Believable Bedlam

By: Person42

A woman continues her job after death, a couple finds themselves the opposite gender, and the magical folk find themselves in danger in this sequel to Magical Mayhem

BELIEVABLE BEDLAM

1. Introduction

2. Chapters

1. Prologue

2. Chapter 1

3. Chapter 2

4. Chapter 2.5; Supreme's Underground

5. Chapter 3

6. Chapter 4

7. Chapter 5

8. Chapter 6

9. Chapter 7

10. Chapter 8

11. Chapter 8.5; Wtherm

12. Chapter 9

13. Chapter 10

14. Chapter ?

15. Chapter 11

16. Chapter 12

17. Chapter 12.5; Wtherm

18. Chapter 13

19. Chapter 14

20. Chapter 15

21. Chapter 15.5; Smoke

22. Chapter 16

23. Chapter 17

24. Chapter 17.5; Pirates

25. Chapter 18

26. Epilogue

GUIDE

1. Table of Contents

2. Prologue

Prologue

Two figures stood near each other, yet one didn't talk. A woman in a dress of ice holding her infant son, and a young boy whose parents were nowhere near. They were too scared of magic, being from the kingdom of Byul.

He was too, yet everyone seemed so tame compared to the assassin who had broke into his house and killed a government tax collector. "'Ey," Beel said. "Ah herd yer da one dat talks wit' dat Goddess? Ah hav' a questchun for 'er."

"Then speak quickly and leave," Slyf said, stepping out. "I plan on taking my friend here to lunch."

Beel knelt and bowed his head. "Mah apol'gies, mah Goddess. But... dere was a woman. Brown 'air, mysterious eyes dat, lookin' back on it, seem'd tuh change col'rs. She tel'ported 'nd could slow time-"

"I know her. She fought and wounded me, then fused with my late High Priest. She's now this woman's wife."

"Ah, rilly? 'Cuz she jus' kil'd mah uncle."

Slyf stiffened and narrowed her eyes, golden energy whipping about. Ice gasped and closed her eyes, concentrating on something.

"Where, and when?" Slyf demanded, her mind frantically searching everything it could.

"Byul capitol building, yesterday at noon."

Ice gasped and smiled, tears slightly falling down her face. "My Goddess," she said, voice rough from disuse, "the bond isn't broken. It's weak, very very weak, but it's not broken!"

Slyf went silent, disappearing without another word. Ice smiled and cried tears of joy, once more going silent. She could feel it now. It was slow, more slow than she could imagine, but her husband... her wife, her wife would come back.

Even if it took years, she would wait.

She motioned for Beel to follow, raising a hand and waving it to the right without moving her arm, her wrist nearly dislocating as words appeared on the tablet. "Ah cain't read," Beel said. Ice glared and brought over someone else from nearby, who quailed in fear.

"W-what?" the frightened woman asked.

"Uh... Ah think yer s'posed to read dat," Beel said, pointing at the tablet.

The woman gulped and steadied herself, squinting. "It's been a while, so I don't recognize some of those words... uh... oh! Oh, it says something along the lines of... uh... you're... you're going to be an... up... upren... apprentice! You're going to be an apprentice to her. Oh my! You should be honored! The prophet Ice herself will teach you magic!"

"GODS NO!" Beel screamed, eyes widening as he fell backwards. "NO! GIT 'WAY FROM ME!"

He scrambled up and ran off, panting. Ice rolled her eyes and followed, slightly slower and just out of sight, yet never losing him.

In another realm, Slyf spread the news of Fosoghd to Mren.

A woman in a jet black one-piece full body suit with an attached mask watched it all, sighing. She knew the target was a bad idea, and now her wife would know she was avoiding her. Perhaps she was a daughter of a goblin.

Chapter 1

"Ma! Help!" Beel called out, rushing into the little cave they were staying in. It was outside city limits, on the other side of the city from rumored elf forest. "Dat crazy prophet woman wantsa teach me magic! Dey say Ah'm a mag'k usa!"

Beel's parents covered their mouths in shock, faces contorting into sneers. "No son'a mine's gonna be a mag'k usa! Stay wit'ch yer profit friend, demon! Follower of Wtherm! Pawn!"

"No! No, dun do dis!"

Beel's father kicked one of the logs that was helping keep the small fire ablaze out from the fire pit, picking it up and throwing it at Beel. Beel screamed and ducked before it hit a wall of ice.

Ice's child began to cry as the loud sound woke him up and she silently shushed him, rocking him back and forth. The family looked at her in fear, and she idly waved a hand, covering the entire cave in a few inches of pure ice.

She motioned once more for Beel to follow, and he relented, noticing spikes of ice conveniently placed over his parents. The woman was mad.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Gods it was cold. Why did everyone have a grudge in this frozen wasteland? Did they keep stealing each other's fish?

Either way, it wasn't time for the assassination. Fosoghd held her arms close, her house appearing in front of her as the blizzard let up a bit. If only her wife were here, things would be so much better.

The inn came quickly into sight. Fos had ensured she picked the house next to the inn, because the land was near inhospitable and even a strong drink didn't always chase away the cold completely.

Her small, one-room house was small. A frozen river was behind it, and Fos had the right to rent it out to hungry fishermen in exchange for much needed supplies to survive in the arctic environment.

In fact, there was one man fishing right now. Fos called out an unintelligible sound that this backwards village counted as "language" and received a response.

It was amazing. Grunts and points got you so far in this village. Must be because there was so little to talk about. They hadn't even discovered mana existed, would-be powerful magician babies just died of hunger and lack of mana a few weeks in.

She kept her magic under wraps and glanced out the window at the poor sod trying to catch a fish for himself. She let out a guttural yell that could be interpreted as a battle cry, waving him in.

She manually lit a fire, cursing under her breath and wishing Smoke had taught her how to spark a fire magically.

The man grinned stupidly and nodded looking around the house and opening a cupboard, finding three frozen fish. He stabbed them with a rod of barely and shoddily smelted iron, proceeding to squat down and roast them over the fire.

It took a number of minutes, but the fish finished cooking and she ate in silence with the grateful man. It was the one nice thing about this backwards, cold little village. There was no money, so everyone shared materials. Which was ironic, and served to confuse her further. Why the assassinations? There was quite literally no reason. Did people just hate this village? It didn't really matter to her, they had plenty of gold to go around. Though they didn't value it as much as the rest of the world.

The blizzard wasn't letting up, and Fos sighed. It was going to be another cold night. Oh, how she wished she lived with a flame user. Or at least Ice, Ice could have kept her warm...

She blushed and stood, staring out the window. The wind whipped inside, throwing her hair around, and she basked in it. Fos the Original wasn't good at Wind spells, yet Gust hadn't practiced Wind Magic at all since dying. She really should have, Wind spells were undoubtedly useful.

She had died. Incredible. She had to thank Original Fosoghd if she ever met her, if she ever really existed in the first place. Jumping through time made her wonder if her future was doomed to repeat what Fos the First had done to her.

"Urgggh!" the man said, pointing at the door. There was a loud knock, and the door was opened and shut quickly. The man's wife came in and grunted, draping herself over him and promptly falling asleep. Fos blinked in surprise and sighed once more. At least she didn't want a fish.

There was yet another knock on the door before it opened, a man walking in and shutting the door. "Urgh groan blah blah. Just shut up you brutes," he said.

"Ah, you must be my target!" Fos said, smiling and opening her arms. Her target, the man who's name she didn't know, stepped back into the door. She only knew he was her target because he spoke the common language, and was probably the only other one in the area who did.

"Who are you? Why can you speak!?" the man demanded, hyperventilating. Fos couldn't really see anything, as the guy wore a fur coat so thick she couldn't even tell what type of animal the fur came from. It was brown and warm-looking, and Fos glowered in jealousy.

"Fur. Lucky you. Nobody likes me in towns, 'specially 'round these parts. Well, 'cept ‘round these parts I assume. I've got the river."

The man was still freaking out, and fumbled along inside the fur coat, producing a small iron dagger and waving it threateningly. "Doesn't matter if you can speak! I've got a weapon! You don't! Now, n-now get out of my way!"

"Oh hush. There's a blizzard outside, there's nowhere to go. What am I supposed to do?"

The man lowered the dagger, but he was still staring daggers at her. "You called me your target."

"Yep. You're the reason I own this little one-room hut in the middle of nowhere. These guys wouldn't recognize the King if he walked in with guards."

"That's true. Why are you waiting for me, and how did you know I'd be here?"

"Church business," Fos lied, smiling. "You don't need to know exactly what until the blizzard is over."

"Well, I'm a White Knight, so if you try anything you're dead!"

The White Knights were the elite legion protecting the Three Kingdoms of The Alliance. Specifically, they were an elite, secretive guard sent to protect the Kings on dangerous trips, and were always on hand when something big went down. They were never far during disasters, and were even known to end sieges. When they walked in their mysterious White Metal armor, people would bow.

They inspired people more than the church.

"A White Knight? Dammit! Nobody told me you were so dangerous."

"Business from the church, but swearing like you're from Cruub. Who are you?"

"My name is Fosoghd," she said, wrapping her arms around her. "Nothing more you need to know, except that I'm a member of the Holy Church of Mother Slyf."

"'Course you are, and I'm the king."

There was a scratching at the door, and Fosoghd looked up. Her eyes widened as she backed up. Only one species that lived around the village was smart enough to attempt to find shelter in a blizzard.

"Get away from the door! You'll be mauled!" she screamed, fake concern in her voice. To the sleeping woman and her "husband" she screamed a wordless scream as loudly as possible, alerting them of danger.

The man, the White Knight threw off his coat and revealed a bright white sword. White Knight indeed.

A troll made of ice broke down the door and roared, walking in and sitting down by the fire. "Don't. Move," Fos said. Ice trolls were the biggest botched experiment of all history, where a Glacier hundreds of years ago was sent into exile after accidentally destroying an army and reincarnating their corpses as the ice trolls, who began to somehow breed and grow in numbers. Luckily they moved out of Magic Kingdom and into the frozen tundra that was the North.

The White Knight listened to Fos' advice, and Fos readied a Gust-level Wind Spell in preparation of escape. She decided she wouldn't kill her target, as White Knights were not the ones even a Supreme would want to anger.

Indeed, there had been four documented cases of White Knights ambushing and destroying a Supreme.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Fire was leaning against Smoke. Any day now, she was expecting him to propose. She wondered how big the ruby would be.

In Fire culture, a ruby was always presented at proposal, and a second, bigger ruby with a small, everlasting flame embedded in the center was presented by the priest at marriage. The size of the first ruby indicated three things: the husband's devotion to his future wife, roughly both their levels of power in case of a war, and loyalty to the Eternal Flame that ruled Fire Users, as popular belief had it. While Fire knew, from Ice and Slyf, that the "Eternal Flame" ruling over the Fire Users was nonsense, it still made her tingle in excitement to think of a ruby the size of her palm adorning her hair.

But there was a nagging feeling at the back of her head, as if she was forgetting something. On quiet days, there always was. Something felt unnatural, especially in direct sunlight. She felt weaker than normal, like when she was being forced to swim.

"I was thinking," she began, "About taking a magic test, you know? See if I'm capable of other types of spells. Sometimes it feels like I am."

Smoke laughed and nodded. "I was wondering when you'd say that. We can go into University and talk to the Arch-Mage about it whenever you want, I hear he's got this ingenious way with crystals and a Mind School enchantment that reveals things like that. Although..."

"Although?"

"Ice's husband, Gust Sound, do you remember him? His mother claims to have met you before all this, before your meeting me. She said that when I bumped you and your head went slamming into the ground like a Wind School user forced it down there, your memory got wiped. She has a suspicion on what your other spells are going to be like."

"Does she? What are they?" Fire demanded, playfully slapping his shoulder. He winked and laughed, ignoring it with a brush of smoke .

"Go find out! Wanna test?"

"Sure!"

Chapter 2

In the countryside there was a run-down, crumbling watchtower. It had been ransacked fifteen times exactly, and every so often a stone fell out of place and sent the whole tower shaking. It was not a tower known to be safe, and, as most suspected, a particularly strong gust of wind would knock it down.

Yet it was in this tower of crumbling, falling stones where five of the most powerful men in the world met.

"We're all present," the king of the kingdom of Byul said, nodding. "Good. We have much to talk about."

"Indeed we do," the king of Cruup said.

"Unfortunately," added the king of Cruub.

The two "kings" of the peaceful theocracies stayed silent.

The world was dominated by one central, large landmass with a long shore and many peninsulas. The only landlocked country, by far the largest, stretched from nearly one coast to the other and went north until the two theocracies. The theocracies, Slyf worshippers both, ruled the snowy North very loosely. The only reason they still existed was that they had no tactical advantage, and nobody wanted to claim the land.

The landlocked country was simply and aptly named "Magic Country." It was located anywhere where mana managed to flourish, but did not trade with any other countries. The Kingdoms of Cruup and Cruub were located to the south, in a tropical land full of absolutely huge trees and threats of monsters undiscovered by the rest of the lands. Cruup and Cruub both just recently started to trade again, as they were engaged in a bloody civil war that halved their populations, with Cruub finally managing to secede after burning the capital of Cruup down. Cruub was small but powerful, a military state that produced the highest amount of White Knights anywhere.

Byul was the Kingdom ruled by a ruthless, cold-hearted magic-hating king that lived on the Western Coast of the world, but part of Byul was located to the east as well. Due to Magic Kingdom's inefficient, repetitive naming system, the names of towns within the vast kingdom all included basic facts about the city within. Specialist City, near the border of Western Byul, came to Byul's king's mind. It came to most people's minds nowadays, though. It was famous as the birthing and death site of the Savior Gust Sound, the famous Fosoghd the teleporting assassin, and the many sights of the Goddess Slyf. There was even a rumor all three gods met, in their mortal forms, to marry Gust Sound and his wife Ice. They were the only respected magicians outside of the Magic Country, due to close ties with Slyf. If there was to be a war, Ice daughter of Song would survive.

"When we attack, we want Specialist City," the higher of the two priest-kings from the theocracies said. "It would be better in our hands."

The king of Byul grumbled to himself, shaking his head. "All of the cities deserve to be burnt... but do Cruup and Cruub object to the proposition?"

"No."

"Nay."

"Then you shall get it, my Priest," the king of Byul said. "My country and people desire the end to the Magic Kingdom and it's culture. We demand death by fire to all inhabitants."

The king of Cruub raised a hand and grinned. "Not possible. My Knights tell me there are entire cities filled with humans who bask in flames, of people who can turn our armies to ash if not taken seriously. Fire would only heal them."

"Then we shall go after those cities with water! Who cares? We just want them dead!"

"But not Specialist City," Cruup's king interjected. "That city is an exception, yes?"

"Not publicly," Byul's intolerant king admitted. "It can be an exception in private. We'll leave the taking of it to the holy nations and the Knights."

"Good."

The king of Cruup was an old man, on the verge of death. His grandson was preparing to take over the kingdom, yet he didn't stop him. In fact, he encouraged it. He sat forward, and everyone turned towards him. While old, he was the most experienced, and had gone to war with the Magic Kingdom once before, right before the civil war broke out. Many would argue the civil war broke out because of the unprovoked war with the Magic Kingdom.

"You all speak of taking the Magic Kingdom like it is a sure thing. It is not."

The other men were silent, and the respected king of Cruup continued. "Far from it. You must remember, even the weakest of citizens, even the children, can fight with magic. Your soldiers can be strangled with their own armor. I watched a man be killed because he scared a child, and the child drowned him on dry land. If you invade, your armies will be destroyed."

"No matter, we will have the White Knights with us."

The king of Cruup sighed and stroked his beard. "I shall permit the Black Knights to go with them."

The tower was shocked silent. The White Knights were symbols of destruction and prosperity, but the Black Knights were dangerous. They made the White Knights look like children swinging wooden swords at each other and crying over scrapes to the knee. But the only people who knew the Black Knights existed were the five kings and the Black Knights themselves. Their targets did not live to tell tales of them.

"T-the Black Knights? Why?"

"History, my friends. We lost the war not because of the average person attacking. Our armies are trained, they are not. You doubtlessly realize this. Your fears are realized when you see a Supreme Master of Magic enter the battlefield. You hide behind your White Knights then to take them out, as nobody else can."

"Yes. Why reveal the Black Knights to the world if the White Knights can handle it?"

"During our last war, the Black Knights discovered something. They call themselves the "Supreme's Underground", and even the King of the Magic Kingdom fears them. If we all attack, they will ally with the King. Any one of them could wipe out an entire city, but there are nearing a hundred men and women within the Supreme's Underground. If they all mobilize... gods help us. Only with the Black Knights may we have a chance."

"You lie!" sputtered one of the priest-kings, the lower ranking of the two. It infuriated the other kings that their kingdoms didn't have formal names. "There is no organization that powerful!"

"It destroyed an entire army of mine. There were three Supremes. I remember it clearly; I was just far enough away to witness it. The day was rainy, but sunny. The sun was at our backs and at the eyes of the city we were going to attack when the three men showed up. One raised a hand and a tornado formed and whipped through the center of our army. Another raised his hand, and the rain came down in incredible amounts, a flash flood washing away the fringes of my army, and a good portion of our reserves, drowning them mercilessly. But the third... the third wrapped the shadows themselves around my men and strangled all of them. That was just three. We're talking one hundred men and women with equal talent, all organized to bring us down."

The kings were silent, but one finally spoke. It was the king of Byul. "We need Fosoghd, then."

"She's dead."

"She's not."

One of the priest-kings spoke up, the higher ranking of the two. "She is. The Goddess Herself has said it."

"She's not," reiterated the king of Byul, "I know because I hired her three days after her death to deal with a problem of mine. She killed a tax collector of mine a while ago, so I hired her to hunt down the man who got her to kill the tax collector. She lives, and she's changed."

The other kings glared at him, and he shrugged. "I hate magic users, you all know that. But I know if I have an asset, I'm going to use it. Fosoghd could be an asset. Within my kingdom, she attacked, and beat, Slyf in a fight. But she's not like that anymore," he said hurriedly, motioning for the two priests to calm down. "I hear rumors from the Black Knights. Rumors that her and Gust Sound are now one and the same. That makes Fosoghd leader of your church, my priests. If she's with us, the church is with us, no?"

"If that's true."

"Only one way to find out. Prepare the ritual, and let's summon her."

Chapter 2.5; Supreme's Underground

One year and three months before the death of Fosoghd

"GODS HELP ME!" the man screamed, catching his foot on the doorway and plummeting to the ground. A living, sentient flame sprouted in front of him, growing to the height of a tall man.

"Oh, what is this? More charcoal? AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The flame raised a "hand" and spouted more flames at the man, silencing his screams of pain.

"Delightful," said a sarcastic, feminine voice.

"Ah, Shadow! There you are!" Inferno said, extinguishing his armor of flame and embracing the young girl. Shadow squirmed out of his embrace and put her hands on her hips.

"Why did you have to do this? Everything is burning down. Look! Even that Mren-damned stone church is burning!"

"Hey, they tried to put out my eternal flame! They deserved everything."

Shadow Fire shook her head and sighed. "What are you even up to, girlie? I thought you were useful!"

Shadow glared at him until he became uncomfortable. "If you must know, it's because your stupid flames are providing enough light to make my shadows completely useless. I can't move them at all!"

"Useless. Are you at least tracking that wind user about to become Supreme?"

"Yeah, of course. Stupid girl's got a family. Two boys and a husband in the military."

"Ah, so you're not like Tsunami, are ya? Actually doing both your jobs."

"Tsunami's a failure. Why's he even on our team? Seriously, three Fire users and that guy? Only reason 'e hasn't killed us all is 'cuz I can strangle him in his sleep."

"True. Well come on phoenix girl, show me those fiery wings and take us out of here!"

"Oh, shush you," Shadow said, Inferno snickering. "You damn well know that spell's impossible. Darkness, however..."

Inferno's eyes widened just long enough to realize that the fire grew far enough away that the little shadows pooling at their feet were dangerous.

And then they were elsewhere.

Inferno threw up, his puke tinged with pitch black. "'Ow long?" he muttered, clutching his bleeding side. Naturally Shadow was in perfect condition, lively, even wearing a different dress. She looked down at the dress in disgust and shook her head.

"How long? Do you know how long it takes to walk from one side of the world to the other? We were out three months. We gotta get to our next assignment now. So hurry up, that village will only be out of the water for sixteen hours."

"Damn it."

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Tsunami and Shadow showed back up at the headquarters drenched in water. None of the others lived.

"What the Mren happened?" One of the elders asked, glaring and summoning a wisp of light. It was the most he could do, but he worked marvels with healing.

"White Knights took out three of us on accident. They didn't realize we were Supremes, they just knew they were supposed to destroy the dam. And they did, the entire town flooded and everyone but us died. Tsunami swam around happily, and I had to take us both out on a dark pathway."

The elder shook his head and whistled. Another, older Shadow approached and looked at her. "Ah, the fool who took the pathway. Not dead? I'm impressed," he said. The elder waved him away fiercely, and the man obeyed.

"Well, you tell the truth. This failure is not acceptable. Tsunami, join your sister in the mountains for meditation. Shadow, you will join him when you finish tracking and getting that Supreme-to-be on our side. Now go, you disgraces. And if I see you again I'm collapsing your lungs and letting you suffocate!"

Shadow and Tsunami hurried off.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

"Unbelievable," Shadow muttered. "Almost a Supreme and she dotes over her son like a hawk."

Shadow was sitting on a rooftop, enjoying the shade. It wrapped around her, caressed her almost like a lover, and fed her energy. She stretched and sat like a cat. The boy, a kid named Vent, was attending school as his mother helped run the city. Shadow hated the assignment. It was so, so boring. And she was so close to the kingdom of Byul that she could almost feel the hatred.

A Supreme she may be, but a fool she was not. She was always on her guard, and she would not be fooled. There were assassins around, there always were when it came to Supremes.

In fact, there was one there now. Stupid fellow, hiding in the shadows. "Oh, Mren," Shadow muttered as the assassin moved out of the shadows and into the light. It wasn't even overcast.

The man had a dagger visible, and was rapidly approaching Wind, the would-be Supreme. The assassin was approaching her fast and she turned to face him.

The man was quickly blown backwards into the wall, his head collapsing under the pressure of a targeted Wind Spell. Shadow took in a breath and hid herself in deeper shadows. She had no idea Wind was this dangerous.

Oh well. She'd be here a while, that was for sure. Wind showed no desire to become a Tornado.

Chapter 3

"Is this the place?" Fire asked Smoke, who promptly nodded. Fire held in her breath and Smoke rolled his eyes, blowing the door down with a blast of smoke. The arch-mage was not amused.

"Test time?" he asked, crossing his arms and glaring at Smoke. Smoke grinned and waved, backing out and pushing a nervous Fire in. "Good."

"H-hello Mr. Arch-mage sir."

"Hello young miss. If you would place your hand on this gem, I had an Imagination enchant it to show in your power possibilities from least powerful to most. It may also cause a small reaction with your body's own magic. So be careful."

Fire breathed deeply and forced herself to place a hand on the crystal. Smoke chose that time to pop in within his smoke form. The crystal lit up a bright blue, an image of flickering lightning flashing through it. The image faded as Smoke looked at the gem, curiously. The gem flickered and burst into flames, as did Fire's hair.

Then the gem shuddered, returning to it's natural pinkish white color. It began to thrash and darkness began to seep out of it. In fact, it appeared as though it were sucking in light. Fire's eyes rolled into the back of her head, and tendrils of darkness shot out of her back and attached themselves to the walls. The darkness enveloped her, shooting into her mind and healing her.

"So it's true. Welcome back, Shadow," Smoke said, smiling. A tendril of darkness shot into his chest and he gasped, staggering backwards.

The darkness enveloped him as well, and his entire soul shuddered.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Beel followed Ice nervously. He didn't want to learn magic, he didn't have magic in him! He couldn't have! Nobody outside Magic Kingdom did!

"You've got the wrong p-person, magician. I don't have magic, I can't! I've never even seen mana!"

"Fool," Ice spat, spinning around as a sword of ice formed in her hand. Scorn was in her eyes. "I don't want to do this. I don't want to teach you. I'm protecting you from what is to come. I'll show you one thing, and send you on your way. You can say you have magic or say you don't, it's no matter to me. But all humans are magicians. You just can't be powerful if you don't need mana to live."

Beel backed up, paling. The sword melted and the University shook. Odd bits of darkness escaped and Ice looked at it idly. "Shadow has awoken," she muttered, "The time is upon us."

"What do you mean? A... a Shadow!?" Beel screamed, running the other way. Ice launched a spike of ice at his knee and he screamed, falling and clutching the blood that began to gush out.

"Go ahead. Use magic. Fight me."

Beel stared incredulously at Ice and felt unmistakable anger take hold of him. He screamed and waved his hands up in the air, the tiniest of plants sprouting from the ground. Ice clapped sarcastically and walked off, raising a hand and calling behind her, "That's all. Tell your parents I failed and go back, Plant User."

Beel stared at his hands in disgust.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Ice was in a distinctly bad mood. The Plant User Beel was a horrible, bigoted person and she wanted to spend no time with him, despite how she was supposed to be kind and caring as Slyf's friend.

She had long since come to terms of her unique arrangement. Slyf rarely missed a day without popping in and spending a few minutes to a few hours with her.

Shadow's darkness tentacles still seemed to lord over University. Ice looked at them and closed her eyes, tapping into her core.

She had made great strides in her magic with help from a few elves. Her magic was shifting to a more natural sense, becoming more in tune with the world and thus more powerful. It was truly amazing how people distorted their neodes and negated their power without realizing it. That was why the elves were so powerful in comparison to them, but there were so many more humans that it ended up evening out.

Also, Supremes existed in human society, not elvish.

The elves were kind though. Talking with one of The Creators on a regular basis tended to get you in even an angry gremlin's good books. Well, at least for the duration of the talk. Gremlins weren't known for remembering things.

Ice gently began rocking her baby within her arms, glancing around. Nobody was near, as if everyone had run away from Shadow. Oh well, she figured, more time for her and her child.

She walked home and smiled at the elf who was there. "She's alive," Ice said simply. "My wife. My vow is void."

"Congratulations! Do you know when she'll come home?"

"She is still weak," Ice said, her eyes closing. "Very weak. I don't know how her mental state is, either. Will she remember me? So many questions I must wait for the answer to."

The elf was silent but smiled encouragingly. "Thank you for your help," Ice said, setting her son down and walking to the kitchen. "Would you like some tea?"

"No, thank you."

Ice nodded and lit a small fire, setting a pot on it. She filled it with ice, knowing it would melt and boil quickly enough.

"To what do I owe this visit, Master Elf?"

"The little one. You know how elves love little ones. I simply wished to see him today."

"Oh, is that so? That's good."

The elf smiled and stood. "I'll leave you alone. It is nice talking with you for a change, rather than trying to decipher human writing."

Ice nodded and walked back out to the door, opening it and allowing the elf to leave. "Take care."

"And you. Beyouyuf."

"Beyouyuf."

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Fos was drinking a flagon of some alcoholic substance she couldn't pronounce the name of at an inn in Cruup. She was in a small village, virtually unrelated to the rest of Cruup. Every country had a number of these cities, disassociated from the rest except for tax purposes.

Everyone understood gold, no matter the language. Except up in the far north, where people were more generous and shared resources. For the most part, at least.

There was a bunch of laughter in the corner and Fos adjusted herself to get more comfortable. Nobody was actively trying to kill her yet, so she could enjoy another drink or two.

