A/N: Well, then. A short chapter, but it really focuses on, well, you'll see.

"A god can only be as strong as their familia. No man is an island, nor a god their own power. That is the weakness, but even more so, it is the greatest strength a god can possess. I've lived for long enough to claim that with utmost certainty. When a god and their familia truly align their wills, they become unstoppable."

~Attributed to the masked man.

Ten years ago.

Crack.

Hephaestus' grip on the wooden chair splintered the wooden arm, as she stood up, then stalked over to the man in black on the opposite side of the room. He, on the other hand, sipped his tea contently. "Hephaestus, it's been awhile."

Power flowed around her, as she began unsealing her magic, but the man held up his free hand. "I'm here to talk. Nothing more, nothing less."

Hephaestus stopped her prepared assault, instead settling for glaring at him. The man just chuckled, a deep laugh that echoed around the room. "Hephaestus, I've been around for far, far longer than you can imagine. I've seen the rise and fall of civilizations, countless people be born, then die, and more importantly, I've witnessed the birth of the gods. To me, you are an infant, angry at the fact that your toy has been taken. I know, of course, that you are also the leader of an important familia. I am proud of that fact, but I'm sure you know why he was sent away."

Hephaestus' glare deepened, boring into the man in black. He didn't even respond to it, so she just sighed, trying to be professional. "Of course. The gods declared his works to be 'necromantic', due to how they were made."

The man in black scowled. The shadows in the room undulated wildly, like a raging fire of darkness. "Yes. Now, this a time where the roads diverge. On the one side, the gods made a wrong decision, for they did not understand the child's works. Not many could, but did you, Hephaestus?"

She nodded, annoyed at his question. "Of course I understand my familia's works! By quenching the weapons and armors in his own blood, he could enchant them better, and grant his blessing onto them."

The man let out a roar of amusement this time, his tone full of mirth. "Hephaestus, you've barely scratched the surface of the masked man's power. Yes, his methods seem like that, but did you stop to wonder why his wares work as they do? Granted, no one ever stops to think about that, but as an ageless being, I'd hoped that you would have taken the time to. So?"

Hephaestus bowed her head. "No, I simply assumed that his wares were enchanted and blessed to be durable, sharp, and grant exceptional protection."

The man in black sighed, clearly disappointed. "I'll tell you this, then, the reason why the masked man's armors can completely negate all attacks, why his weapons can destroy any enemy, and why his wares never dull, rust, break, or anything of that like, and the reason they don't always do that. The reason is the being who led the masked man's first 'familia', the being that taught him everything he needed to know."

Hephaestus raised an eyebrow. "Who? I know it wasn't you."

The man in black smirked. "Ah, the lady's a clever one. No, it was not me. That man would have learned but a fraction of what he knows now if he had learned under me. No, the being I'm talking transcends boundaries you didn't even knew existed, because that being made them. You call yourself a smith, that being refers to themselves as a Creator. 'Dust to dust', they say, right? I've given you enough hints. The rest is up to you. Don't die, and you'll live long enough to learn who his teacher was."

He took a step back, his form slowly dissipating into the shadows around him. "The other road is the one I'm on, Hephaestus. A great power is coming, one even I fear, and it's best you fight him without the use of the masked man, instead with your familia armed to the teeth. You won't be the only ones involved, simply the only one told. It's best you also use your godly power when the time comes to do so. You'll need it."

With that said, he was gone.

Hephaestus sat down, holding her head in one hand. "A great power? What kind of power could that possibly be?"

She sat in silence for a while, before a knock on the door paused her musings. "Come in. The door's unlocked."

The door opened, and Hephaestus was surprised to see Loki walk in. "Loki?"

The goddess in question shrugged. "Hey. I came to check up on you. It's been a week since he left, and no one saw you even leave this room once. Are you okay?"

Hephaestus nodded, standing up. "Yeah, I'm okay. It's just," She looked at the place where the man in black had been, "It's just I'm not sure if this was the best decision. But I've had some time to think about it. Don't worry, I'll be alright."

She walked over to the door, leading Loki along with her. With that, the two goddesses left together.

Clang!

Hephaestus slammed the hammer down on the metal again. It had been two weeks since the masked man had left, and demands for high quality wares were rapidly rising. Even she had to start working to keep up with the load her familia was burdening. It wasn't difficult, but the sheer amount of orders kept her up and working almost constantly. She missed him, since he produced almost half the entire amount of her familia's wares.

She shook her head as she slid the newly formed sword to the next person for inventory managing. It wasn't time to reminisce. She had something far more dangerous to prepare for than worrying about her familia for a bit. Something was coming, something that even the man in black feared. That left only a few choices: one of the Titans, a very old and powerful god, or something else entirely. Gods and goddesses were banned from releasing their magic when they descended. It made things too easy otherwise, but there were times when a god was allowed to make use of their magic. Those times were rare, and usually included a god being on the verge of dying.

She grabbed another piece of metal. Only males, since the man in black said him, and probably one of the first generation of Titans, since he also made a point to emphasize the danger this enemy presented. Everyone would be dragged into this. Was a familia rebelling against the others? No, there were the war games for that. Perhaps a familia from outside Orario? Even then, the Guild would make an effort to negotiate. So, what was it that presented such a threat to the gods and their familia?

She handed the breastplate to the next person. Never mind the dungeon, she needed to prepare for all out war. If her familia wasn't ready, they would die, and she with them. Who would craft the wares for the familias? Certainly not Vulcan. Sure, he was exceptional in his metalworking, but he never taught his familia, instead training them in combat.

She stood up, claimed she was retiring for the night, then left. No one was going to complain since Hephaestus had worked for almost a full seven days without sleep, yet still managed to produce a large portion of the familia's total wares.

