Divine realm, place of infinite light, infinite city of glass.

A place where divinity resided and ruled over the garden that is the world, those chosen by gods would be transported into this city for eternity after their mortal lives ended.

All divinity from lesser deities to the greatest of gods lived here and ruled over the city of glass.

Each building leads into domains of the god that the soul worshipped.

The city that was usually quiet with the only flow of mortal souls making any sort of noise was different this time around.

Greater gods have gathered inside Glass Palace which floated above the endless city landscape.

The interior of the Glass Palace was drastically different from the glass exterior, while the exterior was pure glass, the interior could be changed to the will of the occupants.

A palace that was inaccessible to anyone but greater gods.

As the goddess of monsters and misfortune made her way to the palace she left the scenery of light and glass, and with a step through the great door she made her way through the interior that looked like an empty space of cosmos and yet she was not floating or flying but instead, she was standing on the hard floor, which still existed even if not visible.

Stars lit the way, and the world was below them, 12 great golden thrones bathed in divine light floated in place, each meant for greater divinity, with only 6 of them being filled.

Thrones formed a semi-circle, with a dark large crystal orb floating in front of them.

As Goddess made step into the hall she was greeted by a rumbling voice of one of the greater gods.

"Laleyn! Long time no see" The voice shook the realm each time it spoke

"I see you still like pretending to be a child" He spoke before starting to laugh, his laugh shaking the entire city of glass.

Laleyn shook her head before giving a bow and answering with a warm smile on her face "Good to see you too, venerable elder"

Laleyn slowly walked towards the throne, before kneeling before the Great god.

His body was chiseled and brimming with muscle, flowing white beard reaching down to the bottom of the throne, and his eyes glowing with golden divine light.

He was the head entire pantheon, his title earned by not only power alone but also his wisdom and leadership, his status showing with his throne floating above the rest.

"Please, Laleyn take your place" God's tone changed as he motioned for the goddess to sit on the throne.

Palace usually was quiet, as it was only ever used in cases of emergency, and this time it indeed was an emergency in the divine realm.

All of the present divinity knew, including 6 absent gods, not only was Red Dawn on the move to subvert the divine will once again as they did so many times, but an additional threat in the form of the unknown had descended on their garden.

While Red Dawn was only a mortal kingdom they somehow possessed the power to resist the will of the divine due to the power of their so-called "God King"

Due to the heretical power of their king, they could not directly influence the affairs of the kingdom, and so a meeting between all greater gods needed to happen eventually.

And the moment was now.

Chief god looked around before speaking "6 out of 12 greater gods have gathered here, thank you all for answering my call,

Laleyn- Goddess of Misfortune and Monsters, Runas the God of Magic and Knowledge, Mortas the God of Life and Death, Lan the Goddess of Light and Day, Len the Goddess of Darkness and Night''

"I Peron your Chief Deity and God of Divinity' have summoned you all, I'm sure all of you noticed a shift in your domains, not only your domains but a shift in the world as a whole'' Chief's voice echoed in the void that was their chamber.

5 deities nodded as the chief spoke.

The first god to speak after the chief was Runas, a scrawny-looking deity, covered by a cape black as midnight and oversized wizard hat obscuring his face, letting only a golden glow pass the shadow of his visage.

"Yes venerable elder, actions of Red Dawn have caused massive issues with control of World's mana" Stated the scrawny deity as his hands conjured images of 13 entities.

"While even us, greater gods can't get much info about Red Dawn, I have learned about actions of 13 Inquisitors over the past century..." he stated as the image shifted.

"Our influence is nearly nonexistent in that heretical kingdom, we must do something about it, I will not stand for even one more century of their existence! " Shouted Len interrupting the god of knowledge.

"It's enough Sister! If we could we would have already dealt with their king long ago before Age of Frost Ended, but it was not possible and neither it is now with his following growing" stated Lan bluntly.

Both goddesses glared at each other, two sisters representing two sides of the same coin, both dressed in revealing dresses, one black as the midnight sky and the other as white as fresh snow proudly showing off their visage's assets, one having long golden hair almost as blinding as the sun and other hair short and pitch black which swallowed the light around it, their eyes glowing with divine golden light in same fashion to other gods.

"Listen to your sister Len, you are a relatively new goddess so you do not understand the terror of their so-called god-king, it is because of his usage of Black Hand to end the Age of Frost that we lost a great deal of authority over the world!" Said Mortas the skeletal god as he moved his hand in the air, his skeletal frame hidden beneath robes usually worn by the priests, only leaving his pristine skull with two golden lights in the sockets where eyes were supposed to be.

