The eternal paradise
Two people sped through the space the god realm. One was a regal middle aged man, while the other was a heavenly beauty.
Once they had entered the northen divine lands, the rate at which they passed the space around them did not slow down at all. Under the power of Krios's vast, immeasurable enegry, both he and Rhea sped towards the most sacred region in the entire god realm ––the birthplace of divinty— the Celestial forge!!
Rhea had never been to anywhere special beforw , much less the Celestial forge. So Krios took it upon himself to grant her fragments of his memory that would explain any unique phenomenon she saw.
"We're going to reach there soon, a place you will never want to leave," Krios looked forward as he softly muttered nostalgic words.
Finally, following the change of their dreary surroundings, wind which contained an impossibly pure aura rushed to meet them.
The Celestial Forge!
It was incredibly vast, and not only was it the most beautiful thing she had ever seen, redfined the laws of soace before her eyes. It was like her own beauty; it could not be deacribed. But if one tried, perhaps they would call it an expanding universe existing on its own. Populated with nebulae, stars, and numerous celestial bodies, it faintly pulsed with sentient light that seemed to welcome both Krios and Rhea.
"This is the origin of everything." Krios said with a faintly reverent look in his eyes.
Rhea too was lost in the beautiful panoramic view.
And yet as they neared the forge, Rhea did not have the calm of mind to bask in this place's divine aura, or admire the great scenery. Her heartstrings not only did not loosen, but instead, they had silently stretched pit even more with anxiety…
This was because she her own instincts warned her that she was approaching a presence like hers; a celstial god, but one that was infinitely more powerful than her, like Krios who was to her left.
And she unable to be sure that "this person" would not visit even more horrors on her..
As they dove into the Celestial world around them, Rhea's senses zeroed in on a land of remarkable purity.
It was a mass of green earth, hidden within the nebulae.
The further she went, the denser the aura of nature became. All of the elements in this place were incredibly mild and gentle, flowing across the world around in perfect harmony. There were gentle gusts of wind that danced across space, the nearly silent and calming sounds of streams of water water, and the even the earth radiated a natural vitality that could intoxicate the soul.
The air was so clean and untainted that she could see individual particles of dust and vapor sailing through it. This world did not have a sun, but got its light from the Celestial forge: a natural starry multicolored hue.
But somehow thus, shifting light granted the world a transcient beauty the the outside world could bot compare with.
Here, creatures of far greater beauty than those that existed outside pranced about without a care in the world.
This was a sacred land without violence or death: A perfect realm.
Bang
Krios flew forward and was immediately restricted by an invisible barrier. He chuckled lightly as he remarked: "This is just like her"
Krios knew that even if it was him, he could bot destroy the barrier by force immediately, and it would take him quite a while to break it… he was even more certain that and even if he was able to break it immediately, it would be an extremely foolish decision on his part.
He stared at the barrier with a slightly annoyed expression before calling out
"Selene, first born child of the Voice of creation, goddess of light and life, enemy of death, I call upon your name."
Krios's deep eyes shone with an imploring light as a bit a pleading enered his voice… However, the world around him remained unchanged, the existence behind the formless barrier was entirely unmoved.
Krios sighed deeply before replying, "Sister, I need your help."
Unfortunately, the only thing that replied to him was a heavy silence. It was as if thus mirculous land was truly empty, and that there was no one present to hear his request.
Then the world around them was silent again.
It was at that moment that the colorful creatures that had soared through the air, suddenly fluttered joyfully in a graceful dance. It was also at this moment that the voice which had spoke finally replied:
"This is not a place you should have come, leave immediately."
The voice that had spoken was very serene and apathetic, and yet it sounded like a heavenly melody. Transcient, as it brushed against ones soul luke the misty clouds of the sky.
No matter who heard it, they would they would find that the voice would haunt them for an eternity, and that they would never be able to forget it.
Krios showed a soft smile: "Selene, I am aware that you do not wished to be disturbed, but just this once I hope you will help me.." Krios sighed as he turned his gaze towards the stunned Rhea, continuing.
"I know you are the one most attuned to her divine Origin. So you have long since sensed what she is. So you also naturally understand why I brought her to you."
"Since you know everything, you naturally know that she cannot escape her fate, not if the balance of the world is to be preserved. And you know as well as I, that if 'elder brother' wants her dead there is little even I can do."
