1 Prologue

In a large spiraling structure, there laid a domain above the realms a mortal could touch. To the eyes of the Gods that had sought fit to set this world in their sights, it was impenetrable. As it was a cabal of all sorts, a mix of different gods each with their own meanings and goals, the structure was dubbed something rather appropriate.

It was the Babel, the estranged sixth layer of Uthreth. The highest point above the Paradise, the tower that could not touch the Aboveground.

The tower of Gods, that held them and their charges they thought fit enough to take with them. A collected mass of domains known as Iters, that defied the concept of space yet laid privy to the concept of time in most cases. These large spanning places were home to each god, and they did not often leave their own places to travel to others.

For gods had a distinct advantage in their place of dwelling, their Iter.

But today was an exception.

The Goddess Of The Forgotten Chaff made her way into the Iter of The Formless Usurper. With clenched fists and a troubled expression upon her beautiful face, she stoically marched ever forward.

Ignoring the formless writhing shadows and the pulsating veins of bloody pulp, the colors and the stench of displacement, she trudged forward as her sandals grasped upon uneven ground, she arrived at the core of the Iter.

Hanging there was a massive heart, still and lifeless. It took a minute, before the heart started beating again. It fervidly beat, as the visible multicolored veins started to pump with equal vigor.

Split.

From the center of a heart, a dark fog flew out towards the goddess. It rumbled and shook, before a being crawled out of it.

Flaxen hair, soft lips, and green eyes. It was the reflection in the eyes of the being before the goddess. It reflected her. And reflected back at the being was the exact same likeness, yet it was cloaked in shadow.

The two lookalikes stared at each other, one troubled and the other amused. Tapping the ground with it's feet, the being walked up to the goddess and clenched it's hand around her cheek, looking quizzically at her. It paused, before a broken voice came out of it.

"You have found it fit to give me form, then?"

A wide smile formed on it's face as its grin literally stretched from ear to ear. The goddess's nose crinkled in disgust, and her fine brows pursed similarly.

"Do not be ridiculous. Ichasmius."

The grin widened even further, as a chorus of chortles resounded in the Iter. Ichasmius opened it's mouth with an expression of ridicule on it's face.

"Why else have you come here, then? In the den of the beast? The beast that cannot move without others to perceive it?"

"We allow your Seers to do as they wish with our factions. Is it wrong for me to address a fellow god? Especially when there is such important information to be shared?"

"Share? Little one…Semille. I will ask of you a question." Ichasmius' voice had gotten noticeably similar to Semille's as it spoke, it's eyes curling into crescent moons as it went on. "Is this information worth your life?"

Semille gulped. Ichasmius was unruly, untamable, extremely hostile. It cared not for the consequences of striking down a god, no matter how worthless the result may be. As her fingers dug into her skin, she bravely matched it's eyes and gave it an answer.

"There will be a meeting. In a year's time. We need you to come, as we will be redoubling our efforts to invade Uthreth."

"It is sad that only three of you come in here to exchange words. Your wish has been heeded, and it would be wise for you not to stay long. Or…"

The grin became a merciless black hole as the Iter dimmed, all of the pressure and pulsating focusing on the center, exerting force upon Semille. Ichasmius let her go, seemingly not interested enough to finish its statement, and lovingly touched the heart from which it emerged.

"It is too bad that I cannot keep this form…it is unfortunate that I cannot leave this Babel." With a sigh of discontent, it disappeared.

Semille had left, after all. There was no one left to perceive it.

—

Uthreth.

It was a world unlike many others. It had quite a few peculiarities to the gods.

For one, it was sentient. While this was not a unique trait alone, the fact that it was had made it all the more harder to invade it. It was unnaturally hardy, able to resist and sustain the existence of multiple gods in its boundaries, at absolutely no risk of corruption.

There was a unique power to it, a power dubbed as Bridges. It was a method of accruing power that the gods had never seen before, collecting Glimpses to enrich the soul through its connection with the body and gain strength and abilities that were wholly theirs. While Bridges had somewhat of a theme, and skills that came with it, they could be developed ever still. It was an all consuming power, something that several gods had lusted over.

