***Tuor Homeworld, Elsaria City***

***Elsaria***

“You promised that they would easily succumb to my ability!” I complain to the little crystal which Elohim gave me in order to communicate.

“But that woman didn't even acknowledge my superiority! She just looked down on me as if I am some sort of child. I barely got out of there and lost two of my most loyal people.” Those violent monsters flattened them like flies, but Elohim doesn't have to know that.

I immediately took a pathway back to my seat of power once his amulet transported me out of the immediate vicinity of the Crystal City's inhibitor field. Then I contacted the former Council member, hoping that he might have a way out of my dire situation.

“I never expected you to take control of everyone at that meeting, although it would have been a pleasant surprise,” Elohim's answer comes out of the crystal after a long silence.

Following my deeply rooted instincts, I quickly look around my throne room, checking whether there are witnesses to my loss of control – aside from the larger than life statue of myself which overlooks the room from behind the throne. Then I wring the crystal between my hands, imagining that it is Elohim's neck. “What do you mean with that!? You were the one who suggested taking over that meeting. It would have almost worked, if it weren't for that woman.”

The crystal glows slightly as it transmits Elohim's voice. “I never actually suggested for you to make such a brazen attempt. Although, I admit that I encouraged your ego in hopes that you would do something to draw the Chimerans' attention. Which, let's be honest, was very easy. I only had to give you that amulet to reassure you with an escape route. A big investment, but it will be worth the information I get in return. You are so taken in by yourself that you are easy to manipulate.”

I start shaking, realizing that in all my discussions with Elohim he only sought to use and manipulate me. How could I allow someone to have me dance around like a puppet on strings? “You wanted me to become a target. But for what reason!? You gain nothing if they attack my people! You would even lose an ally!”

As much as the other societies are wary of me, I never expanded my influence through violent means, relying solely on my divinity's innate ability. I hate war and the mere thought of having my beautiful city destroyed because of violence makes me want to puke.

It would be so much easier if people would just peacefully worship me.

All the pretty statues and pictures of myself. It would be a tremendous loss if future generations wouldn't be able to look at my mien at any time they wished to.

“You were never an ally of mine,” Elohim replies. “As a tactical resource, neither your potential fighting power nor that of your minions is worth much to me. The strength of your divinity is exceptional, yet it pales in the face of my enemies. You have seen yourself how easily Celes's divinity countered your own. My sources told me that you apparently managed to influence Angrod, but I bet you would have been swept away once his baser instincts had taken over.”

Elohim clicks his tongue. “I am still at a loss on how to fight two of the elder powers like Order and Chaos, especially when they are working together. Even worse, their daughter's divinity is Life and Death.

“How unlucky are we to have engendered those three directly beneath our noses. The chance was astronomical. No matter what I do, there is nothing that's effective against both of them. It's only well and good that on some level you and your people are a decent distraction. The Chimerans might even reveal one of their trump-cards to get rid of you. I promise that I will be watching very carefully. Your sacrifice won't be in vain.”

“You bastard!” I screech and throw the crystal onto the ground, only now realizing how blind and vulnerable my divinity made me. I could have sent someone else to the party and stayed at a safe distance. None of this would have happened.

“Y- -u sho- be -ning...” Elohim's voice returns in bits and pieces which startles me. The communication device is made out of Mana Crystal and should be indestructible. I have never noticed it having any communication failures.

Then I can feel it.

First the dimming of the pathways which leaves me unable to touch them.

My fears of an attack are confirmed when a powerful presence spreads throughout the pathway network, leaving me in shocked awe at the incredible control which would be necessary to achieve such a feat.

I shake myself, feeling the need to remember that I am the sole being on this world who is able to oppose this infiltration of my sovereignty.

Silently and diligently, I push back against the spreading influence, pouring all my being into fending off the strange attack. More deities join me as my people notice my gargantuan effort at stopping this attack. I try to ignore the fact that our mortal servants would be smothered by the fully released auras of so many gods. Sadly, there is simply no other choice unless we intend to roll over and give up.

