“Kairos.” She said again with more certainty than before.

“Yes, good!” I encouraged her again. This was a little painful. It was like teaching a child. But I am the one who roped myself into this. I opened up my mind a bit for her to probe and get a better understanding of how to speak.

A few moments later, she spoke a little clearer. Her voice was less raspy and was firmer than before. Though it still had a strange echoing quality to it. “I understand now.”

“I am glad you do. Now that you are smarter, let’s lay down some ground rules. First, you are not allowed to attack anyone within this place. They are all a part of your family. They are to be defended at all costs.” She tilted her head at that and echoed my words.

“Family?” She asked, the words clearly foreign to her. I thought it over for a moment before sending her a mental image and feeling behind what a family was. “Oh, so like a hive mate. I understand now, Kairos.” I sent her a mental image of all the deities along with a mental command of never attacking anyone within the control room unless it was under my explicit command.

“Thank you, Chloe. Give me a moment. I need to contact some people” She nodded her head and stood silently next to me as I sent a mental message to Helios. Have you gathered the minor deities?

A split second later, he fired back. Just give the word, and I will have them fetched and brought to the control room. Ah, it was good to have an efficient companion. However, I do miss his attitude. Though I guess things change when you lead your own species and have a lot to deal with.

“Chloe, my dear, we are going to the Hall of the Gods. Please don’t say anything unless it’s relevant. Just stay next to me, okay?” I asked her as I sent a mental message to all the gods to head over to their thrones and for Helios to gather the minor deities.

“Of course, Kairos,” Chloe replied very curtly and quietly. Oh boy, I get a quiet bodyguard. But regardless, it was time to head over to the Hall of the Gods.

I walked into the Throne room with Chloe and began to head over to my throne. Almost everyone was already here, with a few stragglers coming in as I got closer to my throne. I glanced at my throne and began erecting a barrier around it. “What are you doing, my lord.” Helios sounded like a British aristocrat with that voice. Ah, there it is. That is what I missed, though I will never openly admit that.

“I am erecting a barrier. You will be the acting head of the gods. As far as anyone is concerned, I don’t exist. However, I will transmit all the stuff I want you to say, and I will be watching.” I began to shift the thrones a bit, to place Helio’s throne in the direct middle, and pushed mine back ways. I placed Chloe next to my throne and began trying to hide the fact that it ever existed. I wanted this to be perfect, and my presence masked. Now it was time to send Helios what I wanted him to say while I finished working on the last part of my preparations.

I settled into my throne and gazed over the throne room through the barrier. Did you get all that, Helios? I asked as I settled into my throne.

I did. Would you like me to start? I settled into my throne and sent back a yes as a reply. Time to see what deities we are working with.

After a while, the doors swung open slowly, without a sound and a handful of various beings walked into the throne room flanked by a handful of the control room guards. Each wore a set of armor that was brilliantly polished and was the best that Ferrarus could make. Each was handcrafted to fit the user like a second skin and reminded me of ancient Greece's hoplites. They all moved in unison in a double column formation with the godlings in the middle.

As they approached the center of the room, they stopped and spun facing towards each other and shifted their spears at a slight angle. Sitting in front of the godlings were some of the finest chairs that were collected from Ouradia.

They all sat down, and Helios cleared his throat as he waited for them to settle in. “I am Helios, and I am the regent of the gods. Welcome to my hauls little godlings.” Oh lord, he sounds more condensing then usual, I mused to myself as I listened in on the conversation. “Now. I want each of you to introduce yourselves to us before we get to the reason why I invited you all here today.”

The first godling cleared her throat and stood up. “ My name is Dianthus Gaana. I am a Dark Elf, and my domain is that of music and children's stories. It is a pleasure to meet you, Lord Helios.” Her voice seemed to roll with perfect pitch and melody. She had long flowing purple hair that was in a tight triple braid that hung down her back. She wore a deep purple dress that glittered in the sunlight. She was a lighter shade than most Dark Elves and had soft blue eyes that held an eternal youth. I glanced over all the major gods and saw that Steve looked at her like someone he had met before. That was interesting, but really none of my concern what my gods do in their free time.

The next godling that stood up was an Angel that was clad in scarred and broken leather armor that hung over his muscular frame. However, unlike most Angels, his halo was tinted with a blood-red hue. His white wings were also laced with the color of blood. He had sandy blonde hair that was short-cropped. His nose was pointed, and his face chiseled. His sea-blue eyes held a sadness that seemed to permeate his being as if he was privy to something no one else knew. “My name is Archos Vor’Bane. I am the God of Doom and an Angel.” He was quiet and solemn as he spoke and took a seat as he finished. Quiet, curt, and to the point I like him. I brought up my screen and analyzed him out of curiosity since I have never seen an angel like that before. He was a Blood Angel. That was unique. I will have to do some research on this later.

