Eda, Amity, Luz, and Ahriman sat in awkward silence around the kitchen table. Eda was nursing a mug of apple blood. An awkward silence filled the room, though Eda seemed unphased so long as she had her beverage. She had offered some to Ahriman, who declined, explaining that it feels like swallowing grain alcohol and anthrax to humans – much to the horror of Luz.
"Okay, so," Eda paused to drain her coffee mug of its final swig, "Belos is a human. That's fun."
"Didn't you know that?" Ahriman asked, "I came through the same door as Vulkan, and I snuck in again to get the Engine of Woes!"
"Didn't you get her 50 years ago?" Eda pointed out, refilling her mug, "I'm only 42!"
"Wait…" Luz interjected, her eyes lifting from the table, "But that voice, it told me you specifically let Belos into the Boiling Isles!"
"Voice?" Eda asked, raising an inquisitive eyebrow.
Ahriman opened his hand and dropped the portal key on the table.
"I should mention that we found Luz trying to enter the basement last night with this." Ahriman explained, "I'm assuming this is related to the voice she apparently heard."
"What?" Eda cried, setting her enraged eyes upon Luz, "You stole my key from me just because some random voice, that you don't know, told you to? I told you that using those portals was dangerous!"
"Why can't you just trust me?" Luz angrily rebutted, "I saved your life, I fought Belos!" she cried, gesturing towards Ahriman.
"It's not that I don't trust you." Eda relented, calming herself down, "Everything in that dimension wants to kill us. Vulkan may seem all warm-and-fuzzy on the outside, he tried to wipe us out because our ears were a little too pointy. Heck, now I'm finding out that Belos came through there!"
"I'd just like to point out, my name's actually Ahzek Ahriman…"
"Zip it, Albert!" Eda said, cutting off Ahriman, "Luz, I'm just worried about you. I'm too terrified to ever go to that dimension, even if I still had my powers! You've done so many amazing things since I've met you, but whatever's behind that door… it's not normal. For either of us."
"I'm sorry…" Luz apologized, her voice cracking, "I just… haven't really felt all there tonight. I know I probably shouldn't have listened to some random door-person, but I just felt kind of…" Luz paused and briefly glanced at Amity, who quickly returned her gaze. The duo promptly turned away and blushed.
Eda rose from her seat and walked to Luz's seat, kneeling down to meet her at eye level. She placed her hand affectionately on Luz's shoulder.
"Luz, I'm sorry if we seemed insensitive yesterday." Eda relented, "I promise not to be so intrusive with your personal life. That's your business, not mine."
Eda wrapped her arms around her human, who soon returned the gesture. After that moment of maternal affection, Eda rose back to her feet and made her way back to her seat, as Luz attempted to inconspicuously slide hers closer to Amity. Ahriman had no idea what was going on.
"So, Alex…" Eda began.
"Ahzek." Ahriman sternly corrected.
"Aaron." Eda said, placing herself in her seat, "So you're telling me you came from that nightmare-portal eight years before I was born?"
"Precisely." the increasingly irate psyker answered, "Can you at least tell us who had the portal before you?"
"No," Eda bluntly replied, "I just hocked those doors from the Night Market… but even if I did know, why would I tell you? Last time I checked we hated each other!"
"The Night Market…" Ahriman groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "Those damn anarcho-capitalists will be the death of me. Okay, fine. Let me explain how we got here…"
Intermission
"Okay, so you're a sorcerer from that portal downstairs, which leads to a dystopian world connected to an evil daemon dimension, and your "Day of Unity" is an attempt to fuse our dimension with Luz's to separate your dimension from the evil dimension and prevent said horrible future?" Eda surmised, "Oh, and you accidentally snuck in another super-demigod, like Vulkan who is actively trying to kill you?"
"Yeah, pretty much." Ahriman agreed, "But with that out of the way, I want to speak with Luz. Specifically regarding that voice you heard."
Luz suddenly looked up towards Ahriman, having been nearly fallen asleep after having to listen to his long-winded explanation of events.
"Luz," Ahriman began, "What exactly did that voice tell you? Please try to recollect as much as you can."
