Amara studied Ganeshti, the Remover of obstacles coldly. She wanted badly to put him down, but for now? He still held dominion over her. She was in the soul plane. Where the dead both lived, and passed on into the cycle. Her Maetrayopts glowed as she scanned all around.

“Why am I here?”

“Because there are still steps you must take that I need you to take.”

Amara narrowed her eyes. She was starting to understand Akamori’s dislike of games and manipulations more acutely now. Before her lay a vast expanse, and in the distance lay a great temple. Much like he’d taken her to before. Her brow creased as she turned to the Remover.

“Another tomb?”

“Indeed.”

“Mine?”

“Correct again.”

“Why help me? I thought you were on the opposite team?”

“I am. I’ve been over this with you. The strongest possibility to my dark mistress returning lays in helping you and yours defeat Sauridius.”

“And if I refuse?”

“Then I slaughter all of you and allow the sands of time to grind onwards. I’m a patient man. I’ve waited for untold millennia to reach this nexus point. It’s a trivial thing to wait for another when you know the signs to look for. The Crystal Mother’s meddling is not so easily missed. Her moves are...predictable when you know what you’re looking for. More so when you’re the one instigating her movements.”

Amara wasn’t able to tell if he was lying or telling the truth. She figured there were some grains of it in there somewhere. “Ok. You’ve made your point. I’ll play along. Lead the way.”

The massive grey skinned alien bowed his head in appreciation. “Thank you for your cooperation. This way.” He strode off without looking back to see if she was following. The sounds of their footfalls were muted, like she had earplugs in at the range again. Eventually, the Remover spoke again.

“Do you know where we are currently?”

“The Soul Plane, beyond that? Not really.”

“How much about it, do you know?”

She gave the question some thought. This conversation was taking on the tone of an informative lecture, and she wasn’t against picking up new information if she could get it. She shrugged when she realized her knowledge was surface level at best. Nemesis knew more, but the shade of the previous goddess wasn’t being very generous with the information. At least she knew it wasn’t willing to carry her.

“Not much, I’m afraid. I know it’s a part of the cycle of creation. Once something dies, its soul exits the astral plane and emerges here in the soul plane at the point of death. Then it moves on to be devoured by the Maw so it can return later on.”

The Remover nodded. “As I suspected. Most have only a cursory understanding of this realm. Only Necromancers and soul gods understand the realm on a deeper level. You are correct because it is a column of creation and that serves as a cleansing point for the dead. Washing them of memory and self and returning them to crystal plane as constituent aether. However, some souls are strong enough to resist the pull of the maw. Over the eons, so many gathered here that they created a city of their own and named it Purgatory. It exists as the last civilization to exist between life and death as most know of the concept. The populace consists mainly of Necromancers, dead gods, strong soul mages, and a few very willful souls that refuse to move on, but made peace with their deaths.”

As he explained, Amara could see details of the city come into focus. A main street with residences that branched off made of ethereal materials and ivory like bone. She wondered if that was a conscious choice, or if it just worked out that way. Like someone sat back and said to themselves, “Yeah, let’s make soul magic skeleton and ghost themed” and ran with it. The Remover chuckled softly and gave her a knowing glance. He’d been picking up her thoughts again.

“You’re not far off from the truth. I’ve often wondered about that myself. In the end, the answers were elusive, and I wasted more time looking for the truth than working on my purpose.”

Amara nodded. So, he wasn’t against cutting bait on something if it was a waste of time. Somehow, she didn’t think she’d be able to manipulate the situation to her advantage using the same process. Not yet, at least. She needed to step back and see all the angles. What was objective did he want her to complete? Why? Knowing those two items would give her the leverage to figure out how to dislodge him from her orbit.

Purgatory grew in size at an unreal rate the closer they approached. By the time the pair strode onto the outskirts, it had become a sprawling necropolis. Amara’s sense that she was being watched went into high gear the deeper into the city they walked. Her skin crawled like someone had walked over her grave.

“It’s the opposite, really. Technically, we’re walking over their graves. This is the last city of the dead before the Maw. The afterlife, if you will.”

“How many people live here?”

Ganeshti smiled around his tusks at the unintended pun. “The population of Purgatory fluctuates. Many are necromancers who come here to take breaks from the Astral plane.”

Amara shivered, rubbing her arms as they passed a large ethereal archway that shimmered like a desert mirage. As she studied the architecture, she wondered how one went about building here in the soul plane. As far as she understood, everything reflected the astral plane, but this place didn’t exist in the realm of the living.

“The Necromancers ages ago fled to the Soul Plane after they were persecuted in the realm of the living. Once here, they applied their knowledge and built this place. A refuge foremost, but also a place of study. The oldest of the first applied what they’d learned in building this place and used it as a university to study and further refine their skills. Though mostly reviled in your sector, there are some areas of the galaxy where Necromancers are the dominant way of life.”

Amara chewed on that for a moment. That there was so much more beyond their own sector. The pair strode into a marketplace where souls and necromancers bartered goods. She saw rods of ivory, jars of necroplasm, and aether crystals infused with soul magic. She gathered these were the building materials necessary for necrotech. One necromancer paused, turning to regard her and gave her a regal bow. She caught herself gawking. Eventually she pried her jaw off the ground and returned it.

“They recognize your budding divinity. Nemesis held much power here as hers was the domain of vengeance. Many wrongly deceased went to Nemesis for retribution for both the dead and those living they left behind. In past epics, Nemesis often used Necromancers to commune with the dead in order to determine where best to focus her justice. That tradition, while unpracticed in her absence, has not been forgotten here.”

