Zaeal was out of breath. The goddess kept to the alleys of the town square, pressing against the remnants of an inn. Her arms couldn’t take any more strain which was an obvious sign that something had happened. The air grew oppressive with heat and smoke and the sun became dark against the pillars of ash. She sent Ava to rescue those who remained at the gates, but then she saw the explosion of light and felt that it was too late. Guilt racked her in every part of her body, the taste of blood a constant reminder. Her eyes darted down when she saw the glittering scales rushing past her feet and around the corner. She darted around the corner. She regretted her impulsivity as a demon stood proudly with four war dogs in the center. Seeing her, he smiled and bowed.
‘Manners from a demon, never thought I’d see the day,” panted the goddess, holding the blade up with a scowl shooting across her face. The demon chuckled:
“Better to give those on their last breath some control over their death,” he said, looking up. The calmness of his face was disconcerting. He placed his arm across his chest in a sign of salute:
“Goddess-Mother, we do not need to fight,” he said soothingly, “you can surrender your weapon and we will go back to the camp.”
“This isn’t about my ability,” Zaeal spat, “your people defied Honour, and I will never stand for that.”
The demon raised his brow, licking one of the oversized canine teeth with thought. He nodded before raising his hand. The dogs bowed, waiting to pounce. Zaeal’s hands tightened around the hilt. Her lungs burned and her entire body protested against the sudden rush of energy that burned in her veins. The demon roared a command and the dogs pounced forward into a leaping bound. Before they could react, one was taken down by a coiling thread. The demon narrowed his eyes as the serpent revealed its hooded head. It wasn’t only that which warranted surprise, but a twin snake that rushed to the aid of its brother. Both grew quickly as they coiled around the dog. The other dogs tried to help their comrade, but the serpents hissed violently, their fangs shooting out streams of venom.
“Is this you?”
Zaeal realized that she had an opening while the demon was confounded. She rushed forward but slipped when a light flashed through the air, blinding her, the demon, and the dogs. She hit the floor, crying aloud when a broken brick stabbed into the side of her body. She looked up, her vision filled with dots and then she saw the figure.
The bright skin and the blood-red eyes as she darted through the fire. The demon fell back, hearing the blood-thirsty roar akin to the storms of heaven. The serpent retreated from the dog and swarmed to their mistress, coiling up her legs and torso until they were around her arm, spewing their venom across the blade. With a horrifying screech, she rammed her blade against the neck of the demon, the venom dissolving the skin until it melted through. The corpse fell to the floor, and there stood the red figure. A glare sent the dogs running but their howls were not unheard. Another demon came rushing to fight the figure and Zaeal, in her brief understanding, cried out to the specter.. It knew long before her, spinning around and staring at the oncoming fighter.
Seeing her, she dropped her blade. Her eyes widened with fear. She fell to her knees and held her hands to the figure:
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“Amma, please have mercy,” the demoness stammered in short frantic breaths. The red figure, silent and still, looked at the demoness. Something in Zaeal wanted to tell the newcomer to run before the snakes or the spirit got her, but she was winded.
To her surprise, the figure reached out and touched the demoness’ head, patting the hair that met her hot, fiery fingers. Zaeal, staring, had barely processed what had happened, staring at the hand, the demoness who kneeled with her head downwards in prostration. The skin began to glow again, burning brighter. Her hair curled like tendrils of smoke before the transformation was over. That was Zaeal assumed to be the end, at least.
“Dhena?”
The goddess turned, hearing Zaeal call her name. Her skin returned to its normal hue, but a distinct red glow was under it. Her eyes remained in their reddened state and nor did the appearance of her clothing change. The serpents slithered up her arms, biting onto their tails to form armlets near her shoulders.
“Zaeal,” the Goddess greeted casually, the blood on her hands becoming notably clear. Zaeal shivered but forced herself to stand up. She winced, turning to see the goddess who only stared on with the coolness of a great body of water.
“My Lady, what happened? Where is Master Mere?”
The mention of ‘Mere’ struck something, Zaeal realized, as the goddess’ skin began to glow brighter again. The sweat on her forehead created whisps of vapor as the heat of her skin grew. She took a deep breath, exhaling and the light faded into its quiet pulse.
“His life was given,” was all she said. The demoness remained still but eventually grew comfortable. She crawled forward, holding onto the ankle of the goddess like a whimpering child onto their mother.
“This war will not end, and it will only grow darker,” Dhena said, almost prophetically as though she was in a trance, “and the Sun will be Devoured.”
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“After you left, I had horrible nightmares,” Caeli said quietly, showing her blue-black hand to the deity. Ava gazed at it, shock evident despite her silence.
“Nightmares?”
“Strange fucking things,” Caeli said, tiredness tearing all grace from her voice, “some strange creature like me or something worse, I don’t even know.”
Ava’s face did not change, but there was a notable tension to their shoulders.
“Nihilo,” they said.
“What?”
“Everyone has a part of themselves which embodies all they were, all they wish they could be, and all they wish they weren’t. Since we’re gods, ours is notably more active. It is a power within us.”
“Was that what happened to Dhena?”
“No, well,” the Deity trailed off uneasily, “when the two are united, it creates a new form. Alchemy and all that, and that form is powerful but also severely destructive when mismanaged. Imagine it like dying and returning to the Earth when you’re buried.”
“That makes no sense,” Caeli said tiredly, staring vacantly into the space beyond her.
“It doesn’t have to, it just is. Half the laws of the universe don’t make sense, but they are there whether we want them or not. For now, however, we should keep moving.”
“What about Dhena?”
“That’s for the world to handle for now.”
“Do you think Solaris would actually welcome us?”
Ava stiffened, turning to look at Caeli with a sad smile.
“I don’t know, but it’s our only bet right now.”