As I step inside the huge chamber, I'm almost overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the space. The walls are made of a pure white crystalline material that seems to shimmer in the light, and the ceiling is so high above my head that I can barely make out the details.

On the floor, which is as white and clean as the rest of the place, there is an fancy black carpet. Running down it is a long row of knights standing at attention at either side. It cuts down the middle the pure ivory marble flooring which leads to a tall dais with a steep set of stairs at the end of the chamber. At the top, sitting on the throne, is Althea, the Elemental of Order.

The statuesque Elemental has a stern, strict, and beautiful face, with sharp, intelligent red eyes and a short and even platinum white bob haircut topped off with a silver and black circlet.

She is dressed like a nun about to go to battle; decked out in charcoal black steel armor and black priestess' robes with white hemming. The robes are decorated with a couple of white holy symbols that look like ankhs or crosses. Through a modest slit on either side of her robes, you can see where her white leggings disappear into black metal-plated boots.

In her right hand is a large war hammer upside down like a scepter, resting on its head on the floor. A huge black and platinum shield, bigger than her, rests on the right side of her throne.

She watches me like a hawk as I approach, and her piercing red eyes feel like they're penetrating my soul.

I climb the stairs and stand before Althea. The air is heavy and electric, and I can feel her immense power like thick, humid air.

"Welcome, Hero." Her voice is like steel and velvet. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you. I have been waiting for-"

"I ain't gotta do any more forms, do I?"

Her face tightens a little, but she says nothing.

"You ready to go? We got a lot of work to before the Liberation Society gets here."

Her eyes narrow slightly. "It is God's will that I serve the Hero in any way that I can. But first, I must know something."

"What? You made me waste all that time filling out forms, and now you wanna ask me a bunch of questions?"

Her lips tighten. "I promise not to take too much of your time, Hero."

I sigh. "Fine. Shoot."

"How did you learn my True Name? It is supposed to be a divine secret."

I shrug. "So? "

"Even though you are the Hero, possessing that knowledge before I have bestowed it to you violates the very order of this world."

I shrug again. "Well, if I know it, I know it. But don't you think there's more important shit to talk about, like, say, an invasion from another world?"

She takes a slow steady breath. "Your irreverent attitude is far from appropriate, but there is no doubt you are the Hero, so I suppose I can put the matter aside for the moment."

"Good. 'Cause we need less talk and more action if we're gonna keep Astraea safe from those freaks."

"I will fight against any enemy that threatens Astraea. However, there is something that deeply concerns me."

"Yeah? What's that?"

"While I sense that you are most sincere in your desire to protect this world, I also sense a powerful anger deep inside you."

"Yeah, and what makes you think that?"

"For one, you have been yelling threats and curses almost endlessly since you arrived."

"Oh, yeah! Right after you practically drowned me in forms! Real nice of you, by the way."

Althea stares at me with a level gaze. " And yet, swearing and yelling did not work very well."

"Well, there was nothing else I could do, was there?"

"You could have used force."

I finger my jacket. "Yeah, well, this outfit is new, so..."

She tilts her head slightly. "I see. Hero, I understand your point about the invasion, but if you are holding on to some kind of inner turmoil, you would do well to give a confession. The clearer your mind, the better you may serve God's plan."

"Nope." I fold my arms.

"I am not accusing you of anything, Hero, but if you have committed any sins, you need to at least show some amount of willingness to reflect on them. Otherwise, your anger may fester and become something worse."

"Well, you don't have to worry, 'cause I'm not angry about anything. Why should I be upset about something that never happened?"

She narrows her eyes. "What you mean?"

I shake my head and shoot her a look. "Why are are we even talking about this? We're wasting time yammering on about stupid crap that doesn't matter when we should be getting ready to kick some ass."

"You say it does not matter, but you do not believe that."

I look at the ground and tap my foot, then look back at her. "Look, are you going to help me, or not?"

She stares continues to gaze at me with her ruby red eyes as she shifts in her throne a little. "Tell me about the invasion. What is this 'Liberation Society' and what are the goals of its members?"

"Who knows? I bet even they don't know. They're batshit insane; I listened in on a bunch of their meetings, and I couldn't figure out a damn thing they were blabbing about. I guess they want to unify the world and get equality for robots or something, but all they do is wreck shit, castrate dudes, and murder anyone who doesn't go along with their crazy bullshit."

She stirs a finger on her throne. "That is certainly disturbing. What else do you know?"

"Dunno. God didn't say much that I didn't already know."

