I walked out of the forge area and back into the defensive area when I felt the room start to shake. Were we under attack? No, it couldn’t be. We still had time, and no had set a war declaration on us. The room shook once more, and the demi-gods started to dive for cover. “STEVE!” Nemesis’ voice shook the room, and a wave of magic shot across the room. This can’t be good; I mused over to myself as the rumbling grew closer. Across the room, I saw a figure clad in harlequin attire bust through the door and start hopping across all of the fortifications; it was almost as if he was defying gravity itself.
Steve glided through the air, nimbly dodging a fire red chain that lashed out towards him. He landed on a wooden ledge and twisted on the tip of a finger. He then launched himself off of it and towards another. The chains followed him closely and just barely missed him and instead tore through the fortifications like they were paper. “STEVE GET BACK HERE AND FACE YOUR PUNISHMENT,” Nemesis yelled out as she walked into the room. Her hair was moving widely, and fire encased her body in a living mass. Her wings were spread out, and fire dripped from her like lava.
“Dear sister, I did no wrong! I am innocent!” Steve called back to her with merriment in his voice while twisting in the air dodging another chain that went for him. I don’t know what he did to piss her off, but I do know that I don't want to be in his place.
“Do not lie to me, heathen! Admit your crime, and I will lessen your punishment.” She called back to him, and two more chains rose out of the ground and managed to snag him. They wrapped around his body like a snake, and he looked up at her and tilted his head. “Hah! I finally got you, you slippery little bastard.” She hissed through her teeth.
Steve let out a deep laugh and vanished in a bright display of pixelated colors. “Come now, my dear sister, did you really think I would be that easy to catch.” Steve appeared again just beside the watchtower that was inadvertently destroyed in their fighting. He let out a manic chuckle and started hopping away again, much to Nemesis’ dismay.
She lashed out more chains as she tried to catch him, only missing him by fractions of an inch, but was destroying some watchtowers purely by accident. While I don’t mind the quarreling, I don’t particularly appreciate watching my stuff get destroyed. I let out a shrill whistle that managed to catch both of their attention. “Steve, stop tormenting your sister. Nemesis, stop destroying everything!” I yelled out to them both and used fleeting steps to cross the distance between us.
Nemesis froze and dismissed the chains, and Steve looked around and vanished just before I got close to them. “No, you don’t Steve, get your ass back here. We need to talk.” A second later, he reappeared and chuckled.
“Hello, Kairos. What can I do for you this fine evening.” He sounded full of mirth and happiness as he spoke and lacked any accent, which was slightly disconcerting to hear.
“Alright, spill it. What did you do to piss off your sister?” I asked as I crossed my arms and eyed him wearily.
“I did no wrong. I am innocent, I swear!” Steve waved his arms as he tried to convince me otherwise.”
“Don’t you dare lie, you heathen.” Nemesis hissed at him and clenched her fist.
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“Listen, I don’t care who did what. Please stop destroying the defenses in the Control Room; we need those for later. If you have any further issues, please take it to the training room.” She looked at me and let out a huff.
“Fine. I will let it go, this time.” She gave Steve the stink eye and turned back towards the entrance to the defense room. Leaning against the door, I saw a man with salt and pepper hair with a plain tee-shirt and slim fit blue jeans. I didn’t realize Lucifer was here. However, it did not come as a surprise. She walked over to him, sulking. I gave him a quick wave and looked over at Steve, who was leaning against the wall.
“So, while I have your attention, I am going on a combat simulation with my guild. You are coming with me.” At that, Steve perked up.
“Oh, where are we going?”
“Where exactly? I am not too sure. However, I know that we will be on a few other planets, so it's bound to be somewhat exciting. Feel free to take a handful of your chosen if you want; however, make sure an oath of silence bounds them, and not to take anything from the simulation. Inovia and Kyrie will be joining us as well.”
Steve ran a finger over his mask and nodded his head. “I see, I see, Well, I will go get them ready.” He spun around, ready to vanish in thin air, but before he did, I stopped him.
“Before you go, what did you do to piss off your sister? I am curious as to what pissed her off so much?”
“Who knows, not me,” Steve replied as he vanished into the air with a burst of pixelated light. I rolled my eyes and started to walk through the room. Is this what my dad felt like when he was dealing with me and the kids he taught in school? The demi-gods appeared, and begrudgingly started to work on repairing the damage that was done to the fortifications, which thankfully was not much. I may have to keep an eye on those two a little more. I whistled to my self as I brought up my menu and then the world map, and I typed in Quinn’s name. I had to locate him and bring him home.
The map blinked for a moment, and then a small dot appeared next to a city named Izalith. Ah, so he had made his way close to a kingdom that has a heavy presence of undead. I hope he hasn’t caused a large number of issues lately. I saved his location to memory, and out of curiosity, I typed in Ziva’s name; once the map was updated, I saw that she was quite close to Quinn. Hopefully, the two don’t meet, cause who knows what will happen then. I shrugged and walked through the halls, taking a few moments to myself and relishing the chance to look over the stuff I made, while I waited on Ferrarus to finish with my gear.
As I walked through the corridors that haven't yet received a theme, I decided to try and figure out a name for the new artifact that I was going to place on Ouradia. It's going to be a vitality based piece, and since the stone will be crafted into the shape of a teardrop, the name will have to have something involving that. I thought over a few different names as I walked into another area, it clicked. I shall name the artifact The Tears of Ouradia, and I will make it a set, eventually, once I get the creation points saved up.
Happy that I found a name, I glanced around the surroundings and saw that I was in a small forest-like area. Vibrant green vines wrapped their way around large trees that were at least ten feet in diameter and went up towards the ceiling. The air was thick and humid, and I could hear distant chirps of wildlife. The only person I could think of who would appreciate something like this would be Aphelia.
I leaned against a stone that sat just to the right of the entrance and looked over the garden. I miss her, and I do hope she talks to me soon. I feel somewhat bad about what I did, and I hope that didn’t push her away. I took a deep breath, and I could smell the faint stench of roses that blended with the earthy smell that wafted from the ground. I closed my eyes and tried to relax as I thought over what I could have done differently, and what to do if she hated me for what I did.