The faint sound of dripping, though no water could penetrate into the vast cavern deep under the dessert at the heart of the Voidlands, broke the unnatural silence that filled it. A few flickering red gems, embedded on the walls, ceiling and floor, provided a minimal amount of light. It would have been somewhat peaceful and relaxing if it weren't for the silhouettes outlined.

Piles of rotting corpses, mostly humanoid, lay scattered atop what looked like a lake of blood.

The dripping continued as the thin layer of blood that had congealed across the floor rippled. When one of the flashing gems appeared close enough to the piles, one could make out the rotting expressions of despair and pain etched in their dying moments.

Time passed, only signified by the drips, before a large crack suddenly formed above one of the few empty areas. As Baros' bulky figure dropped to the ground, creating a red tidal wave rippling outwards, the air shimmered and twisted. After a few moments, he slowly raised his lowered head and opened his eyes. The blue glow in them was so intense that they looked like two stars in the dim light. "I hate him."

Even though he only projected his voice, the blood around him rippled violently. "I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I HATE HIM."

Lifting his massive fists up, Baros was just about to slam them into the ground when he caught his reflection, focusing on his twisted, enraged face, in the blood below. After staring for a few seconds, he snorted before taking a deep breath.

"I'm impressed. You held back this time." A soft, feminine chuckle came from a nearby pile as two new glowing blue orbs appeared. "Though you might want to learn a few more words."

"You know, to tell us how you really feel."

Slowly, bodies fell to the side as a lith figure uncurled and shuffled her way towards the edge of the pile. When she reached the edge and flicked her legs over, she grinned widely before casually crossing her long legs and leaned forward. "Tell me, brother."

Her voice sounded almost as joyful as the smile on her shrouded face. "What troubles you so?"

"Do not provoke me Sillithias. Not now." Baros glared at the grinning Void Lord until he watched her smile cramp and look away. After snorting again, his back legs folded as he sat on the floor. "Fucking Lucifer. One day I will rip all of his limbs off and feed them too him one by one."

"Patience. They have numbers, they are much older than us, and this is their reality. Our time will come."

"That's what I said." Ignoring Sillithias' exasperated glare at revealing something she shouldn't have, Baros ground his teeth as twisted his neck until a loud popping sound could be heard. "Is Akarhia back yet?"

Seeing that she wasn't about to get any response, Sillithias sighed nosily before folding her arms. The shadows masking her face hiding the attempt at a pout. "I believe I was the first back, so I decided to take a nap. One of my preys told me an interesting tale about women needing their beauty sleep in exchange for ending our game early."

Baros scanned the room around him, seemingly undisturbed by the scene. "Why do you bother playing with such... weak things?"

While he was talking about the corpses of various creatures before him, the largest appearing to be a dragon of some sort, he seemed to be looking for something else. However, no matter how carefully he searched, it seemed to be pointless.

Sillithias chuckled, slowly uncrossing her arms as her mood seemed to improve. She always found it enjoyable when anyone showed an interest in her hobbies. "Because they are so fragile. Their spark is so vital to them. Until they realise there is no hope they will do almost anything to maintain it. The power over life that exists only for a short time, no matter how insignificant, is..."

Shivering, Sillithias licked her lips as she stroked one of the human skulls beside her. "Is addicting."

"You shouldn't play with your food. It gives it a chance to fight back." Shaking his head, his pointed ears slightly flapping as he did, Baros continued searching his surroundings. After a few minutes, he seemed to give up and released a low growl. "Akarhia?"

"Here... Brother."

Sillithias flinched as Akarhia appeared a couple of feet to her left, squatting atop the same pile. After a moment of confusion, she hissed and swiped at Akarhia who vanished, only to reappear on a nearby heap.

After glaring at her sister, Sillithias revealed a cruel grin as she glanced at the blood covering the floor. "Do you still feel your skin is too good for blood, dear sister? Or is it that you have spent too much time with the white souls and their stupidity has rubbed off on you? Blood is good for the soul."

Ignoring the provocation, Akarhia turned her head towards Baros as she tilted her head. "He does not know... suspects the others. Fears the-

"Does he suspect us yet?" Baros interrupted Akarhia, clearly not interested in what she was about to say. They were immortal souls from the abyss, not wardens of balance and order.

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"If he does..." Sillithias chuckled menacingly while her claws generated cracking noises as she clenched them. "We should..."

Akarhia's head slowly turned towards her sister, the glimmer of white teeth barely visible as her eyes narrowed. "No. He does not. Sister."

"Shame. The cripple is not one of the 'Eight' and is already close to death. By far, he will be the easiest to silence." Sillithias grin grew while a quiet hiss slowly escaped Akarhia's throat as the spikes on her back raised. "Also, the old are normally the most fun to play with. They have so many lingering regrets and desires. Even having given up on the morals and ideals of the young gives them a... unique flavour."

"Sillithias." Baros' voice thundered in their heads, causing both to squint as their ears lowered. "You can fight later. For now, we need to work out what to do next."

