#ka'seem

“Hey…time to go…” Nerissa walked over and looked at me curiously. “What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing important…” I looked down and made a fist, feeling my energy coming back to me quickly. I never thought that I would be powerless like that. These weapons were a deadly foe. “Have your powers come back quicker?”

“Yeah actually…I feel pretty good right now.” To show her meaning, she drew the water out of the various plants and formed daggers made of water. Turning towards a tree…she sliced it and several others cleanly in half. “See? Not my best work, but still good enough.”

“Hmm yes…” I flexed my fingers and smirked at the electricity that flowed over them. I had to be almost at sixty-five percent right now. That would be enough to get us the rest of the way home. “I only worry about this Morlo…”

“Yeah…you would think that he would have shown up by now…” She scratched her head as we walked over to the ship. “He sends us all of these lackeys to face, but the big man himself just doesn't show up.”

“If he’s smart, he’ll stay away as long as he can. After the stunt that he pulled, he should stay in hiding for the rest of his life.”

“Heh…I want to get my hands on him before you do big guy…”

“Trust me little one…you won’t want to see what I do to him.” I smirked down at her as the woman finished healing Altair. It seemed that his captors took some turns roughing him up. He seemed better than he was when we first found him, but that was probably because the woman was babying him so damn much. 

“Hey cyclops! Hurry up, you old fart!” Nerissa snickered as a vein formed on my forehead and the child was lucky the woman was standing next to him and glaring at me. I picked up the pace as he chuckled behind her. “Surprised you could move that fast…”

“Listen you little fuc-” The smurf stepped into my view and I glared right back at her, but seeing the former hole in her clothes made me brush past her. She should have been more careful and not so damn reckless because of this kid. He was a walking red flag even more than Nerissa was at the time of her birth. There was always something about a star child that made the Darkness more jumpy than ever. Glanching at Nerissa, I could see why they wanted Altair so bad. Her untapped potential and power was staggering at times, and losing her was devastating to the Darkness. I could see the need to not want to fail again.

The other star children were safely hidden and protected by some of my best soldiers and Regan and Tove go on a rotation to guard them every few centuries. The Darkness was incredibly bitter about the whole thing, and I was quite smug about it. Although, being cocky about it was never in my mind for long, there was no telling what could happen when it concerned them. 

“Get on the damn ship brat…” I frowned at him over the woman’s shoulder and he laughed and strutted in with her close behind him. The others soon followed and it was finally time to head back to the temple. The woman was eager to pick up the rest of the children, but we had to secure Altair first. She thankfully didn’t fight it, but she also gave me a nasty look too. I let her have it though, she wouldn’t get the nice version of myself for long…just…just until I was sure that she was fully recovered. Callum gave me a look so that definitely meant that I had to let it go.

“Hehe…” That giggle meant that Ka’seem was once again flirting with Masami’s sister. After everything that happened and what he saw Masami do. I was surprised that he thought it was a good idea to keep pursuing that. Speaking of regrets, he was facing them now as Masami stomped over and grabbed him by the back of his throat. He let out the most unmanly squeak from his mouth as she dragged him away. Her sister was a pretty little thing, so I could see why he would attempt such a thing.

Nerissa started up the ship and Celica made her rounds to check up on everyone and I took the chance to sit back on a chair and close my eye and rest. The journey back would be enough for me to get an adequate amount of sleep.  The sounds of everyone's quiet chatter lulled me into an easy enough sleep. My mind did what it always did when it was at rest…think about her. I wondered if she was alright and healing after her fight. Or perhaps she was still fighting against them. 

Perhaps I should take Lady Serafina’s advice and check on Kay. No…I was just being sentimental right now because of Cel-

“Ow…” I opened my eye when I felt someone stand over me. I glanced out to see that she had reached her hand out to touch my shoulder. The grip I had on her wrist was turning it red. She didn’t seem fazed by it though. 

“Mmm…sorry…” I released her and she sighed before placing her hand on her hip. She looked well enough…the color was back on her face, and her eyes sparkled with intrigue. She had found some fresh clothes to wear, but I could still see the bandages that wrapped across her waist peeking under the small shirt. It is always painfully ironic that a goddess of health could heal so slowly. It was leagues better than most and was still fast, but serious injuries took her at most a week or two. 

Not that she ever got this hurt often. 

“I just want to make sure that any injuries you have are healing properly.” 

“My powers have been coming back quick enough.” I leaned back further in the chair to stare out the window. “You don’t need to waste your healing abilities on me.” 

“....” She sighed and I closed my eye again, figuring that she had walked away. “I’m alright…”

I released a breath through my nose at her tone. So small…so quiet…vulnerable. I opened my eye once more to see her standing over me with a frown. “Listen…you need to rest…stop worrying about everyone else and-”

“I’m fine-”

“You almost died Celica!” I hissed through my teeth at her, quiet enough that I didn’t disturb everyone else, but just enough frustration for her to know I was pissed off about it. She looked surprised at my tone as I sat up and rubbed a hand down my face. She had to be the most infuriating woman I had ever met! I’ve been around a long time and she was still the worst person to be around. 

“Nim…I had to keep him safe and I did that…I won’t apologize for that…”

“You’re a selfish one, you know that?” My fist tightened on the arm of the chair. Her care for children was commendable, but she made such a foolish mistake that almost cost her her life, and she felt nothing for it. “Have you thought about how everyone else would have felt with you being gone?! How would the rest of us would deal with that? Hell…do you think that is a conversation I want to have with your father?”

“I can’t help that I want to keep him safe! It’s my job! He is just a little boy who has his whole life ahead of him! I will not let the Darkness take his childhood away from him when he has already lost so much of his innocence! You can’t be mad at me! Not for this!”

“Goddamn it woman! You-”

She huffed out a breath before she grabbed my hand and squeezed it…tight. Tight enough that I could feel that her strength was definitely back, but not enough to break it. She didn’t stop there before she placed my hand against her chest. I furrowed my brow at the action and was about to move it, but she held firm. 

“You feel that right?” I was gonna ask what she meant, but the steady beating of her heart silenced me. “I’m alive and I’m not going anywhere. I know that everyone was worried and I’m not displacing any feelings here. If my time comes…then I would hope that I’ve done that fighting and saving someone, especially a child.”

She placed her hand on my shoulder and her eyes held my gaze hard with determination and strength radiating through her. “I’m sorry.”

“...fine…” She released me and I crossed my arms as I leaned back in the chair once more. “Just don’t let it happen again…bitch…”

“Yes of course stupid mutt.” She smiled at me before walking back to the others. The rest that I got was much needed and I only hoped that we were closer to finishing this mission so I could relax and get a damn drink, but we weren’t out of the woods yet, because the next thing I knew…I was thrown from my seat as the ship started spiraling through space. Once it began to right itself, I rushed to the front as everyone looked at a ship that was approaching us quickly. 

“What the hell is going on now?!” 

“I think something is coming at us!”

“Kid! Get further back in the ship!”

“Why?! I want to know what’s going on!” 

“You fucking brat-”

Crack!

“Get him off the glass!” Ka’seem yelled from the pilot seat and I took notice of a man outside the window. The glass was already cracked from his earlier strike, and he raised his fist to strike it again, but I moved to intercept him. I didn’t make it far as he jumped away from the glass and the ship that fired at us decided to become a battering ram. Ka’seem tried to turn the ship as best as he could, but it still slammed into us hard. It took me off my feet as I slammed into a wall. The side of the ship burst into flames and the force from space went quickly to work trying to drag us out. The woman had a grip on the child and Masami and her sister were holding onto other frames in the ship. The man from earlier burst from the flames right at Altair. A weapon raised and ready to kill him, but I charged at him with an angered cry. 

I caught the blade in my bare hands before I punched him in the jaw. He didn’t even flinch before he headbutted me. It surprised me that I reeled from it, but I suppose my abilities still weren’t fully restored. It would not matter because I would break this fool with only my bare minimum regardless. I gave him an even stronger headbutt before we spiraled through the air. I managed to get the weapon out of his hands before I slammed my fist into his face again. He retaliated in kind with his own flurry of blows. He gripped my shirt as we went through the air, and he planted his feet against a pillar before he pushed off, sending us flying across the ship and through a wall. 

“Nim!” Callum charged into the room and knocked the man off me before we all finally fell to the floor. I glanced at the other room for a quick second and saw that the woman managed to freeze the wall up, but the ship was still plummeting. Callum and the man wrestled each other for a bit before Callum kicked him across the room, remnants of his strength becoming clearer. The shaking of the ship was starting to make me sick to my stomach. 

“Ka’seem! Get the ship steady!”

“I’m fucking trying up here!”

The man roared like a beast as he fought Callum before I joined his side to combat the man as well. His rage washed over us like a plague as the force of his strikes became stronger and stronger. The only reason that this would be is if the Darkness gave him some of its power. I caught his fist before it collided with my face just as the kid shouted over all the chaos. 

“That’s him! That’s Morlo!” 

This was him?! I had to admit that I expected much more from this man and Callum shared a look with me. The room took on a sinister chill as the woman burst into the room and slammed Morlo onto the ground. He instantly coughed up blood before she slammed her heel into his nose, sending him through the floor. She blew out a chilled breath before she charged after him with a shrill cry. Callum and I were quick to follow her. 

“You son of a bitch!” She delivered a swift punch to his ribs, but he stood strong despite staggering back. “He’s just a child! All of them are!”

“Children are easily exploitable! That brat is no different bitch!” Withdrawing a gun, he shot at the woman but I jumped in front of her and cut the bullets with my sword. “I will not fail my mission again!”

“I will rip you apart for what you have done!” I held her back as she clawed at him. “Nim move!”

“We have to at least bring him back alive. Lady Serafina will want to question him…we need any information that he might have.”

“Fuck that!”

“I agree with Nim Celica…we have to take him back-” I flinched back as the man shot at us and we ducked behind various objects. I hated feeling defenseless like some mortal. My abilities needed to come back in full soon. I was ready to take him back, but if he kept this up I actually would kill him instead. The ship suddenly grinded to a halt, but the sudden force made us launch into the air. That bastard took the opportunity to launch himself at the smurf. She turned just as he grabbed her by the throat. 

I flung myself over as the zero gravity activated and punched him once more in the jaw. The woman kneed him in the stomach before Callum came over and slammed his elbow into his nose. He roared and took a hidden blade from his leg and stabbed Callum in the shoulder. Spinning through the air, the four of us finally settled on the ceiling, and we were once again in a brutal fight. 

This mortal would have never stood a chance if the three of us had our full abilities. I could feel my electricity slowly breaking through, but I could not risk it on this ship. The old fashioned way was perfectly fine with me. Morlo struck out at me, but I threw his arm down and two tapped him in the face before Callum followed up with his own punches. Morlo took a few but so did we as he proved to be a competent fighter despite our strange area of combat. The woman advanced on him too with her own blows and kicks. Her abilities seemed to be coming back as she wielded an ice dagger in her hands. I gave her a quick look before she tossed a pair to myself and Callum, and I blocked a strike to my face from Morlo. 

“The Light will taste defeat at the hands of my master! First however, I will break her spirit with the deaths of her precious Supernovas!” 

The man was a crazed lunatic as his strikes became more and more powerful by the second. His eyes were wide and crazed and saliva was spewing from his mouth. There was something in his eyes as Callum and the woman both charged at him. There was more than a growing sense of hatred, his pupils seemed to be changing. It would not be strange if he was changing in more ways than one. The Darkness seemed to be keen on making new creations. I would have to handle this quick if my suspicions were right. 

The zero gravity suddenly stopped and the four of us plummeted to the floor, but on the way down the three of us attacked Morlo as one. It was amazing how we could always be in sync when the chips were down. Callum struck towards his stomach, while the woman aimed for his heart and I went for his head. Morlo pivoted in the air and twisted just as Callum almost made contact with him. The quick turn almost made him collide his blade with smurfette, but she was quick to react and caught the blade and slammed it into his chest. I growled as he managed to dodge my swing to his head, but I continued my momentum and slashed his throat. 

He choked out some blood as we slammed through the ground and that is when he finally awakened. I didn’t react fast enough as a black mass consumed my face. I heard the others struggle next to me as we continued to crash through the ship. I was sure that I heard the others yell out for us before a harsh chill consumed my body and I realized that we were out in space now. My arms felt heavy and my sight came back and I saw the creature that Morlo became. 

The man was long gone and there was nothing but an amalgamation of various parts of different creatures mixed into the man. Most of the mass was a dark ball of liquid that was slimy to the touch and frankly I didn’t like that I could taste some it either as it wiggled across my face. Morlo or what was left of him was in the center of it. Only his head was visible, but his eyes had sunken deep into his skull and a shrill scream emerged from his mouth every few seconds. The thing that worried me the most was the fact that the mass seemed to be heading back to the ship and I could barely move. Glancing to my left, I could see Callum struggling to break me from its grasp. The woman was completely covered but she was fighting back against it. 

“Hey fucker!” I looked up as Nerissa was falling towards us with her ax raised over her head. Ka’seem was close behind her as they both collided with the mass, sending us further into space. Nerissa managed to sever Callum away from the beast and Ka’seem managed to dig me out. I spit out some of its disgusting gunk before moving towards the woman, but she didn’t need any help as the mass that had her started to freeze over. 

I flinched back as she shatter the mass around her and shards of ice flew out around us. Her face was red with anger as she willed her spear to her side. It was at this moment that I felt the familiar feeling of electricity coursing over me. Morlo’s face disappeared into the mass and that told me all I needed to know about finishing him off. 

Nerissa charged at the beast once more and we were all quick to follow her. The blue one managed to freeze its limbs as they swung at us with sharpened blades. Conjuring up some lightning, I managed to make a sword from it before I charged for the center of the mass. Morlo didn’t make it easy as one of the tendrils snaked out and caught me in the ribs. I coughed out a bit of blood as a chunk of my flesh stung from the wound. Such a wound would not bother me now or ever. I ducked and dodged as he shot out more tentacles at me, but Nerissa and Ka’seem came to my side and cut them away. 

The mass that was Morlo began to vomit out smaller masses that soon attacked us. Smurfette sprang into action alongside Callum and I, and the three of us made quick work of them. Although we seemed to be having the upper hand, Morlo seemed to grow larger and larger. His attacks became more targeted as well. Although our abilities were coming back at a good pace, we still needed to be cautious about the whole thing, but I wanted to finish this bastard because he had caused far too much pain. I stole a glance at the woman as she fought off the smaller enemies that were surrounding us. 

I hated feeling that this lesser being, this disgusting mortal had almost taken her away. She might piss me off, but that didn’t mean that some low life and his gaggle of imbeciles could finish her off. I roared as my sword blazed with raw power. Callum blasted the creature with his pure light and he recoiled in pain and agony and his core revealed itself. The woman floated above the mass and blasted it with her ice and his face twisted in pain as the entire thing began to freeze. I was so close to finishing this, but he was an annoying bastard. With a piercing roar, I was thrown back from him as my ears bled and my head began to spin. The others also flinched away from it, but Nerissa and Ka’seem recovered quickly. Nerissa gathered water into the air above her head before she formed a water snare for the creature, but he broke one of his tendrils free and pierced her through her chest. 

“NIM! HURRY THE FUCK UP!” 

It was easier said than done since I hated to fly and my ears were ringing, but feeling something around my waist, I looked down to see a vine. Ka’seem was almost as strong as me, so when he nodded at me and swung me towards Morlo. I knew that I had the force to knock this fucker into the next few galaxies. The others parted the way for me as Ka’seem slammed me into the mass. Callum’s light had still managed to weaken it, and it was still immobile from the ice and water from the girls. 

“N-No! I-I…the…the LIGHT!!!”

“You aren’t worthy to speak her name!” I cut through all of his disgusting body as my lightning consumed and broke him apart. The blade striking the top of his head, before I split him down the middle. Lightning crackled and sparks flew as we both roared, one of pain and one of determination and victory. His body cracked apart and exploded when I managed to cut all the way through him. We all were thrown away from him and I grunted as I managed to slam into the ship. My head was spinning as I looked over at the former mass. 

The others gathered around him and I held my head as I did as well. The only thing left of him was his split head, but the bastard still found the strength to talk.

“My…my master will…avenge me…destroy the…Light…” A broken chuckle escaped him as he began to disintegrate. “This is not…my end…you bast-”

“The Darkness has no need for weakness.” I rolled my neck as I looked down at his pathetic attempts to warn us. “They made you a monster because you were no longer needed. A brainless and weak creature that in the end still couldn’t finish the job.”

“F-Fuck you all!”

“No Morlo…you don’t get to have the last word for what you have done.” The woman moved up as her eyes glowed dangerously. Reaching a hand out, she grasped his skull and slammed it together once more. “Hell will not be your final resting place…no…I have something in mind for men like you…something far far worse than Hell…”

