Contract

Astral World.

The abstract and metaphysical plane that stretched and intersected throughout the infinity of the cosmos. It was, in essence, chaotic, yet it also had a peculiar order to it, bearing a contradiction in and of itself. Perhaps the cosmos was merely an agglomeration of contradictions, all of which supported each other in some cosmic way.

This theory was not without foundations, for the Original Creator split apart to create the cosmos as a consequence of the aggregation of contradictory concepts that "They" embodied.

Since the beginning of the fifth epoch, Gods had called this twisted place their home. It was not that they preferred the Astral World over Earth, but the broken barrier forced them to relocate their divine kingdoms here to support it.

In light of this, the Gods decided to withdraw from the stage and enter the shadows of the world. To enforce this, they gathered together to form a contract under the witness of the Eternal Blazing Sun. The main purpose of the contract was to forbid the Gods from descending into the world with their true bodies. As the Gods signed the contract and left for the astral world, they effectively ended the Glorious Era of Gods.

And ever since then, the peace in the astral realm within the barrier has been entirely disrupted just once, courtesy of none other than Roselle Gustav, who, in all his audacity, tried to use the Gods themselves in his plot to rid the corruption of cosmos.

Nevertheless, the Eternal Blazing Sun and the God of Steam and Machinery granted Roselle his wish. They confronted and slew Roselle, the Black Emperor, when he invaded the Astral realm. Though they were cruel and petty enough not only to have their angels destroy practically all of his mausoleums but also not to inform him that his plan was doomed to fail in the end.

But now the peace of the astral world was once again disturbed, even more than before, forcing the gods themselves to gather together for the first time since the beginning of the fifth epoch.

The Tenebrous Heaven, the Divine Kingdom of Evernight Goddess, lay on the broken barrier in all its serenity, and deep within it stood a gothic black castle with a vast hall supported by massive pillars. A silver table was in the centre, with seven chairs—three on either side and one at the head—all occupied by the gods.

"How long has it been?" Aucuses, the Eternal Blazing Sun, literally beamed as his smile radiated a light that blindingly illuminated the other gods and goddesses, causing everyone to frown in distaste.

"Aucuses!" Leodero, the Lord of Storms, thundered, squinting against the dazzling glare that illuminated him. "Shut your mouth!"

"Have some decorum, Aucuses." Herabergen, the God of Knowledge and Wisdom, added fiercely. "In the light of the current situation."

"Whatever." Aucuses waved his hand dismissively, though he still begrudgingly willed his magnificent radiance to dim under the fixed gazes of everyone. "After a millennium, we are all finally gathered in one place, which calls for a celebration."

Lilith, the Earth Mother, who was still veiled as Omebella, meditated gently before the three 'sworn brothers' went at each other's necks. "It's a special occasion, there's no doubt about it, but let's focus on what really matters, shall we?"

Everyone, including Aucuses, eventually swayed in agreement to the words of Lilith, for she always acted as a mediator of the gods due to her neutral and distinct position.

The Evernight Goddess, Amanises, sat at the head of the silver table, having graciously agreed to host the meeting in her divine kingdom. "Let's begin." She waved her hand, and the crimson moonlight that streamed into the hall instantly formed a curtain above the middle of the table, revealing an image of a handsome young man with bronze skin and silver eyes.

"Lucien Eggers." Amanises declared. "The one that threw the fate of the world into utter chaos."

"What do we know about him?" Artisan, the God of Steam and Machinery, addressed everyone directly after a moment of silence.

Despite their alliance, the Seven Gods never completely trusted each other, keeping their secrets close to their hearts, but Artisan, as another neutral party, pressured the gods to reveal their findings on Lucien, at least parts of them, given the situation of the world.

"Lucien is an anomaly," Herabergen revealed, his omniscient eyes twinkling mysteriously from the shadows of his hood. "There is no better way to describe his existence."

"I concur." Lilith agreed, the animal and plant illustrations on her pure white gown shimmering with life. "He is an archangel, and I sense little to no life force from him, so his authorities should be related to death, but no pale emperor has ascended in the world since Salinger."

"First of all." Badheil, the God of Combat, spoke up, emphasising each of his words. "Why haven't any of us noticed his existence beforehand?"

Amanises and Herabergen exchanged glances, which didn't go overlooked at all.

"Say it." Badheil asked begrudgingly. He may not like them, but what could he do? They were the only ones among the seven gods to wield the authorities related to fate.