Someone walked into the bar and Fos' entire form shuddered. The man's did too, out of the corner of her eye. The man glanced around, locking eyes with her and strolling over purposefully.

"Hello, there! I couldn't help but notice..." he began, sitting down next to her. "I'll have what she's having," the man said, motioning to Fos. He was silent until receiving his drink, then he lowered his voice. "It seems I'm with another Outcast."

Fos quickly and sharply inhaled, choking a bit on the drink she was consuming. "How did you know?"

"Outcasts are connected, I suppose. Probably," he said, shrugging. "Name's Freel. Yours?"

"Fosoghd."

"Ah, good name. Where ya from?"

"Specialist City, Magic Kingdom."

The man clapped loudly, silencing the bar for a moment before everyone joined in. Fos glanced around and grinned, standing and taking a bow. "Thank you, thank you!" she said. People looked confused, but clapped louder anyhow.

Freel laughed as the bar went back to it's normal volume, the clapping dying down. "Good acting. No wonder you haven't been caught."

"Caught?" Fos asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, caught. One, as an Outcast. Then the Black Knights will kill ya. Two, as a magician. Sure, ya can hide behind being Slyf's High Priestess, but..."

"You know?"

"Of course! I'm not ignorant! I'd recognize that name anywhere. Most would! The famous! I'd say I'm honored to meet you, but the fact that you're an Outcast clears things up."

Fos stood and motioned for Freel to follow. He did, thankfully, and Fos left for a small house Fos The First had bought. She was kind of insulted by Freel's words, though. Just because she was an Outcast meant nothing. Her mind itself was born within Mren.

"In here," she said, opening the door as they arrived. Freel walked in and chuckled. "What is it now?"

"I never thought the Great Fosoghd, High Priestess of Slyf, savior of all life, would live in a house smaller than mine. And such a wonderful, realistic statue of Slyf!"

Fos shot around from shutting and locking the door, meeting eyes with the "statue." Fos sharply drew in a breath, blushing and meeting her eyes.

"You... do realize Gods don't need to breathe, yes? Hello Slyf. It's been a while."

Slyf, no longer posing as a statue, took a step forward and crossed her arms. "You live."

"Yes, I do."

"And you didn't tell me."

"Nor Wtherm, nor Mren."

Freel stood, shocked silent, and bowed his head slightly towards Slyf, who ignored him. Slyf seemed to brighten, looking around the house with disgust in her eyes. "And you lived here?"

"Well... sometimes. Fosoghd bought many houses before she... fused with me."

Slyf's gaze over Fosoghd was so very cold. "Your wife was in mourning."

"I have only recently became tangible enough to truly interact beyond killing and collecting money in the various timelines, Goddess," Fos said, gritting her teeth. "Are we here for an interrogation?"

"I am, yes," she said, pulling out a weapon of golden light and pointing it at Fos' throat.

"Now, now, I really don't want to test to see if I'm-" Fos began, before stopping suddenly. She felt a tingle and a pull... westward. With a slight pull northwesterly.

"What, not going to finish speaking?" Slyf said, pushing the weapon into Fos' neck. "My own Priestess betraying me!"

"Slyf, I really would love to explain but it appears I'm being summoned. It's only a matter of time before the black magic Fos bound to herself takes ahold of me and forces me to go."

"Just tell me one thing, then, mortal. How did you avoid my searching and patrolling?" Slyf's glare dug into Fosoghd and was physically painful. Her shoulder felt like it was on fire, yet her gaze never wavered from Slyf's eyes.

"Really? I can feel where you're looking and where you're not. Remember: Fosoghd's power is mine now. It may be... different, but it's still here. And that sword that wounded you can be reached even from here."

Slyf was silent before lowering the weapon, making it disappear only when it reached her side. "I will tell your wife what occurred here today, and where we are. I will tell you this only once, I-"

Fos' stomach felt like it was violently jerked up into her throat, blocking her breathing. Her body was torn, piece by piece, by a malicious red light that invaded her very being and tore it asunder, reassembling it rather violently in the middle of a dark void, between realms.

Fosoghd winced, coughing up blood that floated around before disappearing with golden light. If she was found, Fos might as well use Slyf's power again. She reached back for her own dagger, the blue-gray light of the multiverse coalescing and illuminating her.

"You do live."

Chapter 4

Fos closed her eyes and blushed ever so slightly. If someone was talking to her in the place between realms, it could only be one being. She sheathed her dagger, knowing she would lose in a fight.

"Mren save me. Or rather, go back to not noticing me?" she asked, grinning slightly in a joking manner.

"How did you live? I watched your soul-"

"I'll stop you there," Fos said, sighing and laughing ever so slightly. "My soul was ripped into pieces. But there were two souls within me, Fosoghd's and my own. They weren't exactly finished fusing. You have to give her credit, she planned this all. Part of my soul survived, part of hers. Hence why I look like she did, 'cept the eyes. My eyes seem to change colors now."

Mren was silent, yet radiated disappointment. "I can feel the souls being produced from here. You did a wonderful job!"

"You should have told us you lived."

"Yes, yes I should have. But I didn't. It wasn't until recently I could talk to you all without withering away and dying for good! Not that you'd know what powerlessness feels like."

"Begone from here," Mren commanded, an invisible force pushing Fos away. "Begone."

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

The world was dark. It was always so, and always would be. It was a world of darkness, run by no man or elf, no supreme being, no laws created to save people. It was every man, or woman, for themselves.

Shadow Fire, reawakened, appeared in the World of Shadow, where only Shadow Users could go. In this world, a world where power meant survival, she was Queen.

Well, as long as no other Shadow was there.

"It's so dark and cold."

She wrapped her arms around herself, lighting a fire with a nod. She wasn't as good as Smoke, but she was still proficient. What she lacked in skill she made up for in strength.

The darkness seeping from every corner, every crevice, and everyone all seemed to gravitate to the fire. She kept it lit, ever vigilant against the darkness waiting to consume.

One of many.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Ice quietly rocked her son back and forth, contemplating. Her wife was alive. That changed everything, it really did. And it seemed Shadow had awakened once more, which meant perhaps they would no longer be friends. Hopefully she would respect that she had a son and leave her alone. Or, like other Supremes, respect that she talked to Slyf and leave her alone on fear they would be sent to Mren early.

She liked Shadow, she really did. With memories wiped, all a person had was the morals they had acquired, even if they didn't remember why they had them. Shadow had many good ones, but every once in awhile she would cause Ice to question her. Like when she always denied herself tea, though she could never tell Ice why. Or when she threatened to kill indiscriminately, but that was exceedingly rare.

"Maybe I'll give you a name," Ice mumbled to her son. "I kind of like that idea. Why only give names to the strong, after all?"

She smiled as the baby giggled and let him grab her finger as tightly as possible. "I'll think of a name for you," she said. "I'm sure Slyf won't mind."

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

"No no no no no no please stop!"

The White Knights grinned and laughed at the drunken fools attacking each other, drinking more and more and preparing to dump the tab on the two fools. Not like anyone would object while they were in armor.

They seemed to light up the room; their armor seemed to glow. It was hard to look at them for more than a brief period of time, which was a great advantage in a fight. But the armor, and their weapons, were not enchanted. No, they scorned magic.

The metal used was kept a secret for ages. The knights glanced around the tavern, but everyone looked so drunk they were on the verge of passing out. Only the barkeep would remember them. That was good. One witness was better than two, and far better than none. Their reputation would spread the best if only one man survived.

The secret metal was found in the most awkward of places. Below a tavern, for instance.

Six swords were unsheathed simultaneously, and the knights grinned. Then a woman walked into the tavern.

"Oh, my head. I hate talking to him."

The highest-ranking of the knights stepped forward. "Begone, milady. This place is dangerous. Even a fight with your husband would be better than staying here."

The woman in question glared at the knight and chuckled. "LIke you fools could move me."

The Knights were taken aback. Nobody talked back to them in their armor. Not even the kings themselves. Those that talked back were rarely seen from again, and those that were seen again were too mentally scarred to talk.

"We kill her too, then," the leading Knight said. He slashed at the drunk on the nearest table, his sword cutting through flesh and bone like they were melting butter. "Burn the tavern to the ground!"

"You're loud and annoying."

The Knight's sword flew out of his hand, and the woman caught it. "White Knights... what's so important here? I am in Cruup right? Isn't Cruub where all the resources are? There's just a training camp here."

The Knights were shocked silent by the knowledge the mysterious woman had, and that she was undoubtedly a powerful Magic User. One of them growled like a dog and the woman smiled. "Oh, don't get me wrong. I don't want to kill you, but if I must..."

The Burning Golden Energy of Mother Slyf burst from her hands and cleansed their souls with a holy fire, granting them a freedom their mortal bodies had never before felt. It was liberating. Why waste so much time gathering the energy to survive when there was such wonder in death?

Mren grumbled to himself, attempting to summon his sister, though she wasn't answering his summons.

The woman sat down on a stool, sighing. The bodies of the Knights were on the ground, and were doubtlessly noticed, as everyone was either staring at her or them. Then she felt another familiar tug, grabbing the sword of a White Knight. She didn't want to be interrupted like this, and would kill whoever was summoning her.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

"Ms. Fosoghd."

The voice was raspy and came from an old man in fine clothes and a small crown. Fosoghd looked around and saw four others in similar attire. One of them was the King of Byul. "You have a Knight's sword. My apologies if they got in your way," the King said. "We call you here in our time of need to ask your assistance, not to hire you for a single kill but to assist in saving our armies from massive destruction."

Fos narrowed her eyes. She didn't speak, but she didn't like where it was going. She also didn't like where she was standing, it felt highly unsafe. She swore she saw the walls crumbling before her very eyes.

"We plan to attack the Magic Kingdom. We shall save your city, of course, as it is a holy site. But we must know one thing: Does the so called Supreme's Underground exist?"

"Oh, they exist. And they hate me. I can't be controlled, and it's quite funny to see a Supreme come after me thinking I'm an average woman."

"Must be odd, being a woman," one of the priest-kings, as she assumed, said. "Is that right milady?"

Fos smiled. "Well-informed. But I get the feeling Slyf doesn't like me right now. I hid my survival from her, after all. She feels betrayed."

"The fact she feels betrayed means she cares for you, child."

Fos glared at the priest-king and stuck the sword she was holding in the ground. "And tell me, priest-king of one of the theocratic kingdoms: What gives you the right to call me a child? I am both of higher ranking than you in the church and in power. You call me here for assistance and treat me as a child, and I shall treat your armies as toys and burn down your country without any help from the Goddess."

The room went quiet, a chill going down the kings' spines. Fos smiled sweetly and posed innocently. "Of course, that must be why you called me. To do that... but in reverse. To my own country, yes?"

"Yes, milady. Our sincerest apologies for being presumptuous that you would assist, but it would be a great relief to have your support. The king of Cruup warns us with harrowing tales of Supreme Masters of Magic and we would not like to see them for ourselves."

"My mother is a Supreme. You would have me kill her to further your goals?"

"No milady. Only the ones that would threaten us."

"Every single one of them would threaten you, and more. If it is a true, coordinated invasion, I doubt Slyf Herself would be able to save you."

The room was silent until a new voice spoke. "You think lowly of me, though you rely on my power."

"Slyf," Fos said, eyes closed. "So soon? We just met, right before your dear brother called me. Can I not even conduct business between us mortals-"

"You call yourself mortal?" Slyf asked, "Even after what you survived?"

"You would acknowledge me as a god?"

The room was silent, staring at the floating, golden Goddess and her Priestess talking so casually... arguing so casually.

"As much as I hate it, it almost seems fitting to call you one, yes."

Fos' eyes widened and she smiled. "By Mren you're serious. I'm touched. And it's not that I underestimate you or think lowly of you, I simply know what a desperate Supreme looks like. And to imagine a hundred of them, with some of them secret worshipers of Wtherm? If luck does not favor you, Slyf, Wtherm would choose the other side and attack when you are weakest. You know this. If that happens, even a mortal army could overrun you."

Slyf was silent, eyes closed. "True."

Fos turned back to the speechless kings and crossed her arms. "If you want my assistance, you may get it. I'll look into the Supreme's Underground, see if they are worth killing. If I do join you, though, I will make my own demands. Especially since you don't know the secrets."

Fos winked once, teleporting away a split second later.

Chapter 5

Shadow Fire, current leader of the world of Shadows and Deceit, sat with fires surrounding her. She was being continually attacked by the shadow, but by maintaining the fires she showed she could conquer the shadow and had a right to use it. It was a ritual all Darkness Users went through every so often.

Once proven, she could move around the darkness freely without restraint or restriction, meeting old friends and the Eldest Ones who never left the world. They had no idea what other types of magic there were, but if Shadow was Queen they were gods.

Well, not really. Half of them were far, far weaker, but they had contacts or silver tongues and could win the hearts of those around them. But due to their influence, they were forces to be reckoned with.

Shadow saw one of the Eldest Ones and placed her right hand on her chest, a symbol of respect. "I curse you," the man spat, glaring at Shadow. "You don't deserve your true form after what you did to him."

Shadow was confused. She wasn't able to speak, but she was trying her best. Who was "him" and what did she do? And what was her true form that she didn't deserve? Would she lose her memory once more?

The darkness obscured her vision, and the Eldest One disappeared into it. He was one of the scarier Eldest Ones, as he didn't earn to walk the realm by controlling a non-Shadow form of magic, but rather by embracing Shadow and owning it until it gave in to him. Shadow strived for the same kind of control some day.

Things began to get brighter, a sign she was being ejected from the World of Shadows, and she sighed. Perhaps she'd visit her fiery heritage. Oh, she was expecting Smoke to propose... well that would be awkward. She had once made a vow, when she was young and stupid, to marry a Shadow User. At least, she thought it was Shadow User, but it may have been Water.

She was in the destroyed Arch-mage's office, and found the Arch-mage cowering behind a broken desk. On the ground by her feet was... well, the woman looked a lot like Smoke did, but certainly couldn't be him. As she was looking down, she noticed all her clothes didn't fit, as they were too small. Though they wouldn't have fit even if they were the right size, as she found she was no longer female.

She let out a shockingly masculine scream, falling unconscious quickly.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

"What have you done?"

The woman from before was staring straight at Shadow. Shadow, for her part, groaned in a voice unlike hers. "What have you done?"

"Shut... shut up," Shadow mumbled, sitting up. She felt wrong, and looking at her male body proved her right. "That damn..."

Smoke, at least Shadow assumed it was smoke, was glaring as hard as she could at Shadow. "Turn me back."

Shadow sneered at Smoke, and stood shakily. "I can't. I didn't do this. Some Wtherm-born Shadow user in the Black Plains did."

"Black Plains?" Smoke asked, suddenly less angry. Rather, she looked confused.

"Shadow world going by many names and run by the powerful Shadow Users currently there. I'm usually one, but there are a handful of... well, demi-gods I suppose who are always there. One of them cursed me."

"Cursed you!? What about me!?"

"I'm not sure. I was never the best at this magic stuff, I'd have to go back to the Underground to-"

"No. No no no no no! You're going to fix this. Let's go see Ice."

Shadow winced, remembering Gust's death. It had affected Ice greatly, as it had most. They didn't know him, but people were building shrines to his sacrifice all around the world. Gust and Fosoghd.

Not to mention if Tornado, Gust's mother, didn't join the Underground, she'd have to kill her. And to do that, she'd probably destroy most other people in the area.

But Smoke dragged her out of the office, and Shadow groaned. It was bright out, and now that she could identify why she was feeling weak in direct sunlight, it all made sense. Bright sun was almost painful.

The trees looked like paintings against the bright blue of the sky. She didn't appreciate it nearly as much as she would have the day before, but it was still pretty. Especially the way the sun cast shadows on the trees due to the abundance of branches.

She liked shadows a lot more now that she could remember everything. Oh, the Underground was going to send her to the Lone Mountain until she died. That was disheartening.

Ice's house was booming with activity the likes of which Shadow had never seen. Ice was never in her house after Gust had died, always walking around or simply sitting outside it, but now there was smoke coming out of the chimney and the smell of some sort of tea was heavy in the air, as if Ice was cooking something and enjoying tea with it. Smoke knocked in the angriest way he knew how, glaring at Shadow.

Ice opened the door clad in nothing but ice underwear. Shadow, oddly, felt her heart leap upon seeing such a close-to-naked form despite having had one similar to it mere moments before. Ice looked at both of them before giggling to herself, waving them in.

"Smoke, Shadow, how do you both do?"

Smoke and Shadow froze, and Ice poured both of them a cup of tea. "Courtesy of the elves."

"W-what?" Smoke asked, confused. "How did you know it was us? Why... why are you talking?"

"Oh, that's easy. Both of them. I memorized your neode patterns since you were friends with my late husband and early wife, and it's because I recently discovered that my wife, Fosoghd, lives."

Shadow choked on her tea at the news, coughing it up. "What?! She lives, after Mren... killed her?!"

"Yep! Faintly, as if she's still growing in strength to stay in the world, but she lives."

"This is big news," Smoke said, before slamming the tea cup down and breaking it. "But not as big as the fact that I'm a Mren-damned woman!"

"Oh be silent. I'm a woman too," Ice said, pointing to her chest. "See? I bet you do. And be quiet, you'll wake the baby."

Ice coughed, her voice cracking. She massaged her throat and closed her eyes, a tablet of ice rising from the ground and spelling the runes for the words "throat hurts."

Smoke bit her lip and nodded, sitting down with a huff. Shadow sipped her... his tea and sneered. "I have to agree with Smoke, being in the wrong body is terrible. Any ideas how to fix it?"

"Undo your curse. Whatever cursed you is strong, very strong. I'd say it was someone on the level of... Well, Supreme at least. But it doesn't feel like normal magic... did you anger the elves by any chance?"

"No, I did not anger the elves while unconscious," Shadow said through gritted teeth. Her patience was wearing thin, which was odd. She normally had great patience, but something about being male was getting to her in a way nothing else ever had. "It was that Wtherm-taken Shadow Ruler wasn't it? Gods take him."

"Shadow Ruler? That would probably do it. You just have to... what, appease him? Probably something along those lines, then you'll both be fine! Sounds great, get out of my house. I'm expecting Fos' parents to tell them their child lives soon, and I don't want you two here to ruin the moment."

The floor began to freeze, and Shadow realized fighting a woman who felt like she had nothing to lose and everything to gain would not go over well, even if she was technically weaker.

"Fine. Mention it to Slyf if she shows back up, will you? I will not stay like this."

Ice nodded, shooing them away. Smoke, eternally angry, followed while ranting about how she hated her new feelings, and made Shadow blush with the detail she used.

"Could you please be quiet? I'm trying to remember why we were cursed."

"And these boobs, they're so... heavy! And jiggly! And-"

"I said SHUT UP!"

The sky darkened as the sun was shrouded with darkness, and tendrils of light-absorbing shadow reached down from the sky and consumed the light to give Shadow more power. The power went straight to her head, and she stumbled as everything felt so much slower and weaker than her.

No matter what she did, she couldn't seem to stop the power from leaking out of her. She screamed, a guttural yell of rage and ferocity, and erupted into flames.

Then she mentally corrected her... himself. It was just too hard to keep doing, he couldn't stop thinking of herself as a woman. Himself. Himself as a woman.

She needed that curse broken more than she feared the Underground forcing her to live a lifestyle of pain, suffering, and solitude.

"I'm going back. You don't have to come with me, but we need the Underground's help on this one."

Shadow held out her hand and shadows wrapped around it, turning it black as night. Rumor had it that Wtherm was a Shadow User in mortal form, as well as everything else he represented when not in mortal form. It gave a bad reputation to the average Shadow User.

Smoke sighed and looked at the rugged, large hand. "We had some good times together, didn't we? I never took advantage of you, I’m saying that now. Remember my kindness as you throw me into the jaws of the deep dwelling creatures of the sea."

Shadow didn't respond. She couldn't. She wouldn't be the most powerful, or influential, where they were heading.

Nevertheless, Smoke took the hand. "Don't make me regret this."

"I shan't."

Chapter 6

Fosoghd stopped in the flow of time and space, resting. Here only Slyf, Mren, and Wtherm could find her. She had to go to the Supreme's Underground to see if they were so evil that Fos would side with her enemies, but she didn't feel like it. She felt like going back to Cruup, talking with Freel a bit more.

She popped into existence, yawning. Cruup was a boring place, as no magic was there to make things interesting. But Fos had questions, and she wanted answers as fast as she could get them.

Luckily there was nobody around, or else she would have been attacked. Few recognize her as a Priestess first, magician second, after all. Fos hoped Freel was still around.

"Ah, fellow Outcast! How goes it? Did the gods forgive you?"

"Ha! No."

Freel grinned and came out of the shadows. "They never shall. What's on your mind? I get the feeling you're supposed to be somewhere."

"Questions, I figure you'd have some answers. What exactly is an Outcast?"

Freel sighed and took out his dagger, twirling it and dropping it blade first into the ground. "That... is a difficult question. All I can say is that we're us. Unique, I suppose, no product of Mren. Really, it means we're doomed. We'll have no afterlife, as souls return to where they were created. We weren't created within Mren, so no afterlife for us! That's all I can say right now. I'm not sure about much else. We're just like ordinary people otherwise."

Fos picked up the dagger Freel dropped and looked at it. "I can't believe it. I don't want to. Maybe I'll do something about that. And I thought you mentioned that me being an Outcast made you understand why I am the way I am!"

Freel smiled and laughed. "It does. It makes your image believable. A mortal ascending to the levels of the gods is impossible, but so is being born outside of Mren."

Fos sighed and closed her eyes, stepping back and drawing a symbol over her heart. "I hope to see you survive, war is coming. Be careful."

"And you as well."

"Goodbye, fellow Outcast."

To the Supreme's Underground, thought Fos. I hope they like religion.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Ice had water boiling as Tornado and Breeze walked in. "Why'm Ah heah now?" Tornado asked, plopping down and sprawling across two of the four chairs. Ice smiled coyly, finishing the tea. She set three cups down, and they were quickly taken.

"Yes, why?"

"I have very good news. My wife lives."

Tornado's eyes shot open. "Where? Ah'm gonna kill dat girl."

Ice froze the floor, glaring at Tornado. "You will not. My bond with her was not broken, yet it felt like I was dying. I will not live through that again, but worse! Even if it means I have to fight you."

Tornado stood, setting the teacup down. Ice followed suit, mirroring her movements exactly. Ice hadn't needed it, but her elvish-tinted magic was at the ready in case Tornado tried anything.

"N-now now, we don't need to be fighting, do we? A-after all, t-this is such a-"

"Quiet, 'usbind. Ah dun't wanna hear it."

Neither Tornado or Ice broke eye contact as they stared at each other. Ice could sense Tornado's neodes going into an activation phase, preparing to cast a Supreme spell.

"Damn that little girl. I take my eye off her for one moment and she's already planning a war. Your wife is in Cruup, Ice."

Everyone spun towards the boiling water, where Slyf was helping herself to some tea. Angry golden energy swept around her, crashing into other strands of energy and creating plant life and mana.

Slyf walked to the table and sat down on the side Tornado was sprawled across mere minutes before, and sighed. She rubbed her neck and shook her head. "If she weren't her, I would never have taken such an attitude like I did. She threatened me! ME! I mean, sure I had a spear up to her neck, but other than that what have I ever done to her? That damn girl, I should turn her into a goblin."

"If you do, I will-"

"Oh hush mortal. I won't. I don't think I'd even be able to, blooming little goddess as she is..."

The floor unfroze as Ice lost her control of neodes. Goddess? That... must have been a mistake, right? Right?

"W-wha? Mah daughta is a..."

"Annoying little Goddess in disguise? Probably. I'll have to talk to Mren and see, but it certainly felt like it. That power she uses cannot be wielded by mortals! I may even have to talk to Wtherm... brothers take her! That damn girl."

Slyf began angrily grumbling to herself, and Ice walked over and sat opposite of her, picking up her tea cup and sipping it quietly. Tornado looked at her husband and shrugged, sitting next to Slyf and sipping from her own cup. They were not an average family in the least, but neither Tornado nor Ice minded.

"Ah cain't b'leeve she lives."

"Neither can I. The bond is just so weak..."

Slyf summoned her spear and slammed it into the ground. "I knew she was bluffing, I knew it! Brothers take her! My own Priestess!"

The house shuddered and Ice set the cup down. "Slyf, honey, please don't do that. My son is still asleep, and if you wake him up I will leave him with you."

Slyf restrained herself, scowling. She stared out the window, little golden whips flying around and nearly hitting anything around her, Tornado included.

After a moment Slyf disappeared, and Ice let out a sigh. "I've never seen her like that before. She's just like me on my bad days! It's odd how... human a Goddess is."

Tornado set her empty tea cup down and stood. "Makes sense," she said without much of an accent, coughing twice. "The gods fashioned humanity after themselves, and the elves out of their desires for a perfect race, with the other races being born out of their whims. Ya shuld go see dat plant ova dere, it prolly needs tuh git sum wada o' sumt'in."

Ice looked at the unfamiliar plant and sighed. She went outside with the plant, and called out in Elvish. They'd be interested, more than likely.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

The shadows came out of the walls, and six Supremes readied their weapons. Smoke and Shadow stepped out, and Shadow rose her left hand in a peace offering, her... his right hand going to his knee.

"Shadow, deployed to Specialist City returning due to a problem. With a guest."

The six lowered their weapons, which were shoddily made in appearance but strong in combat, as they were excellent magical conductors made by strong enchantments.

The leader of the Underground approached, look Shadow up and down, and laughed. He turned around and walked off, much to Shadow's disappointment. "We're looking for another Shadow specifically. Someone with the power to help us, and-"

A woman in jet-black stepped into the room out of the air, and the six standing guard readied their weapons. The woman looked at them, laughed once, and went back to checking to make sure if her clothes were in the right place. The leader, being around already, walked in.

The leader was an old guy, whose name was unfamiliar to Shadow. He stood two full heads shorter than the average woman, and never seemed to show his power. "Who goes there?"

"Ah, I haven't introduced myself! Fosoghd, at the king of Byul's service, as of now. How do you do?"

Everyone tensed, and Smoke ripped her hand away from Shadow's. "Gust! Gust, it's me, Smoke!"

Fosoghd turned around, wearing a mask, before gasping. Smoke ran in and hugged her, and Fosoghd coughed. "Too hard!"

Smoke let go and slapped him. "Fix me!"

"How would I know how? What happened even? I've been gone too long!"

"Shut up and fix me!"

A dagger of Slyf's energy formed, and Fos had to threaten Smoke to move her. "Sorry Smoke. Now, this is the Supreme's Underground? I'm here to look at you all."

"King of Byul sent you? Why?"

"Personal matter, I killed someone he cared for and he sent me here to investigate if it were one of you. I'm running low on money I can use in Byul."

"Ah, politics. Never making an obvious move, lovely. It would be wonderful if the Savior joined us, you know..."

"Depending on how this turns out, I just well may. Or maybe not. I might obliterate everything here with Slyf's power, or even my own."

The room was silent, and Fos looked over at Shadow. "Well, if Smoke is a woman, you must be Shadow? Nice to see you again. Now, about this investigation..."

Shadow crossed his arms and nodded in response to Fos, and then looked to the leader. "May I take the three of you around? The Savior wishes to see the Underground, I can provide a tour."

Fos smiled and clapped, laughing. "Yes, this should be entertaining. Let's go, Mister Leader."