He yelled out more curses before the woman crushed his head into delicate shards of ice. With a final sigh, we watched as his pieces scattered away before returning to the ship, and at last we returned back to Lady Serafina’s temple to finally complete our mission. 

~~~

“You’re making this such a big deal…”

“I won’t have the brat in her home looking like…this…”

“Hey!”

“Shut up and move it…little shit…” Altair grumbled as I shoved him along through the halls of the temple. The trip back to the temple was mostly spent sleeping and feeling our energy come back, and thankfully nothing else. Now, we just had to make a final introduction. 

Opening the doors of her throne room, I inhaled deeply as I saw her looking up at the moon. She was covered in some bandages, but she looked fine from here…she always did honestly. Hearing the doors open, she turned to dazzle us with her smile. Altair even paused when she laid her eyes on him, but I just pushed him further in while the woman glared at me. 

“Altair…”

“You…you were the other voice that I heard…”

“Yes…I’m sorry if I was confusing you…” She crossed the room with slow steps and I frowned at that. She really needed to be resting and not worried about the brat, but I suppose that would be asking too much. “I just want to stress the point to you that you are safe.”

“I…I know…I feel…safe…”

“Good…” She smiled once more before she kneeled to his height and held her hand out to him. He hesitated for only a second before he took it. His face was a bright crimson as she brushed his hair back and held his cheek. “I will make sure that you never have to be scared and worried ever again. You deserve to live a life of peace and security, and I would like to give you that…for you and your grandfather.”

“W-What?! He’s alive?!” I glanced to the right of the room as a man walked into the room. He was quite young to be a grandfather. The pair ran at each other and embraced and I couldn’t help but smile at their joyous reunion. I guess the little brat did deserve a win after everything that he had been through, we all did honestly. 

“I trust that you all will get some rest?”

“I think we should be saying that to you instead, my lady.” I frowned at her before she laughed and patted my shoulder. “Seriously…”

“Oh my wolf…you worry far too much…all of you do…”

“With good reason, my lady.” Callum stepped up beside me before he looked over at Masami and her sister. “There is a lot that we have to discuss once we rest, my lady.”

“Yes I know Callum, but I want to thank all of you for protecting another one of my precious star children. You all fought valiantly and for that you have my eternal gratitude. Rest my Supernovas you have earned it. Until we meet again…”

I sighed as everyone began to break away and head home. I’d give Nerissa and Ka’seem a day before I show up to their temples and kick their asses. I needed to rest, but I didn’t want to leave her side yet. The woman smirked at me and I couldn’t help but send her one myself. I could admit that I was worried that we had almost lost her. It only meant that we still needed to train and grow ever stronger to make sure something like that didn’t happen again. 

This particular mission was over for now, but the Darkness always had more things up their sleeve. I knew that this was only the beginning and things were changing at a rapid pace. We would have to be more ready than ever, because now having the time to rest and think. Something in the air was making my hair stand on end. Something was happening and the feeling in the pit of my stomach was one that I hadn’t felt in…well it had been some time. I glanced at Lady Serafina to see if she felt what I felt, and the worry on her face confirmed it as she led Altair and his grandfather away. Ka’seem barely was out of the temple but his face changed as he stopped talking to Nerissa. I hadn’t seen him this pale in years, but the speed in which he left the temple and the raw energy that I felt suddenly shook my core. 

I ran outside the temple as I felt a familiar surge of power. Lady Serafina appeared at my side as we looked into the vastness of space. The battle…no…the war was far from over. Something had awaken and been unleashed into the cosmos again, something that should have stayed buried. This fight with the Darkness would now only get harder, fiercer, and more deadlier from this point on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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I watched her as she managed to fall asleep despite the pain of her injury and the planet eating itself. For over two painful hours, we sat in silence as we waited for it to pass. I had no doubt that Lady Serafina could feel Celica’s life force draining from her body. I imagined that it was hard for her to feel it, but that was nothing compared to seeing it. Her breaths were becoming more and more labored, and I’m sure that she stopped breathing at times. Her skin was paler than ever and her ice was making it hard to even be near her. Nim was watching over her like a hawk and Altair looked ready to burst into tears. He had held onto her hand despite us warning him he would get frostbite. Nerissa was pacing so much that she had made a path on the floor. Ka’seem looked the worst, he had gotten choked up when she had stopped breathing. He was blaming him more and more as her breathing grew slower and she mumbled incoherently.

“It’s stopping…” I glanced at Nerissa as she watched the movements of the planet start to slow down. Sure enough, the movements were slowing and Ka’seem stepped out from under our temporary shelter to inspect it. His shoulders and movements were tense, and I wish I knew what to say to him. Altair finally separated from Celica to look up at the moon. It was bright and full on, and the cloudless night made it easier for us to see that Lady Serafina and the Darkness were still fighting. 

“We should move. We’ll make camp somewhere and just…figure something out. I’ll try and contact Lady Serafina, but…” I released a breath as I rubbed my head. “I’ll try…”

No one said anything and Nerissa took Altair by the hand as she led him away, with Ka’seem following them closely. Nim gathered Celica into his arms, but she barely even made a sound. We shared a look before following the others. I could not stop staring at Celica as she started to mumble in her delirium. 

“Staring will do nothing for her…”

“It isn’t like there is anything else to do Nim.” 

“.....”

“Your thoughts on this would be appreciated.”

“I have nothing to say about this Callum. Anything that needs to be said would just be redundant.” 

“Talking to her would bring her some comfort I imagine.” Her eyes were starting to open for a split second, before they closed again. “She needs us Nim…not more of your indifference.”

“....” He sighed and he knew that I was making sense. Nim was never one to talk about his deeper feelings, but now was not the time for it and he knew that. It was not the time for stubbornness. The silence carried us still as we found an area under a sea of trees to rest. Ka’seem managed to make some makeshift huts for us to sleep in. Nim placed Celica in one and she seemed to relax for a bit, but now her wound was getting blacker. The veins on her arms were turning black as well. I grimaced as blood began to seep from the makeshift bandages and was just as dark. 

I placed my hand over her wounds and poured my light energy into it, but it just didn’t seem to make a difference. She seemed to relax, but it just made her comfortable. It was what I wanted, but I also just wanted her to be ok. As a God of light, I should have been able to heal her much better than this, but I feel that this mission is teaching us to learn more healing techniques. Celica was just always the one to go to. She was a tough woman and an even better healer, but we relied on her too much and it showed. How long had we been taking her for granted, and why did she never speak up about it? 

“You know that she would never complain about anything.” I forced a chuckle as Nim sat beside me as we saw her breathing relax a little. 

“I suppose you are right about that…”

“Mmm…”

“Celica!” We leaned forward as she move her head side to side and tried to raise her arms. “Take it easy please…you must conserve your strength.” Her mumbling just continued and I sighed now even more frustrated. All of this waiting around was starting to bother me. My dearest friend was dying and there was not a thing I could do about it. 

“Callum…keep calm, she is probably-”

“My…Mykel…” My heart almost broke hearing her say that name. It had been some time since she last spoke it. He was always a sore subject for her, but hearing from her now just caused me more pain. “Mykel….mother…”

“I’m gonna take a walk.”

“Nim-” He was gone before I could even finish. It would be best to let her rest and contact Lady Serafina. Leaving the hut, I was about to meditate and contact Lady Serafina, but I saw Altair sitting by himself under a tree. Ka’seem and Nerissa were in deep conversation as they skinned some animals for us to eat. The boy was scared and he was trying to act like he wasn’t. 

“May I sit with you?” Altair flinched as he looked up and me before he nodded and moved over. He pulled his knees up and buried his face between them. “It is alright to be afraid. There is no shame in it.”

“I…I’m not scared.” I could practically hear the pouting in his voice. “I just have things on my mind.”

“I’m a good listener. We have…we have time to talk about anything you are worried about. I know that you must have some questions by now.”

“....” He peeked at me for a second, weighing whether he really wanted to talk to me right now. He pulled on a lock of his hair before he faced me. “Is she going to be ok?”

“I don’t have an answer for that. I wish that I could ease your worries, the worries of the rest of my friends, but I can’t.” 

“....”

“We are doing our best to keep her comfortable until we can get some help.”

“There is no one coming to help us though. That thing is keeping us here and I don’t think that Goddess will be able to keep fighting it. Just face it…we’re screwed.”

“Hey…” I clapped him on the shoulder and he frowned at me but I just laughed. “That Goddess above us is much much stronger than you think. She will not let the Darkness get to us no matter what. We just have to have a bit more patience.”

“Is this the Goddess that I heard you guys talking about? The one who is supposed to keep me safe from all of this?”

“Yes…Lady Serafina is a benevolent Goddess who wants nothing more than peace across the cosmos. When she found out about you, she halted everything to find you and keep you safe. Of course, there were some bumps in the road, but at least we have you.”

“What…what is she like?”

“Oh she is magnificent….she truly has a heart of gold and does her best to cater to the many needs of the beings across the universe. She is the Celestial Mother and we owe her everything that has ever been made.”

“So…she made a lot of stuff…like what?”

“Well…she made people and Gods…animals and planets and solar systems. Her laugher even creates the stars in the sky.”

“Her laughter? 

“Oh yes, once I met her, she explained that some stars can come about by her laughter, but once are formed when a person is born. We all are attached to them in some way.” “Really? So I have one too?” I chuckled as he smiled for the first time since Celica was injured. He looked up at the night sky in marvel. “I’ve never really heard about her…”

“Yes well…spreading the word about her is a work in progress.” Honestly, it was taking longer than I would have liked, but Lady Serafina wasn’t exactly keen on spreading any gospel about herself in the first place. Being the humble person she was, she didn’t want people to sing praises about her. Compared to most of the Gods, she was incredibly humble.

“I…will I make a good impression? I still don’t think that I’m very special…”

“Trust me Altair…she already loves you.” I chuckled at his flushed face, before my gaze turned down to my ring. I could feel Masami’s ring burning in my pocket and I wanted so badly to finish this and talk to her. It was unlike her to not want to talk to me when we had a disagreement. I had to find out what it was that made her want to halt our entire marriage.

“You’re married?”

“Huh? Oh…yes I am…” I didn’t realize that I was just staring at my ring. It was the first time I really had the time to think about since the mission took a turn.

“How long have you been married? What is she like?” Children always asked too many questions, but it was keeping him occupied. 

“We’ve been married for over three hundred years…three hundred and twenty-five to be exact. We have an anniversary to plan soon.”

“Wow! That’s such a long time! Is she a Goddess too?”

“She…” Well now I knew that she is a kitsune, but before I was led to believe that she was a simple fae and that explained her long life well enough for me. “No she…is something special though. She is the light of my life. She is beautiful, sweet, and the other half of my soul. Perhaps one day you will meet someone like that.”

“I’d rather get back to my grandpa then think about girls. Girls are really annoying anyway. They always want something.”

“Haha…yes, but it often depends on the type of woman you bring into your life. Not all women are so superficial.”

“Still annoying…” I ruffled his hair and he pouted at me. I was about to continue to tell him about Lady Serafina, but Nim appeared and gave me a solemn look. My heart skipped several beats as I left Altair to go back to the hut. Nerissa and Ka’seem were standing right outside of it, and Nerissa looked as if she had been crying. Ka’seem kept to himself and was twirling his daggers around. Entering the tent, I was relieved to see that Celica was awake. 

“H…Hey…” I knelt beside her and took her hand as she coughed something fierce. “You guys…have…to stop crying…”

“That…isn’t an easy thing to ask us.” She weakly squeezed my hand before she stared at the ceiling. There were so many emotions running across her face right now, but the ones I could see clearly were anger and sadness. There was also some bits of frustration behind her eyes as well. “Tell us how you feel?”

“Frustrated.” 

“That’s to be expected.” She rolled her eyes at Nim as he stepped into the tent and looked over her. “You just can’t help doing the most when it comes to children.”

“I…guess I can’t…” 

“We have to get you back to Lady Serafina’s temple…perhaps if you’re there you will be able to heal.” It was probably going to be a hard task with them fighting above our heads, but we had to do something at this point. Getting settled was not something that we really should be doing. The faster we came up with a plan, the faster she could recover and get better. 

“I…I don’t think so…”

“Hey-”

“Just…just listen…to me…both of you…” She blew out a breath before she looked at Nim and he knelt down to take her other hand. The veins in her skin were becoming even more prominent and I was terrified to check how close to her heart it was. Her bright eyes were even duller than they were an hour ago, and I refused to even guess how much longer she had. For the first time in a while, her eyes sparkled with tears. It took me back to see her so vulnerable and I just wanted to take her pain away. 

“Celica-”

“I'm dying…” She sniffled and her hand tightened against mine. “There is no…denying that…I need you both to…promise me something…”

“Celica…don’t say that.” Nim looked away from her and she just sighed and shook her head. 

“Promise me!” Another coughing fit wracked over her body and Nerissa pushed in an orb of water for her to drink from. After taking some hefty sips of it, she relaxed against the floor again. “You…you can’t deny me…not now…”

“....”

“I…I need you both…to free Mykel…and my mother. They need to…they have to have…a happily ever after…” More tears streamed down her face as she tried to blink them away. “I…I promised…I promised my father…he needs to…see her again…and Mykel…needs to have a life…”

“I…I promise.” Nim silently nodded his head and we both knew that was the most we would get out of him. “We…you just have to hold on as long as you can. You have to promise us that.”

“I…I promise…also…tell your sister…that she’s in charge…” She laughed weakly before she took a deep breath. “You make up with Masami ok? I…I’d hate to know you’re…still fighting…”

A few more tears rolled down her cheeks, and I reached out to wipe them away before I cupped her cheek. “You will make it through this…and Masami and I will be just fine…”

She smiled and turned her face into my palm to lay a gentle kiss against it. “I know…that’s also a gift…a blessing for your…continued happiness and future bliss…you’re both…my best friends…yes…you are included in it…mutt…”

“Tch…who says I want it…icy bitch…” These two could never stop their taunting with each other. Celica turned his hand over and placed a kiss on his knuckles. “What was that for?”

“For you…to get that…stick out of your ass.” I couldn’t stop my laugh at the sight of Nim’s face as a vein almost jumped from his temple. “Nim…seriously though…that was for you…to find love…”

“Celica…” It was nice to witness moments when the two of them weren’t fighting, I only wished the situation was better. 

“No no…I want you to find…and have love…real true love…something to…to carry you through…infinity…and…so you’ll never doubt…that someone…loves you…for you…endlessly…” She trailed off before she passed out into what I hoped was a peaceful rest. Her hand felt so fragile in mine and Nim’s composure was starting to break. He raised her hand to his forehead before gently setting it down. This…this was going to hit us far too hard, and the Darkness would pay for what they have done. Nim stormed off before I could say anything more, and I looked down at her once again as she seemed to sleep peacefully. 

“Is…is she sleeping?” I nodded as Nerissa moved by my side and brushed away Celica’s matted hair from her forehead. I could hear Nim and Ka’seem’s frantic conversation that sounded like it was about to become an argument. Altair was crying now, and I couldn’t muster the strength to go and comfort him. 

“Yes…we have to move on from here.”

“O-Ok…” I could feel her eyes on me, and if she was expecting me to say something comforting, she would have to try someone else. I did not see a way out of this, and she had to realize that. Kind words  would not free us from this planet to help her. I took Celica into my arms and Nerissa was close behind, as was Altair. Nim and Ka’seem finished whatever it was that made them look ready to throw their fists at each other. The only thing that we could do was make our way further into the forest. I suspected that the Darkness would eventually send someone or something after us, and we would have to fight them off. Things were never easy, and with Celica like this it would only get worse from here. The walk was silent, and the only thing that made noise was the creatures around us. Celica was still breathing in my ear thankfully as a full hour passed us by. Altair was starting to rub his eyes and yawn, which meant that we would have to stop soon. I would prefer to keep moving frankly, but he was just a child. There was a clearing up ahead, and that would have to be where we settle for now, or until the planet started to feed again. 

“Nim we should-” 

I barely dodged something that bolted from deep in the forest. The only problem with my sudden movement was that I was holding Celica. The sudden need to move caused her to slip from my arms. I managed to grab her, but not before a sharp pain shot through my left leg. The pain was enough that I took a knee, but I made sure that she didn't hit the ground. The others moved and I looked at my leg and furrowed my brow as a simple pike gave me a deep cut. Something like this should not have hurt this bad unless…

“Guys!”

My words of caution did not matter as a series of fights took place before my eyes. Nerissa was engaged in a fight with a brute of a man, as was Nim. Ka’seem fought a woman who looked like a Goddess that I’m sure I had seen before. I turned my attention back as the pike was yanked out of the ground by a tall man with pitch black eyes. 

“In battle…it is always wise to take out the weakest link…” He smirked as he scanned over Celica and my leg. “It was a good call to aim for the bitch…saving others will get you in the position that you see yourself in.”

“I don’t feel particularly in danger.”

“Hehe…not yet you mean.” He struck his pike at me with blinding speed, but he had to realize that there was no way that he could catch me. His weapon was one of those God killing weapons, and my leg aches fiercely, but that didn’t mean that my speed was gone. The only problem was Celica was a target and the others were occupied. I stood and faced him, but my attention was once again thrown away as I heard Altair shout. 

One of their cohorts grabbed him by the shoulder and began to drag him away and I moved to intercept them. Holding Celica was a problem as I held her waist and appeared at Altair’s side. The woman looked up in surprise, but grunted in pain as I hit her aside with the back of my fist. I hated putting my hands on women, but they could not have him. The woman was unconscious before she even hit the floor, and I pulled Altair to his feet. The others were fighting around me, but my focus had to be on Altair and Celica. They were more important right now and the others would have to fend for themselves. 

I caught Nerissa from the side of my eyes fighting the larger man, but I also saw more people pouring in from the forest. It was starting to get crowded and I would have to remedy that. Laying Celica down, I pushed Altair behind me and felt my power surge over me. My leg was burning for me to relax, but I could not let anything else happen! A radiant force of light erupted from my being, and the men and women around us were consumed in my light. Almost like a bug being hit by a trap, they burned and struggled on the floor and their screams echoed harshly in my ears. 

Nerissa threw her opponent across the field right into the one that Nim was fighting. Nim took his sword and cut right through them. It didn’t seem to matter because they just kept coming from deep in the woods. Their weapons were shining an eerie black under the moonlight, but I would get rid of those soon enough. I caught Nim’s gaze and he nodded at me as we prepared to intercept the weapons before they did any serious damage to any of us. 

Speed was certainly on our side as we both moved around the clearing to take the weapons, but I couldn’t help but wince at the wound on my leg. These weapons were far too potent and it almost felt like a poison moving through my body. I was starting to slow down, but not remarkably so. Despite the volume of enemies coming through, we all fought them off. Altair was still next to Celica who had woken up and was holding onto him. 

The last weapon was in the hands of a mere mortal, and that would be the end of this charade. My staff barely managed to hit him before I felt the pressure of a blade in my side. I barely choked out in pain before I was slammed down onto the ground. I blinked up at the goddess that Ka’seem was fighting. I knew that I had seen her before. 

“Uris?” 

“Hello Lord Callum…it’s lovely to see you.”

“You…you’re working with the Darkness?! Why?!”

“I don’t exactly have the time to talk about that. I have a job that I must do…and as a goddess of Light…I was the only option to keep up with you and Nim.” She swept her long hair over her shoulder before plunging her staff into my stab wound. 

“Gah!”

“Bitch!” Nerissa charged over and swung her ax wildly and Uris  had no problem dodging the blows. Ka’seem rushed over to assist her and the three of them began to fight and I finally took note that Nim wasn’t even here anymore. I could hear him fighting in the distance though, so his fight must be tougher than he thought. 

“Stop it!” 

“Altair!” My heart sank as I heard Celica yell with the last bit of strength that she probably possessed in her weakened frame. Another hulk of a creature had Altair in his arms and Celica was under its foot. The ground was freezing under her, but she was only flailing about at this point. 

“Hey-” I went to stand up, but the wound that I had sustained from those weapons made my sense of gravity shift and I fell to my knees. Dammit…this was not happening! Uris was having trouble fighting Nerissa and Ka’seem which could mean something if they kept it up. Uris was never a goddess that was known for her fighting abilities. It honestly made no sense for her to even be doing this. 

How many other gods had defected to the other side by now?

I had no time to think about such things as the hulking man carried Altair into the woods. I could not will my body to move. The weapon that struck me must have had some sort of numbing agent.  I was starting to bleed out into the grass and Celica was starting to struggle more than ever. She was practically dragging herself across the grass to follow after them. Where the hell was Nim? 

“Give…give him…back!” Celica pulled herself to her feet in a test of strength that I could honestly not even be surprised by. That woman was always full of surprises and stronger than anyone gave her credit for. 

Well…those were my thoughts before she tilted over and fell face first into the dirt. My breath left my body as I realized that she was not moving at all. She wasn’t even breathing anymore.

“CELICA!!” My fear and anger mixed together and my light burst from my body all at once. It had been awhile since such fear coursed over me. It was even worse for the enemies around us. Nim had returned and lightning struck the ground, and the force felt like it was rocking the planet. Combined with my light burst it decimated everyone in the field. 

Almost…everyone.

Uris had managed to block the blast from the man that had Altair and he rushed off into the woods with Altair. Uris looked down at Celica with no emotion in her usually kind eyes. Raising her staff, she went to stab her in the head. I moved at the same time Nim did, but he was faster than me at the moment and hopefully he would reach her first. My heart skipped a beat as the staff was inches from Celica’s head, but she flipped the staff up and a blade appeared and stabbed Nim square in the chest. Everything felt slower as she twisted it in before pulling it out of him. Blood instantly poured out of his mouth as he dropped to his knees.

“Noo!” I turned as Nerissa ran full sprint toward Uris with her ax raised and ready. Ka’seem was right behind her but he failed to notice someone behind him.

“Ka’seem behind you!” Both Nerissa and Ka’seem turned at my warning, but Ka’seem was not quick enough to dodge the arrows that pierced his body. 

“Ka’seem!” I could see the gears turning in Nerissa’s mind as she looked between them both, unable to decide who to go to. She was the only one that might be able to go after Altair at least. The rest of us were to incapacitated at this point. I was sure that I could do something and Nim was still moving, so Uris probably missed something vital. It didn’t mean much since it definitely would have weakened him. 

“I suggest you stop while you can Nerissa…” Uris sighed as she looked down at Celica with sad eyes. “I think that you should give up now.”

“Fuck you bitch!” Nerissa growled through clenched teeth and began to advance to her. “I don’t have shit to say to you. You’ve picked your side so stick that “advice” up your fucking cunt bitch!” 

“So vulgar…” No more words were shared as the both of them clashed and I turned my attention to Nim and Celica. Ka’seem was pulling the arrows from his body as the person in the tree made their way over to him. Nim had grabbed Celica who, by some divine miracle, was still breathing and awake, but I feared that she wouldn’t be lucky for much longer. 

“We have to get the damn kid…” Nim was bleeding more than I thought he was, but he was more focused on the storm around us. “You need to get up.”

“I would if I could Nim!” I didn’t mean to snap at him, but this whole situation was a pain in the ass. Ka’seem brushed off his injuries to face the archer and Nerissa was having a tough time keeping up with Uris. It would continue like this if she didn’t tap into her other abilities, but she was terrible at it. I barely could get my thoughts together before a shadow overtook the three of us. A figure crashed into Nim and completely knocked me away from him and Celica. 

As the dust finally settled, a gasp escaped me as I saw a very very large man had a God killing weapon made into a gauntlet, and it was buried far into Nim’s chest and it was splayed in his blood. In his other fist he held a dark chain and Celica was hanging from it with her arms tied behind her back. He made eye contact with me and smiled before he snapped his fingers. 

