AN: Tomorrow's chapter will be a pure Slice of Life type of chapter, or "Fluff" as I like to call it. Whereas today's only has half the Fluff.

As always, thank you all for reading thus far. If you have any questions, comments, or concers, please do not hesitate to voice them.

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"What?!" Cried out a feminine voice, which belonged to a childish vampire in a gothic and frilly, black dress. This vampire stood at a height of nearly one hundred and forty centimetres, had a head of violet, long hair which cascaded over her small shoulders like two miniature waterfalls. Her facial features, though considered to be "cute" and "adorable, what with her soft cheeks, round face, button nose, and slitted eyes of rubies, was marred by the fact that it was pinched with anger.

"What do you mean my guards are now replaced? What about the taxes needed to fund my plans?" Her eyes darted around the room, of which was naught, but a small office without any sort of decoration. The walls, floor, and ceiling were bereft of colour, as only a single table and wooden chair was present in the room. This was, of course, occupied by the vampire who was glaring at a pair of apparitions in front of her through a small mountain of paperwork. "Ugh," she groaned, resting her head on a small pile.

This was then interrupted by a bemused chuckle, of which belonged to the only metallic, four armed skeleton in the room. This skeleton, though marred with scars and scratches across its body, was clothed in a crimson coloured, velvet robe with only golden threads scattered about in a pattern of lightning. The body itself was in the shape of a human's, but with a more square shaped head than a round one, as it was a Terran human an age ago before becoming as it is today.

"So he has return, huh? Well," the voice was melodic in nature, but held a twinge of disappointment for the child in front of its eyes, "I did warn you about your orders for taxes and slavery. He does not enjoy such things upon His world, but you would not listen." The skeleton shook its head slowly, as pinpoints of sapphire coloured lights flared in its eye sockets, "Now you must feel the wrath of one such as He."

"Who, Papa?" Growled the vampire, who slammed her small hands atop the desk as she leaned forward to glare at the other, whilst the apparitions ran from the room, "Who is it that dares to defy my will?" She wished she hadn't opened her mouth, as a large portal of shadows and lightnings with the colours of rage and chaos erupted in front of her desk. This sent the mountain of paperwork into the portal, whereby it became torn apart as something grew in the centre of such an opening. This then led the child to cower as her "Papa" laughed uproariously.

For within the portal was naught, but an endarkened creature full of darkness and hate. This creature's shape was that of a nine-tailed Kitsune with pools of perfect darkness for eyes which seemed to draw in the light around it. The clothing it wore was nothing more than a pair of crimson trousers, but this was not the most interesting. For the shadowed fur about the creature held thick lines of crimson, emerald, and violet coloured energies spiraling about its body in strange and unfamiliar patterns.

"Who dares exert their will over my Terra?" Thundered a great and terrible voice which shook the very foundations of the world they both stood upon. "Who dares extort taxes and enslave those who did nothing more than live?" This being stood in front of the pair was nothing more than a male Kitsune, and was thoroughly unamused by what he had witnessed upon his journey to Necropolis.

Turning towards the skeleton who bowed and saluted the being before it as he entered asked, "Was this your doing, Brutus? If so, know that I am very disappointed in you."

"No, My Lord High God," spoke the skeleton known as Brutus, of whom was called the Lich King of Necropolis, "I cannot take credit for this blunder. Instead, blame lies upon the shoulders of my daughter, Denna."

"Traitor," screamed the vampire, who flung an ink well at her Papa's head, but found it obliterated before it reached the halfway point. Soon afterwards, she found herself pinned to the ceiling as the Kitsune turned towards the other.

"You allowed her to do this?"

Brutus shook his skeletal head slowly, raising his primary arms in a motion of surrender, "She was given the title of regent nearly a cycle ago, My Lord High God, in order to prove her worth whilst I took a short vacation. I did not know what she was planning until my return, to which I performed damage control over the various major sectors of our world of Terra."

"Explain. Slowly."

"Yes, My Lord High God," the Lich slammed his clawed fists against his metallic ribs, then conjured up a small globe detailing their world. Pinpoints of red dotted various points throughout the various continents, to which he pointed out, "Each of these red points show the slavery she allowed, even though it has been outlawed since you had taken over. We've been doing our best to quell such a thing."