"But Mortas, we are supposed to be rulers of the world! How can some mortal prevent that" Shouted Len

The chief raised his hand and with a stern face, his booming voice echoed in everyone's ears "Silence! You are all greater gods, I will not have you acting like children. Let Runas finish with his discovery and everyone here will get a voice afterward!"

Laleyn looked at the chief with admiration in her eyes her divine glow leaking beneath her facade, his authority over the divine was truly something to behold 'Chief was always so cool!' she thought with childlike fascination despite being one of the older gods.

In the instant that the chief spoke all of the present gods fell in line, letting Runas continue speaking "Thank you, Venerable elder, I shall continue with my discoveries over the last century!".

He started explaining the state of Red Dawn, changes in their politics, and various activities of Inquisitors, while most have acted the same way for ages, one man, in particular, was of note.

Runas waved his hand, switching the crystal orb's image to a hooded man before speaking "This man here is one that carries the title Inquisitor of Mind".

The crystal's image switched once again, showing masses of slaves being processed "In the last century, he developed a method to reprogram the mind of captured sentient beings, basically modifying our divine creation to his twisted image"

The silence in the hall was deafening, but Runas did not stop as the orb switched the image again "Not only did he reprogram many of the humanoids we rule over. The so-called disciples of mind have been on the rise for the last 50 years, their abilities second only to inquisitor himself..."

Runas sighted as he continued "Their brainwashing, has cost us many followers, but unfortunately, I have no information about the elusive inquisitor's whereabouts or specifics of his methods, he has proven to be difficult no... impossible to track, even more so than others."

Chief scratched his beard before speaking "So is he the biggest threat at the current time, Runas?"

Runas bluntly stated, "No, while he is dangerous it still takes a long time for him to reprogram great numbers of sentient beings and so we have time to find a way to stop him from taking our followers".

Runas took a deep breath before continuing "What I will show you next is a direct danger to us as divine!".

With another wave, the image switched to an empty sky, but instead of a still image, it showed the sky breaking open, a great crack which showed a void between worlds opened, and from the crack fell two entities.

One looked like a heap of divine flesh, burning in black fire and the other was what looked like an elf but with aura to rival even the gods.

In the next moment, the elf approached the divine corpse before black flame fully consumed it.

A collective gasp from gods followed as the entity with divinity as high as the chief was consumed by black fire and his essence consumed by the elf.

Len was first to speak up "WHAT IS THAT!? Wasn't that thing on a similar level to Chief?"

Laleyn raised her hand "May I have a word, Venerable elder?"

Chief answered "Go ahead, my child"

Laleyn took a deep breath before speaking with a worried tone "Recently, I have noticed a similar aura to the elven demon that used black flame close to my favored child."

Chief nodded, with a booming voice he spoke "Do we have any more information about who was the absorbed god, and who is the woman that killed him, neither seems to originate from this world"

Lan answered softly "Very recently, both I and Len sensed a being without a patron deity appear in the world"

Len nodded before continuing "We both tried to establish a connection with the woman but she resisted our full efforts, and not only that, when we tried to push our will on her our whole being screamed in pain which forced us to back off, we felt like we were being burned alive!"

Both sisters nodded.

Runas stood still for a moment, full of thoughts.

'These two beings might have been rival gods from a different world, but that does not explain how they appeared here. It is not easy to travel between worlds!'

He silenced the voices of his fellow gods as he thought about it.

'Perhaps we should approach her diplomatically, there is a small chance she would be more cooperative than Red Dawn' Runas thought to himself, his mind calculating possibilities.

An unknown god, with the same level of power as a Chief, appears, right next to him is an elf that uses what seems to be the most heretical flame that is capable of devouring the essence of divinity.

'And now she can resist two goddesses and even fight back against their influence, we must proceed with caution' Runas sighed before speaking.

"You might have questions, but we must gather more information, do not act carelessly"

Chief nodded before shouting "Indeed and because of that I have made my decision since Laleyn seems to have some knowledge and is closest to the dangerous stranger. She will have the honor of gathering information about this danger, and if possible find a way to control her!"

He silenced himself for a moment letting information be absorbed by his fellows before continuing without noticing Laleyn's anxious face "Nobody is to interfere with this entity without permission, If you disobey this order you will be severely punished!"

