42. Godly Bet

Astatlan was an interesting city born in the northwestern region of what in another universe or maybe the future would be Mexico, and it had been founded a scant few centuries after the fall of Shambhala; it was no mere coincidence.

Four other strange cities of magical grandeur and miracles existed around Earth. Four, it wasn't a random number; it was the result of the divisive choice of four siblings, two brothers, and two sisters, who have caused the fall of the original city, the heart of humanity, and now these four are carving their little empires across the globe.

Astatlan was one of such empires and was currently at war with another; this last one, however, was not earthbound and was an artificial island built around a triangular formation, creating storm and illusion—the Bermuda Triangle. My involvement is not to be questioned. I liked my itty bitty easter eggs here and there to mess with future archeologists.

As such, the battles were at the breaking point of the coast and a vast plain, none winning over the others and the victory at the end mattering little. Neither used this land to any extent beyond spilling their blood and entrails like a macabre canvas.

And this was one of the battles of this war we were observing from an elevated rock, Cegorach and I eating snacks as we studied the mortals killing one another for the family drama of their egomaniac overlords family feud.

A vendetta between the Godking of Atlantis, Atlan, and Nahua, the Eternal Empress of Aztlán, lofty titles for the two of them, but I digress. This entire charade was nothing more than a soup of asinine stupidity.

No matter how competent as rulers, the two were, and they were. Both of their territories were utopia, but alas, peace was such a complex concept to grasp when emotions were high, explosive, and fiery for centuries on end. Stubbornness and pride were no more than oil on the fire.

And I wasn't one to force my will upon them, though admittedly it wasn't of a virtuous feeling to let them free to murder one another as they pleased, but that I gained in that.

"Planet-bound sophonts are such entertaining critters. They dance and dance, sing melodies of death and lust, violence without end, rhyme, and reason~! Ah, how tragic… How poetic is it not, Hoopa~?" My brother noted, and I nodded, throwing the bone of a fried chicken at the battlefield, the little thing bouncing up and down, collecting the souls that were due to me.

"Indeed, but they differ naught to the ones adventuring the star…. However, humans have one thing: they can be particularly spiteful and hateful to what they deem dangerous or undesired to a degree inconceivable for many and that across generations, nay entire civilization. And that no matter their creed, sex, and origin." I said, frowning in disappointment at the failed spell from one who swore her soul to me. The spellwork that should have turned five dozen into meat ribbons had backfired, inverting her skin around her head, from face to scalp.

The sensation this would give was evident, as was her reaction.

She was confused, then panicked and screamed, and screamed harder to the heavens. Then she keeled over instead of following the necessary protocol in case of non-fatal failed casting. It would have reverted the damage, but alas, she didn't train enough, got greedy, fat, and arrogant, and now she was rolling in the bloodied, grim-filled battlefield soil with her muscles bare to the world.

Wide, lidless eyes gazed in agonizing despair for any way out until an enchanted spear flew through one of them. This gory, non-consensual act of perforation freed her from the mortal coil of her flesh. And this was one fraction of the human meat grinder unfolding before us.

It was a grim spectacle I hardly found myself moved by.

I gave them knowledge, guidelines, and power, and what they do until Death meets them is none of my immediate concern and, beyond exceptional cases, nothing for me to intervene in directly. I can't completely go against my nature, after all.

My teaching was centered on the understanding of knowledge, and the knowledge of understanding, if they follow my words or comprehend them, is entirely up to them.

I would have preferred it to be a pacifist organization, but what they were doing worked, too. Potential psychological problems for the final result were counted from the beginning and countered by thousands of runic systems.

I never lied; the contracts were concisely explained without tricks or loopholes.

"I can see that the extinction of the oldest of old is a bloody proof." He remarked. In response to the snark, I rolled my eyes; it was all good fun if I could put it that way. Unlike the others, he wasn't opposed to what I did back then; the conditioning affected him, but his divinities protected him as both aspects clashed together.

It wasn't that he didn't have his heavy criticism of my past actions, the thoroughness of it with everyone, no matter of age and responsibilities killed, but it wasn't personal.

Unlike Khaine, for example, for him, I think it's more on the betrayal of trust than the genocide of our masters itself. Bah, what do I know? He is the most mentally unstable of us all from the beginning and not the good or fun kind.

