***The Crystal City***

***Angrod***

“A nice party,” I comment and smile as I greet another guest with Celes at my side.

The day of the big party finally arrived after a week of preparations. During that time multiple factions came forth to announce their existence.

We left it to our parents and primarily Lada to determine who of these people should be taken seriously, assuming that a former member of the Council would be the best candidate and be aware of the political situation throughout the multiverse.

First on the list is the Perseides Alliance.

As a group of gods and deities who joined forces to protect their perceived homeworlds, those guys came together out of convenience. They share the opinion that other gods should stay away from their worlds, which kind of makes them isolationists from my point of view.

Not that we Chimerans are any better.

The Alliance uses magical contracts to tether themselves to each other. They promise help in order to keep peace within their respective spheres of influence.

Our growing intelligence network tells me that their system works quite well and that their group is gaining influence at a staggering rate. The predictions assume that their numbers will soon rival our Chimeran homeworld. There are rumours that they are actually thinking about duplicating our planet in order to have a base of operations and a unifying symbol for their faction.

Then there is the Gaian Pact.

When I heard about their goals, I had to think about nature activists! They wish to preserve the nature of the multiverse. At first, I didn't understand why a god should be interested in something like that, but then I learned that their members mostly worked as gods of nature under the Council's rule.

The Council’s latest plan of keeping their subjects busy was to assign everyone to a specific world in a specific role. This wasn't merely for the purpose of keeping the world in order. They just needed to occupy a deity with something that kept their attention away from thinking about things like rebellion.

Having all gods surveying every planet of the multiverse had the secondary benefit of being able to hunt down newly awakened gods more effectively.

Another group of interest is the Arcane Community.

They formed from similar circumstances as the Gaian Pact, only that their unifying goal is to learn everything there is about magic and to assist each other in their pursuit of knowledge.

When Lada gave us a summary of them, Celes's impression of them was something like this: ‘A bunch of weirdos and insane scientists.’

I found her judgement a little too harsh, given that my own interests lie in researching magic. Without a doubt, there must be some interesting people among them.

They may only be concerned about their studies and experiments, but that doesn’t mean that we cannot utilize them for our gain. It wouldn't be the first time for me to outsource a particularly dangerous research project.

The multiverse knows, before I became a god, I had one or the other ‘little accident’ which rendered entire worlds uninhabitable and forced me to go on to my next reincarnation.

The Arcane Community doesn't seem to care much about anything aside from knowledge which endears them to me.

The Path is another big group.

They are trying to form something like a religious church and I heard that many of them stem from the Higher Planes – dimensions which are in direct opposition to the Infernal Planes.

I have never been to those areas of the multiverse, which makes me a little wary of them.

Our greeting with them was very strange, but they seemed right up Celes’s alley. I had the feeling that I was talking to some kind of priests who were trying to convert me to their religion.

Their desired doctrine is to value a god’s worth according to the number of his mortal followers. Their representative proclaimed that all ascended beings should seek to guide the mortals to ascension.

The mere thought of feeling responsible for a mortal’s fate makes me shudder.

Their doctrine sounds exactly like what led Celes’s and my former self to have a fight which ultimately ended in the destruction of a whole world.

Never again!

Giving two cents about large groups of unascended beings only leads to ruin. I am now of the firm opinion that imposing any kind of religion on lesser beings like mortals should be left to them. They can be the masters of their own fate, just as we gods are the masters of our own.

The Unity is a group which was inspired by our world.

A few of the gods who came to the Crystal City heard about our world from the guards and other personnel stationed within the city. They immediately picked up on the idea and by now, they are on the best way to their own version of our world. I am very curious about their future.

Although I suspect that they will pester us about technical details during the party. I have told Celes that we should avoid telling them anything about how to traverse the Void Zones by using the pathways. There is no doubt that the knowledge will come out eventually, but even if it gives us only a few more weeks we shouldn’t freely give away our best means of border protection.

And then there is the Carne Empire.

Most of their people originate from the Infernal Planes, and I am already expecting them to butt heads with the guys from the Path sooner or later.

The leader of the Empire is a very charismatic guy by the name of Carne who somehow managed to smooth-talk a considerable amount of people into his idea of government. I am not against dictatorships. Essentially, my own world is one too, with me as the ruler.

Dictatorships are great as long as I am the one who is in charge, but I fear that the Carne Empire is the most likely candidate to become the Council's puppet.

Of course, we already informed everyone about our concerns regarding the Council. We decided it would be best to make all circumstances behind the recent events public knowledge.

And finally, there is Elsaria, Leader of the Tuor.

