What Made Him Leave

"I joined the Cyrene back before Civis was in it. There was no leader back then. At the time, it was just a group for those of us who felt abandoned or forsaken by our parents.

But when Civis joined the group, it became more... extremist. Not only is she the daughter of Gaia herself, but she had a willingness to act. With her in charge, we were spurred to retaliate against the greater gods. Nothing ever came of our plans, though. Creating a godkiller weapon is not an easy task, and we would never be able to hide its existence here. 

Then, a little less than 2000 years ago, an idea formed. I am ashamed to say that it was my own suggestion. I did not really think it would work."

"To have a human make it for you?" I ask.

Risus nods.

"So you had me sent across a dozen worlds to gather up the different forms of mana needed to cast the spell and create the godkiller?"

"Yes," he says, somberly.

"That still doesn't answer my question, though. Why did you leave?"

"We have broken more laws than I can count and forced a life of misery upon you. For what? Because we were unsatisfied with our lives? Because we believed that we should be in charge?" he sighs, his voice sounding defeated.

"The greater gods do not visit us, but it is not because they look down upon us. It is because, in their eyes, every life is worth the same.

An ant is as good as a mouse, a rabbit as good as an elf, a human as good as a god," he continues, almost sobbing, "Every creature is their child, and we are all equal."

His voice never really matched the permanent grin on his face, but this is rather unsettling. I place a hand on his shoulder. It feels strange to be consoling a god.

"Seb, I think we should get out of here," Vol groans, holding his hand to his head.

I blink hard as my head pounds and aches.

"Not yet."

After a moment, Risus seems to calm down.

"I am sorry," he says.

"What's done is done. Tell me, how do we stop them?"

"Right..." he says, regaining his composure, "We need to meet with the greater gods. They're the only ones with the power to punish the Cyrene and stop them from coming after you."

"How? I thought you said they never visited."

"They don't, but they convene for a meeting every season above the capital. It's quite far from here, but the next meeting isn't for another 3 weeks. If- Cra-vae, Shawl, you're bleeding!"

I feel a drop of something running down just above my lip. Wiping it off, I look down at my hand. A bright red streak lines its side. I'm starting to feel light headed and start tumbling backwards.

"Careful, Seb," Vol says, supporting me. "We really need to go."

"Your friend is correct. You cannot stay. The golden light will kill you," Risus says hurriedly, "You must find cover before you come again. Now, go!"

With a sudden start, my eyes shoot open. They take a moment to adjust to the dimmed light of the room. Elizabeth is standing over Vol and I.

"Sebastian, are you okay?"

I sit up groggily, "Yeah, I'm fine."

Glancing over at Vol, I see him getting unsteadily to his feet while breathing strangely.

"Did it work?" Elizabeth asks.

"Yeah," Vol groans, holding his head, "It worked, alright," he begins, giving Elizabeth a retelling of our meeting.

I suppose we were in the celestial realm for far too long. Putting my fingers to my mouth, I find that a dribble of blood has stained my upper lip. It seems my real body was affected, too.

Risus mentioned "the golden light." As usual, he's terrible at giving proper explanations, but I think I understand. All of the nuns we've met have worn those robes, which seem to cover their entire bodies, including their faces. I had initially assumed it was a simple religious or cultural thing, but perhaps they serve a practical purpose.

Thinking back, when we were stuck in Civis' intertwined sphere of vines, it was completely dark inside. At that time, we all seemed fine. It seems we'll have to borrow some of the nuns' robes to study.

Getting up off the floor and giving my neck a good stretch, I wipe the remaining blood off my face. I'm not too concerned with my looks at this point. I look like hell, anyway.

"Vol, you said you gave that young nun, Colette, a pass through the gate, right?"

"Hm? Oh, yes, that's right."

"Good. In that case, it's time for a little trip back to Rosewood."