"We?" The Kitsune raised his left eyebrow, desiring to know who else was involved.

"Ah, yes. 'We' as in myself, your Chosen, and many communities throughout Necropolis have banded together in order to stomp out any residual slavers which might have cropped up. However, My Lord," Brutus lifted one foreclaw of his right, primary clawed hand, "they continue to show up regardless of how many times we quashed them and theirs. It seemed to us that every time one was destroyed, five more would appear. What is more, most of them come from the surrounding worlds to try and enslave our people, or to bring their own to sell within the cities."

"Are these pinpoints accurate?" Asked the other, who was not at all enjoying these turns of events. Of whom then strode forwards to grip the conjured globes with both paws the moment the Lich King nodded once.

"My Lord?" The room was soon enveloped in darkness, as the Kitsune's energy lashed out greatly, striking everything and nothing at the same time. Of which was then directed upon the globe, but more specifically, the pinpoints marring the world. All of this occurred within a few moments, and upon its release, all three of them noted the absence of red upon the globe.

"What happened?" Asked the pin vampire, whose eyes widened greatly at the sight.

"I have purged your mistake upon my world of Terra, and have reclaimed it for my own," the Kitsune God glared upon the small vampire, who appeared to want to flee from his gaze, "Know that I am very, very disappointed in you, child of Brutus." Upon these words the God vanished from their sight, which caused the female to crash into the ground.

"I told you it was a mistake, Denna."

"Shut up, Papa."

*****

"Master?" Called out Roshaan, of whom had grown curious due to the God's reappearance near the cart, "Is everything alright?" The wolf strode forward, just as the other stood up straight.

"Send these humans to Brutus," came the order to all about his person, "Let no one stop you. If they do, then add the body count towards the Lich King's tab."

"Yes, Master," the wolf beastman grinned slightly, then turned towards the rest of the army, "Alright, you head him. Let's get a move on." In so saying, the army of monsters left their Lord and Master alone in his thoughts upon the dirt road.

'I should do something about this road,' whispered the mind of the Kitsune. Of whom stretched out his arms towards the alabaster city, and slowly dragged them back behind his person. In so doing, his mind relayed what he desired from this movement into the world around him. Which was nothing more than a brick filled road which began from the gates of Necropolis, and spiraled outwards to the illusory cities nearby.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Of course, those upon such roads squawked loudly at the disruption under their feet, and openly stared as brick and mortar spread themselves outward. Thus giving them ease of access for their carts and wagons. To which the Kitsune merely smiled as he made his way inwards and towards the open gates of the alabaster city before him.

*

Upon his arrival, he noted a few oddities about those who allowed others into the city. One of which was they were each very much alive, whereas the other was the same as those near the portals to other worlds. They were trying to extort a "tax" upon those desiring entry. Needless to say, the Ageless was not at all amused, and conjured up a few of his Dolls in the shape of four-armed skeletons. These were then used to put an end to such extortions, which were met with joy from those who desired entry, and dismay from those who were try to do so.

Afterwards, the Dolls were instructed to scan for individuals with nefarious purposes, and to detain them until someone from the castle came to collect the individuals, whilst the rest were to be allowed through. "Terra does not have a tax system," growled the Kitsune towards those who tried to impose such a notion upon others, "It has the ability to generate its own income through various ways. One of which is to have others spend their coin upon our products, but because of your thievery, there will most likely be a lack thereof."

In so saying, he raised his arm high into the air, extending his paw outwards in order to call upon his will. Of which called into being a multitude of small sacks, which then spread outwards towards those who are within the walls of the Necropolis. Yes. Such an event caused an uproar of joy and elation, as many fell to their knees in gratitude for such a thing. Be it openly, in their homes, or in place of business, did they become filled with such joy for the gift which had appeared out of nowhere.

It would not be until much later, when all are given a reason as to why such a gift had been given to them. For their Ageless had returned, and was not at all amused by the display of unwarranted behaviour set by the regent's daughter.

For the time being, he wandered the streets of the Necropolis, enjoying the unmarred, white stone which gave it the name of 'Alabaster City'. Yes. Such a city was indeed as white as its name, however, many have taken upon themselves to paint their place of residencies. Although it was allowed, they were given permission to pain the insides, and leave the outside bare. Of course, they were allowed to decorate the building as they saw fit, just without the use of paint, hammers, or nails.

