Thousand of years ago, deep down in the underworld, were two powerful gods about to have an important discussion about life and death.
One of them was already by there meeting place. An empty valley surrounded by a wall of huge mountains.

He was a massive black figure made of shadows and black smoke and with no physical body.
The black creature landed on the ground changing his appearance into a smaller, better one.
His ears got large and pointy, his muzzle grew long with sharp teeth.
His arms were attached to two leathery, big wings with electricity waving through the membrane.
All in all he changed his appearance to look like his favorite subjects.
The Vampyrum Spectrum.

His body was still completely jet black, making him look like some kind of 3dimensional shadow, but his eyes had turned to their real color again.
Burning red, with tiny black pupils, like two coals caught on fire.
After he finished transforming, he waited for his sister to finally arrive.

Minutes later another powerful being appeared in the valley.
This one was much lighter than the other one. Shining like it was made of golden mist and white aura.
This creature was a goddess who also changed her appearance into a smaller one, while landing before her brother.

Unlike him she looked more like a northern bat, with a slender body, small muzzle, shorter wings and rounder ears. Just like a silverwing.
Still, different from real silverwings, she was still the same height as her brother, even in his Vampyrum form.

The dark god looked at her disapprovingly his arms crossed before his chest.
„You are late Nocturna! Like always."

„I am sorry brother," Nocturna said smiling, „but there were some important tasks in the upperworld I had to think of first. You know how important it is for us gods to be there for our subjects, right Zotz?"

Zotz muttered a growl under his breath still hating the fact that he had to wait.
„Fine, fine," he finally said, „Speaking of subjects this is exactly reason why I ask you to come here. I want to talk to you about my request of letting me or my people go back to the upperworld."

Nocturna let out a deep sight of desperation.

„Seriously brother, this card again? I already told you hundreds of times that I can't let you or any of the dead bats go back to the world of the living."

„And why?" Zotz asked her angrily.

„Because it's not right," Nocturna answered him simply, „Every dead soul belongs to the world of the death. Which is your place to be too, because you are the god of the death, like I'm the goddess of life and therefore belong to the upperworld.
That's the order of things."

Zotz huffed: „Order of things. Yeah right. You always say stupid nonsense when you have no idea what to say at all."

„What? No." Nocturna tried to protest but Zotz cut her of.

„Do you think I'm stupid? I know the real reason about your refusal. You don't want me to be there in you beloved upperworld. You hate me and want me far away where you don't have to worry I might do something to you realm."

Nocturna was speechless. What was her brother saying?

„Therefore you prefer everything that has to do with me to be away from your stuff."

„What the..? No! That's not the reason," Nocturna said, eyes widen in shock and disbelieve,
„Zotz I don't hate you. You are my brother. My twin brother. Why would I want you to be thrown away like you say?"

„So, now you saying I am your twin brother?"
Zotz raised an eyebrow at his sister.
„Weird shouldn't we than be equally like twins. I don't feel so. Actually you have always acted, since our childhood, like if you weren't my twin but my older sister."

„Well you know, I kinda am your older sister."

„By three minutes." growled Zotz, „But for you it must be three year or something.
Just because you are the older twin of us doesn't give you the right to keep me locked up here."

Nocturna was still confused about her brothers behavior. Why was he saying all this? Since she had no choice but to sent him to the underworld, his own realm, he keeps asking her to get out.
He does ask her to let his subjects go back to the upperworld too, but never just them.
It's either his people and him or just him alone.
But never before did he said something like this.

„Brother," she tried talking to him, „what you say is not true. I don't hate you. I love you. You are my brother and as much as I wish you could be in the upperworld with me, it's impossible.
I'm sorry."

She reached her hand out and tried touch Zotz shoulder in a consoling way, but he slapped her hand of.
Don't you dare touch me! His eyes seemed to say.
He looked at her with pure hate. The fire in his eyes were burning.

„Impossible? As if. You shouldn't have pushed me down here in the first place."

„I had no choice!" Nocturna nearly screamed, „ In order to win the war, which you started, I had to lock you down. I wish there would have been another way, but there wasn't.
I really had no choice, you were giving me no choice."

„I gave you no choice?" Zotz voice also got louder by each word, „Can I remind you that it was your fault. You alone caused this war in the beginning not me."

His sister shock her head eagerly. „No, it was you, you know it. And you need to be punished for that."
„Punished for what?" Zotz asked her, „For something you did? Typical for you sister always giving the blame to me, instead taking it for yourself.
Alright, I admit I wasn't a saint during this war and maybe did something I shouldn't have done, but still you were the one who started it in the first place.
And now you say: I need to be punished?
Dear sister I believe it's rather you who needs to be punished for this."

Now she had enough. Nocturna still couldn't believe what the hell happened to her brother and the way he talked. She could really sense how much he hated her right now.
Why? How did it come to this?
It made her sad to know her brother had parted away from her.
She didn't want this. She wanted them both to be close again like they were as kids, but seemed now that those days were gone forever.

Nocturna let out a deep sight again. There was no point in keeping this conversation up.
Maybe it would be better if she would just go now and never come back down here again.

