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Heaven, Earth and Hell

Summary:

The United Pantheons have their peace and freedom. But after the death of a witch new and old evils (re)emerge and threaten the unity. It lies in the hands of the young generation of demigods to uphold the promises made by the gods and face their ultimate Evil.

Notes:

I have no idea what I have started with this. My mind went haywire and I finally began writing one of the various stories floating through my mind. Just be aware that I try to make everything mythical one may encounter as accurate to the original source material as possible, but there are gonna be free interpretations as well.

Chapter 1: Prologue: With Raven Eyes

Chapter Text

The Raven couldn’t see much from its position on its branch. But it heard or more like felt the thundering echo of something heavy coming nearer, vibrating through the ground, shaking the tree it was sitting on.

Through the foliage it could only see glimpses of what was rushing past it. A crooked window here, a metal pipe swinging back and forth and the gigantic toe of what resembled to be the foot of a large bird. And just like that it was gone.

In the back of its head the raven wondered how it could move so fast through this thick forest, with the narrow passages between the trees. A big entity like that thing shouldn’t move here that easily. But that thought quickly evaporated as the other being burst through the bushes. The Raven saw white teeth flashing, black fur shining with water from the rain that was going down at the forest. When it landed on its paws mud and water were splashing up and getting stuck in the already drenched fur on its legs. A split-second later the thing was gone. Racing after the first one.

The Raven cawed. It had seen enough. With one last screech it descended into the air.

A single raven feather fell to the ground and landed in a muddy footprint. The size of which is almost double the one of the feather.

Chapter 2: The Death of Baba Yaga

Summary:

While the heads of the pantheons have a meeting in heaven, the demigod Antís faces a catastrophe that will soon start to threaten the United Pantheons.

Notes:

Part 1: Catastrophe Unfolding

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Antís arrived at the location he was guided to in the woodlands belonging to the Slavic witches. He stepped from his quad, took off his helmet and viewed his surroundings. The scenery before him was devastating. Where once stood a proud and ancient forest, now only lies death. The whole area was trampled, trees knocked down, dead animals rotting in their blood. Whatever happened couldn’t have happened more than a few hours ago, no more than half a day. The young man cursed under his breath.

Antís was sent here by the Heimdallr. A safekeeping program of the United Pantheons, to ensure humanity’s safety while the gods resided in heaven. Being raised and trained by Athena, greek goddess of wisdom and the arts of war herself, Antís was one of the most capable recruits sent to the earth to keep mythical monsters from devouring the unknowing humans. A magical signal resonating through the duat, the various magical layers of existence below the earth, alerted the Heimdallr who acted by sending Antís to investigate.

Now being faced with the situation Antís knew he would need some professional assistance - godly assistance to unravel what has happened. Sighing, he took his phone and opened Hermes.

“Yo, Boss! What’s up?”, an animated figure of the messenger god showed a curious expression.

“Hi Hermes. Can you send me Perun down here, please.”, Antís asked.

“Perun is in the council meeting. I’m not sure, if he -”

“Just try.”, Antís interrupted him. “Tell him-... Tell him it’s about the witch. Something has happened, that requires his immediate attention.”

He raised his phone and thus allowed Hermes to see through the phone’s camera. The pixel eyes of the messenger’s face widened.

“What in Hades! I’ll- I’ll try. Gimme a few minutes.”

And with a small ~click~ the phone screen went dark. Antís pocketed his phone and sighed.
“Let’s get to work, shall we?”


The council meeting was boring as usual. Amaterasu had abandoned Zeus’ train of thoughts long ago. Something about the reintegration of Asgard into the United Heaven. Being the only woman who was allowed to participate wasn’t helpful either. She clicked her tongue.

From the looks of it, Zeus was close to switching to his other form Jupiter, which would definitely be a catastrophe. The Roman was even dumber, louder and more aggressive than Zeus.

From the corner of her eyes she watched Odin, All-Father of the Norse, getting more and more irritated, the longer Zeus raged. He obviously had a reason why Asgard should stay a separate heaven, only connected by bridges and the winds to the other heavenly pantheons. One that she couldn’t see yet, but she was patient. She trusted Odin enough to know the reason would be genuine.

When she refocused her gaze on Zeus, she saw the vein on his temple getting more prominent. He was very close to switching now, she could tell. Silently Amaterasu started to count backwards under her breath.

“十”

“九”

“八”

“七”

“六”

“五”

”四”

”三-”*

Before she could finish with three, another voice grew louder and surprisingly quickly shut Zeus’ rambling down.

“Excuse me, honored council, but I need to go now. There’s a situation down below, that requires my attention it seems.”, Perun, head of the Slavs, shared.

For a moment no god said anything, but if Amaterasu thought the interruption had shut him up for good, she was mistaken, because not having calmed down one bit Zeus raged on.

“What do you mean, you have to go? We’re in the middle of meeting! You can’t just leave! Who- Who even told you, that there’s a situation-"

“Your son told me, actually.” Behind Perun’s throne, the small figure of a digital avatar emerged. Hermes looked younger, as when Amaterasu had seen him last time, but that could be because he was interrupting the most important meeting of the pantheons and thus was getting close to being yelled at by his own father. Confusingly seeing Hermes did shut Zeus up for good. Amaterasu could see the curiosity rising in his eyes, replacing the anger.

“One of Heimdallr’s scouts discovered something on Slavic territory. In regards to the dimension of the situation he deemed it appropriate to ask for the head of the pantheon, alas me, to go down there and review it myself. And if I’m being honest this discussion about Asgard will not bear any fruit today. When I look around all I see is tired faces. So I will be going now to make sure my pantheon still stands, while you wrap up this council meeting. Hermes, lead the way.” With these last words Perun stood from his throne and turned to leave the room, just to be interrupted midway.

“I think you are forgetting something here, Lord Perun”, Amaterasu finally spoke up, “When investigating matters concerning the safety of a pantheon as a whole, there should be representatives of at least three major pantheons regarding the situation to come to a well-reasoned conclusion, as stated in the United Law. Alas, I will offer myself as one extra to your little party, if you don’t mind. I have nothing more to add to today's meeting anyway.”

“She is right”, the All-Father said. “I will be joining you as well. My hunger for discussion about United Matters has been satisfied for today.”

Perun only looked first at Amaterasu and then shifted his gaze to Odin. He just nodded and then followed the avatar of Hermes who had already left the room. The other two stood up as well.

“さようなら*, honored council. Until next time”, Amaterasu bowed and together with Odin left the meeting, leaving a stuttering Zeus behind.


Antís was just wiping some specks of dirt from his face, when loud thunder rumbled and lightning flashed from the sky into the ground. He could make out three figures standing where the lightning had struck the ground. A ~ding~ alerted him of a new message. When he looked at his phone, he saw the Hermes avatar smiling proudly up at him.

“Message delivered”, Hermes said, then the phone went dark again.

Antís walked up to the three gods standing on the edge of the new clearing, raising his hand in a silent greeting. The only one taking notice of him was a woman in traditional samurai armor. She was carrying a katana at her hip, her long black hair swaying in the wind. She nodded at him, as he was taking the empty spot on her left side.

“Calling him was the right decision”, she whispered, jerking her head in Perun's direction.

“Thank you, Amaterasu-sama”, Antís answered.

The four of them fell silent. While Antís was waiting he studied the gods' reaction to the chaos.

Amaterasu was silent. She took the scenery in as a whole, studying it as if it was a battlefield - which it probably was. The All-Father Odin, on Perun’s right side, hunched over, his grip on his spear Gungnir getting tighter by the second. His eyes were jumping from point to point, Antís guessed he was looking for traces of magic. Lord Perun stood unmoving, his face emotionless. One could guess, he was an indifferent watcher, wouldn’t it have been for his fists, aggressively clenching at his sides. After a few minutes of silence, he finally spoke up.

“What happened?”

Antís hesitated briefly. Then shook his head.

“I’m not quite sure, …...yet. But I did find some clues.”, he started. “Someone fought. Intensely as you can clearly see. There are traces of magic in the air and the ground, but since I have no magical abilities myself, I couldn’t identify them. Maybe Lord Odin can help us with those. All animals inside the area were attacked. There are remains of several types of prey animals as well as predators. Whatever attacked them showed them no mercy. No animals in the near area. They were all cast out and even though it has been a few hours now, they haven’t come back. Footprints show that the attacker was some kind of large canine. I found some thick black fur that I couldn’t match with the residing animals in the forest, so it’s probably from the attacker. I’m just confused where it came from, there are no traces of it entering the area, so either it dropped from the sky or it appeared somehow magically. I-” Antís hesitated again.

“Speak up boy. What is it”, Perun commanded.

“I think we all know who was defending themself, so do I really need to-”, Antís broke up.

When nobody said a thing, he swallowed and continued.

“I found some boards. The wood does not match the trees in the area. They looked like they were grown or by some other way induced with magic. And I also-”, he broke up again, “I also found footprints of a large bird running around the area.”

“What kind of bird?”

Antís turned to Perun only to see the Slav for the first time since entering the clearing looking directly at him.

“The footprints match those of a chicken, these are just gigantic in comparison.”

Antís’ gaze didn’t waver and so he was surprised to see a shadow running over Perun’s face before the Slav turned to the devastated forest again.

“Where is she?” This time it was Odin, who spoke his first words since coming down to earth.

“There are footprints of both the house and the attacker leaving the clearing to the northeast. I guess the witch decided at some point she should better try running away”, Antís pointed to the right of the clearing, while the gods’ gaze followed the direction of his finger. He spoke his next words directly at Perun.

“What are your orders, Lord Perun?”

The god remained silent for a few minutes, Antís could almost see the gears turning in his head.

“I’m going to alert Devana. She’s gonna be furious, but the forest falls in her domain. Additionally, someone should contact the other witches. I’m gonna send them a message through the old ways. Maybe they know something. Wotan, do you think you can identify the magic Antís found around here?”

“I will try. This could be quite the challenge. Your woodland magic is very different from my runes. Maybe your witches can help me, if you can achieve a connection”, Odin answered.

“It’s gonna be difficult. Since Baba Yaga was the most famous of their coven and thus drew most outside attention, the others have more or less gone into hiding. But if you think they can help you, I’m trying to get them to answer me. Amaterasu, may I ask something from you too?”

“Naturally, Lord Perun”, Amaterasu responded.

“I doubt Zeus has completed wrapping up the council meeting”, Perun explained, “I would like you to go back to the United Heaven and alert the other heads of the pantheons as well as Heimdallr and his scouts. They should keep an eye out, for beings like our Antís here described.”

“With pleasure. I was looking for an opportunity to poke the airhead some more”, Amaterasu smiled.

“Try to keep it civil. We don’t need any more trust issues between the major pantheons”, Perun said.

“Of course”. Amaterasu hadn’t stopped smiling and now turned to Antís to wink at him. The demigod almost chuckled at that, wouldn’t it have been for Perun's attention to drift to him now.

“I would like you to follow the trail the witch and her attacker left behind. Try to find more clues as to what happened and alert me immediately when you find something. Send Hermes, he’ll keep me updated.”

“As you wish, Lord Perun”, Antís nodded and then turned to his quad. While he was putting on his helmet the Lord of the sky called after him

“If you find the beast that did this do not engage right then. Observe and report. If it could chase away the witch, it will not stop when it comes to young demigods.”

As he heard that Antís could only smile. Climbing onto the quad he started the engine and slowly drove towards the three gods still standing at the edge of the forest.

“I’ll keep that in mind, Lord Perun, but I think you’re forgetting something. I’m a child of Athena. And Athena always has a plan.” With these last words Antís turned his quad around and drove deep into the bewitched woods.


The raven feather was crusted with dirt. It was the first sign of any living animal Antís found near the traces the house and its attacker left behind. He wondered what happened to the other animals. Maybe this raven was somehow special. Seeing no remains anywhere around he was sure it just left, but only after the chase went through here. He sighed again. This whole deal was getting more confusing by the minute.

Antís checked his navigation again. When the signals were right, he was headed right towards a small village. He didn’t bother with the name, since he got no information from the Heimdallr that it was attacked. Events like that always found their way through the internet and the duat to the United Heaven.

He pocketed his phone and the muddy feather and climbed back on his quad. It was time to find the witch.


While driving through the small town he got some curious looks. It wasn’t often that the conservative townsfolk saw a young man dressed in leather driving on a quad staring intensely at every house he came by as if he wanted to break in. Antís wasn’t bothered by that. After the few times he tried speaking with the locals it was clear that he didn’t understand their language and they didn’t understand him. Even though he tried it multiple times in various languages. But it didn’t matter. It wasn’t the first time he was in an unfamiliar part of the world where he couldn’t rely on anyone else. And so far he didn’t seem to be in danger. That was a first.

When he found the house he almost drove past it. It looked like every other house in this town with the typical architecture of eastern european countries, wouldn’t it have been for the claw marks on its front side and the shattered window next to the front door. It sat in a small otherwise empty parcel between some row houses. Obviously there was no path from the footwalk he was standing on to the little porch of the house. Antís stopped the engine and fastened his helmet on the quad. Then he stepped on the grass and approached the house.

He was amazed by the details. It looked nothing like the woodland hut his mother described him when he was younger. From the green door to the flower pots in the corners of the porch it fit right into the scenery of this small village. It was only two stories high instead of three and it didn’t connect with the other houses but sat empty and alone in the middle of the meadow but otherwise, no one who didn’t suspect something would just drive by, like Antís almost did.

“So, you can camouflage”, he muttered, “Well then, let’s see what else you are hiding.” He hesitated before knocking. Surely Baba Yaga must have seen or sensed him by now. He had stood almost five minutes outside just staring at the house. But it remained silent and still. The weathercock creaked when the wind turned it to another direction. And so Antís knocked. The house remained silent and still. No lights went on, no footsteps shuffling around. He knocked again.

“Baba? Baba Yaga! Are you there? My name is Antís, I was sent here by the Heimdallr to help you!”, he shouted. He got no answer. The house remained silent and still.

Confused Antís laid the palm of his hand on the door and then jerked it away again as he felt something strange. Intrigued, he did it again. He pressed both palms flat against the door and just felt. The door was quivering, shaking as if-....as if it was afraid of something.

“I’m not going to hurt you”, Antís whispered and laid his forehead onto green wooden boards. “Please, let me in.”

He heard a ~click~ and suddenly the door swung open, giving him access to the house's interior. His eyes widened.

It was a mess. The first thing he saw was the huge cauldron. It was supposed to stand proudly in the middle of the room, but it was knocked down and the liquid inside was spilled across the whole floor. When he sniffed the air, he was relieved that it didn’t smell weird, it probably was just some soup or something. Baba Yaga’s dinner maybe. That was the second thing that got his attention. The witch. Or better the absence of the witch. Until now he thought that maybe she was unconscious or otherwise hurt, so that she couldn’t answer the door, but Baba Yaga was nowhere to be seen. While looking for her Antís saw a small wooden spiral staircase climbing up to the second floor standing in the far right corner in the back of the hut. Because that’s what it looked like now. A hut. Small and narrow. Rough wooden walls and furniture. Whatever magic changed the hut’s outside appearance did nothing to the interior.

Antís finally entered the hut and went straight to the staircase to climb up to the second floor. Maybe Baba Yaga was up there.

He quickly realized she wasn’t. The second floor contained her private chambers. A small bedroom, something that could be a predecessor to any sort of bathroom and a study filled with rows and rows of books. Some magical and some normal. Not that he could read the cyrillic alphabet, so that was just a guess. His confusion only grew, when he made a second tour on this floor. Everything looked- well, normal, empty. As if the witch just up and left, nothing compared to the chaos downstairs. Slowly he descended the staircase and surveyed the main room again.

This time Antís could make more sense of the mess of items in the room. Various drawers were opened or ripped out of their respective cabinets, their content scattered across the floor. Most of them were herb containers, vials and potions and some more books. Loose pages swayed with the wind who came through the open door. When he closed that door, the room went dark. Antís could still see the outline of his surroundings, but the thick colorful curtains blocked most of the outside light from entering the room.

“Crap!”, Antís exclaimed. He was about to open one of the curtains, when he suddenly heard a faint crackle and the room was enlightened by a warm light. He turned around and just now noticed the four lanterns hanging in each corner of the room. Each of them contained a candle whose wicks were burning with a small, lively flame.

“How-”, he started, but then shut up abruptly. He was very certain there was nobody else in the hut, but that could only mean-

“You’re- Are you alive?” After he heard himself saying that out loud, Antís felt stupid. Of course the hut was- well maybe not directly alive, but sentient at least. It was a hut walking on chicken legs, traveling with a witch. It may not have something like a personality, but it was aware of its surroundings and apparently also the intentions of creatures nearby or inside it. Antís chuckled.

“Thank you.”

Now blessed with the gift of sight again he continued his investigation. He tried not to touch most of the vials and spilled liquids not knowing what the consequences were if he dared to, but he collected the loose pages and books and stacked them on a small table in the opposite corner of the staircase. He stood a bit lost in front of the puddle or better sea of..soup? spilled from the cauldron. He decided it was a soup. As he stood there wondering how to clean it up, the hut made another move. From a small cupboard behind the staircase emerged a bucket which then flew upstairs into the bathroom and filled itself with water unnoticed by the demigod staring at the brown crumbly sea. After that the bucket flew downstairs again and united with a mop who had just emerged from the ominous cupboard as well.

While Antís was still debating if he should rummage around the hut and thus maybe disturb Baba Yaga’s secrets, something connected with his back and ankle. As he turned around he saw the mop and the bucket swirling around. A laughter bubbled up in his chest which he could barely contain, so it came out as faltering breaths. When he calmed himself, a smile spread his lips and with a shaking head he grabbed the mop and began cleaning the floor.


It took him a while but Antís got to the cauldron which still lay on its side like a captured animal. When he had mopped the area around it, he put a lot of effort into putting the cauldron upright and in its regular place. As he then proceeded to mop the rest of the soup, he noticed something which made him stop dead in his tracks. He stared at the floor where the cauldron was lying before and started mopping again to clear the rest of the area. When he was finished he leaned the mop against the cauldron and kneeled down. His fingers traced the claw marks, which cut into the wooden floor.

“It was inside”, Antís whispered. “But that doesn’t make sense, the footprints of the beast were way bigger than one can assume from these marks.”

Talking to himself was maybe not something a sane person would normally do, but it had helped Antís before to rearrange and order his thoughts. He stood up and went outside to see the marks the beast left on the huts exterior. In comparison these marks were bigger and cut way deeper. Ideas swirled around Antís’ head, many of them possible, but for now only two of them fit the clues he found so far.

“Either there are two beasts, one small and one big. Baba Yaga had the small one, so the big one attacked her hut to free it or-”

A ~ding~ interrupted his rambling. He pulled his phone from his pocket and spotted the Hermes avatar smiling up at him.

“Good news, Boss. Lord Thoth analysed the fur sample Amaterasu brought back to the United Heaven. Apparently it is from a wolf, but the DNA was so scrambled and twisted it requires further analysis. It was heavily induced with magic tho.”
“Woodland magic, like the type a witch like Baba Yaga would use?”, Antís intercepted.

“Yes, indeed. It seems likely that she used some potions or spells to make the beast go away. Did you find anything that is worth reporting to Lord Perun?”, Hermes asked.

“I did, actually”, said the demigod and lifted his phone like at the clearing.

“I don’t understand,'' Hermes said and cocked his head. “This is just-”

“Her hut. Disguised to make it look like a normal house. The interior matches that of the witches cabin”, Antís explained. “Sadly, Baba Yaga isn’t inside. No clue where she would have gone, but I found more claw marks. Smaller than these here, tho.”

“You got a theory?”, Hermes asked.

“Two actually. One, there were two beasts, wolves, as you said”, he explained. “Two, it can change its size.”

“That’d be problematic. But you already guessed it’s magical in the woods. What do you wanna do now?”

“I’m not quite sure. I have no idea where Baba is or where she might have gone. So the only clue that might help us right now…

“Is the fur sample!”
“Is the fur sample!”, both of them said simultaneously.

“Lord Thoth did not use a tracking spell on it to pinpoint the beast's location by chance?”, Antís asked innocently. The avatar smiled mischievously.

“He did actually”, Hermes winked. “So, do you wanna go monster hunting?”

Antís gave the house one last look.

“Don’t worry. I’ll bring her back.” He shifted his attention back to Hermes, who was watching him patiently.

”Let’s go find that wolf!”


“That doesn’t look so good”, the messenger god remarked.

“That’s what you said two minutes ago too and I’m still gonna do it, so how about you stop complaining and start giving me some constructive criticism, huh?”

To say that Antís wasn’t nervous was an understatement. The human part of him was very nervous about what he was going to do. But the part of him that was blessed by Athena, when she adopted him, kept his cool and was still analysing the location before him.

Antís’ phone had traced the magical signal emanating from the wolfs’ fur through the duat to where he was camping right now. His lookout was situated on a small hill, where he was sitting on his quad below a huge oak tree. The sun was slowly going down. Another few hours and it would be dark. Not that that would matter, since the wolf would rely more on smell than sight anyway. He was observing the construction site of a shopping mall situated at the bottom of the hill. The first in this area as it seemed. The empty shell was already four stories high with its pillars already finished to put the fifth floor on top. Three large cranes were framing the construction site.

“Can you at least wish me good luck?”, Antís asked the messenger.

“Are you sure you won’t wait for the reinforcements? The Heimdallr are putting the team together right now”, Hermes countered.

“Yeah, that’ll take them at least half an hour. I work for them, I should know. No. I have that thing right here, I can use the location to my advantage and my equipment will start rusting if I leave it in my bags any longer. It’s time.”

“You’re gonna be the death of me, do you know that?”, Hermes exclaimed.

“Since you can not die, that’s an exaggeration”, Antís responded, “but, thank you for worrying. I appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome. Just don’t get killed, please. Your mother is gonna make my life a living hell, if you do”, Hermes pleaded.

Antís smiled.

“Will do. Just one more thing. Can you switch the phone to stealth mode? Getting discovered because of incoming messages won’t be helpful.”

“Sure thing, Boss”, Hermes answered. “And good luck!”


Antís was starting to hate the rain. It makes everything more slippery, especially when you are climbing a huge construction crane. He was just glad that it stopped raining a while ago, so that it wouldn’t be bothering his sight when facing the wolf. He was sitting on top of one of the cranes and was fastening his rope expertly. He had already put on his climbing gear to attach himself to the rope. When he was sure it wouldn’t get loose he let go of the other end and watched it unraveling itself into the construction site. The mall had a hexagonal shape with its middle being a hole which reached down to the first floor in which the rope was now descending. Antís guessed they wanted to put a glass roof on the finished mall to let the interior get enlightened by the sun. He checked again if he had his equipment at hand and finally attached his climbing hooks to the rope. With one last breath he swung himself from the crane.

There were things that scared Antís far more than heights. Like spiders for example. Although that could just be an Athena thing. But hanging upside down from a construction crane, attached only by a few hooks to an enchanted rope with one of his legs wrapped in said rope to not descend further down did make his stomach swirl. He needed his hands to hold and aim his gun steady at any moving target. His visor didn’t show any heat signatures just yet, the beast was still in hiding. He clicked his tongue. Maybe he should descend a bit further down. He was still three meters above the construction site. Any further distance down and he would make an even more suitable target if the wolf spotted him. But it seemed like he had no choice in that matter. Carefully he unwrapped the rope around his leg and climbed further down. When he leveled with the third story he returned to his previous position. No sign of the wolf. He started bending his upper torso to look at the other side of the building. No trace of the wolf there either. Just then he heard a faint breathing in his backside. He closed his eyes and turned back to face the beast.

When he opened his eyes again his breathing stocked. The animal looked beautiful, like a prime specimen of its kind. It was perfect. Too perfect. Looking at it Antís had no doubt the beast wasn’t magical. Its black fur shone in the faint sunlight, the white belly almost looked silvery. Teeth flashing pure white and the black claws looked freshly cleaned. His shoulders stood 1,5 m above the ground. But the most intriguing aspects were its eyes. Piercing red orbs that looked directly at him had Antís halting in every movement he wanted to make. For a few moments nobody moved. Antís hung on his rope leveling with the third floor, while the wolf stood below him on the second floor at the edge of the hole. Then the wolf attacked.


While Antís was gazing down, taking in every muscle and sharp thing the wolf could use against him he saw it crouching down. The movement snapped him out of his trance and he aimed his gun. He scored three hits in shoulder, front leg and neck then wolf sprang at him. Just as the beast was about to sink its claws in his body Antís turned himself and activated a gift given to him by his mother. The wolf collided with a wall of bronze but still managed to hold itself on Antís by sinking its claws into the shield between the two of them. The momentum sent both fighters swinging backwards and Antís used it to turn himself again and pushed the wolf away from him. Being far heavier than the demigod the beast couldn’t hold itself, its claws scratching the shield but leaving no mark. It fell down but managed to land on all fours now standing on the third floor of the construction site.

While the beast recovered from its fall, Antís wasn’t just watching. He swung back, away from the wolf, while grabbing the knife strapped to his thigh. When he swung towards his enemy again he used the momentum and cut the rope with his knife, getting propelled forwards. Using his shield as protection he rammed the wolf, knocking both them backwards. Since his landing was softened by mountains of muscles and fur Antís quickly got up and backed away from his opponent, holding the shield upright to protect himself.

The wolf looked angry. It was shaking its head violently to overcome the confusion. It stood up again smelling the air to locate Antís, preparing himself to attack the demigod, but when it opened its eyes to look at him it jerked away, its gaze analysing its opponent. Antís only smiled.

“Looks like you aren’t immune to the effects of aegis either.” His shield reflected the light of the sinking sun, making the decor head of the gorgon Medusa looking even creepier.

Antís grabbed into his pocket and closed his hand about the container inside, pulling it out. It looked somewhat like a pen although without a tip. Still smiling he pressed the button at the bottom of the container and his spear transformed to its full size of almost two meters.

“Bring it on!”, he mocked the wolf.

The wolf glared at him. It seemed to have understood not to underestimate the demigod. Then it charged forward. Seeing no weak points to bite with its mighty jaw it started by slamming his paws down on Antís’ aegis. Loud scratching, claws on bronze filled the air, hurting in both their ears. Still the beast raged on. After a few attempts it backed off to observe the damage it had done. Looking back later Antís was sure he clearly saw the moment where the curiosity in its eyes turned into confusion which then evolved into rage. Being a magic shield, a copy from the shield his mother and his grandfather Zeus used, the wolf didn’t leave a single scratch on aegis.

Antís’ smile faltered. He realized he had reached the moment where the wolf would do anything to defeat him. This fight just turned into a deathmatch.


They were going at this for a while now. The wolf was charging at him and trying to get past his aegis. When it was retreating Antís tried to strike with the spear. He succeeded far more than his opponent. But to be honest it didn’t matter much. The wolf felt the piercing wounds not as much as Antís would like it to. But if the beast got to him he felt the consequences.

His right leg brace was squashing his lower leg from when the beast had knocked the shield away and tried to bite his leg off. Luckily the bronze wasn’t pierced, since he had used his spear to strike against the head. What had surprised both of them was that he had actually hit. As the wolf had been retreating Antís struck it right in the eye. The wolf had roared loudly in anguish, thrashing around and knocking Antís on his back. Luckily for him it had been in too much pain to take advantage of the situation. Quickly Antís hadrecovered and went to strike again. Just as he had been about to smash his shield against its muzzle, the wolf had stood up again. Its left, still intact eye, had crossed Antís’ gaze, who then had wanted to take a step back, but because of that his leg had given away. The crushed leg brace had hindered his movements and he had fallen on his right side. The beast had used this opportunity and slashed his claws at him. Two things had saved his life. First, he had used his shield to divert the incoming attack, so it had scratched only his left arm and shoulder and not his waist and backside. The second thing had been the wolf itself. Now with only one functioning eye it had miscalculated the distance in the room and thus aimed his paw the wrong angle. So instead of ripping his arm wide open, it had only left deep clean cuts across the demigod's skin. The leather cushion on his shoulder, which was supposed to protect him from incoming attacks, had stood no chance against the sharp wolf claws.

Antís knew he needed to end the fight soon. The more he struck the wolf, the angrier it got. Besides the eye he didn’t hurt it much. On the other hand, the wolf had already wounded him pretty seriously. The leg hindered his movements and with the cut shoulder his shield felt heavier and heavier. But he had one last idea. After the heavy exchange of blows the two were circling each other not wanting to give the other any more opportunities. Right now, the two of them were separated by twenty meter with Antís almost with his back to the framework at the outside of the construction site. The floor between them was scattered with debris. In one of its early rages the wolf had knocked down many of the pillars that were holding up the fourth floor to crush Antís under them. The demigod had managed to dodge all of that but sometimes the ceiling had broken away too, so it now spotted a few holes where the dying sunlight shone through. Just as Antís’ back aligned with the framework, the wolf saw its opportunity. One of the holes in the ceiling was conveniently located, so that the last sun rays were aimed right at Antís' face. Blinded, the demigod stumbled, which made the wolf seize the moment. It sprinted forward, only to fall right into Antís’ trap.

Antís’ whole arsenal was composed of weapons of the mind. Being a child of Athena he fought by analysing his opponents fighting style and adjusted to it. He had no magical powers or elemental energies he could use, so his body and mind needed to be in top shape to overcome any obstacle he was facing. Alas, being near-sighted was a huge problem. If he couldn’t see his opponent coming at him, he’d be dead. He only had this disability because he was born a regular human and was only adopted by Athena when he was seven years old. Back then it was too late to fix his eyes without altering the rest of his body too much. But Athena wouldn’t be Athena if she didn’t think of a way to solve such a problem. She instructed Vulcan, roman god the forge and Thoth, egyptian god of magic to make Antís magical contacts. The lenses adjusted to any circumstance, which is how Antís can see magic even if he can’t use it and which is why he only needed to act like he was blinded by the sunlight even if he could clearly see the wolf rushing at him.

Unsuspecting, the wolf charged at Antís and when it was close, it jumped. Antís could see the triumph in its remaining left eye and sprung into action. With a twist of his uninjured left foot he jerked out of the way, so that the wolf flew past him, out of the construction site and shattered outside on the ground. At least, that was his plan. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen as he wanted it to. As the wolf saw him turning away, it knew it couldn’t stop its fall. All it could do was to take the demigod with it. The beast stretched out its right paw, even though it couldn’t see on this side’s eye anymore and sank its claws into the demigods shield. Antís’ left arm and shoulder protested heavily so instead of resisting and damaging them even further, he just went with it.
Even as they fell, both of them tried to gain the upper hand, although it was clear whose situation was more opportunous. The wolf was dragged down by gravity and had difficulties raising its paws to strike Antís again, while the demigod just aimed his spear in the vulnerable belly. Then they hit the ground.


Antís was catching his breath. Again he lay on the mountain of muscles and fur. His shoulder protested so he loosened the straps holding the shield and the weight was finally lifted. A searing pain went through his leg. His ankle was definitely twisted by now. Still he hunched over his spear and used it as a makeshift crutch to climb from the monstrous body, which was still convulsing with raspy breaths. He watched as these grew fainter until the body stilled. But just as he was about to turn away, the body shrunk and transformed. Curious. he got closer to investigate as his eyes widened in shock when he recognized the person lying in a sea of their blood.

Antís stood over the dead body of the witch he was looking for. He had just killed Baba Yaga.


************************************************************************************************


The spirit was irritated to say the least. They definitely wouldn’t find their person while strolling through dark and deserted subway tunnels. But the queen of Yomi insisted. Something about protecting the mythical peace. As if the spirit would care about that, as long as they could fulfill their purpose. But they agreed anyway, since no human being on the japanese peninsula fit their requirements to achieve their mission. They sighed.

When they passed the next subway station, they thought they could hear faint rumbling in the distance. Since they didn’t have anything better to do they went to check it out. While floating in the next eerie tunnel, the noise grew louder. They were small holes in the otherwise smooth walls of the tunnel the spirit noticed. Intrigued, it followed the sounds. Soon, the source came into view. An army of rats were making their way throughout the darkness. Thousands of little feet and the scraping of sharp teeth being responsible for the noise.

The spirit picked one of the small mammals up to view it up close. Its body was deformed, eyes glowing faint green and there was an unusual energy vibrating through it.

“Seems like I found the task Izanami-sama wanted me to complete. But don’t worry little ones.” While speaking the spirit summoned their favorite weapon, a double-ended scythe. “It’s nothing personal.”


Notes:

*Here are the translations for Amaterasu's kanji
十 = Jū = 10
九 = Kyū = 9
八 = Hachi = 8
七 = Nana = 7
六 = Roku = 6
五 = Go = 5
四 = Yon = 4
三 = San = 3 for the numbers and
さようなら = Sayōnara = Goodbye

Chapter 3: The Journey to the East

Summary:

While the United Heaven gets updated on the things happening on earth, Antís has to adjust to his new reality.

Chapter Text

“Welcome back, everyone! This is Iris, from Iris’ Rainbow News - The one and only news show here on the United Heaven. We’re back from a little break, as you all can see, and we have exclusive information regarding the murder of the one and only slavic witch Baba Yaga. So far information had been sparse, the gods were rumoring about a scout on earth who went rogue and only after devastating Devana’s forests and smashing the witch’s hut to pieces, he took mercy on the poor Baba and liberated her from her mortal body.” Iris, goddess of rainbows, was too busy chattering down half-cooked truths to realize she was spreading even more rumors and panic herself. Heimdallr sighed. This was gonna be a long day in the United Heaven. Yet, Iris went on.

“At least that’s what everyone thought up here (myself included),” This last part she whispered behind her hand conspiratorially right into the camera,”since the Heimdallr refused to give us any other information regarding the situation.”

Heimdallr was amazed that she could still go on. It had to have been at least a minute ago when he saw Iris breathing the last time.

But!” Iris emphasized, her whole arms wildly gesticulating the whole time. “But, now they seem to have had a change of heart. My studio guest today is no other than Heimdallr himself, the god who is behind all of these little operations our unfortunate demigods and magicians have to carry out on our beloved earth and who now will bring light into this dark und gruesome situation. Heimdallr, is it true that the killer of Baba Yaga is going to be prosecuted, thrown into the Tartarus and fed to the imprisoned monsters in there to pay for his crime?”, Iris demanded to know, her arms finally coming to a stop.

Heimdallr’s smile was strained. This was not how he imagined his interview to go. But he needed to remain calm and rely on the facts. He knew what happened. It was time the other pantheons knew too.

“No. The scout in question won’t be prosecuted and thrown into the Tartarus because he didn’t do anything that’d hurt the Heimdallr’s protocols.” Heimdallr had to raise his voice at the end of this statement to smother Iris’ rising objection. “Yes, he is responsible for the witch's death, but he didn’t mean to kill her. That’s the decisive aspect here.”

“I think you need to elaborate on that.” At least Iris sounded as confused as she looked.

“With pleasure. Let me start at the beginning…”


The Lord of the Bifrost was too busy rubbing his eyes to notice the ibis trotting towards him. He only looked up at the animal when it picked him with his long beak. Heimdallr jerked upright and glimpsed at his attacker, then he sighed. Not for the first time today and it probably wouldn’t be the last time.

“News from Thoth?,” Heimdallr asked the bird. The ibis only stared back at him.

“Right, normal bird,” he said. “Okay. Well then, uhm, lead the way, I guess?”

The ibis stared at him again. Then it turned around and walked away. Heimdallr followed deep in thought.

The rest of the interview had gone surprisingly well all things considered. Of course Iris had asked questions. Out-of-context, weird ones, sometimes even inappropriate questions. But Heimdallr was used to that. Being The Vigilant meant he could see all things in the nine realms if he wanted to. But as the pantheons were united and his domain multiplied in size, even The Vigilant needed help. Thus the Heimdallr were formed. An organization of demigods, magicians, spirits and various minor gods from all the pantheons who directly served under Heimdallr’s watch to protect the earth. He hand picked them, trained with them and trusted them to uphold the United Law across all the realms.

But accidents happen and right now the son of Athena needed all the protection he could get. Heimdallr knew that the boy had trained hard to get where he was, being mostly powerless compared to the hordes of godly or otherwise magical entities in this world. Killing one of the best known beings from a major pantheon was a huge setback for the pantheon itself of course, but also for the psyche of the demigod in question. The last time Heimdallr had heard of Antís he was treated by Aesculapius, roman god of medicine, who had gone down to earth to assess the scouts injuries. Of course the mythical world knew about the concept of werewolves. But that’s all it was: a concept. Something the regular humans came up with because they reinterpreted certain aspects about the greek myth about king Lycaon who got turned into a wolf for his crimes by the gods. No god in the United Pantheons thought that werewolves actually existed. Until now that is. But it explained how the son of Athena didn’t think of the possibility of Baba Yaga transforming and attacking her own hut. Of course the boy now wanted to investigate further to unravel the mystery behind the transformation. Heimdallr understood that decision but had also admonished Antís to take things slow and keep a low profile. The interview seemed to have calmed the pantheons a little bit, since he wasn’t summoned by the council immediately, but another slipup and even Heimdallr could only protect the demigod for so long.

Suddenly another peck snapped him out of his thoughts. Heimdallr looked around. Since he hadn’t paid attention to where the ibis was guiding him, he was surprised to not stand before the United Library where Thoth’s laboratory was located. Instead he stood by the rooms of Hecate, greek goddess of witchcraft, crossroads and the underworld. She guarded the only way from the Heavens into the United Hell, where all the dead went after their demise. She had since long ago abandoned her cave on the mountain parnitha in Greece and accepted the role of a gatekeeper the council proposed for her. Here she advised the gods on various topics regarding the dark arts while encouraging both the Heavens and the Hells to keep in touch and discuss matters as the United Law stated. In the past her council was often sought out when it came too close to a confrontation between the two institutions. The entrance to her chambers was framed with tall torches whose flames flickered green from the greek fire they consisted of. Curious as to why the ibis had guided him here, Heimdallr stepped through the dark curtain which blocked the entrance from peeping eyes.

The room was shady, only a few candles illuminated the dark purple wall hangings which spotted ancient greek ornaments. Two chaise lounges faced each other in the middle of the room between them a small table with ripe grapes still wet from being washed. Heimdallr sat down on the sofa for Hecate’s patrons. Three black curtains separated the main room from the adjacent chambers. Heimdallr knew that the room to the left contained Hecate’s private suite. He had been in there only once after a night which’s memories were washed away by the heavenly beverages the various pantheons still produced. The room behind the curtain to his right contained the pathway to the Hells. The furniture in the main room was situated as thus the gateway room was the one easiest to access. As he sat there waiting that his presence was noticed he heard low voices coming from the room whose curtains stood unmoving and mysterious in front of him. That room was Hecate’s study Heimdallr knew. Used for potion-making and other magical things he knew existed but had no idea as of how they actually worked. He listened for a moment but as he couldn’t make out who was speaking and of what he decided to just find out. Alas, Heimdallr stood from the comfortable chaise lounge, grabbed a single grape from the table and while chewing walked over to the middle curtain. He swallowed the grape's remains and entered Hecate’s study.

This room looked just like one would imagine the cave of a crazy witch. Herbs hang from the ceiling thus the air contained various odeurs, some pleasant some not. Various spell books lay on every free surface or even just floated in the air instead of being shelved in their respective place. The most prominent object however was the big table in the middle of the room which was currently displaying the body of Baba Yaga. Normally this would have been the location for Hecate to conduct her magic but even though the witch’s body was only occupying maybe a third of its space the goddess had removed every other object from it to make sure it wouldn’t accidentally come in contact with the corpse. That also meant Thoth hadn’t managed to identify the magic which led to the witch’s transformation. The very same god stood opposite of Hecate, the table between them. Both deities turned to Heimdallr at the shuffling of the curtains.

“Heimdallr, you could make it”, said Hecate and clasped her hands. “I wasn’t sure if you’d be able to after Iris had had her way with you.”

“It was a close call, to be honest”, answered The Vigilant. “She definitely has a way with words. But I’ve had worse.” His eyes wandered to Thoth. “Any news?”

The god in question shook his head, his long beak almost slicing through a bundle of thyme which hung close by. With a flick of her wrist Hecate moved the herb out of Thoth’s reach since she still wanted to use it later.
“The magic used on her comes from an ancient primal source. Nothing the sophisticated cultures of Egypt, Greece or even Babylon used”, explained Thoth. “I was hoping that maybe Hecate knew some chthonic magic to help us identify it, but no luck apparently.”

Hecate threw up her arms in defeat.

“I may have been born a titan and lived for thousands of years by now, but even I have my limits”, she sighed. “I could send messages to the Hells and hope for a god down there to recognize this magic but that’s gonna take a while.”

“Maybe an autopsy would bring new information”, the ibis-headed god interjected. ”Did Lord Perun give his consent for us to start?”

Heimdallr nodded.

“He did. I received his confirmation just before Iris started the interview.”

“Then we shouldn’t waste any more time”, Hecate said. “Do you want to watch Lord of the Bifrost? I know you are an experienced warrior with countless fought battles but we’re gonna stick our hands inside a leathery witch and play with her intestines. That could knock out even the fiercest viking.” At that Hecate smiled. She was having too much fun, Heimdallr noted.

“Just get on with it”, Heimdallr said. He crossed his arms before his chest. “Some blood won’t affect me much.”

Hecate exchanged a glance with Thoth. The other god just shrugged and started summoning the tools they were gonna need for the autopsy.

As they cracked the rib cage open no one bothered to check on the ~thump~ sound which echoed through the small room.

“Tch. Amateur”, muttered the witchy goddess.

Thoth just chuckled silently and together they continued examining the body.


He noticed pretty quickly that he was being followed. The shaking trees of the coniferous forest on the side of the highway were a pretty good sign for that. Still Antís went on. His destination was the next airport to take a flight to Tokyo. Pathways on earth were sparse these days. Typically one would go back to the United Heavens and then travel from there but in his condition Aesculapius had ordered him not to use portals. Getting magically dematerialised and assembled again while probably being affected by the wounds dealt by a being with yet unknown and thus possibly dangerous magic could diminish or even fully reverse his recovery process. Alas, he had to travel traditionally. If one would count flying in an airplane as a traditional way of traveling. But first Antís had to shake his pursuer who or whatever it was.

He tried speeding up, his quad overtaking the few cars that were already (or still) driving to their respective destinations at three in the morning. He tried different routes, sideways or even turning back and driving the same highway twice back and forth. His pursuer was always behind him. They adjusted to Antís’ speed but never came closer than maybe a hundred meters, always staying hidden in the lush forest. At last, he needed to refuel. As Antís drove into the gas station he watched the shaking trees getting fewer and eventually the forest stood still. After paying and getting himself a refreshing bottle of water he parked his quad in an empty parking slot, climbed over the railing and ventured uphill into the adjacent forest.

He wandered into the direction where he had seen the last shaking trees. The first few minutes he saw nothing which was odd. Shaking trees were a sign of a creature with enormous proportions. The trees didn’t stand that close together so Antís could see pretty far, his contacts making him able to at least see outlines in the dim moonlight. Still he couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Then as he was rounding a slightly bigger tree trunk which had stood right in his way he spotted it only a few meters away. Antís stopped dead in his tracks, eyes widening and taking in the whole of the being that followed him here. Silently he took out his phone.

“Hermes?”, he asked.

“Yes, Boss?”, the messenger looked sleepy. Dark rings framed his red eyes.

“Can you send Lord Perun to my location?”, the demigod inquired. “I found something.”

“Is it related to what happened yesterday?” Hermes looked puzzled.

“Maybe. I’m- I’m not quite sure, to be honest.”

Antís was still staring at his pursuer. Since he didn’t lift his phone further Hermes couldn’t see what he was looking at. The messenger god shrugged.

“I’ll try. But if I have to interrupt another meeting you owe me an apology”, he argued.”

“Deal”, the demigod answered, not quite listening to what Hermes was saying.

The avatar vanished and the phone went dark.

Antís was still looking at the creature, not having swayed his eyes from it for one second since he had seen it. Before him stood the chicken-legged hut of Baba Yaga.


Perun’s appearance was again foretold by a low rumbling thunder. Then lightning struck the ground three meters away from Antís. Perun wore a tired expression, his brows were furrowed. Antís didn’t doubt he had had a rough night.

“You do realize that I am not some dog for whom you can just whistle until it shows up, don’t you?”, the Lord of storms asked but his voice grew silent, when he realized that the demigod hadn’t even looked at him so far. Confused, he wanted to speak up again but whatever he wanted to say Antís would never know. Mouth agape the head of the slavic pantheon had followed his gaze and now both god and demigod stared at the hut standing only ten meters away from them. With a strange sound Perun closed his lips, walked over to Antís and stood himself next to the scout, both of them facing the home of the late Baba Yaga. So they stood in silence, each of them lost in his thoughts.

Perun was still close to softly reprimanding the young man, when this very same one startet to talk.

“I’m sorry I sent Hermes without an explanation but after yesterday, this”, he gestured to the hut, “this is just too much. I didn’t know who else to call.” Antís finally looked at Perun. The gods’ gaze was gentle.

“I understand”, was all the Slav said. And he did. In some way at least. Human emotions were a strange thing to the gods but they still had enough empathy to approach them accordingly. He assessed the situation.

“It followed you here”, he determined. “Did it do anything else?”

The demigod shook his head.

“No, it’s just standing there. It’s been watching me”, Antís responded. “Or maybe not watching more like…,” he struggled to find the right word.

“Examining?”, the Slav suggested.

“Yeah. Yes, that’s more like it. I feel like it is judging me,” the demigod concluded.

“Judging for what?”, Perun inquired.

“If I deserve to live?” Antís answered, his voice shaking. “If I am still worthy after what I did.”

Just then the hut made a move and stepped forward with one of its huge chicken legs. Antís surprised or better: spooked by that backed away a few steps. Immediately the house halted in his movements. Again it stood there in the forest. Unmoving. Unwavering. Showing no sign of life.

Perun, who had obviously noted this small incident, spoke up.

“Do you wanna know what I think?”, he asked the scout. Antís who had walked up to him again gave him a curious look.

“I think it wants to accompany you”, said the god.

At that Antís’ eyes widened.

“What!?”, he exclaimed. “Why would it want to do that? I mur-”, he broke up. “I am responsible for the death of its master.” The demigod only whispered, his voice thin with grief and shame.

“Yes. You are”, Perun agreed. “But there were extenuating circumstances. And since it followed you here on its own while showing no sign of aggression, I think, it knows that. You wanted to make up for what you did, cleanse your name. Maybe this is its way of wanting to help you, showing you that the witch’s death wasn’t your fault entirely.”

Antís stayed silent. He didn’t know what to say, his mind swirling with thoughts and emotions. Alas, Perun continued.

“I have a proposition. Drive a few more kilometers on your vehicle. I will stay by the house and observe up close what it’s gonna do. Try to understand its reasons why it is following you. Then you can decide what you want to do”, the Slav proposed.

Antís was looking at the hut. He was close to tears but definitely didn’t want to cry in front of the Head of the slavic pantheon. So he just nodded.

“Okay. I’ll be-”, he pointed back to the downhill. “My quad’s back there. I’m gonna go get it.” With these words he turned around and went back to the gas station.


This time Antís left the visor of his helmet deliberately open. The wind stung a bit but otherwise dried the tears that had been forming in the corners of his eyes, when he had been alone again. His mind was racing. The hut couldn’t possibly-. The thing was, it kind of made sense. He tried thinking of other explanations as to why it had followed him here but either they were none or he was just too invested in the idea of the hut forgiving him to think of others. He smiled sadly. If the hut had already forgiven him, how was he supposed to cling to the feeling that he was responsible for what happened? He couldn’t forgive himself. Not yet at least.

After having calmed down a bit the voices in Antís’ head grew silent. He didn’t dare to look out for shaking trees behind him because if there were some he would definitely have an emotional meltdown on a highway in eastern Europe before sunrise. So to avoid getting in an accident he started looking for signs that directed him off the highway. He was lucky. After two more kilometers Antís saw a dusty road between the trees on his right side. Gratefully, he put on the indicator and turned off when he reached the exit. The road was bumpy and composed of gravel. It was probably normally only used by foresters or tree workers responsible in this area. He drove a bit further and then stopped his quad. After killing the engine he stepped off and lost the helmet. He could still see the highway from where he stood, but the forest was dark enough to cover him and any unfolding events entirely.

He didn’t have to wait long. Soon enough Antís felt the earth trembling beneath his Vans. He still couldn’t see anything but that could be because it was pitchblack in this part of the woods. The trees here stood closer together than the ones on the hill by the gas station so less moonlight could fall through the foliage. The trembling grew in intensity and Antís thought he heard stomping of big feet coming his way. Then almost out of nowhere a shadow appeared maybe fifty meters away from him, still coming closer. When it touched the trees they were bending away as if they were made out of rubber and after the shadow was past them they snapped back to their original form vibrating up to the top and thus creating the shaking Antís had seen before. As it came closer the demigod estimated it at five meters in height not including the chicken legs which he could make out when it got within twenty meters. Antís swallowed. This is definitely happening right now.

The hut slowed and eventually halted five meters before him before setting itself down, its legs disappearing in the darkness at the bottom of the hut. Antís now looked at a normal wooden hut sitting at the side of a gravel road by a highway. The door of the hut opened and Perun walked out, a mug of steaming coffee in his hands.

“Told you”, he gestured with the mug in Antís’ direction.

The scout just stared at him. The corners of his lips twitched with a soft smile.

“I- I still don’t know what to say”, he stammered.

“How about ‘Thank you’”, Perun suggested.

“You- Why are you agreeing to this?”, the demigod relented. “Shouldn’t you be in charge of it? It’s part of your pantheon.”

“It is its own being. I’m not gonna force it to stay still somewhere, especially if it wants to travel with you which it obviously wants”, the Slav responded. “You said you want to make up for what you’ve done. So? This is your chance.”

The demigod hesitated.

“What about… my quad for example? How-”, he said while gesturing to his vehicle. At that the hut sprung into action. It stood up and made its way over to where Antís had parked said quad. When it started to lower itself down onto it Antís objected.

“Hey!”, he exclaimed. “What in Hades are you-?”

The hut didn’t waver and sat flat on the ground, its legs and the quad disappearing under it. Then it stood up again. No sign of Antís’ vehicle.

Suddenly loud laughter broke the silence that had laid itself upon the three beings. Perun was shaking, coffee spilling over his mug and the other hand wiping tears of joy from his eyes.

“I think that answers your question”, he giggled still hiccuping with occasional laughs. “Anything else?”

The hut made his way over to Antís. As the demigod stood in place it sat itself right in front of him. Slowly Antís extended his hand and touched the rough surface of the now brown wooden door. It was still vibrating but not like last time. This time it was slow and soft almost like-

“A pulse”, Antís realized. He pressed against the door which swung open with no resistance giving him a free view of its interior.

“Antís?”, a silent voice behind him inquired. Antís turned around to see Perun looking fondly at him. “Take care of it, will you?”

“I will. Thank you, Lord Perun”, he responded. Perun just crooked his head.

“Not me”, he just said. Thunder rumbled and a flash of bright light shot from the sky enveloping the god. Then it was dark again and Perun was gone.

Antís turned back to the house. He took one step forward and grabbed the door frame then he paused.

“Thank you”, he repeated. The echo of his voice vibrating through the room. Finally he entered the hut of Baba Yaga.

“So, uhm. I’m not sure how this works”, Antís began while closing the door behind him. “I wanted to go to Tokyo, do you know where that is?” As soon as Antís said the destination’s name the hut began to move. It stood up slowly to give Antís time to adjust to the feeling of it moving then it sprinted forward. The demigod was amazed. He couldn’t see outside because the curtains were still drawn but he could feel the legs of the hut moving through the wooden floor. Still it wasn’t shaking as much as he thought it would. It felt as if he had taken that flight to Tokyo after all. He almost felt like smiling then he remembered where he was and why. The smile died on his lips. Suddenly he felt very exhausted. Stress and pain overtaking his body as he went upstairs to the witch’s private chambers. He entered the bedroom and wanted nothing more to just lay down and sleep but as his hand touched the bed he hesitated. This was a dead goddess’ home. It had been her safe place and he, the killer, was intruding here. He opened a closet and rummaged through it until he found some blankets, then he went downstairs again. Under the table in the corner facing the stairs Antís made his makeshift sleeping site and without stripping any clothing off lay down on it.

Now in silent and lonely darkness his mind started to wander again, reminiscing the last twelve hours. Finally the tears he had held back the whole time spilled from his eyes, silent sobs convulsing his body. It took a long time for him to cry himself to sleep.


When Antís woke it wasn’t due to the hut’s movements but rather the lack thereof. While sleeping on the floor right above the magical legs which carried the house through every terrain that stood in its way, he had already become accustomed to the gentle rocking. So when that rocking suddenly stopped his eyes snapped open. Groggily he sat up, almost hitting his head on the underside of the table he was sleeping under. While rubbing his eyes Antís took out his phone to look at the time. It read 14:37 in the afternoon. He wondered. No way they were traveling for over ten hours. Then he remembered that his phone automatically switched to the timezone of the country he currently resided in. Now he only needed to pinpoint his location so that he could do the math accordingly and find out how long they had been moving. He wagered if he should just use his phone again but then decided against it. He wanted to find out the old-fashioned way. So with no further ado Antís stepped out the cabin’s door into the wilderness.

At first he thought there was something wrong with his eyes. Then he noticed the heat. Antís began sweating immediately since he still wore his full attire for when he was driving on his quad. At least he had stripped off the pieces of his bronze armour after being treated last night. He shielded his eyes with his right hand, the brightness overwhelming even his magical contacts shortly before they adjusted. What he now could see was….nothing. Well not nothing. His eyes transported the information correctly into his brain, the area was just…..empty. As far as Antís could see the earth was flat. No mountains, no hills, not even a slight elevation of the ground. Just flatness. Then there was no vegetation. Well not no vegetation. In the direction he was looking Antís counted exactly three tufts of grass. Yellow, almost brown clinging close to ground but they existed.

The thing was in the two minutes he observed his surroundings, it felt like the temperature had climbed even higher so Antís quickly went back into the hut. Here the air was immediately cooling him down being at a normal room temperature. But now he noticed he had started sweating. His forehead and armpits especially were dripping wet. Sighing, Antís ventured upstairs and opened the “bathroom”. He had labeled it with quotation marks in his head because it was far from a modern bathroom. There was only some sort of a wooden bench with a hole, probably the toilet, and a removable piece of the floor under which was a tank with freshwater. It didn’t even contain a sink but Antís assumed that the bucket in the cupboard behind the stairs also served for that purpose. He closed the door to the “bathroom” again.

“Hey, uhm….hut? Shit, I didn’t even think of a way to address you properly”, Antís cursed. “Can I just call you Hut?”

Nothing happened. But to be honest it would have been a little creepy if the hut suddenly voiced its thoughts out loud. So Antís decided he would just call it “Hut” as long as it didn’t suggest another name in some magic hut-like way.

“Uhm, okay Hut, I have a question. Can you change your interior just like your facade? Because I would very much like to wash myself, but this bathroom doesn’t really comply with my (or any) hygiene standards for that matter,” Antís explained. “I would very much appreciate it if you could adjust the sanitation in there. I mean, a proper toilet with a sink and a simple shower would be very helpful to be honest.” When he finished speaking all he heard was a simple ~click~ like from a door lock. He tried opening the door again but it wouldn’t open. It seemed like Hut had understood him. Now Antís was all the more curious as to what it was creating for him. Now he just needed to kill the time until Hut was finished.

He took out his phone again and opened Gaia. The app was named after the greek earth mother but since she was asleep most of the time it was run by various other gods of nature and earthly matters. His favorite god when it came to matters of locations was Geb, embodiment of the earth. He was one of the first egyptian gods to exist and thus had been sentient for thousands of years. His knowledge of the places Antís had been traveling to before had been very helpful the last times he was on a mission. When he tipped on the respective symbol of Geb’s avatar, a face composed of stone opened his heavy eyelids and slowly blinked at him.

“Hello, young one. I see you are doing quite alright”, the god spoke, his raspy voice echoing through the small hallway.

“That’s surely debatable”, the demigod answered and rubbed his neck. “But I’m glad that it doesn’t show on my face already.”

“I heard what happened”, Geb said, his stone brows furrowed and clenched audibly together. “But you will be alright, you always are. No matter what hardships they face, Athenians will find a way to resolve their mistakes even if it is just an apology.”

“Nobody calls me an Athenian. You just made up that word”, Antís chuckled. Geb always found the right words to lift his spirit.

“All words are made up”, the god argued. “But you did not wake me to squabble about the arts of speech. What is it you seek, my boy.”

“Knowledge of my location”, the demigod answered. “I’m currently traveling with the witch’s hut and we made a stop in a desert-like environment. I just woke up by myself, so I have no idea where I am right now.”

“You are a smart lad. If you know your destination then you should already have guessed your whereabouts by now.” The rocky face gave Antís a long look. He felt as if he was reprimanded by a teacher for not having the answer to a math equation. The demigod gave in.

“Gobi”, he said. “We’re in the desert Gobi in Mongolia.”

“Actually you are in China, but yes Gobi is correct. Although it is more like a huge dryland consisting of various minor deserts. The one you are in is called Gurbantünggüt and is located in the very northwest corner of China in the autonomous Xinjiang region. It is the second-largest desert in China and contains the so-called pole of inaccessibility of eurasia. There are various locations like this across the whole world and they mark points that are most challenging to reach. They often refer to the most distant locations from the coastlines of a continent or sea.”

Antís didn’t interrupt Geb. He knew from experience to just let him talk when he was lecturing about a geographic topic. He smiled softly of that sense of normalness that washed over him while listening to the old gods' voice. It reminded him of his days at the United Academy.

“Thank you, professor”, he said after Geb was finished with his lesson.

“You are very welcome”, the god said. “Do not bother to contact me if you need information on locations later on in your adventure.”

“I will. Goodbye, Lord Geb.” The avatar closed his eyes and turned around. From this angle it looked just like a picture of a small rock.

Just then he heard another low ~click~ and the door to the bathroom opened a little.

Curious, he opened it fully and stood in a small modern bathroom. It exceeded his expectations by far. Hut had stayed true to its nature as a cabin from the woods and kept the dark wooden walls, floor and ceiling but now these boards looked like they were recently carved out from trees, polished and oiled, shining softly when light fell upon them. From the ceiling hung a small glass candelabra, its candles illuminating the whole room. Toilet and sink were made of a dark stone material Antís couldn’t identify. They looked like they were taken from one of these catalogues with designer furniture. The shower floor and walls were made out of tiles of the same stone completing the look. Its two glass doors were completely see-through and did not extend to the ceiling but stopped at maybe three quarters of the room's height. The shower head was a flat cubic metal box hanging from the ceiling so that the water would rain down on whoever was washing themself. Hut even provided a mirror hanging over the sink, an electric toothbrush with a power station, soaps and shampoos as well as a stack of white fluffy towels for hands and body on a little shelf. Antís was amazed. He definitely had not expected Hut to go all out on this.

“Thank you”, he whispered into the yet still relatively small but spacewise well used room. “I don’t think I deserve that just yet, but- Just, thank you, Hut.”

It didn’t respond directly but the demigod thought he felt a light breeze shoving him into the bathroom. Antís entered it and closed the door behind him. He was hesitant to touch anything. Everything looked so clean and sterile that he didn’t want to disturb it. But then he felt the cold sweat clinging to his neck. He definitely needed a shower soon or he would catch a cold. Sighing, Antís started stripping out of his clothes. First off came the leather jacket which protected him from the biting winds when driving his quad. The left shoulder and sleeve had been severed in the fight with Baba Yaga and just taped over by a Heimdallr investigator last night. He needed someone to fix this pretty soon. Then he stepped out of his black high-top Vans und pulled off his white ankle socks. When his bare feet touched the polished boards he was again amazed at how smooth they felt. Next off was the tank top he wore underneath the jacket. Its bright white colour a bit diminished in intensity because of the sweat clinging to it. Then Antís opened the button of his black skinny jeans and pulled them down his legs, struggling a bit to get his feet through the small holes. He hadn’t had a chance to change his underwear last night so his black briefs snug his hips, ass and package tightly. He had already dipped his hand in the waistband to pull them down as well, when he remembered that he was inside a sentient magical being who kind of saw? everything that was happening in it. He blushed.

“Hey, Hut”, he started not really knowing how to approach the subject. “I wanted to ask you something. Well, maybe not really ask you but more like a request. I’m not really used to people- or beings for that matter to see me naked, it’s kinda embarrassing. If you could maybe avert your senses? from me while I’m in there”, he pointed at the shower stall”, that would be really nice, actually.” Again the hut gave no sign of conformation or negation but so far it had done what Antís asked it to do. He swallowed.

“Well, here goes nothing”, he said and stripped off his last piece of clothing. He stacked everything in a pile next to the toilet on the floor, grabbed one of the fluffy looking towels and hung it in reach of the shower stall doors on a hook in the wall. Before stepping into shower he pulled out his phone from the pocket of his discarded trousers.

It was crafted like all the other scout’s phones at Vulcan’s, the workshop run by the roman of god smithery and fire. If you were lucky enough to converse with his greek form Hephaistos you sometimes even got a discount or additional features when discussing goods. Vulcan was more strict but worked faster and his goods were often more durable than the ones Hephaistos made. Antís had been very lucky. He had discussed the matters of his phone with Hephaistos who had assured him he could make it waterproof and when he went there the next day to pick up his order, the god had switched to Vulcan who reprimanded him for being late since he had finished the phone hours ago. At that memory Antís smiled and now stepped fully equipped in the shower.

With the new information Geb gave him Antís could do the math. He looked up the respective time zones before soaping up, being careful of the bright red scratches on his left arm. China lay in the time zone UTC+8 while eastern Europe was in UTC+2. That meant he was six hours before eastern Europe. Here it was somewhat around 14:45, so back there they were at like 08:45. He had entered the hut around four in the morning in Europe, which meant the hut had traveled for approximately four and a half hours without pausing and in that time brought Antís across half Eurasia.

While the water ran down his body taking the remaining soap bubbles with it into the drain, he was yet again amazed by the abilities of the witch’s hut. Even exhausted from being chased through to woods, quivering with fear about being attacked and then losing its master the hut had still displayed tremendous skills in handling its energy supply to get them here. No wonder it needed to recharge. Antís grabbed the towel outside the stall and began drying himself up.

He stepped out of the shower and stood there, looking at the pile of dirty clothes. To be honest he did not want to put them on again in this condition, apart from the shoes maybe. Then he remembered his quad who had all of his equipment stripped to it in various bags and containers.

“Hut, I need a favor again”, he started. ”My spare clothes are in the bags strapped to my quad. Could you maybe stand up again so that I can access it?”

He didn’t actually want to go outside again, especially not in the nude but he didn’t see any other way to get to his clothes. However this time the hut did not do what he asked it to. At least he didn’t feel any vibrations that showed him that the hut followed his request. He tied the towel around his hips, stepped into his Vans and tied them. If he would venture outside again, best not burn the soles of his feet immediately. Then he grabbed the remaining clothes and went downstairs.

Only to be surprised when one of the bags which had been strapped to his quad just lay there on the floor right in the middle of the room by the huge cauldron.

“Huh”, was his first intelligent reaction to that discovery. “You really do have a solution for everything, don’t you.” This time he felt small vibrations as the hut whipped a bit back and forth a bit. Not knowing any better, he would say that Hut was amused by what he just said.

“Okay, then”, he said while staring at the dirty clothes in his arms. “You don't happen to have a washing machine in any corner here, do you?” More vibrations ran through the floor and now the hut did its magic again. From the huge cauldron a bubbling sound emerged. When Antís stepped closer he could see it was filling itself with soapy water, some bubbles escaping and taking off into the air.

“You know what?”, the demigod asked. “I’m just gonna put these in there and then stop commenting every time how awesome you are, it’s getting old the fifth or sixth time, don’t you think?” This time he didn’t wait for the huts reaction and instead just dropped all the dirty clothes except the leather jacket into the washing… cauldron...whatever. When everything swam inside the soapy fluid the water in the cauldron started to rotate against the clock. Antís stepped away from the swirling clothes and draped his leather jacket across the back of a nearby chair. It was time to get dressed.

He turned around to grab the bag with his spare clothes only to see it wasn’t by the cauldron anymore. Instead it floated maybe a meter above the floor inching towards the staircase.

“Hut?”, the demigod objected. “What are you doing there?” He went towards the bag and closed his fingers around the handle only to have the bag flee from his grasp and woosh towards the spiral stairs leading to the second floor.

“Hut?”, he asked again. “I would like to dress myself if I may.”

The bag floated another second in the air, mockingly rotated around its own axis and flew upstairs in the blink of an eye. Antís blinked.

“That is not funny”, he lamented and followed his clothes upstairs. “Hut, I’m wearing a towel and shoes you can’t expect me to-” He stopped talking when saw what Hut wanted from him. The bag floated near the door leading to the witch’s bedroom. The door was open but Antís had closed his eyes and sighed.

“Hut?”, he just asked.

When he opened his eyes again the bag had already floated inside the bedroom and the door fell shut. Antís stepped from the last stair step and walked towards the door. It was slightly ajar, some light fell through the small gap into the hallway. Ignoring the weird feeling in his chest Antís grabbed the handle and opened the door.

Tears began to dwell in eyes when he surveyed the room. Hut had remodeled this one as well. A queen size bed with a white painted bed frame stood proudly against the wall Antís’ bag lying peacefully on the silk sheets. A big closet stood to its right, Antís had no doubt it would fit all the clothes he was traveling with. But on the other side of the bed Hut had outdone itself. Where Baba Yaga’s room had been equipped with a few windows now dark grey elegant curtains framed a small glass door leading outside above the huts front door. As Antís came closer to inspect he saw that Hut had created a small balcony, just enough for two people to stand beside each other with a metal fence which fit into the rest of the huts exterior woodland cabin design.

Sighing again, Antís sat himself at the foot of the bed and laid a hand on his bag. A tear got itself loose and ran down his cheek. The demigod wiped it away with a shaking hand.

“You really are too kind to me”, he whispered. Then he cleared his throat. “I know I’ve said it a few times until now, but thank you, Hut. Really. Thank you. I have no idea how to pay you back for all this”, he gestured around the room. And this time Hut responded. Antís felt the rocking of the cabin as it stood up on its big chicken legs. A smile spread across the demigod's lips. He stood up and loosened the towel from his waist which then fell to the floor. Now almost completely nude with only his feet clad in his Vans he opened the door to the balcony and stepped into the desert air. He grabbed the metal railing and looked towards the horizon.

“Let’s get going”, Antís said and Hut began running towards their destination.


************************************************************************************************


The fox was too busy swiping through her phone to actually listen to her patron. She wasn’t in the mood to deal with Outsiders today. Just as she was close to kicking him out of the door her phone began vibrating in her hand. She answered.

The conversation was short and simple but it was the most interesting news she had heard in a long time. Deep in thought she clicked her nails on the black screen of her phone. Just then the man facing her began waving to get her attention.

“Sune-san, is everything alright? Have you come to a conclusion?” the patron asked. The fox smiled. Time to refuel.

“No, I haven’t. But to be honest I’ll probably reject whatever you wanted from me in the first place”, she told the man. As he was starting to protest she hopped over the desk separating them and shushed him with an extended claw to his lips.

“I think I’ll offer you something else instead if you’re interested.” While talking she began undoing the sash that held her kimono together. White fur was sprouting on her arms and face, her ears enlarging and a long tail appearing behind her.

The man’s eyes widened when she stripped, showing him everything her body had to offer. Cheeks reddening he nodded.

The Kitsune blinked.

“Then come get it.”

He didn’t need to be told twice.


Chapter 4: The Lightning That Struck the Sea

Summary:

Antís arrives in Japan and meets a mysterious spirit. What is their goal exactly? Meanwhile Amaterasu has to deal with an invasion from the sea....

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

When Antís woke up this time he felt refreshed. The gentle swaying of the room almost lulled him back to sleep wouldn’t it have been for the loud voices that suddenly erupted outside the cabin. At some point while he slept the outside temperature must have dropped significantly since Hut had closed the door to the balcony Antís had deliberately let open when he had sunken in the soft covers after a second shower earlier that day. He sat up, stretched and yawned. The sleeve of his oversized worn-through nightshirt exposed his bare shoulder as it slid down his right arm. Still yawning, Antís stood up, grabbed his phone and walked over to the balcony.

It was close to midnight which explained why the room was only illuminated by the starlight shining through the glass door. Antís wondered if he really had almost slept ten more hours then he remembered the time shifts. Given Japan was only one hour ahead of China it had probably been just about eight hours.

Antís shivered. The loose shirt covered his new pair of briefs he dressed in before completely but then stopped before reaching any further down leaving his whole legs to the cool air. Goosebumps making the blond hair on his exposed skin stood on end so he decided to dress himself before catching a cold.

He changed into a black t-shirt which theoretically accentuated his trained physique but practically he hid it under a pastel rose hoodie, which had an Owl of Athena, the symbol of ancient Athens, stitched on its front. For pants he went for black knee ripped jeans. Feet clad in white socks stepped into the black high-top Vans he had placed next to the bed. The look was casual since he wasn’t expecting to have to fight tonight. He was on a ferry to Japan in the middle of the ocean after all.

Technically Antís would have liked to go directly to Tokyo to speak with his contact soon, but traveling with Hut had one disadvantage. It couldn’t travel over large bodies of water. Thus to go from Korea to Japan they needed to take the ferry from Busan to Hakata and then Hut could take him from there again. After reaching the island state he guessed another hour at Hut's normal speed and they reached their destination but before they lost eleven hours because of traveling by boat. Still he couldn’t deny that maybe it was better to arrive at Tokyo in the morning and thus evade the nocturnal yōkai roaming Japan at night.

Still wondering about what caused the ruckus outside he pocketed his phone and grabbed his bracelet on the nightstand. The small bronze orbs which magically contained his aegis felt cool when he stripped it on his left wrist. Then he left the bedroom and descended the staircase. Obviously the washing cycle of his dirty clothes had been finished while he slept, the individual garments now floating through to the air to dry. Apparently Baba Yaga had no washing line or something of the sort. A look in the cauldron confirmed his hypothesis. It was empty again, no soapy trace left behind. He decided to test the limits of this artefact very studiously in the future. Before stepping outside Antís hesitated.

