Vladarionic Era?

Observation Log by Spark Draconisfilia

First Contact of the Duskari - Social System - War- Entry 1

Earth-199999, ~73,500 BE (Before Emergence)

Year 228,135 of the Fulgebunt Draconis Imperium (Earth-199999)

To ensure the most accurate and comprehensive data collection for this observation, the Master Chief, Seraph Draconisfilia, and I, Spark Draconisfilia, will read and track the Duskari's thoughts while also monitoring their vital signs.

It should be noted that the significance of this meeting is comparable to humanity's first official contact with alien sapient beings. While it is technically inaccurate to label this encounter as the "first," given the alien nature of the Drachantheon Therion from the Duskari's perspective, it is treated as such due to the innate familiarity the Duskari feel toward the Drachantheon Therion. To them, we are as integral to their existence as water is to Earth.

Governance System.

Within the Imperium, the apex of power is represented by the Master Chief, with the Mistress and Gaea wielding authority equivalent to his, as granted by his commands. Below them are Emma Fulgebunt Draconis and myself, Spark Draconisfilia. Following us is the Princess, Mindee Mille Fulgebunt Draconis.

On Nirn, a council operates beneath the Princess. However, on Earth-199999, this council remains irrelevant for hundreds of thousands of years to come.

It is important to note that within the Halo—a territory recognized under the Imperium—there is no formal structure of governance, owing to the perpetual presence of the Master Chief. Each society within the Halo thrives under a system of self-governance. The Fae (elves and faeries), the Mermaids, the Flora Colossi, and the inhabitants of the Crystal have no need for centralized government. It would be unthinkably foolish to disrupt the Master Chief's domain. Therefore, although Emma and I act as their points of contact, each society rules itself with minimal intervention.

Excluding the council of Nirn and the societies of Halo, the governmental hierarchy places the representatives of Earth's upper government—Seraph Draconisfilia, Margaret Carter, and Natalia Draconisfilia—beneath the Princess. These are followed by the other deities overseeing the Duskari. The divines responsible for soul repositories are excluded from this hierarchy, as they govern the souls of the departed rather than the living. The People of Abeyance, meanwhile, are recognized as extradimensional allies of the Imperium, with Madelyne Draconisfilia serving as their point of contact. Similarly, Kaguya, the Goddess of Chakra, holds an equivalent status.

Given this established power structure, it may seem illogical for the Duskari to be present, as their representative deities are already participating in the assembly. However, it must be emphasized that the deities overseeing the Duskari act more as administrators than rulers.

Moreover, as part of the Drachantheon Therion's hope for the Duskari to develop their form of governance, the ruling deities guided them to assemble their leaders for this historic meeting.

Theology.

While the Imperium could be classified as a theocracy, this is not entirely accurate. The Queen, the Princess, and I are goddesses—this is undeniable. We sit at the upper strata of the Imperium, and over 50 positions of power are held by deities of the Drachantheon Therion. However, it would be partially erroneous to declare the Imperium a full theocracy.

Let us examine the case of planet Nirn. Its population comprises at least 179 different alien species, with 23 forming the majority, including Kree, Spataxians, Skrulls, Kymellians, Aylethians, Betanians, Meganians, and Centaurians. Each species has its own origin, just as humans and the Duskari do. Given that some of these species are far older than Terrans, it is expected that they have their fair share of religions.

In the spirit of controlled inclusivity and regulated freedom of religion, the Imperium accepts all forms of faith that do not clash with the established social order or public interest. For instance, certain Earth-based religions might not meet these criteria.

This was the situation on Nirn before our departure, and even with our successful apotheosis, it will remain unchanged.

According to the Master Chief and Goddess Gaea, there is little risk of conflict arising from having believers of various religions under our rule. Based on their observations and experience, the number of deities who use the faith system is negligible.

The faith system itself is fraught with dangers and disadvantages, as evidenced by billions of years of experience from countless deities across the universe. The risk of losing oneself to the conjured image created by one's believers is a nightmarish prospect for most deities. There are multiple accounts of deities slaughtering their believers upon discovering they had been corrupted by faith.

Another significant drawback of the faith system is dependency. Deities who rely on faith derive their strength from the beliefs of their followers—so long as their numbers are sufficient. However, this creates a feedback loop of reliance: the stronger the faith, the stronger the deity; the weaker the faith or the fewer the followers, the weaker the deity.

Due to the innate selfishness and egotism of most deities, many reject the idea of having their power regulated by "lowly" believers. Consequently, abstaining from the faith system has become the norm. Thus, even though Nirn allows freedom of religion, the potential for divine conflict is minimal.

However, since the Drachantheon Therion utilize a unique form of the faith system and do not suffer from the aforementioned negatives, the possibility of divine conflict stemming from greed directed at us remains a real concern.

Then there's the case of Halo. Halo is populated by four sapient species: Elves, Faeries, Flora Colossi, and Oceanids. Dryads, Naiads, and spirits are excluded due to their solitary nature and lack of any form of societal organization.

The Otherworldeans are species far older than apes on Earth. Each species has its own belief system, with all of them recognizing the existence of multiple gods as a factual reality. Recently, they have taken to worshiping their respective ascended Haloan representatives: Elyseas, Elara, and Sislohrie.

From the perspective that a theocracy enforces Religious Law—which bans all manner of foreign beliefs—and the Unity of Church and State—which does not differentiate between religious and governmental institutions—the Fulgebubnt Draconis Imperium is not a theocracy.

The leadership of the Imperium does not rule because we are deities; we rule, and it just so happens that we are deities.

This path was pursued to ensure the easy integration of foreign cultures.

The Duskari and the mortals of Halo share more similarities than one might expect between two species with such disparate upbringings. This is largely because the Haloans raised the Duskari in a manner that would allow for a seamless transition between Earth and The Ark—the future throneworld of the Imperium and a point of confluence for multiple groups.

However, this does not mean there are no differences between them.

Technology.

Despite their ancient cultures, the Otherworldeans suffer from one of the afflictions common to all magical civilizations: a dependency on magic. The Duskari, to some extent, share this trait.

Consider fire casting. In the early days of magical civilizations, there arises a need to replicate natural phenomena—lightning strikes, fire, water, wind, and the ground itself are typical inspirations, followed by celestial objects, plant life, and animal life.

Imagine a tribe of savage elves discovering how to cast fire—creating a source not smaller than a lighter nor larger than a Bunsen burner. This simple advancement would solve countless problems: warmth, protection, cooking, sterilization, cauterization, and lighting, among other uses.

But fire isn't limited to such basic applications. It can be used for tanning hides, preserving food, forging weapons, producing building materials, textiles, armor, and more. As reliance on fire casting grows, research into its refinement follows. Over millions of years, this society of elves could develop fire manipulation to rival or surpass the capabilities of modern forges or flamethrowers, achieving a production scale comparable to a 21st-century industrialized society.

Naturally, such a society would excel in fire casting and related fields, but they would lag in other areas, such as understanding the universe, communication technologies, information transfer, and even creative pursuits. In these aspects, the flora colossi far outshine the Otherworldeans.