„Listen Zotz," she quietly said, fighting for words to say before they would probably never see each other again, „I am really, really sorry that it had to come like this. I don't know why you are blaming me, but I also don't care.
There is no way for you or your people to come back to the upperworld.
Although, you don't want it to be true. It sadly is."

„Don't give me that!" Zotz spat, „Stop with this nonsense blabbering. Why don't you just tell me the real reason you won't, at last let me go up or get out of eyes?"

„I … can't. And if you want me to go, then I guess it would be for the best of us if I go now we both won't meet each other again."

Zotz shook his head in disbelieve. „Typical. You say you'll go away and never return. It's not like I could prevent you from entering. No, unlike me you can just come and go into my realm like you want."

„Brother I..." Nocturna was too perplexed to say more. Her brother stepped closer to her sending a wave of anger towards her.
Something was about to happen. Something bad, but she couldn't move. Her body felt paralyzed.

„Don't you brother me sister," Zotz hissed angrily, „You have always been a thorn in my eye, Always it was you got the better things, you who were loved and worshiped more, you who had to be the first born so you got the right to rule over the upperworld, while I get to stuck down her in the underworld where everything is cold, empty and DEAD." He screamed the last word right into her immobilized face.

„But you know what? It all wouldn't be so bad if it was me who were the first born.
No wait! It would've been better if you weren't born at all. I should have gone rid of you long before, preferably back then when we were still inside of our mother."

Without a warning Zotz grabbed his sisters throat and squeezed it with his both hands.
At first Nocturna did nothing. Still, in shock she looked into his eyes, which emanated so much anger and hate she never knew someone could have.
Then she finally realized what was happening and tried to get Zotz off of her.
She struggled wildly, scratched him deep with her claws making him bleed rills of golden ichor and even tried to kick him, but no use. Zotz did not let go. No matter what she tried.
Then she felt weaker and weaker and she stopped struggling.
Would he really kill her?
Nocturna looked directly into her brothers eyes.
If, he let go of her now. Everything would be okay. She would't punish him for that. He was her brother, she loved him. Didn't he love her too?
Did he really wanted to kill her?

While she was starring into his eyes she pleaded him with her own to let go, but instead he squeezed her harder, blocking all the air away from her.
Slowly her vision went dark, the last thing she saw was a little change in her brothers eyes, like sudden regret.
But she knew, if he would let go now it wouldn't matter anymore, because it was too late.

Nocturnas silver, moon like eyes full of shock and disbelieve lost there focus and went dim.
Her body went limp and her head fell backwards.
In that moment Zotz finally took his hands away from his sisters neck and her body sailed, almost in slow-motion, towards the ground like a dead leaf.
There she didn't move nor did she breathed anymore. She was dead.

Zotz let out a deep sight. He didn't want this to happen, but she gave him no choice.
Now they would be both be stuck here in the underworld.
He still felt angry but his wrath against her was gone for now. Instead he saddness gained the upper hand and he had to look away from his sisters dead body.

Suddenly he felt something odd. As he turned back again he saw Nocturna, still lying motionless on the ground shining into a bright light. It looked like her body was caught on fire, but much brighter.
Zotz needed to shield his eyes from it cause it hurt him.
The light combined into a column and grew larger and larger until it reached the roof of the underworld. From there it grew branches reaching through the sky.
And then the light got weaker, not much but enough for Zotz to see again and was he saw was unbelievable.

There were his sister had laid was now a giant, burning oak. However, it wasn't fire what caught the leaves and branches of the tree. It was the light of life. That tree was a living being, made by his sister, here in his realm without his permission.

Now where was his sister? Was her body still there were the tree stood or...?
A figure caught his attention as it flew towards the tree.

„Stop!" Zotz told him and the figure stopped in mid flight and turned to him.
His eyes widen as he realized that this was her sister or rather her spirit.

„Did you do this?" he asked her angrily pointing at the tree, „Did you just made a living thing right here in my underworld without my permission?"

Nocturna didn't answer him, instead she just looked at Zotz with sadness in eyes.

„I'm talking to you." growled Zotz

Nocturna didn't seem to care. „I'm sorry, goodbye brother." she finally said and sounded like she was about to cry. Then she turned around and fly directly to the tree.
„Nocturna, WAIT!" Zotz called after her, but Nocturna did not turn around again and disappeared right through the tree.

Furious about her behavior he tried to follow her, but as soon as he touched the tree he felt like he got struck by a lightning bold. Immense pain went through his whole body and a strong energy wave tossed him meters away from the tree and out of the valley.
As soon as he gained consciousness again his body still hurt like hell. He ignored it and tried to get back to the tree, but he couldn't. No matter what or which side he tried. He couldn't touch the tree nor could he even get near him or even just fly down into the valley.
It was like an invisible wall had appeared preventing him from entering a place in his own realm.
That couldn't be true.
Zotz roared his anger through the underworld everybody could have heard.
Then he changed back into a body less shadow, starred at the tree one last time with pure hate in his eyes and flew away from the scene.

...

Story (c) to me

Zotz & Nocturna (c) to Kenneth Oppel