“I was thinking.” Lorelei started. She sat at a desk covered in books and loose papers. In her hand she held a quill. She didn’t look up when she spoke to Death. “If we are giving vampires, incubi, and succubi second chances, should we do the same with the Gods?” Death stared at Lorelei in utter confusion.

“Don’t you hate the Gods?” Death asked Lorelei. She looked up from her papers to stare back at Death, with a slightly lost look on her face.

“I do,” Lorelei replied simply. She then sighed and put down her quill. “But the way I see it, we’re creating a school to end ignorance. Until now, we’ve been focused on the ignorance of these other factions.” Lorelei’s face twisted as she continued. “But if we want to do this right, we’ll have to face my ignorance as well.” Death stared into Lorelei’s eyes. Lorelei tilted her head, and her eyes shifted away quickly. “Unless you can think of a reason to exclude them, but like it or not, they do count as one of the factions.”

Death sighed heavily as she rubbed her temples. “You know better than anyone else how deep my distaste for those creatures goes.” Death grumbled, “But,” she looked off into the distance, biting her lip. “Maybe they could help us find-”

“To be honest, it’s better that she’s gone.” Lorelei cut her off abruptly. Death narrowed her eyes at Lorelei, but Lorelei pretended not to notice as she changed the subject. “Well, if you agree they should join us, then it looks like we’ll have to visit the void dimension.” Lorelei returned to her papers and started writing.

Death observed her as she gently rubbed her chin. She tilted her head to the side as she said softly, “Nathaniel will be returning. I’ve asked him to teach at the school.”

Lorelei’s heart trembled, and she inhaled sharply. “O-oh. Okay. Well, uh, Thank you. He’s been around a long time. He’ll have lots of insight for the, uh, students.” Death scoffed before she snapped her fingers, disappearing from the room. Light and warmth returned, and Lorelei exhaled from relief.

Lorelei looked back up and stared at the spot where Death had just been for a few moments. “Nathaniel.” She sighed and gripped the quill tighter as her heart clenched. “Why him?” She forced herself to loosen her grip so she could place her quill down carefully and sat back in her chair. “And like that, I am small once again.” Tears ran down her cheeks and Lorelei rested her neck against the back of her chair as she stared at the ceiling. It was entirely made out of glass. She was able to stare at the sunny sky, lost in thought for a moment.

She could remember that day, so many years ago. The sun was high, everything felt so alive. Just like this day, right now. Meeting a reaper? On such a day? Such a twisted fate that spelled. Youth is naive, innocent, and no matter how much she denied it, it made her the same as well.

In a different dimension, long forgotten by most, there stood a woman. She wore a dirty and torn white dress that is fitted loosely on her, feet dirty and bruised. Her blonde hair lay in an unkempt mess on her shoulders and her eyes were dull. She looked over the countless bodies in a deep sleep. The land they slept in was dark and cold. It always rained. The woman spent most of her time sitting under a rock structure that shielded her from the rain, but sometimes she paced between the comatose figures. Friend, family, rival, enemy, they were all the same in their sleep. She shivered as the wind blew into her. Her eyes were vacant.

"How long has it been since you heard a voice, Idun?" Idun didn't react to the sound. It didn't register to her, in her haze, that this voice was from an outsider. She constantly listened to the whispers, the voices of those who slumbered and had long ago given up the hope that anyone would come to set them free. Idun didn't respond until she felt a hand touch her shoulder. She turned slowly, and it took a moment for the person before her to register fully in her mind. An old friend.

"L-Lo-" Idun tried to speak, but Lorelei gently shushed her.

"Don't speak." Lorelei offered her a sweet smile. Idun grabbed onto her hands. "We came to speak with you."

Idun forced herself to stop shaking. She took deep, slow breaths, then pulled Lorelei closer to herself. "W-we?" she asked with a raspy, dry voice. Idun looked behind Lorelei. She suddenly was filled with an overwhelming sense of dread. A very familiar sense of dread. Death stood behind Lorelei, calm as ever. Idun felt the life drain from her, her limbs were weak and light. She felt as if she could drift away in the wind. Then, it suddenly hit her, the pleas to stop. The sounds of her family's voices, the look in her husband's eyes. Idun fell to the ground in front of Death. She sobbed as she dug her fingers into the dirt. "P-please. Just l-let me sleep. Like the others. I can't… I can't stand this any longer. The pain, it's un-unbearable. The whispers… They never stop… And that p-presence. It's always there… It feels… So wrong… What is it? What does it want from me? Why is it always so hungry?"