“Hey, Hut?”, he began. “There should be some headphones somewhere by the quad. Can you find them?” He waited a few seconds then turned around again to see if something happened. Just in time to see Hut do its magic. The cauldron emitted a white glow from its inner walls and then a pair of headphones emerged from its depths. Antís took a step forward and grabbed the black plastique frame the shells were connected to.

“Thanks, Hut. Stay safe”, the demigod said. He put on the headphones and wirelessly connected them to his phone. The psytrance music that started playing was slow for now but it would soon pick up on speed and bass. It always did. Head slightly bobbing in the rhythm, Antís opened Hut’s front door and stepped out onto the ferry’s deck.


Observant as he was, Antís quickly located the source of the noise that woke him. Even through the music occupying his ears he heard the american tourist group loudly celebrating what seemed to be a birthday. They seemed to cheer on the birthday girl while she was chugging down a bottle of beer. Confused, Antís investigated the rest of his surroundings. Until now he thought Hut had “parked” in the lower deck with the other passengers' vehicles. He now realized that that wasn’t the case. The house had sat itself on the open air part of the upper deck at the rear of the ship. There were other people beside the Americans walking around and standing at the ship’s railing, enjoying the night air. They consisted mostly of Korean and Japanese people, probably commuters or people visiting their family on the other side of the sea for the weekend, but Antís spotted a few more tourists as well. A small girl with ribbons in her hair was waving korean fans in the air, feeling the blowing wind. Suddenly a forceful gust knocked one fan out of her grasp taking advantage of the frail material and blowing across the railing. The girl was stunned for a second then she started to cry. Her parents alerted by the sound came rushing towards her, immediately trying to console her.

After witnessing that (for the child) tragic and heartbreaking incident Antís turned around to face Hut again. He was still amazed at how the mythical world kept itself hidden from normal people. He knew that the layers of magic surrounding mythical beings and items, commonly known as the Mist, changed their appearance to blend them seamlessly into the environment. Since he was part of the mythical world and could see through these first layers of the duat, which lay above the earth’s surface he could identify Hut as the cabin that it was but had no idea how it looked to the other passengers. Probably like some kind of tool shed or the entrance to a forbidden staircase to the engine room of the ferry.

As it was typical for a child of Athena, Antís' thoughts started to wander again. His whole situation had changed in less than forty-eight hours. He briefly thought about calling his mother but quickly dismissed that thought. Athena would be understanding and supporting but she raised Antís to be independent first if nothing else. She expected him to find the solutions to his problems himself. He would get no help regarding his next steps from her.

So deep in thought Antís didn’t notice the young man approaching him at first. Only as he stood himself beside the demigod Antís saw him in the corner of his eyes and so he took off the headphones. The other looked first at Hut and then turned to him.

“I saw you come out there”, he said. “To be honest I was expecting someone more-”

“Witchy?”, Antís chuckled. “Yeah, it’s a long story.”

They stood in silence for a few seconds.

“You can see it.” It wasn’t a question. “What else can you see?”

“Some things”, the other responded. “Mostly people wearing unusual outfits or carrying weapons or other strange stuff. When I was younger I thought I was special, but as these sightings became more frequent I just started to welcome them. It is always fun to fantasize about what happens to these people.”

It confirmed what Antís already suspected. The duat extended three magical layers above the surface, the so-called Mist. People who could see through the first layer often noticed minor remains or could feel small traces of magic. Most ghost sightings and strange symbols people thought to see sometimes were the occurrence of spirits who couldn’t wield powerful magic to cover themselves fully. Most mythical beings and the Heimdallr’s scouts were covered in the second layer of Mist to evade prying eyes. The man next to Antís was apparently one of the few humans who was able to see through this layer. They were mostly descendants of demigods who had settled down and started a family after all. The third layer was the one most difficult to look through. It covered mostly events such as fights or most gods and the most dangerous monsters. Typically only gods, spirits and their direct offspring could breach this layer.

“Ever see anything that’d be worth reporting?”, Antís inquired.

“Why? You some sort of magic cop or something?”, the other asked.

At that Antís chuckled again.

“Maybe”, he said and smirked mysteriously. “Come on, let’s go somewhere where we’re not suspiciously standing in the middle of the deck while staring at whatever.” With these last words he turned and walked over to the railing. The little girl had finished crying and her eyes were starting to close sleepily, so her parents took her by the hands and the trio went inside. Antís bent over the railing setting his elbows on the cold metal and watched the waves stirred up by the ferry disappearing behind them in the darkness. After a few moments the other man leaned himself with his back against the metal bar, his gaze still locked on Hut.

“How did it get there?”, he asked.

“It walked”, Antís answered. He turned his head to see the other’s reaction.

The man in question furrowed his brow.

“It walked”, he repeated. The disbelief was audible. “How-”

“That’s classified”, Antís interrupted him. “I can’t give you much more information, I fear. You know ‘not endangering the mission’ and all that stuff.”

The other now only looked at him. His soft features relaxed somewhat. He was pretty, Antís noticed. If he was looking for someone to spend the night with he wouldn’t think twice. After everything that had happened some distraction would definitely ease his mind. Yet, he knew he needed this night to plan his next steps. Meeting unprepared with his contact in Tokyo was dangerous at best, potentially deadly. She was not someone to toy with.

“Do you want to know something else?”, he asked.

The man hesitated.

Can you tell me more?”, he finally wanted to know.

“Probably not”, Antís gave in. “It’s just nice talking to a normal person again.”

The other squinted, then looked Antís up and down.

“Oh, we can talk about something else, that’s fine”, he said. “Or maybe even do something else if you want to.”

Antís only looked at him. The man quickly relented.

“Or not! I’m sorry if that was to straight-forward, I was just-. I thought we had-. You gave me this vibe and I-”

Raising his hands in defeat, Antís interrupted the man’s rambling.

“Hey, calm down, everything’s cool”, he apologized. “I’m sorry if that gave you the wrong impression. I am flattered and normally I even would have taken you up on that offer, but….”

“But?”, the other looked puzzled. “What’s wrong?”

“My mission is….complicated….to say the least and honestly I’m not sure if I can allow myself that sort of distraction right now”, Antís explained.

“Then how about we just go inside and really just talk”, the man suggested. “Just for a few hours. Ease your mind. I’m sure you have a lot of stories to tell.”

Antís swayed his gaze across the ocean again. He’d appreciate a bit of normalcy to be honest. Also he was starving. His face lightened up in a smile as he turned back.

“Okay”, he gave in. “Just for a few hours. Then I need to focus on the mission.”

“Cool, I’m buying”, the other grinned.

“I’m not drinking”, Antís objected.

“I’m sure, they have some non-alcoholic drinks too”, the man chuckled. “Come on, let’s go.” He stepped away from the railing and began walking towards the doors that lead into the ferry’s inner premises.

Antís watched him for a few moments, then he looked at the stars.

“Yeah, let’s go.” He whispered and walked up to the man who had stopped and waited for Antís to close the distance. When he offered his arm to the demigod, Antís didn’t hesitate. Forgetting his problems for a few hours seemed like a very good idea.


Amaterasu-ō-mi-kami stood on the visitor platform above the Shimaosamuonzaki Shrine, which was located on the far end of the small Jōgashima island south of the Miura Peninsula in Japan. To her left massive waves rolled into the Tokyo Bay from the grand Pacific Ocean. Wind was pulling her hair, rain wetting her face. She could sense a storm was coming. Brought by the sheer number of beings gathering at the bottom of the sea. They were still waiting, their king hadn't arrived yet. Amaterasu hoped she could resolve the situation peacefully, not wanting to shed more blood than necessary. She kneeled facing the huge mass of water and laid her katana across her knees. Patiently she closed her eyes, a beacon of calm in the storm. When they would come, she would be ready.


It took them two more hours to find a spot for Hut to wait for Antís once they arrived in Tokyo. Although the traffic was less jammed than for example in Manhattan, New York, one could still feel the approx. 9,5 million inhabitants of the metropolis. At last, when Hut had advanced to the central districts it turned off into the Yoyogi Park. Antís guessed that it felt more comfortable being surrounded by the quiet nature than by man-made skyscrapers and the noise coming from their vehicles.

Hut had placed itself by the Meiji-Shrine, which had been built a hundred years ago to honor the late emperor Meiji. Then it took the appearance of a small shrine itself to blend into its surroundings. Antís had suggested it would do so, since the Mist only covered Hut from the mortals' eyes. Any mythical being walking by could wonder what a european wooden cabin would do by a major sanctuary in the middle of Tokyo and decide to investigate closer. Alas, they deemed camouflage useful.

When Antís stepped out of the front door he was still rearranging his leather jacket's shoulder part which he had crudely tried to fix last night. His mother may also be the goddess of crafts but her blessing had sadly only boosted his mind and fighting skills not his handiwork. He looked up at the sky, dark grey storm clouds hiding all the blue. It would start to rain soon, he thought. He turned back to the japanese shrine behind him.

“Well then, Hut. If you would be so kind?”, Antís asked the cabin.

Hut didn’t need to be told twice. The shrine stood up on its still very chickeny legs and revealed the black quad Antís normally traveled by. The demigod took a minute to check the rest of his equipment still strapped to his vehicle before ascending. He put on the helmet, started the engine and drove away so that Hut could settle down again. Then he manoeuvred the quad before the shrine’s entrance.

“I’ll be back in a few hours. Until then, stay here and don’t come find me”, the demigod instructed. “It should be safe during the day in a big city like this. See you later.” He waved and pulled down the visor of his helmet. As the engine roared to speed up the quad Antís couldn’t hear the thunder announcing that the storm was almost there.


The spirit had followed the Beast through half the city. Rooftop after rooftop it moved forward, the kami flying right behind it. Lightning crackled, antennas burst and the Beast flashed forward. The spirit wondered what it was doing here alone, without its master. Typically Raijin would only let it loose during a thunderstorm not before. They flew after it, trying to keep up. Being so far above the ground the kami couldn’t do much with their abilities, they needed to descend to strike. Just then they were lucky. The skyscrapers gave way and the Yoyogi Park emerged behind the forest of metal and glass. Not having any other destination it could leap to the Beast finally jumped to the ground with the spirit in hot pursuit. It landed rather smoothly and not a single crack appeared in the street. The kami* was amazed, they had expected the concrete to shatter under the power of pure lightning the Beast composed of.

When they thought of the Beast as fast before, they were yet again surprised. Now being capable of using all its four legs the Beast sprinted forward and disappeared between the trees. The spirit sped up as well not wanting to lose sight of their prey.

They caught it just at the square in front of the Meiji-Shrine. A strike with their scythe sliced through the Beast's neck. However, that didn't do much else than stop it. For the first time it faced the kami that had followed it until now. Both of them observing their opponent. The spirit’s long black hair and wide black cloak swaying in the strong wind that had picked up. With their double-ended scythe in both hands ready to strike again the kami fixed their soulless black eyes onto the Beast. It was pure white and blue lightning in the form of a big dog or better wolf, they noticed. It snarled, eyes flashing.

The kami landed, their bare feet touching the cold stone. They dismissed their scythe which vanished in black smoke. Then they kneeled and sank their right hand into the square’s surface, their gaze still fixating the Beast. The earth gave way and the spirit’s hand vanished in the duat. When they pulled their hand up again it was closed around the neck spine of a human skeleton. While standing up they imbued their necrotic magic into the bones. With a flick of their wrist skull, shoulders, rib cage and hips fell from the spine, shattering to the ground. Then they lashed out and struck the spine as if it were a whip. The vertebrae imbued with the kami’s magic elongated und became a rubber like material. As the Beast didn’t budge they hit, the spine whip wrapping around its neck. Yet, it stood still not moving a limb.

Just as the kami wanted to pull and see what happened it acted. With a loud roar echoing across the square it charged itself and then sent electricity running through the bone to shock the spirit. Surprised that that actually worked, the kami almost didn’t let go of their weapon. With an ungodly yelp they tried to throw the bone whip away, however they were not quite fast enough. As the lightning reached the whip's other end it sprung through the air hitting the spirit. The shock sent the spirit flying backwards until their back hit the rough bark of a tree standing at the edge of the square. They slid down the tree and sat stunned on the ground, tousled hair occupying their field of vision. The Beast was unmoving, still just staring at the kami.

They pulled themself to their feet by grabbing the branches from the tree behind them und slowly stood up. The spirit straightened their hair and repelled themself from the ground, levitating a few centimeters above the surface again. They raised their right hand in the air curling their long pale fingers so that they looked like a claw. Black mist surrounded their body, necrotic energy vibrating through the air. Below their feet the ground cracked open and three bodies clawed their way out of the ground. They wore old-fashioned samurai armour and drew a katana each, when they stood in full height. The kami wanted to order them to attack the Beast but they were interrupted by the sound of an engine roaring up. The sound got louder by the second and then a compact shadow burst through the trees. It went straight at the Beast, which could only turn its head before the shadow collided with it. Or better: it went through the Beast. As the shadow hit it the lightning form burst into several static waves which quickly evaporated into thin air.

When the shadow came to a stop the kami could now see that it was a black quad with a driver seated on top of it. The man pulled off his helmet and after checking if the Beast was reforming he turned his gaze towards the spirit. He could see them, they noticed. But that could only mean-

“Yes”, the driver confirmed. “I can see you.”

“Then, congratulations”, the spirit floated closer and bowed mid-air. “I am your Death.”


Antís’ face wore a grim expression. Not only hadn’t he been able to see his contact because she hadn’t been in her office and wasn’t answering her phone, now he could even see a japanese spirit of death. The so-called shinigami were spirits who after possessing a mortal body lead them to their death to bring the mortal soul to Yomi, the japanese underworld. Typically they were only seen by the people that became their prey. If he could see this one right now, that meant this shinigami would guide his soul to the underworld after he died. He frowned.

“Why can I see you?”, he asked the kami.

“Because you’re my soul”, the shinigami simply answered. “And I am your Death.”

“You repeat yourself”, Antís was not amused. “I don’t have time to die just yet.” With these words he wanted to descend his quad but he was stopped by a pale hand gripping his left wrist. One of the three zombies the shinigami had called to fight for them against the Raijū had stepped up to him and was holding his wrist with an iron grip. Antís looked at the kami floating in front of him. The other two samurai zombies were flanking them, a hand on the shaft of their katana. He looked back to the one grabbing him.

“I really should’ve stretched beforehand”, he sighed.

With a little hop he squatted on the quad, placing his feet right under him upon the upholstered seat. Using this movement he ripped his arm out of the zombie's grasp and then grabbed the samurai’s still sheathed katana with the other hand before pushing himself off the quad and doing a one-handed cartwheel over the zombie’s head using their shoulder as leverage. He landed back to back with the zombie so he immediately turned around and sliced through the undead’s neck, separating the head from the body. Both parts fell with a muffled ~thump~ to the ground. Steadying his stance and the grip of the unfamiliar sword Antís turned to the shinigami and the other samurai.

With a flick of the spirit’s wrist the second samurai charged forward. Antís let them come observing the zombie’s movement. They came straight towards him, arms raised above their head gripping their katana tightly as to deliver one powerful slice downwards. Nothing comparable to the fighting styles and tactics of ancient Japan Antís had studied in the United Heaven. He almost thought it was sad how easy the blow was to block. He unsheathed aegis right as the samurai attacked him, the full force of the attack being repelled by the smooth bronze surface. As the samurai stumbled Antís pierced him where their heart normally would be. While they stood close together he was able to see over their shoulder and watch the shinigami who had seemingly decided to join in on the action.

The kami had plunged their hand into the chest of the third samurai and while Antís watched, ripped the whole rib cage out of the undead’s chest. Thick, viscous drops of black blood sprinkled across the spirits cloak and onto the stone tiles of the square while the zombie themself fell apart. However, Antís’ focus was on the new weapon the shinigami had acquired. They had grabbed the rib cage by the sternum and were imbuing the bones with their magic. The ribs were transforming, slightly elongating, straightening and hardening, their tips becoming sharp spikes. Antís realized he should avoid getting pierced by them. Then the shinigami lunged forward.

Antís tossed the pierced zombie to the side and readied himself or the impact. Shortly before they collided the rib cage opened itself as if to grab him so Antís pulled aegis upward and bumped it in the spikes direction. It was the right call in matters of avoiding piercing wounds. Aegis was just big enough to fit into the opening, thus hindering the rib cage to close itself again. The sharp tips of the ribs scraping against the shield but it wouldn’t budge. However, the kami had another ace up their sleeve. With their other unoccupied hand they reached for Antís’ head. The demigod tried to evade the attack while striking with the borrowed katana at the same time. Unfortunately the shinigami was a god. A minor one but a god nonetheless. Being this close to their target they had no problem grabbing the evading demigod and placing their palm on Antís’ forehead. They smiled. Goal accomplished. As the two of them locked gazes the spirit began subduing the demigods mind and possessing the body. Only to be repelled by a strong presence.

Again, they flew backwards. When their back hit a tree, the impact was strong enough to create a necrotic explosion caused by the flowing magic throughout the spirit's body. The tree they hit lost all its leaves, the bark and nearby grass turning grey and withering. At last every living thing in the explosion area had turned to ash. The shinigami blinked and looked for Antís. The demigod was surrounded by a white light which was already dissolving. Still they could clearly see the barrier’s outline. The demigod had been protected by white shining wings that had wrapped around him protectively as if he was a small bird.

No. Not just a bird, the shinigami realized. As if he was a baby-

“Owl wings”, Antís muttered. “You have really angered her, d’you realize that?” The demigod had a wild look in his eyes. With his hair and clothes disheveled as they were, it looked like the whole ordeal had left traces on him too.

“This is only the third time I’ve seen them myself”, he went on, “but they only appear in times my life really is in danger. You were close.” He laughed at that and then fixed his eyes on the shinigami's. “But it won’t happen a second time, I promise you that.” The last shining feather of the wings was fading and the square was empty and silent again. Loud thunder rumbled across the sky.

The kami got up and brushed the tree's ash from his cloak. Just as they opened their mouth to say something they stopped in their movements. Antís had noticed it too. As he turned his head to his right the spirit looked to their left. At the other end of the square sat the Raijū, the lightning beast the shinigami had followed here.

“You know”, Antís spoke up, “how about we call it a peace for now. I think we have a more urgent matter at hand right now.” He couldn’t identify the look the spirit sent him. Then they sighed.

“I fear so too”, they said. “Alright. Although I would have liked to first converse with you about the matter of your Death. But I think that won’t be possible given that thick helmet you’re wearing while driving that.” They pointed at Antís’ quad.

“Oh, I think that can be arranged”, Antís grinned and clasped his hands. “Say, have you traveled by house before?”


“Are you sure the hut will pass through the lush forests? Getting stuck between two trees would be really embarrassing for both of you!”

The shinigami floated through Hut’s main room inspecting every surface, closet, cabinet and window. They especially took a liking to the huge cauldron closely investigating the bottom of it after Antís told them it probably was the opening to an interdimensional storage space. For whatever reason that had piqued the spirits' interest.

“Don’t worry” Antís answered the shinigami's question. “We came here from Europe in only a few hours if you exclude the ferry trip. Hut will have no problem navigating through some trees.” He leaned on the staircase’s railing observing the spirit as it wandered around. He was still unsure as to how to view their current relationship. Having his supposed psychopomp** around who was apparently unable to kill him for now seemed kinda fitting in this mess his life was right now.

“Let’s just hope it can speed up a bit”, the kami remarked. “If this is its maximum speed the Raijū will have no problem outrunning us once we leave Tokyo.”

Hut was currently following the lightning wolf which led them through the outskirts of the metropolis heading south. It had slowed down to keep up with the few cars driving around at noon in this residential area. Antís suspected that Hut didn’t want to endanger the other drivers and their vehicles, who probably thought of them as a small truck. He remembered seeing the effect of Hut partially passing through objects as in the shaking trees back in Europe. He didn’t want to know what happened to other living and solid matter in that sort of situation.

“Hut is just holding back for now”, Antís explained. “Once we’re out of the city we’ll be almost flying to where the Raijū is leading us. Come to speak of it. Why were you following it in the first place? I thought shinigami were supposed to lead people to their death….” He gave the spirit a long look. It was obvious what he was implying here.

“We are”, they confirmed. “But since I cannot take you just now, I have nothing else to do so…” They shrugged. Antís thought that was an odd gesture for a literal embodiment of death. As he didn’t respond the spirit continued.

“You really have no idea how this business works, do you?”

“I know the basics”, Antís answered. “You possess people. You kill them, take their soul to Yomi and then look for the next one. Pretty simple, isn’t it?”

“And that’s where you’re wrong”, the kami shook their head. “Because that’s not quite how it works.” The two of them locked eyes. Antís knew they could see his curiosity sparking. Still, he remained silent. The shinigami sighed and crossed their arms in front of their chest.

“Listen up, ignorant one. Let me tell you what it means to be a shinigami.”

“You are right when you say we take a human's soul after their death and bring them to Yomi where they await their judgement. But this is not an endless cycle. We are born only for the purpose of delivering the dead, so when that purpose is fulfilled we cease to exist.” At that Antís raised his eyebrows. “It is not death as you know it if you’re wondering since we aren’ truly alive to begin with. But yes, after delivering our soul what we became in the meantime will be lost forever too. After that the empty shell will at some point become the host of a new purpose, a new, blank shinigami. Existing just to fulfill their mission. Which is exactly as follows. ‘Find your human and bring them to Yomi,’ How we achieve the mission is not relevant. When we find them we can wait until they die on their own, like while sleeping, by sickness or during an accident or we can take matters into our hands and force them to die. Kill them, you might say. But essentially the death itself doesn’t matter. Any questions so far?”

“‘Your human’, you said?”

“Yes. We are..born..you might say, when the contract between the soul and Yomi springs into existence. Typically that is when an especially faithful or destined human is born themself, sometimes the human makes contact with Izanami-no-mikoto through prayers later in their life. She will offer them gifts and in exchange will send a shinigami who is supposed to guide their soul into her realm. Alas, we are bound to the one life that is our purpose. Bringing another soul will not work since we have no power over them. Thus, sometimes it takes a while for a shinigami to find the life they’re bound to. Some won’t even recognize their soul until they're much older than when they first met them. The best moment to say a shinigami has found their soul is when the human themself can see us. There is a saying that in these moments the humans are closest to death. Most shinigami strike at the next opportunity they see fit.” Suddenly they hesitated. “Speaking of which, I apologize for suddenly attacking you earlier. You dispelled the Raijū after it attacked me. I don’t know what would have happened if I had continued to fight it.”

“You’re welcome, but what exactly happened earlier?”, the demigod inquired.

“I think I need to elaborate further to explain that. As you might have guessed already, I am not a normal shinigami. I have been searching for my purpose...for you...for a long time. Longer than a regular shinigami should need to find it.”

“How long exactly?”, Antís asked.

“I don’t know to be honest. I have spent centuries in Yomi harnessing and refining my abilities. From time to time I come up to the earth’s surface to look for my soul but until now I couldn’t find it. Seeing you being so young I now know why.”

“But, isn’t that like...impossible?”, Antís asked. “You said when the human is born, but I am only twenty-two years old and not centuries. And I definitely haven’t made a contract with Izanami, I think I would remember that.”

“I don’t understand it either, but you can see me and when I looked at you that first time earlier I just knew you were my mission. Your soul that is. Earlier, I was on patrol in the area. Tokyo has had a rat infestation for some time.”

“Rat infestation?”, the demigod wondered out-loud.

“Yes. They appear to be imbued with some sort of chaotic energy, appearing out of nowhere and assaulting various locations in the city. I was on my way back from cleaning up one of these hotspots when I saw the Raijū jumping across the rooftops of the skyscrapers.”

“So you decided to follow it.”

“I thought it was the next level of the infestation. With the storm right above it seemed appropriate. I didn’t think of it as a messenger from Raijin-sama”, the shinigami admitted.

“When did the infestation start?”, Antís asked.

“A few days ago. After you killed the witch to be precise”, the kami answered.

Antis shivered. That was not a good sign. After this heavy exchange of information the two of them remained silent for a while, each to his own thoughts. Hut had left the city behind and was now sprinting through the wild forests of the japanese island.

Then Antís began talking again. He had two more important questions before arriving wherever they were going.

“What are you gonna do with me?”

The spirit refocused their gaze on the demigod. Antís could see them choosing their next words carefully.

“The principle of this relationship is pretty simple. When you die I will bring your soul to Yomi. Since you aren’t a native follower of Shinto I don’t know what is gonna happen with it, Izanami-sama will probably decide your fate. As for the matter of your Death....I...cannot kill you. At least if everytime I try, your mothers shield will protect you. So I will have to accompany you and wait for my moment to finally fulfill my purpose.”

“Will you deny me help when I need it in a fight ?”

“I don’t know.”

“Will you explicitly help my enemies so that I die?

“I don’t kn-”

“Will you develop some sort of plan to eventually bypass Athena’s Wings which will allow you to kill me your-”

I DON’T KNOW!”, the shinigami interrupted him. The spirit was shaking so heavily it descended, feet touching the huts' wooden floor. Exasperated they gripped the cauldron, knuckles turning white.

Antís pushed himself off the staircases railing and walked over to them. He gripped the cauldron’s edge as well, mirroring the other.

“Then I have one last question for you”, he told the kami.

Desperate black eyes met hard grey ones.

“What is your name?”, he asked.

“Huh?”

“If you’re gonna stick around I need to address you properly. So what is your name and while we’re at it what are your pronouns? You have a pretty neutral appearance in matters of gender” Antís explained.

The shinigami was surprised to say the least. They didn’t think Antís would accept them just like that. With a ~huff~ they released the cauldron.

Shinigami usually don’t have a name, they are simply not needed for our mission. As for the gender-thing we don’t really conform to your traditional human identification.”

“I thought so. Enby it is. As for the name, you’re gonna get one right now. Is there any name you like?”

“I don’t- Why do I need a name suddenly. And what is enby?”, they asked.

“An abbreviation for non-binary. Practically ‘not conforming to the traditional human gender identification’ like you said. If you don’t want to choose a name yourself, then I’ll do it for you.”

To say the spirit was speechless was an understatement. They looked at the demigod and tried to form any words of negation. But the determined look in Antís’ eyes shut them up. There was no winning this battle of wills.

“I was thinking some traditional japanese name or maybe something manga-related or…”, Antís rambled. “Now that I think of it japanese names consist of Kanji with each of them having its own literal meaning. That’s limiting my options since I barely know any Kanji.” Antís looked puzzled.

“Oh, I know”, he exclaimed. “What about ‘Shin’? Short for shinigami. We’d need an expert on the japanese language for the appropriate Kani of course since I don’t think we can use the Kanji for shinigami but for now it’ll work.”

The spirit frowned. They had crossed their arms and looked judging at the demigod.

“Are you finished?”, they asked. “I accept but just temporarily. I don’t plan on keeping this situation in a permanent state. But now I have a question for you.”

“Just go for it”, Antís happily agreed.

“What’s your name?”

“Huh?”, the demigod asked, confused. Then realization dawned on him, cheeks turning red. “Oh, I’m Antís.”


Shin was glad they remained silent for the rest of the journey. Too much had been said already. They weren’t sure if they could handle even more revelations. From their side oder Antís’.

They were also glad that the demigod hadn’t lied about Huts capabilities, too. After not fifteen minutes the house had reached the Miura peninsula and kept following the Raijū which still headed southwards. They wondered about why Raijin-sama sent his pet to guide them- or better Antís there. Their team-up was just a recent development after all. At least they hoped the kami of storm and thunder had sent it. One could never know with these mythical beasts after all.

Soon after the conversation had ended Antís had ascended to the second floor of the hut. Shin had heard a shower running and had decided not to question why the ancient wooden cabin of a crazy witch had a bathroom in its living quarters. Maybe Baba Yaga liked modern sanitation. Before her demise that is. When the demigod came back he had changed his outfit. He had discarded the leather jacket, apparently it was just his quad uniform, and now wore a huge black hoodie which fell down to his mid-thighs. The hoodie had a white stitching with the logo of the United Pantheons on its front. Antís was just fastening a bronze brace to his left arm, beneath a bracelet on his wrist. Bulges at the other arm and his shins told them he wore similar protection there under his clothes too. He pulled the hoodie’s sleeve over it when he was finished and both sleeves fell down almost to his fingertips when he dropped his arms.

“Is it still raining?”, the demigod suddenly asked out of the blue.

The question came so unexpectedly that Shin didn’t answer. Luckily they weren’t addressed because Hut had already moved one of its colourful curtains which always seemed to cover the small windows of the cabin. Antís looked outside.

“Cats and dogs”, he remarked. “Hut? There should be an umbrella on my quad. Could you get it, please?”

Nothing happened. Or so Shin thought. Because Antís looked expectantly to the cauldron the spirit was still leaning on. Curious they followed his gaze and were even more surprised when the small folded umbrella emerged from the glowing walls of the cauldron. Antís stepped closer and grabbed the floating object. He caught Shin’s gaze.

“One gets used to it”, he said while shrugging his shoulders.

Suddenly a rumble went through Hut. Intrigued, both of them looked outside again. The blurry effect which covered the environment when Hut entered its subspace to travel with supernatural speed had vanished and they could see that the Raijū was leading them over a bridge. Shin recognized it, they realized.

“Jōgashima Bridge”, they whispered.

“You know where we are?”, Antís asked. They shot him a short look.

“Yes. The bridge leading to Jōgashima island at the southwest coast of the Miura peninsula”, they explained. “Other than a small shrine on its east the island has no connection to the mythical world.”

“Well then, let’s see what we are doing here”, Antís responded.

They fell silent again. With rising curiosity Shin observed the Raijū leading them straight towards the mentioned shrine. When they reached the visitors platform above the sanctuary the Raijū stopped and turned back to the witch’s house. Hut slowed and finally sat itself right where it stood. Not that it would matter. Because of the storm there were no other people around.

“Guess that’s our cue”, Antís said. “Do you need..?” He held the umbrella upright.

“No, thank you”, the shinigami answered. “I’m fine.” They were a spirit of death. A little rain and wind wouldn’t affect them much. Alas, Antís opened Hut’s front door and then the umbrella and stepped out into the storm.


The spirit could see that Antís struggled for his protection. The umbrella was blown everywhere because the wind changed direction every second. Still he held bravely onto the piece of metal in his hands.

“Where to?”

Shin had almost forgotten the Raijū but their gaze fixed on it immediately after Antís had addressed the lightning beast. It sprung into action and ran southward to the elevated ground which surrounded the visitors platform and acted as some sort of dyke in case of high water. It leaped on top of it, looked back at them and then walked down the other side. Antís and Shin exchanged a glance then they followed the Raijū. Since Shin just floated upwards they arrived first and could observe the scene spreading out below them. Luckily, they hadn’t killed the Raijū before. Otherwise things could have ended very badly on this island. They hadn’t realized Antís had completed his climb and stood slightly panting next to them, still clutching his umbrella, until the demigod spoke up.

“Come on. Looks like she needs help.”

On their way down they passed the Raijū which just sat at the volcanic rock at the bottom of the dyke. In passing Antís patted the wolf’s head. Without getting shocked, Shin noticed. When they were past the beast they glanced back only to see it dissolving into static waves again. It had fulfilled its mission.

Together they approached the army of aquatoes yōkai. Amaterasu-ō-mi-kami stood face to face with Kuzenbo, king of the kappa. The two of them were separated by ten meters. Enough to still hear each other in the storm but not enough to make a move. Kuzenbo had grown bigger since the last time Shin had seen him. He was now almost twice as big as most of his underlings, they noticed, which made him almost as big (or small) as Antís. But that wasn’t difficult since the demigod with his 1,60 m was not exactly a prime example for the average western male. Still his bigger size made the kappa look now even more...shapeless than before. His plump stature, the big arms and legs and the unmoving shell on his back made him look even more like a wrestler. Which was probably fortunate for the kappa since they loved this activity but it also added to their overall ridiculous appearance in Shin’s opinion. Whatever kami created them probably did them a favor by making water their natural habitat, so they wouldn’t be seen as often by the humans as other yōkai. Suddenly Shin realized that that could actually be the main problem which led to this situation. Coming with an army meant they wanted to invade the human settlements and thus claim their lands.

“Don’t worry”, Antís interrupted their thinking. “I have a plan.” Their thoughts must have shown on their face. Surprised, they looked at the demigod. He must have come to the same conclusion as Shin and apparently had already thought further. He really was a child of Athena. Or he was bluffing and just making himself appear to be smart and tactical. Nonetheless traveling with Antís would be very interesting in the future, they realized.

When kami and demigod reached Amaterasu they immediately separated and stood on each side of the goddess, framing her. The king of the kappa didn’t bother to look at Shin, they weren’t even sure if he could see them. Most yōkai couldn’t, especially the weak ones. But Kuzenbo was far from weak. They could see his eyes turning to Antís, his gaze fixating him.

“Did he sign already?”, the demigod asked Amaterasu. It was loud enough for Shin to hear, but the storm made it impossible for the kappa.

“I couldn’t even make him an offer, he is far too agitated for that”, the goddess answered. The hand gripping the shaft of her katana was shaking. She was very close to actually using it, the shinigami noticed.

“May I?” Although asked politely, Shin knew it was a demand. Amaterasu didn’t seem to bother though. She just nodded in affirmation.

“King Kuzenbo, Lord of the Kappa!”, Antís began. “I see you have come to claim the lands that belong to the human folk. You have no right here. Turn back to your sea, rivers, streams and lakes. No good will come out of it if you force your will here.” He stopped, his position made clear. Shin could see the hatred in the kappa's eyes flashing.

“Filthy demihuman. Amaterasu-sama does this mortal really speak for you?”

Impressive, Shin thought. He still addresses her properly, despite his anger.

“Antís, Son of Athena, may speak for me”, Amaterasu declared. “He is capable of negotiating far more complex matters than territory deals.”

Kuzenbo took a step forward. He had now almost left the sea completely. Just the most daring waves washed around his feet.

“We want this island and half the Miura peninsula. Expel the humans living there or we will be forced to eliminate them ourselves”, he demanded.

“No can do. This territory is under protection of the United Pantheons”, Antís called out. “If you want to claim inhabited lands you must make an official inquiry to the authority responsible for said territory. In your case Tenjin-sama was authorised to negotiate territory claims in the japanese islands.”

“Screw you and your official authorities”, Kuzenbo hissed, his voice dripping with malice. “We want the land now. You United Idiots shouldn’t have a say in these things at all.” His green scaly finger pointed at Antís. The demigod was not impressed.

“That is the law the Shinto kami agreed to when the pantheons united. I remember your agreement in these negotiations as well from my studies.”

“I agreed under the terms back in the day. We were promised a lot of things including more territory. Nothing happened.” Shin could tell by the thick japanese accent in Kuzenbo’s speech that he was trying to hold himself back. If it would go his way, he would have drowned Antís the moment the boy had opened his mouth. But even Kuzenbo knew not to anger the Heavenly Council by killing one of their ambassadors.

“Then what made you now all of a sudden act upon these repressed feelings?”, Atnís wanted to know.

This time Shin didn’t understand the question. They thought the reason was obvious but in the hour they knew the demigod, he had surprised them more times than they could count. If Antís had a greater goal, it evaded Shin’s thoughts.

“What made me act? YOU DID!”, Kuzenbo erupted. “You killed the witch! You destroyed the balance! So why not break it even more? It doesn’t matter anyway!” After that outbreak he was breathing heavily.

A quick glance to Antís confused the spirit even more. The demigod’s eyes were moving uncontrollably, gaze not fixing on anything. His thoughts must run wild. Suddenly he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. When he opened them again a steelhard gaze laid itself on Kuzenbo. Spooked by that reaction the kappa actually took a step back.

“Yes. I killed the witch”, Antís admitted. “I killed Baba Yaga. But whatever that might have caused, it is not your right to take advantage of that sort of situation.”

“You-”, the kappa wanted to fire back.

No, not me”, Antís shut him up. He had folded his umbrella and was now pointing it at Kuzenbo, not bothering about the rain anymore. “You’re the one at fault right here. Now in this situation. You have accepted the merging of pantheons. It is not your place to take what is not yours no matter the circumstances. Especially when there are so many other options you can choose from. There is a whole world of uninhabited lands out there, you don’t have to stay in Japan. Just because this is your home, doesn’t it mean that you are stuck here. I believe that was one the reasons why you agreed to the Unification in the first place or am I wrong about that? What happened to the proud king of the kappa to threaten human lives just because he can?”

At these words the kappa behind Kuzenbo had started shifting uncomfortably where they stood. Apparently Antís had hit a nerve there. Kuzenbo himself had lowered his head. When he raised it again Shin saw that the anger in his eyes was gone. Replaced by a lifelong sadness.

“He was afraid to lose his home and his family.” He raised his hands and the kappa behind him shuffled closer. “I thought if the world would be ending now, at least I would have enough territory for my kin to thrive in their last days.”

“The world is not ending. Do you know why?”, the demigod asked him. Kuzenbo remained silent.

“Because I won’t let it”, Antís promised. “I messed up. But I’m gonna fix this. It’s what I do.” He shrugged at that.

Kuzenbo just stared at him, pure disbelief radiating off of him. But Shin could also sense something else shining in his reptilian eyes. Hope.

“How?”, the kappa asked. “Do you really think a powerless demigod and this clown of a death can stop the apocalypse?” Infuriated, Shin realized that Kuzenbo had spoken of them.

Nobody said anything. Then laughter broke the silence. Antís was holding his belly, spasms rocking his body. When he stilled he wiped the tears from his face.

“Why not?”, he answered. “If I get all the help I need?”

When Antís started walking forward approaching the kappa, Shin realized the storm had begun clearing up. The rain had become a slight drizzle and clouds were getting lighter by the second. Antís stopped before Kuzenbo and extended his hand.

“Can you trust me to do this?”

The kappa stared at the hand.

“No”, he simply said and shook his head. “But that will make it even more enjoyable if you do succeed. So, all I can do is wish you good luck. You’re gonna need it.” With these words he turned around and walked back into the sea. His kappa army parted before him and after the last wave washed over their king they retreated as well.

Antís stood lonely on the volcanic rock. Shin couldn’t read his posture but it seemed he had deflated. Amaterasu began walking towards him and laid her hand on his shoulder. The demigod flinched but didn’t shake it off. When he turned his head to the goddess a sad smile had captured his lips.

“This isn’t over, is it?” Shin almost didn’t hear him as silent as he spoke.

“No”, the goddess admitted. “but for now this crisis is averted. You did well.”

Shin floated closer.

“Was it only me or did he give up relatively easily?”, they asked.

“He was desperate”, Amaterasu responded. “but not unreasonable. In his heart he already knew it was the wrong thing to do.”

They stood in silence for a while. The storm had begun clearing up. The wind was now a normal wind one expected by the sea. Even the sun was peeking through some holes the clouds had left in the sky again.

“Are you gonna report this?”, Antís finally spoke up.

“I have to”, Amaterasu stated. “You heard what he said. This is only the beginning I fear. They are gonna be many others like Kuzenbo.”

Antís nodded. He had expected that but still needed confirmation.

“We should get going”, he said. “We have lots to do.” With no further ado Antís turned around and began walking back to the visitors platform. Shin followed him with their eyes but remained by the goddess.

“You don’t seem surprised seeing me here Amaterasu-sama”, they said.

She shook her head.

“I already knew the boy was special. Seeing you made a lot of sense given the circumstances.”

“Do you see something I can’t?”, Shin asked. “Because it is very unusual for a non-Shinto person to have a shinigami.”

“He is as much Shinto as he is Greek”, she answered mysteriously. “Take care of him, Shin.” It didn’t surprise them that she knew the name Antís picked for them.

“I am Death”, they responded flatly.

“And even Death can be gentle.” She finally looked at them, the sunlight fracturing in her eyes. They shared one last glance then Shin turned around and followed Antís who had almost reached the dyke.


The shinigami caught up to him just as Antís began descending the hill. Together they walked in silence back to Hut, who still sat where they left it.

“What are you gonna do?”

Antís’ hand froze on the doorknob.

“Start looking for answers”, he stated. Then he opened the door but didn’t enter. The person inside had made him freeze up again although he had expected to see her.

“Antís! Come in.” Zenko waved him closer. “We have much to discuss.”


************************************************************************************************


Sighing, Sahari walked up to the desk where Itzamná, god of scripture and culture and thus Head of the United Library, sat. The Mayan looked up from this literature which looked to Sahari like sumerian pictographs.

“Ah, Sahari! Back to study the ancient arts I see”, he remarked. “What can I do for you today?”

“I was looking for Master Thoth, he is not in his laboratory”, she answered. “We wanted to go over the moon phases and their influence on my Heka. It seems, as the Eye of Thoth, I have to keep track of them to harness my full potential.”

“Ah. Then I have some bad news for you, actually”, Itzamná said, an apologetic smile on his face. “Thoth is still examining the late witch’s body. Last time I heard they encountered some problems while investigating her skeleton. It is probably gonna take them a lot more time. But if you are interested in the moon phases I can recommend some literature if you like?”

“Hm. I prefer learning directly from the sources if you know what I mean?”, Sahari stated. “Do you know some other gods which can tell me about the moon phases?”

“Well, as you know most of the moon gods are driving in Máni’s moon wagon across the sky trying to evade Hati”, Itzamná thought out loud. “But maybe Lupa can help you.”

“Lupa, as in the wolf goddess, protector of Rome? The Lupa?”, Sahari couldn’t contain her excitement. Being egyptian she wasn’t that familiar with the animal life in the northern hemisphere. But the concept of a wolf being the sole reason for a whole pantheon to develop (even if it was just a copy of the greek) had always fascinated her. “Where do you think I could find her?”

“Well, like you said, she is the protector of Rome”, Itzamná chuckled. “So maybe you should start looking there.”

“That is a very good idea”, Sahari admitted. “Thank you, Lord Itzamná. I’ll be taking my leave then.” She bowed, turned around and began sprinting towards the nearest exit.

“Wait, Sahari! What about the overdue scrolls you borrowed?”, the librarian called out after her.

“I’ll bring them next time” came the faint answer from the magician. She waved from the exit, then she was gone.

“I should really start charging her”, Itzamná muttered. He was never gonna see the scrolls again, he feared.


Notes:

* kami = a spirit or god of the japanese religion Shinto

** psychopomp = someone who takes a soul to the afterlife; other examples are the Grim Reaper or Thanatos, Hermes or Charon in greek mythology

Chapter 5: When in Rome...

Summary:

While Antís has a conversation with an old acquaintance, the magician Sahari ventures through Rome to find the wolf goddess Lupa.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Zenko smiled sheepishly as Antís and the shinigami entered the witch’s house. She wasn’t sure if the demigod was aware that a spirit of death followed him but she didn’t want to spook him further. He had tried to contact her several times and even checked out her office, the footage of the security cams had shown her. It had to be important. Of course she had a strong suspicion.

Still, she wanted to know what’s going on.She clasped her hands.

“Come in, come in”, she beckoned him over. “Do you want some coffee? The cabin was friendly enough to make some.” She pointed at the bubbling cauldron.

“Thanks, but I prefer hot cocoa, as you should remember”, Antís rejected.

Zenko was close to responding snarkily but was cut off by the slurping sound of the cauldron emptying itself. Curious, she looked into its depth only to see it fill itself with another brown liquid. She dipped her index finger into it and brought some drops to her lips. Tasty, she thought. When the cauldron was filled to the brim a cabinet on the side of the room opened itself and a large coffee mug emerged. It flew into the cocoa and filled itself with the hot chocolate. Then it emerged again, liquid swaying back and forth and floated towards Antís who already held out his hands expectantly. He brought the large mug to his lips and took a small sip. It was still hot apparently. He licked his lips to rid himself of the remaining drops and smiled.

“Thanks, Hut.” Zenko wasn’t sure if she heard that right. Had he addressed the house directly? It sure sounded like it. “Could you do me another favor and rearrange the furniture down here a bit?”, he continued, gesturing into the silent room. “Just the table more in the middle and three chairs, so that we can sit around it?” Small vibrations rolled through the floor but nothing else happened. Antís didn’t seem bothered by that. Instead he turned to Zenko again.

“I’m gonna go upstairs, dry myself and change into more comfortable clothes, if that’s okay”, he said. “I’ll be right back.” He toasted with his mug in Zenko’s direction and then ventured to the staircase in the top right corner of the room.

When Antís was gone the hut started to fulfill his request and the furniture began to move around. The cauldron moved to the left side of the cabin and emptied itself again. The table in the corner opposite of the staircase and the chair adjacent to it moved into the now free space. Then, the cauldron caught Zenkos attention again. Its inner walls glowed in a faint light and one chair followed by a second chair emerged from the cauldron and gathered around the seating arrangement. But the house didn’t stop here. The cabinets on its walls opened and three sets of dishes emerged from there. While two of them immediately seated themself on the table, the third set floated towards the shinigami. As they raised their hand in rejection and shook their head the dishes flew back to their respective cabinets.

Zenko couldn’t hold herself back anymore.

“Does it always do that?”, she addressed the shinigami.

“Apparently”, they responded. “I have only recently made its acquaintance.”

“‘Its acquaintance’”, Zenko repeated.

“It is sentient”, the spirit clarified. “So yes. You can address it directly if you want. That is what Antís does at least.”

Zenko was astonished. She would have to talk to the demigod directly about the house it seemed. But now that she got them talking a change of topic deemed necessary.

“He knows you exist”, she pointed out. The shinigami was not surprised.

“Yes. It is confusing for both of us but for now we make do”, they responded.

“How does it work?”, she inquired.

“We’re not sure yet”, they admitted. “There are extenuating circumstances we need to investigate further.”

Zenko squinted her eyes on the spirit. They didn’t elaborate so that was all the information she got out of them before they heard footsteps creaking down the staircase. Antís had returned.

When he saw the seating arrangement he stopped mid-descent, eyes enlarging. Then a laughter erupted from him and still shaking he came down the last few steps.

“Oh my Heaven, you’re too sweet!”, he exclaimed. “Just one question, Hut. With the tables and cutlery and all that, do you actually have something we can eat?”

For a second nobody moved. Even the small vibrations from when the Hut shifted sometimes stopped. Then all of a sudden a rocking shook the house's interior. The shinigami floating above the ground remained unfazed and just flew higher according to the hut standing up from its sitting position. Antís, who had expected some sort of reaction, shifted his posture to adjust to the rocking, clutching his still steaming cocoa mug. Zenko wasn’t so lucky. Totally unprepared, the shaky floor caught her off guard and she tripped, almost hitting her head on the iron cauldron. It was only because of the shinigami's reaction who caught her left arm, she didn’t hit the floor. When the shaking stopped another sort of movement vibrated to the floor. Irritated Zenko turned to Antís. The demigod shrugged.

“It’s running. Probably towards a konbini or a bakery, I don’t know”, he apologized. “Apparently, it doesn’t want to be a bad host.” Still smiling uncomfortably he scratched the back of his head. “We should sit down”, he continued gesturing to the chairs the hut had provided them. “If you sit, that is.” The last past was directed at the shinigami who returned his questioning gaze with a stoic expression.

“I’m a spirit. Not a stature”, they responded.

“......”

“......”

“......”

“Right”, Antís broke the awkward silence and sat down, placing his mug on the table in front of him. He turned to Zenko. “So, what makes you come down here to my holiday residence”, he asked, trying to make conversation.

She and the shinigami had come closer and now sat themself on the other two chairs.

“Oh, you know”, she put him off, waving her hand. “The end of the world. You calling me like fifty times and snooping around my office. Simple reasons really”, she assured him. He had the audacity to look dim at that.

“Yeah, sorry about that”, he apologized again. “I wouldn’t have if it wouldn’t have been important.”

“Which is the only reason I am not mad at you yet”, she pointed at him, indicating a threat. His smile seemed strained. “Do you want to get on this topic right now or wait for the food?”, she asked.

“I’ll wait”, he answered. “We just had a pretty intense confrontation.” He nodded towards the shinigami . “They’re ‘Shin’ by the way. I doubt they told you that, already.”

“He named you?”, Zenko addressed the kami.

“He wouldn’t budge. So yes, I let him”, Apparently-Shin shrugged. “Not that I am going to use it much.”

“Oh, they will. I’m going to make sure of that”, Antís assured. Then he addressed Zenko again. “Do you need to be somewhere after our conversation? We can surely drop you off wherever you want.”

She wanted to reject the offer.

“Oh, that’s not necessary. I can’t wait like six hours until you make it back to Tokyo with this thing”, she said, rolling her eyes.

“Yeah, we’re not gonna need six hours. Hut is much faster than that”, Antís explained. Zenko was intrigued but she needed further information.

“Then where are you headed and how long do you need?”, she inquired, speaking slowly.

“To Tokyo we’re probably gonna need only like ten minutes at full speed. In the city it's probably an hour through the traffic to your office. But we’re headed to Fukuoka to take the ferry from Hakata to Busan back to the continent. That'll probably take a bit more than an hour from here”, he listed the options.

Zenko didn’t dare showing how amazed she was by the huts capabilities. She had to uphold the image of the merciless information broker.

“Then I will accompany you to Fukuoka. I still have some business I can attend to there before going back to Tokyo”, she concluded.

“You do? I thought all your associates were in the Tokyo area”, the demigod wondered out-loud.

“My associates, yes”, Zenko confirmed. “But I do have other informants, you know.” She grinned mysteriously, showing her pointy teeth. He was far too observant for her own liking. “Furthermore, it will be fun traveling in the witchy hut. Whenelse will I get the chance to do that again?”

Antís exchanged a glance with his shinigami . Just as he wanted to speak up again the hut slowed down and stilled. Apparently they had arrived wherever it wanted to take them. Antís used this opportunity to change the topic.

“Well then, who wants to eat?”

Zenko smiled approvingly, hiding her irritation. This was going to be a long hour.


When Sahari stepped into the portal room she was immediately beckoned over by Janus, god of crossroads. The face on the left side of his head had looked pretty bored until seeing her. It could have something to do because the face on the right side of his head was overseeing a commotion by a portal leading to Earth and thus Janus’ body was turned in a way the left face couldn’t see anything. His right hand was gesturing pretty avidly. Sahari couldn’t understand what he was shouting since the voices of various gods were overlapping each other. As she stepped closer she could make out Hercules in the crowd carrying what seemed to be a large stature of a goddess with multiple arms. Just then the jam seemed to loosen up and one by one the gods went through the portal. The sudden silence had the right face of Janus sighing. The left face winked at her and cleared his throat. Janus stood up straight and turned around so that the other face could see his new patron as well.

“Ah, Sahari”, he said, relieved. “I thought I’d forgotten one of them.” With a flick of his wrist the portal the entourage went through closed. He turned again so that now both faces couldn’t see Sahari directly. Instead she was confronted by the front side of his head where one of his ears was placed. The fours ears of the two faces were merged together in two, giving them some sort of a butterfly shape. Sahari could see that both faces tried to look at her from the respective corners of their eyes.

“Yeah, it’s just me”, the magician assured the god. “Where did they go, if I may ask? Seemed like a pretty big commotion.”

“It’s another embassy to the Hindus”, Janus’ left face explained. “Apparently someone insulted Kali the last time and they demanded some sort of reparation. Athena thought it was appropriate to gift them a statue of the aggrieved.”

Sahari nodded in understanding.

“They are still not agreeing to the fusion?”, she inquired.

“Unfortunately, there are still some concerns on both sides as to what to expect from the union”, the right face explained. The left face continued. “Lord Indra is still refusing to join the negotiations. He says keeping the still thriving pantheon running is more important. Thus we’re still in conversations with Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva. Theoretically at least.”

“‘Theoretically’?” Sahari furrowed her brows.

“Yes, well, Lord Brahma is of the opinion that the merging of the pantheons doesn't ‘create something new’. Thus his reasoning isn’t very helpful”, Janus continued. “Lord Vishnu, as the ‘preserver’, wants to keep things as they are. Lord Shiva on the other hand seems to be most accommodating to the cause, which is honestly a bit frightening him being the hinduistic ‘destroyer’. He probably sees the unification as a chance to recreate the universe. So in conclusion the negotiations seem stuck. Although she doesn’t show it I can sense Lady Athena’s growing frustration every time she steps through the portal.” Both faces sighed simultaneously. “But let’s not worry about things we cannot control, little witch”, he reached out and patted Sahari’s head. “You didn’t come to listen to the complaints of this old guardian. What can I do for you?”

“Oh, I just have a normal request for a one-person portal travel”, Sahari innocently told him. “And give you my condolences about the important job you do here as the keeper of portals. Noone seems to appreciate that, like I do, I fear.” She looked at him with her big purple puppy eyes.

She couldn’t see his faces properly but the reddening cheeks were an indicator that her flattery worked.

“Oh..um..that’s really kind of you to say, Sahari”, he stammered, “but you know the current rules. ‘No unsupervised portal travel of the young ones until Baba Yaga’s situation was properly evaluated by the authorities’”, he insisted.

“That’s a shame”, she sighed and turned around as if to leave the portal room again. “I mean the ‘authorities’ are still investigating her body and there has been no further information from Antís down below, so it could take weeks until this situation is resolved.” Sahari sat herself on the steps leading into the room and sighed. “What am I gonna do with my studies?”, she asked into the room. “I’m never becoming the proper Eye of Thoth this way.” She leaned her head onto her arms and made some fake sobs.

Still, Janus whose left face had followed this monologue and acting performance and seemed actually moved by that.

“Uhm..maybe..we can...uhm. You know. Figure something out?”, he asked.

“Really!?”, Sahari sprang up. No sign of sadness or traces of tears upon her face. Before Janus could question that, she continued. “I just wanted to go to Rome, see the city a bit. Thoth gave me insight on getting to know the other pantheons better, so why not start there?”

The god stunned by that sudden change of demeanor couldn’t grasp a single logical thought. So he gave in, shoulders sagging.

“Uh....Just promise that you’ll be careful. No contact with any mythical beings, it could bring me serious trouble if that ever comes out”, he proposed defeated.

“Deal”, Sahari extended her hand towards the two-faced god.

He sighed again but grabbed it anyway. They shook hands, then the god retreated a few steps and began waving his hands in the air, summoning his magic.

“Rome, you said?”, he asked. Sahari, who stood next to him, just nodded eagerly since his right face could see her from this position.

With one last snap of Janus’ fingers the magic swirling around before them manifested into an oval shape, its surface cracking like glass and then roman architecture appeared behind the doorway.

“You know your way back?”, he asked Sahari.

“I do”, she responded. “Don’t worry, I know my Heka.” She stepped towards the gateway.

“Sahari?”, a questioning Janus held her back. “Please, be careful. It’s not as safe down there as it was before.” She looked back at him. His left face was turned towards her, brows furrowed in worry.

“I’ll be back”, she promised, then she stepped through the portal and disintegrated.

When Sahari came to her senses again, she recognized her surroundings. The Trevi Fountain with its turquoise water bubbled peacefully before her. It seemed to be an early morning in italy. She looked around but couldn’t see much because of the buildings surrounding the square.

“Now, if I were a wolf, where would I be?”


The two of them munched happily on their meals while the shinigami sat peacefully on their chair, observing them and enjoying the silence. Antís wasn’t sure what their endgame motivation for keeping up with him was. He knew of other death spirits observing their prey from the shadows, waiting for the right moment, never showing themselves until it came. Shin however seemed content enough being an active participant in Antís’ life. Minus the usual aspects of other living organisms like eating, breathing and probably sleeping and defecating too. Still Antís didn’t mind their presence for now. At least until Shin started trying to kill him again, of course.

So Antís continued to eat his instant ramen without worrying too much. He was still trying to get a proper grip of the chopsticks. They were one of the reasons why he didn’t like to eat asian food too much. Beside the many unfamiliar spices and vegetables, that is. But he always liked to eat pasta, so ramen was the fitting choice when rummaging through the konbini earlier.

Zenko had chosen simple onigiri, triangular rice dumplings wrapped in nori algae. She always took the unseasoned variant without fillings. Antís guessed that was because of her connection to Inari, kami of agriculture and rice and head of the japanese foxes, the kitsune. Since Zenko was their direct subordinate she was heavily influenced by the kami’s domains.

So far they had eaten in silence. Each of them lost to their own thoughts while Hut sprinted across the island state. Antís was still struggling with the last noodles stuck to the plastic cup when Zenko initiated the awaiting conversation.

“You screwed up real good this time, didn’t you?”

When he halted while lifting the last noodles to his mouth, he knew he was fucked. Zenko would be taking advantage of every vulnerable aspect he was showing her. He lowered his hands again and put away the plastic cup. His lunch break was over it seemed. Alas, he fixed his gaze on the red irises of the fox in front of him.

“Did I?”, he countered.

Zenko grinned, showing her sharp teeth.

“Defensive?”, she asked mockingly. “After what you’ve done you have the guts to question your own acts, witch killer?”

From the corners of his eyes, Antís saw Shin frozen up under the intensity of the accusation. He gave them no attention for the moment. They would have time to talk later. He cast down his eyes under the fox’s gaze.

“No”, he admitted calmly. “I don’t. But the whole situation was way out of my league. I just didn’t know at that time.”

“Was it?”, she teased, teeth glistening.

“Don’t play with me vixen”, Antís sighed. “What do you know?”

“Well, let’s see”, she agreed. “You investigated a distress signal picked up by the Heimdallr in some remote forest. The holy ground which is sacred to Devana, was wrecked and spoiled with dark magic which radiates through nature and won’t allow any living matter to come close to it.”

That was new information, although Antís had already suspected that. The absence of animals back then had bothered him the whole time. Suddenly he remembered the raven feather he found. It must still be in the pocket of his leather jacket he suspected. Over the witch’s death he had forgotten all about it. Best not to let Zenko know about it until he knew more. The kitsune in question had already continued to list the events of Antís’ investigation.

“You found the House in some retarded village in the eastern european mountain ranges and after investigating you were told of the data of the witch’s remains you found. You followed that trail to the construction site of the first shopping mall of the area they had built in the last few months- which is now closed until further notice, by the way- and there you faced the witch in wolf form and killed her. And then you lived happily ever after”, she concluded.

“Except you missed a few details.” He ignored her teasing. “I didn’t know it was Baba Yaga until the wolf’s corpse morphed back-”

“Eh, same difference”, she waved him off. “It was Baba Yaga all along”, she sang, mimicking Agatha Harkness from ‘Marvel’s WandaVision’.

“Furthermore”, Antís raised his voice, “I didn’t just face her. I fought her, got hurt and almost got myself killed. In the end it could have also been me lying there on the ground being devoured.”

“Well you didn’t”, Zenko stated. “You sit here opposite of me, living to tell the tale of the late Baba Yaga. Get used to it.”

One of the cabinets on the wall opened and a small pot emerged, flying straight towards Zenko. Since she didn’t know of the threat, it hit her right on the head.

OW! What in Heaven?”, she exclaimed and sprung from her seat. Antís didn’t even blink at that.

“Maybe you shouldn’t insult the witch while you are traveling inside her most trusted companion”, he suggested.

Zenko seemed to come to the same conclusion since she didn’t start arguing with him again.

“Fine”, she huffed and sat down again. “Sensitive topic, I get it. Just don’t hit me again. You can talk to me, you know?”

Antís didn’t know what surprised him more. That she had addressed Hut directly or if she actually expected it to answer that question. However, he wanted to continue with the actual topic.

“Anything else, you heard?”, he asked.

“Just minor things, nothing of importance or worth mentioning”, she responded. “But you didn’t come all the way to Japan to talk to me about what I have heard about your investigation. What do you want, Antís?”

So, they had finally finished with the foreplay. Time to talk business. Still, he was silent for a few moments, gathering his thoughts.

“What do you know about werewolves?”, he ultimately spoke up.

Zenko blinked at him.

“Do you want me to quote ‘Twilight’ or-”

“Stop stalling, Zenko”, he rudely interrupted her. “I’m not one of your toy clients. Start talking.”

The kitsune had stilled, waiting for his outburst to subside. She watched him but now less like the predator she was and more like a lab assistant studying an unknown bacteria.

“No. You’re not”, she agreed. “I know about werewolves that they don’t exist. That’s what I thought at least until two days ago.”

Antís remained silent. He had expected that answer, feared it even. Because that meant she most likely couldn’t help him, although Zenko was the source about underground knowledge of the mythical world. Alas, he was gonna be surprised as she continued talking.

“Unlike were-foxes, if you like to call us kitsunes as such, wolves never had the ability to turn human or otherwise. Lycaon was the one exception but even he didn’t transform by his own will but by the curse the gods placed upon him. Since then, there were always rumors about people going feral and turning into beasts, especially in the lands which are now the countries of eastern Europe. But there hasn’t been a single record about werewolves in the mythical world. You understand my implication?”

“You are saying that she hasn’t transformed by her own will”, he concluded. “That there’s a third force behind this. Someone we aren’t aware of yet. You really don’t think she just...I don’t know, shapeshifted, or something?”

“No”, Zenko immediately rejected that thought. “Before I came down here, I got a last memo. The witch’s skeleton was still transformed into wolf bones in some places. She didn’t fully morph back after her death. From what I gathered, I think she didn’t have to morph back at all. It almost seems like-”

“Like she did that deliberately”, Antís followed that thought. “Like she wanted me to recognize her even if it was too late to do something. Her last will before embracing death.”

“Yes”, Zenko confirmed. “The magic surrounding her is twisted, dark. Which also explains her aggressive behaviour and why she attacked you although she should have recognized you as an investigator of Heimdallr. Someone who shapeshifts keeps their mind, their memories and has mostly full control of their actions in the transformed state. Baba Yaga didn’t.”

After these revelations the two of them fell silent again. Antís’ thoughts were racing, so far he didn’t get any information that could actually help him about finding out how the witch was transformed. The only clue left, the raven feather could maybe point him to someone who may be responsible but probably not to the crime itself. So, he decided to end this discussion for now.

“Thank you, Zenko. That...is a lot of information. I...still think I need to process all of that properly later. What do I owe you?”

As the conversation had shifted to matters of payment, the zenko-typical grin spread across her lips again.

“Ah, payment”, she breathed out loud. “I think I gave you enough to think of for today. We will discuss this on a later date.” At Antís’ surprised gaze she elaborated. “I’m in a good mood because you bought me food earlier”, she said, raising her hands defensively. Then she reached across the table and pinched Antís’ cheeks, her sharp claws almost piercing his skin. “But don’t you think since you got away this time you can always expect such a friendly welcome from me.”

“You almost poisoned me earlier if I may remind you of that”, Antís responded, rubbing his cheeks.

“A minor misunderstanding”, she said, waving him off. As Antís pouted, she started laughing.

“I have a question if you two are finished with the heavy conversation”, a voice interrupted their bickering. Both of them turned to Shin who had until now been a silent watcher of the whole occurrence.

“Go on”, Antís encouraged them.

“Have you two been lovers at some point in the past?”, the shinigami inquired.

As Zenko burst out laughing again, Antís could only stare in disgust at his spirit of death.


It took Sahari approximately an hour to find the Colosseum, although it was only a few blocks away from her starting point. Still she let herself get sidetracked by the various little shops and food stands, easily losing track of time. She strolled slowly across the Foro Romano, the marketplace of ancient Rome, and reviewed the ruins of the god’s former temples which now lay abandoned in the dust. Then she reached the amphitheatre.

It was still in the morning, her phone read 10 am, but the place was already thriving. People, especially tourists, were squirming the place, blocking any kind of view. She reconsidered her plan. Lupa was a protector of Rome, but she also was a wolf. It was highly unlikely that she would be in such a crowded place. Still the Colosseum was one of the most known sights of Rome across the world. And fame radiated power especially in a mythical context. This place had to be a hotspot for gods and spirits to refuel their energy at some point. It was worth checking out.

Having now a goal in mind she queued up for a tour through the Colosseum. She only hoped it wouldn’t take long to wait.


Zenko ended up coming with them to the harbour. By now it was around 6 pm in the afternoon, the sun had started to set. They had already picked the ferry they were going to take back to the continent but Antís and Zenko were still deep in conversation.

After a heated argument, were Antís insisted he was ‘very, very gay’ and Zenko admitted that she had still tried to seduce him and failed miserably, Shin had investigated the second floor of the hut. Antís had suggested that they would do so, since they obviously wanted to stick around. It was clearly a way of Antís trying to keep the rest of the conversation hidden from Shin but if they were being honest, it didn’t matter much. They still hadn’t decided on what to do with the demigod after all. Of course they understood the importance of the current situation but after being sentient for over some hundreds of years, they were kind of tired of this world. They were not sure if they could wait much longer. But since they agreed to the current circumstances for now, they distracted themself by observing the other passengers coming onto the ferry.

The variety of people astonished them. Of course they had seen people of other ethnicities than japanese before, but not in this quantity. It seemed like a lot of tourists wanted to take the night ferry to Busan. When they returned to the hut which had already seated itself at the top deck of the ferry’s back they could see Antís and Zenko leaning on the railing. When they floated closer, the ferry’s horn blared throughout the harbour. It seemed like it would take off soon.

“Guess, that’s my cue”, the fox spirit said, when Shin had reached them.

“I guess so”, Antís confirmed. “Please, remember to notify me, when you get any new information.”

“Yeah, yeah.” She rolled with her eyes. “That’s gonna cost you extra, just so you know.” She grinned again. Shin didn’t like that grin, but Antís didn’t seem bothered.

“You don’t say?!”, he asked mockingly.

“I have one last tip for you two lovebirds, though”, Zenko gave in, ignoring that last comment. “And this one’s on me, no payment needed”, she generously stated.

Antís looked at her expectantly.

“If you want more information on wolves, you should talk to an expert”, she provided. “A real expert, this time. Like Lupa, for example.”

“Lupa, the roman wolf goddess”, Antís repeated. “I mean, yes I know of her but isn’t she as secretive as Hades? It could take days searching Rome, even when you know where to look for her. I don’t know if we have that time.”

“Maybe that would be the case, if we lived in normal times, yes”, Zenko agreed. “But Tokyo isn’t the only city struggling with infestation. Last time I heard, various metropolises are having similar issues. The city protectors are all on edge and waiting for miracles to resolve this situation. It should be pretty easy tracking her down with these conditions.”

Antís’ face now wore a gloomy mask.

“That’s just my luck, I guess”, he depressively admitted. “But at least, we now have a fixed destination.” He paused, unsure on how to continue. “Thank you, Zenko. For real. Your information were really helpful in shedding some light into this mess.”

“Don’t you dare get emotional now, all of a sudden. I can still rip that smile right off your face if I want”, she threatened. It wasn’t an empty threat but Antís knew she was joking right now. She had never been good with goodbyes.

Suddenly vibrations rolled through the floor and the ferry slowly started to move. Before Antís could respond, Zenko moved. She hopped over the railing and fell down to the footbridge. While falling her body began transforming. She shrunk and white fur sprouted from her skin covering her whole body. When she landed on all fours on the ground the small fox immediately began walking towards the harbour, her nine tails with the red tips swaying in the movements. She didn’t look back as the ferry swam out into the great sea, taking Antís and Shin away.


Sahari was bored. She thought seeing the remains of ancient Rome would be very insightful and help her visualize the knowledge she gained while growing up. It turns out they only reminded her of the boring history lessons of ancient Greece and Rome, the spirit of wisdom, Sophia, held for the children in the United Heaven. So she decided to investigate on her own as soon as she got the chance.

When the rest of the group turned around a corner, she stayed behind. A look around confirmed that she was alone. No tourists, no guards, not even security cameras. It was the perfect opportunity. Sahari grasped the wooden staff which hung on her back, fastened by a few leather straps.

It was as tall as the magician herself and wrapped in stripes of papyrus which were covered with various hieroglyphs thus allowing Sahari to conduct magic with it. The top of the staff was an empty round wooden frame in which 𓁟, the ḏḥwtj-hieroglyph and ideogram of Thoth, appeared when she was channeling Heka. It enabled her to use the Egyptian language to summon other hieroglyphs which, depending on their meaning, had various magical effects on Sahari’s surroundings.

Now she gripped the staff with both hands and held it at arm's length. When she channeled her Heka she thought of the hieroglyphs needed for the spell. The 𓁟 appeared in her staff and she felt the magic rushing through her veins.

Hide”, she muttered out loud and the four hieroglyphs appeared in the air before swirling around her and embracing her.


𓇋 𓏠 𓈖 𓀃


Sahari didn’t feel any different until she looked down and saw the effect of the hieroglyphs the hieroglyphs had on her body. It had disappeared. At least it looked that way. She could still feel everything as if nothing had happened. She was just invisible. The magic would be concealing her for about three hours, she knew, so now prepared for her solo tour she put the staff on her back again. Time to search for Lupa.


It took her another two hours to get underneath the stage where the roman gladiators had fought for their lives some two-thousand years ago. Other tourist groups, guards and the small passages made sneaking by very hard. No that she was good at sneaking, even if she was invisible. More often than not people turned towards her because they heard Sahari’s footsteps or felt her breath against their exposed skin.

After a close encounter where a guard actually investigated the sounds she had made and thus forced her to squeeze herself between two columns whilst holding her breath until the guard was past, she really considered another spell to make herself soundproof. But she was lucky. Behind the next turn she saw the doors leading outside onto the battleground. Relieved, she breathed the fresh air when she stepped onto the dirt. It was way past noon she realized.

After standing in line for one hour and the time inside the Colosseum it was probably around 1 pm. She didn’t bother checking her phone. Hermes would have alerted her of incoming messages and her boyfriend was currently on a mission himself, so no news to expect there soon either.

The scorching sun didn’t bother her, she was egyptian after all, so she strolled across the field averting the tourist groups. When she entered the Colosseum again through the door across the field she immediately noticed the magic in the air. A look around confirmed her suspicion. There was a doorway in the wall to the left of the entrance hidden by the strongest layer of Mist, the duat’s magic swirling all over the place. Sahari stepped closer to the doorway and paused. Her suspicion only grew when she saw the characters in the corners of the opening. There was a magical barrier here. Intrigued, she drew her staff, the 𓁟 springing into action.

Open”, Sahari muttered and moved her staff in a circle through the air. When she passed all of the four characters, four sets of hieroglyphs appeared before each ideogram and the magic sprung into action.


𓊃 𓂧 𓏴


The door bolt hieroglyphs were stuck into the characters by the hand hieroglyphs. Then, the cross hieroglyphs screwed themselves onto this magical construction. When they reached the characters, the door bolt hieroglyphs began glowing white and lastly exploded. Sahari grinned. The characters were gone. She tapped her staff onto the barrier which then vanished into thin air. She had been right, trusting her gut feeling. The weird ideograms had been the weak points of the whole barrier. She wasn’t sure what would have happened if she had tried to open it another way but she hadn’t really wanted to find out if she was honest.

