Even in post Mortem, the excruciating jolts of electricity flowing through his very soul carried over to the afterlife— causing Ren to flail around in the luscious blades of grass of Earth Mother's bountiful meadows. After rolling around on the ground for several seconds, the eleven year-old— alert, and in a disoriented state of confusion— scrambled up to his bare feet, and nearly tripped as he stumbled forward while trying to catch his balance.
"Gwngh, guwah…?! D-Dammit— that hurt a lot…!" Ren groaned out in an exasperated tone, while soon enough being able to gather his bearings— the same passive effect of being underneath the pink and purple pastel nebula sky above calming him down, as he began searching around him for the angelic deity herself.
Scanning over the grassy hills of flowers and well-trimmed grass— where massive islands with waterfalls flowing levitated within the far distant horizon, amongst the puffy clouds and gently trailing lights of the realm's stratosphere— Ren found himself to be completely isolated within the ethereal landscape.
'That's… Rather unusual— she should have shown up by now, shouldn't she? Perhaps she's preoccupied with other pressing matters? Maybe?' Ren proposed to himself, while knitting his brows together as he began contemplating on what to do next.
With zero knowledge of the layout of the realm around him, Ren could only think to do the one thing that made sense to him. "Uh…?! E-Earth Mother, umm…?! A-Are you there?! H-Hello, hello?!" Ren awkwardly called out with his hands cupped around his lips— doing his best to amplify his voice, as he cautiously began walking toward the direction of the closest floating islands.
After what felt like ten minutes of wandering through the uneven hilly grounds of the seemingly endless meadow, Ren was seconds away from shouting again when all of a sudden a burst of light exploded from behind him— causing the surprised eleven year-old to leap up and gasp aloud.
Choking on his own words, Ren spun around immediately while backing away from the radiating wall of brilliant light— almost tripping, until slowly down to a stand still, upon seeing none other than the red-eyed goddess stepping out of the otherworldly tear in her own reality.
Unlike the two other times he had seen her, Earth Goddess' smug and carefree personality was nowhere to be found. Instead, she appeared distracted— muttering quietly to herself, while strangely enough, carrying a white paper bag in one hand that had an unknown logo printed onto it.
Unsure whether to be happy or not to see her, Ren did his best to offer her a smile as she walked directly toward him— looking down at him with a half-grin, before proceeding to urgently hand him the aforementioned bag.
"I require you to don these vestments, and to make haste in doing so," Earth Mother instructed in a no-nonsense manner, before floating past Ren, while making sure to show minute affection towards him by patting him on the head.
'What the hell is going on?!' Ren wondered silently to himself, and took one look over his bare shoulder to see Earth Mother levitating in place— just a few meters behind where he was standing bewilderingly.
Seeing her waving her hands in an exasperated manner— creating suspended runic symbols in the air, that were radiating a golden light before her— Ren stared perplexingly at her for a bit longer, before slowly turning his head to stare down into the contents of white bag.
'… What sort of vestments are these?' Ren wondered to himself with visible confusion in his crimson eyes, as he placed the bag down on the floor, before taking out a folded dress shirt. "I, uh… O-Okay then?" Ren finally responded to the distracted goddess, who in turn was too preoccupied with her own task to acknowledge him.
Buttoning up the white collared shirt, and sliding his legs into the pair of what he could only describe to be the most comfortable pair of black slacks he had ever worn, Ren slid his feet into a pair of dress socks, before tying the laces of his spiffy pair of leather shoes.
With the last article of gifted clothing being an elongated piece of black fabric that felt smooth to the touch, Ren held the accessory in his hands— staring down at it, while trying to make sense of what it was supposed to be.
'Is this similar to a bandana? Am I supposed to wear this around my head, like this?!' Ren asked himself, while feeling somewhat ridiculous as he began tying the accessory around his forehead— emulating the way he remembered seeing rouges, and other stealth-based adventurers don their bandanas.
