by Eric Vall
I lifted my head as I sensed the presence of a god. We were nearly to the heavens, and we already knew that the sanctum was open and ready for us, but there was one thing standing in our way, Cronos.
Colors of pastel pink, aquamarine, and light peach flashed brightly as clouds formed all around us. I could barely make out the shape of the towering god ahead of us, and I focused in on him. Cronos was massive in his godly body, we were like ants compared to an elephant next to him. The god sat on a mighty iron chair supported by fluffy, pink clouds. It didn’t seem fitting for him as his pale, greyish blue skin was marked with scars and pockmarks. He looked too brutal and cruel to be surrounded by pastel-colored hazes. This sightless god was the keeper of the heavens, and his glowing blue eyes turned at a sound to his left.
“Cronos…” Malsumis’s voice echoed in my head from somewhere to my left.
“Get ready for a fight!” Ruituri screamed joyfully and from my sightline, her hands began to pulse a sickly green.
“No,” I whispered into the minds of my minions and the four other gods. “We could destroy him, but we would lose the element of surprise. We should sneak past him unobserved.”
“How would we do that?” Domor asked in his grave voice from somewhere behind me. “He may have already sensed our presences.”
“Rana, our master thief can channel the kitsune’s powers,” I spoke softly as my eyes shifted down onto the redhead. “She is from the kitsune clan and can cloak our presence.”
“I-I can…?” the fox’s voice called back unsurely.
“I’ve placed my holy child within you, you are no longer a mortal,” I told her in my softest voice as I glanced up at the looming shadow of Cronos. “Reach deep within you, I can feel her power growing and solidifying within your body even now. Concentrate, imagine Kukan’s face, Rana, I know you can do it.”
Cronos, though blind, could sense any god trying to enter into the heavens, and he would strike them down without mercy. The giant’s head turned as he seemed to sense us, and even from this distance away, I could hear the tendons in his enormous neck creak.
Kukan’s voice rang out all around us, coming through like a distant memory. Rana’s paws closed into tight fists, her ears flattened, and she gritted her teeth as she listened to the voice of her ancestor.
“I may not be a god, but I’m closely tied to the gods’ realm. They’ve placed Cronos at the opened sanctum, if you can slip into the in-between like me, then…you can waltz right past him into the heavens…unnoticed,” Kukan, the kitsune whispered into our minds as she once did when we first met her.
Translucent orange light surrounded Rana for a moment, and I felt her diving deep into her psyche as she reached out for the kitsune’s power. Before my eyes, the fox began to shake and suddenly, Rana threw back her head and sent out a massive wave of energy. It washed over me for a moment and then the fox, slammed her open palms together as she took control of the kitsune’s power.
I felt her power all around me as the redhead concentrated, and she wrapped the women and I with it. Right as Cronos lifted his colossal hand into the air toward Ruituri, Rana compressed all the kitsune’s power together and then launched it outward toward the goddess. An orb of burnt amber light flew from her essence and slammed into Ruituri. It swallowed her whole, and the screams escaping her pulled back lips quieted as she rolled inside the sphere. The goddess’s wild eyes searched for her savior and focused in on my women and my floating essences.
Ruituri grinned wickedly as the orange orb floated her past Cronos, and as she went by, she stuck out her tongue at the blind god. Rana searched out Bellum, Domor, and Malsumis and lent out the kitsune’s power to them too as they neared the enormous god on his throne.
Cronos’ turned his head as he searched for any presence of a god’s power, but with the kitsune’s masking power, he wouldn’t find us. The tower deity rose from his chair right as my minions, Otia, and I blasted past. My brother’s eyes followed the movement of the massive god as he became nothing more than a black speck in the distance. I chuckled deep in the back of my throat as Otia’s blood coated shoulders drooped, and he turned his mutilated face toward my essence.
“Did you think he would save you?” I called darkly into his mind, and Otia attempted to shrink away from me. “Did you think that Cronos would help a disgraced god like you?”