Sighing again, Sillithias uncrossed her legs and slowly stood up, stretching at the same time. As she did, her tail swiped at the blood on the ground in an attempt to flick it in Akarhia's direction. However, before it reached halfway, it seemed to vanish. "Do? What can we do? That golden bitch didn't know anything even though it was her plan. She didn't even seem to think about the bird or cripple. Going there was a complete waste of my time."

What she didn't say, was that Eos believed it was Nyx herself that had ruined their plans and escaped. A theory that could have dire consequences for the Void Lords. Especially as they thought she was currently at her weakest.

Baros nodded, seemingly missing Sillithias' hesitation at the end. He didn't even seem to notice the strange look Akarhia gave her. "Lucifer also didn't seem to think it was the others. He did not think it was us either. He actually... didn't say much other than showing his anger."

Akarhia frowned, her tail lazily swaying behind her. "I do not trust. He speaks... lies and half-truths. Always."

Baros' eyes narrowed as a rumbling growl emanated from his throat. "Are you saying I'm stupid?"

Akarhia shook her head.

"Or do you think you can do better? Maybe we should swap. Maybe you would like to face Lucifer again. He did mention that he would like to see you two."

Akarhia shook her head again, her ears lowing as her body slightly shivered. Even Sillithias nearby cringed. It wasn't an act of fear, more of disgust and repulsion. Over their long lives, they had learnt to avoid Lucifer not because of his strength, but because of how he saw them.

However, Akarhia didn't shy away. After taking a deep breath, she straightened her back. "We should stop... Mother-."

"Enough. I don't want to hear it."

Sillithias chuckled, shaking her hips slightly as she walked closer to Baros who was glaring at Akarhia.

"Mother. Wants to be alone. To be free. What we are doing... will hurt her. Hurt us."

"Mother..." Baros snorted. "She barely even knows of our existence. Even if she did, she doesn't care."

"Probably a good thing. If she did, she would probably consume us like she has the rest." Sillithias circled Baros, smiling gloatingly at Akarhia. "That's what I would do."

"No. Mother-"

"I said enough." Baros slammed the floor, causing the entire cavern to shake. "We haven't done anything wrong. Once Mother's enemies have surrounded her, and she is forced home, we shall reveal ourselves. We shall save her. Then she will value us, need us. We will protect her and claim all the worlds for our kind in her name. Mother will be happy and free. So will we. The age of the Abyss will come."

"Mother is-"

"Akarhia!" Baros' projected shout caused the nearby heaps of bodies to topple over, getting an irritated glance from Sillithias.

"Mother... ." Releasing a chilling hiss, Akarhia remembered what Regent had told her. While she had a basic grasp of the language, she was mostly able to understand the intent and emotions behind the words. "Will blow up in our face."

Without waiting for a response, Akarhia vanished. Unlike her siblings, there were no cracks left behind. The pile she had been standing upon didn't even shake.

Chuckling Sillithias shook her head as she ran her hand along Baros' side and approached his front. "So Naive."

Standing before the enormous body of Baros, Sillithias lightly grasped both sides of his head. After gently pulling it down, forcing his gaze away from where Akarhia had been and to her, she smiled. "We should kill the old one to wake her up."

"No. We need to be united and prepare. The white souls have already started. It won't be long until they repeat the mistakes of the past, and our Mother shall reveal her fangs. We need to be ready to answer her summons. If we don't, and she continues to run, who knows how long it will take." Baros stared into Sillithias' eyes, his projected tone becoming calmer and softer.

Sillithias sighed, resting her forehead on his snout. "I still don't get why we need Mother. We could act on our own. We might not be able to fight head-on, but why do we need to? We cannot die."

Moving slightly to the left so she could rub her shrouded face alongside Baros', Sillithias continued. "Akarhia is right about one thing, Mother doesn't care. As long as we don't do anything to piss her off, we should be fine."

"It would take too long. We still can't compete with the white souls, and they grow in strength with each day. They evolve and change, the next generation always better in some way." Baros shook his head slightly as he pulled away from Sillithias. "Also, why should we do all the work? Mother needs to prove herself to us as much as we do to her. She may be our creator, but she isn't all-powerful. If the likes of the white souls could force her to sleep, we could as well."

"You have been around the white souls too much." Sillithias' voice was like thunder as she hissed at Baros and pulled away. "We are family. We are the Abyss. We can fight, we can play, but we can never betray each other. Ever."

Baros reached out with his left hand but stopped as he was about to touch the black cracks that had formed as Sillithias' figure warped before being sucked in.

Just as the cracks were about to disappear, Sillithias' projected voice once again echoed in Baros' mind. "Stupid trash. No wonder Lucifer thrashed you."

Baros blinked a few times in confusions before sighing. He knew the true meaning behind Sillithias' last taunt, to come after her before he looked for Akarhia or there would be trouble. "Great... Now I have to waste time making them happy before we can start."