Aperio let out a sigh as she stood up, her feet solidly planted on the nothing that filled her Void. She had delayed again and again what she should have done a long while ago, but she wouldn't do that now. Just need to figure out how to find Epemirial…

She had an idea where to start the search, but that did not mean it would yield any desirable results. Aperio's plan was quite simple: go to a temple of the Goddess of Duty and Loss and see if she could locate something that connected it to her Dominion, like Vigil had in his moon temple.

"Are we leaving?" Caethya asked, crossing her legs as she remained sitting on the nothing. "Or did you just need to stretch?"

"Leaving," Aperio sighed. "First to deal with Epemirial and then to help Moria with the [Ancestral Guard]." The All-Mother paused briefly, fixing her eyes on Caethya. "And then, hopefully, I can just spend some time with you. Without any obligations."

Caethya smiled at her words. "I think you should visit Spicor. Even if you only look like an Elf now, you used to be one."

"You want to introduce me to your family, don't you?" Aperio said with slightly narrowed eyes. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

While the All-Mother was not really concerned with the opinion of Caethya's parents, she did not want her disciple to end what they had because the norms of Elven society did not condone their relationship. I really know nothing, don’t I?

The Demigoddess shrugged in reply. "We don't have to tell them who you are right from the get-go. But even if we don't, I doubt it will matter much. They even treated Mayeia like anyone else when I was invited to meet her."

"They did?" Aperio asked, stretching her senses slightly at the same time to find a bigger temple devoted to Epemirial. "If they would treat me the same regardless, I would rather not hide who I am. I was also more worried about the fact that I am not a man. My knowledge on social norms is severely out of date."

Caethya looked confused for a moment before she mouthed a silent "Oh" and gave her Goddess a nod. "Mother might be a bit miffed that I won't get her grandchildren, but she still has my sister and two brothers for that. As for others? Some are against it, but most simply don't care." She paused for a moment, seemingly unsure what to say. "Was it forbidden when you were a mortal?"

"No," Aperio replied, brushing her hand over her dress. "It wasn't forbidden, merely frowned upon if you were not a noble. Everyone who was not a slave was expected to have at least one child, however, no matter what they preferred. I did not have a choice in the matter."

Her disciple froze at the words, her face pulling into a grimace. "I'm sorry," she said, lowering her head slightly. "Seeing you now makes me forget what had happened during your time as a mortal."

"No need to apologise," the All-Mother said, a few wisps of mana dancing across her palm. "I'd rather not have you treat me like some delicate flower." Not when I can break anything with the slightest effort…

Caethya eyed her for a moment longer before she gave a nod and moved to stand up. Aperio offered her hand and, once the Elf had taken it, effortlessly pulled Caethya to her feet.

"So, what's your plan for finding Epemirial?" her disciple asked, letting go of Aperio's hand to fix her attire. "I doubt you want to go all cosmic horror cloud to find her."

The All-Mother tilted her head at Caethya's choice of words. "I planned on finding a temple of hers and seeing if it is connected to her Dominion as Vigil's was."

"The one on the moon?"

"Yes."

I'll also have to figure out a way to check on every Soul and make sure they are fine, Aperio thought with a slight shake of her head. "Maybe I could ask Mayeia for help with that," she mumbled as a portal to her temple opened next to Caethya and herself.

"Help with what?" her disciple asked, giving her Goddess a questioning look.

Aperio hesitated for a moment, not sure if she should tell the Demigoddess more about the Soul dilemma. In the end, she decided that hiding things from Caethya would likely do more harm than good. "To try and figure out how to check every Soul for signs of tampering," she said.

"Do you think Epemirial is stronger than Vigil?" Caethya asked as she stepped closer to Aperio, offering her hand.

The All-Mother took the offer and gave a slight shrug with her wings. "I assume so," she said. "I am more worried that she has a weapon of my design that proves to be a bit more useful than the bow Inanis had."

"But you still intend on facing her in her Dominion?" Caethya asked, following Aperio's lead and stepping through the portal. "Isn't there another way?"

"I don't plan on entering her Dominion," Aperio said. "The excursion to the [Court of Heaven] has taught me a few things. Most importantly, that I can manipulate any space if I try hard enough.

"So," she continued after a moment, "I will either make her Dominion useless to her, or force it to throw her out. It's just a matter of how long it will take me to do that." And if I can even find it by looking at a temple of hers. "So much to do…"

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Caethya gave her hand a squeeze. "Can't you, like, slow down time while you try to solve the problem?"

"No," Aperio replied, a thought closing the portal to her Void. Another thought greeted a very excited Roots who was losing a few more leaves from shaking its branches, covering the Goddess of Magic that sat at its base. "Even if I knew how to mess with time, I wouldn't." That everything slows to a crawl when I truly focus is already creepy enough…

It was like her mind was forcefully slowing itself down so she could interact with the world at a normal-feeling pace, instead of having to wait subjective days for a sentence to be spoken. Now if only thinking fast would also make me smarter…

"Why?" Caethya asked. "Seems extraordinarily useful."

"What would you think if you knew I had you relive a day a thousand times because I did not like a part of it?"