But I quickly realise that it isn't as easy as that. It is like pushing against a wall, like trying to oppose an onrushing tidal wave of power which sweeps away all resistance as it encompasses everything around me. It doesn't help that I am currently unable to touch the pathways, so I unleash my aura in a desperate attempt to hold back my enemy's influence.

Is this the Chimeran attack which Elohim anticipated?

“Too soon!” I hiss through tightly gritted teeth as our collective effort is overpowered. I didn't even have time to prepare.

Did the Chimerans ready their forces preemptively in anticipation of having to wipe out an enemy?

Then, with a sudden sense of vertigo, I can feel everything being transported through dimensions. On a pathway of which I wasn't even aware that it existed.

I blink, my instincts reeling at this new insight.

When someone transcends, he or she gains the instinctive ability to use and comprehend the pathways down to the point of knowing where exactly each an everyone can take you. The realization that there are pathways unknown and undiscovered stands in direct contradiction to everything I know.

But why would anyone use so much power just to transport us somewhere else?

Then the presence is gone and I feel my feet lift from the ground, gravity seemingly no longer supporting me. I make swimming motions, trying to get anywhere. Normally, one teleport would solve my problem, but my connection to the pathways is still cut off, leaving me without the ability to teleport.

I am desperately trying to understand what is happening when the world around me changes on a fundamental level. The colours seem brighter, the air colder. Something is playing havoc on my senses, turning my stomach inside out. To my utter astonishment, the statue of myself turns and looks at me before the feeling of weightlessness combined with everything else finally collects its tribute, forcing me to barf a rainbow of light into the air, leaving me with a new conundrum to worry about.

The seconds suddenly stretch to eternity and back again as I float there, watching the ceiling warp above me like a maw that wants to swallow me whole.

Am I going mad!?

Then the world returns to mostly normal with sickening speed and I fall, landing flat on the ground.

The strange effect of time dilation left me with more than enough time to understand that I am no longer in a part of the multiverse where reality obeys something as annoying as the rules of nature. Enough time to dive down the edge of insanity and crawl back up again that deep slope called sanity.

Someone enters the throne room, maybe a guard. He howls in pain and despair, a scream without meaning, conveying pure emotion. I don't understand him until his figure twists impossibly before he and everything beyond dissolves and crumbles away, taken by a maelstrom of indistinct reality without rhyme or reason.

It is pure Chaos which eats away at the borders of my brittle bubble of mostly ordered reality – which is apparently an affront to this insane dimension. One that is quickly resolved as the laws of my reality crumble away like dust.

Just watching this madness sends me screaming over the edge of sanity.

All I can do is to watch horrified as this new and terrible plane of existence reveals itself to me.

I try and utterly fail to comprehend what became my new reality. Screaming, I scramble in the other direction, clinging to what little of my world remains uncorrupted and comprehensible.

Elohim wanted to force a reaction from the Chimerans' side.

I wish he had also gotten a personal look at what he is up against.

***The Crystal City***

***Celes***

I smile at the four ambassadors who are facing me. There is Gwalonna from the Gaian Pact who wears the appearance of an old woman with so much dignity that I can hardly imagine her any differently.

The man next to her is Chiffre from the Arcane community. The strange guy looks like an attempt to fuse with a machine went wrong. Instead of selecting a higher tech-base, he chose steam technology to animate his arm, a purely stylistic decision. There is nothing to say against artificial body parts, but not if I can avoid them. Chiffre isn't very talkative and just seems to wish to kill time with us, but he already made some very smart suggestions regarding the idea of duplicating Chimera.

Zanders is from the Unity. He is a sickly looking fellow who went a little too far with his body modifications.

Miruliru from the Path is also a part of this newest discussion group. She wears a forced expression on her face whenever she looks at me, supposedly caused by her unfortunate confrontation with my children.

