***The World***

***Seria***

“He is going too fast! Can't he see that this world isn't prepared for those kinds of changes? Swallowing up countries left and right just leads to poverty! And worse, it forces me to do the same!” Myrm fumes, stalking back and forth in her office on the uppermost floor of her main-temple. The room is simple, with a table and two chairs. The lack of documents or other equipment is enough for me to guess that the room is a front. It’s simply a place for Myrm to meet her mortal minions in a somewhat private setting.

Throwing the report onto her desk, she starts a tirade and just for a moment, I feel like a scolded child, even though the curses aren't directed at me. Her agitated voice calls up almost forgotten memories, making me nostalgic. It's just like back then.

Sighing fondly at the memories of my past, I reach out and take the folder with the report, then I slowly skim through the pages.

It's clear that Ascathon took control of a certain King Luxley's kingdom and taught him necromancy. The mortal ruler took to Ascathon's teachings like a fish to water and is now assimilating one little country after the other into what he is calling the Coalition. I chuckle at the pretty name which suggests that the members of this Coalition have some sort of say in how they are governed, which surely isn’t the case.

After the Mirai Empire fell apart, the world was left in political unrest as little lords and other power hungry characters carved their own kingdoms and city-states out of the remains of a formerly great country.

I myself was a little flummoxed at how quickly everything fell apart after Nova Mirai announced that she would no longer look over the shoulders of those who managed the world government which she created on top of the corpses of millions. A few decades were enough for various rebellious groups to bring the government to its knees, showing that everything that held the country together was the fear of getting Nova’s attention.

Now, the Coalition is slowly assimilating the little political organisations which managed to reform after the descent, but never managed to rise back to the former glory of the Mirai Empire.

I shrug when I realize that Myrm is looking at me, expecting an answer.

“He has no love lost for those who would rather war against each other than to serve a common goal. I think he would be perfectly fine with the sacrifices that would have to be made in order to return the world to its former glory. Ascathon was never a person who is concerned with the short-term drawbacks of certain actions. In his eyes, bringing down a bad system quickly and replacing it is better than to leave it running. Even if doing so takes a few lives. It’s the same reasoning which led to the creation of the Mirai Empire.”

“Glory? I have read the historic reports!” Myrm spits out. “The Mirai Empire was a tyranny.”

Sighing, I lean back. “Don't just believe the historical reports of mortals. They were written by those who reached for power, the very same people who were responsible for the world government falling apart. Of course, they would never allow someone to write down that they were the terrorists who killed government officials and bribed representatives to enact stupid laws. That all they wanted was more power than their fellow citizens.”

I shrug, trying to remember that time. “Of course, the Mirai Empire wasn't a nice place, but overall it was better than what was before it. Thanks to this planet being right on a nexus point in the river of souls, there are too many powerful individuals with strong souls in this world, about ten times as many as normal. Where a world normally has only one or two immortals at a time, there are several on this world, with a new one born every few centuries. And immortals are by definition people who seek power.

“Nova was just a little more devious and powerful than all her predecessors. She killed those who opposed her and brought down the governments they used to govern their puppet states. Then, over centuries, she continued to eliminate anyone who challenged the status quo she enacted. In a way, this World should celebrate her as a hero who brought the small people a thousand years of peace.”

Smiling, I shrug off Myrm's sour expression. “I can see that you don't share my opinion. Maybe you are partly right. Ascathon could have done a better job, but he isn't a real leader. He doesn't truly understand why some people would do things which he considers stupid. He is as much inconsiderate as you are too considerate.

“There is no such thing as the perfect way to govern people. No matter what you do, there will always be some who are unhappy with the ideals your government embodies. There will always be those who threaten your rule and who you can’t ignore. Any government I ever knew of had to fight its version of dissidents and destructive elements.”

Myrm takes a deep breath and lets the air out through her nose. “You have a point.” But then her resolve hardens. “Which doesn’t mean that I have to accept what the asshole plans for this world!”

And there she goes again.

I roll my eyes while Myrm starts a rant in an attempt to convince me that Ascathon is in the wrong. But I know her well enough to know that her actions at this point are solely born from her own stubbornness. She somehow fell into the mindset of seeing everything as black and white, and Ascathon ended up being marked down as “the enemy”.

Raising my hand, I stop her from continuing. “I accept your opinion as yours, but please stop your attempts to recruit me into your ‘pantheon’.” I ignore her displeased expression. “I have no desire to be drawn into this petty conflict.”

“It’s not petty,” she replies, sounding like a teenager who was caught playing with children’s toys. “The Council gave us this task. We are in charge of this world and I won’t shy away from my responsibility!”