Thus, the creativity of artists came into being in an explosion of colour and masterful works of art. For instance, an inn which was located nearest the primary gate held brightly coloured ribbons and banners in order to catch the eyes of those weary from travel. Whilst across the main street was a smaller building with an open pit with a grill covering the fire. This did not have any signs, banners, or the like, but merely relied on others' senses of smell to attract them.

Of course, there was an exception to these rules. Such as the hospitals and orphanages within. These were the only buildings given permission to apply the paints to the outside. However, the hospitals needed to have the colours red and white, along with a plus sign on top in red for those of whom are being transported by air. This would be seen, even in the night, for the red symbol was painted with a florescent coat in order to give off an odd shine in the darkness.

Whereas those of whom were in the orphanages had paint and brushes given over to the children who resided within its walls. Each were instructed to paint their dreams upon the outer walls, and all seem to have the same thought. For the outside walls were decorated in depictions of them with a family of some sort. Though, there were always a few who desired sweets, food, or something else entirely.

This is where the Ageless went, not towards the hospitals, but towards the first of four major orphanages throughout the city. It was here that he spied a curious scene of a young Devourer Matriarch leading her small children around a small garden near the eastern wall of the building. Curious, he decided to watch the procession, as the little creatures, twenty in total, had lined up in two rows. One row hopped forwards, whilst the other scuttled a short distance before hopping as the other scuttled as well. This was adorable to his mind, and calmed it considerably. However, many would probably not be so inclined to view them as such. For the Matriarch, though having the appearance of a small, human girl-child was anything but.

Her appearance was a small child of about eight cycles old, with snow white skin and a silver mane of hair. Her form was thin, almost stick-like, whilst she wore a thin dress the same colour of her hair, but it was not transparent in the least. Upon her face, however, were a pair of eyes which were always closed. Of course, many do not know of this, and believe her to be blind; this is not true, as they are only open if she is hunting or scavenging for food.

She did not have a nose, however, and relied quite heavily on a pair of pointed ears hidden beneath her mane of hair, when not using her eyes. Of which could be any number of colours, shapes, and sizes. Whereas her mouth was small when she is calm, but can stretch and appear twice as wide as she is tall. For the Matriarch is naught, but a demon in every sense possible, and can never be satisfied due to the bottomless pit that is her stomach.

The children, on the other hand, were in the shape of small fox-bats. Of whom were just as adorable as their counterparts, but unlike those who eat mainly fruit, these, when feasting, cause the whole of their being to become nothing more than teeth with wings.

Now, one of these children broke away from the hopping session around the garden to investigate the newcomer. This led to it hopping towards his person, then stared up at his muzzle with large eyes full of hunger and longing. To which the Ageless chuckled and sat across from it with his legs crossed over one another. "Do you hunger, little one?" He asked, as the creature twisted its head towards the right whilst its ears flicked at the sounds emitted from him.

Another chuckle ensued from his throat, as he held up a small slice of ham over the small creature's body. To which it squeaked in an adorable manner, whilst it's eyes widened greatly as it was placed upon the ground gently. This then led it to squeak a few more times, as it sniffed the small offering before nibbling on the edge of the meat, changing forms to its teeth with wings, and devouring the morsel before switching back and staring up at the Kitsune as though saying, "More?"

Laughter erupted from the Ageless's throat, frightening the other and drawing attention from the Matriarch who appeared to be frantic over the missing child. Who then sighed with relief as she rushed over and lifted the small creature, hugging it to her thin chest before scolding it for running off.

"Now, now, little Matriarch," spoke the endarkened Kitsune, who slowly stood up and brushed the front of his crimson coloured traousers slowly, "Your child was merely hungry. By the looks of it, so are you."

"Who-?" She began, then gasped as a large haunch of roasted meat appeared before her and her children atop a wooden table.

"I know the hunger of one such as you, young one, so I shall leave this gift to you with a small blessing. As long as you keep a bone within this meat, you will never go without sustenance again. For the bones will continue to grow meat until it is as you see here." In so saying, he turned on his heel and entered the small building whilst the Devourers gorged themselves upon the feast laid out in front of their persons.