In a place, far removed from Terra, mortal toils have thwarted divine plans. Radiant light streaks through the sky, blazing across a crossroad before flaring into a marble building and materialising into a humanoid shape, crafted from nothing but golden fire.
“What is the meaning of this?!” a shrill shriek shatters the blessed silence of the ever-growing library. Sharp enough to crack crystal, high enough to torture the dogs outside into a barking frenzy of protest and obnoxious to the point that even the polecats that organise the stacks flee in protest from the auditory attack. Only one form is not impressed by the divine fury, calmly sitting at a comfortable table, a scroll in hand. Where the intruder is pure golden fire, the inhabitant of the library is much darker, pale, silver flesh shrouded in the shadows of night, three faces looking at their visitor while radiating enough mirth to block out the sun.
“You will have to be a little more specific. I believe I have done just as the others asked, you have received exactly what you have traded for,” the three faces speak in three voices, yet all three are in perfect harmony. One voice young, one voice mature, the last one cracked from age and yet, they are all filled with the same amusement.
“You blessed that mortal! My curse should have left her withered and soon dead as it deserves! But no, your blessing counteracts the curse and that blasted snake just had to add its own magic to that thing. It will spell disaster, just like it did in the realm we allowed them to visit!” the radiance rages, fury burning bright.
“You have your domain, just like I have mine. What is heretical to you, is sacred to me. That mortal might just walk the same path I once walked, maybe not following in my footsteps but making her own. What she has achieved in years, others fail to accomplish in their lifetime. She might never have called upon me, never even considered wielding my power, but she might just be my greatest champion. You know that I do not simply hand out power to mortals, just because they shout loudly, they have to earn it. And I am merely watching, and maybe give them a small push or two,” the mature voice explains, some of the amusement now gone, replaced with quiet, cold anger.
“And I’ll have you know, the mortal's antics greatly amused me. Just how far she will go, if she doesn’t manage to cut her own path short, I don’t know. Did you know, her Avatar was only destroyed twice- And both times, it was by one of us. Just for that, she should get another blessing or title from the system, but alas, it has no sense of humour,” the young voice added, sounding as if all the mirth that had left the mature voice shifted to hers.
“Humour?! You think this a laughing matter?” the radiance rages, light bursting out and setting fire to the scroll in the other figure’s hand. The fire doesn’t last long, nor does it consume the scroll, but the fury burns hotly in the air around them.
“So much of our efforts, down the drain, wasted just because some mortal had to meddle?! It broke the prison, unleashed catastrophe and you blessed that wretched thing. How many of our believers have died? It will take ages for Mundus to recover, if it ever does. We have no idea if the people will keep their worship or if others will rise. They might even get influenced by another group,” the anger of the radiant voice dims a little but remains, a smouldering ember of rage, ready to burst into flame anew.
“You mean, so much of your efforts, do you not? Not a single one of my followers was harmed by her,” the ancient voice interjects, calm, collected and utterly unphased. If anything, it sounded as if the voice was wholly unconcerned with the raging being, or the matter at hand.
“I dare to say I actually will gain quite a few thanks to her efforts. Not conscious efforts but she manages to convert some, simply by being who she is,” the younger voice adds, the mirth back in full force.
“As if you have followers to be harmed in the first place. Just your stupid pets, nothing more,” the fiery voice blazes up again, spewing venom. For a few moments, they continue to snarl at each other, until they both fall silent at the same moment. The moment a ripple goes through both of them, shifting their attention away from their talk.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“How curious,” the three voices remark, speaking as one again. “Now, let’s see what just happened,” with a wave of a hand, space ripples along the path of her gesture, opening into a window of blackness that swiftly resolves into an image. Within, a tall, vaguely female-looking creature, clothed in nothing but old rags convulses on a dirty concrete floor. Only, instead of eyes, the figure has flames within her eyesockets, flames that flicker like a candle in the wind, about to fade away. Another figure, far smaller, with a petite build, crouches above the first, a bloody hand held to the first figure’s mouth.
“What is it doing now? What insanity?!” the fiery voice snarls, only a few breaths away from erupting into anger once more.
“A ritual, it seems. Quite the curious one,” the mature voice replies, curiosity brimming in her voice. As they are watching, the larger figure stills, the flames vanish and for a moment, both of the watching entities wonder why their attention was drawn to the scene. Only, just as they were wondering, liquid starts to pool within the eye-sockets, filling them in moments and forming new eyes.
“Oh, my,” the young voice crows, watching with fascination, “You don’t see that every day.”
“That shouldn’t be possible,” the fiery presence shakes its head, irritation and disbelief warring in its voice. “This can’t be possible, a mortal can’t do that!”
“And yet, this mortal just did,” the elderly voice calmly rejects the rising anger of their fiery visitor. “There are no rules about what a mortal can and cannot do. Just because no mortal, to your knowledge, has accomplished a feat like this, doesn’t mean that they are incapable. Simply that you have not witnessed or heard of it. Do not presume to be omniscient, it is unbecoming.”
“That, it is. Just because your rays shine brightly on our worlds does not mean they reveal everything. Many things are hidden in the darkness, sequestered in the deepest shadows that your light will never reach,” the mature voice adds, a hint of teasing audible in it, “And you know, the deepest shadows fall into my domain and even your followers and eyes rarely dare venture into them. No, it would be a lot more surprising if you had witnessed a mortal accomplish such a feat, though you have undoubtedly seen the result of such rituals. Why, this might even be one of the more successful ones I have seen.”
The radiant figure focuses on the window in reality once more, studying both figures before flaring up once more. Calmly, the other figure waves a hand, shielding the library to make sure nothing gets damaged by their visitor's anger.
“Temper, temper, you wouldn’t want to burn yourself out, would you? That will be such a tragedy,” the young voice gently chides their visitor, only succeeding in enraging them even further.
“And see, she even managed to carry our gift forward. Should I call you their mother, or do you want to be their father?” the young voice continues their teasing, completely unrepentant. “If you don’t have a preference, I would love to be their mother, though I don’t think they’ll acknowledge me for some time. Maybe I can be the grandmother, once the mortal takes her rightful place.”
“It is an abomination that should be destroyed. Look at the path she has just begun, it cannot be allowed. It will bring a premature end, it will waste so much of our efforts. All our efforts on that world will be destroyed if she can cross enough hurdles!” the fiery figure starts to lose themself in their anger, though now, there is a trace of fear within. Fear of the unknown, fear of an uncertain future. A fear obviously not shared by their host, who simply starts to laugh.
“Nothing lasts forever. Time marches steadily forward, one turn of the wheel after the other. Maybe they will burn brightly, a magnificent flare within the eternal cosmos before darkness envelops their world forever, maybe they will flare up for a moment, before smouldering for a long time. You and the others can trade with mortals for power, can allow them to wield yours. But we are not to judge those outside of our domain. That is not for us,” the elder voice declares, before falling silent once more.
“You know, more than one of the others has mentioned their interest in this mortal. We shall see how far she’ll go,” the mature voice reminds the other, only to watch in amusement as their visitor flares up once again, leaving their library in a flash of fire, to race across the skies once more.
“So predictable,” the three voices chuckle as one, before focusing back on their work. There is always something new to discover, a lesson their blessed is currently learning.