Audience

For a moment, there was only silence as no one dared to initiate conversation under the Almighty's gaze. "His" mere presence, as silent and staid as "He" was, nearly crushed Endyr's spirit to a pulp. She was surrounded by a thick, syrupy Mana that even in her peak would be hard to control. While the Gods of Orvonia were far stronger than average, the Almighty Primordial had reached the first step of a higher existence. A Greater God.

As Endyr ruminated over what that implied, someone found it fit to break the veil of silence. "My Lord, I present to you the Abomination that infiltrated the Temple."

Tamar bent at the waist as she presented Endyr, with Jester and Belgemir also bowing in tandem. The Almighty did not acknowledge their presence however, keeping his eyes trained solely on Endyr. Tamar refrained from speaking again, instead exchanging looks with the man on the Almighty's right. Jester similarly looked at the man on the left, leaving Belgemir keeping his gaze glued to the floor.

'The man on the right matches the description of Serapis. The one on the left though...He seems familiar with Jester and obviously enjoys a high standing within the Almighty's court. Could it be?'

Before fearing the presence of Serapis, Endyr's focus was caught by the other black haired man. His positioning was eerily similar to the murals Endyr saw in Tamar's tomb, implying only one answer.

Standing before her was Fallacy in "His" youth.

The notion of being face to face with the God of Horror, even if it was only a projection or dream or whatever had pulled her back to the Third Era, filled here with a deeper dread than the Almighty did.

Perhaps the Almighty overhead this thought and got upset though, because the atmosphere took a sudden shift as Endyr's gaze was forced to meet "His".

"What are you"

It took her a moment to realise that "He" had spoken. No mouth had appeared on the Almighty's face, "His" entire body sans the eyes still hidden behind the glowing kaleidoscope of light. "His" voice simply reverberated around the room.

As Endyr was once again seized by the frustration of being unable to talk, Jester spoke up from her side. "The Abomination cannot speak, Sire" He politely informed. The Almighty's eyes flickered towards him, before turning away and settling on Fallacy.

"Zephaniah"

Beside the Almighty, Fallacy stepped forward and splayed his palm at Endyr. With a simple twist, the Mana churned and boiled before surging into Endyr's body. She shuddered at the intrusive sensation, and the chills it brought, but it vanished almost instantly.

She blinked multiple times rapidly to try and shake the remnant chills from her mind, but stopped upon feeling a new presence encroaching upon it. Looking inwards, Endyr saw a cloud of grey fog latching onto her soul-or her mind, to be exact.

"What do you have to say now?" The Almighty asked again, leaning forward every so slightly in "His" throne. As Endyr looked up at "Him" in confusion, she was startled when Fallacy spoke up.

"She is confused by your questioning" He spoke softly, his voice muffled ever so softly by the mask he wore. "She is also quite terrified by you, but also by me."

'Is he reading my mind?!' Endyr quickly came to a conclusion after hearing Fallacy speak, realising what the ball of Mana residing in her mind was for. Instantly after, she tried to enter a zen state to keep her thoughts under control.

"She?" Tamar spoke up, turning to Fallacy with a hint of surprise. "Yes, Lady Tamar. The Abomination regards itself as female. She also has a name, though I cannot understand what it is" Fallacy expanded.

"Describe this name to me" instructed the Almighty, resting "His" chin upon "His" palm. Fallacy paused as his eyes flickered back and forth, like he was reading something only he could see. "■■■■■" He slowly enunciated, causing everyone but the Almighty and Endyr to wince. But while the Almighty fell silent, Endyr was panicking.

For Fallacy had just pronounced her name in the language of Infinity.

Thankfully, reality did not warp or tear, and nobody in this room seemed to have heard anything but garbled noises. Although...

The Almighty lifted "His" hand away and looked at Endyr. "Well then Abomination. What exactly are you, for I have slain many of your kind, but never have I laid eyes on an aberrant like you."