The flora colossi's Arbor Masters—their ruling class—educate the young of their species using Photonic Knowledge, the collective wisdom amassed since their creation by the Elder of the Universe known as the Gardener, who used the Time Stone to bring their race into existence. To contextualize, imagine every human possessing the entirety of humanity's accumulated knowledge. That approximates the intellectual capacity of the "average" flora colossi—a race of geniuses.

Yet, the flora colossi are hindered by their nature. Humans, born on a death world fraught with divine, celestial, eldritch, and extra-dimensional cataclysms, are driven by curiosity and necessity to adapt, improve, and overcome. In contrast, the flora colossi require only water, soil, and ultraviolet light to survive. Planet X—their home world before its fall—was an idyllic paradise by their standards. This ease of existence, combined with their physiological needs and taciturn disposition, has stunted their developmental drive.

In summary, the mortals of Halo exhibit significant technological prowess in their magicrafting and information-sharing fields. However, outside these domains, they are less advanced compared to the Duskari.

The differences are evident in their clothing, weaponry, governance, cuisine, sorcery, and more. Yet, by our standards—understanding both the Duskari's potential and our plan to guide their advancement—the gap is not insurmountable. Projections estimate that the Duskari could reach the technological level of the Otherworldeans within five to eight millennia—a remarkably short timeframe.

The Assembly.

Vladarion Draconisfilius, God of War and Progress, presides over the assembly, accompanied by Luxena, Goddess of Agriculture and Celestial Stars. Seraph Draconisfilia, Goddess of Wisdom and Dreams, serves as the assistant while also doubling as an observer alongside the Master Chief and me.

Under normal circumstances, a deity of strategy would participate in such an assembly, but in their absence, wisdom and war must suffice.

Each representative deity is present, with the Master Chief and Wanda Draconisfilia, Goddess of Hell and Chaos, as special guests.

The following is a transcript with my annotations of the assembly, focusing on the most pressing matters:

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

Vladarion:

"Thank you all for your presence today—my aunts and uncles, our children the Duskari, our friends in Halo, and Grandfather. Special thanks to Aunt Wanda, who joins us today as the expert demonologist of our pantheon."

-> Annotation 1: Wanda is a prominent deity, renowned for her role as the Queen of Hell, as written in the Divinicon (Why Must You Be Good, Child 7:36). Aside from the sinners within her domain, this marks her first direct contact with the assembly. Among the Duskari, 38.60% exhibit curiosity, while 78.96% display dread. Other notable emotions include awe, lust, distrust, relief, and happiness.

Vladarion:

"Luxena, Aunt Seraph, and I will guide you through this assembly, aiming to set our children—the Duskari—on the right path. Countless lives have been lost to the Deviants and demons, and your progress as a species has been stunted by their presence for far too long. It is time to act, rather than merely react."

-> Annotation 2: Since the onset of the deviant invasion and demonic incursions, 3,025,654 Duskari lives have been lost to related incidents.

Vladarion:

"This is a distribution map of the Deviants across our territory, courtesy of Mother Natalia."

-> Annotation 3: Natalia Draconisfilia, Goddess of Sound and Silence, utilized her divine ability to track the Deviants by identifying their unique natural frequencies.

Luxena:

"And these are our agrarian lands."

-> Annotation 4: Due to the migration of megafauna, the central regions of the Imperium have been declared forbidden zones. The Duskari are primarily concentrated along the Caribbean and Pacific coasts, as well as the main rivers feeding into these areas.

Luxena:

"As you can see, the Deviants either possess enough intelligence to target critical areas, or they are being directed by an external force."

-> Annotation 5: Observations suggest that a group of demons is leading the Deviants under infernal magical coercion toward the Duskari. Their likely objective is to create turmoil, break the Duskari's spirits, and facilitate soul contracts.

 -> The Deviants, despite their fearsome reputation, are ultimately mortal creatures imbued with cosmic energy coursing through their veins. Due to their savage nature, they are not a preferred "dish" for demons, which may explain why the demons did not consume them upon first contact..

 -> The demons likely identified the divine presence of the Drachantheon Therion, prompting them to adopt this indirect and roundabout strategy.

 -> Among the Duskari present, 35.01% suspect the Master Chief, and 28.65% suspect Wanda. This mistrust is not unexpected. To the Duskari, the Master Chief is seen less as a benevolent figure and more as a force of nature. Similarly, Wanda's role as Queen of Hell and her dominion over Chaos naturally fosters unease.

Master Chief:

"No need to be so suspicious. While I did enhance the intelligence of the megafauna, I'm not working with those demons."

Wanda Draconisfilia:

"It might not appear trustworthy with his claws playfully on my tail, but Aragorn doesn't like dealing with demons—other than me and mine. I assure you, I'm not behind those demons either. Mine know better than to cause me trouble."

-> Annotation 6: The Master Chief omitted the fact that he isn't above enhancing Deviants to provide a greater challenge to the Duskari, but he did not do so in this case.

Lestrel:

"What about the God of Evil, Fear, and Shadows, Lord James?"

-> Annotation 7: Lestrel is one of the leaders of the displaced settlements. While this may appear as bold of Lestrel, especially in James presence, this behavior is not unusual. It is well-known that the Drachantheon Therion refrain from directly taking the lives of their believers, and our empathic and telepathic abilities encourage the Duskari to openly express their thoughts about their deities, since they can't be hidden anyway.

James:

"It wasn't any of us. Losing your souls to demons is not in our interest. Surely, some of you have had close encounters with demons, haven't you?"

-> Annotation 8: 6.87% of the Duskari present have been approached by demons, whether through dreams, animal possession, blood scripture, or, in rare cases, direct confrontation.

James:

"As you may know from your experiences or through our words, a demon's ultimate desire is almost always a soul. However, as your deities, we cannot have believers if you lose your souls. While your current fear aligns with my divinity, neither I nor anyone from the dark faction of the Drachantheon Therion was involved in these events."

-> Annotation 9: The "Dark Faction" refers to deities with dominion over aspects traditionally seen as "evil" (e.g., hell, evil, fear, plagues, death, famine, assassination, murder, and lies). Each deity within this faction also holds a neutral or balancing divinity—Shadows in James' case, Chaos in Wanda's.

Vladarion:

"Thank you for clarifying, Father. I can assure you all that none of us would ever seek to barter your souls away. The only ones who might contact demons are Grandfather and Grandmother, and even they would not do so with such malicious intent."

Luxena:

"I can personally vouch for this."

-> Annotation 10: Luxena's reputation as a benevolent goddess is enough to soothe the Duskari's concerns.

Wanda:

"In that case, it's my turn to take the stage."

-> Annotation 11: 81.01% of the males present followed Wanda's catwalk and movements with their eyes. 42.18% of the females. This observation will also be added to my Social Study.

Wanda:

"I know you children have a broken sense of common sense thanks to your close interactions with the maids, so let me remind you why making deals with demons is a catastrophically bad idea.

"Number one: You need your soul to be you. Your spirit—your Mind and Soul—gives you identity. When you barter with a demon, you do so with your very spirit. Without it, your body cannot feel, think, act, move, or live. Bargaining with demons will almost always result in death—a true, irreversible death. No second stop. No Abeyance. No Heaven. Just Hell—and not my Hell.

