Void Rift (rp) - Intermission

"Huh?" Katie asks, confused.


"It wasn't mind control." Gaia says, scarily calm, before exploding - hair bursting into hellfire, "Do you honestly think that we'd create some kind of scheme to mind control Lady Xlentia!? Do you see us as a bunch of corrupt souls seeking only to expand our personal gain, and take over your reality!? Have you created some kind of idea in your mind that we have no concern for the matters of our own reality - a reality that has a gaping hole into another with a mind-controlling tyrant that we once thought seriously threatened our reality - and would rather try to be as bad or worse than the overlord actively destroying your reality!? We are not. We have only sought to better the relations between our realities after two of our gods reasonably acted angry after one of your gods erased one of our demigods for some...some reason! When we heard that Xlentia was protecting the very breach in our reality that we were fearful of, we wished only to help her in any way we could. What do you do in response? Almost kill one of our gods who took time away from her research, reality and those that look up to her to fit the armour another of our gods spent decades hand crafting with the finest metals of his collection! You have some mighty pedestal to stand upon when we have always tried to be a helping hand from the other side. Mortius didn't even torture Xlentia's piece of soul. It was merely floating around in the spiritual plane waiting to be collected as it was not a corrupt soul! Yet you have the audacity to accuse us of pouncing on it like a pack of hungry wolves to torture it for our own sick pleasure! I will be glad to seal this selfish reality off when our children deal with the plague it rightfully suffers from, because you've only taken from us and showed no respect for anything we've done to help. Instead you blindly accuse us of crimes we never commit and try to kill our gods."

Gaia picks up Praecantatia's bleeding body, causing more blood to spill.

"You can have the money of my children. Money they donated as a show of good faith to make you feel better as you adjusted to our gift of potent armour. Frankly, I don't think you deserve any of it. But you may as well take it. Take it like everything else you've taken from us, including nearly taking Phoebe's life!" Gaia shouts, throwing the pouch of coins square in the middle of Xlentia's head. Without the armour, it feels like a sucker punch as gold and diamond coins spill out and bounce on the floor. Gaia turns to carry Praecantatia back through the rift, half of her body covered in hissing blood.


"Maybe I'll get Stephanie to give you to Temporus then, so one second lasts a thousand years for you." I say, annoyed.

"Aj, stop giving him what he wants." Artemis sighs.

 

“Uh... it’s getting really ugly, actually.”


Xlentia’s nose caves in, as she rapidly starts to bleed out into the library as well.

“...Lady Gaia, I ask one last favor to ask of you.” Emerald says. “Your gods have council, no? Mistress should join you. She has come back tortured, frayed, and if it wasn’t of your doing then there’s something horribly wrong aside from this grave misunderstanding that must be addressed. I assure you her soul was not left alone, it came back badly frayed. Everything can be explained - I will restrain Mistress from doing anything extreme, but we can’t afford more of any of what’s happened today.”


Doir dooks, seeming content.
“Well, it’s about time for me to go hop into lava on the other side of the palace. Good luck in there, you hear? Don’t forget to hold your ground if things go south.”

 

"Y-You're kidding, right?" Katie asks, scared.


Gaia extends a hand, a light green aura surrounding it as Gaia's hair smokes a little more. Xlentia's nose seems to heal itself, the bleeding stopping.

"I shall speak with the others - informing them of what's happened here - and see what they think." Gaia says angrily through grit teeth. Without changing form, all of Praecantatia's blood rises into a large sphere of itself. Gaia carries Praecantatia's blood and Praecantatia herself back through the rift, leaving only a coolness in the air as - with her fiery presence gone - the library begins to cool down again.


"Thanks for the map!" Stephanie says appreciatively, waving goodbye.

 

I shake my head.
“Praecantatia is hurt badly, and Xlentia just had her face caved in.”


Emerald looks terrified.
“I’ll... see you soon, I suppose...”


“Don’t die, it sucks to go in for the first time!” Doir says, scampering off.

 

"Did they fight?" Abigail asks, intrigued.


Artemis, Stephanie and I look for a way into the labyrinth mapped out, Stephanie checking the map to see if any ways lead to the main goal.

 

“Yes, Emerald’s telling me Xlentia thought the armor she was gifted was meant to mind control her. She’s not in good shape right now, between her soul being tortured in Mortius’ domain and Gaia getting super mad at her for striking out at Praecantatia.”


There are three clear paths, but a ton if you include vents and other maintenance tunnels.

 

"I'm glad I'm staying out of that conflict." Abigail says, sounding relaxed.

"I guess...um, with great power comes great responsibility, as they say." Katie says, worried.


Stephanie shows the map, and the three of us map out a stealthy route following close to the second clear path, utilizing the vents and maintenance tunnels. With the path set, I disappear into Artemis, and the pair begins following their route close to the second path.

 

“I hope it winds up being okay...”


The approach to the palace is fairly open; guards can be seen sparring off in the distance, and a few demons and imps tend to a glowing garden closer to the palace.

 

"You...don't think they'll kill each other, do you?" Katie asks.


Artemis looks around for any nature she can use to her advantage to hide and incapacitate with, while Stephanie checks the map and route to look for alternate ways through.

 

“Xlentia’s sealing, so it’s a bit late for that.”


There isn’t anything of notable use nearby, though she might be able to make do with the stubby ashen grass.

 

"Sealing?" Katie asks.

"Sealing what?" Abigail asks.


Artemis looks around for living creatures, sensing for life force as Stephanie looks for a way past.

