Memory Flash

"Hm? Is that Julie?"

Thelamia's eyes focused on a huge life-sized oil painting masterpiece of Julieth in a very elegant outfit. Violet curtains surrounded around her creating the illusion of a regal veil in the night.

Genocide rushed to Thelamia along the hallways,

"Ah that...yeah that's mom."

Then, he shut his eyes and crossed his arms with a proud tour guide's smug on his face,

"Honestly, mom's too gorgeous there, making me not to believe it at first."

Thelamia touched the painting while Genocide wasn't looking. Suddenly, a small part of the wall flipped fast. More so, the whimsy Goddess was caught by the flipping wall and pushed her to the other side without warning.

Then, the wall returned to its former state as a clean slate.

Not much soon, Genocide had finished his confident explanation of insulting his own mother's painting. As he opened his eyes, he was shocked, as Thelamia wasn't by his side anymore,

"Thamy? Where'd you go?"

He took a sneak peak at the nearby trashcan,

"Are you there Thamy?"

He looked around, but the pink-haired Goddess was nowhere to be found. Thereon, he just scratched the back of his head,

"Where in hells did that silly Goddess go."

Spheera caught up looking very exhausted,

"Where's...master?"

Genocide just made a silly grin and scratched the back of his head,

"How should I say this?"

Meanwhile, Thelamia was now inside a very dark secluded place. She looked around. and there was no single ray of light around,

"I wonder what's this place?"

The only thing she could do was to walk straight. While she was moving forward mindlessly, she bonked her forehead unto a hard steel material,

"Gehck!"

"Ouchies!"

Thelamia exclaimed felt her forehead in pain, as it hurted a lot.

Poor Goddess.

In a snap, she saw that the sphere floating above her head glowed its prismatic light as it was a star jewel of the heavens,

"Pretty!"

Soon, the lights spread out and it had shown the colors of the rainbow. Then, it formed a vivid imagery of a certain scene. To her eyes, the scene was just like any other movie in a tv screen with perfect angles and shots.

Her eyes started to grow wide with surprise and excitement,

"Is that?!"

Soon, she saw a realistic scene of a crowd. Confettis of gold were falling from the sky such as a big celebration was being held. The people had bright looks on their faces. More so, they were hailing someone at the balcony of a huge radiant castle. Cheers and woos echoed from the crowd,

"All hail king Zero!"

"Zero! Our savior of light!"

"The Goddess of creation's prosperity envoy! King Zero!"

"We love you king Zero!"

"May the whole Athlus be forever prosperous with you and the Goddess of creation at your side!"

"Zero! The bloodless king who unified all with no blood ever spilt!"

At the balcony carved out of gold and pink diamonds, the radiant smiling Zero was waving his regal hand at the people below. In his appearance, he looked younger and similar to Genocide's young adult features. The only difference was the hair color and eyes. Though, Zero didn't have the shade and shroud of a demonic overlord. Rather, he had the embelishments and pure aura fit for a an approachable king of light,

"Thank you my dear people."

Not much soon, he returned to his king's chamber that was just one step away from his balcony. Everything around him had the atmosphere perfect for a noble that was touched by the queen of holiness and luxury. He sat on the sofa and made an optimistic smile,

"I hope Thamy comes back."

Soon, he heard a knock from the nearby door.

Zero nodded and stood upright,

"Yes yes, come on in."

Julieth who had the face of a divine model, entered. Then, she approached and made a courtesy to Zero,

"Greetings king Zero. I am just here to ask you. How goes being heralded as the great king for a short time?"

Zero held his hands together and looked at Julieth with his honest eyes directly,

"It's going swell. And could you stop with the formalities a little Julie? Loosen up a bit and take a seat."

Julieth bowed and did as she was told at the nearby golden cushion. As she took a seat, she closed her eyes and exhaled her uptight tensions. Suddenly, she felt that someone was massaging her shoulders. Thereon, she turned around. She was utterly flabbergasted, as Zero was the one behind her,

"Z-Zero? What are you doing?!"

Though, Zero just sighed and continued to caress her tense shoulders,

"Like me and my lovely soon to be wife and queen Thamy said, you should really loosen up Julie. Since Thamy, doesn't like formalities remember?"

Though, Julieth didn't feel comfortable of Zero's reply,

"Y-yes but...the people—."

Zero scratched his chin and interrupted her quick,

"About the people, did Thamy really promise that? I'm not doubting her, but can she really do it?"

Julieth was feeling more and more.comfortable by each squeeze of Zero's hands upon her shoulders,

"Haaah. You mean her promise of eternal prosperity?"

Zero nodded attentively,

"Yes that."

Julieth sighed and held her hands calmly,

"She's the Goddess of creation. She'll be fine. And with you by her side, she'll be even more confident. Well until she returns."

Zero grinned,

"Yes yes, Goddesses need to have their own time too."

Julieth looked at the ceiling,

"I guess so."

Zero massaged her more and tightened his grip, while he had a mischievious look on his face,

"Other thank that Julie, did you find a nice lover by now?"

Julieth's face went red as a beet and grew restless, as she was a timid maiden,

"H-huh?! Wha-what's this all of a sudden Zero?!"

Zero just kept his composure and continued to relax Julieth's shoulders, but his face was close to her ear,

"Well I noticed that you have so many admirers. I'm sure—."

Julieth just replied fast, without ever biting her tongue,

"My life is only drvoted to my divine best friend. I have no need to start my own. Besides..."

She looked away into the sorrowful shadows,

"They won't like my company. As I am the Goddess of destruction."

Zero nodded,

"I see."