Even without a mirror to see how the uneven piece of fabric looked around his head, part of Ren knew that he was wearing it incorrectly; but without any other feasible solution of how else to wear it, the eleven year-old proceeded to turn around to make his way toward the blond goddess.
"Earth Mother, I've done what was asked of me… Now what?" Ren questioned, while looking up at her as she swiped her hand across the intricate floating runes one last time, before turning around to face him— stifling a chortle, as her lips curled upward into an amused smirk.
"Oh, blessed summer child…! That's not how one traditionally dons a tie— at least while sober, that is~!" Earth Mother joked aloud— seemingly for her own amusement— as she knelt down to get on Ren's eye-level, before using telekinesis to gracefully undo the knot from the back of his head.
Grabbing the floating accessory with both hands, Earth Mother gestured with her red eyes at the black tie, and told Ren, "Observe me, child," before proceeding to slide one end of the tie through the folded collar of his dress shirt.
Explaining which end of the tie should go where, along with proper adjustments in length, Earth Mother endowed the eleven year-old with the sacred art of knowing how to tie a necktie— undoing it once she was done, and guiding him through the process, as she had him do it on her own.
"Excellent work; for when the time of the necktie arises, you'll be one step ahead of the rest of mankind~!" The blond goddess sarcastically joked to him, while still sounding sincere about her praise towards him.
"Now then… Now that you're more presentable, I'll have you stand by my side," Earth Mother instructed, while patting her her hip to gesture at him to come closer to her left— reaching behind his neck with one arm, and gently holding his shoulder, as she guided him toward the direction of her floating tunes.
Despite the tranquility he felt under the effects of her realm's calming aura, Ren was beginning to grow frustrated from how absolutely confused he felt— having not much time to process anything, since the moment Earth Mother had accidentally startled him upon her sudden arrival.
"I… I still don't get what's going-"
"-Shhhh! I'll explain it to you afterwards," Earth Mother interrupted him, like how an actual maternal figure would do. Sounding reluctant with how heavy her sigh was, Ren heard the blond goddess letting out an annoyed groan as she begrudgingly reached her hand up toward the floating runic symbols— her eyes flashing red momentarily, as a white beam shot out of her palm.
Seeing her projected magic being absorbed by the floating runes, Ren bore witness as the ethereal symbols meshed together to form a singularity— expanding suddenly into a burst of blinding white light that caused him to immediately close his eyelids to shield them.
"Fear not the light, for your mother shall guide you," she said reassuringly, and gently squeezed his shoulder before proceeding to lead him forward into the heart of the singularity.
Feeling every fiber in his very being vibrate, as a loud hum emanating from seemingly all directions threatened to overwhelm him, Ren instinctively reached up to grab a hold of Earth Mother's flowing blue skirt— doing his best to find comfort in her divine presence, as she continued to guide him through the stark-white unknown.
Just when he was beginning to lose all sense of direction, the overbearing vibrations and humming came to a sudden halt— leaving him trembling, as he kept his eyelids shut tight, even as he began to once again be soothe by the same calming force that he had felt moments ago.
"Congratulations, my child; YOU'VE just experienced the metaphysical effects of traveling into outer-dimensional space!" Earth Mother playfully announced to him— as if though it were an honor— and patted his shoulder reassuringly before telling him, "Very, VERY few mortals ever get the chance to see "Empyrean" in all of its glory— none of them alive, of course— but still! That's quite the honor, don't you think?!"
"… Buuuuut granted, of course, it helps if you'd actually your eyes~!" Earth Mother said lightheartedly, which prompted Ren to reluctantly open his eyelids.
Unsure of what Earth Mother wanted him to see, Ren had somewhat expected to be met with the sight of otherworldly natural beauty— similar to floating islands, soft pastel colors, and meadows underneath an ever present starry sky that were within her own realm.
However, what laid before him were a collection of shiny and glossy skeuomorphic holograms that were visible for as far as his eye could see— an expansive city floating amongst a sea of clouds, that were bridged together by both sleek chromatic bridges, and natural plots of land that resembled grassy recreational parks.
