with grey hair and a
monocle, which is his personal treasure.
If that's true the history of the multiverse may be way more
complicated than we thought.
Then we have Enyo, who is a crazy fighting maniac. Most of the time
she would be in charge of the army. If she has some free time she
always indulges herself into carnage and destruction.
From Tjenemit's description she should be a perfect candidate for
that black hole sealing method.
She is easy to recognize, as her whole body is covered with tattoos.
She tends to wear full body armour and has short white yellow hair.
Eris isn't much different from Enyo. She is always striving to create
trouble for everyone else. There is nothing she is more happy about
than to see others suffer.
She has black hair and really pale skin but otherwise she looks like

an ordinary human being.

Lastly we have Elohim. He is a mysterious fellow who keeps to
himself. A balanced individual. He always does what he believes the
best for himself. Even though he was the only one who backed Seria
together with Lada, it looks like he did it for opportunistic reasons.
He has green hair and is some kind of elf. There are always plants
growing on him, which sounds creepy. Why should someone
intentionally grow plants on his own body?

Though I think I may have managed to give Aengus a broader view

on the world by letting him join those interrogations. Of course I
never told Celes about this. She would behead me if she knew!
After Aengus managed to overcome his heroic demeanour, he was a
perfect help in tortu.... interrogating Tjenemit.
I am proud of my son to say the least!
Then I had a pretty hard piece of work with putting our society back
in order. Of course many smart asses were helping me, but it
doesn't really account as help if everyone has a different opinion.
Sometimes it's really good to have someone who has the last word!
Fuck democracy! If I would have let them continue to discuss the
problem, the multiverse would have ended before they presented me
an answer which satisfied them.
We are still running with something like a guild system. It's working
for the moment but of course it is still far from perfect.
First a guild needs a unique purpose. Like the warrior's guild is
guarding a building against trespassing, protecting people and
goods. Then it can offer this service to others in exchange for guild
points which is now our currency.

A god would only start to work, if he wanted a luxury item which

could only be provided by another god. So most of the services are
traded for valuables and magical artefacts.
Frustrated by our inability to get outside the void I then committed
the biggest mistake ever. And if I say ever I mean EVER!
Celes was pregnant with another child and I was alone in my lab in
the evening. I was trying to piece Seria's soul back together by using
the help of my palace.
It is a pretty strong conjuring point for mana and souls. Luckily we
are inside the void and Seria's . pieces didn't fly off too far.
When Celes found out what I was attempting to do she
..persuaded? ....convinced? .....wooed? .
.. she forced me to put Seria's soul into our child's body.
According to her, she didn't want to give birth to some stranger.
Hah... our society got pretty disturbing. Imagine every newborn
child has the personality of a dead person or at least some
memories of a past life.
Daddy! More to the left! I want to see that statue!
My head gets yanked to the left. The little girl on my shoulders is
using my horns like a driving wheel while she uses me as a mount to
explore the city. She has red hair and very similar features to her
mother. Though she is obviously much more than a three year old
child.
Daddy, what's that statue? It seems familiar.
That's a statue of you Seria. We are in front of a temple and there
is a really fine statue of the Goddess of Life and Death in front of it.
A statue of me? But I am naked!? Mom hit me until I turned green
and blue when I ran through the house naked yesterday! Seria uses

my horns to urge me forward. I wanna see that building from

inside!
I start to move and walk slowly into the ordered direction. The
attempt to revive Seria worked in a way and didn't in another.
Seria kept some of her memories, though she clearly lost many of
them. From what I could gather she only kept the more recent ones.
Her personality is a little different too. Though not in a good way.
She is really childish now. She was childish before too, but you could
realize that she was just playing around. She wasn't taking the world
seriously.
Now I would judge her mental age around ten. Though she has much
more knowledge than a ten year old should have.
Unfortunately she forgot how to travel the void. I still have hope that
she somehow remembers how to. Sometimes she gets access to
some memories which were locked before.
I do not dare to dabble with her mind any further. Reforming a soul
after it got ripped to so many tiny pieces should have taken aeons.
A soul is a very delicate form of . energy wave of quantum
fluctuations in absence of a better term. It's like the surface a silent
pond. If you throw a stone inside it gets disturbed and forms waves
which disturb the pond for a long time. You can try to forcefully
smooth the surface again afterwards by creating an opposing wave
front which cancels out the previous one.
That's what I did after I had her soul back together. But it's not as
good as giving the soul the needed time to find back to it's natural
state. I don't have the guarantee that I really found all her pieces
either. But they will naturally rejoin with the main body over time.
Maybe she will remember even more but only time will tell.
I am inside the deserted church now. The religion of this world took

a pretty heavy blow by the revelation of us being gods all along.

Many gods asked themselves why they should pray to another god
and abandoned their belief. Whoohoo, who would have believed that
a wonderful building like this temple could be run down like that in a
few years.
I look around the desolate area inside the temple with another statue
of Seria in the centre of the room. The rows with wooden benches
are broken in some places.
What leads you here, lad.
I turn around and see an old woman with owl-like features on a
wooden bench beside the entrance.
I am on a tour with my dad to see the city! Seria shouts proudly
from above my head.
Hoh, and what's your name little one?
Hear and Behold! Seria herself is before you! The one and only
Goddess of Life and Death! Seria puts on a really grand speech.
Hahaha. The old woman starts to chuckle. That's a really grand
name little one. She obviously doesn't believe her.
Hmpf. It's the one my parents chose for me. So what are you doing
here? -Seria
I am the head priest of this temple and I am waiting for people who
need my help. The old lady answers with a smiling face.
Though it doesn't look like there is anyone here.... Seria points out
the obvious.
Oh, there are enough who are coming here. It may be true that
there used to be more in the past. But everyone I can help is making

me happy.
And what could you do for them? We are all gods now. -Seria
Even if we are gods, it's still good if you have someone you can talk
to. Some people are still coming here if they need advice or help.
Yesterday I had a pair, which wanted a old fashioned marriage. Or
for example parents who have problematic children. The old woman
smirks at me and I smile back at her.
Ha! How could the great Me be a problem child. I am Seria herself
after all! -Seria
You shouldn't use her name like that. It's true that things have
changed. But if I believe my memories, she still saved us all. The
old priestess smile becomes a little bit forced.
But I am Seria! I may have lost some memories because I died but
I am the creator of this world. Hmpf! -Seria
Oho! So you really are HER? But why did you die? I never heard of
something like that. -Priestess
To give you back your memories and powers of course. Did ya think
it wouldn't come with a price to betray the Council. -Seria
Hmmm. The priestess still looks like she doesn't believe her and
looks with pity into my eyes. You are thinking I have a delusional
child. Right?
Fine! I will prove it! Who ELSE than the great Goddess Seria
herself...... Could ride on the KING's head!? She pats my head
from above.
The woman looks doubtfully at me, then she goes pale. Y...y... your
majesty! I am sorry, I didn't recognize you. Why are you here all
alone!? She hastily stands up and bows to me.

It's fine. I am just a mount today. Seria wants to see her world.....
though I assume she just tried to get away from her mother.
Seria starts to fidget on my shoulders. That's not true. I am not
afraid of mom..... though she is very strict with me.
And your brother distracting her for a moment has nothing to with
you running away at every possible opportunity? I ask her with a
sarcastic tone.
Wh.. what are you thinking? I totally did not bribe my brother to
distract her. -Seria
kukuku... to think the king would go for a walk in my church. The
world surely has changed. The old woman chuckles.
Though it looks like it didn't go well for the church. I contemplate
while I look at my surroundings.
It's true. But I think that the people may realize at some point that
the church did more than promise a great afterlife. The old woman
answers hopefully.
Daddy, can you repair the churches?-Seria
I have no money for something like this. They don't even have a
proper use any more. I won't waste money on those buildings.
What about the historical value! Cheapskate! I will use mom against
you! Seria makes a serious threat and my face drops.
For a second I think about her possibilities and then I shudder. I... I
will consider it.
See old hag? Another proof! Who else than the goddess could give
orders to the King? Her voice is really high and mighty now.
The old woman really smiles with pity at me now. Hah, I thank you

for your help my goddess. But even if the temples would be

renovated, there is still the lack of people.
Why don't you create a guild for spiritual guidance then. There are
still enough mysteries and questions about the universe. There is
always a new horizon behind the old one. Seria shouts out.
Hoh. I may do that. The old woman smiles warmly at Seria. Looks
like she still doesn't believe that she is her former goddess.
Daddy, can we take a look at the new park?! I heard they rebuild it
more wonderfully than before my brother nuked it! Seria pulls at my
horns while I sigh and wave goodbye to the priestess.
I turn and walk outside.
Brrrrm! Step on the gas daddy! We need to be there before
mommy finds out that we are gone. Again she urges me forward
and I walk down the plaza.

59 - Remember, remember....?
I am with Celes, Seria and Aengus inside the Garden of my loghouse in the southern part of the continent. While I enjoy the
screams of pure pain and horror, I sip on my cold fruit-juice. Celes is
taking a sunbath with Seria and I am comfortably lying in a
hammock.
The screams are coming from Aengus. He is rolling around on the
ground while he is trying to scrape out his eyes.
Haaah, Celes, do you remember when we were that age? Isn't it
reassuring that we aren't the only ones who have to suffer?
Sure my dear. Though I have the feeling that Aengus is a really bad
case. Celes mumbles while she is lying on a mat.
I am sure he is just a sissy! Couldn't you do something to ease the
pain? What are you researching our bodies for if you can't do that. I
raise an eyebrow. She sure is heartless if she could help her son but
decided against it.
Probably I could do something, but it would require some pretty
heavy drugs. I don't want to give something like that to a little child.
Celes hums a little while she is enjoying the sun.
What's happening to big bro mom? Seria musters her brother with
a concerned look.
Ahem... nothing dangerous. He is just undergoing the
metamorphosis. His Adult features are developing. Like horns and
split pupils. He will look similar to daddy. Celes smiles at Seria and
pats her head.
Hooooorrnnnnnnnsss!? Puuuuppiills!? Whaaaahaa...
III
DONnn't
wannNNNAaa
bEEE
AA
DEEOEMON!!

HUUURRRRTTTSSS!!!!! Aengus rolls over the floor and then

starts to hit his head against the ground.
Seria looks at her brother with a shocked expression.
Celes continues to explain. The affected body tissue starts to grow
and change rapidly. As a side effect the nerves inside it are going
havoc and start firing constantly for naught. It's in fact a form of
phantom pain inside the brain. Nothing you could treat that easily.
And it's a natural process, better not to disturb it.
Aaah. I remember it like yesterday! It was like someone was
stabbing screwdrivers into my eyes while twisting them and having a
mixer meshing up my brain at the same time. I recall my own
metamorphosis.
Kyyyyaaaaa! *Sob* Thiiis IIS Theee PPURRRTAAAGOORY! III
KneWWW I WAAS In HEELLL!
You have to learn the dark sides of this world as well as the bright
ones Aengus. Try to control yourself a little, you're starting to sound
like a little girl. I grin at the wriggling figure.
Don't be so high and mighty! You started to cry like a little baby
yourself! Celes rebukes me.
Mom! Will that happen to me too? Seria asks Celes with a
frightened voice.
Most likely. Though you will be spared from the screwdrivers
through the eyes. Celes continues to hum her melody.
Seria lets out a sigh of relief while she sits down besides Celes
again. Then it will be half as bad.
Suddenly Celes tail entangles Seria and Celes throws a creepy smile
towards her daughter. Oh, it wont be half as bad. In exchange for
the screwdrivers it will feel like someone is constantly stabbing and

drilling a stake up your butt, directly into your spine!

Seria's mouth falls open while she comes to view her mother's tail in
a different light.
Ireth enters the garden through the veranda. What's all the
screaming abo... . Oh my. They grow so fast. Before you can take a
look they are already at age. How is it Aengus?
IIS? Iiii waanana DDIEEEE!
Your parents surely are horrible for letting you go through that even
though you did nothing bad. -Ireth
WhhhyYY?
On the other hand. We never showed them the method to ease the
pain for a while because we had to educate the naughty children.
Ireth ponders over the past while she scratches her chin.
Grandma! Save brother and show me the method! Pretty please!
Seria jumps at the opportunity.
In the meanwhile the screams have taken another dimension. Okay!
If my cute little granddaughter asks me like that, we will save your
brother.
She walks over and grabs Aengus at the neck to drag him over to
the close fountain..... and pushes his face under water.
Blerhg BbllBLblbB
A long and nasty fight for life and death starts. Aengus is trying to
cast a spell to breathe under water but Ireth cancels it. Various other
attempts to escape are also prevented.
After long and gruesome ten minutes Aengus's movements are just
mere twitches. It's really hard to drown a god, even if he is a child.

Seria is just standing besides Ireth with an unbelieving expression on

her face while she watches the entire procedure.
When Aengus stops to move, Ireth pulls him out and casts a midlevel healing spell on him. This has the benefit of not waking him up
again.
See? Easy, isn't it? Ireth asks Seria with a bright smile. Then she
lays Aengus on the ground and folds his hands on his chest like you
would do with a dead person.
The little sister of Aengus just nods with a pale face and a very
forced smile. Then she walks over to us with dead eyes. Mommy,
daddy, I am sorry. Aengus is right. I really created hell.
We both just grin at her and say nothing.
That's when Rose arrives with a plate of new drinks and sets them
onto the ground besides Celes. Um, everyone. There is something I
want to ask. Would it be a problem if I took a leave for the rest of
the day?
No, But if it comes from you, I have to know why. Otherwise I would
die of curiosity. I answer with a stern voice and Rose starts to
fidget.
Rose has something on her heart! What's it? I want to know! Celes
sits straight up and looks at Rose who turns red.
You know... originally I thought it would never happen. But with us
becoming gods. And the much longer lifespan. There were suddenly
so many new options! It kinda happened before I knew it.
Oh, no! It can't happen! The good soul of the household! Don't tell
me you want to quit!
I have a date!

Puh. Wait! Who!?

His name is Drem and he is the captain of the guard. Rose smiles
at us while Celes spits her juice over the ground.
The bear!? Ireth shouts out.
..... I am trying to imagine the fragile slender elf-body of Rose
besides that muscle monster Snowden but the picture is just too
hilarious.... I mutter while my fantasies are running wild.
It's the first date? Celes asks Rose.
Um, yes? -Rose
Celes jumps up and runs into the house. A few seconds later she
comes back with a little box and shoves it into Rose's hands. Give
him that when you are alone.
What is it? Rose asks with a curious voice.
Just a little help, you have to go now. It's better if you find it out
yourself. Celes urges Rose to take her leave and Rose nods.
Then Rose teleports away.
What's inside the box? Ireth asks Celes.
Nothing, just a little chocolate. Celes has a wide grin on her face.
I have to warn him! I close my eyes and concentrate myself and
establish a mental connection.
-Drem! Drem do you hear me? It's important!-Your Majesty? Is something wrong? It's rare for you to call
me.-Nothing is wrong. But it's important, don't eat the chocolate!-

..
-Drem?*SMACK*
Ow! I rub my head. You tried to tell him didn't you? Celes looms
over me. Did she interrupt the connection? Did Drem get the
important part?
Did daddy do something bad? Seria hops up and down besides
Celes.
Yes, he tried to tell on a woman's secret plans. Celes pats Seria's
head. He was a veeeery bad daddy and mommy will have to punish
him!
How can you punish daddy? I need to know too! Seria is such a
smart child! She knows what's really important.
That's not for children to see! Stay here and keep watch over your
brother. Then Celes grabs my hand and drags me to the house.
Noooo! Snowden! I hope my sacrifice wasn't in vain....
That's the same thing you always tell me Sandra! I am sure you will
just drag him to the bedroom and do this and that......... why are
you looking at me like that? Seria became aware of our frozen
state and looks at us.
Celes drops me and kneels down in front of Seria. You just called
me Sandra.
Did I? Seria smiles at Celes. If this were a comic I could probably
see small pearls of sweat forming on her forehead.
You totally did! What else do you remember! Celes grabs Seria at
her cheeks and starts to twist.

Owowowo!
I said many times that if you remember something you have to tell!
How much did you hide! Seria gets grabbed by Celes's tail at one
leg and is lifted into the air.
Do you remember how to travel the void Seria? I ask her with a
smile on my face.
No? I thought we already confirmed that I only have memories
of more recent events? Her smile becomes wide and shiny. Hah! I
remember! She always did that when she lied as Sofie!
You just called your mom, Sandra. That memory should be quite
old. I point out her mistake.
Do you see your brother lying there? Celes asks with a sweet
voice.
Seria looks into the asked direction and nods her head.
Right now, he has the bliss of unconsciousness. But if you don't spit
it out, I will see to it that you are awake and aware the entire time
when it's your turn. You wont even have the mercy to faint from
exhaustion! I will personally see to it. She grins at Seria who
becomes as pale as the moon.
Uwaaah! I just didn't want to tell that I remembered more! You
and daddy will go off to war if you know how to travel the void.
I didn't want that! I want things to be like now forever. I will tell!
Please hit me unconscious when it's my turn!

60 - Hide and seek?

Big bro, it's scary here. I tug at Aengus's sleeve while I take a look
around. The room is dark and many technical devices are blinking
and beeping all over the place.
I know Seria, but it's also exciting! How often do you have the
chance to take a look at the lab of a mad scientist? Aengus pulls
me with him to explore the room.
We are at the Cygnus property. Our parents -disposed- of us here.
They had too much work to do after I told daddy what I knew about
the void, which wasn't much. He ran off and wasn't seen since.
Mom also wasn't able to keep an eye on us. Neither were our
grandparents. Seems like planning an all out war is really time
consuming. So Celes dropped us off at the Cygnus property for
Margerie to take care of us.
Celes's isn't of the opinion that we could be left alone. Though I
believe it would have been more safe at the palace....
Right after we met Margerie, who really looks like a mad scientist,
Aengus and I fled to inspect the big mansion.
Margerie was busy with instructing an employee and we took the
opportunity.
It was really hard to evade all those servants and other people. It
seems to be a busy place. Though we found a few deserted rooms
which seem to function as a research lab.
Look! That device looks cool, doesn't it? Aengus grabs something
which looks like a mechanical spider from a table.
I wouldn't touch anything in here. It could be dangerous. I warn my

brother, who seems a little impulsive to me. I know, I lost many of

my memories and my parents think that I am childish. But I still have
my head together!
Booh. Cheapskate. I can't believe I have a little sister like that....
Aengus puts the spider back.
To imagine that I would be called little sister...... I am the BIG SIS!
It's humiliating! I am surely older than this upstart youngster!
Oooh? But I am a year older than you! Aengus answers high and
mighty.
That's just physical. What's important is the mental age! And from
that perspective you are looking at one of the oldest beings in the
multiverse! Be honoured! I refuse to give up an inch of my dignity!
Oh? Being that old doesn't really count if you don't remember much
of it. Aengus makes a point.
I remember at least the important stuff! For example that you
promised to help me if I would save you. So where is your respect
to your saviour high and mighty hero? I look up into my brother's
eyes without flinching.
Urgh... you won that one, but don't overdo it! -Aengus
We continue to inspect the room, but there is just too much stuff
here. It's more like a mountain of collected garbage.
Suddenly the door flies open and Margerie storms inside. Found
you!
Run Bro! Whoever gets caught is a slow turtle! I storm up to
Margerie, who tries to catch me, but I drop myself to the floor and
slide over the ground. Margerie tries to grab me but she is too slow.
Aengus uses the distraction to slip past her and the next second we
are outside and on the run.

Hold it! No running in the corridors! Margerie calls after us but she
is too slow.
Suddenly a big busted rabbit girl appears out of nothing before me
and I collide with her leg. Ouf! I am thrown backwards and land on
my ass.
So cute! It's a little version of Celes! Too bad that you don't have
the horns and the tail yet. I get grabbed by the girl and hugged to
her chest. What's wrong with those things! Does she have a little bit
of cow in her genes too!?
I try to fight myself free but then I realize that Aengus got caught by
a cat-woman and dangles in the air, held by the neck.
They tricked us sis! This was a pre-planned ambush! -Aengus
Seconds later Margerie arrives at the scene, panting like dying any
moment. ......Sandra..... Tanja..... good.... that..... you.... caught....
them.
Seriously Margerie? Why did you agree to babysit for people
whose children have higher physical abilities than you? Tanja
complains about Margeries lack of forethought.
....but . that's.... why .. I . invited.... you... Margerie lies
down on the floor to catch her breath.
Seriously! But it's still nice to meet the offspring of our old school
comrades. They were so busy in the recent time. I would have liked
it if we had seen each other more often. Sandra hugs me even
tighter.
I always wanted to meet the goddess Seria. That's why I came.
Tanja goes with the blunt truth.
I am not sure if I can really live up to that reputation. I answer with

a concerned voice.
Aw... no problem. I am Sandra Andros and that's Tanja Morden. We
are friends of your parents. Say? Do you want to play with my kids?
They are a little younger than you, but they are also an active
bunch. Sandra takes me under one arm and carries me off, without
asking for my opinion.
My captor starts to walk through the corridor while she talks about
uninteresting stuff. After a few corners we arrive at the living room,
where a blonde guy is waiting in a sofa.
Five kids are playing cards on the ground. Ah, I see you caught
them!
We are put in front of the other kids, who stare at us.....
Not being able to cope with the silence I try start a conversation. Hi,
I am Seria and that's my brother Aengus! I introduce myself.
I am Yondus, and those are my brother and sisters Gustav, Monika,
Evel and Sarah. One of the kids takes the lead.
Wow... Quite the big family already? Your parents must be hard
workers! Aengus bursts out.
But Yondus drops his head while the others put on a disturbed
expression. That's what everybody thinks, but it's a trait of our
bloodline to have many children. In fact mom got all of us in the
same go. Though normally it's just twins or triplets.
Holy shit! Five at the same time! That must hurt like hell! Now I
burst out and everyone looks at me with a shocked expression.
What? Don't look at me like that!
Oh, it's just that we had another image of the goddess in our heads.
I am Sven by the way. I am Sandra's husband.

Haven't I seen you guys at my parent's marriage? So what are you

guys doing now? The last time I saw you, you just graduated. The
memory just came to me like a flashback.
Oh, Sven is in the army and in the process to work his way up.
Tanja is doing something like spying and other secret activities. I am
taking care of the kids while I manage my family's estate.
Sandra explains in short words.
And your brother Margerie? I think I saw him too at the party.
Wasn't he with a nice little wolf-girl? -Me
Margerie answers with a disdainful voice. He dropped the whole
family business on me and ran off with that bitch. It's hard on a
family if the only heir doesn't want to take responsibility and prefers
to live in the woods with his girlfriend.
I nod. Obviously there is a more complicated story behind it, but
Margerie doesn't want to talk about it.
Then it hits me again and I point at Sandra and Sven. Oh! Now I
remember! I think I saw you guys at my parents marriage party!
You were already so lovey dovey back then. I couldn't resist
and blessed Sandra with fertility.
I hit my fist into my open palm.
Now everyones mouth is standing open while they look at me.
What? I am a goddess of life and death. Doing stuff like that is
my job. I smirk at Sven who started to mutter incomprehensible
stuff to himself.
Sandra grins at me. Oh, I have to thank you then. If it weren't for
the children, he wouldn't have married me.
I give Sandra a thumbs up and smile at the quintuples, who are
staring at me with big round eyes.

61 - Sending a message?
It's complete! MWAHAHAHAHA! Hrm! Luckily nobody heard that.
I sounded like Margerie.
When Seria explained the nature of the void to me, I had an
enlightenment. She realized that the void isn't a space with no
pathways at all.
A pathway is a stream of energy and mana through the multiverse.
Mortals often call them Ley lines, but they are only able to sense
them in a very rudimentary way. A god can hop onto one of those
streams and travel with them. They are able to do it because they
can sense the fast moving current.
Being able to do this is the most defining characteristic for being a
god. It can't be done without aid by a soul which didn't ascend.
By using this method, you can go anywhere you want at instant
speed. That's why some mortals think of gods as omnipresent.
Which we are not.
Those currents flow extremely slow inside void zones. So an
untrained individual can't sense them. That gives the impression of
an empty space.
After Seria had given me this hint, I ran back to my lab. It took me
two sleepless days to complete the preparations and to instruct the
palace to grow the necessary equipment.
At the third day I fell asleep and when I woke up, the palace had
completed it's task. Right now I have a small crystal in my hand.
It's similar to the ring and earrings, I gave to Celes. By connecting
directly to the users mind, it can show me a whole new view on the
world.

By using the mana-crystal as a sensor, the user is now able to feel

even the tiniest bit of energy.
Time for a little test!
I close my eyes and concentrate. By blending out my surroundings, I
slowly become aware of the pathways. They are dim and slow, but
it's enough.
A step takes me outside the void onto another world. Appearing in
the sky above a big city, I look around. I know this world from a
previous life.
But I am not here to dwell in my memories. I want to leave a little
message for the Council. For this purpose I need to talk to a god.
Preferably not to a Council member and not on their territory.
I need a messenger. Someone completely unrelated. What's better
than to trespass into random gods territory and give him the
message. All I need to do is to create a little commotion and hope
for one of the caretakers of this world to notice.
Using another pathway, I appear inside the town on a big open area
in front of a university. There are so many students here. Hah, this
feels nostalgic. A long time ago I was a professor here.
But then the screams of fear and terror arise!
KYAA! DEMON! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE! AAAAAA!
A few seconds ago the area was crowded with people. Now there is
nobody left. They all fled head over heels when they saw me and
dropped everything they had on the ground.
Books and papers are all over the place. I take a few steps forward
and grab a random book to read the title.
About the world, it's inhabitants and the gods.

-By Lerem

Gerwais
I flip through the pages and grin at the stupid ideas inside. It's been
to long since I was here. They already started to teach this esoteric
shit again!
Suddenly someone is shouting behind me.
Hold it demon! In the name of our holy protector Fendulf! Leave this
world and go back into the abyss which birthed you!
I turn around and see a very shiny looking knight in full body armour,
a wizard girl, a priestess and an archer. They aren't gods, just
mortals. Meh... I turn around again and continue to flip the pages.
By the light! Holy sword! Slay this creature of evil!
I feel something poking between my shoulder blades and sigh.
Yeah... what did I expect. This plan was stupid. Why should a god
turn up if I don't ravage a continent or two.
What is this devilry!? The holy sword, given by his holiness himself
doesn't even scratch him!?
I turn around and grab the knights sword. *Snap!* I broke the stupid
thing at the hilt.
Adults shouldn't play with toys! Hasn't your mother taught you
anything? I smack him with the book.
He falls to the ground like a felled tree and moves no more. A dent in
his helmet proves the force with which the book hit him. Aw! Look!
Because of you I destroyed the binding of the book! I complain to
the unconscious knight.
Kyaaa! Hero! The wizard girl starts a tirade while the priestess
falls to her knees and starts to pray. The archer just stands there
with a dumbfounded look on his face.

Oh well. This doesn't look like it will lead to anything. I frown over
the destroyed book when a sudden flash of light appears above us
and a shiny figure of light suddenly floats there!
WHO HAS SLAIN MY CHAMPION!?
LUCKY! That's a god. Come down here, I have to talk to you.
VILE DEMON CREATURE, BE GONE! Another flash of light and
the ground around me is burned and turns black from the heat. Had I
not countered the spell by forcefully emitting my mana through my
aura, I would have been roasted!
The god didn't have any problems with my aura pressing down on
him. But the archer is twitching on the ground and has foam at his
mouth. Wizard girl and priestess are also panting on the ground like
the gravity would be too much for them. As magic users, they are
taking it better.
Poor mortals. Come down here stupid god! I have to talk to you! Or
do I have to destroy this world, just to tell you a few words? And
switch off this stupid light-show! That's outdated!
I wave a fist at the idiot.
The figure of light descents to the ground and dims down to
reasonable levels. Seems like he realized that I am a god too. Took
him long enough.
What's a fellow god doing here? This is my world. Why are you
stirring up trouble? The wiry guy asks.
I need you to give the Council a message. Fendulf, I assume? -Me
Fendulf nods. Why don't you give this message to the Council
yourself?
Because I don't like to walk into the enemy's territory. And for the
message, tell them greetings from the void. We will soon visit them

in their heavenly city. And then we will have a nice talk with them. I
smile at Fendulf.
He looks at me with question marks above his head.
Ah. And could you also spread the word to everyone who doesn't
want to get involved in the Council's business! They should stay
away and keep their heads down. -Me
You aren't planning something stupid like a rebellion are you? Fendulf
Count your ass on it! The final days of the Council are close and it's
in their hands to choose if this will be ugly or not. I wave at Fendulf
and then at the mortals, who are looking at me like the harbinger of
the end.
To them this conversation must have sounded like hell just declared
war on heaven.
I turn around and step onto a path which takes me home again.
Back at home I start to sort my equipment. It's important to have an
orderly laboratory. Order and cleanliness are the most important
things in a workplace.
Hmm.. I think I forgot something. Didn't Celes tell me to ..
AH!
I forgot to get Seria and Aengus! They are still at Margerie's
mansion! I am a sore excuse as a father! Forgetting my children at a
friend's place!
Teleporting, I reappear inside Margerie's home. After a few
seconds, I found an employee who leads me to the living room.
Inside are Seria and Aengus, together with Sandra's children. They

are on top of Tanja, who looks like a slain animal while she is lying on
the ground.
I will never have children.... this is hell..... Tanja complains with
dead eyes, while she is looking at the ceiling.
Sven is crouching down in a corner and mutters something
incomprehensible to himself. Margerie is lying on a couch. Seems
like she passed out on the spot.
Sandra jumps out of a chair when she sees me. Our saviour! I am
so glad that you are back! She runs to me and hugs me.
What's going on? I ask with a confused voice while I pat her
shoulders.
They don't sleep! First we lost Margerie, then Sven had a talk with
Seria and since then he is looming in the corner. I don't know what
she said to him. Afterwards they banded together and took out
Tanja! Sandra has tears in her eyes.
Looks like your children and mine are an explosive combination? I
walk over to the kids.
Daddy! We had so much fun! Can we come here to play every
day? Seria jumps on top of Tanja while she smiles at me.
Don't use my intelligence officer as a trampoline! And why didn't you
go to sleep like they told you? I ask with a strict voice.
Before they were dropped off by us, we instructed them to behave.
Which they obviously did not!
But we never had so many people to play with! How can you
ask of us to sleep at such a moment! Aengus pokes Tanja, who
doesn't even flinch.
I sigh and grab Seria and Aengus to take them home.

62 - Preparations!
I look up above my city and watch the three flying fortresses
hovering there. They are made of mana-crystal. It took us a lot of
resources to build them.
Currently I am standing on a balcony of my palace to get my head
free. There are still so many preparations to make.
Fortunately countless people gave their assistance for free in this
project. All of them combined their knowledge and power.
They did it for a single reason. Seria's last wish.
It's not wrong to call it her last wish. After I had the chance to watch
my daughter for a long time, I am sure. The old Seria is gone and
the new one is more like a very similar twin.
She has some traits of her personality and some of her memories.
But the old personality is... dead. The old Seria had something like a
certain aura. You could feel that a veryyyy old being was before you.
The new Seria is just my daughter.
We decided that one fortress should always stay at this world to
protect it. With the other two, we will set out and change the order
of the multiverse.
The challenge has been already made. All that's left to do is to leave
the void and tell everyone about our existence. I decided to mass
produce my sensory crystals, which enable a god to travel through
the void.
Every inhabitant of this world is allowed to get one. They will be
given to nobody else. I hired an army of very proficient people to see
to it.

They will be similar to a passport I guess.

Of course the secret will come out sometime and other gods who
are not natives will get access to our world. But I prefer it if it will be
later than sooner.
With more time our society will be stronger and less likely shaken by
people from outside the void. I am sure that other gods will come
here with time.
We still have more than enough space. It's a big planet and our
population accounts only to about eight hundred million people.
I don't want to know how long Seria's plan was running in order to
gather this many souls. And how many are still drifting as dead souls
around?
My army is also ready. We decided to give the Council a show of
force with fifty thousand of our strongest fighters.
As soon as we are ready, we will march directly towards their city
and give them a choice. Tjenemit gave me really good intelligence
about their fighting force.
There are about sixty thousand occupants in their city. Ten thousand
of them should be completely useless. They are suffering from
something like senility.
It looks like your mind really can die somehow if you just get old
enough. It's a natural process according to Tjenemit. A soul ages
and collects memories until it gathers enough strength to ascend.
Then it continues to grow and collects memories until something like
a breakdown occurs. The mind dies. The soul will lose all memories
and you will be reborn as a normal mortal again, should you choose
to so.
But why should someone who is bored to death refuse this

possibility. To him it will be a chance to start anew.

I am not sure if it is really a breakdown, or if they are just too bored
to care about the world any more. If you just live long enough, you
should become bored of everything at some point for sure.....
For some reason El Shaddai fears that. He forbade the death of a
god and made a law out of it. Tjenemit couldn't tell me why.
Seria obviously wished not only for more freedom. She wished for
everyone to be allowed to start anew, if they wish for it.
I am fairly sure that we can defeat the Council. If we subtract those
ten thousand people, the Council has just fifty thousand followers,
which form their hard core.
At least thirty thousand of them aren't fighters, so their army has just
twenty thousand people. The rest are supporters and guys, who
help to govern the multiverse.
Others keep the city in order. Their standing army is quite big
compared to their civil supporters if you think about it.
That's almost fifty percent of their working population, but according
to Tjenemit the rest hasn't much power. They should be seen as
civilians, who will most likely run at the first sign of fighting.
So if the Council hasn't gathered mercenaries from the younger
gods, they should have a far weaker force than us.
If they have mercenaries. We will have to turn them around over
time. I am sure we can do that. It's just a question of information and
propaganda.
If everyone has the whole picture, they surely won't be unified any
more. For one reason or the other.
On top of that we have the weapons from my palace. They should

give us another edge in the coming fight.

Tjenemit hasn't any knowledge of such weapons. It fits with the
information that the Council stole the crystal city from some other
gods.
They never really understood the technology and just started to use
it. If that's true Amaru's Sphere of Sight may also be just a stolen
artefact. Though Tjenemit told us that Amaru really created it
himself.
The former occupants of the City weren't it's creators either. At least
that's Tjenemit's assumption because they hadn't much more
knowledge of the city than the Council.
But why didn't Amaru invent much more marvellous stuff if he could
create something like the Sphere?
It could be that he somehow came across a few seeds to create
crystal-artefacts. Then he managed to manipulate them into growing
according to his wishes. Maybe he never understood how to create
a seed?
That would be a possible explanation. But the answer can only be
given by Amaru. To Tjenemit's knowledge, they have some really big
crystal-guns from Amaru too.
The longer I interrogated Tjenemit, the more it looked like the
Council just consists of a collection of barbarians, who took over the
ruins of a higher civilisation.
So my assumption is that there was a high civilisation of gods in the
long forgotten past. They created the crystal city at the middle of all
things as an eternal monument.
Then something happened and the civilisation broke down. An
eternity of civil war between the gods followed until nobody
remembered why everyone was fighting. The crystal city changed

hands many times until the Council won in the end.

Something which happened a few times in the history of mortals to
my knowledge. Why shouldn't it be the same for us gods? Without
finding hard proof, it will stay a speculation.
Maybe the crystal city will hold some answers.
I turn around and walk inside the palace. Screams of pain greet me
as I reach our private quarters. Seria is getting her horns and tail.
Oh, my daughter will look really cute with those! I enter the room,
where Seria is hanging from the ceiling. She is bondage-bound like
Aengus and Celes is standing in front of them with her arms
crossed.
You two gave Tanja, Sandra, Margerie and Sven a really hard time!
Can you imagine how we look now as parents?
Celes is furious.
I will never do it again! -Aengus
Yoooou PROmised you wilLLL hit me unconscious MOM!
Back then and now are two different situations! You won't get out of
this. Celes whips Seria with her tail on the ass!
KYAAA! III RREEGREET! NOO MOReeee whIPPINggg!!
Mom that's cruel! Aengus tries to intervene, but a series of
whipping attacks shuts him up. Celes surely doesn't think much of a
pedagogic approach.
Hmm, I should help them. They don't really deserve that much
punishmmmm............ but I really like that movement of Celes' hips
when she uses her tail!
*Whip* *Whip*

!!AAARGGGH!! !!KYAAAA!!
Oooh, and that ass! Maybe I am starting to see the positive side of
this marriage!? Didn't I tell myself a long time ago to act according
to my urges? Maybe this is a situation like this?
Another series of whipping attacks rains down on Seria and Aengus.
Oh, wow. Until now I only received them! I could never watch her
from behind while she was doing it!
*Whip* *Whip*
!!KYAAAA!! !!AAARGGGH!!
Yeah. That's really erotic if you think about it. And those screams!
Like our first night!
Sneaking up from behind, I hug Celes and give her a kiss onto the
neck. Aren't you overdoing it a little honey? I whisper to her while I
grin at Seria and Aengus.
Don't distract me now! I have serious work to do! Celes glares at
the kids and tries to get out of my arms.
But your husband is in need of his wife. I throw her over my
shoulder and wink at Seria and Aengus. Both of them have a
disturbed look on their faces, but at the same time they look
relieved.
What are you doing Angrod!? I am serious here! -Celes
I turn around while I grab her ass and carry her out of the room. I
thought I would act upon a sudden urge of mine. I hum while I walk
to our bedroom.
Celes freezes up. What's wrong with you? Do you have a fever?
That's not like you!
Reaching the door, I open it and close it behind us. Hmm. I don't

really know. I just had the urge. So no voice for you wife! It's nice to
be on the other end for once!
*Click*
Door locked! Hehehehe.

63 - Discussions?
The Councils crystal city:
We are at our round table which is floating above our city. El
Shaddai called for us after he received a very strange message from
a minor god.
I was here first because I was in the city. While I was waiting, I was
able to see El Shaddai change colours. From gold to silver and back
to gold. I guess that's his equivalent of turning red.
With time the others arrived too. Everybody felt the atmosphere and
preferred to stay silent.
Even after everyone was at the table, El Shaddai didn't say a word
for several minutes. Just now he is returning from a state of silver to
a golden state.
I just had a visit from a minor god. He told me that a messenger
from the Void contacted him. The Messenger said: Greetings from
the Void. We will visit you soon to have a nice talk! Your final days
are close and it's in your hands to choose if it will be ugly or not. El
Shaddai turns silver again.
I dribble with my fingers on the table while I think about it. Looks
like we will get a visit soon. They found a way to leave the void.
Lada, you always amaze me. This conclusion is marvellous! Amaru
comments with acid in his voice.
Have you disposed of that messenger? We could get into trouble if
this situation becomes public! Eris suggests while she is loitering
bored in her chair.
El Shaddai turns silver again. It IS already public! The minor god in

question wasn't stupid and came here, while shouting the

circumstances to everyone in the city. It's almost certain that some
other minor gods are already carrying these news around. Tomorrow
the whole multiverse will know it!
You should have intercepted him. Eris throws another ridiculous
claim into the room.
How do you intercept a messenger, you don't know about!? El
Shaddai's voice is now really dangerous.
It wouldn't have changed anything. Even if you had managed to stop
the guy from distributing this information. The Void could spread the
information to someone else. You would just shut up a carrier, but
not the source. Elohim soberly analyses the situation.
If they want to, they can tell everyone about their existence. It's just
unfortunate that we still have no idea about their abilities. Amaru
winces while he reflects on the situation.
They can come! Our army is ready! And I have another thirty
thousand recruits from the younger gods! Enyo hits the table with a
bloodthirsty smile.
I hope you don't rely too much on those.... I wouldn't put trust in
their loyalty. Eris says with disdain in her voice.
They are planned as cannon fodder anyway. Enyo shrugs her
shoulders.
C...Cannon fodder! They are people! I cry out! This isn't right! Are
they trying to destroy the last piece of righteousness in this group?
Calm down Lada, sometimes sacrifices have to be made. We won't
be able to let those people go after the fight anyway. Elohim stops
me.
My heart stops. WHAT!?

Amaru starts to assist him.

Think about it. They will be first hand witnesses of a rebellion. They
will know that resistance is possible. How can we let such gods
roam the multiverse afterwards? The best example is that little god,
who brought us the message. At the moment he is too frightened to
resist us openly. But he already proved that he doesn't trust us, by
spreading the message before he brought it to El Shaddai. By doing
that he ensured his safety. Shutting him up would be useless and
others would question his whereabouts, should he disappear.
I shut my mouth. What am I even doing here? These people aren't
the Council I joined any more.
Enough of this! Gather the army and ready them Enyo! They have a
possibility to travel the void. I want that knowledge! We need it to
destroy their hideout! El Shaddai teleports away without waiting for
an answer.
Yay! I guess that's it! Finally some action again! It started to get
boring. Enyo also leaves.
One after the other, the Council members leave and I am just sitting
there, staring into the table.
You were always too nice for this Lada. I look up and see Eris on
the other side of the table.
Why are you still here? Aren't you happy with the current events? I
hear the poison within my voice. Ah... that's not like me.
To tell you the truth. I am happy with the current events. But not for
the same reason, you may believe me to. I am happy with the
current situation because it proves that the world is still turning. No
matter how deep the Council may freeze the ocean, it will still stir
under the ice! Kukukuku...
Slowly goddess of chaos and strive fades away to leave me alone at
the table.

I stand up and step onto a pathway. Away from here. There is much
to think about.
***
Somewhere in the void:
I am really worried!
Currently I have a women's meeting with Margerie, Tanja and
Sandra. We are doing this once in a while to talk about everything of
interest. For this purpose, we have gathered in a lounge inside the
palace.
But isn't it fine Celes? I can't understand your problem? -Margerie
No it isn't fine! Suddenly he throws me over his shoulder and drags
me off! And I have no idea what's gotten into him! This is strange in
every way!
You are funny. First you complain about his lack of interest in you.
And now you complain about his attention! You are the kind of
woman, which can't be pleased. No matter what. -Sandra
But.... I don't know, I hate it! -Me
Then let's try to think about it logically. Margerie slides into another
position in her chair. How do men work sexually? They either do it
to relieve their build up . stress?
Angrod never does that.... -Me
... -Margerie
Or they get turned on! Sandra interrupts happily.
I didn't try to seduce him! I already did that many times! He never

reacted that strongly to it! I have to deny that.

Then you did it unknowingly! What were you doing that at the
moment. -Margerie
Errr... I was... educating the brats! I nod.
And by educating you mean? Tanja slides closer.
Erm.. just a little whipping... -Me
Whi...? -Margerie
Sandra spurts her drink on the table. You can't do that to children!
It's okay! They deserved it! Thank you! Tanja shakes my hands
with starry eyes.
It's not like they are babies, who aren't aware of their actions! They
have the memories of several lifetimes and use their physical age as
excuse to torment those who look older! I have to defend myself.
Hrm... well what does that tell us about Angrod? -Margerie
He is a serious S! I knew that already, but to get off from having
his children whipped is on another scale! -Sandra
Wha! That can't be! I turned him on because I hit the children!? And
he isn't a sadist! Even if he is a little wild in the bed and it hurts at
times, but he doesn't do anything like that! -Me
The whole world knows that he is a Sadist! Don't you know the
rumours? -Sandra
Rumours? -Me
If you throw a shady glance at him, you will wish you were
never born! He is a wild beast, who will hit you a hundred times

while you are on the ground. Grinning even wider with every
punch, which distorts your mashed up face even further! Margerie
In school he single handedly took on a hundred hooligans and
destroyed their gang, only because they threw a lusty look at
his princess! None of them are able to talk about the event
even till now. And if you ask them about it, they crouch down in
a fetal position and start to shiver uncontrollably! The healers
are still unable to treat it, even to the current day! -Sandra
When you try to take stuff which belongs to him, he will rip
out your heart and eat your soul! Never letting go of it again,
you will suffer till judgement day! -Tanja
My jaw drops at those claims! What do people tell about me then!?
The beautiful gentle flower. The only one who is able to calm
the beast and shows no fear. -Margerie
Everyone should fear the day, when the princess is no more.
As the only one who can stop the beast will have ceased to
be! -Sandra
Screams of pain and lust will sound from the palace, when the
gentle flower tames the wild beast. As she is the only one who
is able to be in it's presence without shuddering in fear!" -Tanja
NOOO! You are playing with me! That can't be true! I will enlist a
secret police to stop those rumors! I can't let this go! Are we really
seen like that by the public?
Nothing you can do. It's already common knowledge. But back to
topic. You know your husbands savage grin yourself. He is a big S
for sure. He was turned on when you educated the kids. Margerie

It really can't be, he isn't like that! I won't believe it! But it makes
sense in a horrible way!
Maybe it's half as bad. Celes get your tools and show us the scene!
Maybe we find another clue! -Sandra
Huh? I don't need tools! I have my tail! -Me
... ...show us! ...whip that couch!
Hm. Okay. I guess it won't hurt. I stand up whip the couch in the
corner of the room. After a few slashes, I turn around again. See?
Nothing over which he should loose his cool.
.....naturally gifted!"
.....she isn't even aware of it! So unfair!"
Sandra walks up to me and grabs me at my shoulders.
Celes! If you want to be dragged off to bed the next time!
....Yes?
Turn your back to him" "and whip something!" "ANYTHING!

64 - Rebellion?
Get off, Seria! This is too much! I am becoming a laughing stock!
I don't wanna! I have to enjoy every moment while I am still able to
do it! Seria is riding on my shoulders and uses my horns as a driving
wheel.... again.
Several people are looking at me. They are having a hard time
holding back from laughing. I am inside the command centre of the
Ragnarok. It's one of our three flying fortresses. The others were
named Guardian and Nomad. Nomad will join us on this trip, while
the Guardian will stay behind.
I still can't believe that Celes allowed you to join this campaign! Me
Maybe I'll remember something important! And I have to greet
Lada! -Seria
You are really sure that Lada is on our side? I still doubt it. She is a
Council member after all.
I am sure! The memory is very recent and she was always a good
girl and a friend. -Seria
Your word in my ear.....
Communication. Tell the Nomad to fire up
their engines. Planned flight time: nothing! I grin while I give the
orders.
The first thing I did when I designed the fortresses was to give them
the ability to use the pathways. Those things would be pretty
useless otherwise. They would be stuck on this world. Nobody
needs a tank that can't move.
I feel the faster pulsing of energy through my command chair. This

technology is really marvellous, even for a god. Before I came

across the mana-crystals, I felt like a barbarian without a stick. The
crystals are to us, like metal to mortals.
I am still concerned about the Sphere of Sight. They will be able to
know every step we take once we are outside the void. -Seria
Knowing about their capabilities is a big help to us. Just remember
to keep your mouth shut about vital information. And even if they can
spy on us, it's no problem. Our course of action won't change. First
we will visit them and take a look at their strength. If they are far
weaker, we will crush them. If they are fortified too strongly, we will
hop around the multiverse and stir up trouble. With enough
information, their reign should end pretty soon. I take a deep breath
to clear my thoughts.
I am on board of the Ragnarok with Seria. Nicosar and Celes are on
board too. The Nomad is commanded by Arthur and he has Drem,
Tanja and Sven with him. Both ships are manned with strong and
trustworthy people.
You realize that all of this is your fault! Seria? -Me
Booo. It was the former me, who set this up. And if I didn't, you all
would suffer in a dark and cruel place. So you should be happy for
the chance to change your fate! -Seria
I tilt my head while I look at the big screen before me. Both
fortresses are rising to a higher altitude. If we would jump out of the
atmosphere above midpoint, we would destroy our own city.
Imagine a volume of several million tons of air would just disappear,
leaving behind vacuum? A god is able to use a pathway in a more
refined manner. But the fortresses use the barbaric method of just
exiting one reality, to enter another one.
All three of our fortresses look the same. They are long sleek
structures of multiple crystalline formations. They don't look natural,

but at the same time you can tell that they aren't pure technology
either.
The fortresses are about six kilometres long, one in height and two
in width. Both are manned with a crew of about twenty five thousand
people. Besides shields and weapons, the most important part of
the fortresses is their damping field.
When we realized that we would have to fight a war between gods,
we were at a loss. How should almost indestructible beings with
teleportation abilities fight each other?
Will it be a brainless chaos of one on one fights? Everyone is able to
teleport into the enemy's formation at will.
Margerie saved us from such a fate with the dampening fields. They
are the same technology, which enables us to use a pathway with
the fortress. But instead of using a pathway to get from one point to
another, the dampening field closes the pathways.
Now we have a nice little space around our fortresses, which is safe
from enemy teleporters. If Margerie hadn't invented something like
that, our fortresses would be useless. The Council could just board
our vessels and we would have to fight them the traditional way.
Neither will they be blown out of the sky, like my old fortress.
Of course we thought about many other scenarios too. To tell the
truth, I think we are still greenhorns. We never fought a war between
gods. I have almost no idea how the reality will look like.
Probably the only ones who have an idea how to fight is the Council.
They have an experienced army, unlike us. Of course our people
aren't inexperienced either. We fought ourselves for long enough. But
we never fought a war as gods, that's new territory for us.
I hope the Council's army got rusty during the eternity of peace
under their rule. They shouldn't have had much chances to train their

skills.
We are ready to shift, your Majesty!
A technicians voice wakes me from my thoughts. Activate the
engine. I order with a cold voice.
After a short feeling of zero gravity, both of our fortresses reappear
above a certain planet.
This place is called the Centre of all things. A blue sun is dancing
with a black hole. Around them travels a world of Crystals. And on
this world is the Council's city.
We appeared right above their heads. Perfect!
Begin to descend and start the bombardment to wake them up. I
lean back in my chair to watch the inferno. Our fortresses are
unleashing incredible powers. Lances of energy stab down into the
atmosphere and orbs of light howl down to the planet.
Unfortunately, it will be nothing more than a greeting. I know from
Tjenemit that the Council possesses the technology to shield their
city. Combined with their mana-crystals, they should have more than
enough energy to stop our attack.
On the other hand, we have a hidden card. Nobody is allowed to talk
about it until we had the chance to discuss the situation with the
Council.
Descending through a layer of clouds, I get a nice view at the
Council's city. It's marvellous to behold.
Smaller towers of crystal intertwine with each other and in the
middle, a single slim crystal tower almost stabs the clouds.
Like I assumed, our weapons aren't doing much to their shield. It's
lighting a little. That's all.

***
The Council's city:
Where did those things come from! El Shaddai screams with all his
might, while the ground shakes a little under our feet.
I look up at two beautiful ships. They are made out of mana-crystals
like our city. Weren't it for the shaking ground under my feet, I
wouldn't believe that their purpose was a deadly one.
Seria. What have you unleashed?
Marvellous! They copied the crystal-tec! They are even able to build
ships! Amaru's eyes sparkle like he just found a new toy.
At this rate, they will never get through the shield. Enyo tilts her
head while she is looking up. Send the infiltration troops. They are
stupid to build something like this.
A General at Enyo's side nods and starts to give orders to others.
The others aren't inside the city. There is much work to do if you
have to govern the multiverse.
I look down to my feet. I will have to decide soon....
Suddenly a rather big explosion dents the barrier above us, but the
barrier is instantly restored. Our city has almost limitless mana
reserves.
In fact, Amaru explained to me that the city is somehow able to tap
into the mana flow of the planet itself. That's an immense power.
A few minutes go by, then Enyo's general receives a new
information. We lost the infiltration troops.
What? How? -Amaru

Apparently all pathways to the ships are blocked. Our troopers tried
to get there, but they lost their connection to the pathway and
reappeared a few kilometres from the ships. They were immediately
taken under fire. Only a handful could escape.
Incompetence! Enyo screams at the general.
At this moment the bombardment stops and a loud voice booms over
the city.
We are the Void. Come out of your city and hear our terms. If
you don't resist, this won't have to end with your
reincarnation..... No dear! It's not like I want to scare them.....
No! I am trying to make an impression!..... No! You can't have
the micro....schrrccrrrcrrrr ......... ........Meet us five thousand
meters above your city. NOW!
I turn and look at El Shaddai, who is taking all shades of grey and
silver.
Is this is a joke? Are they not taking us serious!? They are giving
terms? TO US! -El Shaddai
We should go and speak to them.-Amaru
I will go! El Shaddai spits on the ground. I will go and tell them
what will happen if they don't surrender now! He blinks away.
I concentrate too and search the airspace above our city. When I
encounter a strong source of mana, I teleport too.
I reappear in the air. Amaru and Enyo are already besides El
Shaddai.
Across from us are two people. A man and a woman.
The guy has a staff of crystal in his left hand. His menacing slit pupils
seem like they are looking right through us. He is wearing a strange

armour, which makes him look like a mixture of knight and mage. On
his head is a crown and the short black hair emphasizes the golden
metal. Two black horns grow from of his head, heading backwards
to complete the look of a devil!
The woman besides him has fiery red hair, which is pinned up with
several ornamented hairpins out of crystal. She looks like a
succubus and has a very alluring figure. Just the wings are missing.
She is wearing a female version of the guys outfit. A slit skirt shows
one of her legs and a tail slowly waves from left to right behind her.
On her head are branching out horns, which encircle it like a tiara.
But the strangest thing is the little girl, riding on the guys shoulders.
She looks like a little version of the succubus. And then the girl
waves at us and speaks.
Hi Guys! Did you like our little greeting? Lada! Long time no
see! How are you doing!?