"Number two: Most of you are clever—thank Aragorn for that—and might be thinking about outsmarting a demon's contract. Maybe you'd consider offering someone else's soul as the price, right? BAD IDEA. Making a pact with demons permanently taints your soul, a stain that cannot be erased—even if you become a saint in your second stop and Abeyance. That means you end up in my Hell. And while I'm all for that, don't end up in Hell over such idiotic reasons, you mongrels!

"Number three: Your souls already belong, somewhat, to Aragorn and the Mistress. Even if you somehow succeeded in paying with another's soul, you'd be stepping on Aragorn's talons. Trust me, I'd rather face a horde of Hell-lords than deal with Aragorn's wrath. Use your draconic-given brains!

"Number four: You gain far more from receiving a blessing than from entering a demonic contract. None of us will bless you if you stink of brimstone. Don't be fools.

"Number five: The demons are the ones causing your suffering. Why would you willingly play into their claws? Don't be stupid.

"Number six: Even with all the tragedy you've endured, if Aragorn is preventing your trusted deities from intervening, don't you think there's a valid reason? Has history ever proven Aragorn to have done you a disservice? Everything you are, and all that you have, is entirely thanks to Aragorn. You may not understand now, but know that your species will emerge stronger from this."

-> Annotation 12: All of the Duskari are time variants according to the TVA (Time Variance Authority). Their existence is a direct result of the Master Chief's actions, as is the case with most living beings found within the Imperium.

 -> Currently, the TVA's attention is being deflected by the PuppeteerSelf of the Master Chief, who is controlling Victor Timely. The changes that the variants in the Imperium will bring forth are unlikely to draw the TVA's notice until the 1500s, when Central America would have begun to play a significant role in historical events.

 -> While the actions and existence of the Imperium's variants should technically affect the Sacred Timeline immediately as they occur, the Master Chief's manipulation of temporal mechanics delays these effects through a phenomenon known as temporal reinstatement. As a result, the consequences of these changes won't manifest until the corresponding historical moment. For the Imperium, this means that the TVA won't detect or respond to any deviations until the colonization era.

Vladarion:

"Thank you, Aunt Wanda."

Wanda:

"You're welcome, Kitten."

Vladarion:

"As you can surmise from Aunt Wanda's explanation, the chances of directly facing a demon are slim. However, the likelihood of being approached by one is about 40% if you regularly wield magic. Since approximately 77% of the Duskari use magic daily, I asked Aunt Wanda to inform you of the risks."

-> Annotation 13: All Duskari are capable of wielding magic, particularly elemental magic. However, not everyone has the aptitude or interest to study it deeply. Some choose to focus on other skills, but even they maintain a beginner-level grasp of magic. Demons, however, are unlikely to target souls with minimal spiritual development.

Vladarion:

"Now, let us turn to the primary threat: the Deviants. With Mother Natalia's assistance, I have extensively studied these creatures, analyzing their capabilities and behavioral patterns. Information is essential in warfare, so I urge you to listen carefully to and read the following report. A copy is on your seats.

"A deviant is born as an adult, and from that moment, it is more than capable of defeating an experienced Duskari warrior, they also don't age, and have no natural predators. Nature usually limits such predators with low fertility or strict reproduction conditions, but this is not true for Deviants.

"Deviants were artificially created with the sole purpose of hunting apex predators. As some of you have witnessed, no creature in nature is deadlier—not warcats, dire wolves, gators, snakes, flying predators, non-divine dragons, ocean dwellers, or apes.

"To make matters worse, Deviants reproduce in two ways: sexually or asexually by consuming large quantities of prey. A healthy deviant can produce offspring up to four times a decade. The only reason they haven't overrun the surface is due to limitations apparently coded into their life code by their creator. However, exposure to higher energies—such as cosmic energy or divinity—could potentially remove these restrictions.

"Fortunately, they share certain weaknesses with other mortal creatures, such as vulnerability to sudden massive energy exchanges. This means attacks involving extreme force, intense temperature changes, or high-voltage electricity are effective. In short, elemental magic is their primary weakness.

"The challenge lies in landing such attacks. Deviants are far faster than the fastest, more agile than the most nimble, sturdier than the most armored, and more resilient than any other creature. Facing one directly often means your death before your magic reaches its mark.

"When confronting a deviant, adopt the mentality of the weak. In a one-on-one scenario, your chance of taking it down with you is 3.87%. With two-on-one, the odds rise to 11%. Three-on-one increases this to 19%. Four-on-one gives you a 27% chance, and five-on-one finally offers a possibility of killing it without losing all your lives. In this scenario, one of you may survive, albeit maimed, with a probability of 0.89%.

"As Aunt Wanda said, you're clever—Grandfather made you that way. Organize yourselves. Gather your numbers. Form an extermination force and take the fight to the Deviants. Your best hope lies in ambushing and overwhelming them with superior numbers."

-> Annotation 14: Eternals are far stronger than the Duskari, so it is remarkable that five Duskari have a real chance of taking down a deviant in frontal combat, even without tactics, protection, or weapons—relying solely on magic.

 -> Given the gravity of Vladarion's report, the Duskari were granted several hours to deliberate with their ruling deities regarding the shared information.

-+2 Hours+-

Clea'tina:

"Lord Vladarion, you mentioned that the Deviants were created. Is there any information we could uncover about their creator? Could the creator make more Deviants after we deal with the current ones in the world, or perhaps create an even greater threat? Would investigating the creator aid us in eliminating the Deviants?"

-> Annotation 15: Clea'tina is a leader of Katherine Pryor Draconisfilia's tribe, Goddess of Law and Adventure. Her tribe is highly adept in warfare due to their history with the Sister Tribes.

 ->Although her tribe was not directly attacked, this was the only tribe that gathered their numbers to assist other tribes, it was not exactly an act of comradery, but the allure of the unknown that guided them.

Vladarion:

"No. Their creator is Arishem the Judge, a Celestial and the guiding hand behind the creation of this universe. It would be presumptuous to trouble such a being with what it would consider insignificant inquiries."

Aragorn:

"Arishem has already created a countermeasure to the deviant problem, but it won't arrive for tens of thousands of years. For now, your task is to find a way to 'deal' with the problem within the Imperium. Focus on your immediate challenges rather than external ones.

"You needn't worry about the threat escalating. If the situation worsens beyond your capacity, I will intervene to ensure the danger remains at a level you can handle."

-> Annotation 16: The Master Chief's objective is to provide stepping stones for the Duskari's growth. A stepping stone is meant to foster progress, not obstruct it. Obstacles that halt advancement are either walls or dead ends, which Aragorn carefully avoids imposing on his Duskari.

Clea'tina:

"Head, I apologize if this is not pertinent to the case, but is this Arishem the creator of... everything?"

-> Annotation 17: The Master Chief dislikes formalities and ceremonies, so he informed the Duskari that "Head" was a title in his native language meaning "Esteemed Being." This was to simplify interactions, avoiding the need to add terms like "Lord" or "Lady" before his title. The Mandame adopted a similar approach, with "Mistress" serving as her title.

