CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

The gods erected their godly realms and temples. Viscus returned to his godly realm of Oblivion where he fed on the seemingly endless power the plane possessed. It empowered him and sated his need to destroy all life at the moment. The power it took to sate the need to destroy all life caused an influx of incredible divine energies. The other gods or seeker-titans could sense this influx. Fear set in over the gods that had fought against madness before. The power of Oblivion pulsed. There was no shroud that could mask its power. All, including the minor powers and demi-gods felt the pulse of power and knew from where it originated. None could venture to Oblivion without being destroyed. Only Enamor dared. The powerful god appeared and collapsed to his knees instantly as the negative energies sucked the positive energies form his body.

"Viscus!" Enamor gasped. Viscus laughed insidiously.

"You think I will do the same for you, brother?" Viscus scoffed. Enamor struggled to look his brother in the eyes. Viscus toyed with the idea of thwarting his brother at that very moment. He dissipated the negative energies that were killing Enamor and sighed in disbelief.

"What have you done?" Enamor asked as he rose to his feet.

"What do you mean, brother?" Viscus asked curiously.

"The power that radiated from here moments ago was a level that all could sense. That means you stole power from someone before the ritual was performed. Who's was it?" Enamor growled as he moved dangerously close to his brother.

"Don't make me release the negative energies upon you again," Viscus threatened.

"Viscus, he knows where we are now!" Enamor roared.

"He cannot cross the protective warding of the relic," Viscus scoffed.

"You are such a fool! What did you take?" Enamor asked.

"Oblivion. I stole Oblivion from the Forgotten One. I didn't think he was real." Viscus hissed.

"You thought him a myth but believed in his creation of Oblivion? Your mind is baffling! It almost sounds mortal." Enamor growled.

"I will not be threatened," Viscus warned.

"If you do not return the power to him, then he will be able to crack the protective barrier." Enamor countered. The brothers argued on the plane of Oblivion.

*****

The seekers, Kronos, and the Forgotten One sensed the influx and knew where the gods hid. The seekers were always in packs of five as they travelled across the Void outside the reaches of the Realm of Madness. Like most alternate planes of existence, the lane of madness was once its own. The Forgotten One changed that by invading a prime material world long ago and assimilated it with little resistance. Gods that faced the Forgotten One died, or worse. No one had ever come close to turning back madness and restoring the prime material plane back to its former status. Now, to even attempt this would mean more than just finding a way to defeat the Forgotten One. It would mean finding a way to banish madness from the prime material plane as well.

Seekers, though all servants of madness still kept to their own kin of origin. Gods made pacts with other gods and titans made pacts with titans. Never did they combine forces. It was forbidden by Kronos and honored by the Forgotten One.

The pulsing of Oblivion reached outside of the shroud that hid the seed of life that contained the Athyxian Galaxy. The Forgotten One sensed the power of his stolen Oblivion pulse. His eyes opened in the deep sea that he slept in. A group of seekers wandering through the Void also sensed the pulsing and moved to investigate its origins. One group of seekers had found the hidden seed of life and the barrier that no god could pass through without first submitting. But they were not gods. They were titans. Monsters and other powerful beings could pass through if they could find it and travel through the Void. Seekers possessed powerful artifact rings that allowed them to travel across the Void. The seed of life pulsed with power and its invisibility was nulled by the warring gods that flocked there for refuge.

A second group of seekers tracked the power influx to the barrier that shrouded the seed of life. Ten of them acknowledged one another's findings. They were all titan-kin created by their father, Kronos. Any demi-god that had been assimilated was mysteriously destroyed while out searching for worlds to assimilate. The Forgotten One knew of the feud between gods and titans and did not care so long as his favorites were not lost to its power. Ten seekers passed through the barrier without any resistance and found the newly forged galaxy within the hidden seed of life. They could tell that the galaxy was no older than a few hundred years. The galaxy was a spiral of matter not unlike a whirlpool. They could feel the current tugging at them. If not for their enchanted rings they might have been pulled toward the center of the galaxy where the most powerful gravity well that they had ever encountered always resided. Their rings kept them on course. They saw many suns and several clusters of asteroids. Massive husks of rock and dirt floated through the galaxy that resembled planets. It was a whirlwind of confusion. The seekers had lost the trail once they crossed through the barrier. It felt like an eternity but at last they had sited the solar system that housed life.