Otia didn’t answer back, but tears welled in his eyes. He couldn’t speak or move away from me, and he knew what I would do to him once we reached the sanctum. I’d tortured him and then made him mortal for what he’d done to me, and soon enough, I would end his suffering before the eyes of our parents who doted on him and cast me away. My mother loved Otia the most, and I couldn’t wait to see her expression as I murdered her precious baby boy and painted the heavens scarlet with his blood.
In the distance, I could make out the golden sanctum right as Ruituri reached it. The orb of orange light surrounding her popped, and she hopped down from the air with a loud cackle of laughter. The goddess turned and watched our ascent as we came closer and closer.
I could feel the building of power all around me as my holy form slowly began to return. Right as we reached the edge of the sanctum, I felt a surge of heavenly power throughout all of my essence. Darkness surrounded me, and I let my Underdark energy rush over me like a wave.
“Open your eyes and breathe,” I commanded my women in a deep, booming voice that slightly resembled the one I had on earth.
I couldn’t see them, but I heard them clearly gasp for air as their eyes fluttered open. I couldn’t focus in on them at all, but I knew they were watching me closely as my transformation began. Black and amethyst light swirled around my essence as I settled into the flesh of my godly form. Flesh raced up the muscle formations and bone, and I breathed in deeply as I leaned my head back. When I opened my eyes, I could see clearer than ever, and I grinned as I stretched out both of my arms above my head.
My women stood by me and leaned their heads back to look into my face. I towered over them now in my godly form, and their eyes glittered as they took in every inch of me. Like Cronos’, I loomed over them like a giant, and I bent down beside them as they raced over.
Most gods stood at nine feet tall, but I stood at ten. My dark hair flowed around my bare shoulders, and when I glanced down at my body, I chuckled softly. The dark armor was gone and left behind was the flesh I remembered when I was in the Underworld. Black scales raced up my legs and thighs all the way up to my waist, and scarlet light glowed from them menacingly. A single metal piece of armor came up over my shoulder and protected my pectoral from any attack. I didn’t need any more armor other than that to defend myself against the gods.
“Holy shit, Master, what is this?” Rana asked as she ran her hands over the taut muscles in my trunk-like arm.
“It’s my true body,” I told her as I lifted my head and scanned the golden gates of the sanctum. “This is what I looked like before I was thrown from the heavens.”
“Wow,” Carmedy breathed as she pawed at me. “You’re even more handsome than your avatar!”
“I have to agree,” Morrigan stated as she reached up and stroked my chiseled face with her seemingly tiny hands. “If you had looked like this when we first met you, we would have given ourselves up upon seeing you.”
“I mean, you kind of did,” the fox chuckled as she elbowed the elf. “But that’s beside the point! Damn, you’re hot.”
I snorted as I moved my eyes toward the rest of my minions, but they seemed so shocked that they found no words to speak. I turned at a sound and watched as the other three gods landed on the edge of the sanctum.
“Thank you, brother,” Malsumis stated as he too transformed into his godly body.
“You may want to forget the chatty,” Ruituri whispered as she lowered herself closer to the ground and lifted her curled hands into the air. “We’ve got company.”
I lifted my head, and all of my women whipped around as the sound of trumpe
ts reached our ears. From where we stood, we could see the tops of the city just above the crest of the hill beyond the sanctum but on the peak of the hill stood a row of five men. Their faces were mirror images of each other, and I didn’t have to guess at their genetics. Each of them had the sneering face of Chirus and the glowing eyes of Qyris. These were a few of the brothers I’d never met, each of them a perfectly molded synergy of my godly parents. The middle god stepped forward as his eyes swung over our party, and a smirk graced his thin lips.
“Kazama,” the voice spoke from his lips, and I knew it to be my father, speaking through one of my bastard brothers. “The fallen son has returned after so long. You know, your mother and I did doubt that you and your mortal trash would make it here, but you did. What a pleasant surprise.”
