The walls seemed to whisper to him, their movements synchronized with his every breath. Unlike Alev, who was accustomed to this peculiar building, Red was adjusting.

The wall's murmurs tickled his ears in a foreign yet intimate language. He was intrigued and humored by the strange sensation that settled over him like a second skin.

Red glanced at Merin, her brow furrowed in deep concentration as she stressed how to kill Gods. He couldn't help but feel a mix of resignation at their new hurdle.

Red recalled the way she acted when they first met. Back then, he didn't understand that she was immortal, just damaged. Her initial disregard for her life when they first met made sense by now. When you couldn't die, it would be impossible to fear death. From what he pieced together about her story, Red had a growing suspicion of how to kill Gods, a secret he was not yet ready to share.

He wouldn't tell her, not in case he was wrong, but because there was nothing either could do about it now.

Their path was set.

And even if they were to entertain the thought of deviating from it, it was too late now. Their path was set in stone, their fate sealed.

"Are you going to move his body?" Merin whispered as she yet again hid behind his back.

Red had walked back to the center of the temple to examine the dead God. He wanted to test his theory about the black breathing walls. Merin followed him despite her worries due to her morbid curiosity.

"No," Red said as he knelt to touch the broken heap.

Merin squeaked as she followed him to crouch on the ground.

Red shot her an exasperated look before pouring drops of his blood on the coal-colored remains.

Red watched as that drop was absorbed and faded into oblivion.

"This isn't an ordinary temple," Red said. His voice was hoarse as he felt something within him swell. "This monument is the Elan's God's remains. We are standing inside his body."

Red heard a gasp from Merin. He turned to give her another look, but all he could see was the sight of her pale fleeing backside.

Red looked away from his fearful Goddess to be to stare at the remains of his God.

"Deniz, thank you," Red said.

As if the broken body heard him, the walls around him let out one final sigh of release.

The dark tree, that propped the idolized body, started to thrum with energy as it sucked in the broken pieces at Red's feet into it. The process was swift, and before Red could blink, it was over.

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The wood remained dark, but the etchings within the wood glimmered with renewed life.

"I was right," Red said with a firm smile.

He knew how to kill Gods now. This meant his father, who was near immortal with stolen power, could also be killed. It was good that he hadn't come close to attempting his goal before. There was no way he could have done it without the knowledge he had now.

Red found Merin holding their daughter outside the temple. She was in the middle of shouting at her servants to remove everything inside the temple they had brought.

"Don't touch a single gemstone that is not ours!" She said. "If we didn't carry it in, it stays!"

"Merin," Red said as he approached her. He thought she ran back to the bath or her bed. He hadn't expected her to start jumping ship and taking everything out.

"We were," She paused to cover their daughter's ears, "Inside a body the whole time. Not just any body but a Godly one. We have to find a new place anyway now that you're back."

"We're staying," Red said simply as he plucked Alev from her frantic mother. He didn't bother to point out that the Ela desert was comprised entirely of grains from countless bodies, but he was tempted to. Besides, he could tell the God part bothered her as her obsession had grown yet again.

Several words were thrown at him, and when she ran out of steam, Red gave her a firm look, "The safest place in the world for Alev is inside that temple." He said.

"Gods are tempestuous. You've dealt with Mordecai and Acuzio. We'll be cursed if we live in there." She whispered, her pale fingers clutched her abdomen in a protective gesture. As if responding to her mother's woes, Alev babbled words as she yanked on his hair.

Red passed the baby to Emine and pulled Merin aside. When they were alone, he said, "Deniz doesn't care if we shit or eat in there; he's dead. His remains still hold enough power for us to use. What are you terrified of?" He hadn't seen this behavior run so rampant in the other woman before. He thought she would mull over it and move on, but this wasn't going away; it was only getting worse.

Merin chewed on her lip as her pale face came closer. The bright light threaded throughout her body grew more colorful under the sun's glow. Red ignored it and stared into her azure eyes, which reflected his image back at him. Their bond was strangely silent, as if the emotive woman had wrapped each of her feelings into a locked box.

Instead of answering him right away, she stood there wringing her hands.

His patience was rewarded when she finally broke the silence.

"Red, I'm becoming my mother." She said in a voice he had to strain his ears to hear. "My shameful greed grows with each passing day, and my sense of self is becoming warped by this power. The Gods are inhuman without a drop of compassion. They treat life as a child does their dolls...what if I lose myself in this power?"

Red felt a strange bubble of emotion in his chest as he grabbed her hands. He held the chilly fingers in his own and forced her to meet his eyes. They'd never talked about it, but their unspoken affection and care for each other never needed to be said aloud. Red didn't know if he could even voice the depth of his care for her. He spent a lifetime suppressing feelings because it was a weakness in the Habrin royal family.

His throat was dry, so he cleared it and said, "The Gods can only amplify what we are with temptation. The Gods cannot choose our destiny because our destiny is a lifetime of choices we make. Our parents don't decide who we become either. We inherit our blood from them, but we do not have to inherit their choices. Our fates are what we decide."

Merin's cheeks gained a little color from his words, but just as fast, it was gone.

"I'm enjoying my growth and using my powers in ways I never have before...it corrupted my mother, and she killed my brothers to make me," Merin said as she fought the gathering of tears in her eyes. "I..."

"I'd kill you before you could do the same to our children," He said. "If you start to lose yourself, I'll stop you."

A smile bloomed on her face, and a tiny giggle escaped her cheeks, "If anyone could kill me, it'd be you." She said all but slumping with relief.

"Our dynasty is in our hands, Merindah," Red said. "The Gods can't stop us or change what's going to happen next." He squeezed her hands to emphasize his point. His power was still expanding, and by the time he was done, the world would be exactly how he wanted it to be.