There isn’t much to say about them, aside from the fact that they are quite clearly a growing pantheon of like-minded gods and deities who share their worship of the goddess Elsaria.

Mawu warned us about them, and I reacted by dispatching a few spies who would try to find out more about Elsaria’s policies. Searching for willing followers and subordinates is one thing, using those people against me is a completely different matter.

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That’s why I instructed Nix to stick to Elsaria’s backside like sweaty underpants. I want to know immediately when the goddess tries to pull something shady during the party.

The rest of the people at the party are from smaller groups which aren't worth mentioning yet. According to Lada, their status is unclear, but she decided to include them anyway out of concern for the future. She didn’t want them to feel slighted in case that their group would become an influential player on the multiverse’s playing ground.

Maybe they will fuse with other groups or dissolve completely and fade into unimportance, but Lada judged it as important to at least acknowledge them. As of yet, their influence is too small to be taken into consideration.

Having greeted the last guest, I see that the party should start soon. There are only a few people missing.

“Oh, I hope this party will have no major fuck ups!” I comment while linking arms with Celes. “It has been a while since we visited an event like this one, and I must remind you; our track record isn’t the greatest.”

I tease the back of her hand which is resting on my arm, enjoying the sleek black dress which is hugging her form perfectly. Noticing my attention, she leans in, allowing me a look down her neckline while she enjoys the dark blue tuxedo which she chose for me.

“I wouldn't put too much hope in that.” Celes chuckles and pulls me forward to mingle with the crowd. “And what do you mean with ‘our track record’? As far as I remember, all of your recent parties ended in mayhem – and I actively participated only in one of them.”

She sighs. “Let’s just hope that this goes over peacefully.” Then she points towards a dark-skinned man who is eyeing the plentiful buffet which is laden with tasty specialities from all over the multiverse. “Look, that’s Mawu. Why don’t we start off our diplomatic mingling with him, since we already know the guy and he seemed like a reasonable fellow.”

I find no reason to object and so we find ourselves eating peacefully at a table a few minutes later, entertaining the companionship of Mawu and – strangely enough – Carne of all people.

The party is starting off slowly, but that’s to be expected with sixty people who have a diplomatic background – all of them desiring to represent their respective group in the best light.

We kept the invitations to a minimum, allowing mostly just ambassadors and their close confidants.

The intention was to be easily able to break up fights should anything happen.

When I heard about him, I was concerned about Carne.

But after actually meeting the guy, I think that we could actually become friends. I am not a great judge of people, but Carne seems to be the honest kind of leader who gives no shits about those who make it into his ‘stupid fuckhead’ category. He also wasn’t in the least bit intimidated by me, which gives me hopes that he isn’t easily manipulated.

I can work with people who understand the concept of ‘tit for tat’.

“We are fellow rulers, aren't we? So why do you have just one woman!? Isn't there a whole world of them out there for you?” Carne takes another sip of the expensive wine, demonstrating his quite different social origin.

The four girls who are holding onto him while trying to be a part of the background – and miserably failing – were introduced as his close confidants. Judging by their behaviour, I quickly caught up to the fact that they are in a polyamorous relationship with him.

I use my own glass to indicate Celes. “My wife wouldn’t have any of that.”

In response, Celes slides her chair closer to me. “He knows perfectly well that fishing in other ponds wouldn’t be a healthy endeavour.”

Carne’s dark eyes twinkle at our explanation. His steel blue hair is combed backwards, giving him the appearance of a womanizer in his thirties.

His community should be called the Carne Harem and not the Carne Empire. He is obviously looking down on the other sex, so it makes me wonder why these girls are staying with him. It can't be because he is a prince charming.

Carne’s eyes wander over Celes. “I have to admit that your wife is quite the hot device. If I found someone like her, I could be persuaded to try monogamy – for a little while.”

I smile at him, feeling the need to show this man where the line is when dealing with me. Working together is one thing – but borders have to be established first. “If you even look at her the wrong way, you will wish yourself back to the times when you were a mortal.”

“Aw! Come on. Don't be so bound up!” Carne replies. “I didn’t mean anything by it. I would never touch another man’s woman.”

“It's rude to say something like that to your host,” Girl number one reprimands Carne.

“Yes honey, don't make a ruckus in here. It’s such a nice party,” Girl number two joins the fray, showing me why it is a bad idea to have multiple women: you are always the one who is outnumbered.

“Yes, yes, my lovely birds! I would never do something to make a woman sad!” Carne rides the changing tide like a master.

“Maybe your girlfriends are the true rulers of your community.” Mawu takes a sip of his drink and closes his eyes to savour the taste.