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“What are you saying? That I’m some kind of queen of the dead?”

Ganeshti stopped, looking down at her. His large head framed his small dark eyes peering down at her curiously. “No. I’m saying you are a vital component of the System to maintaining balance. Your absence as been sorely felt for centuries. Your return has long been prophesied. Welcome to your kingdom, Goddess of Vengeance.”

She turned away from him, back to the crowd, stepping back a pace when she noticed that the entire marketplace had taken a knee before her. Small motes of golden light gathered around her. Like tiny little yellow fireflies dancing before a flame. Small embers of worship that coated her aura like morning dew. She could hear their prayers. Feel their words. Their devotion. It suffused her. Gave her power. It was heady, like drinking a strong ale.

“You are gaining worshippers. They are the true power of divinity.”

Amara glanced at him, unable to help, feeling like a fish out of water. Ganeshti led her forward through the crowd, which parted before them.

“Your lack of understanding is only natural. There are two types of divinity. Elementals, Planars, and domains. Elemental divinity is a divine presentation of an element of creation. Air. Earth. Fire. Water. Void. Astral. Mind. Soul. Then there are domain divinities. Domains are more...conceptual. Columns that pin up creation. Like Vengeance and Justice, for example.” He said, gesturing to her at the end.

“If I’m a domain divinity, what is Akamori?” Amara asked.

“Your friend is something that goes even beyond divine understanding.”

“What do you mean?”

Ganeshti smiled, as though he’d always intended for this to be the topic of the discussion. “What do you know of Titans?”

“As much as I know about being a god.”

Ganeshti faced forward with a pleased smile. “They are to gods as gods are to mortals. More than just merely being able to alter reality in ways. Titans can outright reshape it.”

“And you’re saying he’s one?”

“Sort of. Think of a titan like a glass. Now knock that glass off the counter.” Ganeshti’s large grey hand swept a glass off a counter as they passed by and it shattered on the ground. He kneeled down and picked up several fragments. “Your friend is more like these shards. They once made up a whole. But now exist as broken pieces. But. A clever titan can bring themselves back together, just like a god. What started as a mere mortal is now undergoing a metamorphosis into a growing being that will soon rival titans.”

“Is that what you want?”

Ganeshti frowned. “Unfortunately not. You and your friends serve my purposes for now, but the time will come soon when we’ll face each other as true enemies. But that is not yet.”

“I don’t get it. Why help us if we’re going to fight it out later?”

“Because now is not the right time for our conflict. There are other events required to transpire first. If those events failed to happen, then circumstances would change the outcomes of the scenarios and alter the web of fate.”

“Right. You need your goddess to come back. You’d mentioned that.”

“Not merely just that. That is my largest goal, yes. But there are...other objectives as well. The goal is to not achieve just one, but to satisfy as many as possible.”

“You’d probably enjoy talking with Morwen if you ever meet her before we really start throwing spells at each other.”

Ganeshti chuckled. “Perhaps. Though I suspect not, given my rather antagonistic role in your life thus far. Still, I remain skeptical. In the many eons of my existence, few have intrigued in any substantive way for very long.”

Amara frowned, folding her arms across her chest protectively. “Sounds so isolating and boring.”

“A rather mortal way of putting it, however correct it may be.”

“Guess I haven’t lost the mortal perspective.” Amara said, glancing around.

“Give it time. They all do eventually.” He stopped at a small structure and gestured to the door. “We’re here. What you require will be inside. What’s inside is for you alone. This is where we part ways for now.”

Amara glanced around, noting all the spirits and necromancers stealing glances at her from around corners and behind curtains. She still didn’t get why he was helping her, but she assumed his statements about the long-term benefits outweighing the short-term disadvantages it might convey had to be reason enough. Morwen was more of the predict the future and make it happen type. She was usually more of an at the moment type of person, like Akamori. But she assumed it wasn’t always the case.

“Thanks. I think?”

Ganeshti turned and vanished into a soul rift. Reality mended itself back together in his absence. She took what passed for a deep breath in the realm of the dead and stepped inside. It was a small room with a rune circle on the floor. She sighed.

“Of course, there’s another portal.”

She missed the squad. This was really something she didn’t want to do without them. Yasiin especially. She wondered what he was doing right now. If he was keeping Akamori out of trouble, or maybe spending time with his family on Eryn. There was probably a lot of chaos back there if Ominek made another push on Eryn. The only way she could find out was going forward, though.

“Here goes nothing...”

She stepped forward. Her skin tingled. She felt disembodied for a moment, like she was floating. She’d clenched her eyes shut involuntarily when she stepped in, but now she was keeping them closed partially out of fear. She heard a melodious, soft feminine chuckle.

“You’re right on time.”

Amara slowly opened her eyes and saw a magnificent woman dressed in a flowing white dress with blue accents. They floated in a massive cave made of crystal, though on some instinctive level, she knew it wasn’t a cave.

“Welcome to the Crystal Palace Amara of Honshu. Or should I say Nemesis?”

“I guess both are technically valid.”

The woman smiled again. “Which would you prefer?”

Amara frowned as she struggled for an answer. “Until recently? I’d have said Amara without hesitation. But now? I’m not so sure who or what I am.”

The woman extended a hand. An invitation to come with her. “Then let’s find out.”

Amara slowly reached out to take her hand. Ready to face what she was becoming. She didn’t know why, but she felt like she could trust this woman, whomever she was, unlike Ganeshti. She’d learn everything she could, and then return home, and end the war.

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