He who aligned the stars
XII
"Do you suppose that Cao Cao will be displeased when he eventually understands that I was involved with the incident a couple of nights prior in regards to the, as of yet, unexplained meteor show?"
It was a question that had bugged him in the immediate aftermath, though he had put it to the side once he had been dragged along with Quetzalcoatl on a long tour across Mexico. Though it was fun, he was back to work mode, as he supposed it would have been called.
Daybit paused for only a moment, then brought the paper cup to his lips and took a short sip before he replied. "No more than he will be concerned at my engaging with a Cadre of the Grigori. Regardless, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks in this situation."
That was true enough, a necessary risk.
"How have you found Mexico so far, by the way?" He asked, looking the man up and down, taking note of the attire they wore which seemed as though it had been pulled from a spaghetti western. The appearance of Daybit when he first saw them was something of a shock, but more than his own attire and the fact he was still dressed as a woman. It had actually been rather bewildering that he had outright forgotten all about it at one point.
A short sip from Daybit, then he replied slowly. "It has been an experience. One I shall be sure to remember." He knew enough to understand that this was just Daybit's way of saying that he had fun.
He smiled at the blonde. "That's good enough. At the very least, I'm certain that Peperoncino shall be glad to hear that you enjoyed yourself." a beat, a thought flickered through his mind and he weighed it up, then decided that it was certainly worth considering before he voiced it aloud. "On a similar topic, do you believe it would be possible to take group photos of our time here to commemorate our trip?"
Silence.
Purple eyes turned on him, the owner took a slightly longer sip of their drink before lowering it back down.
"While I would be amenable to such a suggestion, I believe that our newfound allies would take issue with the request. Given that they tolerate the presence of the other at best. If it were not for our links with them, I suspect that they would have either departed from this location, or they would have engaged the other in a scuffle as they did when they first met earlier."
He fought back a wince, then turned to the car that Daybit had driven out to the brief hideaway for them. It was, for lack of a better word, a total wreck by this point. The roof had been caved inwards, the bonnet now had the impression of a face dented into the metal and it was leaning heavily on one side where a tire had been ripped from the spoke and used as a weapon.
He was both impressed and slightly concerned at the speed at which they had managed to demolish the car. The fact that there was still a car there at all was something of an achievement, if he was being honest. Turning back to Daybit, he thinned his lips at them. "I hope this has not caused a problem for your financial situation."
"It was a cheap car that served its purpose. I did not believe it would survive the initial encounter between the two Gods to begin with."
That sounded slightly cynical to him but given that he had some more time to read up on Daybit's research notes and familiarise himself with the legends of the two Gods a touch more, he now shared the opinion entirely. It was limited to the car, at least, and the two of them were relatively uninjured.
He took a sip of his own water, looking down into the bottom of the cup and noticing that it was practically empty. With a faint frown, he pulled the cup back and then made to lean down to pig up the large water bottle beneath them, one of the sorts that went into water coolers.
A hand touched it before he could make it half way, it curled around it and picked it up without showing the slightest hint of strain. He turned and found the beaming face of Quetzalcoatl immediately within his field of vision, unable to even say anything before she was filling up the cup all while humming to herself. It was polite to be sure but he was still rather bewildered by the turn of events.
"Not that I'm not grateful for the assistance…" He began, glancing between his cup and the Goddess as she finished pouring it and pulled the bottle back. "But I'm not incapable of pouring my own water and it would be a touch…unusual for a Goddess to pour me a drink."
It actually made him feel a touch uneasy, if he was being honest.
A chuckle from the Goddess and a wave of her hand. "It's fine, it's fine! Doing this little sort of thing to help people out sometimes is fun in it's own way." there was a pause, then she looked past him, green eyes narrowing considerably and the smile on her face turning much sharper than it had been before. "And I'm the sort of Goddess who actually cares about people, unlike a certain inútil hijo de puta que se sienta en el suelo como una rata!"
She was speaking with a rather raised voice and the language she used sounded far from friendly, his eyes lingered on her, then both he and Daybit turned in the direction of her stare to see Tezcatlipoca sitting on the dirt road with his phone in his hands, not even having looked up from the screen during the entire time.
Silence for a few seconds, then the God sighed loudly and stood up. Fixing his sunglasses on his forehead, he strode towards them with rather long steps until he was stood directly opposite his sister and directly to his own left. Wodime looked between the two of them and was a moment away from taking a step backwards.
There was a blur of movement, a hand shot out and snatched the water from his grasp. Without uttering a single word, the God took a long and powerful gulp. Once finished, he placed the cup back in Wodime's hands and allowed him to see that he had finished the entire cup in a single movement.
Tezcatlipoca hummed for a moment, then sniffed as he brought his right hand up and rubbed the underside of his nose a couple of times. Turning their eyes to Wodime, he blinked at the sudden attention he found himself under, the piercing gaze of the God was only matched by the fact he brought up his hand and then clapped him twice on the shoulder with it in an almost friendly manner.
"Just had to be sure of something there." His voice was casual, but there was a touch of something like amusement in the voice. Budding up in the back of his words the longer he spoke. Their attention returned to Quetzalcoatl as they continued. "She seemed too eager, needed to make sure she wasn't giving you vodka or something. You look close enough to pass as a relative right now so I figured you'd be a target-"
It sounded like a gunshot went off in his face, he stumbled backwards as the wind rushed through his hair, blinking several times to clear his vision and the ringing that was now going on in his ears. He squinted to see Quetzalcoatl's arm extended and into a fist, right down the middle of himself and Daybit, Tezcatlipoca was a couple steps away with his head snapped back and looking towards the sky.
His eyes moved across the arm towards the attacker, then grimaced at the utter look of fury on the face of the Goddess as she pulled her arm back, then cracked her knuckles as she took a single step forwards, likely to continue the barrage against them. Given that he was so close, he was probably lucky that all he got was a single blast of wind to the face rather than someone much worse. He took several more steps away from them just to be certain.
She paused all of a sudden, her head twitched and then she turned around and looked down the road to the distance. The movement caught his attention, he followed suit but was unable to actually see anything at first. Though he denoted it to the senses of the Goddess being greater than his own. With a few choice spells, he enhanced his hearing a great deal and tuned into the wind.
Then he heard it.
The distant rumble of car engines, it was too loud to be a single one as well. It sounded as though there were multiple.