I snort. Oh, how I wish that I could inform her of the whole truth of what’s going on. But my plans have already developed too far. Even if it means losing her, I can’t risk telling her anything. Not at this point in time at least. Her current personality is simply too driven. I am afraid that she would run straight to Tjenemit out of some kind of misguided sense of duty. “From my point of view, it is. So, please, don’t involve me in this competition of yours. My concern lies with the disappearances among our own ranks, and I am afraid that if you stir our little sandbox too loudly, you may draw uninvited attention.”

It’s not like I haven’t dropped plenty of hints like that, but Myrm seems to be blind when it comes to the Council who she regards as our superiors. I really should have considered that point of her character when I guided her back to divinity. And now it’s too late to change anything about that.

“Please, Myrm? Do it for me, as a friend. Don’t ask me any longer to get involved. I don’t want to stand between Ascathon and you when the hammer inevitably falls.” I imagine that to be a very unhealthy position.

Aside from that, I have my hands full with my own recruitment project. There are already too many people depending on me. “So, aside from building this ideal country of yours, how is it going?”

She slumps, finally giving up on her attempts to persuade me. “Fine. Stay out of it. It isn’t as if I need you for this.”

“Just don’t forget that there are just a few weeks left until Tjenemit’s ultimatum runs out. From that point forward, you won’t be allowed to actively intervene in the world’s fate,” I remind her.

Myrm huffs. “Yeah, what’s the point of that? Does it really make a difference whether I enact the changes I envision myself, or if I tell some mortal to do it in my stead.”

I purse my lips, trying to think of an answer for Tjenemit’s reasoning. “I guess that he doesn’t really want us to mess with the world. May I remind you that his primary goal is to find candidates for godhood? Immortals, who are so close to their own ascendancy that they might manage it without the help of the Council? Not allowing us active intervention is surely just another attempt from keeping us out of each other’s hair.”

Now it’s her turn to snort in dismay. “The Church of Light won’t fail, I’ve made sure of that by giving my believers very detailed instructions. I have faith in them.”

“Good for you. In the end, I can’t do anything else but wish you the best.”

I end up having some more or less meaningless conversation with Myrm and we end up parting with the promise to meet again when the time allows it. After having said my goodbyes, I retreat to my office in the Crystal City.

Thanks to the pathways I appear right inside the small but comfortable room which doubles as my home. Living room and workspace in one, my office provides anything I would ever need when I want some time for myself. When I want to take a bath, I simply visit a beautiful grotto I know of. It’s in another dimension, but thanks to the pathways I am just a thought away.

Honestly, I find it hard to understand that some gods are arranging their living space as a mortal would. There is no real need to have all the rooms you are using connected to each other. My living room is located in the Crystal City, while my bath is on a world in another dimension, as are the places where I usually sleep. Then there are my secret hideouts, though I probably shouldn’t count them to my living arrangements?

Maybe it’s because the other gods are still clinging to some part of their mortality? They want something that reminds them of the time when they were bound to a world and had to live with their limited abilities of translocation.

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Thanks to the confined space of my quarters it doesn’t take long for me to notice the envelope on top of my desk, a message from Tjenemit. There is also a signature stone which is supposed to make it easier for me to track down my prey. It’s another mission, delivered in the usual manner.

“And there we have a valid argument why I shouldn’t have any living arrangements in the Crystal City.” I scoop up the document and wince when I realize that it’s an order to catch someone and to deliver them directly to the Council.

Removing the cover page, I purse my lips when I realize that it’s Alexandria who managed to get onto the Council’s shit-list. “Just how the hell did she manage that?” Wasn’t the nice earth elemental good for several thousand years, flying perfectly beneath their radar? She isn’t as old as me, but she should know better than to draw the Council’s ire.

Not to mention that she is a total shut-in, caring only about her library and her books. What could she have done to justify a manhunt?

Sucking in a deep breath, I begin to read the sparse information the document provides. Apparently, she looked into some documents which raised a few flags within the Council’s spook-squad, a group of deities who are busy with informational warfare and propaganda.

Normally, the Council would avoid giving me any compromising information which I could use against them, but I managed to convince them that my tracking talents aren’t perfect and that I would need at least some information on my target in order to do my job correctly. They still think that my skill has something to do with a special form of divination.

Covering my mouth with one hand, I breathe slowly and deliberately, trying to keep myself under control as I read the report. Apparently, Alexandria tried to gather more knowledge on World Enchantments, and that didn’t sit well with someone on the Council. They sent a squad to take her in but didn’t take into account that her library is a magical construct of considerable strength. Apparently, she included a function which enables her to forcefully expel any intruders into her library.