Aragorn:

"Not exactly. Think of Arishem as the one who sparked the fire, but not the one who created the combustible materials. Regardless, you should regard Arishem and any Celestial with the same reverence you hold for me, though it is exceedingly unlikely any of you will ever encounter them."

Clea'tina:

"Thank you, Head."

Lestrel:

"Would it be possible to relocate our settlements further inland while we devise a better strategy to deal with the Deviants?"

Vladarion:

"Grandfather, could we push back the borders of the forbidden areas?"

Aragorn:

"Mmmm, very well. However, the extension will be temporary—150 years at most. Within that time, you must either develop a method to manage the deviant threat effectively or find a way to banish them from our borders entirely."

Lestrel:

"Thank you, Head."

Merimoon:

"When we launch our counterattack, will the Deviants remain in the lost territories? Or could the demons command them to adopt tactics similar to ours and begin raiding our settlements?"

-> Annotation 18: Merimoon belongs to Luxena's tribe. Their subculture involves naming themselves after celestial objects, plants, or animals, as a tribute to Luxena's divine aspects.

Vladarion:

"Part of war is gathering intelligence. You won't be able to predict the Deviants' movements without diligent information gathering. As for the demons, their aggression will likely be tempered due to our presence. However, it is still wise to prioritize intelligence efforts."

Merimoon:

"Thank you, Lord Vladarion."

Luxena:

"Oh, one more thing. We will provide additional blessings during your extermination campaign. These blessings will extend not only to those fighting on the front lines but also to those supporting your people from behind the scenes."

-> Annotation 19: This decision aims to reduce the future mortality rate and bolster the natality rate. War consumes resources indiscriminately, so increased production of nearly everything will be necessary to sustain the effort.

-> Projection: Based on current projections, the war will span at least 300 years. During this time, the Duskari will either integrate stable methods of managing the Deviants into their way of life or find a way to banish them entirely from the Imperium.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

Tactics, force distribution, settlement relocation, supply routes, road construction, advancements in martial technology, development of military technology, and numerous other topics were addressed during this first assembly, which lasted over a week. Additional details are available in the subsequent entries, organized by topic.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...  

/ End of Entry 1 /

_____________________________

"My love, why do you enjoy watching them fight so much?"

"On one side, we have the Duskari—prehistoric, elf-like human magicians—accompanied by their loyal partners: warcats, mastodons, camelops, flat-faced bears, dire wolves, mammoths, rhinoceroses, and more. On the other side, we have four-eyed alien predators controlled by soul-devouring, extra-dimensional beings. Then, there are our divine children supporting the Duskari, and us, observing from afar. It's like a mash-up of a weird fantasy that turns out to be the far past of the present. What's not to like?"

Aragorn and Death were covertly observing the Duskari fight for the umpteenth time against a small group of Deviants.

A Noctelvi hovered above the battlefield, safely out of reach of the leathery tendrils of the Deviants below, raining down lightning to control the crowd.

Lightning was one of the few effective means of harming a Deviant, but the voltage required was closer to that of a superbolt. Thus, a standard tactic involved earth-focused mages caging the targets, water-focused mages immobilizing them, and fire-focused mages drawing their attention, all while the superbolt spell was being prepared.

"Makruss! Strike now! We can't hold them any longer!"- Shouted a Lucelvi, freezing the limbs of the Deviants as they struggled to break free of the ice using their tendrils.

"Rass, pull back!"- Commanded another Lucelvi to the alpha of the wolf pack that had been harassing the Deviants with hit-and-run tactics.

Rass, an intellect-enhanced dire wolf with the intelligence of a seven-year-old thanks to Aragorn's intervention, howled a sharp *AOOO*. Immediately, the pack dispersed, vanishing into the jungle undergrowth.

"Ira Caeli!"- Makruss roared. The cloudy skies trembled, the hair of the Duskari stood on end from static electricity, and the water-focused Lucelvi melted the ice. Simultaneously, all Duskari shielded themselves and their animal partners within water bubbles, creating a makeshift Faraday cage.

*BOOOOOOM!*

The mother of all lightning strikes crashed into the middle of the caged group of wet Deviants.

When the blinding light subsided and their overwhelmed eyes adjusted, the Duskari leapt back into action.

"Three alive and paralyzed! Broil them!"- Makruss shouted. Having prepared himself to recover faster from the blinding light, he was the first to issue orders.

The Duskari moved like well-trained soldiers, encircling the surviving Deviants and incinerating them with the spells Igniblasta Fornax and Ventiflamma Hydrogenium, typically used for metal smelting.

A few tense seconds later, the corpses had been double-tapped with fire and speared for good measure.

"Rass!"- Someone called.

The jungle foliage parted as the pack of dire wolves ravenously pounced on the cooked bodies.

"You gave them better stomachs?"

"No, Noona, just better metabolism."

"I thought they wouldn't be able to eat cosmic energy-laced meat."

"Is this the first time you've seen it, Noona?"

"Yes, I bore quickly of watching mortals struggle."

"Tiamut and I created a cosmic energy absorption system so that all free cosmic energy on the surface gets absorbed."

"Eh? Really? I didn't realize."- Death materialized an orb of her concentrated energy, which slowly shifted to the golden hue of cosmic energy. She released it, and it quickly vanished.

"Interesting. Could you modify the absorption system to target a different energy form?"

"Only common types. Targeting higher forms, like psionic energy, would require as much research and development as cosmic energy did."

"Expected. If you'd made a system that could absorb all energy forms, you'd risk creating a monster greater than the Ultimate Nullifier."

"Where is that thing in my universe, anyway?"

"Uatu the Watcher hid it in the Barrens of your universe."

"Good. I'll add another sealing layer to the Barrens when I return."

"~Fufufu. Sometimes you seem to hate technology."

"I hate technology that can cause that level of destruction and is left assembled for anyone to use—like the Ultimate Nullifier and the Celestial Machine."

"Most of these items can't be destroyed, My Love."

"Hand them to me, and I'll throw them into Void-chan. Problem solved."

"You know that's not how it works."

"Yeah, maybe. Still, I hate it. Can you believe that in one Earth, the Ultimate Nullifier was left with Fury? I wouldn't trust anyone with that thing—not even the sane versions of Reed Richards."

"Don't you have universe-ending tech in your Halo and The Ark?"

"Yes, but everything is disassembled, sealed, and kept secret. Only you, Phoenix, Boss Tribunal, Eternity, Infinity, and the Aniki, of course, know about it. All of you would have valid reasons if you needed my tech, and none of you would actually need it."

"~Fufufu. I like it when you go all paranoid like this."

"Noona, can you blame me? My emo universe tries to self-destruct at every opportunity. Half my job is using my All-seeing eyes to locate and disarm apocalyptic bombs across the universe, every other week."

"Sounds a lot like the Living Tribunal's work—putting out fires on a multiversal scale."

"Yeah, I don't envy Boss Tribunal's job."

Death and Aragorn, while pitying the Living Tribunal, continued observing the Duskari.

"How many did we lose?"- A Noctelvi asked.

"Twenty-seven."- Another answered.

"I hope the nine Deviants we killed were worth it. May they find abundance in Ladies Emma, Mindee, and Spark's Ark."- Makruss prayed.