That seemed a little unusual-
"Finally. Thought she would have left me on read or something." The voice came from behind, he turned around to see Tezcatlipoca now sporting a half grin as he slipped his hands into his pockets. Suddenly his fixation on his phone now made a much greater degree of sense. He had been calling for assistance to come and pick them up, which was nice enough.
"Shall I assume this is one of your associates?" He chanced the opportunity to ask, Tezcatlipoca made a face as his left hand came out, he nearly raised an eyebrow at the so-so gesture that he made before he returned the hand.
"More like friend of a friend of a friend who is also a friend." A beat. "Or like an adopted sister or something. That would probably be another way of putting it. Either way, we know each other and I figured that if you guys wanted to keep incognito, then this would be the way to go about it. Also it's much easier to get the meeting with all the other guys that you were talking about if you wanted permission to come around here for whatever magicy thing you wanted to do."
He nodded his head. "I see. Thank you for this."
Tezcatlipoca looked to him and raised his brows, the silence remained before he let out a huff of amusement and leaned back as though he was basking in the simple thanks, a smug grin forming over his face. "Finally. Some proper gratitude…Though I wouldn't thank me just yet. She's either coming here to throw the phone back into my face or she's coming here to help us. One of the two. I had to work quite hard to get her attention."
Suddenly this sounded less promising.
Daybit commented next. "You sent her frequent messages on the phone for the past ten minutes designed to instigate an emotional response from her."
"I spammed her, yeah." Tezcatlipoca chuckled under his breath and outright confirmed the rather unfortunate method of getting her attention. The electrical equivalent of throwing stones at someone's window, it seemed. "I figured that if I did it enough, she would eventually respond. She can get really feisty when you learn how to push all of her buttons, you know?"
"I am certain that I shall come to know this in short order, if she is currently rushing to our location."
"Yeah. Well, Hummingbird is gonna be someone you want to get on your good side. Mainly because I like her but also because she's actually rather important in the more mundane side of things."
A scoff from Quetzalcoatl as she folded her arms over her chest. "You went and annoyed her? Now I'm hoping she's coming here just to break the phone over your stupid face."
That sounded a touch violent, though Tezcatlipoca didn't so much as even blink at her clear attempts at a taunt, just rolling his neck from side to side until it let out a muffled popping sound and then rolling his shoulders back. "Funny, but I ain't the one who smashed up our only means of transportation. Unless you wanna call back the extras from Jurassic park to fly us there."
He suppressed a slight shudder as the thought of travelling via that method again. While the novelty of it was appreciated, it was neither comfortable nor all that enjoyable beyond the bragging rights. Like riding a rollercoaster without any of the safety equipment, while he was certain he would survive falling off through one method or another, that didn't change the fact it was still in the back of his mind.
Though that did bring up another point.
He brought his hand up.
Tezcatlipoca, who had been in the middle of speaking, briefly paused and flickered their eyes in his direction, double taking at him before they started to profusely blink, then waved a hand as though to give him assent to speak.
"My thanks, if I might ask a question. Why were we travelling via this method to begin with?" He gestured to the ruins of the car. "Given your nature and abilities, would it not be within the realms of possibility for us to teleport there?"
The blonde God blinked one final time, then grunted and shrugged his shoulders. "I like a car ride and Daybit was the guy who was driving. You're the ones who dropped in and she's the one who turned the car into an origami puzzle." a beat from the God, then a snort from them. "And a shit one at that. But yeah, sure, teleport. Take all the fun out of the long drives of the countryside."
He brought up his free hand and showed his palm to the God. "It's not that I have any complaints about it. More of a harmless curiosity was all." Seemingly mollified by the answer he provided, he continued onwards. "Though, shall I assume that this new arrival who appears to be driving towards us with an entourage is someone who will render aid unto us?"
Silence from Tezcatlipoca.
Then he leaned forwards, bringing his left hand up and pushing his glasses up his forehead, his eyes squinted towards him. "My guy, did you wake up and eat a thesaurus for breakfast or something? All you needed to ask me was 'Is Hummingbird going to give us a lift?' and the answer is maybe, in case you were still curious."
He thinned his lips and nodded his head once, he wasn't sure that his manner of speech had been so off putting in the past. It was just how he had been raised to speak. No one ever said anything about it before.
Returning to his original posture, Tezcatlipoca waved a hand dismissively towards him. "Yikes. You're like a pen pusher, you know? Sort of guy that doesn't get his hands dirty."
Well, he wasn't above violence if the moment called for it but if that was how he was viewed then that was how he was viewed. He certainly wasn't the most traditional looking warrior for Tezcatlipoca, he supposed. He wasn't that bothered by it.
"Excuse me, puta?"
Though it seemed he wasn't the one it really irritated.
Quetzalcoatl stepped forwards and outright scowled at her brother, raising a finger and jabbing it towards him. "I'll have you know that Wodime fought and beat me fair and square in a clash of our bodies and wills!"
All that achieved was a somewhat bewildered look as the other blonde raised his hand and rubbed his chin, sucking in air between his teeth before bringing out his other hand and making a gesture with it. "Yeah, that could just as easily tell me that he's a good lay or something. Or that you were seriously holding back on him or something. Like, did you throw hands with the guy to the best of your abilities?"
"She has an impressive chokehold."
A half chuckle from the God, then a roll of the eyes. "Obviously. Just doesn't change how you look but then again, wasn't expecting this guy to go full rambo on that crows ass either so…Meh. If you're ever up for a little fight, I'd be happy to oblige you." they cracked a lopsided smirk. "Also, hah. Loser." he nodded to his sister, who didn't seem all that bothered the obvious insult.
The conversation likely would have carried on, had it not been for the comment by Daybit which cut through all else. "It seems as though your aid has arrived. Tezcatlipoca."
Wodime turned to the direction Daybit spoke from, the man staring down the road with an unreadable expression. He similarly turned and raised his brows at the fleet of black SUV's currently speeding towards them accompanied by a cloud of dust. He took a few steps forwards until he was side by side with the man and staring at the same rapidly approaching sight. Dropping his voice into a whisper. "Do you suppose these are individuals within the same business as Tezcatlipoca or a different group?"
Daybit remained silent for only a moment, then replied. "Given the nature of Tezcatlipoca and his earlier words, I would assume that they are some manner of law enforcement that he has an affiliation with. Given the uniform nature of it."
He felt a touch of a frown at the words.
Then he recalled that Quetzalcoatl inferred that the 'Hummingbird' would be less than pleased. He was rather unsure as to where that would leave them. "Exercise caution then. They may prove hostile."