Any energy left in my body was sucked out as the same chains appeared from nowhere and wrapped around my body. Hearing the gasp from Ka’seem and Nerissa was not a good thing to hear either. It was good for Uris as Nerissa seemed to catch her off guard and was slamming her fist into her face, but the chains pulled her back. 

“These are the “Supernovas”? What a joke…” Snapping his fingers again, it pulled us all together and the situation just went from bad to worse to astronomically bad. Now the five of us were on our knees in a clearing and Altair was gone, and Lady Serafina was still fighting with no end in sight. Celica could barely even stay on her knees as she rocked back and forth. This was a dangerous obstacle for her since these God killing weapons drained our divinity. The chains were draining my power and in theory they could essentially make us mortal and we were sitting ducks. Her divinity was probably the only thing that was keeping her stable, so Celica was in more danger than ever. 

No way to contact our pantheons, Lady Serafina in combat, in essence, we were screwed. 

“Morlo should be on his way to retrieve the child.” The large man smiled down at us as the archer that Ka’seem had been fighting came to speak with him. “We have to dispose of them soon. Our liege will wrap up their fight with the Light. The child-”

“Give him back you fucking rat!” Nerissa tried to get up but the man just laughed at her failed attempt. The chains were affecting us faster than I thought. Ka’seem and Nim were also starting to breathe heavier. 

I…I saw no way out of this.

I breathed out a frustrated sigh as our enemies moved away from us to talk and I leaned into Celica so she wasn’t using all of her strength to sit up. 

“Does anyone have any idea how we can get out of this? Anything at all?” Ka’seem was met with only silence and Nerissa cursing to herself. “We have to think of something guys-”

“There is no plan right now Ka’seem! Damnit!” Nim growled at Ka’seem who turned to kick him and I was getting more annoyed now.

“Fuck you Nim! I’m trying to be positive and come up with solutions for Serafina’s sake! Stop being so fucking negative!”

“Could you two stop fucking fighting!” Great. Now Nerissa would join in their arguing. Celica felt like she was about to pitch over again. “We’ve all been off our game here!”

“Some more than others…”

“Really Nim? You want to go at this with me now?!” Ka’seem looked ready to headbutt Nim into the ground and I’m sure Nim would be sparking with lightning right now if he could. 

The three of them kept up their arguing and I just turned to look at Celica. “You’re gonna be ok…we’ll make it out of this. I just have to think.”

Feeling Nim tense up next to me, I watched as his head snapped up and his eye glanced to the side. 

“What is it?” He furrowed his brows as his ear started to twitch. 

“Something is coming…and it's approaching fast…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Callum and Nerissa were the only ones who could teleport to other planets whenever they wished, except Callum didn’t practice with it enough. Nerissa’s abilities relied on the bracelet that she seemed to have left behind. Hopefully, someone else landed with the kid and was keeping him safe. Losing him would make this whole thing pointless. Wiping my daggers off, I moved through the mud and swiped away the drooping leaves in my path. The air was thick and it was almost too hard to breathe. I did not care if I was the damn God of Nature, swamps fucking suck. 

Once the mud started to reach my knees, I called a vine forward and jumped across the treetops to travel. With a higher vantage point, I could see the swamp better. Hopefully, if the ship was still burning somewhere, the others would be near it too. As I traveled on, I couldn’t help but keep glancing at the sky. The fight raging above me was so tangible and terrifying. Even through the murky clouds, I could see bolts of energy and power sparking up every few minutes, it almost looked like fireworks. 

If only they were right?

I flinched as a bug the size of a small dog almost nailed me in the face. Its multiple eyes zeroed in on me for a second and I thought I would have to fight the damn thing, but it just flew off. 

“Good I would hate to-”

A pressure in my back sent me back into the mud and I couldn’t look up as something held my face into the dirt. I could hear the brief sound of wings beating, and a sharp pain in my spine. Gathering my power, I swatted the damn thing off my back. Wiping the mud from my eyes, I almost lost my lunch at the thing before me. It was definitely an insect of some sort, but it had some type of fungal growth forming on its face. Its exoskeleton was so transparent that I could see its internal organs. Four large wings were beating on its back, but the razor sharp talons had my attention. Its four eyes sat on four stalks above its head and they all twisted and turned when I started to reach for my daggers. 

The moment it unhinged its jaws at me, I leapt forward to slice its eyes off. It shrieked and started to swing wildly and one of its talons caught me across the waist. I hissed as it dug a bit deep, but I grabbed one of the talons and drove it into its stomach. Its other talons kept swinging about crazily before the fungus on its head started to move. I watched in disgust as it separated from the body and scurried off in tiny legs. 

“What the fuck?”

Annoyed with the damn thing, I dropped a nearby tree on it and winced at its dying shriek before the swamp grew quiet once more. Looking at my waist, I cursed to myself as I tore my sleeve and wrapped it across my waist. Hopefully, it would heal at a decent pace until I could find Celica. Honestly, thinking about it now, I hoped that she was alright. She barely looked like she could stand before, and I could only imagine that the crash made it worse. 

“Where are you guys at?”

After securing my wounds, I traveled further through the swamp and thankfully I could see some smoke. That ship made some distance in the crash, but it also meant that someone might be there waiting to group up. As I started to get closer, something wet touched my cheek. Pausing on a branch, I wiped it off. It seemed to be water, which wouldn’t be strange in a swamp. I was going to turn and leave, but when it hit my face again, I finally noticed that it was snowing. I snapped my head up and sure enough, high up in the trees was Celica. 

She was unconscious and bent backwards over a tree branch that looked ready to snap under her weight. Her head was bleeding, but I really didn’t care about that, because the branch snapped. I jumped up towards her and caught her. I held her close as I hit several branches before I hit the ground, the wind completely knocked out of my lungs. I could still feel her breathing which was good for her, but I fucking couldn’t. Once I gathered my breath back, I sat up and held her head up to better inspect her. Besides the head wound, she seemed to be fine. She managed to form her ice armor, and that was probably what hit me in the face. 

“Celica…hey…can you hear me?” The only response that I got from her was a groan and a few mumbled words that I couldn’t make out. Well, we were almost at the wreckage so I could leave her there and see if anything survived the crash. I hope that someone packed up some water, although if I could find a water goddess that could work too. “Alright…lovely…let’s go.”

Making it to the ship, unfortunately there was nothing else here. Adjusting Celica in my arms once more, I laid her down in the broken part of the cockpit. Some supplies were sprawled out around the ground so I would have to take some quick inventory on it. Lady Serafina and the Darkness would probably still be fighting for a while, so we would have to make something of this place for now. 

Looking through the things I managed to gather, we only had a few rations, so we would have to hunt anything that was here. The first aid kit barely had anything in it, but hopefully no one was hurt too bad. Relying on Celica was not gonna happen for the rest of this mission, our natural healing would have to tide us over. There were a few pairs of clothes that I was about to change into since the weather was so damn humid and sticky here. The sun looked like it was about to set soon, and I would have liked to look for the others before it set. Leaving Celica behind was not an option though, so I hoped for the best. 

Once I changed and started a small fire, I cleaned the blood and dirt from Celica’s face and visible parts of her body. It wasn’t until I touched her back that I saw she had a wound on her shoulder. It didn’t look too deep, but I would have to look over it. 

“Excuse me for a sec…” Tearing her shirt off, I carefully turned her over and used the energy of the trees around us to heal her wound. The only response I got from her was a small groan. I hoped that she would wake up soon, because this was not my specialty. Her wound closed up well enough and that would have to do for now. I had to make a note to ask her to show me some more healing techniques. I bandaged her up as best as I could and dressed her in another shirt before I sat next to her and tried to figure out what to do next. 

“I have to contact the others and find the kid soon.” Placing my hand against the ground, I felt the planet pulse under my palm. Every inch of the fauna and flora made its way into my mind. I could even see every animal that ran across the ground. Pushing it forward, I tried to see if I could sense the others, and thankfully I found them. Callum was waking up a few miles away from us to our north, Nim was cursing to himself as he smacked some trees down about a mile away from Callum. Nerissa, of course, managed to find a river to clean herself off, not even more than 300 meters from us. If she turned and walked to her west, she would walk right into us. Now to find the kid-

“What happened?!” I looked up as the kid emerged from the swamp looking like a wreck. He rushed over to Celica and looked over her with wide eyes. Someone is in love. Looking over at him, there was still some snow on his head. I guess Celica must have shielded him before they crashed. Lucky kid indeed. “How…w-what happened to her?”

“The same thing that happened to all of us kid. Someone didn’t like us taking you and crashed our ship on Zosmuna.”

“Zosmuna?”

“Yup…a real crappy place to land if you ask me.” In my search for the others, I noticed what planet we had crashed on. It would be the planet that has a habit of eating the living organisms of it every so often. If we were lucky, it had already gone through its feeding process. 

“Will she be ok?” I looked back at the kid and smirked as he held Celica’s hand in his. Yeah, he was completely smitten with her. I mean I couldn’t blame him really, she was gorgeous. 

“Yeah…I believe so. She was already struggling before so she needs some extra rest. It would be best if she is as comfortable as possible. You think you could look after her for me real quick?”

“Yeah! Of course I can!” I rolled my eyes at his sudden chivalrous need to protect Celica. If it kept him calm and in my sights, I didn’t care. Pulsing my power through my body once more, I sent a few leaves to direct the others towards us. The kid and I sat in silence for a while as he ate some of the rations I managed to scrape together. Nerissa was taking her time to get here…maybe she might have stopped to hunt something. I did also pass the message along that we would need some things. 

“So…you have a grandfather waiting for you at home?” It would be best to feel the kid out even though he was being a little brat back on Zhikar. The tough act he kept trying to pull was not fooling me at all. This was a kid who was terrified and desperate for it to be over. 

“Doesn’t everyone?”

Dickhead.

“Look…I know that you might not want to admit how afraid you are, but I get it Altair. I really do. This is a lot for a kid your age to be dealing with. We meant it when we said that we want to take you home so you can be safe. It would ease our hearts a bit if we knew that you had some family to go back to.”

“He might be dead.” I tossed some rocks into the brush as he sat beside me and drew his legs up to his chin. He was a tiny kid for his age, although he might hit a growth spurt soon enough. Looking over his frame, he could be quite the fighter. If he practiced his abilities and took some lessons he could be a force to be reckoned with. That blast he caused on Zhikar was enough to show how powerful the kid was, and also how dangerous it would be if someone else had their grip on him. “When they took me away…they beat him up….there was a lot of blood.”

“I see…” 

“I might not have any family left anymore.”

“You can’t think like that…he could still be alive. Hell, he might even be trying to find you. I think he’d be pretty happy to see you.”

“Yeah…maybe…” He buried his face between his legs and now I started to feel really bad. It had been some time since I had to deal with kids this young. I was probably losing my damn touch when it came to dealing with them. 

“I see what you’re trying to do…I’m not stupid.”

“Yeah? What am I trying to do?”

“Distract me so that I’m not scared. It doesn’t really matter what you do. This whole thing is always going to be scary. All the things that I’ve seen…all the kids that were killed. I just want it to be over.”

“It will be over Altair. Hey look up there…” I moved closer to him and placed a hand on his shoulder as we looked up at the sky. “You see those lights sparking up there?”

“Yeah…what is that?”

“That…is a magnificent woman fighting against evil incarnate to make sure that you are safe and back home where you belong. We weren’t lying when we said that we wanted you safe. We’ll put our lives on the line to defend you and make sure nothing happens to you. As you can see…” I looked back at Celica as she seemed to finally relax in her sleep. “We are willing to do whatever it takes….”

“....”

“Keep your chin up for just a bit longer…once the others make it here…we’ll come up with a plan to get out of here.”

“I…” I raised a brow as he looked down at his hands and squeezed them tight. “I really do have…powers…don’t I?”

“Oh yeah you do. A boundless amount of it too. That is why once we get you home, we can start to show you how to control it.”

“What am I? I thought that I was just a normal kid.”

“That…is a tough question to answer.” I leaned back on my hands as the fighting above our heads grew fiercer. “There is not much that we know about star children. The few in existence have chosen to live their lives from all of this conflict. We respect their decision and haven’t pestered them about studying their abilities. We only really swing around to check up on them every now and then. We have Nerissa who is also a star child, but she barely even relies or practices her abilities. All we know is that their power is so immense that even Lady Serafina doesn’t know its limits. They are…you…are capable of some pretty incredible things.”

“...” I chuckled as he looked down at his hands in wonder. I guess he could act like the child he actually was. “Will you guys ever figure out what…a star child can do?”

“Well…with Nerissa being so damn difficult and not caring for her other abilities…probably not. I’d like to document it in the records and I’m sure a few members of my pantheon would love to know more about them.”

“Records? Your…pantheon?”

“Heh…I guess I could give you a quick rundown. We won’t be going anywhere for a while…”

I couldn’t help but chuckle again as the kid got comfortable so he could listen to me. If I could ease his worries for a bit I would do it. Really didn’t need his powers to freak out again and blow us to smithereens. 

“So…the short story is my pantheon specifically handles the research and study of the wide universe. We study the various plant life, civilizations, creatures and monsters, and just the general aspects of it. We keep it all in my temple in the biggest library in the cosmos-”

“You have a massive library!” I was taken completely aback as the kid almost jumped out of his shoes at me. He coughed awkwardly as his cheeks got red, but I didn’t miss that sparkle in his eyes. Seems the kid had a love for books. I could totally get that though, my gorgeous looks weren’t the only thing I was packing after all. 

“Yeah…the Celestial Athenaeum…all the texts that have ever existed and will ever exist. We have it all there.”

“You…you think I could see it?”

“Yeah I do.” I ruffled his hair which he did not appreciate as he frowned. “When I can…I tend to spend hours there.”

“Do you have an observatory?” 

“....” Huh.

“Wait…so you study everything in the universe and you don’t have an observatory? You don’t have someone to study the stars and planets?”

“Hmm….that…well…” It was something that Tori and the others had been pestering me about. We were just so consumed with looking over everything else. 

“That seems to be pretty irresponsible for a God…seems like you’re just being lazy.”

“Hey!” I pulled on his ear and he yelped in pain as he whined and tried to hit me. “I just haven’t had the time! I’m gonna get a dedicated team to do that eventually. The universe is a big place and I have to find someone qualified. I don’t see you volunteering for it!”

“Who would want to work with you?!” He rubbed his ear when I released it, before he stuck his tongue at me. I couldn’t help but do the same to him. Little brat. 

“I’ll have you know that I’m a great boss and an even better God.”

“You seem really irresponsible.”

“Shut it.” He smiled like he won a damn prize as we watched the sky continue to spark up. Where the hell were the others? This was taking them way too long. When I sent that message…it should have led them right to us. 

“Thanks.”

“Hmm? For what?”

“Distracting me.” His ears turned red as he rubbed his head. “I…I don’t feel as nervous as I did before.”

“No problem Altair.”

“Do you have siblings?”

“...yeah…”

“You just seem to know how to talk to kids is all. Most adults talk to me like I don’t understand anything. I’m not that young.”

“Heh…well it’s been a while. I’m surprised that I still know how.”

“I wish that I had siblings. It would be fun to have someone to play with all the time. Are you guys really close?”

No. “Yeah.”

“Well…they must be excited to know their brother is a God. I know I would be.”

They aren’t. In fact…they…despise me for it.

“The family get-togethers must be really crazy then.”

If they would come, that is.

“Hey…how would you like to get a recommendation to that academy that Celica was telling you about? A smart kid like you should get the very best education.”

“Really?! I’ve never been to school before. My grandfather always taught me at home.”

“Yeah…it would be my pleasure.” I would say anything to get him to stop talking about my family. The relatively short attention span of a child was my saving grace. Just thinking about them made my stomach turn. It wasn’t as bad as the twists and turns it made of my heart though. Altair was trying to stay up, but he was swaying and about to fall asleep. The sun was basically done and a shadow of a cloud passed over our heads. These clouds would make seeing Lady Serafina and the Darkness fighting hard.

Looking up at it, bright red eyes leered into my soul. I couldn’t even release a sound as the damn thing scared the shit out of me. It was massive, how didn’t I hear or notice it? I couldn’t even make out its figure because the size of its jaws almost took up most of my body. Its jaws that were open and about to snap over me if I didn’t finally snap out of my stupor. I only had time to grab its upper jaw and dig my other foot into its lower one to keep it open. Its teeth stabbed right through the center of my palms and it propelled us both through the broken cockpit. I could hear Altair scream and I prayed that it didn’t hit him or Celica. 

I grunted as it slammed me into the ground several times. Keeping its jaw open with one hand, I reached for my dagger, but a light consumed my vision. Its jaws closed on me tighter and the fucking thing was strong as hell. I called some plants to pry the things mouth open but it would not budge!

Realizing it now, I couldn’t move my legs even if I wanted to. Whatever this thing was, its gums wrapped around my ankles and held me in place. Before I could figure out how to get out, my vision was consumed by a blinding red light. 

I could feel my bones in my body quake and rattle as the energy blast rocked my core. My flesh was burning and the smell of my skin consumed the dank air. A scream ripped from deep in my lungs as it held me against the ground. The assault continued for several more seconds before it stopped. My vision was shot and I grimaced as it started back up again. That shit would really tear me apart another time. Reaching out of its mouth, I slammed my hand against the ground, tearing open a fissure in the ground. It was enough to cause it to lose its footing, and with it its grip on me. Rolling out between its massive teeth, I ducked as a tail almost hit me. 

The creature itself was massive, which made sense considering how big its teeth and jaws were. Looking at it more, it was obvious now that it was not some creature native to Zosmuna. No, the Darkness had sent some of its creations to track us down and get the kid. Speaking of, I could see him trying to hide in the wreckage of the ship. Good, it meant that he wasn’t hurt too much and Celica was also alright. The Darkness and its little lackeys were far too creative with the beasts that they made. It was not the time to dwell on it, because it advanced on me with a hideous roar. 

I slashed at its claws as it attacked me with ferocious strikes. The thing was fast, but I kept pace with it easily enough, despite how much my body was screaming at me. Stomping a foot down, jagged rocks erupted from the ground and impaled it in its sides. The beast didn’t even flinch as it just continued to snap its jaws at me. Summoning more jagged rocks over its head, I slammed them down deep into its cranium. This seemed to stun it long enough for me to jump on its back and drag my daggers across its throat. A dark smoke emerged from it but the smoke seemed to have a mind of its own.

The smoke rose into the air and seemed to turn solid before several blasts of energy rushed at me. I sliced and weaved away from them. A few blasts nicked my side, but I could shrug it off easily enough. The creature began to stir under me and before I could move, it tossed me off and tried to chomp down on me. Grabbing its jaw, I flexed my strength and snapped its jaw and it finally dropped. 

“Fuck…” My body felt like it was on fire. My wounds were starting to bleed more heavily. Moving back towards the ship, I sighed in relief as Altair peeked around to look at me. Celica was also sitting up and although she still looked pale, she seemed relaxed. “Hey…”

“Ka’seem…” I sank down next to Celica as she started to slowly heal my wounds. Releasing a relieved sigh, I leaned my head against her shoulder as she got to work. Her healing touch was always so comforting. It was like a gentle caress from a mother and I really needed that right now. “The others?”

“I…sent the message…they honestly should be here soon.” 

“This is the most that I can do. You’ll have to heal on your own for now. You shouldn’t feel much pain though.”

“Thanks…as long as I can still stand and wield my daggers…it's better than nothing.” Altair looked like a deer caught in a hunter's snare. “Hey…I’m alright…this is far from the worst that I’ve ever felt. Once the others get here we can figure out a plan of attack.”

“O-Ok…”

“Altair…we will get you back home. I promise you.” Celica rubbed his cheek and he lit up like a Christmas tree. “Help me stand up love…I need to stretch a bit. I won’t get better sitting and sleeping all the time.”

“Ok…” I shared a glance with Celica at his solemn tone. Poor kid had just been through way too much. He didn’t deserve it, hell none of those kids did really. It was just another unfortunate thing that we couldn’t prevent in time. Sometimes doing this job really did suck. With so much power you would think there would be more things we could stop, but even the Gods had their limits. 

Sitting back further in the cockpit, I pulled my hair loose before leaning my head back. The fight raging above our heads didn’t seem like it was losing steam. If that was the case, we would have to figure out a way to sneak out of here. How could we do that? I had no damn idea. The others were better at planning this sort of thing. I was more than content with leaving it to them. I did my fair share of work. 

The damn planet was also making some movements that I did not like in the slightest. It would not be long before it started its eating process. I would have to ask Celica about this headache that was forming. This whole mission was turning into a shit show.

“Altair…be careful of the debris around here…I don’t want you to cut yourself on something.”

“Ok…”

Looking back at the pair, I smiled as the kid started to open up more. Peace was never a thing that seemed to last though. Moments had to be appreciated when we got them. I just wished that the fucking creature had stayed dead. 

“Ka’seem!” I could barely react as the creature crashed down on top of the ship. It almost managed to crush me, but I held some of it away from my frame. The parts almost crunched down on my face if the thing kept stepping on it, but it had other plans.

Hearing the kid scream,I could see them both just a bit through the parts of the ship. Celica was fending it off well enough in her condition, but her focus kept drifting back to Altair. Grabbing the metal, I pulled it apart just to catch a horrifying scene unfold. The kid made a break for it as Celica faced it, but it didn’t care about her. Setting its eyes on the kid, it lunged forward, mouth agape about to tear the kid apart. 

Celica moved faster than she had been moving since Zhikar. Her weapon was completely discarded as she threw the kid out of the war. A sickening crunch echoed through the air, only being overshadowed by the piercing scream from Celica. The creatures teeth sank into her midsection, tearing right through her. A fountain of her blood erupted and dripped down from its jaws. This woman was tough because despite its jaws sinking deeper into her frame, she gripped its teeth and tried to break free.

“CELICA!” The forest erupted around us through my anger and the beast soon found that it had bigger problems at hand. Still biting Celica, it turned just as my fists collided with its face. The trees and ground beneath us shook as I rocked it to the core. Jagged rocks pierced it long enough to make it lose grip on Celica. I didn’t have the time to tell her to brace herself as I yanked her off its teeth. I gave her credit for not crying out anymore. 

Setting her down, the beast rushed us again, but now I was pissed the fuck off. Forming a spiked gauntlet, I uppercutted right through its lower jaw. The creature swiped me across my chest, but the adrenaline pumping through me barely made me register it. Reaching into the open wound under its jaw, I tore it open right down the middle. When it began to twitch and try to reform itself, I created a cage of rocks and enclosed it within it. It was fighting against it, but I had enough. I exhaled deeply as I crushed the ball into the size of a marble. 

Catching it in my hands, I looked it over for a bit, before I turned and threw it back into the atmosphere. It could report its failure to its fucking master. I rushed back over to Celica as the kid cried over her. I held my face together as I looked at her wound, because if I didn’t the kid would cry worse than he already was. The wound had to be almost six or seven inches wide. The tooth that ripped through her caught most of her midsection and some of her left side was completely gone. It was turning her skin black and the blood that leaked from her was also a deep black.

“You…a-a-al…right?” I looked over as she brushed the kid’s hair back from his eyes. He just cried harder as he held her hand. “It…it’s not…that bad…”

She glanced at me to confirm it, but I could only give the faintest shake of my head. Her brow furrowed, but that was the only emotion she could really show without scaring the kid. Her bright eyes were even starting to look dull. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck! 