The Leader of the Supreme's Underground showed Fosoghd, Shadow, and Smoke around, with Shadow barely bearing it. She-HE was ready to kill everyone if none could help him.

"-and this is where we conduct the slave trade."

"What."

Fosoghd looked in and shuddered. "My grandfather was a slave. Sold to my grandmother like cattle. Overworked to death, starved, and dehydrated. I grew up hating slaves, Specialist City outlawed them. Are you telling me you were the center of the slave trade?"

"Yep. Here, have a few slaves to carry your bags."

Two men walked out, completely nude and covered in scars. Fosoghd nodded once, disappearing in a flash of light. Shadow grabbed Smoke and disappeared into darkness.

They travelled far and fast, as fast as possible. Shadow refused to be there. If nobody would help her, she'd have to help herself. And she refused to call herself male.

She would fix this.

She had to.

"My head..." Smoke mumbled before puking onto the ground. Shadow rolled her eyes, mumbling about him being a novice, and closed her eyes after.

She meditated and entered the World Of Darkness, keeping her burning light aflame.

Chapter 7

Beel swayed on the ship, groaning. He hated it, hated everything to do with it, but he needed cleansing.

And there was apparently nothing more cleansing than a two-year sailor stint. So Beel was a sailor now, currently over the Unfathomable Deep, where the water went deepest, according to the Magic Users. As much as the majority of sailors hated to use their research, most everything known about the water, from the currents that got them around fastest to the relative depth in certain areas, came from the magicians.

"'E 'airef'l ou' dere!"

The captain in charge didn't learn human language first. In fact, he had been raised in a small, nameless town where all they did was grunt and point, yet somehow became one of the most famous fisherman/cargo transporters out there.

If there was one thing that united people, it was sailing. Even the Magic Kingdom had a few sailing ships, but they were few and far in-between, as magic tended to serve as a cheaper, faster method of transportation.

Beel was learning a lot. He had only fallen into the ocean twice, but had seen things no human should see. The ocean was strong, and why anyone would brave it was beyond him. And even if a sailor mastered the currents and used them to his advantage, there were numerous other obstacles.

Weather was a huge factor. If there was no wind, they had to come together and row the ship until there was wind. They had a full-time crew on emergency repairs, as the monsters and creatures of the deep constantly harassed ships, and they were in the most dangerous area in the open sea.

There were rumors of the Mysterious Creature that lived in the Unfathomable Deep. They were only rumors, though, as the magicians who found traces of it could only find traces, and no proof. But they called the creature, from what they could tell, bigger than a mountain.

The rumor would send chills down the spine of even the most experienced sailor. Indeed, almost every sailor passing over the Unfathomable Deep had a horror story.

Beel did now too. The wind died down as they reached the middle of the six league trench, and Beel glanced over the edge.

The water descended until blackness, despite it being amazingly clear. If he was unable to smell the salt, he would have swore there were no water at all. Beel had no idea how far down the trench went, but he shuddered to think of it.

"Argh!"

Yut, or Yoot, shook Beel. He was the most experienced sailor currently on the water in any country, nearing forty years of sailing. He liked to say he was born on a ship, though few believed him. "Gods take you!"

Yut laughed and slapped Beel's back, nearly sending him over the edge. "Ya shuldn't be heah. Lis'n'ahme. Dis spot's where Ah saw da Creature. Git away."

Yut was dead serious, and looked at the deep with fear in his eyes. Beel nodded once and walked off. He was deadly scared of drowning, and knew that not a single soul would try to save him if he fell into the Deep.

The ship shook violently, and he heard a voice scream from below deck.

"Down here! Get down here! Gods, why did I leave the Kingdom?"

Everyone rushed below deck as fast as possible, pushing Beel into the sleeping area.

Beel collapsed backwards and hit his head before standing. The back of his head was bleeding and hurt, but he couldn't use that an excuse if this was truly an emergency. Though he had to wait for the others to pass so he could get below deck.

They had roughly a hundred men on the giant ship, the second largest currently deployed to sea. It was the largest non-military ship as well, which confused Beel. There was no war in the sea, aside from every once in awhile over resources. Sea wars were unlike land wars, and sea wars stayed at sea. As soon as a ship docked, they were considered safe by an informal, international rule. Even Magic Kingdom ships, if they managed to secure docking, were left untouched.

A dock was the only place a magician could get a drink and have a talk with a man from Byul, Cruup, and Cruub. The theocracies weren't much for sailing.

The men finished passing, and Beel rushed down to see what the trouble was. There were seven large holes flooding water in, and people were working as fast as possible to contain it. "We gon' sink!"

Beel bit his lip, as did the man next to him. The man, a reclusive one who never ended up giving out his name, whistled. A few glanced over at him, and he shoved them aside.

He pulled out a plank of wood and set it over the hole haphazardly, but then closed his eyes. Beel watched in awe as the wood expanded and melded with the ship, patching the hole completely. The magician, a woodworker, patched the other six holes and emptied the water from the hull.

He finished and everyone glared at him before he put up his hands. "If I get hurt, I will sink the ship. I mean no harm. Name's Chip, Emergency Crew. Though you can all hate me, I don't want to see you all swallowed by the Deep. Kick me off on the dock if you want."

The captain hobbled over and clasped the man, locking him in a hug.

"Yer welc'm heah 'f ya meen no harm. Wood's da one mag'k Ah kin stan'. 'Eep up da goo' wor'."

The men began to clap, and Beel glanced around. He understood that a majority of them were from Byul, and the rest from Cruup or Cruub, and apparently one from Magic Kingdom, but clapping?

The sea must have washed away their hatred for magic. If they were truly grateful, they'd hate magic but protect Chip. Chip, for his part, sneaked away and seemed to disappear altogether.

The ship shook once more as something crashed into where they were all standing. "Up! Git up!"

They all gladly did so, rushing to the top and to the edges of the ship to see what hit them. Everyone was stark silent, attempting to figure out where whatever hit them was. "Dere!" Beel called out, pointing straight down.

It was something small, which explained why it didn't break the hull when it hit. It had seven red eyes, and... seven teeth.

How could they see the eyes and teeth?

"Gods no. Row. ROW! ROW!" Kut called out. "Da Creature!"

The small creature got smaller as it compressed itself, but then it elongated and shot up. And up. And up.

Beel's eyes widened. The creature was absolutely massive, and it's eyes glowed so bright it lit up the rest of it's body. It wasn't small, it was just at the seafloor. Leagues and leagues beneath them, and ascending at an unimaginable pace.

"ROW!"

There was a crash, something wet, and blackness.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Fosoghd didn't want to repeat her mistakes a second time. She heaved a sigh and steadied herself before stepping into Wtherm's dimension.

A damned soul ran past, tripping and being pounced on by a demon, who turned to her. Fos pulled out her blue-gray dagger and sliced through the demon, changing the dagger into a bow and promptly missing two shots.

Fos the First's archery skills did not transfer themselves to the new Fosoghd.

However she did miss badly enough that it opened a hole in Space and Time that ripped the demon out of existence, so there was that.

The hole and destruction of a demon drew Wtherm's attention. "Were you taking a nap?" Fosoghd asked, smiling. "I've been here nearly a minute."

Wtherm rumbled, shaking the realm. Fos steadied herself and hardened her form, as best she could.

She was still too weak form confrontations with the other gods to fight and win. She just wanted to get the confrontation out of the way.

"Ah, my ally. You survive I see."

Ally? Right, she was still Fosoghd in his eyes. Or whatever he used to see.

"Your sister acknowledged me as a Goddess. It was an... interesting experience, to say the least."

"Did she now? Intriguing. I can understand that. Your power feels strong. Different than the mortals I deal with."

"The mortals you deal with are weak. Of course, I am weak too."

"Indeed, I feel you fading away as we speak. Why do you reach out to me knowing you are ready to be consumned by the strong?"

"I simply wished to not make the same mistake I made with Slyf and Mren. Now I must go before-"

"I think I shall end your suffering and consume you," Wtherm said, his realm coiling around Fosoghd. Fos put away her bow, instead forming a longsword and smashing it into what constituted the ground.

"My apologies, but I can't allow that."

The longsword caused the realm to shake, and Fos nodded. She found the area of Space and Time Wtherm ruled over, and cocked her head. That was different.

Each god seemed to be unique. Slyf lived explicitly at the time Fos considered the present through every timeline, never changing the past or the entering the future. Mren was at all times at once, and in every different timeline, lording over everywhere as the main creator. He didn't interfere as that would drastically change everything in existence, while Slyf could interfere as much as she felt like without destroying everything.

Wtherm, though, occupied a whole different Space and Time entirely. If the normal Space was a field, each timeline would be a line of wheat. Mren was like the sun, indiscriminately ruling over everything, while Slyf was like a farmer, but on every row.

But Wtherm would be the house the farmers lived in, away from the farm and having very little do with it. It actually made a lot of sense, as that was why he could interfere countless times and have no repurcussions from the others.

Fos didn't have anywhere to live on the farm yet though. She was still too weak. But strong enough to collapse the house, or kill herself and collapse perhaps the entire farm.

She twisted the sword and leapt backwards, fading slightly as she was tremendously weakened in order to use a burst of power. Wtherm's realm began collapsing, screams silencing as the ones causing the screams were ripped away from Time and sent to The Pre-Time.

Fos had never visited The Pre-Time, from before the gods were... born? She wasn't sure. But she had the feeling that if she, a woman of god power, were to go...

Wait.

Wait.

If she did ever end up going, what if she caused Mren, Slyf, and Wtherm to be born? What if she was their mother, caused by her eventually going into The Pre-Time and causing their births?

She would have to meditate on it, likely when she wasn't under attack. "Impressive, but not impressive enough for you to live."

Suddenly there was no Space in front of Wtherm, yet Fosoghd occupied the lack of Space. It effectively made her invincible, as nothing could pass through something that didn't exist, despite Wtherm, Slyf, and Mren being capable of sensing her due to the sheer amount of power she was using.

"That is more impressive."

Fos collapsed to her knees. She had no energy left. Wtherm's realm was collapsing on it's own, due to a complicated series of patterns in the Space it occupied.

To put it simply, Wtherm's realm was like a very well constructed castle. What Fos did required just enough energy to knock over the metaphorical bottom stones, leading the castle to crush itself under it's own weight as it lost balance.

Fos could expedite that process, but it would kill her. In her state, she was likely as strong as an infant without magic. She could stop nothing.

There was a tug at Fos' core, and she paled. The bond was suddenly strong, very, very strong. Like Fos could see the bright green of Ice's eyes in front of her.

Or... could she? It was hard to tell with the sun in her eyes. But if the sun was in her eyes then she was indeed in front of her wife. She blushed, and felt her leg bleeding heavily. That wasn't good. Fos didn't have the strength to move, much less deal with a bleeding leg.

"No... Slyf... die..." she mumbled, passing out.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Shadow dragged Smoke along while she was unconscious. She had two options that she could think of to change back.

Option one, and the one she was attempting first, was to get a better Mastery of Lightning ,which she hadn't started, and Fire, which she was heading to. They were heading the Volcano of Fire, a redundant name that angered Shadow for some reason. She found her anger was nearly out of control after becoming male.

Shadow shuddered. She didn't like thinking that. Her being male, not the anger part.

But if there was anywhere she needed to be, it was the Realm of Darkness. That was Option two.

Option two included becoming the greatest Darkness User ever of all time and undoing the curse herself. But that was nearly impossible, considering the Realm of Shadow housed the greatest Darkness Users of all time, who did nothing but study the Darkness and improve.

Fire first, she figured, Lightning next. She had a basic grasp of Fire and the power to back it up, but had nothing on Lightning. She didn't even know where to go to figure out more about Lightning. Usually the leading researchers lived where they could have unlimited access to what they were researching, hence the volcano and Realm of Shadow, but she didn't know of anywhere that had so much Lightning she'd be able to study it. Unfortunately she'd have to go either to the Supreme's Underground and get killed for abandonment or the Capital and get killed by a hungry assassin or something.

Volcano first, death by mysterious forces later.

She hid her shadows deep within herself, attempting to seal them away. With becoming male came bursts of anger and shadows that seemed to have a mind of their own.

She was walking along when she fell and stubbed a toe, and she accidentally put out the sun over the area, surrounding herself in darkness. It wasn't just her either, it was the entire area. There was a bubble of darkness leeching the life out of everything for a two-hour journey each way on horse, feeding her. She almost killed Smoke, and did kill everything else.

She never felt so simultaneously powerful and disgusted. It was as if she were ready to destroy the world, yet wanted to kill nothing but herself.

She really, really didn't trust herself to hold back on both of the urges forever. So she needed to fix the curse bad.

Chapter 8

Ice cradled her wife's head on her lap, laying in their bed. Their son was sleeping near them, and Ice hadn't stopped crying. Fosoghd hadn't woken up in the two hours she'd been there, and was faint enough to see through. What had she been doing? Their bond was so strong that she could feel Fosoghd's neodes for a full minute, and they were doing things she'd never seen neodes do.

They prepared for something odd. It was almost like an attack, and that's what it seemed like at first, but then they stopped and began to prepare for a backlash, as if they suddenly expected the attack to fail. Then an overwhelming presence hit them and half of her neodes went out, nearly causing her death.

Their bond was so strong for a moment that Ice was able to feel the chills of wherever Fos was. Perhaps she was fighting some monster of the north? That didn't make sense.

No matter what she was doing, she was dying. Ice could see that. She also knew that Fos didn't want Ice to see her like she was, and that their bond had pulled them together through time and space, or just space. Ice couldn't be sure, she didn't really understand the specifics of Time Magic.

Fos was sweating, luckily real sweat and not her magic escaping in liquid form like it would if she were dying to a magical disease. "My poor wife."

She left the door ajar and walked out of the house. She felt horrible leaving her baby alone with A dying Fos, but she needed help. The only ones she knew who could help were Slyf or the elves, but Fos' words rang in her head. "No Slyf die." That could only mean two things, contradictory things. It either meant she was about to die and in denial of it, and needed Slyf to save her, or it meant that seeing Slyf would kill her. She didn't want to risk killing her wife because of a misunderstanding, so she had to seek out the elves.

The elves would help. They had to. She stood anxiously, hoping one of them was passing by. If none were, she was doomed.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

The Volcano of Fire opened up to Shadow and Smoke, who began to stir at the scalding heat. Shadow felt her Darkness start reacting slowly, quickly losing form and exhausting itself. While she was in the Volcano of Fire, she supposed, she'd have to rely on Fire Mastery.

She bit her lip and hovered a fireball over her. She had very little actual skill in Fire Mastery, with the power of a Master giving her the name Shadow Fire. Her fist was clenched, the sign the fireball was a spell any could do, but she put all her force behind it and was ready to strike at anyone who got in her way.

Nobody glanced twice at her, which was odd. Smoke finally gathered enough energy to yawn and stretch before curling into a ball. "That felt weird," she mumbled.

Smoke shot her arm out and transformed into a puff of smoke, swirling around Shadow almost protectively.

"Rubies! Large, small, flamed, we got 'em all! Get your rubies for your loved ones here!"

Despite herself, Shadow's heart throbbed painfully. She'd spent the last few months wanting one of those. Would it be too awkward to buy one for herself? Probably.

Smoke shot off into the distance, presumably in search of something. Shadow believed she had heard her say that she had been to the Volcano once or twice before, and knew someone.

For her part, Shadow moved on from the rubies, though she had to tear herself away from them. "Got a woman in your life? That one you were carrying looked cute."

"Yeah," Shadow answered simply, not wanting to tell the man she was the woman hoping for it, not Smoke. "I do."

"I'll let you in on a little secret," the man said, waving her over. "Girl that cute would want a big one. I know a big one, but I can't get to it. Real big. Can't make it into a ring. But that fire looks strong, it might melt the rock surrounding it. Flamed and everything. If you want, I could give you the location... marry that girl before she's taken by another with a big pocket and money to spend."

That felt oddly wrong. But at the same time, she was the woman. She hated being a man. She paid for the location anyway.

It was near the center of the volcano, and deep underground. If she wanted it, she'd need to go into the mines to find a route. There was too much ambient fire for a Path of Darkness, which was a shame. She loved using them, but with so many magicians of a single type all protectively using magic, she could never use the fragile Path of Darkness.

She shouldn't care. It was just a ruby.

She still found herself walking into the mines, her flames extinguishing. She'd never been in a mine before.

The rock was completely melted away, leaving a perfect path down with stairs and everything to help make descent and ascent easier for everyone. She wondered just how much energy was spent trying to make it. There were holes everywhere in the walls, and paths off in random directions every few steps, but it felt safe.

There were no supporting beams, and Shadow wondered if there was an Earth School User working down with them to locate rubies and other precious items. There usually was.

She turned to the right and saw a beautiful, large ruby with a bright flame in the middle. She wanted it. For herself.

Was that bad of her?

It didn't matter, she was a Supreme Master of Magic. A Supreme. She didn't need approval to do anything. She melted the rock around the ruby as best she could, but failed.

She had the power. She had the heat. She just needed to be precise. She wasn't precise... with fire.

She burned down a portion of the ceiling and collapsed her way out. Someone on the other side screamed, but the darkness had surrounded Shadow. She smiled and let her shadows encase the ruby, which was giving off a faint, flickering glow from the fire within it, and pulled it out of the wall.

Then her shadows consumed the rocks behind her, the ones trapping her in, and one of the people attempting to free her before the light destroyed them. People stared, shocked, and Shadow glared. She walked back out of the mine, unaccompanied.

All in all, pretty successful.

But she couldn't wear the ruby. Her hair wasn't long enough to keep it. It wouldn't make nice jewelry anywhere else, though, so Shadow bit her lip and took it to Smoke. Or, the direction Smoke left in.

The way into the volcano was busy. Everything seemed either flame-colored or brown, the coloring coming from the volcano and it's many brown rocks. Even a majority of the clothes were dyed brown, reminding Shadow of one of her lessons in the Underground. The Underground had influence everywhere, but no strong influence anywhere. The main hub actually changed locations every few months, but a notice was given out well beforehand, so Supremes always knew where to go. They did subtle changes in case of emergencies that may arise, and the Volcano of Fire was one. It was likely to be invaded due to it's strategic location between trading hubs, so the Underground popularized brown colored clothes to blend in with the rocks and give a bit of camouflage to people in case of invasion.

And also to kill all those who lived there without harming tourists, if the need arose. But mostly against invasions.

People kept bumping into her, jostling her around and glaring. They were rude, too, always saying things like "Out of my way, tourist. Busy."

"No I can't show you the way."

"Jump into the volcano."

Shadow screamed out and darkness wrapped around everyone, slamming them into walls and the floor, crumbling stalls and crushing stone and bone alike. She felt their energies being absorbed into her, and their lives being drained away. She tried to let them go, but her energy wouldn't respond. It was acting on it's own, killing everyone. She shouldn't have even been able to summon a shadow, it was too bright. What was happening?

The thought stopped her and her energy receded. She didn't want everyone to die. A lot of them, sure, but not all. When did she get so bloodthirsty?

And when was she able to cast spells without making a single motion? She just screamed. Supreme spells weren't like that, they usually had a small but complicated motion associated with them. All spells did, though some were far more grand to watch someone cast.

She hurried out of the way and into the next, non-destroyed area. Smoke, she had to find Smoke. If she didn't... she'd have to carry the ruby around, and it was rather heavy.

She kept fast walking away from where she became enraged and killed a number of people, trying to distance herself from being placed as the culprit. Of course, she wouldn't be attacked. She could always say her name and people would bow as low as possible so as not to be murdered for getting in her way, but the thought of that had always unsettled her.

Less so now, which scared her, in a way.

Smoke. Keep focused on task, she had to find Smoke.

The Volcano was getting warmer as Shadow ascended. The city was built in a large spiral going up around the volcano, starting at the base and ending at the very top, where a church to Mren dominated the land. It had a large library attached, which was where Shadow got the feeling she'd be spending her time.

Finally she found Smoke as she neared the top. As people tended to get more powerful the closer they got to the church, Smoke was actually a common name. That, of course, meant the three people ganging up and threatening her were most likely the same rank as her, or higher.

"Enough!" Smoke screamed, fire erupting as she threw her hands up. Her fingers were moving all at once, yet all individually, and her arms swung seemingly wildly. The fires grew larger, and Smoke closed her eyes.

"Master spell! Attack!"

There were a number of shielding spells cast, preventing the fire from spreading. They barely managed to contain it, but the people seemed ready for this. How often were people attacked?

No matter.

Shadow clenched her hand and a fireball hovered over her head. She swung her hand in an uppercut motion, ending directly below her chin to send the fireball towards the back of one of the men surrounding Smoke.

A scream echoed throughout the room as one of them burned, and Shadow felt a tingle of energy. It... wasn't Fire. Nor was it Shadow. She let out a guttural yell, deep in pitch, and spread her arms and hands wide, bringing them together in a clap. A crack of lightning followed quickly, eliminating two of the three remaining men surrounding Smoke. The last person was consumed in flames from Smoke's spell, which appeared to be slow to work but difficult to stop.

Shadow shuddered, coughing. Her energy felt all mixed up and depleted. She needed mana, badly. She was getting withdrawal symptoms. Mana may not have been a drug, but it was almost treated that way to the body. It was impossible for her to survive without it, and she was running very low. Shadow hobbled over and grabbed Smoke by the arm, dragging her away.

They ended up in a little restaurant, where they sat. Shadow placed the ruby in front of Smoke and blushed slightly. "Hold it for me. When I change back I'm going to want that. I'm not giving it to you as a proposal, you're just holding it for me."

Smoke stammered and Shadow couldn't meet her eyes.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

The sound of metal being hammered pleased the King of Byul as he walked around, the Black Knights guarding him in the shadows, and a small group of White Knights surrounding him.

He was in a small military encampment where they were constructing siege weapons. Largely useless against a city of magic, but they weren't used in battle. It was a tactic the King of Cruup had discovered. While the siege machines would inevitably be destroyed, it set the town they attacked on edge, and scared them. They were less hesitant to use magic that way, but more likely to use lower-tier magic. At least, that's what he was told.

There were entire units swinging swords and practicing in armor, and many weapon smiths barely had a chance to eat due to how busy they were.

"Message from the theocracies, milord."

One of the Black Knights, in armor common to the rest of the area so as to remain disguised, approached and held out a sealed envelope. The King took it and grinned. The theocracies were training men to wage a holy war, and stirring the north. An attack on all sides could possibly send the Kingdom of Magic to it's knees, and soon enough they'd be splitting the territory.

"Thank you, this is wonderful news!" The Black Knight merely nodded once, disappearing with the skill of an assassin.

The King slowed his breathing. Everything had to be perfect even for a chance to work. Assassins could take out even the Black Knights, and the Queen of Assassins Fosoghd the Savior had not come back to accept or deny his offer.

The King walked over to where they were training and pulled a sword off the rack, taking a second and tossing it to one of the White Knights. "Fight me," he commanded, grinning.

He, like his ancestors, had been taking lessons in swordplay from the best for most of his life. He had not been in a fight with an equal for ages, and was eager to try. The White Knight set down his own sword and got into a fighting position.

The King moved fast, with practiced speed. He started with a feint, lulling the Knight into a false sense of security as his attack "failed."

He kept missing on purpose, but making it look like he was bad. As the Knight lunged in hopes of ending the battle and the King's embarrassment, the King twisted and turned, swinging around and slashing at the Knight's helm.

"Dead."

The field they stood on was quiet as the King smiled. "Do continue training. With moves like that a novice will kill you."

He walked off and smiled. Preparations were going well, and he was almost ready to step onto the battlefield himself. He had generals to handle his armies, but he was in charge of one, the largest. And he would be in the middle.

Chapter 8.5; Wtherm

Wtherm remained still. The Master of Destruction and Chaos spun idly as The Greatness they were contemplated what had happened.

They had worked ages on their plan. He appeared in the mortal world as a man, tall and muscular, walking around with purpose. His eyes darted from side to side and terrified bystanders.

Ever since his brother created time, he had been slowly working on it. Building his reputation as a destructive, carefree deity bent on purposes unknowable, but it was not true. He was far more intelligent than he let his brother and sister believe. A well placed word would turn an emperor into a babbling, sun-stroked peon attempting to communicate that which cannot be known. Human minds, as well as the more advanced elvish, could not comprehend that which took place in Wtherm's.

His machinations were slow and subtle, unnoticeable even to Slyf and Mren. But he had not taken into account an active deity. Power like Fosoghd's was unnatural in the sheerest sense of the word.

His power stemmed from Creation itself. As did Mren's and Slyf's. Fosoghd's power was ripped from an unknowable force keeping all that was together. It did not behave by the rules. It destroyed his realm.

He would not fix it. To fix, to repair, to improve was to accept defeat. It was to accept a loss of knowing that which was was imperfect, that which existed was not good enough. Wtherm never did anything that was not perfect. If he had no more realm, he would need another. But to make another would be to accept his defeat against Fosoghd.

Unacceptable.

It was quite the dilemma. "Your wife shall die tomorrow."

The man he passed looked up, confused. Wtherm was already gone.

The man would end up burning down the entire village. It was small, but he would be convinced he was a prophet come the next day as his wife passed away due to complications of a sword through the chest. None would believe him by the next week, when he made no correct predictions. And in a fit of rage and blind devotion to him that even the man did not know, the village would burn.

If Wtherm moved his realm and smashed it into one of the proto-realms littering the Space Mren Cannot See, it would not be a failure. It would be a tactical maneuver to give him the advantage once more. But to do so risked Fosoghd finding the Space.

And there was the biggest problem. He did not know the extent of Fosoghd's power. She was near dead, yet collapsed his entire realm. But as she was a mortal could kill her, he knew it. No matter. She would be distracted with the coming war. He had no part in it, but he knew what would happen.

Wtherm was granted the blessing of the ability to know the Unknowable, and used it shockingly well. He knew Slyf would become dragged into the war, and the attrition of spending so much prolonged time in the mortal realm would weaken her. And a weakened Slyf was a vulnerable Slyf.

One that Wtherm would not hesitate to put down.

And then only Mren would stand between him and his goals. In the Space he was amassing an army. Not of souls, as Mren did, but of another creation, of his own. Demons were like souls, albeit slightly different. What he was creating in the Space was entirely different.

It took the process that created them and intensive studying to do it, but he managed to create a new breed of demi-god, each with a small amount of power. Wtherm knew the amount was small, but the extent to which they could use that small power was equivalent to how Slyf or Mren used theirs. Each demi-god had the knowledge of a single aspect of existence greater than the gods themselves, but could only affect and understand that slice of what existed. As a team, they could disable Mren and then Mren would be consumed.

That was more or less his plan until late. Fosoghd did not lay down and die as she was supposed to, and neither was Wtherm given Unknowable knowledge of her. She was an anomaly, and Wtherm didn't like it. He didn't like her.

His alliance with her was purely strategic. He used her, watched her, and got to know her powers. Yet she used only mortal powers, except for when she managed to destroy two of his demons in pocket realms. The power she showed in their most recent encounter, though, it confused him.

She did not have that power. She should not have that power.

Wtherm went ahead and rammed his realm into a proto-realm, disappearing from the mortal plane.

She would pay. In time. In time.

Chapter 9

Fosoghd's eyes shot open and she spun to the side, coughing. She fell out of bed and onto her hands and knees, before pushing herself up and letting her head fall back so that she stared at the ceiling, her breasts pushed out as her back arched.

She breathed in deep gulps of air before shuddering as she restrained her energy. "Year, present. Mid-afternoon. Magic Kingdom. No gods."