Allured by the tertiary colors of the rounded skyscrapers and other floating structures, and the euphoric sights of large floating bubbles and sparkles that were lingering softly in the bokeh-lit blue skies above, Ren's star struck eyes could hardly process the unbelievable hybrid beauty around him.
"T… This is…! T-This is…!" Ren stammered out in awe— trying his best to find the words to describe what he was feeling, before finally settling with, "G-Glorious…!"
Although she seemed preoccupied still with whatever task she had in mind for him, Earth Mother couldn't help but to find Ren's sense of child-like astonishment to be endearing enough to encourage.
"Teeeechnically, a more accurate description of what this place is would be "Frutiger Aero"— which is pretty much just means "Retro-Futurism"!" Earth Mother mused, feeding into Ren's fascination with the surreal location, as she suddenly scooped his body up to carry him in a bridal fashion.
Holding onto Ren securely, Earth Mother giggled at the way he audibly gasped as she began ascending upward from the floating platform they had crossed onto. "This is the ideal culmination of natural splendor, combined with an optimistic outlook of technological advancement— perfect harmony that can only exist in the dreams of those who've achieved enlightenment!"
Trying his best to make sense of the artsy way Earth Mother was speaking, Ren continued to gaze upon Empyrean— his red eyes wandering upward, only to be met with even more floating structures and natural islands that seemed to go on for an eternity.
Just when he thought his eyes were beginning of to adjust to the liminal space around him, it was then while ascending upwards did Ren notice the uncanny way that the structures and clouds above him began to multiply in on themselves— fanning out, as though he were looking through a kaleidoscope.
As quickly as it happened, the multitude of copies suddenly snapped away from where they had begun to multiply— soaring faster than what should have been possible to witness, as each newly created copy phased through the already existing constructs in the bright-blue sky.
Hearing what could only be described as gentle synthesized piano keys being played alongside digital instruments playing from what sounded to be coming from the sky itself, Ren finally turned his head up toward Earth Mother— staring bewilderingly at her smirking face, as the sudden song playing around them continued on beautifully.
"I'm… I'm having a difficult time processing what this place is supposed to be…! Is that…?! Is that normal…?!" He asked her in a perplexed manner, to which earned him a nod from the blond-haired deity.
"Where we're treading are sacred spaces that were never meant to be traversed by those who aren't gifted with the ability to lucidly comprehend creation itself— for mortals, what you're witnessing here can only be best compared to what you experience when you dream," Earth Mother explained excitedly, as she found herself genuinely enjoying the moment while soaring through the sky.
Furrowing his brows while trying his hardest to make sense of what she was telling him, Ren let out an exasperated sigh before curling in closer toward her body. "I-I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around all of this…!"
"Kek~! Try not to burden yourself by attempting to comprehend any of these abstract concepts, my child— just relax, and enjoy the moment while it lasts!" She said enthusiastically, before her smirk began to waver as she began to grow visibly annoyed. "For the time to collaborate has come… And whom we shall be collaborating with is nothing short of an ever looming thorn, that persists to pierce my side."
After witnessing more constant shifting within the ethereal environment, that were both taking place simultaneously everywhere and nowhere at the same time, it wasn't long until Ren found himself being carried downward toward what appeared to be a tropical beach that was surrounded in a vast levitating ocean.
Entering the metropolitan center of the humid beach island, Earth Mother continued to hold Ren close to her— receiving what appeared to be stares from the other deities occupying the tropical city, that ranged from mild bewildered, to judgemental glares of disapproval.
Eventually the pair entered an outdoor lounging patio that was near the edge of the city— overlooking the transparent blue waters, and all the floating bubbles and schools of elegant fish that were swimming both within and above the ocean's dazzling surface.
Due to Earth Mother reinforcing her previous instructions of remaining quiet in the presence of others, Ren wasn't able to further pry into what she had mentioned earlier— about the metaphorical thorn in her side, that he had been trying to understand during the entire trip there.
