"Did we not have a deal?" An old man's enraged voice echoed through the massive, ornate dining room that was illuminated by the moonlight falling through the many ceiling-high windows running along the right-hand side. He was sitting at the head of a long, wooden table. His slightly hunched form appeared to be in his eighties, wearing black military-style clothing. Above the right chest pocket, was a clenched red fist.

Slowly, grunting slightly from either pain or exertion, he turned his head and stared into the unnaturally pitch-black corner behind him. In the darkness, two glowing blue orbs gazed back. "I asked you to keep people out."

"The human... was... different."

Akarhia's voice echoed in the man's head, causing him to involuntary shiver. However, it seemed to be more instinctual than out of fear.

"Different? DIFFERENT! I don't care if he was the creator. No one should have got through!" The man slammed his right arm, revealing a stump where his wrist should have been, on the table "You stupid child. You don't know what you have done. Gods, I'm surrounded by incompetent fools."

The glow for Akarhia's eyes briefly grew, returning to normal by the time the man looked back in her direction.

"Sorry, Akarhia. I've been dreading this day since before the Void race existed."

"Nyx... Your so-called mother. She's complicated. You can't force or try to manipulate her. She's the herald of the end times for Lucifer's sake. Even if you act with the best intentions, it could and most likely will blow up in your face." The man waved his stump in the air as if to make a point.

"Do you know why I never regrew my hand? Even after I achieved immortality? When technology had advanced enough to make the process as simple as breathing? Because it reminds me. Reminds me of what happens when you mess with fate heedlessly."

The man sighed, suddenly appearing much older. "Those so-called fucking heroes. After replacing the old gods, are they not content enough with trying to kill themselves? Do they feel the need to take everyone along for the ride?"

Taking a couple of deep breaths, the man calmed down as he stared at the empty wooden table in front of him. Ten chairs stood on each side, memories from a time where his family was much larger than it was now.

Shaking his head, focusing on the now, he couldn't help but sigh. "Ahh, Nyx. Why can't they just leave you alone? I built this entire corporation, destroyed countless lives and even damned my own soul and family for the greater good. To try and undo what those mad gods set in motion and secure a future for our descendants. And then those morons go and fuck it up in the time it takes me to snap my fingers."

He slumped in his chair as his cold gaze, that seemed to see beyond the table, started to glisten as a faint tear appeared at the corner of his eye. After a couple of minutes, he sniffed and wiped away the solitary tear before returning his focus to Akarhia.

"Fucked. It's all fucked. I knew I couldn't trust a Void Lord with such a simple matter."

He turned his gaze back to the corner Akarhia was, ignoring the hiss of irritation that escaped from its direction. "You, I can almost understand. But how the hell did Eos' spawn get past the other two? You haven't revealed our deal, have you?"

"You know that mad woman has moved her obsession with your mother being the ultimate evil onto Lucifer. She will burn the realms around her and damn us all for just a chance at killing him." He sighed again. "I wish I killed her when I had the chance before she spread her 'faith' to every world she could. Now, unless I become what I hate, she is beyond my reach."

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"No. I have not told them." The blue orbs moved as if Akarhia was shaking her head however there was a slight tremor in her projected voice which caused the man's eyes to slightly narrow. "Mother... wants freedom. Peace. My brother and sister. They want conquest. War. They can not be trusted. The human... was different."

"Enough of the 'human'. What's done is done." Signing and seemingly waving away his doubts, the man slowly stood up with the aid of a cane. "Fuck me, all this time and planning, and literally, it doesn't even survive the first fucking thirty seconds. Everyone thinks they are so smart, smarter than fate and nature, yet can barely wipe their own arses."

Pushing the chair further away to make room, a high pitched screech on the floor, the man shakily hobbled towards the nearest window. When he reached it, he gazed out at the lavish garden illuminated by a full moon. For a brief moment, he felt as if he could almost see the countless generations of his family that had played there as children. However, at the same time, it was overlapped by the imagined the horrors of the end times.

"Immortality..." The man's voice sounded more hoarse as he grumbled under his breath. "Is nothing but a gilded cage."

Without turning around, he straightened his back. "Do you know where Nyx is?"

"Something... stops us from knowing, stops Mother from returning to us. Not even Mother's emotions are clear. But we know she lives. We know she hates."

"So it's the worst-case scenario." The man's shoulders slumped. "It has to be Lucifer or Eos, but my sources say they aren't making any big moves which make it seem like they have no idea where she is as well."

"Maybe... they don't know."

"Nonsense. It's a secret that impacts the entire universe. By tomorrow I bet even the plebs in the lower realms will know something big is happening." The old man tapped his cane on the ground, falling into thought. "Talking of secrets, how did they find out about the connection to the abyss and block it? Even though there are some Voidling sympathisers, I can't imagen they would share that information."

The frown deepened as he stared as his aged reflection in the window. "There's not enough info. Too many unknowns. Too much risk. We need to know more before we act-"

Before he could finish, the man felt his chest constrict as he violently started coughing. While he tried to catch his breath, momentarily regretting ever accepting to become immortal so late in life, he truly felt old. It was only ten seconds worth of time, but the man felt as if he was going to faint as he leaned heavily on the cane.

"Akarhia-" The man turned his head, only to find the corner that Akarhia had been standing much brighter and no signed of the Void Lord.

After tightly gripping the top of the cane with his hand for a few moments, the man let out a foul breath and ruefully shook his head. "Come on, old man. Don't take it out on the lass. You know how sensitive she is, especially when it comes to her Nyx. She's the only immortal in this damn reality that's worth more than a grain of salt."

Slowly returning to his chair, flopping down with a soft grunt, the man's eyes moved to the glass of water that wasn't there before. There was a fair amount splashed on the desk as if it had been clumsily put down.

"Such a good girl." A warm smile appeared on the man's face before vanishing. "However, the other's aren't. If Akarhia spoke the truth, then I'm surprised the denizens of the Void haven't flipped the Voidlands upside down already."

"They must be up to something." Looking up, the man pushed a green button hidden under the left-hand side.

After opening his mouth, pausing for a moment to think, he sighed as his eyes became hard. "Alert all branches and divisions that we are on the lookout for a new goddess. Elements are dark and Ice. Do not engage and whatever they do, no hostilities. I expect them to slit their own throats before offending her. I will personally exterminate the family of whoever is stupid enough to disobey down to the tenth generation."

"As you command, Commander Regent."