Hello Readers,

I tried to keep a balance of plot development and worldbuilding going at the same time, but I feel like I might have executed it horribly. Can you please tell me if the pacing or other parts of this chapter was okay, meh or a dumpster-fire. Please tell me what your thoughts are, and I hope to avoid making a similar mistake in the future.

ShirouKuroEmiya

Chapter Eight "Ishtar"

A brown skinned and well-endowed goddess sat on a throne. She wore a revealing attire consisting of a single red-orange piece of cloth around her neck that barely covers her breasts and a matching pareo around her waist that reaches down to her ankles. For jewelry, she wore golden bracelets, anklets and necklaces, along with a crown at the top of her head, with several jewels in the center.

Her Familia's leadership was surprised when their goddess started to scream and howl in pain out of the blue. The goddess's Familia rushed to their goddess's side, doing everything in their power to help, but nothing seemed to work. All they could do was watch helplessly.

In her mind, what was happening to the goddess was a fight for her very survival. An entity that was similar to her, yet different at the same time fought to devour her soul and take ownership of her body.

Curse the damn rules forbidding the use of divine powers on Genkai! If there were no restrictions I wouldn't be in this mess. The goddess lamented. For a moment, she reconsidered disregarding the ban to save her own existence. Just when she was about to use her divine powers, she suddenly found herself with what was equivalent to a god to have a knife touching their throat. "Please no! Spare me! I will give you everything I own. Just let me live!"

"Why do you make it sound like I am going to kill you? You are just merging with me." The goddess's enemy replied in an annoyed tone. Just accept that you cannot win.

The goddess didn't have time to respond before she was consumed and merged with the victor.

"You owe me big time, Rin." Ishtar said in a tired voice.

"I don't owe you anything! You were the one that happened to kidnap me and decided to use my body." Rin snapped in an annoyed tone.

"I had no other choice! You were the only option for me to manifest myself. It was for a very good cause. We prevented Human Order from collapsing and the extinction of mankind." Ishtar rebuked her host. I sacrificed a precious divine power that I had recovered with great difficulty in locating where your husband had gone, teleported to the world that your husband now resides in and devoured this world's version of me for you."

"Argh! Fine, I will let you off the hook since you repaid the favor." Rin grumbled. "Quickly pass on the knowledge and memories of this world's Ishtar to me! I want to find my husband as soon as possible."

"You are going to have to go through my counterpart's knowledge and memories for yourself…" Ishtar yawned. "I am too exhausted and need to re…cov…errrr…"

"Hey, Ishtar, you better not have fallen asleep on me!" Rin growled. "Ishtar! Ishtar!" She tried repeatedly calling upon the goddess to no avail. It looks like you're not pretending to be too exhausted. I will go through this world's version of Ishtar's knowledge and memories for myself.

An indeterminable amount of time passed as Rin sifted through the alien knowledge and memories. There was a great deal of information that Rin would have spent tirelessly investigating if it wasn't for one particular, pleasing information that she found.

Oh, Shirou! Here I was so worried for you when you not only reincarnated, but a god of all things! She crackled. You have been one busy man in Tenkai. I want nothing more to get my hands on you right now… Alas… She sighed as there were empty shoes that Rin had to fill, at least until Ishtar regained consciousness. Let's get things in order.

Rin opened her eyes for the first time in the new world she found herself in. The start of the memories and knowledge of this world's Ishtar might have been overwhelming if Rin hadn't been mentally prepared beforehand.

"What is it?" Rin asked in the same imperious tone that the Ishtar she had replaced would have spoken in.

"Nothing, Ishtar-sama." The Ishtar Familia leadership replied. None of them made any further comments about how their goddess had undergone a physical transformation that was completely different from what they remembered.

Completely obvious to the transformation of this world's Ishtar to resemble her own body, Rin thought about what to do before coming to a decision. If she was going to make use of the Ishtar Familia there were going to be some huge changes of how things were going to be done under her management. There were too many things that her new Familia shouldn't be doing and she was going to do some house cleaning before she confronted her husband.

It wasn't like her husband was going to die anytime soon. He was too powerful, skilled and experienced to avoid just about anything that the world could throw at him. Otherwise, he would have died countless times over against impossible odds before and during his tenure as a Chaldean Master.

"Listen to my next words carefully. I henceforth proclaim that my Familia will no longer involve themselves in the following..."

- O -

Lili glanced around. "Are you sure this 'Bounded Field' you erected will prevent anyone from eavesdropping on us?"

"The chances of someone being able to overhear us is incredibly low. Only those that have a unique ability that I didn't take into account or have a higher level of magical knowledge and skills could hope to get past the Bounded Field, which makes us appear to have a conversation that doesn't seem out of place."

Lili stood up and shouted loudly. To her surprise, she saw no sign that anyone noticed. Not even a single person glanced at her direction.