He might have been mildly correct, given the fleet of black cars had surrounded them and men with black suits had stepped out. Though it had not proceeded quite the way he had been expecting it to do so.
Namely that the woman in the smart suit had been shouting at Tezcatlipoca in spanish for the last few minutes and, if her tone and rapid hand gestures were any indication, she was indeed less than pleased to see him. The muffled laughter by Quetzalcoatl after every few words and the clear mirth in her eyes the longer the rant went on was further proof of it all, but it was her lack of concern that eased him.
More to the point, there was something else that he had noticed almost immediately, leaning close to Daybit and whispering to the man. "If I am not mistaken, the woman that is yelling at him is-"
"The mayor of Mexico city, yes." Daybit replied back to him without missing a beat. "It would seem their relationship is amicable enough."
The woman whipped out a phone and was now pointing at the open screen, all the while she continued to shout what he assumed was obscenities. Despite her shorter stature, he could not help but be impressed at the confidence she exuded, but that was likely to be expected.
Tezcatlipoca chuckled good naturedly as he pointed to the phone, as though he had seen something rather amusing. The dark haired woman froze at his words, her pupils narrowed into slits and then she started to shout all over again the moment he was finished, eventually her eyes closed and she snapped the phone shut, taking an audible breath and then stepping backwards and raising her hands to cup her head as she did so.
Seconds ticked by.
She turned back around, expression devoid of the earlier irritation she had shown and was now closer to what he would call exhaustion. Walking past Tezcatlipoca without another word, she rapidly made her way to the three of them, only pausing to send a rather bemused look at Quetzalcoatl who responded with a wave of the hand and a smile, and then focused her attention on himself and Daybit, eyes narrowed and lips thin.
Then a smile graced her lips as she spoke in a clear and concise manner, with only a touch of an accent to her words. "I would like to apologise for such an unseemly display just now. First and foremost, I would like to welcome you personally to Mexico. I am Mayor Aguileña Cruz. Thank you for visiting our beautiful country and I hope that it is a visit without incident."
It was a rather polished speech which ran counter to what he had just spent the last four or so minutes watching.
Tezcatlipoca's laughter in the background did not help matters much, her lip twitched just a touch and her eyes slowly closed before the smile fell away entirely. She shot a glance over her shoulder to the laughing blonde before it returned to the two of them, much more serious than before. "I would ask if either of the two of you are to be involved in something troublesome for my city. The presence of this one brings me some comfort, though Tezcatlipoca does not call upon me if he would not require my aid."
Her lips turned thinner still. "So before I even consider aiding him in anything, as opposed to leaving him here and driving away or better yet, arresting him for his long list of crimes and the rest of you for being accomplices. I would like your personal assurance that nothing of the illegal variety will happen."
"I had no further plans to break the law." He saw no reason to make a promise that might not be feasible.
Silence, then he felt as though he had been put under a spotlight. "...Further plans?"
Ah.
Yes.
He might have made a small mistake there. Clearing his throat, he offered a small smile. "Nothing overt if that should be your concern."
A flat look. "You entered with false identification, did you not?"
He wasn't going to answer something like that in front of a city official.
Evidently he did not need to, the woman brought her hands up and pinched the bridge of her nose, whispering curses under her breath before she turned back around and marched towards the rather amused looking Tezcatlipoca, the two of them soon speaking with one another just out of earshot. The earlier aggression seemed to be gone, which was nice enough.
With a glance to Quetzalcoatl, the Goddess took a step closer to them and waved her hand. "It'll be fine. Pequeño Río has a soft spot for that idiot. She's probably just a touch upset that he's pushing her given her job." with a frown, the Goddess folded her arms over her chest and shook her head from side to side. "It's very unfair of him to do all this after she went and earned her position. Being seen with him would be very bad for her career, sí."
He could imagine that it would not exactly do her much favours, especially if Tezcatlipoca was a known drug kingpin. "Do you believe this might pose a small problem for us?"
Another smile from Quetzalcoatl. "Like I said, it'll be fine. She'll grumble about it a little but she'll do what he asks and drive you all there. Especially given what he's going to ask her…" she trailed off, rubbing her chin back and forth before she exhaled. "But you don't have to worry about that. Letting you get whisked away in cuffs by the policía would be much too boring! I couldn't live with myself if I let that happen to you!" she leaned back, pressing a hand to her chest.
He wasn't all that concerned with getting arrested, per say, it was more for the fact it would be something of an inconvenience.
As he turned his head back to Tezcalipoca and Mayor Cruz, he watched as the two of them split away with the Mayor approaching them once more with a patient frown, coming to a halt in front of them. "In light of this situation, I will overlook this incident regarding your fake identities with the strongest urgence that it not be repeated again in the future and inside my jurisdiction."
Taking in a deep breath, she exhaled and folded her hands behind her back.
"On another note, I would ask that you enjoy Mexico city for however long you intend to remain and that I shall provide an escort for all of those present to take you where you are needed. Please be aware of this privilege and do not abuse it, thank you." With a short pause, she gestured towards the cars and the practised smile formed on her face once more. "Thank you again for visiting Mexico and on a more personal note…you have my respect for bringing Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl together without levelling the entire forest."
Not exactly something he was expected to be thanked for but it was a welcome surprise all the same. "You are welcome and have my appreciation for the compliment. I shall make a concerted effort to avoid breaking the laws of the country in the future unless absolutely necessary."
The smile faded away, replaced by a simple frown. "Most would have told me they would avoid breaking the laws at all."
"Yes, but I did not want to lie to you. That would be in rather poor manners."
"...At the very least, I can appreciate you being honest." She did sound as though she meant it, but he saw the faint hint of frustration in her eyes. Given that she was the mayor and he was outright confessing to crimes that she really should punish him for, that was probably earned on his part.
She stepped away from him after that and towards the direction of the God, "I can arrange an escort to your home…either one. Though I shall limit my involvement to that."
A wave of the hand. "That's fine, Hummingbird. I know that you'd have your hands full. It would be pretty embarrassing if you got outed as being friends with me at all, right? Especially because of all the unsubstantiated allegations behind my apparently illicit relationship with the drug trade."
Her jaw visibly clenched. "...Yes. Those."
"I am, after all, an honest businessman who makes a living-and you're now walking away." He finished lamely as the mayor turned on her heel and outright stomped back towards her car, he caught a brief glance of her face as she dropped the image of politeness and was just scowling rather fiercely as the nearest man opened the door for her, throwing herself in and slamming it shut behind her.