He then turned to Laleyn before speaking "You will work with Runas to gather information about who she is and who the dead god was and make plans to neutralize this threat, Understood?!"

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Runas and Laleyn spoke in unison "Understood, Venerable Elder we will not fail!"

Laleyn tried her best to hide her panic, her mind jumbled mess from the information she received.

'The woman my child was traveling with was some god-devouring monster, and now I am supposed to gather information and plan against that entity, and what is worse, I have to put my Azure in danger...'

She shut out other god's voices as they continued speaking about Red Dawn, but to her, it did not matter she did not care about Red Dawn after all, whatever the creature that had the visage of an elf was, it was a threat to them all, including her and her child.

'Perhaps, I could ask my Azure if she knows anything 'She chuckled in her mind.

Indeed it was ideal for her child to gather information, while the devil with the appearance of the elf didn't seem to wish to hurt her child she was still too dangerous to not control.

'Why did I have to speak, now I have to work hard, or else Venerable Elder will be disappointed'

She groaned softly before being pulled back from her thoughts by Peron.

Peron smiled at her once again before speaking "I know you do not wish to endanger your children but If you require support, the entire pantheon will rush to your aid, Laleyn"

She couldn't help but smile, after all, Venerable Elder had supported her ever since she ascended to the status of a greater divinity, without his support she wouldn't be who she was.

She smiled warmly at the chief before answering "Thank you, I promise I will do my best"

And she would, mission might put her child in danger but she would hate for the great Peron to think less of her.

Peron clapped his hands, making the other gods stop talking, he took a deep breath before speaking once again.

"While Runas and Laleyn work on finding a way to deal with the new threat that appeared, the rest of us including others who were absent will work on finding a crack in Red Dawn's defense, so that we may finally put a stop to their heresy and reclaim the full control of the world!"

With those words Peron, God of Divinity stood up from his throne and disappeared, leaving other gods behind in the Glass Palace.

Len turned to face Laleyn, and with a strict gaze in her eyes spoke "Laleyn and Runas, do not fail your task. I don't want god slayers walking around the world I am supposed to rule, you hear me!"

Lan couldn't do much but shake her head at her sister's antics, so she decided to stay quiet as the two sisters departed the Glass Palace.

Laleyn was sighted as two sisters left the palace, leaving only Runas, Mortas, and Laleyn on their respective thrones.

'Len is really something isn't she...? But at least her sister keeps her in check.

Mortas was next to leave, with the only parting words being "Good luck."

'He never likes to speak much when the chief isn't around does he?' Laleyn shook her head as the skeletal god left only Runas and Herself in the Glass Palace.

"Laleyn, I know you do not interact frequently with mortals, so if you require support in gathering information tell me, after all, we depend on each other and knowledge is my domain!" Runas spoke with his hands crossed and face completely hidden by the oversized wizard hat.

Laleyn did not know how to respond to such offerings of support, when dealing with mortals she was feared and despised and her fellow deities mostly avoided her, but Chief and Runas always offered their support.

She could never get used to it no matter how many eons passed.

All she could do was smile and thank Runas.

"Thank you, Runas I will return to my domain to prepare" She stood on the throne and gave a small bow to Runas before she was transported to the black lake that was her domain.

Her mind still racing, she was afraid for her child that she was about to put her in danger, but she knew that Azure had it in her to succeed in divine mission.

"Now let's see what Azure is doing" She giggled as the lake rippled under her feet.

As the lake rippled its dark surface changed, its colors shifting to show events in the world.

***

3 wagons, all carrying what remained of Golden Rose troops in the Ebon Forest encampment moved through an intricately paved road towards the borders of Red Dawn.

Front and back wagons carrying what remained of fighters while in the middle was a wagon carrying Laura, Azure, and Aqua.

The border was almost in sight, Aqua and Azure rode on the same wagon as Laura, and as the Golden Rose approached the border, the road became smoother and smoother.

What at the beginning was a bumpy ride over an old rough stone road, now became so smooth that one could fall asleep while riding the carriage.

"Such craftsmanship, I haven't seen such attention to stone cutting outside holy temples" Aqua spoke as she looked at the road ahead.

The road that leads outside Ebon Forest was wide enough for 2 large carriages to pass side by side, with Mystic Lamps illuminating each side through the entire day and night without rest.

Laura was the the first to speak up "Red Dawn is the only known kingdom on the continent that can afford and has the means to put such attention to detail for their infrastructure".