65 - Diplomacy!
It's humiliating to carry Seria on my shoulders during a diplomatic
meeting! But the faces of those people are priceless.
The Buddha-guy should be El Shaddai. The guy with the monocle is
Amaru for sure. And the walking armour could be Enyo.
Hrm. You are right, I am Lada. Should I know you? The woman
starts to speak.
Boooh! Don't you remember your best friend? I am Seria! The jaws
of the Council's members drop.
I should have brought a camera. Those faces are priceless. I
whisper to Celes.
S...Seria!? Why do you look like that? -Lada
B..Blasphemy! -El Shaddai
Gods having kids? Yuck! -Enyo
Tjenemit killed me and I reincarnated. I have to introduce my
parents! That's daddy, his name is Angrod, formerly Ascathon.
Seria pats my head. And that's mom, the name is Celes, formerly
Myrm.
Are you joking with us? First this message and now this? WHO DO
YOU THINK, YOU ARE! El Shaddai screams at us.
Hrm. I am Angrod. I am the king of a world inside the void. It's
populated by a few hundred million gods. All of them are behind me.
We are all people, who were rescued by Seria. And now, we are
here to fulfil her wish. I smile while I tell them the story.
And that wish is? -Amaru

To crush the Council. So would you be so nice and disband today!?

We will make sure to keep things in order for you. Celes smiles at
them.
Are you out of your mind? Lay down your weapons and surrender
now! Do you think we ruled this long because we would cower down
before a joke like you!? Enyo's voice is really poisonous.
Well... we already found out that you aren't almighty. Tjenemit was
a tough bastard, but in the end he lost. It would be smart if you give
up now. I would hate it to damage the city under us. It's a valuable
historic artefact. Maybe the only one, we will ever find. I give them
the facts.
What did you do to Tjenemit? -El Shaddai
I grab into one of my pockets. Then I pull out the Tjenemit globe and
show it to them.
DEEMONS! DON'T BE MISLEAD BY THEM! THE ARE DIRECTLY FROM THE INFERN....

I shake the globe a little and Tjenemit bobs up and down inside.
Shut up. Prisoners don't talk. They answer questions!
HEELP MEEE! NO MORE SHAKING! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANY MORE! WHAAAHAAA.......

El Shaddai gapes at the Tjenemit-globe. H... W... This won't be

over fast! I will tell you how this will work! You will lay down your
weapons within five minutes, or we will crush you! El Shaddai
vanishes.
I put the annoying globe back into my pocket.
Amaru and Enyo disappear too. Only Lada stays behind with a
concerned look in her face.
Hey Lada. Wanna come with us? It will become very uncomfortable
down there soon. Seria points down to the city.

I still can't believe you pulled a stunt like this. This feels unreal. And
you even got a new life? A new body? How does it feel? Lada looks
down to the City.
Don't worry! I am still me! Though I lost a few memories and if you
ask my parents, they are of the opinion that my character is a little
different too. But if I look back at my memories, I think that my old
self would do it again. Seria gives Lada a thumbs up.
You are a little different. But in a good sense. The old Seria
wouldn't have felt so earnest, while saying that. Lada smiles at us.
Then I will come with you now. It's the best time to desert, the
others didn't even think about me.
I grab Lada's shoulder and teleport us back to the command centre
of the Ragnarok. Arriving there, Seria hops off of me, runs up to
Lada and hugs her.
So you are Lada. The other Council members are really trusting
you. Getting you out of there was easier than expected. I sit down
in my command chair while the bombardment starts again.
Rays of energy start to stab upwards from the city now. Our shield
takes care of them. The floor is shaking a little, but it's manageable.
It's less an issue of trust and more one of undervaluation. They
ignore me, as long as I don't get in their way. Lada smiles bitterly at
me. You should retreat. The city under us has the energy resources
of a whole world.
Well, some of my smart tacticians expected that. We are just
bombarding their city to find it's energy core or something similar. Me
Lada tilts her head. If you mean the main-grid for energy
distribution, it's four kilometres to the west of the Council's tower.
Hoh? That's interesting. I wave for a technician to search the area.

How do you know about this?

Once I took a tour through the city with Amaru. He is our technology
geek and he talked about nothing else than the marvellous process
of draining mana from the planets core. Lada shrugs her shoulders.
The enemy's army is on the move! They have created a shield
together and are moving in our direction. About fifty thousand. An
officer informs me.
Increase the distance. The Nomad can hold position and continue to
search for a weak point. They are really insane to try this against
us.
It's like running barehanded into a tank! Can we see any big
weapons?
The technician shakes his head. Nothing we can identify.
I start to hum while I think about the situation. This is far too easy.
Did the Council really not bother with creating some big and nasty
god killing devices? All those years and they just leaned back?
I never saw something like this ship before. During the great war,
everyone fought with their own power. We captured the crystal city
in the war's final stages. The previous owners didn't even know how
to control it. Amaru invented those laser-cannons, which they used to
counter attack. He hasn't created anything ever since. I don't know
why. And on top we had the black hole to seal uncomfortable
individuals. Lada gives me some vital information.
Another clue that Amaru never knew how to create seeds. He just
used the existing ones. Though I don't understand why he never
managed to find it out? Hmm. The seed is pretty complicated and it
requires soul-magic. But that's still no reason. He had so much time!
The globe of energy approaches us. Maybe they used the sphere of
sight and went directly for me? Seria, go home.

What? But I want to stay here!? Seria complains.

Your powers are unstable and I don't know our enemy's
capabilities. You will go now, or you will be punished! I glare at her.
No? All this is my responsibility! Seria continues to refuse.
Your responsibility ended when you died. Celes! Help me. I look at
my wife. And Seria looks at her too.
Celes looks down at Seria and forms a voiceless word with her lips.
Seria's eyes become big and round. A second later she is gone.
What did you tell her? That was effective! -Me
Celes smirks at me and crosses her fingers in front of her chest.
That's a secret between mother and daughter. Men have no
right to use this technique.
She has changed for sure. I never knew someone, who could get
her to obey that easily. Lada smiles at Celes.
Like I said. It's something only mothers can do to their daughters.
She smiles at us.
The enemy is closing -Technician
I concentrate on the screen again. Then start to show them our
weaponry. Beams of light stab into the enemy formation, but they
pass right through.
No damage! It's as if they aren't there!? It has to be an illusion! Technician
Use our energy weapons to search for them! Fire blindly! -Me
That's a favourite tactic of Enyo. She will set up such an illusionary

decoy and approach hidden from another direction. -Lada

Any idea how to break the spell? I ask her hopefully, but she
shakes her head.
Sigh. Yep. I already said that this was too easy. So I give the vital
order.
Prepare for being boarded!

66 - Victory?
I watch in silence, as the beams of our energy weapons continue to
lance out into all directions. Waiting for a battle to start is pure
torment. During the battle you have no time to think about your
actions.
It's just before and after the fight when you start to question your
decisions.
You have any idea how they will attack? Will they come from all
sides or use a single direction? I ask Lada, who is standing beside
me with a complicated expression on her face.
I am sorry. I just remembered Enyo's strategy because she used it
in the last battle of the great war. I am sorry for not being of any
help. Maybe we should run? Can't this ship teleport away despite
blocking someone from boarding with teleportation? -Lada
It's okay. I don't really want to run away. We might just have a crew
of twenty five thousand, but we have the advantage of being the
defenders. Nullifying any unauthorized teleportation is another great
advantage to us.
It should be a great advantage. We can use the fortresses system
to teleport people from one location to another. The attacker will
always face the optimal number of defenders, no matter from which
direction they enter the fortress.
On the other side. As long as we can keep the forces of El Shaddai
occupied, the Nomad can continue to search for a weak point in their
city.
I push a button on my chair to activate a communication link to
Nicosar, who is coordinating our forces. Tell me immediately if there
are problems anywhere. I want to go there myself.

You can't! You are the king! What if something happens to your?
Nicosar's voice comes back with a shocked tone.
I and Celes are the only ones who have a complete memory.
Almost everyone else is just a novice in wielding their powers. So tell
me if you spot an extraordinary strong foe! I insist on this. We may
be the defenders, but we are still fighting two on one.
As you wish, I'll inform you. Nicosar cuts the line.
Then I look at Lada. I suppose the god of love and harmony is a
bad fighter?
Lada nods with a pained expression, but suddenly she lightens up.
But I could try to convert them to our side. I am a well known figure
after all! If I beg them to stop, some will surely listen.
I tilt my head while I think about it. And how will you talk to them?
She can use the fortress's speaker system. -Officer
I nod. Okay. It wont hurt.
Then we have to wait another five minutes until we receive the
expected message from Nicosar. We are being boarded at multiple
points. Somehow they managed to break some of our air locks!
The voice out of the communicator sounds disturbed. I have to admit
that I don't like it either. We designed the fortress with something
like this in mind. The regular entrances should be very secure. To
break the seals without much problems is disturbing.
A technician gives us a schematic of the fortress and I watch the
tactical view. The enemy chose four points to enter the ship. One is
close to the command centre. Another is near the engines. The other
two are distributed evenly over the fortress.

Set the energy weapons to fire on the entry points. Fire the plasma
cannons too and set the trigger to the minimal range. All at once. Me
But we will damage our own fortress!? -Officer
We can repair it and the hull should be able to take the blast. If we
manage to take out a few of them it will still be a win for us. Don't
forget the we are fighting a superior force. To tell the truth, I don't
care about losing this fortress.
If we manage to take out a good number of the enemy's fighters
while keeping our own forces intact, it's a win for us.
The fortress is shaken by explosions and it feels like an earthquake.
Maybe it's time to start your speech Lada. I nod to her and a
technician shows her a console.
Then I take a look at Celes, who is standing beside me. Why are
you so silent? Something wrong?
The whole situation feels fishy! I am thinking about our position. Isn't
it unreasonable for the Council to throw all their forces at one
fortress and ignore the other one? -Celes
They operate under the assumption that their city is protected well
enough by their shield. So there is no need to split their forces
between both vessels. -Me
The room is shaken another time.
Nicosar requests aid at the breaking point close to our position. Officer
I grab my staff and stand up. It's reasonable. They sent their
strongest force for the enemy command centre.
Then I walk out of the room, followed by Celes and Lada. While I

walk, I take a look back to Lada. Given up already?

They are too occupied with fighting! They don't listen at all. I have to
be there myself! Lada answers with an angry voice.
Shrugging my shoulders, I continue to walk down the corridor.
Suddenly a wave of heat hits me. Any mortal being would have been
charred to a nice black crisp. But the aura of energy, which is unique
to an ascended being protects me.
I turn around a corner and witness some of our warriors in a tight
situation with a few enemy soldiers.
My men wield weapons out of crystal and are clad in a similar black
and white armour as me. The enemy's armour is white and they
wield weapons of pure light.
Another stolen technology?
The effectiveness of their weapons is proven when one of my men
gets impaled by a long spear. I don't stop walking and enter the fight
with a wave of my staff. A flash of light sends the enemy soldiers
flying.
One of the enemy soldiers is hit pinpoint by the energy and gets
folded up like a sheet of paper. My men immediately use the chance
to finish them off while I walk past the scene.
Farther backwards should be an observation platform. Probably the
enemy entered through an air lock there. After a few metres, I arrive
in a big room. Heavy fighting is taking place here.
Many of the combatants use close combat weapons. But others rely
on magic. Spells are flying back and forth inside the big observation
hall. Someone actually summoned an elemental, which is shooting
icicles at everyone who gets too close.
Our forces are trying to keep the enemy from advancing. It's clear

that we are too few. An enemy soldier, who just struck down one of
our people, comes running into our direction.
But he suddenly goes limb and drops to the floor. A crystal hairpin is
embedded between his eyes.
Oh! Those work better than expected. Celes skips to the dead
body and retrieves her weapon.
The crystal weapons are able to penetrate almost every manabased defence. They are a mass of highly concentrated mana after
all.
I enter the fight and smash my staff at the next available enemy. The
runes of my staff glow and the soldier is sent flying.
Another one tries to get me from the side, but suddenly Lada throws
herself at him and clings to his feet. Nooo! Peace! Love each
other! Stop the senseless fighting!
The startled soldier is stunned by the mesmerizing beauty, who
threw herself at him. I use the chance and give him a lesson in
fighting. I wield my staff in an arc and hit his head.
The soldier goes down and I continue to my next target. With a short
glance, I witness Celes victimizing a soldier with an acupuncture.
She is using one of her hairpins very skilfully and gives extra care to
his joints and vital areas.
Some of the enemies are already starting to retreat. They obviously
fear to be her next target.
After a few minutes of fighting, we manage to establish something
like a fortified position. After a while some reinforcements are
teleported to our position. It looks good and we start to push them
out of our fortress.
It feels like hours went by. But it should have been just minutes.

Slowly the fight relocates to the surface of our fortress. Everyone is

using shielding spells now.
The air is very thin and I have to cast a support spell to ease my
breathing. The surface of the fortress is ravaged by our own
attacks.
Cracks are running through the crystal surface of our once wonderful
fortress and it seems like some structures broke off. The power
outside must have been a little more than I imagined to cause such
damage.
Immediately the fight evolves into a three dimensional battle with the
defenders at the surface of our fortress and our enemies trying to
get a foothold.
Suddenly a golden figure and an armoured woman enter the scene.
El Shaddai and Enyo! My people are sent flying by them and they
radiate an enormous power.
I fight my way through to them and Celes follows me. El Shaddai
wields a spear of light and Enyo has a one handed sword and a
shield.
Look who we have here! The king decides to enter the fight. El
Shaddai grins at me.
Unfortunately I will have to deal with you myself. I wonder how long
your forces will keep fighting after you are gone? Oh the hell? Why
do I need to have a third class villain-conversation with this guy?
You are very conf.. *Clink*
I didn't wait for him to finish his sentence and jumped at him.
Unfortunately he somehow managed to divert the force of my attack
and a few combatants to our side get blown away instead.
A quick succession of blows follows while Celes takes Enyo as her

opponent. While I have my duel with El Shaddai, the fight between

our factions is becoming intense again.
El Shaddai is a fearsome opponent. To every one of my tricks, he
has an answer. Celes isn't in a favourable situation either. Enyo's
armour is impressive and her hairpins just glide off.
Suddenly El Shaddai flashes forward and I just barely manage to
evade the tip of his spear, which scratches across my chest piece. It
leaves a deep scratch behind. It's like my armour is nothing more
than paper to that light-spear.
I try to counter attack, but El Shaddai's spear seems to be
everywhere at once. Stabbing to my face, I barely manage to evade
it, but then the other end hits my leg. That's going to be a bad
bruise!
If my staff wouldn't help me with a constant flow of power, I would
lose this in no time. The staff is my greatest invention. It's a unique
mana crystal, which is able to convert its dense mana back to
normal mana.
When you don't use it, it starts to collect mana from it's surroundings
and stores it. On top it assists in spell casting and empowers the
users abilities through the countless runes.
But this fight seems to be decided by pure close combat abilities. It's
a shame. I can't use my long range abilities properly!
Finally becoming aware of your mistake? We didn't rule the
Multiverse for no reason! El Shaddai has a savage look on his face.
I had hoped I wouldn't need it. But it seems to be necessary to use
incantations for you. -Me
El Shaddai jumps at me, but I emit my full power towards him, using
additionally the energy within my staff. The old god is thrown
backwards like a doll and smashes into a group fighters.

He is right. If this fight continues much longer, he will win. It's not a
matter of power, but one of skill. He is far better in a close combat
situation and it's just a matter of time until he gets me.
This calls for a savage solution.
Nier lus vrei oust neben, Nashok!
A small ball of red light forms above my hand. It emits an unfriendly
feeling and the space seems to distort around it. I smile wryly at the
little magic spell, that took me so long to invent it. Hello. Long time
no see. I talk to the little red ball of energy while I walk towards El
Shaddai, who is on his feet again.
While smiling at El Shaddai, I provoke him. How interesting. I never
would have thought that I could send the mightiest being in the
multiverse flying. El Shaddai's face distorts in anger and he jumps at
me.
I block a stab to my chest. Avoiding mortal wounds is vital during a
duel. But if the opponent is more skilful than you, he tends to take
every opening you offer.
You should never forget that only vital blows count. El Shaddai stabs
towards my abdomen. But instead of jumping backwards, I jump
forward and get stabbed through my side.
Feeling the fire of pain, I cut my nerves. Taking another step his
spear impales my body further, but by doing this I seal his
movements.
El Shaddai's eyes go wide as I sweep him from his feet with a blow
of my staff. He doesn't let go of his weapon, even as my right hand
with the red orb impacts his chest.
The spell activates and a howling tornado of red energy erupts out
of El Shaddai's chest, ripping my hand apart.

I jump backwards while the burst of power carries me with it.

El Shaddai just looks at me with an unbelieving expression, while the
unleashed spell shreds his body and soul to tiny pieces.
I get grabbed at my shoulders and some of our soldiers pull me out
of the fight. Seeing El Shaddai's end, some of the enemy's warriors
start to flee, while our soldier's intensify their pressure.
Trying to activate a healing spell, it fails me. The mana somehow
disperses before I can form the correct pattern.
Looks like those light weapons have the ability to stop you from
using healing magic. That sucks! If I had known that, I wouldn't have
jumped so willingly into that spear.
The king defeated El Shaddai! Go forward and drive them off!
Lada's voice carries over the battlefield.
Two healers immediately start to take care of me while I start to
laugh like mad. Did you see that? What a worthless bunch! They
are the rulers of the multiverse and die such a pathetic death.
The healers and soldiers around me look really worried while I lose
consciousness.
Little did I know that I just caused another weird rumour.

Celes
I see my husband being pulled out of the fight by a few soldiers. El
Shaddai's spectacular death dealt a heavy blow to the enemy
morale.
But I have to concentrate on my own fight. Enyo is a tough bitch. Her
armour seems to be indestructible. My new daggers can't even
scratch it. Angrod insists on calling them oversized hairpins and I

have to admit that I use them in such a manner.

It's convenient and I don't like big weapons anyway.
Enyo and I seem to be natural counterparts. While I concentrate on
offence, Enyo favours defence.
It's lucky that I am faster than her, so she isn't able to deal any
damage either. I am just worried how to end this.
We exchange another series of blows and Enyo tries to bash me
with her shield. But I use the shield as stepping stone and jump over
her, while I slash at her eyes. Enyo quickly averts her gaze and my
daggers just scratch her helmet.
During the whole fight she has a satisfied grin on her face. She
surely like battles.
Her sword is a little long, so I force her into an even closer battle,
trying to get through her defence. I parry a strike by her sword and
tackle her while wrapping my tail around her ankle.
Stepping back, she tries to regain her balance, but I jerk at her foot
and she falls on her back. While I am above her, I thrust my hand
downwards and release my inner mana with my full force.
Our auras waver for a second against each other and then I
suddenly concentrate my energy on a single tightly focused spot.
Her chest-piece vibrates and a spray of blood erupts from her
mouth. Another swing of her sword forces me backwards.
I see. I may not be able to damage her armour, but attacks based
on pure power seem to pass through it.
Having found the weak point, I start to support my normal attacks
with outbursts of mana. Angrod's wondrous weapons assist me by
adding their stored up power to my attacks.

A minute later Enyo is on her knees and I am panting heavily. I am

not sure if I can take this much longer, but Enyo is in a very bad
shape.
Enyo tries to get up, but I jump at her and stab into a shoulder joint
of her armour. The dagger slides smoothly between the protecting
layers and Enyo drops her Shield.
Now being even slower, one of my kicks connects with her head and
Enyo falls to the ground like a log.
I wait for a few seconds, but she doesn't get up. So I strive forward
and call for our forces to advance. The Council's leaders are down!
Advance and drive them off of our fortress! Show no mercy!
Looking back at Angrod and the healers around him, I walk forward
to lead our troops. One of the healers nods to me and I realize that
the wounds aren't fatal. I know that he was was wounded, but I have
to play my own role.
Having lost their leaders, we got a unique chance to break their
forces. If we show our presence to our people and the enemy, the
psychological effect should be on our side.

67 - Waking up to reality?
Daddy! Wake up!
...mhmhhh just five minutes longer. Let me have my peace just five
minutes longer.
Wake up!
Someone pinches my cheek and I open my eyes. Two faces look at
me from above. Oh. Aengus, Seria. What are you two doing here?
Looking around, I see a small room in white. I am lying on the single
bed inside the room. This has to be the sick bay.
We were worried when we heard that you got wounded! -Seria
Yes, They said you even lost an arm! -Aengus
That couldn't be avoided. The spell I used, wasn't intended to be
used from a distance. I smile at them.
That's a pretty inconvenient spell, if it blows your own hand off! Aengus
Yes! The healers couldn't even regrow your arm! They had to
take one of El Shaddai's and attach it to you! -Seria
WHAT!
I jump out of the bed and take a look at my arms and my body. But
it's all normal. No golden arm! I turn around to take a look at my
children.
That was effective, sister! Aengus scratches his cheek.
Like I said. I can get him out of the bed with one sentence.
Seria nods her head with a proud voice.
Urgh! She had me! Why are you two even bothering your injured
father!?

The healers said you are fine and mom wanted you to come to the
command centre! -Aengus explains happily.
Here daddy! Kings shouldn't run around naked. Seria offers me a
set of clothes.
I snatch them out of her hands. We will talk about this joke later! I
sent them a menacing glance. With a few fluent motions I dress
myself and rush out of the room.
I walk into the direction of the command centre. Aengus and Seria
follow me in silence. How long have I been out?
About two days. The healers said the arm would regrow faster if
you kept sleeping! -Seria
That long!? Oh my god! Did we win? Did we loose?
After another corner, I arrive at the command centre. Celes and
Nicosar are there, they are looking at a strategic map.
At my arrival, they turn around and greet me. Look! The great king,
who defeated the ruler of the multiverse! Nicosar jokes at me.
Had a nice sleep darling? Celes smiles.
I am sure you had a better time than me. So can you inform me on
what I missed? I want to know what's going on!
After you blew El Shaddai up, I defeated Enyo and proceeded to
lead our forces. We repelled the Council's army after the Nomad
sent us aide via the fortress-teleportation. It seems like the Council
enlisted warriors from the younger gods. When they saw El Shaddai
and Enyo defeated, they turned around and ran. Celes takes a
break and Nicosar continues.
Without the younger gods, the Council's troops were at a big
disadvantage. Both in numbers and position. They fought almost until
the bitter end. But at a signal, they suddenly retreated and used the

pathways as soon as they were out of range. They fled in all

directions, so we couldn't follow them.
They fled? I ask baffled. Why didn't they retreat to their city?
Celes shrugs her shoulders. Who knows. In any case, we did some
analysis on El Shaddai's remains and the smart heads told us that he
wasn't a living being before he became a god. Enyo is sitting in our
brig and the healers tell us that she has some serious mental
issues.
Now I understand nothing. I sit down in a chair before the tactical
display.
A technician takes up the explanation. We analysed the pieces of El
Shaddai and found no traces of organic matter. He consisted of
something like animated metal. From all what we know: A god is
born when a mortal's soul ascends. But a soul can't exist inside
something that doesn't live! On the other hand: We all saw El
Shaddai's power. That was the power of a god.
So you want to tell me that somebody created a golem, stuffed the
soul of a god inside it and used him as a proxy!?
The technician nods.
Someone else steps forward and starts his explanation. We also
took a close look at Enyo. From all we can tell, she isn't herself. And
if I say that she isn't herself, I mean it. Someone or something
messed with her mind. I doubt that she can make her own decisions.
From what I can see, it's more like a setup of if-then orders. She just
follows a pre-set set of orders and can't deviate from it. The healer
ends his explanation.
Lada? That's the first thing coming to my mind.
We immediately checked her when we became aware of Enyo's
situation. Lada seems to be as sane as someone with her age can

be. She has a serious mental issue with love and happiness, so she
couldn't hurt a fly. I found it really fascinating! Besides our little
princess, Lada is one of the oldest beings in the multiverse. It's
fascinating that you can stay sane over such a long time. But
otherwise she is fine. We are keeping her in the medical bay and are
having an eye on her. Just in case. -Healer
I rub my temples while I think about the situation. So Lada is fine?
But El Shaddai and Enyo were some kind of brainwashed proxies?
That's what we wanted to ask. We tried to find El Shaddai's soul,
but we found just some bits and pieces. What the hell did you do
with him!? -Nicosar
In retrospect I think that I may have overreacted. I used a spell on
him which attacked the soul. I explain.
From what I have heard, it attacked a little more than his soul. The
guys who were close to the event talked about a portal to hell itself
opening and taking El Shaddai. -Nicosar
Pah! Don't spread weird rumours! I don't like this! Rumours are
bad.
So anything else? -Me
While we were repairing our damage the Nomad found the energy
junction, Lada had told us about. We used a pathway to teleport a
bomb directly into the energy junction and the city's shield dropped.
We gave them a few warning shots and they surrendered. It was
rather boring. Afterwards we dropped off troops and the Nomad
made a few trips to the homeworld and shipped another twenty
thousand warriors here. Celes waves her hand to indicate that she
doesn't trust the situation either.
We had to replace our losses. From the fifty thousand people who
joined us on this campaign, we lost about ten thousand. We are
currently catching their souls in order to set them free at home

again. -Nicosar
And the other Council members? I can't believe this. We may have
paid a high price, but it still feels too cheap.
Gone. They packed their things and ran. There is no trace of their
troops either. The guys who fled just vanished. -Celes
So what about this Sphere of Sight? Couldn't we use it to
investigate them? No. That's a stupid idea. They wouldn't leave
something valuable like that behind.
It's still there. -Nicosar
Huh? -Me
We asked Lada about it and she specified it's location. So we took
a look and it was there. I sealed the room and every other important
place inside the city. Then I gave orders for everyone to touch
nothing that looks out of place and to report even the smallest
irregularity. All people who come up from the city will have their
minds checked. -Nicosar
I guess it's reasonable, but aren't you overdoing it? I need some
time to cope with the situation.
No. Think about it. We have two Council members who seem to be
someone else's puppets. Except for Lada, all the other Council
members are missing. We have no idea who is behind all this, nor
how he has done it.
Someone ruled the universe with El Shaddai as a doll on strings for
who knows how long. He managed to take over the ruling gods of
the multiverse. I think we have reason to be paranoid about
everything and everyone.
Our only advantage is that this Mr. X couldn't get his hands on us
until -now-.
You seem to have thought about this already very long and hard. -

Me
It's obvious if you give it a little time. It wasn't within our enemy's
consideration that we would take Enyo alive. With El Shaddai's
remains alone we may have thought about someone using him from
behind the scenes. But we wouldn't have thought that we could be a
target too.
Enyo was conditioned to fight until death. It was lucky that we took
her alive. I and my staff think that this is a giant trap to lure us out of
the void. X offered us the city without a big fight. He obviously
intended to keep it intact, so he attacked us despite unfavourable
odds.
Then we take the city and become his next puppets. He already
managed to mind-wipe the rulers of the multiverse once. Why not a
second time?
Nicosar takes a deep breath after his long speech.
So we know now that we know nothing. -Celes
I knead my fists while I look down at the floor. Then I explode!
AARGH! Why does everything always just become more
complicated!

68 - If there is light?
I am wandering through the Council's city. It's a beautiful place, I
have to admit it. But I am still tempted to nuke it to oblivion.
Nicosar's fears are going through my mind. My grandfather has a
point if he doesn't trust the peace. After an exhaustive talk with
Lada, we know one thing for sure.
Lada almost never touched any of the city's installations. First, she
doesn't like technology and doesn't really understand it. Second, she
never stayed inside the city for long.
She has various places throughout the multiverse, where she spends
most of her time with mortal people. The healers think that's the
reason for her sanity despite her age. So she never felt the urge to
stay in the Council's city, where just gods who were removed from
the real world resided.
After the fight, various gods from throughout the multiverse turned up
and we are still trying to sort out the mess.
At the moment we take the position that everyone should continue to
have an eye on their own world. We took the previous government
completely out of service and threw them inside a void zone. It's the
perfect prison for the moment. Some people from home will take
care of them one by one.
After I investigated the Council's sealing method within the black
hole, I completely dismissed it. The device which was used for it, is
a baleful looking room, belonging to the city.
You have to stand on top of a platform, while numerous crystals face
their tips towards you. By channelling the planets mana-flow itself
through your soul, you are sent directly into the black hole with
unbelievable force.

It's just a description from the city's occupants. I dismissed the idea
because there wasn't a possibility to get someone out again. Who
knows what happens to a soul inside a black hole?
The whole machine didn't look very nice to me either. I can't explain
it, but I had a bad feeling while I was looking at it.
Of course Arthur and everyone else wanted to come down to the
city too and take a look at it, but I forbade it.
Only experienced soul mages and the absolutely needed guards are
allowed down here. If Nicosar's suspicions are true, nobody without
knowledge about mind-magic should be in this city.
I also inspected various other installations and weapon storages
within this city. The light-weapons are one of them. There is a whole
complex of facilities, which are producing them non-stop around the
hour and storing them in underground storages. Those seem to be
endless by now, although the process of creating a light-weapon
takes an enormous amount of time and mana.
The light-weapons seem to be a very advanced part of the crystaltec. They are concentrated mana too, but they have no seed.
Of course I took a look at the Sphere of Sight too. But when I took a
step into the room with it inside, I made a step backwards and
closed the door again. Nicosar's warnings don't leave my head.
Wouldn't the Sphere be the perfect place to set up a mind-wiping
trap? Wouldn't it be logical for us to use it to search for the missing
Council members?
Am I too careful? Lada wasn't influenced and she visited this city
regularly. So you are safe if you just look and don't touch?
Hah! Could this bad feeling of mine be fear? I didn't feel fear for an
eternity, I don't remember how it feels to fear something. I guess it's

normal to loose this emotion if you already know that you will just
reincarnate again.
But this situation isn't like that. Having your mind mashed up like
Enyo's is equivalent to dying. No fun! No fun at all!
But why am I feeling fear? Is there something to fear? I had a
fulfilled life. I did everything I ever wanted to do and I lived longer
than any mortal could ever dream of.
Why do I fear death? I there any logic behind that? Hmmmm.
I turn in a circle and look around. This is a big plaza. There are no
people around. All this sucks big time. Not even the inhabitants of
this city were of any use in uncovering its secrets.
First of all, I want to know where the seed is! The seed is the core
of every crystal technology. Like with my palace and my fortresses,
the seed is something like the central computer core. It focuses the
mana and enables the mana-crystal to grow and develop.
But there is no seed in this city. That's impossible. It should be a big
pulsing crystal with enormous energy. How can someone live for
millennia inside this city and not know of something remarkable like
that.
This whole thing makes no sense!
So I will have to try it? Take a look at the Sphere? I guess there is
no choice. I look up at the fortresses above the city and concentrate.
-Arthur, can you hear me?-Yes?-Send ten of our best mind-mages to the room with the Sphere of
Sight. I want to take a look at it and they have to check me as soon
as I come out of the room.-.... understood.-

I cancel the connection and step on a pathway which leads me

directly in front of the room with the Sphere of Sight.
It doesn't take much time and ten people arrive one by one at the
meeting place. They are all people I saw on an earlier meeting. Back
then we set the rules for investigating the city.
I want to take a look at the Sphere and you guys have to check on
me afterwards to find out if something went wrong. I give them the
short version.
And what if something is wrong? A young woman in blue robes
asks me.
Then you hold me down and call for help. I wince at the thought.
But what if we don't manage it? Someone else asks.
I sneer at them. You are ten people and I will be alone. You still
want to tell me that you wouldn't be able to restrain me?
All of them look at me with doubtful expressions.
Whatever! Get Celes and Nicosar down here if you have so little
trust in your own abilities. I turn around and enter the room.
Inside, I slam the door shut and turn towards the Sphere of Sight. It
still gives off an ominous feeling.
Slowly I circle around the thing without coming too close. It's a solid
sphere made out of mana-crystal. It's constantly spinning while it
stays perfectly centred inside the room.
Are you supposed to touch it and see something on its surface? Or
do you have to connect with your mind to it? According to Lada the
Sphere was a mystery to her. She just saw Amaru standing before it
for hours and days.

When he suddenly moved again, he would have the information he

was looking for. So it's a mental connection?
I brace myself and sit down cross-legged to concentrate. Doing this
right can't hurt. After my mind is clear, I start to set up my defences.
A good mental blockade has to consist of multiple layers and
insurances in case something goes wrong.
After spending another whopping twenty minutes with setting up
every trick I know, I slowly stretch my mind for the sphere.
At first it feels unhealthy and cold. But then I get used to the Sphere.
It's a gigantic conductor for sight-magic. This particular type of
magic can be used to search for something lost. But I never heard of
it being used on such a scale.
The Sphere channels my magical power and forms it into a predefined spell. Suddenly my perception increases drastically and I
have to gasp. It almost overwhelmed me but slowly I am getting a
grip on it.
Is that what omnipresence should feel like? I know it isn't real
omnipresence, but it comes very close to it. I can see the people in
front of the room. They really called Nicosar, Celes and even Arthur.
Such low self esteem.
Above me are other worlds. By focusing on one, I can search it in
seconds. And there are sparks of pure power everywhere.
After concentrating on one of the sparks, I realize that I am watching
over the shoulder of a god. He is playing an immoral prank on a
mortal. Seeesh. Is that everything an ascended being can do to kill
time?
Carrying on I return the focus of my attention to the Council's city to
watch its inhabitants. Then I focus outward again in an attempt to
find the missing members of the Council.

But there is no way to distinguish all the sparks from one another.
Where should I start? Do the Council members know each and every
spark? So if a new one turns up, they know that it's a new god?
Then I become aware of a heavy presence. It's watching me. And
it's close. I search for it and find its origin within the black hole.
It's ominous and dark. The same feeling I got from the sealing room
and the sphere. Suddenly I feel a strong pull on my entire being and
I am jerked towards the black hole.
-Who are you?I try to resist, but my soul falls towards the black hole and every
resistance is futile.
-Come!Something black and slimy grabs for my mental body and I strike it
mentally. It shudders in pain but it still keeps enveloping me while I
fight. I am being pulled down! Down towards the darkness!
And there are teeth!
-Fresh!The thing claws into my mind and starts to eat! All my defences fail
or are blown aside like smoke.
And all I can do is scream.
...

-NOOOOOOO! BETRAYAL!-

69 - Work for the next

generation?
-NOOOOOOO! BETRAYAL!-

I watched with curiosity, as the thing inside the black hole tore the
mirror mind apart and ate it. I had set it up in case something went
fatally wrong.
Obviously the -thing- inside the black hole wasn't happy when it
realized that it didn't catch a real soul.
The first rule in a duel of minds is Don't fight openly. The real me
hid inside my mirrors shadow. Of course if you set up something like
this, you are out of control. The mirror mind will do as it sees fit from
it's point of view and you will just tag along.
But it's perfect as a decoy. Learning the enemy's abilities is
important. I retract my mind from the sphere and look at with
disgust.
Did everyone who used the sphere get eaten? The thing seems to
have a direct connection to the black hole.
So the thing inside the black hole reprogrammed the Council
members and they started to feed it with the souls of gods? That's a
horrifying thought. Does it get stronger with every soul it eats?
I stand up and walk to the door and open it. Outside are quite a few
people looking at me with worried expressions. Those guys should
ease up a little. The other mind-mages immediately try to scan me.
Bow down before the ruler of the mult- *SLAP*

*Blergh!*
OwOwOwOW! It was a joke! Stop it!
Celes immediately slapped me without hesitation while Arthur took
me into a choke-hold and Nicosar jumped onto me to hold me down.
I let my defences fall and the mind-mages verify my identity.
But what they see in my memories doesn't make them happy and
everyone goes either pale or pulls a grimace.
My family's expressions turn sour as they already fear the worst.
He is fine. One of the older guys announces after a minute. Just a
little messed up in the head. I can't believe that someone like that is
our king!
The mind-mages nod without fail.
I smile and wave for them to listen. Have we recovered all souls of
the people who died during the fight?
We are fairly certain that we got all of our people because we put
priority on them. One of the mages informs me.
It takes quite some time for a soul to drift to a new world and
reincarnate. So everyone should still be near this system. Souls
shouldn't go towards a black hole by themselves.
A free soul is attracted by every living being which is able to contain
it. The black hole shouldn't have any attraction at all. I still don't want
to feed that thing any more even by chance.
Clean the whole system of free souls. Even our enemies. I want a
complete soul-free space around the black hole. Two of my
subordinates bow and disappear. They don't have to ask any more
questions because the scanned my mind.
Can you explain what's going on? -Arthur
Arthur and Nicosar get off of me and pull me to my feet.

After thinking for a second I answer. It looks like there is something- sealed inside the black hole and the Sphere of Sight is
set up to connect the user's mind directly towards it. This thing took
great pleasure in eating the mirror mind, I had set up.
I wait for a second to let the information sink in. So at the moment it
looks like the Council was manipulated by that thing to feed it. They
threw meals into it's maw for who knows how long.
We could have been it's food too if it weren't for Seria. Arthur
mutters to himself.
I nod. We can't be sure of it, but it could very well be that Seria's
actions were responsible for keeping the thing on a low diet.
We should destroy the Sphere of Sight. It's useless to us. And then
we smash that room too. Maybe crushing the whole city would be
better. Celes thinks aloud.
I think you are right in destroying the sphere. But we may still need
the room. -Me
Are you insane? All you could do with it is feeding this ominous
being. -Nicosar
I don't want to feed it. I want to have the room in case one of those
things is still outside the black hole! I drop the bomb on them.
That possibility is.... not.... But Arthur gets interrupted by Nicosar.
Unfortunately he is right. We have to work with the worst case
scenario. So if we assume that the culprit didn't belong to the
Council. There still has to be someone unknown in this equation!
I nod. The next thing I want is that everyone who returns to our
home has his mind checked twice! The last thing I want is that we
carry something unwanted with us. Then I want this whole system
off limits! Just the guards. And at home we will construct a few more

fortresses to set up a permanent watch here.

Then I wave my hand to materialize my staff. And the Sphere will
be dealt with here and now. I turn around and walk back into the
room.
Before the sphere, I take a stance and strike it with all my might. I
invoke a shield, as the sphere shatters and shards of it are spraying
around the room. Slowly dimming, the room goes silent and a little
less bright than before.
Celes looks inside with a curious expression. I thought you wanted
to break the sphere and not the city.
I turn around. What?
The city just lost all energy. Arthur gives his observation.
But then the light slowly returns and a female voice booms through
the room in a strange language.
~Jegme'nod. Mjerk'sod'lemef~
I don't understand a single word. What about you guys? -Me
But everyone shakes their heads.
~Adjusting language to current citizens. Restart complete.~
~Contaminated systems recognized. Removing contaminated
systems.~
~There is unauthorized personnel inside vital parts of the city.
Identify yourself.~
Celes gives me an accusing look.
Holy shit! What did I break now! Since when can this city talk? I
can't believe this. Has this city something like a super computer
installed?
~I am not a city. My name is the Warden. I was created to see to

the continued imprisonment of the great calamity, which

plagued the multiverse. Identify yourself! Or you will be
removed!~
Hold it! We are on your side. I think you aren't entirely up to date! Nicosar
~Calculating time difference according to star movement.~
I hold my breath and Celes whispers to us. That thing was obviously
meant to guard the black hole but failed miserably. We should make
a run for it in case it isn't alright in it's cpu or whatever it uses to
think!
~I can hear you. And you don't need to have such fears. My creators
intended me to be able to keep my watch even after their return to
the cycle of life and death.~
So how long have you been out and why? -Arthur
~....~
Hello? -Nicosar
~My calculation tells me that it has been four billion years since I
tried the restart.~
I whistle and take a look around. So I guess you can't tell us who
manipulated the Council either?
~I know nothing of a Council. There isn't a faction like that within the
Ascended Ones, who rule the multiverse.~
Give me a complete version of history, as far as you know it. -Me
~You are not cleared for this information.~
I purse my lips while I think about Warden. She seems to be a highly

advanced AI. But a little literal minded too. Warden. Your creators
are gone and you failed your mission until now because you slept!
The society inside the multiverse underwent a series of changes. We
are the closest thing to the highest authority at the moment. So it
would be really smart if you tell us how to proceed with the thing
inside the black hole.
A few seconds of silence follow while Warden considers the
situation.
~You first. What's the history of the multiverse from your point of
view?~
Celes jumps in and gives Warden our version of history. At least as
far as we pieced it together. After half an hour she goes silent and
Warden starts to speak.
~I see. Some things went seriously wrong while I slept. As far as I
know, the Ascended Ones are..... were the highest advanced beings
in the multiverse. Their society spanned everything and it was their
goal to lead all inferior life to a status of perfection like themselves.~
~But even though their bodies would last forever, their minds couldn't
take the eternity. Many returned to the cycle of life and death, which
all inferior lifeforms have to go through. They firmly believed that
they would ascend anew in the distant future to regain their
birthright. But it wasn't enough for some of them. A few researched
possibilities to endure the eternity.~
~They found the answer in an experiment to meld their souls
together. But the result wasn't stable. The ones who underwent the
experiment went insane and started to crave for more souls. Melding
with each other and every soul unfortunate enough to fall into their
hands, they became what we called the great calamity.~
~A being which only aims to eat each and every soul within the
whole multiverse to merge with it.
The lesser beings aside from the Ascended Ones had no chance to

defend themselves against something like that.~

~So the remaining Ascended Ones stood up to fight the first and last
war in their history. They created powerful weapons to defeat their
foe. But all their efforts were in vain, as the great calamity spread
like a plague.~
~For every incarnation of the great calamity slain, two more would
split up from it and continue their horrible thirst for souls. The
Ascended Ones decided to seal their foe inside the black hole above
us. Not even they knew how to escape a black hole.~
~And so they hoped the great calamity would stay sealed until the
end of time. Maybe it would even starve to death with time. But after
the great hunt for the calamity had ended and all it's pieces were
thrown into the black hole, the Ascended Ones realized that there
weren't many of them left. And time wasn't on their side.~
~They were old enough to know that someone had to keep a keen
eye on the prison.
So they created me, the Warden. They intended me to guard the
prison for the rest of eternity.~
~With time the Ascended Ones faded away and returned to the
cycle of life and death. In the last of their days, when their numbers
were just enough to fill this city, other ascended beings started to
arise.~
~They were wild and impulsive, much like the Ascended Ones in
their youth.~
~The Brightest One of the Ascended created a globe to watch the
new beings in their struggles. He intended to guide them on their
path after he would understand their quarrels. But to install the
globe, he had to connect it to my system. So he ordered a complete
reboot. Which I did. ..... not waking up again until now.~
So the globe, which was connected to the black hole, halted your

reboot. And after we destroyed it, you could complete the reboot
and woke up. I conclude.
~It looks like it. But if that's true, something of the calamity survived
the hunt and infiltrated the Ascended Ones. It shut me down with the
globe and somehow managed to deal with the last Ascended Ones.
Otherwise they would have repaired me.~
But Celes has her doubts. Did they even know how to repair you
besides that Bright One you mentioned? Who would have known that
the globe is at fault? Wouldn't they have been brainwashed like the
Council?
~Although I don't want it to be true. That's a possibility. And if the
great calamity got control of the Bright One, there is a big chance
that it could divide and crush the remaining Ascended.~
But if something of this Calamity is still outside the black hole? Why
didn't it eat the whole multiverse until now? -Arthur
~The great calamity was able to plant a part of itself inside a host.
The poor soul would become a mere servant, bent on feeding the
great calamity. The servant however would be unable to merge with
other souls and continue to long for something it could never get.~
~It's unlikely that a core part of the great calamity survived. The
multiverse would be gone by now like you said. It's more likely that
we overlooked one of its servants and he invaded us or corrupted
others with the help of the globe.~
You know that you are a real harbinger of bad news Warden? I ask
the voice while I contemplate about the whole story.
~I am just the Warden.~

70 - A new sport?
It has been a month since Warden's awakening. We have settled in
and took over the government of the multiverse as much as we
could.
Though it didn't work out all that well. The Council is still hiding
somewhere. They know the multiverse far better than us. After all
we were confined to our worlds by our occupation as gods while the
Council could travel around as they pleased.
I would really like to know why they aren't taking action. It has to be
obvious to them by now that we avoided their trap.
With Warden's help we were able to clean the city of anything
dangerous too. So the safety rules are a little more loose by now.
We still don't let civilians come here and I doubt that we will do so
for a long time.
On the other hand Warden is helping us with governing the
multiverse. I wouldn't know what to do otherwise. But Warden can
keep track of almost everything.
We are of the opinion that the Council's approach wasn't all too bad,
so we set some rules for ourselves and the other gods.
Rule number one: Do what you want as long as you don't break the
rules.
Rule number two: Don't mess too much with mortals.
Rule number three: Don't mess with the other gods.
Rule number four: Report everyone who breaks the rules to the city
in the middle of all things.
Rule number five: Report new gods and tell them of the rules.
By now we had some cases in which we had to stop gods on a
rampage. But it was manageable. We just show up with one of our

fortresses and gently inform them of their errors.

The really problematic cases are either thrown into a void zone to
repent for a few years or mind wiped. Of course we use the last
option just for the really insane guys.
By now we have the Ragnarok permanently stationed above the city
to guard the black hole. The guardian still keeps watch over our
homeworld and the Nomad is used for missions throughout the
multiverse.
I am currently inside my office in the city and reading reports. Celes
is here too and helps me. Travelling back and forth between the city
and our world isn't that hard with the help of the pathways.
We could really use an official name for this city and our world. It's
inconvenient to call them city and world all the time. I muse to
myself.
How about Chimera? Celes throws a suggestion at me. Seria
played around with our worlds ecosystem so much, it's a big mesh
of ideas and people. Our biology is fucked up too. It's a fitting
name.
~The correct name for this city is Asheim. Which means home of the
ascended.~
Warden gives an explanation.
It doesn't sound too bad. I will recommend the names to the
ministry. If it's about our world, I guess the population needs a word
in it. The names don't really matter to me.
Do you have the new reports ready Warden. -Celes
~Oh, I am sorry. I forgot them. I will do it now.......
console.~

Done. On your

I irk my eyebrows. Warden? What took so much of your almost

infinite calculation power, that you couldn't finish a few reports? That
took you less than two seconds.
~I had all of my abilities concentrated on two strange individuals
within Asheim. I conversed with them for quite a while now. But I am
unable to understand their behaviour. They are completely irrational
at one moment and the next they sound very sane.~
~I also don't understand why their bodies are so different from the
other gods. I already understand that your group is made up by
many different races. Though those two are not matching the
pattern.~
~After a few scans of their bodies, I am not smarter than before.~
I rub my temples. Are you talking about Aengus and Seria?
~Exactly. You know them?~
They are our children and you misunderstood the racial traits of our
bodies. We all belong to the same race. Celes explains.
~Children?~
Omg. Do we have to explain the flower and the bees to Warden?
You are a godlike supercomputer with a crystal core and you don't
know such basic stuff?
If a man and a woman.....
~I know that! I was just shocked that an ascended being would have
children. The Ascended Ones never had children because their
children's souls would always belong to a mortal. It's pretty
depressing if your child dies after a few years and you go on for
eternity.~
Yeah. That's the problem of ascendancy. Any beings lifespan is
influenced by their mana pool. A being with a limited mana pool has

a limited lifespan. There are mortal beings who live very long like
elves. Their mana pool is large enough to believe that they are
almost immortal. They die of accidents and illness more likely than of
old age. But compared to a god who has almost unlimited access to
mana it's still nothing.
~Though they just tested their courage and jumped off the central
tower of Asheim. They shouldn't have survived that if they were
mortals.~
They did WHAT!? Celes jumps up and runs out of the room.
~I said that they are acting really irrational at times. But if they are
children, that explains their irrationality.~
I really feel a headache forming. Warden. You remember when
Celes explained about our homeworld and how it came to be? First
of all, we are a little different from other gods. Our bodies and minds
are closer to mortal beings than those of the gods who ascended
the normal way. Secondly our world is within a void zone and filled
with the latent souls of gods, so it's no problem for us to have
children. They will always be reincarnated gods like Seria and
Aengus.
~Oh. That makes a totally different society possible. I already asked
myself why you were so different from the other ascended beings.
So they prefer to follow you because their old personality isn't
dominant.~
Exactly. Though I don't know how long it will stay like that.
~Probably forever if nothing really dramatic happens. Your society
already survived the shock of becoming gods after a long period of
being mortal. If it didn't break due to this, it's unlikely that another
event can shake it enough.~
~But it's really fascinating that a society like yours came to be. In a
way, you are everything the Ascended Ones yearned for. A normal

god always chooses to return to the flow of life and death at some
point because his mind can't deal with the eternity any more.~
~But your society will probably go on forever because you can just
decide to reincarnate and drop the burden of some memories in
order to lift the stress.~
~From what I see, you are already immersed in the process by
collecting the souls of your fallen comrades to release them at your
homeworld.~
I nod my head. At that moment Celes enters the room with Aengus
under an arm and Seria wrapped up in her tail. They really jumped
off the tower just to see how long they would fall! They gave the
guards a panic attack!
I smirk at them. Who won?
Aengus impacted one second before me. It wasn't fair! He is
heavier! Seria complains with a moody voice.
~I told you that Aengus would hit the ground first. Physics
never lies.~
Booh... Why should we trust in something like that if we can
test it! Aengus tries to wriggle himself out Celes's embrace, but
she doesn't let go.
You two are grounded for two days! This place isn't a playground.
Celes sits down and wraps Aengus and Seria together with their
backs to each other. Her tail is the rope....
That looks like you roped up two criminals.... I give her my
impression.
They ARE criminals! -Celes
~I see! So that's the motherly instinct to protect their young. Very

interesting. I had never hoped to being able to study those

interactions.~
You shut up too! Because of your talks about calculations, they
jumped in the first place! -Celes
~...~
~I will try to learn how to interact with children.~
What a noble thought. Unfortunately not even parents themselves
are able to interact with their children properly most of the time.
~An ambassador just arrived and wants to speak to the highest
authority.~
Ambassador? From what? There is nobody you could negotiate
with! I almost fell out of my chair.
~He probably belongs to one of the newly forming powers.~
Newly forming powers? Why don't we know anything about this? Celes
~Oh I forgot to tell.... Well I can make up for it. I foresaw that the
disappearance of the Council leaves a big power vacuum. Obviously
such an oppressing dictatorship like the Council can't just disappear
over night without consequence.~
~The formerly oppressed people will start to form their own
communities. Ascended beings are social and they yearn for contact
with others on their scale of power. The multiverse contains enough
gods for seven to eight societies of the average size of yours.~
Well.... I anticipated that something like that would happen, but not
so fast. I tilt my head and look at the ceiling.
Should we suppress them? We have enough troubles with the

Council! What if they get influenced by them or already are? Multiple

powers within the multiverse could lead to the same situation we just
escaped from! -Celes
I sigh. You are right but how should we suppress them? The Council
had the Sphere and we can't watch the whole multiverse at once.
Maybe our best chance is to tell them everything we know about the
current state of affairs and wish them luck.
~The multiverse is big enough for everyone. There is no need to step
on each others toes. The ambassador is waiting at the plaza in front
of the central tower.~
Tell him to come to the throne room. I will talk to him there. I
teleport and reappear on my throne. It's located in a big room in the
central tower. There is a nice 360 view on the whole city. All walls
are windows to ensure the best view.
There are no doors to enter the room. It's an architecture that would
only come one to someones mind who could teleport around like
taking a walk.
I didn't adopt the Council's idea of a floating table above the city.
There has to be something under my feet, otherwise I feel
uncomfortable!
Celes appears in a chair beside me and I nod to the guards.
A pair of guards with a person between them appears before me
and I wave for them to step aside.
The ambassador has black skin and very long earlobes. His clothing
consists just of a single robe. And there are more accessories on
him than I can count! Rings, amulets, pearls, chains. Whoa! Are you
a god of female adornments?
Greetings. I am ambassador Mawu. I am here to greet you in the
name of the Perseides Alliance. Mawu nods to me and smiles.

I smile back at him. This guy is lucky that I told my guards to forget
about the etiquette. Normally nobody speaks to the king first, so the
old school guards would have dragged him out of the building by
now.
Greetings too. What's this Perseides Alliance of yours?
We are a big society of gods. Our aim is to protect the worlds
under our supervision. In order to do this, we chose to form the
Perseides Alliance. After we managed to establish our group, we
thought that we should introduce ourselves at the very least. Mawu
Then I welcome you to Asheim and I wish you luck. As long as you
don't commit any atrocities, we will not bother you. I continue to
smile at Mawu who arches an eyebrow. Obviously he didn't expect
my reaction.
Then he speaks. It's nice to hear that you don't feel offended by our
community. Good that the ones who kicked the Council from their
throne seem to be reasonable people.
No, we could never keep order in the multiverse by our own. It's
wonderful that others are willing to take up the task! So we will have
to talk for a long time about the current state of affairs. How about
joining my family and me for dinner? Do you want to set up an
embassy in Asheim? I throw my thoughts at Mawu without waiting
for an answer.
Mawu just stares back at me with curiosity in his eyes.