She opened her eyes and looked around. Oh, she was... in her house? That was wrong. Very wrong. It wasn't just her house, it was hers and her wife's. Uh-oh.

"She's in here, please help."

Fos gathered as much energy as possible, but her magic was responding sluggishly. Her personal magic wasn't responding at all. She retracted one thumb and sent a Gust spell at the door to keep it closed. Someone, presumably her wife, tried to open it. The wind kept it closed, luckily.

Fos kept her mouth closed, and she ended up coughing. She coughed twice before her mouth opened involuntarily, blood flying out as she coughed twice more. Her magic stopped, and the door slammed open. Fos clutched her head, bleeding from both ears. Sounds became muffled as her hearing was impacted. Was Wtherm that powerful?

"Damn Wtherm!" she screamed, shuddering. Before she knew it, she was back on the bed and sweating heavily. Everything was blurry and swirling around, but she saw at least three adult faces. All three spoke a language she couldn't quite understand.

Yet despite the mortal world being blurry, she was recuperating. Her personal magic, the one that elevated her to a God even within Slyf's eyes finally began to respond. "Enough," Fos panted, raising a shaking hand. "Back away."

Someone moved her hand down, and she reversed time, yet kept it flowing. The person who moved her hand was forced to relive the action, but in reverse, as everyone else stared. They stopped, jerking and coughing, and Fos rolled out of bed. Her eyes were closed, and she was relying solely on her senses that manipulated Space. "I have somewhere to be," she said.

"Here!" was her wife's reply. Her tone suggested she was begging, and Fosoghd flinched. Her hearing was back already, and was more sensitive than she was used to.

"Byul," Fos said before falling to the ground. She was still so weak, but her magic was gaining strength fast. She reached out and grabbed her sword, her enchanted one and not her godly one, and stood. She ended up leaning on it, but glared in the general direction of her wife.

She hated doing this. It physically hurt her, though that may have been after-effects from facing Wtherm.

"Please, let the elves help you. You're not well."

"I have somewhere to be," she repeated.

"Gust, please!"

She stopped and huffed before collapsing onto her sword. She was in no condition to meet a King.

The others, elves, resumed their treatment as Fosoghd went numb. Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

Fos pushed the elves away and into the walls, keeping them there. She did the same to her wife and pulled out her godly dagger as Slyf appeared into the room.

"I am in no physical condition to do this, Slyf. Remove yourself from my presence or I shall do it for you," Fos said, completely blind as she began to bleed from her eyes. But there was a distortion in space where Slyf stood, so she aimed her dagger at that.

"Is that you, Priestess?" Slyf said, chuckling. "How the mighty have fallen."

"I've just destroyed Wtherm's realm. I shall not hesitate to do the same to you, even if it kills me."

Fos could feel the surprise emanating from Slyf. Fos fell again, and Slyf walked towards her. Fos screamed in pain as her essence started to disappear, and Ice screams accompanied hers. Fos couldn't see it, but she could feel her body convulsing and bones breaking as her body began to break down.

Fos bathed herself in blueish-gray energy, hastily deciding to collapse Space and destroye Time around Slyf. She heard yet another howl of pain, and Slyf backed off.

"You... just... broke my leg?"

Fosoghd's physical body collapsed, and a blueish-gray ghostly form of her stood in a combat position, her sight coming back.

"Better. For battle, not for anything else. Slyf, I'm about to die. Your presence is helping me die. Remove yourself, or you shall join me."

Slyf's leg was in horrible condition. It was bloody, bent the wrong way, and Fosoghd could have sworn she saw a bit of bone. Slyf stared at it, unmoving. "Aside from the fight with Fosoghd before she fused, I've never been wounded. But you... you just..."

"Remove yourself!"

Slyf looked up at Fosoghd before disappearing in a golden flash. Fosoghd sighed and whistled. "Let's see... no, no... no... ah! There! How far away is that? Forty seven leagues and thirteen hundred years. Close enough. I'll be back soon, Ice. This I swear. Please wait until then."

Fosoghd sent herself through Time and Space backwards until she arrived at the location she needed to before her wife could respond. She felt her magic release the elves and her wife as she left.

There was a man standing there, shocked as she suddenly flopped down onto the floor, completely unconscious. Her magic was well though, and stored her consciousness. Her body may not have been responsive, but she could feel everything.

"Who is? Ah! No time! Worliah! Come!"

Worliah, perfect. Worliah was a god-ranked healer from the eighth era, and arguably the best to have ever lived. She ran into the room. "Yes, mentor? Oh! One moment!"

She placed a hand on Fosoghd's forehead, a healing energy going through her. Fosoghd shuddered once more before her body began to mend itself. When her breathing became regular once more, Fosoghd opened her eyes.

"Ah, many thanks."

She sat up and Worliah held out her hand. "Four hundred gold."

Fosoghd's eyes shot up to Worliah's face and she shook her head. "I can't do that. All of my money means nothing here."

Worliah's eyes narrowed as she crossed her arms. "I accept money from all countries."

"And money from the future? I'm from the tenth age."

Worliah gasped, as did her mentor. Fos rubbed her eyes and looked at both of them.

Worliah was young and thin, at least at the time Fosoghd was in. Her brown hair was unruly, and her face was rather cute. She had a button nose and brown eyes that matched her hair nearly perfectly. Her lips were parted in surprise, though barely enough to notice.

Her mentor was an old, probably lecherous man. He stood very tall, and was likely only alive due to being a Healer himself. Mren damned, maybe her magic wasn't quite ready yet. She had aimed for slightly after the man died.

Historically Worliah's mentor had a fiery temper. "From the future? How famous do I get?" Worliah asked, eyes bright in excitement.

"I can't tell you, it would affect the future."

Fosoghd didn't know how she knew it, but she did. She could feel an alternate future where she had told Worliah, and it was not a bright place. Everyone was forced to be healers, and the Magic Kingdom was reduced to a handful of cities. The King was no longer the most powerful individual, but rather a descendent of Worliah herself.

"Aww. Are you sure?"

"Quite."

Worliah reached out a hand and Fosoghd took it, standing with her help. She still felt weak, but strong for a mortal.

Interesting. She wasn't acknowledging herself as mortal either. She hadn't noticed. Maybe she was a god, a true god. Either that or Slyf was getting to her. "I hope I can see you again, then. Stop by every once in awhile!"

"I might, but I hope I won't need to."

Worliah smiled slightly and Fosoghd reached into Space, pulling out some mana. "This is the least I can do. You look weak."

She handed Worliah the mana and disappeared to somewhere that felt comforting.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Beel awoke with a start, staring at something pinkish and moving far above him. He sat up, despite the pain it brought, and looked around.

There were a number of men from the ship huddled together, and Beel groaned. He stretched and his back popped, something slipping back into place. The magician was at the center, building a shelter out of the remains of the boat.

"Where?" Beel managed to spit out.

"Inside the Creature. We've been eaten."

A blinding burst of pain went through Beel's skull as it seemed to catch fire. It didn't, though it certainly felt like it. He fell to his knees and someone helped him up. "Careful now, we watched you fall. You hit a plank and hurt your spine."

The Creature's stomach seemed to lurch, and a pressure knocked out Beel.

He awoke floating on a plank, with the others all on similar planks. The Creature was happily swimming around them, before it flew out of water and shrank. It began circling... a woman? A floating woman?

Beel looked at her and was confused. He could describe her, yet he couldn't. The only thing he could say for sure was that her eyes seemed to shift colors. She laughed as the Creature rubbed up against her. "Why do you feel so... familiar?" she mumbled, petting the Creature.

Beel looked down, but despite the clear water he could only see blackness. There were a number of fish, but they weren't behaving like any fish he had ever seen. Some were swimming backwards, or sideways, and dying or being born at once.

It was eerie.

"Oh, mortals!"

Mortals?

The woman raised a hand, and they all floated up. "Why are you here?"

"W-who're ya?" the captain stammered, staring in fear.

"My name is Fosoghd."

Recognition hit Beel like a sudden windstorm. Fosoghd, savior of life, was in front of them? "I met your wife," he blurted out before blushing. "I-I mean..."

He was working hard to speak in the magician's accent. He had to speak slowly to enunciate every syllable, and it was annoying, but he did it. Fosoghd was The Savior.

Fosoghd went silent and turned away, and suddenly the ocean began doing things it shouldn't have. Was it... going back and forth in time? That made sense, if Fosoghd could control Time like the rumors said.

"So it was a ship full of prisoners? No, not prisoners. Just you? Going to the Magic Kingdom is illegal in Byul... Oh Mren, I need to speak to the King still! Well I'll just take you all with me. Byul, right?"

"Ah'm frum Cruup."

"Cruub."

"The Eternal Forest, Wood City."

Fosoghd's eyes lit up as she gasped. "Ooh, I've never been there! Let's go there first."

They were suddenly... elsewhere. There were hundreds upon hundreds of trees that seemed to scrape the sky. "Pretty," Fosoghd said before a pike was raised at her.

"Name and business," a rough voice grunted. Beel looked at the man and paled. He stood as tall as three men, in armor made entirely out of wood. The wood must have been taken from ancient trees.

Fosoghd spread her arms and the Star of Slyf flashed behind her. Impossibly, the man in armor knelt before her. "You may enter My Priestess."

"Enter? No, I'm just here to drop off someone who lives here. Bye!"

They disappeared, except for the magician who was left behind. "Next was... Cruup."

They appeared in the capital of Cruup, with more people being left out. They did the same in Cruub, and Beel was dropped off in front of his house in Byul, shocked.

"I cain't..."

Weapons were lowered at him for being a traitor, and he held up his hands. "Da High Priestess o' Slyf dropped me heah!"

He was impaled in the legs thrice, and fell screaming. "Traitor!"

"Magicians did it!"

That shut them up. The removed the pikes and lifted him. "To the stockades with you!"

No it didn't. They were just readying their next weapons.

Awesome.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Fos felt weird. She was oddly chirpy feeling. For someone nearly dead, she should not be so... chirpy.

She was like a baby bird, and it was beginning to annoy her, but no matter how hard she tried and wanted to, that stupid smile would not leave her face. Something just felt so right.

She searched for the king of Byul's mind, finding it fighting. She popped into existence behind a throng of warriors.

Slyf was on her mind. It was odd, now that she noticed where Slyf was really monitoring. She couldn't seem to follow Fos through the timeline, just staying in one area, which Fos had marked as the present for ease of explaining it to mortals.

Mortals. Not mortals, peers. Not quite peers, though... others? Others worked.

The King suddenly performed a rather advanced move and would have killed his opponent, had it not been a practice fight. The King walked off towards Fosoghd, not knowing it, and the crowd parted. Fos crossed her arms and let out a smile.

"There's that King I need to see."

"Ah, Fosoghd! You may call me Vuyn."

"Well hello there Vuyn. I've looked into the Supreme's Underground and have, at length, decided to join your cause," Fosoghd said, still smiling slightly. She didn't think it was a matter to be smiling over, but she honestly could not help herself if she tried. She was just too happy. Not about joining a war, about... she wasn't sure why. She was just happy.

"Oh! Excellent! Excellent! Ahem, one moment. KNIGHTS! Approach!"

A small group of men, black, form-fitting metal armor that looked almost like the dyed leather Fos herself wore when performing assassinations approached from the shadows.

"I've never seen these particular knights," Fos mentioned, glancing at each one. They were all big and bulky, but the armor made them look... unnoticeable.

It was odd. Enchanted? That didn't make sense though, Vuyn's country hated magic with a passion.

"Indeed, these are the knights with the sole purpose of killing Supreme Masters of Magic. I'd like to see how they'd do."

"Oh? Alright. All of you prepare yourselves, don't hold back."

Fos didn't bother teleporting, just ripping open Space and throwing herself through it, taking her to the center of the arena Vuyn fought in moments before. Fos sat down and closed her eyes. "If you're lucky, you'll find a Supreme in a position like this, but most likely they'll be on the battlefield. I want to see how you do with the element of surprise. Now, everyone else get far, far away before you begin. I will not hold back, and will use Supreme Spells."

The warriors all scattered, including the knights, who had disappeared. "What's their unit called, Vuyn?" Fos called out, eyes closed. She was purposely not focusing on her mysterious third Magic that created the universe, nor was she using Mental School.

"Vuyn, yell when everyone is what they assume is a safe distance away."

Fosoghd waited a few more minutes before hearing a faint scream. "Begin!" Fos said, relaxing.

A sword pierced her chest, and she screamed, magic going haywire. She heard bones crack, and stood, anger in her eyes. She raised a hand and a gust of wind, a mere Gust Spell, slammed four knights to the ground. She collapsed the Space between her and three of the knights all huddled in a group, and disarmed each of them before breaking all of their legs. She ducked and spun around, throwing a dagger with the power of Wind School behind it into another knight.

"And failure. I wasn't even using Supreme spells there. Except for the one instance of Spacial magic."

The area around was silent except for the moans of pain coming from the Knights. "Vuyn, you are not prepared for this war."

Chapter 10

Fosoghd grabbed the wound in her chest and reversed time around it. It was done shortly enough ago that it was possible to just rewind time until her chest was healthy once more. "I'm not even a battle-focused magician. I prefer assassinating with a blade, not a spell. Yet you hope to take on not one, but up to tens of them at once?"

Warriors filtered in, scared, but glad Fosoghd was on their side. Vuyn stood up the knight who was least wounded, and Fosoghd reversed time around the each of the Knights, leaving their minds untouched. The effect was healing, and Fosoghd was rather proud of herself for figuring out how to do that; it would be useful.

"Call a meeting with the others," Vuyn commanded to the knight, who nodded and ran off. Vuyn promptly rubbed his temples and looked up at Fosoghd. "You're right, we're not ready. But we're counting on the magicians not being ready either, and-"

"It doesn't matter. Your best couldn't handle a single specialist."

"They weren't the best. They were the new ones."

Fos cocked her head and Vuyn smiled slightly. "No, the best are still hiding."

An arrow pierced Fosoghd's knee, and she ripped it out before glancing around. There were too many men, and she honestly did not know many Supreme or Master spells. Though... she did know one...

She screeched, a targeted screech at those who would cause her harm. Sixteen men fell into the visible spectrum, holding their bleeding ears and screaming loudly. "Still not good enough," Fos said, looking back at a shaken Vuyn.

"W-what in Mren was that?"

"That, dear King, was a single Sound Spell. To them, my voice was the heavens raining fire upon their ears."

Vuyn shuddered and Fosoghd smiled. "Don't get me wrong, that's not a Supreme Spell. I can't even imagine what a Boom, that's a Supreme of Sound School, could do, but I'm sure it would involve them being deaf, if not dead."

"We need a meeting, now."

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

"She better have been healed," Ice mumbled to herself. Fosoghd had just left, and she was on the floor, along with the elves.

The fear in her eyes was surprising. If Slyf acknowledged her as a god, why was she so afraid? She said something about Wtherm, was that it?

But then Slyf actually came to have lunch with Ice, and Fosoghd totally changed. Ice had never seen her so... falsely confident. The aura she gave off at that time was cold and frightening.

The elves both got up and looked at each other before exiting, returning with tea. "You should explain," one said, glaring. Ice frankly didn't know elves were physically capable of such a menacing expression.

"My dear wife, it seems, is having... problems, with the gods."

Ice took a sip of tea and sighed. "I hope she's alright. Ah! My son! Where-"

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Shadow paid for their meal and stood, once more hating the sensations. It wasn't any one thing about being horrifyingly male that unsettled her, it was the combination of things that were just so different. She was taller, and it was annoying. Her voice annoyed her. Her...

She didn't want to go there. What was most annoying was only noticeable after she had reached puberty, and they weren't there. And something that shouldn't be there, was.

"Library first," Shadow said, walking firmly towards the top of the volcano.

"No. I know someone who can help. An old mentor of mine," Smoke said, dragging Shadow away. She wouldn't have managed it if Shadow hadn't given way and allowed herself to be dragged.

They arrived at a building next to the library and Smoke shuddered. "Hate this guy, though."

A young man walked out and smiled. He had a large mustache and winked at Shadow. "Hello there, fine young man."

Smoke sighed through her teeth and nudged Shadow. "The one perk of being a woman is that this guy isn't leering at me anymore."

Oh.

Great.

"I hear you're having trouble with learning new fire spells? What rank would you happen to be?"

Shadow took a deep breath, letting it all out and closing her eyes. "Whatever the first one is called. But I have the power to make those spells do Master-level damage."

"Ooh, interesting! Indeed, you shall be a fabulous student, handsome man like you."

No, stop reminding me, Shadow thought to herself, groaning mentally. She hated men who hit on her back when she was a woman, and it was still happening as a man? Just wonderful.

She had better be a quick learner.

"Well, let's see if you can jump straight to Master-level spells..."

"Actually," Shadow interrupted, as the man was taking off his coat, "I'm just here for theory lessons."

"Oh. Mren be damned."

The man grumbled and cursed under his breath as he walked out of the room, coming back in with a rather large book. "Lucky you I'm the foremost expert on Fire Theory out of the Underground. I'm a mystic, you see."

Shadow's eyes widened, and she leaned in. "Do you happen to know anything about using Fire to change one's body?"

The man cocked his head, a gleam in his eye. "Do I? My dear, handsome young man, that's my specialty."

Shadow couldn't hold back a grin. This was going to be so easy!

"I'll tell you all about it tomorrow. Why don't you stay with me tonight?"

Oh. No, no it was not.

Smoke subtly left and Shadow glanced around. Mren must have damned her.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

"When do we proceed to attack?" the man asked his older brother, draped in priestly robes. "The Blessed are getting impatient."

"Word has just come through the Knights. A meeting was requested by Byul," the older brother, King of the larger and more powerful Theocracy said. "He had the Knights fight Fosoghd, who did not use all her power. Apparently the Knights didn't stand a chance, and she wasn't even using her most powerful spells."

"Slyf damn the magicians."

"Our Goddess and Savior would never do that. Going against the Magic Country is almost an affront to Her, who gave mana to us unworthy-"

"Yes, yes, brother. I know the scripture. But the magicians are an affront to Slyf more than invading them is. This war is holy."

The elder nodded and sighed. "Must we reveal the utmost secret of the Knights so soon?"

"It appears so."

The men were transported into a large field, where the other Kings and Fosoghd were waiting. The kings were sitting in chairs, surrounding a table that Fosoghd was laying on, tapping her hand against the wood.

"Welcome, Kings of the Theocracies," Vuyn, King of Byul said. "A problem has arisen."

The Black Knights were capable of instantaneous travel. It was not magic, but a special property of the armor they wore. Themselves and any passengers could travel anywhere without a delay, rather like a teleporter.

"The problem is?"

Vuyn motioned for Fosoghd, who sat up and yawned. She jumped off the table and walked to the head of it, sitting at the chair there. Her chair was gilded with gold, while all the others were not.

"You guys suck at fighting magic."

The Kings' mouths dropped open and Fosoghd grinned. "Well you do. Do you have any idea how... oh, Slyf damn it."

She disappeared in a blackish-red flash and the Kings cocked their heads.

"What just happened?"

"Huh."

Vuyn stood and commanded their attention. "I don't know what happened with Fosoghd, but I do know what she did to the Knights. She used Specialist spells and Master spells, which are high-level but nothing like Supreme spells, but still defeated the Knights. How did the White Knights kill the Supremes?"

The King of Cruup stood, Vuyn sitting. "I know how. The Supremes are too confident. Their arrogance was their downfall. But they are more cautious now than they once were. Spies have informed me that they have shaped entire cities to favor them during invasions."

There was silence at the table, revealing the sounds of a battle off in the distance. Vuyn spoke before the silence got too awkward. "We are near where my men are training."

"Ah."

They sat awkwardly in silence for a while longer, until a blood-covered Fosoghd appeared back at the head of the table. "Stupid black magic. My apologies, I was summoned to perform an assassination. Good news, one Supreme is down."

Fos coughed up blood and smiled as sweetly as she could manage. "Most of this isn't mine."

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Fosoghd arrived at where she was summoned, groaning. A man with a mustache held up one hand and shushed her. "Please, help me. I have an ex-lover I want dead. He's in the next room, the one not sleeping."

Fos nodded and the man grabbed her shoulder. "He's an Inferno."

"Inferno?" Fos asked, eyes widening. Inferno, Supreme Master of Fire. "Wtherm take him."

"He did."

"What."

"He's a worshiper of Wtherm, it's why I dumped him."

Fosoghd's eyes widened and she nodded. She wasn't going to hold back at all, then, and she would certainly enjoy that kill.

A man screamed and Fosoghd rushed in, darkness wrapping around a different man. "Die, Inferno!" the man screamed, shouting. "You should have stayed meditating on that mountain! How dare you seek me out! How dare you!"

Oh, it was Shadow! Those tentacles of darkness were wrapping around everything in the room and draining light from outside sources, and one wrapped around Fosoghd's leg. "Shadow, move your Shadows or I'll be forced to hurt you."

Shadow glanced over, a crazed gleam in her eyes. His eyes? Whatever. Fosoghd wouldn't judge, she was male not too long ago as well, after all.

Then the Shadows wrapped up further. Fosoghd let Slyf's magic take over and force the Shadows away, knocking Shadow back. "I don't want to hurt you. Just Inferno there."

"Wtherm grant me power!"

"Oh Mren, dodge!"

A burst of green and purple blasted through the room and hit Shadow in the leg, snapping it. Shadow screamed and let her shadows take over it and let her stand without pain, a cast of shadow surrounding it protectively.

Fosoghd took out her own personal dagger and changed it to a bow, firing twice. Both shots were deflected into the walls, which instantly rotted. Wtherm managed to completely possess the man, and Fos narrowed her eyes. "You dare?"

"You should fear me Mortal."

"You weren't calling me mortal as I tore apart your realm, Child!"

Fosoghd was suddenly behind Wtherm's puppet, and she stabbed him with her bow through the heart. The bow disappeared in a green and purple flash, blinding Fosoghd. "You're weak."

Blood spurted all around the room, covering Shadow and Fosoghd. Shadow looked at the remains of a soaked book and the room chilled. Ice began to form on the walls, and Fosoghd looked at her/him in surprise. "When did..?"

Infant-level icicles appeared before growing larger and more jagged, hitting the man in various vital areas. But Wtherm was possessing him, and he didn't die. "I shall destroy you, mortals!"

Fosoghd grabbed the puppet and steadied him. "Kill him, Shadow!"

Shadow laughed maniacally, drawing the room into complete darkness and burning him to death with icy fire. Fosoghd shivered, but was not deterred. She retrieved her dagger, which her bow had turned into, from within the man's heart and stabbed him in the back of the spine, where it connected to his head. He fell, despite being a puppet, and Fosoghd sneered. She followed and continued to stab, and stab, and stab, and Shadow joined her with a dagger of ice.

After the man was thoroughly mauled, Fosoghd panted. "Fun, but tiring. Ever consider being an assassin?"

Shadow grinned before paling and shaking her head. "What is getting into me? No, I haven't, killing disgusts me. What's wrong with me?"

"Here, let me see your mind."

Fosoghd smiled and rested a hand on Shadow's blood-covered forehead. Blood was dripping into both of their eyes, but Fosoghd wasn't worried. Nothing a good, long bath in the river couldn't do to clean her. And if that didn't work, she could always just collapse the space the blood occupied.

Shadow's mind was... tumultuous, to say the least. It twisted and turned and evaded capture, hiding in the shadows. Even for a proficient Mental user, it was difficult to find. She couldn't imagine what an average attacker would do when encountering Shadow.

There was something in there, something malignant. Fosoghd got the feeling it would only respond to Shadow magic, and powerful Shadow magic at that. It seemed to be feeding off of her, in a way, and changing her. Slowly, but completely. If left unchecked, Shadow would truly become a killing machine. "You need to see someone better at Shadow magic than me. There's... something there."

"What do you mean?"

Fosoghd opened her eyes and shuddered. "Something dark, something evil. It's making you dark and evil, as well as changing your form. I think it needs a certain Shadow spell to destroy. Something powerful, too."

"Gods be damned," she muttered, standing. "I'm off to collect Smoke, then. Tell the bastard in the other room I'm dead."

Fosoghd nodded and collected her pay, dropping it off and returning to her meeting.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

The Kings were staring at her and it felt awkward. Fosoghd stood once more and collapsed the space the blood occupied, causing a miniature explosion centered around her, but it got rid of the blood.

The table was destroyed, and she was clean. She stood where the table was, and sat down. "I know there are at least... three, maybe four others capable of doing that. And that was just cleaning blood, imagine if they did that to your entire army. You can't see that coming."

The Kings shuddered. Fos continued. "Isn't it great? It certainly is. You can't fight magic. A desperate Supreme is one who doesn't care about the lives of anyone else, including friends or family. Everything around will die. You haven't seen a desperate Supreme ever. I don't know if there has been more than... two. Ever. One made a lake in the desert, and the other wiped out an entire city. Not just a city, a capital."

"Reert."

Chapter ?

It was time. Fosoghd knew that. She was sitting on a chair made entirely of condensed space, an entire realm's worth of it, above the Unfathomable Deep. She was in her realm, where time and space were relative.

At any given moment, anything could be happening to the Deep. It was quite fun to watch. Ships were taken down and destroyed, The Creature which felt oddly familiar destroying them and swallowing smaller creatures.

Then time would leap forward, the day turning to night turning to day turning to dawn, and then back to night. She felt at ease, as though her power was simply existing, and she was just letting it go.

The way her power funneled out of her realm and into what she considered the "normal" realm, the one where mortalkind resided in a regular pattern. Her power gave the mortal realm shape, Space, and Time. She felt godlike.

Where was she "moments" before? When? Was she with her wife? Had she even met her wife yet? She couldn't say. Her mind was overloaded with information, and all that seemed so unnecessary. She couldn't name a single name of her family or friends, and even the other gods were coming to her mind slowly.

Other? Were there even others?

She closed her eyes and focused on the sensations. That made everything clearer. She was decidedly going backwards through the flow of time, as it would be considered in the mortal realm. She felt it getting younger, despite her leaping forward in time very rapidly.

In terms of mortal time, she may go back five years, jump forward seven, and then another jump forward eight, but ultimately end up back six years before the first jump. It was a confusing process to describe, yet it felt so natural. She raised a hand and time wrapped around her.

She felt a large impact that shook the mortal realm and paused all time everywhere. Completely frozen, she surveyed the impact site. Slyf was standing, smiling, the first mana held out to the humans. Ah. So the gods interfering created a splash like that to the realm? Space shuddered, and her impact seemed to have caused the mortal realm to expand. She continued in her flow backwards.

She didn't know when she came from, or where specifically, but she knew her goal. And her goal was to go back, back, and back further.

Why was her realm over the mortal realm’s Unfathomable Deeps? Ah, that was right. She remembered this, faintly. The area was... peaceful? No, that was just a nice touch.

The Creature surfaced, and despite the leaps in time it nuzzled Fosoghd. That was right. It was because of The Creature, whose name evaded her. She would name it, when she felt like it.

But "when" was so relative where she was. She probably had already named it, in the future.

"For now I'll call you Cutie," Fos mumbled, smiling. Cutie made a little noise, and Fos began to pet her/him/it/they.

Xim? Xim fit. It felt oddly natural.

The area went black as light stopped being a thing that existed. She was preceding light. She slowed down her trip and stopped all time once more.

Cutie floated around her in the Space she created for xim. There were exactly three other beings around. Around being relative, as once again she was Lord of all Space.

She could kill all three right then, while they couldn't fight back if she really felt like it.