"See," said Shirou as he took a sip of his beer. "No need to be concerned that anyone would overhear us." He put the beer glass on the table. "The situation is much worse than I had initially expected. We are not just dealing with the corrupt and criminal elements of the Soma Familia, but Evilus that they are connected with..."

"Is Evilus that dangerous? I thought they were more like the boogeyman that parents told to scare them or as an example not to grow up to become." Lili asked in great confusion as she ate her dinner.

"The stories known publicly about Evilus are a tip of the iceberg. Evilus is an embodiment of evil. I would be lying to say that every member of Evilus is purely an evil member that deserves to be arrested. Some have been forced in their current lifestyle due to various factors, but most of Evilus either deserve to rot in jail or don't deserve to exist." Shirou replied as he took a larger sip of beer.

Just thinking about the crimes and atrocities that he had personally seen Evilus commit either in the name of the evil gods they worshiped or self-fulfillment made Shirou uneasy. His uneasiness quickly passed as Shirou recalled

the raids and arrests he had made in Tenkai. He had prevented many people from further suffering and got revenge for those that had abused by the hands of many Evilus members. The fact that he had recently gained the moniker God of Justice meant that his ability to hunt down Evilus had been devastating for just about every member knowing about him.

"I think we should take the slow approach given how many people there are and the serious crimes they have committed," said Lili in a serious tone. "We don't want to catch the small fishes, only to have the big fish to escape. Not only would they escape justice but they would commit further crimes elsewhere."

Shirou sighed. "I might have if Evilus wasn't involved. We are not dealing with minor crimes where victims are too seriously impacted. The people that are part of Evilus deal in the worst crimes possible, often ones that are punishable with death. If I take too long to deal with them then they would escape to ruin or even kill many people."

"That's quite the diemnia. If we act too soon then we are unlikely to catch everyone in one swoop but if we wait too long the people may suffer."

"That's right," Shirou nodded. "If Evilus wasn't involved then it would just be a simple task informing the Adventurer's Guild..."

Lili frowned when she heard Shirou's response. Evilus couldn't have infiltrated the Adventurer's Guild could they? It was supposed to be a place that not only brought the peace between the various Familia's in Orario but acted as the police and justice system at times. For members of Evilus to be...

"Any powerful and large group will always have its bad apples," said Shirou. "It's how life works." He sighed sadly as he remembered many disappointing things of life that never seemed to change no matter the era or if it happened in another world. "Let's stop talking about such a serious topic that is not suitable for dinner."

She nodded her head. "How would you rate the food and service here? The Hostess of Fertility is a well known pub and restaurant given how good its food and service is."

Shirou maintained a straight face that he had learned after dealing with all sorts of people spanning the entirety of Earth's human history. He couldn't deny that the food and service was good, but that was using the definition of normal people. If he was to use his experience, it wouldn't rate in his top thousand. An important reason was that he had been spoiled; dining at some of the most luxurious and beautiful sceneries, exotic and tasty drinks and goods, and unparalleled restaurant service that was worthy of royalty, legendary heroes and the gods themselves.

"It's good," said Shirou in a neutral tone. Before his attention turned to the many waitresses of the Hostess of Fertility that were serving customers around him. "What caught my attention is the staff. They possess the physical signs or habits that adventurers or those in the mercenary industry possess."

"I am amazed you don't know," remarked a surprised Lili. "One of the most well known aspects of this restaurant is that most of its staff are former high-leveled adventurers. Not many think about bringing trouble here so it is just another reason for its popularity."

"Lili," said Shirou while smiling and pointing at the ceiling, "I have had more things to worry about than a trivial restaurant. Not only had I become a god, but I had an entire new world to learn about. Being a god might seem like an easy job but let me tell you it isn't. That's why many gods and goddesses descended from Tenkai to Genkai."

"Is that the same reason why you came down?" Lili replied while holding back the urge to giggle.

"Maybe." Shirou smiled as he replied in a mysterious tone but he couldn't stop himself when the corner of his lips curled up. He was about to continue speaking about what events in Tenkai had brought him down to Genkai when he overheard something that caught his ears.

"Hey did you hear what the Ishtar Familia is doing from today onwards?!"

"What's the juicy news? I haven't heard anything new about the Ishtar Familia in years."

"Apparently there are some major changes happening to the Ishtar Familia. There are going to ban many shady and questionable practices. Anyone in the Ishtar Familia that has committed illegal and unethical acts are being scrutinized. The most serious offenders are executed if they are without any doubt guilty of committing the worst crimes. The rest have been placed under arrest and sent to the Guild for investigation and sentencing."

"Are you sure you didn't mishear? This is the Ishtar Familia, they literally own the red-lights district. They are involved in everything from drugs, smuggling and slavery. The only reason they have been able to get away with the crimes is that they possess too much influence or are really good at hiding and destroying the evidence or making witnesses remain silent or eliminating them."