According to this report, she evicted the guards and used the chance to escape. If that’s true, then she resisted the Council’s authority, which means that her life is forfeit. At best, she can expect a public memory deletion. At worst, they will have her vanish like so many others.

Just what was she thinking when she looked into a restricted topic? And furthermore, who would have ratted her out? Alexandria is a well-known dealer of knowledge. She wouldn’t have shared her research with just anyone and she isn’t stupid. Living for a few thousand years under the Council’s rule means that you at least know how to keep yourself out of trouble.

Which means that she trusted the person from whom she requested that additional information. And that makes it very likely that I also know the person. Several people come to mind, but without further details, it will be hard to narrow it down.

Pressing my lips together, I try to imagine how things must have gone down according to this report. Alexandria wouldn’t just mindlessly resist the guards unless she had reason to believe that her fate was a foregone conclusion in their eyes. So that means that this report isn’t telling me everything.

Figures.

At least it’s enough to read a little between the lines.

With a somewhat heavy heart, I fold the report and channel energy through the paper, ageing it until it crumbles into dust.

Then I take the signature stone which should hold an impression of Alexandria’s mana signature, most likely taken from her library.

Closing my eyes, I concentrate on the energy within the artefact which acts like a fingerprint for the owner. The report also contained some dimensional coordinates which should point roughly into the direction of Alexandria’s whereabouts. I never found out how the Council manages to acquire those coordinates, but I have a feeling that it has something to do with the strange sphere in that secret facility.

When I don’t catch Alexandria’s signature immediately, I decide to sit down in the comfortable chair at my desk. It makes long office hours possible. Normally, I turn almost mad after just a few minutes of paperwork, but the large and most importantly, soft leather chair is the light inside the darkness of administrative reports for those in charge.

Normally, I play the good little hunting dog for the Council, delivering them those who they blacklisted for one or the other reason. Mostly, those who make it onto their shit-list are other dubious characters who I wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley.

But every once in a while there is a person who I determine worthy enough to risk my own skin for. Alexandria is one such person who I wouldn’t hesitate to save. Yes, she is an egocentric bitch at times, but as far as gods go she is one of the better ones. Everyone who ascends the stairs to almost infinite power has one or the other flaw of character. It’s somewhat unavoidable. A price that has been paid in pursuit of power.

Then, suddenly, it feels like I finally found her track. One of the pathways lights up in my mind’s eye, creating a blazing trail of energy which leaves the Crystal City.

Grunting, I follow the web of pathways that mark Alexandria’s path, taking shortcuts others are unable to take, zipping right through dead zones as if they were totally normal zones of space.

The dead zones are areas within the multiverse which seemingly lack the pathways. They are one of the few things sane gods fear. To be caught in a dead zone means to be restricted to the physical laws of the multiverse. Some dead zones are so large that it would take millions of years to cross them by conventional means. Accidentally being caught inside one is feared even by gods, so most stay well away from these areas.

Only the desperate come even close to the dead zones, hoping to shake off pursuit.

Not so me. Forced by fate, I had to learn the hard way what it means to be caught inside one. For an eternity I endured the silence of loneliness… until, finally… I accidentally found something out. A trick which allows me to travel through these areas. I chuckle at the thought of how easy the solution was.

Of course, I never shared this useful knowledge with anyone. A girl needs her secrets. And now I am taking these shortcuts intentionally to throw off the Council’s pursuit. Whatever method they use to track down people, passing through a dead zone creates problems for them. It often gives me at least a few minutes before they catch onto my whereabouts. Minutes which I can use to speak to my targets.

When I emerge at last at the end of Alexandria’s wild escape, I find myself on an empty moon. Instinctively, I fully release my aura, flooding my body with pure mana, protecting myself against the thin atmosphere.

Alexandria jumps up from where she was sitting on a stone, apparently resting after her escape. With a flash of light, she is gone, and I instinctively piggy-back on the pathway she took, emerging with her on yet another world inside a green jungle. The game continues four more times with us appearing in wildly different settings until she finally realizes that there is no escape.

We land in a sand desert with dunes gently rising and falling around us. A huge sun is mercilessly burning down on this unfriendly world. Facing me, the earth elemental glares at me with all the animosity and distrust of a hunted animal. The sun and the heat don’t seem to bother her as her brown hair waves gently in the hot breeze which is coming from our left. High in the sky is a violet moon, making the whole scene seem like a beautiful painting.

“They sent you, right!? Everyone knows that you are their hunting dog. I’ll not give myself up, especially not after finding out what they are trying to do with their World Enchantment! I’ll see to it that everyone finds out!”