"It…" Luz started, trying to recall the conversation, "It told me not to trust you, and that Eda was the one who let you through the portal. It said that everything that came from that dimension wanted to help us: like how Vulkan wanted to help us and didn't mean to go all crazy, and how those yellow knights helped repaired Bonesborough. It said that it could give me magic if I went through the door."
"Teach you magic?" Eda interrupted, "I can teach you magic! What do you need some creepy voice for?"
"But she didn't say 'teach,'" Ahriman pointed out in a grim tone, "She said 'give.' Is that what the voice specifically told you?"
"Yes." Luz admitted.
"Now, Luz," Ahriman began, "I need you to answer this with absolute certainty. If you are even a little unsure, you must tell us. Did the voice use the phrase 'just as planned?'"
Luz thought for a moment, before a specific line from their conversation came to mind.
"At the end," Luz began, "At the end, he told me to 'simply take the key, and all will go just as planned.'"
"Ugh, of course, more exposition it is." Ahriman groaned, "I'm sure I don't have to remind you what the Warp is?"
"Yes, you told us during the intermission." Luz dryly answered.
"Get on with it!" Eda demanded.
"Yes, get on with it!" the group cried in unison.
"Okay, good." Ahriman said, "Just wanted to make sure I still had your attention.
"Get on with it!" Amity grunted, slamming her fists into the table.
"The Warp isn't just some random, hellish dimension connecting multiple universes…" Ahriman explained, "It is a psychic manifestation of the emotions and convictions of all sentient creatures in those multiple universes. While your realm may be outside of this collective, our very souls feed the warp with mental energies. If enough of certain emotions or feelings are fed into the Warp, they form into a single, devastatingly powerful entity. There are currently four such entities, who we refer to as the Chaos Gods. The daemons polluting the Warp are extensions of these gods, and they serve them unquestionably. The gods have deceived many humans into enrolling in their service, and I, regretfully was one of them."
"I'm not really shocked." Luz said.
"Honestly, I could've guessed that." Eda smugly interjected.
"You did mention something about it back in the palace…" Amity mentioned.
"Okay!" Ahriman said, cutting the group off, "I get it, I give off a sketchy vibe. Getting back to the point, there are four of these gods: Nurgle, lord of disease, decay, despair, and entropy…"
"Kind of disappointed that last one didn't start with a 'D.'" Eda interrupted.
"Ugh…" Ahriman groaned, "Next is Khorne: the god of blood, hate, murder, and rage. Then there's the Prince of Pleasure, Slaanesh… who I will not describe in detail in front of minors."
"Is there a rest stop between here and the point?" Eda again interrupted.
"I said there were four Chaos Gods, and I have only described three" Ahriman snarled from behind his clenched jaw, "Obviously I was getting to it. Do you enjoy belittling people? Does that make you feel big?"
"I dunno," Eda shrugged, "Kinda, I guess."
"You could throw her into the Boiling Sea, and you wouldn't lose a wink of sleep." Ahriman thought to himself.
"The final god," Ahriman grunted, barely maintaining his composure, "Is Tzeentch. I know him better than all other, as I was his unwilling champion in the human world. Tzeentch is the changer of ways, a god of deceit, lies, trickery, magic, and hope. I am confident that this was the entity that Luz had heard from."
Ahriman turned his attention towards Luz, and his facial expression had grown noticeably severe.
"Luz, I need you to understand how serious I am when I say Lilith was right. I have lived for millennia, and I was a master of magic in my domain. But Tzeentch thrives on fooling mortals into performing his will. His machinations resulted in my fellow soldiers – my brothers – being turned into mindless, mutated monstrosities.
"Any why couldn't you fix them?" Eda rudely interjected, "Didn't you say something about being an 'all-powerful sorcerer?'"
Ahriman violently slammed his hand on the table, a frightening thud echoing throughout the room.
"Edalyn," Ahriman growled, incapable of even looking in her direction, "You've had too much apple blood. If you're not going to say anything constructive, I'd ask that you leave."
