Location: Godhome

A gargantuan black figure sat on a bench specifically made for one of his size, angrily sharpening one of his four great nails. He was angry, and looking forward to taking it out on the one who made him feel such rage.

That damned god of war thought that he could steal HIS children! Then, he had the gall to insult his precious little ones! He was going to pay dearly. He was going to be beaten into the ground, for many other gods to see. The Godseekers were all too willing to host the event, it was one of their sacred missions, the Shade Lord had a respect for them, they just wished attunement, that was all. They did not desire anything beyond that.

The Shade Lord made a mental sigh, oh how he was going to rip that arrogant mantis god limb from limb. His still yet to be fixed children were being kept in a holding area, he could sense them, they were safe, but as a condition of the duel, he would only get them if he won. Of course, he was most assuredly going to win, he was a Lord of Shades, his opponent was a minor mantis war god, it wasn't even a competition.

He however, wanted to send a message, for all to see, that trying to take his children was not tolerated.

The Lord's eight eyes narrowed. What kind of monster tries to steal sick children? His poor little children were so… diluted, it broke his heart. They didn't even recognize him, their minds, bodies, and even their souls were just so… broken. After this fight, he would take them back home, and make them better.

That daft, arrogant , EVIL , god of war wanted to send his little ones off to battle!… war was no place for his children. You take care of your children, you keep them safe, you love them, you care for them when they are sick, and his children are quite sick.

"YOU DON'T SEND THEM OFF TO WAR!" The Shade Lord shouted out to an absent listener, the sound reverberating off the walls.

The Shade Lord did his version of taking a deep breath. He may have liked dueling and sparring, he had taught many of his children how to use a nail. It was a fun little activity, meant to be a bonding experience.

But sending his children to war… no, never, never in a million years, never ever. He would keep them healthy, happy, and safe. That was his duty, one which he gladly fulfilled.

Earlier he had stopped by the holding area, his children were… afraid of him, it was as he feared, their dilution had caused mental damage. They feared him, they thought he, HE! was going to harm them. The mere thought made him… angry, not at them, never at them, but angry towards their dilution, and their 'memories' if you could call them that. A disease of their precious little fragile minds is what they are. Their minds' fragility being the only thing that stopped him from just wiping the vile thoughts and memories away. But alas, he would have to wait, to safely cure such an illness required a delicate touch, one that he could give in his Abyss.

Apparently the Godseekers were waiting for the arrival of a 'mighty servant', some bug who assists greatly in the Godseekers' attunement. They described him as a very tall bug, who did not like to speak, or couldn't, the Godseekers were not sure.

The Lord hoped he would get here soon, the longer his children spent diluted, the more horrible memories they will contract.

Location: Grimm's Tent

Grimm was sitting on a chair, drinking some life blood wine out of a glass cup he had in one hand, in the other he was holding a shard of his sister. Grimm put the wine glass on his desk and brought the shard closer to his face.

He sighed "What did you do Radi?" Grimm asked, knowing full well that his sister wasn't conscious enough to hear him, or, at least not through this shard.

He knew what did this… the only thing that could shatter a god so utterly was a Shade Lord. Sure other gods could neuter a god's powers, but to shatter them into pieces? That took a void god. She was lucky this one didn't just dissolve her shards in it's void and resign her to oblivion.

Maybe it didn't know it could do that? It wasn't unheard of to still find slumbering Shade Lords, ones that have never been awake before. They usually took some time to work out on how to do… well, anything, but they got it eventually.

But what could his sister have done to offend one so? Shade Lords were rather docile, thankfully. As long as you left them alone, they would leave you alone. Even if provoked, they would usually just rough you up, and be on their way… unless they saw you had a human… Shade Lords just seemed to snap when they felt that their 'children' were in danger. He knew of Lords that could be quite… sadistic, when protecting their 'children'.

He had that one burned into his memory, lucky Xym was far off on a mission, so he did not suffer the same fate. He still heard the screams.

Had his sister been caught with humans? If so how? This kingdom still had humans moving about freely, and no Shade Lord came to take them, implying that there currently was no Shade Lord in the area. That was... Good, if there was, he would have to take the humans and run. He would just have to do the ritual somewhere else.

Location: Hallownest Crossroads

Scout Team Beta was walking down the crossroads, rifles bared. Ghost and Lost were still on David and Chris's back were not going to take part in any magical BS ritual. Just go in, take the crystal back, then leave. Don't make it any more complicated than it has to be.