Azure took a while to gather her thoughts before answering with a small hint of sadness showing on her face ''Not even elven capital would be able to afford so many magical lights and wards.''

The ebon thick woods and foliage grew sparser as the scenery was taken over by more and more artificial constructs.

Instead of trees, the surroundings were replaced by wards preventing any monster from wandering into the road.

While the depths of Ebon Forest had no dangerous monsters, that was not true for the outskirts, once close to the edge of the forest monsters would be possible to find.

From measly slimes to the fearsome petrifying Basilisks and wild Dragons, all of these could be found everywhere, except near the borders of Red Dawn.

Laura shook her head before speaking "Red Dawn is an anomaly, you shouldn't have your pride be hurt that humanity was able to build it"

As Laura explained to both Aqua and Azure, Legions of Red Dawn would regularly sweep both the borders and kingdom clean of any wandering monsters and non-humans.

"Their military is equipped in the best possible Enchanted Equipment money can buy, from the lowest soldiers to the highest ranked officer " Laura spoke with a hint of pride in her voice.

"But that is not the only thing that secured them their supremacy over their neighbors. The 13 inquisitors and their king allowed them to even resist the wrath of the divine in the past." Laura gave both elves a warm smile, hoping to at least rile them up.

While Azure showed a hint of panic, Aqua just looked with curiosity in her eyes.

'That is quite interesting, so they can isolate themselves from divine will' Aqua thought that perhaps she could learn something from the monstrous Red Dawn.

In her past no kingdom was able to isolate themselves from the divine, any that tried were smitten and their history erased by followers of divine tyrant.

Such was the cruelty of gods, the most despicable of creatures, and yet always existing no matter which world.

'And yet the stark difference is the sheer amount of divine entities I feel' Aqua thought to herself as she let Azure and Laura talk.

Aqua leaned back as many thoughts went through her head 'Not nearly as powerful or influential, and yet felt the same as the parasite that ruled over her old world.'

She could sense their gazes suddenly disappearing one by one from herself, all but 2 of them.

The same goddess that had her filthy influence over Azure, was now watching Aqua too.

Watching but not trying to establish control.

The second gaze was more subtle, barely noticeable, like a professional thief hiding in the dead of night.

And yet even that presence was only watching.

It was impossible, no divine would merely just watch.

'She is up to something, Perhaps I can gleam something from her' she thought as her mind entered a state of trance.

A technique she used once before to find where the divine chain of supreme deity attached to her led back.

While current deities did not have any control or influence, It was possible to find where their domains were from their presence alone.

A meditation that would free her soul and expand her senses to even hidden realms of the divine.

'You won't hide for long, parasite' Aqua concentrated on a more visible connection as she followed it.

But before Aqua could locate the divine parasite, the connection was cut off completely, she couldn't sense the divine gaze anymore.

'Impressive, so that parasite knew I was about to find her. Perhaps the more subtle connection will yield a better result' She concentrated on the barely visible tether that was the connection.

And yet, she couldn't find who it belonged to, no it was like one who was observing them didn't exist at all.

'God of Illusion perhaps' Aqua strained her mind and soul, and yet she couldn't find the observer.

'Useless. I can't even find the second parasite' She sighed as she was shot out of her trance.

One parasite noticed her and cut the connection while the other wasn't even able to find her.

'God of Illusions, or something similar... ' She thought about possibilities.

Whatever the parasite was doing, it reminded her only of master Umbra, ability to trick the world and to make reality itself think one does not exist.

'I was right to not underestimate them. I will need to find a way to figure out what these divine parasites are up to.' Aqua finally opened her eyes, looking at worried Azure shaking her furiously.

"Lady Aqua! Wake up, what is wrong!" Azure's face carried visible worry about her new friend.

"Azure, I am fine. I was just meditating" Aqua put up her hands defensively.

"Why do you have to keep worrying me." Azure squeezed Aqua's shoulders as she let out a tear.

'She is crying... for me' Aqua had no idea how to react to the girl crying above her.

"I was trying to wake you for a long time, but nothing I did worked" Azure spoke as she squeezed even harder.

'Long time? Is it possible that my search took longer than I anticipated' She thought.

"Please, Azure you do not need to worry about me. Also, you are grabbing me really tightly." She smiled as she gestured at Azure squeezing her as one would a toy.