“Come on lovely…we should get you inside.” I moved as slowly as I could to not make it painful for her, but her screams told me otherwise. Just as I placed her in the ship, Callum and Nim both emerged from the forest. Rushing to the ship, they both stepped back in horror as they looked over Celica. “Guys…we have to talk.”

The tone of my voice made them both flinch. They nodded but didn’t once take their eyes off of her as her breathing grew more and more shallow. It was tough to see, but I knew it was worse for them. The three of them had been together forever, and despite their relationship, Nim still cared for Celica alot, anyone could see that. Callum was whispering some comforting words to her, and she tried to smile through her pain. 

“What the hell is all the noise around here?” I couldn’t look at Nerissa as she stumbled through the forest towards us. “I heard all this damn screaming and thought there was a-what happened?!” 

She almost knocked me over as she dropped down next to Celica. I think I deserved to be pushed around a bit. If I would have properly killed that thing she wouldn't have gotten like this. She was even starting to get better from her earlier use of her abilities, now she was further back in a danger zone I wasn’t sure any of us could get her back from. I could barely hold onto my emotions as I recounted to them what happened to her. 

Nerissa kept her eyes trained on me as I recounted my story. Her hand in mine was the only thing keeping me from choking up through it. Nim and Callum still had their eyes fiercely trained on her as she passed out. Altair held her other hand tight, despite her powers acting up and starting to freeze the area around us. 

“We have to keep moving.”

“What?” I looked at Nim as I wrapped up and he finally took his eyes off her to glare at me. “She is in no condition to be moved.”

“That creature knows that we are over here. If we stay, the Darkness will just send more to attack us and she’ll be in more danger. We have to move now.”

“Moving her will just cause her more pain!”

“She’ll just have to deal with it.”

“Listen you heartless bastard! Have some compassion for once in your life! We have no idea how much worse it could get if we move her!”

“Sitting here will just make us easier targets Ka’seem! We have to go now!”

“There is nowhere to go if you haven’t noticed! Lady Serafina and the Darkness are fighting above us, the planet is about to start eating! This has to be our base of operations for now!”

“I said we are leaving!”

“Fuck that! I’m not moving her!”

“Maybe if you weren’t such an idiot she wouldn’t be dying!”

“NIM!” I gritted my teeth and Nim looked away as Callum and Nerissa yelled at him. It took all of my strength to not knock him the fuck out. He just huffed and looked away from me back to Celica.

“Listen you fucking mutt…” His eye snapped over to my face as the ground started to tremble. “Unless we need to…we are not moving her. So make yourself useful and find something to ease her pain until we can leave. I’d suggest you do that now…before I have to put you on a leash again.”

His eyes slitted as lightning crackled above us. It was a low blow, but honestly I was sick and tired of everything right now. We had to do something right on this mission, and I didn’t want to listen to him order me around right now. I’d apologize later if I felt like it. 

“Hey!” Nerissa got between us and shoved us away from each other. “Ka’seem knock it off! Nim please…just take a lap or something. At the end of the day, we are stuck here and we…we have to make Celica comfortable.”

Nim didn’t say anything more as he stormed away and I looked away from Callum as he gave me a look. I realized the situation was dire, but everytime Nim gets riled up it leads to more problems. Something that we didn’t need right now. 

The next few hours had to be the tensest hours of my life. Celica was in a constant state of delirium. She would wake up and mumble to herself, before passing out again. We had managed to find some things to eat, but she couldn’t hold any of it down. Her wound was also getting more concerning as it continued to slowly move across her body. I was terrified of what would happen if it reached her heart. When the others noticed, they tried to ignore it and hope for the best, but we were all nervous. We had to get off this planet.

Nerissa and the kid didn’t leave Celica’s side for a second. Nim and Callum had gone off to look for more food, but I was too focused on this planet. It should have started its feeding process already. It would be a disaster when it finally starts up. Lady Serafina and the Darkness were still fighting and it was starting to dawn on me that they could do this for a while. One of them would have to back off, and Lady Serafina would never leave us alone. They could fight each other over this planet for the next hundred years if they wanted. 

Celica…she didn’t have that kind of time. Lady Serafina was the only one who could heal her at this point. She was getting weaker and weaker and her body was not healing itself anymore. We cleaned and managed her wounds as best we could, but it definitely wasn’t enough. I closed my eyes once more as I dug my fingers into the dirt. The planet was shifting again and it seemed that it was almost time.

“Ka’seem…” I kept my focus on my task, even though I probably should talk to him. With a frustrated breath, I stood up to face him, brushing the dirt from my clothes as I did. It really didn’t matter since I was covered in dirt and dried blood. My own injuries were screaming at me, but I just ignored it.  “I know that you are worried about her…”

“Are you not worried about her?’

“....”

“Seriously?” I rolled my eyes as he frowned. “I know that you got this I don’t give a fuck mentally but I’m going to need you to care just for a bit.”

“I don’t-”

“Yes you do, Nim. Despite how much you fight…you have to think about her pain right now. She needs strength right now…not an asshole who’s being difficult.”

“....”

“Also…I’m sorry about earlier. It was out of line…I’m just really annoyed and nothing seems to be going right for us. I just want Celica to recover and the kid somewhere safe.”

“Agreed.” Closing my eyes, I rolled my neck to get an annoying knot out. I flinched as I opened them and Nim was in my face. “Y-Yeah?”

“You know that when we get home that I’m gonna kick your ass right?”

“Mmm…yeah yeah…” He smirked and I couldn’t help but chuckle. As much as he could be an ass, he was still one of my best friends. It was hard to be mad at the bastard for too long. “Also…I think the planet is about to start feeding-”

The ground suddenly started to shift and we both lost our footing. It seemed that the planet was going to start feeding. I had no idea how it started, but we had to move. Nim and I rushed back to the others and Callum had already picked Celica up. Nerissa had a hold on Altair and with a quick nod we all rushed off into the treetops. The trees were starting to bend and twist under the movements of the planet. Creatures of all sizes were running and flying away but most of them were being crushed by falling trees and sinking under the dirt. 

It wasn’t long before we reached some flat land and booked it across. The ground was starting to open up under our feet and I could briefly see what looked like several rows of mouths. When I said the planet had a feeding process, I didn’t expect to see that. The mouths were leaking with something that looked like acid, probably making it easier to digest things. It would be fascinating to study, but I would have to do that later. Nerissa pulled some water from the air, and made us a bridge to run over. 

Unfortunately, the mouths did more than just leak acid. It started to spit it out into large fountains. Some of it caught Nerissa on the shoulder and our water bridge wavered and dissolved. I quickly pulled some of the dirt up to keep our momentum. I looked back at Callum and Celica and they seemed fine and so did the kid. We continued to run until we were under a cliffside, and finally caught our breaths as the planet shifted and changed around us. The mountains and ground rose and shifted and more and more creatures were falling prey to it. I felt kind of bad for them having to die like that. 

That was nature at its finest I suppose.

As Celica continued to weaken and with it the temperature dropped. We all huddled together as we waited out the planet’s feast. The worst thing about it all was the wait, and we had no idea what would come first. The end of the fighting between the Light and Darkness, or the end of our dear friends’ life…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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I groaned as my head pounded more against my skull and my vision started to clear more and I was greeted with the  pleasant image of a sword about to be stabbed in my face. I grabbed it easily enough and flipped it around to stab the idiot in the throat. Once he fell over, I sat up to take stock of what happened to everyone else. I saw Nim pushing a ship off of his body with a slew of curses pouring out his mouth. Hearing a sound, I looked over my shoulder as Callum walked over holding his head. Blood was flowing into his eye and he even looked annoyed before he looked down at me.

“Need some help?”

“Huh? No…just enjoying Nim having a temper tantrum.”

“Nerissa…”

“Yeah?” I looked at his pointed finger and groaned as I saw my leg had decided to leave my body. I didn’t even notice that it was gone. Hopefully Celica could patch that right-

“What happened to Celica and Ka’seem?!”

“I have no idea, but I think they were still underground when that blast happened. I imagine that a majority of the children most likely perished.” I followed his gaze as we watched Nim look over the other children that caught the brunt of the blast on the surface with us. It seemed that we would just keep taking losses here. We had to do something right…I had to do something right. I fucked up royally earlier and I didn’t want to lose anymore innocent lives. “Nerissa…”

“Yeah?”

“You have to move on from it.” I groaned as he lifted me up and held my weight against him. “I know what happened earlier is bothering you, but we have to focus on what we do next…”

“...” I poked him in the cheek and he glanced at me with a raised brow. “What about you…you haven’t been the most aware person since we came here.”

“...I suppose you are right about that…” We moved over to Nim who was gathering the bodies of several children without anything more than a deep frown. I wonder what was going through his head…besides the frustration of course. Nothing about this mission had been going our way, and maybe it would have been…but I managed to destroy that. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the last bit of rain as it fell on us. 

“I was supposed to get those kids out of here…” 

Nim and Callum both looked at me, and I didn’t have to see their faces to know they were thinking about what to say to me. There wouldn’t be much they could say to make me feel better about everything I had managed to do. Sweet Serafina…I was still such a child at times. Callum patted my head and I hated that he was still trying. I wanted to be sad about this and I should feel terrible. 

“Well…who knew that the ground would explode around us…” Nim sighed as he laid another child down. “Unless you plan to cry about it…help me gather the rest of the children so we can find Ka’seem and the smurf…”

“Wow…you have such a way with words…that makes me feel soo much better…” He rolled his eye at me before I willed the rain away. I gathered some water into my leg so I could at least stand until we found Celica. 

“I’m going to see if I can find them in the debris-”

Callum was quickly cut short as the ground started to shake under us once more. Nim and Callum drew their weapons and I quickly took up their rear. Some of the rubble in the main structure was starting to rise, but I could hear the faint sounds of someone yelling. Nim and Callum noticed too and we all cautiously looked into the hole as it continued to rise. The voices became more distinct and I sighed in relief at hearing them.

“Hey! You almost kicked me! I’m trying to be as careful as possible!”

“I have to make sure that they are ok!”

“Well damn Celica! I had no idea that’s what you wanted this whole time! You damn psychopath!”

Slap!

“OW! Chill the hell out! How does anyone concentrate when you’re like this!” 

I chuckled as Ka’seem and Celica were both screaming at each other, and before long, the huge mound of dirt cleared away and showed a tattered and bruised up looking pair of Gods. Ka’seem didn’t look too bad, but he had a large wound on his side, and his hair had fallen out of its ponytail, and the lovely handprint from Celica on the side of his face. Celica still looked pale from when she used her abilities, but her face was fractured, and small bits of ice fell off her face. Her ice armor was tougher than I thought if she was virtually unscathed, but she needed some rest soon, but she would never listen to any of us when there were children involved. 

Speaking of…

“Whatcha got there Celica?” She snapped her head to glare at me, but her features softened as she held two boys close to her chest. One of them was bruised up and had some dried blood on his face, but he was fine. The other one is the one that gave me pause, and he caught Callum and Nim’s attention as well. “Is that…?”

“Yes…Nerissa I need your help…come here.” My heart swelled in pride as she called me over.I had no right to feel that way, but I could finally do something to make up for my idiotic blunder earlier. I wasted no more time as I ran over to the crater and knelt beside her. The little boy’s skin had turned a deep black and there were constellations forming on his arms. His hair had turned white, but it was slowly fading away to a honey blonde. He was so still that I would have thought he was dead, if I didn’t see his chest rising slightly. I couldn’t explain it, but there was something about being near him that made my heart melt. It just felt good to be in his presence.

“You feel that?”

“Y-Yeah…is this how it felt when you guys found me?”

“Yes.” My cheeks flushed as they all answered in unison, so gentle and so loving. There was no hesitation in their voices either. I had never met the other star children, most of them chose to remain hidden and have their lives private. The only beings that knew where they were was Serafina, the Trinity, and the Ancients. It was better that way for them and if anyone tried to look for them. I heard they were quite the group too, so we might get along if our paths ever crossed. 

“Will he be alright?” I looked at the other boy as he held tightly to Celica. His eyes were large with tears that were threatening to fall. “H-He just got so upset…and then everything just turned white! I’m sure that he didn’t mean it!”

“Hey hey…it’s ok…we’re gonna make sure that he wakes up and is good as new.” I looked back at the boy as he groaned and turned in Celica’s arms. The energy coursing over his body was starting to leak out of him. A small cluster of stars was starting to form around us, and we really didn’t need any celestial bodies floating around like that. I puffed out a breath as I brushed them away to focus on him. 

I didn’t like to admit that I was not that well versed with my celestial powers. I focused more on my water abilities and my other Goddess given abilities. I guess this was my signal to start my training back up. The least I could do was ease some of the excess energy off of him. Shutting my eyes, I held my hands over his body and felt a rush of his power flow over me. I almost fell over from the sheer strength the kid was exerting. I held his arm tight as his power continued to flow into me, my own skin taking on a more celestial appearance. 

With a deep sigh, the boy relaxed against Celica and his skin turned back to his usual hue. I quickly stood away from him as the energy made my body tremble. The rush that I got from him felt better than any high I had ever had. 

“Remember your breathing Nerissa…” I nodded as Callum placed a hand on my shoulder. With several deep breaths, I dispelled the energy from my body and fell back against Callum. “Good job…”

“Thanks…”

“Mmm…” I snapped back to look at the boy as he started to wake up. Celica was whispering calming words to him as she healed him, but his speech was slightly slurred. I chuckled and he opened his eyes to glare, and I marveled at how pretty his pale green eyes were. The residual effect of his powers were slowly fading away. “What…what happened?”

“You’re safe Altair…”

Altair? Huh…what a name choice. 

“N-No…” He moved away from Celica and looked around at us with anger, but also fear in his eyes. “The…voice said you were just using me…I just want my grandfather….”

“Voice?” I shrugged at Ka’seem as he shook his head at Altair. “Sorry buddy, but if you heard any sort of voice, it was not a friend.”

“Huh? I’m supposed to trust your word?” He glared at Ka’seem and slowly rose to his feet, despite Celica protesting about it. “I’m not gonna listen or trust a man with a ponytail. You look like damn twink-”

I tried to hold back my laugh, but the face Ka’seem made was far too funny. His jaw was slack as he stared at Altair, before it turned a bright red. I blinked and Ka’seem had him by the ear and looked ready to pull it off. 

“OW!”

“Listen here you little shit…” Ka’seem seethed through gritted teeth, his eyes slitting angrily. “This damn twink! Saved your little ass! Besides…even if I did swing for the other side, it shouldn’t matter! You owe me your life you shit! Also learn some respect…no one likes a homophobe…”

“OW! Ok!” I giggled as Ka’seem released his ear with a huff and Celica glared at the back of his head as she healed his ear. “Jerk…”

“Hey hey…stop it Altair…” Celica gently chastised him and I was surprised that he actually settled down. “Guys…I need you to get the rest of the children…”

“Huh? You mean you managed to save some of them!?” Celica nodded solemnly as she looked behind us at the rest of the bodies. 

“I encased the rest of the children in ice quickly enough. You might have to do some digging, but they are still alive.”

“Alright…once we get the children we can reconvene back with the children you rescued at that auction. Once that is done, we go and get this Morlo person…”

“He might have been killed in the blast.” I shrugged as I made some water for the kids to drink. “That is the only option that seems right to me.”

“No he’s probably alive…” We glanced at the other boy as he finished drinking his water. “I heard him talking about how he has friends who can teleport him wherever he wants.”

“What?” Nim growled through his teeth and the boy jumped closer to Celica. “Of course…it is never that simple for us…”

“Roy…did you hear anything else about this Morlo?” Sometimes I envied the gentle touch Celica had with children. There was just something about her that they loved and they always sought out her attention. I wish that I was like that, but I think my eyes really kill any chance of a kid liking me, not that I was great with them anyway. 

“Just that he had powerful friends…and he wanted the barrier down soon…”

“We need that barrier down…” Altair winced as Callum spoke about the barrier, but he didn’t push it more thankfully. “Let’s get the children out of here. Celica you continue healing the boys, and Nerissa watch her back.”

“Aye aye captain…” I gave him a mock salute as the boys went to get the rest of the children. I plopped down next to Celica who gave me a look. “What?”

“You seem to be in a better mood.” I shrugged and looked aways from her, but she continued her prying as she pursed her lips. “I just want you to make better decisions Nerissa.”

Here we go. 

“Celica…I…I know that you do, everyone does.” I leaned back on my hands and closed my eyes feeling the sun pour into my skin. I never seemed to be able to do things right since we came to this damn planet. “Gonna kick my ass when this is over?”

“Definitely. Although, I could be inclined to forgive you quicker if you can clutch up for this final stretch?” I didn’t need to open my eyes to know that she was smirking at me. I guess I was too lovable to be mad at for long. “Although…”

“Ow ow!” I cried out as she pinched and pulled my cheek super fucking hard. What the hell was she trying to do, rip my face off?!

“If you ever do something as stupid as that again…I will freeze you down to your atoms and shatter you piece by piece until you beg for a mercy that will never come, because I will do it over and over again. Understand?”

“Y-Yes ma’am!” I rubbed my cheek as she smiled and continued to tend to Altair and Roy. I was going to continue to pout but feeling her soft touch healing my leg, I kept quiet. Glancing at Altair, it seemed like he had a little crush on our ice queen. It wasn’t hard to miss with how he was gazing at her. Looking at the sky, I stood up, almost knocking Roy right over. “Celica!”

“What is it?”

“Look at the sky!”

“Huh?” Her gasp told me that I hadn’t been seeing things and what we were looking at was the real deal. There was no fluctuation in the sky anymore, no obvious power lingering in the air, no sense of entrapment. It was just the atmosphere.

The barrier was gone. 

There was no time to waste as we gathered the children together and called for some backup. Half of Callum’s pantheon would be coming to collect the children, while Nim’s would handle their protection. This meant that the Darkness would be on this planet soon enough. We had to get off as soon as possible. 

“Come along you two…” Celica led the boys away towards the rest of the children. I kept my eyes to the sky as I followed behind her. Hopefully our people would be here quickly and we could get the hell out of here. “Nerissa…could you get the children some water? Most of them are dehydrated.”

“Yeah sure.” Once we made sure the children were properly safe. I didn’t want to waste this precious amount of time we had much longer. The few children that were still here were scared, but once Altair and Roy assured them we were fine, they moved along without much complaint. I was about to make sure that they all had enough water, but something caught my eye back in the forest. I frowned before I made my way over there. It was most likely a child that we might have missed. 

“Hey…you can come out…I’m not gonna hurt you. I just want to make sure that you are safe…we can bring you back to your family…”

“What happens to the ones that have no family to return to?” 

“Well…we take them to a place they will be safe at. Security, an education, food, and anything else they could possibly need.” I looked over my shoulder at the Onkai woman from before, and I really didn’t like the familiar feeling of that dagger in my back again. I must really be off my game right now, but I also had no time to entertain her. “Is that a sufficient enough answer for you?”

“No…no it isn’t. I thought you would have left after our last fight.”

“Well…clearly I didn’t. Now…would you get that damn knife away from me. I have more important things to deal with then fighting a little girl again.”

“I’m the one with the knife in your back right now!” I held my hands up defensively as she growled at me. She was kinda cute when she was angry. She was also not very aware of her surroundings because water was traveling up her boots and she didn’t flinch yet. “So how about you do me a favor and-ahh!”

“You know…I thought you were more aware than that.” I chuckled as she wiggled in my water snare. The water traveled further up her body before her arms were pinned to her sides and the dagger now rested at my feet. I looked over it with a frown. This was something that I would have to look further into when this mission was done. I never complained about my job, but this was super annoying. These god-killing weapons were being created and shipped across the cosmos more and more. I would have to tell Amias about this. He would love to hear about this topic again. Making him suffer through more and more paperwork was my own personal pleasure. 

“Fuck you and release me now!” 

“No.”

“Bitch! When I get out of this I-”

“Except you won’t get out of this because I have to release you from it. You will stay there for as long as I deem fit. You have almost killed me twice now and I have some words about it.”

“Oh fuck off you cow tiddied bitch! I have nothing to say to you gods! You have brought nothing but suffering to my people for years! Its about time you get a taste of your medicine!” I had to admit that the angry bite in her voice took me aback. I didn’t know what history she had, but it was not something I could dwell on now. 

“Listen…I don’t want any problems with you, and I want nothing more than to help with Zhikar if there is anything I can do. Right now, I really have to make sure these children are safe! There are much more pressing matters at hand than dealing with you!”

 “...”

“You know that I’m right and I’m positive that you would have killed me already if you knew I was lying! You let me go before and I’m only asking for some more of that faith I saw in you earlier. Letting you go might be dumb, considering you have managed to get another one of these weapons…”

“I-”

“So this is the little snake that almost took you away from us.” The shiver that travelled up my spine was nothing compared to what the woman in my snare was probably feeling. Celica’s chilled voice felt like it was freezing the air as my snare froze solid. Celica stepped up beside me and the woman gasped as the ice traveled further up her neck. “I was hoping to have a chat with you.”

“W-Wait Celica! Let her go! You don’t have to worry about her causing us any trouble!”

“I don’t see a reason why I shouldn’t make her realize her mistake for a bit.” Her eyes turned a sharp blue as she glared. “Tell me where those weapons came from…now.”

The woman gasped as the ice crackled across her body and if I didn’t do something she would experience something more painful than some frostbite. Celica was a scary woman when it came to getting information out of other beings. It was usually entertaining, but I really didn’t want to see this woman’s body as a bunch of ice cubes. 

“I asked you a question!” I snapped back to reality as the woman screamed now. Celica was not a good listener when she was angry. What could I do to-ah ha!

“Celica wait!” I dashed into her line of vision and before she could open her mouth, I released my trump card. “You can’t hurt her! In accordance to the Law of Patheons #12: We can not inflict any type of punishment of the others pantheons. Unless face-”

“They wish to face several harsh charges, and not limited to imprisonment and stripped of their abilities in the Oblivion Maxiumum Secruity Prison in the Void.”

“Exactly! See I knew that you would remember that!” I laughed akwradly under her piercing glare before I turned to look back at the woman. The ice quickly disappeared as fast as it had came, but Celica was not done as I still felt her eyes on my back.

“She isn’t in your pantheon Nerissa…”

“What? O-Of course she is!” I looked back at the woman who’s eyes flicked rapidly back and forth between me and Celica. I grabbed her hand and she gasped as a light emanated over our joined hands. “I, Nerissa, Supernova and Goddess of Water, hereby bring you…um…?”

“A-Arwen D-Dornala.”

“Arwen Dornala into my service to protect and serve the various species in the infinite cosmos to the best of your abilities. On my honor as a Goddess, so I say, so it shall be!”

The air crackled a bit from the oath, but other than that it was quiet in the woods around us. The chill was gone and I grabbed Arwen to stand quickly. “Listen…some people are coming to collect the children and keep them safe. I want you to go with them and ensure that they are safe ok?”

“W-What? What the hell was all of that?! I didn’t-”

“Now Arwen! We can discuss this later just do as I say.” She glared at my sharp tone, but left my side quickly and gave Celica a wide berth. I watched her rush off before my gaze shifted back to an angry Celica. “So…I-”

“Don’t….ever do that again. Invoking the laws on me like that…you have more balls than I give you credit for.”

“Yeah well…”

“She tried to kill you Nerissa. Who’s to say that she won’t try a stunt like that again?”

“I know I know…I just could see more bubbling under the surface. She just wants to ensure that her people are safe. I can see that she is not a big fan of the gods, but she still let me go…jsut spreading a little faith.”

“Hn. Come on…the others have arrived to take the children. I can hear the ships landing.”

“Right!”

The rest of my patheon was going to get a real kick out of hearing about the newest member to our fold. Although, there was a high probability that they would laugh at how pathetic this whole thing was. 