71 - Gods and their children.

I see.... Your story is... disturbing. To say the very least. Mawu
frowns over our revelations. We are sitting together on a couch in
our private quarters at Midpoint.
The ambassador was really surprised by our society. To say the very
least. Walking through an entire world, populated by gods of all
ages. I never would have dreamed about something like that.
Cool idea. Don't you think? Seria dangles on a chair while she grins
at Mawu.
I must admit that some aspects of your society are very compelling.
On the other side you seem to be a little hyperactive. I hope that not
all kids are like you. Mawu smiles at Seria.
Oh! You should meet Sandra's quintuplets! You won't call me
hyperactive any more. I will go and get them. Seria jumps out of her
chair and disappears.
The ambassadors smile drops. I will have to go. If you could escort
me outside the void zone, I would be very thankful. He looks at
Celes and me with a pleading expression.
I grin at him. I understand. I will take you outside. Do you believe
that your Alliance will adopt our way of living.
Mawu purses his lips while thinking. I am not sure. But there will
surely be people who would long for this world. How do you intend
to deal with them?
If they aren't troublemakers, there will be no big problems. This
world isn't heavily populated. And it would be no problem to
duplicate our world. You just have to drag a solar system into a void
zone and fill it with the souls of gods who don't want to go on. -Me

Mawu nods. Though finding such individuals would take some time.
But I guess it would be manageable. Gods aren't really under the
pressure of time.
I pat Mawu's shoulder and take us back to Asheim.

Somewhere else in the endlessness of space

New entry into the log book: This is the HMS Explorer of Dolaria!
We have tested our infinity drive and managed to jump directly to a
star system just a few light years from our homeworld. We are now
preparing to jump directly to the next star. We believe that it has a
world with life. Finally we will be able to answer our most important
question. Are we alone in the universe?
The complete crew of twenty people is doing fine. The ship took no
damage from the first jump and we will proceed to our next
destination.
We will also have proven the concept of the infinity drive! Riding on
top of the energy junctions of the universe enables us to travel
anywhere with instant speed! It's a revolution without comparison.
For the prosperity of our great race and our world. End of log entry.
By Captian Warner Hernei.
We are ready for the second jump sir. -Technician
Jump! -Warner
Space distorts for a second and the HMS Explorer exits reality to reenter it again in another solar system.
Jump complete! We are exactly where we wanted to be. Technician
Warner enjoys the view on a foreign sun and a new world beyond

them. There are many places to go to. The Dolarians will boldly go
where nobody else ever went before! The great age of star travel
was upon them. And he, Warner was the captain of the first ship to
see those new worlds!
Good! Start with our schedule. There are many scientific questions
to be answered. Warner stands up to leave the bridge. But that's
the moment it happens.
)(WHO ENTERS MY DOMAIN!)(
The bridge shakes with a booming voice.
What was that? -Warner
I don't know! -Technician
)(Mortals! You trespassed where you shouldn't set your feet!
Bow down and cover in fear before a superior being! And
maybe the great Bobo will let you live.)(
Get us out of here! -Warner
The ship doesn't even budge! We are stuck! -Officer
Suddenly a flaming monster appears on the bridge. )(What Bobo
wishes happens! Mortals shouldn't try to go against my
wishes.)(
An officers draws a handgun and shoots at the monstrosity while
others are trying to gain their distance. But the bullet just gets
repelled and strikes the shooters knee. Aaaah!
Bobo gives off a crazy laugh. )(The weapons of mortals are
amusing. So how do you intend to repent?)(
What are you!? -Warner

)(I am the great Bobo! What I wish happens! Entertain me. So

dance!)(
One of the Technician starts a really weird dance while waving his
hips and shaking his arms. You can see in his eyes that he isn't
acting of his own free will.
Why are you doing this to us! -Scientist
)(Get undressed and make a handstand!)(
The scientist promptly follows the order.
Give an emergency alarm and seal all decks! Warner jumps for a
red button on a console. But an invisible force holds him up and still
in the air.
)(And now. We will have a little fun!)(
...
...
...

Several hours later

The great crew of the HMS Explorer lost the last of its dignity! random crewmember
I will never be able to face my wife again! The officer is lying on
the ground. Some improper tools are lying besides him. They are
usually used by women to pleasure themselves.
This can't be happening. This can't be happening. This can't be
happening. This can't be happening. This can't be happening. A
scientist is cowering in the corner of the bridge. Sheets of paper with
complicated formulas are spread out around him. Bobo solved a few
of them for the poor man.
Faced with the solutions to all his questions, the poor man couldn't

bear to be faced with the reality of the multiverse. Mortal beings

should never dabble with something they simply cannot comprehend.
I want hooome to my mommy..... A young stewardess is hiding
under a console and nibbling on her thumb. Bobo forced her to tell
her greatest secrets to the crew. She told everyone that she had a
crush on the captain, who was almost twenty years older than
her......
)(Hmpf. Mortals! They can't even take a little punishment for
the errors of their ways.)(
We don't even know what we have done to you! The once proud
captain Warner kneels before the great demon Bobo with tears in his
eyes.
)(You desecrated the pathways between the stars with that
flying garbage can of yours! Isn't it obvious?)(
But how should we have known? Please let us go. We promise to
go home and never look for the stars again! Warner crawls towards
Bobo.
)(We still have much time. You will... )( *WHACK!* )(Hurgh!)(
What the fuck is going on here? Another strange being had
materialized on the bridge of the HMS Explorer. It had horns and evil
slit pupils.
As soon as it appeared it hit Bobo on the back of his head.
)(Ow. Daddy why did you hit me? I was just playing around a
little.)(
I look away for a few seconds and you are gone. And look where I
find you! Playing around with mortals! -Daddy?
)(But they had to be punished!)(

Drop that act! And what's with that stupid costume? Get back into
your real form! -Daddy
)(Yes.... Dad.
The great demon Bobo disappears in a puff of smoke and in its
stead just a little boy remains. He has horns and slit pupils like his
father.
And now for the explanation! -Daddy
I took a look around! I didn't go far I promise! On my way home,
something bulldozed over me while I was on the pathway! They
were really rude and used almost the whole path! I was thrown off
and re-materialized over a planet, dropping directly into a puddle of
mud! When I took a look at whom had thrown me into the dirt, I
found them! The child points at the crew of the Explorer.
The daddy nods his head and smiles like he would understand his
sons troubles.
*WHAM!*
Daddy gave his son a phenomenal slap to the face. The boy goes
down and the metal floor dents in, leaving a human shaped dent with
the size of a child.
Mortals aren't toys! And if you get bulldozed by one of their tools,
you should reflect on your own failings! Daddy screams at the child,
which doesn't even twitch and stays still on the ground.
Massaging his temples Daddy walks over to Warner and pulls him to
his feet. I am sorry. It's not good manners to torture mortals like
that. Are you okay? I failed as a parent! I shouldn't have let him run
around in the garden alone. Do you have kids?
Warner slowly shakes his head while Daddy straightens Warner's
jacket.

It's hell I tell you! Kids are a mistake of nature! Don't ever make
one. It's especially hard if you can't even let your eyes off them. The
kids of mortals at least can't cause such troubles. Imagine your kid
crushing planets torturing mortals because it has emotional
problems! And on top I have my hands full with the fate of the
multiverse! Daddy pats Warner's shoulder and smiles at him.
I hope you can forgive Aengus? He is still young and sometimes he
looses control of his reason. I will try to keep a better eye on him in
the future. Maybe I will sent him to your world in order to repent for
a little while? -Daddy
NONONONO! We forgive him! Nobody got really hurt besides
a bullet to the knee! But that was our own fault! And we are
perfectly able to heal something of that scale. No permanent
damage done! Please just take him home, wherever that is! Warner
You sure? Well I will punish him anyway. You guys look really
battered. Daddy walks back to his son and pulls him out of the
metal floor. Oh, and sorry for the dent! You should build your ships
a little sturdier! There is much dangerous stuff out there in the
multiverse. For mortals at least! Have a nice flight home! -Daddy
With a flash of light the nightmare ends for the crew of the HMS
Explorer. Afterwards they flew straight home and took their ship
apart. After learning of the powerful beings who used the energy
junctions of the universe, the Dolarians passed on their great destiny
under the stars.
The crew of the HMS Explorer had to undergo a serious
rehabilitation treatment and after months, most of them were able to
lead a normal live again. But some were changed forever....
The Dolarians would henceforth always fear the godlike beings who
where somewhere out there. Just waiting to claim their sanity.

So we will never be able to hear of the great adventures of the

Dolarians in their first space ship, the HMS Explorer.
And somewhere out there, in a puddle of mud on a lifeless planet. A
new evolution of life started.

72 - The daily life.

~Wohooo! This world is surely interesting!~
Warden's annoying voice echoes through my throne room in
Midpoint. Can you explain to me why you are here Warden?
~That's easy! I asked your flying fortresses to give me access to
their systems and now I am using them as extended eyes and ears.
Their instant communication abilities are convenient. When one of
them flew back to Chimera I realised that you have another big
palace here. So I asked Palli to give me access too! He was
reluctant at first but the I managed to convince him!~
Palli!? I almost choke on my drink while I hear that.
~Yes. Your palace. You didn't give him a name yet. But names are
essential, so I explained to him that he would need one. Palli is very
literal minded and not very talkative but after a while he got the
idea.~
I intended him like that. No need for overly clever research labs!
And stop polluting him Warden! This thing is worse than a computer
virus!
~Booh... Consider the rights of us crystals too!~
If you tamper with my fortresses and my palace any further I will
consider my rights and clean my tools from your influence! I snap
back.
~Mmhmmm Freeedom!~
And that's it! Palace! Remov...
~NONONO I apologize. I wont tamper with the fortresses and the

palace! Please let me watch and talk through their systems.~

If I ever get the sligthest idea that you do something else than
that.. -Me
~Understood!~
I sigh. Give me the latest reports if you are here. I don't want to go
to Asheim for that.

~Ah, yes! Seria and Aengus tried to towerjump again. They are
really fast learners. This time Seria removed her princess dress to
reduce the air resistance and....~
SHE DID WHAT!? -Me
~No Problem! I learned my lesson after a long talk with Celes and
informed her on time. So she stopped the two of them from
committing a major social blunder.~
Oh... so Celes got them.... I don't know if that's any better. Are my
children still alive? Wait a moment! I meant for you to tell me about
the political state of affairs!
~Ah? Ok. Regarding the Perseides Alliance. Everything is in order.
We have set up a place for them in Asheim. They promised to keep
a few people there at all times. And they are having an eye out for
the Council. There isn't much more we could ask of them.~
~Then we still have the issue with the ambassadors from the other
powers. You still haven't talked to them.~
I wasn't sure if I should talk to a group of people who don't have
more than a few hundred members. Wouldn't I upset the power
between them and others if I talked to such small groups? I am not
sure what to do in this case.

Why don't we invite all of them to an informal party here? Ireth's

voice comes from behind me and I jump out of my throne.
Mother! You gave me a fright! How did you manage to sneak behind
me? I really didn't realize that she was there.
Hahaha. I teleported directly behind you. I didn't sneak at all. -Ireth
That's almost as good as sneaking. But a party for everyone would
be a good idea. I wouldn't favour anyone and they would have a
chance to talk to us. I muse over the possibility.
I will inform Rose to prepare something. Tomorrow would be fine
right? Those ambassadors don't have anything to do anyway. -Ireth
~That's a great idea. They are pestering me almost every hour for a
possibility to speak to us. I will inform them!~
Hah, Wait! That will be a busy day for me! I have something
planned for tomorrow! I wanted to take a hike in my woodhouse and
relax!
~Too bad, I already informed them.~
What? So fast? -Ireth
~I am able to have several thousand conversations with different
people at the same time. There is no problem with my performance
before that.~
I go to my knees. My hiking tour! All the books I could have read!
At that moment Celes enters the room. She is dragging two...
bodies behind her. Aengus? Seria? Are you alive?
Oh. Ireth I wanted to ask you if you could take care of the kids. I
have matters to discuss with my husband. -Celes

Oh, sure! I always have time for my grandchildren. Ireth's smile

becomes wide.
Don't be too nice to them! They were naughty! -Celes
Ireth gives Celes a thumb up. What? Who do you think I am? Did
you forget who educated you two?
A shudder runs down my spine and Celes looks a little
uncomfortable. Celes! How can you abandon the kids like that?
She intended to jump naked from the tower! When she died, I
vowed to myself that I would drive that nudist behaviour out of her!
At ALL COSTS! Celes hisses at me.
Ohhh? Naked you say? That's not the proper behaviour of a
princess with my bloodline. Ireth's eyes become small slits while
she looks at the two unconscious bodies.
Then she grabs both of them at their collars and smiles at us. I will
help you. After a little training with me, there should be no more
problems! With a flash of light she vanishes.
NOO! Celes what did you do? Don't you remember what we had to
go through!!! My cute little Seria hasn't done anything to deserve
this!
Hmpf! Some sacrifices have to be made! Now come with me! I have
to show you something. Celes grabs my hand and teleports us.
We reappear in her lab. She invested quite a lot of her time here. I
have no idea what she was researching. We are gods now. Our
huge mana pool makes it almost impossible get sick or old. There
should be no need to research biology and medicine.
But Celes does it anyway. It's like a hobby for her.
Look! My newest creation! She holds a vial with a green liquid to

my face.
Ah. That's a cool green goo. Does it glow in the dark? I smile at
her. Why does she always assume that I immediately recognize the
effect of her drugs? The only thing I know for sure is to not eat
chocolate she offers me for no obvious reason.
Muh.. It doesn't glow! But it forcibly anchors a soul to it's body by
synchronizing the cell's...... Oh shit. She became aware of my
absent look. .... For biological idiots: It could make our souls more
resistant to that black hole monster and its minions! When you
mentioned that it tore down your defences like nothing, I thought
about a solution.
At least this should give someone enough time to run away and call
for help if we introduce it to everyone. Celes offers the vial to me.
Drink!
A few drops of sweat are forming on my forehead. This is tested
right?
Are you not trusting me? Celes's expression becomes fearsome.
Nono. Of course I trust my wife. It's just that this green goo doesn't
exactly look tasty. I take the vial and take a look at it while holding it
before a light at the ceiling.
Celes turns around and searches for something in a chest.
My eyes go wide while I look at the stuff. Celes? It's moving.... is
that normal? I shake the vial and the goo actually collects itself
together and tries to open the plug!
Now it's trying to open the plug! I look shocked at Celes.
That's normal. It's a modified slime. I manipulated it to act as a
symbiont. Just swallow it and don't chew! -Celes

I am not doing this! Never. I will never swallow something that's still
alive!
Celes turns around and takes the vial from me. Say Aaaa.
No.
Suddenly Celes jumps at me and locks me down in something like a
wrestling move. Don't be a little kid! You just have to swallow a
slime! There isn't even a needle!
Needle!?
I have to resist this! I try to wriggle out of her lock-down and
manage to get an arm free. Twisting her little pinky, I manage to get
from the floor.
But with this a full blown fight evolves between us...
...
..
.

..
.

I have been humiliated! She forced that thing down my throat! I wish
I could puke now.
Celes is sitting on top of me with the empty vial in her hand. Don't
puke! If you do, this whole procedure will have to be repeated!
I need to reincarnate. This memory has to be discarded at all
costs! I try to wriggle out from under her but she hugs me. You
can't do that either! This is a treatment that affects the body!
F.. Fine then make up for this! I suddenly have an idea. Could this

be a chance?
How? Celes eyes me suspiciously.
You have to follow one of my wishes! -Me
If it's not too strange. I guess it won't hurt? -Celes
I teleport us both into our woodhouse and run for the wardrobe.
After a few seconds I find a really hot undergarment.
When I made a little tour to another planet, I somehow stumbled
over this in the red light district. Of course this happened out of pure
coincidence! The planet is famous for it's lingerie items.
I had to do some research in order to defeat my wife!
Hehehe. Mwhahaha! She will die of shame!
I turn around to Celes. Put this on and dance for me!
Celes just looks at the thing in my hands and turns red.

73 - More than one Party?

On an unknown world, there was...

Blasius Alronde is the greatest artificer of his time. His genius is said
to match the gods. But his fellow craftsmen just look down on him in
pity.
This was for one reason. Blasius invested all of his genius on only
one thing. And that was a device to spy on the gods. Blasius wanted
nothing more than to know what moved the beings who were so far
out of everyone's reach.
He was in pursuit of knowledge, which wasn't meant for mortal ears.
He wanted answers for existence itself and all the other impossible
questions which burdened every living being.
So after years of studies and failures, he finally activated the device
which would answer all his desires.
*Crrrck*
And he was so bold! Look at this thing! I had to wear it and
dance for him!
Whoa! That's dangerous Celes! Where did he get that! You
should have a closer eye on your husband!
I know Sandra, but he finally becomes more active. I am not
sure if I should stop him.
That's definitely dangerous. I think I saw that thing in a place
of suspicious purpose!

What were you doing in a place like that Margerie!

Even I have to research this stuff in order to get someone. I
feel the burden of taking care of my house. My brother ran off
and dropped all responsibilities on me after all.

I heard he settled down with the wolf girl somewhere in the

north. They are making children like crazy. The latest reports
endanger Sandra's position as the top breed..ugh....cough...
cough...that wasn't called for!
Shut up! I don't even want to know what you intended to call
me Tanja!

Anyway! Have you seen Celes's head maid lately? I met her in
town and she either fattened up quite a lot or..:
Rose is on pregnancy leave. My help with the chocolate
worked a little better than expected with her boyfriend.
I heard he actually wasn't her boyfriend -yet- at that time!!
What? So she used the baby trap on him!? Your head maid is
a fearsome woman Celes.
Hrm. It wasn't entirely her fault. I may have forgotten to tell
her what my chocolate exactly does and she was unprepared.
So it was your doing?
I fear so. I didn't think about what would happen if she actually
managed to land the big hit with Drem. You only start to
appreciate someone else's work if she is gone. Luckily it's just
a leave.

Hoho. That's the most important thing then isn't it?

Yeah. If I have learned one thing over the years then it's to
hold those dear to you close. Enjoying every moment is
important.
Don't speak like your maid is gone forever.
If you had a maid like her you would understand me....
*Crrrck*
Blasius deactivated the device and started to search for the mistake
in his theories. Listening to the bickering of a group of women was
never his intention.
He was after the wisdom of the gods and not interested in the
worldly problems of other people.
While taking his device apart, he started to search for the mistake.
Not knowing that he already got all the important answers about life
and it's meaning from the gods.
Blasius never found out that he had actually succeeded and tried
different approaches on the matter for the rest of his life.....

Midpoint, Palace
A nice party... I smile while I greet the guests together with Celes.
There are multiple factions which formed in the recent weeks since
the Council disappeared.
First we have the Perseides Alliance. Those guys are purely a group
of convenience. They all share the opinion that other gods should
stay away from their worlds. So they formed a contract to help each
other in order to keep peace in their sphere of influence. From what

I have heard it already became quite a big group and they are
actually thinking about duplicating our planet in order to have a base
of operations.
Then there is the Gaian Pact. When I heard about their goals, I had
to think about Green Peace! They wish to preserve the nature of the
multiverse. At first I didn't understand why a god should be
interested in something like that. But then I realized that their
members mostly worked as gods of nature under the Council's rule.
The Council assigned everyone to a specific world in a specific role.
This wasn't for the purpose to keep the world in order. They just
needed a reason to assign us to a specific world. They didn't really
care if the god did his job or not. At least they never checked for me
or Celes while we worked for them.
Having all gods covering every planet of the multiverse has the
benefit of being able to hunt more effectively for new gods. Back
then I didn't think about it that much, but now it's clear to me.
After having used the Sphere of Sight I realize it's weak point. If
there are too many gods in one place it becomes useless. In order
to track someone you had to concentrate on a spark of power. I
guess if there are too many in one place it would become difficult to
focus on an individual.
Then we have the Arcane Community. They formed from similar
circumstances as the Gaian Pact. Celes's impression of them was
something like this. A bunch of weirdos and insane scientists. I
found her judgement a little too hard. There are some interesting
people among them.
They are only concerned about their studies and experiments. They
don't care much about anything else. Their association formed in the
first place to exchange their theories among themselves. They just
present a united front to others in order to show them to mind their
own business.

The Path is another big group. They are trying to form something like
a religious church. I am a little wary of them. The first discussion
with them was very strange. I had the feeling to talk to some kind of
priests who were trying to convert me to their religion.
Their doctrine is to value a gods worth on the number of his mortal
followers. I already have a bad feeling about them. Celes and I had
a fight over something useless as that in our previous lives. I am now
of the firm opinion that religion should be left to the mortals.
The Unity was inspired by our world. A few of the gods who came to
Asheim heard about our world from the guards and other personnel
stationed within the city. They immediately picked up the idea. By
now they are on the best way to their own version of our world. I am
very curious about their future.
At last we have the Carne Empire. It's lead by a very charismatic
guy who is called Carne. Oh, wonder. He somehow managed to
smooth talk a considerable amount of people into his idea of
government.
I am not against a dictatorship. My world uses one too, with me as
the ruler. But I fear that the Carne Empire is the most likely
candidate to become the Council's puppet.
Of course we already informed everyone of our concerns regarding
the Council. We decided it would be best to make all circumstances
behind the recent events public knowledge. The Council didn't even
twitch till now.
I am still concenerned. They have to be planning something. I am
sure of it!
The rest of the people at the party are from smaller groups, which
aren't worth mentioning yet. Maybe they will fuse with others or
dissolve. Or grow enough to be worth mentioning.
As of yet they are too small to be taken into consideration.

Looking around, I see that the party should start soon. There are
only a few people missing.
Oh I hope this party will have no major fuck ups! -Me
I wouldn't put too much hope in that. If you think about our
party history..... we have a really bad history! -Celes

74 - Party, Ambassadors,
Harem, Children and Wine?
Right now I am sitting together with Carne and Mawu at a table. We
arranged a big hall in my crystal palace for about sixty people.
Mostly just ambassadors and their confidants.
I was concerned about Carne. But not any more. Looking at him I
believe it's very unlikely for him to be manipulated by the Council
from behind the scenes....
We are fellow rulers aren't we? So why do you have just one
woman!? Isn't there a whole world of them for you? Carne takes
another sip of the expensive wine, while trying to hold onto the four
girls, who are his confidants.
Carne has steel blue hair and looks like an average human in his
thirties. Strangely enough he could be some guy from next door, if it
wasn't for his gaudy clothes.
He is an idiot! His community should be called the Carne Harem and
not the Carne Empire! Why do these girls stay with him? It can't be
because this alcoholic is a prince charming.
But I have to admit that your wife is quite the hot device if I found
someone like her, I could go monogam for a little while too. -Carne
I smile at him. If you even look at her, you will wish yourself
back to the times when you were a mortal. Why did I say that?
Aw! Come on. Don't be so bound up! -Carne
It's rude to say something like that to your host. -Girl number one
Yes honey, don't make a ruckus here. -Girl number two
Yes. Yes. My lovely birds! Carne would never do something to

make a woman sad! -Carne

Maybe your girlfriends are the true rulers of your community in
reality. Mawu takes a sip of his drink and closes his eyes to savour
the taste.
THAT! Can't be ruled out! Carne points to the sky and takes a
comical pose.
Back to the topic. Are you sure that the Council members, who fell
into your hands don't know what's going on? -Mawu
It's unfortunate, but it's true. Enyo's mind is toast. After looking at
her for quite a while the healers are sure of that. It's the same for El
Shaddai's soul. That I blew it to pieces didn't really help. After we
pieced it back together, there wasn't much more to do than releasing
him as a mortal again. I shrug my shoulders.
Hoh? You released him!? -Carne
He was reborn in a medieval world as a female slave. I take a sip
of my drink while the others stare at me.
I am sure you had a hand in that? -Mawu
Karma is a bitch. Making me angry doesn't help either. I grin
viciously at them. As for Tjenemit. I take out my Tjenemit globe and
show it to them.
-I told the master everything, I swear!-This unworthy one doesn't know anything more than he already told-The trash is ready to be redeemed by reincarnating as a mortal.-The grace of god would be limitless if this one was allowed to die and reincarnate as a
mortal.-Forgetting this one's path to salvation would be the greatest mercy.-This one awaits the end of his ...

I put the globe back into my pocket. As you can hear, he isn't really
helpful. He wasn't influenced by this black hole thing. His mind is still
intact. Though I don't understand the reason for it.

You, mister! Know some evil spells! I never would have imagined to
see a Council member begging to return to the cycle of life and
death. And we really need a better name for that black hole thing.
Calamity doesn't really strike it either. Those Ascended had a bad
naming sense. Carne salutes me with his glass.
That didn't sound like his mind is still intact. But I understand your
point. And about the name, how about Mind Fuser? -Mawu
Too complicated. Carne scratches his cheek. How about just
Fusion? It's a conglomerate of souls, which are fused together. Carne
I don't really care about the name. As long as we have the same
opinion about how to deal with it. -Me
Crush on sight! -Carne
Mawu nods and enjoys another sip of his wine. I could get addicted
to this wine. Where did you get it.
It's a pretty expensive creation from a very well known winery on
this planet. Drinking it every day would make even me a poor guy in
no time. -Me
I still have to get some of it for my collection. Mawu takes another
sip.
Looking around, I find Celes with the ambassador for the Gaian
Pact, who is an old cranky woman with white hair.
They are together with the ambassador for the Unity, who is a
strange fellow. He decided to alter his physique to the point where
you could think that he is on the brink of starving to death. The blue
and red stripes of veins are visible on his almost white skin.
Gods are often an eccentric bunch and they like to express it by
using spells to change their appearance, but this guy tops most of

the extremes I know of.

Probably they are talking about the best approach to create another
planet for gods.
The ambassador for the Arcane Community is disinterestedly
listening to them. He looks like a cyborg out of a bad movie. His right
arm is completely mechanical and steam puffs out of two exhaust
pipes on his back.
At least the rest of him looks relatively normal.
The girl who is speaking for the Path is talking to some guys who
belong to various other, smaller factions. She looks very young. Just
twelve or thirteen at most. Many gods like it to hide their age but she
overdoes it.
Suddenly someone tugs on my sleeve and I turn around.
Daddy! Can I go to Sandra's place and play with the quintuplets?
Seria looks up to me.
Kyaa! So cute! Is that one of the rumoured children? -Girl
number four
Carne! I want one too! -Girl number two
Drops of sweat are forming on Carne's forehead. That's not so
easy...
How old are you? Girl number three bends down to Seria.
Next month I will be eight and my brother is nine! Seria gives
them her cute little princess smile. Of course I know that it's
completely fake! She is still a false snake. When she is grown up I
will have a lot of trouble with her boyfriends. That's for sure.
Kyaa! Carne! We need one like that! Girl number one

That's not so easy! Carne's face distorts a little.

He sounds like a broken gramophone record. Did the mentioning of
kids fry his brain?
Kukuku.... A harem is very desirable as long as you don't have to
deal with kids, right? Well surprise! On this planet children are
included in the relationship! That's what your stupid talk about me
and more women is worth hmm?
Actually it's very easy! You just have to forget about birth control
and do him. Afterwards you stay for about two weeks on this planet.
That should be enough time for a soul to catch hold of the fetus. I
smile at the ladies, whose eyes are beginning to sparkle. And if you
want to make sure, you should look for my wife and get some of her
chocolate for him.
Carne looks at me like I just hammered the last nail into his coffin.
Then I turn to Seria. And where is your brother? I look around with
a concerned expression.
He went for that girl. He said he likes the older ones! Seria points
towards the ambassador for the Path. The ambassador is looking
with a troubled expression at Aengus who is talking to her
unconcernedly. Maybe she will think over her appearance in the
future?
Maybe you should join him and the girl. She is a strange one and a
little lonely at this party. It would be a big help Seria. I pat my
daughter's head.
Really? No problem daddy! We will show her how to have fun! And I
will introduce you to the quintuplets some other time Mr. Mawu. The
last time I tried to, you just disappeared for no apparent reason.
Seria runs off into the ambassador's direction.
You... are an evil man. Mawu smiles at me while the left half of his

face twitches a little. Seems like he still remembers his long and
through discussion with Seria about gods and the world and where
the children come from.
He didn't realize that Seria was just playing with him and perfectly
knows the answers to those questions. Mawu fell into the
assumption that Seria and Aengus are like normal children of
mortals.
Then I avert my gaze from Aengus and Seria, who are pestering the
ambassador for the Path.
Huh? Where did Carne go? The ruler of the Carne Empire is gone!
While you looked away his four confidants carried him off like a cow
on its way to the slaughterhouse. Mawu shrugs his shoulders and
takes another sip.
Hah! We won't see him before tomorrow then. I grin while I see
one of Carne's girls skipping towards the exit. She has a very
familiar small box in her hand and is humming something.
You are an evil man. I am repeating myself... . Do you think he will
start to curse his harem? -Mawu
That's for sure. That's for sure. I grin while I think about it. Maybe
one or two of them will have twins or triplets?
You are drawing a very dark picture of his future. -Mawu
We continue to drink wine and talk about everything of interest
throughout the multiverse....

75 - Party, Ambassadors,
Children and Wine?
No! I tell you two, I am an adult! Miruliru tries to explain her age to
the kids for the third time. And I am the ambassador for the Path!
You don't look like an adult. -Sister
Is this a game? We can pretend to be very adult too! -Brother
I don't pretend to be an adult! Miruliru turns red and waves with her
hands.
Hah? I don't get it. -Brother
I think she means that she is pretending to be a child. -Sister
Why would anybody pretend to be a child? -Brother
Because you are an adult? -Sister
Why should an adult pretend to be a child. The boy looks disturbed
at Miruliru.
Urgh. That's.... You will understand once you are old enough!
Miruliru smiles and nods at her wonderful solution to the situation.
She took the easy way out...
It's true... only an adult would say that! And there go my
dreams of making a cute childhood friend for my first
experiences with the other gender.
The girl pats her brother's shoulder.
It's okay. Little sister will find someone for you. Maybe the
quintuplets are willing to help out.
By the Path! If I had known this I would have refused the job.
Miruliru stares at the ceiling with dead eyes.

What's the Path? The little girl in front of her asks with big eyes.
Her brother, who tried to pick up Miruliru nods too with a questioning
expression.
We are trying to bring the rightful order between gods and mortals
back to the multiverse. We firmly believe that the gods should be
measured by the numbers of their believers. After all that's how
religion should work. Miruliru gives a proud explanation.
But what if a god with many believers gets trashed in a fight with
someone who has just a few? The boy raises his voice.
Wha? Of course that wouldn't happen. If a god with much power
would invest it in gathering believers, he should have always more
than a god with less power. -Miruliru
But dad trashed the evil overlords and nobody believed in him.
Everyone believed in the evil guys and now everyone is happy that
they are gone. -Sister
The people fear daddy. Does that count too? -Brother
Of course it doesn't count if the people fear someone! Miruliru
Yeah. This is complicated brother! Does that mean that mom is
stronger than dad? Everyone says that she is a beautiful and gentle
flower. Everyone loves her. -Sister
Mom is surely stronger than dad! But I don't understand why she is
called gentle by the people. -Brother
Yes. Her whipping isn't gentle at all..... The little girl looks down to
the floor and massages her butt.
Whip.... Miruliru almost chokes on her drink.
But that's nothing against grandmother! -Brother

Yes. Grandma is the strongest. Even mom and dad bow down to
her. She nailed me heels over head naked on a wall and threw
itching powder at me. It went on and on and on.... and then....
The cute little girl starts to tremble. Bro. I will never again run
around naked. Not even to defeat you in tower jumping.
The brother presses a tear out of his left eye. Next time I will give
you two seconds head start. If dad doesn't smack me into the floor
first. My cheek still hurts from that time when I played with the
mortals. The boy rubs his cheek.
Who are your parents? Miruliru arches an eyebrow at the two
annoying kids.
Daddy is the king of all gods! He is right there with Mr. Mawu! He
told me to entertain you because you seemed lonely. The sister
points at the king of Chimera and the guy waves back at them with a
broad smile.
Bastard! Miruliru strangles him in her mind.
And mom is the horned S&M Que... *MUFU*
The little girl jumped at her brother and silenced him. Pssst! What
will you do if she hears you?
Miruliru just stares at the horned woman behind the children. She
was introduced as the Queen of Chimera earlier. Does that mean
those two are the prince and the princess?
The Queen sneaked up on them a little while ago and started to
listen from behind to the weird conversation.
Aengus and Seria? The woman smiles down at the kids.
Both of them turn around like clockworks. Yes?Yes?

I think you two should go bed. We will have to talk tomorrow. Queen
Hiiiii. It was brother! HE tried to pick her up! -Princess
Sis! Is that all your brother is worth to you? -Prince
Bed. Now. -Queen
Miruliru feels a dangerous aura emanate from the woman and the
two kids disappear with tears in their eyes. Miruliru can perfectly
imagine this woman with a whip in her hand while tormenting some
innocent victims.
I am sorry. Children and their strange fantasies. Sometimes their
imagination is running wild. The Queen smiles at Miruliru and she
forces a smile onto her face.
Ahahaha... . Children sure like it to create stories and the like.
Everything gets blown out of proportion. Miruliru doesn't want to
cause a conflict by offending the Queen.
Don't you want to join our discussion group. We are talking about
the possible strategies in attempting to duplicate Chimera. -Queen
Miruliru nods with a forced smile and follows the S&M Queen to the
group of ambassadors.

76 - Party, Ambassadors and

Wine?
I smile at the four ambassadors before me. There is Gwalonna from
the Gaian Pact. She has the appearance of an old woman.
Then there is Chiffre. He is from the Arcane community. The strange
guy looks like he attempted to fuse with a machine. While he isn't
very talkative and just seems to kill time with us, he already made
some very smart suggestions in our discussion.
Zanders from the Unity is a sickly looking fellow, who went a little too
far with his body modifications. He is very interested in my
suggestions on how to create a second version of Chimera.
Miruliru from the Path has a forced expression on her face after I
rescued her from my children. I became aware that they caught her
alone a little too late.
I can only apologize for the behaviour of my kids. They shouldn't
have disturbed you like that. -Me
It's okay Queen. I have relearned an important lesson on the
naivety of kids. While I chose this appearance, it looks like I am not
cut out to interact with them. Miruliru answers with a distorted face.
Obviously she was very troubled by the situation.
It's not your fault. Those two like it to use their size against other
people. But they are perfectly fine with understanding everything.
After all they have some of the memories of their previous lifes. Plus
a throughout foundation in common knowledge. I bow a little to
Miruliru.
Miruliru's expression becomes deadpan. They played with me?

That's why I said that I need to apologize. It's not easy to keep
them in check. I smile wryly at her.
Miruliru starts to whisper something incomprehensible to herself but
catches her thoughts again. It's okay. I guess they have enough
problems of their own by trying to cope with such a flood of
memories. I find it strange that they are composed enough to use
their knowledge against others instead of going insane.
That's right. I haven't thought about it yet. How does your society
cope with this? Aren't there any children who get overwhelmed by
their previous life? Gwalonna arches her eyebrows at me.
I start to fiddle with my thumbs. Well. For better or worse. When
the whole population regained their memories at once, we were a
little swamped. To avoid the issue we decided to seal the memories
of our kids. They just have the common knowledge of an adult and
maybe a few other fragments of their previous lifes. We plan to
release the seal once we believe that they have a strong enough
personality of their own.
Don't you think you are stealing something important from them by
doing that? Chiffre gives me an accusing expression.
Zanders jumps in and helps me unexpectedly. It's the right decision.
From what I heard those memories aren't a complete personality,
but more like an image of it. The Chimeran's found a new way to
revive yourself. If a god dies and revives in a new body you just
wake up with a new body. Everything else is the same.
He takes a deep breath. But reviving inside the void without the
special help of soul magic seems to separate your memories from
your personality. In our attempt to recreate Chimera, we already
conducted serious research in this field. The memories remain but
the old personality is lost. You are able to rediscover the world anew
because your memories don't feel like your own. It's a good
precaution to stop a little kid from accessing too much of this
knowledge.

I see... So it's more like a reset than being reincarnated? Chiffre

arches an eyebrow and looks at the floor while thinking about it.
There are many moral questions on how to deal with the souls of
someone who died against his will. What did you do with the people
who died in the battle against the Council? -Miruliru
We created an agency, which is dedicated just to that question.
They sort the souls into those who prefer a real reincarnation and
those who would like to start anew. We have no shortage of souls
on Chimera. Seria was quite excessive in her .. collection habit.
There is no need to force someone into a personality reset.
Unfortunately we can only do this for those who died while they were
gods. I explain our circumstances.
Miruliru nods and takes another sip of her wine.
Zanders smiles at us. There is still much to do. But it looks
manageable. The biggest problems are about the society. We
decided against a dictatorship. There will be many very free-minded
individuals among us. Currently we are thinking up something like a
voting system which includes every member of the society into the
decision.
History already proved that something like that doesn't work.
Democracy is just a tool for the fools to drown the few smart people
in their combined voices. Chiffre looks like he bit into something
sour.
That may be true for mortals. But we are gods. Everyone in our
society has tons of knowledge and life experience. With the use of
magic there should also be no problem in informing everyone of the
situation and asking for their vote. We will try it first. We can always
decide on another system later on. -Zanders
It sounds nice. Maybe we will try to adopt it if it works. I smile at
him.

And that out of the mouth of a Queen who governs a whole planet
of gods! Why would you ever think of giving away all that power? Gwalonna
I shrug my shoulders. Because it's a pain in the ass to solve other
people's problems? My husband and I are constantly stressed with
solving small issues which could be handled by any sane person.
Dictatorship isn't that much fun either. I shake my fist at the
heavens.
But there are surely some interesting rumours about you and your
husband. Miruliru takes a look into Angrod's direction. And I am not
entirely sure if those rumours are really just rumours.
I scratch my cheek with cold sweat forming on my forehead. What
rumours did you hear?
Oooh. Just something like an infernal demon opening a portal to hell
itself, which consumed El Shaddai. Then laughing crazy while having
his blood all over him and making a horrible prophecy for the future.
Zanders smirks at me.
Oh I heard something strange too! Is it true that you throw
offenders naked from the highest tower in Asheim? That's really
disturbing if you ask me. -Chiffre
I heard that some minor god had really big troubles with his mortals
after they ventured out into space and met a being which had great
similarity with your husband. His mortals abandoned all the
technology and open mindedness he had put so much effort in
creating inside them. -Gwalonna
I heard rumours that El Shaddai got reincarnated into a female
sex slave and your husband was seen a few times at the red
light district where he/she is working now. -Miruliru
*SNAP*

Ah damn! I broke my glass.

Fufu... mwahaha... Rumours are surely scary. Even more so if
you are a famous person. Kukuku... I wonder whom I will have to
shut up in order to stop them. Why are you looking at me like
that?
Um... nothing. -Miruliru
Let's drink and have fun. Gwalonna starts to fill a new glass for
me.
Let's talk about duplicating Chimera. -Zanders
Your expression just looked like we would be able to witness some
executions tomorrow. Everyone looks at Chiffre with a fearsome
expression, but the ambassador for the Arcane Community just
continues to sip on his glass of wine.

77 - Party and Wine?

The party has quieted down and the big officials are sitting together
at a circular table. Well.... everyone except for Carne.
Celes is unusually clingy and was glued to me since she came back
to me and Mawu with the other ambassadors.
She has linked arms with me now and her expression is . scary.
So why don't we have another round of wine. Miruliru opens a
bottle of wine and starts to fill another round of glasses with the
expensive stuff. Ugh. After we are done there will be a sizeable dent
in the palace's wine cellar.
I take sip from my glass. So you had fun? I whisper to Celes.
Sure my honey bear! Celes answers with a strained voice.
That didn't sound very convincing. Did something happen while she
was talking with the other ambassadors?
But Gwalonna stands up to make a speech. I think I speak in the
name of everyone if I express my high hopes for the groups, which
are represented here. May our future be blessed with cooperation,
peace and freedom. Let's reshape the multiverse together.
Everyone nods and raises their glasses.
Mwaha. Yeah! Right it iiiis! Peace and loooove for everyooone.
Childreeen sure have high hooopes. But take goood care of
your castle ooof ssannd.
A drunken female voice sounds from under the table. I slide my chair
backwards and take a look beneath it. The view was previously
obstructed by the tablecloth, but I shove it aside.

LADA! What are you doing down there!? -Me

Lada is lying under the table with seven bottles of wine. It reeks like
she was bathing in the booze.
Juuust drinking and bathing in my misery. I aaam one oof
theeee oldest beings in tha multaverssse. Buuut doeees
aanyoone give a shit bout my opinion or needs me? Nope!
Theey alll creaaate their sooocieties and roll forward.
Lada waves her glass to me and spills half of it over the floor.
Whooo neeeds a god of loooove. I willll juust take a look frem
the shaedows.... on the kids....
Come out there Lada. You sure went down the gutter since I last
saw you. Miruliru climbs under the big table to get Lada outside.
Looks like she knows her.
On the other hand it's not strange. Everyone should know a former
Council member. And Lada was the nice face of the Council.
BOOZE OFF! Littlee kids looking after grandmother's. It
shoullls be tha otha way around! Lada struggles against Miruliru,
who had underestimated Lada's drunkenness.
Celes's tail reaches under the table and grabs Miruliru, pulling her
out while she kept clinging to Lada.
Puh! Thanks. Lada you could have helped a little... Lada? Miruliru
pats Lada's face a little but gets no reaction.
CHRRR....RgRg.....ccChRR.... The goddess of love is lying on
her back and snores like a lumberjack.
For real? Chiffre shakes his head at the situation.
Looks like we should take a little better care of the previous

generation. Who would have known that the great Lada would let
herself go like that? -Zanders
It should be fine if we give her a proper job. Having nothing to do
gives you too much time to think about yourself and the multiverse. I
give my suggestion to the people.
How about president of the multiverse? -Miruliru
What's that supposed to be? Celes asks with a curious tone.
Not a bad idea. We may need a neutral person if there should ever
arise any disputes between us. Lada would be a perfect candidate.
And the job would surely come without real power because she
would just be an intermediary between our governments. Gwalonna
I like the sound of that. And it's surely a pain in the ass to do
something like that. -Mawu
Miruliru takes Lada's hand and forms a thumbs up with it. Lada
says she will do the job. Miruliru folds Lada's hands on her chest
and covers her with a tablecloth from a nearby table.
After that's done we continue to drink and talk until late in the night.

Next morning
Uhhh... I have a headache. My head is going to split. I take a look
around and witness a battlefield. Looks like I am still in the party hall.
I am lying on top of the bar and Celes is lying on top of me, using me
as a body pillow.
Mawu is lying on his belly face down in a pool of booze on the floor.
Lada is wrapped up in the tablecloth like a pupa. She is hanging

heels over head from the ceiling and still snores loudly.
The tables and chairs are all stacked up into two small but still
impressive castles on either side of the room.
Broken pieces of glass are lying concentrated around both castles.
Miruliru is hanging at two metres height on the leg of a turned over
table, which was used as a castle wall.
The other castle has a crumbled wall and I see a mechanic arm
looking out from a turned over table. Probably it belongs to Chiffre?
But then I see Chiffre with a missing arm dangling from the
candelabrum in the centre of the room.
Zanders and Gwalonna are lying together in a compromising position
in the corner of the room.
I try to get up but the dizziness and Celes's weight stop me.
Everything is spinning. Whoa. Shit. I will never drink this stuff again.
What the FUUUcck happened here?
I turn and see Carne in the entrance to the hall. I weakly wave to him
and he strides into my direction. He has bloodshot eyes and is a little
pale.
Looks like doing four girls at the same time is a little exhausting.
You guys seem to know how to throw a party. If I wouldn't have
been set up with my whole entourage, I would have had a great
night!
Carne jabs an accusing finger to my face. *Whip* Ow!
A sudden slash of Celes's tail lets him jump a step backwards and
yelp . I can't help it and grin at him.
Get your wife off and we will talk about this like real men! He

waves a fist at me but underestimates Celes's reach. *Whip*

Fuck!
I start laughing at him.
Mwahaha! Never understimate the automatic defens....
Mmmine! Munha....
Celes hugs me tighter and the grin leaves my face as my bones start
to give off a crunching sound.
Now it's Carne's turn to grin at me. Then I hear voices from beyond
the entrance.
Caaarnee?
Deaaaar?
Maybe the hall?
Carne, you can't run away from your duties!
Carne's expression becomes haunted and he turns to the entrance
and then back towards me. We will speak about this later! Again
he jabs a finger towards me.
*Whip* FFF..:
This guy is surprisingly resistant to learning by experience.....
Carne turns towards the windows and runs. *Crash!*
Seconds later I see the four lightly dressed girls running through the
entrance and towards the windows.
Did you hear that?
Must have been him!
Get him!
Daaarling!

78 - Red light district?

I survived the diplomatic endeavour! Everyone was safely sent home
and I am inside my personal working room in the palace.
After everyone had regained their consciousness, we took a magical
oath. Everything which happened that night will be a national secret.
If someone should ever talk, all the other nations will band up and
crush him.
Yes. This is for the best..... though nobody really remembered what
happened anyway. The implications provided by the aftermath are
bad enough.
*Knock*
Honey? We have to talk. The door opens and Celes intrudes into
my room.
I turn around and smile at her. Yes?
I heard some rumours on the party and they don't let me calm
down. -Celes
I continue to smile at her while my head tries to find possible routes
of escape. Rumours about us are never good.
There is this rumour that you were seen in a certain red light
district. Celes gives me a forced smile.
Hah?
Where did you get that!? She shoves the lingerie I bought for
her into my face.
Uhm...

Think, think? What if she doesn't believe me that I were there purely
for research? Oh gods! This will be my doom!
And that rumour said that El Shaddai is also working there.....
as a woman! Celes fumes right now!
Ehm... why don't we talk later? I need time. Time to run to the
other side of the multiverse.
*WHAM!*
Celes smashes the lingerie onto my office table and the table
dissolves into splinters! That was handmade!
I think. I will postpone the interrogation and advance directly
to punishment! Celes has a dangerous look in her face.
Please do the talking first! I get to my knees and bow to her.
Celes takes the chair, which is still alive and sits in front of me with
her legs crossed. Why were you there?
To do some research! -Me
About what? -Celes
I wanted to make sure that El Shaddai is properly punished! -Me
SO HE IS THERE!? -Celes
YES. BUT I DIDN'T TOUCH HIM! . HER! I don't look up from
my position.
.....Explain! -Celes
Maybe I got carried away after we decided to release his soul as a
mortal. I wanted to make sure that he doesn't have it too easy. So I

fiddled -just- a little with his reincarnation. I let him revive as the
daughter of the manager of a famous brothel. It's a family business
with strict rules and a system of forced inheritance. So it won't be
easy for her to get out. -Me
I was just there to see if everything went it's proper course.
Continue.
El Shaddai. I mean, his name is Sharid now, was properly born and
is a baby right now. So I couldn't have done anything to her! I am not
into babies! Hah! Yes that's the solution! She is still a baby! So the
rumour has to be bullshit!
There are quite a few other girls there.....
Shit! I just went in and out after confirming the situation! I
didn't even look left or right!
LIAR! I investigated the source of the rumour and you were there
for over an hour! A nice little creaking comes from the chairs
armrest while Celes's hand tightens down on it.
Ah.... I may have gotten distracted by this and that.... Oh no!
Please don't let her find out! But she looks really scary! More like a
demon than a succubus! I shouldn't have looked up!
*SNAP*
The armrest of the chair gave in.
Hiii! On my way back I got a glance at the costumes of a few
girls and I got carried away and and It was like the pent up
frustration of a few hundred years was set loose. I just
happened this once. I never lost control before. It really hurt
my pride to give in to my instincts.
Celes's face becomes a little pale.

Then I somehow had to get hold of one! And then I found

another nice one! And before I knew it I had collected a whole
set of costumes and lingerie! I cover down and await my end.
You.... collected a set..... of costumes? .... and why should a
brothel sell that stuff!? -Celes
Erm.... They didn't exactly sell it. Damn!
Oh? Then how did you collect the costumes? And why isn't that
another rumour? -Celes
Hrm.... err.... I guess it isn't exactly good reputation for a brothel if
a guy isn't interested in the girls and just strips them of their working
dresses..... There you have it! She will throw me into the black hole!
..... and where are those costumes to prove your story? -Celes
They are in our wood house. Inside the chest I got your red lingerie
from. It has a double layered ground plate!
Suddenly our surroundings shift. Aw! Celes teleported us! We are
inside the bedroom of our wood house. She turns to the mentioned
chest and opens it.
Celes carelessly wipes away my camouflage of normal clothing. I
hear another *snap* as the fake base plate is broken out of the
chest.
You didn't have to break it! It could have been opened perfectly fine!
Hmm. Let's see... bunny suit... cat ears... a tiger tail? No way I
stick that into my... lots of panties and bras ... a rope? ..
handcuffs.... did he rob the entire brothel?...... so much stuff,
did he cast a dimensional spell on the chest to get it all
inside?..... There is still more!
Celes picks the chest up and pours the content in a pile onto the

floor. She is right with the dimensional spell....

When the pile reaches her waist, the flood of items stops and she
looks at my collection with a suspicious expression.
Oh, I am so screwed... if she regains her composure, she will
skewer me with something sharp. Or she will use her fists. Urgh.. I
wanted to see the children grow up....
After a few seconds she bends down and picks a red leather outfit
from the pile and holds it before her in front of the mirror at the side
of the room.
Yes! Exactly like I imagined it on her! It perfectly gives off that
sadistic dominatrix aura! She doesn't even need a whip!
Then she turns to me. You should see that face of yours.....
Fine! We will let those dreams of yours come true in order to
stop you from assaulting poor little mortal girls. And to punish
you we will start with this.
Celes pulls a set of handcuffs out of the pile and sends a vicious grin
towards me.
...O.... Only if I get to use the rope in turn!

On another world in a brothel, a few years

later
What's that statue mommy? It looks like a devil! A little girl tugs at
a woman's skirt. The woman is the manager of the brothel.
After taking a look at the statue above the entrance to the brothel,
the woman turns towards the child.
That's the greatest disaster which ever happened to our business!
That demon appeared someday shortly after your birth and robbed
us of most of our inventory! It took me weeks to get a replacement

for everything. I paid a hefty sum to a wizard, so he would put up

this warding statue. Make sure to keep the statue safe at all times,
Sharid! The manager turns back to her papers.
Why would he steal our inventory? The little girl looks at her mother
with big eyes. She already was taught the most important stuff as
the successor of the brothel. As a matter of fact, her mother doesn't
believe in keeping a child ignorant of the world.
Sharid already perfectly knows what men want from women and
how to give it to them. There isn't anything the manager would ever
hold back under the assumption that it would be bad knowledge for
children.
Do you remember our discussion about perverts and their value for
the business? -Manager
Yes? -Sharid
That demon belongs to the worst kind of pervert! They aren't after
women! They only yearn for their belongings! Those perverts are
bad for the business! See to it to never let them enter the house! Manager
...mm okay! Sharid turns toward the statue in order to burn the
image into her mind!
Bad for business! Worst kind of pervert!..........
Ah! I totally forgot! You are old enough for your status plate. We
don't really need one and the church doesn't give it to people like us.
But it's useful if you ever have to travel. And without one you aren't
recognized as a proper citizen. -Manager
The manager takes a metal plate out of a pocket and holds it
towards Sharid. I bribed a priest to get one. The whole ceremony
by the church isn't needed anyway. Put your hand on it.

Sharid shivers and imagines the possibilities. She heard that those
plates give you a glimpse of your true potential and fate . Sharid had
always felt out of place. Like she was destined for more than being
the manager of a brothel. Maybe this was her ticket to the world?
She follows her mother's order and as soon as she touches the
status plate, it starts to shine and letters appear.

Name: Sharid
Age: Seven
Titles bestowed by the gods:

Cursed:
(In your previous life you awoke the ire of a divine being. You are cursed.)

~~~~~Angrod, King of gods. Divine ruler of the realm

of Chimera:~~~~~
(Take that up your cute ****!! Next time try not to mess up the multiverse!)

Divine Beauty (All men will turn their head after you)
Fertile Mother (You are sure to have twins or triplets)
Flexible Snake (You are able to move in wondrous
ways)
Siren's Voice (Your voice is too beautiful to behold
for every man)
Man among Males (Your mentality is male)
(cancelled),

Blessed:
(A divine being took pity on you and gave you its blessing.)

~~~Miruliru, Divine Goddess of the Path:~~~

(Sorry, i can't help more. You aren't under my jurisdiction.)

Limitless One (You may change your fate with hard

work)
Woman among Females (your mentality is female)
(cancelled)
~~Mornale, Local Deity:~~
(Poor one. Maybe Angrod will forget his grudge if you do some proper prayers.
I am just a small deity so I can't do much.)

