"Fate, we need to talk."

The goddess sighed, turning towards the creature standing in her domain.

"Han, what do you want?"

Her voice was tired with sleepless nights. She'd been watching an ominous plague sweep the earth, and it was killing her, draining her powers day by day. It caused a noticeable shift in her normally stunning features, cheeks sinking in and eyes growing dull. Lady Han regarded her with something akin to worry, despite the hatred they had held for each other for millennia.

"What's wrong with you?" the goddess of the Present asked, and despite the bitterness in her words, it made Fate smile.

"I've never seen you worry for others, Han."

"Just because I express myself differently than you lot, doesn't mean I don't feel things," she scoffed. "Answer the question, Fate, you look terrible."

Mother Fate ran her perfectly manicured hands over her face, feeling her power tingle beneath her skin. The Curtain of Night burst into colour, showing her vision on the starlight walls. It formed into a view of the world, stretching like a map around them.

"This is as close as you'll ever come to understanding my power," she said, exhausted. "I've... translated it for you in some way. In my eyes I see every soul on this map; dimensions folding over each other so I can connect to every human alive, but you're just going to see them as lights. This is the Earth about two months ago. Green represents souls being born."

Emerald flickered around them, miniscule dots appearing all over the world for a split second before disappearing again, in no order, every one living in its own time.

"Yellow is life, happiness, just lives being lived."

Gold light spread like a tidal wave across the globe, the green continuing to flicker amongst it happily, barely visible.

"Orange means their lives are in danger"

Pins of fire flared to life here and there, as numerous as the green, yet not snuffing it out. The map was teeming with life, and Han stared, mesmerised, knowledge about the universe pouring into her.

"Red signifies imminent death, though it doesn't mean they will die for sure. Fate is... complicated, humans have the power to change it sometimes. When they can't, I try to help them along. But death must happen, and so not all of these can be stopped."

Crimson bloomed across the Curtain, and Han smiled. For despite the sadness, yellow remained strongest, brightest, life continued as always.

"And black is death."

Midnight spots flashed around the globe, but they were lesser than the red, incomparable to the wave of golden life which kept sparkling.

Then blue dots flickered to life, not in a blanket like the other colours had, not disappearing instantly, but as small, brilliant stars which hung there for quite some time time. She counted about ten in total, distinctly visible.

"What's the blue?" she asked, and the wonder in her voice gave Mother Fate the smallest of smiles.

"Those are Singularity Stars. Now let me show you what the Earth looked like a month ago."

The map dimmed, then flared to life again. Nothing seemed to have changed, dots flickering on and off all over the globe, as they always had. Except in one place, where blue overtook everything, shining so bright it drew your eyes to it, blinding.

"You recognise it, don't you?" Fate said, and Han nodded with a grimace.

"That's the building we've been watching in South Korea. Is this what it currently looks like?"

"This hasn't happened yet. Time is a strange construct, within my powers. But it is what should happen soon."

"We've already ascertained that the Star is worrying... can't you do anything about it?"

"Han, I can only see them, doesn't mean I have control over them."

Han scoffed lightly.

"What's the point of seeing Singularity Stars if you can't stop them?"

Fate smiled, played with blue light with her long fingers, as if she were playing with the universe.

"History could have been much worse, you know. I have seen some parts of it, and I have tried to stop many of Singularity Stars before, to change their outcome. I don't see far enough into the future to change people, so I can only try to get the right humans in the right places. With some, I succeeded, with others I failed. For If I manage to put souls in a place where they can make a difference, they still have to make the willing decisions to change history. I cannot do it for them."

It was confusing, but Han's own powers didn't always make sense either.

"Okay, so how big is this particular event, compared to other things you've seen before?"

Fate stared at her, as if the weight of her gaze could explain how dire the situation was.

"I haven't seen something anything like this, not in the last century. Because as of a few weeks ago, this is what I've been seeing."

And on the walls, the Singularity Star exploded.

Blue light flickered out, leaving underneath a scared black star, miniscule.

"I don't understand," Han huffed.

"Wait for it."

The black shifted. It lifted from the map ominously, then spread alike vines across the map. Within a few seconds, the entire globe was wrapped in tar-like tendrils, and within them blue lights grew. Singularity Stars were born simultaneously all over the globe, and from them grew colours like ripples: orange, then red, then black.

Yellow gave way to darker tones, before the whole globe seemed to be aflame. Then the Curtain disappeared entirely.

"I'm sorry, that's enough," Fate whispered, and Han could only agree with a nod of her head. "I can focus on Singularity Stars and make efforts to make them positive events, but once this one explodes and they appear all of the planet, I won't be able to help at all. I'll be, in a word, powerless."

"You sound like you've given up already," Han glared at her.

"I'M TRYING!" Fate suddenly exploded with rage. "OKAY?!"

Han actually took a step back, raising her hands in the human motion for peace, but the goddess across from her wasn't paying attention. She started pacing, her hands digging into her hair in frustration, ranting.

"Normally I can see something, anything, a moment that I'm allowed to alter or a person I could send in. But something here keeps getting in the way, and I'm blind! Can't see a thing, can't sense an opening, can't find a chink in the Star's armour. So what do I do?! I can't do anything!"

A beautiful clawed hand settled softly on her shoulder, and she glanced up at the creature she used to hate, who now knew more about her powers than any other being besides Universe himself. It was a soothing gesture from the most unlikely deity.

"Have you told Verse about this?"

Fate shook her head dejectedly.

"Ture said not to worry. So Verse told me to drop it, that this was probably necessary for some reason we couldn't outline yet but..." her eyes were frantic as she looked up. "They can't be right, Han. They can't, I hear those souls dying inside me and it can't be right."

She looked half mad, her once gentle countenance torn to bits.

"I believe you, I feel something off too. But I'll stick around, okay?"

"You're staying with the Singularity Star?"

"Every day. We'll just have to react to it when it happens, if we can."