"May they reunite with our brothers and sisters in the second step."- Arsol, the Lucelvi in charge of the wolves, added.

"Hey, let's collect the bodies and get out of here. I don't want to stay a second longer with so few of us left. I'm barely a century old—I'm too young to take the second step by being eaten by one of these things."- A Lucelvi shouted as he ran back toward where their fallen comrades lay.

"Makruss, are you sensing anything from your blessing?"- Arsol asked. He was a member of Luxena's tribe.

"Mmm, just a small hint of fear. But if I think about staying longer than necessary, I feel dread."- Makruss replied. He was blessed by his ruling deity, James, the God of Fear, and his blessing allowed him to sense what should be feared.

"Godsdammit! Let's hurry."- Arsol urged, leading the pack of dire wolves with him.

Arsol and Makruss regrouped with the remainder of their team and moved quickly to recover the bodies of their fallen brothers.

"That's the first time I've seen the blessing of a God of Fear used like that."- Death commented.

"James said he had to modify it because the Deviants don't experience fear the way most mortals do."- Aragorn replied.

"I understand why he changed it, but it's still... unusual. ~Heheh. Cul Borson uses his fear blessing like most deities of fear."

"Serpent? Odin's elder brother? What about him?"- Aragorn asked, wondering about the reason behind the sudden mention.

"Dead in your universe."

"Ah, thank the Aniki! One less problem to deal with."

"~Fufufufu!"

"... What?"

"He was a positive force in your universe."

"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you, Noona?"

"But it's so funny to see your eyes change."- Death teased, wrapping her tail around Aragorn's in an affectionate gesture.

Meanwhile, the Scout Regiment returned to the main force after loading the bodies onto one of the carrying mastodons. They moved hastily but carefully through the dense jungle.

"Lord Vladarion, Scout Regiment returning. Twenty-seven losses, nine Deviants killed."- Makruss reported, saluting with his left fist to his right chest, forearm horizontal to the ground.

"At ease, child. Any traces of larger groups?"- Vladarion asked.

They stood inside the command tent at one of the advanced posts. The muffled sounds of infantry, mastodons bringing in supplies, forging, carriages pulled by aurochs carrying the wounded, and shouted orders filled the air outside.

"Traces heading southeast along the coast, toward the estuary."- Makruss replied.

"Thank you, Makruss. Please submit a formal report during the next gathering at 1600 hours."

"As you command, Lord Vladarion."

"Go rest. You've earned it."

Vladarion watched the Noctelvi retreat from the tent, then turned toward a shadowed corner.

"Grandfather, Grandmother?"- He called.

"Kitten."- Death replied, dispelling the obfuscating field that had concealed them.

"Hello, Kitten."- Aragorn said, already standing behind Vladarion, playfully stroking the seven tails swaying there.

"Grandfather, is it really necessary to greet my tails before greeting me?"

"It is. It's tradition."- Aragorn replied nonchalantly.

"Give it up, Kitten."- Death interjected. "You know My Love never changes."

"And what about you, Grandmother? Because you refuse to call me by my name, 'Kitten' remains my nickname to this day. I've heard my father call me by my name fewer times than my nickname."

"That James—what a terrible father. Should I bury him in work, Kitten?"- Aragorn grinned mischievously.

"Please don't start, Grandfather. Were you visiting, or was your coincidental arrival with my Elite Scout Regiment not coincidental?"

"My Love was observing your soldiers fight. I joined him."- Death answered on Aragorn's behalf.

"Couldn't you have done something to prevent the twenty-seven deaths?"

"Yes."

"It obviously was a possibility."

"*Sigh* You're so dismissive toward anyone who isn't part of Drachantheon Therion."

"It's part of our charm."- Death replied, ruffling Vladarion's cat ears.

"I already did enough by securing them a second life."- Aragorn said, looking at Vladarion expectantly.

"And I allowed it."- Death added, mirroring Aragorn's look.

"*Sigh* Yes, yes, how great of you, my Grandparents. I'm in awe of your magnanimity."

"Uhmmm, what do you think, Noona?"- Aragorn asked, giving Vladarion an evaluating look.

"I don't know; it doesn't feel sincere."- Death replied, shaking her head.

"I know, right? All those years breastfeeding this kitten—"

"It wasn't years, Grandfather."

"—and this is how I get paid? Can you believe it?"

"All those decades cleaning his diapers—"

"It was years, not decades, Grandmother."

"And this insincerity is my repayment. Can you believe it?"

Aragorn and Death lamented with heartbroken faces.

"*Sigh* Here. You can have these as a show of my sincerity and gratefulness."- Vladarion finally gave up reasoning with the two most unreasonable members of his family and swayed his tails toward Death and Aragorn.

"What a cute kitten."

"The cutest."

The draconic couple mused, accepting his bribe with obvious delight.

Vladarion ignored them and took a seat, resuming his planning for the next campaign. He needed to coordinate and evaluate the strategies proposed during the last gathering.

Meanwhile, Death and Aragorn hovered behind him, leisurely combing his tails.

Like Sarah Rogers, Vladarion was part of the second generation of The Crystal. Both had grown up without contact with human society. Their closest interactions with well-established communities were with the fae, mermaids, and flora colossi—societies so distant from the human "norm" that it was unsurprising they turned out peculiar. The insular nature of Crystal society only reinforced this.

For instance, a grown man being doted on by his grandparents—who caressed him and combed his fur as if he were a child, even though he was well over 228,000 years old—was perfectly normal to him. After all, he had seen his father receive the same treatment.

Even when the Duskari entered the room and witnessed the spectacle, Vladarion didn't flinch. The Duskari, another group influenced by The Crystal's oddities, considered such scenes ordinary as well.

"Hey, Vlad!"- Sarah's excited voice called out as she stepped through a portal.

"Sarah!"- Vladarion perked up, greeting her warmly through their empathic bond.

Aragorn glanced up from his task momentarily, then returned to combing. However, he soon did a double take, his eyes fixing on Sarah. A wide smile spread across his face, unnoticed by the deities. Aragorn leaned toward Death, sharing what his All-seeing eyes had observed.

"~Oh."- Death murmured softly.

Her sound caught Sarah's attention. She paused mid-step, her greeting faltering as she took in their expressions.

Vladarion noticed her hesitation and turned to see what had caused it. He found his grandparents giving them knowing smiles. Aragorn's eyes gleamed like shifting disco balls, alternating between pink and gold.

"Grandfather? Grandmother?"- Vladarion asked cautiously.

"~Hehehe."- Death chuckled softly. 

"Hehehehe."- Aragorn joined in. 

"Vlad, do you know what this is about?"- Sarah asked nervously, stepping behind him as if for protection. Yet Aragorn's gaze remained fixed on her, particularly her midsection.

"No."- Vladarion replied.

"They were normal just a moment ago—well, as normal as they ever are."- He added.

"You're pregnant."- Aragorn said suddenly, his eyes still locked on Sarah's belly.

"...I'm what?"

"You're what?"

Both Vladarion and Sarah asked in unison.

"Pregnant. Ah, we'll be grandparents again!"- Death declared happily.