~~~

“HAHAHA!”

My eyes could not roll any higher into my skull as I sat on a wooden crate as everyone moved around me. The sun was finally down for the day and we were greeted with the sounds of various nocturnal animals and the odd child crying here and there. I would have loved to enjoy the sounds of nature from my home planet, but someone was making that difficult for me. 

“Why are you here Sol?” I gritted my teeth as she finally calmed her laughter down and closed her fan with a loud slap. I narrowed my eyes now as she looked down and me and tried not to laugh again. “I seriously hate you with a fiery passion.”

Soliana was supposed to be taking a vacation right now, so what the hell was she doing here? I looked over her shoulder as the rest of my pantheon helped Callum’s load the kids into their ship. Amias sent me a nod but I rolled my eyes as Soliana just smirked at me. Even Fate had shown up to help, but that wasn’t to odd I suppose. 

“I was enjoying my time off, but then I heard that some help was needed and thought I could use a quick detour. Too much relaxing makes me uncomfortable, I have to keep active. It helps make sure that my figure is intact.”

“Right…”

“So…that’s the child huh?” I looked over at Altair as he sat with his friend and was handed some fresh clothes and food. I had to always give Callum credit with his pantheon, they were always prepared to the tee with supplies for these rescue missions. The Greynore siblings were quick and efficient and I could only hope that my own slowpokes would get a move on. These kids had been through so much, and I was glad that we could give them a better life after all this. 

“Yeah…he’s got a mouth on him, but he seems like a sweet kid.”

“So…we have a new member in our flock huh? Seems she really gave you a rough time…” Hearing her start to snicker again, I sighed and walked away from her. “Oh come now dear, this is really quite the story you have dropped on us.”

“A story that I would rather not talk about.”

“Hmmhmm~”

“Just make sure that Arwen is looked after and have Amias fill her in on what happens next for her.”

“I don’t know dear…she doesn’t seem too happy about this. She almost got into it with Fate a bit ago.” I frowned as we almost witnessed Fate floor our new “companion”. Fate was a woman who had patience to a point…a small one. So when I heard that Arwen had pissed her off, I was not surprised when I saw her fist collide into Arwen’s nose. Hopefully they don’t keep trying to kill each other in the near future. 

“She will have to deal with it for now Sol…now run along and go help or something…” She chuckled once more before she sauntered off. 

“Nerissa!”

“Coming!” Ka’seem and the others were gathered around Altair, who looked nervous about them hovering over him like that. “What’s up?”

“Most of the children are on the ship and ready to go.” Callum looked over at them as the final few were loaded on board. “Zaleria went into town with Amias to gather the children from the auction that we saved. The only thing we have to do now is get Altair out of here.”

“Alright that sounds like a plan. Is there something else?” I shifted my weight as the others had several different looks on their faces. “What?”

“We plan on taking Altair with us on another ship, but the silence from Lady Serafina is concerning.” Callum glanced at the moon before he sighed. “I have tried to reach her, but I have heard nothing in response. I fear that if we leave the planet now, something terrible might happen.”

“We also can’t stay here forever Callum. The Darkness must know that we have the boy. They could be on their way right now. We have to leave now before we are trapped.” Nim glared around the dark forest as more creatures woke and stirred. “We have to make a decision and soon.”

“I know Nim…I just have a bad feeling about this. Also, Celica needs to rest and recover her strength. It is not good for her to be out here this long.”

“Callum…I’m…fine. I just want to…get the children out of here.” We all glanced at her with sour looks as she gave us such a pathetic lie. He was right…she was using too much power and she was looking worse by the hour. Of course, with her stubborn ass you would never really be able to say much to her. 

“Fine…let’s go.”

“Alright Roy…we need you to get in the aircraft with the rest of the children. We are going to travel with Altair. It is to dangerous for you to stay with him.” Nim looked down at Roy with a glare that left no room for an argument.

“I-I…”

“Roy sweetheart…” I chuckled as Celica glared at Nim before her tone became so soft and motherly. She reached out and stroked Roy’s hair and he instantly relaxed. The kid basically melted from her touch and I understood that feeling. Celica just had that charm to her and I loved when she would give me the rare headpat and comfort…shit was nice. “We…are going to take good care of him. You…can both be roommates when this is over…I promise.”

“Really? We can live together and just…be happy again?”

“Yes. I mean everyword that I’ve…ever said.” He pouted as he thought about it before he nodded. He shared a quick word with Altair before he went over to one of the ships. I looked back at Altair as he watched his friend leave. His eyes were starting to get wet with tears.

Cute. 

“Smile kid!” I slapped him on the back and he almost ate dirt and Celica was about to lose her head about it, but I brung him back to his feet. “This will be a fun trip and you get to meet a very attractive lady at the end of this!”

“Mmm…do I have to sit next to the cyclops?” I almost choked as I suppressed a laugh, but Ka’seem and Celica were quick to laugh in Nim’s face. Nim was fuming and I could see the cracks of electricity bouncing off the veins on his forehead. The kid was going to have a boot shoved up his ass soon enough it he didn’t stop. 

“You can sit with me love…” Celica smiled and took his hand as they made their way over to our new ship. 

“That kid is obsessed with her…I get it though.”

“Yeah you would…” I snorted as Ka’seem leaned against me with a smirk.

“Please…you know Celica is very fucking attractive. You would have been with her if she let you.” His cough and akward blush made me smile harder.

“Yeah yeah…”

“Come on and walk you two.” Nim’s voice carried over from the ship and we ran over to catch it. He would have left us too if we didn’t move. Once Callum was sure that all the kids were on the ships and leaving, we finally departed too. It was never often that we had such a chill time with a mission with all five of us, but it worked out somehow, except for the earlier blunder. 

“Hey.”

“Hey…” I moved over in my seat as Ka’seem handed me something to drink. I looked back out the window as the lights from the cities came to life. My heart skipped as I watched them pass us by. I hadn’t even been here long and…I was already missing it. I learned nothing and I also caused so many people to die because I couldn’t just grow up. Honestly, I just wanted to jump off the ship and try my luck again, but it felt like the damage was done. It wouldn’t feel right stepping foot here again for awhile. Maybe, maybe I didn’t really belong here afterall.

“So…when are we coming back?”

“Huh?” I lifted a brow at Ka’seem as he sipped his drink before turning to look at me. “I…I don’t think that I…”

“Oh…you think that you shouldn’t come back because you fucked some shit up…” I pouted and could feel my cheeks getting warm. He is such a dick. “Well…I don’t think you should let your heritage go so fast.”

“Ka’seem…I don’t want to fuck this beautiful place up again…it would be better this way. Aren’t you upset about this?”

“Oh yeah…I’m partly to blame for that mess too. I should have been the responsible one and put my foot down.” He leaned back in his seat with a yawn before looking at me. “Don’t carry that frustration and anger on your shoulder alone Nerissa. We both have some growing to do. We aren’t perfect beings like our followers think we are. We make mistakes just like anyone does. The only thing we can do it learn to grow the fuck up. We have to strive to be better than we were today.”

“What if I can’t do that? What if I never grow up from being childish and acting like a horny teenager? Lady Serafina was crazy for letting me become a Supernova. I suck at this job.”

“Hey listen…” I sighed as he moved closer and put our drinks down. Tilting my head up with his finger, he smiled his goofy smile at me and I couldn’t help but giggle. “I won’t stand to hear my best friend say such ridiculous things about herself. You are the perfect person for this job. I know that, Lady Serafina knows that, and so does everyone else you’ve helped over the years. Hey, remember that planet that you saved a few months ago?”

“Oh yeah…the one in Nim’s sector right? The one that everyone thought was going to be lost?”

“Yeah…everyone was deadset on having it destroyed because their was no way that it could come back from the plague on it, but you didn’t give up on it. The remaining species there was saved because of you. You saved them from extinction Nerissa! So you messed up a bit today, that is just a small bump in the road. Your years of endless service speak volumes about you, even if you can’t see it sometimes. It’s there and we all see it. Don’t be so quick to bench yourself.”

This idiot was useful to keep around after all. I buried my face into his shoulder so he wouldn’t see my damn tears. He just chuckled and wrapped his arm around me before we looked out the window as we broke through the atmosphere. 

“I guess…we can come back soon…”

“Yeah…I thought so…”

“Ah…there you are.”

“Hmm?” I glanced over Ka’seem’s shoulder as Callum appeared behind us. “Something wrong?”

“No no…Celica went to lay down to rest. You has been really weak since she finally settled and stopped pushing hearself. I was hoping that you both could check on her occasionally and if you could get her some fresh water.”

“Sure no problem.” He nodded at us before he left and I settled back into the chair beside Ka’seem and felt my eyes start to get heavy. With one good yawn, I was out like a light. I thought Ka’seem would have left, but he just snored away right next to me. I didn’t know how much time had passed, but I felt like it was good enough because when the first strike hit the ship, I sprang right to my feet. 

“What is going on?!”

I ran into the cockpit to see Callum and Nim fumbling around with the controls of the ship. One of the wings was on fire outside and I was about to put it out, but another attack rocked the ship and knocked me off my feet. Celica stumbled into the room and she rushed to the cockpit to help the others. Altair was trembling under a table and Ka’seem was trying to keep him calm. Another blast of something hit the ship and the whole back half blew off.

“AHH!” 

The vastness of space almost sucked Altair out, but I managed to grab him as I held a pillar. It was starting to give way and the fire was spreading through the ship now. Celica rushed over and make a wall of ice to block the entrance before we were sucked out. The poor kid just couldn’t catch a break from all of this.

“What the fuck is hitting us?!”

“We can’t see anything! Just hold on!”

“The ship is barely hanging on!” Nim looked over at us and was about to check on us, but he paused. It wasn’t just him either, we all froze as the same feeling washed over us. The burning ship didn’t seem so bad anymore as their presence became known. Approaching us at inhuman speed and ferocity, was the Darkness itself. Its gaping maw and looming arms reaching to grasp us, to tear our little ship apart and take Altair away from us. 

“TURN THE SHIP AROUND!” Callum and Nim desperately tried to make the ship move, but it was going too fast and the controls stopped working. The Darkness was getting too close, too fast and we could do nothing. My legs collapsed under me and I held Altair tight against my body. The fear that this bastard put into me was not appreciated, but I just couldn’t move.

It was finally upon us, and it brought the ship to a grinding halt. We all stopped and looked up at it as they looked down at us. This couldn’t be the end, not now! We…we have to get Altair out of here!

My worried were silenced immediately as a golden light consumed our vision, and once it cleared, a beautiful and ferocious sight greeted us. Serafina charged at the Darkness in her full armor with a harsh battle cry. Her sword struck true and the wails from the Darkness made the entire ship and my bones shake. She didn’t glance our way before she once again lashed out at the Darkness once more.

“MOVE!” Her voice seemed to rattle us back into action and we all moved to get the ship moving again, but it started moving in the worst possible way. One of the arms from the Darkness managed to strike out and hit us hard. We became a tumble of limbs and the ship hurled through space at a terribly sickening speed. I tried to reach for the controls, since Callum was knocked away from it.

“Fuck!”

I crawled across the floor and managed to grab it, but the force was too much and I couldn’t get a good grip. All I managed to do was make it spin even more. I briefly could see that we entered the atmosphere of another planet, but everything was spinning to fast. The ship was breaking up around me and I could hear the others yelling and being sucked out of the fallen apart ship. I couldn’t register my own status before the sound of an explosion and darkness took over me.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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“Gah!” My arm made a horrible sound and it burned like fire as I tried to cradle it to my chest, but it hurt too much to move it. I finally just let myself cry as I heard his heavy breathing over me. I flinched as the bar dropped near my face. The man stopped to catch his breath before he went to sit down and wipe my blood from his hands. A whimper escaped from me as I buried my face against the ground. The pain was too much and I wanted it to stop, and I wanted to rest and see my grandfather again, but I wasn’t sure if he was even alive. He had to be alive…he was the only person I had left. 

“You…are a fucking stain on everything I am working for…” I peeked up at Morlo as he glared at me and gripped the arm of his chair. The other adults in the room looked worried about how angry he was getting. I didn’t think he could get much angrier than how he was with me. I wish that I could stop whatever it was that he thought I did, because then I wouldn’t have to suffer anymore. All he would yell and mutter about was a barrier, but it didn’t make sense to me. “Are you listening to me child?”

“Y-Yes…yes sir…” I wasn’t really, but it would be stupid to tell him otherwise. 

“You know what you have to do for me, and I can end your pain and suffering right now. You help me and I help you. It is the simplest of things and I would hope that you cooperate before I break your other arm.”

Oh. That would explain why it hurts so much. 

“I-I will t-try-”

“Don’t TRY! DO IT!” I flinched as his voice echoed around the walls of the small room. He rushed over to me and lifted me by my collar. I cried out as my arm was jostled and he snarled at me. Everything around me felt dark and I was slipping into it, but he just would not let me. He continued to shake me until my eyes were wide open once again. “I am so sick of you fucking children! All you do is fuck everything up!”

I gasped in pain as I was slammed to the ground, my head bouncing off it as his hands gripped my neck tight. When would he stop hurting me? When would it sink in for him that I could not do what he wants? The voices had finally stopped, but I didn’t trust that they wouldn’t start back up again. There was too much happening all at once, and it was just too much. 

“You will drop that barrier or you will end up just like your friend over there.” I gritted my teeth as he forced me to look into a corner of the room. I had done my best not to look over there since he had dragged me in here, but shutting my eyes didn’t matter to him. With a punch to my stomach, my eyes flew open, just to see Van being reduced to just bones. A creature was eating away at his stomach and the look on his face was horrible. It had completely eaten his lower half, and it saved his upper half for last. 

Roy was in the other corner with a look of pure fear on his face. He had not made a sound since we were brought back, and he never would again, ever since Morlo had his tongue removed. I’m sure if I did nothing that he would kill him next. Roy knew that I had no idea about any powers or anything, and he sat with his knees drawn staring at Van, probably realizing he might be next. 

I could just not do what this man wanted from me and he wouldn definitely kill me once I failed at doing it. There would be no way to get out of this mess, and I would never see my grandfather again, and that was if he was even alive at this point. I squinted as Morlo stepped into my view again with his nostrils flared out. He raised his fist to hit me again, and I didn’t have the strength to try and move anymore. His fists just struck me over and over again, and my blood pooled in my mouth as everything started to get dark around me. 

“Sir!”

“What?!”

“Those people from earlier are advancing towards us!” Morlo cursed to himself and left me alone at last. Roy looked at me before he just looked back at the ground. I gritted my teeth as I dragged myself across the ground, my leg and arm burning. I had to get out of here, even if it meant I would be beat again. He needed me and he wouldn’t kill me. I could use that, yeah, yeah I could escape if I hurried. I needed Roy to help me, but he was too scared to even look at me. I could hear the men outside the room yelling and loud crashes, something bad was happening and I didn’t want to stick around any longer.

“R-Roy…we have to get…o-out…” I dragged myself closer to him but he just flinched away and scooted away from me. I shouldn’t have felt mad but I wanted to yell. I was scared too! I just wanted to go home! I didn’t want to die without knowing if my grandfather was alright. I had to believe in something!

A growl made my throat get dry as I looked over my shoulder. The creature that was eating Van snarled and dropped some of Van’s insides from its jaws. I looked at Roy who didn’t even react to it. 

I was going to die. This was it. I couldn’t run or fight back. It would tear me apart. It turned its gaze on Roy and it was my chance to get out, so why did I do the stupid thing and throw my shoe at it?

Roy even looked surprised at my stupid idea, but he stayed where he was. I suppose…this is what I get for being a good person. The creature lunged at me and I scooted back quickly as its sharp nails scraped against the floor, sending sparks into the air. I looked around for anything that I could use to defend myself, but there was nothing there.

I threw my arms up in defense but the teeth sinking into my good arm made me cry out. It shook me back and forth like a dog before it tossed me across the room, my back hitting a metal table. My head was spinning and I couldn’t even get my focus again before it was biting me again. My blood flowed out of me and it seemed to make it hungrier. I thought that it was over for me, but the creature let go of me. Blinking through my tears, I saw that Roy had started to hit it with a chair. I pulled myself up a bit, but the pain was too much and I slumped back down. 

I didn’t think he would actually come around and help me out, but he was. I just wish that it felt like it mattered. I was too hurt to even run and it was strong. Roy would eventually be beated by the thing and we would die, and that would just be it. 

The creature took its large claws and slapped him away before it settled back on me. My vision was getting more and more blurry as it ran at me. 

Will death feel as painful as my arms and leg feels?

I blinked at the creature as its teeth were almost around my leg again, but there was something sticking out of its mouth now. It was pointy and jagged and I was sure that it would feel terrible as it ate me. The creature was not moving anymore as its eyes started to grow wider and wider. I managed to glance at Roy who looked surprised that it stopped. I watched as the stick it its mouth moved and split it in half right from it jaw. I didn’t have the strength to look at it anymore as I fell to my back. Roy was making noises and I could briefly hear other people. Morlo was probably back to finish me and Roy off now that his creature had failed. I wish that I just would bleed out already. It was getting harder and harder to breath as the room started to spin around me. 