Wait. She recognized them. Two were simply... shapes. Not even that, presences that felt like shapes. But one had a form already. The form of a golden haired woman, much like Fosoghd herself. She was arguing with the two presences on power.

Ah, an infant Wtherm, Mren, and Slyf! Should she say hello? No, that would simply serve to confuse. She let a book pop into her hand filled with both nonsense and fact, and smiled. She set it where Wtherm would find it and giggled. Cutie looked at her disapprovingly, and she grinned. "If I don't do it, who will? You?"

She retreated back to her own 'realm' and sighed. Realm wasn't a very fitting description. Realm suggested it existed. It didn't, not really. She was in an area that was both inside and outside of space and time simultaneously. Space was being created, destroyed, and didn't yet exist within her realm, and Time was in pretty much the same state. Her every movement caused creation. It was an interesting feeling.

"Ah, I won't remember this, will I? Eyooruttt. Where did that come from?"

Fosoghd laughed. If her own realm was confusing her, the mix of every society and time, every place and... everything all at once enlightening her? It may even drive lesser gods insane.

And then everything was gone, Cutie included. There was simply nothing. No white, no black, no color. Nothing.

Peace. Quiet. No Time. No Space. Nothing.

So nice. She could sleep there. She would sleep there. She had slept there. She will sleep there.

None of her mortal adjectives and verbs and tenses and general rules of language quite fit. Everything made sense intuitively, but when trying to understand it slipped just beyond her range of explanation. She could understand, but could not think of a way to either pass on the information nor classify it.

The glimpses stopped. She was no longer receiving the multitudinal signals from everything that ever was and ever will be and ever is at once. The perfect peace and quiet allowed her to be completely alone with her thoughts. Her wife, whenever she would be born, would have been able to look at her and discern what exactly her neodes were doing, but it felt off. She never picked up the skill so well.

Ah, she wished she could know. But she couldn't, because Fosoghd got the instinctive feeling that none but her would make it to that point while remaining sane. She couldn't quite stop. She wasn't there yet.

She had further to go.

She forced the sluggish non-time around her and basked in the power she held. She was literally everything.

How was she forcing herself through what constituted "time" exactly?

Ah, right. Her power, her area of expertise could be classified as a simple, single word. Existence. While it did not do everything the name implied, it broke down into three parts. Time and Space, common things that everything will and would and did rely on, and the Unspeakable Idea Which Cannot Be Expressed. It was the aspect of that which existed, and a fickle aspect that did not let itself be controlled so easily. But she could manage it.

It felt both alien and natural. It was an exceedingly uncomfortable feeling, but she didn't mind all that much. Her own name was lost to her once more. She continued.

So much information was leaving her. Was this the end? Were beings, anything that existed or will exist, not allowed to do what she was doing? What she was attempting to do? Was it simply against whatever rules there were?

It couldn't be. There was nothing to make a rule. She powered through it, and finally arrived at it.

She couldn't explain what it was. Just that it was it. Even 'it' was an ill-fitting description, and did not come to her mind. No language did, truly. She merely felt and understood and knew everything she needed.

She sat down on the first space ever created.

If time had a definite starting point, it would be long, long after the "moment" she was in. But Space had to accompany Time, no?

Nope. Not if she had anything to say about it.

And she did. Nobody could fight. Nobody existed to fight. She was exhausted. A nap was in order.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

When was she? Where was she? Who was she? How was she? How did she? When did she?

All and none of them applied to her. She recognized the area she was in, but that was it. Nothingness.

Her memories were filtering in, and then stopped. She didn't remember anything, but glimpses. Darkness, in contrast to light. Covering the sky.

A boy of some sort running into a woman surrounded by ice. A tornado throwing around hundreds. A bloodied blade, sounds of screaming, sounds of praise and admiration, thanks...

What was the most recent? She had no idea.

Was any of that real, or merely an illusion? Were they past events, or future? Or were they happening? No, they couldn't. She was out of all known realms. She cocked her head, confused.

She was also pregnant. How did that happen? She wasn't interested in mortal men. And she hadn't been that way when she had fallen asleep. It wasn't uncomfortable, per se, as everything around her revolved around her. Her whim created existence. She created what would, in turn, create her.

Interesting. That was an interesting little paradox she stumbled upon. If she had died in the cradle, or at any point after, everything would cease to exist.

That was simply assuming she created everything, but it felt like it. She could not go relatively "backwards" in time anymore. Or whatever constituted time, it was a difficult topic.

More glimpses filtered in. Unusual, ones she'd never seen and couldn't place. Past, present, future, would-be if x had changed to be y, or something entirely different? A boy changed by the drinking of blood, a boy dying and waking up a princess, hundreds of thousands dying in the blink of an eye...

And they were gone. She already had forgotten what she had seen. But she understood. They were alternate versions of what she knew existed. She was at a relative point where everything that would be or was could go anyway she wanted. Though she wanted it to go the way it had, so that she could exist to want that.

But she had the feeling, an instinctive one, that she would exist no matter what. She was reality. She was also not. Something kicked her belly.

"Little ones?"

It seemed right to attempt to say, despite not being able to. There was nothing to transmit the sound, as there was nothing at all.

She bit her thumb. Pain still existed, but that was a bodily function. But she didn't have a body. The pain went away.

Ah. She was constantly fluctuating between a mortal form and her godly form, one impervious to... anything, really. Everything that was, will be, and such, all of it would not let her get hurt in that form. And if she were to die in her mortal form, she would merely awaken.

Or had she already? Things were confusing, yet they weren't.

She felt exhausted though. All she wanted was to... sleep. Sleep sounded nice again.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

The wailing of three infants woke her. She was also no longer pregnant. Nor in pain, so she must have been in her godly form. In fact, she couldn't switch back to mortal form.

Two boys and one girl. She picked them all up and they stopped crying.

She was sleepy again already. Actions were exhausting. Obviously the infants felt that way as well, as they had fallen asleep.

She wasn't wearing a top, suddenly. She didn't know when her top had disappeared, but it was gone. Oh well, she had three hungry infants suddenly to feed. She'd feed them when they woke up.

She created a bit of Space and let Time roam it relentlessly, all at once. Time was not consistent yet, but it would be. Was in the past?

She was in the only, small, bubble of Time and Space that existed. But she glanced around and felt many other hotspots where Time and Space were ready to burst forth at her command. She let it.

Mini-realms popped up in each spot, expanding. Four notable ones combined with other mini-realms and created normal realms, albeit a bit small. One of them consumed a second, and she knew it would be the one mortals inhabited.

The three infants awoke as actions became less exhausting. There was a faint glint of understanding in their eyes.

Two lost their forms, but the girl was looking at her in fascination. The woman felt her eyes change color, and the infant giggled.

The infant's eyes went from a bright blue to a bright green, to a bright red, and finally to golden. The little bit of hair she had also became golden.

The woman sat one of the infants in a pocket of Space and Time separated from the rest, and the other infant in an area lacking space and time. That infant began to grow, expand, and learn.

She tried setting the girl down in the last realm that would not be inhabited by mortals, but she didn't want to. She wanted to sit there and raise her. But she couldn't. She knew that. Her power was draining rapidly as the infants fed off it. She would have to go regain it by sitting in her personal realm.

Her non-realm, she supposed. Her favorite chair was a realm, and that was within her "realm".

Everything she had done and will do and would have done and all that seemed so inconsequential. She floated into the last realm and sat down the girl, the infant, whose eyes closed as she fell asleep.

None of them would remember her. That was for the best.

She entered her not-a-realm and let Time and Space create itself and flow.

Eventually she would move. But right then was not when she would. Cutie nuzzled her, and she smiled. Destroyer of men to many, cute little guardian to her.

She let her eyes close. Nothing she could do now, she was too weak. The infants had finished feeding off her power, and she let her top appear back on her. They weren't like mortal babies then.

Yet she felt an... attachment to the girl. She wondered how long she would keep it. Eventually it would disappear. Or perhaps not. Perhaps everything that had and will happen was all actually in the past? It was too difficult to tell.

Whenever she was, she was back within the flow of Time and Space. And thus, she would stay. She knew it intuitively. She could return to the Place Before, but never would.

Perhaps the Place After?

Chapter 11

"Reert?" Vuyn asked, confused.

The King of Cruup nodded once. "The Ancient Kingdom. They were said to be the most advanced Kingdom to have ever existed, comprised entirely of elves. They hunted down humans and murdered them. Ah, my father used to speak of this story when I was young. A woman was taken from her child, and the child was killed in front of her.

"Her friends and family were too. An indescribable rage filled her, and she lashed out. She was a Supreme as we would call her nowadays, but this was shortly after humans acquired magic. She put all her being into it, and destroyed thousands upon thousands of elves with a tornado. Trees were uprooted, homes destroyed, even a mountain was scattered. Nobody can tell where the ancient battlefield was, but it was a slaughter. All the textbooks only say it was located near the Tallest Mountain, but it was destroyed by the Supreme."

"Destroyed... a whole mountain!?"

"Indeed."

Fosoghd nodded once and a tear rolled down her eye. "I went to check if it was true once. Or the Original Fos did, I can't tell. But it was true. All of it. It was horrifying to watch. The elves are so ruthless when angered. But they were humbled once humans had acquired such power. They never forgot that instant, the first time they were ever defeated in battle."

The kings were silent and Fosoghd wiped the tear away. "Back to this war. How do you plan on winning? As it is now, you will lose."

"Surprise attacks. That's how."

"That won't work," Fos said, pointing at Vuyn, "And it won't work for one simple reason. If you surprise a city with war, they are legally innocent if they use overwhelming force to obliterate you."

The King of Cruup smiled. "But they didn't when I fought."

"We weren't surprised. We saw you coming weeks beforehand."

The Kings were silent once more. "We can't win."

"No, you can't."

Fosoghd smiled slightly. "Without support."

The Kings looked up at her. Fosoghd stood and disappeared, reappearing moments later while wearing a new dress. It was rather poorly made. "Stop staring, I'm proud of it. This took weeks to make. Hard to do when the fabric refuses to actually react to you half the time. As I was saying, if you can rally support within Magic Kingdom, then you have a chance. You have no idea how helpful a single magician can be when placed behind a threatening enemy. The shadows killing you would suddenly be replaced with you launching catapult after catapult, or whatever it is you mortals do."

"And how do we do that?" one of the Priest-Kings asked. Fosoghd shrugged. "Not my problem. I figure that if you can surprise Masters with the Black Knights, then-"

"Two Supremes down," a Black Knight said, trudging over. "Your majesties."

Fosoghd stopped, looking at the man. "Tell me exactly what happened."

The Knight smiled and laughed. "Not everyone is as prepared as you, milady."

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

The handful of wounded Knights felt their armor healing them as they transported themselves. One of them had received an interesting report, and they were all desperate to make their failures up to the Kings. And the Goddess Fosoghd.

The Knights didn't like talking, it broke their stealth. But when they did talk, they had a tendency to agree on things, and they had agreed that Fosoghd was a Goddess walking amongst mortals.

"We arrive."

The group, as twelve of them had arrived, looked around. There was smoke all around, and a bloody mess on the ground. "This must be the one Our Goddess killed. Two more in the area. Fan out."

"Name!" barked a Knight as he held up a sword to a bloody man.

"Shut up. I just killed that Supreme laying down there with Fosoghd."

"My apologies, milord. Continue."

The only other residents of the house were a young girl, a Specialist but an acquaintance of Fosoghd, and a weakling studying magical theory. Two Knights stayed behind to preach dissent for the Magic Kingdom and asked them to join Fosoghd in overthrowing the corruption and terrible government.

Ten Knights moved out, hiding among the masses or within the shadows, searching. "Tsunami is down," one whispered, all of them hearing. Their armor was very special, transmitting more than just people and items.

"That's rookie's first kill. Round of drinks on me when we succeed here."

The rookie slid the blade out of Tsunami's neck, wiping it on his clothes. Tsunami was also disguised, but the Knights just had a way of telling a Supreme hiding within a crowd. They knew, for instance, the man in the house they arrived in was a retired Supreme posing as a weakling, which was why they wanted him to join. They felt no need to call him out on being Supreme and not telling them.

Tsunami wobbled a bit before falling, the rookie no longer supporting the man. People screamed, not seeing any blood. Rookie was good, the wound was clean and the blood drained down the side he was laying on. It would inspire curiosity and draw people in before causing panic, which would be more chaotic than if the blood was seen quickly. People stumbling over each other scared them more than just running away.

"Who is the last one? What magic?"

"She's a- rughh."

Flames erupted in the middle of the street, burning the Knight to death. "Stealth over! Assault!"

"Assassins! Run!"

Oh, the Supreme, according to Fosoghd, was not feeling cornered. But he would, soon enough. Three Knights fell on him and took off his left leg, sending him to the ground. They burned to death shortly after.

Flames erupted below the man, and he began to hover. Before he could get far above them, an arrow pierced his skull, and he flopped to the ground. Fire burned uncontrolled and melted the ground itself, but their armor protected against that low level of magic. The ground was much less dangerous than the flames themselves, open fire would destroy the armor, heat did not.

The man still didn't seem cornered, very sloppily using a dagger to swing at the Knights. "Imbecile," one of them muttered. "Or did we take out his magic center? Is that a thing?"

The man clearly had some sort of brain damage, so it was entirely possible he didn't remember how to use magic. That was good, and meant-

Three Knights were wounded as the man stood and rapidly swung, more precisely. No magic, but no pain either, apparently. His eyes were vacant, as if he were acting entirely on instinct. "Kill him!"

The remaining seven Knights all attacked at once, and the man was still. They had acquired a number of wounds, but their mission was complete.

"Return to the Kings, and get healed."

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Shadow watched it all, and shook her head. "That stupid girl really joined them? What was she thinking? Is slavery that important to her? To make her join those people?"

Smoke was elsewhere, and Shadow sighed. Thanks to Fosoghd, she knew she had to improve her Shadow capabilities. That was bad. She was already too far for books, so she would have to meditate. She couldn't meditate well with a war brewing, though, as it inspired assassins to take her life, or at least go for it. And those assassins looked very well coordinated.

There was no error in their movements. More importantly, they seemed ready to fight against fire magic. She replayed their conversation over and over. They were educated for citizens of the other countries, and presented good arguments. For Shadow, it all came down to "join us please we have Fosoghd just in case you don't and we're good at hiding."

Shadow would probably join them. She didn't really have anything against Fosoghd, not having known her, but it was generally a bad idea to go against the figurehead of the churches. Shadow sighed once more and stood straight, Smoke appearing as a wisp of smoke behind her.

"What happened?"

"We're joining your friend, the High Priest, but not now. Right now I need to look for an advanced Shadow willing to help us."

"Gods save me."

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

"I see, so that's what happened."

"Indeed, Milady, we could not fight you because we did not know what type of magic you used. We prepared for the incorrect type, and were defeated due to it."

Fosoghd tapped her hip and shook her head. "Not good enough. If you encounter multiple Supremes of different types, you would lose."

"Yes, Milady. But we have begun to collect allies. Two Supremes, the ones you were with moments ago, are on our side."

"Two?" Fos asked, confused. "I was only with one."

"The woman and the man, the-"

"OH! That little liar... called himself something different, I suppose."

"It is not unlike a Supreme to lie."

"Quite," Fos admitted, smiling. "I do it often. As did many of the first Supremes. There's actually quite a bit to be learned about Supremes from the first documented cases, you know. Tell me, Knights, have you heard the story of The Great Massacre? I've never seen it myself, but I know where and when it is. If you would all like, I could show you the true power of a Supreme."

"Show us," Vuyn demanded quietly.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Fosoghd, the kings, and the Knights all appeared in ancient Byul, intangible and invisible to the populous. "Is this how you assassinated everyone after being killed?" Vuyn asked, looking around. "Feels weird."

"Almost. I had just enough strength to make myself tangible for a split second, but just long enough to shove a blade in someone's throat."

"Ah."

The kings looked unnerved, but one of the Knights chuckled.

A young man with a scraggly beard was lifting large pieces of lumber. They were slightly too large to be lifted normally, but the man seemed like he could do it, albeit barely. "Him," Fos said, pointing. "He's the culprit. Well respected by the community."

"Where are we?"

"The first capital of the Kingdom Byul, the ancient city of Byul. It has a population of a few thousand people, and magic was just introduced into the world. Few can control it, fewer understand it, and far more are deadly afraid of it."

They invisibly followed the man as he went about his day. He continued lifting lumber, occasionally having conversations in a language unrecognizable to them. "Oh, old Byullian! I forgot about this!" Fos said, laughing. "Back from before the language we magicians used became the norm."

Fos looked lively as the kings glanced at her. She was almost bouncing around, her eyes full of wonder, and she was smiling to herself. Vuyn felt his heart throb painfully, and he blinked. That... was weird. He hadn't felt that sensation since his late wife lay dying on their bed.

There was a scream and Fos looked up with interest. She had been playing with the hem of her dress, and the kings realized she had changed without them noticing. "I can't believe I already need to repair this," she mumbled. "I don't even know how yet."

The man looked around in fear before shaking his head and yelling back in a frightened voice. There remained no words that they could understand, but from their tones they could understand enough. "He's been discovered," one of the knights mentioned.

"Indeed," Fos said, her eyes closing. She walked forward and in front of the man, smiling forlornly. "I'm sorry for what's about to happen."

The man's eyes closed and he laid down on the ground, hands on his back. A young girl screamed, and the man's head shot up. The girl, the man's daughter, was silenced with a dagger to the throat.

As her throat bled, the man seemed to freeze. He slowly got up, and a dozen daggers were lowered at him.

All the houses were made of wood. Not for long.

The houses exploded into a whirling mass of wood and iron debris caught up in the wood as the man manipulated it, slicing through flesh and causing screams of agony. The Kings looked even more unsettled, and even a few of the Knights began to fidget. "We're just getting started. They remember this incident for a reason."

The wood seemed to come alive, coalescing in a giant, humanoid form. The man screamed and ran over to his daughter, who was breathing shallow breaths, little bubbles of blood emerging in her wound. The man began to cry and wipe the blood and tears off the girl's face.

Meanwhile the humanoid wooden creature had volleys of flaming arrows shot at it, causing it to catch on fire. It was on a time limit before it was reduced to ash, and the man knew it. He let all of the wood fly at the heart of the city and explode, and he caused all the wood in houses, furniture, and natural trees to explode out as well. Screams came from everywhere, all at once, but the man didn't hear any of them, talking to his daughter.

He was sobbing, barely controlled enough to talk to his daughter. She raised a hand to his face, and the man clutched it. Screams started dying down as the wood began to swirl around him at the edges of town and come crashing down on anything that moved.

The girl's arm fell to her side and her head hung listlessly. The wood seemed to implode, all of it rushing straight towards the man and impaling him a thousand different times, but leaving his daughter untouched. A majority of the wood seemed to simply disappear.

The lifeless man slouched forward, blood dripping on the young, innocent face of his lifeless daughter. The man was unrecognizable with so many wounds and fragments of wood sticking out of his body.

"Gods," muttered the elderly King of Cruup. "I've never seen anything like it."

"The desperation of a Supreme does many things, and sometimes the magic acts on it's own. His daughter was his life," Fosoghd said quietly, solemnly. "I hope you Knights learned something from that. I know I did. Don't threaten a Supreme's family."

Chapter 12

Tornado was cooking. She found it rather relaxing, a good way to unwind. She noticed one of her pots had begun to melt from the fire she had put it on, and she quickly took it off. There was only supposed to be so much iron in the dish, any more and she risked them falling sick.

She knew what she was doing, and always appeared as though she didn't, evading direct questions. It was more fun for her that way, and all she lived for was fun. If possible, she preferred to do everything in the most "fun" way possible, at the cost of others.

Someone knocked on the door and opened it, and Tornado swirled around with a dagger. Only a Supreme could possibly get to her house without access to the jetstream, as she had a subtle Supreme spell surrounding it to force everyone into her jetstream if they got too close.

"Hello Tornado my love," King said, waving. "I got your taxes."

"Good. Now git, Ah'm cookin'."

"I'm afraid I have nowhere to stay at this moment, and have heard some... interesting news. Your eldest, he... my apologies, she seems to be alive."

"Ah know. Slyf 'erself was complainin' 'bout it."

King looked taken aback, having thought that the news would surprise her so that she would be so thankful she would divorce her husband and marry him. Wishful thinking, he knew, but he figured he'd try nonetheless.

"Well, that's... surprising. I've heard other news from spies, news of renewed war efforts in Cruup, and a new effort from Cruub. Remember the war with Cruup, Tornado my dear? You looked so lovely with the sun at your back and a thousand bodies at your feet."

"'Nd ya looked best cowerin' behind me."

King blushed slightly and coughed. "I was sick that day."

"Ya were sick da next fight too. 'Nd da one afta dat."

King posed stupidly, and Tornado went back to cooking. "I happen to suffer from chronic mana loss."

"Sure ya do. Jus' sit down, 'usbind is gone 'gain. Jus' ya 'n' me. 'Nd mah son."

King smiled. "I don't believe I've had the pleasure of meeting your youngest."

"Dun't talk to 'im. 'E hasn't bin in a good mood."

"Ah, shame."

King sat and looked at Tornado with a smile on his face. Tornado plopped a plate full of an unidentifiable substance in front of him, and a bowl next to it filled with what appeared to be stew. He hoped it was stew.

"Window! Git in heah!"

Window ran in and sat down, and King looked at him. He looked remarkably like Gust did, albeit younger. King could sense a bit of extra mana in his meal. "Hello Window, my name is King," he said, holding out his hand for Window to shake. Window's eyes widened and King averted his own eyes. He didn’t mean to scare.

Tornado sat down gracefully and began to eat her plate of food. It was, shockingly, completely identical to King's own. He briefly wondered how she managed it. King picked up a fork, and set it down. How did he eat the meal? He picked up a spoon, setting it down too. He picked up both, with the knife awkwardly placed between them, and decided to act like he was purposely doing it to make Window laugh instead of just not knowing anything about how to eat the sludge Wind made.

Surprisingly, though, the food was amazing. Better than some of the meals his cooks put through, that was for sure. It may have looked bad, and he had no idea what it was made of, but he was reminded why he fell in love with Tornado in the first place.

That and her looks. He had a soft spot for people who looked exactly like Tornado did.

"Ah hear dere's gonna be a war," Tornado eventually said, halfway through their meal. Tornado was significantly closer to finished than King was, though.

"As I said before, I only have reports that-"

"Mah daughter's wife says Fosoghd is s'portin' da other side."

King opened his mouth, but shut it quickly. That... was bad. Very, very bad. "Fosoghd... your daughter? High Priestess of the Holy Church of Mother Slyf?"

"Yeah, her."

King shuddered. "I'll have to see if we can end this war without bloodshed, then. I do not wish to fight your family."

"Scared?” Tornado asked, finishing her meal. She got up and began cleaning her dish, for some reason using fire to do it.

"Of course I am! You could easily beat me in open combat. As could your daughter. And both of you combined could take on a few other Supremes."

"Dat's 'cuz yer magic is bad."

King didn't argue. He knew he would lose. He had always held back on his magic, and for good reason.

He didn't get to be King for no reason. While everyone manipulated magic in a certain natural form, King did not. He manipulated magic directly, in a more defensive way. His style of battle was to whittle away at the opponent, which didn't work too well with Supremes due to the magnitude of spells they used. He had the ability to redirect relatively large streams of energy going towards him, but not enough to stop an entire Tornado or The Sound Attack.

He shuddered, imagining a Tornado with Sound support. A silent Tornado was terrifying, and an unusually loud Tornado was even more frightening.

"Have you had contact with the Supreme's Underground?" King asked. "I need a new lead, my spy was banished."

"Ah have. Kicked 'er out a while ago. Dunno where she's at."

"That's a shame."

King was unsettled. There was a war brewing, he now had confirmation. He implicitly trusted everything Tornado said, both because she was a close personal friend (to him at least, the feelings may not have been reciprocated) and a close advisor.

"Incredible," King said as he finished. "It was an incredible meal, my dear."

"Dun't call me dat."

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Shadow groaned. She was travelling, on foot, with Smoke. It was taking forever, and they had no idea where to go. "Left or right?" Smoke asked as they hit yet another fork in the road.

"Mren damn it. Just go forward, I'm tired of choosing."

Smoke shrugged and disappeared in her travel form, reappearing a bit later. "Mountain in the way."

"Let's go to the top of it."

Smoke grabbed Shadow's hand, and Shadow yanked it away. She grabbed Smoke's hand, and focused.

A Path of Darkness was a difficult thing to do, and with a passenger it was nigh impossible. Of course, that was for normal Shadows. It was her specialty.

Shadows embraced them, and Shadow let out a sigh. It was refreshing for her, though she could tell Smoke was terrified. She was feeding off his emotions, though, so that was good.

Wait, why was she doing that? How did she know? Something malignant inside of her was waking up. She immediately let go of the shadows and her entire form shuddered. "Fine, take me your way. That... was weird. That was not good."

Shadow was ripped apart and reformed as a puff of smoke. While she had the power of a Fire Master, she did not have the skill to match, and could not control herself. She flew around helplessly, up until Smoke seemed to combine with her and pull her around. She was in pain, and her concentration was completely gone. She could think of nothing but the sensations of being pulled and the overbearing pain.

They violently reformed at the peak, and Shadow fell to the ground, coughing. "Paaiin," she groaned, flopping to her back and staring at the sky.

"Shadow?"

Gods no. Not him. Anyone but him.

"Shadow! You're a man!"

How. Just how.

"And have a wife!"

And there was the obligatory incorrect assumption. Shadow sat up and glared at her childhood rival, the banished Light Supreme whose name she intentionally forgot. It was probably something stupid like hers anyways. "Don't start." In fact, she was actively thinking of anything but what his name could be. The trees were nice from so high up. They looked a bit like grass, but darker green.

"Why not? You were banished too?"

"No, still on a mission before I'm banished. Not that I'll be banished."

Shadow smiled slightly, and an idea began forming in her head. "You know what? If you can help me out, I'll give you a hand too, Sun." Oh, and there was the name. Shadow mentally cursed.

"What do you need help with?" Sun asked, a little too chirpily.

"I need a Shadow, an experienced one. Not a mystic, though. Do you know one outside of the Underground? Banished works too."

"Hmm... I do, but he's hiding in Light territory. It would hurt you."

"I don't care. Take me."

Sun smiled mischievously. "Only if you promise to get me out of banishment."

"I swear upon Mother Slyf."

"Perfect! Hold still, this will hurt. You too, Shadow's Wife."

"I'm not-"

A flash of bright yellow light encompassed them, and Shadow screamed. It hurt so, so much. Why did it hurt so much? Smoke appeared to be fine, what little Shadow could see of her. She was just a slightly darker bright spot in her otherwise completely yellow vision.

Then the pain stopped. Shadow huffed and found herself on her chest, which was an incredibly horrifying experience. She should not feel what she felt, and sat up. She didn't like the feeling of such a... muscular, manly chest. Not on her, at least.

Shadow managed to stand as tall as she could, and very nearly fell back down. She was just so weak!

Where was she again? Memories were coming to her slowly, and all she could feel was pain.

A shock went through her, and she stood. She couldn't seem to reach her shadows no matter how hard she tried, but lightning was picking up the slack. She let the sparks dance around her fingers as she sighed. She didn't like being forced to use power she couldn't quite control.

"Shadow!" Sun called out, waving at an old man. "Hiya!"

