Empire Of Souls

"Master, why do you sigh?" Asked one of the goliaths that looked much like an enormous golem of smooth stainless steel.

These artificial life forms were not Moksha"s only creations, but they were what he preferred to surround himself with. He did not follow the normal path that a G.o.d might, in filling their domain with their worshippers and servants. For his followers, there was no heaven, no paradise, only a return to nothingness.

"Despite all of Tihr"s efforts, it was all wasted. That one has found the last piece of the Origin and has already merged with it. I was only lamenting his misfortune."

"But master, isn"t this what you wanted?"

Moksha chuckled, his eyes had remained closed the entire time in meditation.

"Can"t I feel a bit of sorrow for an old friend?" Moksha said in amus.e.m.e.nt.

"I don"t understand." replied the construct.

"I wonder, what will he do next? His body must still remain at that eternal battleground, but I am sure he has other plans as well. The sister is an interesting choice, but I think Tihr is underestimating our young adversary."

"Master, what is it exactly that you want? How does any of this benefit you?" asked the construct curiously.

"Hmm.. This is not something you would be capable of understanding. This has much to do with an old tale, one even before I existed."

Moksha"s tone changed, becoming much more serious. This was a matter which could not be taken lightly.

"Impossible master, haven"t you always been?"

Moksha"s eyes opened revealing his Samsara eyes. There they flickered, and soon the blood of a G.o.d trickled from his pupils. It was blood that was golden and magnificent with strange G.o.dly runes flickering within.

The construct gasped, "Master!"

"It is nothing, only a rebound. It is becoming more difficult to read fate. Tihr and I share a similar goal, it is just that we differ in our approach. We are not as infallible as you believe."

Moksha closed his eyes once more leaving his construct in silence. He said nothing more.

______________________

Above a cataclysmic landscape floated a fortress of unimaginable size. Its parapets touched the sky and it emitted an aura of pure destruction and primal power. Its walls were manned by Angels and beings of a plethora of races, each with golden halos adorning their heads like crowns. They were equipped with gleaming armor that shone with bright radiance and their weapons were all divine armaments. Each of these were mere soldiers, but their strength was frightening. Even a Legendary being would fall to their knees in fear at a single gaze.

This was the G.o.d Fortress, the floating stronghold of the G.o.ds. It was here that the G.o.ds fought the Endless War and it was also a headquarters of sorts for the deities of the myriad worlds, planes, and nexuses. Even though these G.o.ds often schemed against each other, especially of those not belonging to the same nexus, plane, or world, only here were these conflicts not permitted. On the G.o.d Fortress, no internal bickering or political backstabbing between deities was allowed.

The reason being, even with all their strength and even with the armies of a myriad of worlds, planes, and nexuses, they still could only just barely fight their enemy to a standstill. This war had been going on for untold eons, and no matter how they fought they could never gain the advantage. Because of this, the war had been named the Endless War and it was a war for their very existence. If they lost, it would be the end of everything.

For the majority of deities, even with their long lifespans stretching back tens of thousands or even millions of years, they had no idea when this war had begun. Perhaps only the Elder G.o.ds and those like them had any idea when this war had begun and the reasons for it. Either way, this place was a reality for all deities and every deity had to serve their time in rotation on this battlefield. This was not the only stronghold in this apocalyptic place, but it was the central command where the war was directed from. There were several battlefields where the fighting was constant and those battlefields had their own strongholds.

In a large room with glowing runes brilliantly fluctuating along the walls, in the center was a portal which connected to another stronghold. It suddenly erupted with light and a tall and handsome G.o.dlike figure walked out of it. This was the mighty Tihr who wielded a divine hammer that spewed out holy flames of retribution. He had just returned from fierce fighting on a battlefield he oversaw as could be seen from the weariness present in his eyes.

"Tihr! You have arrived, are you coming to the feast in the Divine Hall later today?"

Tihr snorted, but he didn"t forget to follow decorum. Deities had strict and proper etiquette which should always be observed between them. They liked to think that it was one of the many things which separated them from mortals.

"Meddeas, it"s you. I will certainly attend, but I must see to a few matters first. I only just returned from the battlefield."

The G.o.d Meddeas, a G.o.d of luxury and wealth, grew somber. This was a G.o.d who had an overly rotund stomach and skin of bronze. He was also bald, but had a well trimmed goatee he loved to flaunt. His clothes were extremely luxurious and those who worshipped him had an obsessive love of luxury, which of course required lots of wealth.

"I heard. Things are not going well on the Plains of Dest.i.tution. Your battle with the Horseman of Famine and his army has been troublesome."

Tihr frowned, it was something he really didn"t wish to discuss just having come back from the battle. However, it wouldn"t be good to anger Meddeas who was one of the supervisor G.o.ds for logistics in the Combined Heavenly Army.