From what I was told, he killed the first Aeldar for no reason aside from Eldanesh, said the first one's name, that he was an annoyance and a tool of Asuryan to show his superiority. At least if what I glimpsed in my study of my at the time new godly family was correct.

There were more on Khaine that spoke volumes of his bellicose nature and tendency to fuck things up, but I wasn't much one to put myself at the moral high ground in the equation. Still, the destruction of our brotherly relationship wasn't a loss for me emotionally, though what he did would be met with heavy punishment.

But it spoke volumes of what might have become of us when the war ended. We were tools, weapons of mass destruction of galactic scales, and temporary instabilities with psychological quirks were supposed to be of no problem. We would have been 'fixed' to be 'right' and 'taken care of'.

"Indeed, one of the last aspects of what I once was still carried to my new existence, 'Mother,' couldn't get rid of such an intricate aspect of my being." I spat. Even to this day, orally speaking of the frog bitch in any way aside from Mother was impossible. Stopping doing so was akin to a non-modified human stopping to breathe forever. It was how intricate she made it so to my being.

"Quite the fearsome expression of emotions, if extreme and dangerous for oneself and others. It's… fascinating." He added, pointing at two men biting and clawing at one another to death on the edge of the battlefield like they were rabid animals instead of respected warriors who trained from childhood.

Their entire life, from the first flicker of awareness in their mothers' womb to their first loves, and the present was bare for us to see, all unraveled with a glance. Two were certain that their cause was just and correct as they destroyed themselves and all in the general vicinity for their ideal.

"Humanity's greatest strength." I chuckled, but I was deadly serious on the matter, "And weakness, the inability to let go of a grudge and or ideal and expand upon it endlessly to the point it transcends death."

"Momo had hinted that a decaying golden empire led by reckless destruction and pyrrhic victory cursed to a slow but ultimate end. I see how none of her wording was deceitful, marvelous little critters." Cegorach let out, and I raised an eyebrow, right Morai-Heg loved to spout random shits wherever it pleased her, but I knew what he was talking about.

The Imperium, if memory serves me right, but it wasn't for now yet an actual show of what humans would do when pushed to the extreme. Not as cruel, intelligent, gifted, powerful, or imaginative as Aeldari and Necron, but oh so capable of destroying all out of pure spite.

A last ultimate fuck you and all the sardonic pleasure that went with it.

If that wasn't one of the essence of Humanity itself in this Universe, then I didn't know what it was.

"Only she, my little cyclops, and the impostor knew the inklings of reality in the boundless possible futures." I shook my head. How annoying such individuals were, the future was a facet of reality that should always remain in the dark. What was the point of a journey if all the magic was taken away?

"But hate isn't the only substance humans excel in; alas, this period of time is not prone for what I remember of the period I had lived." I laid out, creating a blurry illusion of a city I didn't remember the name of, with a prominent metallic spire standing above all other buildings. Then it switched to a small, flat metallic box with a screen and blurry images and video passing by, and more imagery followed from cities, villages, and landscapes.

"What was that luminescent handheld primitive device? It's unique…" He inquired, and I blinked… Hm, yes, this might pick his interest more than random and incomplete architecture.

"A smartphone. A miniature physic-based computer fitted with a tactile screen and a library of neat functions can connect through certain frequencies and exchange information between other such devices. Ah! Yes, there was another aspect that you should find appealing: the Internet." The lights show changed to represent what I reminisced about the World Wide Web.

"Go on, little brother, what matter of concept could these creatures of the like have created to impress me, the Great Harlequin and legendary God of Trickery! Hehehe~! Go on!" The clown pressed on, hunching over the smaller frame of my Avatar, a metallic limb snaking around my shoulder.

"Then listen, brother! It's not the concept itself but the culture surrounding it. It's a construct giving the user the possibility to exchange-"

I proceeded to explain what it was, how it worked, and the juicy parts, the social media and subculture within with their rules. The point that took his entire focus was the memes. A concept he fell in love with immediately and demanded me to open a portal back to Yuggoth.

His flamboyant declaration:

"It's per my divine duty and with my immeasurable magnitude to grace our noble adept with the immaculate wisdom of this unique creation!"