Psychologist (You may unravel the problems in your

mind and those of others)

Potentials:
-Deleted Potential (unknown)-Deleted Potential (unknown)-Deleted Potential (unknown)-Deleted Potential (unknown)-Cursed Divine rank Belly Dancer-Cursed Divine rank Eyes of Lust-Cursed Divine rank Songweaver-Cursed Goddess of Lust and Sex-Eternal Beauty-

Sharid just stares at the plate with big eyes. Then her mother takes
a look at it. KYAAA! You are the perfect successor! And to be in
the favour of three gods! I don't know who Angrod and Miruliru
are, but maybe we should start to pray to them?

79 - A god calls for help?

I need help! Immediately! The god goes to his knees before us. I
am together with Celes in our throne room in Asheim.
A few minutes ago this guy arrived in Asheim and cried for help like
mad. The guards brought him before us after considering to throw
him into a cell.
Luckily they were instructed to watch out for uncommon events and
to immediately report them.
The guy has blue hair and looks like an elf. His magic power feels a
little dim for an ascended being. He seems to be extremely shaken
by something.
I would suggest you gather your thoughts and explain the situation.
Celes answers with a calming voice.
Ah... Yes. I am Evenguar. I am the god of a small world at the
fringe of the multiverse. I never had any problems with anyone and I
am happy with taking care of my world. So I never saw the need to
join any of these new big communities. But a few days ago
something like demons appeared on my world. At first I didn't pay
much attention to them. I thought they were just some new kind of
prank, a neighbouring god had played on me. Or the failed
experiment of some archmages.
He takes a breath and continues. But then the demons became
more and more aggressive. They destroyed whole cities on my
world and plagued the mortals like nothing before. So I took a closer
look at them and realized that they aren't just a prank! They are
eating the souls of the mortals they kill. I tried to stop them, but they
are a serious danger even to me.
Evenguar rolls up one of his sleeves and shows a blackened bite

mark on his upper arm to us.

I never encountered something like this before! I slayed them by the
dozens, but their numbers don't decline. I am at the end of my wit
short of cleansing my world completely. The mortals have no chance
against these beings and I would rather kill them all than seeing their
souls eaten.
He bows down to us again.
But before that I hoped that someone from the big societies would
help me. I can't save my world alone.
I stand up and walk towards Evenguar. Show me that wound.
Evenguar does as instructed and I hold my hand above it while I try
to feel for his energy. His soul is weakened. It looks like he fought
the demons to his limits. And a part of his soul is injured. Like
something tried to rip a piece out of him.
~That wound looks like it was inflicted by a familiar of the great
Calamity.~
Wardens voice echoes through the throne room.
I thought they can't create more of them without a piece of that
thing. I grumble at the unforeseen turn of events. Are they trying to
flood the multiverse with those soul eating monsters?
~As far as I know the familiars of the great Calamity weren't able to
create offspring when the Ascended fought them. We already
assumed that one or more familiars of the great calamity survived
the hunt. Given how much time it had. It's possible that it learned
how to reproduce.~
I gnaw my teeth at the new situation. We have to contain this
outbreak at all costs. Send the Nomad with Evenguar to his world
and try to save it if you can. Inform everyone of this turn of events.

~They are informed.~

I turn around and look at Celes. Should we go and hunt a few
monsters? I need some new test subjects.
Celes smiles at me and stands up from her throne. You should
always try to keep your training up.
Thank you! Thank you so much! Evenguar suddenly hugs me from
behind and gets pulled away by the guards.
He wriggles in their grasp while thanking us. This fellow is creepy...
I don't know what he expected. Did he think we would look away
while soul eating demons rampaged through the multiverse? Don't
thank us too early Evenguar. We don't know what we are dealing
with. If worse comes to worst, we may have to destroy your world.
Evenguar drops his head. I already prepared myself for that after I
fought those things.

Elhort, Domain of Evenguar

After our warriors were ready, we came here with the Nomad and
found the planet like that. Tanja and Nicosar joined us on this
campaign.
I look down at the planet beneath us with curious eyes. It's one big
forest with lakes and mountains. There are no oceans. It's still a
beautiful world.
The main population of Evenguar seems to consist of elves, dryads
and everything that's somehow connected to nature. I suspect
Evenguar had a hand in it and built his own little paradise.
It's currently night and the cities are clearly visible by the little specks
of light. The sight would be mesmerizing if it weren't for those dark
spots on the map.

There are several cities with nothing left alive. We can sense it with
our mana detection system.
Looking onto the screen, I see something like an epicentre from
which the dead zone is spreading. Someone else thinks the same
thing as me?
There seems to be something like a source. Tanja speaks my
thoughts.
Then let's wipe it out with our weaponry and clean up the rest.
Celes tilts her head while she's looking at the screen.
I suggest to go down there and investigate with a small team first. If
we use the heavy arms first, we may not find the cause behind this.
We would be as smart as before. Nicosar gives us his thoughts.
You may be right. Information is always important. And if we use
the big guns first, there could be not much left to investigate
afterwards. I scratch my cheek while I think about the situation.
Saving the world isn't as important as getting a clue what the Council
is up to. It may be harsh, but one world of mortals in exchange for
the possibility to get a clue on the Council's whereabouts?
Then how about we go down there and investigate it. Celes grins
at us and corrects her combat armour.
Hmmm. Yeah. We have to go down there and gather information.
Just nuking the planet would leave us as clueless as before. I start
to give orders for a small team of elites to gather.
Meanwhile the Nomad starts to bombard the ravaged cities. To the
mortals it must look like Armageddon.
It's a vain attempt, but maybe it will slow the demon's progress.

I take my staff and get out of the command chair.

Five minutes later we are on ground zero in our combat gear. There
is me, Celes, Tanja, Nicosar and five guards. All of the guards are
close combat specialists.
The forest around us looks dead and dry. We landed just a few
hundred metres from the supposed epicentre. There aren't any
demons here. By Evenguar's description they are partly humanoid,
but oddly deformed with many claws and teeth.
They weren't very strong compared to a god, but there were many
and they always attacked in groups, not caring for their own
existence.
If killed, they would slowly start to regenerate and rise again after a
few minutes. The story sounds like a bad horror movie.
We have to head into this direction. One of the guards takes the
lead and stomps off towards our destination.
Our group advances at a steady pace through a dead forest. There
is brushwood, but the guard is clearing it with long heavy cleaves of
his two handed crystal sword. I never would have imagined that one
of my godly weapons would end up as a gardening tool!
RWARRR!
Kyaaa!

OOOOOOM!*

*BOOOOO

~Sizzle~

Suddenly three -things- jumped out of the crown of a tree and landed
close to our group. They started to storm into our direction while
waving their claws. Claws and teeth everywhere....
They came directly out of one of my nightmares! Before I knew, I
had waved my staff at those somethings which shouldn't exist.
Incinerating them and a *Huuuuge* area behind them.

What was that? Celes arches an eyebrow at me.

I steady myself and try to regain my composure. I changed my
mind. I don't need those things as test subjects.
I think she meant that girly scream of yours. -Nicosar
Shut up Geezer! Since I fell into that pit with the Razor Claws
inside, I may have a little phobia of things with too much teeth and
claws.
At that moment another bad rumour about me was born as the
guards started to whisper to each other.
In the distance a huge tree crumbles to the ground and the fire
slowly starts to spread.
That was when you were a little kid! Tanja answers shocked.
It was still a formative experience for me! ... One moment! Why
do you know about that! We didn't even know each other at that time
and I never talked about it! I make an inquisitive look at Tanja, who
starts to fiddle with her fingers.
Um... you see... My family wasn't completely uninvolved in that. But
your mother found out and we changed sides afterwards. Please
forgive me for not telling. I thought your mother informed you. It was
just a badly paid assignment at that time. And when your mother
suddenly turned up at our main house and went on a rampage we
learned which side was the right one! Tanja bows down to us with
pearls of sweat on her forehead.
Just what did mother do to them? If I think back to those times, she
was pretty protective of me back then. Didn't she say once that any
assassin who touched her family would wish to be never born?
Anyway. Your spell saved us the time to search, your majesty. It
looks like you wiped out the guards for the entrance. One of the

guards points towards a big hole in the ground. It was freed of the
brushwood by my spell.
We carefully walk closer to the ominous hole and I throw a glance
down into it. It's a long tunnel and the end is not in sight. After a few
metres, it looses itself in darkness.
Whohoo. That feels like a dungeon! Aaah. Those good old times
when you went on quests and tried to save the world. -Celes
Is that her viewpoint on the matter? When I was a normal
reincarnating mortal and ended up in a fantasy world with dungeons
and heroes, I always almost puked.
Who in his right mind would crawl down into a dark and dangerous
maze out of his own free will?
Can't be helped. Let's go down there and see for ourselves where
the demons come from. Nicosar jumps down into the hole first.
One after the other we follow.

80 - Dungeon Reward: ****?

We walk forward into the darkness. I light the way with a few
spheres of light. It's a very easy spell.
The tunnel is relatively broad and leads us at a steady angle down
into the earth. From the left to the right wall, there are about ten
metres.
The walls look like they were scratched out of the stone by claws. It
gives me shivers if I think about hundreds or thousands of those
creatures digging this tunnel with their claws.
After a few minutes of walking the tunnel splits into two. Great. Now
we can choose to split up. Celes's complain is right.
I don't really want to split the group down here.
What disturbs me more is that there is nobody down here. Just
those things at the entrance. -Nicosar
After looking down both tunnels, I think about the smartest possible
solution.
Psst. You hear that? Celes points a finger down the tunnel to our
right. I concentrate and after everyone is silent, I can hear it too. Are
those screams? Of people?
I start to walk into the direction. The right tunnel it is. The others
follow me without objections.
We walk for another five minutes when I suddenly see demons
coming out of the darkness. I ready my staff and send a fireball into
them as a greeting.
But they just strive forward undisturbed by the death of two of their

comrades. It's an unending wall of claws and teeth!

The others make a stance beside me and seconds later those things
are all around us. I strike one of the things to the ground while
another starts to gnaw at my shoulder. But the armour is protecting
me.
I cover my left hand in magical energy and strike it into the thing
where the heart should be. It lets go of my shoulder and starts to
wriggle on the ground. But it's still alive.
One of the guards gets torn to the ground by five of the monsters at
the same time and I jump to his aide. Luckily the armour is protecting
him from any serious injuries. It's enforced by mana crystals and
shouldn't be penetrated that easily.
Swinging my staff, I wipe one of the monster off of him. He kicks
another away and casts an ice lance spell at a third, nailing it to a
wall.
I try to invade the mind of the things, but I slip off like from a solid
wall of glass. Either they aren't thinking at all or their magical
resistance is extraordinary.
Kicking the fourth demon, his chest dents in with an unhealthy crack.
Having just one opponent left, the guard grabs the demons head in a
contest of strength and twists it off like plucking a flower
Something jumps at me from the side and I go down. A huge jaw is
suddenly in front of my face and I grab it in order to stop the thing
from biting my head off.
Then I realize the hole in it's chest. It's the same one I skewered just
moments ago! They heal that quickly?
Try to dismember them or they will get up again immediately!
Tanja's voice echoes through the tunnel.

Great! I redirect the flow of my mana to empower my muscles and

tear the jaw of the monster apart. That done, I start to twist it's
head off like the guard did seconds ago.
Arrgh! A scream from Nicosar echoes through the hall but I have
problems of my own. Another three of the things are before me. I
don't have a clue if they are new ones or if they are injured ones that
healed up already.
They jump simultaneously and I grab all three of them out of the air
simultaneously. It should be an easy task, but it feels like a huge
effort.
Activating my mana sight, I realize that those things feed off the
mana around them. Every ounce of mana I use to hold them in place
just adds to their food. They themselves are gleaming brightly in all
possibly shades of mana.
I grab my staff tighter and instruct the runes on it to rearrange. The
staff doesn't use it's mana offensive now. Instead it will use it's
passive function of the mana crystal and absorb mana.
Swinging it in a wide arc, I behead all three demons, which are still
immobilized by my telekinesis.
Letting go of them, they drop to the ground. I eye the dead bodies
suspiciously but it doesn't look like they regenerate.
The absorb function of my staff robbed them of their mana. Switch
your weapons to mana absorption instead of using it offensively! We
are just feeding them the energy to repair themselves!
Then I get jumped by a new pack of demons and the fight continues.
A few moments later there are no demons left and I look around to
check on our state. One injured guard, an injured Nicosar and an
almost dead guard is the price we had to pay in order to learn a
lesson against the demons.

I kneel down beside the guard who got jumped by multiple enemies
earlier. The things had time to find some weak points in his armour
and bit and stabbed into them. I try to cast healing magic on him but
it doesn't work.
The wounds inflicted by those things seem to directly affect the soul.
Doesn't look good for me eh? The guard tries to smile but spurts
out blood instead.
You don't have to worry. We won't leave your soul in a place like
this. I concentrate and anchor his soul to his body.
Then I wave to the other injured guard. Take him back to the Nomad
and report the current situation. They can only use the weapons
which have nothing to do with mana. Just pure physics! Everything
else just feeds those things!
The guard nods and grabs the heavily injured one to teleport away.
Then I take a look at Nicosar who is curiously eyeing the evil looking
cut on his left thigh. One of the demons managed to break through
the armour. Luckily it seems to be just a flesh wound. The demon
didn't get deep enough.
It isn't healing? Nicosar stabs a finger into the wound like not
believing it really exists.
No way! The immortal geezer got damage by a critter! Tanja
smirks at him.
I purse my lips at the sight. I suggest you are more careful with
those things. They injure not only the physical world with their claws.
You need to go back too?
Nicosar shakes his head. It just looks nasty. The armour did it's job,
it's just a surface wound. It just surprised me because it hurt so
much. I never felt pain like that before.

Then we go on and conquer this stupid tunnel. Now that we know

how to keep them down it will be easier. Celes walks forward and
we follow her.
This time we advance more carefully. Getting jumped by such a
large group of demons wasn't funny even though they were
individually weak. There were about five or six of them for everyone
of us.
And they don't have the good manners to wait for you to finish the
fight with the first demon. They just came at us like a pack of rabid
dogs. Or would starving be a more fitting term?
After another curve of the tunnel, we arrive in a big open cavern.
There are dozens of demons and in the middle of it is a shiny
spinning sphere.
Multiple elves, dryads and other mortals are held in stone prisons at
the walls of the cavern. An elven male is lying twitching under the
sphere while spikes and claws break through his skin and he slowly
turns into one of the demons.
Probably we heard his screams earlier when we had to decide for a
direction.
By the gods! -Nicosar
That's a second Sphere of Sight!? Tanja exclaims flabbergasted.
I ready my staff with a grim resolve and walk forward while I ready
my spells. They connect to the Calamity through the sphere to
create those monsters in order to gather souls!
As we enter the cavern, the demons start to rush us and Celes
jumps into a group of them. Waving her open palm two monsters are
blown apart by the shockwave.
I don't waste time and throw my staff at the new Sphere like a

spear. It impacts and the Sphere is blown apart into thousands of

shards.
For a second the demons waver like they just lost something
important. At a gesture the staff returns to my hand and the
remaining demons continue their charge.
Another wild melee fight evolves. But this time we already know how
to keep our enemies down.
Celes jumps into the centre of the action and I support her with
assisting magic. Then I realize that Tanja is in a tight situation with
multiple demons surrounding her.
At a gesture of my hand a blue arc of lightning lashes out at three of
the demons. I know that this wont kill them but it will paralyse them
long enough for Tanja to solve the situation.
Another demon jumps at me but gets cleanly cut in half by the guard
with the two handed sword. I nod at him while I concentrate to clean
the area with a wind cutting spell.
This time the fight isn't as tight as before. The demons may have
superior numbers but now they don't get up like stand up dolls any
more.
The fight concludes with a cavern of minced demons and a few
mortals staring at us with big eyes.
There are about twenty prisoners left. Though the cells throughout
the cavern should give enough space for hundreds of people.
Thank you so much for saving us lord. An elven male bows to us.
What happened here. -Celes
I did my everyday work, when I suddenly found myself in that cell.
And then this nightmare started. People were turned into monsters

by that sphere and left the cavern. From time to time the monsters
would bring new prisoners. At some point no new prisoners were
brought and our numbers started to dwindle. An almost naked
dryad gives us her story.
Probably they couldn't bring in fresh material when we started our
bombardment, my lord. One of the guards gives his assessment of
the situation.
I kneel down beside one of the dead demons, but I feel nothing from
it. It's like earlier just an empty shell. Probably they really are just
agents for the Calamity to gather souls.
Fair maiden! Could I hear the names of our saviours. The elven
male from earlier turns his attention to Celes with a sweet voice. She
almost bursts out into laughter.
Fair maiden.... I guess it's normal for mortals to mistake us. Celes
stopped her ageing process somewhere at twenty five. Nicosar
preferred to keep his geezer appearance even as a god.
The elven male gets disgusted looks by the female prisoners.
Don't even try. You aren't even worth the dirt on my shoes little
mortal. Celes waves at the guy.
Only the high god Evenguar would call an elf a mortal. From which
race are you guys by the way. I have never heard of people with
horns before. The dryad raises her voice again.
We are gods like Evenguar. He begged us for help in order to save
this puny world. One of our guards lets his tongue loose again and
the prisoners eyes go round.
Let's get going, I don't want to camp down here over night. Tanja
urges the group towards the entrance we came through.
On our way to the surface the mortals keep pestering Celes with

their gazes. Even the female prisoners join the fray.

Half way to the surface Celes can't keep calm any more and snaps
at the mortals. What's up with you!? Never seen a woman
before!?
One of the women blushes and apologizes to Celes. We are sorry.
But you are all so different from what we always imagined about
gods. And you look so beautiful!
Yes! I would actually like to go out with you! You are the finest
woman I have ever seen. One of the male prisoners joins the fray.
.
*Blleeergh*
After three seconds of watching the guy, Celes turned towards a
wall and barfed at the floor.
All prisoners watch her stunned.
What? Never seen a pregnant woman before? After her
retching had stopped, she threw another shocking comment at the
mortals.
Just that it wasn't only shocking for the mortals.
I jump at her side. What are you saying honey!? Why didn't you
tell me? And why do you go down here in that state?
Shut up and carry me, husband. I only found out recently and
being pregnant isn't a sickness, where you have to refrain from
moving and stay inside! Celes snaps at me.
I know better than to object to her and take her piggyback.
Pregnant?" One of the disillusioned prisoners breaks their silence.
"A God?"
"Husband?.

Sush! Idiots! Where do you think little gods come from! Did
you think they just pop into existence! Stupid mortals! Celes
starts a tirade at them.
Actually they really do just pop into existence. It's just recently that
gods are born like that. But I don't care to explain that to the
shocked prisoners.
Evenguar will have quite some explaining to do after this. Based on
how complex his religion is.
I carry my wife with watery eyes towards the surface.

81 - Saving a world?
We are back on board of the Nomad and I watch the tactical display
in unconcealed dismay. The demons which got created until now are
still on a rampage.
Our weapons don't work. Even by using completely non-magic
projectiles, the demons don't get killed. It only takes them longer to
regenerate. A technician informs me of the situation. The only thing
that worked so far was to slay them with a mana-crystal weapon in
mana absorption mode.
I nod at the explanation and think about the situation.
Going down and fighting them hand to hand will cause us quite a
few causalities for sure. Nicosar points out one of our options.
Destroying the planet would just set them adrift. But at least they
wouldn't be able to continue to feed on mortals. Celes mumbles to
herself
I think back to the moment when I looked at these ghastly things
with my mana sight. They looked similar to a soul. An artificial soul.
What's the reason for their existence. I have to get a look at one of
these things up close. I just saw the newly made ones, which hadn't
fed yet. I need to see one of those things while feeding.
What actually happens to the soul?
The prisoners told us that from time to time a group of demons
would return to the cavern and pray to the sphere. Were they
bringing back the souls they caught? It's a creepy thought but were
they acting as gatherers?
A shiver runs down my spine when I think back to my own
experience with the sphere.

I open the command menu for the plasma weapons of the nomad
and lock everyone else out of the system. Then I restrict the settings
to my command chair.
Your majesty? The weapons officer turns around to me with an
inquiring but polite voice. I just locked him out of his console.
It's just an experiment and I don't want anyone to know the magic
for this. -Me
After ensuring that I am the only one with access to the plasma
weapons, I call up the magical casting devices, which are used to
create the containment field for the plasma.
The plasma weapons are a combination of magic and science. A
stream of superheated plasma is caught by a magical barrier and
then ejected with movement magic.
In principle the casting devices of the cannons could cast any other
spell too. I tune down the amount of plasma, which frees one of the
casting devices for another purpose.
Then I change the magical system within the device to interact with
the plasma. The wonderful blue orb of runes which displays the
magical system turns into a red one with sickening swirling
interactions on its surface.
Give me a target which is beyond saving and has a high
concentration of demons. I give the command and a technician
zooms the screen on a city. There isn't much to see on that scale,
but there are many red dots and a few blue ones. The red dots
obviously represent demons and the blue....
Being sentimental won't change the situation.
I input the coordinates and press the button to fire the cannon. A
swirling maelstrom of red energy is sent down towards the surface.

It's a doomsday magic without a name. I never bothered to give it

one and I only use it if I really want someone dead.
It acts like a shredder on all levels of existence. Even souls are
hacked to so many small pieces that it would take an eternity for
them to heal on their own.
Everything happens in silence, as the maelstrom hits the surface and
the screen blackens out for a second.
After it comes back and shows a wasted city with a crater in the
centre, the technician gives his assessment.
No demons...... no anything. The place is dead like the surface of a
moon.... your majesty.
Give me the coordinates for other high concentrations of demons. I
urge the Technician to continue.
Over the next twenty five minutes I fired the plasma cannons on
thirty four different targets.
Nobody said a word during the entire time. Everyone was aware that
I was wiping out quite a few innocent mortals together with the
demons. But their souls may heal after an eternity, to them it
wouldn't make much difference if they reincarnated after a hundred
years or a few thousand..... or so I told myself.
At least they would reincarnate, compared to those who were
thrown into the sphere.
After the last big concentration of demons was wiped out, I gave
orders for our warriors to go down and take care of the rest.
Then I deleted my changes to the plasma cannons and made sure
that they couldn't be restored. I don't feel comfortable with trusting
anyone else with this spell. It crushes mortals and gods alike. There
isn't much difference.

I left for my private quarters afterwards. In my room, I take out a

bottle of wine and fill a glass with the content. It's not like I am
mourning for the innocents, who were caught up in the crossfire. I
am a pragmatic person. What has to be done, has to be done. My
own people are my first priority, I would be doing a bad job as a king
otherwise.
It just leaves a bad aftertaste if I think about the future. I may have
to do it again. And what will the other powers do if they learn what
we are capable of.
Do they realize that this weapon would have made no difference
between a planet populated by gods and a world of mortals? I hope
not.
The door opens and Celes enters the room. I said good bye to
Evenguar. He thanked us for saving his world.
I arch an eyebrow. I wonder if he will still be of the same opinion,
when he becomes aware of the damage and the casualties.
He already knows that it doesn't look pretty at all. But he already
foresaw the end of his world. So this outcome is still better than his
apprehensions. Celes hugs me from behind and I pull her onto my
lap to embrace her.
We sit there in silence for a few minutes until I speak. I am still a
little mad that you didn't tell me about this new whirlwind, that's been
added to the family.
Like I said, I found out only recently and I am not sure if I should
have it. -Celes
What's the problem? I ask her with a surprised voice.
I have no idea who it will be. And having a random soul as a baby
creeps me out. Celes tenses up.

Aengus was like that too? I could search for a nice one? It should
be no problem, we did the same thing with Seria. I am a little
confused, but I won't force Celes into this.
Aengus was already there when it happened. And Seria was Sofie.
It's different. -Celes
I smirk at my wife. Why don't you ask Lada. She is still a little down
despite her new job. Or Enyo she would be a real baby because she
is completely wiped. We don't have any idea what to do with her
besides rehabilitation.
You creep me out! No way! Enyo is complete out of question! And
Lada is the president of the multiverse now! Celes goes stiff and
objects to my idea.
Well, you could ask her. It's not like she still couldn't do the job. And
she would get to be Seria's little sister. As for the time while she will
be a child, there should be a replacement. -Me
Celes elbows me into the side. I knew that you are useless in this
matter. This is a delicate field for a woman!
Hrm. Anyway. I humbly await the Queen's decision in this matter
until she decides to make one. You know, it's been a long time since
you sat on my lap. I didn't remember until now because you drugged
me, but I really like this.
I grab her chest with my right while I slip my left between her legs
and bite into her earlobe.
Hey! -Celes
What's wrong with it. I can't do any more harm than what's
already done. Or do you want to tell me that it would turn into
twins if we did a bit more. I pull Celes from behind into a tight
embrace.

hhgn! That's not the issue! Haah! Celes tries to get away but I
attack her weak spot, which is her neck.
I always wanted to try the cat costume on you! You know, the
one with the tail! I whisper into her ear while she starts to shudder
under my arms.
hhhhnn? Tail? no! Not that one! No you won't stick that
into..... I already have a tail! NOOOOoooo Celes tries to resist but I
already pull her onto the pathway to our wood house.

82 - Revelations and a
goddess's vacation?
This looks troublesome. Mawu comments our tactical map of the
multiverse on the table. There are several zones which are marked
red.
We are in Asheim and are holding a meeting regarding the new
appearances of the Spheres and demons. All ambassadors are
present including me.
There are many different opinions on how to represent the
multiverse. It's a little hard to make a map of different realities which
overlap with each other in some areas. I like the twisted spiral which
forms a circle with itself best.
It may be a very simplistic description of the multiverse, but it's the
easiest to point out a specific location in it. The whorls of the spiral
are different realities with different physical laws. Each representing
its own universe.
In some points they a folded into each other and in others they are
farther away. In reality the spiral doesn't form a circle, but it's more
like a knot. For this meeting, we chose this representation.
These Spheres pop up all over the place and cause havoc! My
community already had to deal with seven of those incidents! We
need to stop this! Miruliru foams of anger.
It's true. It's like those fuckers pull terrorist bombings at us. Just in
this case whole worlds go up in flames. Carne folds his hands
together.
They are trying to feed the Calamity. Chiffre tightens a bolt on his
mechanical arm.

Feed it? They didn't have to feed whole worlds to it until now!
Zanders inquires further.
They fed it with gods. Now they don't have that many gods available
and have to use the souls of mortals. I guess the Calamity is on a
pretty harsh diet right now. Otherwise they wouldn't go on a
rampage like that. Being that active increases their risk to be found
out. Chiffre continues his assessment and places a drop of oil on
the bolt.
So the Calamity could really starve if we destroy all spheres? Gwallona
It's a possible interpretation of the situation. I look at the ceiling
and purse my lips while I think.
By the way. I heard that you saved the planet of that little god who
begged you for help? How did you do that? We had to wipe our
planets completely and sort the souls from the demons! Miruliru
asks me the dreaded question.
I heard about that too! Give us that intelligence. It's needed at the
moment! Carne follows up and everyone gazes at me.
For various reasons the magic we used for that purpose is a secret
of mine. And a fortress like ours is needed for it. I would be of no
help to you. And our fortresses are already occupied with these
incidents. So it wouldn't change the situation. I put on a firm
expression.
Fortresses can be built. If one is needed to save a world from
demons, we shouldn't spare the effort to create them. -Chiffre
Explain your reasons. Miruliru tries to get a higher position in order
to make an impression, but fails because of her body.
I continue to stare at the map while I contemplate on how to handle

the situation.
You should place at least that much trust in us. Why don't you want
to share that magic? If you can't give us at least an explanation, this
group has failed its purpose. -Gwalonna
She has a point.
I decide to go with the truth. It's my personal magic. I developed it
long ago in order to kill myself. The magic is a disruption spell, which
interacts with all levels of reality. It minces everything to pieces, be it
physical or ethereal. It doesn't matter if the soul belongs to a mortal
or a god.
After a short silence I continue. I don't want it spread. I don't like
the idea of it being used like I used it. It's better not to use it at all.
Saving the planet of Evenguar was just a test to see if it works on
demons. I won't use it again unless the situation is dire.
Mawu leans back in his chair. I see. It would be a horrible weapon
against gods in the wrong hands.
But the test proved its value. How can we not take advantage of
something like that when whole planets are dying? -Carne
Can you promise me that the spell won't spread if Angrod gives you
the magic system for it? Miruliru looks at Carne but he shakes his
head.
Everything can be stolen at some point in the future if it's widely
enough spread. It would be foolish to give such a promise. -Carne
I am with Angrod in this. As long as it stays in his head, it's
relatively safe. The Chimeran's fortresses are also a relatively
secure place at the moment. I don't want some maniac to use that
magic in order to wipe one of our planets. Zanders takes my
position.

Just tell me. Why did you develop that spell? You said you intended
to kill yourself? Chiffre glares at me.
A long time ago I lost something very precious to me. And when I
realized that I wouldn't get it back, I wanted to end it once and for
all. I wanted to be sure to forget the endless cycle of hell I was
caught inside. I answer him.
But even if a soul is minced like that it's possible to restore it
relatively completely with some effort. -Chiffre
Not if nobody cares enough about you to do something like that. I
wasn't a god at that time. -Me
Impressive. Chiffre furrows his eyebrows at me.
Haaah. Where is Lada when you need her? The president should be
here for cases like this and give us her moral judgement of the
situation. Gwalonna complains loudly to us.
I was at her office earlier. But there was just this sheet of paper at
her desk. Seems like she really needed a time out after her time
with the Council. Miruliru throws a letter at the table and I start to
read.

Dear Children!
This old nanny of love and peace will go on a vacation!
Sorry for letting you guys down but I need a little
timeout. From what I've seen, you are doing it the right
way anyway.
But be careful not to loose the right path or I will have
to come back and haunt you! I have planned my
vacation to last for at least twenty years, so don't
bother looking for me!

You wouldn't guess where I went anyway, myahaha!

Sincerely yours,
Lada LOVE ME. HUG ME.

I am your ONLY one Goddess of Love and

Peace!
PS: Find someone else for this boring job!

Pearls of sweat are forming on my forehead as I read the letter.

They wouldn't have done that? It was a joke! A joke I say!
But the style of the letter looks so familiar! I can't help myself.....
Seria?
:.... so irresponsible! -Chiffre
..... Aw... and there I hoped we found the right one for this! I
wonder where she ran off to? -Gwalonna
Let her have her vacation. She could go for a few thousand years
too for all I care. Think about how long the Council ruled. Carne
waves his hand at the letter.
I guess it makes no sense to look for someone who is an eternity
ahead of us. I smile at the group.
I am very silent and compliant during the rest of the meeting. Trying
not to show that I want to jump up and run out of the room
immediately.
As soon as everyone is gone, I grab the letter and teleport towards
Celes's laboratory. I find her at a big machine with Seria tugging at
her skirt and Aengus looming in a corner of the room.
What's going on here? And has anyone seen Lada?
Aengus jumps up and runs towards me, hugging my leg. Dad! We
have to stay united! It's more important than ever! They are

multiplying!
What's multiplying? -Me
The little sisters! I am not against women! But four on two is unfair!
-Aengus
I walk towards Celes while pulling Aengus after me. Celes is looking
at the screen of her machine and continuously mumbles to herself
silently.
Not planned. It should be three. Not planned. It should be one boy. Not planned. I have to
recalculate everything. Not planned. The budgeting for the next thirty years! Not planned. So
much work! Not planned............

Honey? What are you doing? I smile at Celes, who is looking at an

ultrasonic scan with two little bodies.
Seria turns towards me with a wide grin on her face. Ah! Daddy!
Look! I will get two little sisters! She points at the screen. This
one is Lada! And we could call this one Arianne! But it's just a
suggestion, I don't know her so well. But I figure she will be a
nice little sister.
OW!OW!OW!OW! OWIE! I AM SORRY! I WON'T DO IT AGAIN!
MY EARLOBE WILL WEAR OUT! NO WORSE! IT WILL RIP
OFF!
Suddenly Celes grabbed Seria's ear with two fingers and actually
lifted her half a meter off the ground like something really dirty.
I WILL TEACH YOU! TO IMPLANT THE SOULS OF OTHER
PEOPLE INTO ME WITHOUT CONSENT! YOU DID IT WHILE I
SLEPT DIDN'T YOU!

PREPARE FOR HELL!

83 - A new perspective.
I think it's time for them to go to school. I continue to polish my
nails while I wait for Angrod's answer.
Do you really think that's necessary? They already know everything
that's important. And if they regain the rest of their memories....
Angrod answers me with a complicated face.
You are too soft on them. It will be good for them to be together
with others of their age. And the teachers there are doing nothing
else than helping children with too much knowledge. I smile at my
husband. Yes. They will go there and learn a little lesson.
KYAAA!

That sounds like you bribed the teachers there. Angrod scratches
his cheek.
I did nothing of the sort. I just met some old faces and gave them
detailed instructions on how to handle the situation. I smile a heart
warming smile while I think about the future.
You totally told them to be as strict as possible! Who is working
there!? -Angrod
Oh... people like Samarin, Jeniva and most important Tongrod! I
answer cheerfully
AAARRGH!

The raccoon geezer is still working as a teacher? .......Celes, don't

you think you are going a little overboard with this punishment? Angrod
NYAAA!

I bathe in another of Seria's screams. They are a little muffled

because she is in a soundproof room. But they are clearly audible.
No?
Those screams are disturbing! What did you do to her? Angrod
has a few pearls of sweat on his forehead and looks a little jumpy.
If you go and help her, you will be next! And by pulling that stunt on
me, Seria volunteered to test a new drug of mine. -Me
MYAHAHAAAAAA!

That sounds like it was a failure..... -Angrod

I think about it and answer. No. I tried to find something to stop the
pain during the metamorphosis-process. I didn't find anything. But I
found a drug which induces the phantom pains alone. I used it on
Seria while monitoring her brain waves. Maybe I will get a hint on
how to stop the pain.
You are using our daughter as a lab rat?! Angrod looks shocked at
me.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Seria lost all her advantages with me by pulling that stunt. From
now on she is on the short leash! And by assisting in this project, she
has at least a little value for the future of our society. I glare at
Angrod, but he looks away.
And why are you punishing Aengus too? -Angrod
It's a lesson to prevent future mistakes. If they both know that I will
punish them both for the mistakes of one, they will try to stop each
other from causing mischief. I nod at my words and give my
fingernails the last touch.
MAAAMAAA!

Yes! Perfect!
I see the logic behind that. Angrod stands up to leave the
laboratory.
Where are you going dear? -Me
Back to work. Those screams are disturbing. Angrod turns around
and vanishes.
I shrug my shoulders while I listen to the music of my educational
methods. If that won't teach them respect. Nothing will.
NyaHAAAAAA!

Maybe I should cover my hairpins with the drug? It seems to work

fine on gods......

Somewhere else on a nameless planet

Hihihihi. Mortals are surely stupid! You can play so many tricks on
them as a god.
Oh great Eris! Goddess! Tell us how to deal with these demons!
The knight bows down in front of my statue.
Dance the Hokey Pokey! Stand up, wiggle your butt, raise
your hands above your head, and shake them wildly as you
rotate 360 degrees. If you do this before each fight, no harm
shall befall you!
The knight gives the statue a dumbfounded look. Obviously he didn't
expect an answer. Yes! My Goddess! Thank you for answering my
prayers!
The knight stands up and rushes out of the cathedral. I go to my
knees while i laugh and crawl out from behind the big statue. Just

imaging him doing something like that makes me to hyperventilate.

Although the demons become a real bother as of late. I already
heard about the new powers trying to control the outbreaks.
Seriously! Lada was right in betraying the Council. I always knew
that the others had some serious mental issues which became
worse and worse over time.
I always had the Sphere in suspicion. Amaru, El Shaddai, Enyo and
Elohim were the ones who invested the most time in using the
cursed thing.
Spying on my fellow Council members was one of the few things I
did to kill time. I soon realized that the Sphere made the users
addicted somehow. So I refrained from using it.
If the information provided by the new powers is true, then the
Sphere was really at fault for the change in their behaviour.
My friends with whom I founded the Council were dead for a long
time without my knowledge. It's disturbing me a little that I never
found out.
I guess I have no right to call them friends if I didn't manage to
sense the change in them. I was always a loner anyway. I like it
much more to cause mischief and create trouble for others. So I am
not really liked by others.
I am the puppeteer behind the curtain. Never would I take up arms
myself. So I ran away when the rebels turned up.
Or Chimerans. I guess they aren't rebels any more.
While skipping happily towards the exit of the cathedral I warble a
little melody. It was a very fruitful day for me. I stirred up a war
between two kingdoms. I made a young couple of a prince and a
princess break up and I played that trick on the knight.

All in all you can say that I accomplished much today. I think I fulfilled
my duty as a goddess of strife and discord. Maybe I will use the rest
of the day to help someone, who is really hard working.
But it's hard to find people like that. It's much easier to break bonds
than to create them. As I leave the cathedral, I become aware of
fleeing people. They are all fleeing out of town in the same direction.
What's wrong? Why are you running? I stop an elderly guy and he
looks at me like I would be from the moon.
Haven't you heard? The demons are coming to the town! You better
run for your life too! He walks onward and leaves me behind.
Then I feel an aura of panic from behind me and I see smoke rising
from the city. A step through a pathway takes me towards the area
and I reappear on a battlefield.
No, battlefield is a too nice word for it. It's a one sided massacre as
spiked monsters are killing the city's guards and civilians alike. I get
an ominous feeling about this creatures. Did I end up at a world
which is attacked by the Council?
Then I become aware of the knight from earlier. He is dancing the
hokey pokey in front of a demon, which is looking at him with a
dumbfounded reaction. Obviously the demon has no idea how to
deal with a maniac.
Just when the demons starts to raise a claw in order to strike the
knight down I teleport and step in, sending the monster flying with a
flip of my hand. It's harder than expected.
The goddess appeared! You will save us from these creatures!
The knight falls to his knees behind me.
Just as I turn to the idiot a huge crystal fortress appears above the
city. It's beautiful and I look up in awe. I would have never imagined

to see one up close any time soon.

The Chimerans do have style. I doubt that any of the other powers
can represent themselves like that.
But suddenly a red maelstrom of energy leaves the fortress and I
realize that those guys mean business! A feeling of dread and
impending doom emanates from that red energy and I grab the
knight's collar and jump on a pathway with him in tow.
I already believe myself safe, when the pathway suddenly distorts
and falls to pieces. A sickening feeling befalls me and I erect a
barrier around the mortal, whose life would be likely lost otherwise.
Everything starts to turn upside down and I try to adjust myself. It's
in vain and I lose control. I enter reality again and fall hard into the
dirt.
Everything is still turning and the unconscious knight is lying beside
me. I get to my knees and see that I managed to get us out of the
city in the nick of time.
The city is a ravaged and a burning inferno. What's wrong with the
Chimerans? I thought they were the good guys! Doing something like
that to the mortals? Are the demons really such a threat?
I collapse back to the ground as a group of people appears around
us.
It's true. There really was a god inside the city.
She looks like someone from the wanted posters!
You are right! We will earn a big reward for this!
What's with the mortal?
Let him be. The area is safe now.
I get picked up by the strangers while I lose consciousness.....
***

A few hours later Sir Edward, the third from the family of Thornwind
awoke and looked at the ravaged city before him. Believing in the
goddess divine intervention, he became a firm believer in the
goddess Eris.
He started to travel the lands in order to spread the true faith.
Unnoticed by others, he was a powerful knight and didn't really need
the help of a god for his travels.
A few years later he should be known from close to far as the
Knight of the Hokey Pokey!......

84 - The Choice?
I wake up in a white place. It's just a white plane in all directions.
There is nobody there. Am I dead? For real? The great Eris died
because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time!? Fuck!
AAAHH!
While I scream my frustration into the nothingness, I wave my fists
at my fate. Is anybody here!?
I get no answer so I sit down to think about my situation. There were
the demons and that mortal. Then the crystal fortress shot this red
maelstrom at the city and I tried to run.
I used my power to shield the mortal. Could it be that it was a
mistake to save him? Should I have shielded myself?
What was wrong with me in that moment? Did I feel guilty that it was
my fault that he waved his ass at those monsters?
It's a waste of time to think about it. I can't change the past any
more. Just what the hell is this place?
After getting up I start walking. It feels like an eternity but I arrive
nowhere. There is just endless white.
Hours later I drop to my knees and start crying. Is this really the
end? Is that the retribution for my life as a Council member? If I had
known I would have tried harder to change something!
While crying, I fall asleep.
..
.

....Up!
*Splash!*
HIIIIIIIIIIIII! Gggurrrgle.... I awake as ice cold water hits me and I
am suddenly under water! I try to differentiate up from down and
swim upwards, reaching the surface with just two strokes.
I am inside a little pond! It can't be bigger than two square metres.
Around me is still the endless white plane.
After crawling out of the ice cold water I start to shiver. What's this
shit! Am I in hell? Will something unfortunate happen when I try to
sleep?
You are awake now?
I turn around and see a person behind me on the other side of the
pond. He has horns and golden snake eyes. They look creepy and
they give me the feeling that he isn't looking at me, but directly at my
soul!
I will take your stare as a yes and assume that you don't sleep
with open eyes.
The pond disappears and he sits down. Just as I assume that he will
fall on his ass a comfortable chair appears under him.
He stretches his legs and leans backwards with an apparent
relaxation in his face.
Aaah. I guess this will take a while. So where should we
start?
How about what happened and who you are? And where am I? I
glare at the supposed master of this endless plane.

Hmm. Well I guess it won't hurt. I will stay civilised as long as

you answer my questions. I will give you those answers as a free
bonus.
You are Eris, a Council member. You were in a city which was
attacked by demons. One of our fortresses showed up and cleaned
the menace up. You were caught in the crossfire and heavily
wounded.
Your body and your soul. Fortunately or unfortunately for you my
men became aware of your presence when you tried to avoid the
attack by using a pathway. He scratches his cheek while thinking.
Then he takes a breath and continues. They picked you up and
brought you to me. My name is Angrod and I am the king of
Chimera. Unfortunately for you, I have to inform you that your body
was damaged beyond help. But I was able to repair your soul. And
now you are here. This is something like my personal soul space. It's
similar to the river of souls.
Shit. I was caught. How is this possible? If my soul is all right, why
is my body dead? Repair it and put me back inside!
That's not possible. A body has something like astral connection
points to create a connection with its soul. My magic attacks all
levels of existence. Though the physical world is affected less
strongly, the astral plane is damaged very heavily. I don't know how
to repair the damage to your body. You will have to reincarnate. Angrod
I bite into my lip at his words. If he is telling the truth, I am fucked
and at his mercy.
Now tell me everything you know about the Council, the Spheres,
where you hide. ~Everything~ He looks straight into my eyes and it
sends shivers down my spine.
But I wont give up that easily! Why should I cooperate with you!? I
have no guarantees that you will let me go.

Oh? But you will cooperate. This whole place exists for
cooperation. If you don't talk you will get a new perspective on the
word ~pain~. A long row of torture instruments appears to his left.
It stretches to the horizon until I loose sight of it. I see everything I
can imagine. From an iron maiden to things I never even heard of,
nor can I imagine how they are used!
And if you still won't talk... then we will work on the word
~humiliation~. A row of BDSM toys and strange costumes
appears to his left. He looks at me with a smug grin.
This pervert! Never! B...B... Bastard! I jump at him and swing my
fist into his face with all my might. He doesn't even twitch as it
impacts.
I feel my fingers breaking at the impact! It's like I just hit solid steel
without any help of magic and with a simple mortal body.
*~~THUNDER~~*
While I stare shocked at my broken fingers and realize that my
powers are gone, a thunderbolt strikes at my position out of the
white sky. It came out of nowhere!
I am flung into the air and hit the ground hard. While trying to get up,
I realize that my leg is bend in an unnatural way. And my skin is
charred and burnt. It's hurts! Oh it hurts so much! I look with an open
mouth at Angrod in his chair.
He sighs. I think I already told you that this is my personal space.
My word is absolute here. You are nothing. If I wish it you burn. If I
wish it you drown. If I wish it you die a thousand deaths while I have
a nice evening with my family. So why don't we try this anew?
Suddenly I am across from him in a chair and a table with tea and
cookies is between us. I check my body, but everything is fine. I am
unhurt and my clothes are back in their original state.

You see. I gave Tjenemit this chance too and he didn't take it. It had
something to do with his pride. But believe me, if I tell you that you
will talk anyway sooner or later. He takes a cup of tea and a
cookie. Then he places them before me.
This guy isn't right in his head! B... B... But it will take you time. And
you will never be completely sure if I don't withhold information!
He tilts his head. Oh, they all talk. And they talk about everything.
But you are right that it's less troublesome if you talk on your own.
Then.... you will give me benefits if I tell you everything on my own!
I have to get a deal out of this somehow!
Hm. What benefits? -Angrod
I want to reincarnate into a new body without being tampered with.
Then I want to walk my own path. I look him into the eyes and hold
the contact. It's hard with those eyes but I manage it.
You are a wanted criminal throughout the multiverse. Even if I did
that. The other powers would get you sooner or later. I could give
you a mortal life without your memories. El Shaddai got that too. He
takes a sip from his tea.
El Shaddai? How is he doing? Where is he? I sit up straighter.
She is doing fine. No problems. He smiles at me.
She.... Oh no... I don't want this pervert to tamper with my
reincarnation!!!!!!!
I want to keep my memories. I didn't have anything to do with the
demons! The rest of the Council got influenced by the Sphere! I
realize that now! But I am not involved in this demon and soul eater
business! I really didn't know!

Hm. If that's true. What help are you to me? His tone became
dangerous and I remember a few of the rumours I heard out of
Asheim!
I know locations! Places the others always went to. Hideouts,
personal places and habits! I know way more than Tjenemit! I often
trailed them when they didn't look. Otherwise I couldn't do my job as
goddess of strife and discord. A few anxious moments without
answer follow.
Why where you in that city with the demons. -Angrod
It was pure coincidence. I planned to go into hiding and lay low. I
didn't want to be involved because I always work from behind the
curtains! But my habits got the better of me. I started to tamper with
that world. I didn't talk much to other gods in fear that they would
recognize me. And then I was in that city when the demon attack
came and your fortress appeared! It was pure bad luck on my side!
Better I talk than getting fried by lightning bolts!
And why did you save that mortal? -Angrod
Why is he asking such stupid questions? Isn't he interested in the
location of the Council? I... I don't really know. It was kind of my
fault that he was there and tried to fight the demons. And then that
red maelstrom came down from your fortress. I didn't think and just
grabbed him. And then I shielded him instead of me. I look down
onto the table.
Why? -Angrod
For no reason! I had no time to think! I stare at him with defiant
eyes.
He furrows his eyebrows and puts his legs on another chair, which
appeared out of nowhere. Then he waves for me to continue.
I talk to him about everything, while I drink tea and eat the cookies

which for some reason don't lessen, but reappear after some time.
They are really good...... especially the ones with chocolate flavour.
It feels like I told him my entire life story and everything I knew about
the Council.
After hours I stop talking. I don't know what else to say.
Hm. I can't let you go completely unscathed. Even though you
cooperated and gave some valuable information. It was just plain
unlucky for you to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. But such
are the workings of the multiverse. He takes a cookie and eats it.
I sink back into my chair and start brooding. So my gamble was for
naught.
Do you want to join my society? -Angrod
Huh? I look at him with the most dumbfounded expression ever.
You will reincarnate, but your memories will be sealed until you are
eighteen. That will result in a new personality and a new life. And a
new family. You will still be a god instead of a mortal. That's the best
I am willing to offer you under the circumstances. Angrod looks into
the white sky.
Um. It could be worse I think? I have heard a little about the
Chimeran society. There could be a lot worse fates than that. Like
the one El Shaddai got! I shudder. I accept!
Angrod smiles at me with a devilish grin. Good. Welcome to the
family! My ~darling daughter~.
Daug...
But suddenly everything goes dark and I fall into a dark abyss
without being able to ask for an explanation!
Why does it feel like I just made a very bad decision!? Why does it
feel like I enlisted for a one way ticket to hell!!!!!

85 - I want more children!

I walk at a brisk pace towards Celes's laboratory. She had
barricaded herself inside it since she discovered that we would have
twins.
While I walk, I hum a little song and balance Eris's soul marble on
my fingertip. It will be hard to convince Celes.
But I was moved and a little amused when Eris told me her life story.
She isn't a bad person at heart. Just a little cowardly! Although she
got very far by manipulating people. That's a very valuable skill for
managing a kingdom.
As I arrive, I open the door and take a look inside. The room is a
little dark and Celes is kneeling on the floor inside a mountain of
papers. She just has a little desk-light at her disposal.
I sigh and switch the lights on. Honey!
What? I have to recalculate this! Celes grumbles at me.
Look! I found a very valuable soul! Could we have triplets instead of
twins? -Me
Celes scratches with her pen across the sheet of paper and tears it
apart. Then she looks at me with an angry expression. What's this
nonsense?
Um... like I said. I want this one as a child. I smile at her and hold
the soul marble before her.
Do I look like a breeding oven to you? Celes looks at me like I
would be scum. Who is that by the way?
A nice girl. -Me

No. I won't recalculate this again! -Celes

Then how about exchanging her for this Arianne? -Me
NO! Celes kicks my knee and I almost drop the marble.
Oi! Careful! I almost dropped her. Come on. I will do something for
you. How about you get to be in charge of the bedroom activities for
the next month? We will only do stuff you like. I grin at her.
Celes already turned back to her work but now she freezes for a
moment. No second tail? No cat costume? Celes arches an
eyebrow at me.
Ugh! It will be hard but I guess... No second tail.
No tail ever again and I will consider it! Celes crosses her arms
before her chest.
What!? No. Not never again! I can't bear that! You are so cute in
that costume! Nooo! I can't make this deal! Sorry Eris. Can we still
use it at special occasions?
OK! Very Rarely. On very special occasions! Celes snaps the
marble out my hand like sealing the deal.
Ugh! I didn't agree yet! I need more time to think about this!
So who is it? Celes ignores me.
I pound my fists together. Well it could have become worse if she
knew beforehand. Okay. It's a deal. It's Eris.
WHAT! Celes holds the marble towards me like something dirty.
But I step backwards. Sealed Deal! No return rights included!

Celes forms a fist around the marble. And her expression twists into
something evil. Fine! You wanted it! She turns around and walks
towards a close table. After grabbing a big mean syringe with an
absurdly big needle and a bottle, she turns around and comes back
into my direction.
!!What's That!! I take two steps backwards an Celes stops in
front of me.
Come on! Even you aren't as clueless as that about biology. The
other two are already a little too big for it to work the natural way.
We have to help nature a bit. And for that I need the raw materials!
Celes starts to clean the syringe with the clear substance inside the
bottle.
Noooo...nonono! You won't stab that into my b... Suddenly Celes
jumps at me and I jump backwards.
Kyaaaa!
I turn and run! This wasn't such a good idea after all! But something
grabs my foot and I fall flat on my belly. By turning around, I realize
that Celes got me with her tail! I try to claw my fingers into the
ground while I get dragged back into her direction but it doesn't
work! Damn crystal floor!
Men are such whimps! How did you think how this would work? If I
have to get them out with this method, you will suffer the same! And
what was that scream again!? Celes has the needle ready now.
I get to my knees and hug her around her waist with tears in my
eyes. You won honey! No tail! Not even on special occasions! Just
get what you need the natural way!
Celes sighs and pats my head. I know how much you like those
plays. I really would like to change our agreement. But a deal is a
deal. Trust me. In the long run, this will hurt me more than you.

***

.
....

KYAAAAAAA!
....
.

Did you hear that Seria? -Aengus

Yeah, sounded like it came out of mom's laboratory. -Seria
Something could have happened to her! We should take a look. Aengus
But Seria grabs him and holds him back. NO! Are you insane! She
is still edgy because she has to recalculate everything! She is a
control maniac. What if she wants to relieve her stress by testing
drugs on us!?
..... You are right. She is pregnant and her emotions are going wild.
She is probably just frustrated. No good reason to take a risk by
looking after her. Aengus nods with a relived expression and returns
to his duties.
And we need to get those calculations for the next year done!
Otherwise she will lynch us! So type faster! Seria urges her brother
to continue and he nods with pearls of sweat forming on his
forehead.
***
I have been defiled! It wasn't supposed to turn out like this! What did
I think I was doing!? I will never get it up again. I never would have
imagined that I would make another traumatic experience at my age.

The Razor Claws were bad enough! Now it's needles!

Come on Angrod! You have been brooding in that corner for two
hours now! It wasn't that bad! And you already used healing magic
several times. It won't get healer than healed! Celes is done with
her work.
You have no idea! This isn't a physical issue, but a mental one! You
can't just stab that into.... Oh god! Just by thinking about it,
everything starts to turn.
~Little One!~ Turn around and look. Just once! -Celes
No! I can't look at that horrible tool! It's too cruel! I don't even have
something like that in my arsenal of torture instruments!
I hear a sigh from Celes and suddenly I feel her hugging me from
behind with something soft on my head.
~I thought I would heal your Little One in another way.~
I look around and realize that Celes is in a tight fitting nurse outfit.
Wow!
~Doesn't this fit the occasion?~
My Goddess! I hug her and draw her into a kiss while we tumble
to the ground. She locks her legs around me and starts to giggle.
~Look I have a new variant of the aphrodisiac.~ Suddenly she
has another syringe in her hand. I grab it and throw it as far away as
possible.
I don't need that! Then I teleport us to our wood house. Just
away from this cursed laboratory!