Jester startled, as he raised his head again to look at Endyr closely. "Forgive me my Lord, but I fail to see any difference between this Abomination and the others" he politely explained. Tamar and Fallacy also observed Endyr withy curious gazes, though Belgemir kept his to the floor, while the one Endyr presumed to be Serapis was still staring straight ahead. He hadn't moved once this entire time, and was gradually beginning to creep Endyr out.

"That is because your sight is still too weak, Mirage" the Almighty explained, not unkindly. "This one possesses a strange aura to her, one even I cannot place. Yes, while all Abominations have this signature, the scent on this one in particular is far stronger than the others. Adding in what Zephaniah said, and it becomes clear the beast has a special uniqueness. In fact, I doubt we can even call it a beast. Look at how it acts, the submission attitude it carries. Have you ever seen an Abomination smart or mellow enough to know fear?"

The room fell silent as everyone (but Serapis) turned their attention to her, with even Belgemir getting bored of the carpet. Being under the gazes of so many powerful beings was unpleasant, but nothing compared to what she had experienced upon piercing the Veil. In that regard, even the Almighty couldn't compare to nearly two dozen Gods. Of course, "He" was only excluding the bare minimum pressure so far.

It was only then that Endyr realised she had given herself away in more ways than one. By resisting her urge to attack, and understanding the difference in levels between them, she had raised herself up from a mere beast in their eyes. While it would make communication easier as she hoped, it also brought with it a new deluge of trouble and suspicion. Jester was now eyeing here in a way Endyr found positively unsettling, while Tamar's face became a mask of secrecy. 

Beside the Almighty, Fallacy's eyes jumped back and forth as if he was reading something. "The Abomination regrets giving herself away, my Lord" he explained softly. "But I also sense self-doubt and suspicions regarding itself. I do believe the beast is as ignorant of its origins as we are."

At his words, Endyr relaxed a smidgen for it revealed Fallacy was not directly reading her mind, but merely guessing her emotions and maybe a sparse few images or recollections. It meant lying was impossible, but misdirection should still be on the table. 

"So the Abomination doesn't know where it come from either, hum?" the Almighty mused out loud. "Very well then, how did you enter the city without being detected? Or better yet, how did you enter the temple without killing every Human you saw?"

From "His" questions, Endyr managed to piece together what exactly the Almighty wanted. "He" did not seem overly concerned about Endyr herself, but simply the actions she carried out in the city. Coupled with "His" remark of having killed many Abominations, Endyr surmised her new vessel was a common enough breed during this time. The Almighty's latter question though, caused her mind to wander to the family she killed in the alley.

"The Abomination did kill some people on the way, but only a small family" Fallacy corrected the Almighty. "As for how it got in, it seemingly...climbed over the wall?" he blinked in confusion and paused, peering over at Endyr. 

"Climbed over the wall...?" Jester repeated slowly, turning to Tamar. "Is that possible?" he asked. Tamar nodded slowly, hesitation written all over her face. "The wall has been enchanted to repel any beast that approaches, but isn't actually set up to defend itself unless the security measures are activated" she explained. "But it should have emitted an aura that would have scared the Abomination away."

"More proof it is smarter than its kin" the Almighty said dismissively before turning to "His" right. "Serapis, I want that wall reinforced to cover the gaps Tamar mentioned by tomorrow."

Serapis bowed slightly in acknowledgement, but spoke not a single word. His gaze was ever consistent, and Endyr wasn't even sure he was seeing the same stuff as the rest of them anymore. What lurked behind that veil of shadows? What thoughts ran through the head of the Deputy of Heaven, if any at all? Did the embodiment of Death even think, or was he just a puppet to be commanded by the Almighty?

"I can guess the rest of the story" the Almighty leaned back in "His" chair and waved "His" hand breezily. "The Abomination stuck to the shadows, ignoring its urges to kill and consume all life around it. It made its way to the temple and used its invisibility power to escape detection by Rapelt. Am I correct?"

Fallacy nodded, "That seems to be the gist of it Sire. Unfortunately, the Abomination's mind is too cloudy for me to read deeper. The family it killed detected it on the way to the temple though, this much I can grasp."

"In that case" Tamar spoke up. "What are we to do with the beast now?"