The vehicle reversed and started to pull away, soon followed by the others with only a single black car left behind for them. Which he certainly hoped they would not be destroying any time soon. A click of the tongue next to him brought his eyes to Quetzalcoatl, the Goddess was looking at her brother as though he was the lowest form of scum on the planet.
"You cannot resist making life difficult for Pequeño Río, can you?" Even as she spoke, it sounded as though she knew the answer. Throwing her hands up in the air and shaking her head in disappointment. "She's rather nice and you just ruin all of it by harassing her and dragging her through everything."
"She's the one who wanted to go into politics." He raised his hands in mock surrender, smirking all the while. "I said that it would be a fair cop if she actually got any evidence to arrest me. So far she has managed to get nothing so, until it gets proven that I am what some people might accuse me of being, there's really nothing for it."
A snort from the God.
"What is she gonna say before a court of law? I swear your honour, I know him! Running a drug cartel is exactly the sort of thing he would do because he is Tezcatlipoca, the Black Sun!" Waving his hands, he soon devolved into laughter and started to walk towards the car, swiping his fingers forwards as he did. "Come on, Man of Sem. Let's see if this car actually gets some proper tunes or something. No way am I going to listen to feather-head squawk at me for my alleged crimes-"
"Nothing alleged about it, puta."
"Oi, oi, oi!" Tezcatlipoca whirled around with a shocked gasp. "That right there is slander. It would be something nasty for your career if you were caught making such baseless accusations." he flat out tutted at her with a look that just screamed taunting, Wodime would have thought he was trying to goad her into wrecking another car at this rate.
Especially as her expression started to twitch and her eyes narrowed dangerously, he acted quickly before she was able to make a single step. Moving forwards and placing a hand on her shoulder - he didn't expect to hold her back but it was more for the gesture - which worked in stopping her in her tracks. "I would like to comment that we have only just obtained this manner of vehicle and I suspect that Mayor Cruz will not be so eager to grant us a second one if we ruin this. Perhaps it would be best to save our disputes until we were in a less tenuous position."
He made sure to look at the back of Quetzalcoatl as he spoke, just in case Tezcatlipoca mistook him for trying to speak with him. They had not spent long in one another's company, but the God screamed danger in every sense of the word. That and Daybit had subtly warned him against offering an unsolicited opinion.
Silence from the Goddess, then she dropped her shoulders and lost the tension in her body, exhaustion washing over her features as she turned around to face him, shaking her head from side to side and then falling forwards, he froze up as she pressed her forehead into his shoulder and just stood there. "Sí, sí. I'm sorry you have to see me get so upset over a barking dog. It's really not worth it in the end."
"Call me a dog and she's the one acting like she's in heat."
He cringed at the comment and closed his eyes, he felt Quetzalcoatl freeze up in front of him.
She whipped around and marched towards the smirking God. "Ahora escucha aquí culo punk pequeña-!"
"Come one, come all to my humble abode." With a lethargic wave of the hand and an equally faux tone of welcoming, Tezcatlipoca stepped through the now open doors to the rather impressive home, immediately surprising Wodime with how ordinary it looked.
Though a comparison might have been a touch unfair, especially given that he was more familiar with the home of Hades as the only other God who he had personally visited the house of. He imagined that every other home not plated with gold and jewels would probably look less impressive by comparison.
"Make sure you wipe your feet on the carpet before you come in by the way." He was snapped back to the God as the blonde pointed to the doormat at his feet, clicking his fingers and making sure to lock eyes with everyone present. "House cleaning for these floors can be a bitch and I don't need all of you tracking mud and grime into them."
Wodime turned his eyes down to the floor itself and suppressed a raise of the brow, he complied with the request all the same and wiped his shoes on the mat a couple of times. "Would you like for us to remove our shoes as well?"
"What? No, just wipe your damn feet man." A bewildered comment accompanied with a shake of the head, the look lingered on him before they turned back around and continued on their walk through the hallway into the main room of the house. Daybit was the first to follow him through and briefly stopped and made a small show of looking around.
"He's probably still got that stupid statue around here." The faint whisper - though it was more of a grumble - from Quetzalcoatl had him thin his lips in thought and a touch of stress if he was being honest. With how often the siblings pushed and shoved at one another, at this rate he figured it would be a matter of time before they ended up breaking something that was less than replaceable.
That being said, he was rather curious as to what statue would elicit such a response.
With his shoes thoroughly wiped, he stepped off the doormat and onto the oak wooden floor, varnished enough that he could see his reflection in it, bringing his attention up and to the cream coloured walls, some of which were lined with landscape paintings of the forests, briefly pausing and raising an eyebrow at one at the far end, depicting a rather violent scene of a man wearing the pelt of a jaguar in the middle of trying to bury and axe into the head of a conquistador.
That wasn't the only display of violence either and it wasn't limited solely to that of ancient history, roman soldiers, spartans, crusaders and even depictions of twentieth century conflict as well. His eyes roamed over each picture which displayed some manner of conflict between two different fighters.
"Good, aren't they?" The comment from his right brought his focus to the speaker, Tezcatlipoca with his hands in his pockets and his attention on the painting that he was standing before. "I like them. Very colourful and all of that."
"An impressive celebration towards humanity's violent history through the ages." He agreed and he did mean it earnestly, it was a rather eye catching display and wholly appropriate for one such as him. There was a snort behind him, both of them turned as Quetzalcoatl walked past without even bothering to wipe her feet.
"You don't need to try and be nice to this one, he wouldn't appreciate kindness if it bit him in the culo." She walked right past her brother, who stepped out of the way for her to move past him, and into the main room where her annoyed groan rang through the halls a moment later, he watched her throw her head back and bring her hands to cover her face. "And you still have that tacky statue?"
Tezcatlipoca rolled his eyes "This coming from the woman who literally called herself the prowling dawn or something like that?" looking at her over his shoulder, he continued onwards. "Between the two of us, that name is way more tacky. Great for marketing but not so great for all of the other stuff."
He was already moving before he could get drawn into being an audience member for another argument, that and being within immediate range of their punches was also a bad idea. Moving past them and into the room with Daybit, the man was stood right before a wooden statue, carved into the shape of a pouncing Jaguar or some other big cat. He liked the statue, very fitting with the whole theme of the God and his dominion over such things.
"I anticipated a greater theme related to big cats." Daybit commented when he was close enough, speaking just loud enough that the voices of Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca arguments were drowned out behind them. "Though this is still expected."
