Other POV

Somewhere between the Veil and a suspicious Hidden Realm

Strange misshapen asteroids floated against a surreal and almost fantastical plane covered in luminous bright stars with colourful streaks of nebulae. Planets dotted the far-off horizon, with out-of-place oddities appearing across this peculiar plane straddled mystically. Such oddities included broken billboards from a past time, a golden statue of a floating ox, and little cyan-coloured slimes with writhing tentacles and a single eye clung to floating asteroids.

Aside from the blanket of stars and colourful streaks, lines of colours streaked across the expanse of space, a mirage of floating islands appeared in small pockets beneath these glittering silver stars. One in particular, standing out amongst the rest, was a bronze-coloured mountain with a sloped edge and rising peak pointing towards the stars. Orange dust covered the ground, and tiny pebbles of rocks covered the surface floor.

At the centre of it all was a very out-of-place gold, floating throne adorned with a red-cushioned back, with an enigmatic figure seated against it. His elegant presence cut quite the striking figure amongst the plethora of stars.

Draped in extravagant blazing red robes adorned with golden and amber, its fingers dressed in white gloves, with the unusual sight of a large spherical glass dome replacing its head. The dome was filled with clear water, with tiny amphibian creatures swimming. Mostly Goldfish.

The strange being had one side of its glassed helm propped against its gloved fist, sitting peacefully, seemingly lost in self-thought. No one knew how long it had been staring into that particular space between the orbits. After all, how could time exist within such an expanse?

Its attention was suddenly disturbed, hearing the sounds of soft rocks trickling down the rocky hill. It removed its sturdy fist away, slightly turning its large dome of a head toward the side, waiting expectantly in silence for a short while.

And then...

piru-piru-bzzt!

A slight crackle of static popped and traced a medium-sized outline of an oval sphere. A greyish shimmering light filled the centre, and a strange, watery sound softly echoed. Not long afterwards, there was a distortion against the portal, followed by the arrival of a lavishly dressed, bluish-skinned fellow adorned in multicoloured robes.

He ruffled the pale mop of hair on top of his head before casting a slightly dubious look across the expanse. He had short-cropped pale hair, large cyan eyes, and tiny pink swirls tattooed against his two round cheeks and forehead, respectively. The tips of his ears were noticeably pointed like an Elf, with two jade crystals dangling from the end of the gold earrings.

Observing its scenery shrewdly, the newcomer did, however, noticeably perk up when it made contact with the fellow seated atop the lavish floating throne.

"L-lord H-Hel-Helvetios!" It quickly rushed forward without a moment to waste. Being so focused on reaching the divine figure just up ahead, it missed the clutter of tiny sandy stones dotted along its way and rather clumsily tripped over a few loose rocks, losing its footing, before tumbling down a steep hill.

After landing painfully on its back, it blinked a few times before shooting up to its feet as though nothing had happened. However, it couldn't mask limping the rest of the way.

"L-l-l-l-lord HELVETIOS! One thousand apologies for my tardiness. One thousand apologies! One thousand apologies! One thousand apologies! One thousand apologies!"

The fellow dropped to his knees and began kowtowing; each time he lowered his head and forcefully banged it against the ground, he caused a subtle quake rumbling across the floating asteroid.

A deep sigh exhaled forth from Helvetios' direction.

"Corvus... stand up."

The short fellow froze, swiftly soldiering up to his feet and straightening his back with his chin raised proudly. He placed a firm fist over his heart and almost yelled,

"Y-yes, Lord Helvetios."

The comical thing about the whole ordeal was the trickling blood flowing down the forehead of the militantly poised fellow, who almost refused to acknowledge the profuse amount of blood dripping down his chin.

On the other hand, the esoterically dressed figure seated against the throne slowly twisted back towards the array of galaxies.

"Did you find it...?" his coral-like voice travelled through the silent depths with a vibrating shockwave. Corvus almost shivered but tried his best to remain poised and alert.

"N-no! My Lord, the journey was a complete failure," he announced proudly without batting an eyelid.

A stiff silence ensued between the duo. Despite the cold sweat trickling down his face, Corvus refused to move a single muscle. Eventually, a second deep sigh finally exhaled out from the glassed dome headed being.