Curious, the magician investigated the staircase which had appeared behind the doorway. Gripping her staff tightly, she descended into the depths of the Colosseum.


It was dark in the ruin’s cellar. The staircase wasn’t illuminated so pretty soon Sahari needed to feel her way along the wall, the entrance’s light fading above her. When she reached the bottom of the staircase she found herself in a dimly lit room. Sahari could barely make out the various items scattered on the ground. They were mostly weapons and parts of armour, the iron rusting from time and moisture. Open doorways left and right of the staircase lead deeper into the cellar. She saw no light when looking through them but Sahari heard faint sounds echoing from the room to the right. Still, it was dark, the candles already too small to be of any use.

Enlighten”, she muttered and waved her staff through the air, leaving four hieroglyphs behind.


𓋴 𓈙 𓊪 𓇶


The sunshine-hieroglyph flew above the others and extended its rays towards the other three. It pulled them all together, so that they fused into a warm glowing orb. Sahari caught the orb with her staff and so that it floated inside the wooden frame. Now equipped with this makeshift lantern she made her way through the maze-like cellar, slowly inching towards the echoing sounds.

When she came closer Sahari could identify them. It was a hammer clashing down and down again onto metal. Someone was smithing apparently. Sahari continued her investigation. Finally she saw more light falling through the empty door frame of a room in the distance. Not having another clue of what to do, she put out her miniature sun again and stepped closer.

To her surprise, although not being any bigger than the rooms before, this one was strictly organised. The candles were burning high and there were rows and rows of swords, spears, bows and shields strapped to the walls and hung on wooden racks neatly placed in the room. If she didn’t know any better she thought she would have been in the storage of the Armament and Equipment Department of the United Heaven. Suddenly, the hammer blows who had echoed right through the wall the entire time stopped..

Sahari turned towards the empty door frame leading into the other room. A quick glance should be in order. Quietly, she inched towards the door and peeped around the frame. She saw a small makeshift forge, anvil and pliers reflecting the fiery shine. A metal bar peeked over the edge of a steaming bucket, probably a blade. Another door led to a room adjacent to the forge. Since the smith wasn’t here, they must have gone through there. Later Sahari would think back and ask herself why she hadn’t listened for footsteps before continuing. She stepped through the door frame and realized the room also extended to the other side. As she turned her head she could only see a huge figure beside her, before something hit her head. On impact, she felt a sharp pain, then the world went dark.


As Sahari came to her senses again, the headache seemed to split her head in two. When she tried to open her eyes, the world was blurry, so she closed them again. Groaning, she slumped back against the wall she was leaning on. Slowly her memories came back. Still blind, she tried to grasp her surroundings. Surprised, she realized she wasn’t restrained or anything. Her attacker hadn’t deemed it necessary to do so. Only her staff and her bag were gone which meant she was pretty much helpless right now. Shielding her eyes with her fingers from any bright light, she opened them again and tried to focus. After a while she had recovered enough to take in the room again.

She sat by the forge. It had cooled down, the fire burned out. But what surprised her far more was the open portal in the blank wall to her left. She looked around and finally saw some good news. Her staff and bag leaned on the wall opposite of her, near the other door she saw earlier already. Then she heard footsteps.

Her attacker emerged from the door where Sahari had entered the room before, carrying two large crates. It was a cyclops she realized, the one eye in the middle of his face pretty distinguishable from other features. He didn’t bother checking on her and just stomped past her towards the portal. When he reached it, he threw the crates into the magical opening. From her position on the ground Sahari couldn’t see the other side. Then the cyclops turned towards her. When he saw that she was awake his already grim expression darkened. Sahari feared the worst as he took a step towards her. However, he was hindered in taking another step by a grey flash that ran past Sahari and plunged itself against the bulky muscles.

A wolf had sunk its teeth into the cyclops’ arm and tried to rip the flesh right off it. Unfortunately it had miscalculated the cyclops’ strength. The monster raised his arm and used the movement to throw the wolf off. It smacked against the room’s wall and fell to the ground. The cyclops gave Sahari a long last look before stepping through the portal. The wolf had shaken off its confusion but just as it wanted to pursue the monster, the portal closed. The room was now only illuminated by a few candles, whose light was reflected by the shining grey fur of the animal which turned now towards the magician.

“I have been looking for you, Lupa”, Sahari greeted the goddess.


************************************************************************************************


“You sure, you want to go in alone?”, the cat asked again.

Aither rolled his eyes. He secured his arm braces.

“You have asked me that nine times now. Nine Times, Bastet”, he repeated.

“Well yes, one can never be sure if they don’t want back-up”, she explained.

“It’s a scouting mission!” Aither felt like he was arguing with a five year old. Which given that the cat goddess’s host was a normal pet right now, could actually be the case. “I’m a god. I think I can handle a minor disturbance in the duat by myself.”

“The connection is steady. Ready, when you are”, came the information from one of the magicians who would be observing Aither’s surroundings while he was gonna be submerged in the duat.

“Thank you, Erica”, he gave her a thumbs-up. Then Aither kneeled next to Bastet and petted her head. “Any other objections?”

The cat seemed to pout.

“I’m just looking out for you. Antís would rip my head off if something’s gonna happen to you”, she grumpily admitted.

“Well, I won’t tell him if you don’t”, Aither said and stood up again. “Ok, guys, let’s do this.” He turned around to face his whole crew. “See you on the other side”, he saluted and let himself fall backwards, right into the portal in the floor of the room.


Notes:

* Please bear with me, I did like a four hour research on how to write in hieroglyphs, their transliteration and their respective meaning. I already know future magic will be a pain in the ass, but please just accept it as functioning spells in this fic even if you might know a better way to use them.

Chapter 6: Depths of the Duat

Summary:

Sahari gets rescued from the Colosseum and has a very unexpected encounter with a friend of hers. Meanwhile her boyfriend Aither is carrying out a mission in a magical dimension far beneath the earth's surface.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Sahari drifted in and out of consciousness. She barely remembered getting out of the Colosseum, clinging to the wolf which half-carried, half-dragged her out of the cellar. Outside, a storm had formed in the sky over Rome, shielding the sunlight from reaching the ground. Lupa had laid Sahari against the wall of the battleground before descending into the ruin’s depths again. When she came back some twenty minutes later, she gently held Sahari’s staff and bag in her mighty maw and placed them carefully before the magician.

Sahari groaned and tried standing up, steadying herself on the wall behind her. Then she grabbed the bag and strapped the staff to her back. With a questioning glance she turned to Lupa. Has the wolf grown bigger? It sure looked like it, the shoulders of the two of them aligning in height. However, when she tried to talk, the world around her began to spin again. Sahari reached out to the wolf but the world went dark.

She woke up again due to the movements rocking her body. When she opened her eyes all she saw was grey and white. It took her a few moments to realize that she laid face-first on soft fur. Apparently Lupa had put her on her back somehow and now ran through the city, although she couldn’t make out any details, the speed in which Lupa moved blurring her surroundings. Sahari felt strangely safe and protected although she feared to fall down any second. Trusting Lupa to act in her best interest, she closed her eyes. No nightmares would plague her sleep.


Sahari woke up a third time in the middle of the night. She had slept through the whole afternoon and evening. The egyptian could see the night sky glimpsing through the tree above her. She halted. The night sky? Tree?

The magician sat up, grabbing her protesting head. She was lying on top of a hill, green trees all around her. Her equipment was on the ground next to her. Relieved, she grabbed the staff. First, she had to take care of the headache, then she could evaluate her situation. She focused, the 𓁟 appearing inside the frame.

Heal”, she whispered.


𓋴 𓈖 𓃀 𓏛


The hieroglyphs appeared in the air and began moving. The water ripple ideogram stuck itself onto the papyrus and then the two of them floated to Sahari and laid themself onto the bump on top of her head. The foot hieroglyph disintegrated into orbs of light and fell down onto the inked papyrus, activating the healing effect. At last the folded cloth ideogram covered the magic construction on Sahari’s head, thus concentrating the magic effect onto the bump and area around it. Sahari felt the healing magic seeping through her skin, repairing the damaged blood vessels and nerves as well as relaxing the muscles. She already felt the effect her Heka had on her brain, her thoughts getting clearer by the second.

Now regenerated she began to closely investigate her surroundings. She realized the hill she sat on wasn’t a hill at all. It was too even and rectangular for that. Surprised, she discovered she sat on a building that was already overtaken by nature again. She pulled out her phone and opened the map app.

“Fort Antenne”, she muttered out-loud.

Suddenly a branch cracked beside her, startling the magician. When she looked towards the sound she saw the wolf peacefully sitting there. She had extended her front paw and placed it onto a fickle twig laying on the ground. That was the source of the sound, Sahari realized. But the position Lupa was sitting in almost made it seem like she did that on purpose, as if to get her attention. Confused, she pointed at the goddess.

“How long have you been standing there?”

The wolf only tilted her head and then laid down on all fours, not letting Sahari out of her sight. Something still bothered the magician but for a few moments she couldn’t pinpoint it. Then Sahari realized what it was.

“You’re smaller”, she stated. Lupa was again a normal-sized wolf, no trace of the huge animal that had carried her here. “That’s a neat trick”, Sahari acknowledged. “Did you bring me here on purpose? What’s our game here?”

The ears of the goddess twitched but if Sahari thought she would start talking she would be disappointed. It seemed like Lupa did not communicate the way other gods, or even normal people for that matter, did.

Just as she wanted to ask if Lupa would guide her somewhere, Sahari heard a voice echoing through the woods.

“I’m telling you, she has to be here somewhere. Hut would have never stopped in this forest if we wouldn’t at least find a clue that would lead us to her.”

To say that Sahari was surprised was an understatement. She knew that voice. It was hard to avoid conversations about him while strolling across the United Heaven nowadays. She didn’t hear the demigod getting an answer before he continued.

“Let’s just get on top of the Fort. When we can oversee our surroundings we can make a better plan if this one displeases you so much.”

Sahari smiled. Of course Antís had a plan. It was disliked apparently but that was nothing new. She turned back to Lupa.

“Did you know he was coming?” She didn’t really expect an answer so when the goddess just stared back, she chuckled. “Doesn’t really matter, does it?” She finally stood up, legs still shaky but it would do. “Let me introduce you to a friend of mine.”


Shin wasn’t sure what to expect of the new face which awaited them on top of the Fort. She seemed less threatening than Zenko but because of her soft features and high pitched voice they could not really take her seriously. Antís wasn’t any better. The demigod gaped at her, it seemed like he knew her. Shin sighed internally. If they ran into Antís’ acquaintances every time they changed locations they would never get to the bottom of this mess. They leaned towards the demigod.

“Don’t you want to introduce us?”, Shin asked him.

Puzzled, Antís turned to them.

“She can’t see or hear you”, he stated. “How do you expect me to introduce you two?”

The girl before them gave Antís strange looks and spoke up.

“Who are you talking to? Is someone else here?”

Antís who realized his mistake was quick to explain the situation eloquently.

“Yeah, well, you see…..uhm. I don’t really know how to explain-”

Shin had rolled their eyes and shortly thought of elbowing Antís but to do that they needed to land and kneel to reach him properly. So they just decided to smack him on the head which made the latter roll around. The movement cut off his rambling and alerted the egyptian before them.

“Okay”, she stated, dragging the word. “There’s definitely someone else here. Can’t you just give me the short version and why I can’t see them?”

“I can give both in one actually”, the demigod said, rubbing his head and giving Shin a pouty look. They didn’t care. “I have a shinigami.”

The girl’s expression was priceless. If Shin would care about humor, they would actually burst out laughing at the sight. Still, there had to be something showing on their face, because suddenly the goddess to their feet yapped at them. Of course Shin knew what she meant (‘be nice to her’) but the other two looked puzzled towards the wolf, obviously irritated as to why she made that sound. Suddenly Antís seemed to realize something.

“Wait, is that-”, he started.

“Lupa”, the girl confirmed. “The wolf goddess.”

Antís’ eyes widened. Shin applauded him silently for finally recognizing the most powerful being in their circle after three minutes standing next to her. For a child of Athena he was pretty dense sometimes.

“How-”, he started.

“Later”, the girl interrupted. “First, your companion.” She drew the staff strapped to her back and channeled her Heka. Shin was surprised by the power they felt radiating from it. She was far more capable than they had expected. A hieroglyph they didn’t know appeared in the circle on top of the staff.

Death.Reveal”, she casted while waving her staff through the air and various hieroglyphs appeared.


𓁢 𓍏 𓅡 𓏛


Shin recognized only one. The jackal, hieroglyph of Anubis, god of mummification. The girl was smart. Obviously, there was no egyptian ideogram for ‘shinigami’ so she took the god closest to them since both were associated with death and the guiding of souls. Meanwhile the jackal had started to move and then suddenly sprung and latched itself onto the spirit. On impact, they felt a surge of magic traversing their body. Then nothing. It seemed it had only marked them. Shin wondered for what?

They soon found out. The other hieroglyphs had started moving, one by one. The lamp shape stuck itself to the girl’s staff and created another faint glow in the circle surrounding the still active hieroglyph. The strange bird had spread its wings and was flying through the air. When the magician extended her staff it flew through the circle, the glow sticking to it. Then the bird flew right towards Shin and into their chest, connecting Shin and the staff with a glowing rope. The glow expanded onto the shinigami, enveloping their whole body. Before the spirit could react, the fourth hieroglyph moved. It unrolled itself and Shin could finally see that it was a roll of papyrus. It wrapped itself around the glowing rope, fully covering it, then it stilled. Other hieroglyphs appeared on the papyrus which then sprung into action again. As if it were a snake it slid back towards the staff and wrapped itself around the wooden bar, leaving only air where the glowing rope had been. The hieroglyphs glowed intensely one last time, then the staff returned to normal.

The girl turned to Shin and waved.

“Hi, I’m Sahari”, she introduced herself. “Nice to meet you.”


Aither floated through the duat. The sixth hour of his watch had started not too long ago but still he had found absolutely nothing. Occasionally, his control team contacted him when they saw fluctuating waves of magic near his position but it had all been flukes. Normal duat behaviour as far as they could see. Whatever that signal was, the Heimdallr registered hours ago, was probably already gone.

He was pretty deep submerged into the magical dimensional layers below the earth’s surface. Definitely underneath the layers where the various underworlds of the pantheons had seated themselves after the merging. He guessed he was somewhat on a level with the greek Tartarus, the prison for only the cruelest monsters and deities, and the last of the ten courts of Diyu, the chinese hells, where souls get reincarnated. This layer was almost empty, one could almost think of being in space, except there were no stars and there was magic swirling all around. Sometimes the magic fluctuated. It blinked, glowed, shifted or other things which then gave a ping to the Heimdallr. In their control rooms stood magical tables, which’s holographic lights could recreate the mission location currently being investigated.

For this mission all the team in the control room could see was one big glowing orb, Aither’s location, which floated through nothingness. The various pings of magic popping up in the area vanished as soon as they appeared, so for over five hours they waited, bored out of their mind, for something to happen. To pass the time Aither asked them random questions. Some were meant to be funny, some were already forgotten and some were just inappropriate. But he had long ago run out of ideas, so every question was now dumber than the last.

“What do you think would happen if I deactivated my glow?”

Erica, daughter of Odin, groaned.

“Don’t you even dare think about that. You can go in without a suit because of that glow.”

“Yeah, I know. But I’m a god”, Aither stated. “I think I could survive without it.”

“Please, don’t try it”, Erica pleaded, close to smashing her forehead onto the nearest surface. “We don’t really want to send a rescue team for you, when we’re-”, she looked at the time, “close to finishing this watch.”

“Point taken”, Aither agreed. “I’ll just try next time.”

Erica exchanged tired glances with her teammates and slumped into her chair. This god in particular was gonna be the death of them.

Aither was a special being. He was born by his father Aither, the greek protogonos of heaven and light, just some years ago to celebrate the merging of pantheons. For Aither himself had no body, but was literally the sky around Olympos. When the pantheons merged, he enveloped all the heavens but now didn’t want to be just a simple bystander. Thus, he created a male newborn and planted a fraction of his own consciousness in it. He gave the baby the name he himself had worn for thousands of years and sent it to explore the world. The god Aither had now, twenty-one years later, grown into the embodiment of a charming young greek, who had inherited many of his fathers abilities.

He could, for example, transform into a light stance. This form allowed him to morph the atoms of his body, clothes and equipment into photons, light particles. They still remained in the shape of his body as they were before but now he basically emitted light and could fly. Only by will this form would dissolve and a swarm of photons controlled by his mind would be flying around.

To survive in this breathless air of the duat he had changed into the light stance, illuminating nearby swirls of magic.

“Then, should I turn back now? It’s gonna take a while to reach the portal, I’m pretty far off.”

Alsam, Eye of Isis, checked the time again.

“We have like forty minutes left”, he stated. “If you don’t see anything worth reporting, then, yeah, come back.”

“Roger, that”, Aither mocked them. They all knew he would have done that even without the magician’s confirmation. “I’m gonna speed up. Don’t want to make you wait.” They could hear the grin through the pitch of his voice. Bastet opened one eye, then closed it again. The cat had slept through most of the mission.

Aither gave his surroundings one last look. Then he channeled his energy. The glow that had grown fainter while he was not moving grew stronger again, especially on his legs, and with almost the speed of light he made his way back.


Antís didn’t really know what to think of this new development. He didn’t even know it was possible for other people to see a shinigami. Yet, here Sahari was, working her magic to get a glimpse of Shin. Of course, he had seen egyptian spells before, even Sahari’s, however this one was special.

She had called upon Anubis to allow Death to reveal themself before her. It was a bold move to call directly upon a being. Names bear power. If the god doesn’t want you to say their name there could easily be dire consequences. Yet, this time everything seemed to be in order. Anubis had always been considerate in such matters.

“Hi, I’m Sahari”, the magician introduced herself at this moment. “Nice to meet you.”

Still, Shin remained silent. They seemed to be as surprised as Antís was, although they tried hard not to show it. Thus, Antís decided to take matters into his own hands, before they began to put down roots.

“They’re Shin”, he pointed at the spirit. “Can we now go back to the topic where we are standing right next to a literal goddess and none of you told me?”

At that Lupa barked at him. This time he understood the implication but decided it wasn’t worth responding. Instead, Sahari turned to him.

“Are they always this quiet”, she asked the demigod.

“Usually”, he confirmed. “Unless they complain about something.”

He could see the movement in the corner of his eyes but decided it wasn’t worth jerking away. Still, the second smack hurt way more than the last time. It could be because of the godly accuracy with which Shin hit the same place on his head as before.

“They also try to kill me, so that they can fulfill their purpose or whatever”, he elaborated on the topic of Shin’s presence.

“I could guess that already.” She had that look in her eyes again as if she was talking to a toddler. Somehow Antís saw that look pretty often, when they were talking. “The important question is: Is it working?”

Surprisingly, Shin spoke up before Antís had a chance to respond.

“Not yet. But I’m not giving up”, they answered.

“Good luck with that. We’ve been trying to do that for years but he’s like a cockroach”, she told the spirit. With a sarcastic grin she turned to Antís, “unkillable.”

When he flipped her off, she burst out laughing.

“We didn’t come here to talk to you, illegal portal user”, Antís explained. “We wanted to talk to her.” He pointed at Lupa who just tilted her head.

“First of all, Janus allowed me the journey and I have godly protection”, she started rejecting the untruths. “Second, she doesn’t talk. So good luck on getting the information you came here for.”

“Of course, she talks”, Shin interjected. “Just because you can’t understand what she is saying, doesn’t it mean she is not able to.” They turned to Antís. “What do you want to know from her? The sooner we get what we came for, the sooner we can start the investigation about our connection.”

Antís took himself a minute to gather his thoughts, then he kneeled before the wolf.

“Do you know who I am?”

Lupa looked at him with her big blue eyes. Then she nodded.

“Do you know why I came to you?”

She snorted and shook her head. Antís didn’t need to guess, since Shin immediately translated.

“She has a hunch, but maybe you start talking before the sun comes up.”

“No need to be rude”, the demigod reprimanded his Death. He focused on Lupa again. “Is there a way to turn someone into a wolf? Not just a body transformation but also one of the mind?”

Lupa raised her paw and waved it through the air.

“In a magical way?”, Shin translated.

“Yes, preferably”, Antís confirmed. “It would also be helpful to know if the victim’s consent is needed or if one can force the transformation onto them.”

While he talked, the fur on Lupa’s back began to stand on end, her ears laid flat on her skull. She began growling when he finished. Then the goddess nodded.

“Consent isn’t needed. When one has the right magic or potions all is possible.” Shin halted. “She doesn’t like people who force their magic onto their victims, for a wolf kills only in need for food or protection not for fun. She would rip out the throats of those who are responsible for the witch’s death if she knew them.”

Antís looked deep into her eyes.

“I am responsible”, he whispered.

Lupa only stared back. Then she took a step forward and licked a stripe across his hands which he had laid onto his knees. Then she sat down again in her former position.

“Not in a way that matters”, Shin translated.

Antís felt unshed tears gathering in the corners of his eyes again. Quickly, he swiped them away before Sahari could see them. He cleared his throat and spoke up again.

“Do you know anyone who would have a reason to do that to Baba Yaga?”

Again, Lupa only shook her head. She seemed to be as clueless as they were.

“She doesn’t-”

“Yeah, I understood that”, Antís interrupted Shin. “No repetition needed.” He raised his hand but then stopped mid-air. “May I?”, he asked the goddess. She only came forward again and raised her head so that his calloused hand touched her soft fur. Affectionately, Antís began to pet the goddess and mother of Rome. “Thank you for your time, mylady.”

Lupa pulled away and ran a circle around the three of them, then she snuggled one last time against Sahari’s legs before taking off into the woods. The group looked after her until the tip of her tail vanished in the shadows.

“Come on, let me show you how we came here”, Antís addressed Sahari. Together, they descended from the Fort’s roof to where Hut awaited them.


The shadow attacked Aither just as he could make out the portal in the distance. He had been flying through the layer, his team not bothering anymore about the minimal pings of swirling magic. Then after about twenty minutes, he had almost reached the portal, Alsam called out to him.

Beneath you!

Without doubting the exclamation he made a sharp turn to the right, the black tendril shooting upwards through the position he had been only a split second ago. Still, Aither didn’t slow down. A wise decision, because more tendrils had already corrected their course and came flying right towards him. He sped up.

Faintly, he could hear the control team busying themself with the holo, having woken up due to Alsam’s shouting but he was too busy himself with avoiding the tendrils to actually care. Suddenly, a voice louder than rest made him pay attention to it.

“Keep evading, we’re analysing it’s movements”, Erica told him.

Aither cursed under his breath. He needed to pay attention to them. Every fraction of information could be useful right now. However, the black mass was keeping him from actually carrying out that plan, because suddenly, it was everywhere.

A huge black shadow had risen from the depths of the duat, a shapeless squirming mass of black tendrils with no visible body orifices. Aither halted. Immediately, a few of the tendrils wrapped themself around his arms, legs and torso. Yet, just a second later he was finished. With a burst of light all around his body he increased the photon’s intensity, destroying his restraints.

With this newfound speed and power he faced his opponent.


“Does it eat?”

“No.”

“Does it sleep?”

“No, but it needs to rest, occasionally.”

“Does it-

“No, it doesn’t”

“...”

“Ok, I don’t know if it does. I’m just guessing. Still, why would it?”

The three of them stood beside each other before “Hut”. Why Antís had had the glorious idea of naming it after what it was, eluded Sahari’s mind. Still, she was the one with the unpronounceable spells so she kept silent about that topic.

“So to sum up what you just told me. You’ve been taking advantage of the poor house and told it to take you in just a few hours to some tourist hotspots all around the world to meet people who just confirm the theories you have already been brewing in that big brain of yours.” She was amused by the clearly visible vein on Antís’ temple. “Did you at least buy us some souvenirs? Aith will be very sad if you haven’t at least got him a snowglobe or some other trinket.”

Sahari was glad when he got involved in her game. She had been unsure if she was already pushing his boundaries as emotionally as he had been with Lupa earlier. She had pretended not to notice the tears he had tried hiding from her. But Antís had always been sensitive like this. He easily got involved in other people’s life but when it came to his own he shut others out. His mother and Aither had been the only ones to know his true inner self. At least that had been the case before Aither had broken up with him. She had no idea exactly how close the two of them still were.

“Yeah, sure. I’m just gonna ask Hut to take me back to Tokyo, the Jōgashima island, the Gobi desert and the village where this mess started just to buy souvenirs for the group. Afterwards I can figure out why I suddenly have a personal Death and maybe then I should focus on why the witch was killed, no problem.”

Antís’ voice was dripping with sarcasm. But it also showed Sahari that he did care. He only uses that tone if he is somewhat comfortable around the person he is talking to. He wasn’t finished, though, there was still something bugging him about her teasing.

“And don’t you dare call him by that name again. I used it first, I call dibs on it. Get yourself your own pet name for your boyfriend.”

“You’re not using it anymore, tho”, she stated.

“It’s still mine and I will beat you up if you mention it again, especially if he would overhear you say it”, Antís emphasized.

“I don’t think he’s gonna let you do that”, Sahari interjected.

“He will if I call it ‘training you in martial arts’”, he responded.

Sahari groaned. She could literally see Aither’s serious face nodding to that explanation. There was no winning this discussion.

“Ok, fine. I give up.” She raised her hands in defeat. “You won this round.”

“You two were fighting? I hadn’t noticed”, Shin cut in.

“It’s called a ‘battle of wills’”, Antís explained. How he could be so calm when explaining basic human interaction to an embodiment of Death, Sahari couldn’t grasp. At first she had thought it was somewhat cool that the demigod now had his own shinigami since he was also able to evade the demise that usually came with them. But the more the spirit talked the creepier she found them. “You basically try to outwit your opponent just with words. I prefer this to the actual hand-to-hand combat if I’m being honest.”

“Then is it possible for me to engage with you in such a ‘battle of wills’?”, Shin inquired.

“You can try. But be sure that you can convince me death would be the only solution to solve the many problems in my life”, Antís told them.

The kami was silent for a few moments.

“Then I will wait until I have such an argument”, they ultimately stated.

“I’ll look forward to it.” Antís turned to Sahari and continued. “If you don’t have any more questions about the house itself”, he paused and thus gave Sahari the opportunity to shake her head, “then I’d like to talk to you about why you are here alone on Earth and what Lupa had to do with that.”

Suddenly, Sahari remembered what her original goal had been. After what happened in the Colosseum she had forgotten all about it. Embarrassed, she scratched the back of her head.

“Ah, you know. Funny story, actually”, she began. “I wanted Lupa to teach me about the moon phases and their magical properties but then I got hit on the head by cyclops beneath the Colosseum.” Then she realized something. “And now you have driven her away.” She sighed and slumped together. “I just wanted to learn some magic.”

“You- Okay, first of all, you let Lupa go. If you wanted her to teach you, all you had to do was ask her”, Antís reminded her. “And second. You got what?”

Again, Sahari was embarrassed.

“It doesn’t even hurt anymore, it’s all good”, she defended herself.

Antís looked like he wanted to object but suddenly both their phones went off with an alert. The two of them opened their respective messages. What Sahari read in hers let the blood freeze in her veins. When she looked up again, Antís was already looking at her, waiting patiently. She started talking.

“I have an-”

“Emergency. Yes, me too.”

“Is it-”

“The same? Probably.”

They went silent, only looking at each other. Sahari knew that both of them had the same idea. She raised her brows.

“I need to go the official way or Janus is gonna kill me.”

“And I need to request a special transport, Hut is not gonna fit through a normal portal.” He turned his head to Shin. “You’re gonna come with me, right?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I?” Antís only nodded in agreement, thoughts already elsewhere.

“Then, we should meet-”

“In front of the Heimdallr building.”

“Deal.”

They exchanged one last glance. Then, with no further ado Sahari turned around and began walking back towards the Fort. She needed a flat surface to create a portal back to the United Heaven. Behind her Antís had started talking again.

“Hermes? Call Janus. Requesting Special Transportation, Level 5, plus an additional passenger. We’re going back to the Heaven.”


So far, Bastet hadn’t bothered. She was the official team leader for this mission but all the other members were capable investigators, so she let them do their thing. The first five and half hours nothing worth mentioning happened anyway.

But as soon as the Eye of Isis shouted a warning to Aither, she was wide awake, her cat eyes fixated on the tentacle-like shadows emerging from the depths of the duat, chasing after the god. While Alsam zoomed out the area the holo was showing to see the whole extent of the being, Erica had accessed Aither’s vitals and connection data, swiping them onto a tablet attached to the table and then transferring them onto a big monitor attached to the wall. Thus, they could observe Aither’s data while keeping an eye on the situation as a whole. The rest of the control team switched the other wall monitors back on, which allowed the members to analyse and identify the magic swirling around in this part of the duat. However, Bastet doubted that that would be of any help. They needed to act quickly, no time for in-depth analysis.

When she saw the thing ascending, leveling with Aither und closing the tendrils around the portal, she decided it was time to take action. She stepped out of her host and her original body, an elegant egyptian clothed in leopard fur, manifested. She nodded to Erica, who was in the middle of rearranging the holo with Alsam.

“Keep evading, we’re analysing it’s movements”, the norse demigod told the fleeing Aither.

Before Bastet stepped to the table, she took out her phone and texted two quick messages. She had a feeling they would need their help pretty soon. Then she closed the distance.

“Aither, we’re gonna shield the portal”, she informed the god in the abyss. “It is reaching towards it and we don’t want it here in the control room too.”

She watched the holo light which represented Aither get briefly wrapped in the tentacles before they burst into light and the god kept moving.

“Got it, I’ll keep it busy”, he answered.

“Alsam, you’re on portal watch”, Bastet instructed. “For now, close the shield. Erica, I want you to keep an eye on Aither’s vitals. I don’t want any more bad surprises.”

“Yes, goddess!”

“Yes, goddess!”, came the immediate answers.

Alsam had already accessed the portal data and was now activating the shield. Just in time, as they would see. The blue surface of the portal shimmered and was covered by a golden barrier before a powerful tremor shook the room. The holo showed several of the tentacles which had reached out to the pathway as if they wanted to access it. Pushed back for the moment, they gave way a little before the thing seemed to change its mind. The holo tentacles wrapped itself around the duat side of the dimensional gateway and squeezed. It wanted to crush the portal it seemed. Bastet knew it would hold for now. She just hoped it would do so long enough.

Meanwhile Aither was still busy avoiding the tentacles. He flew all around them, trying to outrun them. But there were just too many of them. Suddenly, Bastet realized what it wanted to do.

“It’s trying to close in on you, Aither”, she informed him. “Try to gain some distance. Get out of there.”

The tentacles had tried to keep him somewhat in the same area the whole time, while it was spreading all around it. Now alerted the god changed his course and flew upwards. Unfortunately, he couldn’t keep a straight line long enough to get away because another swarm of tentacles came at him. The thing adapted to his movements, Bastet realized. The tentacles it had used before had been as thick as a slim person’s torso but suddenly these tentacles split up. From one normal limb emerged at least six thinner tentacles. Suddenly, Aither saw himself confronted with a jungle of shadows all trying to get a hold of him. He turned back, only to see the main mass ascending from below. He stopped. Immediately, the thinner tentacles began enveloping his body.

“It won’t let me leave”, he told his control team. “Requesting permission for the use of deadly measures.”

“Permission granted”, Bastet allowed him. “Light it up.”

Aither focused and with another burst of light he destroyed the tentacles wrapped around his body. Quickly, before they approached him again, he grabbed the weapon of his choice that had been hanging around his torso the whole time. The illuminated bow still felt somewhat cool in his hands, although it too was currently composed of photons and not the usual steel. He concentrated again and created an arrow from the surplus photons floating through the air.

“Does it have any weak points?”, he asked.

The whole team was looking at Bastet. It was clear to her they all couldn’t see anything. Either the holo was unable to find weak points or it just didn’t have any.

“None”, she admitted. “You will have to shoot blind.”

She could almost hear him grinding his teeth. So far his glow was strong enough to hold the smaller tentacles back, but with the speed the others were approaching him it looked to her like he had just this one shot. It was all or nothing.

Aither let his arrow fly but when it hit the black mass, it became clear, it didn’t matter where he had aimed. The arrow sliced right through the shadows, creating a big tunnel but just as quickly it closed itself behind the golden light. Then the being was upon him.

When Erica, who watched Aither’s vitals squeaked, Bastet closed her eyes.

“What happened?”

“I- I’m not quite sure, to be honest”, Odin’s daughter responded.

Irritated, Bastet opened her eyes again to see for herself. There were only so many stages the vitals could show a being’s status. Whatever she had wanted to say never left Bastet’s mouth.

Aither’s vitals weren’t even flatlining. They were just empty. As if he didn’t exist at all.


His day had been going very well so far, Antís thought. He got his theories confirmed, met one of his friends and also almost cried just one time today. Normally, he would call that a success. But as he was running through the hallways of the Heimdallr headquarters he felt his stomach sink.

His request for special transportation had been granted and Hut was now parked in the gardens of his mother’s palace. Not that she would notice for now. While leaving he found a note from her, in which she informed him of being in India again for another round of ‘Do you wanna join us, or not?’. Alas, he had hurried to meet up with Sahari again, Shin accompanying him. So far, the shinigami had been unusually quiet. He had expected them to ask at least once, where they were going and why, but nothing. It seemed they understood the unspoken importance of this sudden trip.

When the three stormed through the curtains, which separated the control room from the hallway, all eyes of the people inside immediately flew to them. Antís did a quick survey of the room and recognized a few faces. He exchanged a glance with Bastet, who seemed the only one not to be surprised by their arrival, then the goddess nodded to the holo table the team had gathered around. Antís didn’t hesitate and closed the distance, Sahari following after him.

From the corner of his eyes he saw Bastet looking at Shin, before she averted her gaze again, but his whole attention was drawn to the huge cocoon the holo displayed. It looked like a mass of squirming shadows, some tendril-like limbs were also closed around what Antís recognized as the duat opening of the portal on the other side of the control room.

“What’s the situation?”, he asked, trying to keep his calm.

“He is in there”, Bastet just pointed at the cocoon.

Antís felt Sahari flinch beside him. He pressed his teeth together.

“Vitals?”

One of the team members, Erica he realized, pointed at the monitor. No line.

“Why was he alone?”, Antís asked.

Bastet shook her head.

“You know why”, she told him. “He insisted.”

It didn’t surprise Antís. Still, he felt himself getting angry. He closed his eyes.

“What was the objective?”

One of the other team members, Alsam, spoke up and handed Antís a tablet.

“A magic spike around six hours ago. We investigated the area but found no trace of it. Aither was on his way back when this thing appeared.”

“Which duat level are we talking about?”, Antís inquired while studying the data on the tablet. The pulse had been huge, he registered.

“Prison Level, close to Primordial.”

The duat had been divided into different levels to make at least some attempts to locate the various layers and sub-dimensions. Since they were composed of unpredictable magic these layers often changed but the United Heaven had specified four main levels to stick to when describing locations inside the duat. Above the earth’s surface was the Sky Level. The first 20% below were composed of the various underworlds. It was called the Hell Level. Then came 10% of special dimensions of torment and restrainment, the so-called Prison Level. The 70% below that descended to the earth’s core were the Primordial Level. These were mostly empty, only filled with pure magic. Only primordial gods, forces of nature with no comprehensible body or mind could live and survive here.

“You know with whom we’re dealing here, don’t you?” Bastet hadn’t let Antís’ face out of her sight while he studied the holo and tablet.

“I have a guess”, he admitted, “but you won’t like it.”

The goddess waved his reluctance off.

“Alright. I think it’s Kek or Kauket. Or both of them probably when I look at the size of that thing.”

Immediately, Bastet’s face darkened. Antís had guessed right about not liking the answer. Still, some of the team’s members look puzzled.

“Wait, aren’t those like the egyptian Mr. and Mrs. Darkness?”, Erica asked. “Nobody has seen or even heard of them for centuries. Why would they be swimming in the upper layers?”

“Because someone destroyed the balance”, Antís whispered silently. Only Sahari could hear him but when he looked at Bastet, he saw her watching him. She seemed to have come to the same conclusion.

“It doesn’t matter why they are here right now”, the cat goddess answered the question. “We need to think of a way to get Aither out there before they have sucked up all his magic.”

“I might have a way”, Antís spoke up. “But first we need to reestablish a connection with him.” He looked at the vitals monitor. It usually also displayed the status of the team member’s earpiece through which they communicated with the control room. Since he couldn’t see anything on the screen Antís guessed it had been destroyed or was otherwise damaged.

“I think I can help with that.” Sahari had been quiet until now but the look in her eyes was determined. Of course, she was going to help save her boyfriend.

She channeled her Heka and the 𓁟 appeared in the wooden frame.

Beloved.Connection”, the magician casted and the hieroglyphs appeared.


𓌻 𓂋 𓅱 𓍘 𓇋 𓂝 𓃀 𓏏 𓄏 𓏛


There were so many that Antís couldn’t keep track of all of them. But from what he could gather she had cast two spells. The first few hieroglyphs built some kind of makeshift boat and flew by the power of the quail ideogram around Sahari. Meanwhile the rest of them connected themself arm to papyrus to foot to horn and thus built some kind of magical rope which connected to Sahari as the bowl ideogram floated towards the staff and became one with Sahari’s magic channeling hieroglyph. Then the other end of the rope attached itself to the boat still flying around the magician. As soon as they were connected the boat took off and flew right through the portal, ignoring the golden barrier covering it. Antís guesses since it didn’t mean any harm it could just pass through. He hoped that was the same for Kek and Kauket.

Sahari had closed her eyes. Nobody dared touching or speaking to her until the connection was established. Then after a few moments she gasped, the 𓁟 beginning to pulse in an unsteady rhythm.

“I’ve got him”, Sahari confirmed and opened her eyes again. They were glassy as if she wasn’t fully here. “He is weak, his light is fading. What are we gonna do now?”

“Remind him of who he is”, was the only thing Antís said. He grabbed Sahari by the hand and pulled her around the table, afraid that she wasn’t in full control of her body right now. He stopped before the monitor with Aither’s vitals and laid one hand on the screen while the other joined Sahari on her staff. Then he began to hum*.

Carefully, Antís followed the chosen melody, trying to hit every note. Since the original was sung by a woman he needed to pitch his voice higher than it was used to. Still, he continued relentlessly, note after note. He could almost hear the instruments that usually accompanied the singing.

When the song reached its first peak, his voice almost gave out, the notes were too high. Yet, Antís forced himself to pull through because he saw the first rays of light shining through the holo cocoon, breaching the shadowy surface. With newfound energy he continued.

The song picked up the pace again and another voice joined him. Sahari had begun to help him. Together, they reached the song's climax and a blinding light erupted from the table.

Still, they continued. Their voices mingled, giving Aither the strength he needed to free himself from his prison, the rest of the shadows being forced away. Too soon, they reached the end of the song. And suddenly Antís registered a new sensation. A heartbeat. Smiling, he gave the vital screen a glance, glad that it was online again.

Then he turned back to the holo table. Aither’s light was still immense, a huge orb floating in the duat. His smile dropped. That was not what he had tried to accomplish.

“You don’t look so happy”, Bastet broke the silence. “The cocoon is gone. I’d say mission accomplished.

“You’re gonna see soon, I’m afraid”, Antís answered. Then he addressed Sahari, who was gasping heavily beside him. “Did you tell him, he can come back now?”

“Didn’t need to”, she responded breathlessly. “He’s on his way.”

And there the light began to move towards the portal.

“Alsam, drop the shield”, Bastet commanded.

“Yes, goddess!”

Antís gave the holo one last look before walking towards the portal. He was joined by the rest of the team to wait for their dear friend.


************************************************************************************************


Aither felt like he was waking from a very long dream. He took in his surroundings but couldn’t quite place them. Where was he?

Then he registered the tether. He was connected to- someone? He didn’t recognize the person so he quickly removed the magic seal from his soul. Still, he now had a direction. When he turned that way, he saw a portal shimmering in the distance. Intrigued, he floated towards it. It was horizontally placed from his position but this place was empty of any gravitation or other forces so maybe he was just turned the wrong way. Still, that had to mean something, so he went with it and flew upwards from underneath the portal.

Aither emerged into a room full of people. He could make out demigods, magicians and even some gods. When his gaze fell onto one person in particular, he halted. That one he knew.

Softly, he landed before the group.

“Your Brightness”, the person addressed him. “Long time no see.”


Notes:

*For anyone wondering what song I am trying to describe in this section, it's "Gris Pt. 2" by Berlinist. It its part of the soundtrack of the very beautiful game Gris and highly recommend you play yourself or at least listen to the soundtrack. This song in particular is very emotional I think and fits the situation I wrote for it perfectly. Sadly just my text alone isn't really giving it the credit it deserves, maybe try to read it again after or while listening to the song.

Chapter 7: Bits and Pieces

Summary:

Antís reminisces past events. Then the group holds a meeting with the gods that have helped them so far. It's time to connect some dots.

Notes:

Part 2: The Raven

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Antís was so absorbed in his thoughts that he no longer noticed anything around him. Still, subconsciously he knew they must be quite the attraction walking through the Heaven.

He led the group back to Athena’s mansion. Soon they would be some gods gathering in her courtyard, alerted by Bastet and Hermes. He was followed by a grim presence, his shinigami floating right behind him. To his left walked Sahari. He couldn’t read her expression back in the control room but he knew she wasn’t amused. Having her supposed boyfriend not respond to any of her advances must be frustrating and confusing.

Antís knew what had happened to his friend. He could literally feel the heat being emitted by the blinding body floating to his right. The boy he knew currently had no control over his body, instead the sliver of mind placed inside him by his father had taken over to rid them of the Darkness trying to devour them. That they both went by the name of Aither didn’t make the situation easier. However, Antís knew of the differences between them.

While his father was the literal light, golden rays emitting from his body making him appear almost like a humanoid sun, Aith’s glow was faint in most cases. One could always see his flashing smile and radiating eyes, his facial features beautifully-

At that, he pinched himself. His thoughts had begun to take a very dangerous path. He sighed. It wasn't the first time since the break up and he knew it wouldn’t be the last time.

Still, as forthcoming as the protogonos* currently appeared to be, they needed their Aither back soon. When they would have their meeting later it would be really helpful in getting his insight on what happened in the duat. And for that he needed the father to go to sleep again. However, he knew that it would not be that easy.


***************************************************************************************


4 years prior


Antís was sweating. Like a lot. What had started as a really hot make-out session with his boyfriend in the training grounds in the middle of the night had soon turned into a heavy full body workout session. Sadly, not the sexy type.

Normally, the demigod wasn’t very competitive. But with Aither’s smug expression every time they parted, gasping for air, he had that first punch coming. Antís didn’t hit, but that was to be expected. Aither just dissolved into photons, a cloud of light particles floating all around him. Antís, who had sat in his lap, fell down the few centimeters onto the wooden seat the god had sat in.

“That’s cheating”, he complained.

“Someone’s eager”, the god's voice came from all around him. “You didn't let off steam earlier?”, he mocked the demigod.

“Well, when my boyfriend’s away for hours to do some stupid mission”, Antís rolled his eyes, “how am I supposed to really relax?”

Aither didn’t respond. Instead the photon cloud moved away from Antís and descended into the arena’s battleground where the god materialised again. Groaning, Antís turned around and faced him.

“You know, I really thought this”, he pointed at him and the seat, “would lead somewhere else.” The implication was obvious but Aither just grinned.

“If you want me”, he gestured to his whole body, “then come get it.”

Antis stood up. He nodded slowly.

“Okay”, he agreed. “But no powers!” He gave Aither a hard look.

The god just shrugged his shoulders.

“If you insist”, he sighed. “I’m gonna beat you anyway.”

Which is how Antís found himself in a full blown-out fist fight with his boyfriend. They exchanged blow after blow. Sometimes they hit, but most of the time the punches were deflected. Antís’ forearms were already starting to sore. Yet, they were surprisingly even matched. It seemed like his training finally paid off. He even could hold himself in a fight with a god. At least until the god in question decided to fight seriously. He knew Aither was only keeping up appearances to entertain him. So he decided to spice the game up a little.

He purposelessly started to pull his punches, enticing the idea of him losing stamina in Aither’s head. With dragging feet, he fake-stumbled and was ultimately rewarded. Aither, supposedly seeing his chance, struck. Quickly Antís turned, regaining his balance and counter-attacked. Thinking back, the god probably didn’t retreat as he was still in the mindset of fighting powerless, but at that moment Antís thought Aither was just too surprised to react.

His fist connected with the side of Aither’s face, the force of the impact sending the god backwards. That he was naturally lighter than any other normal being, being composed of pure light, didn’t help him either. On the contrary, Aither flew backwards and his body hit the arena’s walls, causing a cloud of dust to stir up and occupy Antís’ view. Completely confused and worrying just a little, Antís waited for the dust to settle to overview the damage he had caused. Only to be knocked back by a blinding light erupting from the cloud.

Antís’ back hit the other end of the arena. He groaned in pain. Even behind his closed eyelids he could see the light shimmering in front of him. When he opened them again, he was struck by the beauty of his boyfriend.

Aither was floating a few meters above the ground, golden light emitting from his whole body. He looked even more like a Greek god than usual. Still, his eyes were furious.

“You dare attack me?”, Aither’s voice resonated through the arena. “A mere human challenges an elder god?”

It was Aither’s voice but at the same time it wasn’t. It sounded deeper, fuller. Divine. Then he attacked Antís.

Aither raised his arm and shot a ray of light from his palm. Antís could only raise his own arms in defense. There was no dodging this attack. However, death didn’t come. Instead he heard some sort of explosion erupting right in front of him, shaking his whole body and pressing him back into the wall. When he lowered his arms he saw white wings of pure energy surrounding him, shielding him from incoming attacks.

“You are protected by a god”, Aither remarked. He had floated closer to the ground, observing Antís’s shield. “How come?”

Finally Antís found his speech back.

“It must be my mothers. I knew she made some preparations, but this”, when he moved his arms the wings followed, “this is new.” He focused back on the god. “Wanna attack me again or will you release my boyfriend now?”

“Boyfriend?”, the god raised his arms again, turning them around as if to inspect them. “Ah. Then this must be my son’s body. It explains the fresh feeling. He has grown into a prime youth, I must admit.”

Antís grew impatient. He didn’t really want to converse with his boyfriend’s father while the latter was occupying his body. At least he understood by now who was talking to.

“Hello, I’m literally standing here”, he waved to get the protogonos’ attention. “I know you’re a Greek god and all that, but can you stop simping over your son’s body and get out of it? I would really like to talk to him.”

By now his wings had started to dissolve, but Antís didn’t mind that. Aither had lost all the hostility he showed the demigod before.

“I don’t know if I can, to be honest”, the god tried to explain. “This has never happened before.”

“Then can you just come down here”, Antís beckoned him over impatiently. “I wanna try something.”

Curious, the god floated closer, sensing no ill intention from the demigod. When he was in reach Antís grabbed him by the shirt and yanked him the rest of the way down to him. Confused, Aither stared at him, then his eyes widened as Antís had closed the distance and kissed him hard on the mouth.

When the others feet touched the ground Antís slung his arms around Aither’s neck, pulling him even closer while standing on his tip-toes to properly reach the god. After a few seconds, he began moving his lips, turning the raw press into a slow sensual make-out, just like before everything went down.

It took him a bit to notice the pressure on his chest. Aither’s hands were trying to gently push him away. Giving in, he slowly seperated and descended back onto his heels, keeping his gaze cast down onto the wrinkled shirt, the god wore over his chiseled upper body. Then he felt the other’s hand moving, cupping his jaw gently and moving his head upwards. When he met Aither’s eyes relief washed through Antís. The glow had completely disappeared. Although still a little shining, Aither’s irises had reverted back to their normal dark golden colour.

“What just happened?”, the god asked him.

Antís only smiled. He pulled Aither closer and pressed his forehead against the other’s chest.

“I’m not quite sure”, he admitted. “Let’s-. No. Maybe we should talk about it tomorrow morning. It’ll be better to investigate in broad daylight.”

Silently, Aither chuckled and laid his chin on Antís head, hugging him back.

“If you say so. Then do you still wanna do something else instead?”

Antís’ giggles were muffled by the cloth in his face.

“I think you promised me your body earlier”, he proposed. “And I did win that fight, I think.” He let go of Aither and caught his gaze again.

“Okay, first of all that is not quite how I remember our earlier conversation and second”, Aither held his hand over Antís’ mouth to stop him from protesting, “since I already got knocked into a wall today I won't be getting pressed into a mattress tonight either.”

Antís gave him a look.

“I hit a wall too, just so you know, but”, he raised his voice to silence his boyfriend, “you know I have no problem obeying you in bed. So, if you wanna take the reins today, I think I can handle it.” He tip-toed again to peck Aither on the lips one last time. Then Antís turned around and began walking towards the arena’s exit. When he turned back after a few meters he saw Aither still checking him out from behind.

“You coming or do I need to prepare myself all alone?” He was satisfied when he saw the golden blush creeping up on Aither’s cheeks. In a flash, the god was walking beside him.

“You do know, if you want my magic fingers to be of any help to you, all you need to do is ask.”

This time Antís was the one blushing, but he wasn’t done. He would have the last word in this discussion.

“Maybe I don’t want just your fingers.” He winked at Aither, who just stared at him, mouth open in a response that would never come. This night was far from over.


***************************************************************************************


Now


Sahari was hurt. She had never witnessed her boyfriend like this. Still, Antís remained calm, it looked like he knew what was happening. But to be honest, that didn't stop her worry. On the contrary, that the demigod didn't explain the situation made everything worse to her. Again, she thought back to the conversation in the Heimdallr's control room.


“I know you guys have a lot of questions”, Antís had cut off their confused shouting, “but since we have Aither back, I'd say mission accomplished. You guys are free to go, we'll take it from here.”

That last part was addressed to the control team, but of course they wouldn't just give in. Erica, who had apparently inherited her father's stubbornness, spoke up.

“What's that supposed to mean? You guys weren't part of this mission to begin with”, she pointed out. “If someone's gonna be in charge of the aftermath, it should be us.”

“No Erica, he's right”, Bastet cut in. “This one's over your head.”

They all looked around, but could find no trace of the goddess. Seeing their confusion, Shin, who had just been hovering in the air the whole time, cleared their throat. Only Sahari, Antís and Aither could see the
shinigami, but they still pointed to the floor.

“Down here, you idiots”, Bastet addressed all of them at this moment. Together, the group looked at the small cat sitting before them. “What?”, the goddess asked, annoyed. “I need to recharge.” Nobody deemed a response appropriate.

After a few more arguments concerning the topic at hand, they finally settled on the control group finishing up here and evaluating the data they acquired in the fight with Kek and Kauket, while Antís and Sahari would take the still blindingly glowing Aither to attend a meeting with the higher-ups. Bastet vanished to get Heimdallr himself and the leader of the whole Department of Relations and Supervision, of which the Heimdallr were only a branch.

Nobody had addressed Sahari directly and since Aither hadn’t even looked at her properly she held herself back. She wouldn’t admit it, but she was afraid of what would come next.


What came next was Antís announcing they had arrived. Sahari flinched. She hadn’t paid attention to her surroundings, so now standing before Athena’s mansion did surprise her. Still, she trusted Antís to have a reason for bringing them here. He led the group right into the inner rectangular courtyard, where the witch’s house sat still and silent, then he turned around to face them. Immediately, Sahari recognized the fake smile on his lips. There was definitely something off.

“So, this is my mom’s place and since she isn’t here right now, I’d like you not to disturb anything. Just take a seat on the benches if you like and I will be going to get some refreshments. Sahari”, he addressed her, “would you like to help me carry everything back from the kitchen.”

Normally, she would have slapped him. That tone in combination with the suggestion of playing housemaid did trigger her, but Antís’ intention was obvious. In the kitchen they would be alone, they could talk freely.

"Why not?" she fake-grudgingly agreed “Lead the way.”

It was time to get some answers.


Antís lead her through a door adjacent to the courtyard. It wasn’t the kitchen she realized, but more like a big storage. Wine jars, olive branches, grape vines and cheese wheels filled the shelfs on the walls. When she closed the door behind her and turned around, Antís was rummaging through some cabinets at the other end of the room. It seemed like he was searching for dishes, already holding three cups between the fingers of his left hand. Quickly, Sahari closed the distance between them.

When she reached him, she grabbed his shirt and yanked him upwards, forcing him to stand up. Then she turned him around and pressed him against the cabinet.

“You have exactly three seconds to explain what's going on with my boyfriend right now!” She had reached her limit. No secrets anymore.

However, Antís didn’t seem to be surprised by her outbreak. Apologetic, he raised his arms and placed the cups onto the cabinet behind him.

“That’s the thing. He’s not your boyfriend”, he said.

Sahari froze, which allowed Antís to free his shirt from her grasp. As if nothing happened, he opened a drawer from the cabinet and pulled out a long knife. Then he walked over to an already cut open cheese wheel and began slicing a few stripes of it. It seemed he wanted to entertain his guests after all.

“He’s not my-”, Sahari started weakly.

“No”, Antís confirmed. Satisfied with the amount of cheese he grabbed three plates and draped the slices onto them. Then he grabbed the nearest grape vine and pulled a few branches off of it.

“Then who-”

“It’s his father.”

Finally, Antís stilled. He placed the grapes onto the plates next to the cheese, then he turned to Sahari, bracing himself on the shelf behind him.

“You remember his story? About how the Aither we know came into existence?”, he asked.

Sahari only nodded. She was afraid of what would come out of her mouth, when she opened it.

“It seems that under special circumstances the part his father had placed inside him to bring him to life can take over the body”, Antís explained.

“What special circumstances?”

The demigod shook his head.

“When he is hurt or in danger, but the full specifics, we don’t know.”

Sahari could tell that Antís didn’t like not knowing this. He seemed distressed. Still, the demigod continued.

“It’s different from my mom’s blessing. I’m still in charge of my actions, but Aither? He doesn’t even remember what happens in this situation. His father suppresses his mind.”

“You have seen that happening before.” It wasn’t a question, although it sure sounded like one.

“Once”, Antís admitted. “We were told not to worry. That there would be countermeasures taken to prevent that from happening again.”

“Well, whatever they did, they failed big time”, the magician stated.

"To be fair our opponent wasn't exactly weak.” Antís' voice grew silent when he saw the exasperated look in her eyes. “But yeah. Ultimately, it didn't work out.”

“How do we bring him back?”, Sahari asked. “Is there a magic or-”

“No, no, luckily, there is something else we can do”, the demigod interrupted. He seemed eager to comfort Sahari. “We just have to surprise him. Any kind of shock should work.”

Too easy, was Sahari's first thought. Then she reflected on this new information again. She noticed Antís left out a detail.

“What did you do last time?”, she inquired.

“Oh, uhm. I, kind of-”, the demigod stammered.

Sahari raised her eyebrows. Antís only sighed.

“Ok, I kissed him”, he admitted. “ I mean, that was when we were still-, you know, so-”

“Yeah, I figured that much.”

“Right.”

He was embarrassed, cheeks even sprouting a faint blush. He was still crushing on Aither. Not that Sahari was surprised or even minded. The god was her current boyfriend, she knew his appeal. In addition, since their break-up Aither had treated Antís just like a friend. She almost felt bad for the poor guy, wouldn’t it have been for the fact that her relationship was the result of that. Still, right now she felt guilty for being happy about that. His expression had darkened considerably, as it did every time this past relationship was mentioned.

“We should go back”, Sahari broke the uncomfortable silence. “They’re probably wondering what’s taking so long.”

For a moment, Antís didn’t react. Then he nodded affirmingly.

“Yeah, let’s go back”, he whispered.

The demigod turned around and grabbed the plates. With his hands full, Sahari took the three cups he had picked earlier. On their way out, she grabbed one of the wine bottles from the wall. She never had wine before, but this seemed like a good starting point.

Together they left the storage room and went back into the courtyard. Shin and Aither, the protogonos Aither Sahari had to remind herself, were deep in conversation.

“You decided on what to do?”, Antís muttered.

“I thought about trying your way, to be honest”, she admitted.

“Seriously?”, he asked. “Aith never said you were such a romantic.”

She gave him a look, after which he tried to raise his arms defensively. It looked pretty odd with the way he was still holding the plates and tried no to spill anything.

“Well, here goes nothing.”

She stepped forward and approached the two gods. On the way, she placed the cups and bottle of wine on a nearby table. Then Aither noticed her. When he saw her serious expression, he addressed her for the first time directly.

“Is everything alright? Has something happened?”

Sahari looked at him. His lips were shining golden too.

“No, no, everything’s fine”, she shrugged. Then she whispered something.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that, to be honest.” Aither leaned himself down to get a better look at her.

He didn’t see the fist until it connected with his face.


Shin wondered where exactly their non-life had taken a wrong turn. They had been existing, peacefully searching for their purpose and then the next moment their promised soul threw them right into the biggest mess the mythical world faced in these times.

They had been talking with the primordial god. He had never seen or even heard of a shinigami before, so Shin's existence intrigued him very much. At least, that was until the magical girl walked up to them and punched the god right in the face. Shin heard bones cracking, his nose was probably broken. The force of the punch sent the god flying backwards. He was only stopped by one of the pillars framing the courtyard, smashing back-first against it.

Suddenly, Shin felt the pull which connected them to Antís since their first meeting grew stronger. The demigod was approaching them too, placing three plates? full of food next to a few cups on a garden table.

“What did you do?”, he asked the magician.

“Strength spell”, she responded. “Works every time.”

“What happened to trying the romantic way?” He was distressed, Shin could tell. But why, that eluded the spirit's mind. They were not that interested in knowing all about the demigod’s relations with other beings. If it was important they would catch up on the way.

“I thought about it, but to be honest, you’re right.” She turned to Antís. “I’m not that romantic.”

Shin had missed quite a bit of conversation they realized.

“What just happened?”

“I punched my boyfriend to rid him of his possession”, Sahari boasted.

“Possession? He seemed pretty fine to me”, the spirit asked.

“It’s not really possession in the way we know it”, Antís cut in. “It’s not an evil entity trying to take over his body but a part that’s already in there. And maybe we shouldn’t just stand here and wait for something to happen.”

“If you wanna go there and check on him, be my guest”, Sahari gestured to the collapsed pile of god by the pillar.

Nobody moved.

After a few moments, the body shifted. Then he groaned and tried to sit up. No success.

“Fucking Hell!”, he exclaimed.

Antís and Sahari exchanged a look.

“It’s him.”

“It’s him.”

Shin followed their thought.

“Your boyfriend?”

“Yes”, Sahari confirmed.

“Long story”, Antís sighed.

They looked at the demigod.

“Oh, you meant- Nevermind”, he waved it off.

Before anybody could respond to that, Antís’ phone dinged.

“They’re here, Boss. You might want to check the front door”, Hermes chimed when Antís had pulled the phone out of his pocket.

“I’ll be right there”, the demigod answered and the screen turned black again. “You have it under control here?”

“I can handle our grumpy shiny boy”, Sahari waved, “don’t worry about it.”

After one last look at the sunken god, Antís turned to Shin.

“Wanna come with me? I’ll introduce you to our guests.” Then the demigod walked back towards the doorway, they had come through. When Sahari began approaching her boyfriend Shin deemed it time to leave as well.

Antís was already through the front door, when Shin caught up with him. They were actually astonished by the sheer presence of the gods that had gathered in front of the mansion. For being a powerless mortal the boy sure had contacts.

“Well, finally something of interest in this boring place", one of the gods exclaimed when they stepped out of the house. The clothes she wore only covered the parts of her body that absolutely needed to be covered by the laws of most first-world governments down on earth.

Antís chuckled.

“And good day to you too, Lady Ištar”, he greeted the goddess.

She gave him a glance.

“When you call, it never is a good day”, she reprimanded him. “But, let’s see what you have this time. I’m sure it will be worth my while after all the trouble you have caused.” With these final words, she stormed past Antís into the mansion, the other gods trailing behind her.

The demigod scratched the back of his head.

“She’s always like this”, he tried explaining. “But she does care. Deep down, somewhere.”

“This is your council?”, the kami inquired.

“They’re in charge and know about our situations so yeah”, he admitted. “They’re all we have right now.” He turned around and wanted to follow the entourage he had invited, but before he could step into the door, Shin held their hand out and stopped him.

“Wha-”

“Wow. That really hurts, you walking away from me like that.” The voice had Antís stop dead in his tracks. He threw his head back and slowly turned around. “Missed me?”, the fox asked. To be honest, Shin had not thought they would see her again anytime soon.

Antís' smile was strained.

“Hi, Zenko.”


The gods had already assembled in the courtyard, when Antís and his companions entered. Sahari had chartered the still groaning Aither onto a nearby bench. She held a pack of ice onto his damaged nose. He briefly wondered where she got it, then he remembered she was magic. The cat hosting Bastet was sitting on Aither’s other side, keeping a close eye on the god. Perun, head of the slavic pantheon stood before Hut, a hand extended to the house door, eyes closed. Heimdallr and Ištar stood a bit apart from the others, talking quietly. Amaterasu awaited them at the doorway. She nodded to Shin and Zenko who continued walking and found themselves a spot in this group round.

“You have powerful allies”, Amaterasu neighed her head and whispered to him.

“I wouldn’t call them allies just yet”, he responded just as quietly. “We share a common interest. I helped them, work for them. These relationships have been pretty one-sided so far.”

“Don’t sell yourself short”, she advised him. “You children are far more valuable to us than you think.”

“Because we believe in you, you mean?” Belief was the god’s primary power source. There were others of course, but just like in the old days a god grew in importance the more followers they had.

“That too”, the kami admitted. “But you are also our mirror. Every flaw we possess, grows only stronger in our children. It shows us when we’re at fault even if we don’t admit it out loud. You remind ourselves what we are and what we stand for.”

“Reassuring”, Antís said. The goddess gave him a look. “But I understand your point”, he admitted. “It’s just not easy being the one they’re pointing their fingers at.”

“Oh, she’ll come around.” His implication had been obvious. “You know her deal. Either she asserts herself through flattery or by force. There’s no in-between.”

“I know”, he sighed. Then he paused. “You ready?”

Amaterasu raised her brows.

“Are you?”

Antís didn’t respond. Instead he closed his eyes and tried to calm his breathing. When opened them again, he saw that all other conversations had stopped. Their eyes lay on him. Briefly, he panicked, then he caught the gaze of one specific person. When Aither nodded Antís let his head sink on his chest. He chuckled.

He lifted it again, looked around and caught the glances of everyone present.


“Gods”, he nodded to Perun, Heimdallr and Ištar, “spirits”, Zenko’s tails waved in the air, “and other beings”, his gaze briefly stuck to Hut sitting quietly in the far end. “We all know why we are here. Still, I want to thank you all for coming on such short notice, whoever told you about this meeting.” Zenko had found some dirt between her shiny claws and was too busy cleaning them. “Everyone of us knows bits and pieces of the events of the last few days, so I asked you to come here to share, to discuss and to connect what is connected. I think everyone here knows my part of the story. If you don’t mind then I’d like to hear yours. ”

For a few moments nobody said anything. Then a groan broke the silence.

“Ok, then I’ll start. I just thought you would have some consideration given my damaged state.”

Antís couldn’t contain his smile. Aither wasn’t known for his patience.

“For the ones not involved with the Heimdallr's recent scouting mission, Aither had been investigating a distress signal in a Prison Level layer of the duat”, Antís clarified.

“He was hurt on this mission?”, Ištar inquired.

“Not quite. Let's just hear what he has to say” Antís tried to console her. She grumbled, but didn't question them further.

“We found no trace of anything that could have sent the signal.” Aither spoke rather funny. The broken nose clearly affected his speech. He didn't let that bother him though and continued. “Just as I was on my way back I was attacked by some mass of shadows. I have no idea what it was, if I'm honest. All I know is, it kept reading my movements until it closed in on me and enveloped me from all sides. The world became black and I think I heard a voice or two, then, well, nothing. I woke up there on the floor”, he gestured to the pillar, “with a hurting back and a broken nose.”

“That last part is relatively easily explained”, Antís began. “When you passed out your father took over to rid you of this Darkness you faced. He controlled your body until we decided to get you back, so we-”

“punched me?!”, the god interrupted

“Don’t look at me, I didn’t do anything”, Antís raised his arms defensely. Aither looked around searching for the culprit, but all of the others were wearing their poker face. He didn’t seem to even think of the possibility of Sahari being responsible, with the innocent expression she wore. He sighed.

“At least, that explains why my face hurts so much.”

“Yes, although we were assured this wouldn’t happen again, it’s a really simple explanation”, Antís confirmed.

“The seal must have worn off already”, Heimdallr interjected. “You should visit Hecate again or maybe someone with stronger magical capabilities to prevent it from happening again. But what worries me more is the part that came before your father.”

“You should’ve been there Watcher”, Bastet addressed him. “The whole team went from sleeping peacefully straight to alarm mode. Their reactions were quite amazing given the circumstances, although they couldn’t do anything until Antís and Sahari arrived.”

“You called them into an ongoing mission?” Ištar’s question was hesitant but nonetheless threatening.

“What would you have expected me to do? Stand by and do nothing while Aither gets devoured? No. Sahari and Antís know his abilities the most, we needed their judgement.” The cat’s reasoning was impenetrable as usual. “And with everything that has been going on lately, I figured Antís would find out sooner rather than later. So, to prevent him from overthinking everything he has done since the witch’s death, I thought it would be best to give him the chance of an immediate reaction.”

“Could you at least identify this mass of shadows?” Ištar wasn’t fully convinced, but it would do for now.

“Kek, Kauket or both of them”, Antís answered her question.

The silence that followed that statement was deafening. Kek and Kauket were the primordial deities of darkness in egyptian mythology and part of the Ogdoad creation myth. They were older than time itself, older than most pantheons. So far only Ra, the egyptian sun god was rumored to have directly interacted with them. To have them appear in the middle of a Heimdallr scouting mission could only mean one thing.

“The balance is truly disrupted if the elders are truly waking up from their slumber”, Ištar concluded.

“Yeah, again, sorry for that.” Antís scratched the back of his head embarrassed.

You stop that, right now!” Ištar couldn't hold herself back anymore and began pacing towards Antís. “This is not your fault entirely or did you really think Baba Yaga was that important to keep the balance on scale. There are forces moving beyond your imagination, beyond our imagination even. Your act was only the tip of the iceberg that damaged the ship, now there is water flooding our vessel and it lies in our responsibility to fix that hole, do you understand me?” The goddess had approached the demigod and pressed her index finger into his chest.

To say Antís was surprised was an understatement. He almost trembled with fear because of the ruthlessness with which she stated the facts. But he also knew that she was right. He had to stop blaming himself for everything that is going down right now, even if it had started with him killing the witch.

“Then what do we do?” His voice quivered, but he didn’t care. They were his friends, his family, his home. Nobody would judge him for making mistakes. Even if they threatened the whole world.

Ištar’s gaze softened.

“This is your meeting. You’re the strategist. You tell me.”

They held gazes for a few seconds. When Antís nodded, the goddess blinked and retreated to her empty spot. The group looked expectantly at Antís, but the demigod had already chosen his next steps.

“Perun”, he addressed the god of thunder. The Slav perked up. “Could Lord Odin identify the magic swirling around the witch’s forest?”

“Unfortunately, nothing worth the effort”, the god admitted. “There were only remnants left and since we weren’t able to get her coven to respond, Odin had no help he could rely on. What he could identify is most likely from the potions and vials spilled inside the cabin. It was probably spread all over the place because the cabin moved around to avoid the witches’ attacks.”

“You mean the remains I found when I first investigated Hut”, Antís asked for clarification.

“My Heimdallr cleaned the cabin when you were unconscious after the battle”, the Lord of the Bifrost confirmed. “We bagged the vials as best as we could and brought them to the Heaven, the rest was destroyed. A team is currently analyzing the samples and comparing them to the data the All-Father collected. If they find anything different I will be informed and can share the information with you, but we're just grasping for straws here, to be honest.”

“Still, thank you, Lord Heimdallr.” Antís paused. “Something bothers me about what you said, Perun.” The god furrowed his eyebrows. “You said something along the line of the magic being spilled inside-”

“No, the potions were spilled inside the cabin, Hut, if you like to call it that. They are the source of the magic you saw”, Perun repeated.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought was off”, Antís exclaimed. “How did the vials break in the first place?”

He could see the confusion in some faces. Sahari gave them a voice.

“Couldn’t they just haven fallen out of the cabin’s closets? I mean, it has closets, right?”

Antís looked a bit dumb-founded. Then he realized something.

“You guys have no idea how Hut works, do you?” He gestured to the entity in question. Some looks followed his out-stretched arm and observed the cabin’s facade.

“Would you like to enlighten them?”, Shin spoke up. Antís hadn’t expected them to talk at all. But it was true, they, Zenko and Perun were the only ones who had already seen Hut’s interior. The others were clueless about the cabin’s capabilities.

“Hut has telekinetic abilities. It has full control of it’s interior items and can move them freely the way it likes. Even while moving itself it should be able to stop a few falling vials from breaking on the floor.”

“Even while dodging its master’s attacks?”, Heimdallr asked.

“It remodeled two whole rooms for me. I think you underestimate its capabilities”, Antís interjected.

Again they all stared at Antís. Then they looked at Hut.

“What else?”, Ištar asked. She tried an innocent tone, but given her position as a department leader in the United Heaven Antís knew she had an ulterior motive. He squinted at her.

“If you read the first report you should know”, he said,

She turned around again and only grinned at him. Heimdallr took her silence as a sign to continue.

“Camouflage, although the whole extent needs to be evaluated, according to your report. The wolf’s scratch marks couldn’t be covered up, although it seems they have healed by now, if you can call it that.”

A moment of silence washed over the group once more, as they investigated the hut’s facade. Then Antís directed their thoughts back to the topic at hand.

“I’d like to propose a course of events which may have happened in the witch’s woods based on the information we just gathered”, he started. The other participant’s attention was immediately drawn to him. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but we know that the witch somehow transformed into a wolf and attacked her loyal servant. With the broken vials inside Hut, I think Baba Yaga was conducting some sort of magic...ritual...or some- I have no idea what crazy witches normally do but I think that’s the moment she was turned.” He could see others face twisting, from confusion (Aither) to thoughtful (Heimdallr) to understanding (Amaterasu).