"You would probably know more than I do at the moment." He admitted without shame, wincing subtly as another rather aggressive sounding string of spanish words echoed from behind him. "I was aware of their long standing feud with one another, but I am rather surprised that they have even agreed to be around one another for this long. They spend most of their time either insulting each other or coming to blows."
Daybit turned to him, raising an eyebrow. "You are aware they hold themselves back considerably, yes?"
"Oh, most certainly." He was no fool, this was nothing more than a slap fight between the two of them and they could very likely have done much more than smash up a car and mess up his hair. "But perhaps I am still just in awe that they can be around one another for this goal. Truly, the spirit of teamwork is rather more potent than many expect it to be."
Silence from Daybit for a few seconds, then a half shrug and a grunt. "As you say. Another matter to consider. The Rating Game between the House of Gremory and the House of Phenex is due to begin within the next few hours."
He blinked at the sudden information, as far as he recalled… "Shall I assume that this is Rias Gremory and the Red Dragon Emperor?"
"Hmm."
"He is only a recently converted Devil." Bringing his hand up, he cupped his chin. Rating Games were a rather important affair within the Devil World, pitting two peerages against one another for the sake of prestige and status. Not unlike some manner of gladiatorial combat but without any of the actual bloodshed involved. Though that was all beside the point, they also offered a window into seeing just how competent a peerage was. It would be laughable for one to hold back.
Something that they could exploit in gauging the current progress of the Red Dragon Emperor and the rest of the peerage associated with them.
Turning his head, he looked over his shoulder to the pair of deities, both were now just yelling at one another in spanish and making rather exaggerated movements of the hand. Neither looked entirely pleased at this point.
His focus fell back to Daybit. "I shall assume you have come to the same conclusion as I."
Daybit did not reply, merely nodding his head.
"Then I would suggest we gather the others and make a request towards the host. Jedidiah means to arrive regardless and Kadoc's venture into the forest was due to last only a few days and that allotted time has since passed. It would be beneficial for us to gather so that we might examine and discuss the Red Dragon Emperor in detail."
Also he figured it would be some good team building work, something they could enjoy doing.
For the time being, it might be the closest they got to a movie night.
Which clearly meant they would need food as well but that was neither here nor there.
Daybit turned around, walking towards the direction of the arguing Gods.
Every single time he met up with her it always turned out this way, she would just rag on him again and again with no sign of ever stopping. It wasn't like he was the one who was even ensuring she had a career in the first place or anything, or did she think that all of her opponents just grew on trees or something?
Featherbrained idiot that she was.
Movement caught the corner of his eye, he tuned out the idiot and brought his focus towards the Man of Sem who was now approaching him with a clear look of determination in his eye. He would admit that his interest was piqued, thus far they had not disappointed him whenever they asked something. He desperately hoped that this time was going to be no exception to the rule.
Daybit came to a halt in front of him.
"Myself and my ally would like your permission to invite our other associates here." There was a brief moment of silence as he realised what he had just been asked, though the man proceeded to go further beyond with the next sentence. "Furthermore, use of your television for the purpose of work would be appreciated."
He fought back the laugh, but not the smile.
"Wait…go-go back-" He chortled a wheeze, even the featherbrain was looking at the man as though he'd grown a second head. Something that he wouldn't put past the Man of Sem being able to do. "Go back to the start…I invited you into my house and less than five minutes later you're asking me if you can bring your friends round and then use my TV to watch a film?"
The words hung in the air.
"Yes."
"...A-anything good?" He was utterly flabbergasted that he wasn't sure how he was supposed to react to this request, and it was a request, the Man of Sem was smart enough to phrase it in a way that wasn't a demand.
"A rating game."
And just like that, the magic was gone, he could feel his expression drop inch by inch within the span of half a second. His lips drawn taut and his eyes half-lidded. Rating Games between Devils were some of the most boring shit he had ever heard of and watched in his life, it always amounted to the same sort of thing. Not a lot of stakes and an awful lot of chest beating. No one even died in them.
What sort of bloodsport didn't actually kill people?
They literally based their entire system of reincarnation of Chess and they didn't even have the guts to go all the way and retire their pieces forever once they lost them in the game. As far as he knew, when you lost a piece in chess it was typically gone forever. Sure, a pawn could replace it but the original piece was gone.
Still, they were so close and then they dropped this on him? Maybe he had underestimated-
"In order to measure the skills of the newly reincarnated Red Dragon Emperor."
-Or maybe this day was looking up already.
"Ddraig? Dude's latest host is a Devil?" That was a fairly big surprise to him but it only had to be a matter of time before it happened. He slotted his hands into his pockets and hummed quietly to himself. He was now a little interested in it. He wasn't expecting big things but it was still nice to see the underdog when they were just starting out, watch them get tested with their first taste of battle. Even if it was sort of just a sham.
Also, more of the people associated with the Man of Sem.
Blondie was a bit interesting but not like Daybit.
"Alright then." He shrugged his shoulders. "Might as well meet the other guys you're palling around with. I mean, I could think of better things to watch but I guess I can slog through this…yeah, sure. Invite your friends." he jerked his head to the side. "She can order the food."
"Excuse me?"
He shot her a frown. "Don't give me that shit. I'm contributing the house and the TV for this little meet and greet. I'm not gonna tolerate no lambón around here."
The way in which her face cycled from shock to anger was downright hilarious. "Also you're the one who just won money on a tournament. How about you spend some of those earnings for the good of the community." shrugging his shoulders, he debated whether or not he had made enough joking remarks for tonight. Then determined that there were never enough joking remarks to be made at her expense.
He leaned closer, dropping his voice into a low whisper. "I can give you some of the strong stuff if you're looking to score-"
The headbutt to his chin was worth it.
The knee in the balls, not so much.
A familiar hum of a teleportation spell had gone off near the front of the house, he could see the flash of light from through the windows of the front door. What was more impressive was that he was actually still on the phone with Jedidiah through it all, he had initially phoned him to just gather everyone but by the speed he concluded that it was one of two possibilities.
The first was that everyone was already gathered.
The second was that perhaps he should have been more specific.
Still with the phone to his hand, he glanced in the direction of their host who had doubtlessly sensed what had happened, now looking between him and the front of the door several times with evident confusion and a touch of amusement. Shrugging his shoulders as the doorbell went, he walked towards the front of the house with a casual step to his walk.
Swinging the door open and leaving Wodime with just enough of a view to look over the shoulder at the ensemble cast.