"I thought the very same when I first heard it."

"Maybe what happened to Ishtar herself has something to do with it. I heard that Ishtar literally physically transformed in front of the Ishtar Familia leadership and her personality seemed to have also undergone a dramatic shift."

Shirou was shocked at first at what else was being talked about Ishtar and her Familia. As he heard more, he started to relax while recalling what he had learned in Tenkai. Information, especially true ones, related to the gods were sparse and incorrect on Genkai, the mortal world. Things such as how gods sometimes underwent drastic physical and personality changes did occur in Tenkai, and nearly never down here on Genkai.

The most famous example of a god/goddess undergoing large physical and personality changes on a regular basis being Loki, the trickster god - or at least the Earth one and not the female Loki that existed on the world Shirou now found himself on - known to changing sexes or even species at whim.

He started to tune out of what seemed like the latest gossip as more of the pub started to talk about Ishtar and her Familia. At least that was until he had one piece of information that caused his hearing to sharpen.

That cannot be right!? Shirou shouted in his mind in disbelief as he coughed out the beer that he had been drinking.

"Are you okay, Shirou?!" Lili shouted in alarm, fearing that Shirou might be choking from how exaggerated his reaction had been out of the blue.

"I'm okay," said Shirou as he recovered his composure and weakly smiled. "I was just too shocked by something I heard."

Lili sighed in relief and asked curiously, "What caught your attention?"

"How Ishtar looks now," he replied honestly. In fact, I am not hearing just one person but multiple people talking about Ishtar possessing the same appearance. A certain black haired girl that had blessed him with a hand in marriage came to mind. The sudden change of personality seems to also match... Alas, there is no way that the person could be here... His eyes suddenly widened when he recalled what Earth's Ishtar had been capable of. No way! It cannot be that Ishtar actually did something crazy to peer through and travel through Parallel worlds.

The more that Shirou thought about it, the more likely that Earth's Ishtar might have actually done as he had imagined given how much Ishtar's personality had been influenced by his tsundere wife.

"Shirou!?" Lili shouted in alarm as Shirou slammed his beer glass into the table, shattering it, as he stood up abruptly and looked like he was about to run off. "You don't look too we-"

"Sorry, got to go," he apologized before vanishing into the distance.

- O -

"Why did you call us, Aunt?" Hermes asked as he sat down on one of the three available chairs.

"Yes," said Hephaestus. "You rarely ever assume the role of being our elder. Normally you would treat us as equals or friends."

"I wouldn't be pulling rank as your aunt if the situation wasn't that serious..." Hestia sighed. "I called you two to inform you about the recent changes to Ishtar and her Familia should be treated seriously. On the same level when Zeus, Hera and their Familias were around."

"Ain't you overreacting, Aunt?" Hephaestus asked, treating Hestia not like a close friend but her elder for the first time in possibly centuries.

"Why are you treating the new developments so seriously?" inquired a very curious Hermes that took Hestia's concerns with some thought.

Hestia started staring into the distance as if she was remembering some ancient memories. "This was thousands of years ago, before gods were restricted in using their powers on Genkai and you were born. Once upon a time, before the Monster War that saw monsters overthrown from their positions as rulers of Genkai and the current reign of the myriad mortal races, there was a time where Ishtar was respected and feared in equal measure. She possessed power that rivaled or surpassed the current Ouranos." She recounted with dread.

The two younger greek gods stared in disbelief at Hestia as if not believing her. Nowhere in their mind could they imagine the scheming and sex queen Ishtar having ever possessed the power and influence to rival Ouranos, one of the most powerful and respected gods.

"I am not joking! If you ask any of the other gods that are old as or older than me they will reply the same. You can check out the historical records on Tenkai if you want," said Hestia to the stubborn Hermes and Hephaestus. "The reason Ishtar, until recently, seemed so weak and much more of a schemer was due to the injuries she sustained to her soul during the Monster War. Her peers that had once been jealous and scared about the power and influence she wielded took the opportunity of her severely injured state to snatch away many divine authorities such as the powerful battle and war related domains. Afterwards she was crippled and remained that way until today, or at least until the recent changes." The older goddess shivered when she recalled Ishtar of the ancient past, her power and influence so far-reaching that she reigned at the top of the various mythologies that adopted her.

Hermes did change his mind slightly after seeing his aunt's body language. "If Ishtar suffered such grievous injuries that she was basically crippled, how did she suddenly recover? A god's powers rise and fall over the centuries, but never as dramatically as a few days."