After he was a Drow that wore a magus robe that I recognized from the Imperial Academy, her raven black hair was tied up in a ponytail and lay across her shoulder. Her eyes were a light shade of violet and her flesh, a soft shade of grey. Her lips were full and contrasted perfectly with her skin. “My name is Lycoria. I am a Drow and a goddess of magic.”

Now the final set of Godlings stood up. They were both twins with silver skin with grey tattoos that covered every inch of their flesh. Their hair was long flowing white that was tied into a tight bun. They both wore clothing that looked similar to a kimono. Yet seemed to be more practical. In nature and hugged their body. In fact, it looked something close to a garment I have seen used in martial art dojos. “My name is Amilia, and I am the Goddess of Order.” The one on the right spoke. Her eyes were pure white. “My name is Sophia, and I am the goddess of Chaos.” The one on the left said. Her eyes were pure black and reflected no light. “We are both humans.” They said in unison. That was interesting, though they both seemed very creepy. Something out of a horror film on earth, but I couldn’t quite place the name of it.

As soon as the twins sat down, Helios cleared his throat. “Thank you for the introductions. You already know who we are, so I will not waste time on it. Now We have brought you here for two reasons.” He paused and looked at the godlings that were assembled before them.

“The first is to give unto you the rules of being a god. The first is that you must never directly interfere with mortal affairs. You may do so through a proxy or champion. Next, you may only wage war on each other through a proxy, and never directly. The final rule is never to kill one another. Are these rules clear?” He asked and settled into his throne and extended his legs. His purple robe spilled over the side of his throne and gave him a kingly look, though I know that was entirely on purpose.

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All the godlings nodded; they seemed too fearful actually to say anything. “The only other thing that I have to say about this topic is that these rules are subject to change at any time. Nemesis here is the enforcer of these rules. Breaking these rules will draw her ire, and that’s not something any of you want.”

Nemesis had her legs crossed, and she nodded her head. “To break a law decreed by the regent of the gods is to be punished by death. There are no exemptions.”

Helios turned his head back to the godlings and continued to talk. “Now, for the real reason, we are here. We are actually holding a contest of sorts, and here are the guidelines for that. Whoever can gather the most followers in a thousand years will be ascended to the main pantheon.”

At that, the godlings perked up, but Archos was the one that spoke. “What is that catch?”

“The catch is that you are not allowed to kill each other. All godlings must be alive at the end of the competition. Any godlings that are born during the time frame will be apart of the competition as well. However, here are the rules for this competition. You may not kill another. You also may steal followers from each other, through any means you decide, other than death or direct interference, of course, or torture. You are also forbidden from directly taking over a kingdom and forcibly converting anyone, as that would be a direct affront to the base rules. Though I only say that cause I know how back stabbing you lot may be. Any questions so far?” Helios asked as he shifted his position.

The godlings didn’t say anything, but the excitement in their eyes was palpable. However, I don’t blame them. They were being offered a seat as a major player in the pantheon. Hopefully, the rules put in place help preserve this competition's integrity and give us the best out of the godlings.

This was such a long and dreadfully boring meeting. But where I was at now is okay. I really don’t want to be the face of the gods. Everything is just as I want it, and the less the people know about me, the better. I listened to the gods discussing amongst themselves about the contest. While they were doing that, I will look into reading about the Blood Angels while I have time.

Blood Angel: A rare variant of the angelic race. The angel has risen from a blood-drenched battlefield after death has claimed it. It can also be created through vampiric interference or constant use of blood magic. The angel tends to be shunned by others of its kind because of its vampiric nature. It has corrupted variants of its species' main classes and comes with its own unique classes.

Oh, that was something. Vampiric Angels. Something to keep an eye on. I opened up my screen and looked through the Angels and Demons templates; I pulled the Nephilim template out and stared at it. Maybe it was time the Nephilim rose again. I placed a few spawn points around the two continents that the Angels and Demons resided on and sent a mental message to the three of them regarding it. It was time that they came back; besides, it means more manpower for me later on. I may be drawing a target on my back by doing this, but it was alright. I will survive. I dismissed the screen and went back to watching the boring meeting.

After the Godlings left, I sent a message to Inovia, telling her to be ready to leave in a bit. It was almost time to go. I went down to the forge to collect my new gear and gave my old stuff to Ferrarus. The armor and weapons were beautifully crafted, and I couldn’t wait to try it on. After thanking Ferrarus for the armor, I opened up the map and looked at where Quinn was. He was still near Izalith though it seemed Ziva had moved away from him. Good, it wouldn’t do to have those two meet. I placed a hand on Chloe’s shoulder and teleported to Quinn’s location.