Naturally, Jedidiah was the first one in the door, white shirt and velvet vest with black trousers, the tanned man had his arms folded behind his back with a blank gaze aimed towards the God for a few seconds before he ended up speaking. "I understand that we were invited on your behalf. May we enter?"
"Shit man, you only got asked like ten seconds ago." The God snorted with a shake of the head, then stepped to the side and dramatically waved his hand to the interior of the house. "But whatever man. Least you arrived at the front door and not in my bathroom or something. Remember to wipe your shoes though. I ain't looking to track mud in my house or whatever you guys have clinging to your boots."
Jedidiah was the first to enter, wiping his shoes and then instantly locking eyes with him and offering a single nod of the head as he approached from the entrance. "I had expected news from you sooner, but then I suppose that would have removed time in forming a working relationship with the divines of South America. I understand you met with Quetzalcoatl and have since become affiliated?"
That was a clinical way of putting it, he supposed.
"We have formed a close alliance, myself and Quetzalcoatl." He replied with an equally cordial tone of voice, lowering the phone from his ear and clicking it off, slipping it back into his pocket. "Though I shall admit that it was quite a bit different to how it worked with Hades, I believe it is worthwhile all the same. I have every confidence in her capability as an ally. Though you already know this."
A hum from the man. "I suspected as such, hence my recommendation for Hades to pass along to you." they paused, amber eyes flickered hum and down before their head tilted to the side. "Though one thing that eludes me. You maintain the disguise of Karen Williams days after its use has expired. Might I inquire as to why?"
He glanced down at himself and then back towards the tanned man, shrugging his shoulders once. A question he had not considered until this moment, but he supposed the answer would be simple. "I never saw a reason to remove it and found the experience illuminating. Posing as a woman is not something I would have the chance to do often."
Jedidiah stared at him in complete and total silence, then their lips curled upwards for a ghost of a smile. "I suppose that you would be rather correct on that front-"
"You drag this guy out of a fucking dumpster or something?" The blunt comment from the entrance turned his attention to the others as they entered, or rather the one individual in particular as he walked through the front door. He felt his brows crinkle as he stared at the complete state of their attire.
Kadoc, for lack of a better word, looked as though he was an utter mess.
His hair was muddied and matted, his clothes were covered in grime and his coat had several large gouges right through it. To say nothing of the backpack which was missing the right strap on account of it being ripped in half at the shoulder. His face might have been the worst, looking as though he had gone days without getting a peaceful night's sleep.
The twitch of his brows showed that he didn't appreciate the comment but held himself back on saying anything. Instead bringing up his hands and rubbing them over his face and letting out a quiet sigh that was barely audible to him. "I feel that way, pal…I really do."
Movement by Kadoc's legs dragged his attention downwards and he soon raised his brows.
Barely reaching just below his knees appeared to be a small wolf looking animal, with the main differences being its bright golden fur and emerald green eyes which almost seemed to glow like flashlights. Certainly not normal and he could feel a sharpness in it's gaze as it flickered its sights across the room before assuming it's role right next to Kadoc's feet and remained utterly still.
For whatever reason, Tezcatlipoca double taked at it and squinted, leaning down and pushing up his sunglasses until they rested on his forehead. Looking first from the miniature wolf and then to the supposed owner with the same degree of incredulity between the two of them, eventually he brought up a single finger, then pointed it right down at the wolf. "...So what's up with that?"
Kadoc let out a weak wheeze as he dropped his arms by his side. "It followed me home."
"Yeah but…why?" Tezcatlipoca stressed the word with a rather surprising degree of intensity to it before he paused and brought his hand up. "Nevermind. I don't want to know, especially not if you smell like that lady. And you do, by the way, you absolutely reek of her to the point where it's like getting pepper sprayed in the face." he paused for a moment, then leaned back and made a face. "Did…did you fuck her or something?"
Kadoc just looked at the God with a tired expression. "...What?"
"Take that as a no then." The man exhaled and shook his head from side to side. "Okay so on account of pets or companions or whatever. As long as he doesn't get mud on the carpet then I can let him in. Should be fine enough if he keeps his mitts off everything. But you watch him good and we won't have any problems."
Tezcatlipoca never once tore his eyes from the wolf as he spoke, and he made it perfectly clear that he was speaking about Kadoc rather than to him.
The white haired man just glared for a moment before he closed his eyes once again and just dropped his head once again.
"You know what? That's fair." A shrug of the shoulders and Kadoc was walking again, this time right towards them with an expression on his face that was devoid of emotion. The moment he was close enough, he had intended to ask if everything was alright but he never truly got the chance as Kadoc came to a stop and looked Jedidiah dead in the eyes. "I got jumped by a werewolf monster on my first night there. I literally emptied the entire fucking bottle down it's nose to scare it off. My second night involved a swarm of bees the size of birds and that was the least stressful thing of the evening. I nearly got jumped by three baby dragons that very same day for whatever reason and to top it off, there was a disgusting cross between a chicken and a snake that tried to eat me."
Wodime just stared with raising brows the longer the story went on.
It certainly sounded as though he and Daybit were not the only ones with an interesting time of it, though Kadoc looked less than thrilled with the experience.
"Do you know what happened on the third day? I found bigfoot."
"You did?" A little bit of excitement might have bled into his voice, though he suppressed it when Kadoc whipped around on him with a glare that looked as though it would melt steel beams. "...So your experience in the Familiar forest was memorable?"
His only response was a slow chuckle as Kadoc raised his hands to rub the bridge of his nose once more. Wodime glanced down to see the golden wolf staring up at the man with a rather scrutinous gaze, almost as though it was looking for something before it let out a sound and turned its eyes on him. He saw clear annoyance in the gaze for a brief moment before it snorted and turned from him, dismissing his existence entirely.
"Were you under the impression that there was any part of the forest that would not be hazardous to human life?" Jedidiah asked with clear nonchalance about the ordeal. "Just because I informed you that the northern territories were safer does not mean that they are any less dangerous. Besides, I provided you with ample equipment to defend yourself with should the time arise and I would say you made good use of it."
Kadoc did not look as though he appreciated the words, opening his mouth to speak before he clamped it shut and just settled on glaring at the tanned man without uttering a single word. Saying nothing, he stepped around the man and walked past the pair of them into the main room, he noticed that Quetzalcoatl gave the golden wolf the same sort of look that Tezcatlipoca had given it before diverting her attention to Kadoc with something along the lines of approval.