It wasn't until he was set down on the floor and led by the hand to one particular patio table that the reason behind the blond goddess' frustration finally began to make sense to him. Even in such a place where Ren was certain that concepts such as time and space didn't exist, there was a noticeable fluctuation in the way the seconds passed.
Sitting across the circular table with a white-cloth draped over it was a tall, slender figure with luscious purple and yellow eyes, and beside him was none other than the same white-haired boy who had indirectly caused their deaths in the first place.
"Y… Y-You again…?!" Ren uttered out with a mixture of frustration and bewilderment written across his pale face, as his fingers instantly curled into fists that shook by his side. "What are YOU doing here?! W-What's the meaning of- mph-mmmph…?!"
Not allowing Ren to speak another word, Earth Mother muffled him with one palm— glaring her red eyes at the white-skinned deity sitting beside Luca, who appeared just as androgynous and feminine as they did.
Wiggling his thin eyebrows towards her in a condescending manner, the purple-haired figure sarcastically raised their margarita up to mockingly toast her— smirking maliciously at her expensive, as Earth Mother walked forward to seat Ren on the other side of where Luca was happily sitting.
"What's the matter, Arcueid~? Afraid the "talent" is gonna let slip something that's all that integral to your "strategy"~?" The purple haired entity asked teasingly, while clearly seeming amused at the dirty look that the goddess was giving him.
"You'd like that, wouldn't you Athrun?" Earth Mother sassed back at them, who in turn let out another infuriating laugh as they brought the salted rim of their glass to their thin lips. "The truth of the matter is that I simply cannot allow my CHAMPION to waste his breath by speaking to the likes of you."
Stifling a laugh while swallowing their mouth full of milky-white alcohol, the purple-eyed deity raised their glass again towards her— replying back in a provocative tone, "Oooo, touché," before setting their margarita down on the table.
"As entertaining as it is to get under your skin Arcueid, the flow of time within our realm waits for no one— not even for us, I'm afraid," the purple-haired entity mused with a twinge of disappointment in a jovial voice, as they idly tipped their margarita glass back-and-forth by its rim. "So I suggest we get the introductions out of the way, before we waste any more valuable time than we've already had— capiche?"
Although Ren wasn't quite sure what the extent of Earth Mother's relationship was with the skinny deity sitting across from her, he deduced that the genuine look of pleasant surprise on her face meant more than likely that cooperative behavior was indeed a rarity from the purple-haired oddity.
"Hmm… Very well, let us proceed as planned," the angelic blond goddess said in a more courteous voice, before turning her gaze down to Ren's confused eyes. "Ashta, this is… Their name is "Athrun Vordrerain"— he used to be renown as "Starbringer"-"
"- Now wait just a moment, so-called "Daughter of the Supreme God", but that's a misconstrued light that you're painting my image to the talent under!" Starbringer interrupted with a slightly annoyed tone in their voice, as they raised one finger up, passive aggressively over the table— causing Earth Mother to roll her eyes at them, as they cleared their throat before turning their attention towards Ren.
"You'll have to excuse "The Producer" of this little shindig for her inability to tell an accurate narrative; there's a reason why her resume is lacking within the "Goddess of Intelligence" department," Starbringer said half-jokingly with an giddy grin across his white lips— part of them clearly getting a rise from the way Earth Mother glared daggers at him, even as they momentarily looked up at her to insincerely tell her, "No offense intended, Arcueid~!"
"... Thirty seconds— you've got less thirty seconds left to speak to my champion," Earth Mother said bitterly— refusing to acknowledge their half-hearted attempt at apologizing, to which didn't seem to bother them at all.
"Right then," Starbringer said in a smug tone, before shifting their attention back to the uncomfortable look within Ren's crimson gaze. "I've got quite the extensive background, kid; rather than me listing all of my specialties out loud for ya, it'd be easier for you to understand me as a deity, if you were to compare me to an "All-Star Director"! I'm talkin' "David Lynch", "Steven Spielberg", "James Cameron", "Albert Hitchcock"— we've all been blessed with what you'd call an "Artistic Eye"! After all, I'm a visionary, before being the powerful deity that I am…!"