“Breathe…come on sweetheart…” A soft voice was speaking to me now, but it was not the gentle voice that I had been hearing for the last few days. It sounded so close to me, and a soothing pressure covered me all over. I guess this is what it felt like to die. It was nicer than I thought it would be. There was a hand on my face now, and I couldn’t help but flinch. I was so used to being hit and bitten by now. I was nervous to open my eyes, but there was something about this person that felt so different. 

I opened my eyes and I was greeted with the most beautiful thing that I had ever seen in my life. A woman was smiling at me and her eyes were so pink! I had never seen someone with pink eyes before, or blue skin for that matter! She smiled at me and my face grew warm as she did. “H-Hello…”

“We finally found you.” Both her hands touched my face now and she started to glow and my eyes felt like they were going to burst from my head. She placed a kiss on my forehead and my arms and leg didn’t hurt that much anymore. I touched my chest as the warm feeling spread over me. I…I felt fine! It didn’t hurt anymore! “All better now?”

“Y-Yes…” 

She nodded before she helped me to my feet and looked over at Roy before her pretty eyes grew soft. She held her hand out to me and I carefully took it. There was something about her that made me feel safe. Roy backed away as she knelt in front of him and touched his cheek.

“It’s alright…let me see what happened…” Roy shook his head before he looked at me, and the fear in his eyes almost made me cry. He seemed like such a strong person, stronger than me anyway. I felt like I could really trust this woman and she had healed me. 

“It’s ok…m-maybe she can help?” The woman nodded before she smiled at him. His cheeks grew red and he slowly opened his mouth. I looked away at the sight of where his tongue used to be. It was just a swollen mess in his mouth and I didn’t know how he didn’t choke on his own blood. The woman took in an angry breath and I could swear that I saw my breath. The room even felt colder as she stared at Roy. 

“Just relax sweetheart…” I watched with wide eyes as her finger brushed across his lips and he jumped back and held his mouth.

“W-What?! What’s wrong?” 

“My…my tongue…” I rushed forward and he opened his mouth and he had a new tongue in his mouth again! It was like nothing happened! We both turned to look at the woman who did nothing but smile at us. Why did she do it?

“W-Who are you?”

“I am a goddess…and I have been tasked with getting you and all the other children away from these people and back to your families, and those that don’t have families will be taken care of by me.”

“O-Other adults have hurt us…you’re just saying words right now…” Roy nodded his head at my words, but the woman just sighed and nodded. 

“I know that other people have hurt you…but I swear on my honor as a goddess that I will get you out of here safely. We just want to protect you.”

“We?”

“Yes…myself and some others have come to get you all out of here.”

I couldn’t really trust her right? Yeah she had saved me and Roy…but so many people had hurt us up until this point. I snuck another peek at her as she looked over Roy and kept glancing at the door. She…was really really pretty. My face heated up again when I looked at her, even moreso when she glanced at me and smiled again. 

“Celica.”

“H-Huh?”

“My name is Celica…I hope that hearing my name will make you feel more comfortable and we can talk as we leave. Your friend seems ready to go.”

I looked over at Roy who looked just as interested in her as I felt. He whispered his name to her in hushed embarrassment and she smiled and ruffled his hair. I guess…I guess we really had no other choice and she was better than being with Morlo. “F-Fine…let’s get out of here…my…my name is Altair…”

“Altair?” A beautfiul laugh moved her before she reached out and brushed my hair out of my face. I hated that I knew my face was red. “A perfect and fitting name. Your parents have amazing taste.”

I was about to ask her what she meant by that, but I couldn’t as a man barreled into the room, covered in blood and other things. His daggers were dripping in some green goo and the smell almost made me throw up. Roy actually flinched and latched onto Celica and I should have done that, but I didn’t want her to know how afraid I was. 

“Celica…we have to go…now! These damn creatures are coming out of the damn walls and I locked all the kids up in a room, but they are chewing through the heavy wall of vines I put up.”

“Alright…Ka’seem...this is Roy…and Altair…” He raised a brow as she said my name. He finally looked over at me and Roy, but when he laid his eyes on me, he just stared. It was almost like there was a twinkle in his eyes when he did. They both shared a look and he walked up to me before he knelt down and placed his hand on my shoulder. It felt so comforting, almost like my grandfather was here with me. I missed him so much and I hoped that he was alright. If…If they were Gods…then maybe I could ask if he was ok? They would have the answers to everything right?

“I wanted to ask if-”

The man pushed me down just as a beast rushed into the room and almost would have killed Roy, but Celica took her weapon and cut it in half. It was so quick that I almost didn’t see it. It didn’t look hard, but she was already out of breath. Looking at her more, she seemed almost like she was going to be sick. I gasped as a large vine wrapped around the throats of the other creatures in the room and their necks snapped. Celica grabbed me and Roy and we rushed out of the room, into a hallway filled with bodies and blood. I guess there were more creatures and men in here then I thought there was. Celica held us close to her body, I guess to shield us from it, but we had already seen too much. I could hear the cries of the other children as we rounded a corner. There were beasts clawing and biting at the vines on the doors. The other kids were crying loudly at all the noise. Celica let go of us and held her weapon above her head and threw it with so much force that it knocked me and Roy to the ground. I watched with wide eyes as she traveled after it and caught it out of the air. She turned on her heel and impaled one against the wall, before pulling it out to slam into another one. She brushed her hair from her face, but her legs gave out, but she grabbed the wall before she fell. She took a breath before she waved us over to her side. 

“Alright…we are gonna get the rest of the children…and then get you…to safety.” She looked really pale now, and I was actually worried about her. She placed her hands over the walls and I gasped as ice covered the vines and they broke off. She quickly shoved us into the room and she shushed all the children as she looked over them all.

“Hey…Altair…”

“Yeah?”

“Do you…do you think we’re safe now? Like we can actually make it out of this?”

“I…I think so…I…I’m just sad that Van is not gonna be here with us…” 

“Yeah…” We said nothing for a bit as Celica continued to make sure everyone was alright. The other man didn’t come back yet, and I was hoping that maybe he ran off to go and kill Morlo. That would make me feel better than ever. It felt good to not have to worry about anything for a while, but then the voices started to make my head hurt again. 

“They are lying to you Altair…”

“W-What? N-No…they want to help…”

“They will kill you just like your friend. They only want your power.”

“That…that isn’t…”

“Hey Altair…you ok?” Roy touched my shoulder but I shrugged him off as I stood up. I held my head as the voice kept talking and making me feel sick. It made me feel gross and scared. I glanced at Celica and the other man as they talked to each other in hushed voices. Were they talking about whatever these powers were? Did they just want to use me like Morlo does? How long before they hurt me because I didn’t do what they said? Was the voice right?

“Come to me Altair…I have your grandfather…I will help you.”

“He…he’s alive?”

“Yes…don’t let them take you…come outside and see me Altair…”

I shook my head to clear my thoughts and I heard Roy talking to Celica and that man and they came to check on me, but I moved away from them. I had to see my grandfather, he was the only thing I had left in my life. So many people were pushing and pulling me in too many directions and I can’t take it anymore! I felt like pulling my hair out! I just wanted everything to stop!

“Hey buddy it’s ok…I promise you that we are the good guys and don’t want to hurt you. We just need to talk to you about somethings…”

“Like what?! What do you really want with me?!” They looked at each other in surprise from my outburst, but I just wanted to hear the truth, for once about everything.

“You have to know that getting you was our first priority, and we need you to bring down that barrier on the planet so we can all leave.”

“I…what?” They sounded just like Morlo now! They were the same as him! Wanting me to do something and have powers that I know I don’t have! That voice in my head was right about them! “No…I…I can’t…”

“Of course you can. If you just focus and-” I slapped the man’s hand away as I backed away from them. 

“Altair…sweetie I know this is scary, but if you just-”

“NO! You have no idea what this is like! I just want to go back home to my grandfather! I don’t want to be beat and starved and almost killed anymore!”

“Altair…we want to take you back to your grandfather…we just can’t leave the planet because of the-”

“Yeah the barrier I know! I can’t bring it down! I have no powers! I’m just a kid who misses his grandfather!” Before they could say anything, I ran. I ignored them and Roy as I ran and tripped over the bodies of the dead. There was too much bad things happening to me at once. I just wanted it all to end! The voice in my head was so loud now and it was the only thing that I could hear now. My head hurt so much, and my nose was starting to bleed. The few creatures that were still alive were trying to bite at me, but they kept falling back away from me. Celica and that man must have been keeping them off me, but I didn’t want their help anymore. They just wanted to use me and gain something from me that I just didn’t have.

“Altair!”

I finally stopped to catch my breath as I looked at Celica, Roy and that other man finally catching up to me. I hated that Celica looked so concerned for me, both of them did. I didn’t even think that Roy liked me that much. It wasn’t like we were friends, and I didn’t want or need any either.

“Altair please…we really only want to get you home safe.” The man held his hands up and slowly walked over to me, but I just backed away again. He knelt down to my level and that alone just made me angrier. I wasn’t some child!

“Don’t treat me like a kid! You are just like the other adults who have hurt me and used me for something that I don’t even have!”

“Altair no…we just want you to be safe. Your life and the lives of the rest of the children matter to us! Please just let us help you! It is dangerous here and we have to leave!”

“They want to hurt you Altair…don’t let them take you!”

My head felt like it was splitting in half and my nose was dripping with blood and my ears were ringing. The floor was shaking under my feet and I looked at the group in front of me, and they looked like they were moving slow. The room we were in was starting to shake and more of those creatures stormed into the room. My skin felt weird and it hurt and looking at my hands, my skin was glowing. The others were screaming at me, but everything hurt and I wanted it to end. 

It had to end!

“NO!”

The room grew whiter and whiter before it exploded around me and the sudden light turned to complete darkness around me. It didn’t matter because the voices were gone, along with the lies and half-truths. For the first time in forever, there was silence.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 “Such a beautiful creature…” I stopped walking as I heard someone talking to themself. I frowned as I looked around the corner and felt my muscles tense in annoyance. I crossed my arms as I watched Zeus, god of Olympus and lightning, fix his clothes and lean against a doorway, staring into the room with hunger in his eyes. I looked over his shoulder and felt my rage boil at an alarming rate. Lady Serafina was sound asleep on a chaise under an open window. A book laid over her chest and a candle lit on the windowsill. She was magnificent and she looked so at peace. The last thing I wanted was for this horny, disloyal idiot gawking at her. As soon as I saw him move forward, I grabbed his shoulder roughly.

 “Ah!” I turned him to face me and my eye sparked in rage. Such a disgusting little man should never have risen to the power that he did. I would tear him apart if Lady Serafina didn’t care so much. “N-N-Nim! How lovely and amazing it is to see you!”

 “Now I know you weren’t going to do what I think you were….right Zeus?!” I growled low in my throat and watched with pleasure as he began to sweat. This god was so pathetic that it made me want to be rid of his useless ass. 

 “I was just checking on her! I was supposed to meet her later on and I got here early!”

 “Cancel your plans.”

 “But I-” He cut himself off as lightning bounced off my body and he flinched away. Even as the god of lightning, his powers paled in comparison to my own. The Supernovas were leagues stronger than the average god. The amount of power that just one of us wields is the equivalent of four almighty gods, and that’s without regularly training. Celica was right that the other gods fear us. They were nothing to us. Zeus was fully aware of this and he wouldn’t risk losing his life right here and now. His face was starting to annoy me, so I tossed him aside and I smirked as he rubbed his head.

 “I will be speaking to Lady Serafina about this! You will hear from me soon enough Nim!” I watched him run away before disappearing in a flash of light. I rolled my eye as I stepped into the room and made my way over to Lady Serafina. I was surprised she didn’t wake up with that idiot yelling his head off. I closed the window and blew out the candle before I looked down at her. I reached a hand out to brush back a strand of hair but stopped as I realized how that would look. Instead, I knelt down to gently shake her shoulder. I watched as she stirred and opened her eyes to look at me. Her smile dazzled me as she sat up and rubbed her eyes.

 “Hello Nim...what are you doing here?”

 “You seemed a bit distressed when you left earlier...I thought you could use some company.” She giggled as she threw her legs over to fully sit on the chaise. “If you would like to still rest I can leave.”

 “No no...thank you Nim. I always appreciate your company.” I stood and held my hand out and she placed her hand in mine. I wondered if she ever felt her heart race like mine did whenever she held my own hand. She continued to beam at me as I helped her to her feet. Placing her arm through mine, we walked through the halls of her elaborate temple/home.

 “Every time I come here...I think about how small and plain my own home is.” She giggled at my remark as she ran a hand over her dress.

“I think your home is lovely and charming Nim.” 

 I looked away from her when she smiled up at me, I wanted to say more as we arrived at her indoor garden. I glanced at the massive fountain in the middle of the area, the greatest sculptures from around the galaxies made it from crystal glass. An immaculate sculpture of Lady Serafina holding a jar of running water while sitting on a crescent moon was structured on the fountain. Lilies cascaded down the hair and dress of the statue. More flower petals were scattered in the water. The grass was fresh and green and small sprinklers kept them that way. We walked the cobblestone walkway in silence and Lady Serafina hummed a tune to herself. It seemed either Ka’seem or a nature god came around to make the gardens bloom more. Countless amounts of trees and lilies littered the area. Other flowers and blooms of other varieties stretched further back but in the main area it was only lilies. Lady Serafina said they were her favorites and many sent them to her in hopes of favors and romance. I wanted to send her some but I thought it was too much. We finally stopped and sat on a bench under a willow tree. I watched as Lady Serafina held her hand out and a bird flew onto it. She nuzzled it and stroked its back as it chirped at her.

 “What’s wrong Nim?”

 “Hm?” She looked at me with a smirk.

 “You think I can’t tell when you’re bothered by now?” I sighed and flexed my fingers as I watched the bird fly from her hand. She watched me for a bit before she looked away. “Are you...thinking about Kay?”

 “What?” Kay was...not what I had been thinking about at all. The surprise on my face made Lady Serafina react immediately.

 “Oh my! You weren't were you?! I’m so sorry for bringing her up!”

 “My lady….”

 “I should have thought better about what I was going to say!”

 “My lady it is alright I...I was thinking about you after we all left the beach. You seemed to react a bit differently than you would meeting the other gods. Did you sense the presence of the Darkness?”

 “.....” Her silence spoke volumes and I couldn’t help but voice my frustration.

 “Why did you not tell us to stay?! We are your guardians! We keep the peace across the universe but keeping that peace also includes you! What is the point of having the Supernovas!? If we can’t do our job why are we here!?”

 “.....” In my frustration I had gotten up and started pacing in front of her. I rubbed my eye in annoyance as I paced. She remained silent as my electricity sparked. At her continued silence, I turned to face her, and felt a chill run through my body. She looked at me with an emotionless stare as she folded her hands in her lap. I straightened my back but I still suddenly felt weak as I gazed at her. My mind seemed to spin as she continued her piercing gaze. My legs began to shake before I dropped to one knee. 

 “I explain my reasonings for my actions to you all because I care about you. I consider all of you my precious friends. I did not explain why I didn't inform you of the approach of the Darkness because of a simple fact....you all aren’t ready.” I looked up as she stood over me then. “At your current state, the Darkness would tear you apart, it would drive you to the brink of insanity. Every precious memory and feeling you have would be ripped asunder. The time for my Novas is not now. Perhaps one day, but that day is not now.”

 “I-I...I can-”

 “You cannot Nim.” I looked down at the ground and balled my fists up. All my training wasn’t enough? All the trials and tribulation were worthless. I was still too weak to keep her safe? When would we be ready? When would I be ready? I had to-

 “My strong wolf...” I felt her hand on my cheek and looked into her shining eyes. She gave me a gentle smile as she helped me to my feet. “I’m sorry to assert my power on you like that. I need you to be aware of what you questioned me on. Even though you all protect me, the reverse is also true. I want you all safe. The Supernovas will always be needed even if you think they won’t. You all bring so much joy to all reaches of the universe when I can’t. Think about all the lives you have impacted Nim...think of the ones who pray to you. You will always be important Nim.”

 “......” She pinched my cheek before she began walking away and before long I followed her. I did impact lives but the one I wanted to impact the most didn’t pan out. Hearing her name still brought me pain and I wonder if it might ever stop. “My lady?”

 “Yes?” 

 “Is she...ok?”

 “Kay is doing quite well actually. She is quite the healer. So many look to her for advice and guidance in their lives.”

 “I see...” I wonder if she thinks of me at all. I would not blame her if she did after what I had done to her. 

 “Have you given some thought about speaking with her?”

 “No I...I haven’t. Nor have I thought about what you and I discussed before.”

 “You can always take your time Nim. Kay is not going anywhere. As for your parents...they are moving to another sector of your jurisdiction.”

 “......” My parents had become a topic of discussion a few years back. The others had brought their parents together for dinner and it became a tradition. No one had asked but I knew the question of my parents was in the air. I didn’t mind it at first but I eventually asked Lady Serafina to look into them. They were right under my nose and I didn’t realize it. I never knew what they looked like and honestly I didn’t wish to know. If I ran into them, I didn’t know what I would do or feel. I resented them for years when I was still a slave. I wished them worse things than death, and ever since I became a god I have seen worse. I held onto that anger for years and I even wanted to seek them out at one point to unleash my anger. Now, all I cared about was keeping peace and looking after Lady Serafina. My parents were the last things on my mind. Whatever happened to them didn’t bother or concern me at all. Recent events and traditions have brought them back to my mind however. It would seem I’d have to face this eventually.

 I would however, hold it off for as long as I could.

 “Nim?”

 “I don’t much care for them, my lady. Talking to them is not on the top of my list of priorities. Honestly I would prefer to just ignore them.”

 “I see…”

 “Does my indifference toward them bother you?”

 “No I mean….I suppose I understand but...if I had a child I would be heartbroken if I couldn’t speak to them again. I’d never forgive myself if they went through what you did.”

 “......” I felt my eyebrow twitch in annoyance. The thought of her having a child left a bitter taste in my mouth. I really need to stop the creepy thoughts. “They left me for money and made my life hell. I have nothing to say to them.”

 “Are you sure?”

 “What do you mean?”