Azure's eyes widened as she let go wiped her tears and stood back up "Forgive me lady Aqua, this was unsightly"

Aqua shook her head before answering "You shouldn't be ashamed of your emotions, even if you don't believe so"

Aqua tried to keep a straight face without laughing at the girl crying out of worry.

She was sure she only worried because of the rescue mission and only because she needed her help, and yet she seemed like she cared more than that.

'Could it be possible that she already considered her a real friend' She thought.

It was surreal, Aqua knew Azure was naive but she didn't realize Azure would be this attached after only a short amount of time.

Aqua appreciated it even if she didn't say it 'Perhaps we could be real friends, without any mission bringing us together one day'

Their exchange was interrupted by Laura shouting to other wagons.

"We are approaching the border! Prepare for inspection!"

Both Aqua and Azure sat next to each other, trying to look like they belonged inside this organization.

Aqua felt a change in the atmosphere as they approached the border of the kingdom.

The mana in the air was almost nonexistent, which would make any caster that she met until now powerless.

She looked around as she scanned the surroundings near the border checkpoint.

Many crystal pillars sticking above the ground, each distanced evenly from the other in a deliberate way.

"Siphons..." Aqua spoke as she scanned each pillar.

Siphons were used even in her old world as weapon batteries, they were capable of sucking in World Soul's excess mana and storing it for later use.

While these Siphons were smaller, they were even more advanced than siphons used in her old world.

While Siphons Aqua knew of would reduce mana in the air and ground to a great degree, these Siphons reduced that mana to 0.

'Impressive.' Aqua was indeed impressed at such a display of mystic engineering.

Mortal hands built something to rival even the divine constructs of the most powerful priests.

This Kingdom already had her interest before, but now it was her top priority to investigate.

As the wagons approached the checkpoint, 4 men dressed in full-plated armor, bronze in color and yet sturdier than any steel.

On their backs they carried large metal packs, each pack radiating intense power.

'Mystic Batteries' Aqua looked over each man as they approached the first wagon.

Such a small size for a mystic battery and yet so much power was stored inside, and this was given to a mere border guard.

And it was portable, most unbelievable fact for Aqua was that all these batteries weren't only powerful, but they were also light enough for a human to carry.

'This world seems to be even more advanced than the one ruled by the Divine Tyrant' Aqua thought it was only natural after all.

These gods seemed to be weaker, and thus couldn't curb the development of mystic engineering, which allowed this kingdom to develop technology far surpassing her old world.

It was incredible, she wanted to explore the kingdom, and yet she knew how they treated her people.

No matter how impressed she was before even entering the kingdom, she couldn't forgive such actions against her kin.

Be it Mortal or Divine tyrant, both are the same in the eyes of the oppressed people they were supposed to lead.

Aqua took a look over her companion, the illusion still holding strong, but she was visibly nervous, her legs shaking slightly.

How couldn't she be nervous after all, this is the kingdom where most elven kind would never gain their freedom.

Aqua knew that if she was in Azure's position she wouldn't trust an illusion to keep her safe.

Alas, it wasn't only the illusion keeping her safe, but Aqua herself would incinerate everyone here to protect her companion.

While they were surely proud of their siphons, they couldn't prevent Aether Energy conversion.

'Nothing can prevent conversion...' She thought about all of the priests of the divine tyrant who tried to restrain her.

She was pulled from her thoughts when the guards approached their wagon and ordered all occupants to exit and follow a pair of guards.

Both Aqua and Azure obeyed as they followed closely to Laura as men entered the empty wagon and searched it.

The trio were led by two guards to a nearby building before they were ordered to take a seat.

Trio was alone inside a room with only a table, and chairs, nothing that could be used as a dangerous weapon could be found inside the room.

The room had no windows and only a steel door serving as an exit.

After a couple of minutes, a well-dressed man who unlike other guards did not wear full plate but instead wore what could easily be recognized as some kind of officer uniform, his build looking more like that of a caster than a physical border guards and his face almost childlike.

'This one seems to be important' Aqua leaned forward as she observed the man.

Many things could be gleaned from the way someone walked, talked, and acted.

From the way he walked, and from his confidence Aqua could tell he was a man of importance, and yet it was suspicious they were stopped.

Aqua focused on connecting her mind to Azure, and with a bit of work she was able to establish a telepathic connection to her companion.

[Azure, this seems suspicious. Do not act rashly] As she finished speaking connection was suddenly cut off, not allowing Azure to even start answering.