Ch51: Truth, Part Three

"I believe in everything until it's disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it's in your mind. Who's to say that dreams and nightmares aren't as real as the here and now?"

– John Lennon

"How long has it been…"

Ven blinked as he returned to his realm. The space around his system star had been filled. Mighty orbital structures spanned the gaps between the many earths, extended to capture the light of the sun. More than the megastructures, the buoyant glow of life called his attention.

"There are so many," Ven drifted, eyes unfocused as he connected to the web of life. The number of life worlds had increased by ten… more. "I can hear them…"

Soft spoken whispers, unnoticed if he failed to concentrate. Countless, greater than all the stars in the sky.

"Thank you Lord Ven, for the food on our table…"

"Thank you Oh Lord, Our home was kept safe thanks to your protection…"

"Thank you…"

"Thank you…"

Ven winced. The bulk of the noises were prayers… gratitude toward him as some kind of god. He walked past the uncomfortable praise and focused on the other voices. They were different, filled with desperation and hope.

"Please great God, send the rain so my daughter may breathe easier…"

"Oh Lord Ven, please save my son and return him to my side…"

"Please, protect me from…"

"Please…"

"Please…"

He withdrew, face creased in a deep frown. All was not well within the realm. Unseen or unnoticed masses had once again fallen to the wayside. A sigh pushed past his lips as he drifted toward Avalon. This time it was no one's fault, just a matter of scale. Too many beings lived in his realm for a single empire to effectively manage.

"How can I help these people?" 

Ven closed his eyes and examined the lines of faith that spiralled into his consciousness. Most of the desperate came from primitive worlds, undiscovered beings who had no connection to the greater realm. He reached out to brush a tangled knot of faith and a rush of knowledge filled his mind. The lives of an isolated village, burdened by limited food and an outbreak of disease. He knew each one like a younger sibling, or a child. From birth to their current state, he bore witness to their existence.

"My god…" Ven reeled back. The information was too vivid, burnt into his mind. Even the evilest of them was like family… the kind that you didn't invite to the get togethers but always bailed out of jail. The transfer also came with a greater connection, a link that brought a ripple of power.

A deep breath drew through his nose as he set his face like stone. Ven's consciousness reached out and grabbed hold of the strands of faith, a single move that showered his mind with the thoughts of others. Countless beings. Human's, Beastfolk, new born races that he'd never seen before. He experienced the lives of them all.

"That's…" One stood out among them all, a voice he'd often tuned out in life.

"Please return safe, Husband…"

It repeated over and over, a silent vigil that had continued for uncounted centuries. Huan's life poured through his mind like a river, longer and more vibrant than the rest. Her bizarre outlook on existence, her love of the freedom that the Dragon God had given her, and her utter devotion to the man she'd claimed as her own.

"This woman is really…" Ven sighed and opened his eyes. Huan was asleep in the depths of the system star, in the middle of a long evolution into a true stellar dragon. "I need to have a talk with her…"

His new body didn't really have a gender, he was male in mind only and that mind was old. He had long forgotten the needs of the flesh, besides the drive to consume more powerful and delicious energy. Any future he had with anyone, would be limited until he solved that problem, and he wasn't sure he wished to.

"Life is simpler this way…"

Romance could complicate things, cloud falsehoods and display them as fact via the power of emotion. He had learned long ago that such things were a danger, to himself and others. Even the best person could overlook the greatest evil from their beloved.

"Hello, Big Brother," Min's voice sounded from behind him. Ven spun to find her perched on the Giants mighty shoulder. "Long time no see!"

– – – –

"Mikaela hasn't returned…" The One God let a frown spread onto his face as he addressed Lady Fate. "She carried the flaming sword I gave her… only the Titan could have stopped her."

"I know," Lady Fate sighed. The lines of destiny had scattered into chaos long ago, alongside much of her strength. "We are badly weakened, her loss would tip us over the edge…"

Their multiverse held on by a thread. One casual shove and the whole thing would collapse. She needed to restore what was lost, or everything would reach an inevitable end, swallowed by chaotic space and erased from existence.

"I won't face true death without a fight!" The One God clenched his fists and gazed into the fragmented multiverse beyond their barrier. "The concepts have weakened as the multiverse falls, but The Pantheons have gained strength…" He let a mad grin spread over his face as his eyes glowed with the light of faith. "A last pyre, the offerings of the living as they pray to avoid the coming of the end!"

Lady Fate shook her head. The growth of the lesser gods was meaningless. Even the One God was only a half step to what the Concepts had been, before the collapse. His newfound power would grant him a single battle, a blaze of glory beyond his station before he too fell to the Titan's maw.

"You are the strongest of us now, old friend," Lady Fate patted the old man's shoulder to sooth his wrath. She turned to face the barrier and drifted forward. "I will go and look for her, you stay and safeguard the last of our people."

"My Lady…" A flicker of grief touched the One God's face as he bowed his head. "I follow your orders, I always have and always will… but you'd better return!" He forced a smile over his sorrowful gaze and reached out to pull her into a hug. "This place can't run without you…"