I stepped around my women protectively as the holy weapon Allagis manifested into my hands. The four of my brothers behind the middle one took nervous steps backward at the sight of the weapon, but the man standing in front only threw back his head and laughed.
“It seems you took my word for it and threw away that toothpick you had before.” Chirus chuckled mockingly, and I stared straight into the face of my brother.
“I see you’re still too afraid to face me head-on, Father,” I scoffed as I adjusted Allagis in my massive hand. “First, the mages and now your very own sons? You rule through a proxy. How pathetic.”
“How dare you?” Chirus snarled hatefully from his son’s lips. “I should’ve destroyed you the moment you emerged from Eris. You’re an abomination, a scourge on earth and the heavens, and I should’ve killed you when I first laid eyes on you.”
“Maybe so,” I snorted as I took a step forward toward the line of gods. “I will be your downfall after all. Do you really think a few low ranking gods will be able to hurt us, Father? You personally witnessed what my women and I did to the Elders. You cannot stop us, no matter what god you place in front of us, we will still cut through them effortlessly just as we have done with so many others. When we reach you, I will personally rip your powers from you and watch the light leave your eyes as I send you into the void. You and your companions will pay for that they’ve done, not only to their own kind but also for the plot against the mortals. These are not the ways of the three creators, I know that now and I will purge you from existence.”
“I dare you to try, boy.” Chirus snarled as my brother brought up his hands and glittering light built in the middle of his palms.
The holy weapon, Allagis thrummed to life in my hands, and I sensed the same thing I’d felt the first time I used it as I focused in on my brother. I saw the faint lines through the air where it wanted me to strike the fatal blows to the five different gods.
“You may be the god of victory, Father,” I snarled as I lifted Allagis and gripped it in both hands. “But you and the other gods will taste defeat on this day.”
Chapter Seventeen
I raised my head and let out a ferocious roar, and over the crest of the hill, more gods appeared. These were not my brothers but other gods that resided within the heavens. I recognized a few of the faces in the crowd as they raised their weapons about their heads and yelled together. The sound rang out all around us, and I bent my knees in preparation.
Rana and Annalise came to stand beside me, and their shapely bodies were encased in divine light. The high queen’s eyes met mine as she unsheathed Bloodscale, and the blade glinted hatefully. The rest of my women fanned out beside their sisters as they reached for their weapons, all except Heijing. The Qianlong took a few steps back, her icy blue eyes wide and sharp as she searched through the crowd for her first target.
The anxiety my minions had held in their hearts faded away, and an ethereal calm washed over me as I looked down into the swordswoman’s face. I glanced over at Rana, and the redhead held her newly forged claymore against her right shoulder in a relaxed position.
On the right of the fox, Carmedy counted out the bundles tied to her chest as a rosy mist floated around her shoulders. I turned my head to the left and watched as Morrigan gritted her teeth and brought up her pale hands in front of her torso. The elven woman’s hands flashed with emerald fire, and it crept up her arms until her powers completely encased her.
Haruhi glanced back at Heijing, who stood directly behind me, and the Qianlong ushered her over. The sage unclipped her revolvers as she took assured steps toward her sister. The Qianlong whispered something to the librarian that I couldn’t hear from my position, but whatever she said, Haruhi agreed to with a firm nod.
The four gods loomed behind us, separated from me by only Haruhi and Heijing, and I could feel the steady pulse of each of their powers. Being in the gods’ realm heightened each of our strengths, and I knew that Malsumis, Ruituri, Domor, and Bellum along with me were more powerful than all these gods combined. The only upper hand the heavens had on their side was their sheer numbers, their powers were nothing in comparison to ours.
I felt the godly energy pour from my women’s pores, and I knew it was no longer coming from the holy children within their bodies. Since entering into the heavens, my minions weren’t mortals anymore. They were gods, just like me and all the deities surrounding us.
Each of my women was prepared for this, and they kept their eyes on the encroaching line of gods. Annalise hovered her thumb over the augmentation stone as her chocolate brown eyes left mine and gazed over our enemies.
