"This is the girl that did all of this?" The woman questioned, her all white hair and robe fluttering in the strong winds, the leaves and flowers in her tiara dancing with the breeze.
"I find it hard to believe, she seems to be just a child." The man mumbled, inspecting the girl with his crimson eyes as he raised his hand to his chin. His black coat made of dragon skin moved remained unmoving, studded with many bright jewels that glistened in the light of the setting sun. "She lacks the power and experience to kill nineteen Lesser Gods and three Greater Gods, ones that have been through many battles at that."
"Whose child is this?" The woman inquired as she tilted her head, crouching down in front of the small rock formation, a small opening visible at the top and a pair of glowing eyes looking through it. "She has kind eyes, though they seem filled with fear. Fear, but not of others, of herself."
"I am unaware which God would be foolish enough to leave their child unsupervised like this, and not even realise when they are using their powers." The man sighed, crouching down as well.
"Do you know who your parents are?" The woman questioned, gently placing her hand on the rock formation. No response came from inside, the eyes continuing to observe both. The right eye appeared to be dark pink, the left a deep blue, a combination never seen in gods.
"Leaving her here would be far too dangerous, both for her and any who come here." The man murmured as he reached for the rock formation.
The woman batted his hand away, glancing at him from the corner of her eyes before turning back to the rock formation. "She carries no ill intentions against any except herself, there are high chances she will attempt to kill herself if we leave," The woman informed. "Go find out all who were killed and all who are missing, it would be easy to find who her parents are then."
"Wouldn't it be quicker to ask the Council?" The man questioned.
"We are part of the Council, it would be pointless to ask a favor of them." The woman scoffed as she gestured him to go.
"It always intrigues me how you order me around, although I am far stronger than you are, and of higher rank." The man chuckled as he got up and walked away.
"Peace is only a myth in the realm of gods, and the Goddess of Peace is but a title with no purpose, or requirement." The woman sighed as she rested her head against the rock formation. "Do not despair, girl, all who have been born will die, whether they die at your hand or someone else's. It might just be a sick excuse of a murderer, but hold on to that excuse and continue clinging to life. Even I can tell you are afraid of death, otherwise we wouldn't have found you alive."
The girl remained silent, her eyes seemingly more distant than before.
---
"The Goddess of Dreams?" The Goddess of Peace gasped, the moonlight reflecting in her emerald eyes.
"And the God of Reality," the man added. "As far as I remember in the laws of the Council, members must not seek to have children together. They will turn out to be beings beyond comprehension and without any limits."
"And yet, she is but a sweet child." She sighed, wrapping her arms tighter around the little girl. Her half black and half white hair possessed many strands of pink scattered around, her long pink-black dress resting over the woman's body. A tiara of leaves rest atop her head, rustling in the cold breeze.
"With powers beyond comprehension." The man reminded with a stern glare. "Sier, you have also seen the state of those corpses. Gods are naturally resistant to all sorts of phenomenon, which includes distortions in space and time. Nothing explains what could have happened to those corpses."
"The Goddess of Dreams and the God of Reality, huh?" Sier mumbled, gently caressing the girl's hair.
"Reality Manipulation capable of that is akin to a myth even amongst all the Gods of Reality in the past, the most they can do is convert one form of energy into another to defend against attacks and disrupt them." The man informed, sitting down in front of her, his fists clenched beside him. "We are the oldest members of the Council, and you have seen me battle twelve generations of Gods of Reality. They are incapable of such power."
"Who knows, perhaps they were just weak, or she is just that much more powerful." She sighed, pressing her face against the little girl's.
"What are you even doing? You are using your powers, but why?" The man questioned.
"To grant some peace to her mind. It would take no longer than a minute for any of us to lose our mind if there were this many thoughts in our head at every moment." Sier mumbled, her green eyes holding a dim glow of sadness.
"That does sound like a curse," The man sighed.
"I will impart some of my powers to her, so to keep her heart and mind at ease," Sier sighed.