"... Neither of them knows who any of those people are, Athrun," Earth Mother reminded, before quickly being dismissed by the purple-haired god, who simply waved her off with his hand.
"Yeah, like I was saying... Where other gods see the mortal realm as nothing more than a game board to be manipulated with for their own selfish entertainment, I see potential— potential to transform the mortals' meaningless lives into a grandiose script!" Starbringer rambled on in a self-glorifying fashion— gesturing to themselves with a thumb to their flat chest, before speaking out loud, "You see, it's always been my personal mission to elevate the lives of those sorry saps on Earth; to remind them that they're more than a hunk of atoms waiting for their expiration date— to grant them a chance to learn what TRUE IMMORALITY IS, UPON TRANSCENDING THEIR LEGACY, ONTO THE GREAT SILVER SCREEN ITSEL-"
"-Aaaaaand, your thirty seconds of stroking your own ego are up; hope what you yammered on about was worth it," Earth Mother interrupted while smirking smugly at them, as they looked away from Ren to stare back at her with a mildly unsatisfied expression on their otherworldly face.
"Meh— it kinda of was. Hopefully though, your little "Leading Role" of yours understood more than what half of things I just said— because he's not much to look at, I'll say that much," Starbringer mused condescendingly— flicking their eyes towards Ren to flash him a snide look, before hastily darting their eyes back up be greeted by Earth Mother's protective glare.
"Anyways… Lockhart, is it?" Earth Mother asked aloud, as she narrowed her eyes towards Starbringer before swiftly giving their champion her attention.
Unlike Ren, Luca didn't seem to need any special permission to speak from Starbringer— instead smiling widely at the blond goddess, and nodded their head before replying back in a jovial voice, "Yes, ma'am— that's my last name!"
Nodding her head while gently biting down on her lower lip in a contemplative fashion, Earth Mother's mouth curled into a soft, sympathetic smile— causing Starbringer to raise an eyebrow of suspicion at her, and listen intently as she said to Luca, "I just wanted to preface this discussion by telling you how much your parents love you, Lockhart; they still talk about you, you know— about how badly they want to be reunited with baby bo-"
"-Desist with that blatant attempt of trying to manipulate my "Superstar", Arcueid— that is, unless you're more than willing to allow me to have a few more choice words with ol' Goblin Slayer here," Starbringer interrupted with an ominous tone of superiority in their voice— appearing very much in control of the situation, as he smiled mockingly at the way Earth Mother's crimson eyes suddenly went wide.
It was that moment that Ren felt a very obvious shift in tension in the air, which was only perpetuated by the heavy silence that followed suit— the two divine beings silently staring at one another, while seemingly having their own conversation without uttering a single word for either him or Luca to hear.
Previously only having seen the white-haired boy appearing either childishly naive, or manically psychopathic, the sight of Luca's somber expression made Ren momentarily cease his disdain for the androgynous child— seeing them averting their purple gaze away from Earth Mother, while frowning in a way that conveyed a feeling of hurt made the eleven year-old feel oddly sorry for him.
'I wonder what happened to his parents… Are they in Earth Mother's afterlife? Or are they alive somewhere? I can't say— there's too many contradictions present here that aren't limited to just the whereabouts of his parents,' Ren concluded silently to himself, while beginning to reflect more on what Starbinger had threatened Earth Mother with— snapping out of his contemplative thoughts, after flinching when he spotted Luca's eyes darting up to stare directly back at him.
Seemingly not wanting to speak while Earth Mother and Starbringer were beginning to bicker back and forth about their own quarrels, Luca silently expressed what they thought about Ren by beginning to smile maliciously at him— their eyes widening in an deranged manner, as their thin eyebrows furrowed at him ever so slightly downward.
'... Fucking lunatic,' Ren thought to himself, while beginning to match Luca's silent hostility by glaring back at them abrasively— narrowing his eyelids at them, even as the white-haired boy upped the ante by crossing their finger slowly across their own neck, before pointing to Ren to signal whose jugular they were wanting to slit.