-Deicide. Part 2-

"It's too much!"

The serpentine Goddess had begun throwing a tantrum mid explanation.

"Too much, I said. Where to even begin?"

"At the beginni—"

"Yes at the beginning, damn you. If the archival frame has done anything, it's that it has upgraded your ability to sass me."

Capricorn dug her knuckles into her forehead and sighed.

"I've done nothing to deserve…" she paused, "No, I have. This is what I get for all these years of negligence and for binding to you without knowing all the details. Virgo and the pitfalls left behind by Terae are to blame for some of this, but I am not without fault. Haaah."

I wasn't sure of where I currently was, but wherever it was, only Capricorn and I were here—well, a small army of what seemed like emotionless angelic dolls.

The Alaetüs had recovered from their encasement formation and stood idle, spears against their bodies like decorative suits of armor.

A vast plane of nothing expanded in every direction, with a lot of that same nothing doting the sky.

With not even a rock to kick.

The Wanderer's Plane was more fun than this place.

I sighed.

"You just don't understand!" Capricorn continued to complain, "Less than a year ago you were hunting wolves and recruiting companions. Great, fine, a normal start to an adventure. But then suddenly you're calling down divine strikes, saving princesses, and fighting God!?"

Princesses?

"It's no wonder the archival frame was screaming for its life. It's too much."

Oh. Is that what she meant?

I nodded in agreement while Capricorn kept whining.

Things had hurried along. I'd love some downtime too.

IMAGINE HOW MUCH WORSE HER GRIPING WOULD BE IF SHE KNEW ABOUT ALL OF US.

That would… Haah.

I groaned and rubbed a knuckle against my forehead.

When I raised my head, Capricorn was glaring at me.

"I, uh—" I stammered under pressure, "For what it's worth, I think you've done a fine job, as a God. Without your help, I'd… well, things wouldn't have gone as well as they have."

Capricorn sighed, her expression relaxing a bit, "Haah, and what do you know about godhood? Ignorant as always and blazing ahead with abandon—caution be damned."

I scratched at my cheek with a weak laugh, "Haha, well now that you mention it, very little. With how restrictive things are for you and Virgo, it's been hard to ask questions. The last few times, there was always something else with a priority."

Capricorn had finally seemed to settle down.

A pair of seats raised up from the all-white ground, mine was a simple straight-backed chair, while Capricorn had summoned herself some curved contraption that allowed her to coil up comfortably.

Understanding Capricorn's concerns from a greater perspective made all her complaints feel more valid.

Basically, I was currently on a timeout.

This space existed at the edge of everything; the higher planes, the Celestial realms, Aver'teria, all of it was as far removed from here as cosmically possible.

NOT THAT WE UNDERSTAND ANY OF THAT.

Yeah, yeah. We're still a little fledgling Goddess. Much to learn.

My being here would allow the archival frame some time to work without added stress. Something it desperately needed to do as, according to Capricorn, the moment I return to the mortal plane there would be a huge spike of divine power routed directly to me on account of this so-called Seal of Conquest being broken.

Both of us were in the dark about its function, or origin even.

Capricorn seemed certain Virgo would know as the one responsible for this whole Altaerian recycled soul new goddess project in the first place.

Our conversation wandered, mostly a recounting of things since we had last touched base. Eventually we landed on a prime subject that piqued Capricorn's interest: My growth of followers and rising rank within the ruler system.

"Do you realize what it means to have mortals pray to you? How their devotion is both boon and sickening poison?"

My ears perked up at her second question.

"A poison?"

"If you aren't careful, it eats away at you. Your dreams change. Your ideals degrade. Committing yourself to their devotion in exchange for more followers, you may do whatever to keep the number growing. Supporting unjustified aggression, distancing from minority groups, embracing powers beyond your understanding…"

"Oh."

I had done nothing specific to gain the level of followers I was at. But if I wanted to gain all the Vanixian Republic survivors or even some of the Aestori, I would definitely need to make promises or use propaganda in some way to convince them.

"So what do you suggest? I have some devout paladins already. Should I base my policies around them—No, that would…"

"Do you know why a mortal can never truly stand beside a God?"

I shook my head, not knowing what sort of cosmic issues could come into play.

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"It's because they will eventually betray their Gods. Be it their allegiance, love, or life. No matter what, one will fade with time until they are no longer at your side."

"What?" I stood up, slightly annoyed, "How would someone dying be betrayal? That's not the same as turning away in faith."

Capricorn hummed softly, "When their soul passes through Aver'teria and their memories are worn away, their faith fades along with, and you're down a follower forever."

Oh. That's actually really sad.

I looked at Capricorn, her expression twisted between different stages of emotion.

"Did you…?" My throat caught, "Ahem, I don't mean to pry, but…"

"For a thousand years, I, along with my other siblings, had numerous followers when the Goddess oversaw things. Her creations lived brief lives, but there were many of them on the mortal plane. That changed after She was gone. My cousins wanted their own pockets of worshipers to gain power."

"So, they created the long-lived races. Elves, Dwarves, and Nobleborne." I added.

"Don't forget the rabble you lived among. My sister created all those versions of Humans just to fuel her side project—though I didn't realize how far she had progressed. What a blow it must have been when they were nearly wiped off the world."

"Wait! Speaking of, what about Demons? Gemini seemed to have some alongside his void-beasts and other monstrosities, but why would he collapse the entire Kingdom of Rena?"