Sooner or later, the sphere went dim and Thelamia was no longer seeing the bright scene of Zero with Julieth. Thelamia touched her lips and asked herself, while she was looking up,

"Hmmmm, I guess that must've been the time I've fallen asleep."

After a while, the sphere flashed its glare again. Though, Thelamia's eyes were seeing another vivid scene this time around,

"So many old people with Zero!"

Zero was with the council of elders at the noble meeting room. Though, these weren't the Goddesses that Julieth had witnessed. Instead these were middle-aged men of nobility. Some of them had various creature-like features, while they retain the major physique and faces of humans. Soon enough, their political ramblings started,

"If I may milord, the people are becoming desperate. Revolts are razing around the provinces! Their coffers and resources are nearly depleted they said!"

The thuggish old noble who looked-like a former general of the ferocious werebears smacked the table,

"Then, just quell 'em with our might! Let those cubs learn their place!"

One of the elders who had wings of the eagle king intervened and questioned the elder from before,

"Are you suggesting that the king to use force even if he's beknownst as the king of kindness and salvation?!"

Zero raised his hand composedly,

"For now, let's hear what the brewing rebels want. Give them whatever staple resources they demand with minimal casualties on both sides."

Zero crossed his arms with confidence in his pose,

"I'm sure rhe Goddess of creation will replenish all of Athlus's resources as always when she comes back."

The other elders agreed, but the one who had the strength and frame of a bear smashed the table with rage,

"WE HAVEN'T HEARD ANYTHING FROM OUR GODDESS OF CREATION EVER SINCE SHE LEFT!"

He continued to destroy the table,

"Where's this promise of ETERNAL PROSPERITY NOW?!"

Zero stood up and gave the furious ender a cold stare of the quelling abyss,

"Are you questioning the will of our Goddess?"

As everyone felt the gales of the eternal darkness had seeped out from Zero, all of them went silent. Even the wrathful elder was caught speechless. He felt the guillotine was about to rip his neck by just the stare of Zero.

Zero stopped glaring and just facepalmed and sat on his seat,

"Well then, everyone is dismissed. The meeting is over for now."

In an instant everyone fled and dispersed in theor own ways or another. While for the king himslef, he went back to his royal chamber. He witnessed that Julieth was there drinking a black tea on the white sofa,

"Julie..."

His restlessness flushed down a little when he saw her. He sat down near his divine friend and released all of his tensions with gestures,

"Julie? Do you have any word of Thamy? People are demanding for her aid left and right. We're just holding on barely with our current resources. If this keeps up, a great civil war might occur."

Julieth put down her hot drink,

"Sorry Zero but...Thamy won't answer any of my calls."

Zero nodded,

"I see..."

He just looked down in disappointment afterwards,

"Julie? May I ask a small favor?"

Julieth gave him a nice smile,

"What is it Zero?"

There was a long silence in the air. Thankfully, Zero replied eventually,

"Could I lay down on your lap?"

Julieth looked unsure,

"But you only do that with—."

Zero grabbed her hands and begged for her divine mercy,

"Please Julie! You're the only one I can ask this now!"

Julieth had second thoughts. Though, her eyes noticed that Zero was on the verge of crying and falling apart. Thereupon, she had no choice,

"Okay, just this once okay?"

Later, Zero laid down his head on top of Julieth's succulent laps of divine embrace and cushion of heavens.

As for the elegant Godd ess, she caressed his stressed forehead,

"If Thamy would see us now. She would be jealous. You only do this with her to be honest."

Zero just looked away, ignoring direct contact with Julieth,

"Thamy huh. Julie, does Thamy hate me? Did I do something wrong? Why won't the Celestia Heavens let me see her?"

Julieth tried to comfort him even more,

"Zero...no, Thamy doesn't hate you. I'm sure she's having problems. The Celestia Heavens is just strict to mortals that's all."

Zero just sighed and looked abouve the ceiling calling for a divine mercy,

"Is that so. Thamy, where'd you go?"

The next few months, Zero was sitting on his throne at the audience hall. Though, the tensions were strong as the commoners and mayors were begging intensively,

"Please sire! We are alreadout of food!"

"Sire sire! The ressisttance is getting stronger! They're raiding our town!"

"Our crops were eaten by the locusts again! Has the Goddess thought of something? Did she tell you any solution about this my liege?"

"When is the Goddess of creation's return? We need her promise of eternal prosperity now!"

Demands were bombarding him from left and right, turning Zero to be bundled with grievious stress. His head was aching as he couldn't relay his response,

"Sigh..."

Suddenly, he stood up from his seat. Then, he walked out to the side and slammed the door hard. After thatz they were all speechless.

As he was walking fast along the silent hallways, he was pleading for his Goddess's grace,

"Thamy...where are you..."

Filled with so much stress, Zero was totally restless and didn't have any sense of direction. Soon, he arrived at a dead end. When he turned behind, the hallways were winding back and forth as the path he had trodden was very unfamiliar to him,

"Oh great...I'm lost again...sigh..."

As his eyes scanned througout the dead end, he saw a small secret door near to his left,

"Huh?"

He opened the door and entered a celler of darkness that reeks of vintage alcohol and abyss,

"I don't like this place."

Though, he just continued to walk bravely through the mysterious passage. Later on, he was hearing the footsteps of a graceful woman's heels nearby. In an instant, he turned behind and unsheathed his crystalline broadsword as he was an abled warrior,

"Who's there!"

In front of him wasn't a monster but, a woman shrouded in a dusty hood that covered all of her features. The female smiled,

"Greetings current king Zero."

She caressed his lower chin with her divine hand,

"I am the true Goddess of this world."

Zero was just filled with immense surprise,

"True Goddess?"