Alice was aimlessly floating around in a void her voices had been quiet for a while and hadn’t come back. She hadn’t been without them for years and when they weren’t the most painful moments in life had occurred. Like when the UMRD cut open her head and implanted the "Mind Relay," one of the scientists had the bright idea to not use anesthesia or even painkillers to test her capacity for pain.

She was getting more and more worried nothing had happened yet, and that was the worse thing about the situation. The UMRD was at least quick they would knock her out she'd wake up hooked up to machines beginning a surgery or a combat area for tests. But this situation was different no restraints, pain, drugs or orders.

It was unsettling and frankly terrifying for her just to float there and wait. She was the type just want to get it over with so she could talk to the other Alice’s, but they were gone. And it went on for what seemed like hours before she could see something. It looked like a small planet or a moon. She just felt like she had to go there no matter what and slowly but surely was.

When she finally got there, all she could think was “Way to go, Alice; you got yourself stuck in the middle of a god damn wasteland.”

“I know it's quite boring, isn't it. Nothing to even do or destroy, but it’s where she wants to talk.”

“Who are you and how did you hear that and where am I.” Alice was ready to fight or run as soon as she landed and didn’t know where to look it was like the voice was surrounding her.

“Haha, a good reaction I’m simply the one who’s going to kill you!” The voice screamed, and the ground around Alice shifted, and space itself cracked.

Alice just bolted away in a full-blown sprint and thought "What the hell did I do piss that thing off." But no matter how far she went it felt like everything was falling apart everything when into chaos. Then Alice froze or to be more precise the everything did.

Then an annoyed voice rang out "That’s enough Lyssa we didn’t come here to torture the poor thing. She already went through enough of that."

A figure stepped out of the void it was a woman who looked like God had created her. She looked to be in her mid 20’s. She seemed around 5’8” with long black hair and even darker eyes that looked they were swallowing the darkness itself. Her gaze looked at Alice with pity as if seeing through her and seeing all that she was.

Behind her, another what Alice assumed was a person, looked like it was crashing quite literally into reality things became chaotic once more, and space shattered revealing a woman of similar age to the last and just as beautiful but with a more dangerous air around her. She was shorter than the other woman around 5’6” and had gray hair not fitting of someone of old age, it looked like the color was fading away. Her eyes look shattered rainbows different from Alice's rainbow eyes. It looked like colors were just flowing through them never staying for to long making way for a different color. She looked Alice with the eyes of a child with a new toy or lion looking at fresh meat.

The gray-haired women spoke “Oh come on Mania admit it, it was funny the way she ran as soon as injected my power into the air.”

The black haired woman ignored her and turned back towards Alice and spoke “Don’t worry little Alice neither one of us will hurt you. We just want to talk and come to an agreement with you. I’m going to let you move again, and we’ll answer any questions you have ok.”

Her tone caught Alice off guard, and it was soft and kind and made Alice feel a little uncomfortable and more than a little confused. She didn’t realize it then, but it was the same tone a mother spoke to her scared child a first for Alice. When she snapped out of it she talked with fury "Who the hell are you, why’d you attack me, where am I, and what deal?"

Mania laughed a bit seeing Alice’s small fit of rage and responded "Well to start little one I’m Mania you know me as the Goddess of Death but to be more precise I rule over the end of things and inevitability. You associate me with death simply because that is what you perceive as the end.”

“Why are you so nice I thought you were supposed to be an evil goddess that seeks the death of all things and all that stuff?”

“No no, quite the contrary I'm actually quite well respected because although I am the end of what is good, I also rule over the end of wars and other evils. I’m a neutral force that doesn’t perceive good and evil everything must end someday. I’m well worshipped on worlds that understand and accept this fact, and I’m well respected by the other gods especially Atum the God of Life we are good friends and see each other as two halves of the same whole. Do you understand now little one?”

“Um. Yeah, I think so now who’s that one and stop calling me little.” Alice said with confusion and a hint annoyance in her voice.

“Oh, I almost forgot this is Lyssa gode-”

Lyssa cut her off and declared “I'm Lyssa Goddess of Chaos, and Insanity fear me and obey haha.”

Alice just had a blank expression on her face and thought “She a freaking moron.”

Lyssa spoke again “How rude I’m just a free spirit who wants to see the world burn. Also, show some respect to me I created the Dungeon Cores, so I'm essentially your Grandmother. Now then you want to why you're here and where you are. For this, I’ll pass you to sis over there.”

Mania surprised spoke, "You were begging me to let you explain the deal now you want to run off?"