"That is... concerning," he spoke softly, tapping his finger against the throne's armrest in deep thought.

"Sigh... I'll have to seek out other unfavourable measures by this rate. Corvus, my son, tell me—what do you think we should do...?"

Corvus almost yelped, a little caught off guard by what was being asked of him.

"L-l-lord?" he questioned nervously, unable to recall the last time his opinion was ever asked on such important thoughts concerning his Lord.

He opened his mouth on more than one occasion, but words failed to caress freely.

'Damn it, Corvus—don't be so stupid and waste such a wonderful opportunity! Now is the time to impress our Lord. With that idiot Po out of the picture, it's high time someone else became Lord's favourite child. Come on, let's think about this carefully. What does our Lord want the most right now...? Hmm, what could it be—what could it be?'

Corvus wracked his brain for answers and solutions to his nagging problems. His response had to be perfect, far more significant than ideal, for that matter. His suggestions must transcend perfection and be as profound as the great constellations themselves.

Corvus studied his next choice of words carefully. He couldn't remember ever feeling so scared. 'Good heavens, it's all a bit much, right?' He loosened his collar slightly, trying to piece together the right words when common sense struck him amid his clouded turmoil. As though a light had sparked in his mind, he conjured that titan's illusionary figure on a tiny boat amongst the stars.

'The Fisherman! That—that's the question! A grin creased against his bluish, boyishly handsome face. He wet his lips with the object of sounding his thoughts, and just then.

"The fisherman's whereabouts mean nothing to me," Helvetios interjected, pouring cold water all over Corvus' head again. He swiftly grabbed his raised finger and painfully pulled it down.

"The paddle and that boat of ghostly intentions are treasures we must find. Hmm, Shall we concede defeat and allow it to fall into the hands of our enemies, Corvus? Or shall I devise quite the dubious plan to right my wrongs?"

Poised with another surprising chance to win over his venerable Lord, Corvus scratched the side of his head before quickly raising his finger in an attempt to speak again. But his lingering voice, once again, was cut short.

"No-no-no, our enemies will have thought of that. They were cunning enough to have found a way... to move unnoticed through the Veil. Of course, my only option is to do the thing which they know I wouldn't do. Yes—to do the things I choose not to do for them to do what I wish for them to do. Kukukukuh, it sounds marvellous, doesn't it, my son?"

"Incredible insight, my Lord! B-but might I add something...?" Corvus stuttered,

"Hm? Go on..."

Now that his time had come, Corvus cleared his throat soundly before finally parting his mouth; this time, he would see that his Lord heard his great suggestion. His mouth parted aside and just then.

Wuwuwuwu

A strange, eerie light began to glow from the middle of the open space. A moving star hovered within touching distance before enlarging into a tall white door. There was a strange shimmering light glowing around it. Helvetios drew another deep sigh.

"So they've already gathered then..." Helvetios said slightly airily.

Corvus stared at the floating thing with a mixture of feelings.

Venturing down memory lane, he remembered the importance of doors, especially the strange white ones appearing within dimension spaces. Most white doors were only ever conjured by the Guardians, the overseers of the eight great galaxies. He also understood his Lord was of these unique ilks of fellows, graced with so much wisdom and power. Just thinking about those mysterious eight made him swallow harshly.

"Corvus!" His Lord called out, snapping him out of his brief stupor

He straightened his back and raised his chin.

"Y-yes, my Lord."

"I will be away for a short while, it seems—and in my absence, I will need you to be my eyes and ears."

A slight frown briefly flashed across Corvus' pensive look.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

' Eyes and ears? But my Lord already has those, and they are the most brilliant eyes and ears across all the galaxies.' He wrestled with the things being told to him

"A-as you wish, my Lord," he warmly replied with a slight bow to maintain his militant exterior.

"Good—very good. Now listen closely. First, you will integrate yourself into the general populace."

"Yes, my Lord, I shan't fail you." He replied again with another nod

"You must not only become a listener but a steward, in time, a helpful beacon of knowledge."

"Your wish is my command, Lord." He bowed a third time, a little unsure as to what he was agreeing to.