“You’re saying the mess was caused because the witch thrashed around while transforming”, the goddess concluded.

“Most likely”, Antís confirmed. “I’m guessing Hut could sense her hostility and telekinetically threw her out. I don’t know if that action triggered her so much that she became violent or if that was predestined.”

“That’s not important anymore, I am more worried about something else”, Perun responded. “If what you’re saying is true it means Baba Yaga was attacked in her own home. A safe place no one should be able to infiltrate, except with magic or by brutal force.”

“And if she wasn’t ‘infiltrated’ as you called it?” Zenko raised her head from her paws and slowly blinked. “If she knew her attacker then she may not have had a reason to keep them out.”

As these words sank in, grim expressions showed on the god’s faces. Her assessment sounded too fitting to not be true.

“Which means we’re now searching for gods with personal ties to Baba Yaga”, Heimdallr summarised. “That really narrows it down.” His voice dripped with sarcasm.

“Maybe it does.” All eyes turned back to Antís, although the demigod was too deep in thought to notice. Instead he played with something inside his jacket. “I think I have something that can help us”, he said and pulled the item out of his pocket. The raven feather shone black, although that could also be a trick of the sunlight. He had cleaned it earlier that day while Hut brought them to Rome.

When he saw the questioning looks, he shrugged his shoulders.

“You know about the magic still keeping the animals from the parts of the forest the hunt went through. However, I found this feather in one of their footprints when I followed them that day.”

Amaterasu had followed his thought

“But that could only mean-”

“That the attacker may have left us a clue”, the demigod agreed. He grinned.

They were back in the game.


***************************************************************************************


The Raven cawed.

The cave’s entrance was dark and still. The last tremor had been at least an hour ago. It was tempting to just fly in there but now was not the time. The situation was too dangerous. They would catch up to her soon, so she needed to lay low. Still, she didn’t worry. There were gods that would help her.

A second Raven descended next to her onto the branch. This one had done a marvelous job and was quite exhausted. Luckily, she had enough energy to bring them to their destination.

After a brief exchange of information they had decided on what to do next. It was time to search for their sister.


Notes:

*A protogonos is a primordial being in greek mythology. "Chaos" was the first god and birthed Tartaros (Abyss), Pontos (Sea), Gaia (Earth), Nyx (Night) and Erebos (Darkness), in some sources even Eros (Love). Aither and his sister Hemera (Day) were one of the first children born to Nyx.

Chapter 8: A Heaven's Operation

Summary:

The meeting concludes. It is time to make the investigation official. But before diving right in, the team needs to tie some lose ends.

Chapter Text

Aither stared at the feather, Antís held proudly aloft. It seemed important, at least it sounded like it. Still, the pain in his nose kept him from listening to the whole conversation. He really needed a healer soon. Whoever had punched him seemed to have a really strong right hook. Or left one, for that matter. Meanwhile, Antís had continued with his speech. Aither wouldn’t dare admit it, but the demigod’s voice was rather soothing in his dazed state.

“If we investigate it, we may be able to identify the one responsible for my mess, at least”, Antís stated.

“How do you want to do that? You only have a spirit of death, a sentient house and no magic at your disposal”, Ištar reprimanded him.

Antís seemed taken aback by that statement, but quickly recovered.

“Then, Lady Ištar, I ask you to make this an official investigation regarding the safety of whole Mythos.”

Mythos was the official term the pantheons used in regards to the whole mythical world. It was used by forces of order and chaos alike. Before, the pantheons had used different words, which all had carried the same meaning. When the United Pantheons were formed, they needed one term for all of them, thus Mythos was established. For Antís using that term under the given circumstances, it meant to him that their whole existence was at stake.

“Strong words for a mere demigod”, the goddess of sex and war remarked and raised an eyebrow, then she shrugged. “But very well, I think we all understand the sincerity of the situation. Heimdallr”, she turned to the other god, ”Antís will be no longer available for your missions. He will directly answer to me in this matter. The same goes for any additional members he asks to accompany him”, she instructed the Watcher.

Heimdallr and Antís bowed, then the demigod spoke up again.

“How many team members am I allowed to recruit?”

“Technically, as much as you like. You will need all the help you can get, I am afraid. But be aware that they may have other responsibilities you need to honor as well”, Ištar answered.

“You’re going to stay with me, right?”, Antís asked.

At first, Aither was confused as to who was addressed. He had already formed a response himself, when the black figure hovering between Amaterasu and the white fox started to talk.

“Naturally. Where else would I be?”

“Just wanted to make sure”, the demigod answered.

Aither squinted his eyes. This was a very interesting and dangerous development. He made a mental note to speak to Antís in private, when he could think clearly again. Then the demigod turned to them.

“Will you two join me as well?”

He was nervous, Aither could tell. He rolled his eyes and sat up.

“Yeah, no, I’m gonna sit this one out and wait until my nose has regenerated by itself”, he mocked. “Of course, I’m going. Why do you even bother asking?”

Antís didn’t deem that worthy of a reaction.

“Sahari?”

She quickly thought about it. Her nose crunched up with these cute little wrinkles, like every time her thoughts were racing. Then she agreed as well.

“Okay. While saving the world, I’ll probably learn new spells as well. Thoth probably won't even notice I’m gone until I return and apologize for having been away so long.”

The other gods nodded in amusement. It was true, the ibis god was too deep in his studies to notice such a thing.

“Then, last but not least”, Antís continued. “Zenko? Would you like to accompany us?”

The fox blinked at him. Then she began laughing, which was in her fox form reduced to little yaps and howls, fur standing on edge and her nine tails waving in the air. The shinigami and Perun took a few steps to their respective other side to avoid getting hit by them. When the kitsune had recovered she fixed her piercing gaze back onto the demigod.

“I work alone”, she clarified. “That will not change even in times of crisis. You may contact me when needed, but otherwise I’ll have things to do. Maybe I’ll even answer the phone this time.”

Aither didn’t like the grin she was giving Antís. If he didn’t know that the demigod had no interest in women, he would have felt very uncomfortable for his friend. She looked like a predator seductively luring her prey. The demigod however only raised his eyebrows.

“Fine, we’ll come back to you if we need your assistance. I’m sure the Heimdallr will compensate you for every help you can give us.” He had turned towards his superiors. Heimdallr who understood the implication nodded.

“Olóòkun of the Yoruba pantheon is the treasure master for the Heimdallr branch. I’m sure if you submit a contract concerning the transaction and with Antís’ signature they will grant you compensation according to the usual heavenly standards.”

The fox’s grin had turned sour. The ‘usual heavenly standards‘ were far underneath what the spirit seemed to be used to.

“Of course”, she was far too smart to talk back to the god. “It is for the sake of Mythos, right?”

Aither was getting sleepy, This whole conversation had been reduced to strained formalities. He tried to hide his yawn underneath the ice pack sitting on his face, but the observant Antís still noticed him moving.

“I see, I’ve been keeping you here for quite a while now”, he chuckled. “Still, before we close this meeting I want to ask some last questions if you are up for it?”

When no one objected, he continued.

“Lady Amaterasu, how have Kuzenbo and his army been holding up?”

“They have been keeping quiet so far, but I have intel about movements in the chinese sea. They seem to have taken your words to heart and are slowly expanding on territory.”

“Let’s just hope the Jade Emperor doesn’t complain about these developments in the next Council meeting”, Perun remarked.

“I’ll handle him. Our lands have been neighbors for centuries, so if he complains he has to go through me”, the sun goddess responded.

“Then that’s settled”, Antís stated. “Last question goes to Sahari.”

The magician’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Me?”

“Well, yeah. You wanted to tell me what happened in Rome, when Bastet texted us. Something about a cyclops that hit you on the head? I thought it wasn’t that important, so I wanted to wrap everything else up first.”

Every being with eyes in the courtyard turned them on Sahari.

“Ah, yes. Well, that’s quite an embarrassing story, to be honest”, she rubbed her neck. “I was searching for Lupa in the Colosseum when I noticed a blocked doorway in one of the walls. After I had magicked the barrier away, I could descend into some sort of cellar, quite the labyrinth honestly. No lights, rusty armour and stuff, it was really deserted. Except for the cyclops who had been smithing shiny new weapons in a little forge. There were rows and rows of swords and spears and shields and so on. I didn’t see him at first, so he snuck up on me and knocked me out. When I woke up he carried the weapons through a portal. Then I was saved by Lupa who came out of nowhere and attacked him which forced him to leave as well. No idea what would have happened otherwise.”

“Let me get this straight”, Ištar prevailed over the questions of the others, ”you went down to Earth without godly protection although that should have been mandatory at that moment and decided it was a good idea to investigate a blocked cellar screaming for professionals by yourself, although you are not part of the Heimdallr in the first place?”

The magician furrowed her brows.

“I am not helpless, if I may remind you of that, Lady Ištar.” Her tone was pretty tense. It wasn’t easy to irritate her, but to question her judgement and abilities was one of the few things that could. As the Eye of Thoth she was one of the most capable magicians in the whole Heaven. The god had chosen her as his representative over various others, some way more older and experienced than she. Ištar questioning Sahari meant she was questioning Thoth. The goddess seemed to realise what she had just accused her of. She didn’t apologise, why would she, but she didn’t comment further and instead focused on another target.

“I’m gonna speak to that old geezer again. One could think that with his two faces he had double the brain capacity instead of the half he steadily displays”, she lamented. “Antís, I will make sure you get limitless access to the portalways. Sahari can help you with that.” The attempt to acknowledge the magician was futile but necessary because of the looks with which Sahari still pierced the goddess.

“Thank you, Lady Ištar”, Antís tried no to be bothered by the tense atmosphere, “but now I have a counter-question.”

Aither saw Sahari relax beside him, now that the demigod had the god’s attention again. He reached for her hand, which she gratefully accepted, smiling shyly at him. When he turned his gaze back to Antís, he saw the fox still looking at them. When she noticed his gaze, she grinned, showing her pointy teeth. Aither shivered. He did not like her.

“When there really are monsters secretly preparing weapons for whatever, I would feel more at ease, if we had godly assistance.” Apparently he saw Aither wanting to object, so he specified. “-experienced godly assistance.” At that Aither shrugged. Antís had a valid point, his some twenty years were nothing compared to the thousand of years of the other gods.

Ištar however seemed not convinced.

“And your question?”

“Do you have a spare god that would be willing to accompany us on our quest?”, Antís asked.

“I know you are very afraid of me, but you can just ask me directly”, the cat to Aither’s left interrupted.

“You have other responsibilities, Bastet, I wouldn’t dare-”

“Oh, shut the crap. We both know my obligations are not as fixed as those of other gods, given my state.”

Why Bastet was the only god who needed a host body even in the Heaven was an open secret. Nobody talked about it, although all knew of her role in fighting Apep. Only a small fraction of her presence had remained after Ra ordered her to fight the serpent. Then the sun god had sealed the prison containing the two deities engaged in an endless battle, separating her main body forever from the outside world. The rest of her consciousness was forced to rely on hosts, only being able to be her true self every once and a while.

“I will oversee the progress Erica, Alsam and the others have made while we were talking here and then I am going to take a long nap. When I have recharged I will find you, so make sure to not run into any trouble beforehand.” The look she gave Antís was supposed to be terrifying, but because of the cat’s soft features it was rather cute, Aither had to admit.

“Then can we return to the topic where there are cyclops forging weapons in secret underneath the Colosseum?”, Amaterasu directed the attention back to Sahari’s adventure. “I think it is rather concerning and would like to add that to your list of things to investigate, Antís.”

“Agreed”, Heimdallr said. “I will check back with the Department of Armament and Equipment, but I doubt that they are going to be of any help in that matter.”

Antís nodded, taking this new information in and putting them in the strictly organised shelves of his mind. Aither had loved this brain as much as it drove him crazy sometimes. The boy remembered almost every useless detail, he noticed.

Suddenly, Aither felt another yawn incoming and this time he was too slow to cover it up. When he was finished he saw various gods silently chuckling.

“Antís?”, Ištar addressed the demigod deep in thought.

“Hm?”, the boy perked up.

“I think it is time to close up for today”, she said.

With furrowed brows Antís looked around. When he and Aither locked gazes, the demigod's eyes widened and his cheeks flushed.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to keep you up so long”, he apologised.

“Just get me to a healer already and all is forgiven”, Aither waved it off. He tried to give Antís a timid smile, but he wasn’t sure if his face muscles really worked. He closed his eyes. He didn’t even notice when the voices around him grew silent and he slowly drifted off to sleep.


“How long is this gonna take, exactly?”, Sahari inquired impatiently. Aither had slept like an hour already and made no sign of waking up soon.

“Not long”, the physician responded, trying to hide the amused smile playing around his lips.

Sahari scoffed. Aesculapius was one to talk. The Roman god of healing served as the field physician for the Heimdallr. He knew best how to treat battle wounds while his Greek form was a master surgeon.

Antís and Shin were currently of no help either. The demigod had leaned onto a nearby pillar with his eyes closed after he had carried Aither here on his back. One could almost think of him as one of those Greek statues wouldn't it have been for his steadily rising and sinking chest, a sign that he was still breathing. The shinigami was floating around, inspecting every cabinet and bed of the sick bay. Since Aither was currently the only occupant, Aesculapius had allowed them free reign.

Unsatisfied, Sahari thought back to the end of their meeting. After Ištar had checked on Aither and could confirm he had just fallen asleep their group decided to disband. Bastet and Heimdallr left first, they wanted to check on the control team analysing the Darkness’ data. Perun gave Hut one last look before saying Goodbye as well, followed by Amaterasu. While Ištar took Antís a bit to the side, Sahari had noticed the kitsune, Zenko apparently, had already left without bidding farewell. Sahari had wondered what she looked like in human form. Then Ištar stormed past her bench and Antís walked up to them. He had lifted Aither without a word and slung the dreaming god across his back, giving him some sort of a piggyback ride.

The walk to Aesculapius had also been silent but unlike before not as awkward. They were all on the same level of information now.

“Why the sullen face?”, a voice beside her interrupted Sahari’s thinking. Aither’s grin was shining bright as usual.

She sprung from her seat and sat on the bed next to the god.

“Nothing, really”, she assured him while cupping his face. “Just been thinking. It’s been a long day.”

“Yeah, I know those.”

For a moment they gazed into each other’s eyes, then Sahari leaned down and kissed him on the lips.

“I’m glad you’re okay”, she whispered when they separated.

“Yeah, me too”, he answered and pulled her in again for another kiss.

“Wow, if you can make out already, then you’ve definitely fully recovered by now”, Aesculapius interrupted. He gestured to Aither to sit up to which the god complied. Aesculapius laid his gloved fingers onto Aither’s nose. “Scream when it hurts”, he instructed. He pinched, pulled and twisted but all he got from Aither were silent chuckles.

“That tickles, you know?”

“So, he is all healed up, no injuries left?”, came the question from Antís who had approached them silently.

“Yeah, he’s good to go”, Aesculapius confirmed. “Just try not to get punched on the nose again anytime soon.” The god stood up and retreated a few steps to give them some privacy.

Aither turned fully to Antís, whose expression Sahari was unable to read.

“See? I’m a god. Nothing to worry about.”

“I see”, the demigod nodded in confirmation. Then he slapped him.

The smack resonated to the room, alerting the shinigami who had paid them no attention until now. Antís turned around without another word and began walking towards the exit.

“Tomorrow morning at Athena’s. Pack some things, we’re gonna be away for a while”, he said over his shoulder. Then he was gone. A moment later, Shin flew past them following the demigod, giving them only a brief glance.

Aesculapius broke the silence.

“Do you want me to-”

“No”, Aither interrupted him. He turned back to Sahari, locking eyes with her. She didn’t comfort him. Why should she? A bruise was already forming on his cheek. “I deserved that.”


Antís didn’t sleep well. He tossed and turned but it was all in vain, so he decided to get up. Mandjet, the solar barque, wouldn’t emerge from the duat for hours. Instead the demigod busied himself in Athena’s private collection, which admittedly was not as rich of materials as the United Library but still a resourceful source of information. He searched for gods with a connection to ravens or even raven gods. For hours Antís studied ancient tomes and scriptures, scanning texts in various languages for any glimpses of deities in question. But ultimately, when Mandjet finally rose into a new day bringing the sun gods back into the heaven, he lost the fight to his exhaustion.

Antís awoke two hours later to the sound of rustling papers and the faint smell of breakfast. Startled, he shifted and suddenly fell down the edge of the divan on which he had been lying, only to be caught by strong hands.

“Easy”, a voice said. Antís could literally hear the grin the cheeky god was displaying. “Just woken up and already trying to hurt yourself, that’s a first.”

If he wouldn’t have been so sleepy, Antís would have slapped Aither again. But in his condition he only blushed and tried to look angry. He wasn’t sure if it was that effective with sleep-ridden eyes.

“Just let me down, you moron or your girlfriend is gonna get jealous”, he complained.

“Actually, the ‘girlfriend’ is too busy cleaning your mess to pay any attention to whatever you gays are doing over there”, a second voice from the other end of the room spoke up.

As Aither turned around, still not making any move of setting Antís back on the ground, the demigod rubbed his eyes to clear his view. Sahari was sitting amidst a chaos of documents, scriptures and open books. It looked like she was trying to order the chaos, to at least make it seem less messy than it actually was, but it looked like she had no idea what she was doing.

“I am not gay, I do enjoy the company of females too, which you should know the best by now”, Aither had furrowed his brows.

“Sweety, we had sex last night. You like things the average straight male would be disgusted by.” She gave him a look. “Which is a good thing, believe me. It really spices up my bedroom arsenal.”

Aither only blinked at her.

“Too much information, guys.” Antís felt only slightly uncomfortable.

Sahari raised her brows.

“And there I thought your relationship had advanced even further than this one. Apparently, everyone is wrong sometimes.”

Finally, Aither had enough of this conversation.

“Can we stop talking about my love life and sexual preferences?”

“Can you let me down?”

“Will you two help me with this chaos, so that Athena doesn’t rip our heads off, when she comes back from her embassy mission?”

“Why are you three already at each other’s throats when we haven’t started with the mission at all?”

They all turned to the fourth figure, hovering in the doorway.

“Who invited them again?”, Sahari asked.

“Antís”, Aither didn’t hesitate to respond. “His Death, his responsibility.”

“I’m gonna ignore that”, the demigod stated and tried wiggling himself out of Aither’s arms. It didn’t work, but it reminded the god of his presence again. Finally, he gently lowered Antís so that his feet touched the ground and then helped him standing upright. The demigod was a bit wobbly at first, some muscles still a bit stiff. Then, Antís looked at the various piles of documents on the floor and sighed.

“You’re right Sahari, Mom’s gonna freak, but I smell breakfast. Let me eat something and then I’ll be awake enough to remember where I pulled all these from.”

His friends exchanged a look.

“Deal”, Sahari then confirmed. “Let’s see what the spirit came up with.” She stood up and wiped the dust from her skirt and legs.

“Wait.” Irritated Antís turned to the kami, who was still trying to read the room. “You made the food? You don’t even eat!”

Shin only shrugged, then turned and floated away. Sahari walked past Antís and followed them. Aither walked up to the demigod and clasped him on the shoulder.

“Come on, ‘Tas! It surely won’t kill ya.” He winked at him and then left the room as well. Antís could only groan.


“Dish ish shubwisinly gud”, the demigod tried to vocalise his thoughts, but as he was eating scrambled eggs on toast at the same time, he was rather difficult to understand.

The others had gathered around the cooking island as well. While Sahari was sipping pure black coffee, Aither was content enough to steal the scraps which fell from Antís’ toast. The demigod either didn’t notice or he pretended not to care.

Shin observed the three friends while cleaning the pan they had used for making the eggs. Their dynamic was surprisingly more complex than the spirit had originally thought. It seemed that Aither was the centre of the other two's affection, but while Sahari showed it openly, Antís still tried to hide it. Whether out of embarrassment, avoiding an open rivalry with the magician, or for some other reason entirely, eluded Shin’s thoughts. In addition, Antís and Aither also seemed to have some history together, but so far they showed no signs of this being of relevance. Aither completely ignored Antís’ fidgeting when the god took notice of him.

Shin sighed internally. Getting into a love triangle where all the subjects pretended to get along just fine, was not something they had expected to happen after finding their purpose.

The purpose in question was currently still munching along happily. However, Shin could see the dark rings beneath his eyes. They weren’t an expert in human biology, but two hours of sleep seemed not enough for him to recharge. Antís still looked like he could fall asleep any minute. The others seemed to have noticed that as well. Sahari was watching him with hawk eyes and every time Antís swayed a little more on his stool, Aither extended his hand behind the demigod’s back to steady him if necessary.

Again, they trailed their gaze over all of them, before deciding to take action. It was time to start with this- whatever this was.

“I have a question”, they said.

Six eyes turned to them.

“Go ahead”, Aither responded, after they remained silent.

“I presume you have a plan”, Shin addressed Antís.

The demigod swallowed the rest of his breakfast before answering.

“Boy, you know me so well.”

“I am not a-”

“It’s a saying”, Antís interrupted. “I forgot that you do not know your way around human ways of speaking and stuff.” He made some swirling hand movements that Shin had no idea what they meant. “So yeah, I have a plan. I wanted to ask Sahari”, he turned towards the magician, “to magically analyse the feather. We might get some information on our mysterious attacker that way.”

“You have a hunch, don’t you?” Aither focused his gaze on the demigod.

Antís hesitated, then he nodded.

“I do, but due to the severity of the situation, I will be keeping quiet about it for now. We shouldn’t be running around pointing fingers at whoever might be responsible. Let’s get some real clues first.”

“Like the feather”, Sahari noted. “Where do you even keep it?”

“It’s currently on my bedside table, but after we cleaned up I’ll get it for you”, the demigod answered.

“I don’t think that will be necessary”, Shin interrupted further questions. “From what I understood yesterday, we have lots to do and there is no end in sight. The faster we move the better.”

“So what do you suggest?”, Aither asked.

“I will clean up the mess you made”, Shin pointed at Antís, “while you make yourself presentable and pack the things you need. Aither and Sahari can already start inspecting the hut and the feather.”

“How do you know where I got all that material from?”, Antís squinted his eyes at them.

“Last night you didn’t want me to intrude in your private chambers and I respected that wish”, the shinigami explained, ”but when you left your room, I saw no reason to keep evading you. You might have not noticed me, being so entranced by your literature, but I was watching you the whole time.”

“That is not creepy at all”, Antís replied. “And when I say ‘not creepy’, I mean ‘extremely creepy’ and ‘please do not do that again or I will fight you’!” He looked expectantly at the spirit.

Glimpses to the other two confirmed Shin’s assumption. Aither's brows furrowed deeply while Sahari pierced them with glances.

“You do not like being watched?”, Shin inquired.

“Not by my Death who conspires to drag me to Yomi, no”, Antís confirmed. Then he sighed. “But I guess, when you’re volunteering to clean up, ‘might as well take you up on that offer, if you’re alright with that.”

He turned his head between his friends. After one last glare Sahari spoke up.

“I suppose they have a point. Although it could take me a while without proper equipment.”

“I’m sure Hut can provide you with what you need”, Antís responded. “Let me get the feather and then you can have a look around our mission base.”

Through a window leading into the courtyard, they could see the witch’s cabin still sitting quietly where it emerged into the Heaven. It hadn’t moved at all since its arrival, except when it settled down. Apparently, it was used to long periods of inactivity. Shin could only guess what experiments Baba Yaga had conducted there in the past.

“Great, I’ll get our bags and then we’ll settle in, I think?” Aither gave Sahari a questioning glance.

“Sure, let’s see what this house is all about”, she nodded.

“Actually, it’s called Hut”, Antís interjected. When the two looked at him baffled, he broke into a genuine laugh.

Shin just looked at the three of them. The more they got to know them, the more they thought humans were the strangest of the variety of mythical species. They hoped they could end this mission soon. It was starting to really get on their nerves.


It took Antís some time to finish his shower. He wasn’t having fun in there, no, quite the opposite. The lack of sleep let his movements slow down. For some minutes he just stood under the spray gathering the energy to finish up and leave already. He was glad he decided to pack his bag beforehand, because having to do that now seemed like an impossible challenge.

A few minutes later he finally stood in the kitchen again. A look into the courtyard confirmed that Shin had already finished reshelving the various papers he used last night. The spirit conversed with Aither who was casually leaning over the balcony’s railing. Sahari was nowhere to be seen, but that wasn’t unusual. She was probably in the main room already inspecting the feather Antís had given her earlier. He wondered if she already found something of interest. However, before approaching his friends, he wanted to do something else.

After searching for a piece of paper he wrote a small note to his mother and clipped it onto the fridge via some magnets. Athena may be an olympian goddess, but even she enjoyed refreshments sometimes. Only then, the demigod grabbed his bag again and entered the courtyard.

Upon seeing him, Aither grinned and leaped over the railing, transforming into his photon stance and flying towards Antís.

“I see you decided to join us as well”, he mocked.

Antís hoped he couldn’t see his exhaustion and just grinned back.

“If you’re that energetic, you can carry my stuff”, he replied and threw his bag towards the god.

“No, wait-”, Aither tried to stop him, but it was too late. He was already too close, so he couldn’t transform back fast enough to get a good grip onto the object. Unaffected by the light particles the bag passed through Aither and fell to the ground. The god stopped mid-air and, still glowing, felt around his midriff, where the bag had gone through him.

Antís raised an eyebrow at him.

“Well? It’s not gonna carry itself”, he instructed. When Aither only gaped at him, Antís sighed. “It’s so difficult to find proper servants these days”, he winked at Shin. The shinigami only stared at him as well. Antís huffed and threw his hands. “Well. Since apparently none of you are even able to understand my jokes, I am now going to visit a friend who will be hopefully hollering at everything I say. So gentleman, spiritual companion”, he nodded to first Aither then Shin and grinned again, “excuse me, please.”

Stepping into Hut felt like stepping through a portal. The atmosphere inside was completely different. While outside a fresh wind was blowing through the Heaven, cooling everything it touched, the steam rising from the witchy cauldron artificially heated up the air. Antís waved in front of his face trying to clear his view.

“Sahari, I didn’t know you were going into the sauna business?”

He could only hear someone mumbling, then a few glowing thingies flew around the room, the mist sticking to them. They gathered around the cauldron and then flew upwards into a hole in the ceiling. Antís realized that must be the chimney one could see, when standing outside. Sahari must have spoken some sort of spell with the hieroglyphs gathering the steam and leading it where it should go normally. He also could actually see the magician now, sitting behind the cauldron on a chair, flipping through an ancient book.

“She has some really interesting spells here”, Sahari acknowledged at that moment. “I would love to try some of these out.”

“I’m glad you like it.” He really did. Despite the circumstances, it was nice seeing something fresh and new emerging from all this chaos.

Hut’s door opened again and Aither, who actually carried Antís’ bag, and Shin entered the room.

“There is just one problem”, Aither spoke up, “we have only one bedroom. Or is this mission meant to be carried out in only a day?”

Of course, Antís had seen that question arise before, but he believed in Hut’s abilities. They would find a way somehow.

“Don’t worry, let’s deal with this, when we’re actually feeling tired.” He ignored the looks the others were giving him and instead he changed the topic. “Any luck?” He motioned with his chin towards the feather which floated above the bubbling cauldron. Various lights moved around it, Antís guessed they were hieroglyphs as well, but they were too fast for him to recognize them.

“I have literally only just started”, Sahari reminded him. “If you want to know what’s happening there, that I can answer.”

He motioned for her to continue.

“I’m currently sequencing the feather’s structure on an atomic level. Hopefully there’s some magic still sticking onto it, so I can isolate and study it separately.”

“How long will it take?”, Antís inquired.

“Two hours? Three tops”, she answered. “A feather may not seem big, but there are still a lot of atoms to identify and that is only given that I don’t run into any dead-ends and have to restart a branch.”

“But it does continue without you, right?”

“Once started, the hieroglyphs work independently”, Sahari confirmed, “but if they are diagnosing anomalies it would be best for me to observe the process and to fix the immediate mistakes or the whole process might be corrupted, hence why I’m going through the witch’s book shelf.”

“There’s a whole study upstairs, which might interest you”, Antís remarked but his thoughts were already elsewhere. “Which means we have to kill some time and are able to meet up with Bastet already.”

The others looked puzzled.

“Didn’t you get Heimdallr’s mail last night?” Antís asked, confused.

“Uhm”, Aither hesitated, “I mean yes, we got notified of an incoming message, but to be honest….”

“You didn’t read it, yeah I get that, but why?”, Antís asked.

“We were busy”, Sahari prevented Aither from blurting out even more embarrassing details.

“Ah”, Antís understood, “‘busy’-busy. Yeah, I mean you almost died, so make-up sex is good for your health, right? How is your face by the way?”

Aither’s cheeks began to shimmer, it was his version of a blush. That he was practically sparkling was an indicator that he was super embarrassed by Antís calling him out. Unfortunately for him Antís knew that, but the demigod wasn’t that mean. He gave him a long look before continuing with the topic.

“Then Sahari, beside the confirmation that it actually was a fusion of Kek and Kauket in the duat, there was some magicky data in the log you might be able to read. I don’t know if it’s helpful, but why not try to understand it.”

The magician nodded. Egyptian magic seemed to be far more interesting than the witch’s books about the spells and potions needed to cure an athlete's foot, which for whatever reason took up the bulk of Baba Yaga's shelf down here. Maybe it was best that Sahari hadn’t met her when she was still alive.

“While you’re observing the feather’s progress, we three will be venturing out into Khemenu”, Antís added.

“Where is ‘Chemenu’?” Shin had a funny way of pronouncing it. “I haven’t even heard of a city like this and I have been on this Earth for quite some time now.”

Sahari was quick to elaborate on that topic.

“Khemenu is the ancient Egyptian name for a major city by the border separating Lower and Upper Egypt. It is better known under it’s Greek name ‘Hermopolis’, but I have to disappoint you, it is just ruins now. Why would you go there?”

We will go there”, Antís corrected. “Lady Ištar persuaded Janus to give us full access to his portal network and so he will be bringing Hut back down to Earth and since we are inside it, we’ll be making the journey too. Heimdallr wrote in his mail that Bastet will be waiting for us in Hermopolis. Apparently, she wants to get more information on the Darkness. She will explain the rest when we get there.”

Sahari had sunk deep into thoughts as Antís continued his explanation. She seemed to have an idea on why Bastet had gone to Hermopolis.

“Good, then let’s do this”, Aither concluded this mini-meeting. “There is just one thing I want to change in the plan.”

“There is?” Antís was surprised. Normally, the god just went along with whatever Antís proposed.

“Yes, I feel like I am thinking the same thing, I fear”, Shin said.

Confused, Antís looked around. All three of them exchanged glances with each other and then turned simultaneously to him.

“We’re really sorry”, Aither began.

“It’s nothing personal”, Shin continued.

When Sahari raised her staff at him, Antís finally understood what was going to happen.

“No. No! Guys, you can’t-” He couldn’t finish his sentence, because Sahari had already summoned her Heka.

Lie Down”, she whispered.


𓁀


When the hieroglyph hit Antís, the world went dark.


“I feel really bad about this, you know?”

Aither couldn’t see the spirit rolling their eyes, since they were floating in front of him, but since they had done that the last five times he complained, he took a profound guess.

“So you mentioned.”

They were currently floating through the sun scorched ruins of ancient Khemenu or Hermopolis as Sahari had explained, but if Aither was being honest it was rather disappointing. In like ten minutes they had scouted the whole area, so Shin had suggested they repeat these rounds until something of interest showed up. They were in their third round, when Aither couldn’t hold it anymore.

“Oh, come on, this is fruitless!”

When Aither descended to the ground and changed back into his human form, the shinigami turned around as well.

“First we trick poor Antís into a non-consensual sleeping arrangement-”

“He really needed it”, Shin stated.

“That is not the point. We were three against one and he is without magic. What could he have done? Fight us bare-handed?” Aither had enough of this.

“He is a quite capable fighter, especially in close proximity”, the spirit said.

“We could have still asked him to lay down by himself and then let Sahari work her magic. There was no need to do that in the main room and then carry him upstairs.”

“With his silver-tongue he would have found a way to persuade us to let him stay awake and you know that. Which is why you had agreed to the plan in the first place, if I may remind you of that.”

“I know-”, Aither started.

“Then why the sudden resistance?”, Shin interrupted him. “That was the best way to let him rest. We do not need him for every step to be taken to be present.”

Aither sighed. The kami was right of course, but something still nagged at him.

“I know that”, he replied, afflicted. “It’s just- We have found nothing so far, Sahari is bound to the feather and I have no idea what to do. Just waiting for something to happen seems so pointless.” He shrugged his shoulders. “If Antís were here he would have a plan.”

“You can’t always rely on him to find a solution. He will not always be by your side. You have to start to look for it yourself”, Shin responded.

Aither realised the spirit didn’t mean just the situation right now. That would apply too, when they could fulfill their mission and bring the demigod’s soul to Yomi. He trailed his gaze over the ruins and debris.

“What do you suggest?”

“The magician said something about a museum in the area, didn’t she? It seems like a good spot to meet up”, Shin answered.

“Why didn’t you mention that earlier?” Aither was a bit confused.

“You looked like something was bugging you. I thought it was best to clear your mind before continuing with the mission.”

Aither blinked at them.

“You are not my therapist”, he stated, “so please stop psychoanalysing me. Although I appreciate the effort.” That last part was only a whisper, but it looked like the spirit had heard it nonetheless. A faint smile appeared on their face.

“Come on, the museum should be this way”, they said and floated in another direction.

Aither looked after them for a few moments, then he decided to follow. He changed back into his photon stance and repelled himself from the ground. Under the relentless sun, they made their way to Hermopolis’ open-air museum, only to find it empty. The most-prominent features were two baboon statues that looked like they worshipped a stony sun. Before Aither could float closer, Shin extended a hand in front of him.

“Something is not right”, they said.

Aither furrowed his brows, but so far he couldn’t see anything that might have triggered the shinigami.

“Like what?”, he inquired.

The spirit hesitated.

“I am not quite sure, but the air seems- corrupted.”

“Corrupted with what?” He was hesitant himself, because to be honest, he wasn’t sure if really wanted an answer to that question. Still, the response did let his glowing blood almost freeze in his veins.

“Death”, Shin stated. “Someone has opened a portal to the underworld.”


***************************************************************************************


The figure was walking through the moonlit Heaven, a fixed destination in mind. When it came to Athena’s mansion it didn’t stop. There were no lights inside, so the place should be empty.

A faint wind blew through the doorless door frames, accompanying the figure as it made its way through the rooms, not bothering on switching on the light.

The first stop was the kitchen, the figure was drained. It could check on other potential sleeping residents later. When it approached the refrigerator it stopped. There was a note attached to its front. Without a sound, the figure shoved the magnet to the side onto the bare refrigerator and grabbed the note. After reading it, a genuine smile spread on the figure’s lips. It sounded like he had a plan.


Chapter 9: The Forgotten Sun God

Summary:

The team has come to Hermopolis to meet with Bastet, but the cat goddess is nowhere to found. Maybe the protector of the ruins has the answers to their questions?

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Sahari was annoyed. It felt like the two gods had just left the witch’s hut, when she got the call. She wasn’t even close to finishing picking the most interesting books from the shelf in the main room, although she had already ignored the fungi themed tomes. To transmit her annoyance, she tried to be as sarcastic as possible when answering the phone.

“Yaga’s Brewery and Magic Shop. We have the most pricey magic in all the nine realms and only accept gold ingots, PayPal or credit cards, so don’t even bother calling when you are not able to pay for our services. How may I help you?”

Unfortunately, Aither, being very sarcastic himself, decided to play along.

“Yeah, I’m sure we can come together with the price. We would like to order one (1) capable magician to be delivered to the Hermopolis’ museum. The one with the monkey statues, you know?”

“Unfortunately, all our operators are currently unavailable. If you would like to hold the line, I’m sure your request can be handled in”, she made a dramatic pause, “two to three hours. Please send an email to our support team if you want to complain or submit any other feedback regarding your customer experience.”

For some reason Sahari was having a lot of fun right now. However, that joy would soon be crushed due to the information she received in the next few moments.

“I’m afraid the matter is kind of urgent. We were unable to meet with the operator you had already sent to our location, earlier that day. We were hoping to get into business with you through her, but it seems we won’t get the deal done after all. This is rather concerning, given the fact that your management seemed really interested in striking this deal. Are you sure you can’t leave one workstation by itself for a few minutes and send us another operator?”

Aither’s tense tone really was concerning. If Sahari had translated it correctly, he and Shin hadn’t found Bastet at the meeting point. That they were asking for her assistance, could only mean they ran into a magical problem, which was odd. As far as Sahari knew Khemenu wasn’t relevant to the Egyptian pantheon anymore, being empty of followers and lost to the desert once more. There should only be one mythical presence other than their group in the ruins right now.

She gave the feather and its analytic progress a look, before continuing.

“We would need to take care of some things first, but if you send us your current location, I’m sure we will find another operator, who can be dispatched within five minutes. Can you hold out that long?”

“I think so. In the meantime, we will keep an eye out for the first operator, in case she still shows up. We will notify you when we get any additional information.”

“Understood. Let’s keep in touch.”

She hung up, before Aither could respond again. Although her gaze was fixed onto the magic analysis in front of her, she didn’t really see it, her thoughts trying to make sense of the situation. Then, she shook herself. Whatever happened would have a logical explanation. It should have. Hopefully.

Sahari focused back onto the cauldron, the magic around the feather affecting the liquid inside and making it cook. The heated gas bursting from the bubbles fuelled the hieroglyphs which then could continue their task: to analyse the chemical structure of the feather. She considered several options.

Technically, Antís was just upstairs, but he was so deep in slumber that he wouldn’t notice if anything would happen. He had been so exhausted that a simple ‘lie down’ had been enough to send him back into Hypnos’ arms. Thus, he was not to be implemented in any fail-safe plans.

Sahari groaned. Nothing ever went her way. After a last weary look at the feather she had made up her mind. The easiest option was often the best. She only hoped her progress so far had not been in vain. Sighing, she readied herself. The others were already waiting, best not to try their patience any more than necessary. She grasped her staff and summoned her Heka.


Aither was pacing his twenty-third round in front of the baboon statues, when Sahari appeared in the museum’s entrance. Why Shin had kept track of the god the whole time, they couldn’t explain, but they had to admit it was rather mesmerising how his skin shone in the sunlight. The little sparkles he emitted clearly showed his nervousness.

Aither perked up, when Sahari slowed from her running and gasped to catch her breath. When he jogged up to her, Shin repelled himself from the broken pillar they were leaning on and floated closer as well.

“You okay?”, the god asked his girlfriend when he had reached her.

Sahari could only nod and waved it off, still gasping. When her breathing had normalised, she spoke up.

“I should have taken Antís up on that training offer”, she sighed.

The glance exchanged between Shin and Aither confirmed that they both were just as clueless as the other. But when Aither opened his mouth to ask what that statement was all about, Sahari cut him off.

“So, any sign of our missing goddess?”

The god closed his mouth again. He was definitely not in the mindset to deal with the situation at hand, so Shin decided to brief the magician.

“Unfortunately not. I have detected no further activity. Whatever happened happened before we arrived here.”

“Then what did you detect?”, inquired the magician.

“Traces of magic belonging to the underworld”, Shin responded. “Since I have a natural affiliation with Yomi I can easily pick up necrotic energies and grasp their overall purpose.”

“And these ones can be traced back to Yomi?”

“Not quite”, Shin negated. “There must have been some kind of portal leading to an underworld, though not to Yomi. I would have recognized its special aura. I am not familiar with the particular energy from this underworld, I am afraid.”

“Since Bastet isn’t here, we think she might have gone through the portal to that underworld.” It seemed like Aither had finally caught up with them.

“Willingly?”, Sahari asked and raised an eyebrow.

Shin sighed.

“That is to be determined.”

Immediately, Sahari’s and Aither’s expressions darkened. Shin didn’t know what exactly the goddess meant to them, but they were very worried about her, that much was clear. “Do you have a way of identifying the mysterious underworld”, they addressed Sahari.

The magician didn’t answer, but walked past them towards the statues. The two baboons were part of a larger structure, they were worshipping a stone-made sun that shone above them. Sahari seemed to have taken an interest in the solar object and studied it intensely.

“Sahari?”, Shin tried again. “Do you have some magic that can help us figure out what happened to Bastet?”

“Yes, I heard you the first time”, came the immediate answer. Still, she waited another few moments before starting her explanation. “Of course I could use large amounts of magic to maybe summon an image of the events in this place, but I think I have a better plan. One that does not include wasting my energy before finishing the feather’s analysis.”

“What do you have in mind?”, Aither dared to ask. Shin wouldn’t have poked her further given her clearly agitated state, but the ‘boyfriend status’ seemed to prevent him from any harm.

“Doing what we came here for.” She didn’t elaborate which left both Shin and Aither confused. When the magician grabbed her staff, even Aither seemed to realise no to disturb her anymore. He swallowed loudly whatever question he had originally planned to ask. Sahari meanwhile had finished channeling her Heka.

Awaken”, she casted and the hieroglyphs appeared.


𓊃 𓈖 𓉔 𓋴 𓍟 𓁺


If Shin would actually be interested in Egyptian magic, they surely would have been amazed by the floating symbols. But since they were only curious about topics regarding their purpose the whole process didn’t really stick to them. The only thing that they would remember later on, was the eye hieroglyph which stuck itself to the stone sun and enlarged until it framed the whole disk. It briefly looked like the sun itself was looking at them, then the whole magic construction began glowing intensely until they couldn't make out any details.

As suddenly as the glow had increased in strength, it also lost it again. But now the magic had revealed something- or better someone new. Shin could only see Sahari’s profile from their angle, but she seemed content, boastful even. She knew that god had been hiding in the artificial sun.

“Greetings, your Holiness”, she bowed before the god.

Shin was hesitant. They could feel their presence seeping through their very own being, but at the same time, this god’s power seemed somehow...limited, would be the word they thought fit best.

When the god landed on their feet, Shin could see they were wearing the typical clothing of an Egyptian pharaoh, including the nemes headdress, false beard and shendyt kilt, which was odd to say the least. So far they thought only Horus and Ra were allowed to do that. Even the kohl underneath the god’s eyes was marvelous, drawn expertly. This one seemed to be a very high-ranking Egyptian god, although Shin was sure to never have heard of them before.

“Sahari, do you want to introduce us?”, they addressed the magician.

She turned to them and smirked, leveling with the god who had floated closer towards them and Aither.

“Aither, Shin. Behold. The original god of the sun, Schepsi.”


‘Why does that rhyme with Pepsi?’, was the first thought that appeared in Aither’s head. Luckily, he kept silent. The deity radiated power and influence although in a very particular manner. He wasn’t sure what exactly his domain was, since he hadn’t heard of him before, which was odd. Most pantheon leaders had wanted to meet him, the son of Aither, when he was old enough to remember their faces. He knew the most influential deities in the United Heaven, but a being named ‘Schepsi’ hadn’t even been mentioned in his presence once. Thus, he decided to voice his confusion.

“Why haven’t I heard of you before?”

Immediately Sahari’s face fell, her chin almost hitting the ground, and he heard Shin faintly chuckling beside him. The god however didn’t seem to be bothered by his question.

“Because most gods only know my children and forgot about me, their origin.”

“Who are your children?”, Aither inquired.

“I do not know if that term gives you the information you desire, but back in my reign, they were known as the Ogdoad”, Schepsi responded.

Shin beside him froze, but Aither paid them no attention. This conversation suddenly turned very interesting.

“The Ogdoad”, he repeated. “As in Kek and Kauket and their siblings.”

“Well yes”, the god confirmed. “Although I think it is rather odd, that you name the two Darknesses out of the whole bunch. I thought given their role in the creation of mankind Nun and Naunet were the most popular of the eight.”

“Yeah, the primordial Oceans are very popular”, Sahari had seemingly regained her composure and was quick to explain, “but we recently had a run-in with the aforementioned siblings, so my colleague asked directly about them.”

Aither furrowed his brows. ‘Colleague’? He gave Sahari a questioning look, which she discreetly answered with a stare of her own. The message was clear. ‘Please the god, explanations later’.

“A run-in? You mean a confrontation of some sort?”, Schepsi continued during this silent exchange.

“You can call it that”, Shin confirmed. “Although I would like to know more about you at the moment, if you are willing to answer these questions.”

Aither shot the shinigami a quick glance. They had crossed their arms, but the god was more surprised to see a big double-edged scythe floating around behind them. When did that happen?

“If you tell me why you summoned me as well, I will be patiently awaiting your questions. Just watching over these ruins is rather dull normally”, Schepsi answered Shin. He seemed to actually be interested in this conversation.

“You said you are a sun god”, Aither cut in. “How come? I thought Ra and various others held the sun domain in egypt.”

“As far as you know, that may be true, but the answer to your questions is relatively simple”, Schepsi replied. “I am way older than all the gods you know. Ra and everyone else you think of are subsequently my children’s children and thus my successors.”

His confusion must have been obvious, because Sahari was quick to provide a more detailed explanation.

“You know that we Egyptians have more than one creation myth. The Ogdoad, the Ennead or even Ptah as the sole creator are often referred to as the one that actually happened. In truth they all overlap each other. Ptah was there before everything and he was the one responsible for creating Schepsi as the first god. Schepsi then gave birth to the Ogdoad- if birthing is the correct terminus here.” When the sun god only nodded along, she continued. “The Ogdoad were the ones responsible for creating the world. From the primordial Oceans emerged the first land, as well as Atum, the first pharaoh, who went on to create the Ennead, and ultimately the pregnant weaver Neith, who gave birth to Ra and Apep and later on Sobek. The rest is history, as we say. The gods established their domains and founded the Egypt who surpassed thousands of years before being conquered by the Greeks and Romans.”

“But isn’t Ptah still active? I mean the god in the ‘Arms Department’. If he is still around, why are you not?”, Aither poked further.

“That may be because he is not the Ptah that created me”, Schepsi responded. Unfortunately, Aither couldn’t make any sense of this information either. Sahari, seeing this, sighed and started to explain what the ancient god had meant.

“Think of Ptah as another you, Aither. He was this huge creation deity, which at some point chose to directly interact with the life he had created. Thus, he made himself a new body and transferred a part of his consciousness in it. So now we have Ptah, the creator, who watches over us as this ominous entity and Ptah, the god of crafts, who works in the Department of Armament and Equipment.”

That actually made sense, but it also made him realise he wasn’t that special as he always thought he was. There were already other gods who had been born like him a very long time ago. He was just the first one who had actually developed his own consciousness. However, after this revelation the mystery of why Schepsi had been forgotten still remained.

As if Shin had read his thoughts the kami asked the next question.

“Why are you here? When the pantheons merged, Horus led the negotiations for the Egyptians. Why haven’t you decided to join the United Heaven?”

“Because I am simply not relevant for the pantheon anymore”, Schepsi explained. “Even back in the old days I had been reduced to ‘just’ a god of the sun. My connection to the Ogdoad was known, but not that much cared for. Khemenu was the only place where I was still worshipped and even here my cult stood in the shadows of those of my children and Thoth who had been chosen as the city’s protector. Over time people forgot me and so I lost my power. Even the other gods stopped taking notice of me. I had become a mere symbol for their downfall which soon would take hold of many others.”

“Magicians training under the Egyptian gods are told about Schepsi as a warning, that even gods aren’t almighty”, Sahari added. “They wither just like any other being. Some fade away, if they are truly forgotten. Some cling to their past, protecting their last resort until even that is lost.”

“Khemenu had been my home, when everyone else turned away from me. I will watch over these ruins until they too are buried beneath the desert sands. Maybe then I can finally find my peace.” For the first time, Schepsi actually sounded as old as he was, but Aither could now also see the remnants of the mighty god he once was. That power may be in his past, but it still resonated within him, making Schepsi able to hold out centuries without belief. Most other gods would have perished without a new power source, but Schepsi still hovered proudly before them.

The silence that had stretched between them was broken by Shin who apparently felt the need to finally explain why they had come to Hermopolis in the first place.

“I think I understand now why we were led here. Bastet wanted us to meet with you, to get more information on the Ogdoad. The last confrontation with them may not have been the last.”

“Bastet? Ah, the cat.” Realisation dawned upon Schepsi.

“You know her?”, Aither asked. “Wait! Was she here? What happened to her?”

The sun god held up his hand to stop his steady stream of questions.

“I knew of her. We never met personally back in the day, but she was rather popular here in Khemenu. However, I think I provided you with enough information for now. If you want me to continue, you should start explaining what is going on. I do not know who you are, but still you expect me to help you without getting anything in return. The least you can do is make my time here enjoyable after centuries of watching grave robbers, researchers and tourists defile my home.”

The three of them exchanged glances. Aither was surprised that all of them seemed to have the same thought. They were barely a team, only knowing the shinigami for about a day. And yet they all agreed to satisfy the god for the time being. Best not to try their luck.

“As you wish, oh bright one”, Sahari took it upon herself to start, “though I am afraid our story will not be as joyful as you might expect it to be.”

The god raised his brows, but then nodded for her to continue.

“Very well”, Sahari agreed. “We are here in an investigation regarding the safety of all the pantheons. We fear that if we fail, the whole world might be at stake.”


Sahari knew she was exaggerating. They had no real proof of the ending of the world. All things that have happened so far were only indicators of change. What kind of change was yet to be determined.

Schepsi however did not know that. She did not really want to deceive the god, especially since he was the first sentient being of her own pantheon, but making the situation seem more dire could push him to help them after all. She only hoped Aither and Shin would keep quiet and not give her away.

“As already mentioned, a team of the United Pantheons encountered your children, the two Darknesses, swimming through the upper duat layers. They were way out of their usual territory. This happened simultaneously to a rebellion of a group of japanese spirits and the discovery of a monster weapon factory. All these events can be traced back to the death of a member of the Slavic pantheon, a witch who went by the name of Baba Yaga, although I doubt you have heard of her.”

“I haven’t even heard of a Slavic pantheon. The variety of deities must have surely expanded a lot in the last two-thousand years since I have retired”, the god responded. The comment threw Sahari a bit off-guard, but she quickly recovered.

“Right. Um. Yeah, there are a lot of gods and pantheons, although some have already withered and faded away. I think Baba Yaga will be one of those cases too. Normally, a god can recover even from death, but she wasn’t a worshipped deity, more like a frightening figure in children’s tales. A scary story to prevent the kids from venturing too deep into the woods. I fear there is no belief left, that would aid her recovery. Without help, her soul will remain in the Slavic underworld forever.”

“Nav”, Shin interjected.

All their eyes focused on the spirit.

“The place where the souls go according to Slavic mythology is called ‘Nav’ and ruled over by Veles, a chthonic god of the earth. Although given the witch’s popularity she might even be in ‘Vyraj’, of which the christians thought of as the Slavic paradise.”

Sahari was impressed, then she remembered that the kami was a spirit of death. They must have a profound knowledge on anything underworld related. She made a mental note to make use of that knowledge. She was certain, they would need it at some point later on their mission again.

A thought appeared in her head. When what Shin had just said was true, they might have a new destination. After locating Bastet, that is.

Sahari nodded to visibly acknowledge what the spirit told them, before continuing in her explanation for Schepsi.

“At least, we gathered all the information we had on the situation and decided to investigate further. The spirits have calmed down so far and we have no clue on the weapon smith, so our only trace was your children. Bastet told us to meet us here in Khemenu, so we came here. When we didn’t find her, I thought of you seeing these statues and thus summoned you. I am very relieved that you answered my call and didn’t smite us instantly.”

“Where would be the fun in that?”, Schepsi responded. “I may be old and wise, but I have been reduced from the top of the pantheon to a local sun god. I know my place.” He shrugged. It was something Sahari wouldn’t have expected from a primordial god, which made the move even more odd. “And I have to admit, I had been rather curious who called for me after all this time. I was sure even my pantheon had forgotten about me. That you said they still remember me is reassuring and...heartwarming.”

A warm smile had spread across the god’s lips and he began glowing again. It came from deep within him and showed the magician just how much he was moved by their whole conversation. He had been really lonely out here in the desert, she realised.

“Thank you for telling me what you are doing here”, Schepsi said.

He bowed to them, which seemed to disperse the last of Shin’s doubts. With a flick of their hand, the huge scythe vanished into black smoke. Sahari was glad. It had really paid out to leave Hut, after all.

“I have one last question, before we come to the matter which troubles you, if that is alright?”

Aither kept quiet and Shin only nodded, so Sahari took it upon herself to answer him.

“Go ahead, we will be listening.”

“From what I understood, you are here on an official Heaven’s operation”, Schepsi said and waited briefly for their confirmation, which came from their nodding, before continuing, “so why is there only three of you? One would think a world-threatening catastrophe requires more...investigators.”

Sahari exchanged a glance with Aither, but before she could say anything Shin had already started.

“There is one more person. He is actually in charge of the mission, but currently he is-”

“Indisposed”, Sahari interrupted, staring at the shinigami. Sadly, they gave no indication of having understood her implication. Their ability to switch from hesitation to hidden hostility to open trust was as remarkable as it was annoying. “He is currently doing some research regarding the witch’s death.”

“Still, four people is not that much either.”

Again Sahari had no chance. Shin was just too fast at blurting out their intel.

“Technically, I am just accompanying them. I have another purpose.”

Schepsi raised his eyebrow, while Sahari only sighed. This was not helping in the slightest. Alas, she turned to the sun god and decided to ignore the spirit.

“Even the heaven does not have so many personnel available for such a complicated mission. The gods have their own responsibilities and there are not as many demigods available as we would like.”

“I see. That explains why you have to rely on other beings like myself to aid you in your journey”, Schepsi stated.

“Will you help us?” It was the first thing Aither had said after the sun god turned him down earlier.

The father of the Ogdoad turned his gaze to his much younger kin. Sahari could not help but compare the two. While her boyfriend was often frantic, fidgeting and waiting impatiently when he stood still, the primordial radiated a calm presence around him. His warm sunlight made him look peaceful and mighty at the same time, whereas Aither had this pure, almost blinding shine. It made him look innocent.

If Sahari was being honest that was the thing she liked most about Aither. His innocence and naivety made him appear even younger than he was. He was curious about everything, looked at every detail as if he was seeing it for the first time, and always wanted to explore new territories. Unfortunately, that also meant he wouldn’t be around forever.

Sahari was not stupid. She had seen the break-up between Aither and Antís. While the demigod had been devastated, Aither had kept going almost as if nothing happened. It seemed like he got everything he wanted from Antís, so when the demigod couldn’t give him more, he let him fall. When Aither’s attention turned to Sahari a few months later, she saw the same look in his eyes, the god had given Antís the whole time they were together. She would be just the means to an end to him, she had realised back then. And yet she couldn’t say no.

Now, almost two years later, Sahari knew she was running out of time. She had seen the first signs, that Aither’s interests were shifting again. They were the same signs Antís had chosen to ignore. So she had decided to start distancing herself from him, whenever she could. She hoped that this way the separation wouldn’t hurt as much. Only time would tell if she was right.

“Yes, I will help you”, Schepsi’s voice brought Sahari back to the conversation. “You wanted to know if Bastet, the cat goddess, had been here.”

Aither only nodded. He had asked for her earlier already, no repetition needed.

The god hesitated a moment, before giving them the information they had been waiting for all this time.

“She was here. But you will not like what came after.”


Of course she had been here, that’s what all the ruckus was about. Shin could barely contain their annoyance. Still, they refrained from showing that by rolling their eyes or shifting their posture. Only a slight huff escaped their lips, alerting the sun god. He focused the spirit and seemed to realise to not hold back anymore. It was time for answers.

“I see or better feel everything that happens in these ruins. I had registered your arrival earlier too, although I admit to not being familiar with that entity which brought you here.”

“It is special”, the shinigami admitted. “Most gods would be unfamiliar with it.”

The god nodded along.

“Then, I assume I can let go of the worries, plaguing me about it? It gives off some...oddly dark vibes.”

“It’s fine”, Sahari replied, “it just had a rough couple of days.”

Schepsi’s gaze seemed to travel far, his focus having shifted somewhere else. Then, he nodded, the last wrinkles on his forehead disappearing.

“Very well then. Thank you for your reassurance, I was rather concerned to be honest.” He paused. To gather his thoughts, Shin assumed. Then, Schepsi continued. “She arrived around two hours before you, the sun had only just surfaced beyond the horizon. Like you, she just appeared. I have no idea where exactly she came from. For a while the cat wandered around the ruins, before finally reaching this museum. She had a look around, before perching in front of the statues. I think she was observing the relief I was hiding in. You said she came here to talk to me about my children, so it would make sense for her to scout the area and make sure I was really here.”

“Did she try to contact you?”, Shin asked. The god still seemed hesitant about telling them what happened.

Schepsi’s gaze flickered to them.

“No”, he admitted. “Unfortunately not, because maybe then I would have intervened in what happened- I mean, maybe I would have done someth-”

“Schepsi”, Aither interrupted the primordial. “What happened to Bastet?”

Shin had not seen the god so calm and determined before. The two deities had locked eyes and it almost seemed like they were conducting a staring contest. When Schepsi finally sighed, it was over. The young one had won.

“Shortly before you came, a portal opened between the pillars over there”, Schepsi gestured to the other end of the open-air museum. “I had never felt this kind of energy before. It radiated foulness and other dark magic, so I decided to not get involved. A swarm of- beings appeared from the opening and flew straight towards the cat, surrounding her. It was difficult to make out individuals because there were so many, but the next thing I could sense was that the swarm was retreating. Only when they all had gone through the portal, which then closed, I couldn’t feel the presence of the cat anymore. She- Bastet must have been taken back to wherever those things came from.”

What followed this revelation was deafening silence. Shin glimpsed at their companions. While Sahari's face was full of worry, her eyes could not focus on anything and reflected the wild thoughts raging in her head. Aither's expression, on the other hand, surprised the kami. Pure horror showed clearly in the god's features. It seemed as if he was about to collapse. Of course, Shin had noticed how tense he had become after they had discovered the cat’s absence, but this reaction was far from what the spirit had expected. Bastet must mean a lot to Aither, but the relation between the two of them still remains a mystery to Shin. For now, at least.

It was obvious the Aither and Sahari wouldn’t ask the god for details, given their distress, so Shin took the matters into their own hands.

“You only spoke of ‘beings’”, they addressed the sun god, “so I presume you couldn’t identify them.”

“I am afraid so”, Schepsi confirmed, “although their energy somehow resembles that of an animal native to Egypt.”

“Which one?”, Shin inquired.

The god hesitated briefly before he continued.

“Just as a reminder, I will repeat that I have not actually seen what happened, since I was still hidden in the relief.”

Shin nodded and motioned for the god to go on.

“Their energy resembled that of an Egyptian tomb bat, but it was...twisted. Darker and full of magic, but still bat-like”, Schepsi said.

A thought emerged in Shin’s head. One they did not like, if they were being honest. If it were really these beings that took Bastet, the situation was more dire than they originally thought.

When they focused back on their surroundings, Shin saw that Sahari and Aither looked at them expectantly, almost pleadingly in the god’s case. It seemed they had listened to the last bits of their conversation with the sun god.

“You know what Schepsi talked about, don’t you?”, Aither asked them.

“I have a hunch”, they admitted, “but you will not like it, I fear.”

“Just tell us”, Sahari pleaded.

The shinigami looked at them, before shaking their head.

“No. As Antís said before, we should not be accusing deities, when we have no proof.” They held out their hand to silence the uproaring Aither’s protest. “But I may have a way of confirming my suspicion.”

“How?”, was all Aither could bring himself to voice.

“Sahari?” The magician perked up. “Can you open a portal to Xibalba?”

Her face paled.

“Xi- Xibalba. As in ‘Xibalba, the Mayan underworld’. That Xibalba.”

“You remember, what I said earlier about sensing underworldly magic in the air?”, Shin asked. Sahari nodded weakly. “When I am right, I should sense the same magic coming from a portal to Xibalba.”

She only looked at them with wide eyes.

“Sahari.” Aither's voice did not waver at all.

When Shin looked at him, they saw only determination on his face, replacing the fear and worry from earlier.

“Please, just do as they say.”

Something happened between them, but what exactly Shin couldn’t grasp. However, it seemed to be enough for Sahari to get it together again. She swallowed and closed her eyes.

“Okay, I’ll do it.”

She was about to grab her staff, when Shin interrupted her.

“Wait a moment!”

Startled, the magician flinched and took a step back.

“Sorry for that. I just fear that when I am right, Xibalba will be our next destination”, they explained. “If so, then I don’t want to waste more time. Aither”, they turned to the god. “Can you fetch Hut? I suppose Sahari will want to open only a small portal. When I confirm Xibalba as the place Bastet has been taken to, we can immediately climb onto the House and Sahari can enlarge the passageway for Hut to fit. That way we can save time and valuable magic for Sahari.”

For a moment, nobody moved. Then Aither spoke up.

“I’ll be right back.”

In a split-second, he transformed into his photon stance, repelled himself from the ground and was gone, flying through the ruins to where Hut had parked.

Sahari hearibly breathed out loud.

“I am gonna...prepare the spell”, she said and walked away from them, leaving Shin alone with Schepsi.

“I have a last question, before you are gonna leave again”, the god suddenly spoke up again. He had been silent the last minutes, leaving the team to their thinking and planning.

“Yes?”, Shin signaled him to hear him out.

“What is ‘Mayan’? I mean, who are they, if I presume right, that they are some sort of civilization with their own belief system.”

Shin couldn’t help, but crack a smile. Even if everything went downhill, they realised there would always be some beings who would not change even in the face of disasters and catastrophes.


Getting Hut up and running was a lot easier than Aither had expected it to be. As soon as he was through the front door and yelled about needing to move, the house stood up on its chicken legs. When he told it, they were needed at the Hermopolis’ museum, Hut fell immediately into a light jog. Only then, the god allowed himself to breathe again.

He gave the room a quick survey, only briefly being glued to the cauldron and the feather which still floated above it. The flickering lights had seemed to stop doing their work, but other than that Aither saw no difference. It didn’t matter currently anyway. After about a minute of steady rumbling, Hut seemed to slow down again, so Aither opened the front door again and looked outside.

The cabin stood outside the museum, since its entrance was too small for it. The others had apparently already seen this predicament coming, because they had gathered here by the entrance as well. Sahari was already surrounded with various hieroglyphs, so when she locked eyes with him, Aither nodded.

He was too far away to hear her mumbling, but he saw the black portal, the hieroglyphs opened on the museum’s wall. When Shin stepped closer and stretched out their arm in the portal’s direction, Aither decided to float closer to overhear what was being said.

The shinigami had closed their eyes, when he landed, their hand almost touching the flat surface. It looked almost like oil, but it was pitchblack and swirled more smoothly.

“What do you sense?” It seemed like even Schepsi couldn’t hold back his curiosity now.

“Magic. The underworld”, the kami replied.

Aither almost floated closer to be in range for melee attacks on the spirit, when they continued.

“The same energy I sensed earlier in the museum, they are here just stronger and more nuanced than the fading magic back then.” They lowered their arm and opened their eyes again. Immediately, they locked eyes with Aither, apparently having sensed his presence approaching too. “Are we going in?”

“You bet your ass we are”, he answered.

The spirit raised an eyebrow.

“My ass?”

Aither ignored them and turned around to fly straight back to Hut, only to have his ankle grabbed, holding him in place. Sahari pulled him back onto the ground and gave him a look.

“I understand that we have to act quickly, but let’s not be overly rude.” She jerked her head in Schepsi’s direction.

Aither watched the other god, who was still inspecting the small portal the magician had created, before giving in.

“Let’s make it quick.”

With his confirmation, Sahari began approaching the sun god.

“Lord Schepsi?”, she addressed him. “We will be going now.”

“Just Schepsi is fine”, the god replied. He turned towards them, a warm smile showing on his face. “I am way past wearing these kinds of titles.”

Sahari chuckled.

“Of course, ‘just Schepsi’. Thank you for all this information. You were really helpful”, she told him.

“And I intend to do a lot more than that”, the god responded.

“What do you mean by that?”, Aither asked.

“To do what you came here to do”, he answered mysteriously. “I cannot give you any more information about my children. Being the forces of nature that they are, even I cannot predict what they will do next. With all you have told me, there is a possibility that your paths may cross again in the future.”

“So what do you propose?”, Sahari spoke up.

“I am still connected with them through ancient Heka. I will try to get in touch with them and persuade them to be more aware of their surroundings and maybe not try to annihilate any lesser being coming in contact with them”, the sun god explained, while locking gazes with Aither.

How the primordial knew that he had been the one the Darknesses had tried to corrupt remained a mystery to the god.

“But now, go. I don’t want to keep you here any longer, when it is obvious you have more important things to do.”

“That’s not-”, Sahari started, but she was cut off, when Aither laid a hand on her arm.

“We thank you again, Schepsi of the sun. It was an honor to meet you.” He bowed and Sahari was quick to follow. Even Shin, who floated silently beside him, crooked their head downwards.

When they all stood upright again, the god’s eyes began glowing in a warm light.

“May the sun be with you.”

The glow intensified and spread across Schepsi’s whole body which began to transform. His features, limbs and clothes began to dissolve into light and formed a shining orb. Then the miniature sun floated towards the small portal. Upon reaching the surface, the light spread towards the portal's edge, the energy taking a hold of the rim and pulling it open.

“Let’s go”, Aither said, took Sahari by the hand and led her back to Hut.

The house settled down to allow Sahari to enter it as well, since she couldn’t just fly upwards like the other two. When they were all inside, it stood up again and approached the portal.

Aither opened the curtains of the window beside the door and looked outside. When Hut had aligned itself to fit through the opening, it halted.

“You ready?” Sahari had approached him and wrapped her arms around him from behind. She wasn’t tall enough to look over his shoulder, so she just leaned her forehead against his back.

“Yeah”, he breathed. “To Xibalba. We’re coming, Bastet.”

Getting his confirmation Hut stepped forwards. By the third step it reached the portal, but now went through without stopping, enveloping them all into darkness.


***************************************************************************************


Antís had a weird dream.


He was in a dark place, but couldn’t make out any remarkable details because his environment changed the whole time. From rocks and stones and volcanic heat to deep lakes and stinking billows.


The only steady thing was the voice. It screamed and cried in an ongoing loop. Sometimes silencing itself, only to burst his eardrums the next second. He couldn’t identify what it said or even who it belonged to, but it was somehow familiar.


He couldn’t concentrate on it for too long or his brain began to hurt, but it was important, he was sure of that. If only he recognized this place.


The next shift brought forth a swarm of fluttering objects and the voice was even louder than before. No. Not objects, he realised. Beings. Animals. He knew them too, but couldn’t name them.


And so, his dream kept going on.


How did he know this was a dream?


He had no idea.


 


Antís had a weird dream.


Notes:

It was really hard to find a good source for Schepsi, because the English Wikipedia doesn't have an article about him and doesn't even mentions him in the Ogdoad article. There are only brief information about him in the German and Czech Wikipedia, which only confirmed what I already knew about him, so I was amazed that I could write a whole chapter with him. I had originally planned to make the conversation rather short and jump straight to next part, but while writing I found a lot of topics, which could be explored too, so the convo kept going on and on.
Alas, I decided to use this chapter to give more background information and flesh out the characters a bit more. However, we had some very long talks the last chapters, so I will pick up the pace now and let them fight again soon.

Chapter 10: Have You Seen This Cat?

Summary:

While Hut runs through dark Xibalba, Sahari tries to further analyse the mysterious feather. Meanwhile. Antís wakes up from his forced slumber and has some catching up to do.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Xibalba was dark. Very dark, even for Shin. They had no idea where exactly they were, but it didn’t seem to be any near the facilities the dead usually went to. Not that they had been here before and would recognise them, if they did see them.

Still, the darkness was making them uncomfortable. It gave off an especially eerie vibe. And Shin were a spirit of Death. If it had that effect on them, how would the others react to it?

Without any additional light sources in the area, the group had pulled open all the curtains in Hut’s main room. The cabin had enlightened its lanterns and now the warm shine brightened the area about twenty meters in every direction around Hut. Beyond that, lay the unwavering darkness.

It wasn’t threatening per se, but its ominous presence made Shin feel somehow claustrophobic. It gave way easily in the direction the cabin moved, but behind the being, it closed just as relentlessly. None of them knew what lay behind.


When the second hour of Shin’s watch dawned, they heard a voice behind them.

“How is it going?”

They let go of the railing of the small balcony leading outside the bedroom and turned around. The team had agreed earlier to rotate shifts to observe their surroundings of any points of interest. So far, Shin has had no luck. Maybe Aither would be able to identify something.

“Quiet”, they answered. “Literally nothing has happened, except the big rocks which appear, get circumnavigated by Hut and then disappear again.”

“Sounds eventful”, Aither mocked. “Can’t wait for my watch in a few minutes.”

“Why are you already here? I still have seven minutes and thirty-six seconds left on my watch.”

Aither didn’t answer at first. He was leaning on the side railing, arms crossed, and looked back through the glass door. His bow which peaked above his shoulder must be poking into his back, but he didn’t give any noticeable sign of discomfort. From that angle he could just see the sleeping face of Antís who lay still knocked-out by Sahari’s spell on the bed.

Shin guessed it would still take him some time to recover. He had been pretty sleep-deprived these last few days. Since they were currently unable to make progress in their mission, he wouldn’t miss out on anything at least. Except the primordial sun god, but that had been a surprise to all of them, not counting Sahari. Speaking of the magician.

“How is Sahari doing down there?”

“Another dead-end”, Aither admitted. “Hence, why I am up here. I‘m surprised you don’t hear her frustrating groans.”

“Hut is mostly soundproof”, Shin stated”, which can become rather handy sometimes.”

“Yeah, I figured.” Aither seemed absent-minded.

The spirit raised an eyebrow. They had expected at least one inappropriate sex joke.

“You seem upset”, Shin stated.

Aither visibly struggled to tear his gaze from the peaceful demigod, but in the end, he focused his golden eyes on the shinigami.

“Rough days”, was all he said.

The kami squinted at him.

“Usually, talking about their troubles makes humans feel better.”

“I am not human”, the god glared at them.

“Your inexperience shows in everything you do and say. Physically you are god, yes, but mentally you are a twenty-something human”, Shin said. “Do not let your stubbornness get in the way of your own mental stability.”

