Chapter 47: Uncovering

She clasped her hands, staring down at the latest God that she had encountered within this world. Truly, it was so much easier when she could merely consume the deities that insisted on impeding her. To think, she was having such a pleasant day exploring this fascinating world with her Consort.

"Do we?" She inquired, "As I recall, I hath had no quarrel or cause with you or yours, Odin of Asgard."

The God's eye narrowed at her choice of words, likely taking issue at her eschewing of his Title. She cared not for his indignation, there was only a singular entity that she would acknowledge as a Lord. It was not this God that she had only just encountered.

"I see." Odin spoke, his voice rumbling with his words, "Well, be that as it may, whether you acknowledge it or not, you have effected great change upon my realm, as well as likely doing the same to others."

Oh? Had her presence caused ripples? It was likely, but she dearly wished that the various meddling forces that infested this realm would just mind their own concerns. Damocles had enough to plan for with his plans for the Underworld, having all these outside forces get involved would merely complicate matters.

Her consort spoke, "What could have made such an impact on the Nine Realms, for you to appear to us personally?"

"An apt question." Odin turned to regard him while stroking his beard, causing her awareness to sharpen in case the God attempted anything foolish, "Your descent had consequences That were comprehensive and far reaching. What else could you call the Sundering of Fate?"

The God turned back towards her as he said his next words, "What was once inevitable became questionable. What was once impossible, became probable. You might not know what that means for us in Asgard, but I can assure you that it was a welcome occurrence. The Sagan will know why."

"Ragnarök." Her consort did indeed, sighing and saying a word she had never heard before, "The Prophesied End Times of the Asgardians."

"Indeed." Odin spoke, nodding at his words, "With Fate shattered by you, We have been granted a great opportunity. However, I thought I should meet you in person. Someone who could accomplish such a task should be treated with care."

She was highly irked by the powers that be in this world. It was as if a malaise hung over the whole lot of them that caused them to all take leave of their senses in a similar way. They hear about an immense power and they could not help themselves but to poke and prod and annoy.

"Enough." Her words cause the God to straighten, his Divinity strengthening in response to her tone, "Allow me to lay thy fears to rest. Fight thy war, Thy prophesied battle, win or lose. I care not. Thy realms, thy people, they are inconsequential to me. I do not wish to be involved."

"Very well." Odin spoke, his own voice firming, "Let us speak frankly then. Whether you wished to be involved with the wider world outside of your Consort or not, you already are. Your arrival caused a massive upheaval in the plotting of the future, something that upset and angered a great many people. You have announced your entrance into a great many ongoing games and will be a variable that many will seek to control."

"Thy warning is received." She wished for this conversation to be over.

This wearied her. These Gods, Satans, Spirits and others were all so tiresome. Barking away, as if their threats were something that held weight to being such as her. The only reason this world still existed was due to her Consort's presence upon it, as well as his stated goals for the land. He had stalwartly supported her own usurpation of her home, the least she could do was return the favour.

However, maybe she should make her position more clear.

"You yourself might not be in any danger." Odin cautioned, his endeavouring to ensure the message was properly received only serving to confirm her new course of action, "But those around you will be targets. With proper knowledge and warning, they will be less likely to be successful, so that is why..."

"Thou shalt be my messenger." She decreed, her words causing both Odin and Damocles to pause and stare at her in befuddlement, "I tire of the buzzing of gnats. I have restrained myself for Damocles' sake, but perhaps all thy actions shall be more considered should you see the truth."

"Ranni…" Damocles spoke, worried while Odin started to reach for his walking cane, his instincts warning him of danger.

"Behold, Odin of Asgard, the being with which you entreat." So saying, she released a fraction of her own Divinity, the walls of reality bending under the force of her existence.

The King of Asgard stared at her, his eye widening as he beheld the truth of her form. Instead of quailing and retreating, she was pleasantly surprised when the lure of knowledge instead enticed him to stare deeply into what she was freely revealing to him.

Grasping his awareness, immersed as it was in her being, she forced him to realise what she wanted him to. She showed him the truth. What she really was. She had started out as a Demigod, an Empyrean, but she had ascended. Becoming one with the Dark Moon had allowed her to contend with the other Outer Gods on equal footing, but even that was not the end.

Each Outer God was immense, their existences beyond most reckoning. All of them resided in their own realms, realities where their wills were law. Yet they all fell to her. The warmth drained from them, their powers consumed and folded into her own.

She was not merely a God, like they all thought. She was not even a primordial existence, like the Red Dragon which guarded this world. No, instead, she was something that they had never before encountered.

She was the End of entire Realities, made manifest.

Odin flailed, back peddling and in terror, his Spear revealing itself as it flew to his hand, its gleaming metal shining as its point was aimed directly at her.

"Dost thou think that would harm me?" She spoke, the amusement she could have garnered at the scene being swallowed by her utter frustration at the beings that insisted on meddling with her, even now.

"Sagan…" Odin spoke, horror lacing every syllable, "What have you called here?"

Her consort proved once again that he was worthy, standing unbowed by her side as he responded confidently, "I would advise, King Odin, that you consider your next actions carefully."