Lorelei and Death looked at each other, concerned. Idun sobbed harder, her tears soaked the dirt below her.

Death kneeled in front of her, "I'm not here to harm you. I am here to present an offer." Idun refused to look up at her. "A possible outcome that can result in the God race being awoken."

Idun remained unresponsive. Death sent a pleading look to Lorelei, who nodded in response. She walked towards Idun and knelt down beside her. She put her hands together and closed her eyes. Idun looked up at Lorelei. The wind picked up around Lorelei, and a golden light could be seen emanating through her fingers. The wind slowed as the light retreated, and when Lorelei separated her hands a bright golden apple was exposed on her palm.

"I speak the truth, Idun." Death said calmly. Idun stared at them both.

"Death and I have decided to create a school for the creatures of Life and Death to come together. To learn." Lorelei explained. "We have agreed that it could be a good opportunity to give some grounded races a chance to be free again." Idun didn't reply. Lorelei shifted uncomfortably. "Succubi, Incubi, Vampires, Oni, Reapers…"

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Excuse me," Idun glanced between Death and Lorelei with a concerned look on her face, but ultimately decided to focus on Death, "Do you truly believe that the Gods will want to be equated to such lower beings?"

Lorelei stood up and rolled her eyes. She turned away from them.

"I am only being honest." Idun justified. "Reapers are one thing, but to be around such gutter creatures like oni and vampires-"

"Then I suppose we will have to awaken some of the Death Gods!" Lorelei all but yelled, unable to keep her frustration to herself. “Maybe they will have enough sense to be at least a little bit grateful!”

Death stood up, leaving Idun alone on the ground. Idun’s dress was now covered in mud. "Lorelei." Death said softly. Lorelei kept her back to them.

"This is exactly why I thought this was a bad idea. The Gods are so full of themselves." Lorelei turned around to Idun, "There's a reason why your race is like this!" she yelled this time as she slammed her foot on the ground. Suddenly Lorelei transformed. She now wore sleek adorned silver armor and held two long swords, one in each hand. Her eyes glowed with a pure white light. "We are offering a way out, and you respond… like this!?!" She screamed again.

"Lorelei, enough." Death commanded. Her mouth twitched up into a smile before she continued. “A great mind once told me throwing a tantrum won’t get you anywhere.”

Lorelei’s armor disappeared and her everyday clothing took its place. She spun around to face away from both of them, muttering under her breath. "This is just like last time. Exactly the same. I try to help, and you give me shit like that…"

Death turned to Idun and offered a hand to help her up. "One God from each Pantheon. That is all for now. We’ll lay down a set of rules. If any of you dare to cross us, I promise you." Death paused. "I will ensure the God race will never be remembered."

"How are you to choose?" Idun asked.

Lorelei turned back around, her face still filled with anger. She grabbed Idun's hand, who flinched at the contact, and placed the apple in it. "The three of us will take turns," Lorelei replied with a forced calmness.

The three walked to the valley of slumber and looked over the many bodies. "The Greeks…" Lorelei mumbled, "Not a surprising choice from you." Idun rolled her eyes and playfully shouldered Lorelei. Lorelei paused a moment before she playfully returned the gesture. Idun then bent over to a woman. She wore animal leathers and skins. Her hair was a deep chestnut brown. She had freckles scattered across her face and her button nose. In her right hand, she held a hood with the head of a wolf and bow lay next to her.

Death hovered over the bow, and it vanished. "We will not allow the gods their weapons." Death mumbled. "They will return to their possession when they earn them back."

Idun nodded slowly. She looked over to the woman, as if in thought, then gently pressed the apple against her lips. Suddenly her skin began to glow, her hair became more saturated, and her muscles began to move.

Her eyes opened. "W-what's going on?" she asked.

"Welcome back Artemis, how was the nap?" Lorelei asked with a giant smirk, her arms crossed. Artemis sat up and looked around her in silence. She opened her mouth but closed it again, at a loss for words.