Aither was silent, but Shin saw his worry disappearing. He had closed his eyelids, his wrinkles smoothed out and he breathed deeply, once, twice, before opening his eyes again. His distrust hadn’t vanished completely, but he knew that keeping fighting would be useless and inefficient.

“Bastet’s my mother.”


That sure was surprising, because technically it wasn’t possible. Bastet couldn’t keep a humanoid form for more than half an hour at a time, certainly not for nine months. Except, she accelerated the pregnancy. She was also a goddess of childbirth, after all. But before Shin could voice any of these assumptions, Aither quickly relented.

“Not my real mother, of course. She is just the one who comes closest.”

At that, he smiled. Shin guessed, his mind was going through some of their shared memories. They kept silent, however. It was clear, Aither had just started.

“When my father birthed me through parthenogenesis, he created me from pure light. There was no female involved, so technically I have only one parent. Which resides all around the Heaven. Can’t say he had a very big impact on my upbringing. The gods realised that pretty quickly, once the newborn me started to scream for food or warmth or attention or anything else to be honest. So they decided to pass me around to anyone who had free time. Mostly mother goddesses at first to nurture me properly, then gods of culture and war who were responsible for educating and training me. But they all had other responsibilities to attend to, so they could only watch over me for so long before a replacement was needed. Bastet was the only one to stick around longer and more often than the others. Because she actually needs to rest from taking on her godly form, she had enough free time to take me on repeatedly. She was my mother, when I had a bad dream or got hurt during training. I don’t know what I would have become without her.”

He had been spacing out, his gaze traveling into the depths of his memories. Shin could tell he had significantly calmed down. It wouldn’t relieve him of the stress completely, but it should be enough for him to focus properly on his watch. If there would be anything to see at all.

“Sorry, for dropping all this on you”, the god continued at that moment. “I’m sure this must all sound pretty strange in regards to normal families and stuff.” He waved his hands defensively in front of him.

Shin only raised an eyebrow.

“I was born through the contract Izanami made with someone, which results in Antís being my purpose, and awoke in the empty body of many previous shinigami before me, which you now see here before you. I did not need to age or learn anything besides honing my abilities. I do not know what you mean with ‘normal families’.”

Aither looked at him with wide eyes.

“Touché.”

The two of them fell silent. Shin was counting the seconds until their watch would be over, when another thought emerged in their head.

“Do you feel guilty?”

“Guilty? What about?”, the god asked back.

“Does not the hero of a story often feel conflicted when their loved ones are in danger? I thought you might feel responsible for not being able to prevent Bastet from being taken into captivity”, the spirit explained.

Aither frowned.

“First of all I am not a Heros”, he clarified. “And no, why would I feel guilty? There’s no way I could have known Bastet would be somehow in danger and we got there, well not quickly, but we also didn’t dawdle on the way to Hermopolis. What happened happened. I can only do so much and if that’s not enough, I won’t whine like a child.”

Shin sighed internally. There was that godly arrogance, Aither had been lacking the whole time. They were glad to see that he was somewhat predictable.

That he was allergic to the term ‘hero’ was also something Shin should have known. The Greeks had used that term in their ancient stories when describing their mortal protagonists, mostly demigods and sometimes mere humans. Aither not wanting to be called a hero made Shin finally see the family resemblance with the other Olympian Gods.

“Just a guess”, they defended themselves. “Antís has this kind of motive, so I thought his friends might be similar.”

“I am not Antís”, Aither stated. Mentioning the demigod made him look back to the sleeping figure. “But I know what you mean. He wants to protect everyone, even if that means getting hurt himself. Or worse. Stupid.”

His talking had become a faint whisper, but Shin still caught the affection in which he spoke. He did still feel something for Antís. Shin just did not know what exactly. Yet. But before he could pose another question, an alarming sound rang through the air.

Aither took out his phone and looked at the time, apparently.

“Your watch is up”, he told the kami. “Maybe, you should head downstairs and see how Sahari's been doing with the last fragments.”

He pointed back to the glass door. The message was obvious.

“Then, I will leave you alone for the time being”, Shin nodded. “I will send Sahari to come for you in two hours.”

“That doesn’t sound threatening, at all”, Aither mocked.

Shin couldn’t tell if his good mood really was back or if he just pretended to be. But arguing now would be pointless. Alas, they opened the balcony door and stepped inside. When they had reached and opened the bedroom door leading to the hallway, they looked back to Aither.

The god had resumed his previous position on the side railing. Although he was now on guard duty, his eyes were fixed on something inside the cabin. Shin followed his gaze.

Antís looked younger than when being awake. The kami would never have guessed that so much sass could hide itself behind this innocent face, if they had not known him beforehand.

Careful as to not to disturb the demigod in his slumber, they closed the door behind them.


Sahari was glaring at the cauldron. A book about the fungi in the eastern european swamps lay spread open across her legs, but she didn’t deem it worthy of her attention. She had tried actually reading it to distract herself from any kind of magic, especially Heka, and clear her head.

Long story short: It didn’t work out. The feather was still floating above the bubbling cauldron, almost mockingly drifting from side to side while staying within the fixed parameters of Sahari’s spell, making any kind of distraction useless. Her gaze was so fixed on the fluttering object, that she didn’t even hear Shin descending the staircase until they began talking to her. In her defense, the spirit was floating and thus not touching anything, so they did make very little noise.

“How is it going?”

Startled, Sahari sprung from the chair she was sitting on, the fungi book falling to the floor. With her index finger raised threateningly, she turned to the source of the voice.

Don’t you dare, sneak up on me like that again”, she exclaimed. Heavily breathing, she began pacing around the room, while still occasionally throwing daggers with her eyes at the spirit.

The kami had halted on the last step of the staircase upon her outbreak and just waited until Sahari had calmed down enough.

“I am sorry for startling you”, they apologized. “I just learned this phrase as a form of greeting from Aither and thought this would be a good opportunity to try it out. If it is inappropriate, please tell me and I will refrain from using it in the future.”

Sahari began to understand what Antís had meant earlier when talking about the shinigami's inability to fully comprehend how mortals and most gods speak with each other. Sighing, she put the fallen chair back in its previous position and picked the book up from the floor.

“It’s fine”, she waved the apology away, sighing. “You can use the phrase, when you want to sound younger than you are. Just make sure you have drawn someone’s attention before starting to speak to them. You surprised the hell out of me, almost gave me a heart attack.”

“Do you suffer from cardiovascular diseases?”, Shin inquired.

Sahari had to close her eyes for a second and count to three, before she did something she would most definitely regret.

“No. I do not. That was an idiom.”

She wasn’t sure if Shin recognized her very fake smile she displayed as fake, but she wore it nonetheless. Better safe, than sorry.

“As for the question, which is the reason for this”, she made a circular gesture, “very interesting and not-at-all unnecessary conversation, I’m doing fine. Great. Peachy even. Now, if you excuse me, I have some important business I would like to attend to.” She walked over to the cauldron.

“Do you mean the feather?”

Sahari felt the vein pulsing at her temple. Slowly, she turned around again and blinked at the spirit.

“Yes. What else did you think I was going to do?”

“I do not know, which is why I asked. You speak in a very indirect manner, which is more difficult for me to understand than most human tongues”, Shin explained. Or more like tried to explain, because Sahari felt more insulted than lectured.

“Well. Then, maybe you know a more direct way on how to magic the information I want out of that itsy-bitsy feather.”

The spirit actually frowned and started thinking. It was official. Sahari was not just annoyed, she was furious.

“Maybe I do know a way”, Shin said. “I do not know if this is of any help, since I only heard it in passing while looking for my purpose”, Sahari was on the verge of no longer actively listening to the spirit, “but have you tried turning it off and on again?”

The fake-smile Sahari had tried to reproduce faltered and ultimately died on her lips. She wasn’t sure if she heard that correctly. She blinked again.

“Have I what?”


It became clear very quickly what Shin meant by their question. After they endured ten minutes of shouting by an enraged magician, she was exhausted enough for them to explain their idea in more detail.

They proposed the possibility that, when Sahari stopped the spell the first time, the whole process became corrupted, making it unable to fully finish extracting the information they wanted. Every dead-end which occurred in the last two hours was just a consequence of that first corruption.

In order to still get the information, Sahari should shut down the spell completely, dismiss the hieroglyphs and empty the cauldron. Only when the feather would not be in touch with Sahari’s Heka anymore, the corruption would vanish. Then she could start the whole process anew.

While the spirit proposed this procedure, Sahari was deep in thought. She did listen to them, but was also already thinking further. This sort of corruption Shin talked about was dangerous, because it could only mean that it was an advanced magical defense system, which only some gods possessed. If this feather really was from a god, then they would be up against a powerful entity. Only time would tell, if they could outsmart them. But for now Sahari had decided.

As soon as Shin was finished with their explanation, she sprung into action. Sahari turned to the cauldron and with a flick of her wand, dismissed the flickering hieroglyphs. When they were gone, the magic holding the feather in the air had vanished too, so the magician gently grasped it, before it fell into the bubbling soup.

“You can drain it”, Sahari spoke into the room and immediately Hut followed, loud slurping resonating from the cauldron. “Can you hold this for a moment?” Sahari held the feather in front of Shin.

“I do”, they confirmed while taking the object. “What are you going to do?”

“Getting another energy source”, the magician answered.

Before Shin could ask further, she was on the staircase going up. If the feather was protected by its godly owner, she would need godly assistance to break the barrier. As luck would have it, they had her own god with them.


When Antís awoke, he felt disoriented, but also relaxed. The sheets around him were comfortable which was not helpful as he wanted to get up. Still, his muscles were not quite there yet, he realised. So, a few minutes more bedtime it was.

He tried to remember what happened. He had woken up from a not that long slumber, got yelled at, had breakfast, had a shower, ordered Aither around and then- Sahari. Ah, yes. The magic. How much he hated that sometimes.

But it felt like there was more. Something in a dream he had while he was asleep, but he couldn't remember the details. Well, it couldn't be that important if he had already forgotten what the dream had been about.

Antís felt his strength returning to his limbs. After stretching a last time in the soft sheets he pushed himself upright and then swung his legs over the edge of the bed. Someone had undressed him. At least his shoes, socks and trousers were off. Of course he knew who had done that. Shin wouldn’t have cared and Sahari wasn’t strong enough to carry him, so there’s just one option left. If only he had been awake at that moment.

Sighing, he stood up and went to look for his stuff, when a creak alerting him of something behind him.

“You’re up”, Sahari greeted him.

Throwing his head back, Antís turned around.

“I am, no thanks to you.”

Her smug grin only got brighter.

“I think you mean, all thanks to me”, she corrected him. “Do you want a light or venture further in the dark?”

“No light please, I don’t want you collapsing on seeing me half-naked.”

She huffed.

“Oh, please. Even if you would be my type, I am taken and thus won’t give other guys that kind of attention.”

“Mhm”, Antís responded. He had found his clothes on the floor next to the bed and was currently wriggling his legs to pull up his trousers. Why did he wear them skinny again? Because they showed off his ass properly, that’s why. “That explains why you were totally checking out Shin when you first met them.”

“What?”, she exclaimed. “I wasn’t-”

“Sahari”, he interrupted her. “I have known you since that day when you tried fire magic for the first time and burned Alsam’s eyebrows off. We may not have been that close so far, but I have seen a lot of girls in the Heaven reacting to Aither, including you.”

“Yeah, well, that’s what you get for dating the hottest guy in class. You do know that a lot of them were furious about you getting him first? I think Erica actually considered duelling you for his hand.”

“She’s a berserk, it surprises me more that she didn’t go through with it-”

“We put her to sleep that day and said afterwards you punched her so hard that she lost her memory of the whole fight”, the magician explained.

Antís chuckled.

“Sly and that finally explains why she respects me so much, but you do remember the time, when Aither was just my friend and I was third-wheeling on every date you girls invited him to. Either he didn’t realise what you wanted from him or he brought me along on purpose. Both horrifying options. Nevertheless, those dates were annoying and the girls clung to him like moths to a flame while murdering me with their eyes. At least, until I had enough and yelled at him for dragging me to those events.”

“Well, that’s girls for you. You know how they are”, Sahari shrugged her shoulders.

Antís was finished dressing himself and turned around to her with a fed-up expression.

“No, I don’t and don’t want to know. That’s the whole point of dating just men.”

“Yeah, how is that going for you, exactly?”

She had crossed a line and she knew that, considering that she immediately covered her mouth with her hands. It was too dark to make out any additional features, so Antís could only assume that she looked apologetic. At least, she sounded like it.

“That came out wrong.” It wasn’t a full apology, but Antís didn’t need one. He knew what she had meant, even if it was spoken out of spite. His lack of successful relationships after Aither spoke for itself. Maybe it was time for a change of topic.

“Why were you watching me sleep again?”

“I wasn’t- Is that what you were thinking I was doing up here the whole time?”

“I don’t know. Were you?”, Antís countered.

“No, I wasn’t”, Sahari assured him. “I was observing the darkness outside to alert the others if something happens.”

Immediately, Antís’ mind was in the Heimdallr control room again, trying to save his cru- his friend. Then, his gaze traveled over Sahari’s shoulder through the glass door. That sure looked different than last time.

“We should go downstairs and meet up with Aither and Shin”, Antís proposed, “where hopefully you can tell me where we are and what we are doing here.”

“Well, technically I have”, Sahari pulled out her phone, “forty minutes left in my watch, but I guess given the circumstances I can end it early. I don’t think there will be something happening anyway.”

Antís made sure that his phone was in the pocket of his trousers before following the magician through the door which she held open for him.

“Watch? How much have I missed, exactly?”

“Definitely the chillest primordial ever, that’s for sure”, Sahari responded.

“‘Primordial’? Just how long have I been out?”

“Around six hours, I think.” She was already descending the staircase when she turned around and stuck her tongue out to him.

Antís only stood in the middle of the hallway trying to process this information. Then he felt something else.

“Sahari?”

“Yes?” She had stopped, only her head still sticking out above the floor where the steps sank into the basement.

“You go ahead, I’ll be right behind you.”

She looked at him fidgeting, before realising what he wanted to do.

“Have fun”, she waved and disappeared completely.

Antís didn’t waste any time and disappeared as well. Into the bathroom.


Relieved and refreshed, Antís descended the staircase a few minutes later as well. The others were already waiting for him. Shin leaning on a wall, hovering a few centimeters above the ground as usual. Their eyes clung to him the second he stepped into view.

Aither was casually flipping through the pages of a discarded book, while lounging on one of the rough wooden chairs. Antís thought that he must already be sore from the hard surface, but the god showed no sign of being uncomfortable. When one of the steps he stepped on creaked, Aither turned around and focused him too, his literature already forgotten.

Sahari was standing at the cauldron, stirring a brown liquid with chunks of something Antís couldn’t identify from his position on the stairs. She didn’t look up, while throwing some spices into the soup.

“What’s cooking?”, Antís greeted them, when he stepped down from the last step, before nodding to Aither and Shin.

“Hah!”, Sahari laughed, “I like that one. It’s called Bamia, you two should have heard of it, being Greek.” She pointed two fingers in Antís’ and Aither’s direction without looking.

“Heard of it?”, Aither responded. “Eaten and thrown up because of it.”

This time Sahari did look up, irritated.

“My mother cooks it every Easter”, Antís explained. “When she heard that I wanted to bring him over for the weekend, she used that occasion to make like thrice the amount of what you are cooking there.”

“We were eating for days”, Aither remembered. “I vividly remember the evening when we were spoon-feeding each other because we wanted to motivate the other to empty his plate to not fear Athena’s wrath. Can’t say I slept much that night.”

“Since its fasting season, she makes the vegetarian version with a lot of extra okra”, Antís added. “I don’t even like okra.”

“Well, you are lucky, because Baba Yaga didn’t venture south that much”, Sahari said, “so she has no vegetables from the tropical regions. I can only use peas, if that’s more to your liking.”

“Not really”, Aither grimly responded.
“I’m more of a sweet tooth, to be honest”, Antís scratched the back of his head.
“I don’t eat”, Shin cut in.

All eyes turned to them.

“Do you really feel the need to always point out the obvious?”, Antís asked them.

“I want to participate in a conversation, when I am going to be part of this group”, they answered.

That kind of made sense, but Antís could see the sceptic looks on the other’s faces. Aither’s was especially grim, which surprised him. He put that thought aside though to focus on the more important aspects of their situation.

“Well, then how about you tell me what’s going on, while Sahari finishes this pseudo-Bamia.” He vaguely gestured to the cauldron.

“Just for the record”, the magician pointed with her wooden spoon at the liquid, “this is real lamb, so beside the okra and some spices this is real Egyptian Bamia.”

“Antís is a vegetarian”, Aither responded with the demigod nodding along.

Sahari’s look was priceless, but Antís just ignored her and turned back to Shin.

“What have we got?”

“You know what Xibalba is?”, the shinigami asked.

Immediately, Antís' brain made connections. Directly beside Shin was one of Hut’s small windows, so he just needed to jerk his head a little to look outside. Someone had opened the curtains, giving Antís a free view on literal darkness. He blinked, then he sighed.

“What are we doing in Xibalba?”

“Looking for Bastet”, the kami explained. “She got dragged here by some unidentified beings before we were able to meet with her.”

“According to whom?”

“Schepsi”, they replied.

Antís was known for his high perception, but this new information flooded his brain with so many thoughts, that he needed a few seconds to properly organise them. Only then he could make sense of what the kami had told him.

“Of course, Hermopolis was his main worshipping place. Makes sense, that he would still be there.”

He had been talking to himself, but naturally the others listened to his rambling.

“You know of Schepsi?”, Aither asked, irritated.

“Hm? Oh, yeah, you remember my mother? The goddess of all know-it-alls?”

“Athena gave you high-level intel only the Egyptians and key personnel should know about?”, Sahari interjected.

“You told us about him”, Aither pointed out.

“Because you stood in front of him”, Sahari responded.

She looked like she wanted to argue more, so Antís snapped his fingers to draw their attention.

“Not the topic, guys. Anything else of importance Schepsi said?”

“Only that he will try to reach his other children and keep them away from our territories to avoid more incidents where they try to devour us”, Shin replied.

“Then that can be scratched from our to-do list”, Antís said. Then he halted. “How did you know you needed to go to Xibalba to find Bastet?”

“Shin identified the things that took Bastet, but so far they didn’t tell us”, Aither responded.

Antís focused on the spirit. He had a suspicion.

“Bats?”

Shin nodded.

“Camazotz”, Antís noted. “Makes sense, although we don’t know how they knew Bastet would be in Hermopolis.”

“Wait. Camazotz, as in Camazotz, god of bats and death?”, Sahari cut in.

Antís gave her a side-glance before continuing.

“Yeah, although that’s more of a misinterpretation. I read the original Popol Vuh, the story about the Maya Hero Twins’ journey in the underworld, where they encounter multiple bat-like monsters. I understood that ‘Camazotz’ is the entirety of these monsters.”

“So we have to fight a whole swarm of bats to free Bastet?”, Aither asked.

“Sounds like it”, Shin concluded.

“First things first”, Antís interjected. “What about that?”

He had closed the distance between him and the window and pointed outside. It was pretty obvious what he meant.

“No idea”, Aither admitted.

“It was there when we got here”, Shin added.

“Hut has tried to outrun the darkness, but it’s everywhere”, Sahari concluded. “When Aither switched with me for the last watch, we decided to stop where we were to let Hut rest a bit.”

“Have you tried to approach it separately?”, Antís inquired.

“No. Why would we do that?”, Aither answered. “Worst case, we die instantly, leaving the others here alone to figure out how to get rid of it.”

“I doubt that”, the demigod responded. “We may be in an underworld inhabited by the dead, but killing visitors is not allowed according to the United Law. Xibalba is part of the United Hells, after all.”

His thoughts traveled further, an idea began to form in his head. He turned to Shin.

“You are a Death”, he stated. “Can you die?”

The shinigami blinked at him.

“I can cease to exist.”

Antís pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Wrong question. Can you be killed prematurely? Before my death, that is.”

Shin opened their mouth. Then they closed it again.

“I don’t think so.”

“That’s very reassuring”, Aither mocked.

“Enough for me”, Antís said. “Would you do this?”

“Unravel the shadows surrounding us?”, Shin asked to be sure.

Antís only nodded.

“Wait, seriously?” Aither had stood up from his sitting position. “Antís, can I talk to you for a second?”

The demigod turned to him and nodded again.

“Sure.”

“In private”, Aither responded with raised eyebrows.

Antís gave him a long look. Then he thought of a private place.

“Upstairs?”

Aither motioned for him to go ahead, so Antís began ascending the stairs.

“We’ll still have lunch, when you come down”, Sahari called after them.

Antís led them back onto the balcony, unbeknownst that his friends had all already been here today.

“What did you want to talk about?”, he asked, leaning himself on the railing.

“What is your game here exactly?”, an exasperated Aither responded. Antís turned around to face him. “Your literal Death stands two meters away from you and you’re just like ‘Ok, cool, let’s trust them with our lives’.”

“What else am I supposed to do?”, Antís countered, surprised by this outbeak. “Send them back to Yomi?”

“Maybe. I just don’t get how you can be so calm in their presence.”

“I am calm, because currently, they have no intention of hurting me and we can make use of their knowledge and abilities”, the demigod explained.

“Then let’s use that knowledge to break your contract with them”, Aither fired back. “Anything, so that they won’t be a threat in the future, because given our luck right now, that is exactly what’s going to happen if they will stay with us.”

“Shin can’t ‘break the contract’. They are just ‘the messenger’, as we say”, Antís reasoned. “The contract exists between Izanami and someone else, probably me, which means we would need to travel to Yomi, which would cost us ressources and time. We are short on both of these things and to be honest, I don’t see us talking Izanami into releasing Shin from me, except without a good contervalue.” He searched the gods' gaze. “Shin stays.”

“So you are fine with them killing you ultimately”, Aither stated grimly.

An uncomfortable silence stretched between them.

“They are my Death, if I like it or not. They are and they are here”, Antís clarified, “but they don’t have to be the reason I die.”

Aither huffed and turned away to break their eye contact. The demigod could clearly see that he was worried about him. He stepped forward and grasped his arm gently.

“I have been traveling with them now for several days. So far they only attacked me once, right at the beginning of our first meeting. Even if they do still look for a way to take me to Yomi, it will be after we finish this mission. They have already considered out loud to just find a good argument and thus talk me into going with them. Right now, we can trust them to not let anything happen to us.”

Aither laughed. It was raspy and ended abruptly, which made his distrust in the shinigami very clear.

“You’re serious?”

He had turned his face back to Antís, who could see his own reflection in the shining golden eyes.

“I don’t want to die”, Antís clarified, “but if my time comes, then at least I know who will be guiding me.”

Aither had always been good at reading his expressions. The god’s gaze flickered from eye to eye before responding.

“I don’t want you to die, either”, he stated. “I don’t trust Shin”, Antís was close to rolling his eyes, “but I trust you. If you say you can handle them, I believe you.”

A warm smile spread on Antís’ lips, followed by a more hesitant and insecure one on the god’s face. Antís tip-toed to wrap his arms around the god’s neck and pulled him into a hug, burying his face in Aither’s neck. A moment later, lean arms wrapped around his back and pulled him closer. Together, they stood like that for a while.

Before letting go and descending, Antís stretched even further and planted a small kiss on Aither’s cheek, before looking into these warm eyes.

“Thank you for worrying about me.”

He let go of the god and straightened his clothing, before going back inside and down the staircase, Aither following after him.

Sahari was in the middle of setting the table and filling large wooden bowls with her almost-Egyptian Bamia.

“I was close to sending Shin up to get you”, she reprimanded them, holding her spoon up threateningly. “I fished out most of the lamb from your portion”, she addressed Antís directly, “but please tell me something like that beforehand. You ate eggs for breakfast, so I guess, I just assumed that you would be ok with meat too.”

“There’s a difference between vegan and vegetarian, you know”, Antís reminded her while sitting down.

“I’m aware”, she rolled her eyes. “But nowadays, you don’t hear about vegetarians anymore, just about the hardcore vegans and the equally hardcore meat-lovers. So again, sorry about your food.”

“I’ll survive”, Antís responded. “Where’s Shin by the way?”

“Outside. ‘Preparing for what is to come’, they said.”

Antís raised his eyebrows and exchanged a glance with Aither. The god just shrugged his shoulders before grabbing his spoon and beginning to dig in. Sighing, Antís grabbed his spoon as well.

“Thank you for the food.”


Shin wasn’t nervous. The whole concept of nervousness didn’t add up to them, but they did feel something. Anticipation. There had been a lot of talking these past days. It was time to get some action.

About twenty minutes after they had left Hut, the others joined them outside.

“You good?”, Antís walked up to them. He wore his combat bracers on arms and legs, his right hand fidgeting with the bronze bracelet on his left wrist.

“I am. What about you? I thought you were going to feast for a while in there.”

“Not before a fight. That was only to get some nourishment and silence our growling stomachs. There is a whole cauldron left for after whatever happens now.”

“What exactly is going to happen now?” Aither had joined them on Antís other side, holding his bow and looking expectantly at Shin. They couldn’t quite grasp how the god felt about them. Earlier they had had a nice talk and then suddenly he looked at Shin like they had killed something very dear to him. Which, if they were being honest, was ultimately their goal. Maybe they did understand him, after all.

“Shin will be going in there and we will observe what happens.” Sahari popped out beside Shin and pointed with her staff at the darkness in front of them. She was already channeling Heka, the 𓁟 swirling in its wooden frame.

“A small reminder”, Antís spoke up. “Don’t look at my aegis.” He finally pulled on one of the bronze orbs and almost, a small round shield unfolded, covering his whole lower arm, including his left elbow.

“Do you also have a weapon?”, Aither asked the demigod.

“First, let’s see what we are up against. I can arm myself later”, Antís replied.

Aither only huffed and shook his head in response. Shin held their hand out and summoned their scythe which appeared immediately in their grasp.

“I will be going now.”

The others nodded or mumbled acknowledgements.

Shin floated forward towards the unwavering darkness.


Coming closer, the darkness didn’t look as solid as it seemed by watching from afar. Shin could make out multiple individual shadowy clouds, slowly moving, overlapping each other and thus creating this illusion of a veil of darkness. Sometimes the clouds moved so that little holes between the shadows formed, giving Shin a good view of more rocks behind them. The veil didn’t seem to cover the whole underworld, it was only surrounding them, apparently.

Getting bolder they floated closer and extended their scythe. Nothing happened when the black blade went through the first cloud, the shadow just kept moving around it. They raised their scythe above their head, careful not to cut themself with the second blade on the weapon’s other end. Then, Shin struck, the scythe slicing through the shadowy cloud. Immediately, the veil reacted.

The shadows in front of them retreated, further away from Shin until they had created some sort of half-circle, merging seamlessly with the other clouds at the edge. The light from Hut’s lanterns wasn’t strong enough to illuminate the whole new area, it was more of a grey zone between light and shadow.

Shin heard footsteps behind them, then their teammates emerged on both of their sides. Aither was now too prepared to fight. He was slightly glowing and an arrow of pure light lay in his bow, ready to be aimed and fired.

“You saw?”

“We did”, Sahari confirmed. “Sure looked interesting.”

“If we just have to hurt these shadows, we’ll be out in no time”, Aither added.

“I don’t think that’s gonna be it”, Aither cut in. He pointed at something in front of them, so they all followed his outstretched finger. Two yellow glowing orbs floating somewhere in the grey zone. No, not orbs, Shin realised. Eyes.

When they focused on them, they saw they belonged to a black body, which seemed to consist of the same shadows as the veil.

“Hi”, Aither startled all of them. He waved towards the figure.

Antís grabbed his arm and hissed at him under his breath.

“What are you doing?”

“Making friends”, the god hissed back, not taking his eyes off the shadow figure, before addressing it again. “We are looking for a cat with leopard patterned fur. Have you seen one?”

The shadow began to move. It slowly approached them, dragging its feet while raising its arms like in a zombie movie. To Shin it looked like the shadow was solidifying, when it was close enough to make out details. The others saw that too, apparently, given their reactions.

“Guys? I don't think it's friendly”, Sahari weakly stated.

“Aither, what did you do?”, Antís asked the god.

“Made conversation. Come on, man.”

He shook off Antís’ hand which had been clutching his arm the whole time and aimed his bow. He fired, the arrow hitting the figure right in what would be the forehead of a normal person. The figure halted, then the orbs flickered and went out. Immediately, the shadow seemed to disperse, leaving no trace of the creature behind.

“That’s it?”, Aither asked, confused. “Disappointing.”

The ground began to rumble and on multiple locations in front of them rocks flew in the air, because various beings were clawing their way out of the ground. Not just beings, Shin realised very quickly. The dead had finally come to greet them.

“You had to ask”, Antís gave Aither an annoyed side glance.

When the dead’s eyes began to glow yellow, they braced for impact.


***************************************************************************************


Bastet sat in her bone cage, waiting. The bats had left her hours ago and she was starting to feel tired, when the Raven descended.

“Well, would you look at that. They actually got the cat”, she mocked.

Bastet blinked at her.

“Should have known, you’re responsible. Where are your sisters?”

“The surface. I just wanted to check in on you one last time, before leaving as well. Don’t want your little henchmen to find me”, the Raven cawed.

“You do realise, they will know of you, as soon as I’m out of here.”

If you get out of there. You didn’t think we didn’t have any plans for you, didn’t you. Also, I’m sure the wise boy suspects us already. We are not known for our subtlety.”

“I am aware. You are also not as smart as you think you are.”

The Raven crooked her head, confused. She stood awfully close to the cage without realising, in how much danger she was. Alas, Bastet pounced. She didn’t fit through the bones holding her prison, but it was enough for her paw to pass through. Sharp claws sliced across the Raven’s left wing, who had tried to leap back. Unfortunately, birds were not as agile as a cat while standing on the ground.

Bastet pinned her onto the rocky surface by the wing, claws digging in her flesh. The Raven cawed agitated on being hurt. Before she could spring into action herself however Bastet let go, retreating her paw. Immediately, the Raven got up and hopped out of the cat’s reach.

“You better heal fast”, Bastet mocked her. “I heard my ‘henchmen’ are on their way and we don’t want them to find you, don’t you?”

The Raven only glared at her, pure hatred flashing in her eyes. Bastet grinned, showing her sharp teeth. The game was on.


Notes:

Originally, I was planning on giving Sahari the first part of her backstory, but it didn't fit, where I wanted it. It's still going to happen, I'll just push it a bit further back.

Chapter 11: The Moon's Legacy Burns Away the Decay

Summary:

Fighting the dead is not easy. So Antís takes it onto himself to find a different solution than smashing heads in. In the aftermath, Sahari has to face some secrets long unspoken of.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The dead didn’t stop coming. Antís realised that pretty quickly. As soon as they vanquished one another took its place, but at least they were not smart. Their sluggish movements made it easy for the team to dodge the attacks and land hits themself. Shin was having the most success with that.

Every swing of their scythe brought down at least two corpses, their glowing eyes flickering out. Antís guessed that had to do with them being Death itself. But his friends were also not bad.

Aither was the safest out of them. It wasn’t hard, since he was flying above the battlefield, shooting his arrows from a distance. He didn’t hit as often as he maybe wanted, but when he did, the dead immediately fell, whatever possessed it burnt out by his blinding light.

Sahari on the other hand looked like she had a lot of fun. They all tried to stay out of her reach, because being roasted was not something they would enjoy. The magician had summoned a shield of fire, which surrounded her in a three meter radius and kept burning the dead who tried to get close to her. Occasionally, she summoned a fireball from the shield and threw it in large groups to disperse them. Antís would guess right that her body count would outrange all of theirs. He himself would be the one with the lowest.

The demigod was the backline, who observed the progress his teammates made and intercepted all the dead who got past Shin and avoided Aither’s arrows. He didn’t bother with his left flank, Sahari, because nothing survived her flames. Alas, he pointed his aegis to the right and prevented the raging corpses from getting to Hut. Brute force of fist and bronze seemed to hold them at bay for now, but Antís saw them being overrun very soon, if the dead kept coming like that. They needed something to hold them back, make them stop, so he could try to negotiate with whoever controlled the corpses. Whatever that shadow was that Aither had shot earlier, it was probably just protecting its territory. He needed to show it, that they weren’t a threat, that they were here to-

An idea popped into his head. Quickly, he surveyed the battle and then decided on a course of actions.

Aither!”, he shouted while punching a nearby dead, the corpse falling backwards on the ground. “Aith!”. He smashed his aegis edge-first onto the dead’s head, the skull getting crushed through the force of the impact, grey brain flooding the rocks. “You dumb piece of bi ass!” Another dead leaped at Antís, who knocked it back with aegis. The thing stopped and observed him, before screaming at him. While readying itself for another attack it got pierced by a glowing arrow, leading to it falling face-first on the floor.

“At your service”, the god descended next to Antís and grinned at him.

Using this moment of calmness, the demigod faced his friend.

“That’s what you’re listening to?”

Aither quickly shot three arrows, but only two of them hit their target.

“Crap! Yeah, well, I like girls, I like boys and I like ass. It’s only natural to listen to that.”

Antís was too occupied to deal with that logic right now.

“Well, then oh master of the three genders, I need you here to hold the line, while I go talk to your girlfriend.” He turned to go, only to be held back by a hand on his shoulder.

“What? No. You know how terrible I am in close-combat”, the god argued.

Antís carefully unwrapped the hand from his shoulder and patted it. He looked deep into the golden pleading puppy eyes.

“Your terrible is better than my best, you fucking god”, he countered. Before Aither could respond to that, the demigod let go of him and made his way towards the raging inferno.

There weren’t any dead on this side of the magician, but the heat was extreme. It had already begun to melt the rocks at some places, making a straight-forward approach rather difficult. Another gush of fire burned the walking corpses to a crisp, making Antís feeling like he needed to duck to avoid it, although he wasn’t even in range. When he was close enough without being near the flamey shield, he called out to his friend.

“Sahari!”

Fire crackling, corpses screaming and wailing when another wave hit a large group, but no answer.

Sahari!”, Antís tried again.

Fortunately, she heard him this time.

“What?”

When she turned her head around, the shield moved as well, towards Antís. He quickly retreated a few steps so as to not be burned at the stake.

“Woah, be careful where you aim that thing”, he exclaimed.

“Sorry, but I’m quite busy at the moment”, Sahari excused herself before turning back to the corpses in front of her. She waved with her staff and thus threw another fireball at them.

“I need you to tell me what you have done with the feather”, Antís shouted.

“What?”

Sahari turned around again, followed by the fire shield rushing towards the demigod. Again, he retreated, almost stepping on the molten rocks and ruining his shoes.

Sahari!

“Sorry, but you can’t just blurt out something like that and expect no reaction.”

“Where did you put it?”, Antís tried again.

“Why is that of importance right now?”, the magician asked before turning around and fireballing the gathering corpses. When she turned back, she looked slightly annoyed.

“It might help me get rid of these zombies”, Antís replied. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Shin in a sea of corpses and Aither trying to keep a lot of them from getting to Hut. They needed to act fast. “Could you finish the decryption?”

“I had to restart it, so I put the feather in the study to not have to look at it any longer. If everything went right this time, it should be finished now”, she told him.

That was enough for the demigod. Antís turned around to race back to Hut, only for Sahari to call out to him again.

Antís.” He stopped and turned back to her. “Be careful with it. Two decryptions may have strained it more than it could take. I fear the feather could fall apart the moment you touch it.”

“I’ll be careful”, Antís assured her and nodded before turning back to Hut and finally heading to his destination.


The staircase was too steep and narrow to really race it to the top, but Antís tried. He was panting as he burst through the study door, which was seated opposite of the bedroom and next to the small newly renovated bathroom Hut had provided the demigod with a few days earlier. Not that Antís was not fit, quite the opposite actually, but he could still feel the exhaustion from his fight with the corpses. He steadied himself on a cabinet next to the study door and surveyed the room while catching his breath. He was gonna need it soon.

The feather wasn’t hard to find. It floated above the desk, the witch had been doing her research on, surrounded by some sort of pulsing halo, which illuminated the room and its crooked bookshelves. The light dimmed and brightened again with this process repeating itself every few seconds. Antís couldn’t make out any hieroglyphs in the halo’s vicinity. Either they had already evaporated or were one with the light. Hesitantly, he stepped closer and extended a hand towards the feather.

As soon as he breached the halo, he noticed several things. One, the magic the halo emitted felt familiar. Memories of sweet kisses under the stars, a warm body embracing him in soft covers and exploding lights in an otherwise empty arena began filling his mind. He smiled absent-mindedly. Of course, Sahari had asked Aither for help.

The second thing he noticed were the information which were transmitted into his brain. Antís shuddered, as he processed them. The decryption was finished and he was just getting the results. He now knew to whom the feather belonged, confirming the suspicion he had been so reluctant to voice out-loud. If she is their enemy, this mission just got more difficult.

At last, Antís noticed that the halo was receding. Its intensity fading, the light seemed to disperse until the last magic just held the feather up in the air. The room went dark. Quickly, Antís extended a hand and held it underneath the floating object, gently cradling it in his palm. He cupped his other hand over the feather and took one last breath before turning on his heel and leaving the witch’s study.


Aither was having a hard time. After Antís left, the dead hords had pushed them back to Hut where the three of them made their last stand. Sahari stood in their middle, leaning on her staff which she had rammed into the black rocks underneath them. The magician had enlarged her flame shield, so as to fit around all of them and Hut. Unfortunately, that made the flames much weaker and allowed some dead to survive the ordeal of passing through it. Still, Sahari continued to focus her Heka, mumbling in a low voice, but Aither couldn’t understand if she was summoning more magic to fight or to find a way out.

He was far too focused on defending their left flank. His bow wasn’t as effective on short distances, which meant for him to again engage in close-combat with the dead. He had transformed his arms into photons, their mass solidifying the closer they got to his shoulders, meaning only his hands consisted of pure light. Still, that was enough, since they had the same effect on his enemies as his arrows. When he hit a vital part of the corpse - vital, as in necessary for the thing to continue its rampage, such a as the head or torso - Aither’s hand passed through the body and emerged from its back, sending a shock of light through the dead. Immediately their eyes flickered and went dark, the bodies slumping together. Quickly, he pulled his hand back again to ready himself for the next wave of corpses.

By now, he had begun to look for alternative options. He could emit a shockwave of light from his whole body, hoping to achieve the same effect his arrows and fists made, however, this would drastically deplete his energy resources. His supply was multiple times as big as Antís’ or Sahari’s but focused attacks also needed huge amounts of energy. So far, he could easily go on for maybe even another hour, the dead were more annoying than dangerous to him, but if he would change his fighting style now, he would maybe not have energy left for future fights. In addition, if one of his teammates ran out of energy it would be his job to refuel them, which won’t be possible if he himself ran out of juice.

Another wave of corpses burst through the flames while he was still debating over his options. Two of them went straight at him, while a third one surveyed the area. Shin was busy at the other end of Hut, but Sahari just stood there, hunched over her staff. The glow of its eyes intensified, then it leaped into action, running towards its target. Too late, Aither realised he should have retreated to intervene, because just as he was about to intercept the corpse, the other two reached him. One grabbed his right upper arm, which was unfortunately solid enough to get a good grip. The other dead however did something else entirely. A sharp pain surged through Aither’s shoulder, a weight dragged him down to the black rocks, while grey fingers reached for his throat and chest.

The god may be able to travel with almost the speed of light and yet, all of this happened so fast that he was pushed backwards to the ground. He had been so focused on the third corpse, that the others were able to pin him down, claws digging into arms and teeth biting into his shoulder. Nevertheless, Aither craned his neck because his eyes were glued to his girlfriend, who didn’t seem to notice the danger.

He needed to save her. White light erupted from his body and burned itself through the dead on top of him, leaving nothing but ash falling to the ground. Aither himself had already risen and sped up to reach Sahari in time. He left his photon stance when he was almost there, because to pull the corpse away from Sahari he needed a solid form. Luckily, he was too late.

Luckily, because the moment he solidified, a spear came crashing through the window beside him, passing through his still half-photon body and drilled into the dead who had just been able to touch the invisible force-field Sahari had surrounded herself with. Both the spear and the magic barrier propelled it backwards through the fiery shield, so fast that the flames had no additional effect on the dead. Aither, astonished by whatever happened just now, was too confused to register it fully. He finished solidifying, only to run face-first into the barrier himself. He felt himself being pushed away, saw Sahari getting smaller again and then the world went dark.


Shin was in the middle of holding a corpse into the air by its throat, when something crashed behind them. Technically they were strangling it, practically it didn’t bother the dead, but Shin was already turning around to observe the noise, when Antís burst through Hut’s front door. He gave Shin and their accessory a fleeting look, before turning to the magician.

“Good, you have one”, he acknowledged. “Sahari, what happened to Aither?”

“Don’t know and currently don’t care”, she pressed through gritted teeth. “Just finally do something, I can’t hold this any longer.”

She fell silent again, her brows furrowing even further. A bead of sweat trickled down her cheek, but she was far too concentrated to even notice that.

Antís didn’t waste any time and approached Shin and their still raging dead. He clutched something in his right hand, but a grey fist flailing near the spirit’s eyes made it impossible for them to get a proper view. Fortunately, they didn’t have to guess any longer.

He got a few steps closer, before stopping and raising the object, a feather, in the air, out of the corpses reach.

“I command you to stand down”, Antís said.

Shin didn’t know what made the corpse stop, obedience, magic or confusion, but it ceased to try clawing the kami’s eyes out. They themself had no idea what Antís was trying to accomplish, that was certain.

“Well, that’s something at least”, the demigod muttered before focusing back onto the grey meat sack in Shin’s hand. “I want to talk to you without interference of any kind, is that possible?”

The corpse which had been hanging limp in Shin’s grasp opened its mouth, but only bubbling and gurgling sounds came out. When it finished ‘speaking’, it looked expectantly at the demigod in front of them. Shin exchanged a glance with the demigod. Antís hesitated before nodding and addressing his Death directly.

“Set it down.”

Shin raised an eyebrow, but did as told. Their scythe, which had been floating around behind them the whole time, raised itself above the corpse, ready to cut it down, at any sudden movements. Still, the dead stood still and silent. Then it started speaking in a hollow, breathless voice.

“Why did you attack me?”

“Why did you attack us?”, Antís countered.

They stared at each other, none of them wanting to give in.

“Where did you get the feather?”

“How do you know who it belongs to?”, Antís countered.

Again, silence, but before anyone could start this linguistic duel anew, Sahari gave in. The flame shield vanished, revealing the horde of dead now on standby, and the magician slumped to the ground, breathing heavily. Antís glanced at her, but didn’t dare to move another muscle in front of their enemy. A questioning gaze in Shin’s direction alerted them of Antís’ request. They let their scythe floating in place, but otherwise hovered towards the Egyptian pile.

“You owe me”, they whispered when they passed the demigod.

“I already do”, he whispered back.

Shin couldn’t argue with that and descended to the ground next to Sahari. She had already started to rise again, leaning on her arms she looked around trying to make sense of their current situation.

“Easy”, Shin tried to soothe her.

They kneeled next to her and gently grabbed her shoulder, steadying Sahari. Alerted, she tried to scoot away, but their grip was strong. It took her a moment to realise who was trying to help her. Only then she gave in, leaning into the spirit’s pale arms. She shivered, so Shin enveloped her with their cloak, which was already multiple times their own size. Sahari gave them a thankful look, before focusing on Antís and the dead in front of them. It seemed they were restarting their negotiation.

“I would like to propose a deal”, the demigod said.

The dead only nodded in affirmation.

“We tell you why we are here and why I have this feather and you withdraw every single one of your soldiers and cease from attacking us in the future”, Antís proposed. “And we want our teammate back. You know. The glowing one.”

He made some incomprehensible gestures with his unoccupied hand, but the corpse seemed to understand.

“And if I refuse?”, it asked.

Antís smiled. Shin did not like that smile they noted.

“I’ll kill you”, the demigod replied. It was an empty threat, that much was obvious, so he shrugged his shoulders and continued. “Or I could alert the Heaven that an unprotocolled being roams Xibalba attacking visitors and the like. I’m sure the court will gladly want to meet and assess said being, though I am not sure what the consequence of such a violation of the United Law would be. A prison sentence could seem almost too merciful of such a breach of Xenia.”

Xenia was Zeus’ fault. It had been the ancient Greek’s concept of hospitality and the King of the Gods was as Zeus Xenios the patron of guests and the sort. Any Greek who violated this concept and did their guests any wrong, had been personally punished by the Lord of the Sky.

When the pantheons merged, Zeus had made it his goal to extend the Xenia concept to all the realms. Long story short, he succeeded and from then on the ruler of a world had to treat all visitors with kindness and listen to their demands. Violators of Xenia were to be presented to the United Court, where Forseti, Norse god of the Law, determined the punishment according to the severity of a situation.

However, Shin wasn’t aware if that had ever happened before. Because of the legends that revolve around the punishments Zeus had ordered in the ancient days, no violations had been officially committed to the United Court. They were sure there had been such violations, of course, but so far they all seemed to be handled quietly.

In conclusion, Antís threatening the being with Xenia was a smart move. Since nobody knew exactly how fierce this law would be prosecuted, most deities refrained from attempting to break it in the first place.

Shin could see the hesitation in the dead’s eyes rising. The foul yellow orbs were fixated onto the demigod, some sort of shadow darkening their glow. Ultimately, it didn’t seem to see any other way, so yet still reluctantly it nodded again.

“Who are you?”

Antís raised his palm to stop it from posing more questions.

“First things first. Our friend”, he raised an eyebrow before continuing. “And if you don’t mind, lose the body. We have already seen your other form. No point in hiding in a stinking corpse.”

If said corpse would still have eyelids, Shin was sure it would have blinked. The next thing that happened however did surprise them. The body collapsed. Just ~poof~ and ~flop~ as it hit the ground. Next to them Shin observed the other corpses to do the same, one by one. Only one last body remained, which held its massive arms in a weird position in front of them. No. Not quite, Shin realised, when it stepped closer. It held something in its normal-sized arms, they recognised. A figure. Another body, only this one didn't have grey skin like the corpse. This one looked healthy, vibrant even. Then it clicked.

“Aith.”

Antís’ voice was only a whisper, but it was enough for Sahari to turn her head towards the approaching figure. Before she could react however, the demigod had already started moving towards the pale corpse, which clutched their friend close to its chest as if he were an infant. When he reached them, it hesitated briefly, but eventually held out the unconscious god for him to carry. Antís briefly struggled at first, Aither seemed to be rather heavy when his whole body was physically manifesting, but after shifting his weight Antís was able to carry him without a problem, only his long limbs pendeled through the air as they returned. Antís leaned Aither carefully against Hut’s outer wall before turning around to face their enemy.

As soon as the god had been out of its grasp, the corpse inheriting their mysterious attacker had collapsed as well, leaving only a black figure behind. While Shin observed the wavering shadows, its eyes began glowing like they did that first time before Aither shot it in the head. They were back to square one regarding their enemy’s side, though the team themselves sure looked defeated, with one member unconscious and another out of energy. Whatever Antís had planned, Shin hoped it would be worth their effort.

Next to them, they could feel Sahari shifting. She had been watching her boyfriend intensely during this whole exchange and could only tear her gaze from him, when the contrahents began their negotiation anew. Shin could see her paying close attention to the conversation. Whatever exhaustion her body had succumbed to was far from affecting her mind.

“You wanted to know who we are?”

“And why you are here.”

The figure’s voice was, now without a body, merely a whisper. Still, what it lacked in intensity it made up with a horrific eeriness.

“That’s easy to answer.”

Antís didn’t seem to be the least concerned. He had pulled the feather back out of the pocket where he had storaged it before and began to roll it between his fingers.

“We are mere servants of our mistress. And why we are here?” He made a dramatic pause. “Well, because Badb called for us, obviously.”


Aither was conscious. At least his mind was somewhat aware of his surroundings. And of the pain. The pain in his temple, where his headache seemed to be located and the pain in his backside, from the fall after Sahari’s barrier had forcibly pushed him away. He wasn’t even sure if he had even been knocked-out in the first place, but his first clear memory after the barrier was the feeling of strong arms which had enveloped his body. Then that feeling left him again and was replaced by two hard surfaces under his butt and behind his aching back, though the former one was actually more uncomfortable. He tried not to focus on the pain too much, but rather on his other senses.

Aither’s eyelids were heavy, no lifting them anytime soon, he was afraid. Smells and tastes didn’t bring him any new information, as far as he could tell he was still on the battlefield. That left only his hearing to get in on what was happening around him. However, the moment he focused on what his ears could gather, he froze. Just how much had he actually missed?

“....because Badb called for us obviously. Or why else do you think we would have this feather? There is no way our mistress would have given us one if not willingly.”

Aither’s first reaction was ‘mistress’? Only then came ‘Badb’. He sighed internally. Of course he knew who Badb was, he just hadn’t heard from her and her sisters in a long time. They had been rather quiet and uneventful these last couple years. That Antís mentioned her now could mean no good. Aither just wasn’t sure who his friend was talking to since the only thing Antís got as a response was silence. The demigod however didn’t seem to be bothered by that since he just kept chattering.

“I mean, she is here in Xibalba, is she not? It would worry us a lot if she gave us a wrong location to travel to, because that could only mean she was tricked, injured or even worse, all not very reassuring scenarios.”

Aither had always been amazed by Antís’ ability to lie, the words just seemed to effortlessly roll off his tongue. He was sure that if he would be on the receiving end of this monologue he would have been completely fooled by now. And still, the demigod went on.

“If she is here though, there will be the time when she’ll know that you have been keeping us in this loop of darkness for hours by now and believe me, you do not want to be on the receiving end of her wrath. So I propose you better let us out of this shadow cocoon before she gets wind of this situation.”

Again there was silence for a few moments, but this time another voice answered the demigod. This voice however was unlike everything Aither had heard before. It was a faint whisper, scratchy, hollow and breathless, but nonetheless the god had no problem in understanding what it said.

“Noone told me you were coming.”

“So she is here”, Antís deduced, “and it sounds like you are not unfamiliar to Xibalba’s inhabitants, after all.”

Aither could literally hear the grin his friend was portraying. He had seen it a lot of times himself, when whatever Antís had already guessed was revealed to be true.

“I suppose she wanted to keep a low profile, hence why she didn’t inform Kisin of our arrival. He has sworn allegiance to the United Pantheons after all and Badb is responsible for the mess that’s happening on earth right now. But I don’t think you would know anything about that, do you?”

Again, all Antís got in response was silence. Aither had to admit he was rather convincing. He just hoped the lie wouldn’t blow up in their faces anytime soon.

“So, what do you say? Will you let us pass? And preferably point us in the direction of Kisin’s palace, that would be really helpful.”

With that the conversation died, which was very confusing for Aither, because he didn’t hear any response from the other side. After a few seconds of silence he heard footsteps on the rocky ground getting louder. Someone was coming closer and then finally stopped, what sounded like right before him.

“I know you’re awake”, Antís spoke up. “You should try to open your eyes if you want to see the outcome of my negotiation.”

It took Aither a few moments but finally his strength returned to his body like fluid light pulsing in his veins. Unfortunately, that made his already protesting muscles ache more. Wincing, he sat up straight and leaned his head against the- wooden? surface behind him.

“Ouch.”

When he only heard a faint chuckle, he finally opened his eyes with some difficulty only to be rewarded with the smug face of his friend who crouched beside him. It was illuminated only by the candle light streaming out from Hut’s windows into dark Xibalba. That didn’t bother Aither however, since he was able to see in the dimmest of lights. Only total darkness would make his eyes useless.

Speaking of the darkness, Aither noticed moving shadows in the distance behind Antís’ head. When he focused on them, he understood what the demigod had achieved. The being he negotiated with, which had trapped them inside the shadows, was in the process of removing the veil, gathering them in a single point where Aither could just make out a humanoid figure.

“You got its number too, or are you just letting it go?”

“I’m afraid it doesn’t have a phone and also chthonic deities are not exactly my type”, Antís admitted.

“You know what it is. Who it is”, Aither stated. It wasn’t a question.

“Just a hunch, but yeah, I think so”, the demigod confirmed.

“Like Badb or…?”

At that, Antís grimaced. He sat down next to Aither and leaned himself against Hut.

“They were the most logical choice. The Morrígan isn’t the most trustworthy goddess and the raven part fits.” He shrugged. “I just wanted to rule out the other possibilities first. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you guys.”

Aither turned towards him. Antís sure did look apologetic, eyes downcast and even blushing a bit. It was rather cute and reminded the god of why he had chosen him to be his first lover. Unlike a lot of deities in the Heaven, Antís was honest to the point where it hurt sometimes and still kept his compassion for the life around him. He reached out to pet the demigod’s knee, but could only raise his hand high enough for the upper leg, which made the gesture a bit more intimate than it probably should have been.

“You were right”, he said. “About the hunch and not pointing fingers, so all is good and forgiven.”

Antís flashed him a small smile before turning back towards the shadow veil. It had almost completely disappeared by now, which apparently made Shin move into action again. They had been silently talking to Sahari the whole time, who for some reason was wrapped in the spirit’s black cloak. She had only given him a side glance upon waking up, so Aither hadn’t bothered getting her attention again.

When Shin now stood up, they reached out to the magician and pulled her to her feet too. Together they approached the two of them leaning against the magical cabin.

“We should get going”, the shinigami addressed them, “before it locks us up in its darkness again.”

“It won’t do that.”

Antís stood up as well. He reached down to Aither to pull him up, too. Hesitantly, the god grabbed his hand, but in the end Antís was still strong enough to effortlessly pull him on his feet.

“Can you stand?”

“It’ll do, but I think I need a rest before our next encounter.”

“You are not the only one”, Sahari added, “I’m pretty tired too.”

“Let’s regroup inside”, Antís pointed towards the door. “I’m just gonna ask for directions.”

Without another word, he took off towards the shadow figure, leaving them staring at his lean back. Aither again was reminded of what he had lost after breaking up with him. Then a fist playfully punched him in the abs.

“Stop checking out your ex’ ass.”

Sahari too, without another word, just left them and went inside Hut.

“Is this normal human behaviour to lust after former sexual partners?”

Aither gave Shin a look.

“I’m not human.”

Slowly, he followed his girlfriend into the magic house.


When Antís entered the cabin his friend had gathered around the cauldron, waiting.

“You know where to?”, Aither asked.

“Hut?”, Antís addressed their companion. “You can follow Ah Puch for a while, they will direct you towards Kisin's palace, before leaving us to fulfill their duty again.”

Immediately, they could feel the rumbling that usually occurred when Hut stood up on its chicken legs and began walking.

“Ah Puch?”, Sahari asked. “Isn’t that just one of Kisin’s epiphet’s? In his role as a demon of destruction, wasn’t it?”

“Yes and no”, Antís replied. “It’s a bit more complicated and I don’t want to keep you up longer than necessary, since you need the rest.”

“I can do a quick explanation, this is my area of expertise after all”, Shin offered. When nobody opposed, they continued. “‘Kisin’ is the name the Lacandon Maya people had for the death god, while ‘Ah Puch’ had never been explicitly stated as a proper god in the texts. Since we follow traditions we stayed with ‘Kisin’, the outside world however modernised. With only fractures of the ancient texts and myths they can’t fully identify who was worshipped when and where and thus have created their own versions. It has come to my attention that ‘Ah Puch’ is now often the common name used for the Mayan god of death when simplifying the myths, for example in children’s books and the sort. This much attention seems to have given the entity ‘Ah Puch’ finally enough belief and thus power to separate themself from ‘Kisin’ and manifest as their own being.”

“That...sums it up pretty good, actually”, Antís had to admit.

“It did, thanks Shin”, Sahari said.

Only Aither hesitated.

“I don't know if it's still my head or I just generally couldn’t follow this through.”

“We can explain it later again in more detail, if you want”, Antís offered.

He waved it off.

“We’ll see. I think the more pressing matter is that we finally know who killed Baba Yaga, don’t you think?”

“I kinda suspected them already”, Sahari admitted.

“Me too”, Shin added.

“Don’t look at me, I suspected the Morrígan from Day One”, Antís defended himself.

Aither remained silent as he looked around. Then he burst.

WHAT?!

“We don’t have that many raven gods, the options were rather limited”, Sahari pointed out. “Plus they would have to be evil enough to kill the mighty witch, that sure narrows it down.”

“I am a kami of death. The Morrígan is no stranger to me, even if I haven’t met her in person.”

“We now also know who of the three killed Baba Yaga. Badb may have had the killing blow, but I doubt Macha and Nemain are completely innocent in all this. If we’re lucky, one of them will still be in Xibalba.”

Aither now looked like he would pass out any minute.

“You know what? I’m going to bed. Have fun boasting about how smart you are without me.”

When he began climbing the staircase, Sahari sighed.

“Wait! Aither, hold up, I’m gonna join you.”

She began following him without as much as looking back to them. Antís saw Shin opening their mouth to call after her, so he intervened.

“Shin, leave her. Both of them. They need to talk some things out.”

“Like what?”

“That’s up to them.”


“You realise how lucky you are to still be alive?”

“If you hadn’t propped that shield up, I wouldn’t even have needed to be rescued.”

“If I hadn’t propped that shield up, that thing would have got me.”

“Antís threw his spear at it.”

“Which I didn’t know he would do, so I had to take countermeasures.”

“Next time, how about you warn me about them?”

“That should go without saying. I already told Ištar I can handle myself.”

“And I am your boyfriend, it should be natural for me to worry about you.”

“Don’t you dare pull the boyfriend card, the way you distanced yourself these last weeks.”

“.....You noticed.”

“Of course, I did. I am not stupid, Aither-”

“I never said you were”

“-you are not my first relationship….and I am not yours. That failure sits downstairs and is still waiting for you to acknowledge him properly.”

“...I know.”

“Then let me tell you something. If the time comes, don’t think you can treat me like nothing has ever happened between us. God or not, you will regret that.”

“...Noted.”

Aither’s voice had become quiet. In the dark Sahari couldn’t see much, but she could feel the movements of the bed. Aither rolled around, his back would now face her, she guessed. She didn’t care. Maybe some sleep would do both of them some good. That’s when the ray of moonlight fell onto her face

Blinded, she sat up, trying to see what was happening. The light fell through the glass door leading to the balcony, which was odd, to say the least. They were still in Xibalba, there were no light sources, especially not moonlight. And yet, there was a small white disc floating above the balcony’s railing.

A small glance to her side revealed Aither to be already asleep, having no clue of what was happening right now. Carefully, as to not alert him, Sahari climbed off the bed. She was only wearing a shirt from Antís, which she had borrowed from the wardrobe, and her underwear, but she didn’t dare to dress herself in case that would take too much time. So she just grabbed her staff and slowly approached the door to the balcony. The moon disc wasn’t shining in her face anymore, but still floated calmly in the air. Sahari felt like it was waiting for something. Or someone. Intrigued, she opened the glass door and stepped outside.

After silently closing the door behind her, she leveled with the mini moon, while still maintaining a safe distance.

“You’re awake, thank the moon”, the hoarse voice of a middle-aged woman startled her.

Sahari hesitated.

“Uhm..who are you? And what are you doing here?”

“Oh, right! You can’t see me, yet. Hold on a second”, the voice said.

Sahari raised her eyebrows. That was unusual. It got even weirder, when the moon started shifting, transforming into the head, neck and shoulders of a woman. She consisted of white moonlight with the outlines of her features and jewelry already transcending into blue. She had a very pretty face, Sahari noticed. Her earrings together with the make-up reminded Sahari of a few gods she had seen around the Heaven. Then she saw the traces of dried tears on the goddesses cheeks.

“I’m Mama Killa”, the woman started.

“Incan goddess of the moon”, Sahari completed.

“Why, yes.” She sounded pleased. “And of marriage, the menstrual cycle and I’m also the patron of women in general, but these are just my most prominent domains”, she sang almost.

Of course, Sahari knew her domains, Mama Killa only was the third-most-important deity of the Incan pantheon. Yet, why she would contact the magician still remained a mystery.

“Yeah, uhm. It’s nice to meet you Mama Killa.”

“Aw, you can call me Awki Killa, willka, no need to be so formal”, Mama Killa told her.

Now Sahari was just confused. Her quechua was non-existent, so she had no idea what Mama- Awki Killa had just called her.

“Sure”, she stretched out the word, “why are you reaching out to me, again? I can’t remember trying to contact you. How are you even able to be here?”

“Oh, that.” Awki Killa rolled her eyes. “We Incans have always had a close connection to the Mayans. Reaching out to Xibalba is like that piece of pie, as you would say.”

“Right.” She didn’t correct her, there were more urgent matters.

“And why I am reaching out to you is pretty simple, you asked for me.”

Sahari had no more words to describe her still growing confusion.

“Well, not me specifically, which I am honest only hurt a little bit given our history”, the last part she more mumbled to herself than directly to Sahari, “but you, willka, wanted to learn about moon magic, Lupa told me all about it.”

Sahari had the feeling, Awki Killa was having a wildly different conversation than she had. And how did Lupa even know, she wanted to learn how to use the moon’s energy for magic purposes. As far as she could recall, she never got to that part, before the wolf had taken off. She shook herself to try to get rid of her confusion.

“I’m sorry, I- I mean, yes, I wanted to learn how to use the moon to fuel my spells, but I don’t see why you feel responsible to help me out of the blue, no offense. And why are you calling me...wilca, what does that even mean?”

“What are you talking about, Sahari?”, the goddess seemed rather disturbed by that remark. “We are family, after all. Of course, I would help you master your magic.”

Sahari was speechless. That was not something, you should drop onto an unprepared person. Awki Killa finally seemed to understand that the magician had no clue what she was talking about.

“Oh my! You really didn’t know, didn’t you?”

Sahari shook her head, slightly, but that was enough for Awki Killa. The goddess focused, her gaze becoming stern and yet was still gentle.

“I’m calling you willka, because that’s what you are to me. You are my granddaughter. Well, great-granddaughter, technically.”

Sahari felt her knees getting wobbly. Slowly, she lowered herself onto the balcony.

“Which would make you-”, she started, but was unable to finish.

“Yes, dear”, Awki Killa continued, her voice soft and soothing. “I am your great-grandmother.”


***************************************************************************************


Kisin sat on his throne of bone, finger tapping on his armrest, bored out of his mind. In front of him the ten lords were conducting one of their endless ball games in the xibalban ballcourt. Whenever they started it took them hours to finish, mostly because the five pairs split evenly into the teams, making them both evenly strong.

The camazotz flying above the ballcourt were screeching as their form of applause to motivate the players. A few of them even sat amidst the dead who had gathered to view the game up close and personal. It was always a joy for them to see some gods fight each other. The ball games tended to get violent, when no clear winner team emerged.

Just as Ahalpuh and Cuchumaquic started yelling at each other again, a bat landed on the armrest of Kisin’s throne, stopping his tapping. At first, it just sat there, cocking his head. Then its eyes started glowing red.

“Sire”, Camazotz, god of bats, spoke in a voice anatomically too deep for the small creature, “our visitors have almost reached the first river. I fear the usual obstacles won’t hold them off for long.”

“They are visitors, not deceased”, Kisin reminded him. “We don’t want to hold them off. At least, not for long.” He smirked.

Below him the ball game had resumed, the parties apparently cooled down for the moment.

“Still, we should greet them accordingly. We haven’t had such high-ranking visitors in a long-”

Cheers and screams from the ballcourt interrupted his talking.

“And we should do something about that. Tell me Camazotz, how bored are your bats?”

“Bored enough”, the creature answered and with only a few swings of his wings he ascended into the air.

With the screams and screeches of the lords, bats, and dead, which erupted from the ballcourt Kisin made his way towards the xibalban council. He had visitors to prepare for.


Notes:

Welcome to Linguistics with your one and only Heda. Today we are talking about the Irish and Quechua languages.

First of all, let's talk about Badb. Although spelled like this, her phonetic description is 'baðv', meaning she would be pronounced something like 'Badf'. Perhaps an Irish person can confirm this or correct me.

The Quechua words were a bit more complicated. 'Mama Killa' means literally 'Mother Moon', hence why she offers Sahari to call her 'Grandmother Moon'. Unfortunately, I only found the Quechua word for grandfather and grandparent, not grandmother, so I choose the obvious 'Grandparent' aka 'Awki'. In reverse 'Willka' means 'Grandchild'. Although, they are technically one more generation apart, as in great-grandmother and great-grandchild, I just stuck with these simple terms, since I also found no such words in Quechua.

Thank for reading today's episode of Linguistics with your one and only Heda.
See you next time.

Chapter 12: On the Shores of Scorpions, Blood and Pus

Summary:

Whilst Sahari gets news regarding her family history, Antís and Shin try to find ways across some rivers. They don't want to make Kisin wait after all.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“My great-grandmother?”

Sahari was still processing this information. She knew that her family went a long way back in the mythical community. Her ancestors derived directly from the pharaohs and had worshipped them even long after they were gone, hence why her family were not as strict muslims as the rest of their neighborhood in Alexandria, where Sahari had grown up. She had learned from a young age to believe in the gods, especially the Egyptians, but never had her parents or grandparents said anything about being direct descendents of a deity.

“But- Wait! How is that possible? I know all my grandparents. I love them and they love me. How come they never told me about this? Who- How- From where-....I just don’t understand.”

“Easy, child”, Mam- Awki Killa tried to soothe her. “Take a deep breath. Maybe I can tell you what I know, when you have calmed down, how does that sound?”

The goddess was right. Collapsing due to a lack of oxygen would not only be totally embarrassing but also not very helpful in her recovery process. Sahari gripped her arms, grounding herself and lowered her head onto her chest. She breathed once, twice before raising it again, only to be surprised by Awki Killa. The goddess had lowered her moon hologram thingy- Sahari was still unsure of what exactly she communicated through with the goddess- so that they were now eye to eye with each other. Sahari gave her a weak smile.

“Rough day, huh?”, Awki Killa asked.

“You have no idea”, Sahari replied, followed by a slight chuckle.

“That is Xibalba’s doing, let me tell you that”, the goddess told her. “Try not to stay there any longer than necessary. Even their so-called Hero Twins had problems while staying there.”

“Didn’t they become gods after that, though?”, Sahari asked. “Maybe we’ll be deified too.” She shrugged.

“Maybe”, Awki Killa chuckled, “or maybe you will die a horrific death while playing on the xibalban ballcourt. Has all already happened before!”

Even this unpleasant possibility couldn’t prevent the smile from spreading on the magician’s face. She wasn’t sure if Awki Killa was conducting some sort of magic to soothe her, but she felt comforted enough to face the truth. However it would reveal itself. Her smile fell, replaced by the stern face of pure determinedness.

“Your family does love you, never doubt that”, Awki Killa began. “Family is important. Your heritage and upbringing determines who you are and who you will become. There are other influences of course, friends and the social discourse for example, but your inner core is shaped by those who love you from an early age. And even though they might not always do what you think they should do to protect you, they do the things they think would work. You can question their actions, but not their motifs.”

“I have a feeling you are not talking about my parents anymore”, Sahari said.

Awki Killa briefly hesitated before giving in.

“Maybe you are right about that”, she admitted. “Maybe I have been talking about myself and the others. Making contact is always difficult when the other party doesn’t know about the connection or refuses to acknowledge it. But I see you have no idea what I am talking about”, she added after seeing the confusion resurfacing on Sahari’s face, “so maybe I should start at the beginning.”

“Yeah, that would be really helpful, I think”, Sahari confirmed.

Again, the goddess stilled. It looked like she was gathering her thoughts. Sahari used the time to find a more comfortable position to sit in. The whole balcony looked pretty nice, but was constructed of metal and wood, which were not the softest materials.

“You know about legacies, don’t you?”, Awki Killa started. “About how their godly powers diminish with every new generation that follows. While the child of god can for example create a mountain, their grandchild will only be able to move a pebble.”

“A bit of an exaggeration, but yeah, I know of this principle. The bloodline gets watered down, so to speak, and thus future descendants can only do less. It’s basic genetics”, Sahari confirmed. She wasn’t quite sure where this was going.

“Right. So, what happens, when a demigod has a child with another demigod?”

“The child would inherit less of each deity's power…”, Sahari deduced.

“But combined..?”, Awki Killa inquired.

“...the two powers merge?”

“They complete each other”, the goddess explained. “Two halves make a whole, giving the child power equal as their parents’. That is the blood of us gods.”

Sahari could follow that thought, but was starting to feel the goddess had a different goal in mind.

“What do you mean by that?”

“You are a legacy, Sahari”, Awki revealed.

“Why- yes, yours. I understood that-”

She was interrupted by the second bomb Awki Killa dropped onto her today.

“Mine and of three other deities.”


Unbeknownst to the magician, who was having a small existential crisis at the moment, Hut had stopped. The reason for that was very simple: they had arrived at the site of the first of Xibalba’s trials, the river of scorpions.

“Do you see any bridges?”

Antís stood like five meters away from the shore, while his shinigami floated directly above the arachnid-filled river, whose wriggling bodies made it look like it had actual waves. Antís shuddered. Arachnids, especially spiders, weren’t really his thing. Or an Athena thing in general, that’s where his aversion came from, he highly suspected. Curse Arachne and her stupid weaving contest.

When one of the “waves” spilled a few scorpions on the rocky shore in front of him, the demigod took another few steps back.

“Shin? Is there any way we can get across?”

The spirit shook their head.

“None, it is not very far though. Maybe the Hut is able to just leap across the river”, they proposed.

“Just Hut”, Antís corrected, “but to be honest, I doubt it. It looks pretty far.”

He would be proven wrong, because as soon as the words were out his mouth, Hut leaped. Right from where it stood on the ground, its powerful chicken legs propelled the cabin in the air, delivering it safely across the river. Antís, Shin and some scorpions were briefly casted in total darkness as its huge shadow flew over them. To the demigod it looked like Hut used its transportation magic to aid it on its leap, its features blurring while on the move. After landing on the other shore Hut calmly sat down again as if nothing had happened.

Shin turned around again, after witnessing this spectacular display of power.

“You were saying?”

Antís sent them a look.

“Just get me over there too. Hey! Where do you think you’re going?


Sahari was feeling very eloquently right now. In fact, her brain was so full of words, that none of them was able to reach her mouth. Thus, the only answer she could produce to this revelation was very simple.

“Huh?”

This small word would be the peak of Sahari’s rhetorical career, because it transported so many of her emotions compressed into a unified form: disbelief, confusion, doubt, worry, fear, anger and for whatever reason hunger, but that last one could also be because of her empty stomach. Her fire shield had consumed a lot of energy, which is why she had magically digested the Bamia more quickly.