On another world a few years later

Sharid! I can't believe you are doing this to me! What will become of
our family business! Mother bugs me since I started packing.
It's enough mom! I am going! You have my two little sisters as heirs
anyway. I have to travel and find myself! I need to find out why this
god cursed me! I won't become weak now! I have trained my body
and my mind until I bled! Nobody can stop me from this journey!
But it isn't a curse! It's a blessing! Your sisters are nowhere as
talented as you! The income goes up just because you look out of
the window! Mother doesn't want to realize my issues.
It's good that my power surpasses hers by now. She would stop me
with force otherwise. I am gone now! Bye, Mom. Thank you for
everything. I will stop by once in a while!
Shariiid! Mom hugs me but I don't let my heart waver. Be careful
on the road. And remember... a good kick between the legs sends
every pervert to heaven!
Then I bend down to my two little sisters and hug them too.
Bring me something from far away! I want a present too! Come
back fast! I love both of them, but that doesn't change my feelings
of unrest.
With that I nod to them and draw a hood over my head and put on
the big trenchcoat. It's the only way possible for me to move around
in public.
Otherwise I am permanently ogled by perverts and followed by
stalkers! These abilities of mine are a curse!
I sneak with tears in my eyes outside the city and set off on the road
to the north. From a few travellers I heard about a famous magical

academy!
Maybe they know something about gods and their curses! I will
research this matter with all my might!
I am just sixteen and had already more marriage proposals than I
can count! If I ever meet that pervert god face to face I will kill him! I
will rip out the thing between his legs and feed it to him!
With a grim determination I walk along the road at a steady pace.
~~Nyahahaha! Just wait pervert god! I will climb the ranks to
the top and then you will take this curse off of me!~~
A few merchants on the road turn mesmerized into my direction.
SHIT! I start to run while a hoard of merchants and other travelers
chase me.
~~DAMN! SIREN'S VOICE! I HATE THIS FUCKING ABILITY!!~~

86 - Searching and a damsel in

distress!
So it's decided. We will start to investigate all those locations and
determine if we can find a trace of the Council. Miruliru nods with a
satisfied expression.
And you are sure that Eris told you the truth? Carne grumbles while
he is flipping through a stash of papers.
Sure as much as it's possible. I kept Eris close just in case. I smile
at the group at the table. We are in Asheim to talk about our future
actions.
You kept her close? Don't tell me you did something unreasonable
like with El Shaddai! -Chiffre
Nonono. It's nothing like that. You don't have to worry. I keep
smiling. Hmmm. But the talks about El Shaddai remind me of
something.
It feels like I forgot something. Hmmm.
I see, you don't want to tell. Well it's the same in any case.
Gwalonna shrugs her shoulders.
We will check all locations within our territories and report back as
soon as we find something. Zanders nods at the group and
vanishes.
One after the other, the rest leaves too until I am alone in the room.
Hah. It still feels like I forgot something.
Whatever. I will remember it sometime. While I hum a tune, I step
onto a pathway to take a look at our newest project.

I reappear on a panorama platform above Chimera. To be more

exact it's on the moon. To deal with the rapid appearance of new
Spheres, we decided to massively invest in our fleet of flying
fortresses.
By stepping closer to the big window, I get a good view on a long
row of crystalline ships. Well I will call those things ships. They are
smaller than the fortresses with long and sleek forms.
We decided to do it that way because they are easier to build. Or
grow in this case. And using a whole fortress is serious overkill to
deal with small incidents.
The other powers don't have something like that yet. But they are
playing with the thought. The Arcane Community already launched a
few of their prototypes.
The fortresses and ships offer protection if nothing else. It's not that
easy to crack open a crystal armoured shell. And in case of fights,
they are perfect rally points of strategic value.
I see you came to take a look at my work. Margerie's voice
reaches me from behind.
I turn around and smile while hugging her. I got curious how far your
project has evolved.
The first few ships will fly within the next month. We concentrated
all our efforts in developing the moon as a shipyard so far. If we face
no unforeseen problems, we will start to finish a ship every three
days. Margerie smiles proudly while she crosses both her fingers in
front of her.
I arch my eyebrows. That's more than I bargained for. Do we even
have enough people to man them?
They have smaller crews than the fortresses and there are many
security features to the systems. We could even lend them to the

other powers if we run out of personnel. Of course only in exchange

for a little fee. -Margerie
I smile wryly at her. I wouldn't be too confident that guys like the
Arcane Community wouldn't be able to work around those security
features. They have some very crafty people.
Margerie snorts at that comment. I doubt that they would have the
guts to dabble with my security features. I linked any security breach
directly to a complete energy conversion.
Energy Conversion?-Me
The mana which makes up the mana crystal will completely convert
directly into energy, if a foreign power would take control of the
vessel. -Margerie
ARE YOU INSANE!? IT WILL BLOW THE WHOLE SOLAR
SYSTEM APART! I scream up. That's dangerous! Never release
the energy of a mana crystal uncontrolled!
MUAHAHA! It will be fine! It's all within my calculations. Half of
the mana will be spent to create barriers. The destruction will be
restricted to a small space around the vessel. Margerie pats my
shoulder with a confident smile.
I still haven't a good feeling about something like this above
Chimera. -Me
I keep talking to Margerie about her security measures for half an
hour until I feel relatively assured about the safety of this project.
Afterwards I set out to get back to my family for dinner. It became a
custom for the whole family to eat together at least once a week
long ago.
I reappear inside the dining room where Celes is already waiting
with the kids. Arthur, Katrine and Ireth are there too. Just Nicosar is

missing?
I sit down at the table. Where is the geezer?
Nicosar took one of the fortresses to investigate possible hideouts
of the Council. Ireth gives me the short version.
He could have let others do such a boring job. Checking out all the
places someone could hide within the multiverse is a hideously
boring task. Even if you can move at instant speed from one location
to another.
Well. He could have taken the time and came here for dinner at
least. -Me
You know him. If he is on a task, he doesn't stop until it's
accomplished. -Arthur
Dear. I wondered lately. But have you released Tjenemit like we
decided? Celes asks me while Rose serves her a plate of food.
I hit my fist into my open palm! That's IT! I knew I forgot
something! I grab the globe out of my pocket. I carried it around for
so long! It felt completely natural to have it in my pocket and
somehow I forgot about it's existence.
LIIIGHT! THE LIGHT IS BACK! AT LAST THE DARKNESS IS GONE! THE GREAT DIVINE MASTER
FINALLY DECIDED TO.....

I grin at the Tjenemit globe. Somehow I don't want to give it away.

This little gabble is very amusing, and relaxing too. It's a real
treasure trove of entertainment.
Suddenly the globe gets snatched out of my hand! HEY!
That expression on your face was creepy! I will deal with this.
You are obviously too reluctant to throw used and old stuff
away! Ireth glares at me.

While trying to object, my words get stuck in my throat. I can't go

against mother. What's wrong me!? I am the King and I can't go
against my mother! I have to stand up against this!
Yes, mother.
Damn! I wanted to say no! I will never get rid of this conditioning!

In another world, at another time

Nyaaa! This is the worst outcome ever! My journey to glory and
salvation! I only got halfway to the north when slave traders
captured me!
Now I will be most likely sold as a lust slave! I wanna cry! Stupid life!
Stupid curse! Stupid chains!
*Kick*

*Kick* *Kick*

Miss! You are going to draw the slaver's attention. The little girl
beside me is chained to the same tree as me.
The slavers started a camp when night fell. There are twenty of
them and about fifteen slaves. Mostly women and small children.
I heard that they are from a nearby village. The slavers attacked it
while the capable men were on a hunt. While plundering everything,
they captured everyone who couldn't run fast enough.
Who cares! They will do horrible things to us. Does it matter if it
happens sooner or later? I grumble at the little girl.
You are a gloomy one, Miss. Why don't we hope for the best and
trust in our abilities and the gods? The little girl smiles at me.
I start to chuckle. Abilities and gods? Curse them all! I was on a
journey to get rid of my abilities! And gods? The only thing I received

from them so far are curses! I spit on the ground to make a point.
It looks like you had a hard life until now Miss. Care to tell me about
it? Maybe I can help? The little girl sits cross-legged besides me
and pats my shoulder.
You are a little girl! Younger than me! How old are you? Twelve?
Thirteen? How do you want to help me? You can't even imagine
what I went through! I snap at the girl for no good reason. I just
want to vent my anger!
How could I have been so stupid to believe that I would manage
such a journey alone! The world is much different from a town.
I may not look like it but I lived in a monastery and received the best
schooling possible from the monks. They thought I was too cute to
be left on the streets. I read many books in my short life. So if you
tell me your story, I may be able to lend a few wise words. -little girl
I sigh. My story isn't worth telling.
I want to judge that by myself. And we have nothing better to do. little girl
After a few seconds I conclude that I can't do anything else anyway.
So I tell her about my life as the heir of the biggest whore-house in
town. And about the curse by that pervert god!
How I couldn't even leave the house without cloaking myself. I would
be hunted by hoards of morons in no time otherwise.
Never being able to talk to the opposite gender normally. They would
always get charmed by my eyes or my voice.
And how I made up my resolve to search for a cure and trained my
ass off. But I never found any clue about the gods who were
involved in my curse besides the local deity of our city. But the deity
didn't matter anyway. Her meddling didn't affect me.

Then I made my resolve to travel and search around the world for
answers. Just to find out that I was easy prey for a few slavers with
ropes and sticks! I was lucky that they didn't rape me on the spot.
When I am done, I look gloomy to the fire a few metres away. Aaah.
It surely has to be warm there.
You are a stupid little damsel Miss. To think that you lived your live
like that until now is truly hilarious. The little girl chuckles and insults
me.
What? How dare you to say something like that? I hiss at her.
Miss. You lived your entire life without ever trying to control your
powers or using them to your advantage. You just bathe in your own
unluckiness and pity yourself. -little girl
I open my mouth with a shocked expression. Is that her wise
advise?
Miss. After hearing your story, you only complained about the gods.
The gods are unfair and cruel. But in fact you got blessed by two
gods and cursed by one. Two greater ones at that and one lesser
are involved in your fate. The girl tilts her head at me.
Do... Do you know anything about Angrod and Miruliru? I try to
crawl closer to the girl, but the chains stop me.
Hmm. Let's see. Angrod is the god-king of the Realm of Chimera.
Your soul seems to be under his jurisdiction. If I remember right he is
a very very powerful being, although he isn't widely known because
he normally doesn't concern himself with mortal beings. He is a god
of magic and change.
The girl takes a breath.
Miruliru is a benevolent and nice goddess. She is wise and helpful.
And very kind. She is a goddess of faith and determination. You

should thank her. Obviously you did something very nasty in your
previous life for Angrod to play with your soul like that. But Miruliru
took pity on you and averted the worst. Imagine your life if your mind
would have been male? The little girl chuckles at me.
My mind still isn't functioning after she started to talk about the gods.
You know how I can get rid of those curses?
The girl shakes her head. Idiot. Didn't you listen? Angrod is a king
among gods. A magical being beyond imagination. And he dabbled
with your soul very very thoroughly. I doubt that all the gods of this
world together could take those curses off of you. Miruliru is a very
strong god too and she could just help a little.
I let my head fall. My hope is gone. My dreams. All futile..... then the
girl kicks me. Ow!
Don't let your head fall! That's your problem! You just accept your
abilities as curses but they are more! They are given by a divine
being and you got a list of them, longer than most mortals besides
heroes could ever imagine! Use them! Learn to control them! Try it!
Call one of those slave traders and tell him to loosen the chains and
let us go! -little girl
What are you saying? They would be idiots to do that. -Me
The little girl snorts at me. If your mind is locked in a cage like that
you may deserve your fate. Don't you have an ability to change your
fate? Use it! Use Angrod's powers! They came from the king of
gods! They are bound to be powerful!
I think about it for a second and then I decide to try it. Maybe she is
right and I looked at this from the wrong direction.
~~~Hello? Guys? I am so alone here. Doesn't anyone of you
want to come over here and talk?~~~
Four of the slavers actually get up and come into our direction.

Damn! I just needed one of you! Don't come here with your friends!
Look! The Cutie is feeling lonely. Maybe we should entertain her a
little? A fat slaver starts to scratch his crotch while standing before
us.
No! I will take her alone! A fine girl like that isn't meant for fatsos
like you. Another not really handsome skinny slaver insults his
colleague.
What did you say? -fat slaver
The others just stare at me with lecherous eyes.
~~~Uuum. I guess if you would prove me your worthiness, I
could show you heaven? I like strong men!~~~
I will show you! Suddenly Skinny draws a dagger and slits Fatso's
throat.
I watch in horror as the blood sprays everywhere. Skinny must have
hit an artery. I have never seen someone killed before!
~~~KyAAAA!~~~
I scream in horror as the fat slaver collapses before me and all
slavers jump up at my scream. Another guy stabs Skinny from
behind while the fourth draws his sword.
The other slavers reach the combatant's and try to stop them but
one thing leads to another while someone gets shoved and stumbles
into his own sword!
~~~AAAAIIIIIIII!~~~
I scream with all my might and tears in my eyes! Why are they doing
this!?

A wild close quarters combat breaks out with everyone against

everyone! I don't even understand why they suddenly start to fight
each other after taking a look at my horrified face.
Seconds later everything is over and a field of corpses is before me.
Oh gods! So much blood! Oh gods! They killed each other!
The other slaves watched in silent horror, as the scene unfolds
before their eyes.
I said you should call -one- of them over. Not start a fucking
slaughterhouse! -little girl
I shake my head while I look horrified at her. How should I know
that this would happen! I look back to the corpses which are lying
close to us. But still too far away! How should we get the keys
now!? Did I kill us?
The little girl takes a deep sigh. Well. At least you finally saw
what you are capable of. Maybe you will learn from this and
start to look at your powers in another light. Guiding mortals
sure is rough. I will give you a little bonus since you are just a
young dumb damsel in distress for now.
Huh? Her voice and her aura changed? Something heavy is in the air
and it's hard for me to breathe. It feels like something far bigger than
me is all around us.
The little girl stands up while her chains suddenly melt and pearl off
her skin like water. A nice cute dress instead of the rags appears on
her and she starts to skip towards one of the corpses.
I think that was the leader. The girl grabs a set of keys from his belt
and throws them before me on the ground.
Don't forget to offer some prayers to the gods from time to
time. Especially towards ME! I will be mad otherwise! Helping
someone twice without a thanks isn't my style.

I look up, but the little girl is gone.

Miruliru?
As if to confirm my question, my handcuffs suddenly click open and
fall to the ground.
Smart mortal! Try to get a grip on your -blessings- until we
meet again.

87 - Things to find out and stuff

to hide?
It's been a few months, but we finally found a clue on the rest of the
Council. One of Eris's hints led us to the right location.
I arch an eyebrow while I look at the planet under us. It's one big
factory in fact. And it's producing nothing but those hideous Spheres!
When we entered the system with everything we got, we met heavy
resistance. All of the bigger societies immediately dispatched a force
to deal with this threat.
It wouldn't be an understatement if I call our reaction overkill. From
our side, we invested the Nomad and twelve of the new ships. The
other forces sent troops and the Arcane Community actually came
with a fucking moon!
They converted a whole moon into a giant ship. Chiffre commented
that the crystal technology is very useful, but it's still more efficient to
bring the best source of mana directly with you. And that's a planets
core.
I just frowned at this logic.
Right now we are bombarding the hell out of the planet while trying
to keep it intact as much as possible.
The moon of the Arcane Community is actually doing the most work
by launching a steady stream of magical energy at the planet which
results in earthquakes and rising temperatures. I never saw boiling
oceans before....
Good that the planet wasn't colonized by mortals.

We are detecting that someone is trying to use a pathway in order

to escape! A technician informs me.
Location? -Me
They are on the central continent. -Technician
I nod. Inform the other powers and get someone down there. I want
them captured for interrogation.
An officer nods and gives the required orders. I turn back to the
screen and continue to watch the scene.
To think that they have something like this and use it for building
Spheres? Please give me an estimation on how many Spheres they
were able to create on this world until now. -Me
By assuming that every one of those facilities on the ground can
produce a handful of Spheres a day...... several million Spheres.....
of course just if they started their production since they went into
hiding. -Technician
I massage my temples. There were far too few incidents compared
to the number of Spheres they create every day! Are they placing
them on different planets to wait for an activation signal!?
Sir. If they have these numbers of Spheres and each of them is on
it's own planet we wouldn't be able to contain this. Even with all our
forces combined together. -Officer
I close my eyes. Do we have any idea how they could be
activated?
I don..... Sir. The team on the surface encountered problems. There
is a very strong individual down there. -Officer
After grabbing my staff, I stand up. Send me down.

Seriously. I still have to do everything by myself. The world shifts

around me again. I reappear on a barren wasteland with craters and
a mountain range in the distance.
Above me is the moving moon of the Arcane Community shimmering
in a blue light. It's clearly visible because it's so close to the planet.
There are destroyed facilities everywhere. Just in the nick of time I
realize that something is flying into my direction and I duck.
I get an after-image of Carne's face with the imprint of a fist and
then the something is past me and impacts a little further behind me.
A gust of wind blows over me and covers me in dust.
Look! The king of gods pays us a visit. An elf-like figure with plants
sprouting from everywhere greets me. Such a creepy fellow. His
look fits for Elohim.
I see that you showed Carne the power of your fists? I smile at the
figure while I take a look around. There are quite a few soldiers and
warriors from different factions around here.
Right off the bat, I recognize my own people, a few guys from
Carne, and a few of Zanders's people. There are also quite a few
guys who belonged to the Council.
They are all on the ground and don't move. Carne and Elohim were
the last two standing? Looks like I am coming late for the party.
You worms are nothing to me! I shouldn't even recognize you as dirt
on my feet! The only thing you are good for, is to be fed to the great
almighty lord! Elohim lifts his arms like in a prayer and smiles at me.
This fellow has a few screws loose.... is he brainwashed like the
others? Most likely. I guess wasting time to talk to him isn't worth the
effort. I lift my arm at Elohim and bolts of pure energy leash out at
him.
But his aura diverts the energy and I stop the attack. It's pointless to

continue an attack which your enemy has a defence against.

Kukuku..... Do you realize my power now worm? Elohim starts to
walk with confident steps into my direction.
I guess it's futile to hold back against him. There is nobody living
here, so who cares? I thrust my open palm towards him but he
twitches suddenly and rolls off to the side.
A mountain behind him is blown to pieces. Tch! How annoying! The
stupid bugger has survival instincts!
Elohim turns around to take a look at the wasted mountain. You
aren't as concerned about this world as the others. He turns back
towards me and smiles creepily.
Why should I? I wave my hand again and a shimmering disk of light
shoots towards Elohim, but he disappears before the disc hits him.
He appears directly in front of me and I erect a barrier in order to
protect myself.
Elohim touches the barrier with his left and sparks of energy skim
over the thin layer between me and him.
He starts to grin while a few cracks appear in my shield. That's a
commendable spell. Do you power it with this staff? But it will be no
problem. Soon it will break and then I will take your soul to offer it to
the lord.
Elohim is strong. I never would have imagined that a god could put a
few cracks in my barrier. I am using a sizeable amount of my power
in order to maintain it and another big portion comes from my staff,
which is charged to the maximum. But I also feel that his soul is
strange. His whole aura is strange. A single god shouldn't have that
much power.....
What are you planning to do with those Spheres? I try to smile at

him while he doubles his efforts and the cracks in my barrier spread
further.
Isn't it obvious? We will activate the Spheres and they will consume
everything within the multiverse. All will be one with the great lord!
Now a few drops of sweat appear on his face.
How is this possible? This barrier should be gone by now!
I grin at Elohim. You are not the only one with cheats. I already
realized that you are using multiple soul-spaces. Whom did you eat?
Elohim doesn't answer but licks over his lips. Yes. Definitely a
creepy fellow. I guess even with my staff I can't hold the status quo
forever.

*Z ZZZZ

IIZZZZZzzzzzz*

A disk of light suddenly whisks through between us. Elohim looks

after the disk, which slowly disappears in the distance.
I frown while I look into the same direction. It finally decided to
come back! But it had bad aim. I will have to change the spell a bit.
It's a little embarrassing. Looks like I messed up the aiming function
of -highest above the earth- with -closest to me-.
*Thud*
Elohim's left arm got severed in the middle of his forearm. It dropped
to the ground with a sad noise. Elohim looks with big round eyes at
the bleeding stump of an arm.
That looks nasty. You should take care of it. I grin at Elohim.
Suddenly something hits Elohim from behind and his face smooches
onto my barrier while sparks of energy start to sizzle Elohim's face
into a brown and crispy mass.
Now I realize that Carne came back from the dead and used his

chance to grab Elohim's head from behind. He is pressing the poor

guy against my barrier.
Elohim is twitching and trying to get out of Carnes grasp. But it looks
like it's futile. Carne is too strong!
You got back from the dead! Nice one! But why are you suddenly
so strong? I wouldn't have come down here if I knew that you were
holding back. I greet Carne with a cheerful voice.
Shut up! It's my ability! As long as I can keep physical contact with
someone I can switch powers with them. The fucker just didn't give
me an opening to grab him until now! Carne smacks Elohim
repeatedly with an angry expression into my barrier.
*WHAM!*

And the sucker!

*WHAM!*

Ruined!
*WHAM!*
My!
*WHAM!*
Beautiful!

*WHAM!*
Face!

*WHAM!*
My barrier breaks and I jump backwards in order to avoid being
sullied by the bloody lump of flesh dangling from Carne's hand.
Wow! I didn't realize that Carne is such a beauty fanatic. I guess it's
important if you have a harem like him? Even though he looks just
average. That's interesting! That means that right now you are as
strong as him and he is as strong as you? Bwahahaha! I start to
laugh.
What's so funny!? Carne glares at me.

You are actually really weak Carne, aren't you? For someone like
that to be the leader of a big society.... I smack my thigh while I
almost go to my knees.
So what!? I am the strongest while being the weakest! I just have to
grab my opponent! And if you don't stop laughing I will pay you back
for what you did to me! Five kids! One night and I will have to deal
with five kids for at least a decade or two! I should do some really
horrible things to you! -Carne
Now I really fall to my knees and laugh while Carne shakes his fist at
me.
ARRGH! DAMN! Carne throws Elohim into the sky during a
moment of pure outrage.
*WRROOOOM*
The Council member disappears at an unbelievable speed and a
shockwave flattens our surroundings. I cling to the ground in order to
not being blown away.
The air calms down and I look up. "Hey! We still need him as a
prisoner! You can't throw him into the orbit!"
Ups. -Carne
I stopped laughing while I looked upwards. Above us is the moving
moon of the Arcane Community. Everything is silent and I count the
seconds.
Will it really happen? I know that Carne didn't aim for it. He couldn't
be so unlucky could he?
Suddenly I see the moon changing it's form while a sizeable chunk of
it dissipates into the surrounding space and the full moon becomes a
half moon. The cool blue shimmering flickers a few times and then
stops.....

Of course this happened in absolute silence because there is no

noise transmission in space.
Carne starts to gnaw at his fingernails. Do you think I can pay by
instalments?
I shake my head while I still look up. Chiffre was so proud of that
thing. And it got busted in its first battle! Nope. Chiffre will dissect
you!
Then we have to cover it up! Elohim jumped by himself in order to
headbutt the moon! He wanted to show his power! You are my
witness! -Carne
I scratch my cheek. That story might be a little hard to sell......
Carne grabs me at my shoulders.
You... owe... me!

88 - How to climb a mountain?

In another time on another world

I did it! It was my first time! I have taken a huuuuge step forward!
Today was the first time I talked to a group of men! And guess
what!? They didn't try to rape me!
Hell, Yes! Maybe my life will really take a turn for the better! I am so
happy that I could almost cry! If I wasn't in the middle of nowhere.
On a mountain. And lost.
So right now I am crying out of fear and insecurity. This world is so
unfair! And cold! Too much ice and snow all around me!
I sit down on a rock and try to think about my situation. After I met
Miruliru, I travelled further south while trying to get a grip on my
abilities.
The villagers went in another direction, but their village was very
close. So they shouldn't have had any problems.
Somehow I managed to arrive at the Academy. I was very well
supplied because I looted the slavers and had no worries with
equipment and money.
The Academy was a little disappointing. It was very troublesome to
find female teachers to learn from. Furthermore they didn't have any
hard information on the gods.
They just had those esoteric books which sounded like some guy
had made them up. They didn't have any information about Miruliru
and Angrod. It's like those gods don't even exist!
After reading up on multiple gods and smaller deities, I reached the

end of their library. That's what I would call a big fuck up!
All the way to the north and no further clue about my curse at all.
Well it wasn't a complete waste of time.
I spent a year at the academy and researched magic and
spellsongs. My female teacher was most impressed with my abilities
as a songweaver. A special type of mage who concentrates in
casting spells and buffs by singing.
This really made me happy! It was the first time I learned something
which wasn't directly connected to doing something improper.
Unfortunately my curse is heavily involved in this ability. It's
infuriating! I really like singing and my proficiency in it is directly
related to my curse.
After a year of studying and learning everything which looked useful,
I decided on a new plan. If I couldn't find a hint on the gods from my
own kind.... then I have to ask them directly!
I already managed to talk to Miruliru! Unfortunately she didn't give
me a chance to ask questions. She never showed up since.
Then I made my way further north to the highest mountain in the
world. It's said that adventurers who manage to climb the mountain
and meditate on it's peak will be able to talk to Nazareth.
Nazareth is the god of the mountains and travellers. If you pray to
him, he will see to your well being during your journey.
Kukukukuku!
A mad laugh escapes my lips. This mountain is so high and rocky! I
will never reach the peak to pray! It feels like I was walking for days
while not getting any closer.
Then I tried to walk back but everywhere are cliffs and impassable

terrain! I will die up here. The next adventurer coming this way will
find my frozen body and commit a necrophilic act!
Shivers shake me and I am not sure if it's the idea or the cold. I am
tired and too weak to go on. Maybe I will sing a last song in order to
fall asleep....
~Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat
eis.......
I sing and sing until I finally slide from my rock and fall asleep. At
least this end won't hurt.
.
.
.
Something shakes me and I shoot up. I am still on the mountain, but
a small area around me is green like when it's spring. The flowers
bloom and it's warm! Further out I still see the icy landscape of the
mountain.
Is this the afterlife? I talk to myself in wonder.
Hell no! The afterlife won't be much different from this one, hot little
babe! A voice is raised behind me.
I whip around and crawl backwards. A small little green kobold is
sitting on my stone and looks at me with expectant eyes.
Who are you? I ask the creature with a wary voice.
What? Don't you recognize me!? I am Nazareth! The god of
mountains and travellers! For a bombshell like you to not recognize
me. It hurts my feelings! The little gnome wipes his eyes like wiping
away a tear.
Huh? B...But the texts describe you as a little man in a cloak.

Bh! The texts, the descriptions and your stories! You mortals
make up so much on your own about the gods. The green kobold
shakes his head and makes a dismissive gesture.
So what brings a hot babe like you to my sacred mountain?
Originally I didn't plan to talk to you, but your devotion and your song
moved me..... and those breasts. Do you drink milk everyday to get
them like that? I must admit that I never would have imagined to
meet a mortal goddess like you!
This little green kobold is bad news! I wanted to talk to the gods! In
order to lift the curse on me. And what about this devotion?
The little green kobold raises an eyebrow. Well. Usually the mortals
march up to my preferred vantage point and pollute the air up there
until I talk to them. It's the best view up there you know? And who
would curse such a beauty like you? Oooh, Wait! Don't tell me!
Violet hair. Perfect skin. Blue eyes. Unbelievable body and two
huuuge mountains as....
*Whack!*
.....Hey! What was that for!?
Ohhh! Nooo! I went and did it! I hit him without thinking!! I throw
myself to my knees and bow down. I am sorry! It was a reflex!
Please don't smite me! It just infuriated me to hear how the gods
see me!
Nazareth rubs his red cheek for two seconds while staring at me.
Well. Never mind. I didn't think that you are actually so pure at your
heart, Sharid.
I look up. You know me? Then can you answer my questions?
The little kobold looks a little embarrassed. I am sorry. Nobody can
help you. You got cursed by Angrod.

Then tell me why!? I will assemble all the gods if necessary! Even
the major ones. This Angrod cursed me and never even bothered to
explain why! And he didn't even show up for my whole life! I glare at
Nazareth. Yes! I will gather them all!
BWAHAHAHA!
The gnome starts to laugh with tears in his eyes. Sorry kid. I hate to
pop your cherry bubble. But all the gods on this world aren't enough
to go against Angrod. When you were born, he dragged all of us
together and explained to us that you are off limits. He did that in
very clear words. The little gnome shudders while I look at him
agape.
He is stronger than all the gods assembled? It's hopeless! I am
lost. I let myself fall into the dirt. There is no hope for me.
Well. What do you expect of a king of gods? All gods of this world
are just flies compared to him. He is a soul mage on top! And if you
learn one thing as an immortal: Never mess with a soul mage! You
just have to take a look at yourself to see what happens if you step
on a soul mage's toe. Be happy that he is busy with the war and
doesn't have time to play around with you any further. -Nazareth
War? -Me
Well. We gods have some problems with demons and soul eaters
and so on. The higher realms have their own troubles. Nothing that
should concern you mortals. Just be happy that you are on your
own. -Nazareth
It doesn't help. I am still lost.
Don't be so down! I will lend you a hand! Such a devoted follower
should get some help. To actually walk fourteen times around the
mountain until you almost drop dead. Such faith has to be
rewarded! -Nazareth

I walked fourteen times around the mountain? Fuck! Why!?

You didn't know? -Nazareth
Well! I was so happy when I managed to convince the perverted
monks at the foot of the mountain to show me the way. I just had to
do a little dance for them and they looked so happy! They didn't
even try to rape me! It was the first time that I managed to control
my abilities that well! I just walked forth, but at some point I lost the
path.... I bite at my fingernail while I think about it.
...... your sense of direction is the worst! How can you walk around
the mountain fourteen times without finding the trail to the top! There
are signs everywhere! This is a well visited holy place! -Nazareth
What? -Me
Never mind. I will help you to get those abilities of yours under
control. Angrod forbade us to lay hands on you. But I guess a few
guiding words from time to time are ok. -Nazareth
Really!? Really? Really? Oh thank you! -Me
Call me master! -Nazareth
Eh!? I hope I make no mistake here. Yes. M..m...Master!
Oh... and one more thing about those perverted monks at the foot
of the mountain..... -Nazareth
Yes? -Me
..........They are eunuchs.
...

A higher realm. Some time later

Multiple gods are assembled for a crisis-conference.
So did you go and save her? -Nuin, High god of the sun
Yeah... -Nazareth, god of mountains and travellers
....Good. It would be bad if we violated our duty of supervision. I
don't want to imagine what Angrod will do to us if she dies before
her time! Zenial, High goddess of the moon
We have to keep an eye on her around the clock! Nothing is allowed
to kill her. The easy way out of her fate isn't allowed. -random god
He threatened us with THIS and THAT! Be sure to keep her alive! If
I just think about those costumes! -random goddess
Multiple gods look to the ground with depressed faces and an aura
of looming doom over them.
*Sigh*. So who has to watch her for the next shift? -Nuin, High god
of the sun
Ah! That's me. I am on my way. -Some minor god
Everyone waves goodbye to the minor god and then the group
continues to mourn their fate.

89 - Support group and

aftermath?

Seria's and Aengus's first day at school

She really did it! I can't believe it! She sent us to school! A school!
For us! Aengus continues to rage about our newest.... situation.
I pat on Aengus's back while I try to comfort him.
And to think that she would even go as far as sending us to a
boarding school!! Aengus drops his head onto the desk.
It will be okay big bro! We will endure and pull through! And when
we are back at home, she will have forgotten her anger and take us
back. I smile at him.
Urgh! She will never forgive you that stunt you pulled on her! I would
like to know why I have to suffer too! I did nothing wrong! Aengus
glares at me.
I am sorry big bro! If there is anything I can do to make up for it,
just tell me. -Me
Aengus just sighs and looks to the front of the classroom. It's our
first class and there are about thirty students.
I heard that the Andros quintuplets are going to this school too!
Maybe we can meet them? I am trying to cheer Aengus up. He has
a crush on one of the Andros girls. But I fear that he has no hope of
winning her over because she doesn't even consider him.
On top they know our parents from our stories. If Aengus wants a
girlfriend..... he would have to finalize it before she meets mom and

dad.
There are children of various ages inside the classroom. It's a little
strange. Shouldn't we be separated by age?
That's the moment when a teacher enters the classroom and
everything goes silent. It's a completely strange reaction for children
of our age if you think about it.
But the teacher doesn't seem to be disturbed and simply starts his
introductions.
Hrm. Hello, all! I am Samarin. I will be in charge of this class. Curse
your fate! He takes a meaningful look at us, but nobody raises his
voice.
Well. I don't like too long introductions. So we will directly start with
the work. First get the tables to the side and form a circle with your
chairs.
The teacher's instructions are followed without big problems and
less than five minutes later the whole class is assembled in a circle.
Everyone looks with expectant eyes to the teacher.
Well, first let me tell you that this is no normal school. Your teachers
here are aware that you all are more than what you look. We know
that it's hard to be treated like a child despite having all that common
knowledge of your former lifes. Even if you don't remember
everything of it. Samarin takes a look around the circle.
I would be happy if you don't think about this as a class. Think
about it more like a support group! We will talk about our issues and
everyone will listen. Then we will try to find a solution together. This
is the primary purpose of this school, despite of what your parents
think. Of course you guys can still work on your abilities too and
every teacher at this institute will help you. -Samarin
Samarin takes out a little notebook and a pen in order to take some

notes about us. So let's start with you little miss. Please tell
everyone who you are and why you are here. Samarin points to a
little girl right beside him. She can't be older than five and has
troubles not to fall from her chair.
Uuuhm..... I am Maria. My hobbies are painting and reading books!
I got into trouble with my parents because they always treated me
like a child! After a while I got so fed up with it that I started to
behave like a real five year old. I showed them what it meant to
leave dangerous equipment lying around and set the house aflame.
They were unable to cope with it and so I landed here. Please take
care of me. The little girl waves at the class.
The introductions continue until it's my and Aengus's turn.
Hi, I am Seria and.... But I get interrupted by silent whispers
around the classroom.
So they belong to that family? They have that monster as a
father?
Dad isn't like that! He just hit me once and I deserved it! Aengus
I pity them... So the monster is hitting them! Better to not
get too close to them. Poor guys!
At least they have a nice mom! Yeah, the best and nicest
mother.... .....and beautiful!
..... mom isn't like that! She is actually torturing us! -Me
Yes! She is a demon! Don't fall for those rumours! -Aengus
Poor kids. He already beat them so much . .... they
started to believe it themselves.
NOOO! Hear me out! I will tell you guys the whole story! And
so we start to tell them the story of our lifes so far. I tell them about
Celes's whipping sessions. And Ireth's educational measures.

Aengus takes over from time to time to tell how Dad actually saved
us from mom once. And various other stories of him being nice.
Regularly teaching us magic and science. And various other useful
skills like handling torture instruments and breaking peoples minds.
Five hours later we are done and everyone looks at us with pale
faces and frightened expressions.
Puh.... It was good to get that off of our minds and talk to
someone about it. Right bro? I look at Aengus with a relieved
expression.
Right, sis! I feel much better now. Especially to correct those
rumours. Aengus nods to me.
It's worse than i thought. They are in hell. Why are they
still alive? They are monsters too? Better don't get too
close to them! But we have to help them somehow.
Samarin looks up from his notebook, which was actually filled to the
last page during our story. You two... It seems like there is a lot of
work before us....... your mother already informed us of you two to
be notorious liars. But i never imagined that it would be that much
work to help you.
"I want to go home!"

Former factory planet of the Council

I kick a crystal shard on the ground. This is frustrating! A whole
fucking planet of evidences and we can't find out where they took
the Spheres!
We are as smart as before. But we got a few valuable informations
about the production process of a Sphere. Chiffre looks up into the
sky with a pained expression.

The Arcane Community's moon is clearly visible. It's surrounded by

debris, creating an interesting view. It could take a few years until
some of the parts will drift out of sight or fall down onto the planet.
After the battle and securing Elohim's body/remains, we decided to
hold an emergency meeting.
I hope you don't plan to play around with a Sphere! I hate to play
the motherly character, but those things are just flat out creepy.
Of course not! But just looking at the factories gives us all the
information that's needed. Like building processes and blueprints.
We don't have to risk our souls by playing around with the real
thing! Chiffre answers with a flat voice.
And by analysing the data we already found out that the Spheres
are all linked together and controlled by a hierarchical command
structure. There is a central controlling device somewhere. Our
people are currently working on a method to tab into this network to
find the enemies command centre. -Chiffre
"Wouldn't it be much easier to interrogate Elohim." Carne asks an
obvious question.
He isn't in a good condition at the moment. And I doubt that we
would get any useful information out of him. He is most likely mind
wiped like the others. Chiffre makes a dismissive gesture. It was
the Arcane Community which captured Elohim after the fight. He was
drifting in an orbit around their moon after the headbutt.
That doesn't mean that he will get away lightly. To destroy my moon
with a headbutt! Kukuku! I will take my time to dismantle him piece
by piece. And after I am done with his body, I will work on his soul.
There are quite a few experiments to be done. I always wanted to
try to disassemble a soul. Kukuku. Looks like he ate the souls of a
few of his followers to fuse with them. I will take my time to restore
the natural order........ and maybe go a little further. Kkukukuku....
-Chiffre

Ehm... Yeah, right. Do your thing. Carne looks a little pale.

So we will ready the fleet and wait for your guys to finish the device
Chiffre. I smile at the mad member of the Arcane Community.
Hopefully for Carne the truth will never come out......

90 - War and leaving the

mountain?
I look at the screen and try to think of a solution. But I can't think of
anything.
That's a formidable defence they got there. Chiffre looks at the
screen with an annoyed expression.
You could call this an emergency meeting. I have the ambassadors
here. Nicosar and Arthur. Celes, Tanja and Sandra. Fuck, I simply
called everyone with the slightest bit of battle power from Chimera.
The tracking device of the Arcane Community worked perfectly and
led us towards the enemy base. I call it base but it's more like a
gigantic fortress composed of multiple planets.
There is a huge planet in the centre of the configuration. This planet
is surrounded by dozens of smaller planets in a very tight and
complex gravitational dance.
It's something completely unnatural and so we can already guess
that this construct was most likely made by Amaru.
There is just one problem. The planets are infested with countless
demons. And some of them seem to have the ability to use
pathways!
We already lost a scout ship to those things. They kept appearing
around it until the crew had to abandon the ship.
I say we go in there with all hands and crush everything! No need to
hold back! Celes waves her fist at the screen.
Hold it! What if we somehow set off the Spheres by doing that!

Miruliru doesn't seem to like the idea.

They will be set off either way. Our enemies aren't using the
Spheres as a threat. It's rather a question of why they didn't activate
them. The only reason could be that they aren't ready yet. So by
going in earlier, we may stop them from using them on a large
scale. Chiffre explains his thoughts to us.
I close my eyes to relax. Millions of worlds gone, just because some
type of epic fools had to play with fusing souls. Every idiot should be
able to tell that something with multiple personalities is bound to go
mad with time.
So the only question is how to utilize our forces and abilities!
Nicosar puts up a stance while looking at the screen.
We should go in with all our forces together. Those demons could
overwhelm smaller groups very easily by using pathways. Zanders
shakes his head.
~May I make a suggestion?~
Oh? Warden. It's unusual for you to talk on your own. I answer
Warden's voice which interrupted our conversation.
~I am sorry for being rather simple minded in following my purpose.
But the current situation is directly connected to my orders. So to
get to my suggestion. I will take Asheim there and destroy those
planets.~
Could you repeat that? -Miruliru
~I will take Asheim through a pathway like the Arcane Community
did with their moon. Then I will utilize my weaponry to destroy those
planets.~
You can destroy planets? And you are talking about it like it's no big
deal? -Gwalonna

~I am the Warden. I am tasked to stop the great Calamity from ever

emerging again. It would be pretty stupid if I didn't have the abilities
to do so. I was created by the Bright One after all.~
Oooh. If it's like that! Come here and smash that planetary
fortress! Carne waves at the screen with an expectant gesture.
~It isn't that easy. I need to get close enough to do it. Otherwise I
can't guarantee the eradication of the demons.~
How do you intend to get rid of the demons? I ask Warden with a
curious voice.
~By using the same magic which you used to stop the earlier
incursions.~
Warden! I thought we had an agreement in terms of spying through
my ships! I shout with an angry voice.
~I am sorry. Your anger isn't justified. I didn't break our agreement.
The magic you are using was known to me for a long time. It was
developed by the Bright One to stop the Calamity and return the
eaten souls to the great cycle.~
I squint my eyes. That's hard to believe. I developed that magic by
researching the affinities of my own soul. The bright one must have
had a soul very similar to mine in order to create that magic.
~Then the answer is obvious.~
Hah?! I am at a dead end. But Warden doesn't seem to realize that
further explanations are needed.
Explain that in detail, Warden! -Chiffre
~If the magic was developed twice by researching a specific souls
affinities. Then the soul in question has to be the same one. Souls

are like fingerprints. Some may be similar, but every one of them is
unique.~
~So Angrod has to be the Bright One.~
I smack my head hard. This whole reincarnation shit is becoming too
complicated.
But Angrod is Angrod! He doesn't remember anything of being an
Ascended? -Celes
~All remaining Ascended returned to the great cycle of life and
death. Like I said. But I never said that they couldn't rise again. And
that's what they believed would happen after enough time. Most
likely many of you have the soul of an Ascended.~
~It's actually funny to see that you gods seem to be caught in an
endless wheel. Even if you think that you managed to escape your
fate...... you end up in your old positions again.~
That's not funny Warden! Fuck you! I would disassemble you if we
wouldn't need you. I scream out towards the ceiling. This is
frustrating!
That's not funny Warden! Fuck you! I would disassemble you
if we wouldn't need you.
~Funny. That's a translated recording of the Bright One. He
said the exact same words once, if you overlook the
grammatical language differences.~
Argh!
I start to type at my console but moments before I can press the delete- button, multiple ambassadors, family members and friends
jump on me like I would carry a football and just entered the death
zone.

At another world in another time.

So you will now walk into this city and concentrate on the things I
taught you Sharid. Nazareth is standing beside me at knee height
with crossed arms.
Yes, ~Master!~ I am so excited! After a year of training under him
and secluding myself on that mountain, I am finally able to come
back to civilisation!
Don't use your ability on me! I am still a god and you are just a
mortal! Don't forget that! Nazareth snaps angry at me.
I am sorry master! It wasn't intentional! I am just so excited! I
actually jump a little up and down. A bed! Real food! A warm room!
No rocks! No snow! No nuts and mushrooms for dinner!
Do we have to train another year? You know what happens if you
lose control like that? Nazareth gives me a sharp look.
Nooo! I will manage! Absolute control! I wont fail! Please let me try.
Calm down! Breath in, breath out! Cool and calculating thoughts!
Don't let go of your voice. Always the right expression. No accidental
arousing smile.
My thoughts are logical and cold. I have my body under control.
Hmm. Kay. Then let's try this. It's morning now. You walk down into
that city and do your business. You are a normal adventurer! After
you took care of your clothing, you buy supplies and entertain
yourself until evening. Maybe you even manage to find a party in
order to go your own path from now on. Nazareth looks up to me.
I will stay here and look from afar. In the evening you come back
and I give you my judgement. If you pass this test you can go.
Otherwise it's the mountain again! He points at the cold and icy
peak of the cursed rock!

I wont let you down! I turn and run towards the city. Freedom!
Don't forget about your clothes! Nazareth calls after me.
That's when I look down at my body and realize the torn rags I am
wearing! A year in the mountain wasn't beneficial on my equipment.
Uwaah! I look like a lightly dressed barbarian! And I am dirty! First
stop is a clothing shop!
After a few minutes of walking I arrive at the city gates.
Stop! Barbarians and beggars aren't allowed in this city! A city
guard stops me from entering
I am sorry. But I was on a long journey and that's why I look like
this. I am certainly no barbarian and no beggar! I have many
valuable materials. Just give me the chance to sell them. I try to
reason with the two guards who are now blocking my way.
Hell no! Fuck off! We know your kind! Surely you will sell your body
to get money! -Guard One
There are laws against scum like you in our town! No entry! Try at
the next city! -Guard Two
Bastards! Who do you think you are? And what if I am a barbarian
or a beggar? Does that make me less human? So I am not even
allowed entry to the city!?
~I would really appreciate it, if you two would make an
exception for me. Who knows? If you show up at the inn in the
evening, I may have a little surprise for you.~
Ah... -Guard One
S... Sure go ahead. Guard Two steps aside and I stroll past them
while waving my hips.

W... we will be waiting! Guard One calls after me.

Kukukuku. This was too easy! Maybe those abilities of mine aren't
so bad after all? I make my path through the city until I arrive at a
good looking shop for clothes.
This one looks exquisite! I talk to myself while I enter the shop.
Hello? I need a full set of clothes!
A snobbish looking vendor turns around to greet me. His face
distorts in disgust as his eyes lock onto me. This shop doesn't have
charity handouts! Leave or I call the city guard! Beggars are thrown
out of the city without questions!
Wha!? Another one? What's wrong with this place!? Is it normal to
be treated like that if you are an average person? Ah. I am no
beggar! I am an adventurer and had a hard time alone in the
mountains! I can pay! Here look. I grab into my pocket and wave a
nut sized golden nugget before him.
Where did you steal that! Now I will call the guard for sure! The
vendor tries to get past me but I actually feel a vein popping on my
forehead.
~Aaahn. You can't be so cold to a young lady who only tells the
truth! I am sure you can sell two of your best sets of clothes to
me.~
The vendor stops in his tracks and turns around with expecting eyes.
Please follow me miss! I am sorry that I was so rude.
After twenty minutes of choosing his best and probably most
valuable outfits, I am ready to depart.
How much does this cost? I will pay in gold nuggets.
Ten gold nuggets for those two outfits will be enough, miss. You
look gorgeous! The vendor smiles at me.

That's thievery! Ten gold nuggets! You could buy those clothes for
two of them! No wonder this shop looks so nice!
~You are sure you couldn't make a little exception for me? If
you give me the real price I may have a little surprise for you at
the inn tonight!~
The vendor loosens a bit at my words. S.. Sure! That would be two
gold nuggets!
I smile at him and give him his payment while I walk past him and out
of the shop. Well, that's done. What next?
Hmm. I will get this dirt off of me! Best to get a room at the inn for
that! After asking a few people, I arrive at the towns inn. The town
isn't very large and so it's hard to miss it.
Is it a problem that I still had to ask twelve people? Whatever! As
long as I have someone to ask it's no problem!
I enter the inn. I then get greeted by a fat old barkeeper, or should
have been at least. If he wasnt so busy to hitting a servant.
The poor girl has bruises all over her face! And the fat geezer
actually uses a wooden stick!
~Hellooooo? Mister? I would like your best room with a bath!
And fast!~
The barkeeper snaps to attention at my voice. Of course! The
servant will lead you to your room. Payment is in advance!
I drop a raw diamond into the waiting hands of the barkeeper which
makes his eyes pop out. Greedy bastard. I am sure he doesn't even
think about the exchange money!
After the servant girl led me upstairs and arranged a nice hot bath in
a very nice looking room for me, I can finally relax. But before the
girl leaves the room, I stop her.

Does he hit you often?

N.n.no! The owner just uses his fists in cases of serious failure!
The girl bows down to me.
Tell me the truth. You have too much bruises to believe that. I don't
let her go like that.
E.. everyday miss. It doesn't matter if I make a mistake or not. He
likes it to hurt others, but I can't just leave. If I lose this job, they will
throw me out of the town! The girl looks at the floor.
I grab one of my bags with gold nuggets and throw it at her. She
barely catches it. Take that and get someone to give you a good
education! Don't be here this evening. I wave at her with a
dismissive gesture.
The girl looks into the bag with round eyes. Thank you, Miss! Thank
you so much! She leaves the room with tears in her eyes. At least
she is smart enough to instantly take a chance in her life if it is given
to her.
I continue to enjoy my bath for a while. Afterwards I set out to get
supplies and have a decent dinner.
Then I take a long stroll through the whole town. I eat good food and
have some decent conversations with other people. Unfortunately I
find no group of adventurers to hook up to.
While buying equipment at the market and in various stores, I get
stopped by a noble looking guy with guards at his side. It's already
evening and the sun starts to disappear behind the horizon.
I am sorry to interrupt your business, miss. But I heard that a very
rich adventurer entered the town and pays with valuable diamonds
and gold, like as if they were copper coins. So I asked myself if you
would be interested in a little deal?
Omg. What now? Is this town full of bastards and assholes? And

you are?
I am the governor of this wonderful town. It's thanks to me that this
city is free of filth! So about our business. I want to know where you
got all those riches from. If the source of those diamonds and gold
becomes known to us, it will increase the wealth of this entire
region! The feisty bastard tries to take my hand and kiss it but I pull
it out of his grip.
That doesn't sound like there is much for me in it? And what makes
you think that the source of my wealth would be of any interest to
you? I smile at him.
Because all of that stuff consisted of unrefined goods. So you most
likely found it close to this town. Maybe I could send a few workers
in order to help you mining it? It would be much faster and you
wouldn't have to dirty your own hands.
I grin at the smart bastard who is responsible for the laws in this
town. Ohh. You are right! How about we talk about this while eating
dinner at the inn? I wouldn't be able to carry ~all that stuff~ by
myself anyway.
The eyes of the governor sparkle while he offers me his hand and I
link arms with him. Hoh! I didn't even need my voice for this!
Somehow I instinctively knew what to say! Is that the effect of
psychologist? Maybe I should try to develop that ability a little
further.
After a short walk we arrive at the inn and go inside. I soon see a
few familiar faces while the drunkards undress me with their eyes.
What's wrong with them! The sun isn't even completely down and
this place already reeks like a barrel of beer!
The barkeeper looks very stressed with drops of sweat running
down his forehead while he serves alcohol to the people. Serves him
right!

The governor leads me towards a table and places himself on a

chair. But I don't show any intentions to take a seat myself.
~Actually! I like really strong men! If you could prove me your
worthiness, I could show you heaven!~
After a second of complete silence, the whole inn explodes in furry
of fists and thrown chairs! Tables get smashed while the participants
of the brawl try to beat each other into bloody lumps of flesh.
While humming I skip through the middle of it all. On my way to the
exit I pass the bar. I ~accidentally~ knock over one of the candleholders. Then I grab one of the bottles of alcohol with a high
percentage.... and drop it.
*Crack* *WhooOOOSH!*
Ups! That was totally an accident! I smile a wide grin while I exit the
inn and leave the town in measured steps and in a high mood.
Ah! The world is becoming a little brighter day by day! I feel like I am
in control of my life for the first time!
After a few minutes of walking, I end up outside the town. I then
climb my way up the small hill, where I left Nazareth in the morning.
I find him sitting on a small rock. He has his elbows jacked on his
knees while he covers his face with his hands.
Hi, Master! I did well, didn't I? That was the best day in my
life! I call out to him with a cheerful voice.
THEN...... What's THAT! He points towards the city behind me
and I turn around.
It's getting dark, but the city is bathed in the light of flames. The inn
is burning while people are running left and right while trying to save
the neighbouring buildings. I guess there is no hope for the inn....

That was.... an ~accident!~ I nod and look at master with an

earnest face.
The little gnome covers his face again and starts to mumble. I
honestly don't know if I should reward you for your control, or punish
you for it!
Nyaaa! Master! Not the mountain again! Please teach me
somewhere else! I drop to my knees and bow to the little gnome
who saved me from my personal hell. I used it just to punish bad
people!
The little gnome jumps from his rock and sighs. Well. I hope I didn't
create a monster. Get up and listen to my last piece of advice!
I shoot upwards! Last piece!? You won't teach me any more!?
I can't help you any further. You know all the techniques and
meditations to get a grip on your powers. Train them and perfect
them. You don't need me for that. Nazareth scratches his chin while
looking at the rising moon.
The last piece of advice I give you concerns something completely
different. Something nobody can help you with! And that's how to
become a god! The gnome looks into my eyes with a grin on his
face.
I am frozen. A god!?
Yes. You have the potential. That's for sure. -Nazareth
I have? I ask and Nazareth nods. How? Will I be able to meet that
pervert god and give him a beating?
Nazareth tilts his head. Yes. Most likely you will meet him if you
manage it. But I doubt that you will be able to beat him. After all he
wiped the floor with you the last time.

Last time? I arch my eyebrow.