Lyssa with a mad smile said, "It looks like those shit head Thoth worshippers are getting ambushed all over the city by my worshippers I can’t miss it so I’ll be back in a bit ok.” Before Mania could respond, she was gone.

Alice a little dumbfounded waited for Mania to speak and after a few moments, she began “Well sorry about that I looked after her a bit when she was a young god and thinks of me as a big sister. Were in a sub-dimension that I created but that's not important and well anyway we have a lot to discuss we should start with why you were born and why the world is ending.”

“Why does my birth have anything to do with this?”

“We’ll get to that in a moment, so the reason why we are here put simply is to destroy human life on your planet. The world you live on was created by Lyssa as a joke in a sense she wanted to see how people would survive without mana and well they ended up thriving but crossed the line.”

Mania’s voice turned solemn. “Humans were about to create life and that something we gods expressly forbade mortals from doing so Lyssa reintroduced mana and sent the race she created which is popularly called Dungeon Cores the rest you already know.”

“But I was created by humans and why didn’t you blow the planet up.”

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“Little one I may rule over the end or “death” as you call it, but I don’t destroy things indiscriminately the humans have sinned, but the world has not so humans will be the only to be wiped out. Well, things didn’t go as planned as you may have realized Lyssa is a bit destructive, so she has a good amount of enemies among the gods. In this case, Thoth interfered and taught humans magic to quickly and inadvertently helped them to create you the taboo that we tried to prevent.”

“So I’m a taboo that's better off dead then.” The venom coming out Alices mouth surprised both of them. Alice thought “Shit I tried to die so many times, but hearing I'm a taboo pisses me off *sigh* what the hell.”

Mania frantically tried to recover “No no no you're not, you deserve to live I didn’t mean like that you're innocent in all this I’ve been watching since you were born the way they treated you if anything you're the victim.”

“So you knew the whole fuckin time you bitch you're the goddess of death you could have helped or at least killed me but instead you watched!”

“Wait it’s not like that I tried, but we gods made a rule we can’t directly interfere with worlds, so Lyssa and I created cult's and gave them death and chaos magic, but even then Thoth’s cult kept interfering. He hates Lyssa more than anything because she destroys minds, and being the God of Knowledge he builds them so when he saw you as a spawn of Lyssa, there was nothing I could do.” Mania spoke guilt and sadness in her voice, but Alice didn’t care and just wanted to move on.

“I don't care about this history anymore tell what this deal is.”

A little-dejected Mania spoke, “It’s fairly straightforward destroy Caelum and Lyssa, and I will grant your wish.”

“Yeah so straightforward destroy a city floating in the sky sure.”

“I’ll tell you how to do it and help you where I can if you agree.”

“Answer my question then if like your response I’ll agree.”

“Deal!” Mania answered full of hope she would say yes.

Suspicious of the whole thing Alice just asked: “Why do you even care about me.”

“Well, it's a *Boom*.”

Alice and Mania turned and saw Lyssa walking out a crater with a big smile on her face “Ha my worshippers beat their asses so bad so funny to watch. Oh to answer your question as you know you were born from my cores. Well, to be more precise you were born from the death of my cores so that makes a being born from breaking the cycle of life and death and also somehow gave you connection to Mania that we should have had.”

Alice more than a little annoyed said: “In English please.”

Lyssa’s smile grew while Mania paled and she finally said “You're recognized as Mania’s daughter haha can you believe it! You were born from death, and your soul is dead, but you're alive. How does that make any fuckin sense but one thing we do know you Mania have the same soul so the gods stuck you with her. Mania’s first and only child in existence that’s even beyond the god's knowledge and understanding the madness of it all it’s too fantastic.”

Alice mind went hey wire going a mile a minute “What is this shit she’s lying she has to be Mania say something damn it.” Mania just stood there pale and blushing. “Oh no this has to be a joke.”

Lyssa still smiling “I’m 100% serious.” Alice shot her piercing glare “Before you ask yes I can read your mind and I’m able to do it because you're almost as insane as me. Well, not the same type as me any way you're the voices in my head and kill people on a whim type of crazy, and I'm the destroy the world it looks like fun type. Now do you agree to the deal if you do tell us your wish.”

Alice could only stare at Lyssa and think “I hate this bitch so much right now.” Lyssa was quick and responded, “I heard that now hurry up.”

“To hell with it fine I agree! Happy you nut case!”

“Pot calling the kettle black much.”

Alice just stared holes into the goddesses and made up her mind “I wish for a home where I can kill anyone who tries to hurt me, I want to be free see the world and I want the power to kill anyone that get’s in my way.”

