Void Rift (rp) - Intermission

"Oh, bye Emerald!" I say, waving to Emerald as she leaves.

"Well, us gods are close in our normal forms, though I don't think inter-universal mingling is a good idea. Grace- uh, Gaia worked very hard to make sure her guardian's powers weren't diluted through procreation." Tenebrae says, laughing slightly.

 

"Oh, that reminds me, Alice said I should give her another dragon ride and it sounded like fun! Could you help me get in touch with her?" Xlentia asks, blissfully focused on being not in her palace.

 

"Sure, you could always head to Earth and I'll tell her you're coming." Tenebrae says, smiling.

 

"Thanks! Happy belated birthday Aj, I'll see you later!" Xlentia says, opening a portal to Earth and flying around.

Sapphire laughs.
"I love it when she acts like she isn't a god..."

 

"The god life can be tiring sometimes. It's one of the reasons we got Ph-. Uh, Praecantatia to work with Caelia to give us the ability to change to this smaller form," Tenebrae explains, "It helps blend in and act like a mortal, as well as be able to talk to them properly without needing to pick them up."

 

"Oh, Xlentia just lost that ability a few eons ago as part of a punishment. She got a little too active with her role as the Great Destroyer, so her giant size was forced upon her to make it hard for her to bond with... well, anyone." Sapphire explains.

 

"She seems to be bonding with Gaia." Tenebrae says happily.

 

"That is a plus... makes things easier on poor Emerald, too. I can't imagine what it's like having to regulate a goddess' mood along with a big job like hers." Sapphire says, feeling a bit down at the thought.

 

"I admire her ability to run a gigantic library by herself." Tenebrae says, smiling.

"I've contributed to it, in a sense." I say happily.

 

"I mean, you gave her a backlog and then made up for it because she forced you to, but you've helped a bunch with Xlentia."

 

"Have I? Did allowing her to eat Shadow Stephanie and I keep her calm or something?" I ask.

"What?" Tenebrae asks, thoroughly confused at my statement.

"Oh god don't remind me of that, I wasn't in a good state of mind when we did that." Shadow Stephanie says, seeming embarrassed.

 

"No, but you talked to her, like, once, and she keeps trying to reach out to you. Except she can't with her armor."

 

"Wait, who are you talking about?" I ask, confused.

"What was this with Xlentia eating you?" Tenebrae asks Shadow Stephanie, curious.

"Oh christ...we had to let Xlentia eat us to get inside of her, and we needed to be inside of her to get to her heart to find Ihra," Shadow Stephanie says, "The experience of being consumed was not fun, and yet I was in a weird state of mind at the time and...couldn't think properly. I absolutely regret all of it and what I did there."

 

"That was to talk with Ihra, right?"

 

"Yeah, as I remember." I say.

"I can't remember how we found out, though I do remember is that Katie was traumatised afterwards." Shadow Stephanie says, glancing at Katie.

Katie just seems to be eating a slice of cake and trying to zone out, clearly still traumatised by the memories.

 

"Better to not ask." Sapphire sighs.

 

I just shrug, deciding to play with some of my gifts.

 

Sapphire stays as Alice opens a portal.
"Oh, hey Artemis? Sgavrinn's still at my house. You want to come over for a bit?"
Pause.
"Wait, we should have cake!"

 

"I was told the cake is a lie." Angela says.

"I-It's quite good." Katie says, holding up a mostly eaten slice of cake.

 

Alice rolls her eyes before cutting herself a slice and eating it.