Shadow covered her eyes and shuddered. Everywhere was light. It was perfectly lit from all directions, and no shadows were to be seen anywhere. "Sun, Supreme Master of Light School, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

Sun smiled, literally glowing. "I brought another Shadow! She needs your help to stop being a man."

"Oh? That's an interesting predicament. Let me see."

The man was very old. He hobbled over, walking on a cane... made of shadow? It was definitely a cane made of shadows. He had that much control over Darkness school to negate the best of Light? "The one in pain I assume," Shadow the old man mumbled, looking at Shadow-the-unfortunately-male.

The old one placed a hand on the young one's head, and hummed to himself, darkness enveloping Shadow. "Ah, there it is. A curse from the World of Shadows? What have you gotten yourself into young one? Two steps to cleanse you, and I can provide the first. However, be warned: This. Will. Hurt."

"W-wha?" Shadow croaked, eyes blinded with light.

"Another warning: You may find yourself female once more, but... be careful. You will be prone to changing back, and even if not your mood will almost always be aggressive. You'll be able to change at will, however."

Shadow screamed as an incomparable pain exploded behind her eyes. She could feel blood, and could no longer see the light, only darkness.

It was truly an incredible feeling, despite the pain. She reveled in it, her body contorting at will and becoming female once more. The man repeated the process on Smoke, who didn't move an inch.

"The next step for you is a complete cleansing by the High Priest of the Church of Mren. You must get a total cleanse while in your current bodies to stay that way. Be cautious, as too many wounds in this body and you will be unable to return to it forever."

Shadow had no reaction. Her emotions seemed dulled, and she was feeling sleepy. Despite growing darkness within her vision, a spark of light called out to her, as well as a sleepy, sing-song voice sounding as sweet as she had ever heard.

"Come. Embrace me. Join me, child."

She couldn't place the voice, but wanted to go to it. It was just so nice.

Someone was shaking her, but she could barely feel it. The voice was so sweet. Fosoghd fell into view, and she dusted herself off. "Hm? Is that... Shadow? Looking very womanly today. What are you doing in my realm? Get out. Return to whence you came."

The sweet voice cut off, and like a bucket of ice water being dumped on her, she woke with an unpleasant start. "Still alive, young one?"

Shadow coughed up a bit of dark, inky blood and stared. Why was it tinted black? That was unnatural. "Excess Darkness within your system. You are being cleansed by your body, but it's not enough. Find the High Priest of the Church of Mren. It is your only chance."

"What of Fosoghd?" Shadow asked. It would be much easier to run into her, she figured. She was also extremely glad her voice had changed. She hated the manly, gruff voice that had been coming out of her mouth.

"Who?"

"Fosoghd. High Priestess of the Holy Church of Mother Slyf, savior of all life, chosen by Wtherm, Mren, and Slyf Themselves."

"Never heard of her, but I doubt it will work. The one who cursed you was a devout worshipper of Mren, only His magic could possibly heal you completely."

"Mren..."

Smoke stood, male once more. He shuddered and quickly found himself gasping on the floor as a woman, though. "H-how..? Hurts so much..."

"Ah, yes. Being the other gender, the one you were born as, feeds off your mana so you can stay that way. You must be low on mana. Get some and you'll be able to change again, with lower abilities."

Shadow groaned. So she would not only have major temper problems, but would be weaker? That was just bad. However she couldn't stand being male, so she would deal with her temper and mana loss problems later, when her mind settled.

Oh, how it hurt. She stood shakily, glad to have her balance back, and she stretched. "We leave. Sun, I believe I promised you-"

"To marry me? It's okay, I accept."

"No," she said, glaring. Lightning sparked out of her and slammed into Sun's face, who cried out in pain. "I promised to get you out of banishment. And I will. Come and you may live to be free."

Sun hobbled up before collapsing next to Smoke. Shadow rolled her eyes before summoning a Path of Darkness, taking her unconscious passengers back to the normal world. They arrived on top of the mountain they had left from, and Shadow collapsed too.

Chapter 12.5; Wtherm

There was nothing in her realm. It was nice.

Fosoghd enjoyed the complete silence. Ever since her visit to the Time Before she had found she was able to manipulate her realm so much easier. It occasionally shifted as fast and randomly as her thoughts. Cutie was, once again, the only being to keep up, and that was because xim was Space, Time, and the other force she hadn't figured a good name for yet.

Out of a faint, sickening curiosity she had grown restless and desired to visit her place and time of birth. While she didn't want to see her mother - mothers? - during that time, she had this gnawing feeling that she should go.

She shuddered and let herself drift through time. She didn't know exactly when that was that she wanted to go to, nor did she know where, so she had to let instincts draw her in. She was so curious, it was as if the time was pulling her in.

She found herself in a grandiose, large room. A room she recognized, in fact. She was in the capital of the Magic Kingdom and saw a very pregnant Tornado sitting down. "Won't you marry me dear Tornado?" King asked, smiling. "I'll make you the happiest woman alive!"

"Ya prolly cain't kill yerself dat fast," Tornado replied with a chuckle. "Now git out, Ah'm 'bout tuh have a baby."

King sighed and walked towards the door before turning around. "One of these days, my love-"

"Go tuh yer wife already!"

King left, and Tornado growled in Fos' general direction. "Ah kin sense ya."

Fosoghd held her arms in the air and let herself appear. "That's odd, I seriously expected you to not. I'm from the future," she said simply. "Supreme of Time."

Tornado -- well, at this point it was still Wind -- shrugged. "Git out."

"No, I'm sorry but I can't. I'm... drawn here. Even if I go, I'll probably return years later in my timeline, but an instant later here."

"Fine, but yer lookin' away."

"Of course," Fos said, a bit queasy. She didn't even want to imagine what was about to happen.

Wind mumbled something about pain, and Fos flinched. She didn't need to hear any of that. She wasn't planning on being a midwife, nor was she planning on having any kids. Any more kids, assuming the gods were her children. They had to be though, if the Time Before was true.

Two demons appeared with rather large axes, and Fos' eyes widened. How did Wtherm manage to send demons to her place of birth? All she knew was that she could not die as an infant, that would have horrible effects on all existence.

She summoned her sword and cut through the demons, and heard applause. "Good job," Wind said, "Now ya kin go."

Fosoghd, blushing and looking adamantly the other way, nodded. "That I will. Do be careful."

Wind laughed, which quickly transitioned into a groan of pain. "Ah will, 'nd Ah'll make sure dis one does too."

Fosoghd left before the words sunk in. Had she actually just caused her own childhood to be so well observed? She could never hide anything from her mother, and her mother had taken a liking to making sure it stayed that way. Had she not died, she wouldn't have been surprised if she had been taken aside by her mother and yelled at for performing the act of making love with her new wife "wrong" or something.

It was a bit creepy at times.

Fosoghd steadied herself within her realm and sighed. Her realm had become more of a starting point for her, as if her "natural" timeline, the one she was born and raised in, was becoming just another timeline to be in. She had spent embarrassingly little time in other timelines since becoming fused with Fosoghd, though. Perhaps she would have to remedy that.

She... wasn't sure where Fosoghd was born, and let her instinct kick in. She was led to darkness rather like where she sat at the beginning time. It felt intimately familiar, and Fos saw some demons. Her too? How did Wtherm even know to send demons out at this time? The Time Before was fuzzy, but Fos felt a bit like she was to blame for it.

After slaughtering the demons, an infant showed up, crying. Fos could see clearly that the infant was a girl. Herself, in a way.

That was an odd feeling.

She dressed herself, as she supposed it was herself and not just the original Fosoghd, in a small cloth she had laying around in her realm. "Where to send you... I don't want you dying here," she said. She didn't know, but felt safe leaving her there. "You'll figure it out, little murderer."

She felt awkward leaving her there, though. She didn't like the feeling.

Wtherm was indeed after her. That was troubling. Sure, she had slighted the gods, but that didn't mean that she should be attacked. Oh well, Wtherm would pay for his misdeeds.

Yes, yes he would. And she couldn't wait to feel her blade going through his essence.

Chapter 13

Fosoghd hummed to herself and swung her foot in the air. She was in her cold home in one of the theocratic countries, watching a fish boil.

She missed her wife. She huddled her hands together, shivering. It was freezing, like usual, and she didn't like it, but she was avoiding Slyf once again.

Slyf was distracted, not really focusing on the mortal realm at all. She did have an eye around Ice, as always, but everywhere else was not being watched, so there she was.

She was bored. She had never felt so bored before. She didn't even have magic to study!

Not that mortal magic really mattered to her anymore. Her memories of the Time Before were fuzzy, but she was convinced she was a Goddess because of it.

And that was a sobering thought. She? A Goddess?

A year ago she wasn't even female, and now she didn't mind being one. It was an odd transition, really. Why was she so comfortable with it? She presumed because she was, well, a Goddess.

Not that she'd go around proclaiming it to all who'd listen.

The fish finished boiling, and she ate it gladly. She wasn't a big fan of fish, too scaly, but it was some of the only food up so far north. There were others, but it was far too dangerous to attempt to get other meats, and farming was ravaged by the snow.

Why was she even there? She was wondering why she didn't just stay in Byul. She was welcome there with open arms, as the rumor she was on their side had been spreading for weeks. It was a scare tactic from the kings to dissuade spies from sabotaging them.

It didn't work. Or at least, Fos figured it wouldn't.

She stepped out of the house as she finished her fish and locked it, burying the key under the snow as was her usual action. Oddly enough, nobody had found it yet. Of course, it always seemed to be snowing, covering her tracks nicely.

Oh how she hated the cold. And the heat. And weather in general. Her realm was nice, though. She liked her realm.

She had been thinking that more and more. She stepped out of the mortal plane and into her realm, sighing in relief. Every time she made her way there, it felt as though a great weight was lifted off her shoulders. She sat and meditated.

She wanted to think on the Time Before All Else. About what had occurred there, and what that meant, in depth.

She was almost certain she had given birth to the gods. That made her... what, a godmother? She giggled to herself.

Puns aside, what did it mean?

She remembered that Wtherm, Mren, and Slyf were all born with a humanoid form. Slyf had kept hers the longest, until... she wasn't sure exactly when. But from glimpses of the past and future, Fos knew that Slyf had lost her humanoid form only to reclaim it upon meeting the mortals. Odd. That meant she should be the strongest, as she was in the form best suited for her.

Yet she was the weakest.

Fos also had a vague memory of a book, and Wtherm. Bedtime stories, she believed.

So she was their mother. Could she ground Slyf for disobeying her? That would be funny.

As if on cue, Slyf approached, staring in shock. "What is... how?"

Cutie growled from beneath Slyf, and Slyf looked at xim in confusion. "How?"

"Heya child."

Slyf glared at Fosoghd, who giggled. "Your eyes. They usually change colors, but they're glazed over, as if you're not truly looking at me."

"Hm? I'm sorry, lost in old, old, old, old memories. Older than Time and Space and you."

"You're not making sense, O Priestess of mine."

Fosoghd's eyes came into focus, drilling into Slyf and sending shivers down her non-existent spine. Those eyes were knowing. Knowing of things that should not be known. Her eyes knew the story unknowable to all, and had seen the unseen.

"I'm still in my mortal form. Pardon me," she said.

Fosoghd disappeared, finding herself in her bed next to the sleeping form of Ice, and let her body fall asleep. She reappeared in her realm more colorful, happier, giddier, more excited, and happier. Wait, those were all basically the same thing, weren't they? It was getting hard to tell. Her mind was both in tatters and so completely whole that the entirety of existence and non-existence was encompassed within it. It was a rather confusing sensation.

Slyf shuddered. Something about Fosoghd's form sent instinctual messages to her, telling her to run or obey. Or both.

"Heya, my only daughter."

Fosoghd giggled and licked her lips. "I wonder if I'll remember this in my mortal form. I didn't last time, but I was close."

The Time Before was so much clearer now, and Fosoghd let her eyes flutter shut. Existence shuddered.

"Oops."

"W-who are you?" Slyf whispered.

"Me? I created all that is, was, will be, what have you. I am also your mother. Show respect, Child. I am older than all else."

Slyf backed away, and Fosoghd brought her closer without moving. "Now, now. I can't have you telling your brothers about this, can I? No, no, they would not react well. Nor would I, if I remember this. But you, oh dear daughter, will. You will know to fear me. Killing me will serve only to awaken me. And awakening me may cause the end of all you know. You don't want that, do you?"

Slyf stood, motionless. She was shocked silent. Fosoghd smiled.

"Good. You call yourself a Goddess, it's rather cute. Now, dearest daughter, I seem to have inspired Wtherm's wrath, what little of it he can muster. You may want to... distract him. For the foreseeable future. And I can see the future a long, long ways away."

Slyf merely nodded. Fosoghd clapped once, a single, high-pitched sound that reverberated infinitely. "Good. Begone."

And she was.

Fosoghd, in her Godly form, appeared in the mortal plane, which embraced her with a comforting, warm blanket of energy being constantly pumped into her. She stepped down, and walked with no presence, leaving not a trace behind her. She was in a small city, but one she knew had a shrine to her in it.

She'd surprise them, and also figure out what exactly people were doing building her shrines.

The little town was quiet. She was in the Magic Kingdom, so she should be seeing flying Wind Users, tunneling Earth Users, and a whole variety of other transportation spells.

She approached the shrine dedicated to her, and saw a statue of her. How had they gotten her features so accurate? She swore she was looking into a mirror. Though it made sense, they had accurate representations of Slyf, despite her rare appearances up until a handful of months ago.

She sat in the very back, watching people pray and preach and cry. It was an... odd sensation, to say the least. She wasn't so narcissistic to pray to herself, and she couldn't hear the whispers of those praying unless she moved a bit closer.

Three men in ragged clothes entered, crying. Fos raised an eyebrow, moving to the corner, and the men rushed the statue. They fell to their knees and kissed the feet of the statue, which made Fos a bit uncomfortable. She didn't like the needless praise.

"Please save us, O Great One. We beg of you!"

Huh. Odd name.

"Please! End our suffering!"

Fos leaned closer, listening. Were they seriously asking her to kill someone?

"For all that is good and mighty, please eliminate the slavers chasing us!"

Done and done. A small group of six men kicked down the doors to the little church they were in, which was barely managing to not collapse within itself and obviously needed reinforcement, howling at the men. "Ya dare?"

"I should be asking that to you, mortals."

Fosoghd rose to her full height, which was a bit shorter than the tallest man in the group of slavers. They turned to her and one of them paled.

A blue light lit up the room as six arrows found themselves stuck into the heads of the slavers, a small bow Fosoghd's hands, still aimed at the now-corpses. People around her were still and silent, and she sighed. She walked over to the men, tapping one. "A shame you chose the way you did. You could have been so productive."

Fos stood and let her Godly form fade away, entering a dreamless sleep.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Ice awoke with a start. She had a horrible dream, about the death of her lovely wife. She was sweating, but the baby was silent all night long. That was a good thing. "What to name him..." she muttered.

"Nngh quiet," Fos mumbled, turning over in their bed.

Ice dropped the blanket back onto herself. She had been getting up, but saw her wife and all she could do was hug her. She had felt so... lost without her. Fosoghd was scarily cold.

"My wife..."

Fosoghd mumbled and remained asleep. Huh. She was a very heavy sleeper, evidently.

"I'll go make breakfast," Ice whispered, tears in her eyes. Her wife was home and all was right.

"That damn Goddess," Slyf muttered, already sipping tea rather shakily. Her eyes looked distant, and she shuddered occasionally. "Brothers take her."

"Hello dear Slyf. My wife is home!" Ice said excitedly, her eyes sparkling.

Slyf acted fine, but her eyes betrayed her. "G-great," she said. "I made tea."

Ice sat down carefully and grabbed a cup of tea, sipping at it. "What's wrong? You never do things like this."

"I can't tell you."

"Of course you can! I won't tell anyone."

"No," Slyf said, averting her eyes. "I can't. I can't tell anyone. Ever."

"Oh, okay."

They sat in an awkward silence until Fosoghd shuffled in, giving a cursory glance around until her gaze settled in on food. She tore at it ravenously until it was all gone. "Used too much mana yesterday," she said. "Don't remember a whole lot of it. Something about arrows, and my realm."

Ice cocked her head, thinking. She focused in on neodes, ignoring all else. As usual, hers were firing in the pattern specific to her, and Slyf's were always fired, giving her an almost bright glow. Of course, none of it was visible, it was just a bright feeling.

However, Fosoghd's were somewhere in between that. They were firing like Gust's pattern, but... every so often they'd either all flicker out, or all flicker on, and nearly blind Ice. She had to stop looking at neodes and rub her eyes. "What the... are you alright, Fos dear? Your neodes are... behaving odd. Did you get stabbed? Your mana can't be depleted for them to go off like that..."

Slyf shivered and stood before heaving a rather large sigh. "I have decided to support you in the war," she said. "I shall participate in exactly three battles. The first, the capital, and any other you feel the need for me to appear, be it for morale or dealing with mortals you don't wish to."

Fos looked surprised, but said nothing, merely nodding. Slyf disappeared without another word.

"War? Don't tell me..."

"The other countries are readying to destroy the Magic Kingdom. Here will be spared, but..."

There was a knock at the door, and Ice glanced over. "It's probably your mother. I wouldn't doubt it if she found out you were here." Ice grinned slightly. "She always seems to know when you're near her."

"Mren damn it."

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Shadow was on a boat.

Why was she on a boat? That was very, very wrong. She got up, and Smoke was there, in his male form. He shuddered twice exactly, turning female slowly. "I'm getting better at it," she said, "I can stay male longer now. You've been asleep... a really, really long time. We're on our way to Cruub, rumor has it that's where Gust is."

"Gust? Oh, you mean Fosoghd. Now, why are we on a boat?"

Smoke looked uncomfortable and shook his head. "You don't want to know."

"Tell me."

Smoke sighed and adjusted her top, sneering at her breasts. "Hate these things. Well... you.... uh..."

"Just tell me."

"Killed one of the small, unnamed towns."

"What?" Shadow asked, eyes widening. "No. No."

"Yes... your Shadows just... strangled them all. Not a corpse was left either, and you looked less pale afterwards, and you've been getting better since then. I think you used them to fuel your return."

Shadow's head felt empty. Her vision went blurry, and she was on the verge of falling unconscious. She grabbed the wall, and found she was also queasy. Killed an entire town? It was possible. While nearly dead? Also possible. While unconscious? No.

That wasn't possible. Smoke was lying. She had to be.

Gods. An entire town while unconscious?

She did feel stronger. She had been getting weaker and weaker while in Sun's Light World, or whatever it was called, and she was feeling much better now. Remembering that her Shadows didn't always listen to her also helped remind her that it was indeed possible that she consumed them all.

Unbelievable.

Chapter 14

Beel had been through Mren and back. Not literally, he wasn't the Goddess Fosoghd, but figuratively. Tortured, abused, attacked, abandoned, banished, he'd been through it all.

And now he found himself in front of a blacksmith. "Wha' type'a armor d'ya wan'?" the smith asked.

"The lightest armor you have," Beel said, sighing. He fiddled with the dagger, the only thing they would allow a "traitor" like him to have.

He was at one of many military encampments, having traded out three years in stockades, assuming he lived that long, for active military duty. Of course, he didn't realize they were about to go to war, and he was the most ill-equipped person there.

"Yer in it," the smith said, turning around. "Now git."

"'Ey, wait!"

The smith didn't respond. Beel groaned before hearing everyone drop to their knees, at attention. He did the same, glancing around. People were bowing their heads, but why?

A man, a young man in a crown, walked by. He caught Beel's eye, who blushed and threw his head to the ground.

"You there, stand."

Beel stood.

"Why is it you're not wearing armor? Where is your sword?"

"Ah'm a traita', in deir eyes," Beel said softly. The King, as that's who Beel assumed it was, clapped.

"You'll live a long time. I've never heard of anyone able to manipulate clothes to strangle you, and a dagger is easy to conceal. Everyone else will be targeted. Hear that, fools?" the King announced at large. "You're all in the army! Act like it!"

A woman stepped out of a golden streak of light, brushing off her shoulders. Fosoghd mumbled something, standing there with her hair disheveled, and her clothes barely on, as if put on in a rush. "Why do you call for me so early, Vyun?"

"Ah, Fosoghd my dear!"

"Don't call me that."

"Apologies. A... problem has arisen. Where to attack first."

"Where would be strategically best?" Fosoghd asked. Beel couldn't stop staring. "Assume we win with no losses, where would be best?"

"Well, there are rumors of an entire, hidden city within the clouds on the border of Cruup..."

"Ah, Thunder City! I've never been there, but yes, that is there. How is that strategically best?"

"You... aren't a good general," Vyun mumbled. "It's tactically the best because if we don't deal with it, it can move and strike our armies down without us realizing it."

"Oh, I see. Well, then I'll tell Slyf, and-"

"Wait, is she joining you?" Vyun asked, hopeful.

"Only three battles. This, the capital, and whatever other one I choose. That's her decision."

Vyun held his heart in relief. "Thank the gods, maybe we can succeed."

Fosoghd glanced over and looked at Beel before her eyes, shifting from green to gold, met his. "Oh! I recognize you! You were that sailor! You're all over the place, aren't you? Didn't you say you met my wife?"

"Y-yes milady," Beel said hurriedly. He didn't want to offend.

"Oh! Yes, I remember clearly now! How are you?"

"Y-yes milady."

Fosoghd giggled slightly, and Beel recognized his mistake. Before he could speak up, Fosoghd was standing next to him, peering into his eyes. Her eyes seemed distant, as though she were looking at something.... far away. Her mind was clearly elsewhere.

"When did you learn magic?"

Beel froze. "No, not learn. Used. You must have been very stressed! Or angry. Or both! Probably both. I haven't seen a Byullian like you in a long time! See this Vyun? This is why your war is stupid. I wouldn't even be on your side if it weren't for the Underground."

"I'm afraid I don't see anything, Fosoghd," the King said.

"Oh, right, silly me. His soul is a bit... different than yours. He's used magic, and that helps shape the soul. Yours is kind of a blob of nothingness, his started to take shape since he's used magic once or twice. Probably just once. But, you know, everyone has it, so... yeah. I forget where I was going with that."

Fosoghd seemed a bit out of it, at least to Beel. She was still staring into him, so he didn't dare move, but even without her doing that, it seemed as though she wasn't... wasn't quite herself. At least, wasn't as her reputation said her to be. She was supposed to be calm, collected, maybe a bit deadly.

"Are you feeling alright? You sound odd, and you look off."

"I didn't get enough sleep, and need more mana. Do you have any children Vyun?"

"No, I don't. Nor do I have a wife."

"Well I do. I have a son, and I need to go help raise him. Please don't disturb me unless it's important. Seriously. Your messenger might not make it back in one piece. Or three. Or twelve. Or at all."

Vyun, the King, shuddered. "Of course, Fosoghd," he said, bowing.

Fosoghd disappeared in another streak of gold. "She's not teleporting," Vyun mumbled. "Must have been far too early for her. Oops. You, she looked like she knew you. Who are you?"

"N-nobody, my King. W-went to Magic Kingdom once to see Slyf, t-to report seeing F-Fosoghd killing m-my family. A-after she died. H-her wife made me u-use magic, 'nd Ah've bin attacked ev'r since."

Beel felt his rather poor Magician's accent disappear and shuddered, lowering his eyes once more. "Interesting, interesting... is it true? Do we all have magic?"

Beel nodded.

The King sighed. "I didn't want to believe her when she told me... Do not spread this. You are no magician. Now carry on."

Beel gladly did, even if it meant being hit with wooden swords until he couldn't feel his legs. He would try to become the greatest swordsman of all time.

Hours later, he was sore and felt his dagger slip out of it's ill-fitting sheath. He bent down to pick it up, but when he stood straight his eyes met a mask. A black mask.

"Join us."

"W-wha'?"

"Join us."

Three more men in a leathery-looking metal appeared as if from nowhere, and Beel shuddered. He got a bad feeling from them, as if they were dangerous. "W-who're ya?"

"If we say, you either join us or die. Do you wish to know?"

Beel couldn't help but nod.

"We are the most elite team outside of the Magic Country. We are the Black Knights."

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

King and Window were eating silently. King had made something that looked better than the food Tornado made, but tasted far worse. How was she such a good cook that she could make food look like slop, and have it taste so... excellent?

"Where's your mother?" King asked. Window shrugged.

From what he could gather, Window was a quiet boy. He was also prone to acting extreme if everything didn't go perfectly, as the previous night he had threatened to jump out of the window unless King slept in the very center of the room.

King had woken early, as always to avoid the almost ever-present assassination attempt, to go take a walk in the dark. Window had followed, and King still hadn't figured out why. For the past hour King had been interrogating him, more or less, but Window had yet to say a word.

"If it isn't the King. What brings you to Specialist City?" a familiar voice asked. King turned around to see a woman with an icy dress on, holding an infant and shushing him. Ice watched King, who sighed.

"A number of things. News for your wife's mother, information-gathering, and rumors of a group of Supremes gathering."

"Supremes?" Ice asked, raising an eyebrow. She was speaking in whispers, as her child seemed to have fallen asleep. "Is that all? Of course Supremes would gather, Slyf comes to talk with me. Probably more invitations to join the Underground."

"Do you know where your wife is?"

"Asleep, upstairs."

"O-oh. Tell her I'm staying with her mother, I have need to speak with her."

Ice narrowed her eyes, staring into King. It gave King an odd feeling, as though she was prepared for anything. "You know, I'm the world's leading expert on Neode reading. You're hiding something from me."

"I want to speak with her about the coming war."

"Ah, I see. Yes, having her coming to kill you would be frightening, wouldn't it?"

King shuddered, and Ice noticed Window for the first time. "Oh, hello there! I haven't seen you in months. How is University?"

"Is it always so boring?" Window asked, yawning.

"It gets worse."

Window let out a whine, but went back to being silent. "Don't just stand there, come in for tea. I'll send a message to Tornado about where you are. And mind your manners, I have an elf visiting."

King was surprised at that. Elves rarely even spoke to humans, but Ice mentioned having one over at her house like it was nothing. Of course, she was also the one who spoke to Slyf regularly.

King and Window followed Ice into the small, homely house before sitting at the table. Ice sat next to the elf, who looked at both of them with piercing red eyes.

Elvish eye colors varied wildly, and had no correlation as to what they did. Red eyes were completely natural on elves, as King had to keep reminding himself. This elf in particular made a striking figure. He was thin and lithe, and looked as though he could attack any of them at a moment's notice.

Fosoghd grumbled and made her way to the table, plopping down at the end. "That damn King, calling me so early in the morning... Mren take him."

"Who?" Ice asked, rocking her child lightly. Their child, King supposed.

"The King of Byul is an idiot who thinks he needs me to make all his decisions for him. I can't single-handedly fight and win a war! Not if he wants anyone alive. Anywhere."

Fosoghd continued mumbling to herself, but finally glanced around. "Oh, hello all of you."

The elf bowed his head, and Fosoghd made some incomprehensible, inhuman sound, to which the elf responded. They continued speaking in what King assumed was elvish, sounds which made no sense. King couldn't hope to follow the discussion. If it was that.

"Did you mention the King of Byul? Why were you speaking with him?" King asked nervously.

"Deciding where to attack first."

"About that, do you have to? We can resolve this peacefully," King said hurriedly. "I do not wish to fight you, nor your family."

"Oh, yes, worry about us and not when Slyf comes to wipe you out."

King shuddered. "What are your demands?"

Fosoghd shrugged. "I'm not the Kings attacking the country. I would be defending the city if not for the Underground."