Lyssa smiled and said, “We said a wish but since your big sisters' kid fine.” Mania blushed even harder hearing this “I already got some ideas I'm leaving so you talk with mommy over there *laughing* I cannot believe that everyone agreed with me on that it was only a joke bye you two.” She walked through a crack in space and was gone leaving Mania and Alice.

Mania was the first to speak trying to break the silence “Sorry she’s like a storm, but she is the goddess of chaos. So um let's go over the plan to destroy Caelum-”

“Don’t you dare even try to gloss over the fact that other gods made me your daughter. When the hell did that start being a thing.” Alice quickly and angrily said.

“Well we were debating what to do with since you were created, but I would say 16 years ago. I rule over the death of things, so I was never able to have creations of my own, so Atum and everyone agreed with Lyssa even if she said it as a joke at the time. It's common knowledge that I wanted my own children, so you were a blessing in a way especially since we both dead souls. At least, my daughter, is a very small and cute you're rainbow eyes have the same rainbow effect as Lyssa's since you were born from her cores, but also the pure consuming darkness of my eyes in the center representing your dead soul like mine. Um you're my first child so um I’ll take care of you as best I can, and Lyssa seems to have taken a liking to you to so let's get along little…no uh sweetheart.” Mania’s bright red face contrasted her dark hair making her look even brighter.

Alice couldn’t even be angry anymore she just stared at Mania and spoke “Ok Mania looks like we're both uncomfortable with this situation. So-”

“You can call me mother or mom if like you look even younger than your body’s age of ten maybe eight I wouldn’t really mind it sw-sweety.” Mania said with a little bit of hope.

Alice annoyed thought “How can this be the goddess of death.” and said “Just because those pieces of shit gods say you're my mother doesn’t mean I accept it. After all what kind mother leaves her child to be tortured for 33 years. And my body looks younger because I’m only 4’2” the doctors gave me the bare minimum to survive so I would be easier to handle. I have never even had solid food before!”

Alice just lost it she couldn’t handle this farce anymore and continued “Want to know my favorite part of my life it was the simulation they played during my psych conditioning. They made me live a life with a happy family all sunshine and roses right? Wrong soon enough they try to kill me or better yet I have to watch them all slowly die because of accidents or disease. I have had hundreds of thousands of mothers, and they were all better than you.” *Drop* Tears flowed down Alice’s face as she kept recalling about her life to the goddess her “mother,” every surgery, every test, everyone she killed. The pain, hatred, and fear that accumulated over 33 years suffering.

Mania stood there watching and waiting she saw the hatred and madness in Alice when she first arrived the dimension. She didn’t care if Alice hated her and vented her anger and fear on her she was to be her mother. When Alice stopped, she walked over with a face full love and kindness and held Alice.

“*Sob* What the hell are you doing you aren’t my mother I don't have one, I don’t need one, I don’t need anyone!” Alice yelled as she tried to fight off the Mania

“Yes, you do my poor, sweet, broken little Alice. It’s ok you're free no one will hurt you like that ever again and if they try, they will have to face death itself to get to you. I promise my beautiful sweet little Alice you're free.” Mania was always kind to those around her a good woman and goddess that existed to serve her purpose and had never felt piety. But for the first time, she felt her heart ache for this girl that was now hers and swore to herself to protect her.

An hour passed until Alice calmed down still in Mania’s arms her head being stroked. She felt warm for the first time in her life, but she knew it had to end finally spoke: “Ok how do I destroy Caelum.”

Mania a little sad there time together was ending spoke “The city is powered using dungeon core’s mana in a black site in the western part of the city. It's underground with 20,000 men defending it if you get to a core inject your mana it and it’ll awaken the others just get out of the facility, and I’ll come get you, and we’ll leave the planet together. At the same time, the cores around New York City will launch a full-scale assault and destroy it. It should be enough to get that follower of Thoth Walker’s attention. My follower Arthur will have a plan already made. Also be careful when I send you back Walker is tearing apart the city trying to find you and Lyssa’s followers are causing chaos in order to cover your tracks.”

Alice was hesitant but asked, "Can I really trust those cultists there trying to destroy there own world, after all, what if they stab me in the back."

"You don't need to worry when gods bless mortals they become influenced by our will. In this case, my followers want nothing more to eradicate humans from the planet because that's my will. "

"That's messed up."

"But necessary."

Alice sighed and nodded once and left Mania’s embrace and stood up and said: “Ok don’t worry this will be over soon, send me back..mo...mom.”

Mania smiled, and with a wave of her hand Alice was gone and said: “Please be safe my Alice.”