"Great-grandparents."- Aragorn corrected.

"If we keep counting like that, we'll eventually need mathematical abbreviations. Great-to-the-power-of-ten-grandparents—can you imagine?"- Death mused.

"One can only dream. It'll be a long time, even by our standards, before we reach that point."- Aragorn replied wistfully.

"I'm pregnant!"- Sarah shrieked, leaping onto Vladarion, whose shell-shocked expression said it all.

"The cutest kitten."- Death stated.

"Absolutely."- Aragorn nodded in agreement. 

"We'll soon have another true dragon in the family."- Death added.

"I feel like you're taking a jab at me when you say 'true dragon.'"

"My love, are you a dragon?"

"The shiniest one."

"Let's call you a shining dragon, then. And Margaret's descendants true dragons."- Death smiled while caressing his cheek. Love could be seen in her eyes, as clearly as it was in Aragorn's.

"Fine."- Aragorn didn't argue. He knew he was a dragon at heart, where it matters, even if a certain Goddess of Magic and Therions called him an eldritch slime shaped into a dragon.

__________________________________

150 years later...

For a century and a half, the Duskari and the Deviants had been at each other's throats.

Technological advances were significant during this time. The bow, crossbow, arbalest, ballista, steel, and full-body armor were among the many innovations. Due to the nature of their opponents, the Duskari focused on developing high-piercing damage and high-defense technologies. Tungsten, titanium, lead, and various alloys were discovered to enhance these attributes in their arsenal.

The technological advancements weren't limited to war. Agriculture saw massive improvements in tools and crop-strengthening techniques. Production also experienced great strides with the creation of crystallized sugar, gears, concrete, mortar, textiles, and modern leatherworking, among others.

Medicine saw tremendous growth as well, with the Goddess of Wellness and Stasis, Daria Draconisfilia, guiding the Duskari. Many of the horrific practices from the Dark Ages were omitted in the Imperium, as scientific development was both accepted and promoted.

A monetary-based economy was born, and bartering became a thing of the past. The Scales ($) became the official coin, but it was based on the value of the Favor (ƒ). Vladarion and Sarah's dragonling, who was on the path to becoming the God of Economy and Undergrounds (though he hadn't ascended yet), took it upon himself to oversee the burgeoning economy of the Duskari.

Other fields, such as transportation, also benefited from the war. Carriages evolved from simple boxes on two axles to complex, suspension-based systems over four wheels. However, the most notable advancements were in magic.

Around the 43rd year of the war, Wanda created a ritualistic exchange spell. Based on Aragorn's void magic, it became the first expression of higher casting in the void magic system.

Wanda's original intention was to find a use for the essence of the demons opposing her. Fighting Hell-lords wasn't difficult, especially after eons of doing so, but Wanda dreaded dealing with the defeated demons who wouldn't submit to her.

Dealing with a demonic soul was not much different from one polluted with negative karma. The issue, however, was that most demons lacked souls. Instead, they had demonic essence—the source of their being and immortality. Even after dispersing it, the essence would gather elsewhere, and the demons would reform.

So Wanda planned to use a higher form of energy—void energy—to attempt a solution, as she couldn't have Death or Aragorn deal with them. She figured she could use void energy as a medium of communication and the demonic essence as the price to obtain a benefit from Existence, similar to how Aragorn reinforces reality while using his energy as the price. However, the language of communication was uncertain—Wanda couldn't speak conceptual speech, so her intentions were filtered through her understanding and the nature of reality itself.

The result was a higher-order reality warping spell that exchanged anything she claimed as hers for a benefit of equal cost—according to her evaluation of the cost.

For example, Wanda exchanged approximately one trillion units of demonic essence—which cost her ages of work—for an enhancement in her divinity, becoming the first to ascend to the eight-tails level. Although she only had one tail, she reached the equivalent power of eight.

Wanda was ecstatic about selling the spell to The System. Why The System, instead of her brothers and sisters? Because if anything could be exchanged for something of equal cost, then one could exchange their efforts to consolidate those said efforts. In other words, with enough tweaking, Aragorn could potentially create a skill sub-system.

For example, if someone practiced a single yakuza kick 1000 times, they could exchange their efforts for the consolidation of that skill, making each yakuza kick a perfect recreation of a mastered one.

This was an example of physical skills, but the real beneficiary was magical research. If someone spent one million hours developing a spell, they could exchange those hours for enlightenment to progress or complete the research. Since every member contracted to Aragorn had been working on spells based on void energy for hundreds of thousands of years, they had enough "currency" to exchange for progress.

With magical development progressing in the Drachantheon Therion, Aragorn created an SFI (Safe For Idiots) downgraded version of the ritualistic exchange spell for the Duskari. These Duskari could exchange their hours of magical development for consolidation or enlightenment in their magical growth. This was the first precedent of the beginning of the Era of Arcane Growth.

Soon, the Duskari realized they could exchange anything of great personal cost. Of course, their SFI version didn't allow them to trade Duskari lives or parts of their Trinity of Self—Body, Mind, Soul—but they could trade physical belongings that meant a great deal to them or that came at a high cost. Naturally, not many wanted to part with their most beloved possessions, but they weren't without options.

After all, they had "belongings" trying to kill them just outside their walls—things that had "cost" them a great deal of effort to deal with.

And so, the Deviants became one of the most sought-after commodities. The Duskari, most of them, longed to join the extermination force. No longer did they reluctantly march to battle. After the introduction of the ritualistic exchange spell, the Duskari charged into the battlefield with the mentality of a Black Friday mob.

___________________________

150 years later...

For a century and a half, the Duskari held the Deviants by their throats. They fought with such ferocity that they reclaimed lost territories abandoned more than three centuries ago.

Initially, the cost was staggering—thousands upon thousands of deaths. In their overeagerness to secure sacrifices, many overlooked safety. Yet those who succeeded brought advancements to their magic, and these innovations spread across their people. With renewed strength, the Duskari returned for more.

Time and again, they hunted Deviants, returning with spoils to further empower their magic. Over generations, their proficiency grew. Eventually, the odds of five Duskari killing a Deviant without casualties rose to 32.23%.

This, in turn, made it so that the effort invested in the sacrifice lessened, which meant that they needed to hunt for more Deviants if they wanted to make a worthwhile exchange in their ritualistic exchange spell. 

In a damp cave, lit by hellish fire torches mounted on tall columns, Deviants crawled in the shadows. Humanoid corpses littered the dark corners. Around a stone table, three demonic humanoids sat, arguing heatedly while feasting on what was presumably the corpse of a humanoid being.

"Vrastaghor! We can't keep going like this!"- Snapped Malsrithil.

"The Celestials' failed creations won't suffice. My incubus ran the numbers—we won't last another century before only we are left!"- Malsrithil added.

"I know, Malsrithil! I fucking know!"- Vrastaghor roared.

"What do you suggest? Parade ourselves into their lands? You know how deities are—either weak and delicious or absolute monsters. Do you think I don't want a piece of those bitches?"- Vrastaghor asked.

"Don't let the hellfire in your skull consume you."- Brissoleoh interjected, his voice measured.