"I hope you do not plan to drag me into this. If she is truly the culprit behind those murders, as we suspect she is, then she has no requirement to learn anything, even from a God of War." The man shrugged as he got up. "Regardless, take her with you if you wish. There is some business I need to take care of."
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"Going off to deal with the ones which survived, huh?" Sier questioned with a smirk.
"I didn't even tell you the ones who died attacked her first. I should have expected for you to figure it out yourself. After all, no one is more familiar with the nature of gods than you are." The God of War mumbled as he glanced back at her.
"How long do you think we have known each other? Your fists are clenched when you wish to kill someone but have other business to attend to first, business which requires you to keep your composure. In this case, that business is talking to your friend." Sier laughed, her green eyes shining in the light of the colorful stars that glittered in the sky.
"It is unforgivable for a god to seek to harm a child far weaker than them." He grunted, his crimson eyes glowing in the darkness akin to a raging fire. "Her very existence might go against the laws of the Council, but she has no played in role in it. Why must she be punished for a sin committed by her parents? I know not if another Council member instructed these gods, but if they did they will soon find out why there are so less gods left in this time."
"Quite threatening." Sier smirked mischievously. "Very well then, I will take her with me for the time, and see you after your rage has died down."
"That would be in both of our best interests, I can not rip them apart at my own leisure around you after all." He scoffed, disappearing from his spot, leaving a small wisp of flames behind that went out in a moment.
"I wonder what I should name you." Sier mumbled as she stood up, hugging the girl close to her chest.
---
"Is she doing well?" The God of War questioned, glancing worriedly towards Sier. He sat on a throne made of white marble, placed in front of a round table, alongside many other similar thrones.
"She finds you scary." Sier answered, the little girl clinging to her dress, slightly behind her.
The girl's eyes drifted to the open space she stood in, a circular platform, open to the outside, the meeting room for the Council. Pillars of white marble extended into the sky, farther than any eye could see. Beyond the circular marble ground existed a drop into the dark void, it's end beyond anyone's reach. Bright stars dotted the dark void, lighting the room in a dim colorful glow.
"How long has it been since we found her?" The God of War mumbled, resting his head in his hand.
"You are truly horrible at keeping track of time." Sier sighed, sitting down on the throne beside him and lifting the girl in her arms. "Well, it is true only twenty eight thousand years have passed."
"I would have expected it to be more." The God of War mumbled, squinting his eyes as he pondered over something. "It has only been sixty thousand years since the last meeting? Why are they holding a meeting so soon?"
"I hope you remember what happened when the last Council held such a sudden meeting. They only informed us of this three years ago this time, the last time it was five." Sier sighed, resting her head over the little girl's. "If the purpose of this meeting is what I believe it to be, then I have a proposal for you. You should also listen when I talk about it as it will affect you too, Ea."
"Ea?" The God of War gasped, his eyes widened. "You did not name her..."
"Yes, I named her after the legends that have existed since times immemorial, after the god above all gods." Sier declared, embracing Ea who simply tilted her head in confusion.
"Quite the nerve." A man grunted, his entire body covered by a dark shadow-like robe. The portal closed behind him, leaving a slight distortion in space for a few moments.
"Planning to retire?" Sier inquired with a smirk.
"You should've expected this much of the oldest god currently alive." The woman sighed, appearing out of thin air, taking her seat on a throne, a pocket watch hanging from a chain around her neck.
"Are you two the only ones here to tell us this?" The God of War questioned. "That too after you have already begun the process and sacrificed the majority of your physical form. I must say, quite the nerve."
"The others were unable to make time for our meeting at such a short notice." The man informed with a sigh. "They all have their hands full attempting to raise their replacements properly."
"I supposed even such a cataclysmic task would be trivial for the two strongest gods, the Goddess of Time and the God of Space." Sier chuckled, resting her hand on the table.
"It is far from trivial, I am only thankful to have received a daughter that chooses not to use her powers without need." The Goddess of Time sighed, laying her head on the table with a sigh.