"We lost one of our strongholds. The fighting was the fiercest it has ever been. The Daemons fought in a frenzy without care for losses. It was enough that we were able to halt their advance just losing one stronghold. The Horseman of Famine appeared himself to lead the attack. These Arch-Daemons have such overwhelming strength. If not for the combined efforts of myself, Thorgrmhammer, and Heka, it would have been disastrous. It was only his avatar no less. It took three greater G.o.ds just to hold back an avatar, truly a frightening opponent."

Tihr couldn"t help but shake his head and sighed with concern. Just remembering that fearsome opponent was enough to leave him feeling fortunate to have survived. Perhaps if he had been any weaker, he would certainly have been buried in that horrid place. A G.o.d falling was not a small matter, especially a greater G.o.d.

"Well, at least you are alive and can enjoy some downtime. Make sure to show up at the feast later, I brought some of my finest Heavenly Nectar from top quality Soul Amber, grown in one of my groves, from a Tree of life that is over one hundred thousand years old!"

Meddeas chuckled, having already forgotten Tihr"s unfortunate circ.u.mstances. Quite a number of the G.o.ds were fickle just like this. It was most likely a product of their immortality and the extreme decadence that came with G.o.dhood. These G.o.ds had lived for an unimaginable amount of time and had seen everything there was to see, and had experienced everything there was to experience. Many of them were unpredictable and acted in queer or truly abnormal ways. Not every deity was like this of course, but there was certainly a large number that were.

"Anyway, I will see you there. I must attend to my matters." Tihr replied politely, but clearly he was in a hurry.

"Of course, of course." Meddeas continued to chuckle, his enormous stomach moving to the rhythm of his laughter.

It looked almost comical to see such a flashy and luxuriously dressed individual who was as large and round as he was. It wasn"t necessary for him to appear this way, but for some reason this was his chosen appearance for at least a few millennia now.

Meddeas finally left and Tihr rushed towards his residence within the G.o.d Fortress. Everywhere he walked in the fortress, was truly the height of magnificence. There wasn"t a single inch of the fortress that didn"t scream extravagance and grandeur. It was truly a place fitting for a deity and from the inside, resembled nothing like a fortress of war. It had none of the imposing image, and sense of danger and might, that the exterior possessed. Even here on the battlefield, the G.o.ds couldn"t give up their extravagant nature.

Tihr"s residence was just like any other, the G.o.ds would only spend a short period of rest in the G.o.d Fortress and so they didn"t decorate much. The rooms themselves were already fully furnished. A G.o.d might leave a slight personal touch just to personalize, but no more. Tihr immediately sat down on a cushioned seat and leaned back with a deep sigh. He had been injured in that last fight. Pouring himself a gla.s.s of Heavenly Nectar and sipping it with satisfaction, he activated with a wisp of his divinity, a small shrine-like device on the table in front of him.

In his vision was the inside of a room and there on her knees, bowing deeply, was a young woman.

"Shelise."

"My G.o.d, you have finally answered my call! I have prayed day and night for your guidance!"

Although Tihr could see and hear Shelise and her surroundings, she could only hear his words. She remained kneeling and bowing in reverence.

"Have you found him?"

"Yes, my G.o.d. It is definitely near. I saw an old family retainer, and I have heard of its exploits. Although it was reported dead, I know this to be false. That thing is certainly here, somewhere in the Orgren Steppes. I do not know what its plans are, but I can feel its influence in recent events."

Tihr was silent for a moment as he considered her words.

"You have done well young one. I am pleased that you have followed my instructions and have not acted on your vengeance. If you had confronted him, it would only have ended in your death."

"My G.o.d, how can that be? Is it so powerful? I know my brother was possessed, but certainly with Eneran here with me it couldn"t harm me."

"Hmph, what do you know girl? You are to follow my commands. If it had been earlier, then you would certainly have died, but now things are different. I can give this my personal attention for the time being. There were… other matters I had to attend to and couldn"t come to your aid."

Shelise was feeling somewhat obstinate, but there wasn"t anything she could retort being in the presence of her G.o.d. There was also a certain amount of fear which kept her from speaking defiantly despite her hatred.

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Seeing her dissatisfaction, Tihr added, "Don"t worry, your vengeance will come soon."

He didn"t much care for the girl, he only needed her to handle Aleks. Tihr knew that just her presence would be a distraction for him. He was well aware of Aleks"s personality, his ego and his pride. Aleks was a man who had stubbornly held out against thousands of years of torture and pain, but there was one thing about him which never changed. Aleks could ignore the suffering of those unrelated to him, but when it came to the ones he considered to be his own, it was a different story.

Tihr smiled in satisfaction thinking at how much this would eat at him, knowing his sister was alive, knowing his sister served his enemy. This was Justice, and retribution.