"Settle down. We all knew this would be difficult. This pantheon is tied to the succubus whore from the rumors— the one tormenting all the way to the nine hells."- Brissoleoh said.

"Then what do you suggest, Brissoleoh?"-Vrastaghor growled.

"We need time."

"Time? What good is that going to do?"- Malsrithil interjected.

"My incubus also ran the numbers. The failed Celestial creations are reproducing slower than mortals are killing them. How about this—we take a few and let them prey on the underdeveloped apes. Give it a few decades, let their numbers recover, then return with a greater force to pressure those succulent mortals."- Brissoleoh suggested.

Malsrithil rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Not a bad idea... I won't step foot in these lands, though. It gives me a bad feeling."

"I agree."- Vrastaghor conceded.

"We should wait. Hunt down those apes to the last one, then return stronger and finally put pressure on the Duskari."- Vrastaghor added.

The demons' discussion reached its conclusion. They could already taste the sweetness of Duskari souls. Standing, they wiped the blood from their faces and eyed the uneaten remains with some reluctance.

Suddenly, a voice reverberated in their minds and cores, commanding:

'No, that's a bad idea. You won't target the other apes—just the Duskari.'

As if puppets under a spell, the demons sat back down, repeating in unison:

"No, that's a bad idea. We won't target the other apes—just the Duskari."

"No, that's a bad idea. We won't target the other apes—just the Duskari."

"No, that's a bad idea. We won't target the other apes—just the Duskari."

After a brief moment of vacant stares, they resumed eating the remains.

"How about we bring mortals from other planets and feed them to the failed Celestial creations?"- Malsrithil broke the silence. 

"And where do we find apex predators capable of pushing these failed Celestial creations into reproduction? Agh! Since when did we demons become farmers? I hate those divine bitches!"- Vrastaghor scowled. 

"I heard a rumor about a planet named Skrullos."- Brissoleoh smirked. 

"Skrullos? Don't they have their own failed Celestial creations? Besides, the Eternals there repelled an incursion from the Repugnat Hell's demons. What makes you think we'd fare any better?"- Malsrithil questioned.

"True, they have Eternals. But what rumor did you hear about Skrullos?"- Vrastaghor muttered.

"The Skrulls—what the failed Celestial creations call themselves—hunted their Eternal kin to extinction. Now, they're going after the Skrullians, the planet's regular mortals."- Brissoleoh said with a mocking smile.

"They did?! Is the progenitor mother Lilith blessing us?"- Malsrithil's eyes gleamed with excitement.

"Without Eternals, we could harvest Skrullians before these self-named Skrulls even notice!"- Vrastaghor joined Malsrithil's excitement.

"Exactly. Even if they do notice, without a Uni-Mind, these Skrulls won't be able to stop us before we steal their cattle from under their noses."- Brissoleoh's grin widened. 

"Kahahahaha!"- Vrastaghor bellowed.

"Hehehehe! I like it."- Malsrithil chuckled darkly. "I very much like it. I can't wait to taste another mortal soul."

"Then let's go! Time waits for no demon!"- Brissoleoh declared.

...

...

...

"It's interesting how easily humanity is endangered with annihilation."- Aragorn muttered into the overbearing silence of the cave. The Deviants prowling the ground below seemed oblivious to him.

"It's nothing strange."- Death replied. "While humanity plays a pivotal role in most universes—excluding those not populated by humanoid kinds—it's also the most endangered."- Like Aragorn, she remained unnoticed by the Deviants in the cave.

"The Deviant dynamic is odd in this reality."- Aragorn added.

"Odd?"

"The Deviants from Skrullos look Skrullian, the Deviants from Earth don't look Earthen, at all."

"They do if you compare them to the local apex predators."- Death pointed out.

"Are you referring to wolves, tigers, and the like? No local apex predator comes with tendrils—not even giant squids."

"But don't they resemble quadrupeds?"- Death asked.

"Maybe, but not quite the same. They've got four eyes, leathery tendrils, and lack much sentience. It's as if Arishem was running low on color ink and had to give Earth the black-and-white version of Deviants."

"Alright, I'll give you that. At least the upcoming Eternals are fine."- Death chuckled softly. 

"If the movies I've watched are anything to go by, Earth will end up with defective android Eternals. Even my girls—Seraph and Spark—are better than that, and I'm supposedly technologically behind the Celestials. Those androids seem like they come with low memory capacity—not very Eternal-like."

"Okay, fair point. I won't say more."- Death conceded.

"Honestly, though, this universe is lacking in so many aspects."- Aragorn pointed out.

"Maybe it's because of how closely it resembles a Doomed Reality."- Death mused.

"Maybe."- Aragorn said.

"Tiamut told me that even Arishem-616 wasn't fully aware of this place. He said the connection Arishem has with this universe's self is faint—unnaturally faint."- He added.

"Hopefully, that gets fixed once this place stops behaving like a Doomed Reality."

"Hopefully. It's dangerous to have a Celestial with such a weak connection to its primary self. Speaking of which, what did you find out about your self in this reality?"- Aragorn inquired.

"She's here, but she's very weak—barely at the omega level. She seems extremely mortal-like."- Death sounded displeased.

"What will you do?"

"Not much for now. I'll wait until this reality expands, then absorb and replace that fragment."

"That makes sense. Tiamut mentioned it can't wait to rejoin its prime self."- Aragorn nodded.

"Let's head back, my love. This place is yucky."

Aragorn looked around. Mawled bones, rotten flesh, a brimstone smell, and flies painted an illustrious picture of the cave's interior.

"I've never understood the demons' obsession with inhabiting pigsties."- He said while remembering that Wanda said Mephisto also had a throne following the aesthetic of the cave.

"This is more like a slaughterhouse."- Death grimaced in disgust.

"Fair point. Let's go. I need to begin this millennium's obelisk."

"I wanna watch!"- Death jumped onto his back like an excited child.

"Are you sure? It'll take years—boring years. I still lack finesse, so it'll take at least that long and I will need my full attention on the task."

"But I get to watch your soul!"

"Alright, no problem."

Death and Aragorn teleported to the North Pole.

Amidst the frozen páramo, Aragorn, dressed in his classic three-piece black suit with a red tie, sat at the northernmost point of the planet. Death, perched on his lap, wrapped herself around his neck like a necklace, resting her head on his right shoulder.

"My love, tell me more about these obelisks."- Death whispered, taking advantage of their proximity to nibble on his pointy ear.

"While we haven't discovered a definitive solution to the Emergence problem, we've made considerable progress. We found that, although we can't entirely eliminate the ritualistic nature of the Emergence, we can supplant the souls with something very similar."

"Something similar to souls?"- Death mused aloud. "The mind? No, that would kill everyone just the same."

"Souls are unique in their own right, so we hit a wall."- Aragorn admitted.

"At first, we thought we'd have to sacrifice lives regardless. Then I considered using minds instead of souls. I figured I could copy everyone's mind and later reintroduce those minds into the husks left behind."

"But that's not replicable by the Celestials. Only you and Phoenix—psionic nexuses—could pull that off."- Death pointed out.

"Yes, that was the limitation. But at least it was a solution. Perhaps not a universal one for all Emergences, but for this planet and my own reality, it could work. It was progress."