"Questions will be answered shortly. For now, we need to awaken the other Gods." Death announced sternly. They all nodded in response and followed her to the next Pantheon, the Loa. Death stood over Tlaloc. He had tattoos of clouds, rain, and thunder all over his body. Even asleep he looked angry. Lorelei sat on the ground next to him and conjured another apple. She pressed it against his lips, and then the process repeated. The next God was chosen by Lorelei. She chose the Morrigan, then lastly, Tsuki-yomi.

The group of them stood around, looking at each other, confused. "I know that none of you know what is happening. All you remember is what happened so long ago. Short story, you fucked up. We locked you away. Now, I'm giving you a chance to redeem yourselves. Lorelei and I are creating a school. A school that each and every one of you will attend. You're more than welcome to say no. That is, if you never want to have the taste of freedom again. It's simple. It's clear. There is no room for negotiations. Questions?" Death looked around at all the faces that stared back at her.

The Morrigan, a short, dark-haired, dark-eyed woman with droopy eyes and long eyelashes, spoke up first. "I feel as if-"

She didn't get far before Death interrupted her. "I didn't say, 'Let's have a long conversation about your thoughts and feelings!’". I said, 'Questions?'. This isn't a debate. This is you, listening to me, and me, being kind enough to clarify on points you don't understand. Now, do you have a question, or are you going to waste all of our time, saying something that won't amount to anything in the end?"

The Morrigan stepped back sheepishly, but then Tlaloc stepped forward and said. "I find this whole thing unnecessary-"

Death, yet again, interrupted. "Funny, I also find things unnecessary. Do you happen to know which things those are? Maybe the hundreds of thousands of premature deaths that you and yours caused all those years ago. Do you remember those?" Death narrowed her eyes and leaned forward to stare into his eyes. "Perhaps not. You had the luxury of sleeping through the cleanup. On the other hand, I spent years dealing with that and every other thing you lot created. That you caused. You want to come at me, talking about unnecessary? This is me being nice. I suggest you stop talking before I decide to stop." Death took a breath and looked around at all the Gods. "So, I reiterate. Questions?"

All the Gods shook their heads in unison. Lorelei hid a smile behind a hand as she conjured a stack of clothing. It was cream-colored with royal blue stripes. "These are your school uniforms. You will be the first race to stay in the mirror dimension. The rest of the students will show up through the rest of the week. We have assigned roommates for the dorms." She handed each God a school uniform. Each and every one of them looked disgusted. "You cannot change, so don't ask."

Idun scrutinized the uniform. She ran her hand over the smoothness fabric. She found an embroidered symbol on the front. It appeared to be a shooting star. It would rest, she supposed, where her heart would be. "What is this?" Idun asked, curiously.

"Every student is required to show off their real race at all times. If you want, you may take the shape of other beings, but this symbol must always be exposed." Lorelei replied sternly.

"Are there any creatures there we will know?" The Morrigan asked, her eyes scanned Lorelei carefully.

"We're working on making sure many different creatures from many different factions will attend. There will probably be several creatures that several of you will recognize." Lorelei hesitated, "One of which will be John David. He is to attend the school."

Tlaloc dropped his uniform. A huge boom of thunder sounded around them. "That impersonator?!" He shouted, his voice just as loud as the thunder before. Most of the other Gods shouted in agreement, but Artemis stepped back from them with an uneasy look on her face. Tlaloc continued, "He dared to disguise himself as a child of a God! I don't know how he got away before, but now he's back? How is the bug still alive? Have we only slept but a few years?" He looked around at the others, and then at Death, his eyebrows furrowed in worry.

"John is no longer a human." Death responded calmly. The group looked at each other, confused. "He became part of the Oni race. He was reborn as Cult." They exchanged another look amongst themselves, but remained quiet. The wind howled around them. "A millennium has passed since your race was grounded." The gods remained silent. Idun sniffled slightly, and Artemis grabbed her hand in reassurance.

"More rules will be covered in school. It starts next month." Lorelei announced, "It's time to return, are you all ready? Remember, if you don't succeed," she narrowed her eyes and looked at them seriously, "it will be the end of your race."