Was there something special about the wolf that he had missed?
He leaned towards Jedidiah "Do you suppose that wolf is unique in ways I cannot see?"
Silence from the man, their gaze focused straight ahead before they eventually responded. "There is certainly more to it than it lets on. Though for the time being, it would be worth more trouble to reveal it than to keep it secret. For whatever reason, it now follows Kadoc and that is enough to consider it a contained threat for now." he glanced to him. "No more a danger than any of the Gods who now walk in step with you, I would wager."
A wry chuckle. "I suppose when faced with an argument like that, I would have to agree."
As soon as he finished, a thought occurred to him. "You spoke of requiring South America and Mexico for a ritual of some variety? How long would you require for it and would I need to ask permission on behalf of our host?"
Jedidiah looked thoughtful, then he offered a faint shrug of the shoulders. "The calculations are complete and the texture of this land is suitable enough for the process to begin. I can bring the materials here at my own leisure. Though I could begin right now if such a thing was made possible for me." amber eyes moved away from himself and towards the direction of Tezcatlipoca. "Gaining his permission to perform a magical ritual in his own land would be problematic but I would assume it is the sort of thing he would be more interested in learning. Kadoc's encounter with Tiamat was proof of concept and I gained my final recordings from his meeting with her."
Kadoc's encounter with Tiamat?
Tiamat?
"The Tiamat?" He stilled at the mere thought of any of them walking right into the Chaos Dragon, though the thought that Kadoc had encountered her and was still walking around was something of a surprise to him. More so that he had not even mentioned it. "As in-"
"The Primordial Goddess of life, yes." Jedidiah confirmed, though he paused for a moment to make a small noise of understanding. "Ah, you refer to her current iteration in which she has been reduced to a mere dragon. Yes, the two are one in the same. As for the how? It is merely that she separated an aspect of herself from the main body at the moment she was banished to Imaginary Number Space. The Tiamat who remains is more of a selective incarnation of the original. An incomplete copy…the principle warranted examination and I devised further rituals from this."
Wodime narrowed his eyes at Jedidiah a touch. "Was Kadoc aware of the potential risks?"
"I had no reason to suspect Tiamat would meet with him in person." They defended. "Besides, Daybit had provided him with preparations of his own for a potential encounter with her. It was hardly as though he was unprepared."
The salt-water.
Well, he could not argue with the results.
"How long does the ritual take?"
"Not as long as you would suspect." They slid their hand into their pockets and inclined their head to the side. Seemingly in thought before they hummed quietly. "Though the matter of a catalyst was already decided upon."
From out of his pocket he produced a scrap of white cloth, or dirted white cloth rather. A torn off section from what had perhaps been a part of a shirt but it looked old. Incredibly old and he could feel the weight in mystery, especially where there was a splatter across the cloth, a stain deep into the fabric of crimson red.
His eyes narrowed just a touch. "Is that-?"
"Dragon blood." Jedidiah confirmed without blinking. "Though the dragon itself was nameless, the legacy it left behind was rather far reaching and of deep personal interest to me."
A presence washed over the two of them, both turned to see Tezcatlipoca standing just to the side of them with his eyes fixed on the cloth in the hands of Jedidiah, Wodime subtly tensed himself at the piercing look being shot towards the fabric as the God approached, slowly but still casually before he came to a halt and stared down at it. Raising a single finger, they pointed to the cloth.
"What's up with that?"
"I have need of it for a ritual." Jedidiah replied. "Which, I shall like to request, takes place here. The results will be far reaching."
Tezcatlipoca looked up and stared straight into the eyes of the tanned man. "What sort of ritual?"
"A summoning."
"A summoning of what?"
Jedidiah raised an eyebrow. "Would you like for me to give you the answer or would you prefer for me to show you the results?"
"...Are you prepared for what happens if I let you do this and nothing works out?"
"I am prepared for your judgement."
"...How long?"
"Minutes."
A grunt from the God, then he reached up and rubbed the underside of his chin, eyes narrowed and brow scrunched up. Glancing between the scrap of bloodied cloth and the tanned man several times before he eventually let out a short scoff and then shook his head from side to side, waving his hand and shrugging his shoulders. "You that confident I'm gonna be impressed? Go for it. I'm in a fairly good mood with all of these surprises so I'm expecting big things from you…whatever your name is."
They walked off without another word.
Jedidiah watched them depart in silence, then turned back to him. "I shall begin immediately and call you once I am prepared."
"I will await your reply then."
Jedidiah departed, he watched the tanned man walk across the length of the room and then right out of the doors without even asking for directions.
Wodime remained standing there for a short while, then turned around and froze when he made eye contact with Ophelia, straightening himself out and offering her a small cordial nod. One that she replied with, the fact her expression didn't so much as twitch when she stared at him was a bit of a saddening thing but at least she did not look as though she was upset at him.
Nonetheless.
"I would like to once again offer my-"
She raised the flat of her hand towards him. "I understand completely, Lord Kirschtaria. If such a disguise could not even fool me, then it would not suffice to disguise yourself from others. I am glad to have been of use regardless and offered my own congratulations to Peperoncino and Le Fay once I was informed."
The former of the two aforementioned stood behind her, a smile on their face and a shrug of the shoulders was all they offered when he looked in their direction. "What can I say? I'm very good at what I do and you gave me quite a lot to work with. I'm actually very pleased you're still wearing it after all this time!"
Peperoncino exclaimed as they moved closer and cupped their chin, grinning even wider. "If you ever want to try this sort of thing again then just know that my door is always open…and the offer extends to you as well, Ophelia. I could think of well over a dozen things off the top of my head to do with your hair just now!"
Ophelia didn't even hesitate. "Your offer is appreciated but I am not interested."
"Suit yourself." Rather than being put off, Peperoncino recovered from the rejection virtually immediately and stepped past them. "But you'd look fabulous dear, just letting you know now! And Daybit! How did you enjoy Mexico? I hope you sent me some photos and you-my goodness! You can't walk around with a rugged look like that without giving me some warning! I nearly had a heart attack!"
He suppressed a smile at the antics going on behind him, clearing his throat. "How goes your progress on the Norse operation?"
She looked like she relaxed a little when he brought it up, unconcerned with the fact he still looked and sounded like a woman.
"I believe I have made progress on the matter thus far." Ophelia responded, then hesitated for a moment before she continued onwards. "Lady Persephone has been…offering her assistance in providing me with information I would otherwise not have access to. Her help has been instrumental, I will not deny."