"Hate the Underground," King mentioned, sighing. "I shall support you then as well. I will gather as many supporters as possible and... why are you fighting?"

"I'm fighting the Underground. I don't care why the Kings are fighting, but I can take you to them."

"Perhaps later."

"Whatever. I don't know when the fight will happen, and I swear if they start to summon me again I'll cut someone with Slyf's energy."

They ate quietly, with King feeling awkward. He was next to the strongest person, strongest being if the rumors were to be believed, in the entire world.

He was eating with a Goddess. Simply amazing.

"Apologies Ice, milady Fosoghd, but I must depart. I thank you for your hospitality."

"Beyouyuf," Fosoghd said, waving.

"You honor me," replied the elf, bowing. He left without another word.

"An elf bowing. Never thought I'd see the day," King said with a laugh. Ice smiled slightly, and Fosoghd did not react.

"Neither did I," Ice admitted. Window fidgeted, and Fosoghd sighed. "Oh! Right, have some mana."

Ice passed some extra mana over to Window, who ate it quietly. "How have you been?" Fosoghd asked, smiling slightly. Window blushed and dug into his food with more vigor. "I see."

Ice giggled and sighed as the baby began screaming. "Anything I can do to help? With your son, maybe?" King asked, feeling rather useless. He was taking advantage of their hospitality. He was the King of the entire country for Mren's sake, the least he could do was help out a tiny bit. If he was going to keep procrastinating on his kingly duties, at the least.

"No, I'll raise him myself. If anyone helps, it's my wife, and that's because she also has to raise him. I won't let anyone else get close to him, not after everything I went through."

"Alright," King said, feeling even more useless. "Then I'll leave you to it. I have Supremes to track down."

"Don't die, that would be bad," Ice mentioned, leaving the room.

"I'll find you soon and take you to the other Kings, see if we can work something out. See how much fighting we can avoid. no matter the outcome, a few cities will fall."

King nodded, sighing. He hated bending over like that, but he didn't want to fight a Goddess. And two of them was just suicide. Mren, one was suicide, two was overkill.

He couldn't believe what he had stumbled into, but he was glad he did. It would have been terrible to find Slyf on the battlefield... on the enemy's side. The very thought made him shudder. He would have prayed for his soldiers, but the gods were no doubt going to ignore him if he did.

They, after all, were the ones fighting.

Oh Mren save them. There he went, praying anyways. Oh well, if he was going to pray, he would do it right. To the church he went.

In the distance, Fosoghd rolled her eyes. "He knows it's pointless, yet he still does it. Why?"

Ice kissed her cheek, and Fosoghd blushed. "Just leave him be, love. Come meet your son!"

Fosoghd giggled slightly, blushing deeper. "I've seen him before, before I could... could stay in the realm for more than a split-second."

"So you haven't met him. Come!" she demanded, gently rousing him and walking out of the room.

She went.

Chapter 15

Shadow didn't like boats. It would have been easier to take a Path of Darkness, but Sun would have died, and that would have broken their promise.

She felt bad, she really did. The thought that she had... she had killed so many people, absorbed them like she would food. People? A meal? That was wrong. That felt wrong.

And also so very right. Why did that feel right? She was a disgusting monster, wasn't she? Gods.

"Where are we going?"

"Rumor has it there will be fighting in the Thunder City, and Slyf will be there."

Shadow spun around and glared. "Where did you hear this, Smoke?" she demanded, glaring at his very feminine form. She couldn't help but notice his breasts, bouncing slightly with each breath...

She shook her head, but maintained a glare. Focused on Smoke's eyes. Eyes, above her chin, above her lovely...

EYES.

"Fosoghd told me," she admitted, blushing. "To avoid it. We won't, of course, since lightning is also one of your potential Schools..."

Shadow nodded, sighing. "I hate relying on her. It feels wrong. I'm a member of the Supremes Underground, I shouldn't need any help from anyone."

"That's true," Sun said, "You're acting very weak. If I weren't banished, I'd have killed you."

Sun. Seriously, that was almost as bad of a name as Shadow. For Supremes, that was an embarrassing name. They sounded weak. Well, she sounded weak, Sun sounded like a moderate rank at least.

As their long journey went on, it quickly became apparent that Smoke was some sort of sailor at heart. She, and sometimes he as he got better at holding his transformation, flitted around like a goblin. One moment he'd be looking out at the mast, the next he'd be correcting their course.

There were frightening creatures from the deep. Ha, not really. They had magic for that, and Shadow was a Darkness User. That was, aside from Water, the most useful on a ship.

There was no light deep underwater, after all. The sheer mass of shadows was always at the back of her mind, feeding her.

Literally. It was quite disconcerting.

She was also getting better at staying female. She felt giddy, actually giddy, thinking about it. She wasn't sure how she felt about feeling giddy, though.

Shadow found herself meditating often. How she wished to take a Path of Darkness out, and into the mysterious Isles.

Of course she wouldn't. The elves that lived there were very territorial.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

When Fosoghd was bored, she'd go assassinate someone.

She realized that didn't make her a good person, but it was a habit she had picked up from Fos the First.

The man, her target, was in front of her. She was in the capital, next to three other assassins, all glaring at each other.

"He's mine."

"Mine."

"Bye!" one said, disappearing in a gust of wind. Fosoghd stepped out in front of him, teleporting, and swept her blade through his chest cavity. Organs spilled out, and Fosoghd shuddered. Blood she was fine with. But blood wasn't squishy and weirdly shaped. And those colors made her queasy.

The other two assassins broke out fighting, alerting their target. That was bad, their target was a military man.

And they weren't exactly in the capital of Byul.

Names showed how powerful someone was... and also their rank in a war. Magic Kingdom was always prepared for an invasion, ready to organize themselves based on name and power. Generals were typically Masters, sometimes Undeclared Supremes.

Fosoghd felt herself go slack as she fainted, a memory forcing itself over her vision and making her go numb. What was happening?

She found herself breathing in the cold. She couldn't feel any Wind within her, meaning she was Fos the First, not fused with Gust like she was now. Well, she supposed she was Gust fused with Fos, or... it was difficult to tell.

"Fire," she barked, raising a cup. "Drinking contest."

The woman with smoky hair and a ringing laugh smiled brightly. Everyone loved Fire.

Well, except the one who wanted her dead. An ex-lover, if Fos had to guess. There was a gem in Fire's hair, a large ruby. Fos had never seen one so large, but as it had an Undying Flame within it, it was worthless outside of other Fire Users.

She hated the monopoly on Flamed Rubies sometimes. It made getting money from mining so much harder, and half the people she had killed were Fire Users. They were just so common.

Fire took a shot glass and downed it, flipping it upside down and slamming it hard enough against the table to make a clang, but not hard enough to crack it. Fosoghd repeated the motion, swallowing her own shot.

Two shots in, and Fos felt her mind going numb. That wasn't good, was she being summoned? She had to end it quickly.

Instead of downing the third shot, Fos threw it into Fire's face and pulled a blade out of her pocket. Well, she meant to. Instead she pulled out an arrow, cursing her luck. Well, lack thereof.

She had prepared two outfits for the night's assassinations. One had her dagger, for Fire, and the other a bow and an arrow, for the Wind fool who she was attacking next. Except she apparently put on the wrong tunic.

She shoved the arrow into Fire, where the tip broke and left Fos with a rather sharp stick. She slashed at Fire's eyes next, taking her sight. There, threat neutralized. From what little, very little, she knew about Fire Master spells, they all required pinpoint precision, usually relying on sight.

The entire tavern erupted into flames in what was most certainly not a Master spell. Fosoghd felt her clothes burn off, and her skin blister before she froze Time.

She couldn't risk a teleport, not while naked. She checked herself over once, and was dismayed to find a large, bleeding gash on her otherwise pristine stomach. She worked hard to keep toned, but now it was all coming back to bite her as each muscle was exposed to open flame. She moved out of the way, wincing. That hurt. That hurt a lot.

One other man was moving, groaning and trapped under a flaming piece of wood. His clothes, much like everyone else's in the tavern, were burned off. Fosoghd helped move the wood, noting the man was aroused. That was disturbing.

"Out. Now."

"Name's Time," the man said, "le's gitadrink."

Oh Mren, he was drunk. Fosoghd snapped, flames consuming the man as Time resumed. She was smart enough not to stand in a flame.

She screeched an unholy wail of desperation as the fire moved to her, freezing Time again. She removed the Space around her, violently.

When she unfroze Time an abomination stepped out into the world. That... that had never happened. It roared a single word: "Wtherm!"

By Slyf's golden bosom that was horrifying. Chills were sent down her spine, and she ran. Just ran.

Moments later she was ripped from the tavern and found herself in front of a bloody man leaning over a dead wife. Fosoghd removed the Space his head was occupying, causing an explosion that destroyed his body, and his wife's. Though in hind sight, it could have been a daughter or cousin's body. Maybe even a sister. It wasn't like she bothered to even look.

She was gone an instant later, and didn't take any contracts for another two months. "Fire" turned Inferno and joined the Underground, and despite blindness became rather successful.

The world regained color, and her head lost numbness as her eyes fluttered open. She glanced around before shutting her eyes and slowing her breathing to a halt. Why did she have that memory? In all chances it was a premonition-esque memory, informing her that her target was an Undeclared Supreme, otherwise known as a Supreme hiding behind a facade. In this case, hiding behind Master. But Fos had heard cases of Supremes hiding behind names of weakness, only to destroy their employers in fair, open combat.

"Four assassins this time? Ha, Water is getting impatient. Let's see... weak, weak, weak, and... a woman? Who hires a Mren-damned woman?"

Her eyes shot open and she spun, running into her target and tripping him. She hadn't been female long, admittedly, but she had run into her fair share of sexists, developing an intense hatred for them. She prayed she wasn't like that as Gust.

Stone encased her feet as she stood, and she held her hands up in surrender. "Who hired you?" the man, her target asked. She decided to feign innocence, slowly tossing her dagger aside, in full view of the man.

"Don't know. Get contracts from notes. Educated folk only."

"Water then. Scrawled in blood, yes?"

Fos blinked a few times. "Yes, actually."

Her target smiled. "That blood belonged to his slaves. Want to go kill him for me instead? I'll pay triple whatever he does if you act like a new slave."

Fosoghd narrowed her eyes. She was dangerously low on money, but she really didn't like where it was going. "What do you mean-"

"He has a weakness for sex slaves, and-"

Her blue-grey dagger of the multiverse coalesced in her hand and cut the tongue out of the man's head without scratching his jaw. He screamed a wordless scream as the magic beneath Fosoghd disappeared, letting her rush forward and tip his head towards the sky.

She sliced clean through both arms, not cutting them off but destroying the muscles within and paralyzing his hands. She kept his head facing the sky as he began to gurgle.

That pervert wanted her to dress like a sex slave and kill the man? No wonder this Water wanted him dead.

Undeclared Supreme or not, nobody could think to cast magic while choking on their own blood. Even after he stopped thrashing, Fosoghd did not release him. He didn't deserve it.

She teleported over the Unfathomable Deep, not within her realm but close, and dropped him before teleporting back.

But anger clouded her judgement, and she found herself... elsewhere. It was wild, untamed, and a jungle. She hated jungles. Hated them.

The trees were too tall, creatures too big, and the inhabitants too stupid for her tastes.

A low whistle pierced the silence and reached her ears, and she spun around. Nobody was there.

The world went dark.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Vuyn had been waiting for this day. Weeks had passed since he last saw Fosoghd, but now he was waiting, with his army, in front of the mythical city within the clouds.

Thunder City.

An apt name, considering all the lightning.

The city was large, about as large as Byul's capital, and all in the air. The bottom half of the city, where there should be earth was instead a perfect half-sphere made entirely out of lightning, flashing and blinding anyone looking at it. There were impossibly tall buildings with lightning lighting everything, and hundreds of them.

Spies and reports said thousands of inhabitants. No matter. His army was nervous, as was he. If everything didn't work out as planned, they were all doomed to the tyranny of magicians.

"Where is that Brothers-damned girl?" a sweet, lilting, feminine voice mumbled. Vuyn spun around and his jaw dropped.

The woman was not quite as beautiful as Fosoghd, in his eyes, but a close second. Her golden hair sparkled like her just-as-golden eyes, and Vuyn couldn't think of any other words besides "golden" and "beautiful."

A spear of golden energy appeared in her hand, and she sighed. She began leaning on it, closing her eyes. "If that stupid girl isn't here in thirty minutes, I'm beginning without her."

Slyf.

The men all bowed, silent. Vuyn did as well, and Slyf idly looked at them all before rolling her eyes.

"Up, mortals. Bow after the city has fallen. Or I'll smite you."

Apparently Slyf was in a bad mood. Vuyn stumbled trying to get to his feet as fast as possible, as did most of the army.

Byul's strength was always in it's army. Cruup had, historically, the strongest navy, Cruub didn't exist for much of history, and the theocracies had never before gone to war.

There were other Kingdoms throughout history, but they had always been weaker in one aspect or another due to magic. Until Magic Kingdom, that was, which dominated all with it's advanced teachings.

Not for much longer.

There was scarce a cough as the minutes dragged on, with Slyf mumbling to herself the entire time. She was very angry looking, and glared at any who approached.

"My Goddess," Vuyn said, bowing. "Thirty minutes have passed."

Slyf blew a lock of hair out of her eyes and stood, golden energy whipping around and forming a pillar from the Heavens pouring light down onto her. "Mortals! Be good little pets and bow before your Masters, and die screaming."

Chapter 15.5; Smoke

Smoke met the present Fosoghd when they were both beginning University. They had met in an all-purpose magical education class, and sat by each other. Fosoghd, Gust, or whatever he/she wanted to go by, couldn't remember any of it as far as Smoke knew, but Smoke remembered it perfectly.

A nervous boy held the hand of his mother, which made Smoke giggle when he first saw it. A boy still holding his mother's hand? What a loser. Then his mother spoke to the teacher with authority, and he caught the name: "Wind".

He was the son of a Master. There weren't many Masters, but people were saying there were a lot of possible Master children. They could tell because their city started to consume more mana, or something. Smoke didn't really care, but he got up and walked over to the Master's child.

"I'm Spark," the will-be Smoke began. "What's your name?"

"Window," the young boy, who would become the most famous human ever, said.

He lifted a hand and the smallest breeze hit Spark's face. Spark giggled, and let a little flame dance around his fingertips.

Window's mother laughed and flew out of the room, nearly grazing her head on the doorway. There was no gust of wind, as any lower-rank Wind User would have accompanying a travel spell. Spark stared in surprise. "Amazing."

"No it's not, Ma does that a lot," Window said, face scrunched up in concentration.

"Are you alright?" Smoke asked.

Another young boy came up and tackled Window, laughing. "Got you!" he said.

"'Ey git offa me 'fore Ah blow ya inta da wall!"

Spark looked in surprise, hardly able to understand. Window grumbled in a quiet voice, something completely unintelligible. "I'm Dirt," the new boy said, "Earth User!"

Spark stared in surprise. Dirt was not the lowest level name in Earth magic. There was a future magician if Spark had ever seen anyone.

Years later, after the three had become the best of friends, and a few weeks before Vent ran into Rink, Smoke was lounging about his house, Vent studying. "Going for Breeze soon?"

"Yep. I'm close, I can feel it."

Smoke yawned, eating a bit of mana. He was doing actual mathematics and sciences, like a Byullian scholar. He hated magic. It was kind of ironic, but was why he had no desire to go past Specialist rank. He made it that far on pure luck, and the knowledge that it would be a good standing within society to be a Specialist at least. Most doors were open to a Specialist, and all were open to a Master. Doors were shut again to Supremes, but mostly due to fear.

"Good for you."

Smoke had grown to like Vent. In an almost scary way. If Vent were a woman, they'd be married by then. But they weren't, and physical attraction was the only thing keeping Smoke away from Vent. In fact, Smoke had eagerly been checking out single women to distract him from Vent. Smoke liked personality over appearance, and if he kept it up it was going to bite him badly, and he'd lose Vent as a friend.

That woman he was looking for came in the form of a Supreme named Shadow Fire.

He saw her fall, and rushed over, worried beyond belief. Was she Mren-sent to save his soul from falling in love with Gust, who by then had a serious girlfriend?

He hoped so.

The best part, for him, was the way she fell. While her body fell normally, she tripped so that her head was leaning forward, and when she hit the ground her head was sent backwards with additional force towards the ground, and hit it so hard that she easily acquired brain damage.

There wasn't much blood, and she was up quickly, but her eyes were glazed and her method of holding herself was off. She stood differently than she had moments before, and Smoke actually took a good look at her. She was in no way going to date him as a Supreme, but if she couldn't remember anything...

Smoke felt bad playing Shadow Fire like that, but it was mostly for his sake. He'd accept any punishment given to him for what he was doing, but his crush on Gust was getting a bit out of hand.

Especially with Ice around.

So he was desperate for even a facsimile of love, and was willing to mess with a Supreme.

And then Gust died. Smoke was crushed and threw everything he had into pleasing Shadow. Or rather, Fire as she knew herself. He began to get worried when Fire began showing signs of unconditional love towards him, and he started encouraging her trying to regain memories. He wanted to forget about everything in death.

So why wasn't he dead? No, instead he was a woman. A woman due to a mistake on Shadow's part.

And feeling very, very odd. Was he just proposed to? Why was he/she carrying a flamed ruby?

He wouldn't fall for Shadow, Shadow's personality was just slightly too cold for Smoke's tastes. He might, if Shadow allowed, stay for appearances, but that was it. Love would not come.

But Shadow was changing. Was that good or bad? The way they were changing was bad, but the change itself could be good. Maybe... maybe if she ended up more like Gust was before fusing with Fosoghd, then Smoke would love her.

But first she needed to stop being a woman, because she absolutely abhorred it. She knew Shadow did as well, and they both couldn't understand how the modern Fosoghd could stand it, having been born male.

That just made Smoke admire her more. It was a bad combination.

She had to constantly be adjusting her thinking as a woman, not only to ignore unmistakably feminine feelings, but also to focus her thoughts on things that were better for her mentality.

Such as not using female pronouns.

Smoke didn't like Sun, though. Sun was... rather like her. He was obsessed with certain things, and totally ignored a lot of other things, like worldly events and politics.

Hence her confusion at suddenly being thrust into Fosoghd's war.

Oh well, if Mren took her early, she'd be happy. She could spend it with the deceased part of Gust!

Chapter 16

Slyf was waiting. Why was she waiting, exactly? For the blooming Goddess... Fosoghd.

But... she said some disturbing things after taking a different form. She claimed to be Slyf's mother. That... was impossible. That was impossible. Slyf, Mren, and Wtherm were all born to the existent forces of all that was, and nothing more.

But that begged the question: What started those forces? Had Fosoghd, born in two separate places at separate times, really birthed her, and all that was?

She... didn't know. And she felt threatened by Fosoghd in her colorful, Goddess-like form, so she couldn't even tell her brothers or ask advice.

"My Goddess, thirty minutes have passed," one of the mortals said to her. She bit back a seething response and stood as tall as she could. Her rage would destroy this city in an instant.

"Mortals! Be good little pets and bow before your Masters, and die screaming."

She flashed once, golden light bathing the landscape before she appeared in the center of Thunder City, explosions resonating throughout the city, all synchronized with her. Men, women, and children all screamed for their lives as Slyf took out her anger.

Thousands upon thousands of souls entered Mren, who rumbled. "What are you doing, sister?" he asked. Slyf ignored him, and Thunder City flashed golden, falling out of the sky.

The battle, if the massacre Slyf performed could adequately be called that, took less than one minute.

Slyf grimaced at the speck of blood that found itself on her hand, sending it flying with a flick. "Disgusting mortals."

She felt like Wtherm. She didn't like it. She remained still, flying where a city stood mere moments before. A golden star appeared and she went back to the beginnings of her new realm.

She didn't like her new realm, she liked her old one. The one that Fosoghd destroyed in a fit of mortal rage.

What was with Fosoghd? She'd have to try to investigate. The first time ever she felt the need, instead of doing it to avoid boredom.

Where was she now? She sent out her searching energy, letting it radiate from her realm to coat the world mortals lived on. Where was she..? She wasn't on the mainland. A ship?

Oh, the islands. How did she get all the way over there?

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Fosoghd woke up. Odd, she didn't remember going to sleep. A jungle, why was she in a jungle? Jungles weren't... she didn't have any houses in the jungle. Where was she?

Oh well, she'd just teleport away.

She couldn't access her magic. How? Why? What?

She found herself bound and tied to a tree, but her mouth wasn't gagged. Where was she exactly? Some sort of jungle, that's all she could tell.

There was an animalistic snarl behind her, and she turned as best she could. There stood an absolutely massive elf. He was easily thirty feet tall, and his eyes were dilated. Two others ambled into view, and Fosoghd stretched.

The elf roared, and his eyes seemed to try to go into focus, but failed again quickly. His pupils were absolutely massive after his eyes finished... doing whatever they were doing. She couldn't see the whites of his eyes.

Two more giant elves appeared just fast enough to throw spears, and both hit her in the abdomen.

She screeched, and one of the elves knelt down, beginning to lick at her blood. Her vision got blurry as the elf took a stick and shoved it into the open wound, using a tiny bit of magic to light it on fire. Fosoghd couldn't so much as think.

The world shuddered. Fosoghd's eyes shot open, a solid blueish gray. Her body collapsed, her eyes closing. The very fabric of reality began to shake, and Fosoghd's memory cleared completely. "Why, why would I..?" she mumbled.

She seemed to glow, and everything seemed dark around her. Blue-gray explosions radiated throughout the islands, and water rushed in as it was transported from the oceans to right above the islands.

Absolute destruction reigned, and Fosoghd smiled. "Why should I let anyone live?"

The world shuddered as it split in two.

"This war... seems so useless."

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Shadow doubled over, collapsing after a moment. She had just watched the Goddess Slyf destroy an entire city in a minute, and now her vision was flickering. From a quick glance around, everyone seemed to be in the same position.

Smoke forced them all into a travel spell hours before, and they had arrived right before Slyf attacked the city. It was hard, travelling by Smoke, and Shadow couldn't help despite her best efforts. But now her vision was flashing, and she could see... other things.

Her vision flashed, and she glimpsed absolute golden, with Slyf sitting there, concentrating. Another flash, and everything was dark. Demons and souls of unfortunate humans kept screaming. Above it all was a giant... tentacle monster, for lack of a better term.

Once more, and her head hurt as she stared at... something.

Another flash, and she was over the ocean. Fosoghd sat there, and raised a hand, smiling. "Goodbye mortal realm."

Every single mortal body, Shadow's included, fell into the ocean. Thousands upon thousands rapidly drowned, those unable to swim. Shadow reckoned it was a majority of all beings.

Fosoghd looked at them all, unamused. She hummed to herself, turning and ignoring them. "F-Fosoghd!" Smoke gasped.

In an instant Fosoghd had her hand going through Smoke's throat. She raised her hand, and large flashes of pure orange wiped out most other mortals.

There were merely tens of humans left, all others underwater and drowning, eaten by a large creature of the deep, or disintegrated in the orange.

Ice, fittingly on a block of ice, looked panicked. "O-our son. F-fos, our-"

Fosoghd began wiping her hand, Ice's blood covering it. Shadow shuddered and blinked, realizing Ice had been transported directly into her hand, then teleported away, into the water. Ice gurgled, blood spilling out from several large wounds. "Who's left? Nobody!"

Shadow glanced down, staring at a blue-gray arrows jutting from her chest. She was even female, for once. But not for much longer, if the arrows had anything to say about it.

She couldn't tread water anymore, and slowly sunk down into the waiting maw of the giant creature.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

"Did you just kill all mortals? Impressive," Wtherm said. Fosoghd grinned.

"Of course, silly child. That is power. Power, you know, that thing you don't have."

Wtherm rumbled before exploding into a bit of blood, his realm collapsing and crushing the majority of his essence. The remainder was written out of existence.

Fosoghd could control the forces of all that was, and was rewriting it. Wtherm didn't need to be in there...

Neither did Mren. She un-wrote him. Slyf appeared, looking frantic, before disappearing.

Alone.

So nice.

So quiet.

Perfect.

Everything faded to colorless-ness, everything becoming fuzzy before transitioning to shapeless, and Fosoghd smiled.

All alone. It was all she needed.

Chapter 17

No. Nope. NOPE.

Fosoghd was so very bored. She was the only being left, rather like when she went to the Time Before. Though, Time and Space stopped existing when she un-wrote it.

Right, that was why she made mortals. Well, not really, making mortals and her children the Gods were both instinctive, but now she could see why they existed. So it was "time" to undo what she... undid.

She forced herself back through the flow of Unnamed power that constituted all that was, and constituted her third ability, Time and Space being the first two. It was an interesting experience, and a good experiment on the limits of her power, but she felt as though it was... lacking, somehow. As if that wasn't quite the time for mortal-kind to end.

As the gods were reborn, she could feel Wtherm's unwarranted animosity towards her. Huh, that was odd. Very odd. Why were they so angry?

Well, they didn't even know they had a mother, and certainly didn't know she was their mother, so there was that. But something felt a bit off as she continued, as if she weren't quite doing it right.

She put the thought out of her mind as she materialized in the world, smiling. She was in her house again, and her wife was next to her.

"So lovely to see you again, my love," Ice said, smiling. "Let us depart."

That was odd. Ice's voice was... warmer. Why was it so warm? It was like she was... adoring, worshipping her, rather than being in love with her. Nonetheless, Fosoghd followed.

She stared in shock. She was on the top of a hill, the entirety of it covered in thin gold, more for show than anything. The gold was encrusted with gems periodically, and lights were all over the place.

Oddly, there was no fire within the lights. "What?"

"Your people are ready to take the elvish capital."

"What?"

Ice smiled, though Fosoghd could tell it was strained. "Remember, honey? We take the war to the elves and their false gods."

A light shot up into the air, like magic but not quite, and flashed twice. Hundreds upon hundreds of men roared their approval, and Ice forced Fosoghd onto a horse.

What was going on? This was not right. Not right at all.

"Lady Ieon, your metal horse is ready."

Ice nodded once. "Good, gather the men."

A horse, made entirely out of metal, trotted into sight. Fosoghd's eyes widened, and Ice... or rather, Ieon, slapped Fos' horse, sending her towards the forest. What appeared to be the last one, too. There should have been many more trees, and forests all around them.

Suddenly, the horse was dead. That wasn't quite true, as it was gurgling it's last, but that was how it felt to Fosoghd. She sensed magic, and smiled. Finally, she was in her element.

The elf casting in front of her died as... something ripped at it. It was a monster unlike any she had seen, and moved too fast to get a good look at. "What..?"

There were screams of terror and pain, and howls of joy. Fos spared a glance backwards, seeing a few more monsters, and nearing on a hundred men with short swords running towards her.

She fought like she always would for a few minutes, letting herself relax. It was her, her sword, and dodging magic. For once, she was glad Fosoghd was an assassin, as her reflexes were greatly improved from what they were as Gust.

Fire erupted all around, and Fosoghd glanced to her right. A man stood there with.... something, something that spewed fire like a magician, but it wasn't. It was metal.

"ENOUGH!" Fosoghd yelled. Nobody listened.

"Enough," she whispered, letting her Sound magic burst forth and shatter everyone's eardrums. "What is going on here?"

Both sides of the war stopped, and looked. "Magician," one elf barked, followed by the elvish word for "kill".

Mren, that was bad.

A gust of wind deflected a rock, sending it into the elves. A golden light sprayed down from the sky, and Slyf herself stepped out. Except it wasn't quite Slyf.