"I wouldn't be surprised Ishtar had been hiding the fact that she has been healing over the thousands of years. If there was a single sign that she was recovering then every god she had made enemies with in the past with or fearful of her return to glory would do anything to prevent that from ever occurring." Hestia replied. "I have been trying to convince you this entire time but you don't believe me, Hephaestus. And Hermes is at least open to the possibility that Ishtar used to be so powerful, but it seems I have wasted my time. Whether or not to trust my words is up to you. I must get going as I am a very busy lady..."

Hephaestus interrupted. "Are you busy trying to get Bell to notice you?" She asked with a devious smile. The goddess of smile grew when she saw Hestia's blush. "Okay, I will stop with the teasing," she added after seeing Hestia's angry expression. "How is the knife that I made? I have been wondering if it is working as intended. Afterall, it is the first Falna/growth type equipment in existence. I would like to know if my hypotheses have been correct or need modifying..."

"Pfft!" Hermes coughed after trying to hold back his laughter. "Don't pretend that you're only interested in the dagger you made for Bell-kun!" The Greek God of Thieves and Travelers chuckled. "I have heard some little birds say that you're also interested in Bell-kun... in a romantic sense, Hephaestus. Why else would you give a never-seen item that many gods might kill for to a random kid?"

Hephaestus darkened and for a moment she started to consider plummeting away at Hermes, even if it meant doing it in front of her aunt. She made her decision when she saw Hestia curiously staring at her. The greek goddess decided it was better to do something than endure the stare.

It was not long before Hermes started to scream, especially about not hitting under the belt and the face.

- O -

Rin Tohsaka barely resisted the urge to burst into laughter as she read through the stack of paper on her desk or when she recalled her trips into the various locales that Divine Spirits gathered incognito. The rumors and guesses gods were making about how "she" had recovered from her crippled state was abound. Some of them were plausible and others outlandish even by the standards of divinity.

She focused little on what the other gods and familia were planning to do or reacting to her reforms of the Ishtar Familia. The Ishtar Familia leadership, which had been investigated and purged for illegal and unethical decisions, was still well equipped to lead the familia without too much input from her. All she had to do was provide a set of goals to be fulfilled.

What caught Rin's attention the most was the new world she found herself in.

At first, she had thought that she had ended up in a Lostbelt. Too much had diverged from Pan-Human History. Yet, there were signs that despite deviating too much from Pan-Human History, there were several signs that she was not in a Lostbelt but a truly separate world that was not destined to be Pruned. One was an unusually active Alaya and Human Counter Force.

Contrary to the belief of mortal races, Orario wasn't the only Dungeon. There were several Dungeons dotted all around Genkai. All of them sealed away and constantly monitored by the humans that acted under the influence of Counter Force, and the most dangerous Dungeons receiving the direct intervention of Counter Guardians.

"Gaia is truly vicious and devious," said Rin as she reviewed the statistics that the Adventurer's Guild had provided to her. "Using the magic stones dropped by the monsters that it creates to lure adventurers. Mortality rates of the lower leveled adventurers kept minimum to give the illusion that it is possible to make a living off diving into the Dungeon while casualties started climbing drastically with the more powerful, skilled and experienced adventurers."

She leaned back on her chair while grabbing a large paper scroll that Rin had written her notes regarding the subject.

"So many possible adventurers that could have become famous heroes worthy of joining the Throne of Heroes dying because of Gaia's machinations, that is Orario." Rin groaned in a pitying tone. "Gaia has been doing an excellent job in cutting down many potential heroes that could be a thorn to its side when it launches a full-scale attack to start the Second Monster War."

Rin's eyes soon turned to another topic of interest she had been trying to find information about. She had access to information that not all gods were privy to, thanks to this world's Ishtar. Information that she doubted her husband would know about despite the huge waves he had made in Tenkai.

"Is the reason why divine powers, or Arcanum as it is known in this world, restricted in fear that the restrictions placed on Gaia don't break? With only the authorized Monitors - gods that are specifically trained and equipped to deal with the illegal use of divine powers - being allowed to use divine powers." Rin asked herself.

She looked at the other scrolls and books that she had taken notes on the subject. Rin was able to grab the closest scroll to revise her hypothesis when she heard a loud rumbling. It sounded like thunder, but Orario was not supposed to have any storms for at least several days. Curiosity got to her and she made her way to the nearby balcony.

"Is that fireworks...?" Rin muttered incredulously as fireworks weren't supposed to exist in Tenkai or Genkai. Her musing was cut short when her eyes widened in disbelief. "Rin Tohsaka. I am going to you. Expect my visit within several minutes..." she read the exploding fireworks. "Only one person knows that name. How did my husband know that I was..." She slapped herself for forgetting. "Of course, my husband would notice if news of my actions became the hottest topic! The body that I had gained from this world's Ishtar has changed to match my own body..." Rin sighed and quickly made her way to the closest wardrobe. "What should I wear...?"

Was this good, bad or meh? Please tell me what you think. I accept all criticism as long as it is no flaming.