Persephone was?
"Impressive work." He nodded to her, she thinned her lips at his praise but said nothing. "In which case, so long as you remain confident in it and have access to the necessary resources. I shall reiterate my earlier words and leave it in your hands."
Ophelia opened her mouth and he did think she might have said something, though she caught herself at the last moment and closed it again. He noticed the flicker of doubt in her eyes before it was squashed. He internally frowned, his lips going thin as he stared at her for a moment. "Is there something on your mind?"
"...I believe that the most appropriate course of action would be to head to Musphelheim."
"...For an audience with Surtr." He surmised, she did not deny it. "I see."
Ophelia rolled her jaw. "I am asking for your opinion on the matter."
"Understanding why Surtr did not go through with Ragnarok is something we can only learn through asking them yourself." He explained to her. "Loki, by Hades own words, is determined to bring about Ragnarok while Surtr does not seem as eager. Though I am certain there is more going on than we are aware of."
"Then-"
"My advice would be moving down the path you are comfortable with at the speed you are comfortable with." He gently interrupted her. "Meeting with Surtr is indeed necessary for you. But whether it occurs now or later is something you yourself have to decide. It is not my plan."
That was quite literally the best sort of advice he could offer her at this point, he wasn't the one who was meeting with Surtr and wasn't the one who had created the plan in the first place. Ophelia regarded him silently before she thinned her lips and nodded her head up and down, slowly but with understanding. The discomfort gone from her face.
"Come." He gestured behind himself, turning around and walking to the main room. "I shall introduce you to Quetzalcoatl. She is rather enthusiastic when it comes to meeting new people, I have found."
"She?"
"Hm? Ah, yes. It would seem as though they have decided upon a female appearance." He explained to her, clearly she was confused as to why he referred to the typically male God as a Goddess. "She was actually posing as a wrestler of sorts and competing in a tournament. That was where we first met on a technicality. It was rather surprising, all things considered."
"I…I see."
He had not expected it to be so swift, namely that it had only been a couple of minutes before Jedidiah had appeared back into the house and said he was now ready for them. Which led them to a rather impressive garden patio with a circle painted in crimson, a strong smell of paint lingered in the air and he glanced at the coating with the still wet brush.
"If this doesn't work out the way you expect it to and you've just painted shit on my garden patio, I'm gonna scalp you."
He knew that Tezcatlipoca was being entirely serious.
Jedidiah didn't so much as blink at the obvious threat, instead sparing a glance towards the God before he replied in his ever confident tone of voice. "Which would imply that the danger of failure was even possible. I would not wager a confrontation with you at this crucial stage if I were not absolutely certain that I would succeed."
Tezcatlipoca just made a noise that was difficult to gauge, instead he brought a beer bottle to his lips and drank from it while maintaining his rather indifferent expression.
Quetzalcoatl was just leaning over the paint and looking over all of the symbols, bringing her hand to her chin and humming to herself. He would have been pleasantly surprised if she was able to defer the meanings of them, not that he questioned her intellect, but even he had minor difficulty in understanding what Jedidiah had painted onto the patio.
It was indeed a summoning circle but the symbols and words that surrounded it were all different to what he was expecting. A mixture between multiple branches of magic into a single purpose. He could likely understand it with a little more time but for the moment he would keep his thoughts private until called upon.
"That phrase means time and memory." The Goddess suddenly stated, looking up and pointing down. "And that one speaks of focusing upon a certain period of time. Almost as though you're trying to scry but…Estoy confundido, what are you trying to reach for? It's like you're looking back to the past but then you have this anchor mark here which isn't designated to any plane I recognise."
He looked down at the circle once more, sure enough he soon spotted what she was talking about.
A nod of the head from the man himself. "You speak truly. The collection of these symbols and words are aimed towards a single point. Years of work have yielded the location of another plane which exists beyond space and time. Outside of either the Heavens or the Dimensional Gap…a location which stores the information of those who have existed in time and made their mark upon the world."
Wodime caught on. "You seek to reach into this realm? For what purpose?"
Jedidiah reached into his pocket and procured the cloth once more, placing it into the centre of the circle and then stepping backwards. "So that I may pull something back. Deductions and calculations inferred that the divine authority of the Gods over the world would weaken the efficiency of the spell. Which is why I required a texture in the midst of weakening."
That certainly explained why he needed South America.
"It is a system designated by the World to call upon this store of data in the event the planet faces destruction. Though it has never been activated to its greatest capacity. One thing that the continued presence of the Gods has ensured is that this system has never once been called upon to activate. Though that does not mean it ceases to exist."
Kadoc made a noise. "So what…you're digging through an old PC to try and find the unopened folders?"
"Yes."
While Kadoc's question might have been a joke, Jedidiah's answer was not.
"And I found them. In modern terms it would be akin to the creation of a text document and then moving it to a folder once it served it's purpose. The document no longer is needed but the information it is constructed from remains the same and is still there in one form or another." He paused in his explanation, then brought his brows up as though surprised. "Converting the explanation to this version is much simpler. Yes, I am opening up the once zipped folder and pulling out files from inside of it."
His lips curled a touch. "The windows' green hill background feels rather apt now, doesn't it?"
He quickly found himself the centre of attention, the only one who seemed to be smiling at his joke was Quetzalcoatl, everyone else looked a little bit confused or just apathetic to it.
"...Indeed." Jedidiah looked at him for a moment longer, then directed his sight down before holding out his hand. "Now then. I shall require some silence as I work."
Closing his eyes, he spoke up.
"Open forth the gates of the throne."
"Let my words echo through your hallowed halls."
"Let my plea be met with open ears."
"Heed my words."
"My will creates your body, and your sword creates my destiny."
The circle glowed with life almost immediately, the paint ignited with glowing light and a pulse of mana shook through his entire body. He frowned and stepped backwards as he glanced down, thinning his lips and looking to the others. Both the deities had straightened out immediately.
"If you answer the plight of humanity, if you heed my call for aid, then follow the path and answer me."
"Seat of the Seventh Heaven, clad in the great words of the First."
It was as though the circle was sucking in every ounce of mana in the air.
The cloth at the centre was starting to flutter but it would not move, churning as though responding to something.
"Come forth, pass on your judgement, and punish my enemies."
Jedidiah's eyes flashed.
"Guardian of the Scales!"
AN: Yep. We're going there.
Way to end the Arc and all that.
Next arc is back with Romani, post Rating Game.