“I can only apologize for the behaviour of my kids.” I nod to the loli. “They shouldn't have pestered you like that.”

“It's okay, Queen Celes. I have relearned an important lesson regarding the naivety of kids and got some insights into my own shortcomings at the same time,” Miruliru replies, her eyes turning glassy as if she is about to cry. “Even though I chose this appearance, it looks like I am not cut out to interact with them.”

It quite obvious that the situation troubled her deeply. No, wait. What she said...

Did she choose the appearance of a child to be better at interacting with them? Should I be worried about her motives?

“It's not your fault,” I try to reassure the smaller woman. Though, part of this is her own fault for choosing to be so young.

“Those two like to use their size and apparent age against other people, but don't allow yourself to be fooled. They are perfectly capable of understanding everything they asked you. After all, they have most of the memories of their previous lives. Plus a foundation in common knowledge.” I bow my head slightly to Miruliru as an apology.

Miruliru's expression turns deadpan. “They played with me?”

“That's why I said that I need to apologize. It's not easy to keep them in check.” I smile wryly at her.

Miruliru starts whispering something incomprehensible to herself but catches her thoughts before saying something offensive. “It's okay. I guess they have enough problems of their own by trying to cope with such a flood of memories. The multiverse knows, the last time I was forcefully reincarnated it took even me some time to get to terms with my former self. It is recommendable that they are composed enough to use their knowledge against others instead of going insane.”

“That's right. I haven't thought about it yet. How does your society cope with the problem? Aren't there any children who get overwhelmed by their previous life?” Gwalonna arches her eyebrows at me.

I fiddle with my thumbs, wondering how much I can safely tell them. “Well, for better or worse, when the whole population regained their memories at once we were a little overwhelmed. For a time it looked like anarchy would rule supreme. To avoid the issue, we decided to seal the memories of our kids. They just have the common knowledge of an adult and maybe a few other fragments of their previous lives. We plan to release the seal once we believe that they have a strong enough personality of their own to cope with their situation. The problem is mainly caused by the unnatural reincarnation process which Seria forced on us. Subsequent generations won't have this problem.”

“Don't you think you are stealing something important from them by doing that?” Chiffre looks at me with an accusing expression.

Zanders jumps in to defend me. “I think the Chimerans made the best of two bad choices. From what I've heard, they were forced to live in a half-awakened state. With their powers and memories returned, those who lacked the necessary fortitude in character had to deal with an identity crisis. The Chimerans decided to give their children at least a chance at staying children. Who knows how many families would have been torn apart? Their whole society could have crumbled with an enemy like the Council waiting just outside their doorstep.”

He takes a deep breath. “Reviving inside a Void Zone without the special help of soul magic seems to be a viable way at ensuring that your children won't be stricken with a mortal soul. In our attempt to recreate Chimera, we already conducted serious research in this field. If done correctly, we can ensure that the deity who wants to reincarnate can keep their memories and lose the old personality. A true beginning for anyone who gets tired of existence. You are able to rediscover the world anew because your memories don't feel like your own.”

“I see... So, your method is more like a reset than being reincarnated?” Chiffre arches an eyebrow and looks at the floor while thinking about it.

“There are many moral questions on how to deal with the soul of someone who died against his will. What did you do with the people who died in the battle against the Council?” Miruliru asks. “I doubt that they were ready to rejoin the great cycle.”

“We created an agency which is dedicated just to that question,” I explain and take a sip from my wine. “They sort out the souls into those who prefer a reincarnation as a new personality and those who would like to simply revive. We have no shortage of souls on Chimera, so we will simply provide those who want to with new bodies. Cloning is no longer an issue since we regained access to the multiverse and Seria was quite excessive in her… collection habit. There is no need to force anyone into a personality reset. Unfortunately, we can only do this for those whose souls we managed to collect.”