If that was a grave mistake on my part… I didn't know, and it would likely concern the poor mortals. My insincere condolences to them. However, it left me alone, not for long, luckily, as Ollanius had been tasked to shape a region within the coast of the Mediterranean Sea for my project, and I don't think he would reject my verbal assistance.

'He can try…' I internally chuckled, teleporting myself to some mischief.

Though microsecond before this, I side-eyed the two human leaders of each faction taking off to murder one another joyfully. Today wasn't parallel to the hundreds of battles before, and one would win, and it was neither of the humans in this pointless war.

•••••

Deep within the verdant of a primeval forest beyond the age of many sapient species was sitting on a chair of flowering vines, a creature of immense beauty. A flowing robe adorned her body while elegant butterfly wings of countless ever-changing lights adorned her back.

Her eyebrows, in a similar fashion breaking the normalcy of Aeldari, were two long feathery quills reaching beyond the range of her wild yet meticulously arranged hair. Her eyes glowed an intense golden amber as tears rolled down her cheeks to vanish into starlight.

This was Isha, her Avatar to be exact, and as it was not from a fragment of her true self, an alternate representation of her body. A caricature, some would say, but she wasn't one of them; this was a present from her children, and she dearly cherished it.

Yet her expression was conflicted, not from her tears. It was deeper. Joy and relief, she knew it was these emotions she should feel. Freedom was coming… freedom from eons of enforced isolation to save the little ones lost in their unpleasant ways. A dimensional gate was being built now that there was a connection between the two realms.

It was a meticulous and delicate process but one that would bear fruit. Until then, there was not much that could be done.

But at what price? The choice to take the chance given by the Traitor, the Original Sin, Hoopa, was one not to be taken lightly, but it was one of grieving desperation.

Asuryan was unwell, unable to emit the radiance he once did, be it of mind, body, and soul. He was no more than a flickering ember in will and wisdom, a shadow of what he once was.

Khaine was as dangerous as he was predictable; death would follow if assistance were asked of him. More so with their alliance with Hoopa. His Consort, Morai-Heg, was opposite in her operation yet no better, impossible to read and anticipate, and the one able to shatter it all with a single whisper.

Vaul was under the flaming twin control, one bound by the fiery chain of slavery and the second by honor and unbreakable loyalty. His help was nothing more than a dream

But it was the fate of her daughter that worried her the most, caught in this deathly labyrinth of uncertain destruction. She didn't know if her decision was the right one. One mistake and death would be the least of her concerns.

It was a time of doubt even for the Gods, and as the Fall approached, it grew and grew like a cancerous tumor.

"Warm layered sunlight tea accompanied by its special creamy flavoring for you, my eternal love." A soft baritone voice startled her as a wild-looking, muscular, bipedal creature on hooves appeared behind her from the grass, a gentle smile on his features as vines growing from his antler partially hid it.

"Ah, a thousand thanks, my world. 'twas what I needed in those times of great incoming calamities." The Avatar of the Aeldari Goddess of Love exclaimed gracefully as she daintily grasped the masterfully crafted cup in her hand, but not after kissing the lips of her husband's Avatar.

"You are most welcome." Kurnous hummed, shifting his position in an all-encompassing protective embrace that seemingly was impossibly unrestrictive to his mate. There was a pleasant silence until the Lord of the Beasts broke it with an accepting sigh.

"I feel your uncertainties, Isha, but an unchangeable path has been taken when we vowed to follow our foolish brother's schemes. We are trapped in a gilded cage of our creation and shall make do with the opportunities given, blessed and cursed, right and wrong." His words were not ones of comfort. If they were, they would be deceitful.

It was a risk they had taken, but one that was necessary, and for that, comfort and serenity needed to be gone for their daughter and children's well-being. It was a bet they had taken, a godly bet with equal implications in its result, good and bad.

"Yes… That is the truth, Kurnous. But I worry regardless." She lamented as she let herself fall in his tender embrace, the cup kept from spilling by a root.

"Me too, my love, but what is done is done." He agreed, and then the gloomy ambiance was suddenly shattered by the mad cackling of a certain clown on his way to put plans into action. Behind him, a scintillating trail was left in the sky. It parted the clouds and turned what remained into dancing white puffy animals.

*

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