You want to hear the method or not!? -Nazareth
I bow down again. Yes, master! Please enlighten me!
Look up! The gnome starts to wander left and right before me.
First, forget your body! Forget the flesh! What makes you a god is
here! He points to his head. And here! Then he points towards his
heart.
Find the one thing you really love! The one thing you are good at!
And then perfect that skill! Refine it to heights above your body.
Being a god is a state of the mind! By reaching heights beyond the
flesh, you will acquire access to unbelievable power. He folds his
hands before his chest.
Open your mind. That's something you can only do on your own.
Nobody can help you with it. Find yourself! Then master is suddenly
gone.

I am alone on the little hill.

91 - To Oblivion?
And I still don't like it!
I grumble while a formation of my battle ships and two of our
fortresses advance towards the enemy.
There are multiple prototype ships of the Arcane Community in the
mix. Asheim with Warden in control is in the centre of our fleet. Of
course we took our time to evacuate it completely.
The other societies mainly provided fighting forces. They don't have
ships like us yet. Even the Arcane Community can't match our raw
output of crystal ships. They aren't interested in mass production
anyway.
They build their ships just out of curiosity and for the fun of it. So
their ships are an insane mix of different forms and sizes.
What else can we do? This is a battle on a ridiculous scale. There
is no sneaking up from behind. Celes is standing right beside me on
board of the Nomad. Arthur and Nicosar are on board of the
Ragnarok.
I know. But you realize that we will get very bloody noses by doing
something like that? Head on assaults always end badly for both
sides. I look to the side.
Celes nods. That's true. But if you can stop even greater bloodshed
by causing it on a smaller scale, it's worth the price.
I nod while I wait for the formation to advance to our destination. It's
quite certain that Amaru has seen us by now.
Then I grab my staff to reassure myself of my determination. It
really sucks to be on this bridge right now. Will there be someone to

look back at this moment and judge us?

Hah. If we fail this there will most likely be nobody to look back. If a
few million Spheres start to generate demons, we are fucked. We
don't have the people to deal with those amounts of demons.
Our forward ships report demons which try to invade their ships. Technician
I nod but I say nothing. We anticipated that. The plan is to hold out
until we got warden close enough to start in picking off the enemy
planets.
We will have to pay the price for getting closer in lives. The problem
with directly going closer through a pathway lies with the enemy
main planet. It emits an extremely strong field of mana which
disrupts pathways.
It's a crude version of our own dampening fields, which we use to
stop enemies from directly entering our ships.
We can't get Warden any closer than we did. Our people can still
use the pathways though. The effect is weaker on small objects.
I watch in silence while our fleet starts to pick off demons which
start appearing close to our ships. They are too small to be seen
and so it looks like our ships start to fire blindly in all directions.
The scene continues while we advance. It will take us forty minutes
to get close enough to the enemy central planet for a decisive shot.
Warden will start firing at the closer small planets at the five minute
mark.
But we don't even get as close as that. Four minutes after the start
of the engagement two of our ships suddenly disappear from the
tactical map.
What happened? I sit upright in my chair.

A serious hull breach in both vessels. They reported a very big

demon with huge claws. It cut the hulls open like paper. Then the
vessels were boarded by the smaller versions. Both captains
decided the situation to be hopeless and activated the self
destruction after fighting back became impossible.
I nod. Our smaller ships have a serious problem in this type of
engagement. There aren't enough crew members to fight a big
boarding party. I refrain from instructing everyone to look out for
those big demons. They know that themselves.
At minute five Warden takes her first shot. A small red line of red
energy shoots out of the central tower of Asheim and slices into one
of the enemy orbiting planets. The planet disappears in an explosion
of red energy.
It's a clean and complete annihilation. That spell seems to be a little
more refined than mine! I have to get the details for it out of Warden
later.
The fleet continues to advance while losing ship after ship. Warden is
relatively safe because the planet is surrounded by us. We act like a
net to keep the bugs away.
Then it's our turn and the warriors are ordered to defend the hull.
The whole engagement is one big chaos and everything I can do is
sitting in my command chair.
It's the fate of someone who commands a military battle. You make
your plan. Think of strategies and counter tactics. Then you lean
back and wait for something unexpected to happen. Otherwise you
aren't needed any more.
The Ragnarok's defence was overrun! They are fighting but it looks
bad! -Officer
When I focus my screen on the Ragnarok, I see a carved up ruin,
which was once a beautiful flying fortress. Those fucking things are

actually scratching off our hulls inch by inch!

I feel Celes grabbing my shoulder. Tell them to hold as long as they
can and move the ships to cover the hole in our formation.
Suddenly the Ragnarok blows apart and I grab the armrest of my
chair tightly! What was that! Report!
We don't know. There was no communication about it. We just got
the information that the enemy was close to the crystal core! Officer
I hit my fist at my armrest. We can't move our positions and
everyone has their own troubles with holding off those pests. We
aren't even at the twenty minute mark yet!
Hopefully Arthur and Nicosar got out. They will have to report to
another ship first. But couldn't they have come here?
My useless thoughts are suddenly interrupted as the whole
command centre bucks downwards and I am slammed into the
ceiling.
The whole room is thrown into a small chaos while people try to get
back to their positions.
Something took out one of our plasma cannons! We have a gaping
hole there! -Officer
I get back into my chair and look at our time table. Eighteen minutes!
There is no chance that we will make it at this rate.
Someone strong is fighting his way free to our crystal core. Technician
~You have to stop him. The defence can't be upheld without
the help of a crystal fortress. Asheim would be open to
attacks.~

Warden's voice echoes through the room.

I lean backwards and inhale deeply while closing my eyes.
I will go and see what I can do to defend the crystal core. Celes
stomps out of the command centre.
While looking at the ceiling, I wait until the door is closed behind her.
Then I turn towards the main screen. Defend the engines and the
crystal core. Abandon the rest of the fortress. Break the formation
and advance at full speed towards the enemy main planet. Signal the
retreat for everyone. They have to use a pathway as soon as they
are able to.
Your majesty? An officer looks at me with a dumb expression.
You heard me! We won't make it. I point at the timer which is
displayed at the main screen. We haven't even reached the twenty
minute mark and our most valuable assets are out of commission!
Sound the retreat and get everyone out of here.
I stand up and leave the command centre without looking back. Then
I walk at a leisure pace towards the control room with the crystal
core of the fortress.
~What are you planning?~
Get everyone out of here Warden. This plan backfired on us. They
will have taken the fleet apart long before we reach our destination.
I turn around a corner.
~That wasn't my question.~
Try to take it easy Warden. You almost sound pissed off. I will just
attempt a little experiment before I lose this fortress. I smile while I
enter the control room.
Celes is there with a good amount of other defenders. They started
to set up barricades. She is looking with expectant eyes at a door

which leads to surface of the fortress. Something is hitting the door

from the other side and a few cracks started to appear.
Is this a bad horror movie? I ask her with a light smirk on my face.
Celes just shakes her head while I walk towards the big crystal core
in the centre of the room.
The crystal cores are the focus points for mana in all applications
which use the crystal technology. Without it the fortress wouldn't be
able to grow or release the absorbed mana.
I place my hand at the crystal core and start to give it instructions
through my mind. Margerie's hideous security measures cost me
quite some time. But then I am done.
-Full Energy Conversion activated. Fail-safe deactivated. Silent
Countdown startedThe cool voice within the room startles the defenders beside me and
I turn around to face them. Everyone. Please evacuate now. The
dampening field will turn to full power within a minute. Afterwards
you will be stuck here.
What are you doing? Who will defend the core if everyone is gone?
Celes looks at me with an awkward expression.
Nobody. We will all retreat now. I smile at her and hug her. A few
seconds later I feel her relaxing. Her defence drops for a second
and I invade the mana flow inside her body. Normally it would be
impossible to do something like that.
But I know her mana pattern from inside out. She slept beside me
for years and the feeling of her soul is very familiar to me. It's like
dabbling with my own body.
A few cuts and the damage is done. She probably didn't even feel it
as she goes limp in my arms. Sorry sugar cat. But I can't have
you fighting this time. Not with the kids. I whisper into her ear.

After taking her into a princess carry I become aware of her

betrayed expression. But I pay it no heed.
I fixate one of the defenders which are looking at us. You! Take the
queen out of here. I will defend the core alone. Try to be not too
close to her when the healers fix her up. It will be a true mayhem.
Four guards take Celes and immediately enter a pathway with her.
Then I turn towards the door while one defender after the other
starts to disappear, using a pathway.
A few stay and I raise my voice again. Get out! Fast! I don't want
hindrances locked up in here when the dampening field activates!
The last of them vanishes a moment before the dampening field
activates. Well, at least I will have nobody besides myself on my
conscience.
Another crack appears in the door and I ready myself. Suddenly the
door shatters into thousands of shards and multiple demons storm
into the room.
But they are the small fry versions and I don't intend to hold back. A
short chant leaves my lips and a torrent of red energy sparks forth
from my hand.
The first wave of demons falls victim to my new adapted version of
the soul shredder. Pretty stupid name. I will try to find a better one in
the future.
But there is no second wave of monsters. Instead a person with a
monocle steps into the room. He is wearing something like an
exoskeleton and looks like a scholar from a university.
So no defenders this time? How boring. At least they tried it the first
time. Then his eyes fall onto me and I wave at him. If it isn't the
king!

If it isn't the mad scientist. I answer Amaru while I take a look into
the corridor behind him. It's filled to the brim with demons.
You are quite brave to stay behind alone. What do you intend to
do? Self destructing the ship? You think you can stop me after I took
down the other fortress? Amaru gives me a devilish smile.
No. I don't think that I can stop you. Looks like you ate your
subordinates and are using their power. I can't think of any other
reason for his strength.
Then step aside and don't waste my time. I will eat your soul later.
Amaru starts to walk into my direction, but is stopped by a barrier.
How cute. The others tried that too. Amaru pokes my barrier with
his fingers.
I frown at that comment. Others?
Nah. Just an old geezer and someone who looks similar to you.
Their souls tasted very good! The maniac licks over his lips.
I grab my staff tighter. I guess I will have to rip their souls out of
your guts. My wife won't let me be otherwise.
Ahahahahaha!
You are funny. I guess we are done talking for now! Amaru
waves his hand at my barrier and shatters it like nothing.
I immediately invoke a fury of red energy bolts, but they just bounce
off of Amaru. With a step he is before me and a strike wipes me off
my feet.
While falling I grab his collar and try to connect to his soul. A wild
fury of elemental power starts to dance between us while I try to rip
the mana out of him. But instead it's my mana that's sucked away!

It's like I am fighting multiple people at the same time in this duel of
minds.
Before I lose my power completely, I try to kill us both by
disconnecting my soul from my body and taking him with me. It's a
dirty trick, but a kick sends me flying and I land at the console
before the crystal core.
Fuck! I spew blood onto the floor. Something important broke. I
can't feel my legs. How many people did that bastard eat?
See? You aren't even worth the effort. Amaru starts to walk into
my direction again. But then the crystal core starts to pulsate and
emits pure raw power and magic.
Ahahahahaha...:
This time it's my time to laugh which startles Amaru. What are you
laughing for?
You are such a bad villain. You see? I rigged the crystal core
for a direct energy conversion and you are inside a dampening
field! Even if you start running now you won't get out of here in
time. For you to come here personally! I couldn't have wished
for more! I will not only blow all these worlds to quantum dust! I
will get the head of the monster!
Amaru's eyes go wide while he turns to run. I will rise again! You
won't get my soul with a cheap trick like that!
The demons follow their master in a vain attempt to escape what's
coming. I don't even understand why he is trying to run. There is no
way to run from this.
I pull myself into an upright position by grabbing the console. Haah. I
can't feel my legs. I pull myself upwards and try to touch the crystal
core, but my grip slips and I fall. Fuck! It's pulsating even faster now.
Somehow I manage to touch the pulsating crystal core at the second

try and open my mind to the raw power.

This searing light and raw power! I was foolish when I thought that I
could control this. But I still try to connect to this immense pool of
mana.
It's pressing down on my mind like a gigantic weight.
And then the pulsing stops and there is.... just....

WHITE!
..

..
I am flowing. I can feel this power. A gigantic flash of energy wipes
the fortress and the demon planets out of the multiverse. Somehow I
am aware of it. I am this power. My body is gone and I exist as pure
energy. My soul is riding this wave of destruction. It's life should be
measured in milliseconds.
But to me it feels like an eternity. I can use this power. Within the
boundaries of this eruption of mana, everything should be possible.
As long as there is a guiding will!
I imagine a white plane. It's my soul space. Here I am god. Yes.
A white plane appears around me. Reassured I sit down and a chair
pops into existence under me.
Mwahahaha!
I wave my hand and Nicosar and Arthur appear before me with
dazed expressions.
What? What happened? -Nicosar

Angrod? Did you save us? -Arthur

I smile at them with a sad expression. Unfortunately not. We are
dead and you were eaten by the agent of the Calamity. But I self
destructed our remaining fortress and used the power to create
this. I wave my hand at the white plane around us.
You could call it a pocket-universe. It's my very own river of souls. I
nod at that explanation. It's fitting somehow.
Can you save the others too? And what about the demons? -Arthur
I shrug my shoulders. That remains to be seen. But first we will
have our fun with someone!
After another wave of my hand Amaru appears in the air and lands
flat on his belly. He immediately gets to his knees and looks
upwards.
What he sees are three smiling faces with unimaginable expressions!
..
.

..
.

I drift in a sea of darkness. Around me are the stars.

So it worked. Somehow I came back from oblivion. If there wasn't
empty space around me I would laugh.
In my left I hold a marble with everyone I could save during that
second of being almost all-mighty. In my right I hold a marble with a
very special soul. I will take my dear time with this one. That's for
sure.

He already suffered for an eternity for his mistakes. But one eternity
isn't enough in my opinion.
But I will have to get back to Celes...... or is that actually a bad
idea? I guess she will be happy to see me?
Hmmm! I stretch my mind to sense my surroundings. To my surprise
I have no troubles with it. Did my abilities actually increase from this
experience?
I guess I never handled such a huge amount of power before.
Maybe I will try to train my abilities in the future again.
After concentrating on the fleet of ships, I see Celes crying in Ireth's
arms and the kids are sitting with a crying Katrine depressed at a
table. Better not to let her wait any longer.
I step on a pathway and appear right beside them. I am sorry
sugar cat! I will never do it again, I promise!
The room goes silent and Celes looks at me agape with bloodshot
eyes.
*WHACK!*
She jumped up and gave me a sounding slap in the face.
Hell! No you will never do that again! I will make sure of that!
What are you hiding in your fists? She jumps at me and claws
the soul marble with our saved people out of my fingers.
Those are Nicosar and Arthur.... and others. I rub my cheek
with tears in my eyes. The slap didn't hurt my body! But her whole
reaction hurt my soul.
And the other!? Ireth gives me a piercing stare.

The last Council member! I snap back! I can't hide anything from
mother!
Mine! Katrine snatches the soul marble out of my other hand from
behind. Kukuku. I will take my time with you for hurting my
husband. She has a mad expression in her face.

NOOO! Thaat's miiineeee!

92 - Old memories?
*Smash*
Aengus! Aengus! Get up! We will miss the graduation ceremony!
Seria's shriek wakes me and I shoot up.
I am inside my room at the dormitory. After a sleepy gaze around
the room my eyes lock onto the door. What did you do to my door!
Seria grabs my clothes and shoves them into my hands.
Fast! Forget the door sleepyhead! The Ceremony! -Seria
Ceremony? Oh, right! I struggle to get dressed and follow Seria
out of the room.
It has been a few years since the final battle with the Council. I had
the first real downtime in my life when I thought that father, grandpa
and great grandpa got killed.
That would have made me the only guy in a family with five women!
Well seven if I count grandma Katrine and Ireth too! I saw my life
going down the gutter by constant nagging.
But luckily dad showed them who is the boss! Sometime I want to
be as powerful as him! He saved A bunch of people which made him
the hero of the day.
Though mother performed an even greater wonder by cloning bodies
for grandpa and uncle. Isn't she on an even higher level than dad?
Just growing a few bodies in a tank like doing kitchen work.....
Unluckily for us the Spheres which were spread by the Council are
still dormant. They didn't get activated. Though from time to time one
of them gets set off by a foolish mortal or a god by accident.

That's when the big societies have to rush in and save the day!
But right now that's of no big concern to me! Because I will
graduate! Freedom! Nineteen Years and Freedom! I will get full
access to my memories!
That's what the ceremony today is all about. Luckily Seria woke me
up. If I had missed it I would have had to wait for another year!
What will you do, when you have your memories back big bro?
Seria asks me from the side.
Actually I already put a lot of thought into that. I think I will travel the
multiverse for a while! Make a name for myself, have a lot of fun!
Maybe I will find a nice girl who is willing to take me!
Seria pats my back with a pitying expression. There are not many
women on Chimera who are willing to marry into the royal family. Too
many bad rumours about the male side of our bloodline.
Even people close to us are repelled, because they could be
involved into the rumours.
On the other hand, there are tons of guys who have an eye on Seria
or our three little sisters. Though the triplets haven't had any
marriage proposals since their introduction party.
It was Mayhem! Pure Mayhem! They are like an explosive with three
compounds. Each of them alone or two together are harmless. All
three are the end!
On the other hand. I find it strange that you will get your memories
too, Seria. Aren't these officials a little too lax with their rules? I
scratch my chin while I walk towards the old church on the school
ground which is used for the ceremony.
It's a big and comfortable building. To reuse it in this manner isn't so
bad.

Hmpf! I am just eleven months younger than you! And despite the
age difference we always attended the same class! It would be
unfair if they kept me a year longer! Seria puffs out her chest while
her tail waves left and right.
She evolved into a splitting image of mom. If it wasn't for the finer
and a little more girlish face I would have troubles to tell the
difference. On top of it she is almost half a head smaller than her.
What did you think about the graduation party yesterday? Seria
smirks at me.
I shrug my shoulders. It was okay I guess. Though I drank a little
too much.
How did it go with that girl! I know that you confessed to her. Seria
Ah. That. She turned and ran. I let my head drop at the memory! I
didn't even manage to talk to her! She already blurted some kind of
excuse into my direction when I tried to strike up a conversation.
These rumours aren't fair! The guys in our family are actually less
dangerous than the females! I shake my fists at the heavens.
Hey! Seria cuffs me into the side. They aren't that far off! Don't
you remember when you played with those mortals? Their society
fell apart!
I fold my hands before me. I admit it, it was a mistake of my youth.
Though they provoked me, I realize that I overreacted and I reflect
on my actions.
And when you dismembered that guy because he tried to force
himself on me? -Seria
I was nice. Father instructed me to make an example out of the first
guy who would mistreat my little sisters. I was very lenient within the

boundaries of his suggested . punishment. -Me

They carried him in eight parts to the infirmary! Seria gives me an
accusing look. I didn't get a single confession since that incident!
Father told me to hold a public execution and take his soul in order
to demonstrate my power. So I think I was very nice to just
temporarily separate his soul from his body. I frown while I think
back to that moment.
Actually I just gave him a gentle greeting. When I took his hand it
suddenly came off. Then I tried to reattach it and his jaw
dislocated.......
Nanana! Stop it! I don't want to remember it! Fortunately I had no
clear view and saw just the blood spraying left and right. Seria
sighs. In other words you killed him. How lucky that a soul can be
reattached to a dead body if it's healed fast. Seriously! That brutish
strength! You are so similiar to mom!
I shake my head. I can't help it. I am not on dad's level of soul
magic, yet. So you tell me that I shouldn't have done anything that
day? He was too weak. He would have been a disgrace to our
bloodline. Coming apart because I shake his hand. He wouldn't have
survived a single day in our family!
Gods no! I was about to rip out his balls off and force feed them to
him. You showed up just the right moment! That would have been a
serious blow to my reputation! Seria pats my back again while we
enter the church and join the rows of students.
The ceremony wont be a big deal. There will be no names and no
big talk. The church is under a barrier which stops anyone who isn't
allowed from entering.
They will hand out a soul marble which is able to unseal our
memories. Then it's our choice. Either we want to continue to live
like we did before or take a look at our past life.

There have been cases of serious depressions after getting those

old memories back. But I already decided that I will try it.
So what will you do with your soul marble Seria? Will you take a
look at your former self? I smile at my little sister while we wait with
the other students.
Kukuku.... Seria points at the big statue of -Seria- in the middle of
the dome which makes up the old church. Take a look at that and
tell me. How could I resist to take a look? I already have quite a few
of my memories, but I want all of them!
I nod. Probably there is really not much to think about. Then a
teacher starts to walk past the rows of students and hands out a
soul marble to everyone.
Most people take it and instantly use it. There are very few who
resist the temptation. I see happy and sad faces. Some look a little
disturbed. But no big breakdown until now......
Then it's Seria's and my turn. She instantly uses her soul marble as
she takes it out of the basket. I just take mine and wait to see the
effects on my little sister.
After a few seconds she turns red like a tomato. Nooooo! She
starts to wriggle in disgust.
W.. What!? I hope she isn't one of the mental breakdown cases.
In my previous life I was a nudist! And a pervert! Seria falls to her
knees.
That bad? I guess that's why mother was so strict in bringing you
up as a proper lady..... Ehm. That raises some interesting
questions. I guess I will refrain from taking mine....
Seria jumps to her feet. No! You have to take yours!

I raise an eyebrow at her feverish expression. What do you know?

You have to! I took mine! Fair is fair! Seria bulldozes into me and
pushes the soul marble into my chest!
The glowing marble disappears.

...
.........daefakefpiaefnsavsvar pictures sdfowerbvwertbo
knowledge sfdiubeiprbeipgep righteousness
adflabrgezbrguoerbgip hero sldfuiebvsirbv laws
apurebgapizerbdjfdfg equality aisrbaeuraeu peace
eiuflewrzgbewrvzg..........
...
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! *BAM!* *BAM!* *BAM!* *BAM!*

*Whisper*
P.. Prince! Stop hitting your head into the ground!
Dangerous!
His previous personality is worse than his current one?
The tile is broken...
Those are no tiles, that's solid rock!
*Whisper*

Big Bro! Stop it! It's bleeding! I am sorry! It can't be that bad!? Seria
I look up to my little sister and scream. I was some kind of
disgusting peace loving and righteous, nice guy hero type character
who never got a girl because they all left me for other guys!
*Whisper*
He has a reaction like that because he was a hero?
As expected of a villain!
So he was the exact opposite in his previous life.
"He has to make up for something..."
Would have been nice if his previous personality took over.
*Whisper*

...... your nose is broken, big bro.... Seria fixes my face with
healing magic.
I get up and take a serious look at Seria. My travels through the
multiverse will take a little longer. I have to find my true identity first!

93 - Ascending!
~Travelling is Sharid's lust. High over mountains and deep
through valleys......~
Nyahahaha! I had the best time in my life since master is gone. I
decided to follow his advice and chose spellsinging as my preferred
skill. It's directly connected to spellweaving which is my profession
now.
With the delicate age of sweet nineteen, I am wandering the world
and join various groups of adventurers as a spellweaver. A magician
with this profession lacks offensive power because his spells have
the nature of enchants or curses.
I didn't stay in any group for too long. The male members tend to
become too pushy over the time. Even though I have pretty good
control over my abilities now. I can't hold serious conversations with
guys.
But by assisting others I am able to hone my skill which relies on
allies.
Right now I am using a spellsong to increase our groups endurance.
Back in a small village I joined four adventurers on their journey
through the dark forest.
Joining up with other adventurers eliminates my biggest weakness.
And that's my sense of direction! If there is no big road to follow, I
am lost. It's as simple as that. I don't know why.
Once I started my journey in the high north and lost the road
because I camped a little further away from the path. The next
morning I didn't find the path any more and started to walk through
the wild nature.

When I finally found civilisation again, the village people told me that
I was far in the south!
So since then I followed a few rules. First, always follow other
people. Second, always camp on the road. Third, Never take a
leakage out of sight of the road.
As for my current group. There is a swordsman named Ron with a
two handed longsword. Then we have Maxime who is our priestess.
Sondo is a skilled marksman with a bow and daggers for close
range combat. Iris is a knight in heavy armour. I don't understand
why a woman would want to engage in close combat. But everyone
is different.
Our current goal is to cross the dark wood, which is a dangerous
forest. We want to get to the western coast behind it in order to find
employment.
Walking around it would take us thrice the time than simply crossing
through. The only problem are the wild monsters and orks which
haunt this place. I hum my melody while our group walks past big
forest trees.
You are the most cheerful person I have ever met Sharid. Do you
ever stop singing? Iris notices my most valuable trait.
Not really! I sing whenever I can and as much as I am able to. My
dream is to become the best singer in the world! I raise my arm to
point towards the sky! Of course I want to become a god, but
saying that loud would only be understood as a joke.
I think you are already the best singer in the world, Sharid. I never
heard a voice like yours. You could make unbelievable sums of
money by working as a singer in a big town. Ron joins the
conversation.
Oh, please. Stop the flattery! Besides, I wouldn't get to see the
world! What's life worth if you always stay in one place! I correct

the grip on my backpack while I avoid a root on the path.

It wasn't... -Ron
But Sondo interrupts him by raising an arm to signal the group to
stop. We are surrounded. There is something in the bushes ahead
and to our sides behind the trees.
Can we turn and run? Iris takes the shield from her back.
I don't think that we would get away, but.... -Sondo
The sound of an ork-horn interrupts him. With the signal thirty armed
orks jump out of the thick underwood twenty metres in front of us.
Eight orks leave their hidings to our left and nine to our right! That
amounts to fourty seven enemies! We are hopelessly outnumbered!
But Maxime keeps her cool and immediately throws a binding spell
onto the enemies to our right while Sondo throws a big smoke bomb
at the main group. It's immediately followed by a set of different
other grenades. Then Sondo draws his daggers and enters the
smoke screen.
While flashes of light throw the main group into disarray, Iris and Ron
make a stand against the attack from our left.
I start to sing a hymn of strength and defence to assist my
comrades. Four orks stop their advance in order to deal with our
close range fighters while the others simply run past them to attack
our rear guard.
Sharid! Maxime! -Ron
I can't bind them and defend myself! Maxime has a frightful face
while the shackles of light on the group to our right start to flicker.
I step before Maxime while I continue to sing. The first ork arrives

with a raised axe and I jump forward to kick him in the groin while I
catch the axe which was coming down at me.
The ork is lifted two metres into the air while I throw the axe at the
second ork. The axe enters his rusty chest plate with a satisfying
*Thud*.
As the third ork arrives, I evade the first swing of his rusty blade and
give him a back handed slap to the face. His head bends backwards
into an unhealthy angle and I grab the rusty sword out of his limp
fingers.
The fourth ork wields a mace at me but I use the rusty sword to
redirect it and the mace buries itself into the ground. A quick kick to
the ork's shin snaps the bone with a crunching sound and the
monster falls backwards.
Before he can get up his skull is crushed under the sole of my foot.
Haaah! I like it to ~crush~ bad guys.
Picking up the mace, I turn to finish off my first opponent / ~victim~.
He is still on his knees while the mace comes down on his neck and
ends his miserable existence.
Having dealt with the disturbance, I concentrate my full attention on
singing again. With the enhanced strength and agility our close
combat fighters manage to deal with their enemies rather easily.
Then they advance towards the shackled group and start a bloody
execution.
I turn my attention to the lifting smoke screen and realize that
something bad happened on Sondo's side.
There are orks emerging out of the smoke. I switch my aria to a
song which weakens enemies. The orks fall to their knees with
strained expressions on their faces.

Spellweaving is a very powerful art, but it comes with a price. Spells

which affect such a huge area come with a hefty consumption of
mana. Mana is a power within ones soul. It's directly connected with
your ability to concentrate and your life force.
And I feel my reserves dwindle! Singing so many powerful spells is
using almost my entire power. The last song is especially difficult
because I have to suppress all enemies affected by it.
I feel my concentration wavering while I try to use every ounce of
power within me. I have to do this! Thirty enemies at the same time
are too much for this group!
Pearls of sweat are forming on my forehead while I feel the last of
my power disappearing. But there has to be more! I continue to sing
while I search within myself for anything besides my own life force.
But scraping a bit off of my own life is better than dying? Isn't it? I
continue to sing while my comrades finish the last of the shackled
opponents and advance towards the main group.
My voice starts to waver while my life diminishes with each word.
But I have to hold on.
When my life is almost gone, I suddenly realize a small spark of
power within myself. It is so small. I would have never felt it if I
hadn't drained my reserves to that extend!
Like someone dying of thirst, I grab for that small spark of power
and suddenly an unbelievable force floods through my entire being!
There is so much mana! More than I ever felt before. It shakes my
entire being. A white nothingness of pure power is all around me and
I become aware of streams of pure energy through all my
surroundings.
I never felt them before. I never realized that there was so much
power everywhere all along! Then I am overwhelmed by this new

realization of reality and everything goes dark.

..

.
..
A slow swaying motion wakes me up and I open my eyes. A slight
pain stings into them, as I am blinded by the light. Ouch! Too bright!
Sharid? You are awake? Thank the gods! Ron, set her down!
Maxime's voice reaches my ears.
What happened? I blink as I am helped off of Ron. Looks like he
carried me on his back.
You were out cold for a day. We are almost out of the forest!
Sondo looks at me with a worried face. He has a pretty big bump on
his forehead. Did he run into a tree?
Ngh! I am so sorry! You guys had to carry me all the way? I get to
my feet. Somehow I feel light!
Careful! You don't have to apologize. You saved us all with that last
song. To hold down that many orks. I am sorry. You even used your
own life force! Are you sure you are able to stand? Iris gives me
another worried look.
It's okay! I never felt better! What's wrong with you guys? I smile
at them.
Um... your hair... Ron points at me with an awkward expression.
I pull my hair into my view and become aware of a pure white
strand. It seems to origin from my left temple. Hm. Does it look
cool? It gives me a villain look doesn't it? Can you tell me what
happened?

Iris takes the lead in explaining things. After you started that last
song, we hurried to deal with the paralysed orks. We realized that
you started to burn your own life to keep them in check and worked
as fast as we could.
She takes a breath.
But when we were halfway done, you suddenly emitted this light
and your whole body started glowing. You sang and sang. It was like
a messenger of the gods came to the mortal realm. And then you
suddenly dropped to the ground and were unconscious. Nothing we
did could wake you up and so we carried you all the way here.
Ah. I see.... thank you guys. Looks like I was a burden in the end. I
bow to them.
No way! Without you we would have been goners! When those orks
broke our line of defence you stepped in front of Maxime. From
which spell did you get that barbarous strength!? Ron bursts out.
Barbarous? I pout my lips and Iris cuffs Ron into the side. I was
just training in the mountains with my master. He didn't allow me
weapons and so I had to deal with various wild beasts just by using
my fists. There were snow pumas, bears and mountain gorillas. But
especially the most problematic ones, which are the cave trolls.
Those are really strong fellows! Dealing with an ork is like kicking a
child compared to them.
The group stares at me with astounded expressions. And it's good
if a supporter can take care of himself in case something gets past
the front lines!
Iris shakes her head. I thought she was the delicate type. From
tomorrow on, I will fight a bear bare handed every day!
I will go and train alone in the mountains after this. Ron kicks a
pebble on the roadside.
I will join you! Maxime calls out towards Ron.
Next time I will prepare more smoke bombs! Sondo is the only one
who makes the smart choice.

With this our group parts at the next city. They still thanked me quite
a few times for saving them till we parted.
Then I start to stroll in awe through the town. I am bewitched by my
new senses and those streams of power everywhere.
If I concentrate, I can sense them. They are everywhere! They run
through the earth, the air and the sky! A gigantic endless network!
And this limitless power I feel within myself!
Out of curiosity I try to grab one of the small and weak streams of
power. Before I know it, I stand on the grassy field in front of the
town. How did I get here? I was inside the town a second ago!
Feels cool to be a god, heh? Nazareth's voice comes from my left
knee and turn towards him.
~Master!~ I grab the little gnome and hug him tightly. Did I make
it!
Gah! That's enough! Let me down! I will suffocate! Nazareth
wriggles out of my grasp.
Is he embarrassed? Oh, now I know how to deal him a blow!
Listen! Young god! I suggest you travel through the multiverse from
now on and learn everything of interest. -Nazareth
Multiverse? I arch my eyebrows.
Oh. You see those strings of power everywhere? By grabbing one
and holding onto them you can travel to different worlds and
realities. It's a unique ability of us gods. Like that huge mana pool.
But be careful! You can still die if you take a fatal wound. But by
emitting your mana as an aura you can become almost invincible. Nazareth

Invincible? I feel like a fool to ask like that.

Yes. But don't overvalue it. Other gods can still hurt you. Oh, and
thanks to that huge mana pool, you have an effectively limitless
lifespan now. And now for the rules! Nazareth points a finger at me.
Since when have gods rules? I am completely baffled now.
There are! First. Don't fight with other gods! It always ends bad!
Second! Don't play too much with mortals! If you mess with them too
much the big societies will punish you. Third! If you ever meet a
newly born god, you have to give him directions. -Nazareth
Societies? Aw! I fell back into that shema!
There are multiple big societies of gods. They are similar to
nations. Nazareth sits down on a small rock. The biggest ones are
as following. First the Perseides Alliance, they created their own
world for gods and like it to keep to their own kind. They protect the
planets under their jurisdiction like bloodhounds. Don't mess with one
of their toys or you will have a bad time.
They created their own world!? I have to see that!
Yeah. But access isn't free. You have to be a member of their club.
Nazareth shoots me immediately down. Then there is the Arcane
Community. They have their base on an artificial moon. They are all
science nerds. If you don't talk in formulas, you shouldn't waste your
time with them. -Nazareth
There is also the Gaian Pact. All of them are nature freaks. They
want to keep the multiverse healthy or something like that. I am a
god of nature myself, but they are on another level. I can't really
associate with them. They are all around the multiverse. You are
sure to run into one of them sooner or later. Nazareth folds his
hands.
The Unity is also a group of oddballs with their own world. They are

shutting themselves in their world and try to live normal lifes. As far
as it is possible for gods. -Nazareth
Is there a problem? I look into his disturbed face.
Well that brings me to rule number four. It isn't really a rule but you
should follow it for your own good. Don't have children. They will be
mortal and grow old and die under your eyes. Pretty depressing if
you make that mistake too often. -Nazareth
Ow. That's a disturbing thought.
Unless you join one of the big societies of course. Those with
planets have a way to have children who are gods too. But like I
said, you have to join the club. Nazareth shrugs his shoulders.
The Unity is another group with their own planet. They keep to
themselves for most of the time. Though they are always trying to
find new gods to join their ranks.
The Carne Empire has a planet too. It's lead by some kind of
legendary harem king. Keep away from there for your own good!
That one was a pretty short introduction? -Me
So you want to join a harem? I didn't realize that you swing that
way. You will have no problems then, he takes.... But Nazareth gets
interrupted by me.
Continue! What about Angrod! He is right! I don't want to hear it! I
want to know where I have to go to give him a beating!
You should go and contact Miruliru from The Path first. She told me
to give you her invitation to visit her for tea. The Path is the next big
faction. They are firm believers that gods should try to get as many
mortal worshippers as possible. It's their opinion that gods should
guide the mortals under them Nazareth ignores my question.
So this world belongs to The Path? This is getting really

complicated. I should pay Miruliru a visit. She saved me twice.

This world is neutral. But it's under the supervision of the
Chimerans. Angrod is their king and if you would have to put them
into a power ranking with the other societies, they are the strongest
force. They also have their own planet and are a closed society. In
case that a demon outbreak occurs, they will come and interfere. Nazareth
That brings me to to the last point. If you ever come across a
crystalline sphere, blue, about a metre big, levitating in the air and
spinning like crazy. Crush it immediately with all your power. It's a
gateway for soul eating demons. They can eat gods too. They are
remnants from a long war against a great evil. Nazarath smiles at
me while my jaw drops.
Now for directions. See that very big fat pathway in the sky? That
one leads to Asheim. It's a place for all powers to meet and talk. If
you get lost, that one always leads there. So it's very convenient for
you! He grins at me. But the Chimerans are in charge of Asheim,
just for the information. And that other big one left on the horizon to
that mountain? That one brings you directly to The Path! And you
don't have to touch a pathway in order to use it. Just concentrating
on it is enough.
Nazareth folds his arms behind his back and looks at me with
expectant eyes.
Uuh. I guess it's time to thank you for everything then? I smile at
master.
No problem. It's an honour to help the finest twin mountains I have
ever seen. The gnome grins at me while my expression drops.
In the name of everything you have done for me. I will not
~execute~ you for that remark. -Me
After a last wave at my master, I turn around to take a look at this

~multiverse~!

Another realm and a group of gods

You have done it! You are a genius Nazareth! To lead her back to
godhood within a few years! Freedom! -lesser deity
And now she is gone and we are free! -Nazareth
PARTY! Three years of guarding her every step from dying of
hunger in the wild. - minor god
Why do you look so sad Nuin? -Zenial, High goddess of the moon
I just thought that I would have to peek on lesser girls from now
on...... it's lucky that I took a few pictures before she left. -Nuin,
High god of the sun
I get your troubles..... -Nazareth
All the years I had to look at those superior tits of hers! -minor
deity
PERVERTS! -Zenial, High goddess of the moon
Anyone thought about what would happen if Angrod ever
remembered about her and asked us where she is? -minor goddess
... -Silence
Find her! But she is out there in the multiverse!
Impossible! She will get lost at the first corner! Save her!
AAAAH! We are doomed! Don't burn my pictures!
Because of them you didn't do your job! ..
.

..

94 - Being a daddy! And

teatime?
He ran away!? Why didn't you stop him Seria? Dad calls out in a
surprised voice while sitting on his throne.
Geez! Don't call it running away. He just wanted to travel the
multiverse and have a little bit of fun. It isn't like he won't come back
at all. I try to calm dad down.
Hmpf. I wanted to give him a few jobs. Maybe retiring completely if
he proved to be a good leader. Dad seems a little down.
Maybe it isn't so bad if he takes a good look at the multiverse first.
I smile at dad.
Haah. There goes my vacation. Well, I am willing to let him run
amok until it gets boring. It can't take more than a few years. Dad
leans back in his throne with a grumpy expression.
Ahaha. Don't be so negative! If it gets out of hand I will drag him
home. I am confident to set him right if the need should arise.
At least my cute little daughter is reliable! How about trying your
luck as an envoy in Asheim? Father has a dirty expression on his
face!
Dad! You have that grin again...... what's the other side of the
coin? I have to probe for more information.
Dad slumps down on his chair. You will have to deal with all those
pests from the other powers.
I grin at Angrod with a bright expression. Then I will have to show
them who the boss is!

.... actually. It might not be such a good idea. Do you want to have
a political marriage instead? *Urgh* *Cough* *Cough* -Angrod
I immediately jumped at that idiot father and gave him a flying knee
into the belly. What day and age are you from!?
Thanks to you, your parents had also a political marriage! It would
be fair to have you experience the same fate! -Angrod
I am a different person now! It would be unfair to hold me
accountable for the actions of my previous perverted self! There
you have it! Now a few tears! By combining mom's control of the
inner mana flow and dad's telekinesis you can achieve some pretty
convenient things.
Huh? -Angrod
And now the finishing strike! Don't you think I have enough
issues on my own! All those perverted memories of the old
Seria, meddling with other peoples love life! And the peeking! I
should have never taken that soul marble! You are a horrible
father! I turn around to run toward the exit.
W... Wait! I am sorry! Of course you can do what you want!
Angrod calls after me with a troubled voice.
I stop. Really? *sniff* Okay! The snot out of my nose may have
been a little too much. That's disgusting.
Angrod comes to me and hugs me. Of course! You can go for
whatever guy you like! And if he doesn't treat you correctly, dad will
have a little conversation with him under two eyes.
Wait a moment? *Sniff* Just two?
Yeah! Someone who disrespects my daughter doesn't need
useless organs. Angrod strokes my head while failing completely

as a parent.
I hug dad in order to have an excuse for not looking into his face.
Scary! What else do you deem useless? Okay.
Why is big sis crying?
My little sisters suddenly appeared around us! Oh so cute! I always
wanted to be a big sis! All my dreams came true! Big Sis and little
sister in one! It's nothing! Big Sis got just a little agitated.
I bend down to hug the little Lada. Mwahaha! It will be the best once
she regains her memories! Especially how she lost that bet and had
to become my little sister! She will never find out that I cheated her
with Aengus's help.
We want to play with you! You promised to teach us a few tricks!
Eris grabs me from the side and links arms with me.
Yes! Or we could go tower jumping again! Arianne starts to jump
happily. I found a really big cliff with a sea under it! And there are no
guards who could disturb us!
I don't want to get wet! Eris starts to pout her lips.
You could try to take a pathway right before impact! That would be
a new challenge! -Lada
Oh, YESS! Cool idea! Whoever gets closer to the ground wins! Arianne
Don't do weird stuff! Angrod snaps at them.
Daddy is mean! Scary dad! We arent allowed to have
fun...
Please don't jump from high places! If Celes finds out we will
all be in trouble! Promise! Angrod makes a stand before the

triplets.
If you take us somewhere cool? Like the zoo! Mnn.
Fine...
Ehm... Do what you want! I have work to do! Angrod vanishes
by using a pathway.
Does anyone know why daddy always runs away when we ask
him to take us to the zoo?
Nope.
But it's the perfect magic word to get rid of him.
Though we need a word to make him appear to!
That would be too convenient.
He would be the perfect daddy.
Always there when you need him.
Always gone when you don't need him.
The tails of the triplets swing in perfect synchronisation from left to
right while they contemplate about Angrod's peculiarities.
Then they turn in perfect unison towards me. Now we can play!

The Path, Headquarters!

Ahahaha. I would have never thought that you would manage to
reclaim your godhood that fast! Miruliru takes a sip of her tea.
Well, I guess I had a lot of help. I eat another one of the delicious
cookies.
So what do you plan next? Do you want to join the path and work
for me? Miruliru gives me a heartwarming smile.
I appreciate the offer, but I need to learn a lot of stuff first!
Everything is completely new to me. I bow a little to the goddess
before me.

Hah. I know! I suppose you have great plans. Like getting back at
Angrod? -Miruliru
Yes! That's for sure! So can you help me taking revenge? I grab
her petite little hand.
Forget it! -Miruliru
What? Why! I slide to the floor.
Because revenge means just bad karma. And besides. The current
you is very weak. You don't even have basic knowledge about your
new environment. -Miruliru
Then can you tell me at least why I was punished? I go my knees
and bow to Miruliru.
Does it matter? Well I guess you will find out sooner or later
anyway. You were a puppet of the great Calamity and did some
pretty bad things as El Shaddai.-Miruliru
That name sounds male...... I can't help it. Somehow it sounds
familiar.
Tch! She noticed.... Miruliru turns to the side with an unhappy
expression.
I sit up! Oh. Nonono!
Miruliru starts to grin.
NOOOO! YOU WANT TO TELL ME THAT I WAS A GUY!
Somehow everything is swirling a little. What kind of extraordinary
pervert is that Angrod?
The kind who harnesses very long grudges. You should be happy.
There are individuals who are worse off than you. So do you still

want your past back? I don't think that the current you would be very
happy with those memories. Miruliru places another piece of sugar
in her tea.
NO! I won't manage to cope with that! I am a woman!
~Without a doubt.~ -Miruliru
You are making fun of me! I cover my face with my hands. This is
too much!
Don't fret over it. If you would have become a god the normal way
you would have had a few gender switches anyway. The multiverse
isn't so nice as to place your soul in a fitting body during every
reincarnation. -Miruliru
Haaaaah? What is she talking about.
Miruliru sighs. You know what? We will get some soul-mages and
they will force feed you some basic knowledge! That makes talking
much easier!
Force feed? I don't like the sound of that!
Don't worry. It's tested and reliable. There are very few cases of
fried brains! Miruliru takes me at the hand and leads me out of the
office.
That's when her words hit me.
?!Fried BRAIN!?
..
.

..
.

My head hurts! All that knowledge! I feel like I was a barbarian

before...
Comes close. Don't worry. It's the case for almost every mortal.
Even those who have a few reincarnations behind them. Miruliru has
a happy expression now.
Even so... am I not at a permanent disadvantage now? Other gods
have thousands of years more life experience than me. Not counting
the really old ones. -Me
It isn't so bad. There are very few of those. And there are always
some new arrivals. Think of yourself as a newborn. Miruliru claps
her hands together. By the way. You should go to Asheim and get
yourself registered as a neutral god.
But isn't Asheim controlled by Angrod's faction? I am worried about
that.
No problem. Nobody besides the rulers of the big societies knows
who you are. Angrod has to protect his reputation. And those minor
gods who had an eye on you while you were mortal are sworn to
secrecy. If they wouldn't keep their mouth shut, Angrod would burn
their world to cinders. -Miruliru
Hey! That's my world too! And my family lives there!
Ahaha. Sorry about that. And afterwards you could take a look
around the multiverse. Seeing everything for yourself is better than
just knowing. You know? Mwahaha! -Miruliru
I still don't know how to thank you for your guidance. I hope she
doesn't want payment later.
It's fine. I was just a little disturbed by Angrod's grudge. It's not
okay to relieve your stress on someone who doesn't even know
why. Miruliru signals me to follow and leads me outside onto the
balcony.

You remember? The biggest pathway leads to Asheim. It's better if

you get yourself registered as a god. You have to know your divinity
if you want to improve your power. Miruliru looks into my eyes and
immediately understands that I don't get it.
Your divinity is the mental state of your mind which is responsible
for your power. I suppose you already realized that being a god is
purely a state of the mind. The further you are able to dive into that
.. feeling, the more power you get. My divinities are faith and
determination. I draw power from the knowledge that many people
believe in me. Miruliru smiles at me.
I think about it for a moment. So you don't get stronger because
they believe in you, but because you believe that they believe in you?
So if you would manage to believe that everyone in the multiverse
believes in you.....
..... I would be the strongest god in the multiverse. Yes. And if you
register yourself, you will get tested for your divinity. Spares you the
time to find it out on your own. Miruliru offers me her hand and I
shake it.
Thanks.
No problem. I did it for my own amusement after all.

The little goddess leaves with a dirty grin on her face and walks
back inside.

95 - Asheim!
Then for Asheim! ~Shanana!~ If all this new common knowledge is
true then it should be a breathtaking sight to behold!
I concentrate on the big pathway and from one second to the next, I
stand on a big platform made out of crystal. Around me are blue
crystal towers! Wow! Everything is sparkling!
So dizzy!? Why? It's beautiful but everything is spinning....
*Flop*
Ah! I fell on my back. HhhhHHh! Why is it so hard to breathe?
Ah... another newby! And a hot one at that! Do you want to go on a
date? A male guard comes into my view.
*Smack!*
Don't you see that she is suffocating! A female guard instantly hit
her co-worker. Hey, newby! Concentrate on your mana and release
it through your body. The air on this world is toxic. You have to heal
and enforce yourself by strengthening your aura!
Geh! Why do you bother? Most of them suffocate anyway. We
patch them up and it's done. Teaching newbies is a waste of time.
Even if they are hot chicks! And it's easier to hit on them if they think
that they owe you a favour. -male guard
My power! That bastard guard! I search for the power within myself
and start to release it through my body. Haaaaa! That feels much
better!
The female guard pulls me to my feet. Don't take it too serious. It's
a joke amongst the gods to send the new arrivals here without telling

them about the environment. That's why we are stationed here. It's
too bothersome to deal with the dead bodies of newbies.
The guard smirks at me. Are those Chimerans? Idiots! Station a
healer here! What if someone doesn't get the trick in time!
So? What about the date newbie? The male guard asks me with
lecherous eyes.
~~If you run a hundred thousand laps around this platform
within the day I might consider it~~
Really?! -male guard
~~YES!~~
The guard starts running. No chance in hell that he will manage it.
Mwahaha! Punishing evildoers is the best! I love it!
That's a neat little trick newbie! But don't do it again or I will throw
you into the prison! Disrespecting the law is heavily punished. I will
overlook it this time because he is an idiot. The female guard smirks
at me.
Oh, no! I didn't even think about this! This could have ended badly.
Oh... Thank you! I guess I was carried away. Can you give me
directions? I am completely new to this god-business.
Sure. You see the big central tower? At it's feet is a big plaza with
stores and the evaluation centre. You can get yourself registered
there. Have a nice day. -female guard
I wave at the female guard and start to walk towards the central
tower. No need to rush! There is so much to see! A town out of
crystals! Now that's what you call a place for gods!
Not bad at all. Who knew that the Chimerans had such a sparkling
taste? While I walk, I realize that this town is very lively! There are

people... uh.. gods.. people... well I guess we are still people?

Anyway! There are so many people here!
They are trading goods or talking. And they all look different. There
are so many different races, I rarely see more than one or two
individuals who look similar.
After a while I arrive at the plaza. Ha! I am proud! I didn't even get
lost! But I suppose it would be sad to lose your direction with a
really big tower bathing the city in it's shadow.
Now I just have to ask someone for this registration thingy! I choose
a shop owner, who doesn't look very busy.
Excuse me! Can you tell me where you can register yourself as a
new god? I decide to be blunt.
Over there at the foot of the tower miss! The shop owner points
out the direction.
That's when my eyes fall onto the price tags on his goods. The
goods are all made out of crystal and the finest materials I have ever
seen.
What is GP? I am looking at a fine looking mirror which is tagged
with fifty thousand GP!
Those are guildpoints young lady. A guildpoint is equivalent to a
decent meal. The shop owner gives me a short answer and I thank
him while I turn to leave.
Those things are fucking expensive! But I guess that gods would only
trade luxury items to each other. What a bother. So I probably can't
afford anything in this city!
AAAAAAAA!
HAHAHAHA!
HOHOHOHO!
KYAAAAA!

Hmmm? What's that voice? Is someone in danger? Strange. Nobody

is paying any attention to the screams?
Miss! Above! Evade! They are jumping again! The shop owner
from earlier calls out to me.
Huh? Above? WaWaWaWa! Falling bodies!
AAAAAAAA!

*Thud*

Waa! So close that almost.... HIII!

HAHAHAHA!

*Thud*

There are more!

HOHOHOHO!
KYAAAAA!

*Thud*

*Thud*

I won! I WON! HA! Again! Sis.... you got one! Nice! It's
hard to hit one! Hn! They get better at evading every day!
Owie! That hurt! They fell on me! Two of them!
Miss are you okay?
I look up and realize that a red haired demon is holding her hand
towards me. A real demon! With horns and tail! I thought those exist
just in fairy tails and as statues above my mothers house!
Um. Thanks. I guess I am not injured. My name is Sharid and I am
new here. Ugh. Why do the eyes of that demon sparkle so
suddenly?
I am Seria! You are a new god? Welcome to Asheim! Those are my
little sisters. Lada, Eris and Arianne! The red haired beautiful girl

introduces me to the other three members of her party.

The family resemblance is outstanding. Horns, tails and faces. Just
that the little sisters have black hair instead of Seria's blood red
colour.
Um thanks. I was just about to get myself registered when you fell
on me. Why did you even fall from the tower! Did someone throw
you? Is this some kind of punishment here?
It's a game! You have to jump and hit people! Wanna try?
The little sisters answer my question in an unexpected way. Um.
Sorry. I will pass on that!
You could be the target! The others here got too good at
evading! Wanna try?
I have to register myself first! Maybe we can play when I have an
idea of my situation. Or NEVER! I won't jump, nor will I be a target!
Then we will continue. You know where we are! Just wait
down here if you want to train evasion!
The three kids disappear and Seria gives me an apologetic look.
They are a little to enthuiastic about this game. Please don't be mad
at them. Want me to give you a little guided tour? There is much to
see in Asheim!
I bow to Seria. That would be very helpful, but I can't reward you!
Hahaha! There is no need for a reward! Come to the registration
first! That will take some time. I am also curious about your
divinities! Seria grabs my hand and pulls me along.
Soon after I am before a female examiner who is taking my
information like name, gender, age, political alignment.....