 “I think you should at least try for some answers.” She patted my shoulder gently as I furrowed my brow to think about it. I suppose I probably should...but right now I just wanted to stay by Lady Serafina’s side a bit longer.

~~~

 I left Lady Serafina’s side after a few hours for my sparring session with Callum. Lady Serafina told me that she wanted some time to herself, and I tried my best not to worry about her too much. Just as I opened the door to leave her temple, I walked into the woman. She looked at me in annoyance as she collided with my chest. She smoothed out her dress before fixing her crown.

 “Dog.”

 “Icy bitch.” Her eyebrow twitched but she ignored my retort as she crossed her arms.

 “I’m not surprised that you’re here.”

 “......” I gritted my teeth as she smirked like the little bitch she was.

 “So far up Serafina’s ass,” she chuckled as all I could think of was a little rat getting its cheese. “How long are you gonna keep up this pathetic charade?”

 “Move.”

 “Watch your tone dog.” I watched as her eyes turned an icy blue. “I’m just saying….it’s honestly pathetic and sad.”

 “What the hell are you doing here? You don’t even want to be in her presence if you can help it.”

 “I have business to discuss with her unlike you,” she snapped. “All you do is drool over her and be annoying. I don’t even think you actually love her.”

 I gripped her wrist and pulled her close. “Listen you little smurf bitch! You don’t know shit! Address her with some respect before I beat it into you!” I squeezed her wrist tighter and she growled deep in her throat before she slammed her heel into my foot. I hissed out in pain as I let her go and she snapped the bones in her wrist back into place. I guess I grabbed her harder than I thought.

 Oh well...

 “Don’t. Ever. Touch. Me. Again.” 

 “Stop disrespecting Lady Serafina and maybe I won’t have too.”

 “Didn’t your mother ever teach not to put your hands on a woman? Oh wait that’s right...” There was that annoying ass smile along with her usual bitchiness. How can one person stand to be this much of an annoyance? 

 “You keep up the retorts of the woman who birthed me if you’d like….it does not bother me in the slightest.” I brushed past her before I said anything much worse. I heard her scoff before she went into the temple. I took off in a flash of lightning for my trip to Callum’s home. It was much easier for me to travel like this instead of flying. I felt more in control of my body this way. I glanced at the planets in the distance and watched as the stars twinkled. The planets around Lady Serafina’s home were lucky to be so close to her. I remember seeing her one day watching them fondly, but then again she did that with a lot of her creations. I tore away from her thoughts as I made it to the planet where Callum and Masami settled down at. The planet was large and it was thriving with people and the oceans were large and vast. Callum picked the planet because of how beautiful it was and Masami wanted to live somewhere she could always feel at peace at. The planet came to life in the spring and Masami loved every second of it. I believe the planet was going through its spring festival now. Masami made such a big deal about the whole thing every year. I descended from the clouds with a sharp clap of thunder and Callum and Masami’s home came into view. The home was nestled on top of a hill and a stone pathway led up to their door. A decent sized white gate kept out nosy neighbors...that and the barrier Callum erected. The people had found out he was a god and became pushy and made Masami uncomfortable. It died down after a few years but he still kept it up in case. The pond next to the house was filled with a bunch of koi fish, and the water looked pristine and clear. I had no doubt that Nerissa had something to do with that. Their lawn was littered in trees and flowers because Masami was an avid gardener. She was a lover of cherry blossoms so many of the trees lined the stone pathway. A few more were nestled behind the home. I had to admire how much work the two of them made constructing the house by themselves. My home was comfortable at best, but my temple was immaculate. The others pestered me about at least having a good looking temple. I couldn't really care less about it.  I liked the look of the outside of the couples house though. The light brick around the house was my idea since the couple couldn’t decide on anything. Masami made sure it was homey and welcoming to everyone who visited. I walked up to the door and noticed she put up new wind chimes. Usually those types of high pitched sounds annoyed me, but it seemed you managed to get better ones. I knocked on the door and was greeted with Masami.

 “Oh! Hello Nim...you got here early.”

 “I had nothing else to handle today so…here I am.”

 “Come on in…” I followed her in and took off my shoes at the door and put on some slippers. She blew out a candle on a shelf before she turned into the kitchen. I went into the living room where I spotted Callum frowning at a vision orb. Taking a seat in an armchair, I looked at Callum.

 “Another war Nim….”

 “Yeah I heard….” I looked at the projection coming from the orb and watched a live feed of people being murdered and children being taken away. “Callum we can’t always be everywhere…”

 “I know I just….I hate this….”

  “Oh no….” Callum and I turned as Masami stood behind the couch with a tray of food in her hands. “Is this the same planet?”

 “No...it’s another one angel.”

 “I pray that they will reach salvation and this war ends soon.”

 “Yes well I’m hoping the goddess and god of victory and freedom respectively will help me with that….”

 “Nerissa loves any fights she’s in. I’ll help you settle this of course.”

 “Good….Masami we are about to train. You brought us cookies?”

 “Yes well they are delicious so indulge me.” She placed the tray in front of us as she sipped some tea. “Besides I know Nim won’t pass them up.” She looked over at me with a twinkle in her eye and I sighed before I took one. Masami was a goddess at cooking and her baking skills were just as heavenly. She knew I had a massive sweet tooth and loved to exploit it to the others. I ate more cookies than the both of them. Masami chuckled as she grabbed the tray and left to go and clean up, Callum stood and looked at me and I stood with him. I followed him out towards his large backyard and Masami waved at us.

 “Try not to hurt each other too bad alright?”

 “We will be careful my love.” I looked away as Callum gave Masami a quick kiss over the counter.

 “Be careful not to break anything either. Also don’t mess up the backyard too much either. I mean it Callum.”

 “We will be fine Masami.” He kissed her hand before we walked out into their massive garden. We usually trained at Callum’s home when we weren’t going to use our abilities much. Plus, we could always look forward to Masami cooking food right after that. Callum kicked off his slippers as he turned to face me and I did the same. 

 “I would like it if you didn’t look like you want to kill me my friend!” Callum laughed as he took a stance.

 “I like to make sure you know I take this seriously, friend!” I smirked before I sped towards him. He planted his feet as he grabbed my fist before it collided with his chin. Not wanting to lose momentum I swung my other fist at him. He thought I would go for his face so he tilted his head, but in a swift motion my fist collided with his chest. He let out a huff but his grip on my hand never released. He twisted my arm back and pulled me down and my nose collided with his knee. I grabbed his ankle and threw him over my head slamming him into the ground. A crater formed under him but he retaliated quickly, his other foot slammed into my face sending me across the field. I hissed as my back smashed into a large boulder. I stood out of the rubble and looked at a smirking asshole.

 “Sorry about that…”

 “Don’t apologize Callum...come on then…” He nodded before suddenly he was right in my face. I might be the god of lightning, but Callum was the god of light himself. He would always be faster than I was. That didn’t mean I wouldn’t stop trying to kick his ass. He palmstriked me in my chest and I was sent back further. My feet dragged across the floor as I slowed myself down. I glared at him as I felt my electricity spark. I did want a proper fight so I’ll have to go harder. I launched myself at him with exceptional speed and I elbowed him hard against his collarbone. I'm sure I heard something crack but he didn’t flinch as his fist came into contact with my chest again. This time, I heard a distinct crack and knew he shattered a bone. I grunted as I punched him in the face, he chuckled before he slugged me back and before I knew it we were just a flurry of blows. If anyone looked in this direction they would only see blurs of movement. The ground was soon filled with craters and knocked over trees. My knuckles were bloody and my body dripped with sweat. Callum had a black eye and I might have knocked one of his teeth out. I somehow lost my shirt in the process and Callum’s clothes were dirty and tattered. 

 “Getting tired yet Callum?”

 “Ha! Never old friend.” I sparked up quickly and storm clouds formed over the house. I tried not to take our sparring lessons too far, but my blood was pumping. It had been a while since I had a proper fight with anyone. So going all out on someone who could take it excited me. I let my power course more before I charged at him like a-

 “CALLUM! NIM!”

 Callum broke out of his stance to look behind him. Hearing Masami shout, I lost my focus and went speeding into the ground. I spit out the grass and dirt and stood up as Masami marched towards us. Her golden eyes were narrowed and her fists were balled up tight. Masami was a peaceful woman who rarely showed any form of anger and/or annoyance. So the rare times that she did, it was usually bad. I figured Callum would be in trouble but hearing my name mixed in was different. 

 “I told you boys to be careful!”

 “Masami….we are hardly boys-” 

 “Hush Nim!” I crossed my arms as she looked at me. “I will call you children because you both are acting like it!” “Angel what have we done to upset you?”

 “My gazebo!” We both flinched as she yelled at us. “Look at it!” Callum and I both looked near the house and I rubbed my face as I heard Callum trying his best to apologize to his wife. A massive rock had fallen through the top of the gazebo. It was under construction and Callum was in the middle of building it for Masami. She had talked about having a place to sit outside and have tea with everyone and Callum started making it as a birthday present for her. Now the damn thing was in shambles and Masami looked ready to tear us apart.

 “I apologize Masami….I will help Callum repair the gazebo for you. We should have gone somewhere else to train.” Masami looked at me and sighed as she twirled her braid around her finger. 

 “Fine...just-” She cut herself off as she looked around us and her eyes widened immensely. Seeing the craters and knocked over trees and then finally seeing how we had beaten each other up sent her face aflame. She looked at us with such fury in her eyes and I felt a slight chill go up my spine. Her face grew redder as she glared at us.

 “Masami I-” She threw up a hand as she took a calming breath before she turned away from us and went back to her home. Callum looked at me and chuckled nervously as he rubbed his head. “Shall we conti-”

 “No more Callum.” Callum and I looked back at Masami as she looked at us in anger. “The food is ready and everyone is here. Go get cleaned up and ready the both of you.” She gave us a final look before she disappeared into her home.

 “Well I guess we are done then.”

 “I suppose so…” Callum jogged up to his home, but I smirked hearing him curse under his breath and hold his side. I didn’t smirk for long as I coughed up some blood and held my own side. He hit the hell out of me. For a peaceful man, he sure didn’t hold back against me, not that I wanted him too. I entered the house and was attacked by Nerissa who jumped on my back.

 “Wow! You guys beat the shit out of each other!” She laughed as she hopped down and punched my aching ribs. “I would have loved to join! Beating your asses would be such a turn on..” I rolled my eye as she licked her lips. 

 “I’m going to clean up Nerissa…”

 “Oh can I join you guys?” She purred mischievously and I just grabbed the back of her shirt and dropped her on the couch. She whined but I ignored her as Callum and I went to clean up. We headed to the massive bathhouse next to the house and I saw steam rising so Masami must have already been preparing it for us. I could hear Masami and Callum talking when I entered and I could only hope they weren’t doing more. I removed my clothes and wrapped a towel around myself just as Masami slid open the door.

 “Oh Nim!” Her face grew red as she looked away from me. “I made sure to put some relaxing oils in the water to soothe your wounds.”

 “Thank you Masami.” She smiled before she excused herself and I went in to see Callum holding his side. I did feel a bit bad, but also a little proud of myself. I ate my words as my shattered ribs ached. I lowered myself in the water and sighed deeply.

 “I didn’t think I hit you that hard…”

 “Shut up yes you did…” I groaned as he laughed and I smiled a bit. Callum was always an excellent sparring partner despite his pacifistic nature. He held back at times but knowing it pissed me off after a while he stopped. I could feel myself healing but the pain was just fucking annoying. 

 “You seem distracted my friend…”

 “Do I?” I raised a brow as I washed my hair.

 “A bit….is it Lady Serafina?”

 “.......” The others often teased and picked at my feelings for our goddess but I knew Callum meant no ill will. Talking about my feelings had always been difficult for me and I was content to keep it that way. Although, the others eventually reprimanded me for it. 

 “I just worry about her Callum...that’s all…”

 “She sensed the Darkness earlier...didn’t she?”

 “.......”

 “After all these years Nim, she still feels the need to protect us. I will admit it is frustrating at times but we have to have faith in her. She had already been doing this a long time without us by her side. It doesn’t mean she doesn’t rely on us...she just tries to handle things without always having us involved.”

 “We should be involved though Callum! Ugh...she doesn’t have to be alone…”

 “She won’t be my friend…” I didn’t say anything else as we both relaxed. Callum suggested that we mediate and unwind so I followed his lead. Meditating turned into a good stress reliever of mine. I never would have done it normally, but Callum convinced me to try it out. After a while we left and found fresh clothes waiting for us from Masami. As Callum and I both walked out we were greeted with an annoyed looking smurf. She looked us over quickly and let out an exasperated sigh. 

 “You two really did a number on each other…” She folded her arms as she looked over us quickly again. Her sharp eyes locked onto each one of our injuries. “Two ribs broken on both sides Callum, followed by a damaged lung. A migraine is also forming along with that black eye. Your collarbone is damaged and not to mention a missing tooth. As for you Nim….shattered rib cage and a dislocated jaw. You can only talk because you heal quicker. Your nose is also broken. The way how you are breathing also tells me you might have a punctured lung. You both are idiots.”

 She said nothing further as she placed a hand on Callum’s chest and a soft glow formed around her hands. Callum shut his eyes and sighed gently and I watched as his black eye disappeared and heard a bone crack back into place. Celica stepped back and Callum rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck. I often forgot that such an annoying woman was also the goddess of health because she had the attitude of a chicken with its head cut off. Callum thanked her before he went into the house. She looked at me unimpressed as she stepped closer to me. I looked down and wondered if she was always this small. I suppose she wasn’t that small; she reached my chest at least.

 “Are  you gonna bend down?” I furrowed my eyebrows but said nothing as I bent down. “The jaw is healing the wrong way.” I just rolled my eye as she reached out to hold my cheek. I could say I was surprised to find her hands to be soft. Most of the women I knew had soft hands, even Nerissa surprisingly. As much as she fought I would have figured her hands would be filled with callouses. I never liked when people touched me, but somehow I joined a group of hugging, back slapping, high fiving, plucking, jumping idiots. Needles to say, I was used to it by now. I just never expected her to be gentle with my injury. I looked at her concentrated face as she turned my head back and forth. I winced a few times as she moved the bones into place. I also could breathe better again and my chest felt fine once again. She stepped away to see if she missed anything and with a firm nod she turned back to the house. I followed behind in silence and the smell of fresh cooking(and cake) filled my senses. I looked around the room and smiled a bit. Lady Serafina had joined us and she was talking to Masami and the woman was leaning against the counter drinking wine. Ka’seem and Nerissa were watching the vision orb and Callum was setting up the table. I couldn't say moments of peace like this weren’t good. I just hated getting too relaxed because disaster strikes when you let your guard down.

 “Nim come and sit down!” Lady Serafina waved me over and I sighed at her happy reaction. I guess I could relax a bit.

 Just a little.

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“Oh my Lord! You’re fantastic!” I smirked against my fevered kiss as I rolled my hips into her as she came back down, sparking her climax. I held the woman I was kissing closer as I had my own orgasm. The woman I had been fingering also had her release as I felt her tighten up on my fingers. I stopped my fevered kiss and sank into the pillows with a satisfied smile. A few of the women groaned and whined as they wanted a turn.

“Now now ladies...let me catch a second wind. We’ve been at this for the last 9 hours. I’ll make sure to please you all soon.”

I laughed and leaned my head back and was about to close my eyes when I saw something that made my balls shrivel up. I swallowed nervously as the room grew dark and objects in the room started to float. The woman looked around in fear and moved off the bed. They didn’t get far as they were also lifted up. I moved to sit up but the sheets suddenly wrapped around my arms and legs and throat, pinning me to the bed. I swallowed hard as my sexy, but a scary member of my pantheon floated down from the balcony.

“H-Hey Laetoria...how are you beautiful?” I chuckled nervously as she hovered over me, staring fiercely at me from behind her glasses. Her cat ears and tail twitched in an agitated manner as she stayed silent. The women around me suddenly dropped to the floor and ran off.

“Why are you speaking...as if you don’t know why I’m here?” Her eyes were slitted angrily as she growled deep in her throat. Honestly, she was super cute when she was mad, but I really didn’t want a repeat of the last time I made her mad. I shivered just thinking about that encounter again.

“Listen Tori...I think I just needed a break. My loyal followers needed a visit from their Go-“ I didn’t finish my terrible lie as the blankets tightened around my throat. Her green eyes glowed intensely and she pulled me up close to her face.

“Stop. Neglecting. Your. Job!”

“Y-Yes ma’am!” Satisfied with my answer, she tossed me onto the bed. I coughed and held my throat as she threw my clothes at me. Her animal instincts really brought the anger out of her, and I loved every second of it. I quickly got dressed as she waited for me by the door, my followers were whining behind the door before she scared them off.

“Come on Ka’seem...it doesn’t take long to get dressed.” She slowly turned her head to look at me, but I was already dressed at watching her with a smirk on my face. “What is it now?”

“Just thinking about how pretty you are…” I slowly walked over to her and stood in front of her. I tilted her head up as I gazed into her eyes. “You really want to get back to work? There are millions of different things we could do. Like for example, we can-”

The knee to my groin silenced me the entire trip back to my temple. She must be in heat or something. This level of abuse is just uncalled for.

“Maybe you should do your duties then…”

“Huh? Oh, you can read minds now?”

“No that’s just what your face is telling me.” I slowly sat behind my desk as she gave me a bag of ice. Before I could even utter a thank you, she slammed a stack of paperwork in front of me. “Now get to work and only call me if you’re done or need more ice.”

“Ok ok…” I grumbled as I grabbed my pen and began the boring part of my duties. I looked over at my open window forlornly. Sneaking out would be a death sentence and my reputation as an escape artist was damaged forever because of Laetoria.

“If you would just get your work done I wouldn’t have to drag you back every single time. Before you say anything, sleeping with women is not essential to your job as the God of pleasure.”

“I like to be hands-on with my godly approach.”

“Good. So you’ll have no problem signing all these documents.” I really walked into that one. With a triumphant smirk, Laetoria walked out with a delicate swish of her tail. I had to admit every time that she was right. I just liked to be rebellious and a bit difficult about it. My mother was still surprised at how difficult I could be despite my status. What fun would it be if I wasn’t myself? Speaking of my mother, I had planned to visit the family sometime soon. She would hound everyone she could find so she could spend time with me.

“Crazy woman…” I did like to check up on my home from time to time. It only made sense that I would, considering that I had become their patron God. The royal family has been doing quite good since the proclamation of my status. I received way too many gifts from Scantilla over the years. I was glad that my family had stopped being vain about the whole thing. I chuckled as I stamped my symbol on some documents, having a God in the family became such a big deal. I was actually embarrassed about it for a while. There was a lot of bias and favoritism in the beginning, but I like to think I chilled out a bit. I nibbled on my pen as I frowned over what I was seeing.

An overpopulated planet hadn’t been on the agenda for quite a bit of time and dealing with one was never fun to deal with. In most cases, a god of war or some other disaster would show up to thin out the masses. I just hated signing off on it like it was some simple task. Some order was needed in the universe, yes, but this part of the job sucked ass. I know Lady Serafina never felt too happy about this sort of thing too, but overpopulation would not benefit anyone. I liked this little planet too, with a heavy emphasis on the little. I rubbed my eyes as I started to nod off already. I sipped the steaming cup of coffee I’m sure Tori left and straightened myself out.

“Alright! Let’s do this!”

~~~

“You should have just let me die!”

I jumped up out of my seat and gripped my desk as sweat came down my forehead. I raised a shaky hand and wiped my brow and took a few deep breaths. Hearing a sound, I took notice of Laetoria holding a tray of food with a concerned expression. “Hey...thanks…” I walked around my desk to grab the tray but she pulled back and I sighed. “Tori…”

“You’re still having nightmares. I told you that this would start affecting you…”

“Tori please...we are not having this discussion again.”

“Ka’seem I think that we should. You-”

“Laetoria…” I glared at her and she stopped talking immediately. “We are not discussing this. Do you understand me?”

“Yes.” I sighed and grabbed the tray from her. I hated asserting myself over my pantheon, but I hated the direction that conversation would have gone more.

“I’m fine Tori. Sorry that I fell asleep like that, but I did get most of it done.” I sat back at my desk as she opened a window and a cool breeze blew in. She tapped her nail against the window as she looked at the sky. “Tori?”

“I just worry about you…we all do.”

“I know you guys do, but you really don’t have to. Just let it go, Laetoria.” She sat up on the windowsill as she nibbled on a cookie and I chuckled.

“What?”

“Thought you were cutting back on the sweets beautiful?”

“Shut up and hurry up. You have a visitor.”

“Huh? Well, shouldn’t you have told me that first?”

“I was but you were having your nightmare and I thought you should have some food in your system.”

“Huh...so who is it?”

“Lady Serafina.”

“Yeah, you should have led with that.” I got up from my seat and walked toward the door. I gripped the doorknob and paused to look back at her. “Don’t speak to anyone about what you saw.”

“Yes...my Lord….” She looked at me sadly but I turned away to head out to greet Lady Serafina. I didn’t like it when people worried about me. There were much more important things to worry about than my nightmares.

“My life is ruined because of you!”

“I have nothing to live for anymore!”

“It should have been you!”

“I wish you weren’t m-”

“Ka’seem!” I gasped as I looked into the eyes of Lady Serafina as she held her palm against my cheek. Her other hand was against my chest, and I could feel my heart about to burst out. Her eyes were wide with worry and I placed my hand over hers as I shook the final screams from my mind.

“Hey…”

“Hey…”

“So...what can I do for you starlight?”

“I think I should be asking you that. What happened Ka’seem?” I chuckled and pulled away from her as I led her out of my temple.

“You worry too much my lady. I’m more curious about you. Is this a business or pleasure meeting?” I waggled my eyebrows at her, but her increasing by the second frown made me stop. “I promise that I am perfectly fine.”

“You’re deflecting...and you have bags under your eyes…” She wiped under my eyes with her thumbs and a feeling of relief washed over me. “Ka’seem...what is it?”

“Just anxious and overworked. Please starlight...just let it go…” I looked away from her and I knew that she wanted to push but she let out a defeated sigh and I looked back just to get my nose pinched. “Ow ow ow ow!”

“Stop keeping things that are hurting you to yourself. You have people who love and care about you. You don’t have to shoulder things by yourself handsome.”

“Yeah I know...so what’s going on?”

“We might have a problem in Sector 4857...I believe that the Darkness might be-”

“KA’SEEM!!!!” I barely had time to react as the wind was knocked out of me and my face met the floor with a hard crack. Thankfully, it was the floor that cracked and not my perfect face. I groaned against the marble floor as I felt my back get assaulted. I turned enough to see Nerissa happily bouncing on my back. “Are you happy to see me?”

“I saw you the other day you crazy bitch…”

“Aww, I love you too bitch. Are you excited about our mission?”

“You mean the one I didn’t hear about because you tackled the hell out of me? Sure Nerissa I’m totally excited about it.”

“Oh heh...my bad…” She helped me up and Lady Serafina smiled and shook her head at our antics. “So to sum it up...might have to deal with some trafficking that the Darkness might be a part of. So we could be at it for a while! Now, are you excited!”