And so they had sent their Seers down. And The Mother Of The Night found them. That was the title bestowed the sentient planet, the one who called herself Uthreth. After slaughtering the Seers the gods has sent as scouts, she fought thousands of years in a hard war against the gods who had set up their Babel.

The war was locked in a stalemate, the arrogant conquerors astonished at their lack of progress. Of the previously five and now six layers of Uthreth, they held dominion over two. Babel and Paradise. They could only meet the influence of Uthreth on the fourth layer, Aboveground. Seeing that they could not progress any further, the gods entered their Babel, beginning machinations in an attempt to garner success.

Similarly, The Mother Of The Night had retreated to her deepest recesses, The Embrace. Harnessing the power she had and recounting her battles with the gods, she used her unique traits to bring about two things.

The first was life. The previously empty space became pockmarked with several features that bloomed, stood, and flourished. Beings were created, and The Mother Of The Night created her children. Humanoid monsters to hunt down the Seers and one day their Gods, their forms reflecting the hubris of man that had come to usurp her entirety.

The second were Paths. She had previously closed them, as they were the avenue through which she expanded herself. Unlike most worlds, she could incorporate ideas and parallel dimensions into herself, expanding her and strengthening her boundaries. It was before the gods came that she became depressed, unable and unwilling to do what she deemed as meaningless.

She had given her Guides their Sconce and Torch, a power unique to their entire existence that allowed them to light the way and open Paths, as well as many other things.

But now she had a purpose. To expand enough to gain the power to drive those wretched deities out. To create more Bridges, bestowing power upon her children so that they may not be oppressed by the Seers. She had created animals as a means to feed them, though she did not anticipate what happened next.

The gods had seen this and responded in kind. Commanding their servants, the Seers to collect the beasts and experiment upon them, they noticed the Paths. Devising a plan amidst the experimentations, the Gods had torn off pieces of the Babel and embedded them in their Seers, creating Babel's Thorns.

The Seers had gained the ability to lock Paths, as well as numerous other powers that were effective against Uthreth, and subsequently, the Guides. With vigorous experimentations and the utilization of their Babel's Thorns, they soon gave birth to a litany of beings that populated the land and ate the animals, as well as became intertwined with the Paths.

The Crystal Balls. They were all kinds of distorted or odd mishmash, appearing in all sorts of sizes and shapes. They were created to be a sort of looking glass for the Seers, as well as pets exclusively hostile to Guides.

But there was a mishap with their creation, as most experiments do not fully succeed. They became hostile to everyone, and yet they also became intertwined with Glimpses. Upon death, their Glimpse could be extracted and used by whoever saw fit! The only true success the Seers had made was the ability to see the surroundings of the Crystal Balls they personally tamed, yet that was not enough.

The Guides now had an even quicker way to become stronger. The Seers had a way to become stronger as well. There was a stalemate yet again, despite the efforts of all both parties.

And so Uthreth did something polarizing. She used her dimensional integration powers by relinquishing a bit more control over the Aboveground, the influence between the gods and her on it now evenly split. She summoned Messengers, each with something about them, a Letter that held their dearest wish, to Uthreth.

Across multiple dimensions, these Messengers all started off human, at the very least. They were the Fourth Party, aside from the First, the Seers and Gods, the Second, the Guides, and the Third, the Others. They were brought under the premise that personally killing a god or performing numerous meritorious deeds would see to it that the wish written upon their Letter would be fulfilled.

Many Messengers were greedy, cantankerous creatures. But Uthreth did not care. She didn't care that the gods had promised to fulfill their wishes as well once they reached out to them, as she knew that it would be impossible to fully command them. So she had created the Midnight Church and given the Guides a duty to oversee them, and kill them if they must.

An era of strife passed before the dust settled into another stalemate. Many Messengers had set themselves up into many different factions, known as Post Offices, and had settled on Uthreth. More were constantly being brought, but some new lives were born in between them too.

The Guides had set up a couple more orders, each with their own duties and statements, though there were not many for the Guides are unified, unlike Seers and Messengers.

And the gods, well…they plotted. Scanning for ways to finally invade the bountiful world known as Uthreth.

It is in this world that this story commences. Where a child of the Night is born and overcomes multiple ordeals.

The thread of Fate began unraveling.

Begin Disk 1. Punk Weight.