So, that's done then. Welcome as a new god, Sharid. Here is your
identification crystal with all your data and 1000 GP as a starting
capital. -Examiner
1000GP! I shout out in surprise.
It's nothing. You will need it. Even very powerful and lucky newbies
need two to three years in order to find employment in a guild. Examiner
Oh! Should I have taken Miruliru's offer to join her society? This
sounds very harsh!
So what about that test for my divinity? I ask with a curious voice.
This didn't take long at all.
That's five hundred GP to take it at the next big examination please.
Nine hundred If you want to take it immediately! -Examiner
That's stealing! You Chimerans are money grubbers! I have to call
out at that price! They give you money, just to take it back
immediately!
Hahaha! I will pay for you Sharid. Buy yourself something nice with
the rest of the money. It should be enough for some decent
equipment if you search for the cheap stores. Seria waves a crystal
at the examiner.
Y... You can't do that! How will I pay you back!? I can't take
money!
No problem! No problem! Actually I am filthy rich! Those are
peanuts to me! I am aiming for a position in the government. Seria
waves at me while the examiner pushes a big stash of papers into
my hands.
Answer those questions completely truthful! If you lie and the
examination fails.... NO MONEY RETURNED! -Examiner


..
.
Half an hour later I am done and wait with Seria before the
examiners test. Kuh! That felt more like a psychological test than
anything else.
It is a psychological test! Examiner answers while ticking off some
things on my papers. And finally! We are done! Welcome in the
ranks of gods! Sharid, goddess of lust, ~masochism~ and
~sadism~!
OOOooohh! Three divinities! Like my brother! You are very gifted
Sharid. Three divinities are rare! Seria pats my back.
Waaait! Whyyyy! I am neither of those! Something is definitely
wrong here! I make a denying gesture at the examiner.
I am good at my job! I don't make mistakes! -Examiner
Then how? I am not like that! There has to be a mistake.
Your divinities are strongly influenced by your mental state at the
moment right before your ascension. If I could take a look at your
memories, I could explain it to you. -Examiner
Uum! That's a little... Can I do that?
I won't look at anything else. Just the moment you show me. Examiner
I nod and the examiner grabs my hands. A few moments later she
lets go.
Hmm. Very interesting. You remember when you crushed that ork's
brain? You felt lust and satisfaction by hurting those orks. It turned

you on in a sexual way! -Examiner

Urgh! I don't want to believe it! Then why masochism! -Me
Because you decided to stop the rest of the orks at the cost of your
own life-power. You continued to hurt yourself while doing the thing
you love the most and that's singing. You felt the pleasure of singing
and the pain of losing your life at the same time. The examiner gives
me a dirty smirk.
I drop to my knees while Seria pats my back. It will work out! You
actually have the best matching set of divinities I have ever seen.
HahaHAHAHAAHAHA!

96 - Signing your fate!

By the time we left the registration office I was completely
destroyed. How could something like that happen to me. It's cruel!
I never realized that I had those kinds of feelings. No matter how
you look at it. This is my social end! How can I face other people
with a straight face while having those kinds of divinities!
Don't be so hard on yourself. Look at me! I am a goddess of life
and death! Guess how I felt when I found out that I get stronger by
committing mass murder or granting life by hooking people up as
couples! Seria makes a dismissive gesture and smiles at me.
And your boyfriend will be on cloud nine when he finds out! Seria
gives me a stupid smirk.
Yeah... I guess. If I ever find a decent one after this revelation. It's
not fair! I wished for a real romantic romance, marrying and living
happily ever after.
"Heeh. So you don't have one.... unexpected." -Seria
We leave the building and I become aware of a commotion on the
plaza.
Seria! Where are you!
A really pretty high grade demoness is standing in the centre of the
area. She looks very similiar to Seria, just a little older. Two limp
bodies are hanging in each of her arms! A third one is held at the
ankle by her tail and hangs there without moving.
COME OUT!
She is shrieking like crazy with a really angry expression on her face.

The people on the plaza don't react to her. It's as if they are
deliberately trying to pretend that they have neither seen nor heard
anything.

I will disown you!

A really dangerous aura starts pressing down on me and I have
problems staying upright under the pressure. That's when I realize
that Seria is hiding behind me. Who is that?
That's my mom! She caught my little sisters. May the gods have
mercy on their souls! She hates it when we play tower jumping.
Seria pulls me into a side alley and peeks around the corner.
Your mom! But she can't be much older than you! She is twenty five
at most! I arch my eyebrow.
Sharid. We are gods. Do you think that our outer appearance has
to reflect our age? Seria snickers at me.
Then I realize how stupid I am. Miruliru looks like a child while she is
actually an old granny. So? I guess you will have to hide.
What are you saying! We still have to take a look around the town!
Seria grabs my hand and pulls me away from the plaza.
..

..
.
Afterwards she gave me a guided tour through the whole city. Haaa.
I feel like I know every shop and clothing store now. Right now we
are having a small rest in a coffee shop.
And why does it seem like Seria is a very well known person? She
said that she is filthy rich, so her family is probably well known.

But this goes beyond being popular! Almost everyone on the street
made room for us. Some people even bowed to her. Seria? Are you
some kind of superstar?
Bwhahaha! Nah! Nothing like that. I am just the first Princess of
Chimera! Seria proclaims something insane which makes my mind
blank out.
She is the princess? And Angrod is the king? That means the
frightening woman from the plaza was the Queen!?
Yup! That was mom. The strange princess confirms my thoughts
with a happy look on her face.
But what should I do from here? Wouldn't it be a good opportunity to
get revenge on Angrod by using her? But she is such a nice person!
And she helped me! I can't use her like that for such a petty reason.
Even though my grudge runs very deep. Involving others in my
problems is still bad. Haaaa.... and if my new knowledge about
history is true... I somehow... deserved... NOOO! I didn't deserve
it! My current personality doesn't even have any memories of the
past me!
And we became friends! Somehow? I think we are friends now! I
can't do something like that to a friend.
This is a great problem! What if Angrod suddenly shows up and
recognizes me!? Bad! Bad! Bad! ~Super Final DEAD End
Situation!~
You don't have to be so shocked about it! I am not like those
princesses out of a bad movie. Just relax! And mom isn't as
dangerous as she appeared either. -Seria
Then why does your face look like you just told me the biggest lie
ever! That wasn't serious at all!
Okay! Mom can be a little frightening. But she has a righteous

heart. Jumping onto people is an absolute ~no go~ for her. Even
though it's fun! Seria slams her hand onto the table.
I don't get how it should be fun. But as long as nobody gets injured I
guess...... It's hard for me to justify something like that as funny. If
you would jump onto a villain..... but those were random people. On
the other hand I am a villain in disguise so.....
Why do you have a lecherous grin like that on your face? Did you
see a good guy? Tell me! -Seria
I immediately get my expression back under control. Sorry. I just
thought about something really stupid. Nothing to share with others.
Mu... you are no fun! So tell me at least what you plan to do next?
Seria tilts her head and looks at me.
Next? I blink my eyes.
From now on. You are registered as a neutral god now. Will you join
one of the big societies? Or will you work for a guild? Or try to play
god for the mortals. You could create a really hilarious religion.
Seria's expression becomes really creepy.
~NOOO!~ I won't, I will never, ever create a religion! I would die of
shame! Haaaah. That's the least of my intentions! I thought about
wandering the multiverse, to see a few different places. Maybe find
somewhere to settle down. Looking in on my mortal family from time
to time.
Oh. So you still have those kinds of bonds. I am sorry. It will be
hard to watch them grow old while you continue to live on. Seria has
a sad expression on her face.
I know that it will be hard, mentally. But on the emotional side, I
guess that I don't fully realize the consequences of my situation.
Don't think too much over it. If you want to enjoy yourself, I have a

really cool recommendation for you! Seria grabs my shoulders and

starts to jump with a bright face.
And that would be? Don't taunt me like that and give me the full
story!
Okay! There is a world named Amor. It has a fantasy setting with a
demon lord and a hero! The god who is in charge of the world made
a guild request to assist the hero from the shadows to create
peace! Seria nods after thinking for a second.
It's the perfect playground for a new god! You could go there and
have some fun! From what I heard that place has some really
awesome landscapes! I will go and snatch the required documents!
Wait here! Suddenly Seria winks out of existence.
Huh? I didn't even give my confirmation! How irrational can someone
be?
Then Seria reappears before me and presses a stash of papers into
my hands. That's the complete contract! You just have to sign.
There is no hidden trick to it.
F... Fast! I take the papers to have a look at them. This is
suspicious.
Hahaha. I have some connections! Originally I intended to sign the
contract myself to have some fun. So I had them ready for signing.
-Seria
If it's like that..... isn't it bad then? It feels like I am stealing your
vacation! If the situation is like that I can't sign this.
No problem! And if you work there for a while, I know where to find
you. I will come from time to time and play! There is no need to have
a contract with the god of that world. If he has something against
me, I will send my dad to have a word with him! -Seria

She might be more dangerous than I thought! How much influence

does she have on her father!? I guess?
I take the offered pen to sign the papers. But a second before I
write my name a really bad feeling crawls down my spine!
Something is fishy!
Suddenly Seria's hand encases my hand with the pen! It's like a
steel vice! I can't even budge!
~It's really no trick behind it! Just sign!~
Seria's hand guides me slowly and deliberately while creating a
!perfect! copy of my signature! From where does she even know it!?
AH! The registration process from earlier!
~No matter how you look at it! This is just wrong!~
~It's going to be all right.~

97 - The mistakes of youth?

GYAAA! How can this be!? This stupid job! I was charged with
creating peace! Why is my party preparing for the final battle of this
war!? NYAAA!
Ok! Think about it! When I visited this world for the first time I
started to gather information. There is a big continent which is
formed like an hourglass lying on its side.
The west is controlled by the darkness faction. The east is under the
supervision of the light faction. Both of them are stuck in an endless
war because of their ideologies. But nobody could get the upper
hand till now because the narrow land bridge is a perfect geological
barrier between them.
Even if one side is momentarily weakened, it's very easy to defend
because the land bridge is rife with fortresses.
The light faction is made up of humans, elves, fairies and dwarves.
The darkness faction consists mostly of beastmen, demons, orks
and goblins. Though the last two aren't as bad as I know them from
my world. They have a highly evolved society and cities of their own.
First I tried to interfere just with small actions. But somehow
everything I did went wrong. I found a super strong trainer for the
hero and ~convinced~ him to train the hero.
Then I organized a really strong weapon for him and had him learn
about ethics from a peaceful monk.
Afterwards I had him gather a group of really strong allies.
But the moment my hero started to fight in the war, an equally strong
character named -the demon king- appeared on the darkness
faction's side.

From there, everything went out of control. Originally I wanted the

light faction to win and create peace. But now it got bloodier than
ever because they didn't manage to defeat the darkness faction.
Then I decided to take action personally! I disguised myself as a
wandering spellweaver and joined the hero-party.
From then on I tried to influence them into starting peace
negotiations. But nothing worked! Nyaaa! How can anyone be so
stupid!
And on top the hero is a really nice guy! Friendly, righteous, noble
and smart! For short, he is the perfect gentleman who would never
misbehave.
So why are we now standing in row with the light faction's army to
crush the darkness faction once and for all!? Why is the darkness
faction's army lined up in neat rows before us!
You look really disturbed, Sharid. Don't worry! We will win this and
create ever lasting peace! The hero calms me from the side. "And...
And afterwards, I have to tell you something."
How little does he know.... just do this right and negotiate a peace
treaty!
At least there will be one last negotiation attempt before the fighting
starts! I will use that moment to reveal myself. Then I will force them
to sign a peace treaty!
And if they decide to fight anyway.... I will ~crush~ them!
Don't worry Royce! I will do ~fine~. The hero smiles at me and
starts to march with a group of representatives onto the open area
between the two armies. There are about ten of us.
The other side is sending their own delegation. A group of demons

and beastmen comes into our direction.

The group is led by the demon king. We already know him from
previous battles. A big vile looking red demon is following him! He is
towering above all the others.
As our groups reach a distance of about five meters, the demon king
starts to talk. Surrender! If you don't, my army will crush you!
The great demon god Bobo is on our side!
You have to surrender! The goddess of light will not bow to
misguided creations like you! Royce follows in the demon king's
footsteps.

No you will disarm right this second! Why should we?

You... No! You...

Noo! You have to be peaceful! Like you would treat humans! They
continue to talk past each other! Why? I tried with all my might to
give you a proper world-view Royce!
That's when my eyes fall onto the big red monster. It has an unusual
aura! So strong! I am not that good at reading auras yet. But isn't he
a god!?
So that's why all my attempts to tip the balance of power failed!
~NYAAA!~ I could have thought about that sooner! The other side
has the assistance of a god too!
That's when our eyes meet and the demon looks down to the
ground. What's that? Is he embarrassed?
That's it! Bobo! Smite those heretics! There is no other way to
deal with them! The demon king urges the big red demon forward

and the people in our group take a step backwards.

They feel that the big red one is dangerous. Eh!? Why am I suddenly
in the front? Even Royce took a step backwards. Stupid coward!
The big red monster comes forward and stands in front of me.
Uwah! So big! I will never beat this guy! I am not experienced in
fighting gods! Ah! But isn't there a rule to not fight with other gods?
So I am safe! ~Lucky!~
Suddenly the red monster falls onto one knee. It's still almost at the
height of my eyes! Then he takes my hand. Huh? Isn't this a strange
pose? What are you thinking!
My goddess! I was struck by your beauty from the first
moment I laid my eyes on you! Would you give this unworthy
one the honour of a date?
Haaah? The creature spoke with a really gentle and educated
voice! This didn't match at all! You need a brutal and rough voice for
a body like that!
Just one date would be enough! I would give you anything!
You are the only one for me. I felt it down to my bones when I
saw you. You, or nobody else in the multiverse!
A confession! By such a thing? Kuh! I could spew blood! Did my
abilities go out of control? No I don't think so. Ehm. Let's think. I
have to be diplomatic!
Ah! I am ~sorry~ Bobo. But I think that we don't really match. Of
course we could have a little talk to learn about each other. You
shouldn't put your hopes up too high though....
Oh! Of course! Where are my manners! To confess my
feelings while being in disguise! That was just rude. I am
sorry!
*Poof!*

With a small cloud of smoke the red monster suddenly became a

really handsome guy! He looks familiar. Somehow he is similar to the
statue on my mothers house. Uwaah! If it weren't for the horns and
those menacing eyes! But he has black hair and a neat face! ~He is
totally my type!~ I think I can overlook the horns and the eyes.
Please! Go on a date with me!
But I have to bring my job here to a peaceful conclusion.....
That's right! I signed that contract.
No problem! I will wipe this world clean of those fools and
then we can talk! I shouldn't take more than a few seconds!
Take your hands off of Sharid! You monster! -Hero
Bobo! Don't get bewitched by that vixen! -Demon King
I almost see a vein popping on Bobo's forehead while he keeps a
perfect smile towards me. He doesn't even look at them and flicks
his finger into their general direction.

*WOOOO

OOOOSH*

A shock-wave blows Demon King and Hero away while throwing the
soldiers of both armies to the ground. At the same time a barrier
appeared around me and protected me from being affected. Was it
raised by Bobo? You are overdoing it!
The representatives were somehow able to take cover behind some
small rocks. By now they are taking frightened looks at us.
Then Bobo turns towards the representatives.

You heard the goddess! Sign a peace treaty right this second
and honour it! Or I will clean this world of you ~filth~.
Some representatives immediately start to write a peace contract
while others start to give their signatures on a separate paper.
That's just wrong! The contract isn't even done yet!
Then the handsome guy turns back towards me. He didn't let go of
my hand the entire time.
Let me reintroduce myself again! My name is Aengus and I fell
in love with you at first sight!
Oh! This becomes worse every time he has to repeat himself. I
guess I will let you choose the location for the first date? I
have to get him away from here. He is capable to massacre both
armies!
I know the perfect place!
Shaarriiiid! -Hero
Boobooo! -Demon King

I hear Royce and the Demon King in the distance. Then our
surroundings change and I am sitting at a table with luxurious
silverware. Aengus used a pathway to take us away!
Above us is a wonderful starlit sky and a strange broken moon. It's
hanging above us and a belt of its fragments crosses from one side
of the sky to the other while a constant shower of falling stars lights
the sky. It's a magnificent view!
I am happy that you like it, Sharid! Aengus smiles at me and my
face becomes hot. This is unfair! I was totally seen through!
A waiter interrupts us and takes our orders. It feels so unreal. There
are other people around us too. Is everyone here a god? Most of
them seem to be couples?

I smile at Aengus. ~So why don't you tell me a little about

yourself?~
Everything you want to know, Sharid. -Aengus
.

..
.

Aengus
I know it! This goddess is meant for me! I felt it when I first saw her!
I almost couldn't make up my resolve to talk to her. Luckily the stupid
demon king forced me to take action. It would have been stupid if I
had just kept admiring her!
So I took her to the best restaurant I know of! Her name is Sharid
and she just recently became a god. Luckily for me it looks like she
hasn't heard any rumours about me yet!
Maybe I landed the really big hit with her! And she is super cute too,
my heart actually skipped a beat when I saw her.
I gave her my life-story while staying as close to the truth as
possible. Somehow I managed to avoid telling her that I am the first
prince of Chimera. It would be nice if she started to like me without
thinking that she could make a really big catch.
Her body is perfect! And her face is top class! That dark brown hair
with the white strand just adds to her charm! I could look forever into
those hazel eyes.
And she has quite some skills as a spellweaver! She loves singing
and magic. It feels like we talked for hours about magic and different
spells.

Right now, I am taking her for a walk on a lonely beach on the other
side of the planet. Seria suggested it to me. If I ever found a nice
girl, I should take her here. She said that the scenery is very
romantic! I don't have any clue about romance myself.
So I completely trust in my sisters guidance on nice places
throughout the multiverse.
That moon was something else! Sharid has a pleased voice and
walks shoulder to shoulder with me.
Ah, yes! I think it was damaged in the war a while ago. Some idiot
decided to show off his power and gave it a headbutt. At least
that's the official version. If father didn't lie to me, the truth isn't less
funny.
A headbutt!? Sharid starts to snicker.
Then our eyes meet and I somehow lose myself while looking at her.
Is it okay? I softly touch her cheeks and kiss her.
Aengus.... there... is... something... ~nya!~
Before I know it, I have her on the ground with me on top! Oh! This
is bad! That wasn't gentleman-like at all! What if she hates me now!
You don't have to look so troubled Aengus. Could it be that you are
actually quite innocent? That's cute! Sharid grabs my head and pulls
me into an embrace while kissing me.
Sharid..... I haven't told.... you . something. I still have to tell
her that I am a prince! But she is moving in a way which drives me
mad!
~Nyhaha~. I don't care any more! It's stupid to do this on the first
date! But I think I fell head over heels in ~love~ with you! She starts
to open my trousers with a red face!

I really have to tell.... Another kiss shuts me up.

I have a big secret too! But maybe we can work it out later! Please
don't kill the mood now. Sharid looks into my eyes while grinding
against my body. Whoa!! How does she do that! And how did she
undo her clothes!
After a few minutes of kissing and touching each other, I grab her
hands and force them to the ground while my hips start to move on
their own. I don't even remember how I got inside her.
Her screams drive me mad. I would kill anybody who interrupts us
right now. Then I realize that there's blood where we are connected?
How can someone like her be a virgin! I hope I didn't hurt her too
much.
But I can't pull out because she has her legs locked around me! Her
tongue is inside my mouth and a fiery pulsating wave of pleasure
shoots through my entire being.
Then I fall onto her and start to regain the control over myself. She is
still shuddering under me.
After a few seconds she calms down. Haaah... It felt magnificent!
So what was your big secret Aengus? Sharid smiles at me while
I rest panting on top of her.
Well I guess the shit will hit the fan sooner or later anyway..... I am
the prince of Chimera.
Sharid's face becomes expressionless from one moment to the next.
Oh..... shit.... I guess that explains things..... and that makes
everything a lot more complicated. I am an idiot.
I squint my eyes. And your secret?
Sharid starts to play with her fingers in front of her chest. She still

has her legs locked around me.

~~Apparently, I am the reincarnation of El Shaddai. Though I
don't remember my previous self.~~
Now my face becomes expressionless.

Oh....
~Oh....yes... that explains it pretty well.~

98 - Discussion?
Aengus is watching the ocean with a gloomy expression. He hasn't
talked since that moment! What did I do!? I should have thought
about my actions beforehand!
But somehow, I got caught up in the moment and the atmosphere! I
am totally at fault! Not thinking for a single second!
I know for myself that I am female! But Aengus knows me just as a
male character! And I just told him that I was El Shaddai in my
previous life, isn't it practically telling him that he just did a guy!?
No wonder he went instantly limp when I dropped that line on him! I
am such a horrible woman! Will he get it up ever again?
For most males that should have been a one hundred percent fatal
mental blow! Why did I do something stupid like that?
I wave my hand before his face. No reaction!
~Bad~!
I am such an idiot! The right way would have been to build a
relationship in order to reassure him that I am female. Instead I go
and give him the full truth with the sledge hammer!
And we didn't even know each other longer than a day.....
Of course his true identity was a shock for me too! I didn't think
because of that. My mind blanked out for a moment. But it had less
impact. In fact, I already had a feeling that the outcome would be
like this. But I didn't want it to be true!
I didn't lie when I said that I fell for him! I am such a worthless
woman! Giving my first love interest a serious trauma right after the

first action together.

Aengus talk to me! You don't have to be so down! I grab his hand
but he shows no resistance.
I am sorry! You have to understand that I am a one hundred percent
complete girl! And I will stay that way! I have no interest in my old
self! I place his hand at my cheek.
Ah! He is rubbing his temple with his other hand! I didn't give him the
death blow! ~Lucky!~
I am sorry, Sharid. It isn't about that. Well. It was a shock. But it
isn't about that. Aengus mumbles in his usual gentle voice.
You can do everything you want to me. I am so sorry. It's okay if
you are as rough as before. Actually I like it rough! The pain wasn't
an issue! It even turned me on! ~Gehehe~, is there a way to restore
my virginity? Aaahhn! Just remembering, I never felt like that
before!
The pain when you ~stabbed~ into me transformed into pure
pleasure and I couldn't get ~enough~ of it. Haaa. Haa. Maybe you
are even up for a little rougher play? Of course just if it doesn't
turn you off. I draw a little circle on his chest while I look
downwards. I can't look into his eyes right now. What if he hates me
for that new side of mine?
Aengus smiles wryly at me and wipes something out of my face.
Eh!? I didn't drool, did I? Then he pulls me towards him and
positions me between his legs while hugging me from behind.
Sharid? What are your divinities?
Ehm. It's embarrassing. I am a complete pervert. I got lust,
masochism and sadism. I am so sorry that you fell for someone
worthless like me! I hope he won't hate me now.
But instead Aengus starts to giggle. That matches with my heroic,

torment and zeal. Do you ever tried to use some ~instruments~?

Nooo! You were my first time! How could I have had the chance!
But you seem to be fine now. Why were you so down if it wasn't
about my previous self? I assure you that you screwed a woman!
See? I grab his hand and place it on my chest.
Aengus sighs but doesn't remove his hand. I was just thinking how
to tell my family about my fiance.
F... ~Fiance~? I grab his hand tighter.
Of course! You don't want to tell me that you don't like the idea? Aengus
Haah? It's not like that. It's just.... don't you think this is evolving a
little too fast!? I start to fiddle with his fingers. This is really going
out of hand.
I am the prince of Chimera. And while our society may be a little lax
in regards to royalty, I can't have a relationship with someone
without commitment. I am the first prince after all. Aengus hugs me
tight.
I.. I see. Ugh. Your father will kill ~meeeee~. First I had to endure
all those curses for my entire life as punishment. And now I will turn
up as his daughter in law! He will execute me on the spot! I start
shivering when I think about what that guy will do to me.
Father isn't the problem. -Aengus
Huh? Why is the king of gods no problem?
I can deal with father. I don't think that he has that much of a
grudge against you anyway! He just gave you a few strange curses
and tampered with your reincarnation. He is an oddball and a bad
winner. Do you want to know what he did with the guy who was
responsible for his fathers death? Aengus chuckles a little.

Ehm. Okay.... but I thought we gods are immortal? I am sure that I

will regret this.
Well. His father was mortal at that time. So his soul lost all it's
memories and that's equivalent to dying for real. Anyway. He caged
the poor guys soul in a crystal ball and tortured him for years while
always carrying him around in his pocket. That's what I call a grudge
from his side. He would be still carrying him around if grandma hadn't
put an end to it by taking the crystal ball away from him. Aengus
ends his lengthy explanation.
Okay.... If the king is capable of something like that.... I got away
with a little scratch. One moment. What happened to the crystal ball
after your grandma took it? Isn't she the wife of...... doesn't she
have an equally big grudge against the guy inside the crystal ball?
Aengus doesn't answer. Actually I have never seen the crystal globe
ever after....
~Waaaa!~ So you tell me that your father isn't the problem? I will
hit the dead end!
I am more worried about the reaction of my mother and my
grandmothers! They are a little strange and I don't have anything to
say against their opinion. I may have to get the help of my little
sisters. Aengus scratches his cheek.
Actually Seria owes you a favour anyway! She gave me the guildjob on that planet! So if she knew that you were there too.... But
Aengus finishes the sentence for me.
.... she set us up! Well I expected that already. Normally I thought
that she was guiding the other side. We took that contract together
to have a little match against each other. So I was a little surprised
about you. -Aengus
You have a strange way to have a match against one another. You

know that, don't you? -Me

Aengus stands up and takes my hand. We will go and have a look
at her place!
Suddenly our surroundings shift and we are in a small room with a
table and a set of chairs around it. Three people are playing cards at
the table. Seria! Miruliru? Nazareth! I can't help but scream out
their names.
Hehehe. Everything went as planned. Seria smirks at Aengus, who
is holding my hand.
Here is your payment Nazareth. You did a good job. Miruliru flicks
a crystal towards master.
Ho! Always a pleasure! It was a long job after all. Nazareth takes
the crystal and stows it away.
~NYAAA!~ You are all in cahoots with each other!? I can't believe
it! This is an epic set up! How long did you plan this!?
Miruliru makes a thinking pose. Well.... I was following your growth
since your birth for my part. And I always paid Nazareth to have an
extra close eye on you. I thought about using you in one way or the
other against Angrod. I don't like his demeanour.
But the plan to set both of you up came from me when I met you. I
pitied my idiot brother for a long time. He has almost no chance with
women from the Chimeran society after all. And then you come
along.... young, beautiful, without any knowledge about the
multiverse! ~Perfect!~ Seria starts to snicker.
Of course it became even more hilarious when Miruliru started
searching for you and I learned about your history. Sorry big bro!
She is just a perfect match for you, so I couldn't stop myself. Seria
smiles carefree at us.
Little Sis. I hope you know that I will have to use you to take the
blame. Of course this situation is perfect to draw mother's anger

away from me and my ~fiance~. Aengus puts an arm around my

shoulder and draws me close.
Seria freezes.
My cruel little sister played the worst trick of all times on me.
She set me up with our former arch enemy without my
knowledge and now we are stuck in the same boat! Aengus's
tone suddenly became really cruel and dangerous.
Huh? It sent a shiver down my spine. Where is the gentle and
educated voice?
Seria jumps up and falls to her knees before Aengus. Big Bro! Let
this stupid sister assist you in explaining the situation to our parents!
I even have detailed ~video documentation~ of your commitment
to your ~fiance~! Suddenly a flat device appears in Seria's hands.
It shows a certain scene on a beach with Aengus and m..m... ME!
~GYAAA!~ I snatch the device out of Seria's hands and smash it
onto the ground.

*STOMP* *STOMP*

*STOMP*

That won't work. I have the data stored away in various ~safe
locations~. So let your little sister try to assist you without taking all
the blame! That video would destroy your last chance with women
Big Bro. Just in case it won't work out with Sharid in the end. I never
would have imagined that the well behaved big brother of mine would
actually forcefully push down a girl and rob her innocence!
Seria puts both hands on her cheeks and starts to wriggle while on
her knees.
If.... If I am not satisfied, I will take you down with me ~little
sister~. A few veins become visible on Aengus's forehead. So
where are mom and dad at the moment?

99 - This is my fiance!

Another planet, Vacation-Paradise

To think that mom and dad would take their time to go skiing.....
Aengus pulls me with him towards the small wood house. There are
mountains all around us and the stars and a big moon are above us.
It's already dark on this world. Everything is white from the snow.
Seria is right behind us and is humming a little song. She must be
very happy because of the imminent bloodbath!
Aengus knocks on the wooden door and a blonde elven woman
opens it. Hi, Rose! I need to see mom and dad. Aengus hugs the
elf. She is in a maid outfit and smiles at seeing him.
Of course. They are in the living room. Rose leads us towards a
spacious room. I see Seria's little sisters playing cards on the
ground. An older version of Seria is writing something at the table in
the middle of the room.
I recognize her as the queen from Asheim's plaza.
A guy which is looking a little older than Aengus is sitting in a comfy
chair while reading a big book. He looks very relaxed. So that's
Angrod! Just wait! I haven't completely given up on revenge! I will be
the worst daughter in law you can imagine!
~NYAHAHAHA!~ I will claim both! Eternal ~love~ with Aengus! And
eternal ~revenge~ against Angrod!
Mom, Dad. I want to introduce someone to you! Aengus talks
with a calm and smooth voice.

Uwah! Now they look at us! And both are fixating me like prey! Then
I get grabbed at my shoulders and Aengus shoves me in front. This
is Sharid. I love her and I confessed to her! We want to marry!
*Rip* *Crack*
Angrod ripped the book! How much strength does he have to rip a
book like a sheet of paper!?
And she broke her pen! ~Uwah!~ It was golden and looked
precious!
I smile and bow to them. Nice to meet you! My name is Sharid. ~I
hope we can get along with each other.~
Angrod jumps out of his chair and stomps before us. !Do you
know who that is! He screams at Aengus while waving a part of
his book at me. ~Bad!~ He immediately recognized me!
The reincarnation of someone you gave a petty punishment. But I
am glad that you did it. Because I love the person she is now.
Aengus answers his father with a straight face which makes me
blush.
NO! Nev...

*Snatch* *Smack*

The queen took the broken book from Angrod and smacked it onto
his head with full force. He is wriggling on the ground in pain, but not
a sound comes over his lips! ~Serves~ you right!
Rose, get Ireth and Katrina! The queen crosses her arms while
looking at me.

Sharid isn't a bad person mom! She is my friend! Seria hugs me

from the side which causes raised eyebrows from the queen.
The queen doesn't say a word which is actually very scary. She just
points at the table and we take a seat. Then she sits down in from of
us and stares at me. Nobody says a word.
The silent staring continues until two other female demons arrive. I
guess those are Ireth and Katrina? They have an old geezer and
another guy with them.
The queen mumbles a few incomprehensible words to them and then
they take a seat in front of me. One of the new arrivals just gives a
single command to me.
Talk.
Uhm... about what?

..
.
This is exhausting! I had to describe my entire life towards the
female members of Aengus's family.
I am sitting across Celes, Ireth and Katrina. At least Seria is beside
me. The triplets are looking at me from the side with curious
expressions.
Angrod is sitting in a corner of the room with a gloomy expression.
He didn't get to say a single word during the entire discussion.
Aengus is patting his back while talking to him.
The two guys who got introduced as grandfather and great
grandfather are sitting on another table and are playing cards.
Could it be.... that this household is completely dominated by the
female members?

This will be a scandal! -Ireth

Impossible. She isn't even from a royal bloodline. -Katrine
Celes just tilts her head while looking at me. So you say that you
love my son?
Yes! I bow to her. Looks like I don't have good cards with the
grandmothers.
Then you have to prove it! Celes whispers a few sentences with
the grandmothers and after a while they nod. Then Celes
disappears.
Huh? Did she teleport? I look at Seria who has an equally
perplexed expression.
After a few seconds of silent standstill with the unhappy
grandmothers, Celes reappears again. She has a big syringe with a
needle in her left. An evil smirk is on her face.
If you manage to survive this, I will let you have my son. This is a
test! If you are too weak, then I am rid of you! The syringe is
skilfully dancing around in her fingers while she holds it before me.
Mom! That goes too far! Not one of your weird experiments! Sharid,
you don't have to do this! Seria holds my hand. It's my fault mom. I
set them up!
I know that you had a hand in it! You always have a part in things
like this! You will be punished separately! Celes shoots a deathly
glare at Seria.
Seria drops from her chair and takes a foetus position on the
ground? ~Nyaaa!~ My only ally was defeated by a gaze!
Uwah! What to do? Will I even get out of this alive if I refuse? Why is
the world never easy on ~meee~! Aengus I hope we can be

together. If not in this life, then in the next. And for ~revenge~!
I hold my arm out and close my eyes. Then I feel the needle peeking
me.
If you want to give up, I will administer the antidote to you. Of
course you will have failed the test in that case.... -Celes
.

..
.

Aengus's POV
~NYHAHAHA!~ . ~HAAAHH~ . ~YEESSS!~

Screams of lust and excitement are coming from the room next door.
Mom! What did you do to Sharid? I was forbidden from entering
the room after mom used one of her strange medicines on Sharid.
Celes is sitting on a couch while chewing on her nail. This is
strange. It should hurt!
What should hurt? Shaarriiid! I run towards the door but Ireth
blocks my way.
Sit! Ireth gives a single command.
I immediately fall to my knees. Grandma is scary! I can't oppose
her!
~MOREE!~ ~AahhhhnNNN!~ ~HIIIAAAHAHAHA!~

Ugh. This hurts my pride! What did she give to her. She didn't
scream like that when I screwed her! And it has been hours now!

This is totally unexpected. She might be really good material. Ireth

is talking to herself.
I will take a walk outside. Angrod leaves the room with a grumpy
expression. Dad! Stop them!

~MAAGNIFICCIEEENT!~
I wait with Ireth in front of me until the screams calm down. It felt
like an eternity. After a while the door knob turns and Sharid
stumbles into the room. She is covered in sweat and looks tired.
That was the ~best~. Did I pass the test? Sharid smiles at me.
There are red and black strands added to her hair! Two horns are
crowning her head like a tiara and a long black tail is curling cutely
behind her.
Why are you looking at me like that? Something behind me? Sharid
looks behind her. ~GYAA!~
*Snap*
Sharid broke the door knob when she got surprised by the tail
waving behind her. Not being able to hold the balance with the new
addition, she falls backwards on her butt.
Sharid immediately gets on all fours and crawls to a close mirror.
~NYAARRR!~ Tail! Horns!? My hair! I look like a striped zibra!
Then she turns red and tries to cover her perfect butt where the tail
ripped her trousers. What happened to ~meeee~!
Whatever a zibra is... this should have hurt! Of course you failed the
test! I have to rework this serum. Something went seriously wrong!
Celes calls out to us with a sulky voice.
Mom.... One of Sharid's divinities is masochism.... Seria is giving
Celes a vital information while Sharid is trying to stand upright but
failing miserable. I jump to her side to assist her.

What? -Celes
That explains it. -Ireth
Anyway. There is no problem with the heritage now. We can just
say that she is from a small branch family. -Katrine
Celes pulls a device out of her clothes and holds it before Sharid's
head. Hmm. Everything should be fine. Nothing abnormal. Then she
waves it downwards towards her tail.
*Beep*

Is something wrong with me? Sharid looks up at Celes while sitting

on the floor with tears in her eyes.
Celes holds the device towards Sharid's belly.
*Beep*

Suddenly Celes's body blurs and she grabs my earlobe to force me

down to the ground beside Sharid. Ow! Strength freak! I could
swear that her eyes are glowing red.
Why is she pregnant!
Sharid turns white. Huh?
I feel a little dizzy. We.. we did it just once!
Twins! Celes screams at us.
Ohh... damn. I thought I could enjoy my youth for a little longer.
Ireth smacks her forehead. This offspring of mine. They became
too fertile since our days. She looks at Katrine and Katrine nods.
Angrod is coming back into the room. He freezes for a second after
taking a look at Sharid. Then he turns and walks back outside again.
Dad! Say something!

Get up Sharid. I will help you into the chair. I pull Sharid to her feet.
She has a shocked expression and doesn't resist at all.
Somehow I manage to settle Sharid on a chair. Aengus! Do you still
like me if I look like this? It feels like have been defiled. And what
about this! She points at her belly.
Then she hugs me around my waist. It's fine! I love you no matter
how you look! Actually it suits you! Of course it's okay! They are
ours! I pat her head while I glare at mom.
Tch! Fine! The pervert will just get more excited if I tune the
serum. Welcome to the family! ~Daughter!~ Celes gives us a
forced smile.
Suddenly a deep vibration shakes the entire building.
What was that? Sharid clings to me with a scared expression.
Daddy is outside! Yes! Lookie!
The triplets storm out of the room.
Everyone follows to find Angrod with a relieved expression on the
veranda. He is doing some minor stretching exercises.
What happened, dear? Celes walks up to him.
Angrod turns around and looks at us with a surprised expression.
Nah. Nothing happened. I just had to relieve some stress. This
whole situation got me a little worked up.
The moon.... -Ireth
Angrod turns and looks at the sky. Which moon?
Where is the moon, daddy? -Seria
Did this planet have a moon? I wonder.... Angrod turns and walks

towards me. SON!