Furrowing my forehead, I get a feeling that something important is happening here, but I don’t know what exactly.

“Alexandria, please listen now very carefully. We don’t have much time, so here is how this is going to happen. You have no chance of escaping me or the Council. If not I, then they will get you sooner or later.”

I am simply better at this game and I have been playing it for millennia. The Council’s method will find her too sooner or later, but they are still using my service because it's much quicker in bringing results.

“And yes, forced by circumstances, I play the hunter for the Council, but that doesn’t mean that I am on their side.” Taking a step closer, I make sure that we have eye-contact and that she listens to me. “The Council is most likely right on my heels, so if you have some vital information for me, you have to talk quickly. They usually show up a few minutes after I find the target. But I can save you if you let me and if you promise to help me when I call upon you. My method isn’t perfect. You will be different when it’s over. But you will be alive, which is very likely better than what the Council has in mind for you.”

Her haunted eyes make it clear that she doesn’t believe me. “Hahahaha! Do you really think I would believe that bullshit? That you are the one responsible for the disappearances?”

I smile wryly. “There are certainly two different causes for the disappearances. One is me, the other… I don’t know. Most likely the Council. I disappear those who I deem worthy and who agree to my deal. Not everyone gets this chance, Alexandria.”

She steps back and I lower my hand, disappointed. “We have no more time, girl. They could be here any moment, and since I have extended this offer to you, you could incriminate me. If you don’t take the offer, I have to silence you. So decide now.”

“You really think that you can silence me just like that!?” She huffs, feeling challenged.

Why do they always have to waste time? Raising my hand, I let go of my carefully restrained aura and point a finger at her. Then I raise it slightly, targeting the moon and channelling all my energy into that point in space.

The planetary body winks out of existence as if it had never been.

Her lips start quivering as she realizes that I wield almost as much power as a Council member, maybe more. That I could have punched a hole into reality and erased her as easily as the moon, maybe even her soul. “What do I have to do?”

I didn’t always have that much power, but after gathering people who would join my cause for millennia, I’ve learned to access at least some of their powers.

“I take it that means that you agree to the deal.” Stepping towards her, I raise my hand. “Lower your defences completely. I have to take your soul and hide it before they arrive.”

Taking a shuddering breath, Alexandria tries to reign in her power but fails. Releasing one's aura is an instinctive protective process for a god and it’s hard to fight against one’s own instincts.

“It’s not working. I can’t do it. Listen, they are trying to use the World Enchantment to control us all. Ascathon’s research made me think, and I wondered why they would need the amulets to connect people to the enchantment. Normally, the amulets wouldn’t be necessary. They try to control us, like with slave collars! They just haven’t gotten it right because a god’s aura still overpowers the amulet. If they find a way to make this work, then they aren’t just dictators anymore. It will be over for all of us.”

Blinking rapidly, I try to make sense of her words, but there is just no time. Slowly, I raise my hand and place it on her shoulder. “Breath in, and breath out. Relax your aura. I will take care of things and ensure that their project fails.”

Once more she tries to reign in her aura, and this time I strike when her barriers fall, plunging my hand right into her chest.

Sucking in a sharp gasp, Alexandria flails at me in panic, but I take her into a headlock and hold her still while I gather her energies within my palm. Slowly she weakens until, finally, she stills completely. When the process is done, I drop her body, retrieving a marble of glowing power from within her.

Not a second too early, I close my fingers around the crystallized soul and absorb it into myself, just as Tjenemit appears in front of me.

Raising an eyebrow, he studies the body at my feet and then my bloody hand. “I see that you found her, but if I remember correctly, you were supposed to bring her in alive.” His eyes stay stuck to the body on the ground, her blood quickly seeping away in the sandy surface.

I quickly bow deeply, playing the remorseful servant. “I am sorry, but she attacked me like a mad animal and I just reacted. In the heat of the moment, I didn’t consider that she might not be a strong fighter. It was over before I knew what happened.”

“Hah...” Tjenemit scratches his chin. “Too bad. I guess we will have to wait until she reincarnates to find out what she learned… or I could talk to Ascathon and have him search her soul.” Stepping closer, he uses a foot to nudge her body onto her back. “Too bad. That was a nice body.”

Looking at me, he narrows his eyes. “Did she say something to you?”

I shake my head. “Nothing meaningful. She just rambled on and on that I wouldn’t get her. Most of them do.”

He nods, massaging his chin. “Just see to it that you don’t fuck up the next time. Well, I guess we can catch her easily enough when she reincarnates and makes herself known. The most important thing is that she is silenced.” Turning, he leaves in a flash of light.

Left alone with the body I consider my next steps.