She blinks. "He spoke to you directly?" She stands up. "You must tell me what God said. It is paramount."

"Like I said, he didn't give a lot of details. But he did tell me that they somehow managed to learn about magic and that they basically control Earth now, and they want to take this world for themselves as well."

Stolen novel; please report.

"And what else? Did He say why they were coming to Astraea?"

"No, but you can bet your ass the reason ain't anything good."

"That is certain, but knowing their motivations could be useful."

"I guess. But the most important thing he said is the crazies are going to win if we don't meet some conditions."

"What are the conditions?"

"Basically, I gotta survive, I can't let you or Zazel die, and I need to 'maintain balance between chaos and order'. Whatever that means."

She narrows her eyes. "Who or what is Zazel?"

"You know... Zazel," I turn up my palms. "The Elemental of Chaos."

Her lips tighten. "Surely, you have misunderstood His words."

"Doubt it. It was one of the few things he actually was clear about."

She turns her gaze down and makes a solemn face.

I cock my head. "You good?"

"Something is very wrong here."

I raise an eyebrow. "What?"

She closes her eyes for a few moments, and just when I'm going to ask her what her deal is, she opens them again.

"Well," she gives me a stoic look. "You are a very far cry from the person I have been waiting for all these centuries. I have speculated and daydreamed endlessly about who you would be and what you would look like. Never once did I imagine someone like you."

"Thanks," I smirk.

"It was not a compliment," she comes closer to me and I can feel her power like static electricity on the air. "You are brutish and crude beyond all imagination. You scream curses with one breath and make threats with the other."

"Bit of an exaggeration."

"No, it is most certainly not. Clearly, a 'Hero' such as yourself cannot be permitted to run amok in this world."

"You're talking about me like I'm some kind of animal," I smirk. "Hope you have a damn good leash."

"I do not know what you mean."

"Yeah, right."

"At any rate, if you also require the Elemental of Chaos to join you as well, I have little choice but to be by your side to ensure your safety and moral integrity."

"Oh, you wanna make sure I don't turn to the dark side, right?"

"Of course. It would not do to- Oh, you are being sarcastic."

I chuckle. "Better get used to it."

She tilts her head slightly and studies you for a moment. "I believe fighting at your side will be, at the very least, interesting."

"Yeah, could be."

"And although these circumstances are rather strange, it is God's will that I serve the Hero, and I also have a duty to preserve the order of this world and protect it from hostile forces."

"Yeah, it sounds like Earth is fucked, but we can at least protect Astraea if we work hard."

"I am sorry to hear about Earth. Perhaps, if we defeat the invaders, we can also help your world as well."

"That would be cool, but I wouldn't bet on it. Let's just focus on Astraea for now. And we can start by getting you out of here."

"I suppose we should."

I adjust my shades. "So, what's my Trial?"

She looks at me for a moment, then aims her gaze down the rows of Knights, toward the entrance. At that moment, Sir Biscuit opens the big doors.

Then, three Lawyer Knights enter and head our way. One carries a scroll, the other a fancy table, and the last a big set of stationery.

I roll my eyes and sigh. "You've gotta be shitting me."

Their clanking echos through the massive chamber, getting louder and louder as they get closer.

I can do little but stare in disbelief as the Knight with the scroll approaches me and unfurls it. "Please sign here." It points at one of two dotted lines as the other Knights prepare the table.

I growl. "What the hell is this?"

The Lawyer Knight with the scroll steps forward and begins to machine gun me with legal speech.

I wave my hands and shake my head at the metal man. "No, no, no. I'm not signin' nothin'."

"Hero, this is a special contract made by my magic. In essence, it constitutes a vow."

"What? Are you trying to marry me?"

She freezes for a moment, then shakes her head. "No. It is a magically binding agreement: A promise that you will fulfill the task God gave you, fight the invaders, and protect Astraea for the rest of your life."

I swallow. "'The rest of my life?'"

"Yes. Of course, in the interest of fairness, I will sign it as well."

I fold my arms and stare at her for a moment while drumming my fingers on my jacket. "Ugh, Fine, but this is the last one."

The Knight gestures to the contract again. "Please sign on the dotted line."

I grumble as I take it, lean on the table, scribble my name, and hand it to Althea.

She takes it, examines it briefly, and then signs it herself. As soon as she makes the last scratch, the fancy paper glows and the signatures illuminate in a bright light.

A Knight takes it, rolls it up carefully as the others pack up the table and utensils. Then as quickly and efficiently as they came, they leave.