I appeared in a forest that looked like it was caught between life and death. Trees that were hardly alive were interwoven with trees that were grey fossilized husks. Dying plants littered the forest floor while other plants were growing with powerful vigor and bright colors. Some places in the forest were covered in tar-black shadows that the light couldn’t penetrate. So this was the land of Izalith. A land caught between life and death. A land where the dead and living were intermixed. It was beautiful in a morbid way, I would say, but I wasn’t here to sightsee. “Remember, Chloe, don’t attack anything unless I tell you too.”

“Of course, Kairos.” She replied and stood quietly by my side. I looked around the forest and noticed that it was quiet. Too quiet.

“Quinn, come here!” I yelled out. Trees rustled, and skeletal birds flew off into the sky, and some low growls echoed around the forest. From some of the darkest shadows in the forest came shambling corpses. Zombies from the looks of them. Their clothing was tattered and unrecognizable and covered in dry blood that was flaking and falling off. One of them had a jaw hanging to the side and had chunks of flesh ripped from its body. “Chloe, those are free to be attacked. However, please don’t eat them. I’m sure that they do not taste all that well.”

“With pleasure.” She said quietly and disappeared from my side only to reappear in front of the shambling zombies. Her arm transformed into a long sword composed of bone and swung out in a deadly arc, cutting through the zombies with ease while skillfully dodging their grabs. She was a vicious fighter, and I was slightly terrified to see what she could do with more intelligence.

I turned my attention away from her and saw something else walking towards me. It was a human male with tan skin, only wearing a pair of brown trousers. His brown hair was long and flowing, and his body postured screamed predator. His eyes were blood red and were squinted in my direction. I glanced at the map and saw that it was Quinn. He grew up so fast, and he was looking rather handsome. “You know my name?” He asked. His voice carried easily over the distance.

“Well, of course, I know your name. I am the one that named you.” The vampire froze and shifted his weight to his hip.

“Wait, I remember your face. You are my creator?” Quinn took another step towards me and glared at me.

“Yes, I am. I am here to retrieve you.”

“What makes you think I want to go with you? You are the one that kicked me out in the first place.” He shot back and took an aggressive pose. Chloe appeared next to me and stared blankly at the approaching vampire.

“Don’t do anything until I tell you. He can’t hurt me.” I whispered to her and then turned my full attention back to Quinn. “I only kicked you out so you can grow. It was the only way for you to get stronger.” I countered. It didn’t matter if he attacked me. I could easily subdue him.

“I can understand that, but it was still kind of harsh. I was weak, and I almost died a few times until I got to this point.” His words were mixed with a low growl this time.

“Yeah, sorry about that. How about I make it up to you?” I crossed my arms and let out a nervous chuckle.

“Oh? How will you do that, then, dearest mother?” Quinn kept walking towards me though his threatening posture seemed to change a bit.

“I am traveling elsewhere for a time. I came to take you with me and start fresh. Maybe expand your hunting grounds.” At the mention of food, his eyebrows perked up. Ah, so the way to his heart is through food. That is good to know.

“That does interest me. I do like my food. Maybe I will forgive you, after all, mother.” Quinn finally stood in front of me. He was at least a full head taller than me and was completely jacked.

"Good. You ready to go?”

“Of course.” I nodded my head and placed a hand on him and Chloe and teleported back to the control room and into my observation room. Steve and Inovia were already in there talking quietly amongst themselves as they stared out into space. Quinn looked into the depths of space in wonder, and Chloe looked as bored as usual. Two other people sat in the shadows, and after a brief look over, I saw that they were two of Steve’s chosen. One I recognized as Paeris from Orsalon and the other I have never met.

I cleared my throat, and the two gods turned around, and the chosen focused their eyes on me. They didn’t seem fazed by my sudden appearance. “Is everyone ready to go?”

Steve nodded. “I am ready. My chosen have been bound by an oath of silence and will not divulge anything learned while we are away.”

I turned toward Inovia, and she only nodded. “Good. Alright then. Let’s get this done then.” I told them as I typed in the coordinates that were given to me into the teleporter. It flashed and quivered as the energy changed into a soft grey hue. “We should be good to go through now. However, I will walk through it first.”

I looked through my inventory and saw that everything was in place, and I walked through the teleporter. I tensed up as a wave of nausea washed through me, and my vision blacked out before a bright white light blinded me shortly after.

Once my vision cleared, I saw that I was standing in a room filled to the brim with high-tech computers. Holograms were emitted from the machines showing various worlds, and numbers quickly ran across. A man who was wearing light red combat fatigues with brown trimming turned from a computer. He had a freckled face and dark skin and a cigar placed firmly between his lips. He took a deep puff and eyed me as he slowly breathed out the smoke. “You must be Kairos. The name is Cassius. I am a sub-administrator to Malek. Welcome to Castilian.”