"Well." Herabergen faintly revealed his findings from fate. "That's because Lucien was only a mortal a month ago."

For a brief moment, the hall fell silent, only to be broken by the heavy sigh of Badheil as he sat still in his seat, beginning to feel the coming of an uncertain future. The other gods, though, began to put forward their assumptions about this strange situation.

"Could his existence be related to a sefirot?" Artisan ventured. "Similar to Roselle?"

Aucuses grunted in annoyance as soon as that name was thrown. It was a sort of unspoken truth among the gods that Roselle didn't belong to this era and was most probably a part of the resurrection plan of the Lord of Mysteries.

"River of Eternal Darkness, huh?" Lilith brooded.

"I also think so." Leodero chimed in, pointing at the picture of Lucien. "He is the direct descendent of Salinger. Could Lucien be another arrangement he left behind? After all, he did control a tributary of the River of Eternal Darkness."

"He is a direct descendant of Salinger." Badheil repeated with a frown. "But we made sure that almost all of them died by the end of the fourth epoch, and the only one who survived went missing, but was presumed to have also fallen in the end..." he trailed off, a look of realisation suddenly flashing in his twilight eye, and then he immediately snapped it to their host. "Now, tell me, Amanises, you didn't have a hand in Azik's disappearance, did you?.." He inquired, and with each of his words, his tone grew colder and colder.

Amanises met his glare equally, not bothering to answer his question, which enraged Badheil even more because he realised Amanises was always a step ahead of him in their quest for the uniqueness of the Death, which was actually hidden from them under Salinger's arrangement, but Azik might just be the key that could lead to Uniqueness, and Amanises always held him in her palm.

The more Badheil thought about it, the angrier he got; his twilight eye began to shine with a lost brilliance; however, before anything drastic could occur, Lilith intervened, "This is no time for quarrels." She declared gently, then looked at her 'Son' soothingly. "Badheil, whatever Amanises had planned, it is no longer going to be applicable considering everything that happened, so let's rewind and focus on Lucien."

Badheil restrained his anger under the reasoning of his mother, but still shot a withering glare at Amanises before nodding compliantly. "Yes, mother."

"Mother…" Aucuses muttered under his breath, exchanging a smirk with Leodero.

"You both have something to say?" Badheil snapped at Aucuses and Leodero.

"Children.." Lilith commented exhaustedly.

"What was that—" Leodero began but was cut off by Herabergen, who captured everyone's attention with just three words. "Adam supports Lucien."

"Of course, he supports Lucien." Aucuses grumbled. "He is Adam, after all."

"I believe you are still unaware of the gravity of our situation." Amanises told Aucuses, and then she addressed everyone. "Chaos is a ladder." She paused. "In this case, chaos takes the form of Lucien, whose mere presence affects everything and everyone. And Adam has influence over him, the chaos-bringer…" she trailed off, her underlying implications carrying in the air.

A veil of heaviness draped the hall as the gods thoroughly considered the implications in silence, but Lilith eventually broke it, rubbing her temples. "This situation is troubling indeed."

"We need to stop this." Leodero immediately thundered. "Adam cannot continue to shape the trend of times as he pleases."

"I agree, but there is no stopping what is going to happen, Leodero." Herabergen sighed. "Lucien was able to seize control of the Numinous Episcopate, whether through his efforts or Adam's arrangement, reigniting hope for freedom throughout the southern continent. It won't be long before insurgencies erupt across the continent, sparking a global war that, given everything, is already unavoidable."

"A world war is unstoppable, but Adam isn't." Leodero persisted. "He has managed to keep himself hidden from us for so long, but now there is an opening." He paused. "All of his plans and arrangements for the coming change of times should include Lucien in some way, so all we have to do is deal with him to completely disrupt everything, and in the ensuing chaos, we can destroy Adam's hold on the world."

"This might work." Artisan nodded. "However, it will not be easy. Adam understands the significance of Lucien, and Lucien himself is beset with mysteries, so if we are to proceed, I suggest we wait until we have a complete picture of the situation."

"We will never have a complete picture." Amanises retorted, surprising everyone. "Lucien's existence itself makes sure of that."

"So what do you suggest, Amanises?" Artisan asked, looking at her along with everyone else.

"I think if Lucien's situation has proven anything, it's that the world is going to become more and more chaotic as the Apocalypse approaches, to the point where even we might end up finding ourselves powerless." Amanises declared. "So I suggest that we nullify the contract we signed at the end of the fourth epoch."