"I would probably hate it," her disciple relented, averting her gaze. "Sometimes it still feels like you can slow down time."

No, just the thinking speeds of the Creator of the universe, Aperio thought to herself as she offered a small, wing gesticulated, shrug. "You have to remember that I am not an Elf, no matter how I look."

"We think faster than mortals," Mayeia said from her position by Roots. "Sometimes that makes it seem like we slowed down time. I'd think that would be even more extreme for the All-Mother."

"You'll experience it for yourself in time," Aperio added, offering her disciple a small smile. "Though you might not notice it until someone points it out." I did not really notice a change, after all. But I also wasn't a normal mortal…

"How long does it take to become a Goddess?" Caethya asked, wobbling slightly as Aperio twisted reality to bring them in front of Mayeia.

The All-Mother had moved her hand behind her disciple's back faster than the Elf could react, leaving her momentarily trying to grab the air where Aperio's hand had just been before she realised what had happened. "A few centuries, I would guess."

"It took me almost a thousand years," Mayeia replied. "And then a couple more to get any strength that was worthwhile. But taking the initial step is the hardest. Getting mortals to believe in you and offer you their support is not easy when there are already so many Gods to choose from.

"Once they do, though," she continued, placing her pen on the desk next to her, "it is quite the experience. For a moment, you feel as if you could do anything, before the sudden influx snaps back to the steady drip it was previously."

"Sounds like it's designed to make you want more, and try to get it," Caethya said, glancing at her Goddess. "Aperio can also just make someone a God. How does that work?"

The All-Mother shrugged in reply, this time spreading her wings slightly to show that she truly did not know. "We can ask Epemirial once I find her," she offered. While Aperio was fairly certain the Goddess of Duty and Loss would end up dead one way or another before she could get any information, it was still worth a try.

"Perhaps asking Edisicio about the matter would bear more fruit," Roots rumbled. "Telling him that you have forgotten might not be what you wish to do, but the truth is already starting to bloom in his mind."

"Maybe," Aperio admitted, focusing her senses on the Goddess of Magic. "I do have a favor to ask of you, Mayeia."

"Oh? And what would that be?" their guest asked, shifting slightly under the All-Mother's attention.

"I merely want to see if I can trace your Dominion from your person."

Mayeia blinked at the question, offering a hesitant nod after a moment. "Sure? How would you even do that, though?"

"I do not know if it will work, but I assume you are connected to your Dominion like I am to my Void," Aperio said, removing her hand from Caethya's back as she took a step forward.

She let her aura manifest itself more fully, this time not shielding anyone but the mortals in her temple from its effects. It was not out of malice or neglect, but because she hoped that exposing people to it would make them a little more resilient. And, perhaps, speed up Caethya's ascent to Godhood just a little.

"If I can do this," Aperio said, letting her mana slowly seep into Mayeia's own, "I hope I can also do it from a temple so I can track Epemirial. Or at least her Dominion."

"Well, she will certainly know something’s wrong," Mayeia said. "Whatever you are doing feels very weird. A bit like being healed, but without the actual healing part."

"I guess it is kind of similar," Aperio said, tilting her head slightly as she focused on Mayeia's seed of divinity. It was quite unlike Natio's. Stronger, for one, but also more connected to the Goddess' soul. Almost as though Natio took a shortcut…

She mentally took hold of the seed, trying to be as gentle as possible as Mayeia stiffened a little. There was a tiny thread that lead away from her Soul — joined the weave that made up the fabric of reality.

Aperio had no trouble following it; the complex formations that made up reality distressingly easy for her to navigate. What she found at the end of the thread was not what she had expected, however.

The All-Mother had thought — and hoped — it would lead to Mayeia's Dominion which, in turn, would lead to her temples. That was not the case. What she found instead was a small nexus of sorts. Thousands of threads just like the one that came from Mayeia connected to it; a multitude of rune-engraved rings slowly revolving around the large ball of mana-charged threads.

Are those other deities? Aperio asked herself as she inspected the space she found herself in. It felt familiar; like a space that existed between her Void and the System. A transitional space that somehow connected them both.

She let a part of her mind wander along another thread she had chosen at random, careful to not place as much strain on it as she did on Mayeia's. Perhaps they won't notice it, then.

Perhaps she should not have given in to her curiosity — should only have done what she came to do — but Aperio had to know where these other threads lead. Maybe they are her temples after all?

The All-Mother shifted a bit more of her attention towards the space the nexus occupied. The tunnel Adam had traversed on his way to Verenier came to her mind, though it was not all that surprising. This space was outside the normal physical realms. Does Mayeia know about this?

"Are you aware of your connection to what I assume are other deities?" Aperio asked, trying her best not to let her voice ring with more power than necessary.

The Goddess of Magic gave her a confused look and a small shake of her head. "No, I am not aware of any such connection."

Aperio was about to reply when she reached the end of the thread she had been following and her senses spread into the world beyond. For a moment she was confused as the two views of different worlds collided in her mind.

Verenier was practically overflowing with mana when she compared it to whatever other world a part of her mind was now on, but her assumption had been correct. The thread she had followed was connected to another deity. One that was currently staring 'at' her as best as he could with an expression of what Aperio could only describe as terror on his face.