"Most importantly, I will be delegating the task of keeping an eye on the two players to yourself. As you're aware, other than you children of mine, who I have taken beneath my wing, two oaths bound by death were made. And as such, I am obliged to play the role of their patron.

Sigh, troublesome—how troublesome—but... that is where you come in."

At the mention of all of that, Corvus noticeably froze up. He had heard rumours his benevolent Lord had been somewhat (cough-cough) careless enough! To break one of the unforgivable laws of the divine realms. Corvus could still remember those arduous lessons he was forced to take back in the higher realms.

One of the most unforgivable offences a guardian could commit was forming a Blood Oath between mortals, especially with beings across the Veil.

And now his most perfect Lord admitted to breaking such a law not once... but twice.

'Hehe, it's got to be a mistake. My Lord enjoys jesting with me, hmm-mmh.' Whilst Corvus romanticized what he believed to be the reality of this situation, Helvetios held out one of his gloved hands, his slender fingers tugging gently at the open air. The polished golden handle bent inward, and the door slowly opened.

A puff of smoke gushed like a dark abyss awaited on the other side.

"Guide them well in my stead, Corvus."

"Ah—s-sure, my Lord, I'll follow anything you desire," he announced with a humorous smile.

"Good. Oh, and try not to get caught. You know what they will do to us both if we're discovered. Better yet, steer them both away from trouble, do not allow them both to get into trouble.

One of them called me something strange, 'Fishbowl head.' Pay attention to that one! He smells of trouble. Hmph!

Now, with that said, try to think of a suitable disguise. I advise something small, familiar, and preferably with wings.

Well, that's all... I think.

Oh, right; what was it that kept you so late?" Helvetios asked curiously.

Corvus's eyes sparkled as though something he had lost was finally restored. He had just remembered something significant.

With a beaming smile, he dived his hands into his pockets eagerly, fishing around until he found what he was looking for. He pulled out a lengthy silver chain carrying a squared amethyst stone. He had almost completely forgotten what matter had wholly taken his time. It was quite an alarming bit of news now that thinking about it, too.

'How do I tell my Lord... th-that I have no idea where that boy with pink hair has gone?' Corvus felt a headache looming. And just when he was poised to say something, he heard the sound of the door sneering shut.

Much to his dismay, his Lord was already halfway through the door before he even realized what was happening. The helpless Corvus pitifully watched the trail of red garment slithering past the door frame;

"W-wait—" his voice was drowned away by the sounds of the closing door being slammed shut.

"You mustn't fail me... Corvus." The smoky voice of his Lord lingered for only a moment before the pale door shimmered away into scattering white particles.

Slam!!

Corvus stood in that same spot without moving. It took him a few minutes to return to reality. He massaged his temple, trying to calculate why he was given such a task. On the one hand, he wanted to become his Lord's favourite, the one favoured by all the progeny of the great Lord Helvetios.

But he also hated anything remotely close enough to danger, be it venturing around uncharted territory across hidden worlds or being on the dreaded survey duty, tasked with conducting a census on one of Lord Helvetios' most troublesome realms. Corvus was a lot different from his other brothers in that respect. Many couldn't wait to get themselves stuck into a dilemma or two, most of which usually bordered on chaos more than anything else.

'Grrr—crap! This is bad... this is very bad.'

He paced around the same spot with an anxious heart. This was the most terrible of situations to be in. There was much to report to Lord Helvetios, yet he had somehow walked away with another mission on top of the already assigned one that he held no true sense of solving.

"Dear, oh dear—what do we do? If only Polaris were here, that fool is used to dealing with these problems." His brother Po had, by far, become the one with the most notorious notoriety amongst Helvetios' sons.

Being the 63rd son, Po said it all, considering they were all ranked in terms of missions completed and grace incurred. (1 weakest - 70 highest)

Corvus scarcely interacted with the fellow. He didn't have any troubles with him, to be honest. He merely tried not to be too close around fellows like that. The type who was undeniably a magnet for chaos and trouble.

"I might've been able to seek him for counsel, but that bloody idiot has gone and gotten himself stuck on a higher-tier planet. Tsk, numbskull." Fretting about the meagre options left to him, Corvus had only a few viable solutions.