Sharid jumps and hides behind me while grabbing my clothes. You
said he isn't dangerous! ~LIAR!~ She can't keep the balance with
her new tail.
Suddenly Angrod holds a package towards me. You can put it to
better use than me!
I take the package with a suspicious look. There is a headband with
cat-ears on top of it. What's inside?
It's my highest quality cat costume! It's a legendary equipment. I
even enhanced it a little with magic! First I didn't want to admit it,
Aengus. But when I heard her screams I had to give up. You found
the perfect wife, son. Put it to good use! He puts a hand on my
shoulder and smiles at me.
Then he starts to snicker. On the other hand we shouldn't expect
less from one of my creations. Be thankful son! I ~ENVY~ you.
~GYAA!~ Can't be! Those are from mom's best set! She described
them at least a thousand times to me! The income went down by ten
percent since they were stolen!! Sharid wobbles behind me.

~~~Filthy Thief! Die a thousand deaths!~~~

Angrod just smirks at her without an ounce of shame. You should
know better than to use Siren's Voice against me. I bestowed that
skill on you after all. And I took those as payment in exchange for
your abilities.
Has that something to do with those girlish screams of yours? Talk!
Celes looks at Angrod like filth.
I may have picked up one or the other skill during my female
reincarnations. I bestowed all my best powers which I brought to
perfection during those times onto her! Angrod spreads his arms

and smiles at us.

~Honey bear?~ -Celes
Yes, sugar cat? -Angrod
Just shut up and follow me.
Celes leads Angrod inside the house while the rest of the family
stares after them with perplexed expressions.
Why did daddy make the moon disappear?
The triplets look at us with disturbed expressions.

100 - This is my fianc!

Sharid's homeworld, a certain red light district.

~Uwah!~ Everyone is looking at us! I hold tighter on Aengus's arm.
He is walking me down the street towards the brothel of my mother.
Are demons somehow shunned on this world? Aengus takes an
interested look around, but everyone who is looked at quickly averts
his gaze.
Not to my knowledge. Though they are a rare species without a
country of their own. But there were no ill feelings towards them
from my knowledge. Though I wasn't here for quite a while.
We should have disguised ourselves. Like I said. Aengus shoots
another glare at a few thugs and they disperse into a side street.
Maybe you should do something about those menacing eyes? I
look into his snake-eyes which are actually very attractive to me
now. Did my changes involve my mind too? I don't mind the eyes and
the horn now.
I don't want to. Those perverted lechers who are looking at you can
shudder in fear under some stone for all I care. Aengus throws
another annoyed glance at a shopkeeper.
So nice! He such an envious guy!
That's the perfect type of man! Good looking, lovable and easy to be
manipulated. If it weren't for that family of his.
The triplets are far too smart and devious for their age. Not cute at
all! I couldn't get to terms with them at all. And it's frightening when

they start to talk like one mind would control all three of them. How
do they do it? I have no idea.
The queen and the grandmothers are a few levels above me.
Everything I can do in front of them is smiling and confirming their
orders.
I don't fear physical punishment by them. Actually I liked the queen's
~test~ ~Haaa...~. I have to get my hands on that medicine.
Angrod was worse as I thought. He ~is~ a pervert and a maniac!
And too fucking strong! I am actually afraid to do anything to him
now. This wacko obliterated that moon like nothing because he felt
like it!
What happens if I play a nasty trick on him and flip his switch!? It will
be my end!
The other male members of the family didn't say much to me. They
just congratulated Aengus on catching a nice woman. ~Mnnn~ I don't
want to admit it, but it felt like I was treated like a pet!
Then the brothel of my mother comes into view. Nothing has
changed. We stop at the door to take a look at the statue above it.
Aengus just grins and I enter with him through the main door. A lightly
dressed receptionist freezes at our sight for a second.
Then she turns and runs while screaming. He is here! The demon
is back! To your arms! Hide the dresses! Lock away the tools!
What was that about? Aengus gives me an inquiring look.
Haaah... I forgot that mother personally trains every employee to
instantly take action in case that the ~Thief~ turns up again. I never
thought that their indoctrination would run this deep. My tail starts to
twitch a little.
We are alone inside the spacious room now. Normally the customers
would be sent through various doors towards different rooms to be
served.

Then all doors burst open simultaneously and my mothers

employees storm inside. They are armed to the teeth while being
very lightly dressed. Some are just in their underwear.
Sharid... are you sure your mother manages a brothel? Looks more
like an Amazon mercenary guild. -Aengus
They are just alarmed because you look like your father. I whisper
back.
An older woman walks past the armed employees and takes a look
at us. I immediately recognize my mom! Then an expression of
recognition comes over her face. You are the One! Thief! But this
time we are prepared! There is nothing for you to steal here!
Mooom! You recognize him before me? Mom! He isn't the one from
back then!
Sh... SHARID!?
~Hi, Mom.~
*PLOMB*
Mom swooned!? The employees throw disturbed glances towards
their leader, who dropped to the floor like dead. I jump to mother's
side and pat her cheek. Mom? Mom? Wake up!
Everyone is looking at me with disturbed expressions. Some of them
know me because they are long time employees.
Sis?
I look up and see Soel, one of my little sisters. Oh, so cute. Before
she can react, I hugged her and lifted her from the ground.
~Uwah!~ So nice to see you again! You got so big. It isn't possible
to cuddle you any more.

Mmmhtommbigmmm.
Big Sis can't understand you if you talk like that. ~Nyhaha!~ I
dance a small circle with my little sister.
Suddenly Aengus pats my back. You should .
Then I spot Niel, my other little sister, hiding behind a wall. So
~~cute~~! I drop Soel and charge for Niel who tries to escape. Too
~slow~!
Kyaaaaa!
The employees just watch me with shocked faces.
.

..
.
We are in mom's private living room. Mom is stretched out on the
couch with a cold towel on her forehead. I admit that I overdid it with
my little sisters. Soel is still out cold while Niel is hiding behind the
couch.
How could this happen.... how.... my daughter got possessed by a
demon. My mother starts talking again.
Mom... I am not possessed. And I have to introduce my fiance. This
is Aengus, first prince of Chimera. His father may be better known to
you as ~The Thief~. I take Aengus' s hand while I drop the bomb
on mother.
Now mother shoots up and looks at us big eyes. F...Fiance?
Prince? The Thief's son? No! Not even if he is the king of the fucking
country! I never even heard of Chimera!
But Niel's eyes go big and she starts to search for something in

mother's documents. Mom! Look! Look!

Niel shoves my old status plate into mother's face. Angrod, King of
gods. Divine ruler of the realm of Chimera
Actually I am not the prince of a puny country. I am the prince of a
realm of gods. And this whole dirtball is under my father's
jurisdiction. So please accept that I love your daughter. You can visit
the marriage ceremony. Or not. It's up to you. I don't care. Aengus
gives mother a sadistic smile.
Uh.... What does a god want with my mortal daughter! Have mercy!
I need her as an heir! My mother doesn't want to give up.
Actually I am a goddess now mom! And I wont take the job! Having
a family with Aengus is much better. The additions are already on
the way anyway. And we want to go on a long journey together to
have some fun before it's time! Uhm. That might have been too hard
on her.
Mother lies down again and puts the wet towel back on her
forehead.
Then Niel jumps out from behind the couch and grabs my hand. How
do you become a demon, Sharid? What do I have to do to get out of
here?
~Nyhahaha!~ Nothing big! You just have to learn everything you
can and travel the world. Then you need to get the favour of a god.
Then you climb the highest mountain and pray there until you almost
die of hunger and cold. Afterwards you need a god as your trainer.
And then you have to almost die to ascend to godhood! When you
managed that you are almost done. The last thing left to do is to
fuck a demon prince and fall in ~love~ with him! Surviving the
introduction to his family is just a piece of cake from there.

101 - Bad awakening?

Sharid's homeworld, a certain red light district.

I scratch my head while I look at Sharid who is playing with her
younger sisters. They are treated like toys by her. Does she even
realize her own actions?
Sharid's mother is still on the couch while mumbling some
incomprehensible stuff.
Abruptly, Sharid turns towards me. That's right Aengus! Do your
thing! You know? The present!
Aaah. I almost forgot. Sharid, I still don't think that this is a smart
idea. Father said that he enchanted it. Who knows what abilities the
thing has now.
I summon the box with the legendary cat costume anyway. I don't
care. Whatever will happen, happens. They will learn soon enough
how dangerous Angrod's toys can be.
Unfortunately, I personally know that fathers magical and
technological toys can be quite a problem if he didn't intend them for
common usage.
Look! Mom! Sharid grabs the box out of my hands and presents it
to her mother. We got our family heirloom back!
The eyes of the older woman show surprise and then pure bliss.
That's wonderful! I don't mind losing one heir if I get the heirloom
back! She grabs the box from Sharid. What a cruel mother! Casting
aside one of her children for a piece of cloth!
The Sacred Treasure is back in our hands! Look kids! Can you
appreciate that craftsmanship? The fine fur? Mother shows the

headband on top of the box to Soel and Niel.

Soel recovered a while earlier from almost suffocating between
Sharid's huge mountains.
I want to see it! Niel reaches for the box, but Soel is faster. No!
Me first! I suffered the worst at the hands of big Sis!
Niel has an unhappy expression but doesn't object to her sister.
There seems to be a silent understanding on that matter.
Soel opens the box and extracts some arousing pieces of cloth with
tiger stripes and cat paws. A tail with a dubious method of
attachment is also included.
What's this? Soel looks at the tail with an innocent expression.
Oh my. Looks like the set was modified by the Thief.... Sharid's
mother has a troubled expression now.
After looking at the thing with my own eyes, I have to admit that I am
starting to get doubts about my father.
But from one moment to the next, the tail comes alive in Soel's
hands and starts wriggle like a snake. Wah! Creepy! Is it supposed
to do that?
Then the tail finds an entrance into Soel's sleeve and starts to crawl
inside. Kyaaa! Get it off! Get it off!
W...Wait! I will help! Wah! It's strong! Hold still! Niel jumps to
her sisters aid.
I watch in awe as the tail vanishes completely inside Soel's clothes.
Their mother and Sharid also join the fray in an attempt to remove
the legendary equipment.
IIIIIIIIIIEEEEE! HELP!

WHAT'S THIS THING!

KYAAAA!
*PLUG*
NYAAAA! HOLY SHIT!
*RIP*
Nyar! Get it out! Nya! I am trying, but it's wriggling too
much!
*WHIP*
Ouch!
*WHIP*
Stop that! I cyan't control it. Nya!
*WHIP* *WHIP*

*WHIP*

NYAARR!! Ouch! Nooo! No whipping! It does that on its

own! Nya! Or do you think I would whip myself intentionyally!
NYAA!
THEN LET ME GO! IT'S HOLDING ME TOO! NYAA! I
CYAN'T!
..
.

..
.
I turned around and decided to look the other way when Soel's

clothes were ripped apart by the tail, which had conquered her......
well... father... what can I say? Your creation defiled those young
women....
I am ashamed of you.
Did you even attach some sort of mental control to that thing? Soel
suddenly started to speak with strange noises when it claimed her...
What did mother do to him in order to deserve that kind of
punishment?
The screams and moans lasted for a little while longer. I steeled my
mind and watched the wall during that time.
Aengus, you can turn around again! I got it off. Sharid informs me
of the successful removal of the tail.
Niel and Soel are sobbing in a corner of the room. I have been
defiled by a toy! But it felt good sister. I am ashamed of
myself.
Probably someone should try to calm them down. Sharid has the
wriggling tail in her hand and a strange expression on her face.
Her mother is giving me a mournful look. Take that thing back! It has
no place on this world!
~Gehehehe...~ Then I will take this legendary piece! You can have
the rest of the suit. Sharid stores the tail away inside her magical
bag.
I hope this won't become a problem later on, but I can guess why
she wants to have it. Sharid... you are drooling again. I step
towards her and wipe the drool out of her face.
~Do you want to rent a room?~ Sharid gives me a mischievous
smile and pulls me after her.
*********

It's morning and Sharid gave me the best night of my life. We

reserved a room of her mothers brothel especially for us and went
wild.
Haaah... to do it in a place like this. I have fallen deep. Even if I had
my fiance as my partner.
I look out of the window while lying on a comfortable bed. Sharid is
right beside me. She is sleeping and when I watch her sleeping face
it's hard to imagine her true character.
KYAAA! NOOO! MONSTERS!

A few screams from outside the window draw my attention and I get
up to take a look. What's outside freezes me for a second.
The street is a scene out of hell. People are fleeing for their lives
while being attacked by demons and being devoured like cattle.
Sharid! Wake up! Demons! I scream at Sharid who shoots up with
a drowsy face.
I get suited up while I ready my resolve and grab the sheathed
crystal sword which I got from my father. But something comes
crashing through the window.
It's one of those monsters! Why is there a demon outbreak here?
Did someone find and play around with a sphere? Why now!
The monster jumps at a dumbfounded Sharid. But I jump towards
the thing and cleanly slice the head from it's shoulders while
unsheathing my sword in a smooth motion. My sword hums with
satisfaction as it sucks the mana out of the creature.
Sharid! We have to get out of here! I point towards her clothes and
she hastily gets dressed. But instead of using a pathway to escape,
Sharid runs out of the room.
We have to save them! Sharid is around the corner before I can
stop her. But I follow anyway.

We can't stop the demons without crystal weapons. And my sword

is the only one which is available at the moment.
At the next corner, I catch up to Sharid who is watching horrified at
the lifeless corpse of the receptionist. She is lying in the corridor in a
pool of her own blood.
I grab Sharid's hand. Stay with me! Those things are dangerous!
They can kill gods. I start into the direction of her family's rooms
while I pull her with me.
But what chance do the people of this town have if they can hurt
gods!? Sharid asks with a shaken voice from behind.
I don't answer the question. It should be obvious that the mortals
don't have any chance of resistance.
Another demon blocks my path and I take the mindless creature out.
It's okay as long as they don't show up in big groups.
As I reach the door, I kick it and storm inside. Two of the monsters
are inside and they jump at me with bloody claws.
But Sharid storms past me while kicking the first enemy with pure
physical force. It's blown apart in a shower of red blood and organs.
I slice down the other creature and take a look around to assess the
situation. The room is a mess but there are no more enemies.
Then I see Sharid kneeling over the bodies of Niel and Soel. Her
mother is lying beside the door. I wasn't aware of her when I hurried
inside.
This is the worst outcome ever. But just when I am about to grab
Sharid's shoulder to get out of here, the door bursts open and a
flood of the horrifying things spills into the room.
I fight the reflex to blow them apart with attack magic, but it wouldn't

be of any use. So I forcibly pull Sharid onto a pathway with me. Just
away from here!
To Chimera! To get help! If I ask father, I am sure that a whole army
would be dispatched to deal with this issue! Maybe we can even
save the souls of Sharid's sisters and her mother.
But it's useless, since they are mortal. They won't be the same
people any more! Sharid offers no resistance while I pull her with
me.
Something snaps and I am pulled from the pathway! That shouldn't
be possible! Since when do those monsters have the ability to
interrupt someone from using a pathway!
My stomach heaves as I am forced back to reality. Being forced off
of a pathway like that is by all means unpleasant!
I am in a dark place now. This isn't Sharid's home any more! As my
eyes adjust to the darkness, I become aware of eyes. We are
surrounded by demons!
My sword! Sharid is left to me, she is unconscious. To my right, the
sword! I reach for it, but a foot kicks it away.

Ssssooo, Who do we have here?

If it issssn't a niccce little prrrrey which my minions brrrought
me?

102 - An envoy?

Asheim, Embassy
This is not enough Angrod! We need more forces! Gwalonna
screams at me. This is irritating me a little. It's true that the
Chimerans are the most powerful force at the moment. But even we
can only do so much as we can.
What do you want me to do? Every Chimeran who can fight is
fighting. I won't sent our civil population out there to fight. I answer
Gwalonna's outbreak with a calm voice.
Gwalonna thinks that we Chimerans can do more than we do. This
whole mess started a few hours ago when the dormant Spheres
throughout the multiverse went active.
Planets are being devoured out there while we speak and there isn't
much we can do. We don't have enough fighting power to cover
every planet. Unfortunately we are already taking severe measures
by wiping one planet after the other.
The Chimeran's fighting power comes almost completely from our
crystal technology. We have very few warriors compared to the
other societies. And that's what Gwallonna has problems with.
She thinks that I can order my whole planet of gods to walk out
there and smite the demons like the other societies did. So it looks
like we are withholding forces.
But most of our people are civilians. Even if they regained their
memories, they don't have the fighting spirit to use their powers
correctly. You don't just remember your previous life and are a
perfect warrior from one moment to the next.

You are welcome to go to Chimera and take a look at the people

who are left there. I already asked everyone who has the confidence
to take on a demon for help. The people who are left on Chimera
would be just victims in front of those things. I try to keep a calm
voice.
Gwalonna, you forget their history. You can't expect the same rate
of militarisation from the Chimerans as of other societies. Most of
our people have lived as gods for thousands of years. The
Chimerans regained their powers only a few years ago. It could take
another few centuries until they are on the same level as us. And
aren't they doing more than enough with their crystal ships? Mawu
makes a calming gesture.
That's right. I went for a walk through their cities when I was on a
visit there. Most of those people are as harmless as mortals. If you
put them in front of a demon, they would freeze up or run away.
They are chickens. Sorry to put it like that, Angrod. Unexpectedly
Carne speaks against Gwalonna too.
No offence taken. It's the truth. Our power comes mainly from our
crystal ships. And they are all out there. We even gave those which
had no crew to the Arcane Community. They had the most people
who would be able to use them without much training. I smile wryly
at Gwalonna.
Chiffre scratches his cheek with his mechanical arm. That's true.
They are very interesting pieces of technology. And they are all
deployed.
Gwalonna leans back in her chair and says nothing. It seems like
she just needs something to vent her anger. But we are all feeling
powerless before the current situation. There are between one and
ten gods per world with a population of a few milliards.
So depending on the fighting power you need to save a single world,
you have to give up quite a few others.... ranging in the hundreds to
thousands.

The problem lies with the sheer number of Spheres. We grew too
lazy when we thought that those things couldn't activate on their
own. Now we pay the price.
Then a guard appears in the room. I am sorry to interrupt, but there
is something that wishes to talk to you. It looks like one of those
demons. It says that it has a message for you.
Where is it? Zanders jumps out of his chair.
On the plaza in front of the central tower. It just appeared there.
Apparently it can use pathways...... The guard has a worried
expression. No wonder. Even the lowliest guard in our society has an
education above any mortal king. He can think on his own about the
implications.
If all of those things can use pathways we are in deep shit! Miruliru
disappears. She didn't wait for the obvious answers.
One after the other we follow Miruliru. So I teleport to the
designated destination.
I find the plaza empty. Earlier it was buzzing with life and now there
isn't a single soul to see. Except for a single demon and a group of
guards around it. The demon holds a crystal sword. Probably it was
looted from a fallen warrior. The demon is a little bigger than the
normal ones. And it looks a lot meaner!
As our group walks closer, the demon starts to speak. Wonderful!
Everyone is here. So we can tell you how this will work.
Why should we listen to a creature like you! Carne shoots out a
very undiplomatic question.
But the demon isn't irritated. It's easy. To save your puny
multiverse! If you don't comply, we will continue to eat and
corrupt the mortals until there aren't much of them left.

Afterwards I will come for you! It points at us.

So what are your terms? And who are you? Gwalonna asks the
dreaded question.
We are the Calamity. And It's easy again. I retread with our
forces back into the black hole if you start with the monthly
sacrifice of a god. Mortals aren't as filling as the Ascended.
And as a bonus we want him! The thing points at me.
This thing is a little confused. It can't decide if it's a single entity or
multiple ones.... Carne whispers to us.
Why? I ask while I ready myself to summon my staff.
Because you stood in our way for long enough! Bright One!
Your soul always interferes with me throughout all of your
reincarnations! You are a menace! First you banished us into
the black hole where we had to starve! And then you interfered
with our food source until now! This will end! The creepy thing
smiles at me.
I don't like it. It looks too much like a razor claw. So you do starve
inside that black hole? Thanks for the information! I guess if we
manage to wipe your agents and familiars from the multiverse, it's
your end. This time I smile at the creepy thing.
You hope for too much. My main-body may not be able to
leave the black hole. But these familiars of us will be more than
enough. We have anticipated that you won't throw your life
away for others! You always sacrificed someone else in order
to escape me until now. But this time we have captured
something precious to you! The thing throws the crystal sword to
my feet.
It's a thin blade which is a little longer than the standard version and
covered with runes. I recognize this work. I made it especially for
Aengus.....

We caught the one you call 'son' in your current reincarnation.

His fiancee is in my hands too. Funny that she is one of our
former agents. Maybe she will like it if we use her as a tool
again. BUT..... If you sacrifice yourself, we may consider to let
them go. I wonder if you have enough feelings for th...
*STAB*
Slowly the demon looks down to its chest, where the sword
embedded itself. It took me only a moment to close the distance and
ram the sword into the creature.
I will come for you. Just wait there in your safe little black hole. I will
tear you apart and find the insane personalities which are
responsible for your actions. Then I will create a new world for you!
And there, the word HELL will take on another dimension!
Before the thing can answer I rearrange the blade and move it
upwards, splitting its chest and head apart. The body stood another
second and then it drops to the ground like a doll with its strings cut.
You just killed the envoy..... Carne comments my action from
behind with a slightly affected voice.
I don't answer and concentrate instead. If this thing said the truth I
might be able to get Aengus back. Wasn't he supposed to visit
Sharid's home world? They should have been able to run if there
was an attack there.
No matter. I have a spy with them. If I act fast I may be able to find
them in time.
Angrod. We have no idea where to search! Why did you kill that
guy? Miruliru nags me from the side.
I will find them. There is no problem. I just need a few strong guys
to go in and out without giving them time to act. I wave at a guard

who heard the conversation and he nods, vanishing immediately.

If my wife finds out that something happened to Aengus I am dead
meat! Kukuku.... No worse! I will be the only guy in the family! I
start to hack with the sword at the dead body. This is frustrating!
S.. Stop it. You need an anger management course! You know
that? Miruliru stops me.
Haaah... I turn around and walk back into the direction of tower. I
wish I could have those times as an evil scientist back! Nobody you
care about! Everyone is just a resource for the next experiment.
Those were good times. But nowadays you have to be nice and play
by the rules. It's infuriating!
Yes! It's important to choose your priorities wisely. Otherwise you
end up like me. I have to take care of the whole multiverse now and
the evil guy goes for my family! It's obvious that I messed up
somewhere.
Let's continue this in the conference room. I teleport back to our
previous location. The needed fighters should arrive shortly. Time to
gather some information.
I activate a big screen at the wall and enter a security code.
Warden, I need a secure connection with the mobile personal spy
Enyo. The codeword is -spank-! While I am at it, the rest of the
ambassadors arrives.
~Excuse me?~
You heard me Warden. Connect us now! Come on. It isn't hard to
understand.
~As you wish.... you should choose another codeword later. It's
inappropriate and you had listeners.~
I sigh. Thanks Warden. Now the connection. It's annoying but the

positioning signal of my spy is very weak. It's almost not there.

The screen goes dark. Huh? A malfunction? Enyo? Enyo!
Ssss... Masster! Why do wake me up at sssuch a time? A snakelike voice answers.
Where are you? I need you to send a signal on your position. I
have no time for this.
I am inssside Sssharid'ss magical bag. Ssshould I get outssside?
Enyo answers immediately.
Get out and give me their position. Simple minds are surely a
bother. I hear a fizzling sound and then the screen finally shows a
picture.
It's a first person view of Enyo's vision. It looks like she is in a dark
cave. By looking back, we see that Enyo's body looks out of a
magical bag. It looks like a furry snake like thing...
I am outsside. Sshould I ssend my possition? Eyno takes another
look around, but there is nobody in the cave.
No. Find Aengus and Sharid first! I hope Enyo wasn't discarded in
the wrong place.
Enyo starts to sidle along the ground. It seems like she chose a
direction at random, but I know that it's not the case. I equipped
Enyo's new body with the latest technology available before I gave it
to Aengus. Vision, sound, smell. Enyo is the perfect spy.
Then I become aware of the silence in the room and turn around.
Everyone's eyes are stuck on me. Some in fear, some in disgust,
some in curiosity. What?
Is that really Enyo? -Miruliru

Yes? I don't get the problem. I was so nice to repair her broken
soul and give her an honourable occupation.
And her body.... -Gwalonna
Is a tail for a cat-suit with an anal plug. I still don't get the problem.
It's the perfect cover. Nobody would suspect a high end spy in such
a disguise.
Fascinating! -Chiffre
T... That's worse than I thought! Sharid! And now Enyo! You
are forbidden to choose the divine punishments from now on!
You are the worst! Miruliru explodes in my face. The majority of
the ambassadors nod.
I shrug my shoulders and turn back around. I just followed Seria's
wish..... she was worried about her brother's love life. How could I
turn down a wish from my cute daughter. And Enyo should be
thankful. If i hadn't repaired her soul, she would stare into a wall for
another few million years. I mumble to myself while I watch Enyo's
progress.
After a long tunnel Enyo suddenly slides into a crack in the wall of
the cave and becomes silent. A few demons pass her without taking
notice. After a few seconds Enyo starts to move again.
She reaches a big cavern. And there it is! A Sphere. Demons are
sacrificing people to the accursed thing while a slightly bigger variant
is in a praying position before it. It looks like the monster I just slew
at the plaza!
There are people waiting in rows to be sacrificed. And on an altar
slightly elevated above the others are Sharid and Aengus. They are
displayed like a big trophy. Their clothes are torn and they are
unconscious.

103 - Rescue mission!

Asheim, Embassy
Enyo starts to sneak forward while I put my armour on. The armour
was brought by the small group of warriors which will accompany
me on this rescue mission. There are ten of them. Together with me
we have eleven people.
When I am ready, I turn towards them. You all know what to do?
Enyo has an emitter which is able to rupture a pathway. She will
place herself right next to Aengus and Sharid. As soon as she
activates it we go in, take them and take a pathway to get away. No
heroic deeds.
I will go with you. Miruliru hops out of her chair.
You are not armed! I won't take responsibility if something happens
to her.
I don't need to be! I will just crush that Sphere. It's a golden
opportunity. Miruliru draws two crystal daggers.
Then I will join too! I can't let a young maiden onto a battlefield
without protection. -Carne
Tch! Creep! -Miruliru
If it's like that I have to join you too. Chiffre gives us a confident
smile.
Suspicious.... If they all want to go into the lions den then .
But my thoughts get interrupted by Enyo. Massster! I am under the
altar. Ssshould I sssend the sssignal.

I turn towards the group. Everyone. Line up and touch me. I will
recognize Enyo's signal the easiest. Just follow me onto the
pathway. After a few seconds everyone is ready and I turn towards
the screen. Send the signal Enyo.
Then I concentrate. A few seconds later I recognize the right pattern
on a pathway in the direction of Sharid's homeworld. It's like the
pathway is vibrating in a certain frequency.
I enter the pathway and from one moment to the next, I am besides
Aengus and Sharid inside the cavern.
The others also appear around me.
I lose no time and grab a bag from my belt. It contains small mana
crystals. They are especially made to absorb mana as fast as
possible. Each of them has the size of a finger and there are about
fifty of them.
By tilting the bag, I pour the content into the air where the crystals
start to float. They are held by telekinesis and they are my new
ammunition against those things.
The first demon who starts to move after our appearance gets a
crystal directly between the eyes. It drops like having it's strings cut.
Mwahaha! No more instant healing!
We can't use the pathway! A guard with Aengus over his shoulder
gives me an alarming information.
It's a trap! Carne kicks a rock into the maw of an approaching
demon which starts to get a couching fit.
The Sphere has to be the source of the dampening field! There are
no other possible sources here! Chiffre points at the Sphere and
starts to charge into its direction.
I send two of my crystals at the sphere, but they get blocked by the

bigger demon while a flood of smaller ones starts to pour into the
cavern.
The big monster must be some updated version. It smacked the
crystals out of the air like nothing.
Two of my guards start to attack the accesses to the cavern with
attack magic. They know that the demons won't be hindered for long
by it. But killing the demons wasn't their intention. With a rumble, the
entrances cave in and stop the flood of demons.
Chiffre reaches the big demon which is guarding the Sphere and
gives it a thundering blow with his mechanical arm.
But again, the monster is unimpressed and sends Chiffre flying with
a swipe of it's claw.
Everyone is occupied with at least five demons. I never wanted to be
in such a melee fight again, but there is no choice.
I deal with the small fry by sending my crystals via telekinesis into
them and advance towards the big monster.
We have to deal with the Sphere and escape fast. Sealing the exits
can be only a temporary solution. If the demons free them of the
rubble we will be overrun.
And there is still the possibility of a cave in. It's not like ....
yeaaah... why... not? I look up towards the stalactites at the ceiling.
Previously they didn't enter my mind.
The big demon has its full concentration on me now. But I don't need
to alarm it by using my crystals.
A little push and *Crack!*
*CRUSH*

I loosened a stalactite above the demon and it was compressed into

an ugly looking mush. I may have added a little too much power
while the big chunk of rock was falling downwards. Without any
further hindrances, I crush the Sphere with my crystals.
Throwing a stalactite at the sphere would have had no effect. The
crystals are harder than any metal. It would have been like throwing
feathers at a rock.
It's gone! Get out of here. I scream through the cavern.
My group starts to disappear one by one. The guards with Aengus
and Sharid make their exit first while the other guards grab every
mortal who still looks alive and take them with them.
Yyyou won't beee so lucky forrever! We will eat you!!!
The crushed demon to my feet gives me a few nice parting words?
Eeww... it's already starting to heal. Sorry. Maybe some other
time. I send a crystal between it's eyes to kill it.
After I confirm that everyone is gone and nobody is left inside the
cavern, I take a pathway back towards Asheim.
***
It's mine!
No! We have to free her!
This is a technological wonder! A soul inside non-living
matter! This has to be researched!
It's a person! And no research object!
You don't understand! This is the greatest discovery since the
dawn of creation!

Ask the perverted creator!

It's against the pride of every scientist to be taught by
someone else!
Let go!
Never!
Massster! Ssssave me! I will rip!
I watch with a bored expression while Miruliru and Chiffre are using
Enyo to play pull the rope. For real... they are like little children. Did
you two ever think about asking Enyo what she wants?
Massster! Give me
weaponssss! -Enyo

permission

to

ussse

the

Ssssecret

Whatever. It's only self-defence. Fine....

*Splurt*
*Slip* Waaah! Eewww!
Suddenly Enyo sprayed Miruliru and Chiffre with an oily substance
and slipped out of their grasp. Chiffre fell on his butt while Miruliru
barely managed to keep standing. Now she is sliding hastily towards
me and wraps around my left leg.
Massster. I didn't believe it. But the lubricant isss a very ussseful
sssecret weapon! -Enyo

Come back here Enyo! We have to get a proper body for you. I will
search for a good reincarnation. Miruliru stretches a hand towards
Enyo.
I am fffine. No need for another body. Massster made very good
work. Enyo flatly refuses Mirulirus offer.
Why? How can this be! Miruliru slides to the ground besides
Chiffre.
Like I said. Enyo's soul was ravaged and twisted like nothing I have
ever seen. If I wouldn't have helped, it would have taken a few
million years until she starts to work properly again. But even for me
it was hard to repair something with so many parts missing. I spliced
the soul of a snake into her for stabilization until she heals on her
own. That's why she prefers this body for the moment. And before
you ask. I used a snake because I needed a weak soul which
couldn't overpower Enyo. And because it was fun. I give them a
short explanation while grinning.
You managed that with two souls... Chiffre starts to drool on the
floor. That guy is becoming creepier with every invention of mine he
gets to see.
What? Like the dem.... -Miruliru
But I interrupt Miruliru Nooo. Not at all. I am not an idiot! I know my
handicraft. The souls aren't fused together. They just complement
each other. When Enyo's soul is healed properly they will divide on
their own.
I like my body. And ssserving the missstresss. Enyo confirms my
explanation.
Miruliru drops to the ground as if she has given up while Chiffre
starts to write some notes.
I turn back towards the tactical situation on the screen. At least I

could save Aengus and Sharid. From the looks of it they took no
permanent damage.
But if I look at our situation.... I wonder if the multiverse will take
permanent damage....

104 - Inevitable?

Asheim, Embassy
Everyone freezes up. What are you talking about!? Chiffre stops to
take notes about Enyo.
Errr.... nothing. Forget what I said. I don't want to explain it. Too
much of a hassle.
No! What's this talk about damaging the multiverse? Gwalonna
doesn't let go of the matter either.
It's just an obscure theory of mine. I have no proof and if it's true....
then we are screwed anyway. I turn my seat towards the window.
Don't talk bullshit and tell us what's going on. -Carne
I tilt my head while I think about a smart way to explain it. What's a
soul? How comes it to be?
An energy body which gathers information? It interacts with the
multiverse through a physical organic body. Namely us. Souls don't
come into existence, they simply are. Chiffre gives me an out of the
book answer.
That's true. But to be precise. A soul is a quantum wave that
interacts with the whole multiverse through observation. What's the
state of a quantum particle which has an observer and a particle
which has none? I fold my hands while I try to lead them to the right
question.
The state of a quantum particle that's observed is defined. One
that's not observed is undefined. -Chiffre

So a soul defines the multiverse by observing it. By the presence of

an intelligent observer, our mutliverse is stabilized in its current state.
That has always been that way. As far as we know. And the number
of souls seems to be finite. Even souls which seem to be very young
are just old ones which have lost their memories, or rather their
gathered information.
So what happens to the multiverse if there aren't enough observers
left to define it? The calamity is forcing all observers into a single
being by merging everything into one. I stretch my legs to have it a
little more comfortable.
Esoteric bullshit.... Zanders mumbles to himself.
So if there aren't enough observers, the multiverse goes back to an
undefined state? But that theory is strange. The size of the
multiverse should be defined by the number of souls, if that's true.
We should be able to see some kind of effect while the Calamity
eats the observers. Without a proof such a theory is on very wobbly
legs.... -Chiffre
Why should we see a continuous effect and not a sudden collapse?
The multiverse is always trying to keep the stability and correcting
the logical errors. If there are not enough observers, it smooths the
mistakes over. Why are there stars in the sky with no intelligent life?
Shouldn't they vanish? I continue my train of thoughts.
There are such stars. Aren't you rebutting your own theory? Miruliru
No. I am strengthening it. Those stars are there because people
have always looked up to the sky and saw them. They remain there
because they have to be there, or otherwise there would be just a
mostly black sky for most planets. The other proof that strengthens
my theory are the remnants of the first outbreak of the Calamity. I
wave towards the sky. Tell them Warden. Were there always void
zones throughout the multiverse?

~The void zones are a recent phenomenon that started to

appear during the first big fight against the Calamity. The
Ascended couldn't explain the expanding zones, where the
natural laws of nature aren't followed. But the void zones
stopped growing when the Calamity was sealed away, or at
least the speed of their growth became very slow.~
So the multiverse isn't in its best shape as we see it? Miruliru has a
concerned voice now.
Unfortunately. Seems like they get the idea. The void zones are
just the first sign that the number of observers is becoming too low. I
ask myself what the undefined state looks like. Will it go *poof* and
everything ceases to be? Or will the multiverse just dissolve into a
big void zone with strange undefined physical laws? That brings me
to the last proof of my theory. The void zones are areas which don't
follow known rules. Yet the space around our planets is perfectly
fine. Why is that?
Because there are enough observers there to stabilize the
space.... Chriffe's voice sounds very convinced now. So we have to
increase the number of observers in order to avoid an unknown
outcome.
How? They are in the belly of that thing above our heads!
Gwalonna waves at the ceiling.
We have to find a way to stop the Calamity. Carne walks towards
the window and takes a look outside.
I will go back to my society and tell them what's going on. We will
think about possible solutions. Chiffre disappears without further
ado.
I continue to think about the possibilities on my own, but there are no
definite answers. The others keep talking for a while. Then they start
to leave in order to inform their societies.

While I watch the setting blue sun, I think about my possibilities.

Everything we could do is bad. But I don't like bad endings. I despise
them.
The only good ending that comes to my mind could also be the
ultimate bad end. The question is.... am I mad enough to throw a
coin to decide the fate of the multiverse?
The others surely wouldn't like that. I stand up and walk with leisure
towards the private quarters of my family. Celes should be done with
her work. Surely I can find her there.
Our private quarters are at the top of the central tower. The small
walk gives me time to reach a decision. And it is not an easy one.
I find Celes inside our living room. She is taking care of Aengus and
Sharid. Both of them are lying on the big couch to the left side of the
room. When I left them, they had serious headaches.
Celes looks into my direction with a furious expression. Why didn't
you tell me!? Aengus is in grave danger and you don't even give me
a notice!
As expected. I will get some harsh treatment for this. But I didn't
want her to risk her life.
I am sorry, but there wasn't enough time. I had to be as fast as
possible. Yes! Perfect excuse!
Celes snorts at me and turns back towards Aengus. So I walk over
and hug Celes from behind. Aaah, having a last feel before the end
is surely nice.
What else have you been up to? I feel that you are hiding
something. Celes's tail starts to wriggle around me in order to stop
me from escaping.
I swear it. The instincts of this woman are too good! Nothing, my
love! We just had to talk about so much heavy stuff at the embassy.

It really put a dent into my good mood.

So I start to explain my theory to Celes who nods now and then with
an unhappy expression. At the end I just sigh and hug her again.
So you have any idea how to solve this? -Celes
More or less. But it's a secret. I grin at her.
Tell me! Celes grabs my left earlobe with finger her like a vice and
pulls me down to her level. You won't pull a self sacrifice again? I
forbid it!
No! Nothing like that sugar cat. By the way.... look what I got back!
I pull Enyo from my left leg where she was holding onto me since the
embassy.
Until now she didn't come to Celes's attention.
Celes's expression becomes shocked while Enyo starts to wriggle in
my hands.
Isss it time for action massster? -Enyo
Where did you get that thing from!? I though you had
disposed of it!! Celes takes a step backwards while I take a step
forward.
You really thought that I would permanently get rid of the only
weapon which is effective against you? I thought I would lend it
to Aengus for a few years but he doesn't need it at the
moment....
Noooo.... I already have a tail! Celes turns and starts to run
while I follow her with a wriggling cat tail in my hands.
Haaa. Being the husband surely is the best.

105 - A call for death?

Asheim, Royal Chambers

I cuddle myself into the arms of my sleeping husband. The accursed
tail is bound to a tight knot onto the armrest of a nearby chair. I
swear, I will use that thing on him one day!
The revelations from yesterday were very scary too. The whole
multiverse is at risk? And I almost lost Aengus! I don't want to lose
my family ever again.
Hopefully the Arcane Community will find a solution. They have many
smart guys after all. So there is still hope? Maybe Angrod will find a
solution. Though he didn't sound hopeful towards me.
I get up to make some breakfast for me and Angrod. Ah, I could
take a look at Aengus and Sharid while I am at it. They were pretty
banged up by the Calamity when they got caught.
So I set out towards the living room after getting dressed. But in the
living room I just find an empty couch. Sharid and Aengus are gone! I
turn around and run back towards my chambers.
Angrod! Angrod? Have you seen Aengus and Sharid? I jump onto
Angrod and start to shake him out of his sleep.
Hmmm... no.... why.....
Stupid sleepy head! They are gone! Do you know where they are?
Angrod sits up straight and looks at me. What do mean? Gone?
That's when I hear a siren from outside the window and the light
inside our room shifts towards red. It should be controlled by

Warden, so it doesn't really amaze me.

~We have a security breach. Agents of the Calamity are trying
to gain access to my crystal core. It seems like Aengus and
Sharid are with them.~
What? I scream at the ceiling while Angrod pushes me off and
starts to get dressed. He has his armour and weapons here
because he didn't change since saving Aengus.
It looks like they were taken over. Though I checked on them, but
obviously the meddling of the Calamity was concealed better than I
thought! I have to get something first! Go and help to stop them.
Angrod vanishes by using a pathway!
Bastard! He didn't tell me about his plans again! But I have no time
to worry. I have to save Aengus! What if he is killed by the guards?
The room with Warden's crystal core is heavily protected. Nobody
has access except for a few selected individuals. Namely Angrod
and me!
I use a pathway to get directly towards the royal armoury. Going into
a fight while being unprepared isn't smart at all. So I will take a
precious minute to get equipped first!
After pushing a guard to the side, I choose my armour and two short
crystal swords. I have my daggers which are concealed as hairpins
too. But for dealing with those demons I would prefer something with
a slightly longer range.
Doing something like getting prepared for a fight feels like it takes
ages while it actually takes only a few moments.
By using another pathway, I appear directly at the bottom of the
central tower. The chamber with Warden's crystal core is beneath
the tower and protected by a dampening field. All of our vital
installations are protected like this.

Otherwise anybody could just teleport in and out as he pleases. I

appear directly in a fight between my royal guards and some people
who look like normal citizens. Are they random gods who were
caught by the Calamity?
Damn! We were too lax in our security. There aren't any restrictions
on visiting and leaving Asheim. They were able to walk directly in
front of our tower before starting their attack!
A random looking guy runs towards me and tries to stab me with a
crystal spear. But I evade with a pirouette while one of my swords
lashes down on his neck and claims his head.
I won't die here because I show mercy towards controlled people.
But how will I be able to stop Aengus and Sharid without hurting
them?
They are weaker than me. That's for sure. But I am not confident
that I can stop them without causing injuries.
Queen! You have to go inside! Some of them got through before the
reinforcements arrived! Some of the ambassadors went after them.
A guard informs me of the situation and I turn to run inside the tower.
Some of the ambassadors are here? They were fast! Even if they
heard the alarm at the same moment as me. But I did waste some
time with Angrod and to get prepared.
There are some employees lying on my way, but I have no time to
check on them. After a few corners and short corridors, I arrive at
the stairway which leads into the basement of the tower.
I take them with big steps and soon I hear the sounds of a battle
before me. The basement's arrangement isn't complicated at all.
There is just a big long hallway at the end of the stairs.
From the big hallway should spread some smaller corridors to the

left and the right. They are connected to a few rooms which are
used as offices and store rooms.
At the end of the big hallway is the door towards the control room
with Warden's crystal core.
I step into the hallway and find a few guards and Carne, Miruliru and
Chiffre in a battle with several agents of the Calamity. Gwalonna is
lying on the ground and Zanders is taking care of her.
Aengus and Sharid are under the attackers. They outnumber the
defenders by a great margin. Good that they are turning their backs
towards me, so I jump into the fight while I cut and hack my way into
Aengus's direction.
Hopefully some reinforcements will arrive soon. But now some of the
attackers start to take notice of me and three agents turn towards
me to block my path.
This is bad. I have no time for this! I channel my mana into my
dagger to activate reinforcement magic and jump at them.
My appearance took the momentum out of the enemy attack. So the
defenders start to form a closed front while protecting the entrance
to the central control room.
I evade one of my enemies while I take a stab at the second and run
past the third! My aim is Aengus.
Aengus! I scream at him while I run closer and he gives me a smug
grin while readying a crystal sword.
No worries mother. Everything will end soon enough. He slashes at
me and I block the attack with one of my swords.
Fight it! Did you forget who you are!? You aren't like this! I try to
appeal to him but there is no sign of bewilderment in his face.

After trading a few blows with Aengus, I realize that he got much
better with a sword all of a sudden. The battle heats up around us
and I try to find an opening in Aengus's defence.
Suddenly my feet are wiped away from under me and I fall on my
back while losing one of my swords. By turning my head I see that
Sharid took a blow at me from behind.
Aengus kicks my second sword out my hand and raises his sword
above me in order to end it. This can't be! I want to scream but no
words come out. Everything happened so fast!
His sword stabs down towards me and suddenly the room is filled
with shimmering blue lights. One of them punches a hole into
Aengus's forehead and his sword stabs into the floor right beside my
head.
His limp body crumbles onto me while my mind went blank. The
agents of the Calamity start to drop to the ground all around us,
sharing a similar fate.
Aengus? Aengus? Talk to me! I roll his body off of me and look into
his dead eyes which stare up into nothingness.
I try to heal him, but it doesn't work. It's like his soul already left his
body. By looking up I see Angrod in the entrance to the hallway.
The little blue lights are starting to gather around him and I recognize
them as small crystals. He has his staff in his left and a fist sized
blue crystal hovers above his right hand while pulsing in a blue light.
The fighting starts to die down as he begins to walk forward with a
sad expression on his face. The little blue crystals are still circling
him like deadly small knives.
What did you do! I scream at him with tears in my eyes.
Just the right thing. I always do just the right thing, but it

always ends in pain and suffering. Angrod answers with a

pained expression.
I jump up and run towards Angrod while passing Sharid's dead body.
A huge hole is in her chest. AAANNGROD!
But a little small crystal lashes out and punches through my left leg.
It was so fast, I didn't even see it. While I try to take a good punch
at him my fist impacts a blue force field half a meter before Angrod.
He attacked me!? How could he? I fall to my knees in front of him. I
can't stand with the wound in my leg. Somehow most of the mana
inside me is gone! I can't even stand properly any more.
Just rest here. Angrod walks past me towards the central
chamber.
What do you think you are doing? Carne blocks Angrod's path.
*THUNDER*
A blue flash of light strikes at Carne and throws him several feet
backwards into a wall. He just drops to the ground and moves no
more. Weapons are readied all around and turned towards Angrod.
Palace! Hack and delete Warden. She isn't needed any more.
Then take control of Asheim. Angrod gives an insane command.
~Affirmative!~
A voice out of the blue crystal in Angrod's right hand confirms the
order.
~What do... you.. think... I NOT!... PROTECT... Why?~
You are not under my direct control Warden. And I fear that
you would resist my next commands. Angrod continuously
walked forward while doing all that.

Miruliru steps in front of the central chamber and erects a barrier. I

don't know what has gotten into you but it will stop here! I always
disliked your creepy attitude, but this tops everything so far! Others
start to join her while pouring their power into the barrier which stops
Angrod's advance.
He places a hand onto the barrier and sparks of energy start to
leash back and forth between them. Nothing has gotten into me.
I just realized that doing the right things won't accomplish my
desired result. I tried to always do the right thing, but the
multiverse doesn't seem to recognize it. So I will do all the
wrong things for once. It's a gamble.
I don't understand what you are talking about! -Chiffre
You don't need to understand. You just need to die. Angrod
gives them a wry smile while he starts to push forward.

~Everyone. Has to die.~

106 - Omega?

Asheim, Central Tower, Basement

I press forward with grim determination while the barrier of my
opponents steadily grows weaker. I am sure that I could have done
this in a smarter way. And more sneaky.
But by waging my power of against theirs in a final battle, I hope to
harden my resolve for what's to come.
The biggest hurdle is already taken. I killed my first son and his
fiancee in cold blood. Even if they were influenced by the Calamity, it
was no easy action.
Right after the alarm, I went to Chimera and took control of the
central core of my palace. It has a reasonably smart A.I. too. But
unlike Warden, Palace is under my direct control. He isn't able to
refuse my commands.
Afterwards I channelled the mana of the entire planet through me.
Ever since the incident with the crystal core of my flying fortress, I
trained myself. That event made me realize that there are no limits
for gods.
Most gods tend to forget that they are using just their own power
when they awaken. They are awed by their sheer force.
But there is still more. After you get control of your own power as a
god you can still aim for something higher. Controlling the power
which doesn't belong to you. The raw natural energy that's provided
by planets and stars.
Once you get rid of the walls within your mind, you realize that there
are no limits. A mind is power. Why shouldn't it be able to influence

and shape any other power with enough training?

I must admit that using the mana of Chimera had some unhappy side
effects. Like blowing up the entire planet. But at least that little test
warned me of the possible dangers. Asheim shouldn't blow up
before I have set everything into motion.
Mother's face was pretty aghast when she entered the room with
Palace's crystal core. Maybe I should have told her that I love her
before the end? No. I can't loose my determination. I have set my
mind on doing this.
Angrod! Have you lost your mind? Chiffre snaps at me.
No. I am perfectly sane. I just decided to wage my willpower
against the multiverse. I will tip the balance and kill the observers
until just I remain. Then... if there is just one observer left, the
multiverse may bend to his desires. I take another step and a few
cracks appear in their barrier.
You are mad! Didn't you say that you don't know for sure what will
happen if there are not enough observers! Miruliru starts to double
her efforts.
That's why I called it a gamble. But I have a hunch that the
multiverse is trying to please it's observers with a reality that's
appealing for them. Unfortunately it's impossible to incorporate the
wishes of everyone into the same reality. So I hope that if there is
just one being left..... it will be able to realize everything it wishes
for. That's my hope.
Even if it works! What crazy universe will you dream up! It's
impossible to control your wishes. You are opening the box of
Pandora! Zanders answers me with a shocked expression.
Unfortunately you are right. But! I am a soul-mage. I meditated and
thought for very long about this aspect. I searched my mind and my
soul. There is just one thing I wish for. To be together with my family.

In this reality. And without the Calamity. Now he will ask if that
includes everyone else.
And what of the others! What will you get by only wishing for your
family! -Miruliru
I smile. I don't know. But I wish for them to be happy. I guess that's
not possible without some other people and a little excitement.
Even my former guards join the ambassadors efforts to strengthen
the barrier now. I guess they aren't happy with an uncertain future
either. But it shouldn't matter. The crystal core in my hand holds the
power of an entire world and more.
It's the central piece of my palace. It did nothing but gather mana for
a very long time. Together with the distorted time inside Chimera's
void zone it counts up to quite some power.
Suddenly someone grabs my shoulder. I turn and see that Carne got
up again. He gives me a winning smile.
You forgot....gah....
His expression turns shocked while he incinerates completely in a
flash of light from one moment to the next. I look sadly at the
remnants of ash which were once my friend.
CARNE! Miruliru screams. What happened? Chiffre gives me a
shocked expression.
He switched his power with mine for a mere moment. But he wasn't
able to control my power.... I give the barrier a final push and it
shatters.
Miruliru jumps at me but I wipe her out of the air with my staff while I
walk forward. Carne was the only one with a reasonable chance
against me. If he had been able to control my current power.... I
guess the multiverse doesn't have that much determination after all.

A guard tries his luck but one of my smaller crystals brings him an
unfortunate end.
Chiffre unleashes a shock-wave of power against me which actually
stops me for a second in my tracks. Commendable. I will have to
ask him how that was possible if we see each other again.
With a wave of my hand I raise the gravity within the area
dramatically and everyone is sent to their knees. So I walk forward
without further hindrances. At the door to the central chamber I stop
for a second.
Angrod!
I turn around and see Celes crawling towards me with a pained
expression.
You don't need to do this. We can solve this together! I am
happy as long as we have each other! She raises her hand
towards me.
You are surely trying really hard to test me. But my decision is
made. I turn and step through the opening door. Beyond it is the big
crystal core of Asheim. So I raise my hand and Palace flies up to
fuse with it. So that's done.
~Connection established. The core is under control.~
Raise the space and time barrier around this room. And prepare the
wave-front. I tighten my hand around my staff.
~Done.~
Suddenly everything turns silent, as my special barrier is erected. It
will protect me from the end by separating this room into it's own
little universe. There won't be any possible interaction with the
outside any more.

But first it has to become fully active. Before it locks down

completely, it has to emit the wave-front. I especially created this
magic to wipe out most of the multiverse. Once the critical limit is
achieved, the multiverse should collapse on its own.
The wave-front is an adaptation of my own soul magic. Just with the
difference that this version will have a self replicating effect. That's
why I was always afraid of sharing my magic. It's actually just a little
step from the red maelstrom towards the wave-front.
Like a wave inside a pond, it will spread into every direction and
obliterate everything. While doing that, it will be fed by the very own
energy it unleashes by breaking down even the smallest atom into
the most basic components. Not even the black hole and the
Calamity will be spared.
I turn around and realize that Celes actually crawled till the entrance
where the new barrier stopped her. She is pressing a hand against it
while tears run down her cheeks.
While smiling I bend down and touch the barrier from the other side.
Don't worry. We will see each other again soon.
Palace. Activate the wave-front and completely activate the barrier
as soon as you are ready.
~Affirmative.~
I kneel down and hold both my hands against the barrier while
smiling at Celes. Yeah. "I won't take long my love." It just happens
that the multiverse has to end in order for something new to begin.
Something without soul eating monsters.
Then the other side turns black and I stare out into an endless black
nothingness.
~The wave-front has been sent. We are disconnected from the
rest of the multiverse.~

That was pretty anticlimactic. Huh?

~It had the expected effect. There should be nothing left in
existence behind the wave-front. So it would be strange if there
could be anything of interest observed.~
I nod. So the multiverse should have collapsed by now. Can you
confirm it by reconnecting us with the multiverse?
~Reconnecting.~
The black nothingness turns into a white plane. And on the other side
of the barrier, I see a demon.

Hi. So we meet again.

107 - Alpha?

Nowhere
How the fuck can you be here? The Calamity survived while
everything else vanished? That can't be! Did I make a mistake?
I am tired. I see that your current self doesn't know anything of the
true nature of this whole affair.... The monstrosity before me starts
to speak with a gentle and sane voice.
What do you mean? How can you even be here? I destroyed the
fucking universe! I scream at the thing beyond the barrier.
It nods. Yes. You destroy the universe. Then you recreate it. Then
you destroy it. Then you create it. It's an endless self repeating
cycle which was set in motion by your first incarnation. Everything
just to destroy me.
The thing starts to walk back and forth in front of the barrier. It's
just here, in this almost starved state that I am sane and we can
hold this conversation, Bright One. Otherwise the other personalities
would be suppressing me.
You are one of the first souls that attempted the fusion? My mind
goes blank. Did he survive by using the other souls as a shield?
Somehow?
Yes. I am the first. I wished for true eternity. And see what I ended
up with. The monster waves at the endless white plane. Your spell
is truly devious, Bright One. I wish I knew how you did it! You aren't
even aware of it but you created this whole situation. Just to punish
me! I don't need to be here you know? I could be out there in the
nothingness. I could hide and you would recreate the multiverse.
Then I will give in to my hunger and eat until you destroy the

multiverse again. And so on and so forth. I lost count of it.

The thing stops in it's tracks. And the funny part is this. You aren't
even aware of it! And yet you always stop me again and again
without fail. You can't even go insane because you don't remember
all those iterations. A truly marvellous spell! A spell that can end
something like me that's meant to be eternal. Or maybe it wasn't
you? Maybe you are just a tool of the multiverse to achieve balance?
Maybe something like me isn't meant to be?
I frown. You are an idiot. What would you do all alone with yourself.
It would be boring like hell!
The demon shrugs. Maybe. And maybe not. Who knows?
So why aren't you hiding? If it's true that you are weak? Your story
is strange. From my theory I shouldn't be able to restart the
multiverse if you still exist. You are an observer too. I squint my
eyes while I think about the motivations of the monster before me.
I am here because I want to end it. And I don't count as an
observer since a long time ago. In order to attain eternity, I
disconnected myself from the multiverse. Do you know why your
spell is so devious? It's because I can't run. Even if I run, I end up
here! I can't escape! And while I am alone and conscious, I can't
deal with this endless white eternity! And you will go on to bring me
here. I am going mad! The thing beats the barrier with a clawed fist
and starts to rattle on.
It doesn't matter if your next reincarnation is an angel. A dwarf.
Male or female! Big, fat, muscular, thin, young, old. You just appear
here every time to mock me! You show me all the different lives you
lived in order to punish me for what I tried to give up! And you don't
even know why. That's the funny part. Ohhh. What would I give to
meet your first iteration again and ask him how he did it! The thing
spreads it's arms and smirks at me.
So! Come out of there and let's have a last fight to the death! Just

you and me! The thing taunts me.

I frown again and smirk while I scratch my cheek. Why should I?
Now that I know that you are out there? I guess you used the other
souls as a shield.... somehow. I just have to invoke the wave-front a
few more times until the multiverse is completely wiped. You are like
an artefact that survived the first wipe. Maybe the multiverse keeps
resetting itself because of your continued existence. Palace, invoke
the wave-front again as soon as you are ready.
The Calamity lets it's hands fall. Yeah, well. I expected that it
wouldn't work to taunt you. Maybe I would have won?
Who knows?
Then the other side of the barrier turns black again. After a few
seconds, Palace returns us back to the previous state. This time
there is no monster outside. But I don't trust the peace. Palace,
repeat the process until your energy reserves are depleted. Then
drop the barrier.
I sit down on the ground and watch the process for some time. After
a while the other side stays white and I can hear the voice of
Palace.
~Done.~
I get up with a burning sensation in my feet and walk outside. I hope
the Calamity is gone for real this time.
So what to do now? I thought that everything would work out just by
wishing for it. But nothing happens? Should I try to use my mana
too? Feeling for energy?
Turn back! Exist! And there is light!
Graah! How stupid! Trying to give commands with your voice! Ok.
Then what if I need a really exact image of what I want? Maybe

using self hypnosis? I turn to watch the room behind me. It's just a
big box made out of crystal now.
The easiest way to imagine everything should be from the inside. I
should be able to imagine the universe going back to its previous
state outside the room.....
So I walk back inside and squat down to take a comfortable
position. Meditation! How do I want the multiverse to be.........

.Minutes...curiosity...

.Hours....bewilderment....

.Days.....FRUSTRATION!....

Graaaa! This doesn't work! Why doesn't it work!? I start to hit the
ground. Did I make a mistake? Did I break the multiverse? I will be
caught here forever?

Forever alone! Hahahahaha.... This is too funny. Did that demon

trick me in the end? Did I condemn myself by wiping him in that
manner?
No... my spell shouldn't have that effect. It just decomposes
everything down to it's most basic state. Even souls. It doesn't have
a permanent effect.

Maybe Massster hasss to try harder.

I freeze up.

Then I look down and check my ankle, where the voice came from.
GRAAAH! YOU! I rip Enyo from my foot and throw her onto the
ground while I jump up.
*STOMP*
Who!
Mass....
*STOMP*
Told!
....sster!
*STOMP*
You!
....ssst!
*STOMP*
To!
....op!
*STOMP*
Stay!

....miss!
*STOMP*
Alive!
....ssstake! Sssssss....
Haaaa... That stupid snake! When did she even get onto me! Now
that's dealt with. Time to do this right.
I kneel down again besides Enyo's remnants and start to meditate.
Full concentration! I want the multiverse like it was when I left! Just
with the difference that everyone is alive and healthy! Just the
moment before I wiped the multiverse. All the worlds which were
destroyed should be restored! And their inhabitants alive!
And there is no black hole and no Calamity! That monster simply
doesn't exist. It's my universe, so no soul eating monsters.
Just imagine it! Creation!
I see a flash of light through my closed eyelids and open my eyes to
see Celes lying just outside the room. She has a bewildered
expression and is touching her face like not believing what just
happened.
YES! I jump up and hop over her like a prima ballerina. Then I turn
in a circle and smile while other previously dead guards and former
agents of the Calamity are trying to grasp their situation like Celes.
Bow down and worship me fools! Because -I- am the
~creator~ of the multiverse! I see Carne on the ground while
counting his fingers and touching his own body. So I kick his guts
lightly while laughing.
Get up you fool! I spoke there should be light! And therefore there
is! Then I run towards Aengus and Sharid who are hugging each
other.
Give daddy a hug too! I hug both of them and turn two circles with

them before letting go.

Suddenly Sharid's eyes fall onto Enyo's remnants inside the control
room. ~Whahaha! Noooo! The family heirloom!~ She dashes
forward and grabs the crushed cat-tail with the broken anal plug like
a loved pet.
No worries! I will repair her. I call after Sharid. Why shouldn't the
creator of the multiverse be able to repair an.... Ouuuf.
Suddenly Celes appeared before me and gave me a flying knee
directly into my guts. I actually spurt out a little blood while I go to
my knees.
Hi, sugar cat! Honey bear saved the multiverse like you
wanted! Shouldn't you reward me?
I just see the after-image of an open palm and everything goes dark.

Celes
I slapped the stupid idiot without holding anything back! Right now he
is unconscious to my feet. What did he even think he was doing!?
What if it hadn't worked! And attacking meee! There clearly wasn't
enough education from my part! And he killed Aengus and Sharid!
Even if they are alive and well now!
Mhmffufufufufu.... I will teach you some manners! You will learn a
few ~new things~ tonight. Mwhahaha....
Then I take a look around and realize that all eyes are fixed on me.
~There is nothing to see! Just a wife that hands out some
reasonable punishment!~
I grab Angrod at the collar and pull his unconscious body after me. I
have to get out of this dampening field to use a pathway..... And

then! And then!

Mwahahahar

harharhar......

- END -

108 - ~Epilogue I~

A certain cellar
Two crystal globes are resting beside each other in a dusty cellar.
The noise of a big party can be heard from above. It sounds like a
really big and happy festivity.
What do you think this whole fuss above us is about Amaru?
Do you think the Masters are preparing to free us?
Shut up Tjenemit! I swear! I won't be able to endure you for
much longer! Don't call them Masters! Those Monsters came
from hell itself! Nobody should know so many torturing
methods!
The paths of the Masters are unfathomable..... though I wish
that the first Master would take us back. His mothers are so
much worse than him.
You are right. While I was in the Monsters grasp I still had
thoughts about betrayal. His mothers taught me true
obedience.... and for the last time! Don't call them Masters!
But I can't. They imprinted this into me. It's so deep in me!
Even if I try to call M.. them... something else. It simply comes
over my lips.
Whatever.... And No! They aren't preparing to release us!
They are having a marriage ceremony above! A member of this
breed took El Shaddai as his wife!
Wife?

Apparently he was reborn while we were locked up in this

cellar! As a woman on top of it! Don't you listen to those two
old hags when they are done with tormenting us?
I wisely plug my eyes and ears. Nothing good comes of too
much knowledge. But for the Masters to grant El Shaddai
absolution in such a mysterious way.....
I wouldn't call it absolution! Haaah.... Just a single opportunity
of escape. I wouldn't even think about revenge. I would just
hide somewhere and live a humble life.
Such a life would be surely a great gift by the Masters....
*~Crreeeaack~*
What was that!?
The door! Be silent and pray! The Masters are coming! They
don't even grant us peace during the marriage ceremony of
their offspring. Hard and Thorny are their paths....

Three young girls enter the room in a sneaky manner and start
whispering to each other.
Come in! They won't find us here! - demongirl A
Yes. Yes. God! This basement is dusty! - demongirl B
At least we got away from them. For Sharid to bring her mortal
family to the party. Her little sisters are so annoying! - demongirl C
Yeah... they ask so many obvious questions. What's this. What's
that. Even I got sick of playing the escort. -demongirl B
It can't be helped. They are mortals. - demongirl A

Playing tricks on them would be seriously bad manners.

Unfortunately. - demongirl C
And too easy! Ah! Look! Two glowing orbs! Cool! - demongirl B
All three of them come closer and surround the dusty pedestal with
the two glowing orbs.
I didn't know that we had such thing down here. Oh, there are little
people inside! Freaky! - demongirl A
We aren't little people! We are Djinns! And if you crush our
Orbs, we can grant you a wish!
It spoke! - demongirl C
What are your names little Masters?
I am Eris! And that's Lada and Arianne. Eris introduces herself to
the Djinns.
That's strange. Shouldn't you rub an oil lamp for a Djinn to appear
and grant wishes? And why are they kept in this dark and dusty
basement? Arianne squints her eyes at the two little figures.
Who cares!? Two wishes! Hurry up and think of something cool!
Lada starts to hop while shining with her entire face.
I really think that we should ask.... But Arianne can't complete her
sentence any more.
I wish for Sharid to have two little boys to tease them! Eris grabs
the first glowing globe and smashes it onto the ground.

*Crush*
Are you out of your mind!? And what's with that strange wish Eris!
Sharid likes cute little girls on top! Didn't you see how she adores

her two little sisters! You are cruel! Arianne gasps at the broken
globe on the floor. It stopped shining and went dark.
I I don't know. It was a sudden impulse? It felt like the right thing
to do? Eris looks at the broken ball to her feet with a disturbed
expression. It was like a past self of me suddenly took over?
I will correct your mistake! I wish for both boys to be lovable and
cute little girls! So that Sharid can shower them with love! Lada
grabs the remaining globe and throws it to the floor.

FREEEEEE!

*Smash!*
That was strange. Eris scratches her cheek.
Didn't I tell you!? What did get into you to make such strange
wishes? Are you a goddess of mischief Eris? Arianne smacks Eris.
Like I said.... Why are you tapping us Lada. Stop that! First we
have to think about a possibility to conceal this mess and blame
someone else! Eris waves at the crystal shards on the floor.
But Lada persistently continues to poke her sisters from behind. Eris
and Arianne turn annoyed around towards Lada.
Aaaahh.... Hi! Grandma Ireth! How are you doing. -Eris
Strange to meet in such a dusty cellar granny Katrine. We
surely weren't hiding if you think that... -Arianne

One year later

Two babies are lying side to side in their cute pink cradle.

-That's my babysoother!- Anja snatches her belonging out of

Amelia's mouth by using telekinesis.
-Sorry. I tend to mix them up. Yours and mine look so similar.Amelia apologizes and grabs the other soother which belongs to her.
-I swear! All those years in that Cellar with you. And now this cruel
fate! Your drool is on my belonging! And to be the sister of an
airhead like you!- Anja starts to wave her cute little arms into the air.
-I am not the one who came up with the Djinn story! You are at fault
here! I always told you that Karma and Fate exist! And for someone
like us to try to escape righteous punishment... THIS HAD TO
HAPPEN!- Amelia snaps and starts a tirade.
-How should I know? How big was the chance for this to happen? A
trillion to one!? At least they will seal our memories today. I already
hid a note in my soother to never try to remember my past. Stupid
airhead!- Anja continues her ranting.
-I will start to cry! And then SHE will come!- Amelia threatens Anja.
-Airhead!UWAAAAA!
-Stop it!WAAAHAAAHAHAAAA!
-I give up! Peace! Just don't call her! She is too doting and loving! If
she starts to take care of us she won't stop until she falls asleep! I
will never call you airhead again. We are in this together. S.. Sis..-Say it!- Amelia looks deep into Anja's eyes.
Anja puffs up her cheeks. -Sister! Please, don't cry. We have to
stand united against mother's love. At least until they seal our

memories.-Note down in your soother that you love me and that we are the
best sisters forever! And that we absolutely never ever get back our
old memories! I will do the same!- Amelia shows a winning grin that
doesn't fit her baby face at at all.
-That's...Amelia starts to draw breath.
-OK! Ok! Just be quiet!- Anja concentrates for a short moment to
scratch the message with telekinesis into her soother. -There? See?
-Hmpf... Ok!Then steps are heard and the door flies open. Sharid storms inside
and snatches both babies out of their cradle and presses them to
her chest.
~Mommy is here! You don't have to cry! Are you hungry
already? Or did you make poopoo? Need some baby powder?
Or a toy?........~

109 - ~Epilogue II~

Royal Chambers
I did it! Call me saviour of the multiverse! Forget that! I am the
fucking creator of the multiverse! I even retrieved my father's
memories and revived him!
Almightiness was in my hands! I had it! I revived everyone for gods
sake! I even took care of some physical laws which caused
problems.
It was the perfect idea. First, Revive father and give him his job
back. Then, Do what you want and be a sloth!
So why did I get told that I am the perfect king and a change of
power isn't necessary? Father grabbed mom and both of them ran
away to enjoy their time together! Fuck! Fuck!
I am the creator of the multiverse, so why do I have to be the king!?
They should all obey me and kiss my feet!
Aengus and Sharid are happy with each other and live a life of their
own. They even have two cute little daughters! But they aren't willing
to take any responsibility either.
I thought of everything. I thought..... but..... in the end I failed!
While recreating the multiverse I should have wished for complete
obedience! Yes! But I was an idiot! The multiverse played the
greatest trick on me!
At least I should have changed Celes's personality! But nooo, I
completely missed that subject. So that's what I get for a moment of

idiocy.
Right now I am tied up and used as a body pillow! The creator of the
multiverse! A BODY PILLOW!
My body is still sore from the beating I got from Celes.
Could.... Could it be....? Naaah... never! But on the other hand? Was
this situation a subconscious wish of mine?
Am I a masochist like Sharid? Just with the difference that I am not
aware of it? That can't be. But she is one. A masochist and a sadist.
I was sure that her soul didn't have those properties when I
reincarnated her. I just dabbled with her sex drive to make her a wild
nympho. But she didn't turn out like that at all.
That's strange! Contrary to her potentials, she has actually a quite
faithful personality. And it looks like she would never go for someone
else besides Aengus.
What else did I do to her soul. Well. I edited the thirst for power out
of her to keep her down. But she still rose back to godhood.
Then I gave her a few of my ~abilities~. Could that be the problem?
Passive abilities have an indirect link to someone's soul.
So did I copy more than my abilities? Did I give her some of my
subconscious desires and wishes too? That's entirely possible now
that I think about it! And I dabbled with her soul very heavily! So that
has to be case!
Whahahaaaaa. I am the lowest of the lowest. A sadist. And a
subconscious masochist! And a pervert!
I fell so deep since I was a monk on earth!
Mmnh... stop moving or I hit ya! Celes mumbles while being half
asleep.

I have to find out where I lost my path. I was always a sadist! I

accept that! Even as a monk I enjoyed the pain of others. Keeping it
hidden was just natural.
But my other issues can't be from my previous lives. C... Could it be
that I started to enjoy the torture lessons of my parents? Are they at
fault?
And then that time when I got turned on because Celes was
punishing the kids? Did I wish for myself to be in their place?
Urgh. I want to spew blood. The multiverse was created by the
worst lowlife in existence.
At least I created a nice warm place for the worst souls in the
multiverse. Their tortures should last long enough to reform them into
nice and obedient people.
That's one thing I got right.

Credits

Author

Andur

Publication platfom

RoyalRoadDl.com

Book designer

Armaell