Seer and Hollow was trotting along behind them. Seer had requested to be put down after they were out of the oppressive heat. Seer was a little afraid, sure her friend's death tubes were powerful, but… could they take on a nightmare troupe? As a seer, she was well versed in the Realm of Dream, as well as knowledgeable on its counterpart.

From what she understood the Dream Realm and Nightmare Realm split not long after they were created. Dream and Nightmare were the most similar of the four godly elements. So much so that they were able to be part of one realm for a time. However, they were not similar enough to keep it that way, their differences slowly eroding the bonds that held them together, until they finally split.

The gods that emerged from the now split realms were commonly considered to be two different sides of the same piece of geo. They were different, yes, but they embodied the same aspects, just differently.

Her Radiance was just a dream god, she… encompassed all varieties of the Dream Realm. Unlike many others who were more specialized in specific aspects of it.

However she did not know what aspect this nightmare troupe would be of. She knew of the power troupe masters could wield. Seer had warned her friends of course, but they continued on nonetheless.

She was… happy to have met them, those that would do so much for her Tribe, even if it turns out to be in vain.

Hollow was livid, he became more livid as time went on. Why were his siblings so insistent about putting their lives in danger for some moth and her damned god? What had they ever done for them?! Hollow was patient with them though, he knew they were damaged. It would be unfair to be mad at them for this, they couldn't know better.

Hollow cursed the fact that he couldn't just take them right now. But that would incur the wrath of his big sibling, that poor thing barely acted like a functional being, and more like a weapon. The implications of that were disturbingly familiar. What did this to his siblings? How did it do that, how were they even taken?

They had reached the well that led to Dirtmouth, a small crowd had gathered to watch the strange group. The bugs just seemed… mesmerized at how strange it all looked. Three giants, three vessels, and a moth, how did they get together?

The group itself was too busy to care, David had fired his grapple up the well, still not wanting to risk the chain, and managed to snag one of the edges. David gave it a few experimental tugs, before nodding to himself, satisfied.

David began his ascent, rifle slung over one shoulder, Ghost on the other as he climbed the narrow passage up.

Chris was next, Lost clinged to his back as he climbed the well. The walls were just wide enough to accommodate them both. Next was Matthew, he picked Seer up, the old moth latching her aged limbs around his collar bone. Hollow stood and watched as the two ascended, and tutted to himself. This was a bad idea, and he knew it, but he wasn't just going to abandon them. It was his duty to protect them, a duty that he did not intend to back out on.

Hollow grabbed the rope thing his siblings used, and began climbing up after them.

Location: White Palace

The Pale King was going over various records he had about nightmare troupes. He had encountered several, and collected documentation from kingdom's he had visited in the past, before he even considered founding Hallownest. They were corpse crawlers plain and simple.

They fed off the nightmare flame of dead kingdoms that could not stand the test of time. Something Hallownest was currently passing with flying colors. So it couldn't be for his kingdom that he was here.

He had received some vague report of some nightmare troupes forgoing collecting flames of dead kingdoms entirely, instead focusing on the acquisition of some strange creatures that somehow could satiate a nightmare heart. Perhaps the appearance of the troupe as well as the strange creatures aren't coincidental.

Still, he should work to get more information before taking any decisive action. He had sent a representative with a guard detail to question the nightmare troupe on to why they decided to enter his Kingdom.

If he did not like the answer, he would personally see them out. He himself was a god, a pale being in fact. He was quite possibly one of the more powerful soul gods in existence, and this was his home territory. He should be more than capable of expelling, or possibly temporarily expunging this threat, well… if it was a threat, he didn't really know yet.

The Pale King sighed, already going to the belligerent option? He was supposed to be better than this. Perhaps it was damned creatures, how they almost seemed unstoppable. They even managed to injure him, a wyrm, pale being, a soul god of knowledge, and it managed to give him a not insignificant injury. He didn't even manage to kill it. Perhaps he just wanted to feel in control again, like he usually was. Barring whenever the Shade Lord came for a… ehm, visit. He hated the feeling of powerlessness,

That made sense, he was a pale wyrm god, his kind were use to being the ones in charge. When he wasn't… he just felt… lost.

He was the King of Hallownest damn it, he needed to be better than this. If he isn't, well, maybe his kingdom will actually be a valid destination for some other nightmare troupe.