“You are my great-grandchild as well as one of three other deities. As in, all your grandparents have one godly parent each.”

Sahari wasn’t sure if it was just the impact of this information, but she felt like a great weight was pressing her down onto the balcony. Then suddenly she felt like flying, her empty stomach did not like that.

‘Of course, why wouldn’t I have four godly ancestors, maybe this could be a good thing’, she thought.

Then she came down from her high again and the realisation swept over her, which felt like Hut trembling beneath her. Nothing would be fine. She saw the trouble her friends had with only one godly parent, she would have four beings, who could be asking things of her. Awki Killa seemed fine, caring even, like a mother, but she had no idea who the others were. It was like she could literally hear their voices already screaming in the back of her head.

“Sahari?”, came the probing question from the goddess, who watched her intensely. “Oh moon, that was too much, wasn’t it?”

That broke her paralysis. She wasn’t alone, no time to stare into the void. Weakly, she tried to calm her.

“No, no, Mama- Awki Killa, I’m alright.” She forced a smile onto her lips. “I’m just...thinking.” She shrugged her shoulders.

The goddess was not convinced, that much was obvious.

“I tell you what, child, let’s finish this conversation another time.” Sahari wanted to object, but was quickly silenced by Awki Killa’s stare. “I just dropped a lot onto you, unprepared, that was not ‘alright’. And I see you being uncomfortable with this whole situation, so I think we should go back to the start.”

An arm and a hand connected to her right shoulder materialised of the same moonlight. She extended it as if she would be meeting the magician for the first time.

“I am Mama Killa, goddess of the moon. I have been looking forward to meeting you, Sahari.”

She was right. They started on the wrong foot, but Sahari doubted she could concentrate enough by now to get all the answers of the questions floating through her mind. So, she too extended her hand and grabbed the goddesses'. It was cool, smooth and Sahari wondered if all this really had happened right now.

“I am Sahari, Eye of Thoth, it’s nice to meet you too, Mama Killa.”

They smiled at each other.

“I have given you a lot to think about and I know once you sorted it all out, you’ll want answers, so I will give you this”, Mama Killa said.

She closed her eyes and one single tear rolled down her cheek, following the traces, previous ones had left there. Before it could drop from her chin and vanish however, the goddess held her hand under it and caught in her palm. She cupped it with her other hand and held them out towards Sahari. When she opened her hands again a silver necklace with a tear-shaped pendant lay in her palms.

Carefully, Sahari took the offered gift and examined it.

“A silver tear”, she whispered.

“A lunar tear”, Mama Killa corrected. “When you want me to visit you again, wear it and call for me, I’ll answer, one way or another. Also, it is pretty dashing and maybe makes that boy of yours behave again, when he sees how beautiful you are.”

The mention of Aither made Sahari’s smile falter. She laid her hands with the necklace in her lap and sighed.

“I’m afraid it’s too late for that”, she whispered.

The goddess reached out to her face and gently raised her head so that she could look right into Sahari’s eyes.

“Then another will come around. There’s plenty more young boys out there in the world. You will find your one, no doubt.”

That did lift Sahari’s spirit a little.

“Thank you, Mama Killa. For telling me.”

“It was an honor to introduce you to your family history. Sleep well, willka.”

Sahari felt her eyelids getting heavy. Later, she wouldn’t even remember getting up from the balcony’s floor.


“I doubt you can just leap across this one.”

Hut stayed silent. It didn’t surprise Antís, although a simple reaction would have been nice, he thought.

“They are asleep”, a voice from behind got his attention. Shin caught up with him, still hovering a few centimeters above the ground. “We are on our own, if we do not want to wake them.”

“We don’t, they deserve their rest.”

Antís bit his lower lip. Scorpions were one thing, but blood? Or any fluid, actually. He didn’t see the cabin swim across, it would sink the moment it lost its footing. Which wouldn’t be that bad. Since it didn’t need to breathe and could seal shut, so the interior would remain dry, it could just walk across the river bottom. The problem was getting out of the river, when reaching the other end, because Antís didn’t see a shore, but only a cliff. No way in the Hells would Hut be able to climb that. In addition, the blood would still cling and affect Hut’s exterior walls, roof, windows, pipes and the sort, when it got out of the river, where it probably stayed and began to rot and foul. Not to mention, it could carry diseases or even something worse. To solve all these problems they would need Sahari, whom he just decided not to wake. Antís sighed. He couldn’t rely on her on everything that wasn’t immediately solvable. There would be times, she and her magic would not be around.

Back to the problem. Hut couldn’t help them, if it could it would have done it by now. He himself only had his brain to figure out how to get across, but no power to actually help with the problem. That left only-

“Shin? How far do your powers go?”

“Pardon me?”

“What exactly can you do to what extent?”

“You do realise you are asking me to reveal all my trump cards which I was going to use to bring you to Yomi.”

They were not amused, Antís could see that. He refrained from rolling his eyes, he needed them to stay as cooperative as they have been the whole time. It was a wonder they had not made another attempt on his life by now.

“Then do you see a way to get us across using your powers?”

He still sounded annoyed, but Antís didn’t want to waste any more time. They needed to get to Bastet, soon. The kami however fell silent. Antís had only really seen their powers in action once. When he battled them. Back then, it looked to him like Shin could do the classic corpse reanimation, but also bone manipulation. Whatever they did to that rib cage back then, he hoped they could do on a larger scale.

Then, without a word, Shin suddenly floated towards the blood river’s shore and...landed. It looked odd. Antís had only known them for a few days by now, but the sight of them hovering in the air had become such a constant that it looked weird seeing them deliberately using their feet to stand on the ground. Fascinated by whatever Shin was planning to do, Antís watched.

They summoned their double-ended scythe with a snap of their fingers and then telekinetically raised it above their head with their right hand. Upon spreading their long, pale fingers underneath it the scythe began to spin. Slowly at first, but it was gradually picking up speed. When the scythe reached a certain speed threshold it stopped accelerating. By now, the blades had begun glowing bright white, creating a mesmerising contrast to the otherwise black shaft. Then, the first tail appeared.

From Shin’s lower back a tail consisting of grayish, wavering magic emerged, whipping through the air. It was almost as long as the shinigami was tall, so...long. Longer than Antís was tall, that’s for sure. Although it was magic, pure energy, it looked like it had the texture of lizard-like skin, though Antís didn’t dare inspect it in close proximity. As he was watching the immaterial appendix, another one emerged from the same location on Shin’s back as the first.

The spirit however didn’t seem bothered. They had raised their left hand in front of them, out of Antís’ view, and kept spinning the scythe with the other. It didn’t surprise the demigod, when the third tail appeared.

They were collecting energy, Antís had deduced by the time the last tail appeared. He was counting eight by now and had a pretty good suspicion from whom Shin was harnessing this huge amount of power. He just hoped it was worth the effort.

Then, Shin was ready. With a silent cry, they rose into the air, gripping their scythe and by using its momentum, slammed one of the blades down into the ground.

“ヤマタノオロチを召喚します!“, they exclaimed.

Their scream echoed over the river of blood, creating a small ripple that spread out from where the scythe had struck the ground. For a second nothing happened. Then, the dragon’s skull erupted from the ground, followed by its long, long neck. When it reached the river’s other side, it opened it’s huge maw and pierced it’s long teeth into the cliff, before stilling.

When the earth had stopped trembling, Antís began to approach his companion, who had settled on the shore, next to the skeletal dragon neck which emerged from the rocky surface.

“‘Yamata no Orochi, I summon thee?’”, he cited. “Really?”

The spirit produced a weak smile.

“Would he be able to break through Athena’s Wings?”, they asked.

“Dunno”, Antís admitted. “Probably not, my mom’s pretty defensive.”

“I figured, although it would be nice to test that some time”, Shin replied. “Hut should cross it, I don’t know how long I can keep him up here.”

Antís turned to the cabin and waved. Immediately, it stood up and came closer, which, again, confirmed his theory about it being aware of its surroundings. It hesitated right before stepping on the first vertebra, but when Shin winced it continued, carefully placing one large chicken foot before the other. The vertebrae were just large enough for one foot, so Antís guessed it would take Hut some time to cross the dragon’s neck.

“We should go too”, he addressed his Death.

Shin could only nod. Antís had noticed that one of their tails had started to dissolve. He guessed Yamata no Orochi would retreat back into the earth, when all tails were gone, which is why he wanted to get back into action. Shin didn’t look like they could fly him over the river like last time. He slung the spirit’s arm over his neck and then stood up, draggin Shin with him into a standing position.

“You know, at some point, you gotta start telling me your secrets”, he said.

“Just die already”, was the dry answer.

Antís couldn’t hold himself back. He laughed the whole way while he helped his Death follow a sentient house across a dragon neck skeleton above a river full of blood. He couldn’t remember when his life had turned this weird. However, the strangest thing was this: He didn’t mind it.


Shin was still recovering, when Sahari descended the staircase. She wore only a basic shirt with an owl motif, short jogging pants and a silver necklace, which Shin had not seen before. Its pendant was shaped like a drop of water, maybe it was a family heirloom? The magician herself seemed refreshed, but was wearing a frown, which only deepened, when she noticed them staring.

“What happened to you? You look drained.”

“They fought a dragon”, Antís answered for them before lowering his book on fungi in the eastern european marshlands. “Is that my shirt?”

Sahari ignored the last part.

“A dragon. In Xibalba?” She cocked an eyebrow.

The corner’s of their mouth twitched.

“It...had a really long neck”, they responded.

“Yeah, that’s it!”

Antís had leaned across the table and raised a hand, his palm facing the spirit. They chose to ignore him, to which he could only complain.

“Aw, come on! Now you crack jokes, but don’t even know what a high-five is?”

“I know what it is, I just think it is unnecessary.” They paused. “And stupid.”

“What is stupid?”

Aither was leaning over the top railing of the staircase. He sure could move quietly, Shin made a mental note of that.

“You know what, forget I asked”, Sahari interrupted the discussion before it could even start. “I’m starving, so I’m gonna make some dinner. You are all invited to help.”

“Please, no more Bamia”, Antís prayingly whispered beside them.

“I heard that!”

Shin couldn’t help it. This was beginning to feel...normal.


“It’s pus.”

“I can see that, light brain. I have also read the Popol Vuh, if I may remind you again. I know the way to Xibalba’s necropolis. Now, can you please take your finger out of the river and go wash your hands, that’s disgusting.”

“What if I don’t?”

“Don’t push me, Aith. This has been a very tiring day for all of us.”

“You slept through like almost the first half of that day.”

“Not by choice! I would have gladly taken on the opportunity to meet a certain primordial in person, but someone”, he turned around to give the someone a look, “decided that for me.”

“Eh, you had it coming”, someone shrugged.

He gave someone a blank look.

“Hehehehe, very funny”, he mocked. “Say that again, I dare you.”

“Maybe, we should get back to the task at hand before you start ripping out each other’s throats.” Shin was not in the mood for games. “Do you always bicker that much?”

“Not really”, the light brain answered.
“Depends”, the forced sleeper replied.
“Definitely”, someone responded.

Shin was starting to get a headache.

The forced sleeper sighed, when he saw their face.

“Relax. I have a plan.”

“You do?”, someone asked.

“Yeah”, he confirmed. “You actually.” He pointed at her.

“Me? You want me to magic you, me, him, them and Hut to the other side?”

“Basically, yes”, he nodded. “I don’t care how you do it, it’s your magic, but then except for Mister Light Brain over here”, he jerked his head in the according direction, “we have then all contributed to getting to the necropolis.”

Someone blinked. Then, she groaned and gave in.

“Aaaaaaaalright. But don’t worry, he’s gonna help too, I’ll need more energy to do some proper magic.”

The forced sleeper nodded.

“Anything, that gets us across.”

That was someone’s cue. She began focusing on the river of pus, walking down its shore, while twirling her staff in the air. Shin hoped she wouldn't accidentally let go of it. Going swimming in the yellowish substance was not recommended. The three of them remaining by the witch’s house watched after her, but didn’t make any move to follow. Shin just hoped the light brain would pull his finger out of the pus soon. Then, someone stopped and turned on her heel.

“Who of you wants to fly?”


“Do you really think that will work?”, Antís asked for what felt the millionth time. He ignored the rolling eyes of the magician.

“It’s a simple spell, Antís. I’m just modifying Hut enough for it to get us across, no big deal”, she tried to reason.

“‘No big deal’? You want to change the magic construct of a sentient entity, which is already webbed into a net of various spells and so on. You have no idea how these will react to a new type of magic.”

“First of all, I won’t change anything.” She spoke slowly. Either, she wanted to remain calm or she took Antís for a child. He guessed the former. “I just want to add something, nothing should interfere with each other.”

“How do you know that?”

Because I’m the magician, Antís!

He had pushed her too far. The demigod had seen it coming, but still turned a blind eye. He realised in that moment, that even though Athena may only be his adopted mother, he still had picked up a lot of her habits. Good and bad. The tendency to want to know and control everything was the latter.

Unmoving and wide-eyed, he watched Sahari huffing and stomping away. She was trying very hard to not take her frustration out on him.

“What happened to ‘anything, that gets us across’?”

Aither now stood beside him, his eyes fixed on Sahari as well.

“We’re all on edge. Heaven knows, I should be the one running circles from anticipation, the nearer we get my mother.”

“She irritates me”, Antís whispered.

“Does she?”, Aither countered. “Because to me it looks like you are bothered by something else.”

He gave Antís an indeterminable look, before walking past him towards Sahari, towards...his girlfriend.

When the nowadays always present aura of Death grew stronger, Antís shook his paralysis off and raised a hand before Shin could even start talking.

“Save your breath. He was clear enough.”

Antís watched in silence as Aither and Sahari conversed in low voices. They seemed to come to a conclusion, since Sahari turned her head around to face him again. He just nodded. Only slightly, but she still noticed. Sahari turned around again and held out her staff for Aither to grip as well.

Antís knew how the Egyptian Heka worked, in theory at least. A magician would use speech to channel their will and direct their magical energy into a conductor which helped focus and form that magic towards the conjuration. Since Sahari had not that much energy left, she let Aither transfer his energy directly into her conductor, the staff, which would guide her will and his magic to perform the task she gave it.

Antís didn’t hear nor see the hieroglyph she summoned, since Sahari still spoke quietly and obscured the view with her body, but he did see the end result.

Testingly, Hut flapped with its giant chicken wings. Next stop: Xibalba’s necropolis


“That’s not exactly what I was trying to achieve”, Sahari admitted.

Aither could see Antís’ cheeks clenching, the demigod refraining himself from blurting out the expected ‘I told you so’.

“Maybe it’s not a bad thing”, Shin said.

“We now have a house with chicken legs and chicken wings”, Aither countered. “It can still sit down, but how do you expect it to hide the feathers?”

“You cut all the magic connecting you two, right?”, Antís addressed Sahari.

“Yes”, she confirmed. “I even extracted all remnant Heka from inside the staff, the spell shouldn’t have any energy left.”

“Then maybe, it is Hut itself?”, the demigod proposed. “It is magic, surely it has some kind of supernatural power source. I mean, it even has a storage sub-dimension, for the Heaven’s sake.”

Sahari hummed in agreement.

That sounded- well, reasonable, but was also pretty speculative. But who was Aither to judge their analysis? Was he a powerhouse and living charger? Apparently. An expert of Egyptian magic? Not really.

“So, just for my understanding”, he began. “Since you mentioned the extra dimension, can’t Hut just store the wings there too?”

All four of them simultaneously cocked their heads to the left to try to get a better view of the situation. The brown wings were attached just underneath the window sills on both sides of Hut, maybe eighty centimeters above ground level. These conjunctions seemed to be the ‘shoulders’ of Hut, from where on the wings expanded to the left and right. Aither estimated the wing span to be somewhat around twelve to fifteen meters, not including Hut itself. All in all, the whole entity seemed not to be very flyable, the god observed, since its body was not at all streamlined or even light enough to lift off the ground. And yet, it had carried them here, almost up to the entrance of Xibalba’s necropolis.

They could already see the chthonic pyramid and its surrounding monuments in the distance, the dim light bright enough to make out shapes. Also, the city was illuminated by torches and the like, attracting all dead who wandered aimlessly in the otherwise barren land. Before they would finally arrive, the team had decided to land and discuss their strategy, which now involved keeping a low profile and not attracting any unwanted attention. That included hiding the wings of a house, who was mythological not supposed to possess them.

“It’s worth a shot”, Antís voiced what everyone was thinking. “Hut? Can you redirect the entrance to your sub-dimension somehow?”

A few moments passed without anything happening. Then, Hut started to tremble slightly. Aither noticed that the wings had begun to move. At first he thought they were shrinking, but then he realised they were actually being pulled inward, toward the house. The other’s seemed to have come to the same conclusion, because simultaneously, Antís and Sahari began moving, rounding the corner to their right, while Shin started floating leftward. Torn, Aither looked right and left, but ultimately decided to follow the spirit. He hoped his friends would use the chance to be alone to make up, whatever that meant in their case. Upon catching up, he followed Shin’s gaze and inspected the dimensional magic the cabin was able to perform.

Where the wing and Hut’s fassade connected a sort of black mist had emerged from the wall, covering the connection point. The wing seemed to move into the mist, into the sub-dimension, where Aither knew it also stored its legs.

“That’s some creepy magic, right there”, he stated.

The shinigami turned towards him.

“You have yet to see what I can do, don’t you?”

Puzzled by this question, Aither wanted to inquire further, only to be interrupted by a hand on his shoulder.

“Come on”, Antís said, “we should get going.”

He was right, the wingtip was close to being pulled into the sub-dimension as well. Not long and there would be no trace left of any magical modifications.

Aither sighed.

“Alright”, he addressed Shin, “but you owe me a presentation of your powers.”

“Hah”, Antís exclaimed. “Let me give you a word of advice. Try not to volunteer to be a subject in this ‘presentation’. You might end up with a bone or two too many.”

That left Aither with even more questions, but Antís and Shin had already turned around and walked towards Hut’s front door.

“Alright then”, Aither mumbled to himself, “keep your secrets.”


The necropolis looked even more eerie up close than from afar. The lighting did nothing to hide its ugliness, if it did not make the temples look even more foul and decaying. But what did they expect, it was Xibalba after all.

The first few shrines and smaller temples Hut passed by looked long forgotten and abandoned. It wasn’t until the ballcourt came into view, framed by larger, less run down temples, that Antís and his team could make out groups of dead, gathering in the shadows. The dead paid them no attention, which made the team a little more uncomfortable. After their run-in with Ah Puch, they were wary of any former human beings, whose bodies no longer belonged to themself but the master of this realm.

Upon reaching the ballcourt Hut stopped and set down. The message was clear. They had to continue on foot. The torches surrounding the ballcourt shone a yellow, unhealthy light onto the ancient sports place.

Aither had liked playing the Mayan ballgame variant in the Heaven’s academy, his natural god abilities making him rather good at it too, but he doubted that he could unleash his full potential here in this court. Just looking at the crooked field made his skin tingle and he considered already photonising himself to not let one sliver of decay interact with his body, before deciding against it. Low profile also meant only as many displays of powers as absolutely needed.

“Where to?”, he asked.

Three heads turned towards him.

“Well”, Antís hesitated, “how about up?”

When pointed out, Aither lifted his head. He had been so focused onto the ballcourt, that his brain had shielded the huge flight of stairs behind a set of thrones on the other side of the field. It was part of the mesoamerican pyramid and had another temple seated on its top, where Kisin and his entourage were probably already awaiting their arrival. How he had not seen that before, he had no idea. He sighed.

“You are not letting me live this down, are you?”

“Probably not”, his still-girlfriend said.

“Definitely not”, his ex-boyfriend said.

“I have no idea what you are talking about”, his non-romantic companion said.

That he couldn’t determine if they were being sarcastic or meant what they were saying didn’t make the situation any better. He groaned.

“Let’s just continue”, he pleaded. “Please.”

Before he had even finished speaking his friends had begun walking- or floating in Shin’s case- over the barren field. Aither watched them dumb-founded before following them. They passed the thrones without giving them a second glance, they weren’t that fancy. He hesitated on the bottom of the flight of stairs, but just sighed again, when he saw his friends climbing steadily upwards. Shin had no trouble, Antís was fit and Sahari seemed to have used a little spell, her step looking unusually bouncy. He whispered a mild curse. This would be a long climb.


Upon reaching the top of the stairs Aither had lost all sense of time. He couldn’t tell if they had been climbing them for twenty minutes or three hours. It could be both or neither, depending on his luck.

Shin had been the first to reach the top, waiting for the rest of them. Sahari, her speed and endurance magically enhanced, joined them not long after. Somewhere in the middle of this climb Aither had caught up to Antís, but instead of moving past him, he had decided to slow down and adjust his climbing speed. Side by side they bested the stairs, walking in comfortable silence, except for Antís’ occasional loud breathing. He may be fit, but he was still mortal.

When they reached the top too, Shin and Sahari wanted to turn around and continue into the temple, so Aither, knowing of his friend's condition, held them back.

“Wait”, he asked them. “Let’s not rush things.”

Antís shot him a grateful look, while taking deep breaths.

“What do you propose?”, Shin turned to him.

“Let Antís do the talking”, Aither responded. “Talking to Kisin means official pantheon politics, Antís is best qualified for dealing with...let’s say difficult counter parties.”

“You mean ‘parties that are hiding their dirty laundry because we came to investigate them’, these parties?”, Antís cut in. He had recovered enough, it seemed.

“Yes. I just wouldn’t have put it so...eloquently. Hence, why you should do the talking”, Aither confirmed.

Antís stared at him blankly.

“I’m gonna provoke them into proving their faults or innocence, that’s what I always do.”

“Yes, but you do it nicely. Unlike us.”

Antís looked irritated at every single one of them.

“Okay, fine”, he gave in and began walking towards the temple entrance. “But don’t blame me, if something goes wrong.”

Sahari turned to Aither and gave him a look.

“I won’t. I’ll blame you”, she said before following Antís.

Shin just shrugged their shoulders before floating forward as well.

“Wow. ‘Get some friends’, they said”, Aither mockingly whispered. “‘Friends are nice’, they said. How about you meet my friends, you fuckin’ hypocrites.”

Aither! You coming?”, Sahari called from the temple entrance.

Aither flinched like a deer in headlights. Maybe he should get going. Making Kisin mad before even meeting him didn’t seem like a good idea.

Yeah, yeah!”, he called back.

It was time to meet the Ruler of Xibalba.


The throne room was as pompous as Antís had expected. Gold, jewels and colourful fabrics lay next to the skulls and bones of former visitors. Ten thrones stood on elevated platforms on the sides of the room, whilst three more were straight ahead on top of a big pedestal. Only the two thrones framing the most pompous one were empty. While approaching these thrones, Antís threw side glances to the ten lords sitting at the sides.

He could identify the five pairs easily, since they sat opposite of each other. There were Ahalpuh and Ahalgana, who caused people’s bodies to swell up, as well as Ahalmez and Ahaltocob, who liked to stab people. Xiquiripat sat across from Cuchumaquic, they both sickened people’s blood. Chamiabac and Chamiaholom, who turned corpses into skeletons, sat before the last pair Quicxic and Patan, who caused death by coughing up blood.

One interesting detail that caught Antís' eye were the various scratches and bruises that formed on the lord’s bodies, although he thought they would normally look pretty battered too, given their state as chthonic deities. He quickly dismissed any further thoughts in that direction however, since almost too soon they stood before Kisin.

Upon reaching the foot of the pedestal, Antís sank down to one knee with Sahari and Aither, although the latter hesitantly, mirroring him. Only Shin kept floating, which Antís thought odd at first, but since Kisin didn’t bat an eye, he figured they had some sort of chthonic behavioural code which allowed the death gods these kinds of impropriety. Since Kisin did nothing to acknowledge them, Antís only waited, not daring to act first.

When Aither wanted to rise again, Antís made a discreet halting gesture in his direction. Luckily, the god understood and sank back down onto his knee. He hoped that Kisin would not take offence, because there was no way in, well..Xibalba, he didn’t notice. A bony finger was beginning to tip on Kisin’s armrest.

“I see your team listens to your commands. Good. Nothing is worse than a master who can’t control his servants”, he acknowledged. “You may rise.”

Antís stood up to his full height (which sadly wasn’t that high at 1,60m). He heard the rustling of his friend’s clothes behind him, signaling him that they were standing up as well. The sharp fingernail relentlessly tipped the throne’s armrest.

“They are my friends not my servants, but I understand your point.” He fixated the reptile-like eyes of the god, whose skeletal figure bent slightly down to get a closer look at him. “Thank you for your warm welcome here in Xibalba. There are not that many gods who would throw their deadly pets directly at official ambassadors of the United Pantheons.”

Out of the corners of his eyes he saw Sahari and Aither stilling, even Shin turned their head slightly in his direction. The gasps of some of the Lords of Xibalba echoed through the room. The tipping continued.

“You attacked it”, Kisin simply stated.

“It shouldn’t even be here”, Antís fired back. “Or are you above the United Law, Hunhau?”

The finger halted. Kisin’s eyes narrowed to slits, making them appear even more reptile-like. He could see the scaly plates on his spine shimmering through the empty ribcage.

“Knowing who I used to be will not change my behaviour towards you. State your demand, son of Athena or leave my halls immediately. You do not want to know what happens to intruders in Xibalba.”

“Heh, made you look”, Antís shrugged his shoulders.

He could almost hear the chins of his friends and the lords hitting the ground.

“But since you asked so nicely, we want to meet your feathered acquaintance, if she is still here. We want to have a little chat with her.”

Visibly intrigued, Kisin leaned his crooked back against the throne again and clasped his lanky hands together.

“That’s it? You are wasting my time by not even wanting something from me directly, but from one of my guests who isn’t even a permanent resident of this realm? Knowing your reputation, you will not even take no for an answer and still demand having a look around, won’t you?”

“Technically yes, but you have to admit it would be rude to not come visit, when we are already here. You don’t want us to break into your necropolis’ temples without your permission, don’t you?”

Kisin frowned.

“No, that would definitely be rude”, he admitted. “What exactly is it you seek from her? What matter is so important you have to travel to another realm to solve?”

Again, Antís shrugged his shoulders. He kicked a small coin stash in front of him.

“Oh, you know. She is just responsible for the murder of a certain Slavic witch. I’m sure you heard of it, it’s been all on Iris’ news. And also we suspect she kidnapped a goddess and stashed her here somewhere in Xibalba, I’m sure that’s of interest to you.”

He could not get enough of the god’s incredulous look. Kisin’s sunken eyes were almost bulging out of his bony head and the smell of Death that accompanied him grew stronger. Before he could respond to that revelation, Antís continued.

“Oh and also, we just don’t know which of the sisters you have here in Xibalba, the other two are still in Midgard, as far as we know.”

The frown on Kisin’s forehead deepened. He hesitated before eventually responding.

“Macha. I am currently consulting with Macha, the Queen.”


***************************************************************************************


Macha was still debating on what to do next. Her wing was still unuseful, though the scratches had quickly healed up. The broken bones however were a problem, these would still take time. Time she didn’t have.

She had to admit to having completely underestimated the raw strength the goddess possessed in her feline form. Upon wounding her, Bastet had curled up on the floor of her cage, seemingly falling asleep.

However that was a ruse Macha could easily see through. She saw her ears moving, the whiskers twitching by every breeze that went through the temple. She was lying in wait, ready to strike the moment something came near the cage again.

Would Macha be in her human form right now, she would have clicked her tongue. Unfortunately, the broken wing hindered her from transforming back. The broken bones sent a searing pain through her body, the moment Macha tried to morph them back. She had tried so several times by now, each time with the same result.

She was currently eyeing the thought of just hopping on her little crow’s feet towards the temple’s exit, even if the building was a labyrinth. And that wasn’t even taking the temple’s other predicament into account. That’s when she felt the footsteps of something quite heavy resonating through the ground.

She turned around to see if Bastet had felt it too, only to be freaked, when the cat’s face was already pressing against the bony bars of the cage, her yellow eyes glistening. Her grin was flashing rows of pearlwhite sharp teeth.

“Time’s up”, Bastet hissed. “What will you do now, little crow?”

A shiver went down Macha’s spine. She was provoking her on purpose that much was obvious. Unfortunately, it worked, she had to admit. Roughly, she shook her head. What were these thoughts of hopelessness?

Even in raven form she was still Macha, she was still the Queen. And that’s exactly what she would show them.


Notes:

I kind of feel like I'm avoiding the use of hieroglyhphs right now, but in these last chapters the situations made ways as to not really show how Sahari was doing her magic, but rather what she was doing with it. I will try to implement more magic in the next couple of chapters to not totally kick the mechanic out already.

Chapter 13: All Hail the Queen!

Summary:

The team has arrived at Xibalba's necropolis, where Antís is now negotiating with Kisin, Xibalba's Ruler. Though it soon becomes clear, that the god has is own agenda, Antís tries to get him to help them. He just hopes they aren't too late already.

Notes:

Hi I'm back! Sorry it took so long, I was in school for a month, which surpringsingly took up more of my free time than I expected. Now that I'm working normally again, I should be able to update more frequently.

Chapter Text

Macha wasn’t a name Shin heard on a regular basis. Which is why it took them a moment to connect name and title with the goddess they were looking for.

The Morrígan was a so-called triple goddess. Although often appearing as one, she actually consisted of three individual goddesses, each of them with their personality, domains and legends ranking around them.

Badb, the Crow, is a war goddess and as such also called Badb Catha, the Battle Crow. She is known to cause fear and confusion among soldiers and tip the scales of a battle in her favor. Because of the analysis of the feather he found, Antís believes her to be the one who caused Baba Yaga’s initial transformation into the beast, making her responsible for him killing the witch in self-defense.

Macha, the Queen, is a sovereignty goddess and as such strongly connected to land, kingship and fertility. She is associated with the Irish province of Ulster and is known to inflict terrible curses even on her own countryfolk if she can find a reason, however small. It made sense for her to be in Xibalba, since as a queen, she would be the one with the most experience in paying courtesy visits and negotiating sensitive topics.

The name of the third goddess eluded Shin’s mind for a few moments until it resurfaced from whatever depths they had it stored in.

Nemain, the Warrior, was more often referred to as a spirit than a goddess, nonetheless, all the sources agreed on her loving the heat of a fierce battle. She is brutal and unforgiving, a true madwoman who doesn’t hesitate to kill her opponent however she can.

These three, often referred to as sisters, though not related by blood, together form the Morrígan, the phantom queen, crow goddess of war and fate, who foretells doom and death.


Suddenly, Shin felt a shiver run down their spine. It was the first time they experienced this sensation, but they had spent enough time watching the humans from afar to know what that meant.

They felt dread, shock. But at the same time they also felt excited. Exhilarated. With Macha confirmed in Xibalba, Shin felt like the final confrontation was imminent. Only a few more steps and then… Then what?

Then Antís would die? Then they could finally rest after centuries of searching?

That would be the ideal way, but Shin knew the demigod enough by now to know that he wouldn’t just give up that easily. Maybe it was time to actively start nudging him in the right direction.

They shook off the other thoughts that had begun to surface as well. The feeling that all these thoughts were off was not suitable for a proper shinigami. It was time to return to the ways of Yomi. To the way Izanami-sama had laid out for their kind. It was time for Antís to die.


Sahari was yet again amazed by Antís’ persuasion skills. And maybe only a bit sour, that he had hidden yet another piece of the puzzle from them. The slight grin that spread on his face upon Kisin calling out Macha’s name made her realise that his thinking was again already way ahead of them. Aither and Shin, who stood and floated on either side of her respectively, didn’t quite seem to grasp the full extent of what was currently happening.

The kami’s eyes were glassy which only added to their overall distressed expression. Sahari could only guess where their thoughts had wandered off too, but they definitely weren’t with them anymore.

Aither on the other hand seemed just irritated, his frown making his thoughts very obvious. He had no idea what Antís and Kisin were talking about.

It didn’t surprise her. Until a few moments ago, she too had thought they were looking for Badb, since that was the information Antís had revealed to Ah Puch earlier that day.

Suddenly, she noticed what had been bugging her the whole time. Ah Puch had not reacted to that revelation at all, although Kisin had known the whole time it was Macha who had entered Xibalba. Badb hadn’t even come near this realm and yet Ah Puch had let them pass when given that explanation. That could mean a lot of things, but Sahari settled for the most likely one.

Kisin gave Ah Puch not much intel on what is going on, having degraded the entity to a mere guard dog. He didn’t trust it, although it had some spectacular powers to show off, easily overcoming two gods, a demigod and Sahari herself. On the other hand, he didn’t report it to the United Pantheons either, although its mere existence is a clear violation of the law. Kisin had an ultimate goal with Ah Puch, one he would make very sure to stay hidden.

This was no longer a rescue mission. Antís was negotiating for their lives.


A shiver ran down Sahari’s spine. If Antís failed he could easily doom them to whatever Kisin or his Lords could think of to torment them to make sure they would never return to the Heaven again. She realised these next minutes would be crucial for their survival. Sahari hoped her agitation wasn’t too obvious, when she focused back on the conversation in front of her.

Fortunately, Kisin had stopped talking and was merely observing how the news affected them, though after quick glances in her’s, Shin's and Aither’s directions he quickly focused back on Antís. The demigod was deep in thought and even though Sahari couldn’t directly look into his eyes from her position behind him, she knew they must be flickering across the room, bouncing around like the thoughts in that organised brain of his.

However, the moment she opened her mouth to somehow draw attention to herself, Antís upper body heaved and he took an audible deep breath.

“Well, that certainly simplifies things”, he said. “I’ll make you a deal, Lord Kisin. You let us rescue our friend and take that- consultant, I believe you said, with us and we’ll simply forget about our encounter with your little pet and the fact that your winged friend aided in our goddess' disappearance in the first place.”

It sounded too easy. Which was probably the reason Sahari feared for Kisin to actually consider the deal. They didn’t have to wait long for an answer.

“I’ll...consider it. If you will finally start to explain to me what happened and why you haven’t mentioned Camazotz before.”

“Hah”, Antís exclaimed. “Well Kisin, I don’t want to bore you with the details, but I will say this: How did you think we knew so quickly that Bastet was taken here?”


Aither was still confused about the whole Macha-thing and what it had to do with Badb, but he trusted Antís enough to blindly follow him into situations like this. He had proven himself worthy of that over and over in the past few years despite the cold shoulder Aither had given him. The message had been obvious, though maybe Sahari was right when she asked him to rethink his approach. Rekindling with Antís before the demigod isolated himself completely seemed like a very sensible decision.

Speaking of sensible decisions, Aither forced himself to get his mind back into the conversation. Kisin had once again stopped talking and was just watching them. The tapping had begun anew, but now he used multiple fingers on both hands instead of just one.

“Bats”, the god of the underworld simply stated.

“Bingo”, Antís nodded. He raised his hands and softly applauded him. “They are the one thing that will always point to Camazotz. He is quite the unique being in the pantheons, that’s for sure.”

Aither was glad they were still talking about why they were here, because that way he could easily get into the conversation again.

“Let me indulge in that little fantasy of yours a bit”, Kisin said, now accompanied by erratic gestures of his bony hands. “Let’s say Camazotz, my servant, advisor and direct substitute. Let’s say he did kidnap the cat goddess.”

Antís nodded along. He seemed to enjoy the restlessness the god emitted.

“Where do you think he could hide her? Xibalba is my domain. This whole underworld answers to me, there are no secrets here…” Kisin’s voice lost volume and intensity, while forming these last words.

“You are right, of course”, Antís confirmed, still nodding. He had begun to inspect his finger nails. Apparently, there was some invisible dirt, which needed his whole attention. “There is no way you wouldn’t know about secrets in Xibalba, since you control everything and all.” He made a vague hand gesture. The invisible dirt must be gone. “Except those six temples in your front yard, that is. They belong to them, I believe”, he pointed backwards to the thrones on both sides of the room, where the Ten Lords of Xibalba were still silently watching their exchange.

When called out, the mentioned gods tensed and sat up straight, throwing nervous glances in Kisin’s direction.

The god of the underworld hadn’t moved an inch, since he himself had stopped talking. Only his dead eyes flickered back and forth between his subjects. Then he did something which looked wildly unnatural for him. He stood up.

In these last minutes, Aither had become so accustomed to Kisin sitting on his golden throne, that the mere sight of him moving up from that position looked very- disturbing. Although, that last part could also be, because his standing up was accompanied by another cloud of foulness and creaking sounds of bone on bone. When he was descending from the pedestal, Aither could see his spine through the shredded ribcage for the first time in all its rotten glory. It was crooked and even more s-shaped than a regular spine. The vertebrae however looked more like scales, which made Aither aware of some text passages he had read about Kisin. His ‘crocodile back’ made the god hunch over the rotting flesh of his lower abdomen.

Then, the god had reached Antís. Because the demigod was more on the smaller side himself they could almost see eye to eye. How he did not succumb to the foul cloud was a miracle Aither had yet to discover. Kisin and Antís locked eyes.

“Show me.”


Surprisingly, Aither felt a shiver run down his spine, although it took him a moment to connect it to the bigger picture. He didn’t shiver, because the stench cloud had reached him by now. He didn’t shiver, because the Lord’s gazes were literally piercing his back. He shivered, because they were now going to move again. One more step, maybe two and then, they could free Bastet.

“Gladly.”

That was all Antís said, before turning around and walking straight to exit. Aither, Sahari and Shin turned around with him, but made no move on following him. Instead, Kisin brushed past them, leaving only the smell of foul eggs in his wake. He glared at everyone of his Lords, when he passed them walking down the aisle.

Only when he had reached the other end of the room did he stop.

“The last one down the pyramid, will be cleaning the arachnid cages”, he barked.

Then, Kisin continued following Antís, who had already started descending the huge staircase of the pyramid. Nobody else moved.

Until the god of the underworld was out of sight, that is. The moment the tips of Kisin’s greasy hair were swallowed by the shadows outside the throne room, the Ten Lords almost leaped from their seats and scrambled to the exit. They were running all over each other, trying to push the others away, all the while shouting and screaming in a language Aither did not understand. Then, they were gone, following their ruler down the pyramid, leaving the three of them alone in the huge throne room full of treasures.

“Men”, Sahari cursed under her breath. “Why are you the only gender capable of such idiocy and tail-tucking when facing danger?”

“There are common tropes one can apply to genders in general?”, Shin inquired.

“No”, Aither sighed. “She’s being sexist on purpose.” He hesitated, but ultimately continued. “But in this case, I fear she’s right. The Ten Lords did not seem like honorable men, if you want to stereotype gods as well.”

“Present company included”, Sahari added. She grimaced mockingly at him, before pointing out the obvious. “So. Should we like, I don’t know, follow them, too?”

They all shared a look.

“I guess”, Aither said. “Let’s see what Antís has come up with.”


Antís had no idea what he was doing. He was honestly pretty amazed that they were still alive. From what he had heard of Kisin, he had figured they would be executed the moment he crossed a boundary or any other etiquette one must follow when speaking to royalty (or dead underworld rulers, there wasn’t really a difference). Since his head was still connected to the rest of his body he figured he must have done something right. Or maybe Kisin was just more lax when it came to uphold the etiquette, but it was probably the former. At least, he hoped so, because otherwise that would mean he was actively showing his lack of respect to superior life forms who could crush him in the blink of an eye if they wanted to. Still, so far analysing his opponent and connecting the dots on the spot seemed to work just fine. The question was just for how much longer.

By now Antís was halfway down the humongous staircase of the pyramid. The way his skin tingled told him that Kisin must be right behind him, so Antís kept walking. Occasionally, he heard someone shouting or grunting in a language he couldn’t quite place, which probably meant it was some sort of ancient mayan language. Apparently, the Ten Lords were now on the move too.

Speaking of the Ten Lords, Antís was reminded of the task at hand. Below him, behind the xibalban ballcourt stood proudly the six houses of deadly trials, which were ruled by two of the Lords each. Except the first one, the House of Darkness, which had no ruler. Not anymore.

In the ancient times the House of Darkness had been ruled by Hun-Came and Vucub-Came, whose names could be translated as “One-Death” and “Seven-Death” respectively. Those two had been the leaders of the then Twelve Lords, who had sat on the thrones of both sides of Kisin. Since their demise, their seats have remained empty. How they were killed is one the most famous stories of the Mayan mythology, since it yet again involved the legendary Hero Twins. Xbalanque and Hunapuh had given the Lords a show performance, in which’s climax Xbalanque cut up his elder brother and post-mortem resurrected him. When Hun-Came and Vucub-Came asked for the miracle to be performed on them, the Hero Twins did cut them up, but made no move on resurrecting them, thus sealing their fate. The uproar was huge of course, but Xibalba, now weakened, soon lost most of its former glory and devotion, which ultimately resulted in the underworld losing influence and power. Soon, they needed to close layer after layer, where the dead were tormented, until only one remained. The six houses of deadly trials are the last options where Kisin and his lot could punish sinners and the like.

Why the bat had the idea of hiding Bastet in one of them was beyond Antís, but Camazotz was known more for his cruelty than his intellect. The demigod just hoped that they weren’t too late for- Well. For the worst.

When Antís reached the bottom of the flight of stairs, he walked a few more steps, before he stopped to give the others space to gather. Kisin, who came shortly after, paid him no attention, but was instead very interested in the temple buildings in front of them. Maybe he thought that if he would stare enough, the House that trapped her would just free Bastet on its own. From the stairs next came a mass of bodies, from which arms, legs, heads and tails were sticking out. The majestic Ten Lords had arrived, Antís noted. He didn’t ask the God of Xibalba what he had said to his subjects, it was obvious they were all very agitated. When Sahari, Aither and Shin descended, they each took a place beside him. All their eyes were fixed on Kisin, who still paid them no attention.

“Where?”, he whispered. “Which one?”

No one spoke up.

Where?”, Kisin whipped around and pierced the Ten Lords with a deadly gaze. He was starting to channel magic, Antís could see some sort of symbol appearing over his head. It was s-shaped and glowing eerily green, which he noticed with dull boredom. Of course it was green, any other colour would have broken the rules of cliché.

The Lords were now even more hastily trying to get away, but since they were still bundled together, none of them got very far. If the whole situation wouldn’t have been so terrifying, Antís would have laughed for sure. Unfortunately, they were wasting even more of their precious time, so he decided to, once again, take matters into his own hands.

“Lord Kisin? If I may?”

The angry god’s head turned to him. The symbol was now even more fleshed out and Kisin’s eyes had begun to faintly glow green too.

“We are looking for Camazotz, right? I think that significantly narrows it down.”

Kisin stilled, the glow stopped increasing in intensity, although it did not quite recede either.

“The House of Bats”, he stated.

“That”, Antís agreed, “or the House of Darkness. The latter lacking management could make hiding something in there rather easy.”

Without another word Kisin turned around again and lashed out towards the pile of Lords. Ungodly squeaks erupted, then Kisin raised his arms. His hands were encircled around the neck of two of his Lords, who struggled to get enough air in their lungs. When Kisin started to speak, his voice was calm, almost friendly, wouldn’t it be for that threatening undertone.

“Patan. Quicxic.”

The Lords of the House of Bats, Antís realised. Kisin’s outbreak wasn’t random, he had targeted these two on purpose. The god of the underworld wanted answers.

“How about you tell me, what’s been going on here?”

After one last squeeze, he threw them back, away from himself. By now, the other Lords had untangled and formed some sort of half-circle around them, so Patan and Quicxic fell down onto the bare earth. It took them a few seconds to recover, but finally one of them, Quicxic, Antís thought, started to speak.

“We don’t- >cough< We don’t know anything, Lord Kisin >coughcough<.”

“It’s true”, the other, probably-Patan, assured. “We have been playing ball games with the others the whole day. On your orders>cough<. How could we have instructed the bat to fetch the cat for us.”

“Do you think I’m dumb?”, Kisin bent down, his face close to theirs. “You could have planned this for months, as far as I know. Waiting for an opportunity like this.”

“But Camazotz only answers to you”, apparently-Patan snapped. “None of his bats listen when we order them around.”

“Especially, once he takes direct control and becomes the whole swarm”, obviously-Quicxic confirmed. “We may be Lords of the House, but that does not mean we are in full control of everything that happens inside.”

Kisin was silent for a few moments, then he turned back to Antís and his team.

“You, demigod! You seem to have a plan for everything, don’t you?”

“I try”, Antís replied. He had a feeling he knew where this was going.

“Then you are now allowed to search the houses of deadly trials. Get the cat. Find Macha. And. Bring. Me. Camazotz.”

Bingo. Lady Analysis strikes again.

“Two teams. One: House of Bats. Two: House of Darkness. If they are empty, we take the next two. I just hope this won’t take long.”

“Do you need reinforcements?”, Kisin asked.

Antís shared a look with his friends.

“No, I think we’re good”, he told the god. “I think you have your hands full with them.” He gestured to the Lords. Patan looked like he wanted to object, but a stern look from Quicxic shut him up. Antís clasped his hands and looked around. “Well, then. Let’s get started, shall we?”


“I take Bats, obviously.”

Aither was pretty straightforward, but Shin could also practically see the nervousness he radiated.

“Then I would like you to take Darkness”, Antís addressed Sahari. “I can’t see in there, until someone goes and shines a light.”

“Can do”, Sahari nodded. “Go in there, that is. Making light in the House of Darkness doesn’t really seem like a smart idea, when you want to sneak up on someone.”

“Touché. That leaves us”, Antís turned to Shin. “Any preference?”

“No, but I can see in total darkness. Whatever Sahari has planned, I won’t be depending on her help.”

“Meaning you leave fighting the god of bats to me. Classic”, the demigod shook his head. “I’m gonna need some more armor and weaponry. Meet me in front of Bat in five?”

Aither only nodded, his mind already elsewhere, so Antís took off. Hut will be pleased to know that they are still alive. The others, that is, since non-life was Shin’s normal state.

Behind them, Shin heard Kisin barking questions and commands at his subjects. The four of them had separated themselves from the chthonic deities and held their briefing on the xibalban ballcourt. Shin agreed with Antís that the Lords had nothing to do with Bastet’s abduction, but one could never know. Better safe than sorry.

When Kisin’s voice ceased in volume, they suddenly could make out faint mumbling beside them. Sahari was muttering in another language, probably Egyptian.

“Are you preparing your spells?”, they asked, curious.

Sahari shook her head.

“No, Heka doesn’t work that way. I can’t prepare magic like voodoo shamans prepare their rituals. I simply conjure hieroglyphs, whose magic needs to be applied immediately. If left unused it could severely damage my staff, me or those around me. Or nothing happens at all and I simply wasted the energy. Heka is weird sometimes.”

“You seem to handle it pretty well so far.”

“I was trained from a young age and apparently the talent runs in my blood, so I am better off than most.”

That was cryptic, but Shin didn’t probe further. It was obvious, she would rather not talk about it by the way she evaded their gaze. Also, they saw Antís rounding a corner way back by the temples. It was time.

“We should get going”, they stated.

Immediately, Aither photonised and obviously wanted to bail, so Sahari stopped him by grabbing his hand. Shin still didn’t get how she could touch him in that state, since he was technically dematerialised, but it still worked.

“Don’t be reckless”, Sahari told him. “And watch Antís, you remember how his last fight against a deity turned out.”

Aither’s face darkened, the photon’s losing intensity. He raised his hand to force Sahari to let go of his wrist.

“Relax. It’s Antís we’re talking about. There won’t be a second Baba Yaga.”

Then, he was off. Sahari watched after him, until he met with the small figure of Antís who was patiently waiting in front of the House of Bats.

“Are you alright?”, Shin asked.

“No. But we will be.”

Another cryptic answer. Apparently, Sahari was having more worries than she let on.

“Come on”, she forced herself to look away. “We should start investigating too or somebody is gonna kill us, before Macha does.”

They should. Alas, together, the shinigami and the magician made their way towards the House of Darkness. None of them knew what would await them.


The familiar click of a magazine being loaded disturbed the eerie silence of the temple. Aither threw an annoyed glance back at Antís.

“What? The torches are lit and there is literally no place to hide for us. I’m pretty sure he knows we’re coming”, the demigod defended himself. “I don’t know ‘bout you, but I like to be prepared when facing danger.”

Aither rolled his eyes.

“Why did you even bring your gun here? You are not exactly what one would call an exceptional marksman.”

“Thanks, ‘Hawkeye’, but I can handle myself.”

Aither shrugged his shoulders, steadying his bow. The hallway the two were going was rather plain, only a few gold ornaments here and there, nothing compared to the throne room atop of Kisin’s pyramid. There were no branches in sight, the hallway only led them towards a small staircase leading upwards. Unfortunately, they couldn’t see what was up there, but Aither had a feeling it was nothing good.

“So”, he tried casual conversation to soothe his nervousness. “No helmet?”

“What?”

“I said, ‘no helmet?’”

“No, I heard you, but-”. Antís broke off, hearibly confused. “Okay”, he tried again. “First of all: Random. Second: It’s in one of the bags of my quad, but I needed to hurry, so-”

“So, you got your gun, but not the helmet which would hinder the bats from eating the skin right off your face”, Aither stated. “Sounds logical.”

“What’s with you and the gun, seriously? And I am not debating with you about logic, that is definitely beneath me.”

“Because you can’t win, I know. My rhetoric arsenal is impeccable.”

More like lacking impeccability”, Antís muttered.

“What was that?”

“I said, ‘we shouldn’t underestimate the bat’s abilities’”, Antís spoke up.

Aither couldn’t hide the grin that spread on his face. He gave in. There was no talking Antís into a corner, when you couldn’t surprise him.

“If you say so, oh Master of Beasts.”

“I can hear you smirking, stop that!”

They stopped in front of the stairs. When looking upwards they could see glimpses of- the sky?!. Well, the night sky. Aither could make out lots of stars, only broken by some dark lines, which seemed to be evenly arranged in the heavenly firmament. He took a deep breath.

“Ready?”, Antís asked. His tone was so soft, that Aither had to turn to his friend one last time. He couldn't determine the look on the demigod's face, so he did his best to convey his assurance appropriately.

“Yeah. I am.”

Antís reached out and encouragingly squeezed his arm.

“Then, go get her.”

They climbed the stairs in only a few seconds, but Aither didn’t bother counting the steps. He knew Antís was already doing that. They emerged at the side of a round arena. The dome above them still displayed the peaceful night sky, whose starlight was apparently enough for Antís to see as well. At least, he didn’t complain about not seeing anything. The dark lines in the night sky were actually metal beams, which probably held this illusion of night. However, Aither had the feeling, there would be no day-and-night-cycle to observe.

There was just one thing missing. Bats. Where was he? Where was Camazotz?

“Above”, whispered Antís.

A glance to the side revealed that his friend was looking through the visor of his handgun, pointing it towards the sky. Confused, Aither followed the barrel, looking back to the stars. Nothing. Just as he wanted to ask what Antís was looking at, a movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. It seemed like one of the metal beams had stretched its wings. Wait. Wings?

Aither readied himself by conjuring an arrow of light between his fingertips. He drew his bow of hardened photons, aimed and shot upwards towards one of the beams. During its flight, the natural light the arrow emitted shone onto the beams it passed and revealed the army of bats which hung upside down from the black metal.

After one Antís’ human heartbeats the arrow struck the targeted beam, almost hitting a bat which would have been killed on the spot, wouldn’t it have dropped down in the last moment. It flapped its tiny wings and descended, flying towards them. The god and the demigod didn’t move and only followed it with their eyes until the small mammal landed a few meters before them. Its eyes began glowing red and its veins began pulsing until it looked like lava was running through them. It started speaking in a deep, resonating voice which could only belong to one.

“Welcome to the House of Bats”, they were greeted by Camazotz. “It has been a while since we had such noble visitors as yourself, but I’m sure I can make it worth your while.”

“Cut the crap, Camazotz”, Antís quickly said before the god could continue. “We know what you did and you know why we are here. So either give us Bastet, tell us her location or face the consequences if you do none of these.”

The bat licked its lips. Aither didn't even know that bats could do that. Or it was one of Camazotz special abilities as a god, he didn’t really care.

“Well, of course. She’s in the House of Darkness, but you didn’t really think that I would just let you leave once I tell you-”

He was cut short by the bullet that pierced the bat's little skull.

“Not really”, Antís admitted. “Remember that ‘dying’ feeling, you are gonna experience that in the next few minutes over and over.”

The bat had since begun to disintegrate, leaving nothing but a small pile of dust.

“What was that about my marksman abilities earlier?”, Antís turned to Aither.

He almost chuckled, but then a red light flashed above them. When looking up, he could see another of the bats going through the same transformation as the first one. A dark roar, too loud and too deep for a normal bat echoed through the aviary. Beside him Antís began to dig through his pockets as more and more of the bats on the ceiling erupted into red light.

“You should take these”, Antís held something in face. The small metal container had no inscription, still Aither hesitantly grabbed it. “Relax, it’s for your protection.”

When looking at his friend, Aither saw him opening another of those containers. Inside laid a pair of earbuds. Seeing his questioning gaze, Antís continued and stuck them in his ears.

I am the night. I am your worst nightmare”, roared the bat god above them. By now the swarm had dropped from the ceiling and formed some sort of impenetrable living cloud. It looked like they were somehow melting together.

“Wow, the god of bats is quoting Batman, I think that’s our cue.”

Antís tapped twice onto the earbuds, which then started to transform. They developed some sort of sheet which proceeded to cover his earshells and then went even further down the backside. When finished it looked like Antís’s ears were coated with iron. He pointed at the container in Aither’s hands. Obediently, he followed his friend’s advice and plugged the earbuds in, before repeating the motion Antís had made. Immediately, he felt his ears being covered, dampening the sound of thousands of miniature wings flapping.

Hephaistos’ sound dampeners. They should keep any sound-related attacks from messing with your head”, Antís’ distorted voice resonated from the earbuds.

Shocked, he turned back towards his friend.

How can I hear you and why do you sound so weird?

Highly sensitive integrated microphones”, came the immediate answer. “Since your mouth, nose and ear channels all connected beneath that thick skull of yours-

We can hear each other’s head voice”, concluded Aither. He paused. “You sound better in person.

A compliment! That’s rare from you”, Antís almost sparked with joy. "But I fear we need to postpone the praising. It seems our host has finished preparing.

The host had in fact finished melting various of the small bats together into one bigger bat, but they were still a lot more flying around. Camazotz, the big bat, as Aither determined for himself, opened his mouth and suddenly a gust of wind struck them. It took him a moment to realise, the bat had unleashed one the sound attacks Antís had expected. He did feel the tremor however as Camazotz, baffled that they were unfazed, landed in the middle of the arena. He saw the beast's lips move in confusion.

You know what? I take back whatever I have ever said about you”, he told Antís. “You do have some nice ideas sometimes.

Thanks. Wait what?

Without further ado, Aither photonised and leaped into the air, channeling his light. He could hear Antís cursing in his ears, but ignored him for the moment. His focus was on Camazotz, who was about to leap back into the air as well, the lava-like veins shining through his brimstone skin. He smiled. They had a bat to beat.


It was over almost as quickly as it had begun. When Aither had attacked Camazotz, the now fewer but still numerous bats had rushed in Antís' direction. However, the demigod wouldn’t be a son of Athena if he didn’t have another ace up his sleeve. Calmly, he loaded a few of his special bullets into his handgun. When the first bat was in reach, he aimed and shot. Upon hitting the bat, the bullet exploded, setting a cloud of gunpowder free. Shrapnels of the bullet case struck the bat, opening a few of the popping veins. Immediately, it bled the thick fiery substance, setting the gunpowder ablaze. The explosion hit several of the incoming flying mammals, who weren’t quick enough to retreat. Antís was sure their dying screeches were horrible, but due to the sound dampeners, they evaded his poor ears. For the better, probably.

In the air behind the swarm, Antís could see Aither and the bigger bat, apparently Camazotz’ main body for the moment being, having an astonishing air fight beneath the illusion of a starry night. Some smaller bats roamed around them too, but they were quickly killed by the arrows of light, which Aither shot at them when they came too close. All the while, he was evading Camazotz attacks, but due to his speed advantage, he didn’t even break a sweat doing that. So far, he didn’t seem to have found a valid strategy against the beast, since all wounds he inflicted on it, immediately began to close up.

Before Antís could analyse their attack patterns however, the next wave of bats began flying towards him. For two minutes, he was busy at keeping the swarm at bay with his gunpowder bullets, but every time he shot they got closer and closer. He needed another strategy, soon. Unfortunately, Aither didn’t seem to have any luck either. Having realised his friend’s dooming predicament, he had begun to attack the small bats, which were focusing on Antís, from behind. That left him open for attacks from Camazotz, who got a few times too close for his liking. They needed another strategy, now.

Antís got the idea, when the bats had reached him. When the first came too close to aim his gun properly, he did what one should never do in battle. He threw away his weapon. The gun clattered useless on the ground and slid a few more meters in the centre of the arena. Antís, awaiting the coming animal, pulled on his bracelet and summoned his aegis before fetching his bronze knife from the sheath on his upper right thigh. The bat, too fast to dodge, flew straight into the open blade. Lava blood splashed on Antís’ glove, arm brace… and his cheek. Immediately, searing pain flashed through his face and he quickly wiped the drops away, burning his thumb in the process as well. Then, the rest of the swarm was upon him.

The demigod sprung into action, slicing and swinging aegis around him, turning on the spot to avoid the bats getting on his backside. Nonetheless, there were too many. He could already feel them pulling on his hair, biting his clothes and scratching his face. He should have really worn his helmet. Everywhere he looked there were bats. Their glowing eyes made it seem like he was looking right into a pile of embers. Or a starry night sky. The idea popped into his head.

Aith! The ceiling!”, he screamed, hoping none of the bats would actually crawl into his mouth.

He tried swirling faster and swinging aegis with more force. For a moment, it worked and he could clear a small area around him. That was enough. Immediately, he broke into a run, trying to get away from the swarm. The bats, not having anticipated this, actually were stunned for a second. Then, they flew after him. In the moments he was clear, he could see Aither unsuccessfully shooting arrow after arrow at the illusionary sky above them. The arrows hit, but nothing happened. It seemed like they were swallowed by the night itself.

‘We need more power!’ This thought crossed his mind upon seeing that. ‘My gun! Where is my gun?’

Athena's rule number 1 on fighting beings whose full potential you do not know: Don’t throw away anything that might come in handy.

Aith! My gun! There’s one last shot you can use!

Frantically, he searched for the weapon and even spotted it some twenty meters away from him. But just as he was starting to run towards it, the bats had caught up with him. One of them smacked against his covered ear and began clawing on the metal and skin around it. Not wanting to use his dagger anywhere near his face, Antís began smashing his head against aegis, squashing the bat in the process. More hot blood began burning the side of his face, but this time he couldn’t wipe it away, since he was too busy defending himself against the rest of the swarm, who was clawing at any free skin they could find.

Fear was starting to slow his movements, there were too many of them, before suddenly something big crashed against him and jerked him right out of the swarm. He saw light shining through his closed eyes, felt a warm body holding him tight and smelled sunshine (, if one can even smell sunshine).

Cover up!”, Aither screamed, his voice now even more distorted than before.

Why he opened his eyes again, Antís didn’t know, but he was glad he did. This way, he could see the beauty of his best friend who infused his gun with his light magic. He didn’t hear the impact, but he watched in awe as the sky above them exploded and began to rain down on them.


The House of Darkness was a maze. Like literally. Branching corridors, doors and stairs leading into nothing and Sahari could swear that some parts even moved behind them.

Oh, and it also was pitchblack. There was no light, since there were no windows. Or torches. Or like anything else that could emit light. Fortunately, they didn’t mind that. Apparently, seeing in total darkness was one of the perks of being a shinigami, Shin had told her. They needed to find their purpose in every possible scenario, even in a cave 20,000 miles far beneath the earth. Sahari herself had magically, uhm, adjusted her eyes to see.

Currently, they were following the magical thread she had conjured to lead them to Bastet. Since she knew the cat in person and the goddesses magical barriers were rather limited due to her affliction it had been rather easy to summon this Egyptian-Mayan version of Ariadne’s thread. Also, Bastet didn’t seem to be that far away anymore, which elevated Sahari’s spirit immensely. It appeared like this part of their quest was finally coming to an end.

And yet, they still trotted on, with no end in sight. After another round, where Sahari thought she had seen the same corner thrice already, she stopped.

“You know, I don’t wanna jinx it”, she started, “but I feel like we’re going in circles.”

“I may not know what you mean by ‘jinx it’”, Shin responded, “but I do feel the same. This is the seventh time we have rounded that corner before us and the third time we descended from the stairs behind us.”

The seventh time?! Sahari knew her sense of orientation wasn’t the best or even close to Antís’, but being subtly pointed out like that, wasn’t that comforting either. She scrunched her face before answering.

“Let’s talk this out”, she turned to Shin. “What are we doing here, why we are doing it and who we are up against.”

“We are searching for Bastet, Egyptian goddess of cats, who was abducted by Camazotz, Mayan god of bats. Since this abduction was not consensual we feared for her safety and have thus come to rescue her from her imprisonment. One of our foes is her abductor of course, although we presume he is not here, but with Antís and Aither, who will be feeling the need to battle him in pursuit of getting information regarding the abducted goddess. We fear however, that Camazotz is not the mastermind behind the abduction but rather Macha, Queen of Ulster, Third of the Morrígan, Goddess of Kingship, who is currently here in Xibalba as a consultant of Kisin, Ruler of the Mayan Underworld for a purpose yet unknown.”

Sahari blinked. That was… surely something. And more than she even wanted. Although….

“Wait, what was that what you said about Macha? Queen of Ulster, Third of the Morrígan, Goddess of...”

“Kingship”, Shin nodded. “Although she has more domains, such as sovereignty, fertility and so on.”

“Sovereignty. So her powers are territory-bound?”

“I believe so, yes”, Shin confirmed.

“So, what if the House of Darkness can be called a territory…”

She didn’t need to elaborate. Shin’s eyes slightly widened, before they closed them fully. They summoned their scythe and began swirling it around. Sahari noticed that the weapon began to vibrate when it crossed one of the pillars at the side of the hallway. Now that she looked closer, the darkness there seemed even darker than the other around it. However, before she could react in any way, Shin struck.

The pillar was split in half and a frustrated screech echoed through the corridor. The darker darkness was beginning to form another object, another being. The crow began hopping away the moment she materialised her legs. Baffled, Sahari stood and watched her get away until Shin brushed past her, loosening her stiffness.

The crow was fast, for a crow that is, but the broken wing Sahari noticed after a few seconds made it obvious why she couldn’t escape. They chased her through the corridors all the while being slurred at by the fleeting goddess. Sahari was glad her Irish was nonexistent.

Then suddenly, the crow disappeared, having turned off right into a solid wall. Shin was already close to flying past it, but Sahari could grab their elbow and hold them back. At their confused look, she pointed at the wall in question. The kami understood the nodge and shoved Sahari behind them. Again, they struck their scythe and the illusion flickered and disappeared.

How dare you”, they were greeted by an angry bird.

“Took you long enough”, the cat in the bone cage said.

As the bird raged on, Shin and Sahari exchanged a look. Again, Shin moved without being told. They descended and pressed their palms flat on the ground. A ripple went through the stone surface and the bones trapping Bastet vanished into the ground. However, Shin wasn’t finished, since they continued channeling their magic. From around the crow the bones emerged, trapping her in the same cage, she held Bastet.

I don’t believe this. I am Macha. I am the-

“Yeah, yeah. ‘All hail the Queen!’ and so on. Heard that one before”, Sahari interrupted her. “Now shut up, or I fear Thanksgiving will be coming early this year.”


***************************************************************************************


The meadow was peaceful. The night sky full of stars. Content, she had laid herself onto the grass, the beautiful smell of the flowers filling her nose. A lonely stork carrying something in his beak flew above her.


Soon. This quest would all be over soon.


Chapter 14: Vyraj or Into the Milky Way

Summary:

Bastet is saved, Camazotz beat and Macha captured. The team had finally accomplished something. Now they just need to focus on the next part of their quest. But where to exactly?

Notes:

Part 3: The Phantom Queen

Chapter Text

Only when the dust settled, Antís allowed himself to breathe again. Still, he waited, pressing his face into Aither’s warm chest. The god had pulled him close and together they huddled beneath aegis, in hopes of avoiding falling debris. In this position, Antís fit right into Aither’s lap, his right arm wrapped around the god’s neck. The latter held him tight and ran his fingers through Antís’ soft blond hair. It had been a while since they had found themselves in this position, but right now, Antís felt like nothing had changed since then.

For a few minutes, they sat like that. Peaceful and protected, only feeling the other's presence. When his left arm grew tired, due to aegis’ weight, he carefully set it down beside him. The movement forced them to loosen their tight embrace, which allowed Antís to loosen the second strap on aegis’ inner side with his other hand. Immediately, the magic shield shrank down and he was wearing the bracelet of small bronze orbs once more.

When he looked up again, two golden eyes flickered in the darkness right before him, the nearby embers of the fallen debris not really helping in enlightening the area. Still, the demigod could clearly see Aither’s face before him, having traced its features so many times before. Afterwards, he couldn’t say what brought him to do it, but nonetheless, in the end he was glad he did it.

Slowly, Antís leaned forward, closing his eyes and captured Aither’s lips with his own. He could feel the other twitching and yet, the god didn’t pull back. On the contrary, after a few long moments of panic that he did something wrong, Aither began to move against him, kissing him back. It was all Antís had wanted for the last few years, lovely and freeing and… not at all what he had expected. There was no spark, no magic, just the nice familiar feeling of two pairs of lips pressing together.

By now, Aither had grabbed his chin with both hands, tilting his head upward to get a better angle. Antís raised his hands to get a grip on Aither’s wrist, softly pulling them away from his face, breaking the kiss in the process. When he opened his eyes, he saw Aither had begun glowing, illuminating them and a small circle of debris around them. He noticed the earbuds were still covering Aither’s ears and so he laid his index finger on them to perform the circular motion, which he knew would disable the cover to remove the plugs. As soon as the god felt his hearing returning he perked up and pulled out the little devices. He waited until Antís had removed his as well before placing them in their little metal container and giving it back to him.

After Antís stashed them away, he could no longer look up in fear of locking eyes with Aither. The other, sensing his rising panic, again softly cupped his chin and tilted it upwards, forcing their eyes to meet once more. Immediately, Antís felt his eyes start to water and he quickly lunged forward, leaning his forehand on Aither’s chest.

I am such an idiot”, he whispered.

Gentle hands began petting his hair. Aither softly hummed before answering, his voice already displaying his amused tone.

“You are. But that’s what we are here for. What I am here for.”

Why do you even keep up with me?

“Because you are my best friend.” Carefully, he grabbed Antís’ shoulders and sat him up straight, locking eyes with him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realise that sooner.”

This time, the tears spilled, Antís couldn’t hold them back anymore. He cried for himself. For the love that had long ago gone up in smoke, replaced by an illusion he thought he desperately needed in his life. He cried for Aither. For the family he never had and therefore desperately tried to fill the void in his heart with anyone who got close to him. He cried for the years they had lost, trying to make something work, which had never been theirs in the first place. At least, now they understood. From these ashes they could build something new. Something genuine. This time, he wouldn’t waste it.


Sahari was glad she just had to carry the cat and not the cage. Granted, Bastet wasn’t that easy to chauffeur too, the way she shifted on her shoulders and clawed at her tunic, but she would take her every time over the rattling bone cage full of angry crow Shin was clutching in their lanky fingers. Macha screamed and slurred, flapped her wings and shook the cage, trying to break free, making it hard for them to float in a straight line. Occasionally, they bumped into a nearby pillar, looking more and more sour the closer they got to the entrance or now exit.

When they got closer to the corner behind which the doorway out was located the first rays of light were reflected from the temple walls and brightened the darkness faintly. Sahari, upon sensing they were close, stopped, alerting Bastet who did not know what was happening.

“What’s wrong, kitten?”

Shin, hearing that, ignored the cursing bird and raised an eyebrow.

“Go ahead”, Sahari nodded in their direction. “I’ll need to take care of something first.”

The kami shrugged and focused back onto Macha who had used their distracted state to try to hack at their fingers, so that they would drop and possibly shatter the cage. Unfortunately for her, Shin wasn’t bothered by that, her beak leaving no trace on their skeletal fingers. Now cursing even more, the two of them rounded the last corner and were out of sight.

Bastet, who was still confused, finally leaped down from Sahari’s shoulder, the light bright enough for her to look upon the magician. At first, she did not react and merely studied Sahari’s face, only her whiskers slightly twitched. Then, she said something very Bastet-like.

“No wonder you two don’t work, if you hide something like that from him.”

Sahari gave her a dry chuckle.

“It’s a spell, Bastet. Not that you would understand any of that.”

Bastet tilted her head.

“Feisty. I knew why I liked you even if you are no good for him.”

“Thanks. Maybe you should go look for him, if you are so worried about his well-being.”

The cat narrowed her eyes.

“Careful”, she advised. “You may have freed me, but don’t think I am in your debt now. There may come a time when even you need to pray for my help. Getting on my bad side will not make that any easier for you.”

“You are a cat”, Sahari stated. “Aren’t all humans on your bad side?”

Bastet blinked. Without another word she turned around and began following Shin towards the exit. Once reaching the corner she stopped again.

“Bitterness doesn’t suit you, Sahari. You may have lost your way for the moment, but remember this: Shai has a plan for every one of us. You just need to be patient and wait for it to unfold itself.”

Then, she was gone, the tip of her tail brushing against the blank wall.

Sahari hadn’t even realised she was clutching the lunar tear pendant given to her by Mama Killa. Only when she raised her hand to wipe away the tears, which had formed at the corner of her eyes, she had to let it go to do so.

“Maybe”, she whispered into the empty hallway, “but I also might just know who to talk to to speed them up a bit."

She drew her staff, activating 𓁟, the hieroglyph of Thoth.

Eyes. Revert”, she chanted and waved her staff through the air.


𓁹𓁹.𓎗𓃀𓄲𓂻


The hieroglyphs appeared and began doing their magic. The legs attached themselves to the eyes and began circling backwards, as if they were a clock needing to rewind. Once finished the eyes were glowing intensely, radiating with magic. Then, they flew forward, placing themselves on Sahari’s own eyes.

Earlier, she had cast a spell, which disabled her eyesight, turning her eyes grey as if she was blind, in exchange for seeing the magic in this place. Since this whole temple with everyone and everything in it was magic, the spell had enabled her to ‘see’ the shapes of the environment and the figures moving in it.