Miruliru nods and takes another sip of her wine.

Zanders smiles at me. “There is still so much to do, but it looks manageable with people like you in charge. The biggest problems will involve the up and coming societies and their policies. We decided strictly against any form of dictatorship. There will be many free-minded individuals among us. Currently, we are thinking up something like a voting system which allows every member of our society a voice.”

“History already proved that democracy doesn't work. Democracy is just a tool for the fools to drown the few smart people in their combined voices.” Chiffre's expression is sour as he recites something that seems to come from the bottom of his heart.

“That may be true for mortals, but we are gods. Everyone in our society has tons of knowledge and life experience. With the use of magic there should also be no problem in informing everyone of the situation and asking for their vote. We will at least try it and if it doesn't work, we can always decide on another system later on,” Zanders replies.

Chiffre shrugs. “Even if your society is full of people who, theoretically, are qualified to make those decisions, and your political system is transparent to anyone, you still have no guarantee that they have the time or the will to gather all the necessary information to make an educated decision. Which lands you right back at the core of my counter-argument.”

“It still sounds nice,” I interfere, sensing that this discussion could devolve into violence if those two keep going. “We will let them try it. If it works, they can tell us how they accomplished it.” I smile at them.

Chiffre is a little too blunt in my opinion. He just says whatever is on his mind, but maybe that is a good trait for an ambassador. I am not certain.

“And that out of the mouth of a Queen who governs a whole planet of gods! Why would you ever think of giving away all that power?” Gwalonna asks, looking perplexed.

I shrug my shoulders. “Because it's a pain in the ass to solve other people's problems. My husband and I are constantly stressed out with solving small issues which could be handled by any sane person with a bit of common sense.” I shake my fist at the heavens.

“Change of topic,” Miruliru interjects. “There are some interesting rumours about you and your husband.” She takes a look in Angrod's direction. “And I am not entirely sure if those rumours are really just rumours.”

I scratch my cheek while smiling at the group, cold sweat forming on my forehead. “What rumours did you hear?”

Please, please, let it be something that is not too outrageous.

“Oooh. Just something like a monstrous demon appearing in the Infernal Planes. The description sounded damn close to your husband. He single-handedly wiped out a whole pantheon of deities who were hiding there.” Zanders smirks at me.

Chiffre nods. “There is also this strange rumour that your people throw offenders from this very tower – naked? That's a really disturbing custom if you ask me.”

I will kill Seria and Aengus once I get the time to do it slowly. “Ah, we reserve that kind of punishment for special cases. I doubt it will happen again any time soon.”

“I heard rumours that El Shaddai got reincarnated as a mortal. More precisely, a female sex slave!” Gwalonna remarks with a condescending sniff of her nose. “A demon resembling your husband was seen by several witnesses in the red light district of a certain planet where he... ahem... she is working now.”

'Snap!'

Ah damn! I broke my glass.

“Fufu...” Rumours are surely scary. No, forget that! I have to get a grip on myself. Breathe in deep, Celes, and breathe out slowly.

Count to ten and... “Kukuku...” …everything is fine. There is no reason to lose my temper. Angrod would never cheat on me. He knows the risks.

I wonder who I will have to order killed to stop those rumours?

Finally, I manage to get my expression back under control. Nonetheless, the ambassadors are looking at me as if they just used a pathway and found themselves facing a mythical leviathan from the Infernal Planes. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Um... nothing.” Miruliru quickly hides her mouth behind her glass.

“Let's just drink and have fun.” Gwalonna takes the nearby bottle from the table and refills my glass of wine.

“Why don't we return the discussion to duplicating Chimera?” Zanders suggests.

“Hahaha. Your expression just looked like we would get to witness some public executions this evening.”

The others look at Chiffre with fearsome expressions, but the ambassador from the Arcane Community just continues to sip on his glass of wine, unaware of the insensitive blunder he just committed.