Odin took in a deep breath, his composure returning to him, but still his eye never left her for even a microsecond. He flinched, spear pulling back to prepare for a thrust as she stepped towards him.

"Go now, King Odin of Asgard. Go to those thou spoke of before, the ones that mine presence here offends. Instruct them what awaits this world should they succeed in making me truly angry." She commanded, Watching as he attempted to drop into a less tense stance.

He failed, her presence now sparking a soul deep wariness in him, "Very well. You've made yourself clear."

With that, he fled. Of course, he attempted to look dignified while doing so, but all present knew the truth. Once he was out of sight, her Consort released a weary breath.

"That certainly escalated quickly. Dare I ask why you were so annoyed with him?" He asked, causing her to turn to him and gently place a hand on each of his shoulders.

"You were relaxed. Today, I saw thou truly smile for the first time in a long while. Ever since we made that discovery in our first lesson, a shroud of tension has surrounded thee. I could see it dwelling upon thy thoughts in every moment. Yet, today, thou could truly let it go and enjoy thy time with me." Her voice trailed off, turning bitter, "Then he arrived with vague warnings? Interrupting our time together to impart knowledge we already had? I was most displeased."

His sister, who had merely been observing the situation until now, spoke up, "She's right, Nii-san. You were having fun."

He laughed, but Ranni could hear the tiredness in the action, "So you were angry for my sake? Thank you Ranni. It means a lot."

She was surprised by his next action as he reached up and gently removed her hat, holding it in one of his arms as he raised the other and gently stroked her head. As his hand traversed through her hair, she closed her eyes, basking in the closeness and intimacy of the action.

It was the most tender act they had partaken in so far and she relished the sensation. She could see why Shiro coveted this so much. It was incredibly comforting.

-XXX-

"Where do you want to go first, clothes or…?" Naomi trailed off, unsure as to what the two girls were lacking.

The answer of 'everything' was quaint, but unhelpful. Thankfully, the two girls agreed to start with the clothes. Stopping by a reputable boutique that highly came recommended by the Yokai, the two hesitantly started to look through the articles on offer. Thankfully, soon they got into the swing of things, trying on different outfits and happily comparing them between themselves.

She had been worried for Valerie, the poor girl seeming very meek and terrified. She thought that maybe Selene would be a bit too intense for the Dhampir, but fortunately her worries seemed to be for naught.

Seeing that their wards were preoccupied for the time being, Naomi turned to her sister and asked a question that had been bugging her for a while, "What's got you in such a good mood?"

"Hmm?" her stoic sister replied, in a parade rest as she watched the two smaller girls, hands clasped behind her back, "What do you mean?"

To most anyone else, looking at her sister, they would see someone purely focused on their task, all business and professionalism. Naomi, however, knew her sister better than any one. The slight bounces on the balls of the feet, the small swaying from side to side… Her sister was happy about something, ans she found herself deathly curious.

"Come on, Kasane. You know you can't lie to me." She smirked, poking the girl in her side and causing her to jump and squirm, "Spill."

"You let this go, will you?" Kasane asked rhetorically, before she sighed, "Fine, but I don't want you to lecture me."

"Why would I lecture you? It obviously went well, whatever happened." Naomi tilted her head in response.

"It was… Not the smartest thing." Her sister's evasiveness turbo-charged her curiosity.

"Well now you have to tell me what happened." She clasped her hands together, leaning in and putting on her best pleading face, "Please? For your favourite sister?"

Kasane rolled her eyes at her antics, but the small upturn of her lips betrayed her true feelings, "Fine. If you really want to know so badly… After Ranni and Melina arrived, but before he left to fetch Selene, I went to Damocles."

"I know that." Naomi blinked, "You asked me to cover for you for a bit then, remember?"

"Yes, but… when I went to find him, he was in his room, and then we…" The white haired girl fidgeted, red dusting her cheek as she turned to look to the side.

"Oh. My. Word." Naomi gasped, "You didn't!"

"We did." Kasane admitted, her voice small.

"Wow, you really went for it." Naomi swallowed her jealousy, her conflicted feeling regarding the Lord of the House, a constant buzz she had learned to live with, "Well done! Did it go well? I mean, obviously, but I need details!"

"I should have just said nothing." Kasane lamented, the rest of the story extracted over a ong conversation.

It was difficult, Kasane always struggled with sharing, but Naomi felt the smile that her sister had when she spoke about Damocles was worth the effort. How she felt about the actual content of the talk… that was something she would have to think about on her own.

Damocles was always hard for her to figure out, oscillating between kind and ruthless, hot and cold. It was difficult to figure out which one was the real one, what his real face was. Did he actually care about all of them, or was he just tricking them like he did with the Devil Lords?

She resolved to find out, and soon. Her sister was getting more and more attached, at this point hopelessly in love with him. Naomi had avoided this confrontation due to her own feelings for the Sagan, but that excuse no longer cut it with this new information.

The voice in the back of her head that whispered she was only this resolved because she felt she was falling behind was ruthlessly silenced. This was for her sister, no other reason.

Right?