"As for me, the God of Weapons happened to be kind enough to take care of him for the duration of this meeting." The God of Space mumbled, lowering his head with a sigh. "I did not expect either of you to be raising a replacement still."
"She is not either of our replacement, she is the child of the God of Reality." Sier informed, caressing Ea's hair.
"Oh, so you have been raising her since their death." The Goddess of Time nodded understandingly, raising herself and staring at Ea with her blank face. "How long has it even been? Twenty eight thousand years? I never expected anyone to assassinate a member of the Council."
Ea pressed against Sier, burying her face in her clothes. "It appears she does not like your current appearance." Sier informed with a chuckle.
"Neither do I, but this is how I shall be for some time while I observe the growth of my offspring." The Goddess of Time sighed, resting her head in her arms with a whimper.
"Well, that aside, what did you name your child?" Sier questioned with a bright smile.
"Named?" The Goddess of Time inquired.
"Sier," The God of War sighed.
"It is fine, we are aware she tends to forget minor things such as this," The God of Space reassured.
"Right, I forgot Greater Gods do not name their children." Sier sighed as she lowered her head, her long strands of hair dropping over Ea's head.
"It is fine, I suppose not enough time has passed for you to fully understand the functioning of Greater Gods," The Goddess of Time reassured. "Even many Greater Gods make mistakes like that, and as a Lesser God you have been raised in a much different way."
"Each bloodline of Greater Gods has it's own ability, and we live our lives under the name of our bloodline," The God of Space explained. "Only one Greater God from a bloodline exists at a certain time, and as such a different name would serve little purpose. Lesser Gods have many individuals for the same abilities and as such names become a requirement."
"I do wonder if I should feel unwelcome in the Council." Sier sighed, pressing her head against Ea's.
"Not at all, we have never meant anything along those lines." The Goddess of Time reassured, standing up and walking to Sier. "We have always respected you as one of our own although you are a Lesser God. It matters little to us where you have come from, we all respect you as the oldest and wisest member of the Council." She lowered her head as she reached near Sier.
"There is no requirement for such courtesy, I am the lowest ranked member of the Council, and the weakest here," Sier sighed.
"Well, regardless of that." The God of War stood up, drawing everyone's attention. "Sier and I have also came to a conclusion. We will also be retiring along with this generation of the Council. We have lived long enough, and there is little reason to continue till the end of time."
"Have you both prepared your replacements? Or will you start now?" The Goddess of Time questioned.
"The next generations of the Council will not have gods of peace and war," Sier sighed. "These roles were introduced in the Council to give the Council a choice, and they have already made it over the many generations."
"That is fine with us, we have no right to argue with those wiser than us." The God of Space bowed his head, followed by the Goddess of Time. "Well then, since we have already announced what we gathered here for, I see little purpose in staying here much longer."
"It seems having offsprings do change you, on other occassions you both would have wished to stay for a decade or two." The God of War observed with a smirk.
"Perhaps that is the truth, but we simply wish to teach them all we can before our time ends." The Goddess of Time informed, turning around and walking away. "We hope to meet you all again in the realm of souls." The Goddess of Time snapped her fingers, disappearing in an instant.
"She has already said all I wished to for me." The God of Space laughed as a portal opened behind him. "We wish the next generation of the Council will be greater than we could ever have hoped to be." He walked through the distortion, closing it behind him, leaving the three of them there.
"It must be quiet and peaceful in the realm of souls, right?" Sier questioned, her emerald eyes fixated on a bright golden star.
"Who knows, we will found out soon enough." The God of War smiled as he offered her his hand, allowing Ea to get up beforehand.
Sier smiled at him, gratefully accepting his help as she got up. "I feel the next generation will bring about changes, changes no one else expected but were needed."
"We can only dream of such times." The God of War sighed, following Sier's gaze as she turned to Ea.
"I wonder what happens when dreams meet reality." She smiled as she lifted Ea in her arms, embracing her tightly.