When the glowing eye hieroglyphs touched her own eyes her sight was restored. Immediately, faint light pierced through her pupils, stinging. Quickly, Sahari closed her eyelids and the cloth hieroglyph, the last one, unfolded and wrapped around her head, filtering the more intense photons.

When she opened her eyes again, Sahari could just make out the shape of the corner in front of her. Slowly, as if she was injured, she felt her way forward, adjusting to the brightness. She sighed. This would take a few minutes.


Bastet was growing impatient. To those around her, it seemed like she was napping, but she was fully awake. In the cage all she had done was sleep, since there had been nothing else to do, but now she was full of energy, ready to be released.

At least, she was comfortable, Kisin’s throne by the ballcourt cushiony enough to meet her standards. The god hadn’t allowed her to lay there per se, but other than bat an eye when he saw her nothing had happened, which had been a sufficient permission for the goddess.

When Sahari stepped into the light, Bastet opened one eye to acknowledge her presence. The magician sharply nodded, a quick bird-like motion, but also turned away just as quickly, apparently looking for something. Or someone, as Bastet realised a few seconds later. The magician had spotted Shin, who stood a little apart. They had dropped the cage with the still screeching bird to the ground and summoned a few more bones to hold it steady and prevent her from escaping. As the Eye of Thoth made her way towards them, Bastet perked up. She heard more steps coming their way, but they were irregular, as if someone was limping. Then, she smelled the blood.

Immediately, she sat up, looking expectantly through the darkness. When the boys entered the light, she was up and gone, rushing across the ball court. Aither was half-carrying, half-dragging an almost unconscious Antís, arm slung around his shoulder and holding up his waist. When Aither saw her approaching, he stopped, trying to steady his companion, though Antís’ head just slacked and rolled onto his shoulder. The demigod’s face was scratched, eyes swollen, ear burned and his right foot looked like he had twisted it.

“Mom!”, Aither exclaimed. “What-”

Whatever he wanted to say, he interrupted himself as soon as he saw Bastet manifesting her true godform. Stepping out of the cat felt almost natural for Bastet by now, the shocked faces of those around her whenever she did so just were the cherry on top. Even the eyes of her own kin almost popped out of his skull.

“Mom!”, he repeated. “Why are you manifesting? Spare your energy!”

Unimpressed, Bastet stepped forward and hooked herself under Antís’ other arm.

“Relax, kitten”, she scolded. “I was stuck here for hours, I have relaxed enough.”

Together they stumbled forward, Antís hanging limp between them. Sahari and Shin met them halfway to Kisin’s throne, alerted by Bastet running away.

“You should get your chariot”, the goddess nodded towards them. “I rather put him in there, than here on the bare earth.”

Sahari looked expectantly towards the kami, they were way faster, but Shin didn’t move an inch. Their eyes were fixed on the hurt Antís, taking in his overall vulnerable state. Irritated, Sahari broke her gaze and nodded, breaking into a run to where they apparently had left the witches’ hut. Slowly, they made their way towards Kisin, the Ten Lords and the rattling bone cage, a stunned shinigami on their tail.

When approaching the god of Xibalba, Kisin raised his eyebrows. Bastet didn’t know if it was because of the state Antís was in or herself taking on god form, but the other was quick to address the source of his dismay.

“I see you have failed to complete the full task”, he sneered. “You rescued your goddess, trapped the crow, but I don’t see the bat anywhere. Maybe I haven’t made myself clear enough earlier, the main goal was Camazotz. I have yet to think of a fitting punishment for his betrayal, but it is crucial for him to be in my custody to apply one at all.”

“I couldn’t find him anywhere after the dome went down and I may have had another priority than your disloyal servant”, Aither jerked his head in Antís’ direction.

Kisin frowned, but before he could form a proper response, thundering footsteps resonated through the ground, growing in intensity. Bastet and Aither turned around to see the approaching figure of the cabin running towards them. A few meters before them it stopped, sinking onto its legs, which somehow disappeared beneath it. Bastet had never seen it in action before, so she may have stared at it longer than a deity normally should do.

The hut’s door flung open and Sahari emerged carrying a wooden scoop in one of her hands and holding the other beneath it as if to catch fleeing drops of the liquid. Carefully, she came towards them, nodding for them to hold Antís steady.

“It’s not much”, she explained, “just something to wake him and kick-start his energy regeneration.”

Together they held the demigod’s head upright, as Sahari placed the scoop on his lips forcing him to swallow the liquid, which Bastet recognised as some sort of soup, down his throat.

“Shin?”, Sahari continued. “Would you be so kind and get him one of our chairs? He shouldn’t stand with that ankle.”

Her tone was sharp, nothing Bastet had ever heard from her, but it seemed to do the trick. The shinigami, who had just been floating nearby, watching them with wide eyes, slightly flinched, before silently complying to the request.

“What’s up with them?”, Aither asked, having noticed Sahari’s tone as well.

The magician and Bastet exchanged a grim look. Before they could answer however, Shin emerged from the cabin, carrying a rustic wooden chair. After placing it on the ground, Bastet and Aither rearranged themselves again to properly sit Antís down. The demigod hissed a few times as they did so, signaling that he was mentally back with them, even though his body was still incapable of properly displaying that yet. Slowly, he opened his eyes, focusing on every being around him while trying to grip the chair to not fall down from it. Aither kneeled beside him, providing an additional shoulder to lean on, an offer the demigod gratefully accepted.

“Would one of you finally be able to tell me what has been going on here?”, Kisin interrupted the comfortable silence that had stretched out between them.

The looks they exchanged were tired (Antís), annoyed (Aither), fed-up (Sahari) and absent (Shin). Bastet couldn’t be prouder of them.

“I’ll tell you what’s been going on”, she turned to the ruler of Xibalba. “These heroes here”, she ignored Aither’s frown, “have just saved your ass. Quite literally, if I may say so. They revealed the betrayal of one of your most loyal servants, caught one of the goddesses presumed responsible for the death of Baba Yaga and saved myself from whatever the Morrígan and Camazotz had planned with me. So, Kisin”, she slowly edged towards him, towering over the more powerful god, “do you have something to say to those brave heroes?”

The god in question gritted his teeth. It was obvious he would rather kill them than display his gratitude. But as luck would have it, it was quite the formidable team the gods had put together. And that wasn’t even counting Bastet into the equation, even Kisin had to admit that.

“You have my thanks”, he growled, “Heroes.”

Aither shot him a deadly glare. Bastet had tried to get him used to the term, but alas, he was a Greek god. They may have sent their children as the first Heroes out into the world, but that didn’t mean they wanted to identify as such.

“As far as Camazotz is concerned I wouldn’t worry”, Bastet continued. “Dear Antís here may look pretty beat up, but that just means the other guy looks worse.”

“We destroyed his primary power source, so yeah. It’ll take him some time to recover, if at all.”

It took Bastet a moment to assign the voice to the speaker. Antís also sounded as beat as he looked, which to be honest was very unusual. For him, at least.

“Primary power source?”, Aither asked, interrupting any further train of thought. “We destroyed the dome, what about that was his power source?”

“The illusion itself”, Antís answered. “He’s not just a god of bats, but also a god of the night. Destroying the night severed his regeneration abilities, the falling debris did the rest.”

That was the Antís Bastet knew. Lecturing beings far more older and powerful than himself was a trait he had copied from his mother. Even if his voice still was a little thin.

“So”, Kisin drew their attention again. “Did I understand that correctly, that you destroyed the roof of the House of Bats?”

Antís and Aither exchanged a look.

“Well-”, Antís started.

“We kinda…”

“Blew it up.”

“Maybe.”

“Why? What did you think all that noise was?”

The god of the underworld was silent for a moment.

“... Battle noise”, he ultimately answered.

Nobody dared say a word. Even the cage which housed the still fuming Macha had grown still. Then, the crow started to laugh. It was a horrible sound that affected Bastet deep in her core, her sensitive ears transporting the full vileness of it into her brain. When she looked around the others weren’t that pleased either. Sahari was their salvation.

Silence”, she chanted, stomping her staff onto the ground.


𓋴𓎼𓂋𓏛


The hieroglyphs flew towards the crow, where the cloth unfolded itself. While the mouth hieroglyph elongated and became one with Macha’s beak, the jar stand hieroglyph became one with her throat. It was supposed to let the words formed by Macha be seated inside her, not letting them away from their position. At last, the papyrus scroll unfolded and sealed her beak as a second layer of protection.

Immediately, the cage grew quiet, Heka stopping any sound produced by Macha’s vocal cords from leaving her throat. Bastet felt a weird satisfaction in seeing her struggling to voice her growing panic.

“I think it’s time we leave”, Antís spoke up.

On Kisin’s confused grimace, he elaborated.

“We have what we came for. Bastet is safe and Macha in our custody. Trying to find Camazotz is futile, I fear, but we can surely send you reinforcements, once we reach the surface.”

“That won’t be necessary”, the god answered dryly. Bastet felt like there was more to that, but she still left the negotiation to Antís. “Camazotz is part of Xibalba, we will deal with him the way we see fit”, the god stated.

“Then, I don’t see another reason for us to stay”, Antís concluded.

Again, Kisin hesitated, but this time he gave in. He had run out of options to hold them back.

Their farewell was short. Shin was yet again tasked with transporting the bone cage, though this time Macha was awfully quiet. Not just because Sahari had silenced her, but her overall rattling and shaking the cage had stopped as well. More than once Sahari assured them the only thing she took from the goddess was her voice.

Bastet exchanged a few more words with Kisin in private, overall just polite conversation between two allies, though she was not quite at her best, she noticed. She felt her godly form growing weaker by the second, her energy supply soon depleted, which is why she was glad, when Aither stepped towards them.

“We are ready to leave.”

He and Bastet said their goodbyes with Shin watching from the doorway. Antís and Sahari were already inside, the latter tending to the demigods' wounds, which is why Aither had taken it upon himself to properly end this courtesy visit. Then, they were off, Hut running through Xibalba’s darkness once more.


Aither came to his senses, when Antís broke their connection. So far they had been sitting side by side on the chairs in Hut’s main room, fingers entwined. It was the easiest form of body contact, which was needed for Aither to pass on excessive energy to replenish the supply of others. Antís had insisted on not falling asleep again to recover, even more so than when he had Sahari forbidden to heal all his injuries. He had only allowed her to magically restore his ankle, so that he could walk and fight again. The burns around his ear and on his cheek were more difficult. Since they were caused by the blood of a god, Sahari could only treat the effects but not reverse them. When she told him, they would probably leave scars, he had just shrugged his shoulders. Then, he had forbidden her to treat his cuts and scratches and after the following discussion a fuming magician had asked Hut to get Antís’ medi kit from his quad. The demigod had winced at every patch she slapped onto his face. Now plastered with a variety of colourful patches and apparently recovered enough to move on, Antís let go of Aither’s hand, startling him due to the sudden movement of his arm swinging downwards.

“I’m awake! I don’t sleep!”, he exclaimed while gripping his chair tightly to not fall down. He saw Antís smiling in the corner of his eyes. It was genuine and he was glad they could be just like this, casual. “I’ll text her”, he mumbled, when he saw that they were alone in the main room.

A few minutes later, Sahari descended the staircase, a cat on her shoulder and a shinigami following her every step. Aither had no idea what they had been doing upstairs, since he couldn't even remember them leaving the room in the first place.

When reaching the bottom of the staircase, the Egyptian Mau hopped down from Sahari’s shoulder and onto the small table in front of them, her eyes focusing Antís.

“You look well”, she stated. “For someone whose skin is sliced into pieces and almost had his face burned off, that is.” Why she felt the need to mention such macabre details every time still eluded Aither’s mind. And she practically raised him, that had to count for something.

“I feel much better know”, Antís confirmed, sending a grateful glance into Aither’s direction. “I thought that maybe we should talk about our next steps. It’s been a while since we had no predetermined goal in mind.”

Meanwhile, Sahari and Shin had sat down as well. The sight of the kami being connected to the ground was something Aither thought looked odd, but hey, his parents were practically the air and a cat, so who was he to judge about weirdness?

“How’s Macha doing?”, he asked instead.

“Quiet”, Sahari replied. “I had no idea how extreme she would react to the spell. It’s like she’s a whole different person now.”

“The change of heart is suspicious, I admit”, Bastet said, “but we should try to keep an open mind. It can be a deception, as well as a chance to win her over. Maybe, she realised there’s no other option left for her than to submit.”

“You don’t really think that, do you?”, Antís countered.

She hesitated for a moment, but eventually shook her little head.

“No. The Morrígan is known for her love of lies. I just don’t see the benefit of her giving up so suddenly.”

“So, should we keep trying to confront her?”, Sahari continued. “She’s practically mute right now, I don’t know if she even can give us information.”

“That’s not quite true. Animals do have other ways to communicate. Humans are the only life form to rely mostly on speech after all. The question is if she is willing to give us the information we seek on her own account or if we have to force her.”

“What are you saying, Bastet?” Aither didn’t like where this was going.

“I think our next goal should be to find her sisters, Badb and Nemain. Only if we have them all in our custody, we can pressure them enough to spill the truth on what happened that day. If Sahari uses Heka to establish a connection between the sisters, it should be easy for us to follow it to their location.”

She let the words sink in. It sounded easy enough, but something didn’t sit right with Aither. He didn’t trust Macha enough to just follow her into a possible deadly situation. It seemed the others had similar opinions.

“I don’t know”, Sahari admitted. “What about you Antís? You are awfully quiet.”

Aither turned to look at his friend. The demigod wore his ‘thinking face’, which he used when he listened to conversations, but at the same time ran multiple different scenarios in his head.

“That’s because he has already made up his mind”, Aither said.

“Boy, you know me so well”, the demigod responded. He ran his hand over his face in an attempt to gather his thoughts. Then, he leaned back into his seat, arms crossed, gaze wandering through the room. “Back in the House of Bats, I realised something. I have been so stuck on moving on, focusing on the next task, the next goal, the next mission that I had no time to reflect on what I left behind. I analyse just my big mistakes and then shove them into the darkest, farthest corner of my mind, ready to be never thought of again. I don’t take advice, I give them. Being scolded doesn’t really change my behaviour, I need to fail completely to realise my errors. I don’t question the decisions I make and the bad results pile up to a mountain of mistakes nobody could ever climb.” He swallowed before continuing. “This whole thing started, because I didn’t listen, because I didn’t wait for reinforcements when approaching the beast on the construction site. Maybe if I would have done so, we wouldn’t be here.”

It was the first time in his life, Aither heard Antís admit some of his faults in a bigger group. It seemed like their kiss had opened his eyes in more ways than he thought. Gently, he laid his palm flat on the other’s thigh, squeezing encouragingly.

“You don’t know that”, he softly responded.

“Maybe”, the demigod admitted. He laid his left hand on top of Aither’s, entwining their fingers again. “But I think it's time to face the consequences of my actions. I want to talk to Baba Yaga.”


It surprised Sahari on how little she cared about the two boys holding hands again. Maybe it was, because she was conflicted about her relationship with Aither, she thought bitterly. Or maybe it was, because they just didn’t look like that. They did not look like a couple, like lovers. They just looked like two people who cared about each other. Something had changed between them, about Antís mostly. He no longer looked at Aither with those pleading eyes. Whatever happened during their fight with Camazotz, had brought them closer together, in a non-romantic platonic way. Although it didn’t make her own problems go away, Sahari was glad. That was one less thing to worry about.

What was worrying was that Antís was on some kind of self-loathing trip, apparently. She could not explain his monologue about his own mistakes any other way.

Though now that she thought about it, seeing Baba Yaga would be kinda cool. She had been traveling in her house the whole time, so why not meet the original owner. There was just one problem.

“Baba Yaga”, Sahari repeated. “Do we even know where she is?”

“Antís”, Aither drew the demigod’s attention. “Baba Yaga is dead.”

He had continued to speak in that soft voice from earlier. Which was probably why Antís let go of his hand again, curled it to a fist and smacked it onto the god’s head.

“Yeah, no shit, Sherlock”, he dryly answered. “I am still responsible for that, remember?”

“I think these two both have valid points”, Bastet cut in. “Just because she is dead doesn’t it mean it will be easy to find her, there are many underworlds.”

“And the most likely one will be Nav, so how about we go from there?”

He was determined, Sahari realised. He would be doing this with or without them. Just as she wanted to say something to calm him down, Shin spoke up. It was the first time she heard them talk since the House of Darkness.

“We already had this conversation”, they stated. “Baba Yaga will probably in Vyraj.”

Antís squinted his eyes.

“I don’t remember you ever saying something like that.”

“Because you were asleep back then. It came up, when we talked to Schepsi.”

Vaguely, Sahari remembered the conversation. It wasn’t really her strong suit to remember details.

“Great. Now that we settled this, has anybody another thing to say against this plan?”, Antís asked.

For a second nobody moved. Then, Bastet spoke up.

“I have a question.”

“Of course you do”, the demigod rolled his eyes. “Shoot.”

“What exactly are you trying to accomplish by meeting with the witch? Except to soothe your guilt, that is?”

Aither had already opened his mouth to protest, but Antís still beat him to it. It seemed like he had expected that reaction.

“Getting information about the magic which was used to turn her from someone who actually knows what we are dealing with.” He cocked his head. “That these two are the same person is just convenient. Happy?”

If Bastet would have been able to, she would have wrinkled her nose, Sahari thought.

“For now”, the cat admitted. “Though I am quite hungry.”

At that, Antís stilled.

“I am too, to be honest, but I think we should take the jump first and only then look for the next suitable situation to make…. which meal comes next? What time of the day is it, exactly?”

Apparently, none of them knew what time of day it was, so Antís did the thing all people without watches did. He pulled out his phone.

“Hermes? What time is it?”

Sahari couldn’t see the avatar, since she was sitting opposite of the demigod, but she heard his voice loud and clearly.

“Yo Boss, long time no see. Thought you’d forgotten about me.”

“What?! Noooooo, how could I?”, he assured the avatar.

“Hmmmm”, Hermes answered. He was having none of Antís’ excuses. “Anyway, what time do you want? Xibalban time, heavenly time or the time of your last location in Midgard, Hermopolis, Egypt, Africa?”

“There is something like xibalban time?”, Aither asked. He leaned towards Antís to get a view of the god’s icon on the phone screen.

“Nope, just messing with ya”, Hermes said. He probably stuck his tongue out too, since he often did that from Sahari’s phone, but this time she couldn’t see it.

“Heaven time’s enough”, Antís quickly said before someone else could interrupt the conversation.

“Boy, you folks have been gone for some time, haven’t ya. We are at two hours, six minutes and forty-one, forty-two, forty-three, forty-”

Hermes

“Forty-five seconds in the night. You have passed on to the next day already.”

Antís sighed.

“Well, that explains the hole in my stomach”, he concluded. “I can’t even remember what I had for dinner.”

“That’s because it wasn’t worth remembering”, Aither said.

They had just thrown the rest of everything they could find inside Hut into the cauldron and hoped it would satisfy their hunger. It had been enough back then, but apparently Antís was the first to feel the lack of a proper meal.

“We should stop for groceries somewhere”, Aither continued.

“I doubt there are food markets in Vyraj”, Sahari countered.

“I can hope.”

“Need anything else, Boss?”, Hermes chimed. He didn’t like being summoned and then forced to listen to the conversation of other people around him.

“No, Hermes, thank you”, Antís answered. “Talk to you later.”

“You better”, the god responded. Then, Sahari saw the light emitted from the phone screen vanish. It had gone dark again.

“Think you can suppress your urge to feast for a little while?”, Aither asked Bastet and Antís.

The two of them exchanged a look.

“It will do”, Bastet said. “For now.”

“Then, if there are no other objections… Hut?”, Antís asked into the room. “I think you are gonna like this.”

Everyone turned to Sahari. It was portal time.


The entrance to Vyraj was a huge wrought iron gate inside a thick brick wall. Through the fancy curved bars of the gate Antís could see a beautiful meadow under a moonlit sky, which held millions of stars inside thousands of constellations he had never seen before. The branch of Yggdrasil they were standing on was as wide as the gate and led right towards it.

Though known as the World Tree in many mythologies, the Slavs called Yggdrasil the Cosmic Tree, since it connected Vyraj, which was located in the Milky Way, to Nav, where the dead go first after their demise. When the god of the Slavic underworld, Veles, had judged them, he let the most noble ones ascend to wander forever across the lovely, peaceful meadows of Vyraj.

“How do we get in, exactly?” Aither had his hands wrapped around some bars and was rattling them, trying to get the gate to open. “There’s no handle, no lock. I could fly in and try from the other side, but I don’t know… I feel like that’s something we shouldn’t do.”

“You are right, kitten”, Bastet answered. She brushed his legs while walking past him. “This place is sacred. We should not disturb the wandering dead by breaking the laws of Vyraj. There is only one way to enter.”

“Then how do we open it?”

“There’s magic all over the place”, Sahari cut in. She stood a bit behind them, eyes glassy, waving her staff in the air. “This stuff is ancient, I don’t think there’s a simple solution.”

“Actually there is”, Antís countered.

The other’s heads turned towards him.

“Why do we even bother?”, Aither sighed. “Of course, you know how to open it. So? Come on, spill the beans.”

“We wait”, Antís shrugged his shoulders.

“For what exactly?”

Before he could answer that question a howling wind brushed past them. The demigod turned around. Behind Hut, the tree branch met with Yggdrasil’s main trunk. A bit above the junction, there was a big hole in the bark, like the entry to a nest of some sort. Antís was briefly reminded of the messenger squirrel, Ratatoskr, who ran up and down the tree sharing gossip and inciting conflict between the eagle in the tree’s crown and Nidhögg, the dragon nagging on Yggdrasil’s roots. From the stories Antís had heard of him, Ratatoskr wasn’t the most pleasant creature to encounter here. Alas, he was relieved when the fiery bird emerged from the tree hole.

Sibling to the Greek Phoenix and the Egyptian Benu, the Raróg was the Slavic equivalent of a bird clad in feathers of flame. This variant looked like a falcon, though one as big as a human being, wingspan probably as wide as Hut was tall. It screeched, circled a few times above them and then sat down on the iron gate.

Absent-mindedly, Aither held out his arm towards Bastet. The cat lunged and then climbed up the extremity, seating herself on his shoulder. Together, them, Antís and Sahari retreated a few steps from the gate back to Hut so as to not crane their necks extensively when looking up to the Raróg. The creature looked like it was judging them and ultimately began flapping its giant wings. Strong winds picked up, but the team stood their ground as they slowly watched the gate opening itself inwards. When the path was wide enough for Hut to pass through, the Raróg stopped, going back to watching them.

“Come on”, Antís said and began trudging forwards. He didn’t look back, but the sound of two pairs of footsteps, the never-ceasing aura of death and the echoing thunder of chicken feet told him that Aither, Sahari, Shin and Hut followed him.

Slowly, the wood beneath him turned to earth, then came a few patches of grass and finally Antís stood on the meadows of Vyraj.

When he turned around, he saw his friends, Shin and Hut catching up with him. Behind them he saw only the endless grasslands, they called Vyraj. The corners of his lips twitched into a small smile. When Sahari and Aither had reached him, they followed his gaze, stunned.

“What was that?”, Aither broke the silence.

“I don’t know”, Antís admitted. “Some say it is Veles himself, who holds the keys of Vyraj. He guards this realm, just as he rules over Nav.”

They fell silent. Antís felt like words didn’t matter here anymore. Or anything, really.

‘When this is eternal peace, then this is not so bad’ he thought.

“What now?”

Crouched upon Aither’s shoulder, Bastet looked a bit uncomfortable, but she didn’t complain. It seemed like she, too, wasn’t immune to the calm of this place.

“We follow”, Antís pointed at Hut.

Sahari frowned.

“Shouldn’t we like... climb aboard maybe?”

Shin shook his head.

“Antís is right. Speed doesn’t matter here, as well as time and distance. We don’t need to rush.”

“You heard them, Hut”, Antís turned to the house. “Find Baba Yaga. She is waiting for you. For us.”

‘For me’, he added mentally.

Slowly, as if it were actually looking for something to go to, Hut rotated. It was almost halfway through, when it stopped. Then it began walking forward, following whatever magic still connected it to the witch.

Antís took a deep breath.

“Let’s go.”


They took their time. Obviously, the time still passed outside of Vyraj, but it didn’t matter. Not to them.

At some point, Bastet hopped down from Aither’s shoulder and strolled quietly beside him. To an outsider it probably looked like they were walking at different paces each and yet, they all seemed to move forward equally. No words were spoken, the atmosphere between them speaking for itself.

Sometimes, a stork flew across the sky above them. They wondered and awed, then they moved on. Antís knew they were carrying unborn souls to the mortal worlds, from which the legend that storks brought newborn babies originated.

Occasionally, they saw white, flickering figures in the distance. They were vaguely humanoid, but none of them came near enough to be inspected closer. The spirits paid them no attention and mostly just stood or sat on the ground. Only some were moving, but stopped soon after they started, having found something else to look at.

Stargazing, flower smelling and nature admiring were the most common activities, Antís observed. If he would have nothing else to do, these would be probably the things he would do too. Not that he would end up in Vyraj or even Nav for that matter. Erebos, the Greek underworld, was still one of the busiest places. There weren’t that many people living on the lands the myths had originated, but the new renaissance of Classical Greek Art and Literature on Midgard had been enough for many foreign mortals to end up in the underworld they knew by heart as well.

But hey, Antís was a hero. As in the original usage of the word. So, he would probably even end up in Elysion anyway, which probably wasn’t that different to Vyraj, now that he thought about it. A few more people, no night sky (because Elysion was actually a direct part of the Greek Underworld) and the chance to go for reincarnation.

He had no idea if he actually wanted to try living more than once. This life right here had already been pretty dreadful at some points. Going through that thrice only to move to the Isles of the Blessed, where only the most worthy people enjoyed their afterlife, didn’t seem like an ordeal fitting for someone already tired of living in the twenty-first century. Or maybe that was just a generation thing.

So deep in thought, Antís almost didn’t notice when Hut came to a stop. So far, he had only focused on his surroundings, but had paid no attention to where they were going exactly. Only when Hut’s shadow fell on him, he realised he had caught up with the entity who had stoically led the way. Finally looking straight ahead, he saw the cause of their stop. A single white figure stood only a few meters away from them.

“Thank you, Antís. Thank you for bringing my hut to me one last time.”

A lump was caught in his throat, making it difficult for the demigod to properly form words, so at first he only nodded.

“It is good to see you, Baba Yaga.”

“Come”, the former witch beckoned them closer. “We have much to discuss.”


***************************************************************************************


The goddess was in the middle of arranging the silverware on the garden table, when someone cried out behind her.

“Aaaaaw, you made it”, the stout goddess shrieked. “I was afraid these Hindus wouldn’t let you leave without another thousand demands.”

Hiding her smile the goddess turned around.

“Of course I made it, Rosie. Did you really think I would miss the weekly Head of Department meeting?”

“Oh! Don’t be silly with me!”, Rosmerta reared back. “I know you are just dying to try whatever I carry in my little basket here.”

She swung the object around, spreading a variety of heavenly smells through the air.

“Busted”, the goddess admitted. “Your pastries do taste amazing.”

The other squinted her eyes.

“What’s up with you giving up just like that? Those Hindus must be pretty challenging if even you are tired of negotiating with them. Even that boy of yours never wore you out and we all know what a little rascal he i- was.”

Rosmerta almost got through the sentence, but at the end she stumbled. The goddess didn’t mind, she had expected these remarks today.

“He is”, she confirmed, “but he also knows how to get away with it. If there is a loophole he’ll find it.”

Rosmerta gave her one last look, before sighing long and deeply.

“Well, you raised him. You know him best, I guess. But you should know this: The others would probably curse me from saying that out loud, but we are all afraid that this time, there isn’t gonna be a loophole.”

The goddess stilled. Apparently, the situation was as worse as she feared. However, spreading fear and doubt would not be helpful right now.

“Maybe. But if there really isn’t one, he will just have to make one. Wouldn’t be the first time”, she added with a sad smile on her lips.

Rosmerta looked like she wanted to object, but suddenly a new pair of voices grew louder, interrupting her train of thought. In the distance, Ištar accompanied a smaller goddess, whose stone carved face didn’t move a muscle. From what she could gather, they were fighting over something. But then it was Ištar, so it probably wasn’t that important. Still, all those negative topics first thing in the morning weren’t a good indicator for the rest of the day. As such, she tried to focus back on the more enjoyable things. Like the basket, Rosmerta was still clutching.

“Well Rosie, how about we have some breakfast?”


Chapter 15: Confrontations

Summary:

The team has arrived in Vyraj. While Antís finally meets with the soul of Baba Yaga to reconcile, Sahari and Aither have some long overdue talks. However, their enemy is not resting. On the contrary.

Chapter Text

Bastet held herself back as the others gathered around the witch’s soul. She had never met her in person, since she barely left the Heaven anymore, but it didn’t matter anyway. The glance exchanged between them before the view was blocked by her kittens was enough information they needed from each other.

Silently, Bastet made her way towards the cabin, which had by now sat itself down onto the ground again. It looked like it belonged here, she noted. The front door opened and the goddess accepted the invitation to go further inside, climb the narrow stairs and enter the bedroom. The door to the balcony was still open from her and Sahari’s earlier conversation.

It had mostly been updates from the magician, what the group had done in their time apart. She had deliberately left things out, some details too vague to be actual details, but Bastet hadn’t poked further. If it would be of importance the truth would come out, sooner or later.

Speaking of the truth, Bastet had chosen her stakeout on the balcony to have a good view on the events below. There was someone in their group, who could not be trusted completely, their actions so far not freeing them from the worries she possessed regarding them. From what Sahari had told her, Shin had been assisting them a lot in their journey, more than one would expect from a spirit of death with their target nearby. However, Bastet had seen first hand the reaction they had upon seeing Antís getting hurt. Even if Shin still said they would be helping them, Bastet had a feeling that by now this would be a lie. She was just waiting for them to slip.


Shin held themself back as the others gathered around the witch’s soul. They had no interest in meeting her, why would they. Still, they didn't quite know what it was they should be doing now. Antís was here, safe, alive and recovering, but attacking him with everyone else around would be foolish at best. Not to mention unfair, the demigod had been surprisingly accommodating given their strange relationship. Shin wanted to give him a choice, he had earned that right. They just didn’t know what they would do, if he would refuse.

It was weird for them to experience this feeling of confusion. So far their non-life had been very linear in regards to personal opinions, feelings and senses, but since they had joined the demigod on his quest for justice, every day brought something new. Shin had almost begun to welcome that.

Which was probably why the urge for them to complete their purpose had grown stronger the moment they had seen a beat-up Antís hanging limp between his friends. He hadn’t even been close to death in that moment, but it had reminded them just how vulnerable he actually was without that armor of wordy arguments he usually defended himself with.

Now, they just needed to pass the time until the final confrontation came. The question was just: How?


Antís held himself back as the others gathered around the witch’s soul. While Aither and Sahari were surprisingly eager and walked up to her, the demigod found himself rooted in place. This whole adventure had started with just the two of them, battling each other to the death. And yet, he and the witch now stood before each other as if nothing had happened. Except she was dead and now just a soul, but to some that wouldn’t matter much. Unfortunately, he was not ‘some’.

Guilt washed over him like a tsunami, a massive wave of feelings that all of this was wrong, that it shouldn’t even have happened in the first place. He didn’t see Bastet stalking them from her place on the balcony, he didn’t process Shin’s mumbled ‘I’ll be watching Macha’, he didn’t hear what his friends were talking about with the witch even if they stood right in front of him, he didn’t notice that Baba Yaga was barely answering their questions, her gaze focused on him.

When his lungs gave out and blackness clouded his vision, strong hands grabbed his underarms and a warm feeling spread through his veins.

“My, my, child”, the old witch croaked. “You have come a too long way to faint now.”

Antís opened his eyes. His breath was steady again, he was still standing upright. Before him the soul of Baba Yaga was still gripping his arms tightly. She was imbuing him with her magic he realised. The concerned expressions of his friends became clearer, framing her glowing face

“Antís, are you alright?”, Sahari asked.

Aither remained still, but the frown on his forehead clearly showed his worry.

Antís tried a weak smile, but quickly dropped it, when he noticed the deepening wrinkles in his friend’s expressions.

“small>I am ok”, he said instead, voice thin, but stern enough to get the message across.

The other three resumed watching him as if they expected him to still faint despite his assurance.

“I think”, the witch started, his friends turning their heads towards her expectantly, “I think, it’s time we talk. Don’t you agree?”

Antís pulled his arms back until what remained in the witch’s hands were his own. He gripped them, feeling the solid water-like texture of her soul.

Yes, please.


Aither and Sahari settled for a small hill near the witch’s house, just out of reach to not overhear the conversation, but close enough to get there fast, if something would happen. Not that Sahari wanted for anything to happen, everything else she would prefer. So, the two of them lay down in the grass, watching the starry night sky, though she noticed Aither shuffling around uncomfortably.

“Please don’t tell me you need consolation too”, she opened their long overdue conversation.

“It’s not that”, he answered. “It’s just- My last time under the night sky didn’t really go as planned.”

She was lucky to remember that it had been only an hour or two since they had stood in the ball court of Xibalba. The fight with Camazotz had been intense, she had thought back then, given Antís’ damaged state.

“What happened back there?”, she asked.

She was glad that he knew her enough to know what she was asking for.

“We kissed”, he said.

No lie, no half-truth. Sahari almost missed the feeling of being betrayed. If she would have cared at all. She sat up.

“I want to break up with you”, he continued.

“I know”, she said.

“I have been for some time, I just didn’t know how to break it to you.”

“I know.”

A silence stretched between them, broken only by the familiar wind, rustling the long grass blades. He sat up as well.

“You seem okay with that”, he stated, speaking hesitantly.

She shortly thought about her answer, but in the end decided for the full truth. Just like he had done.

“I have been expecting that sentence for quite a while now. But every time we were close to the subject, you seemed to change the topic. I don’t know if that was intentional or not, but it helped me get accustomed to the feeling of being rejected.”
“I am not rejecting you”, he objected.

“You are”, she shushed him, “and that’s okay. If I am not the one you can truly be happy with, then it’s not my place to be the selfish one and stay.”

He was silent for a minute.

“You are being really mature about that, you know? There are not that many people, deities included, who could say that and mean it.”

She chuckled at that. A picture of Hera, former queen of Olympos and wife of Zeus popped up in her head. The goddess had once held the domains of marriage, family and childbirth, but shortly after the unification of the pantheons she had separated herself from her husband. His countless affairs with the mortal women, which often resulted in children, had been one to many. She was now the goddess of female emancipation, divorce and abortion, rejecting everything that she thought held upright the patriarchy. That the Heavenly council still consisted of only two women, of which one even had to share her right to vote with another man, was her most prominent agenda needing change. Coincidentally, Zeus’ children had stopped emerging from Midgard as soon he had been single once more.

Although the goddess was fighting for topics Sahari thought important too, she didn’t quite agree with her methods. It was one thing to fight for equality, another to make it a dirty war. Which is why Sahari wanted to avoid unnecessary conflict in a relationship that was already lost.

Also, she liked the sight of Aither being happy. Upon hearing her reassurance the god looked like a great weight had been taken off of him.

“If he makes you happy, I won’t stay in your way”, she added.

His smile faltered, the frown reappeared.

“It’s not like that”, he said. “I mean I do like him, it’s just-”

She waited. There was no need to force him. Not here. Not now.

“I mean I like him physically. He’s kind of pretty, not too buff, a short king and we already know each other’s bodies and stuff-”

Now she had to interrupt.

“Okay, okay, I get it. You’re attracted to him, but…?”

“... we’re not mentally compatible. Antís needs someone who can ground him, who gets all his antics and doesn’t talk back when challenged. Someone he can confide in, when the whole world has turned against him, even if they can only do some much as help him organise the chaos in his own head.” He swallowed. “I am not that person.”

Sahari was amazed. She didn’t know if it was this place or if Aither really had grown in these last few hours.

“What about you?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Who do you need?”

He hesitated.

“I’m not sure, but currently I think I don’t need anyone.” He reared back when seeing the look back on her face. “Don’t get this wrong, you were a really good girlfriend, you didn’t ‘make’ me turn away from relationships, you just-”

“You’re rambling.”

He stopped, grinding his teeth. After gathering his thoughts, he seemed to come to a conclusion.

“I just wanna see if being ‘me’ is enough.”

It kind of made sense to Sahari. Aither’s father literally created him from himself. In a sense, he was just a younger version of him. The god of light had never desired a romantic partner, even if he had had a wife and children for that matter. Maybe they were from a time, when he had experimented with mortal affairs himself, because since ancient times all the primordial had done was being the literal Heaven about Olympos and now the United Heaven. That his son was aromantic as well seemed just logical in that context.

“That’s for you to decide.”

She covered his hand with her own and a small smile twitched at the corner of his lips. She was wrong, she realised, about what she told Shin earlier. They were alright. They just had to talk about it.


“It has changed, hasn’t it?”, Baba Yaga asked.

“Well, we raided your stocks and I asked it to remodel some rooms for me”, Antís admitted. Now that he thought about it, he had no idea how the witch would react to the new bath- and bedrooms. Would she have given her consent, if she had known about them beforehand? “And added some wings.”

“No, silly!”, she giggled. “I mean its overall temper and behaviour and such.”

He had no idea what she was talking about, but to be honest, he hadn’t known the cabin before all this happened. Maybe it has changed. How Baba Yaga could see that just by looking at it sitting in the middle of a meadow, he had no clue. Their connection must be very strong, he thought.

The witch had fallen silent again and resumed watching her old friend. Occasionally, a small giggle escaped her, when she saw something of interest, but other than that she seemed rather… normal. Content. Peaceful. Not at all like the stories he had heard about her.

“Baba Yaga?” Her head turned to him. “How come you are so- I mean you are not really- You know…”

He didn’t quite know how to describe it, so he made a circling motion with his index finger near his temple.

“Crazy?”, she translated out-loud.

He winced. That was one way of saying it.

“Well”, she nonchalantly continued, “you see, Antís, Death has some sort of freeing effect on one’s soul. Sickness, physically or mentally, mostly only affects the body. There are exceptions of course, depression or the weird feeling of little bed bugs crawling all over your skin even though you know they’re not there, you know what I mean.”

Irritated, Antís just nodded along.

“But when I died, I left ‘the crazy witch’ behind. My sickness had only affected my brain, not my soul. I could pass on to Vyraj with a mind that can enjoy the peace in this place for once.”

“That sounds…” He wasn’t really sure what that sounded like.

“Like a blessing”, Baba Yaga answered instead. “You have done me a great favor, even if it doesn’t look like that at the moment.”

Antís felt his voice shaking again.

“Don’t you have any open ends? Anything that you still wanted to achieve?”

The witch’s soul shook her translucent head.

“If you are as old as I am, there is not really anything left to do. My coven has already fallen, the time for witches is over, even if there are still some left out there. I think the only thing I regret was not preparing my hut for what's to come.”

A shiver ran down Antís’ spine.

“Why? What will come?”

“A dark time. I fear my death was the starting point of the next war the pantheons will face. It will be the first since their unification and if they don’t prove they can fight together as one, it will also be their last. You have done me a great deal, Antís. I can watch from the sidelines as you either triumph or go down with glory. Nevertheless, this is gonna be one hell of a show.”

As he listened to the witch Antís was reminded of all the other signs of war they had encountered so far. Cities plagued by infestations, smitheries forging the weapons for what is to come, deities hiding their illegal pets for purposes yet unknown. Whole Mythos was preparing for war and the Heaven still had no clue.

He realised that this was bigger than him. He had been destined to trigger it by killing the witch. This was not a simple quest for justice. This was the first act of something that could possibly end the world. The question was just who they were up against.

“I don’t know”, Baba Yaga said at this moment. She must have read his expression, because he had been close to voicing his thoughts out loud. “I am merely the first victim of this war, nothing more. I lost most of my powers by now, reading the future will puzzly at best, unhelpfully confusing at worst. I cannot help you any further.”

“Maybe you do. We came here not only for me to get closure, but also to ask about the incident itself.”

“What about it?”

“The part before me, actually”, Antís explained. “The transformation itself. How did it happen, how did Badb turn you?”

“You know that it was Badb?” Baba Yaga sounded impressed. “Even I did not know which one of the three it was that dropped their magic in the cauldron.” On Antís’ raised eyebrow she elaborated. “I was turning away for a moment, getting some spices for my soup. When I looked back I could only see the crows tail feathers flying through the window. I paid them no attention, I was in a forest, wild animals came and went. I guess my hut hadn’t denied her entrance, because it knew her and the Morrígan had always been good at hiding her true intentions. It was just an unfortunate series of events. I threw the spices in the cauldron, stirred, raised my scoop for a little sip and the next thing I knew was this searing pain in my skull. When my head cleared again, I was feeling very weak, blood spilled from the various wounds my twisted body possessed. The only comfort came from the person who stood above me, his familiar grey eyes soothing my hurting mind. I guess I wanted him to be at ease, since his face was dark and gruesome. My mind slipped away just as I forced my unfamiliar body to take on its usual appearance.”

A gust of wind swept through the tall grass, reinforcing the silence that laid on them like a heavy blanket. Yet, Antís knew that this moment had to come sooner or later.

You looked peaceful”, he stated, “as if you could finally rest.

“I did”, the former witch nodded. “For the first time since forever, there was just me. The grass I lay on. The wind surrounding me. Even now with you all here, with my hut here, I know this will pass. You will move on, eventually. And it will be alright. For everyone.”

“Eventually.”

“Eventually”, Baba Yaga confirmed.

A few minutes passed without either of them saying something. Antís’ mind finally had the chance to rest as well. For the first time in his life he didn’t think of what would come, but what he had left behind. It might not be that pretty, everything considered, but it was something to look back to, to learn from and to try to be better.

“I want to give you something”, Baba Yaga eventually disrupted the silence.

Antís turned towards the glowing soul. The former witch held out her hands in a sort of bowl gesture. Upon mimicking her, Baba Yaga cupped her hands above Antís’. A transformation ran through her translucent form. Colourful ripples disrupted her smooth texture and went right into her hands. Antís felt a warmth seeping through his fingers and their combined hands began glowing even more. Then the ripples stopped and Baba Yaga grew still once more, before lowering her hands. Amazed, Antís stared at the white orb swirling with colourful stripes in his hands.

“This is the last of my magic”, the former witch explained. “It is of no use to me anymore, but I am sure you will find it resourceful, when the need arises.”

The demigod was speechless. That was one powerful gift. His eyes began to water once more, even though he had really tried to suppress the tears earlier, when she had recounted the events of her death. He wanted to object, when he caught the witch’s gaze.

“You cannot, I know”, she said, “but you will.” Her voice was determined.

Gently, she cupped his hands from underneath and pressed them together, closing the distance between his palms. The glowing orb floating in between disappeared and Antís felt its warmth spreading through his veins, up his arms.
“Call for it and it will come”, Baba Yaga continued. “You will know what to do with it.”

Suddenly, Antís realised that the witch’s soul had become less clear and began disintegrating more and more with every moment. He could already no longer make out the outline of her body from the waist down, the shapeless glow wavering in the wind. Then Baba Yaga cupped his cheeks.

“You are a good man, Antís. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

He grabbed her wrists and leaned into the touch. He watched as the witch’s soul was reduced to a formless cloud of white. Baba Yaga flew forward, encircling her hut one last time. Then she was gone, embracing the peace of Vyraj once more.

Thank you.

Antís didn’t bother to wipe away the tears rolling down his cheek.


“I want you to meet someone”, Sahari snapped him out of his thoughts.

Aither had been watching Antís and the soul called Baba Yaga talking quietly before the hut sitting on the meadow.

“Hm?”, he turned towards his friend.

Sahari was grasping the pendant she had been wearing since Xibalba. He had noticed it of course, but paid it no further attention. They had had bigger problems back then than Sahari’s jewelry. Now up close he could see it was shaped like a tear, pendant and necklace made out of pure silver, apparently.

“This is a lunar tear”, she said at that moment. “It was given to me in Xibalba by… someone I didn’t know existed that way.”

He frowned. The pendant had been given to her by someone in Xibalba? He thought back to the deities they had encountered in that place. He shivered. Whoever had been the original owner, he hoped Sahari had disinfected the pendant thoroughly.

Apparently she saw his confusion, because all she did was roll her eyes.

“Watch”, she said, before raising the pendant towards the sky.

The full moon above them seemed to be coming closer at that motion, although that could also be a trick of the mind.

“Mama Killa. Mama Killa, hereby I call for you. I want to know who I am.”

This time he was sure, the moon disc was really closing in on them. Upon reaching them, it stopped and transformed into the body of a goddess. Her skin, hair and dress shone white and whenever she moved the outlines of her features sparkled light blue. Her necklace, earrings and other jewelry pointed him to the pantheon she was part of. Then it clicked.

“You didn’t know Mama Killa existed?”

Immediately, Sahari’s expression turned sour.

“That’s the first thing that comes to your mind, when a goddess of the moon suddenly appears before you.”

“I’m a god of light myself”, he defended. “It’s not that unnatural.”

Before Sahari could talk back, Mama Killa intervened.

“Children, please”, her gentle voice brushed over them, “no fighting. Vyraj is sacred, there shall be no vileness here.”

Elegantly, she lowered herself before them onto the meadow, before focusing back on them, her gaze springing back and forth between them.

“I see things worked out in the end”, she stated.

Aither had no idea what she meant, but Sahari was quick to answer.

“They did”, she confirmed. “For the better.”

“I’m glad”, the goddess responded. “Unhappiness didn’t suit you.”

“Why are you here exactly?”, Aither cut in. “No offense, you seem really nice, but I don’t really get how you could help us right now.”

The women exchanged a look.

“I was about to tell him”, Sahari answered the unspoken question. “I figured it’d be easier with you already here.”

When the goddess made a ‘go ahead’ motion, the magician turned to him.

“After our fight in Xibalba Mama Killa reached out to me. It was not really good timing, to be honest”, she added with a side glance, though Mama Killa didn’t bat an eye, “because I was in a bad mood already and what she told me practically short-circuited my brain, so I probably didn’t get everything she wanted to tell me.”

“What did she want to tell you?”

Sahari hesitated, but Mama Killa made no move to continue explaining herself.

“She told me that I am a legacy….”, she waited, throwing nervous glances to the goddess, “and that I have four godly ancestors.”

“Great-grandparents, to be precise”, Mama Killa specified.

Again, Sahari grimaced.

“Which is weird, because none of my grandparents told me they were demigods in the first place.”

“But they are?”, Aither inquired.

“They are”, Mama Killa confirmed. “They just didn’t know it themselves.”

Sahari stayed silent.

“That explains it, doesn’t it?”, Aither asked.

“It does”, Sahari muttered.

She seemed pretty out of it, so Aither took it upon himself to poke further.

“So. Four deities, huh?”

“Yep”, Mama Killa confirmed.

“I bet you are one of them.”

“I think I know why Sahari likes you”, the goddess stated. “I like the simple ones as well.”

Aither narrowed his eyes.

“Thanks. I think.”

“You’re welcome”, Mama Killa flashed him a bright smile.

“Who- Which one-”, Sahari tried to voice the steady stream of questions, but she still seemed not to have organised the chaos in her head. Aither chuckled to himself. This was one of those things in which Antís was superior to her.

“I think she wants to ask, which grandparent is yours and who are the other deities”, Aither translated.

“Well, let’s see”, Mama Killa thought out-loud, “I think I will answer the second question first. Then maybe Sahari can try to guess which one is mine.”

Sahari muttered, “جد هلال”.

“What?”

“Djadd Hilal”, she repeated, louder this time. “Hilal means ‘new moon’.”

“Very good”, Mama Killa said. “He was a lively one, especially at night. It broke my heart, when I had to leave him with his father, but I knew fate had other plans with him. Becoming your grandfather was only part of that.”

“I barely remember seeing him in daylight”, Sahari reminisced. “He always seemed to wake up at dusk. I wonder why I never thought that was strange.”

“What about the other deities?”, Aither asked.

Mama Killa waited for Sahari to focus her attention back on the goddess before continuing.

“Kalliope with the beautiful voice, Muse of epic poetry, rhetoric and philosophy. She is one of the nine Greek Mousai and teaches at the United Academy if I recall that correctly.”

“She does”, Aither confirmed. “Antís loved her classes, they were one of the few opportunities to argue with a teacher without repercussions. Can’t say I remember much of it, though.”

“Djadda Andalah”, Sahari connected. “I really loved her voice. She sang the best lullabies. I preferred her to sing to me over my mom. I guess at first she was kinda sad about it, but in the end I think she was glad for me to have spent some time with her, before she passed.” A small smile spread on her lips. She must remember some pretty nice memories. Then her gaze focused back on Mama Killa. “Who’s next?”

“Tenjin, Kami of academics, scholarship and learning. I guess you have that determined drive for knowledge from him.”

“He is the father of my djadd Alim”, Sahari stated. “My mom, his daughter, always told me that he was always focused on a topic to research and that he forgot the world around him. He bought my mom her first real microscope when she was three, though I don’t think that looking back she wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“What about the last deity?”, Aither asked. It was really nice that Sahari could think back to all the good times she had with her family, but to him, an outsider, these minutes of waiting were rather dull. Not that he was impatient or anything.

Mama Killa chuckled before answering.

“Bragi, Norse god of poetry. Apart from the Mousai’s weekly newsletter, which showcases the most recent art and poetry from the Heaven, I don’t know much about him to be honest.”

“Which leaves djadda Rabeea as my last grandparent. I’m not surprised.”

“Wasn’t that the one who almost got the literature nobel prize a few years back?”, Aither asked.

“Yeah, remember when I told you not to ask her about it?”

“... She’ll be glad we broke up, now that I think about it.”

Sahari turned back to Mama Killa.

“Thank you for telling me all this, but”, she hesitated, “I’m not really sure what to do with this information.”

“That’s entirely up to you”, the goddess started, “though you should know that they all know about you. When a legacy combines four godly heritages in oneself is that rather obvious. You are practically radiating magic as we speak. When you entered the Heaven we thought Thoth might have told you all that, hence the confusion the last time. I think I speak for all of us, when I say we didn’t approach you ourselves, because we didn’t want to intrude. If you want to know about us, learn from us, it should be you who decides the if and when. So when I heard you wanted to learn moon magic, I thought that you would be ready for us.”

Again, Sahari took her time to find an answer. Her gaze drifted over Aither and down the hill to Antís, Baba Yaga’s soul and Hut sitting on the meadow. When she focused back, her look was pure determinedness.

“I am. Where do we start?”


When Bastet thought her day couldn’t get any worse than back in Xibalba she was proven wrong. She was still lounging on the balcony, eyes flickering between Antís and the witch’s soul below and Aither, Sahari and the apparition on the hill in front of them, ears cast back to hear everything the shinigami and the crow discussed in the witch’s study. Which wasn’t much. Or better: nothing. But Bastet thought that it was better to be prepared. Which was a good thing. Because this way she could easily leap from the balcony when Hut’s upper floor exploded.

She had heard the flapping of wings shortly before the second crow lunged herself through the window of the witch’s study. The problem was just that it was situated on the opposite side of Hut where Bastet had staked her lookout, so the cat had no oversight on what was actually happening. Still, she was alert, sat up and tried to listen carefully to what transpired in the depths of the witch’s companion. Just as she wanted to go take a look, she heard Shin curse in their native language, a crow screeching triumphantly and the mad laughter of a woman’s voice. Then her whiskers felt the shockwave coming, seconds before it blew the study and parts of the hallway, bathroom and bedroom apart. She turned away and jumped, not a second too late, then the deafening explosion thundered across the peaceful meadow. Bastet landed on all fours, like the cat she was.

Immediately, she felt calloused hands grabbing her midbody and hoisting her on his shoulder. She probably would have complained about it, wouldn’t have been for Antís to prop up his aegis and hold it above them to prevent them being hit by the occasional falling woodplank.

Bastet!” She heard a voice calling behind them and not a second later, Aither’s warm presence was there, next to them. “I saw you jump”, he continued, gripping Antís’ arm tightly with a partially photonised hand.

The demigod was walking backwards, creating some distance between them and the smoking entity in front of them while still keeping an eye out for movements inside or nearby. He was assessing the damage, Bastet could tell by his darkening face.

“What happened?”

He had seen her perching on the balcony, although she was sure not to have been visible from beneath.

“I don’t know”, she shook her little head. “Flapping, voices, screams, boom. That’s all I got.”

“Then we need help.”

Simple and determined, Bastet liked that. He was right, of course, if their enemy had found them, they would need any help they could get.

“How?” Sahari had caught up with them, staff drawn.

Antís was thinking intensely Bastet could tell. She hoped he was still ready to go after the day he had. The day they all had.

“Can we call someone?”, Bastet tried.

“No reception”, Sahari waved her phone. “I tried already.”

“The cauldron”, Antís muttered at that moment.

“What about it?”

“With everything we know Hut can do, it should be easy for it to open a small portal to send someone to the Heaven to get reinforcements.”

“Why?”, Aither asked. “Sahari’s magic too”

“No, he’s right”, the magician countered. “I’m gonna need every single drop of Heka if she’s caught up with us.”

“Then who’s gonna go?”, Aither continued.

For a second nobody said anything before Bastet started protesting.

“Not a chance, kitten.” She emphasised her point by digging her claws in Antís’ shoulder. “I am not leaving you alone with her!

“No, Mom, he is right”, Aither beat the other two to respond. “You currently have no presence, your magic is only starting to regenerate. We can still act like you are hiding somewhere to deceive them, but to be honest you’d be not really helpful in a fight right now.”

There was no discussion she realised. She snarled.

“If one of you dies I’m gonna kill you.”

Before anyone could respond to that a dark figure was blasted through the still intact side of the hut and smashed onto the grass of the meadow. Antís broke into a run and Bastet clawed herself to his shoulder. She may have accidentally nicked his skin, but if it hurt, he didn’t protest.

“Shin, you alright?”, the demigod called out to the spirit who was already standing up again.

“She’s here”, was all they said. They didn’t speak that loud, but the now eerie calmness of Vyraj helped in transporting the message. They all gathered around the spirit, who looked the most distressed since Bastet had seen them first. Which hadn’t been that often, but enough for her to read them properly.

“My, my”, a new voice disrupted their silence, “what a crowd has gathered here for me to toy with.”

Above them, in the hole in Hut’s wall Shin had unintentionally created, stood the figure of a woman. When the smoke cleared, Bastet heard Sahari gasp beside them. The Morrígan was beautiful, her muddy face paint emphasising her status as a war goddess. Her black dress was swaying back and forth, although Bastet could no longer feel the wind breezing through Vyraj. It seemed like the whole realm was holding its breath, awaiting for their encounter. When the Morrígan raised a hand to point her spear at them, Bastet saw that her hands ended in claws, not fingers.

Just then, the goddess grinned, which was a threatening, predatory gesture. She grabbed her dress and swirled around, vanishing into thin air. Before they could react however, her voice came from behind them, closer this time.

“So”, she drew their attention. “Who of you possesses the witch’s magic?”


“Scythe”, Antís held his hand expectantly towards them.

Why Shin obeyed the command without question they didn’t know, it didn’t even come to their mind until later. With a swirl of their hand the weapon appeared and floated in the demigod’s grasp. He began to walk forward after encouraging Bastet to leap from his shoulder.

After three steps he stopped and struck the scythe. The grass and ground in front of him was cut straight down, creating a horizontal line separating them from the Morrígan.


“If you overstep this boundary before we have negotiated I can guarantee for nothing”, he told her.

The Morrígan raised an eyebrow.

“We are negotiating? I hadn’t noticed. The smoke from the ruin behind you must have distracted me.”

She wiped at her eyes, faking smoke-induced tears.

“If you don’t want the Heaven to hunt you down like a dog after you killed us, then yes, we are.”

Doubt clouded the goddesses' face, but she was quick to hide the emotion again.

“Very well”, she dismissively waved. “You heard what I want. What’s your counter offer?”

“We’re gonna need some time to discuss that, as we are not in the position to share a body and thus need to talk this out prop-”

“Just go”, she interrupted Antís. “Ten minutes, then I’m tearing the rest of that hideous shed down.”

He nodded before turning around and coming back, expression grim, jaw clenching. He held out the scythe for Shin to grab before addressing the rest of their team.

“You go ahead, I’ll be right there.”

The three of them exchanged a look, but ultimately decided not to question him. Arms crossed, Antís looked after them, until they rounded the corner of the still smoking house.

“You want me to watch her?”, Shin inquired.

“That obvious, huh?”, he sighed. “Yeah. I don’t feel good about just leaving her unguarded.”

“Go. If she doesn’t attack first, it will be okay.”

Antís gave them one last grateful glance, before following the others. Looking back Shin felt bad for betraying him in the way they would soon. But the offer she had made them had been too good not to accept.

“One would think a shinigami that close to their victim would have already claimed their soul by now”, the Morrígan addressed them the moment Antís was out of their sight. “Or are you unwilling to do so after all those years?”

“You know who I am?”

“I have heard of you. The infamous death that lurks in the shadows, waiting for a prey that will never come. You are a bedtime story, something to tell the children about the forgiveness of death. That even if you are already marked it will take its time to give you the time to properly say goodbye.”

At that, Shin frowned. They may not be that interested in the world of the living, but to be remembered in such a way was definitely not to their liking.

“I cannot kill him, his mother protects him too well.”

“From you? Or from me?”

Shin’s first thought was that that could actually work. Then they felt guilty about thinking that way. Lastly, they mentally slapped themselves. They were a shinigami, one of Izanami-samas minions. Her word was their will. Their only purpose was to carry Antís’ soul to Yomi. For that they needed the demigod to die.

As if she could see the direction their thoughts had wandered off to, the Morrígan continued.

“This mission is over. Congratulations, you unraveled the mystery about Baba Yaga’s death. I transformed her. It was my doing that little Antís had to kill her. The only thing left is the last confrontation. How this ends is not your concern.”

She was right, actually. They had agreed to dive into the mystery of their connection after Antís had completed this mission. Bringing him to Yomi would be the fastest way to do that. The question was just how they could accomplish this without going against their agreements.

“What do you propose? What am I to do?”

The Morrígan grinned.

“Nothing.”


Antís knew something was off the moment he stepped out of Hut’s front door. He had been glad that the house was still operative, Bastet’s transport had been… well not smoothly, but it worked. He hoped. After gathering all his armour this time (including his helmet), they had devised a simple battle plan. No way in Hades would Antís freely give up Baba Yaga’s leftover magic.

As he rounded Hut’s corner with Aither by his side he noticed that Shin stood awfully close to the vile goddess, their back turned towards them. He drew the small metal container, which could transform into his spear, holding it in a tight grip.

The Morrígan studied his full attire of bronze chestplate, arm and leg braces as well as the attic helmet he carried under his arm, her lips converting into a twisted smile.

“You’re a bit overdressed for surrendering, don’t you think?”

He didn’t answer at first, his focus still on someone else.

“Shin, get behind us.”

When the spirit didn’t move Antís frowned, but pushed the thoughts popping up in his brain aside for now.

“You didn’t really think we wanted to surrender?”

“No, not really”, the Morrígan confirmed. “I loathe uneventful endings. There better be a fight somewhere along the line and if not…”, she grinned, wickedly, “then I just have to start one. Where’s that silly magic girl and the defenseless cat by the way. They are not hiding in these rotten boards behind you, aren’t they?”

Right on cue, Hut did as instructed. It turned sideways without standing up, revealing Sahari who stood on the balcony, staff raised. A cloud of hieroglyphs already swirled around her, waiting to be released.

Still, Antís’ focus lay on someone else.

“Shin”, he whispered.

A single breeze brushed through Vyraj, swaying their torn black cloak.

“Do you remember what you asked me right at the beginning, if I am to deny you help, when you would need it?”

They turned around. Soulless black eyes meeting steelhard grey ones. Slowly, as if someone would pull them up at invisible strings they started to rise into the air.

“You are on your own.”

A shiver ran down Antís’ spine. Then the Morrígan charged.


***************************************************************************************


Baba Yaga watched the fight from afar. The sounds of metal on metal never reached her ears, but the flickering lights could be seen from a great distance. Never in her life had she imagined that such a spectacle would be performed in Vyraj. But alas, she was already dead. Maybe the rules didn’t apply anymore.

It was only when one of the lights, the biggest one, started to grow erratic she realised that help, even if it was already on its way, would come too late.

A thin smile spread on her lips. Maybe the tales of the crazy old witch weren’t quite told yet. What else would you call someone who would still engage in a fight of life and death after their own demise, when such matters shouldn’t be relevant anymore.

The Morrígan had been her downfall, but Baba Yaga now promised her one thing. She would help take her down and if that’s the last thing she would do.


Chapter 16: Warrior, Queen, Crow

Summary:

The time has come for Antís, Sahari and Aither to face the Morrígan, but the goddess is strong. Too strong. Will Antís' strategy uphold and the team emerge victorious or will the heroes (yes, Aither I know) succumb to the peacefulness of Vyraj?

Notes:

This chapter kinda wrote itself, I had it finished in like 3 days (even though I was at work in the meantime). I'll just post it now (about a week after the previous update,) since I already began the next chapter (which could already be the last, tbh, we'll see) and the last days I was mainly focused on actually "building" the world, as in flesh out the organisation of the Heaven, etc. amongst other things.

Chapter Text

Antís had to drop his helmet in order to prop up aegis in time. The Morrígan crashed into it at full speed, spear loudly clanging against his bronze. Still he stood his ground, covering his body with the shield. Then the goddess retreated and he shifted his posture, letting him refocus on the situation in front of him.

Aither had attacked the Morrígan, an arrow of light sticking out from her abdomen. The goddess however only ‘tch’-ed, broke the shaft and threw it away, where it quickly dissolved, not bothering with the rest of it. Antís could see why, the pointed tip was being sucked into her body leaving no whatsoever trace of its existence.

Again, she charged forward without hesitation, though this time her focus was on the god of light. Aither retreated, leaping backwards with a speed Antís had seen only a few times while he had still been in physical form. As he did so he fired arrow after arrow at the Morrígans face, unfortunately with little success. The war goddess batted the noisy objects away as if they were flies circling a pile of dung. A very ugly and stinky pile of dung in this case, but that could also be just Antís’ personal opinion.

Then came the moment, when she caught up to his friend, her speed exceeding his. She struck with the spear, wanting to impale him and the weapon pierced Aither’s body right through the belly. However, even from afar, Antís could see the trickster in his friend, who was having the most fun he had in a while. Sighing, he grabbed the helmet laying by his feet and put it on, casually adjusting its straps.

“How long is this gonna take?”, came a voice from above. Sahari was leaning on her arms on the balcony’s railing, the hieroglyphs leisurely floating around her.

“Come on, let him have his fun”, Antís responded. “He is really pent up. These missions really do hold him back from pranking people.”

Antís observed Shin from the corner of his eyes, who was watching the couple of gods in the distance. He decided not to address them unless he had to. Their betrayal wasn’t really a surprise to him, he had expected it a lot sooner, if he was being honest, but that didn’t change the fact that now was the most inappropriate situation for that. However, he had to admit that that may have been exactly their intention, since they wanted him dead and all that. If he would survive this he would both applaud and strangle them for how they handled this whole situation.

On the meadow, Aither and the Morrígan were still locked in the whole ‘dying by spear through the stomach’ process. While he was still dramatically ‘dying’, as in flailing arms, twitching, falling limp, foaming mouth, etcetera, etcetera, she grew visibly more and more confused. At least, until the point came when she forcefully pulled the spear out of his body again. When she saw the hole she had created, she cried out, a scream emitting pure rage, and started a flurry of strikes against him. Each hole she left in his body only fueled her anger until Aither was reduced to a slice of Swiss cheese.

At last the Morrígan relented, heavy panting, and watched, spear raised above her head, as the trembling god dispersed into a cloud of photons. Small flickering orbs of light began dancing all around her, mockingly waving back and forth. From afar it looked like she stood amidst a swarm of fireflies, swinging her spear in every direction, trying to kill the light, only to have her blade hit nothing, the photons not penetrable for metal.

A change went through the goddess, red energy covering her body, her hair began to float behind her and her eyes began to glow. She yelled, a loud, gruesome, raging noise that caused Antís and Sahari to cover their ears. Even Hut creaked, shutting its windows and drawing the curtains. The scream repelled Aither, his cloud form scattered in all directions.

When the screaming stopped, the Morrígan sank together, the red energy fading away. Slowly, the light orbs flew back to Antís where they fused together again. The god remained photonised, a state he was most comfortable when fighting, Antís knew.

“Did we really have to make her that angry?”, Sahari asked from above.

“She had to know we meant business”, Aither responded. “Also I stalled her pretty good, didn’t I?”

“I guess”, the magician answered. “I just don’t like where this is going now.”

“None of us do”, Antís responded. “But we can’t defeat her. Not while she is in that state. Even if it complicates things.”

Sahari sighed.

“I know, I know. I just wanted to say again that I think it’s a really stupid plan.”

“It’s the only one we have.”

“Exactly.”

The Morrígan had regained her posture, focusing them with glaring eyes.

“Here she comes”, Aither mumbled beside Antís.

“Don’t worry”, the demigod mumbled back. “She can do this.”

‘She’, in this case, wasn’t the Morrígan.

When there were only about twenty meters between them and the raging goddess, Sahari did her magic.

Sole


𓌡


The spell echoed across the meadow and immediately three harpoon hieroglyphs that had been circling Sahari the whole time flew forward and fired, striking the Morrígan. The goddess, too confused and enraged to notice them in time, halted abruptly as Sahari’s Heka did what it was supposed to do.

Spasming, the Morrígan fell to the side, her whole body convulsing by the Heka being transferred through the magic ropes, running through her veins. Then suddenly, she went still. Only to suffer through the most painful process, Antís could imagine, in the next minute.

People talk about transfusing beings in the media, having one body for two people by doing some cool hand signs or gestures. The opposite of transfusion, separation, did not look very amicable when it was achieved by force.

In front of them, the Morrígan was separated into the three deities that formed her, Badb, Macha and Nemain. Sahari’s harpoons railed in their magic rope, pulling the goddesses apart until they were finally single beings again. Once done, the hieroglyphs detached their ropes from the bodies and railed them in to the hilt before swirling towards the goddesses heads and with a final lunge, branded themself onto the foreheads of each of them, making them scream out of pain once more, as the raw Heka burned itself onto their flesh. With still smoking foreheads, one by one each of them sat up bracing themself onto the soft grass beneath them.

If looks could kill, Antís was sure they would be raven food by now.


Shin observed the whole scene from above. They were pretty amazed that the team could actually make a stand against the Morrígan. From the magic she radiated they had thought that it would have been only a short brawl. Instead now the goddess was writhing in agony on the ground, as Sahar’s Heka separated the three entities. However, they were still goddesses of war and so far the team had done no real damage, other than cause her inner pain from being mocked earlier. And now they were angry, furious even. Their chances of winning were fleeting, but from the looks of it, Antís and co had expected as much.

While the demigod drew a big bronze spear and assumed a battle stance, aegis shielding his upper body, Aither summoned another arrow into his bow of light and aimed and Sahari straightened up and raised her staff, the cloud of hieroglyphs speeding their circling up again. Meanwhile, the Morrígan, or now Macha, Badb and Nemain were hesitantly standing up, shaking off their confusion.

“You will regret that”, Nemain, Shin thought, hissed. She looked the most frantic of the three, wearing a black tattered and scratched armour. Her long hair was a mess, pointing in every direction as if she had just woken up. Her face paint looked more like dried blood than mud and her rudely clawed hands were twitching as if she already imagined slicing them to pieces.

“Halt, sister”, Badb held her back with a wave of her arm. She too had claws instead of fingers, but more delicate ones, like a small raven’s foot. In her other hand she clutched a spear, though it was a different one from before. It looked more frail than the Morrígan’s, but when Shin saw the ornate staff Macha wielded, they realised the object had splitted into two as well. Badb’s appearance was concluded by a torn black dress, which seemed to be stitched of hundreds of raven’s feathers.

“I think I know what’s going on here”, Macha stated. “You know you can’t win against the Morrígan, so you want to fight each of us separately, but was the branding really necessary for that?” She tapped her staff onto the soft meadow, her royal robes floating behind her, because of the breeze that suddenly picked up. Chin aloft, she proudly showed off the thin entwined line tattoos on her cheeks, in addition to the new wound on her forehead. “I can’t say I dislike the idea, though you should know we won’t show mercy, just because you are mortals.”

Shin saw Aither opening his mouth, he probably wanted to say something along the lines of him being a god as well, but he was cut short by Nemain, who pointed a crooked claw at him.

“I call dibs on that one. How dare you mock us. How dare you mock the Morrígan!

Badb just sighed and slightly shook her head, so Macha continued.

“I think it is pretty obvious who the pair-ups are, don’t you agree?”

She looked straight up at Sahari who was returning the gaze with a grim expression. It seemed like Macha hadn’t forgiven her the ‘silence’ treatment from earlier.

“They are”, Antís confirmed. “If you will have us.”

From the moment she stood up, he hadn’t let Badb out of his sight. The dried mud on her cheeks cracked as her face contorted into a cruel smile.

“I do”, she breathed.

Then she raised her arms and began to dissolve into a swarm of crows, which one by one flew away from their gathering. About a hundred meters in the distance, they assembled again, forming Badb anew, patiently waiting for her opponent. Antís dropped his battle stance and began walking towards her, passing first Aither, who had already raised his hand in objection, but ultimately said nothing, then Nemain, who took no notice of him, too focused on her own target, and lastly Macha, who grinned at him, before turning back to Sahari. Shin could read the tension from his movements, but he still walked forward without hesitation.

“Nemain, dear, we talked about this”, Macha suddenly spoke up again. “If you like a man, all you have to do is talk to him.”

The other goddess frowned, but surprisingly followed her advice. Not in a manner, Shin had expected after that introduction sentence, but they had to admit, it was a very Nemain-like manner.

“I- I like your skin. That glowing flesh will look marvelous inside out. I wonder if your intestines shine as well, when I run my claws through them. Is your blood golden too? Let’s spill all of it, just to make sure!

Shin was impressed how unimpressed Aither sounded after those gruesome statements.

“No thanks, I currently don’t take applications for another person by my side. Maybe try again in a few months or so.”

