Hey guys, I had a pretty tiring day of interviews today so I really couldn't commit myself to writing another chapter, sorry about that. As an apology I figured I'd try my best at a more comedic short (and I mean SHORT) story from the POV of our new character Raq'uesh! Please, as ever, give me some feedback if you feel like it, it would really help me!

Sam.

EDIT: Just fyi, I don't think I'll continue in this manner in the main story but I felt like it was getting a little heavy at times so thought I'd try my hand at something new. Maybe I'll try and incorporate a little humour as far as I can into the dynamic between Raq'uesh and Zed though, I'll see how it goes

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“Ah, it’s over, is it?”

I couldn’t help but ask a redundant question to my companions. Looking at each other with fearful eyes, I sighed and sunk to my knees. Swarms of Divine auras could be felt converging on our location and, frankly, I was too tired to resist anymore. It seemed that ‘resistance was futile’ just like they had always claimed.

Gods like me care about image very much but that is only to a certain degree. Even we have breaking points, although we would never show such a thing to a mortal. An image in front of the mortals is very important, whether you rule by fear or by example. My group and I had set about gaining followers, each of us pursuing the Purpose of Faith, but we had tried to surpass our stations. The Council’s laws were simply too limiting for Gods like us who could grow in power, to some degree, from the Faith of the mortals, as we were not allowed to manage multiple planets or grant miracles, as that counted as intervention.

We had secretly started gaining followers on other planets, including one particular close encounter where we nearly stepped on the toes of that monstrous Bone Lord Zed… luckily that prideful monster did not deign to pay attention to what we were doing on his planet. Who knows what he does on it, that old demon. Sadly, eventually some flunky… sorry, I’m trying to cultivate an image of Wisdom, I meant retainer, reported us to the Council who mobilised their nearby forces to apprehend us.

“What should we do?” wailed Yakki, sinking further into despair.

The others, Kris, Vil and Div all seemed to be the thinking the same thing. That was a bad sign, it could get dangerous if they get hysterical and I really don’t feel like dying. That would be a real blow to my immortal status, you know?

“There’s only one thing we can do,” I bravely call out to my comrades, “Surrender and beg!”

The shamelessness of my statement shocks them into silence before they start looking determined.

“Right,” Vil agrees, a fierce expression showing on his face, “We’ll beg for our lives! That’ll show those Council do-gooders!”

When you go with it that easily, even going so far as to think of it as an impressive plan, it’s actually really embarrassing. I decided there and then to commit myself more fully to this path of Wisdom.

“Don’t move! Stay right where you are!” calls out a praying-mantis God.

“Yes sir! We shall submit ourselves peacefully!” Vil replies gleefully.

No, really, you’re getting way too into this.

“Shut up!” snarls the angry insect whilst knocking him and the rest of us out.

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We wake up in front of a tall oak table. An impressive looking dragon-headed man looks down on us, somewhat uninterestedly, before looking back down at the table. It looks like he’s reading something. A few minutes pass before Div suddenly snarls, “Hey! Don’t just ignore us!”

Personally, I didn’t feel that the words fit the situation, what with us having been knocked out by Council forces just before but I was too frightened from the imposing aura suddenly exerted by the dragon man to scold him for it. Looks like this was a bad move but I’ve always agreed with group responsibility so I won’t hold it against Div too much if he cripples us, or something. I’ll still be pretty annoyed though, I have so many dreams!

“I was just considering on whether to kill you now or send you to The Cube but I guess you’ve made my choice for me,” the fearsome dragon man snickered, seeming to have restrained himself, “Looks like it’s an eternal life of struggling and misery for you! Bye now!”

With such a terrible fate uttered in a tone that really didn't fit the situation, following my, admittedly, abridged summary of our life in the Universe, our life in The Cube together began.