"Demons?" Capricorn narrowed her eyes, "Oh, those. I've taken to calling them planeswalkers. Not a clue who made those. They just showed up one day. I've seen them on the mortal plane and higher planes like Aver'teria. Virgo caught one snooping around her home not too long ago."

What?

"No, I'm asking seriously. How can you not know which Celestial made an entire group of new beings that can intrude in your own domains?"

"That's just it. I'd know if I created a race of plane-hopping creeps. Libra is sealed away, Gemini is a bastard of the Void, and the other nine denied making them. You weren't even around, so thirteen out of thirteen didn't make them. Best guess, they found a passage through the Void and sneaked in."

Being included in the total count of Celestial Gods felt weird. Satisfying, but weird.

Wait. Thirteen? Why does that number seem…

A nagging feeling took hold of my mind.

BECAUSE THE NUMBER IS WRONG. YOU THAT FORGETFUL? CHECK THOSE NOTIFICATIONS ON YOUR WRIST RUNE AGAIN.

Capricorn watched me fiddle with the display in amusement until the line I was looking for came into view.

Both our seats disappeared as she sprang forward and grabbed my wrist.

» DIVINITY SOURCE IN THE LOCAL RULER ARCHIVAL FRAME IS SUFFERING EXTREME PRESSURE FROM RULER IDENTITY FOURTEEN: GODDESS OF VANIXIA

"If I'm number fourteen," I whispered, "Then, who is number thirteen?"

It shouldn't still come as a surprise to me. Whenever Capricorn gets super pissed, I've always ended up thrown through some portal and left on my own.

She must have been a new level of upset as the doll-like Alaetüs even bolted, escaping through their own portals before the barrier around me had sealed completely.

At least Capricorn had remembered to cast one before flinging me through space.

Unfortunately for me, it seems I hadn't spent enough time away.

The moment the barrier blinked away, my body was overcome with a surge of silver magick, creating a vortex of aethermist centered around me.

Renault's crumbling palace chamber was caught in a blast of radiant fire—thankfully my companions seemed to have evacuated in the time I was gone.

My entire being felt ill.

A screaming headache, aching pain throughout my body, and a burning heat spread through my mana circuits.

I retched.

But the intensity of the divine power did not abate, it only grew worse.

It felt like magicka feedback, but a hundred times worse. Grasping at straws, I tried compressing the rampaging magicka and moving it away from my core, but the stubborn mess was beyond my control.

Nothing helped.

"Raaah!" I cried out in pain.

What in the Aether is this? Atë?

My ears were ringing, and I had no way to tell if alter egos were bearing the same burden as I was.

Clutching my sides and doubled over on the ground, I struggled to bring up a status display.

- - - - - -STATUS- - - - - -

[AIRIS VANIXI] <Goddess of Vanixia> HEALTH: (7777 / 500) STAMINA: (7777 / 700) ANIMA: (7777 / 730)

» TARGET SUFFERS FROM NEGATIVE EFFECTS:

» ANIMA INFLUX: DIVINE

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Anima? What in the Aether is Anima?

"Errk!"

Flashes of pain caused me to turn over, and I caught a view of the sky.

The void-storm had dispersed, replaced by a beam of divine light that cut a hole through the clouds above me. Streaks of lightning fired off in rapid succession, and the speed of the clouds swirling around the light beam was abnormally fast.

A hell of a storm was raging outside the palace.

I swore through clenched teeth, "Haah. This. Fucking. Sucks!"

Something within me snapped, and my vision cleared. The intense pain abruptly stopped, and my thoughts stilled.

I blinked.

In the corner of my eye, a figure stirred.

I sat up.

Sitting in the exact pose I was, more than a dozen doppelgängers stared at me. They each had unique hair colors and styles and varying expressions.

One of them stood and approached me.

She placed her hand on my shoulder and crouched down. Her ink-black hair was inches away from my face.

"Atë." I called her name.

She smiled, "Hey. You seem to be struggling again."

"Seems like that's all I do lately." I said listlessly.

"Come on now, this one is hardly your fault. That snake couldn't handle her shit, and here we are."

Atë smirked.

The floor of the palace chamber shook as more rubble collapsed.

"Though," she continued, "If we don't get a handle on this, it might be our fault."

I glanced at the vortex of divine energy around us, "I tried. It's beyond my know-how. I don't know where to start. It's my fault, sorry. I want to protect everyone, but I can't this time."

Atë gently patted my cheek, "Hey~ Nothings wrong with wanting to save our friends. It's not a sin to hope for a better tomorrow. What would be a sin, though, is failing to act when required—as the divine rulers we are. Ponos helped us out before, and things went well enough, yeah? She got us out of the jam with that twisted knight. Now, it's my turn to watch over us."

She stood up, extending her arm out.

I looked at it, but remained sitting.

"What, you just gonna do nothing? That's not the Airis we know. A million emotions and stray thoughts running around in a mess, but one feeling always stays true for you, yeah?"

She grabbed my arm and pulled me up.

"A true feeling? That's simple enough. I am so terribly exhausted, and my mind is worn thin. Give my mental strings a tug and they'd just snap. That is the truth."

Atë laughed in my face.

"Oh? Then do forgive my reach. I'll be pulling on those strings."

My legs gave out, and I fell to the floor in a heap.

"Do what you wish." I muttered.

Dreary blackness filled my vision and a voice echoed in my ear quietly.

"Assault-One to Regal-One, please respond. Assault-One to Regal-One…"

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