"I looked up at the mass of signs and stars in the night sky and laid myself open for the first time to the benign indifference of the world."

― Albert Camus, The Stranger

"The creature advances uncontested, My Lord."

An aged man in a smart black suit bowed. His thin frame was an illusion, the butler had more power than anyone but himself.

"As expected," Ode tapped his long ruler on the ground. "It came from beyond the territories of the Minders, not even I can venture there."

"Verander is still absant..."

"He's hidden himself well," The ruler tapped again. "The lines of fate show that all goes to plan, yet I can't find his location."

"There's something else as well," The butler cringed. "The games have started up again..."

A sharp crack echoed through the room. The stone floor, compressed by the ruler, failed to hold.

"So she's back," Ode stroked his long, white beard. "No wonder the lines seem strange, she's muddling up the board."

"What should we do, My Lord?"

"Do nothing," The Lord of Balance closed his eyes. "I'll find her myself."

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"Ahchoo!"

"What's your problem, Syy!"

Kalina stared into her drink, now coated in a layer of misted sneeze. They'd been reminiscing over their time on the road when her friend ruined the mood.

"I don't know," Syy blinked. "Someone must be talking about me."

"That makes sense," Kalina nodded sagely. "Maybe it's you're future husband, or a perverted man on the street!"

"Shut up and drink!"

Syy forced the goddess' snot-ridden ale down the woman's throat. The battle that formed led to a crash of glass and a rush of liquor.

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"OUT!"

Aangor's bulky form heaved the drunken pair up and out the door. He'd tolerated them for hours, but no more.

"You two are cut off for the next week!"

His graveled voice followed them into the warm night air. The world spun around Kalina's head, a carnival ride she couldn't leave.

"Do you think we can escape our fates," The little goddess stared up at the unsteady stars. "Ooulin always said we could, but I'm not sure..."

"Fate is a fickle thing," Syy stroked Kalina's hair. "He never lets things go any other way, but it can be done."

"How?"

"I don't know," Syy shrugged. "It's ancient history, and it was only a single being. His time is long over now."

The women lay on the street as the few people out for the night weaved around them. They stayed in place until Kalina fell asleep.

"But you're friends with someone who might be another exception, my unruly little master..."

Syy scooped up Kalina and walked toward their room. Ven was a factor she couldn't predict, perhaps he was beyond the hands of fate as well.

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"We should leave..."

An ocean of liquid shadow filled the sky. A tentacled horror that would make Giger proud. It had no definite form, just a mass of arms and teeth. Thousands of small, crystalline orbs swarmed the creature with a rain of light.

"Why?" Cain's eyes were alight with joy. "This is the most interesting thing I've seen in trillions of years!"

"Because, whatever that is, it's one step from eating this disgusting home of yours."

"Nonsense," Cain pointed to the swarm of orbs. "The Minders are already on it, nothing escapes them for long."

"Minders?"

"Weird, single-minded beings, they live in the cosmic ocean's furthest waters," Cain dragged them closer, one hand raised to shade his eyes. "They swarm and kill anything that sticks a toe into their territory, and they never give up."

The hoard of Minders was certainly focused. Ray after ray of static light fell onto the beast, a downpour that made it hard to see.

"They don't seem to be doing much, just a big light show."

"Just wait, if these can't get the job done, we should see..."

A vast portal opened, clear and smooth. Its depths shone the purest blue, a light that vanished as a wave emerged. A solid collum of Minders, pressed tight like a solid mass. It smashed into the octo-shadow like a knarled fist, the first attack that brought the creature pause.

"There we go," Cain nodded. "The central hoard. No one knows where it is, but mess with a Minder enough and it calls home."

The mass of orbs wrapped the shadow beast, a layer that moved with its prey. Soon the darkness was smothered by blue and the mass pulled back into the portal.

"That thing is dead for sure now," Cain drooped with disappointment. "Nothing ever comes back from that place."

"Well, that's great, really interesting," Ven inched back from his insane Master, a hand on his pouch. "Now if you'll excuse me..."

A flick of the wrist brought forth a fiery door. The unknown labyrinth gate that Ven had saved for later. Now it served another purpose, freedom from a monotonous hell. No more would Ven scribble on the air for centuries as Cain picked at his brain.

"Come back here you idiot!"

"Not a chance!"

Ven jumped backward through the door, hand raised in an insulting salute. Anything was better than more of this place, it was time to vent his frustrations on some demons.

"I wonder if they have edible cores?"

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"Hmmm?"

A great bulk shifted, a difficult task as she was covered in chains. A strange breath, a hint of familiar air.

"Someone has come through the gate..."

A silver fire ignited in the dark, a light that revealed a land of black flame. A dragon lay, speared through the limbs by a jagged chain. The links wrapped her tight, inside and out, a solid band around her heart.

"I smell my blood on them, a child of a child far removed."

The dragon trembled, a wave of light that speared into the sky. She fell still, but the beacon remained. A lighthouse in the dark to lead her descendants to their target.

"They've finally found me..."

Silver orbs glowed with a trace of hope. She'd lost count of the years, imprisoned in this hellish world. She'd thought herself forgotten, left to rot in the dark. She croaked out fragile words, their cost greater than she imagined.

"Here, I'm here!"