Celes raises her eyebrows, seemingly changing her attitude towards the girls. “We need to have a ‘women’s only’ sit-in later on. One where the male ego can’t interfere.”

“Now, now, I wouldn’t go that far,” Carne protests, but his third tag-along prods his side, forcing him to correct the statement. “Though, it can't be completely ruled out!”

Mawu returns the conversation to more serious matters. “Back to the topic. Are you sure that the Council members who fell into your hands don't know what's going on?”

“It's unfortunate, but it's true. Enyo's mind is toast,” I explain. “After looking at her for quite a while the healers are sure of that. It's the same for El Shaddai's soul. That I blew it to pieces didn't really help. There wasn't much more left to do than to release him as a mortal.”

I shrug my shoulders.

“Hoh? You released him!?” Carne raises his eyebrows. “I have heard tales of how vengeful you are. Though… there wouldn’t have been much point in tormenting someone who doesn’t even remember his misdeeds.”

“He was reborn in a medieval world as the daughter of a whore.” I take a sip from my drink while the others stare at me.

Mawu clears his throat. “I am sure you had a hand in that?”

“Karma is a bitch. Making me angry doesn't help either,” I explain casually.

“As for Tjenemit.” Just to make a point and to show them that having me as an enemy is bad, I grin viciously and take out my Tjenemit globe. His squeaky voice is just loud enough to be heard at the table as he desperately starts rattling off excuses.

“I already told the master everything, I swear! This unworthy one doesn't know anything more than he already told. The trash is ready to be redeemed by reincarnating as a mortal. The grace of God would be limitless if this one was allowed to die and reincarnate as a mortal. Forgetting this one's path to salvation would be the greatest mercy. This one awaits the end of his…”

I put the globe back into my pocket.

Admittedly, being interrogated by me loosened some of his screws.

I clear my throat. “As you could hear, he isn't really helpful at this point, but I keep him around anyway. He wasn't influenced by the Calamity and his mind is still – mostly – intact.”

“You, Mister! You know some evil spells!” Carne salutes me with his glass. “I never would have imagined seeing a Council member begging to be returned to the Cycle of Life and Death. And we really need a better name for that black hole thing. Calamity doesn't really strike it if you get what I man. Those Ascended had a bad naming sense.”

“That didn't sound like his mind is still intact,” Mawu voices his opinion. “But I understand your point. And about the name, how about Soul Eater?”

“Too complicated.” Carne scratches his cheek. “How about just Fusion? It's a conglomerate of souls which are fused together – if I understood it correctly.”

“I don't really care about the name.” I dismiss the idea. “As long as we have the same opinion about how to deal with it. Namely, making sure that it never escapes and to find a way to obliterate it once and for all.”

“Crush on sight!” Carne confirms this in his quite simplistic way of thinking.

Mawu nods and enjoys another sip of his wine. “I could get addicted to this wine. Where did you say you got it?”

“It's a pretty expensive creation from a very well known winery on Chimera. Drinking it every day would make even me a poor guy in no time,” I explain. Seria messed up a lot of things when she used random genetic modification to create Chimera, but fruit which is used by our wineries isn’t one of them.

“I have to get some of it anyway – for my collection.” Mawu takes another sip, savouring the taste.

Looking around, I find my mother, Ireth, entertaining the ambassador for the Gaian Pact, who is an old cranky woman with white hair.

They are together with the ambassador for the Unity, who is a strange fellow. He decided to alter his physique to the point at which he looks as if he is on the brink of starving to death. Blue and red stripes of veins are visible through his almost white skin.

Many of the older gods are eccentric. Some like it to express their uniqueness and power by using spells or technology to change their appearance. I have seen many things, but this guy tops most of the extremes in this room.

His body modifications are coming close to what Celes told me of Seria’s final form, though I am not entirely sure that her body didn’t stem from some old long forgotten race.

They are likely pestering Ireth about the best approach to create their own version of a planet for gods.

The ambassador for the Arcane Community is disinterestedly listening to them, his expression making it seem like he is about to fall asleep. The man looks like a cyborg out of some bad movie. His right arm is completely mechanical and steam puffs out of two exhaust pipes on his back when he moves the mechanical appendage.

I am quite sure that the steam is only for show… at least I hope so.

Then there is the girl who is speaking for the Path. She is engaged in a discussion with some guys who belong to various other, smaller factions. The little goddess somehow made herself look like a teenager of twelve or thirteen years at most. Many gods like to hide their age but she overdoes it with the loli-look.

Suddenly, someone tugs at my sleeve, interrupting my introspection of the party and I turn around.