"If this palace is anything like mine, there's probably a secret emergency exit we can use." I whisper through Artemis.

Stephanie nods, putting her ear and hands to the ground and trying to sense for any gaps or holes, small vibrations emitting from her hands.

 

“When a god suffers a fatal injury, they undergo a process called sealing. It enables them to heal from any wound, but if the seal crystal is broken before the healing is complete then the god is gone for good.”


She notices tons of rodents scampering around, thousands of tiny tunnels twisting around in the ground beneath.

None of the tunnels are big enough to use, though - at least, none that reach the surface.

 

"I don't know what happens when our gods die." Katie admits.

"I don't think any of them have died." Abigail adds.


Stephanie shakes her head.

"Nothing but rats." Stephanie says.

"Rats?" Artemis asks, before touching her necklace again. Her scythe reverts back to a bow, and she tries to reach the minds of the rodents underground; attempting to get them to group together and tunnel to the surface.

 

“Bad things, so don’t dwell on a literal end of reality scenario.” I grumble. “If Xlentia dies, though, that’d make a dangerous enemy out of Emerald.”


This mostly works, as most start to tunnel upwards. However, several rats book it towards the palace.


Temporus is left beginning to suspect that Xlentia’s fit was part of an experiment.

 

"Well...I hope she doesn't die." Katie says, worried.


Artemis waits for a large enough hole to fit in to be created on the surface, before ordering the rats to form another large tunnel following the path of their friends toward the palace.


Temporus finishes putting the last piece of armour of a new set into a giant cardboard box, sealing it up with tape and handing it off to four of his faerie disciples; waiting patiently.

A short while later, the four faeries fly through the rift, dropping the giant box off in the library and flying back through. The box reads "DIY Dragon Armour Set" on the front and back, with a list of items included in the set and some safety warnings about choking hazards on the left and right. A blue and yellow symbol appears in the corner of each, reading "Tikea".

 

"I... I might have to go back and see if I can get things straight. Your gods have made one hell of a mess out of this situation, and I don't know why Emerald can't get it together like she usually does." I grumble. "I made sure everyone was told that Xlentia has problems with getting lonely and going insane, yet here we are. Having problems because somebody decided to walk up to Xlentia while she was lonely and insane. Where the fuck did I go wrong with getting the damn message across?"


They begin to dig, though it soon becomes apparent that the 'friends' that booked it towards the palace are far from friends.
Guards start pouring into the courtyard, many immediately noticing the trio.
Doir pops up among the crowd of surfacing rodents, running back to Artemis.
"Hello, it's your apparently defective guide. You shut me up before I could tell you that most of the rodents here are Atavul's spy network!" He screeches.


Emerald seems exasperated.
"Wait, please!" She calls to the fae. "Just give me one minute..."

 

"We all have problems with loneliness. It's called living." Abigail says.


Artemis slams her hand to the ground, dark thorny vines with red eyes and small sharp-toothed mouths bursting from the ground like swarms of flies. Small fangs start appearing in circles in patches of the ground, the only thing revealing vicious venus fly traps waiting for someone to step on them so they can consume them. The thorned vines swing and grab at whoever they can, some working to throw them into the traps while others use their small mouths dotted over their body to take bites out of them themselves. Stephanie creates a large barrier, while giving Artemis a supply of magic so she can sustain her attack.


Emerald is too late, the faeries flying through before she can call. The box sits idly in the library, the tape on it's top looking fresh.

 

"Xlentia's are often exacerbated by the fact she's a supermassive dragon who is known to go on rampages to vent. Everything's an absolute mess back there..." I sigh. "Even worse, I was just informed that the nightmare scenario I told Emerald to warn you about but she insisted wouldn't happen while she was gone, happened. So, now there might actually be a war between our realities."


"I know I'm a pain in the ass, but wasn't your goal not to get noticed?" Doir groans.
Most of the guards take to the skies, though the ones that stay grounded seem to be raising the tide once again along with forming obsidian or magma as they step to obstruct the thorns and flytraps.


Emerald smiles, taking the box back before modifying the rift portal again and vanishing with it, leaving a sealed Xlentia and her armor parts laying in the entryway.

A few hours later, Rineth runs up to the shadow palace gates, seeming panicked.
"I need to speak with Lady Tenebrae as soon as possible. I carry a message of utmost importance that is strictly for her. Where in the palace is the prayer room?" He asks, voice not reflecting his stressed demeanor.

 

"Why is that?" Katie asks, terrified.


Some of the vines grow up further to snatch the guards from the skies as mushrooms begin to form around the vines and traps. Any guards that get too close - or even step on - the mushrooms end up releasing paralysing spores. A few mushrooms in the clusters poison the guard's minds, turning them against the others as the mushrooms begin to grow inside of them.


"I can take you there, Sir Rineth." One of the guards says, leading Rineth inside.

The guard takes Rineth to the prayer room, Tenebrae's statue standing tall over the Shadows that bow before her in prayer.

 

I shake my head.
"It's complicated, and Tenebrae and Lux would have my head if I told you the details. You'll find out soon enough, for the better or for the worse."


The guards seem more than willing to off themselves to prevent obstruction of the others; they cover about half the ground between the entryway and the group.
A few airborne guards get dragged down, but a hail of razor feather-blades rains down towards the trio.


Rineth bows, kneeling before closing his eyes.
"Lady Tenebrae, I carry a message of utmost urgency for you and your siblings. I am defying orders delivering this to you, but I pray you will be willing to hear me out."


Emerald opens the box and looks through the instructions for the "DIY Dragon Armor Kit."