He let go of the arrow he had been cocking in the bow all this time. Only to have it pierce the grass where Nemain had stood only milliseconds before. The goddess had jumped with such a speed that Shin only saw Aither move out of the way to not get sliced by her claws. As she landed, Nemain's eyes began to glow reddish and more red energy clung to her like a veil of mist.

“How slow are you?”, Aither called out to her. He hovered a few meters to the side, drawing her away from Hut. “I thought you liked my skin so much?”

Instead of answering properly, Nemain let out a terrifying scream, which echoed across the empty meadow.

“You know, I’m usually into people whose vocabulary is a little bit more extensive than just ‘roar’.”

Nemain was gone the next second, leaping after Aither, who quickly darted away.

What’s that? I can’t hear you between all that growling!

Aither was already too far away for Shin to comprehend everything with which he poked the goddess. They didn’t get a chance to try either, since Macha turned to them the next moment.

“Do you really want to stay here? The main event is back there, I think.”

She pointed behind her with her thumb, towards Antís who had almost reached Badb. Before they even knew it, they had begun to float in that exact direction, when another voice stopped them again.

“Shin!”, Sahari leaned over the railing. “Remember what you are. Remember who you are. Is this really worth it?”

Another breeze picked up, brushing through their hair and cloak. They still clutched their scythe in their hands, not having dismissed it earlier. They gripped it tighter, knuckles going white. Without turning around they continued forward, towards the ‘main event’. They didn’t need to. They could clearly picture Sahari’s current face in front of them.


Macha was kind enough to let Sahari watch Shin’s back getting smaller, she had to give her that. However, that kindness ended after about ten seconds, when the first wave of magic shook Hut, it’s damaged walls shaking even more than usual, when it moved. A look down revealed that Macha had stomped her staff on the ground, grinding it into the earth, emitting pulses of magic.

Shield”, Sahari mumbled.


𓇋 𓎡 𓅓 𓄛


The four hieroglyphs separated from Sahari’s cloud and ventured towards the four sides of Hut, where they seemingly stuck itself into the air. From the edges each hieroglyph seeped a thin sheet of raw Heka, spreading through the air until meeting before Hut’s corners, forming some sort of cube around them. Sahari waited until the cube’s roof closed above her, before focusing on Macha once more.

The cube’s side in front of her, which held the reed hieroglyph, pulsed with every magical wave Macha sent into the ground. Sahari could already see the meadow decaying on the other side, the green grass blades decomposing more and more with each passing second. Macha, who had deliberately let her form the cube, seemed now to take an interest in conversation again.

“Do you really think that little box will hold off my magic?”

“It’ll ward off your territory, that’s for sure”, Sahari countered.

The corners of Macha’s lips twitched. So Sahari had been right, the goddess was forming her own territory. As a sovereignty goddess that would have surely boosted her magic in terms of effectiveness and regeneration, as well as giving her free reign over everything inside it. As long as Sahari could hold it outside the cube, she and Hut would be safe. She just had to endure whatever the other threw at her.

‘The other’ was currently eyeing the magical construction, not really focusing on expanding her territory anymore, though the magician could still see the magical pulse against the cube. It seemed like Macha only had to trigger the expansion, her magic did the rest. Still, Sahari was sure that the goddess just had to focus to accelerate the process.

“Well, if you know so much already, why don’t you try to stop me?”, Macha teased.

Sahari squinted. She couldn’t read her. Either the goddess was really just mocking her or she thought she could get Sahari to trip and give up her safe position. One thing was sure, she didn’t want Macha to have the upper hand on this. Until she figured out what the other planned, Sahari decided to play with open cards. At least, as open as one can be while dealing with magic whose limits were only the user’s imagination.

“No thanks. I think I’ll stay right where I am. I’m sure my knight in shining armour is just around the corner.”

“If you have enough energy for sarcasm, then I’m sure you can handle my magic.” With a wicked grin Macha grabbed her staff again.

The next pulses crashing onto the cube’s barrier were much stronger than before. It seemed the goddess had only been holding back.

“You see Sahari, there’s a difference between a mere magician and a witch”, Macha lectured. “While one needs to learn and observe to grow and cultivate their powers, the other’s natural ability to magick is inherited and strong from the beginning. There can be other fields of magic added to the arsenal, but in terms of raw power is a witch’s wild magic superior to your distinguished magician’s.”

“You consider yourself a witch? Isn’t that offensive towards actual witches? Also, I thought you were a Queen, isn’t that what you always tell people?”

Macha had begun pacing around through the barren territory her magic had created. It looked like she was just taking a simple stroll, wouldn’t it have been for the hungry looks with which she practically devoured her environment.

“Can’t a Queen not also be a witch? And just for your information, since it isn’t my place to educate you on manners, the Morrígan is part of the woodland coven to which Baba Yaga had belonged to as well. I think calling myself ‘witch’ is appropriate in that context. Not that it should matter to you.”

The sharp gaze she threw at Sahari almost made the magician flinch. The goddess was right, she had to admit. It had not been Sahari’s place to call her out like that. If it would have been any other, like Nemain for example, this could have had dire consequences. However, showing weakness in front of the goddess was a clear no-go. Alas, she was glad as Macha had given her the perfect opportunity to change the subject.

“Why did you attack one of your own coven in the first place? I didn’t even know you were part of one.”

“It is a secret coven if I may remind you of that. Most of them are Slavic witches, but they are always wildcards like us. As for the matter of why… I am not sure, you would understand. And even if you did”, she interrupted Sahari’s upcoming protest, “why do you think I would tell you this just like that?”

It was a valid argument. The usual ‘villain monologue’, where the bad buy reveals their evil plan is such a cliché that even mainstream media mocks it. Sahari would get no further information from her by sweet-talking.

Just then, the next magic pulse was even stronger than before, rattling the whole cube.

“Ah. There it is”, Macha grinned. “I am truly sorry, Sahari, this conversation was really nice, but I can’t fall behind my sisters, since we are supposed to be fighting and all that. I’ll speed things up a bit now, I hope you don’t mind.”

Her grin told Sahari just how much she meant these words, but sadly she was right once more. Compared to her friends, what Sahari had been doing had been a piece of cake.

‘Well, boys. It was nice knowing you’, she thought as Macha’s magical assault shook her cube. ‘At least, the view is nice.’


Aither couldn’t appreciate the view. He was too busy evading Nemain’s attacks. The joking facade from earlier had since long been replaced by concentration.

Even though he could fly, Nemain had no problem keeping up at him. She was practically leaping over the meadows of Vyraj, her feet barely touching the ground. Only through tricks and daring turns had he been able to escape her clutches. Clutches was the right word in the context, given her sharp claws which had even more elongated since she had dipped into her berserk energy.

He wouldn’t describe it any other way, although the berserks originated from Norse mythology and Nemain was Irish. However, the Norsemen had eventually conquered the British Isles at some time in the past, so maybe Nemain did pick up some tricks from them. However, more thoughts on the subject quickly vanished into thin air as he ducked another onslaught.

He had been flying close to the ground, reducing his glow to a bare minimum to try to hide in the tall grass. Normally, this wouldn’t be his first approach, he preferred flying up high to shoot his arrows from a distance, but Nemain’s speed made it impossible to get a good angle, before she had caught up with him. Thus, hiding and firing from the shadows was the tactic Aither had set his mind on. Not that he was very successful at that.

He had already dispersed his legs, hips and waist into photon clouds which accompanied him to confuse the other and lead her astray, but the few arrows he could fire in these situations were either caught by her or hit nothing, since she had already moved again. Additionally, Nemain seemed to slowly pick up on his tactic, the other photon clouds failing to keep her attention for long.

Then came the moment when she appeared right in front of his face, cutting his way. He didn’t have time for the spook, he didn’t have time to wonder how she could be right there in front of him, he only had time to react.

Front? Nemain. Left and right? In her reach. Back? No time to turn. Down? Ground. Up? Up!

Aither shot upwards into the sky, feeling the shadow of her claws grazing his dispersed stomach. How that was possible he didn’t know either, normally people weren’t able to touch him while photonised. There were exceptions of course, Antís and Sahari wield enchanted items to do that, but typically even gods couldn’t affect him. Somehow Nemain’s rage mode made it possible for her to touch him as well, which is why their pair-up was most unfortunate. For him. Not for her.

When he was sure he was safe, Aither slowed and eventually stopped ascending, before fusing together with the other photon clouds, making him whole again. Nemain was reduced to a red glowing spot far beneath him. He could almost feel her piercing gaze penetrating his soul. He shivered. That was one nasty opponent.

Just for fun, he summoned an arrow and aimed. By channeling his energy into it, the arrow’s light grew in intensity until it radiated heavenly magic. He breathed. Adjusted his aim. And fired. Beneath him, the red glow was swallowed by a silent golden explosion, illuminating the nightly meadow.

Aither doubted he had killed her, though a hit would be really satisfying. He sighed. He hoped his friends were doing okay.


Antís was not okay. Mentally speaking. Physically, he had no scratch, but standing right in front of the entity who was responsible for this whole mess, who was responsible for him killing the Baba Yaga in the first place, that was not okay.

It brought back bad memories. Memories full of blood and pain and the sight of wrinkle-surrounded empty eyes staring right at him.

When Shin descended between them, he finally had something else to look at, even if their appearance wasn’t the most pleasant thing to look at right now too. Because it, too, brought back unpleasant feelings.

For a moment, the spirit only stood there between them, unmoving, unwavering, then they fixed their eyes on Antís.

“I am sorry. This is not how I imagined things to go.”

“But you’d do anything to ‘die’, isn’t that so? Even if that means for her to do your dirty work.” He jerked his chin towards Badb, who remained but a mere watcher.

“Eternity without change is cruel”, Shin responded, their gaze floating across the meadow. “I was forced to watch kingdoms fall, countless lives end, time pass by without any meaning. Your age does not correlate with mine and yet we are promised to each other. I am your Death and you are my purpose.”

Antís shivered at the finality of their words. They and him would be endgame. The question was just when.

“Not today”, he decided.

Shin’s lips twitched.

“That is not for me to decide.”

Badb spread her arms, the long sleeves of her dresses looking like raven wings.

“I will not interfere”, Shin stated. “Whatever the outcome, this will lay the path to our future.”


Both of them fell simultaneously into a run, spears raised, shield aloft, sleeves flattering. Their first strikes, as expected, did nothing. Bronze pierced empty air where before had been a body, a single raven flapping its wings above them, while clad iron clung as it smashed against aegis.

Antís continued storming forward, since he had met no resistance, forcing Badb to leap to the side so as to not rush into him at full speed. Immediately, the demigod turned and sprung after her, smashing aegis against her. Badb stumbled, fell backwards and landed onto the soft grass of Vyraj. The next second Antís was above her, driving his spear downwards and nailing its small blade right into the ground as a swarm of crows flew right into his face. He waited until they were gone, before waving away the feathers that had loosened itself and fell to the ground.

“You truly are the son of a goddess of war”, Badb said.

“Strategic warfare”, he automatically replied before picking up the object Badb had lost in her escape. The spear felt cool in his grip, but instead of turning around to the goddess, he adjusted his posture, aimed and threw. He looked after it, until the spear disappeared in the wide meadows. Only then did he turn back to Badb. “Sorry, but I am not very talkative right now.”

The goddess seemed to float, her legs not yet manifested again. Instead, her torn dress flattered in the wind, the crows around her produced by flapping with their wings.

“That’s fine. There are other ways to communicate than words.”

When she raised her hand several crows began flying towards him, doing some sort of kamikaze attack. Antís let them come. He had been waiting for this too long to mess this up.


Sahari had messed up, she was sure of that. She had thought by keeping them safe inside her cube, all would be fine, though unfortunately it seemed like it had become more of a prison than a sanctuary.

Macha’s assault was coming in a steady rhythm now, the individual pulses only seconds apart and with such intensity that the walls didn’t stop vibrating anymore. Her hieroglyphs keeping the cube alive were already beginning to visibly change colour from orange to red, a sign that their Heka was slowly but steadily wearing off. Macha’s expression outside the cube didn’t help either, her confident grin impossible to ignore, but also impossible to change.

Sahari had since begun to send some of the hieroglyphs surrounding her towards the cube wall, where they dispersed into Heka again, but that seemed to only slow the degeneration down and not renew it.

Renew it? That was actually not a bad idea.

Rejuvenate”, she thundered, because of the situation’s direness.


𓋴 𓈖 𓐍 𓐍


The folded cloth hieroglyph unraveled and began to connect the cube wall hieroglyphs, forming a sort of ‘x’ over Hut’s roof. Above the intersection the water ripple transformed into a waterfall and the sieve hieroglyphs flew under it to filter the raw Heka from the water, which was transported through the cloths right towards the cube’s wall.

Sahari watched with relief, as the red of the reed hieroglyph grew fainter. It wasn’t much, but it would do. For now.


Aither regretted coming down from the sky as soon as he reached the ground. On his descent he was on the lookout for Nemain, but had no luck in finding the goddess. The light explosion may have been powerful, but surely not enough to completely disintegrate her, which means that she had to be here somewhere.

Somewhere revealed itself to be a patch of tall grass near the edge of the explosion. As he rounded the impact area, Aither suddenly felt something grab his foot and yank him out of the air. The thought to just disperse the limb, unfortunately, came afterwards.

The goddesses' sharp claws dug deep into his ankle and felt his blood, the golden ichor, stream down his foot and Nemain’s hand. Since he was still photonised nothing stuck in his footwear, but it was still an unpleasant feeling.

As he was being whirled around he tried to get a glimpse of the goddess holding him captive. Nemain had found a different tactic to get to him, her berserk energy only coating the arm and hand clutching his leg, meaning she had intentionally waited for him to get close instead of just rushing after him like earlier. For somehow who personifies the havoc of war was that very tactical thinking, he had to admit.

However, maintaining the current situation was not his goal. He needed to get away from her, fast. Just as Aither wanted to conjure another arrow and wanted to try to shoot her again, he felt the goddesses grip loosening. The momentum sent him flying through the air before he had even realised what was happening.

Vyraj was mostly flat, only a few hills here and there. Trees were sparse, Aither could remember seeing only two of them, when they had followed the Hut earlier. Which is why he was really surprised, when he saw the bark of another one seconds before his head smashed against it.

He didn’t even fully comprehend the pain, the only thing he realised was that he was solid again. When that did happen, Aither didn’t know. What he did know was that he felt like it was getting warmer, the air around seemed to slow and he heard a voice whispering in his head.

Darkness clouded his vision and he felt a sense of dread washing over him. This couldn’t be happening. Not again, not now.


Until Antís felt the raven’s beak pierce his upper left arm, he had thought he was doing quite well. His armour had protected him from most of the raven’s and Badb attacks, but the goddess was very agile, too agile. He couldn’t deflect every attack.

A scratch right above his right knee let blood stream down his limb, making the brace there rather slippery. It was more annoying than painful, but it did hinder his movements since he couldn’t put his full weight onto the leg. More scratches were on his hip and his neck, as one raven had been very intent on piercing his throat.

What bothered him more were the stiff fingers, gripping his spear from when he had tried to box away a bird flying too close. He did not know what kind of crows they were but if someone told him they had metal bones he would not be surprised at all. As long as he could still grip his weapon he would be fine, but the more injuries he accumulated the worse his fighting got.

On the other hand, Badb was reduced to three crows, her body almost fully on display by now. Three good aimed strikes and he could finally hurt her, wouldn’t it be for one of these crows to get too close to his arm and drill right into his muscle.

A searing pain went through his left arm, the limb going slack, aegis now dangling useless by his side. What was worse was that the bird seemed to be stuck, throwing its head around to enlarge the wound and thus have more room to retreat. Antís had no choice, he let go of his spear and quickly grabbed the bird's neck. Stiff fingers or not, the demigod closed his fist, the crow trashed around, sending more sharp pains through his arm, before going as slack as the limb itself.

Hissing in pain, Antís let go of the dead bird to get his bronze dagger strapped to his leg. With a quick motion he severed the raven’s beak from the rest of the body, the dagger’s enchantments making it able to easily cut the bone. The rest of the body promptly fell down to the ground, now that it wasn’t held back by anything anymore. He left the beak inside the wound, since he did not plan on dying by bleeding out. Also, his arm was already limp, it's not like it would just magically function again, just because the object of intrusion was gone. Speaking of the slackness of his arm, Antís really loved his aegis, but it was just dead weight by now. With trembling fingers, he loosened its straps until the shield was once again reduced to a bracelet of bronze orbs on his left wrist.

Then he focused back on Badb who had been watching his rude first-aid patiently, her remaining two crows fluttering beside her. She raised her eyebrows upon seeing his determination.

“You want to go on? I think it is pretty obvious who will be victorious. If you continue, death is what you will definitely achieve.”

“I do not fight for death”, Antís clarified. “I fight for justice.”

“Justice? There is an even bigger plan in motion than you and I can imagine. Do not be a fool, Antís. Why press through this hardship when all it takes for you to rest is a simple stroke of my claw?”

He took a few moments to consider his answer, stiff fingers clutching his limp arm.

“Because I don’t like things to happen without consequences. Kindness gets rewarded, vileness gets punished. This is the fundamental equation all the pantheons have more or less agreed and acted upon in the last thousands of years. Maybe you are right. Maybe Baba Yaga had to die and you and I just were cogs in the endless gearbox called time, but that still does not justify our actions. If you like it or not, this”, he waved around, “this is part of that ‘bigger plan’ of yours as well. I’m just playing my part.”

“And which part is that?”

A smile spread on Antís’ lips.

“The heroes’.”

Without hesitation, he stormed forward drawing his dagger again. Blood streamed into his shoe, pain shot through his leg and arm, but he ignored all that and within a second he stood before Badb. The goddess ducked away, but Antís hadn’t even targeted her. With horrifying screeches the raven’s died as Antís slashed through air. Feathers spilled, blood dripped and two small bodies plumped to the ground.

Badb reacted by kicking Antís away, revealing that her feet were those of a large crow, sending the demigod spiraling backwards. When Antís stood up again, he was rewarded by the sight of an angry looking goddess. She seemed more physical than ever, her body now fully manifested.

“Fine! You want a fight?”, she asked. “Come and get it!”

Antís didn’t need to be told twice.


The walls were closing in. Sahari had made that choice deliberately to reduce the Heka needed to maintain the cube in the first place, but seeing it now shrink around her, triggered a claustrophobic part of her she didn’t know she had. Hut’s roof was already poking out of the cube’s upper wall and the sides would be gone soon as well, but she still kept on fueling it with her magic, hoping to buy just a few seconds more time until help arrived.

But no one would come. That’s what Sahari realised as the cube’s front wall stopped shrinking right in front of her. The only thing inside it now were she, the balcony and parts of the bedroom and main room below.

Macha smiled triumphantly.

“Giving up already?”

Sahari’s gaze was pure steel, her purple eyes almost sparking.

“Never!”


Surrender

Aither knew that voice. He couldn’t remember from where or when, but somehow he knew who was talking to him.

Give it up I can help you

No. Why would he? Giving up now is a really bad idea, Nemain will be coming after him again, he needs to wake up.

Surrender Aren’t you tired of fighting? Give it to me I can help you kill her

Kill her? No, anything but that. Evade her, escape her, capture her, render her unconscious, but kill her? No. Killing a god always has consequences, even if it’s a bad one like her.

But who would miss her? She hurt you She hurt me She needs to die

Everybody needs to die, even gods, but that wasn’t his choice to make.

Come Aither Surrender Give your body to me I can help you win

Wake up!

Winning sounded pretty good, he had to admit. It would be nice for a change to be the victorious one. Maybe afterwards he could help his friends.

Yes give me your body Surrender I will help you She will not know what hit her

A surprise? Having an ace was always good. Yeah, maybe stepping down for a bit was a good idea. He wouldn’t have to worry anymore. He could just-

Wake up, Aither!


Antís opened his eyes and sat up groaning. For a crow goddess Badb kicked pretty hard, but hey, she was the one with giant bird feet, so why not use them. Not that he would say that out loud, angering her even more didn’t seem like a smart idea.

His legs were wobbly when he stood up to his full height, Badb had been aiming for his knees in these last attacks to pin him down. He had just enough time to fall into a light battle stance, dagger aloft, when the goddess charged again.

He shifted, showing her his right side, even though this was his bad leg, but in no scenario would he face her with his useless arm first. He didn’t dodge, when Badb jumped him, sinking her claws into shoulders, but the demigod firmly stood his ground and struck with the dagger.

The goddess screamed as it pierced her side and tried to get away from him, but this time Antís had let go of the weapon and instead grabbed a fistful of her long black hair, yanking her back to him. He felt a few of his stiff fingers break when she forcefully pulled against grip, separating them again.

At this point, Antís didn’t really care if help would come anymore. He would be just glad, if he made it out alive. What happened with Badb? He didn’t really care about that either.


When the reed hieroglyph fell the cube vanished into thin air. Sahari had seen it coming, so she was not really mad about it. Gasping, she fell to the balcony’s floor, gripping her staff tightly. She was done, her magic depleted.

“Well, well, well. I would say I told you so, but I have manners for my sake. Such heedless quarrels are beneath me.”

Still gasping, Sahari leaned her head on the metal posts in front of her, closing her eyes.

“You… may wear the title… of a Queen, but… you are just a mere witch,... like you said earlier.”

Macha reeled around, squinting at her.

“What was that?”, she demanded.

“You… are a witch. A dirty,... selfish,... greedy,... wicked witch”, Sahari locked eyes with the goddess. “And nothing will ever change that.”

A moment of silence passed before Macha spoke again, a threatening tone replacing the ignorant one from before.

“Maybe, but you will soon be gone. Nothing you do now will prevent that.”

Suddenly, Sahari felt something. Something that made a bright grin emerge on her face.

“Maybe”, she admitted, “but I am also not the only being you are up against.”

The puzzled look on Macha’s face turned very quickly into terror as Hut slowly stood up on his giant chicken legs.

“This is Hut”, Sahari introduced the house, “I think it wants to settle a score with the Morrígan. Think you are up to the task?”


“Wake up, Aither. Your fight is not over just yet!”

As Aither’s eyes flew open he was rewarded with the soothing sight of a soul cradling his aching head.

“What-”

“Shshshsh”, Baba Yaga shushed him. “Careful, you hit your head quite good, don’t overdo it.”

Slowly, she helped him sit up straight, while he felt the bump on his head.

“What- What happened?”

“I think you know that better than I do”, she simply stated.

He paused, gathering his thoughts.

“My father. He tried to take over again.”

“He was very persistent”, Baba Yaga confirmed, “but you handled yourself pretty well, given the circumstances. The only thing missing was a little nudge in the right direction.”

Before he could respond to that, he felt the familiar berserk energy getting closer. Fast. Nemain was coming.

“She is good”, the former witch stated. “What will you do?”

Aither shook his foot, whose wounds had already healed up by now.

“What I haven’t done in quite a while. Go all out.”


When Badb stomped on his knee, Antís knew he was fucked. He felt his already battered leg give out and he slumped to the ground. The goddess didn’t stop there, however.

She continued kicking him, wherever she could. Stomach, he was glad that it was still empty. Chest, he felt his rips crack under the pressure. Head, which sent his helmet flying, the straps cutting deep into his cheeks and jawbone. The last kick carried Antís a few meters through the air before the hard ground embraced him once more. He couldn’t help it. He started to laugh.

A dark, bubbly laughter that had him choking on his own spit. Or blood. Whatever.

“You know, I really wanted to save this up, but if you insist…”

How he stood up again, he had no idea, but eventually he was standing on his two legs again, pure will held the pain in his probably crushed knee at bay. He stretched out his hand, stretched his broken fingers and concentrated. Hesitantly, as if it wasn’t sure itself if this was its moment, Baba Yaga’s magic seeped through his veins, before emerging in his palm. When the orb floated proudly over his hand, Antís did what the witch had told him. Following his instinct, he brought the magic to his face, opened his mouth and pushed the orb inside. He swallowed.

Warmth and energy spread throughout his body, pure bliss soothing his aches. When he opened his eyes again, he could clearly see Badb’s hesitant face.

“What?”, he turned on her. “I am just getting started.”


***************************************************************************************


Badb wasn’t sure how to deal with the demigod. Of course, she had recognised the magic he had swallowed, its energy signature too familiar. Why Baba Yaga had given it to him, she had no idea, but she did not like what it did to him.

His irides had changed from a discreet grey to a pure white, glowing in the dark, a stark contrast in the nocturnal setting of Vyraj. In addition, faint white bindings were wrapped around his right knee, the fingers of his right hand and his upper left arm.

Badb was no fool, she knew these were the body parts with his most prominent injuries. However, she did not know what was happening there. As long as he didn't heal, she would be good. She hoped.

His overall demeanor may have changed, but in his core he was still that powerless demigod. She was a goddess, the odds were clearly in her favor.


What could go wrong?


Chapter 17: God, Witch, Hero

Summary:

The battle against the Morrígan concludes as the team finds new strength through the help of Baba Yaga. However, after the dust settles there are gonna be consequences. Who will succumb and who will prevail?

 

The grand finale of Heaven, Earth and Hell

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Antís had never felt so good in his entire life. Not that Baba Yaga’s magic had healed any of his injuries or regenerated his lost energy, but it made him feel alive. He could clearly feel the aching of muscles, his protesting fingers, the pain in his knee and the emptiness in his arm, but he could ignore it. Antís felt battered and bruised, chewed on and spit out, but he could still go on. Testingly, he stretched his broken fingers, shifted his weight onto the hurt leg and raised the practically dead arm. His lips twitched into a mad grin. This would work.

His dagger was lost, either still stuck in Badb’s side or laying in the grass somewhere, but he could somehow see the bronze of his spear shimmering nearby. How was that possible? Probably another side effect of the witch’s magic.

He reached for the weapon laying in the tall grass wet with dew, then his eyes focused on the goddess standing in front of him. Badb was observing his every move, though it looked like she didn’t even dare moving herself. Then Antís’ eyes fell onto the bronze dagger she clutched in her claws, she must have pulled it out of the wound or picked it up somewhere.

After eyeing his spear one more time, he had decided on a strategy. He raised the weapon and then broke it over his unshattered knee, trusting the witch’s magic. The spear broke into two uneven pieces, its blade end connected to a small bronze shaft, while the other half was now a simple metal pole with a fractured end. This piece he threw away. It may have had a longer range, but the blade was still sharper. He presented this makeshift knife to Badb, whose branded forehead wrinkled into a frown.

“Congratulations, you broke your weapon. Can we now continue stabbing each other? You seemed to have a lot of fun breaking every bone in your body so far.”

Antís couldn’t help, but let out a dry chuckle.

“As you wish milady”, he bowed mockingly, “though I think I will start with your bones now, if you let me indulge in that matter. I’d rather survive this fight, to be honest.”

Badb’s frown deepened.

“We’ll see about that.”

Then she charged again at him. Blade raised, Antís let her come. This would not take long anymore.


To say that Macha was surprised when Hut jumped her was understatement. The goddess let out a shriek, worthy of being from a teenage girl being chased by a creepy clown through an abandoned parking lot in the middle of the night. Or it just brought Sahari back to her recent horror movie marathon. Maybe it had been one or two films too many.

The goddess however vanished before Hut could crush her beneath its heavy weight, which wasn’t that bad. Sahari didn’t want to kill her after all. It was then when she realised just how big Macha’s territory had grown. The once healthy green meadow had grown into a flat brown surface with only few surviving patches of dry grass stretching in every direction around them. No wonder Macha’s assault had shattered her shield, with this large of a territory her power must have multiplied many times.

Faintly, she could make moving shadows in the distance from where she guessed Antís and Badb were executing their match. She hoped he was alright, this whole mission already done so much to him, to his mind. Even Antís could only take so much before he broke down.

“Say, you do not really think that this monstrosity of a being can stand a chance against me?”, Macha’s shrill voice interrupted her thoughts.

When Hut turned around it revealed the goddess standing behind them, clutching her own staff tightly, whose rear end was still submerged in the now barren earth they were standing on. She looked as distraught as she sounded, hair and robes disheveled and the hieroglyph Sahari had branded on her forehead glowing faintly in the darkness.

“Only one way to find out”, Sahari responded and pointed her staff at the goddess.

Immediately, Hut fell into a run, charging towards Macha, whose expression grimmed before she vanished again, though this time she spared herself the humiliation of screaming. Sahari narrowed her eyes upon seeing the magic the goddess conducted for her escape. If she was right, then capturing her would not be that easy.

“Hey, Hut?”, she mumbled, sure of the house still catching the intention of her words. “Do you think we can corner her somehow?”

A low rumble went through the being, as if it would move things around inside it, then it stood still once more. Or so Sahari thought.

When she looked down from her uplevel position she saw something floating around near the door. So far she had thought the cauldron was Hut’s heart so to speak, the centre object the witch had needed to do her daily deed. As it swirled around on its own beneath her, Sahari finally saw it as the object it was.

Baba Yaga had used a mortar and a pestle to fly through the air, followed by her chicken-legged Hut, the stories said. Sahari had wondered since entering the cabin the first time, where the witch had stored those magical items, but only now did she realise she had used one of them the whole time on their journey. She still had no idea where the pestle was, but the mortar alone would also serve her idea. There was just one tiny problem.

“Nice thinking, Hut”, she acknowledged the being’s idea, “but I don’t really wanna jump down there. Do you think you can let it fly up here?”

Wordless, as usual, the cauldron- sorry, mortar floated upwards until it's rim aligned with the balcony’s railing. Sahari gulped. She was not afraid of heights, but the thought of stepping into an unsecured object, which could potentially behave like a rollercoaster, was not very reassuring. Hesitantly, she climbed over the railing into the mortar.

“And what is that supposed to do?”

Sahari almost fell over the rim, arms flailing, as Macha’s remark freaked her, though she managed to hold on to the mortar in time. She had almost forgotten about the goddess in her awe over Hut’s capabilities.

“That...”, she pressed through gritted teeth as she tried to find her balance as the mortar descended back towards the ground. “That will help me beat you”, she finished her sentence, swinging back her hair as if she was on a catwalk and not standing in a mortar that went up to her waist, hoping she didn’t look as ridiculous as she thought she would.

Macha looked her up and down, eyebrows rising.

“I’m sure it will”, she said, giving the magician a look.

Sahari was not amused.

“Hut? Get her.”

Macha shrieked again as the huge shadow of the house jumped over Sahari’s head. She couldn’t help herself. This could actually be fun.


Technically, Aither had two additional stances. He just didn’t use the other very often, because it was so hard to focus and actually summon it. His first stance, the photon stance, morphed his body into bright yellowish or orange light, whereas the second stance, his god stance, brought out his full potential as a god of light. In this form, he remained in his physical body whilst boosting his body's strength, speed, endurance and so on. A side effect of this stance was also the emittance of light, though this one had a more warm, golden touch and technically was just for show. Most of the gods had this stance and preferred using it over their mortal form. Aither, as a practically newborn god in comparison, couldn’t pull that off yet.

His goal was ultimately to combine both stances, god and light, but unfortunately this had failed the last few times he had tried. This time he used a different approach. Since it was always so hard to summon the god stance, he focused on this form first and then wanted to try shifting additionally into light. However, this run ended as soon as it had started, when Nemain crashed into him.

Unmoving he had stood beside the tree she had thrown him into, focusing on his inner god. As it surfaced, his skin began to glow, his hair straightened and his clothes smoothed out. When he opened his eyes, he raised his arms in admiration, turning them around. Then his gaze fell onto the red light, coming closer from above. Fast.

He had no time to react before Nemain pressed him down back into the earth. Aither heard the tree splinter behind him, the ground cutting open and felt the raw dirt pressing against his skin. All this time, his eyes remained open, keeping gazes locked with the terror sitting on top of him. Nemain’s eyes were fiery red, pure brutality radiated from them as she pushed him further down. Aither was having none of it.

With little effort, he brushed his arm through the loose dirt and punched upwards. He heard a crack, when his fist connected with Nemain’s jaw, then the other goddess was catapulted away from him, out of the pit she had created. He stood up and let off a small energy charge, which exploded all around his body, burning away the dirt sticking to his clothes. Then he ascended into the air, floating out of the pit.

Nemain had reconnected with the ground a few meters away from him, though she was already in the process of standing up. Her jaw was unhinged, but she just grabbed it and pulled it back into place.

“I see you still have some tricks left in your sleeve”, she shouted.

She was having problems summoning her berserk energy, Aither noted, the red swirls growing fainter and only covering her upper torso.

“Tricks?”, Aither asked back. “Oh, please.”

In a flash, he stood before her, fist ready to strike. This time it was Nemain who flew over the meadow against her will, bouncing a few times on the ground until she came to a stop. When she lifted her head, he stood already before her, waiting for her to get to it.

“Who- Who are you?”, she brought herself to ask.

It seemed she had run out of energy, their earlier fight long enough for her to use most of it.

“Didn’t you know?”, Aither bent down. “I am a god.”

When his foot connected with her face, she didn’t stand up again.


When Macha’s staff broke, Sahari cheered inwardly.

She, in the witch’s mortar, and Hut raced around the territory trying to close in on the goddess from both sides, but while Sahari could tap into Hut’s immense energy supply, which it had barely used in these last hours on Vyraj, Macha was growing more and more desperate as she ran out.

At first Sahari was amazed at how easily the mortar responded to her. When she shifted into the direction she wanted it to go, it followed while still keeping its balance so that she wouldn’t fall out. Macha had tried to knock her off with new waves of magic she sent into the ground, but when the mortar just floated over them in order to avoid being affected, she had quickly lost interest in that approach.

Still, there wasn’t much else the goddess attacked her with, other than a few desperate attempts of raw energy bolts and even they grew weaker until she stopped using them too, so Sahari guessed even though the territory was quite large by now, it was still unfinished, unable of bringing out Macha’s full potential.

Her teleporting became erratic with the goddess even popping up a few times directly in Sahari’s or Hut’s way, scenarios when she screamed again and quickly fled, resulting in her stumbling when she reappeared at another place. With this uncontrolled wear of magic it was only a question of time, when she would have no more to spare.

When the moment came, it was also a pretty uncomfortable situation for her, as Sahari came at her from the front, while Hut was closing in on her backside. Hastily, she tried to magick away again, only for her staff to let out a huff and then go dark. It’s magic was depleted, Sahari could no longer feel an energy presence inside it. Shocked, Macha locked gazes with her, as she saw the magician closing in on her, Hut’s trampling footsteps resonating through the ground. With a last cry, Macha summoned her remaining magic from deep within herself, raw power Sahari wanted no contact with, and fueled her staff with it.

For a second nothing happened, then a crack appeared in the top of the object, which then quickly splintered downward into the ground. A massive shockwave, comparable to the one that broke the cube, washed through the ground, sending Macha flying, and spread across the barren meadow.

The mortar floated higher to avoid it and Hut slowed before pressing it’s giant feet into the ground and jumped. Again, it’s huge shadow swept across the meadow, until it landed with a crash behind Sahari. The magician, however, only had eyes for the goddess who lay slumped on the ground.

A few seconds passed, then Macha twitched, before slowly sitting up. Her eyes flew towards her staff, which now looked charred, as if lightning had struck it, and was split into two, although it’s lower end was still stuck inside the former meadow. The goddesses eyes darkened as she looked around, her gaze eventually focusing on Sahari as she towered above her.

“Spare your pity”, she hissed, the venom practically dropping from her tongue.

“I don’t pity you”, Sahari responded. “You attacked us. You brought this on yourself.” Only as she spoke the words out loud, she realised just how much that was true. If Macha and her sisters hadn’t been so keen on battling them, this wouldn’t have happened. “Don’t blame us for your mistakes.”

“That’s not a very righteous approach”, Macha spat. “I thought you dogs from Heaven liked your justice so much, just who do you think you are?”

The mortar descended and Sahari looked up to the full moon above them while forming her answer. When they reached the ground, she straightened her posture and locked eyes with Macha again.

“I’m a witch. Just like you.”

Before the goddess could respond to that she channeled her Heka and drew energy from Mama Killa who was watching from above.

Restrain


𓍕


When she waved her staff, a single silver strand of moon light split from the rest of its kind and formed the hieroglyph. It quickly elongated and wrapped itself around Macha, who could not even protest as one of the binds pushed between her teeth, making her unable to form any words of spite. Sahari sank back onto the rim of the mortar, while Hut closed the distance between them and settled down again.

Sahari turned around to the entity.

“Thank you”, she whispered.

A low creak of wooden boards almost sounded like a response, although that could have also been just the wind.


As Antís felt the pain spiking in his body, he knew that Baba Yaga’s magic quickly lost its initial blessing of ignoration. He had more cuts on his arms and legs, a stab wound by the left side of his hip and blood seeping down his right brow, blurring the vision of his eye. Macha was no better, he had done her pretty good, but still the goddess went on ignoring whatever wounds sucked out her life force.

Then came the moment Antís' right leg gave away, his knee could no longer hold up his weight. He was too hurt to register what part of his body refrained from acting like it should, too beat up to move away from the incoming strike, too slow to evade the blade Badb pierced his abdomen with by bypassing his breastplate from a very low angle.

Instinctively, his left arm moved to clutch the intruding object and potentially hinder Badb from going even deeper, only to have the beak in his upper arm press onto a bundle of nerves, which sent another wave of pain through his body, the arm going limp again. Adrenaline en mass surged through his veins, fueling his body once again, making him able to deliver one last power stroke.

The goddess squealed as the spear’s blade pierced her side, went through her ribs and cut into her heart, her torn black dress fluttering all around them.

Both of them stilled, then as Antís’ felt his grip around the spear loosening, the weight that pulled him down vanished, as Badb lost her grip on his dagger, which was now trapped between his body and the chestplate and thus remained inside the wound it was responsible for. Badb staggered backwards and slowly pulled the blade out of her side. An already failing smile faltered on her lips, as she focused Antís with glassy eyes.

“My Hero”, she whispered, then she slumped to the ground, dead.

As Antís fell to his knees, he could make out the shadow of a figure on the hill next to him, but before he could call out to it, she was already moving.

“Antís”, he heard her whisper, then louder when she sunk to the ground next to him. “Antístasi, can you hear me?” Calloused hands gently grabbed him and pulled him towards her chest. “You’ll be alright”, Athena whispered as the darkness enveloped him.


***************************************************************************************


Heimdallr paced impatiently in front of the infirmary’s entrance. They all had gathered here, waiting for news from Asclepius, everyone who was involved in the events of the last few days at least. Were it only days? For Heimdallr it felt like weeks, if not more, had passed since the witch’s death.

Travelling to Vyraj had been a first to him too, the calming night environment had immediately made him relax even if they had gone straight into a dire situation. However, as they had arrived on the peaceful meadows what they had come for was already done, by the young ones they had originally wanted to rescue.

Sahari had been the easiest to find, the hut an unmistakable landmark to spot. While he and Frigg had stayed by the magician’s side to watch over Macha, Bastet had urged Ištar and Ògún on to follow the trail of light magic, which had lead them to an exhausted, but satisfied Aither, who already carried an unconscious Nemain over the meadow, looking for his friends. While Rosmerta had pampered him up, Athena scanned their surroundings. When suddenly the captive goddesses had begun wailing, screaming and thrashing around, she sprinted forward, vanishing into the darkness of Vyraj. As Heimdallr and Ištar followed her, the others had stayed back to watch Macha and Nemain, the uneasy feeling Heimdallr had had earlier returned. As he stood on the top of the hill and watched Athena cradling her mortally wounded son, he realised just how big this mission had been. This had not been an early sign for war. The war was already there. And Antís was close to be it’s first real victim.

“Watcher”, a low voice brought him back to the present.

He turned his head to the side, where Frigg, queen of Asgard, goddess of marriage and clairvoyance, stood in the shadows of a nearby pillar, her overall grey attire made it easy for her to not stand out.

“You are not helping at easing the tension of the situation.”

“‘Easing the tension’?”, Heimdallr repeated, crossing his arms. “We have a full-blown war out there and one of my scouts is on the verge of death, because we couldn’t see it. If your way of dealing with that means standing in the corner somewhere pretending like everything’s fine, be my guest, but don’t lecture me on how to deal with these situations. Your daily work has nothing to do with the situation out there, I don’t expect you to understand any of it.”

Her expression hardened, but her mouth remained a thin line, lips pressed together. She had always been good at hiding her thoughts, not revealing anything that would give her opponents any leverage.

“He won’t die”, a thin voice cut into their conversation.

Aither was pale, as if he was close to throwing up or had just finished doing so. He and Sahari had refused to eat anything, since they got here, only drinking a few sips of fresh water. They were sitting next to each other on a nearby bench, holding hands to ease their minds.

“He won’t”, Aither pressed again, “he is too stubborn for that. There will be lasting effects or trauma, something for him to actually be the tragic, broken character he likes to play, but he’ll pull through. Eventually.”

He said that with the sincerity of someone who knew the other person pretty well, which given their history, was probably the case. The initial shock had hit him pretty hard, but it seemed like Aither was already shifting back into reality, his mind already thinking of what would come next rather than what would be the worst right now.

“He is gonna need someone to help him through it”, Amaterasu, head of the Shintō pantheon, stated, throwing a knowing look towards the god.

Aither produced a weak smile and nodded.

“I’ll be there.”

“We’ll be there”, Sahari corrected him, pressing their hands together.

“I’m not so sure it will be that easy”, Perun, head of the Slavic pantheon, interjected. “Baba Yaga’s death was an accident, but Badb…” He saw Aither opening his mouth in protest, so he quickly continued. “I’m not saying he planned to kill her from the start, but you deliberately challenged her. Even if it was the necessary strategy in that moment, it ended with the death of another goddess by the same demigod. The Council will hold someone responsible. There are going to be repercussions, whether you like it or not.”

“Who holds the board this month?”, Sahari asked.

Aither’s face darkened.

“Zeus. He won’t like that a member of his own pantheon, his grandson even, is responsible for this mess.”

The Heavenly Council consisted of thirteen permanent members, leaders of the most influential pantheons of the Heaven, and two honorary voters. One of these was an elected head of the six Heavenly Departments, for example Athena, Frigg or Ištar to name a few possible candidates. The second honorary voter was someone who spent most of their time on Midgard managing the nature phenomenons humans called weather or seasons. Usually that someone was Ukko, Finnish god of thunder, who, since he was the head of the so-called Forces of Nature branch, actually had the time to dive into the subjects spoken about in the council meetings. Due to this large number of participants, the chairmanship of the Heavenly Council was assigned monthly to one of the thirteen permanent members alphabetically by name. This month was Zeus’ term, who had now the task of leading and moderating the assembly, mediating disagreements and guiding votes. His opinion may not be the most decisive, but he was able to steer the course of the meeting in such a way that the decision still went in his favour, which could potentially be dangerous for Antís now that Heimdallr thought about it. If Zeus did not approve of the actions of his grandson, the demigod was not in a good position if he hadn’t that many allies in the Council. Given Antís’ usually rather unapproachable nature this was most likely not the case, Heimdallr feared.

However, before he could worry too much about the subject, the cloth in the doorframe of the infirmary flapped to the side and revealed Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom and Antís’ adoptive mother, as well as Asclepius, Greek god of healing and medicine. His surgeon abilities were unparalleled in the whole Mythos.

“He is good or rather he will be, given time”, the god answered upon sensing the unspoken question hanging in the air. He shifted nervously, when their stares didn’t falter. “Eir is treating him, she will make sure his soul stays in the body.” The joke fell flat, as Eir, a Valkyrie who usually brought souls to Valhalla to serve under Odin’s command, was also the Norse goddess of healing. She practically held domain over life and death, of course Antís wouldn’t die if she was with him. “Uhm… Athena will tell you the rest, I’m gonna go see the patient.” After another nervous glance into the round, he turned on the spot and disappeared back into the infirmary. Immediately, their attention flew towards the warrior goddess, who straightened her posture and then walked over to the bench their young ones were sitting on, dropping to her knees before them. She grabbed Antís and Sahari’s unoccupied hands, forcing Bastet, who had snuggled into her foster son’s side, to retreat a few reluctant steps.

“I’m glad you’re okay”, Athena addressed them. “You all took a great risk in battling the Morrígan. That Antís is the only one who got hurt is a miracle, even if that sounds especially harsh coming from me.”

“How is he?”, Aither’s voice had a higher pitch than normal, but that was understandable. Even Heimdallr had a lump in his throat, though he would definitely deny ever having noticed such a thing.

Athena’s hard smile faltered and was replaced by her usual frown, when he was withholding information.

“Not good”, she raised her voice to silence the incoming protest, “and that’s the only information you will get from me. That alone tells you how close he was.”

Aither swallowed visibly, while Sahari pressed on.

“I thought that wasn’t possible, that you had given him a blessing to protect him in such a situation.”

The goddesses’ frown deepened. They were navigating unknown waters and she did not like it, that much was obvious.

“I did. We noticed some unusual magic clinging to him, that will most likely be the source of why my blessing didn’t work. What kind of magic has yet to be determined.”

“Is he awake?” Aither’s question sounded hopeful, though from his unchanging expression he had already expected Athena’s answer.

“Not yet. Asclepius wants to keep him in a healing inducing sleep, it makes treating the wounds much easier he says.” Upon their disappointed expressions, she relented. “But you will see him tomorrow at the hearing.”

Both of them frowned.

“Wait, tomorrow already? He almost died today, can’t we postpone it another few days?”

“We are at war, kid”, Ištar cut in. “Zeus wants to settle the matter as quickly as possible, before the month is over and Amaterasu here will take over the Council’s chairwomanship. Can you blame him for wanting to avoid giving someone who is directly involved in the matter the power over the Council?”

Their faces quickly went through the stages of disbelief, realisation, anger, forced restraint, and lastly determination. They shared a glance before focusing back on the goddess still kneeling before them.

“What do we do?”

“You told Heimdallr everything that happened?”

As they nodded, the Watcher himself spoke up.

“I have a pretty good picture of what they have been doing these last days.”

“Then all we need you to do is rest. It won't help if you break down in the middle of the hearing itself, don’t you think?”

Sahari seemed to catch her drift, but Aither still looked reluctant.

“What about Shin? What will you do, if they come back to get him?”

The shinigami had disappeared. Sahari had seen them last, when they were floating towards Antís’ battle. What happened then only the demigod knew, but since he was still out they had to assume the spirit was still somewhere around, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

Athena genuinely smiled at hearing Aither’s concern. Gently, she cupped his cheek.

“Do you really think I would let that happen?”

His lips twitched and he closed his eyes.

“No”, he admitted.

“Go home”, Athena proposed. “I’ll take care of him.”


Athena watched the first clouds on the horizon beginning to form with worry. Certainly the many gods of wind inhabiting the Heaven would prevent them from effecting their haven of gods, but for the mortals below she feared for what’s to come. Snow in the middle of April may not be unheard of, but it was rather uncommon that it affected the whole world. Or impossible, really.

She was currently standing between two pillars of the Greek temple housing the Heavenly Council, looking down on the Heaven and world below her. The building usually reflected the current chairman by transforming into a temple with the respective architecture of the god’s pantheon, but as a goddess of architecture who helped build it, Athena knew there was more to it.

It responded to each god’s wants and needs, accentuating details which mostly only fell into the god’s eye who would take pleasure in them. Which was only the reason Zeus hadn’t already raged about the Japanese lanterns framing the temple's entrance, an early sign of the impending change in chairmanship.

“Admiring the view?”, Heimdallr stepped to her, holding a horn of mead.

“It is rather concerning, I have to say”, Athena stated. “I thought about bringing it up to Ukko.”

“Already did. I’d say don’t bother, there are more pressing matters right now.”

Athena glanced towards the god of the sky. Ukko, who had the appearance of an old man with a long white beard, was talking quietly to Perun. They were rather close, some mythologists had even suggested they were one and the same deity in different cultures.

“He did not take it well, I presume”, she said.

“He did not take it at all. I fear that Zeus’ influence has grown stronger on him in these last few weeks. No offense.”

“None taken.” Athena had observed her father’s behaviour grow more and more irrational with concern. She didn’t know if it was the loneliness or the overall state the pantheons were in, but she did not like it one bit. That her former step-mother, Hera, in her roman form Juno was observing today’s emergency meeting did not help in improving his state. She was a member of the Council of Equality, an assembly of gods who had no direct power over the political course of the Heaven, but who could determine through their guidelines, which the Heavenly Council also had to obey, that every deity regardless of ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation was treated right.

“So, did you think I convinced them?”

Ah. That’s why the Watcher had come to her.

“You simply told a tale, Heimdallr. What they do with it is up to them.”

“I know that, it’s just-”, he searched for words. “I worry. Not just for Antís, but if this goes wrong...”

She knew what he meant. If this went wrong, their whole war preparations could artificially be delayed. And they did not even know who exactly they were up against. Before she could answer however, Zeus raised his voice.

“Honored members of the Council and surplus deities. Forseti has finished his preparations, so I would like all of you to take your places again.” He paused. “And someone contact Quetzalcoatl, his wind break is over.”

Heimdallr raised his hand with the horn full of mead.

“Will do!”, he shouted. He gave Athena one last knowing look before he turned around and went looking for the rainbow serpent.

As Athena went back to her seat she observed her surroundings. The thirteen members of the Heavenly Council and Ukko took place on a U-shaped table hosting fifteen seats in total. Zeus as the current chairman sat exactly in the middle, while Ukko sat at the end of the U’s left arm facing an empty seat on the right arm. With a bit of distance between them, another table hosting five seats formed some kind of lid on the U with enough space between the tables for a few people to stand without getting the feeling of being surrounded from all sides. As Athena sat on her seat, Frigg, Ištar, Rosmerta, Gaelic goddess of wealth and Ògún, Yoruba god of the forge sat beside her. Those five together with Quetzalcoatl, Aztec god of life, wisdom and the winds, were the leaders of the Heaven’s six departments, who were responsible for realising what the Heavenly Council decided.

Suddenly, a wind picked up, rustling a few papers Ukko tried to hinder from flying away. Athena couldn’t help but roll her eyes. He was still one of the few gods who by now had not yet digitised his paperwork. She rather focused on Quetzalcoatl, who flew a few rounds around the temple. He eventually slowed and, since he was too big to fit in there with them, wrapped his serpent-y body around the building, blocking most outside light. He only stuck his massive head between two pillars until he was seated behind Athena and her colleagues which gave him a rather good view of the happenings inside. Ištar turned around and petted his shiny scales, which reflected every colour of the rainbow, depending on the angle from which you looked at them.

“Had a good flight?” she asked.

The serpent only hummed contentedly in response.

“Well then, if everyone’s seated we can continue”, Zeus said. “Forseti. You have the word.”

“Ahem”, the small god in the middle of the temple cleared his throat, although their attention was already on him. Athena was always amazed on why the Norse god chose such a modest body, considering his important position as the upholder of the Law the Heaven had agreed upon. “Before we can let the accused inside, there is one question left to answer.” He turned to their table. “Who of you will represent the Heaven’s Departments in today’s voting? Before you present your candidate, I have to remind you that Athena, Daughter of Metis, and Ištar, Daughter of Ningal, are forbidden from voting due to personal attachments to the accused.”

Ištar scowled, but remained silent. Athena did not like this either, but it was only logical. As his mother, she was influenced by irrational feelings considering the demigod. Her vote would not be truthful, regardless of the outcome.

When none of the others voiced their candidacy, Frigg eventually stood up. It made not that much of a difference, considering her height, but Athena was smarter than to say so.

“If the others agree then I will vote for the Heaven’s Departments today”, she announced.

Rosmerta threw Athena a nervous glance, but kept silent. What was that about?

“No objections”, Forseti stated after giving the other deities enough time to voice them. “Frigg, Queen of Asgard, the Council accepts your candidacy in today’s voting. You may take your place.”

As Frigg made her way over to the empty seat on the U-shaped table, Athena glanced at her colleagues. While Ògún was invested in a small shiny shard, not paying attention to his surroundings, the serpent’s face was unreadable as always. When her eyes fell on Rosmerta, the other quickly averted her gaze. Athena narrowed her eyes. Something smelled fishy and it wasn’t just Quetzalcoatl’s breath.

When Frigg was seated again, Forseti nodded towards the guard’s at the door.

“Bring them in.”

When Athena had seen Antís the last time he had been still unconscious due to the magic sleep he had been put in. As he now walked through the open gate, she was yet again amazed by Asclepius skills as a god of medicine. As an ascended demigod normal magic didn’t quite work on Antís since he was neither human nor deity but something even more in between than a normal demigod. Which means that Asclepius mostly refrained from using any magic on him and instead turned often to more a mortal treatment. This time, however, he had outdone himself. Most of the cuts and bruises that would be visible on Antís’ arms and face were gone or already fading away. His left arm was in a sling, hanging across his stomach. The fingers of his right hand were taped together to avoid any sudden movements. His right knee was stuck in a splint, which made him limp while walking, but he actually made it look that was normal, the way he held himself. Lastly, a bandage flashed around his abdomen when the loose black shirt he was wearing slid up. Overall, it was a pretty tough look, like he came straight from a battlefield. Which was actually the case, Athena had to admit.

Flanking Antís, Aither and Sahari followed his every step with Bastet sitting on her foster son’s shoulder glaring at everyone, who dared to look at them too long. When they passed by their table, Athena slightly nodded when Antís’ gaze fell on her. She thought that his eyes flickered shortly, but other than that he showed no reaction on having seen the gesture. When he reached Forseti in the middle of the temple, their procession stopped and the god retreated a few steps into the U.

Antís took a few seconds in finding a comfortable posture to stand, moments in which Forseti questiongly glanced at Zeus, who wrinkled his brows.

“Do you want a chair, Antís?”

“No thanks, Grandpa, I’ll stand.” The icy tone made obvious just how much her son meant the nickname.

Athena sighed silently. There went her lessons of subtlety. Irritated, Zeus turned back to Forseti.

“Read the charge”, he mumbled.

There was nothing the other god could read from, but he still turned to the assembled gods.

“Honored Council, we have gathered here to decide over the matter of the death of Badb, who was part of the triplet known as the Morrígan.” He turned to the demigod. “Antístasi, Son of Athena. You are hereby charged with being directly responsible for said death, having killed her in duel after she attacked you and your friends with her sisters. Do you deny that?”

“No.” This simple answer would have sufficed, but Antís kept going. “It was my blade that pierced her heart, but if I had not done so, it would have been me laying there on the meadow. I am not sorry for defending myself.”

“Heimdallr has explained the matter to us”, Forseti said, nodding to the god standing in the shadow of Quetzalcoatl’s neck. “We understand it was self-defense, but given your history with Baba Yaga, this meeting was summoned to discuss this matter in more detail.” That it was Zeus who had felt the need to ‘summon’ the meeting was obvious, but Forseti was smart enough to not say that out-loud. “Lord Zeus, as current chairman of the Heavenly Council you have the honor of proposing the punishment.”

The addressed god rose from his seat and cleared his throat.

“I will come straight to the point. Antís, you have killed not only one but two goddesses while they were affiliated with the United Heaven, even if Badb had a malicious intent it was not your place to punish her that severely. The usual punishment for killing a deity one is allied with is banishment from the Heaven.”

The word ‘banishment’ washed like a tsunami through the silent temple, straightening the posture of every god who had thought this trial would be child’s play. Athena had to force herself to stay put, forcing her face into a neutral expression. She could not see Antís’ reaction to this statement, his backside not giving away his thoughts. However, she had noticed that Zeus was not yet finished. It seemed like he had wanted to drop the bomb to get everyone’s full attention.

“But”, he continued at that moment, “we were shown the extenuating circumstances revolving both of these deities death’s. Still, you have decimated the Heaven’s Allies by two in only a few days. Something that should not be possible for a mere demigod and something that will not be tolerated, no matter the circumstances.” Athena had a feeling where this was going. She did not like it one bit. “Heavenly Council, Forseti of the United Law, I propose the following punishment for Antístasi. You will hereby resign your position as an investigator of the Heimdallr, you will no longer and in no foreseeable future hold any position in which you would represent the United Heaven and any material possession you got through this position is to be returned to the deities you got them from.”

Athena was fuming. On the inside. Zeus had never liked Antís. The moment she had told her father, she would be adopting him the other had been against the idea. This was payback. Not just for Antís, also for her. She was too smart for him, so he went after what she held dear, her son. Not that it was a contest, it was way worse for him.

The Heimdallr were Antís life. This is what he was good at, what he dreamt for, what he had shed sweat and tears for. And just like that Zeus would take it from him without batting an eye. The demigod however didn’t shift, his gaze still focused on Zeus, standing in the middle of the temple as if he was a Greek marble statue. Athena focused back on the other members of the Council. All of them looked at the demigod, some interested, some hesitant, some frowning. Then Forseti spoke up.

“As the present upholder of the United Law I hereby accept this punishment”, although he shot Antís an apologetic look. It seemed like that was not what he had had in mind either. “Members of the Heavenly Council, I will call upon each of you to determine the result. You each have one vote. When one side gets eight votes, Antístasi will either leave the Heimdallr or stay under their command. The choice is up to you.” He nervously licked his lips, before announcing the first voter. “Amaterasu, representative of the Shintō, Korean & Polynesian pantheons, how do you vote?”

The samurai kami stood up.

“I vote in Antís’ favor. I have seen first hand, some of what he is capable of. Having the Heimdallr lose someone like him would not be beneficial for either side.”

“Bondyé, representative of the African & Caribbean Voodoo, how do you vote?”

Voodoo was always a bargain. Athena knew his answer, before the god even opened his mouth.

“I vote against Antístasi. He may have done some good, but this bad can’t outweigh that. You are on your own now.”

“Horus, representative of the Egyptian and Oriental pantheons, how do you vote?”

The falcon-headed god had closed his eyes, but when he opened them, his usual smirk was there.

“My uncle has done many evil things in his life and he is still somewhat a member of the unification. If he got his I-lost-count chance, then you deserve a third one. I vote in Antístasi’s favor.”

Two to two, Athena counted, already including Zeus’ obvious vote.

“Hunab Ku, representative of the Mayan and other Middle American pantheons, how do you vote?”

This one was hard to read, since he was a pretty young god, considering he was created when the Christians conquered the Maya lands. Athena had always found him too self-absorbed to have a proper talk with him.

“I vote against the demigod. One should not disobey their elders and you even killed them. That goes against everything we taught you at the academy.”

‘Not that you were personally involved with his upbringing’ Athena thought.

“Inti, representative of the Incan and other South American pantheons, how do you vote?”

“You all know, I like a good bloodshed and from what Heimdallr told us, you put up some pretty good fights. I can’t turn a blind eye to that. You have my vote, kiddo.”

“Lugh, representative of the Celtic, Irish and Gaelic pantheons, how do you vote?”

The god raised his spear above his head.

“I may have been born a god, but often enough my life was as mortal as it could be. I know of your hardships, of the daily challenges you master. Often enough you achieve more down there than we do up here. Accidents happen, but that does not mean you deserve the punishment laid out for you.” He cast a glance at the deity beside him. “I vote in his favor.”

They were halfway through the permanent council members. So far it stood four to three in Antís’ favor. But Athena feared, the difficult ones were yet to come.

“Zeus, representative of the Hellenic, Roman and Etruscan pantheons, do you stick to your proposition?”

“I do. What man would I be if I would take back my word?”

Coincidentally, Juno, who stood apart from them in the shadows, choked loudly just at this sentence. She made a winking gesture for Forseti to continue.

“Marduk, representative of the Mesopotamian and other Middle Eastern pantheons, how do you vote?”

The god had been the protector of the ancient city of Babylon. Unfortunately, his sense of justice had not decayed a single bit since its downfall.

“I have to vote against you, Antítasi. Deaths cannot be without consequences, regardless of my personal opinion of the severity of the punishment. I am sorry.”

That was a first. Antís also acknowledged his apology by a sharp nod, before going back to his previous unmoving state.

“Odin, representative of the Norse, Germanic and Finnish pantheons, how do you vote?”

The All-Father hesitated a moment, before shaking his head.

“I have seen the destruction the Morrígan caused first-hand. The way I see it you brought the witch justice. You have my vote, Antístasi.”

“Ọlọrun, representative of the Yoruba and other African pantheons, how do you vote?”

The black god let a few lights dance around his hands, before answering.

“The stars will not be affected by the witch’s deaths. If you have done nothing to anger them, you will not fear my wrath as well.”

It stood six to four in Antís’ favor. Athena did not want to rejoice too soon, but she hoped the last five gods would take the matter as lightly as Ọlọrun.

“Ōmeteōtl, representative of the Aztec and North American pantheons, how do you vote?”

This god was actually a pair of deities, who had fused into one. They were partly male and partly female and as such a symbol of balance, so Athena had expected their answer.

“We cannot give you what you desire, young one. The balance has been disrupted, war is on the horizon. Even if the Heimdallr would profit from your ongoing employment, too much is at stake. We have the feeling you are needed elsewhere, even if you do not see that the same way.”

That was cryptic, but seers were often not that clear when it came to prophecies.

“Perun, representative of the Slavic, Baltic and Russian pantheons, how do you vote?”

“...”

“Perun, how-”

“I heard you”, was the god’s answer. He was rubbing his temples in a manner Athena did not like. Why was he the one having trouble with his answer? Just then he seemed to come to a decision, his gaze locking with Antís’.

“I agree with what Wotan said, you avenged Baba Yaga, her spirit can now rest. But-”, he stopped himself. “I am sorry, there is no easy way to say this. I cannot vote for you, Antís. I lost a prominent member of my pantheon, even if she wasn’t that important to the Heaven, we Slavs already feel the loss of belief she had generated for all of us. Something has to happen now, something needs to change now. If that someone has to be you-”

“I understand.”

It was the first thing Antís said since he had defended himself earlier. On some level Athena understood too, but that didn’t change how furious she was upon hearing the explanation. Perun had been supporting Antís in these last days from what she heard from the other gods. To turn his back on him now was just cruel, there was no other word for it.

“For what is worth”, the Slav continued. “I would still like you to entrust the hut into your hands. I feel like it’s taking a liking to your little group.”

“We will take care of it, you have my word.”

“Thank you.”

Then he nodded to Forseti so the voting could continue.

“Yu Di, representative of the Chinese and South East Asian pantheons, how do you vote?”

The Jade Emperor leaned forward, laying his chin on his hands, while focusing on the demigod.

“I have to admit after hearing all the other’s positions I am rather curious. You seem to be a formidable soldier, yet tasked with such heavy burdens to shoulder. I would like to see what you will do next, given you can resume in your position. Take my vote and go make the world a better place, maybe without another god’s death preferably.”

Seven to six in Antís’ favor, the permanent members were finished voting. It now lay in the hands of the honorary voters, though Athena feared the outcome. The next one was pretty readable, given his closeness with Perun.

“Ukko, representative of the Earth’s Alliance, how do you vote?”

“How do I vote? Against of course, what sort of question is that? We can’t just let murderers run free in our society, what kind of light would that shine on us?”

Athena saw the confused looks some of the gods were throwing Ukko, she was close to wrapping her fingers around this old, fat throat herself. It seemed like the only one who should be imprisoned and not allowed to ‘run free’ anymore was the old geezer, but she doubted anyone would listen to this demand.

Before Forseti could turn to the last voter, Frigg took it upon herself to start her monologue.

“So, you really can’t decide such a matter by yourself and need the last deity to close this voting. I haven't seen you that divided since you discussed the banishment of cheese magic. Very well, let’s see what we got. Antís, the god-killing demigod, who against all odds actually survived an encounter with a beastly wolf-turned witch, the god of bats and the Morrígan, all three formidable opponents and he did it in what, like three days or so? On the other hand, he is now responsible for the Slavic pantheon lacking belief, a fugitive murderous bat and two wailing goddesses in our prison, who could potentially run amok and take the Heaven apart. Not to mention our other problems such as the infested cities, the rogue weapon smith on the loose, the snow clouds forming over Midgard during spring and the war without someone to point our finger at. I’d say, Antístasi, whatever you triggered, you triggered big time. I think the others are right, all of them actually. The ones who are in your favor are right when they say you don’t deserve the punishment for killing Badb, but the ones who are against you are also right, but for the wrong reason. You do not deserve to be kicked out of the Heimdallr for killing Badb, you deserve getting kicked out of the Heimdallr for all the other loose ends you have left us to deal with.” She paused for the first time, letting everybody digest what she had said. Then she closed her vote. “This is the end of the line, your way ends here. I vote in favor of Antís resigning his position as an investigator of the Heimdallr.”

When Athena had thought that someone would eventually say something against Frigg’s argumentation, she would be disappointed. It remained dead silent, her words still clung in the air. She had planned this, the goddess then realised. Somehow, she had known it would come to the last vote to be decisive and thus bribed or threatened Ògún, Quetzalcoatl and Rosmerta, knowing that all three of them probably vote in Antís’ favor. But what did Frigg gain from kicking Antís out of the Heimdallr, it’s not like she had any personal connection with him. Wait.

“Ahem”, Forseti broke the silence that no one else had dared to interrupt. “All votes have been given. The Heavenly Council is demanding your resignation from the Heimdallr in two days on Lady Ištar's desk with a vote of eight to seven, otherwise there will be legal consequences. For the matter of material goods you have gained in your employment, all items that still hold a material value towards the organisation are to be returned within a month, otherwise any item with equal value can be impounded if the Heimdallr deem it necessary to do so. If there is nothing else to add, you may then leave the Heavenly Council.” He hesitated. “I wish you good luck, Antístasi. May the Nornes guide your way.”

For a moment it looked to Athena like Zeus wanted to say something, but suddenly he closed his mouth and sat down. When Antís turned around, she saw why, his irides were glowing white, as if he was channeling energy. Which wasn’t possible, Antís didn’t have powers. He walked through the gap between Aither and Sahari who could only stare in disbelief after him. When he had reached Athena’s table, they finally fell into motion, storming after him with Bastet leaping on her table as they passed it.

“Go”, she whispered, jerking her little head in Antís’ direction.

As Athena mechanically stood up to follow her son, she noticed another figure that was already going after the three young ones. The small grey figure waited until they were out the door before slipping through it herself. She threw a glance back at Athena, who sped up to witness whatever was going to happen outside.

Outside was just a relatively flat staircase that smoothly descended the hill, the Council’s temple was seated upon. When Athena was out the door. Frigg had apparently already called out to Antís, who had stopped mid-descend, facing downwards. Aither and Sahari had turned back to the goddess, a mix of various emotions displaying on their faces.

“What is going on? What was that just now?”, Athena demanded.

“Change is what’s ‘going on’”, Frigg answered, not taking her eyes off Antís. “A storm is coming, daughter of wisdom, and I want to give your son what he will need to survive it.”

“And what would that be?”

“An opportunity. Antístasi, if you become my apprentice, I can show you the way. The Heimdallr may have been your home these last years, but you know that won’t suffice for what’s to come.”

There would have been another way.” Antís voice was soft, Athena almost didn’t understand him.

“Maybe”, Frigg nodded, “but maybe not. I have long since abandoned the way of asking for forgiveness when it comes to what has to be done.”

That sentence reminded Athena of who Frigg used to be. As Freya, goddess of love and beauty she had been enamored by men and women alike, but when she needed to marry Odin to bring peace to her kind, her domains had shifted greatly. She had become another goddess. Her powers diminished, she had become bitter and grim, while she was forced to portray the image of the loving mother. It seemed like Antís had followed the same line of thought.

What would we do?

“Whatever those powers of yours desire”, Frigg told him.

He stood on the step, unmoving for another few seconds.

I’ll consider it.

“I expect nothing less from you.”

Then they were gone, further descending the staircase back into the Heaven.

“What did you just offer him?”, Athena demanded.

“A new beginning.”


Antís sat in his mother’s house’s inner yard, staring up at the night sky. He heard the low voices of those scuttling around nearby, but he didn’t turn his head to look after them. Only when someone dropped a blanket on him, he turned his head.

Sahari gave him a crooked smile before sitting down beside him. Careful of the arm in the sling, she laid her head onto his shoulder and looked up to the stars.

Another presence on his other side alerted Antís of his other worrying friend, holding a plate and a glass of water. Kneeling beside him, he gently shoved the objects into the demigod’s face.

Ignoring the food, Antís grabbed the glass with stiff fingers, the tape hindering his usual graceful movements. He took a few small sips before setting it down again.

Aither sighed, but didn’t press further, sitting himself cross-legged beside the demigod, facing him and leaning his forehead down on his unoccupied shoulder. He took a deep breath before straightening his back again, following Anís’ gaze who had resumed his night sky watching. After a while he reached for Antís’ taped fingers, gently enclosing them with his own.

They sat like this, silent and peaceful, until Antís drifted off to sleep.


Notes:

It kinda feels like yesterday that I started Antís' journey through the pantheons. I was amazed at how much fun I had writing the story and putting the pieces together, since often enough I kinda just wrote what came to my mind on the spot. It is an open ending since I plan to actually continue the story, I have an overall plan for maybe like four to five small books, though I don't know if will ever actually write them and if yes, if I will ever post them here too.

For now this is gonna be it, there's a small epilogue after this, which kinda sets to the tone for what would come next. I will be focusing on another project for the next time, which needs to be finished after I hyped my friends at the beginning of the year. Maybe I will actually come back with book two, which I will try to plan out more beforehand instead of letting my mind push Antís and co into random scenarios, but it will take some time before that happens.

Until then, thank you for reading this far. I hope you enjoyed Antís' epic as much as I did.

Chapter 18: Epilogue: With Snake Eyes

Summary:

Two beings emerge from a cave somewhere on Midgard. Who are they and what do they want?

Chapter Text

The snake coiled around the god’s neck as he stepped out of the cave, he had been imprisoned in for centuries. No more earthquakes would disturb the valley. Low footsteps reminded the snake of the other being behind them.

“What about her?”, it hissed into the gods ear.

A grotesque grin contorted the other’s features into a gruesome grimace.


After it was done, the god threw his wife one last look before shaking off the blood dripping down his hands. He then raised the still red hand against the cloudy sky marveling at the sight. It had been too long, since he could roam the realms freely. Just as he wanted to lower it again, a single snowflake landed in his palm.

He turned his hand around for him and the snake to see, at which the reptile hissed approvingly. It felt the god shaking with a silent laughter, bubbling up in his chest until it erupted, filling the silent valley with madness and despair. The snake hissed again, reminding the god of their arrangement. His laughter faltered until it was reduced to a set of hiccups. More and more snowflakes began to fall from the sky.

“Don’t worry”, he eventually said. “I know exactly what to do.”

The god started venturing forth. Soon they were engulfed by the blizzard, leaving no trace behind.


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