"At least you achieved most of what you came here for with that."- Death nodded, purposefully shifting her weight and rubbing against his lap.

"Tiamut then suggested we create souls and attach copies of these minds to them, just before offering them as sacrifices to the Emergence. Again, not something the Celestials would replicate—it would take far longer than their patience allows."

"And creating souls treads closer to my domain and Life's."- Death added.

"Exactly. But then it struck me: what if we created something of equal value to the collective sum of souls needed for the sacrifice? Something that could pass for the original soul-smoothie without harming Tiamut or the mortals? It couldn't just be anything; it had to closely resemble the souls it was replacing."

"We didn't have many options."- Aragorn continued.

"Well, that's not entirely true—we had plenty of options, but few the Celestials would ever bother replicating. Then I thought, what about a Noosphere?"

"A Noosphere?"- Death tilted her head adorably.

"A philosophical concept that represents the sphere of human thought, knowledge, and consciousness. It's an abstract idea, but I could give it actuality with a spell. Bringing concepts into reality isn't unheard of—sorcerers and reality warpers do it all the time. The challenge lies in the scale."

"And the obelisks are for managing that scale?"- Death asked, intrigued.

"Exactly. Think of them as magical foci, but on a planetary scale. The plan is to construct a geodesic spherical grid around the planet, with these obelisks serving as vertices. The grid will be interconnected by 151,860 esoteric equilateral triangles, forming 75,932 vertices. Each obelisk will take about a millennium to congeal, although I'm hoping I can speed up the process as I gain experience."

"Right, because if you don't, the Emergence will happen a few centuries before you're done—unless you start controlling the population and keeping it purposely low."- Death pointed out.

"Let's not become genociders—again—just yet. I don't want to imitate your not-so-secret admirer and start family-planning the planet."

"Do you have to remind me of that?"- Death, quite literally, took a bite of his shoulder—not just to express her dissatisfaction, but because she wanted to have a part of him inside her at all times.

"It's kind of weird that Thanos became your simp in so many realities."- Aragorn smirked.

"Oh, shut up! That was during my not-so-bright days. I found an interesting toy and was bored of my job—or existence. In human terms: I was chronically depressed. I figured I could make the toy end all life and let the Living Tribunal punish me—or better yet, erase me. I even had a candidate lined up to inherit my position.

"Well, you showed up in my life before any of that could happen, but the Nexus event had already occurred. In all realities where there's a Thanos, he almost always tries to end at least half of all life. And in all realities where I had a significant presence, he would always 'simped' for me."- Death said with the same nonchalance Aragorn used when discussing his human past.

"I'm glad it didn't work out, Noona. I can't imagine a happier life than what I have now—with you."- Aragorn said, pecking her nose affectionately.

"... Something about that statement sounds off."- Death said, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Oh, you caught that? How perceptive of you."- Aragorn grinned.

"Out with it. Tell me."- Death demanded, her eyes swirling with the promise of annihilation.

"'I can't imagine a happier life than what I have now with you' doesn't mean I can't imagine what kind of life I'd be living without you. I think you can imagine, no?"- Aragorn replied with a shameless smile.

"You beast! You'd have a harem with our daughters, wouldn't you?"- Death sunk her nails into Aragorn's neck, and her tail pierced through his stomach, winding upward toward his heart.

"No, not all of them. Probably only the older ones—Emma and Natalia, possibly—but that would've eventually failed due to the difference in life levels. Most likely, I would've ended up with Firebird and a few goddesses."- Aragorn said, calm and analytical, as if the swirling eyes of Death meant no danger, in fact, she appeared dazzling in his eyes.

"My love, I'm not liking the direction this conversation is taking."- Death said pointedly, twisting her tail within him to maximize his pain.

"Noona, you'd have ended up with that simp and/or Deadpool. This is just a hypothetical scenario. You know I can't think of anyone but you in that way, and I know exactly what I mean to you."- Aragorn countered, his neck elongating as if made of plastic. He brought his face closer to hers, their noses touching, and met her intense gaze with his own.

"Fine! But I don't like this—not one bit!"- Death huffed, retracting her nails. She hurriedly sealed the wounds she left behind with her mouth.

She sucked on his neck like a greedy vampire, and once the wounds closed, she withdrew her tail from his stomach. With a playful yet commanding gesture, she pressed her slender fingers against Aragorn's forehead and pushed him back, making him lie flat on the icy ground.

Aragorn immediately understood her intentions. With a mere thought, his suit and shirt dissolved, vanishing as if they had never existed. She shifted her position, straddling him in a way that brought her chest to his clavicle—a pose reminiscent of a sensual inversion.

Her tongue elongated, transforming into a serpentine, sinuous extension. It slithered across his chest, lapping up the blood-like substance that coated his skin. She worked methodically, cleaning him from his clavicle downward in one fluid, unbroken motion, making sure to experience the outline of his muscles, all the way to the wound in his stomach.

Her urgency was palpable, a race against time as Aragorn's accelerated regeneration worked to close the gaping hole. She latched onto the source, drinking deeply, savoring every drop before it was sealed off.

"~Ahn. So damn delicious."- She moaned, her voice thick with satisfaction.

"Better?"- Aragorn asked, enjoying the view she was providing him. Death was as scantly dressed as always, so the position was quite compromising.

"Better!"- Death cheerfully exclaimed while licking the blood off of her tail.

"You're not you when you're hungry."- Aragorn chuckled. 

"Are you sure we can't have some time before you start building the first obelisk? I could sit in your face."- Death offered. She shifted forward until she was giving Aragorn a full view of her underwear-less bellow, and her hands were outlining his cock over his pants. 

"Ugh, No. I want to, believe me, but I need to do this now."- Aragorn's tongue extended and slithered its way to her labia, while slowly licking her inner thighs. 

"~Ah~Why the t-teasing, the~n?"- Death quivered as his tongue circled around the prize but never claimed it. 

"You're the one that gifted me this sight, it's your fault."- Aragorn's tongue slithered towards her asshole, but just like with her labia, it never claimed the prize. 

"UGH! I HATE YOU!"- Death jumped and shifted into her honey-badger form and climbed atop Aragorn's chest while looking down at him. 

"No sex for you, for the next two millenniums."- Her imposing tone of voice was hampered by her current position and cuteness. 

"Noona, isn't that as much a punishment for me as for you?"- Aragorn asked with a faint smile. 

"... Just finish your damn Obelisk and fuck me silly!"- She commanded.

"Yes, my cute Noona."- Aragorn said, lifting her and sitting in a lotus position, placing her in the space between his legs.

From beneath the ground, his soul extended and merged back into his body, leaving only a thin tendril emerging from his stomach. Death immediately latched onto it like a calf to its mother's udders.

Aragorn began constructing the first Obelisk.

—————————

{A/N:

I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Please check out my P@treon account! There are already 5 chapters ahead for premium members, which is at least 50,000 words. Premium members also gain access to a new chapter every week.

p@treon.com/ExistentialVoid

Free Members get access to all free chapters, and I upload free chapters about 12 hours earlier in P@atreon.

I hope you enjoyed the read!

}