I watch as Sir Biscuit closes the doors behind the Knights. As the massive portal shuts with a reverberating slam, I turn to Althea. "That's all, huh?"

"One thing remains."

"Oh, right. The thing." I gesture at her to get on with it.

She nods, puts her hands up in prayer, and closes her eyes.

The room begins to glow brighter and you can feel a strange energy in the air, like a breeze of iron and silk.

A somber, ethereal tone takes over her voice as she speaks: "I, the Elemental of Order, recognize God's Divine Favor of the Hero and acknowledge his right to be Judged."

The flow of energy intensifies, and I see it dimly swirling around in a gentle eddy of mystical power.

"In accordance with the Divine Pact between God, Elementals, and Heroes, I hereby declare that the Hero is Judged Worthy to participate in the Ritual of Release."

The energy dies down and I crack a little smile. "Nice."

She opens her eyes and nods at me.

"Althea, I'm glad to have you along, but just promise me something."

"Of course."

"Never make me do any paperwork ever again."

----------------------------------------

I wake up from a dreamless sleep and stare up at the huge ceiling. Even in the dark, I can see the beautiful, complex, yet indistinct mural painted in silver high above me. Its silvery paint glitters faintly like neat little streams of tiny stars. The pattern, while very well-made and symbolic-looking, resembles nothing in particular.

Mom and Dad woulda got a kick out of this place.

I look over to Althea, whose tall, slender form begins to stir underneath the huge, platinum silk sheets of the massive bed. I'm not sure, but it looks like she slept the whole night straight on her back without moving, like a vampire or a corpse.

Her red eyes open slowly and she turns sleepily to meet my gaze. "Did you sleep well?"

"Like the dead."

"It is a shame we did not produce any Thralls."

"Yeah, guess we were unlucky."

"We will have to attempt Thrall creation as often as we can to ensure the strength of our forces is as high as possible before the invasion."

"True. In fact, I know something that can help us with that."

Althea sits up quickly, clutching her sheets to her bare chest. "What is that light?"

I can see a super bright glow starting to shine through Althea's thick, luxurious black drapes, which line the entirety of the circular bedchamber.

I smile at her. "The start of a new day."

Althea hops out of her massive bed, blinks her clothes and armor on, walks over to the curtains, and throws them open.

The sky is awash in a glorious rainbow of colors, and the sun itself is a blinding orange ball. You cannot help but be mesmerized by its beauty; it is impossible to see the sun so clearly on Earth.

I join her by the window, but she barely notices me as she stares out at the scene unfolding in front of the two of us.

"It is so wonderful. How can this be?"

Althea's room is really high up and with the sun lighting everything, we get view of the planes of Astraea. The flat, featureless grassy field that stretches out into oblivion now shows some small, but noticeable new bits of nature. There are a few knolls and hills here and there and there is also the occasional streak of clouds, a tree or two, and the beginnings of some mountains on the far horizon.

After taking in the sights for a bit, Althea turns to me. "Hero, may I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Are you quite sure you properly understood what God said?"

"This again? We need Zazel. She'll be a handful for sure, but she's useful if you can get her to focus on something for more than 3 seconds."

"I am very, very concerned. We will require an organized, concerted effort to defeat these invaders. If the Elemental of Chaos is in our ranks, her mere presence could hinder our efforts even under the best of conditions."

I chuckle. "Definitely. But she's smart and we need some brains in this operation."

"If she has a high intellect, that would be even more cause for concern. She is the very essence of disorder and will be wild and unpredictable on her best day, and any schemes she might concoct could potentially bring ruin to everything. "

"I definitely get how you could think that," I crack a smile. "But, I doubt she'll be that bad, and God said we need her to win, so we got no choice, anyway."

"If it is God's will, then I must endure it. But I cannot trust her."

"Yeah, you've made that clear," I put a hand on her armored shoulder. "Look, I'll make sure she plays nice," I look her right in the eyes. "And if she does go wild for some reason, which she won't, I will protect you."

Her eyes flicker for a moment, then she turns back toward the scene outside. "I will take you at your word, though I do not understand how you can be so certain about all of this. Or know about it at all, for that matter."

"Just trust me, okay? I'm the Hero, remember?"

"Very well."

I take in the sunrise a bit more and stretch. My muscles tense and relax with every movement. "Now, let's eat breakfast and get our asses over to my place. We can stay the night there and head to Zazel's tomorrow morning."

"Oh, you already have a home here in Astraea?"

"Well, I should by now."