He dangled the polished jewel just ahead of his weary gaze. As part of the survey teams' reports, each fellow was required to record and document their entire journey. Corvus had no patience doing all of this in writing and, therefore, had acquired a memory-sealing artefact. He needed to witness and then store his entire journey into this jewel and present it to Lord Helvetios.

Only the memory stored within this jewel was a bad one... a very bad one.

"Sigh, he won't be happy about this, I don't imagine. Tsk! Maybe I should comb over the memory again. I might've missed something. Hmm, yes—yes, that could work."

With a bit of hope birthing through the clouded mess, Corvus took a few deep breaths before slowly closing his bright eyes. He focused on channelling his Mentality, which manifested as a glittering pale smoky fire with wisps of gold and cyan particles emanating from his body, flowing into the jewel he caressed.

As the energy poured into the amethyst stone, Corvus felt his consciousness slipping away, drawn into the depths of the memory. The world around him faded, replaced by a swirling vortex of colours and sensations that threatened to overwhelm his senses.

***

Higher Realm — The Court of Emerald Spires

Inside the pale door, the darkness trapped inside stirred around Helvetios like shimmering black waters, clinging closely to the expanse.

Sparkling ripples shone, revealing the strange waters were flowing in the same direction, converging into the same hollow pale point. He remained unmoved, nonchalantly poised while seated on his throne as it was guided through the dark realm.

Helvetios folded one leg over the other, watching the far-off circle grow more prominent as he approached it.

Once he entered through the light, the expanse immediately changed again. This new area was a circular-based tower surrounded by cyan and azure gemstones. Dark chains slung over the edges of the tiny stone platforms. The base looked like a round stone table with eight arrows pulled away from the circular sphere. Raising his helm slightly, he saw an oval opening, revealing a discoloured, somewhat twilight sky with a half-green moon glowing ominously above.

"Ahem!"

The echo of someone clearing their throat drew his attention back into the fold.

At this point, 7 round golden balls of light shimmered into existence from the surrounding shadows.

Seven thrones slowly unearthed away from the dark walls.

Seven elegantly dressed figures appeared, adorned in different coloured lavishly silken robes. Their dress sense was almost identical to his own, albeit the colours were purposely different. That, and the shape of the glassed dome in place of their actual heads. Seven glassed domes filled with water, each carrying a different aquatic experience within. Some are more chaotic than others.

For example, the fellow seated directly adjacently across from where he was sat, who was adorned in greyish-black robes, resting his dome helm against his gloved palm, audaciously wearing a half-torn crown on top of a tank of water filled with several tiny sharks wrestling within.

'Elkurud.' The name stuck to his memories like a thorn in his side.

Helvetios detested having to be seated in the presence of these folk. More so, having to stomach the lengthy discussion that was set to take place.

Once all eight guardians were present, a large emerald octagon-sided crystal descended between them.

"Greetings... 8 guardians of the Galaxies!" A soft, coral voice sounded from the floating crystal.

"Great venerable Guardians, let me offer my salutations to each venerable court member today....Ahem!

Guardian Lord Alnair - Realm of Greyscale and Ghosts

Guardian Lord Elkurud - Realm of Immortal Seas & The Venerable Dynasties

Guardian Lord Fafnir - Realm of Anima and Mystics

Guardian Lord Helvetios - Realm of Flowers & Godhood

Guardian Lord Illyrian - Realm of the Fey Ones

Guardian Lord Jishui - Realm of Renewed Kaeos

Guardian Lord Kuma - Realm of Heroic Principalities

Guardian Lord Scorpius - Realm of Darkshade & Ogre Wood

Upon the great will's decree, we shall now commence the 134th meeting of the Grand Guardians of the Spherical Galaxies...Our first mode to address... the untimely murder of the Fisherman, and the consequential mishaps regarding the Mana storm. Oh, the oath breakers amongst us and the problem concerning the Goddesses' unwarranted visit across the veils. I have at least 50 different cases of fellows suspiciously transmigrated without the proper clearance from the council"

"Ahem, now then, Lord Helvetios. Care to explain the charges posed against your realm in regards to oath breakers and Goddesses running amok?"