Hephaestus walked back to her room, but instead stood before the area the man in black had been when he had spoken with her. She couldn't quite say why, but she had the feeling that his presence here was important. She ran her finger along the floor, testing every centimeter of wood that he had rested on.

A chuckle startled her from her inspection. "Well, well. It seems I've come at a bad time? Either way, we need to talk."

Hephaestus spun around, seeing the man in a white and black coat, armed with two swords. She sighed. "Blaec Carver. What a surprise. What is it you need to talk about?"

He crossed his legs as he sat on the floor. "I've waited for redemption, and I've found none from the gods that condemned him. All I ask is for your loyalty when the time comes."

She raised an eyebrow. "What time?"

He sighed. "I know it seems odd, but I've talked with the masked man before. As in, actual conversation, out of my own selfish desire, yes, but still. It seems odd, but I am a selfish man. I want the best for myself, even if it means taking from others. But he is coming, far too soon for my likes, and I need help. If you pledge your loyalty to me for that period of time in which the war takes place, I will grant you mine until then."

Hephaestus shuddered at the way Blaec said him. It was the same hatred, the same fear that the man in black had used. "Who is he? I'm thinking it's one of the first generation Titans. I might be wrong, though."

Blaec let out a dry, sardonic laugh. "It would be easy if it was a Titan. Even every familia together would pose just a slight challenge to him. Which is why when we all fight, I need people on my side. I'm leading the charge against him, and I'm going to win. Nothing more, nothing less. I've learned as much as I can about my enemy, I've studied the various familias, and I've chosen the best to assist my quest. I've lost my best warrior, and you know why. The other gods are all hush hush about it, and a few others are on an expedition outside Orario to recruit new members. Now, answer me honestly: Why did the masked man leave?"

Hephaestus clenched her fist. "You really don't know?"

He shook his head. "I was in the dungeon for hours when I came across a girl being attacked by Spartoi. She clung to me as I tried to heal her, claiming, 'It's gone.'. You know what that means: The masked man took his blessing away from every piece of equipment he had made for others. I was lucky I had a sword that wasn't made by him, because the one that was broke. I don't know why, and I need to know before anything bigger happens."

She leaned back on her hands. "You're really not going to like this then. The gods voted that 'those found guilty of making illegal wares will be permanently banned as a smith following a twenty-four hour period, in which their god or goddess will remove their Grace from the offender.' That's the reason he can't come back. Not because he wanted to leave, but because he had to leave. He can't come back as a smith, but he doesn't fit any other roles."

Blaec shook his head. "I've talked to the person who granted him power, the second one. The masked man's far more powerful than you'd believe. Other roles? He could be all the roles, and still have the strength left over to fill them again, in two different parties. He's not weak in any sense, but he cares enough about you to hide his strength, instead just helping you out. People do things out of selfish desires, Hephaestus. The masked man left because otherwise it would mean war between you and the other gods, and you would die if that happened. His strongest desire is to make you happy, even if it means leaving and returning as something entirely different. Me? I resurrect people with necromancy because I don't want to deal with the consequences otherwise. My strongest desire is to have everything, be it material objects, or something else entirely. It's the reason I want to challenge him. It's because he stole something important from me, and I want it back."

He stood up, pointing a finger at the place where the man in black had been. "You're not wrong to search where he had been, but you're looking with your eyes. Reveal the truth behind the curtain, and you'll find that even the truth can be deceitful."

An ornate golden door, lined with various gears intricately ticking by, appeared in front of Hephaestus, making her jump back in surprise. "How? What?"

Blaec shook his head. "Even the truth can be deceitful. Tell me, where do you think this door leads to?"

Hephaestus inspected the door more closely. Now that she had calmed, the door had depictions of a man throwing a child off a mountain, an anvil with twenty bellows inside a workshop, then a tripod walking towards the same mountain from before, then a small human stealing fire from the workshop, then giving it to others. "It leads to either a mountain or a workshop."

Blaec raised an eyebrow, but shrugged. "No. This is the Door, the Door to Nowhere and Everywhere. Open it."

Hephaestus reached for the now formed handle; a silver lion holding a pithos in its mouth. The door opened, and she was astonished to see what looked like a small island. "Why are we here?"

Blaec walked through, a hand on his sword. "We've come for something very specific."

He closed the door behind him, and a workshop materialized before them. "Here."

Blaec opened the door. "After you."

Hephaestus walked inside, admiring the great metalworks that the workshop held. After all, she had made quite a few of them. Blaec walked in behind her. "This is a sacred place, the island of Lemnos, for a cult dedicated themselves to the Greek god of blacksmiths, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metals, metallurgy, fire and volcanoes. You can guess who that is."

She whirled around, bewildered. "How did you find this place? It's far away from Orario, and far away from any coast."

Blaec chuckled. "The Door knows all, the Door leads to all. I've been to places much farther than this. You wish to best him? You'll need weapons strong enough to slay that which slays gods. Or, perhaps you wish to defend your familia. In that case, you'll need weapons that cannot be pierced. I wish the masked man was here, but alas, he is gone. For now, Hephaestus, you need to get working. This is your sacred ground, so release your magic, summon your machinations, sorry, machines, ready this world for yet another war."

With that said, Blaec vanished, a wind swirling where he had been. Hephaestus shook her head, power flowing around her. "Adventurers are so over dramatic these days."

The forge roared to life.

The bellows fed the flames.

The automata prepared the materials.

Hephaestus was ready.

It was time to forge Swords, and Armors.

A/N: The Swords and Armors are not to be trifled with. Equipment forged by a god(ess)? Especially one such as skilled as Hephaestus?
Not to be trifled with indeed.