My five brothers stepped forward, surrounded by an ethereal golden glow inherited from my father, and I gripped Allagis tighter in my hands. I felt the holy weapon thrum with life under my hand and pushed all of my power into it as my father spoke through his son once more.
“Are you sure you want to do this, Kazama?” Chirus chuckled deep in the back of his throat. “You will surely lose, and this time we will do more than banish you to a mere dungeon. Death will be the only rightful punishment for an abomination such as you.”
“Call him an abomination one more goddamn time, and I swear I’ll rip out your vocal cords,” Rana snarled as she lifted the claymore from her shoulder, stepped forward, bent her knees, and held the sword up in front of her.
“You always did like the feisty ones,” my father chortled from his son’s expressionless face. “How will you feel once I kill each of them and make you watch as the fire within them dies slowly?”
The faint lines of attack still flashed before my eyes as Allagis guided me, and I stepped forward in front of my minions like a massive shield.
“Come and try to take them from me,” I snarled as my Underdark powers snapped around me like whips. “I dare you, Father.”
“Very well,” Chirus boomed with mad laughter, and the son he spoke through threw back his head, opened his mouth, and screamed.
“Let’s get this motherfucking party started,” Rana chuckled as she pulled her lips back to expose her sharp canines.
In an instant, the redhead was gone from my side, leaving only a trail of orange sparks, and it took me a second to realize what had just happened. Rana hadn’t disappeared like before in the battle against the mages but instead, zipped off so fast that the naked eye couldn’t keep track of her. Her movements were so fluid and fast that even my eyes could barely keep up with her.
Rana slammed into the crowd of gods so fast that they had no time to react. Scarlet blood lifted into the air as three deities standing in a row were relieved of their heads. I watched as the decapitated faces rolled down the incline with no expression at all, not even knowing that one second they were alive and the next, released into the spirit realm.
“Oh man, who said that Rana could have all the fun?” Annalise snorted through a wide grin as her thumb slammed down on the augmentation stone.
Light exploded around the high queen, and I squinted my eyes against it as I stared down at her transforming body. The golden armor spread over her arms and legs in a full suit of armor. A metal breastplate carved with ancient runes spread over her stomach and chest and then molded
to her curvaceous body perfectly. Snow white fabric fluttered down from her waist and dragged against the solid gold cobblestones. White fabric cascaded down from her shoulders loosely in a long cape, and her bare arms were wrapped in the same golden metal as her chest piece.
Annalise turned toward me, her chocolate brown eyes burning such intensity and determination that it kindled something deep within me.
“Master,” the high queen whispered in her raspy voice. “May I have your permission to slaughter your enemies and bring you their skulls as gifts of my servitude?”
“You may,” I grinned wickedly as I gestured toward the gods before us. “Kill all of them and bring me their scalps.”
As the swordswoman took a step forward, the heavy boots she wore transformed too, covered in the same intricate gilt metal all the way up to her bare thighs. The high queen lifted Bloodscale as the sword extended to twice its normal size and two metal tines spread out from the hilt. Emerald symbols and runes flashed across the handle as Annalise raised her head and wide, white wings spread out behind her. The billowing feathers beat at the air as emerald light sparkled around Annalise, and the swordswoman lifted into the air.
An explosion boomed behind me, and an earsplitting roar thundered in the gods’ realm. An enormous shadow overtook mine as Heijing transformed into her towering dragon form. The beast’s flanks were pure white and smattered with splotches of red and blue just as before. Her icy blue eyes were sharp and alive with animalistic rage as the Qianlong soared into the air, opened her maw and let out a flurry of blue flames.
Another much smaller explosion cracked through the sky and shortly after another. It took me a moment to realize that Haruhi was safely perched on the dragon’s wide shoulder blades with her guns aimed at specific gods. The sage closed one eye and stuck out her tongue out of the corner of her lips just as Carmedy did when the alchemist aimed her slingshot. I chuckled deep in the back of my throat, proud that each of my women trained together and learned new tricks to help them along the way.