Her voice was extremely pure and gentle. It sounded so smooth and warn that one would think that it would calm the direst of storms.
But while her voice was a Celestial melody one could not help but love it was also extremely emotionless and apathetic.
As the Celestial goddess of life one would think that she was a saintly being that could bot bear seeing the slightest injustice.
However only those who existed on the same plane as her understood just how flawed this train of thought was.
What she valued was the life of the universe itself. To that end, individual fates meant absolutely nothing to her.
While her temperament was indeed gentle and she would never take a life, she was cursed by an intense apathy and lack if emotion that the mortal man couldn't fathom.
To that end she was not that much different from the embodiment of death Hel.
Perhaps being opposites, and occupying the most extreme end of the spectrum was a similarity of its own.
"Sister," Krios was being the most persistent he had ever been in his life as he implored again, "At least answer this question of mine. Do you have any confidence in preserving her."
A deep, heavy silence lingered in the Celestial world around around them before the voice of the goddess rang out once more in a beautiful song, "The moment the voice of creation gave her a body and soul i had been able to sense it just as you did. So did you brothers, and the devil enoerors as well. In other words, even if our brothers indulge your whim miraculously and allow her to live, the devil emperors will not.
Krios, she is fated to die, nothing can stop that. But i wont lie to you. If i have sufficient reason, perhaps I can make it so that is not where her fate ends."
But just as Krios's expression grew hopeful, she cruelly pronounced: "But, I have never deigned to stain myself with the filth of the outside world.
You want me to save her, but what is her life before millions. Every single day, fates shatter, and souls perish, but you do not ask me to save all of them, do you?
In the grand scheme of things, her existence is utterly meaningless. She is a mistake of the voice that never should have been." The voice finished.
Krios sighed, after all he had long since been aware of his sisters temperament.
Still, her words shocked him. He was even forced to isolate the sound radiating from the barrier so that Rhea would not hear it.
"You're wrong." Krios finally answered. "While it is true that I cannot bear to murder as sibling the way they all do, I offered her my protection because...I...saw...her.....fate."
The presence within the barrier was suddenly completely silent, as if it had been shocked deeply to its core: "You now the consequences of using the forbidden technique! You draw a curse upon yourself." While the voice was completely calm before, it was now diffused with ripples of disharmony.
Perhaps this was because of her slight affection for Krios and dreadfulness of the curse she spoke of.
Sensing her concern, Krios smiled. Then he replied seriously. "If it will help gaurd the continued existence of our world, you know that there is no price I will not pay. Her existence is a special one....
She, and one other will be the ones to right our wrongs and restore the balance.
They will be the ones to end the coming Crisis... " He surmised.
And then there was silence. It was as if the presence behind the barrier did not know
"Aiya…"
From the wispy fog of the intagingle barrier came a long empathic sigh of resignation:
"Hmph, still as stubborn as ever. Fine, If you are so convinced that she has some great destiny, then perhaps I will grant her solace as a fovour to you. But kow this, the string of her life will break. That much is inevitable.
"Leave her here..." The voice finally concluded.
A gratified smile appeared on Krios's face as a ripple spreqd through the formless barrier.
The barrier shimmered uncertainly before collapsing completely.
Free, a dense, sacred aura of life suffused into the surroundings, it was a spiritual, cleansing, aura that purified hearts, whatever it touched, whether plant, bird or beast all felt reinvigorated with life.
As it wafted over Rhea, she suddenly felt her restless heart calm and a deep sense of peace and solace settle within her.
Krios nodded at the uncertain Rhea as he encouraged. "Go! She will protect you."
Rhea herself did bit know why she suddenly trusted his words. She nodded meekly and allowed Krios's power to nudge her into the depths of the sacred land, then the formless barrier materialized again and Rhea's aura was gone.
Krios could no longer sense it if she wanted to. The presence he had felt within the barrier was gone as well.
Krios chuckled mysteriously before rising into the air, but as he did his expression suddebly darkened and an uncomfortable grimace appeared on his lips: "Will this really be enough?"
.....
....
The rest of the memories played out serenely.
Rhea would serve Selene as a handmaiden in the eternal paradise. For some reason, Selene's manifestation in the memories were limited a cluster of blurry white light.
Still Canaan could see that across the years a slight fondess developed between the two of them.
She taught Rhea how to read an write as well as all the principles of medicine. The decades passed by and she finally matured. Unfortunately in the end, a reckoning still came.....