“The Darkness? Trafficking? That’s new…”

“Which is why I’m gathering all of you to personally look into this. The others are gathered at my temple. We came to pick you up so we could discuss it more at length.” I frowned and nodded as Nerissa skipped over to a portal Lady Serafina opened to whisk us away. I pulled my hair into a ponytail as I walked through. This was gonna be a bitch of a mission. I just know it.

~~~

“So we might have to split up and take points on different parts of the planet. A team of two and three should work out best.”

“Being in a group at all will just make us stand out. If we split up then we can cover the most ground. It’s the better plan.”

“I suggested that we go in groups in case we have a problem. The Darkness is most likely involved with this and the last thing we need is to be attacked or worse by ourselves.”

“Do you doubt our skills? Or is this just a you thing?”

“Fuck you dog. I’m perfectly capable of defending myself and anyone else for that matter. It’s about safety!”

“I’m trying to be effective here you icy bitch!”

“You’re being unreasonable!”

“You just can’t make a plan that makes sense.” I sighed and so did everyone else as we listened to Nim and Celica rip into each other about our plan of action. I usually left to do my own thing and figure things out, but this needed a clear plan and these two had been snapping at each other for the last twenty minutes. Lady Serafina was trying to be calm and let them work through it, but she was starting to lose her patience. Clearing her throat, the others looked at her as she placed her hands down on the table. Holding her hand over the map, she raised a miniature diorama of the villages we would go to.

“All of you need to figure this out before you leave in the next hour. Stop your arguing and get prepared. We have no idea what this could be. So be cautious my Supernovas, be vigilant and be smart.”

We all nodded and surveyed the map. It looked like we could enter from the nearby forest and spread out from there to hit the village. “Hey Callum...why don’t you, me, and Celica hit this end of the village? I have to agree that we should group up and we can still keep a low profile.”

“I agree with you Ka’seem. It would be for the best. Nerissa and Nim...I trust you don’t have much of an issue with this?”

“That’s cool with me! Nim and I haven't done an assignment together for a while. Besides...we can’t send the arguing couple out.”

“He fucking wishes…”

“I’d rather drink acid and become consumed by the Darkness.” I chuckled at their sickened looks as we all broke off to gather supplies. I hoped this would not be as bad as we all were probably thinking. Although, if the Darkness was involved in this...it could go from bad to worse, very very quickly.

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 “Fuck…” I cursed to myself as my breath formed a small cloud in front of my face. I should have never-

 My eyes widened as I realized what I just saw. The area started to get blistering cold, I could feel my fingers start to freeze as I took off in a sprint. Ice had begun to form on the ground and it only made me sprint quicker. The crackling of it under my feet made me think if my bones sounded so fragile. Would it sound like this whenever this person caught up? Would they shatter my bones like tiny shards of glass? Or would they take it slow as they have done this chase? I didn’t think about it much longer as I grew tired and cold. Running for a few months straight finally caught up to me. The bitter cold also didn’t help as it slowed me down. As I ran I saw what used to be a large building, it was still intact enough that I could lose my pursuer hopefully. As I ran inside, ice formed on the walls and ground, I cursed as I slipped and was sent sliding down the hall. I reached out and grabbed a stray beam and pulled myself into a room. Hiding behind a broken pillar, I held my breath as I heard the person walking on the ice. I bit my frostbitten lips in terror as they stopped near the doorway. The fact that they never spoke unnerved me. Why were they so silent? Was this a game for them? Was I only a small insignificant creature in their eyes? It was just like that that I felt anger rise in me. I was still a god! I wouldn’t be played for some fool! All this pointless running was beneath me!

 If only I kept being a coward.

 I pushed the pillar toward the entrance and ran to another door as I heard the shattering ice and room crumbling behind me. If I got outside I would have more of a chance to-

 “Agh!” I yelled out in pain as searingly cold pain traveled from my knee to the rest of my body. I gasped as I fell over myself as I tried descending a large staircase. My mind swam as I fell down and landed with a hard thud. I groaned in pain as I slowly sat up, wincing as I moved my leg. Looking at my leg I let out a breath of sadness. This was it. I was going to die. A spear of ice was sticking through my kneecap, and the ice had spread to my lower leg. I moved back until my back hit a wall. I groaned as I tried to stand but then the ice on my leg shattered. I don’t think I had ever yelled as loud as I did then. The pain was surreal, it was mind-numbing. Pained tears filled my eyes as I looked down at a leg that was no longer there. It was then that I heard a clicking sound. Looking at the darkened staircase I realized I was finally gonna see my pursuer before I died. I’d finally see the person who’d been toying with me.

 Needless to say, I wasn’t expecting who it was.

 High heeled boots were the first thing that entered my sight and I realized it was a woman. The first part of my shock was seeing how beautiful she was. Her short light blue hair that perfectly accented her face. A splash of freckles decorated her nose giving her a childlike sense of innocence. Only outfitted in a short skirt and long coat, she looked too regal and majestic to even be chasing me, like she was just at an important gala. A small hat was in pieces in her left hand, and I could only guess why it was now tattered. I swallowed deeply as her pink eyes narrowed at me. Her gaze told me exactly how she felt about me. I pissed her off, my presence alone sickened her, I was far beneath her. That was when the final shock of my life happened. Looking on her breast pocket, I noticed a symbol that even now, shook me to my core.

 This woman. This goddess was a Supernova. A part of a group of gods and goddesses that kept peace in the cosmos directly under Lady Serafina, the supreme goddess and creator of existence itself. One of them alone could kill the most powerful of gods, so I was very much aware of the chance I had. Begging for my life was not an option, but I didn’t give a damn.

 “W-Wait, please! I-I’m sorry! Please! See reason! Tell Lady Serafina that I will repent for my crimes! I was mistaken for leaving her caring embrace! I’ll do anything! Talk to her please!”

 She said nothing as the room grew colder and her pink eyes turned an ice blue. Still standing at the bottom of the stairs, I watched in terror as sharp spikes of ice formed in the air around her. 

 “W-Wait-“ I gasped as the spikes all pierced my body. I coughed up blood as I felt ice spreading to my organs. I craned my head up to look at her as she stood over me. I yelled as she stepped on the spike impaled in my knee. She just silently pushed it around as I continued yelling in pain. Grabbing one in my chest, she leaned forward on it until she was inches away from my face.

 “Do you really think you deserve her mercy any more?”

 Her voice was calm and cool and so beautiful to listen to. It would have been good to listen to if the situation was different. To imagine such a beautiful woman doing this to me was hard to bear. I looked into her eyes as I choked out a response.

 “W-W-Why not?”

 “Because you sicken me.” I blinked in confusion as she moved away from me. “She wanted to give you another chance, but I convinced her to let me get rid of you. For the last fifty years, you have tormented people, raped women and young girls, killed people of all ages. You are scum. Lower than the dirt beneath my feet. Plus you made a grave mistake…”

 I gasped as she twisted the spike deeper into my chest as she grabbed my hair roughly. Her eyes burned with rage despite her chill, and she spoke in an angered whisper.

 “You sided with the Darkness.” She moved away and roughly kicked the spike in my knee, snapping it clean in half. As I yelled in pure agony, she walked away in a rage, my vision went dark as a thick layer of ice obstructed my vision.

 She was the last thing I ever saw.

~~~

Celica sighed as she angrily threw away her ruined hat, it was expensive and she didn’t feel like going out to get a new one. She rolled her eyes as Nim sat on a nearby pillar, twirling a dagger in his hands. Celica didn’t spare him a glance as she continued on. Nim followed behind her in silence and his eye burned into the back of her head, so she turned on her heel and glared at him. He looked down at her as she looked up at him in annoyance.

 “What?”

 “.....”

 “Ugh,” Celica rolled her eyes again as she walked on, Nim following her silently. “In retrospect...I should have killed him forever ago. Now he’s ruined my favorite hat and I’m late for the damn party. I can’t believe I let Callum talk me into it today. I’m gonna give his house an eternal winter.”

 “Masami likes the spring.” Celica groaned to herself as she thought about Callum’s sweet and wonderful wife. Masami had the type of spirit to make the toughest man melt. In fact, Nim had grown quite close to her the moment they had met. So to keep Masami happy, Celica decided against it. She would just have to think of another way to get at Callum. So, the two of them traveled back to Serafina’s temple. Flying was an ability that Celica loved doing, but considering they had a party to get back too, they would have to hurry. It would be quicker if Nim wasn’t afraid of heights. The foolish man slowly floated after her with his eye shut. She would have to slow down for him. Leaving the planet, the two of them set off into the quiet, cold reaches of space. As she thought about changing her outfit, Nim's shaky voice stopped her.

 “I think Lady Serafina canceled the party.”

 “What?! Why are you just telling me this now!?”

 “You were busy.”

 “I wasn’t busy a few minutes ago!”

 “I suppose so.”

 “.....”

 “.....”

 “I fucking hate you. Stupid mutt.”

 “Cold bitch.”

 “Fuck you.”

 Celica sighed as they floated suspended in space. To some, the quiet was unnerving and frightening, but to her, it was relaxing and a time of peace. It would have been more relaxing if Nim weren’t there. He kept his eye closed as he floated with his arms crossed. He was practically trembling on the spot, Celica couldn’t help but snicker at how pathetic he looked. Just as they were turning to leave, a strong force pulled them forward, before they could react, they were back in the temple of Serafina.  Shaking the dizziness from her mind, Celica looked at the other occupants of the room. Callum, Nerissa and Ka’seem, fellow Supernovas, all wore faces of extreme confusion. Serafina suddenly materialized in front of them in an excited manner. 

 “So I was thinking we should go to a beach!”

 “The beach?” They all chorused at once.

 “Yes! We can all spend some time together and relax. I thought the party was a bit too stuffy and I’m...a bit of a wallflower anyway. So...what do you guys think of that instead?”

 All of them shared a look and shrugged as it wasn’t an awful idea. Besides, with her puppy dog eyes, they all couldn’t resist. 

 “See my lady, this is why I think you’re perfect,” Ka’seem started moving around her and wrapping his arm around her shoulders. “You always come up with the best ideas. A trip to the beach with you lovely, sexy ladies is exactly what I need to relax.”

 “Great! You can carry our supplies.”

 “What?” Ka’seem grunted as a large bundle of beach supplies fell into his hands. Serafina smiled cheerfully as he struggled to keep his balance. Nim glared at Ka’seem and hoped he would tip over. Nerissa laughed as she helped him carry some of the items out. Celica sighed in boredom as she followed them out. Serafina whistled as she happily teleported them to a beach. The sun blinded them as Ka’seem and Nerissa went about setting up their stuff. Nim looked over at Serafina as her dress slowly disappeared and replaced itself with a blue bikini and a shawl. Serafina looked over at Nim and smiled, Nim just turned his head as he took off his shirt. Celica plopped down on the lounge chairs and put some sunglasses on to sleep. Nerissa was already running down the beach with nothing but shorts on. Ka’seem ran after her with a bikini top and she threw a stray wave of water at him. Serafina chuckled as Ka’seem was swept away screaming. It wasn’t long before Callum and his wife Masami arrived on the beach. Masami looked especially happy as Callum held her hand and she was carrying a basket of food. 

 “I hope I made enough food for everyone.”

 “Considering this was short notice I’d say you made a lot for everyone angel.” Callum kissed Masami on her forehead and she blushed as she sat on their beach towel. 

 “Yes it was...this was going to be dinner later….” Masami sighed as she looked at it. “Perhaps I should make something else here on the beach…”

 “It is alright my angel.” He kissed her gently as she blushed profusely. He stroked her cheek lovingly and she giggled. “Over three hundred years of marriage and you still get so embarrassed.”

 “I can’t help it….”

 “Keep it up though dear wife,” Callum leaned forward to whisper in her ear. “I love seeing you squirm.”

 “C-Callum! Not around the others…” She blushed even deeper especially when he started to kiss her neck. “Y-You are a terrible man…” She bit her lip as he pulled her closer and bit on her neck a little. “Callum…”

 “Hmm?”

 “Gross, get a room!” Masami flinched back as Nerissa started whistling at them. “Sex on the beach gets quite messy you guys!”

 Callum chuckled as Masami hid behind him. He rubbed her back as Nerissa kept up her teasing. His sweet wife was adorable when she was like this. It was always surprising how naughty she could be when they were alone though.

 “So my angel, what would you like to do for our anniversary this year?”

 “Oh um...I hadn’t really thought about it...hmm…”

 “Would you like to travel again? We still have much to cover. You seemed fond of that planet entirely made of clouds.”

 “It was so fluffy! I thought it was so nice and peaceful there…”

 “Yes it was peaceful until you were shouting to the high heavens from our lovemaking.”

 “C-Callum!” He chuckled as she looked away to pout.

 “We still have time to think angel. No rush.”

 The couple snuggled together and watched in amusement as they watched Nerissa and Ka’seem crouch in the sand. The two youngest members of the Supernova’s were plotting on Nim. It was most likely going to go very badly but that fact didn’t matter to them. Nerissa licked her lips as she wiggled in excitement. 

 “So now we just have to nab Callum to help with the plan.”

  “I think he’s too busy being lovey dovey with Masami.” Nerissa twirled her braid as she looked at them. “Think they’ll fuck on the beach?”

 “Ha yeah right...maybe when we all leave.”

 “The constant stares at us is making me think you want something.” The sudden appearance of Callum standing over them caused them to recoil in surprise. “What are you two planning now?”

 “Oh just a harmless prank on Nim….it’s one that you can help with Callum~” Nerissa batted her eyes as Callum shook his head.

 “It will just end badly for the both of you.”

 “It will be worth it!” Ka’seem chuckled as he rubbed his hands together. “Besides, he needs a chill pill. I mean look at him…”

 The three of them turned as one to look at Nim. He was throwing punches and kicks as fast as lightning. His training regime had no time for breaks and vacation. Occasionally he would look back at Serafina who was lounging looking over a magazine. His face would soften a bit every time she smiled or giggled. 

 “Wow...he really does have it bad…” Ka’seem shook his head as Nerissa smirked. “He’s probably gonna hate us after this…”

 “He most likely will….” Callum sighed deeply as he thought about it. “Fine...I won’t be here to sate his wrath.”

 “Relax Callum...if anything he’ll attack Ka’seem, he adores me.”

 “Thanks Nerissa...that makes me feel so better about doing this.”

 The three of them moved away from each other as they set their plan into motion. Callum sat back beside Masami but not before looking at Serafina and refracting the light around her, rendering her invisible. Celica peered over her sunglasses but said nothing about it. If they wanted to be foolish then she would let them. Nerissa and Ka’seem worked together to make a clone out of sand and seaweed to make an exact replica of Serafina. The two of them looked quite proud of their creation, especially since she looked so lifelike. They pushed her into the ocean and smirked at each other.

 “I mean...he shouldn’t be that mad...this is tame compared to our other stuff.”

 “Yeah here’s hoping...so here’s what you’re going to do…” Nerissa and Ka’seem explained the plan to their dummy and she nodded and went deeper into the water. Nerissa and Ka’seem quickly ran back on shore and plopped onto the sand. It wasn’t long before the dummy started screaming. 

 “N-Nim! H-Help me!” The dummy started yelling and Nerissa and Ka’seem snickered as they watched Nim sprint for the water. He dove into the water quickly and swam for her. It wasn’t long before he surfaced with the dummy in his arms. 

 “Are you alright my lady?” Nim looked down at the dummy who smiled up at him. “You have to be more careful. I want you-” He never finished his sentence as she spit seaweed into his face. The dummy pulled his face close and licked him. Nerissa and Ka’seem laughed uproariously as he stood there dumbfounded. He looked over at the two laughing and the sky immediately turned dark with storm clouds. Nerissa and Ka’seem stopped laughing as lightning crackled in the sky. Nim tossed the dummy as he ran towards them. 

 “Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit!” Ka’seem yelled as they took off running. “Nerissa do something!”

 “N-Nim we were just joking come on!” They looked back into a face of fury and ran faster. Thinking quickly, Nerissa used her abilities of water to send a massive wave crashing into the beach. Unfortunately, the wave hit more than just Nim and the others were caught in the crossfire.

 “I knew this would backfire….” Callum sighed as he held Masami in his arms as she coughed out water.

 “Those little brats!” Celica marched past them furiously and proceeded to chase the troublemakers as well.

 “Well I wasn’t expecting that…” Serafina smiled as she wrung the water out of her hair. “Those two are really going to make Nim very mad one day.”

 “I think that day is today….”

 The three of them watched as water, ice and electricity crackled up and down the beach. Ka’seem was frozen in a block of ice as the other two chased Nerissa. The constant elements flying around eventually turned into a sparring session. Serafina chuckled as she watched them fight each other. Callum put Masami down and went to join them, while also releasing Ka’seem so he could join in. 

 “Masami….”

 “Yes my lady?”

 “Are you alright? You seem….distracted.” Serafina looked at her in worry as Masami shook her head.

 “I’m alright….I just have some things on my mind….I think Callum is being...cautious around me…”

 “Mmm….I won’t pry but...if you need anything at all, just let me know ok?”

 “Of course thank you.” 

 The two of them watched with amusement in their eyes as they all fought each other for quite some time. After Nim managed to get Ka’seem into a chokehold, they all finally parted to rest.

 “Next time you two wish to play...do it with the icy bitch.”

 “Don’t throw them my way dog! You two need to take your prank to another place entirely.” Celica laid back on her chair brushing sand off her body. “I hate sand…”

 “Nim gives the best reactions though! How can I call myself the goddess of tricks if I don’t practice any on my own team?!” Nerissa sighed dramatically as she sat in the sand. “You guys are stopping all of my natural talent from flourishing.”

 “I’m stopping you from getting sent to oblivion,” Celica snapped at her. “Speaking of which, didn’t you have business with a certain someone?” 

 “Oh shit!” Nerissa hopped up quickly and grabbed her towel. “I forgot that idiot god disrespected me! I’m gonna have to put my foot down more. Sorry I have to cut this short my lady!”

 “It’s alright go ahead.” Serafina waved her away as she took off in haste. 

 “Sorry if our playing around might have ruined anything my lady,” Ka’seem chuckled as he sat under her umbrella.

 “It’s fine I don’t mind. Being away from home and having other gods constantly asking for mundane things gets tiring. Spending time with all of you is much more relaxing.”

 “What? I was gonna ask if you could make my peni-” Serafina leaned forward and flicked his forehead sending him flying clear across the ocean.

 “I hope this is a bit relaxing for you all as well.” Callum chuckled as he watched Ka’seem soar through the air.

 “I am very relaxed. The pressures of our day to day can be overwhelming.”

 “I need more vacation days…” Celica mumbled as she crossed her legs and looked over a magazine. “These minor gods are so frustrating…”

 “Are they causing trouble for you Celica?” Masami asked with a tilt of her head. “I thought most gods treated you all with respect.”

 “Ha! Most of the gods fear us Masami. The ones that don’t are either cautious or actually decent. I’ll admit though that some are good friends of mine. They think we have no hearts or something.”

 “Let’s put it like this Masa…” Ka’seem said as he walked up the beach, throwing seaweed off his head. “Some of them try to rile us up. Others try to get in our good graces to get into Lady Serafina's. Minor gods are hard to deal with because their roles are small and they don’t have much interactions with us. When they do however...they usually don’t have a filter. So our lovely Celica here has a fit with them.”

 “I do not have a fit.”

 “So she has this big “fit” and then we have to tell her to stop freezing people.”

 “Hmm….”

 “I wish the other gods didn’t make you feel this way. I would have said something if I knew they were being disrespectful.” Serafina frowned before she sighed deeply. “I have been too distracted as of late.”

 “Don’t worry about it...we can handle some disrespect…” Celica brushed off her worry as she closed her book. “Minor gods are the least of my worries…”

 “I know that you say that but-” Serafina stopped talking as she looked off into the distance. Her sudden stop made them all tense and look around in anticipation. Masami stood next to Callum in worry as he held her close. Serafina stood then before she let out a breath of air. She looked back at the others with a smile.

 “I’m sorry if my reaction worried you all,” she sighed as her clothes changed into a gown. “I thought something was happening. It seems some gods are in need of my attention right now. I apologize that this was cut short.”

 “Well I hope that they aren’t too much of a bother my lady.” Callum chuckled as Masami rubbed her cheek against his chest. 

 “Do you want me to accompany you?”

 “No my sweet Nim it’s alright. They probably just want some small things...besides I did start a party that I immediately cancelled soon after.”

 “Well we can do some smaller scale parties for your birthday then….” Ka’seem stretched and rolled his shoulders. “I guess I’ll head home. I’ve been meaning to relax at home for a bit.”

 “What work have you been doing besides sleeping with your followers?”

 “Hey I do lots of work! I help spread the joy of nature and adventure to all!”

 “Is that your slogan?” Celica smirked over her magazine. “I’m sure the ladies love that.”

 Ka’seem huffed and looked away as the group started to disband and do their own things. Serafina waved to them as they all left. She ran a finger through her hair as she left. They all deserved a break and she wouldn’t worry them with an impending assault from the Darkness. She could feel the chill in her bones as she felt the Darkness finally reach this planet. She looked up at the sky as it approached, the sky grew dark and the sea turned violent. 

 “Time to make another beach planet….” Changing into her armor, Serafina summoned her swords to her side as once again….she faced the Darkness head on.

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Next: https://goddessofeternity.tumblr.com/post/645927794060197888/chronicles-of-the-supernovas-chosen

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