"Hey, it's fine, Adam!" Eda started in that same dubious tone, "We've all had magical incontinence at some time or another…"
Before Eda could finish her sardonic commentary, Ahriman had gripped the table tightly from his seat. As he swiftly rose to his feet, he effortlessly tossed the table into the wall – his strength making it violently shatter upon impact. He marched forward towards Eda, with his boots emitting a massive boom with each step. His furious glare at the witch sent a twinge of fear into Eda, who suddenly realized she had touched a nerve that ought to have remained untouched. His wrapped his massive right hand around Eda's waist and hoisted her into the air, slamming her against the kitchen wall.
"Eda!" Luz cried, erupting from her seat. Amity joined her in turn, and as Luz summoned a glyph from her sweater pocket, she cast a spell circle next to her. Each of their spells unleashed a torrent of flame on Ahriman, bathing his body in conflagration. As the flames dissipated, they two were horrified to see Ahriman still standing, his attention still unflinchingly focused on Eda. His robe and tunic had been burned away, but his body was left completely unharmed.
"My brothers were being slaughtered, all because of a false accusation and the ineptitude of my gene-father." Ahriman explained, barely containing his urge to smash Edalyn through the kitchen wall, "Tzeentch spoke to my father. He promised to save us, to transport us to safety in the Warp, all for the cost of his soul. He sends us to safety, but he neglected to mention the cost. He turned my father into a rampaging daemon servant and made the me watch as my brothers – the only family I had known – painfully devolve into mindless, inhuman spawns of chaos. I watched their bodies twist and break in horror as they begged for death. I tried, Edalyn. I tried to fix them with the very arcane powers Tzeentch had 'blessed' us with. What do you think happened?"
Ed's body was completely frozen. Not only from the fear consuming her, but for the glassed-over sheen Ahriman's eyes had developed. It took no genius to understand that he was desperately holding back the urge to weep.
"They turned to dust!" Ahriman cried, "My family was reduced to ashes by the very god that had supposedly endorsed us! I spent thousands of years scouring the galaxy for any information; any knowledge that could possibly bring them back. Once my task was completed, I swore on my life I would make Tzeentch pay. I swore I would destroy the false god that had taken my brothers from me, that had doomed our galaxy! And yet, I was still just a pawn in Tzeentch's endless web of lies. He knew of my plans, but he allowed it. He knew I'd never restore my brothers. He knew I'd never kill him. But as long as I tried, as long as I hoped, I was only adding to his power. Do you understand, Edalyn?"
Eda remained frozen in Ahriman's grasp. A small part of her tried to answer him, but she found herself too tense to even whisper a response.
"Tell me!" he screamed, his grasp on Eda tightening, "Think of what could have happened to Luz! What would happen if he had sunk his claws into your human's soul? How many people would suffer, how many people would die?"
Small rasps rattled from Eda's throat as the pressure from Ahriman's grip compressed her lungs. She desperately clawed at his arm as her vision began to fade, the lack of oxygen slowly sending her into unconsciousness.
"Ahzek!" Amity shouted, rushing towards Ahriman, "Please, she can't breathe! Let her go!"
Amity furiously punched the giant's leg, trying to evoke some sort of reaction. Luz soon followed suit, her frantic crying leaving her unable to form words.
Ahriman suddenly noticed the sensations against his leg and was shook back to lucidity. He looked back to the witch in his hand and suddenly dropped her to the floor. Eda lied there, frantically gasping from breath as he took a few cautious steps back. Luz and Amity rushed to Eda's aid, making sure she was okay.
"What is wrong with you?" Luz asked in a fiery tone, glaring at Ahriman. Her anger was somewhat tempered, however, when she saw him wiping newly formed tears from his face. Ahriman slowly feel to his knees, his body limp from emotional exhaustion and guilt.
"I'm sorry…" he whispered, "Tzeentch took everything from me. I'll admit that my motives are somewhat selfish, but if you heard him through that door…"
Ahriman paused to wipe his eyes once again. He took several deep breaths, waiting until he was composed enough to resume speaking.
"If you heard Tzeentch through that door," Ahriman resumed, "Then chaos is already working to infiltrate this world."