She looked elvish. That... was wrong.

"A human? With magic? That is not how this should work."

"Be damned, Slyf!"

Fosoghd was getting angry. Everything was wrong. She let Slyf's power flow through her, and the golden star appeared behind her as she copied Slyf's fighting as well as she could. Which, admittedly, was bad.

Moments later, there was a spear in her leg, but Slyf looked unnerved. "How?"

"Ever hear of Space and Time magic?"

Fosoghd grinned, tearing a hole in Space and routing it behind her. She swung her imitation of Slyf's spear into the spot the hole was at, slicing Slyf. It was an overly complicated move, but required far less energy than removing the Space Slyf occupied.

However, she did end up removing the Space she herself occupied, right as Slyf swung her own spear, which went through where she was, the Space that no longer existed.

"Missed," she mocked.

Wtherm stabbed her from behind.

What?

When did..?

The world rumbled. "All this is wrong. How dare you touch me."

Sound Supreme spells were rather difficult to describe. It wasn't simply louder, but the sound waves were more... powerful. They couldn't be stopped as normal sound could, but rather shattered everything and continued.

Fosoghd used one, cutting down the forest. Fire spewed everywhere as the metal contraptions made it so, twenty of them torching the elves. Fosoghd ripped the Space out of their hands and caused miniature explosions, killing the men.

"I'm still trying to salvage this. Do not make me regret it."

Mren appeared as a mortal, and Fosoghd rolled her eyes. "I'm regretting it. Now it's your turn."

She ripped everything that was away from where they were, killing everyone but herself in the process, gods included.

Then things got... weird. It was indescribable, but the closest she could get was that she lost control, and things started... progressing.

She was flitting through history, not as she knew it, but rather her personal history. Gust and Fosoghd's.

Her mind exploded in pain as she came face-to-face with herself, and her magic turned off.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

That was an odd dream, Ice thought to herself as she sat up. She had dreamt that Fosoghd had brutally killed her, everyone they knew, even the gods. But that would never happen.

Except they were all floating in her realm, and Fosoghd was unconscious. That was... not good. Not a good sign at all. She swam over, apparently through Time, and felt some odd feelings.

She felt herself regressing in age, and progressing through her elder years, but never dying. She found herself at the age she remembered best, as a young adult. She should have been that age, she believed.

Hopefully.

She cupped Fosoghd's face and checked her breathing. She wasn't breathing, nor did she have a pulse. However, that didn't deter her, because Fosoghd felt...

Not like a human. Not like any creature or texture she had ever felt. She was subtly glowing, and as Ice opened Fos' eyelids, she realized that Fos must have been a goddess.

Her own personal realm where she had total control, a form unlike that of mortals, and her eyes were a completely new color never seen. Ice could only stare.

Fosoghd's eyes were completely unfocused, but Ice focused on neodes. To put it as simply as possible, Fosoghd was one giant, extremely complicated neode unlike any she had seen. Well, that was a lie, she sort of felt like Slyf's when Slyf was using her power to a large extent. Ice had only seen it once or twice.

The world started to materialize around her, and Ice stared in amazement. They were in their bedroom, and their child was sleeping between them. Ice collapsed back into bed and smiled, falling asleep.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Shadow had the most odd dream she had ever had. She wasn't surprised though, upon waking on the battlefield. War did that to her. Or at least, mass murder did. "Did we just see Slyf kill everyone?" Shadow asked aloud, everyone else still waking and beginning to move. "Apologies. Our great mother Slyf."

One man nodded dumbly, clutching his chest. "I-I was just bleeding here. I swear."

"I-I drowned."

"I... eaten?"

"But... Goddess Fosoghd."

Did... did they all have the same dream? Was it a dream? Did they all die?

What happened?

No use worrying about that which she couldn't change. Even if she found Fosoghd, if it was true and she was a Goddess, Mother of the Gods in fact, there was nothing she could do.

Besides, she had a Shadow User to find. Right? Her memory was getting fuzzy, and it was annoying her.

"I feel like sleeping again," Shadow said. "King of Byul, we need to talk. I'm a..." she began, a yawn cutting her off. "Supreme defector."

She passed out.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Wtherm was raging, Mren could feel it. Mren floated about the non-space, thinking. He distinctly remembered being destroyed without realizing how.

Wtherm, meanwhile, remembered exactly what happened. As did Slyf.

Mren, however, could only piece together parts until they all got together. "I'm sorry for not telling you both earlier, but she -- Mother -- can be quite frightening, even to us."

"I'm going to kill her."

"Silence Wtherm," Mren rumbled, "I shall be the one to do that."

Wtherm, who initially looked downtrodden, perked up. How a mass of tentacles could look downtrodden or perky was mildly amusing to Mren.

"You can't be serious!" Slyf exclaimed. "There's no way you could even harm her!"

"Are you siding with her?" Wtherm demanded, glaring.

Slyf nodded once. "Then I believe we're done here."

Slyf disappeared, and Wtherm grinned. "How shall we do this Brother?"

"Send assassins after both the boy Gust Sound as an infant, and Fosoghd as an infant. I will transport them through Time if you require it."

"This alliance will work out very nicely. It shall be done."

Wtherm disappeared, and Mren began to think. It would obviously fail, otherwise they would not have been born. No, they needed to take down the latest form of Fosoghd the Goddess. But when would it be..?

The Time Slyf roamed? Later? Earlier? Elsewhere, like Wtherm existed in?

Or...

No.

No no no.

No no no no no no no.

Anything but then.

Despite knowing it was useless, Mren prayed what he assumed was true would not be.

Chapter 17.5; Pirates

The most infamous pirate of all time was also the first well-known pirate. He wasn't the first pirate, not by a longshot, but due to an elvish curse he was very well known.

The Pirate, simply known as Pirate for his infamy, terrorized the coasts of the ancient Elvish country of Uyytuy. After two straight years of being nearly incapable of trade, Uyytuy sent out a battalion of ships to take down Pirate.

What mystified the elves was the absolute lack of magic Pirate used. It wasn't just that Pirate didn't use magic, it was the fact that they couldn't use magic either. What perversions had Pirate done to accomplish that?

The lead elf, with a name unpronounceable to humankind, sailed directly towards Pirate. Pirate's ship was well-known: it sailed without a flag, and indeed did not even have masts. The elf barked in elvish towards his sailors, and they increased the pace.

They had the advantage of numbers, but that had never mattered before. Though, they never had their drastic measures before this.

If the lead elf died, a curse from the gods would spring upon Pirate.

They were surpassed, as tactics dictated, by two other ships. All the elves onboard were rowing with all their strength, and a pickup ship was lagging slightly behind, readying for when they jumped off.

They arrived close to Pirate when their ships all simultaneously caught on fire, and hundreds of elves jumped into the waiting grasp of the pickup ship's nets.

None of them managed to hit Pirate, and the lead elf with the unpronounceable name slammed his fist into the wheel. In elvish, he commanded them to board the ship.

He went first, and when he did... he found an empty ship. What?

He went below deck and found exactly twenty humans surrounding a table, drinking. Pirate was at the head, who grinned. He didn't speak, as Pirate never spoke, but instead raised his short sword and laughed.

He threw the sword into a wall, and a rope broke. The elf hurriedly looked up, but not in enough time to avoid the spears.

Moments later, the elf was dead, and Pirate shuddered as a golden energy enveloped him, and the rest of the crew.

From their ships, the elves looked on at Pirate's ship. They bowed as it glowed golden, and boarded as it stopped. They went to check it out, smiling.

They were all slaughtered by an angry-looking woman with a short sword.

The next time Pirate's ship docked, and it was months before then, only one passenger got off, a woman who refused to speak. She was dressed for war, and blood adorned her fair skin. When asked who's blood it was, she simply pointed to the ship.

Upon searching, they found the horde of dead elves in the lowermost level, and they shuddered. Everyone had already celebrated Pirate's death, as there was no way Pirate would escape the Gods' curse. And he didn't. Pirate, the woman, burned down the town alone.

Fearful stories of Pirate spread far and fast, as Pirate had graduated from the sea, and was now ruling the bandits of the land. The name "Pirate" whispered in any language was forbidden. The land itself would shudder upon hearing it.

One day, the silent Pirate met a smiling woman. Her hair was bundled behind her, and Pirate couldn't get a good look at it, but her eyes seemed to change colors. Incredible. When she spoke, it made no sense. The sounds were familiar, unlike some elvish sounds, but the words were not. The woman smiled even wider, disappearing.

How? Pirate would let no magic work around her. And how she hated being a her, though that didn’t matter much most of the time. The only explanation she could find was that the woman was a priest, which begged the question of why Pirate wasn't dead.

She tried putting it out of her mind, but she saw the woman several more times over the next few months, in various states. One time she was coldly killing a man close to Pirate, the next she was happily chatting to herself, the only one who could understand.

And she stood in front of Pirate once more, onboard Pirate's ship. She had just attacked all that moved on her ship, except for Pirate herself. It was at times like this that Pirate wished she could speak, but she was born unable to.

It was also the first time in years that Pirate had returned to her ship and sailed, and she already regretted it. She grabbed a dagger off one of her men and angrily sliced into the wall some runes, and the woman smiled. She grabbed another, went to her own section of the wall, and wrote in the same language.

My name is Fosoghd, from the future. High Priestess of Slyf, and Prophet.

Pirate then had a long, fulfilling discussion until they ran out of space. Fosoghd tried to speak their language, but was unable to. She couldn't produce the words despite her best efforts. When they docked, they were friends.

Pirate was friends with a High Priestess assassin from the future. It was an odd thought.

Unfortunately, it was another twenty years before Fosoghd showed up again, and when she did, she was sad.

Today is the day you die, Fosoghd wrote. I'm here to see you off. I know what the afterlife is like, and I won't let you go there.

Pirate was taken aback, but Fosoghd opened a hand. Join me? she asked, smiling. Her eyes changed colors to a blue-gray as Pirate took her hand.

Pirate found herself on her ship in the middle of the oceans. In fact, it was a spot she avoided her entire life, the Unfathomable Deep.

"Ah, feels so good to be back."

Pirate looked up, confused. Fosoghd smiled. "I'm a Goddess. Well, mother of the Gods to be accurate. You're in my realm, my word is law, and all understand it. I can speak whatever language I want, and you'd understand! Isn't it fun?"

Pirate stared in shock, with newfound fear. "Don't be afraid. I'm very biased. I know what Mren did during your time, he simply erased your souls of all memories and replanted them elsewhere. I put a stop to that, but it wasn't for another seven ages. Speaking of, I need to get back. I'll find some more interesting people for you to be friends with! Until then, enjoy your time with Cutie."

Fosoghd disappeared in a flash of blue-gray, and Pirate glanced over the edge of her ship to see... something swimming incredibly fast straight up at her.

Well, at least her afterlife wasn't being completely erased and rebirthed.

Chapter 18

Shadow woke up on the battlefield. While no battle had taken place there, the crashed city a short distance ahead made it feel like a battlefield.

She grabbed her head and groaned, glancing at the sky. It was cloudless, and she could see the night sky. She didn't take the time to admire it, though.

She was, again, the first up. She started walking carelessly, and quickly fell. She got up once more, and walked over to the King of Byul.

"Hey, you, mortal. Fosoghd wants no magic, right?"

"Huh?" Shadow asked, spinning to see Slyf. She bowed. "I don't know, milady. I'm here for personal reasons, not to fight."

"Useless. Then I have to wait for the king."

"Check her home," Shadow suggested. "She may be there. Ask her yourself?" she asked in a pleading tone.

"Useless."

Slyf disappeared in a flash. Shadow exhaled, relieved. She was not in a great mood after being killed, if that was honestly what happened. She wanted everything to be done, and Slyf's appearance did not help matters.

So why was she waiting for the King? She walked over to Smoke and Sun, then used a Path of Darkness on both of them.

The Darkness wrapped around them, and Sun thrashed a bit before calming. He was already unconscious, so that was good, as it would be less painful that way, and possibly not even lethal.

The Darkness was comforting, it was nice. Shadow always liked the Paths because she felt invincible. She let go of the Shadows seemingly moments later, in the Underground.

"I come as an emissary from... Byul, I suppose," Shadow said, yawning. "Thunder City was just destroyed by our Holy Mother Slyf."

The Underground was silent, except for the metallic noise that was weapons being sheathed. "I'm here for an advanced Shadow."

One person, recognized as a mystic named Shadow, stood up and glared. "Why?"

"Removal of this damned curse."

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Fosoghd had odd dreams. She couldn't remember them as she woke up, but only remembered a sickening sense of failure and futility.

She was the mother of the gods. She...

She didn't deserve to be with mortals. All she would do was cause pain and stress and mortals would try to use her for their own gains. She kissed her wife before disappearing to her realm, focusing on it.

She wanted to check something, so she glimpsed at the future. One of the possibilities, at least. Death, fire, destruction on an unimaginable scale, but not by magic.

Another, everyone looked like Wtherm.

Another, and this time it was the "correct" one, the one where she lived with Ice, and magic was outlawed. That didn't quite sit right with her, but it was the most... fair way, she supposed. The loss of magic was worth it for the value of life to increase. Human, even Elvish lives would matter more.

The cost was too great, though. She wouldn't get to live long with her wife if she did. She'd enjoy whatever time she had and move on, though. She was a Goddess after all. No, greater than that.

So why did it feel so wrong?

It was never too late for her to turn back, go back in time and try it all again... but she couldn't bring herself to. She laid back and sighed. It was her fault, all the deaths that were to come...

Her mortal body had maybe a year to go before it died. It couldn't contain her awakened power any longer than that, and a year was pushing it. Her wife would likely die shortly after from the shock of the broken bond, and Fosoghd would leave the mortal realm, only popping in occasionally.

It was wrong, it felt wrong, all of it was wrong.

She felt Slyf approach, but paid her no mind. She was stressed, like before an exam. It was just so... so...

She growled and flicked her wrist, and thousands upon thousands died. Why not finish the revolution against magic herself? Her blue-gray energy wiped out half the kingdom in her fit of anger, and Slyf looked unsettled.

"Maybe I should damn it all and start again," she mumbled.

Slyf stepped towards her, falling into the depths of the ocean that constituted her realm. Fosoghd paid her no mind.

"No, I can't... not quite... why is this so difficult? Why is being a Goddess so hard?"

"Wtherm wishes to kill you, Mother," Slyf gasped, Cutie rising from the depths of Fos' realm to let Slyf breathe.

"I'm aware, I'm aware."

"And Mren."

"I'm aware, child. I know everything."

It hurt her head, knowing everything. Months prior even glimpsing the gods caused headaches, but now a headache was just... knowing everything that ever was, will be, could be...

All of it. Just all of it.

"But..."

"Shhhh. I'm thinking on how to end this war."

"Allow me, I shall-"

"Quiet, child. You may be my only daughter, but that does not give you sway on all my decisions. I want the kingdom intact... more intact than I left it."

Fosoghd cursed herself and sighed. "I'm going back down again. Watch Wtherm and Mren, if they attempt to kill me... well it won't matter."

She could faintly feel it. The edge of her power extended through both the End Times and the Pre-Times. She couldn't be killed once she awakened. In the "current" timeline, at the least.

She appeared in front of Vuyn just in time to see Shadow disappear. "Good for her, going to get that curse fixed. I bet I could do it now though... oh well. I wouldn't know how to in my mortal form."

Her memories were once again just beyond her grasp, and most of her knowledge was as well. Everything wasn't currently being shown to her, as no mortal mind could handle it, even if a Goddess was actually the one in control.

"Vuyn, Vuyn, Vuyn..." she chided. "I just ended your war. Let me retrieve King for you," she said, disappearing and reappearing with King. "Now let's stop this war before I accidentally destroy more of this realm."

"What do you mean?"

"Half of Magic Kingdom is... I'd like to say 'in flames' but my energy does not do that. No, rather there is no longer a trace any of it was there, except maybe some awkward scarring."

King shuddered and shook Vuyn's hand. The other Kings all sat up, and Fosoghd sat down in her favorite realm-chair. She had woken them and brought them all there for peace purposes, yet it all felt... wrong.

The pressure the chair was exerting on everyone was palpable, as they all sat in a semi-circle around her. "I'm done fighting. I'm done watching you fight. I can't tell you the future right now, but this was the best course of action," Fosoghd said. All the Kings were kneeling before her, and she sighed.

"I won't even be alive much longer. I'll die soon, and then command my realm. Any interference as my Godly form would destroy all I approached. So let's get this out of the way."

"Terms of surrender," Vuyn began, smiling and standing. "Kill all magic users-"

"Aaand stop. I'm here to avoid killing all humans, elves, and talented goblins."

Fosoghd stood and summoned her sword, smacking Vuyn on the back with it. "You can all use magic. Vuyn, you're a Wind User like myself. Well, like Gust. I'm... not him, not anymore. No, killing all magic users is inefficient. Ban the use of magic, ban the training, and ban everything else. Don't touch the elves, you'll live longer. There will, of course, be those who don't listen, but what fun would it be otherwise?"

"Uh... what Our Goddess said. Thank you Goddess Fosoghd," Vuyn stammered. Fosoghd sat back down. Vuyn shook himself and stood tall, taking a deep breath. "Magic Kingdom will be divided equally between our five nations. You may be a Lord of my Kingdom for this surrender-"

"Oh, forgot to mention, I destroyed part of the western-most theocracy too."

One of the theocratic Kings cringed as the other teared up. "I don't need to be accurate," Fos said defensively.

"Do you accept the terms?" Vuyn asked, tired of interruptions and simply getting to the point.

"I do."

"You have one month to spread the word. Have everyone change their names, too. Different names. Like ours."

Fosoghd smiled and stood, her chair disappearing and a pressure easing away. "I shall go prepare for... something of my own. Goodbye Kings."

She left them negotiating to do a little bit of training in her own realm. She had to figure out which type of sword she preferred for the coming battle.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Shadow and Smoke sat side-by-side with a hand on their heads, Darkness wrapping around them. Smoke was screaming as it went through his eyes, while Shadow was calm. It was painful, yes, but something in her head was even more painful. It wasn't something physical, but more akin to mana depletion. To be exact, it felt like she was being ripped apart from the inside by razor wire.

"Cursed by a Ruler of Shadow, huh? What did you do? Oh, right, he probably recognized you as one of us."

Shadow the Mystic, the one with a hand on her head, was annotating what he was doing. Everyone, with apparently nothing better to do, was watching. "And an innocent victim with a partial curse. I can get rid of that easily, but yours must be dealt with fast. It feasts on your happiness and replaces it with insatiable rage."

Nobody blinked an eye at that. In fact, Shadow swore she heard one of them mumble "she's probably had that all her life, then."

She didn't like the Underground. Nobody liked her either.

"I can't do this painlessly, and this will hurt. A lot. And you might not be able to use your left hand again."

"Wait, what?"

A sharp pain pierced her eye as blood shot out, tinged an inky black, and she screamed. Her form remade itself to it's usual female composition, but her left arm hung limp and her right eye had no sight. Smoke reversed painlessly.

Shadow glared at Smoke with contempt. Her hair was covering half of her vision, now that she was half-blind, and she groaned. Everything hurt so much, now.

Sun grabbed both of them and launched them out with a blast of Light.

The world was... it was...

Gods above.

A bluish-gray streak was all there was between them and the capital. That was not right in the least. They stared, as did the ones chasing them. "What... what happened?"

"Shadow, this may not be the best time, but here's your ruby."

Shadow took it to distract from the horrendous sight in front of her. How many thousands died? There were entire cities between them and the capital. Were they all... just gone?

A messenger rode past, proclaiming the end of magic. The King had surrendered.

The Supremes were all shaken, and Shadow put the ruby in her hair, it's flame extending and causing her hair to flicker like fire. She rather liked the effect. "So... wanna get married? If this means what I think it means, it would be best for you not to be known as a Supreme..."

"And what do you think this means?" Shadow asked, harshly.

"Magic Kingdom lost. No more magic."

"Oh."

Shadow... hadn't considered that. If that was true... "Only if it's true. And if anything happens I'm going to strangle you in your sleep. And also I'll leave you for someone better if I find one."

"Done."

Shadow sighed. "Hey, Sun... wait, no, nevermind."

"Marry me? Of course I will!"

"Let's hurry to a church of Mren," Shadow mumbled to Smoke. "And we'll probably need name changes."

"Why? I like your name, Sombra."

"What did you call me?"

"Sombra. It's your name. I'll be Suyil."

"Strangled. In your sleep."

Smoke... Suyil grinned.

Epilogue

Fosoghd took a deep breath and exhaled, gripping her sword. It was time.

"It is time for your demise, Child of Darkness!" she screamed, ripping a hole through Space and arriving outside Mren. Mren moved and Fosoghd felt her thoughts slow as an extreme pressure hit her.

"No mortal can harm me."

"Your... sister... begs... to differ!" And mortal? Was Mren intentionally acting stupid?

Fos gathered her strength and swung, shifting Time and Space, to no effect. The sword passed through Mren harmlessly, who chuckled. "I am infinity. You cannot harm me."

Fos felt her spine snap into pieces and collapsed, screaming. Her mind was being attacked, and overwhelmed from the divinity Mren carried. Fos couldn't think, couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't-

Did she need to? She was a god. No, she was greater than that. She had been to the Time Before. She had witnessed her own birth. Both of them. She birthed Mren. Well, she assumed so, she was asleep during whatever happened. She was the Mother of All.

Nonetheless, she was Queen. She was existence. She was also that which did not exist. Infinity was a mere part of her.

Her mind accepted the infinity, and began dragging it out of Mren by force. A scream emanated throughout the realms, and Fos grinned. "You stand no chance, Child."

She sucked in light as a pale glow began to surround her. She was devouring the light she wasn't actively creating, consuming it and all that came with it, Mren included. "You will not survive this, Mren."

"I created you! You would still be a young boy without me!"

"And I travelled to The Before Time, and 'twas I who birthed you. Search your deepest memories and know it to be true. You can't kill me Mren. I'm your mother." He knew this, but why was he fighting and struggling? Was he in denial?

Mren let out a scream and sent another crushing attack towards Fosoghd, snapping her limbs and nearly crushing her skull. She howled in pain before abandoning her body.

"I'm sorry, Ice. I won't be able to see you again," she mumbled, knowing it would echo throughout all that was. "Mren is going to die here today, and my mortal form will not survive. When it comes time for you to expire, I shall embrace you once more."

Fos glared at Mren, who shuddered. He was infinite, true. He was powerful, true. He was her child, true.

But she was all that existed. She couldn't die. If she died, everything would disappear, and nothing would be left. No, not even nothing. Less than nothing.

Mren was unknowingly trying to end all that was. She couldn't allow that. She wouldn't allow that.

She began to float, and spread her arms and legs wide. Her clothing disappeared as she grasped all of Mren at once with the Force of Existence, shoving Time around them. She would take him to the End Times.

"Let us discover how it all ends, together."

Mren screeched and thrashed about, but the Force of Existence held fast. Fos didn't so much as blink as everything happened.

She glanced into the mortal realm. Magic flew, wars happened, what was the Magic Kingdom prospered... and died. Overthrown by a technologically advanced Byul. The rebellion was finally, totally over. But at the cost of all other life, it seemed. Apparently some Supremes hadn't liked the magic ban and made their own country for a while there.

Something poisonous had begun to spread, and covered the globe. Even Cutie was having a hard time with it, despite being an anomaly. Fosoghd got the feeling she would be affected if she ever returned.

Ice was in Fosoghd's realm, with Fosoghd herself. She caught her own eye and smiled, waving. So, she'd live. If it wasn't currently in her memory, what the Fosoghd of that time was doing, then it had not occurred yet. Whatever was to happen at the End Time, Fosoghd would return.

Mren may not.

The screeching had not stopped as Mren continued expending all of his energy. He was shrinking, attempting to escape, but it was not possible. Fosoghd could feel it all.

The mortal realm was poisoned, and everything began to die. It was horrible. They all died painfully, and joined Fosoghd's realm. Is that where everything would end up? A realm exactly like the mortal realm, albeit running on Fosoghd's whims. It certainly seemed so. There did not appear to be a Mren to go to.

Fosoghd stopped. There were possibly millions of souls within Mren, and he was the only one to create more. Would she truly kill him, and those processes for her own good?

Obviously she already had, as the mortal realm suggested. It would not live much longer anyways.

She continued, nearing the End Time at a faster pace.

And then she arrived.

She could feel it. She and Mren were the only occupants. There was a blip of something indescribable off in the distance, and Fosoghd cocked her head. Everything was tinted a redish-orange, except the blip in existence. That was an anomaly.

She looked closer, and was surprised to discover none other than herself, who waved and smiled. "Welcome back! Or welcome, I suppose. I'm the one returning, after all."

Fosoghd cocked her head and the other Fosoghd smiled. "I did not travel here," the other Fosoghd said, smiling. "I merely watched as the rest of existence destroyed itself from within. Think carefully about what you are about to do. Killing Mren sets this all in motion. Wtherm will die soon if you do, and Slyf won't live on much longer. Without the gods, humans drive the other races extinct, and war destroys them too. Are you willing to take responsibility for all that?"

"I am."

Mren shuddered and began to disintegrate, and Fosoghd felt a shiver. "This realm is death to all but us, Young One. As is the Time Before. You could easily argue that this is our true realm. We reign supreme, as we are the only ones here. And the only ones that ever will."

Mren finished disintegrating fast, and Fosoghd sighed. A deep sadness welled up within her, and she turned. "Then restart it. As we did in the past, repeat. But be there to guide more gently. Create a new world, a new Existence-"

"-An Existence where our interference cannot harm it," the other Fosoghd finished. "And I shall, but you cannot be here to witness, as I cannot go back to watch you start the first. I don't know how many times we shall restart Existence, but it must end at some point. We will eventually tire of ourselves, and when we do..."

"Less than nothing. I am willing to embrace it as well, when the time is right."

"When the time is right. Return to your wife, while she lives. I miss her, enjoy your time with her for me. And watch over your- our son. He's quite interesting," the other Fosoghd said, winking.

"Of course he is. He's the son of a goddess."

"The Goddess."

Fosoghd smiled at herself and looked out into the distance. "It will look lovely. I'll return now. Maybe this time we should restrict magic. See if that helps."

"It was not magic that ended all life."

"It was. It was magic to take me here with Mren. Just because humans couldn't stand it, doesn't mean it wasn't magic to originally set it in motion."

Fosoghd smiled. "You don't understand yet. You will. In time." She giggled at her own joke, smiling. "Goodbye, Fosoghd."

"Goodbye, Fosoghd."

And then Fosoghd disappeared, reappearing next to her shuddering wife. It was good that her mortal form hadn't quite expired, apparently she didn't have a perfect grasp of how her power affected it, yet. But it was still healing from the fight with Mren. Externally she was fine, but internally she was not. "Something changed."

"Mren is gone."

Ice huddled next to her wife, Vuyn looking on idly. "No more magic? Ever?"

Fosoghd kissed her cheek. "For you. I saw myself a moment ago. I'm going to end up using magic again, but... that is eons from now."

Ice... Ieon shook her head and smiled. "Nobody is stopping you from using your magic now, my dearest wife."

Fosoghd smiled and giggled to herself. "I am. I know what my magic would do..."

A vision passed in front of her. An empty realm, reddish tint, coming early. Blood covering her, and a spark of energy expanding...

Not yet. It would be a long while before that. She would enjoy all that existed until her creation needed to be slaughtered for it's own good.