***The Crystal City, The Ragnarok***

***Angrod***

“Daddy! Wake up!”

Just five more minutes. Bathing in the energies of a healing spell after having my hand blasted off just feels too good.

“Wake up!” Someone pinches my cheek and I open my eyes to find two faces looking at me. “Aengus, Seria, did your mother allow you to come to the bridge?”

They instantly look guilty and Aengus points at my hand. “We were worried when we heard that you got wounded!”

“Yes. They said you lost an arm!” Seria calls out.

“That couldn't be avoided. The spell which I used wasn't intended for close quarter battles.” I smile at them and raise my hand, showing them that all is well. “And don’t worry. It was just a minor scratch compared to what my opponent had to suffer.”

“That's a pretty inconvenient spell if it blows your own hand off!” Aengus complains.

I sigh. “Why are you two even bothering your injured father? I have to take care of the aftermath.”

I return my attention to the strategic map of our situation. Celes and Nicosar are also here, studying it with great interest. “Has anyone found Nix?”

Our eldest disappeared at some point during the boarding action and I am getting a little worried that something happened to her. It has been an hour since the attackers broke and fled in all directions, making it impossible to chase all of them down.

“Don’t worry, darling.” Celes purses her lips. “I’ve found her. She’s… busy.”

“Busy?” I frown.

Celes turns around and looks pointedly at me and then at the children. “She decided to battle the enemy by using her natural… assets… and locked herself with all the invaders who managed to break into Section 5. She said it will take a few more hours to finish up.”

“Oh.” Right! It’s been a while since I watched a succubus charm a horde of men to have her way with them. Depending on the number of opponents she might be busy for some time.

“Any news regarding the Crystal City’s barrier?” I ask.

“Not yet. It looks like all who could do so ran away,” Nicosar explains. “We are back to besieging the city, which is very strange. Why did El Shaddai and Enyo attack us while the other Council members did nothing? It’s like they threw their lives away in a meaningless attack, committing only a part of their forces. What about the rest of the Council? Something is very fishy about all of this.”

I nod, admitting that my grandfather has a point, but he also lacks the whole picture.

“Without their army, the Council's remaining troops in the city are at a big disadvantage. Both in numbers and position. They fought almost to the bitter end. But at a single signal, they suddenly retreated and used the pathways as soon as they were out of range,” Celes grumbles.

“The most likely explanation is that my mole successfully sabotaged their attack plan,” I explain.

The others look at me and Celes huffs. “Since when did we have a mole among their ranks!? Who is it.”

“Ah, ah.” I raise a finger to my lips, indicating for them to stay silent. “Let’s not talk about it until we are sure that the Sphere of Sight is no longer in their hands. I am the only one who knows the mole’s identity – and it’s better if it stays that way for the immediate future.” In fact, the mole herself shouldn’t even know that she is working for me.

Celes huffs and shrugs her shoulders. “In any case, we did some analysis on El Shaddai's remains and the smart-heads told us that he wasn't a living being before he became a god. Enyo is sitting in our brig and she has some serious mental issues.”

“Now, that’s interesting.” I lean forward in my command chair.

A technician takes up the explanation. “We analysed the pieces of El Shaddai and found no traces of organic matter. He consisted of something like animated metal. His body was completely artificial. Even more interesting, we found only pieces and remnants of his soul, but not enough to account for a whole personality. Which is impossible, because all of us saw his divine power. No soul, no divinity!”

“So you want to tell me that somebody created a golem and stuffed the mangled soul of a god inside it – practically using him as a proxy!?” I raise both eyebrows. “If that’s correct, then we didn’t finish him off! The true mastermind escaped.”

The technician nods.

“Damn it!” I lean back. “What about Enyo?”

Another guard with the signet of a healer steps forward. “The healers put her back together, allowing us to take a close look at her. From all we can tell she isn't herself. And if I say that she isn't herself, I mean it. Someone or something messed with her mind. Our mind-mages doubt that she can make her own decisions. According to them it's more like a setup of if-then orders. She just follows a pre-set path and can't deviate from it.” The man ends his explanation.

“Lada?” That's the first thing coming to my mind. If two Council members had their heads messed with, then...

The man nods. “We immediately checked her when we became aware of Enyo's and El Shaddai’s situation. Lada seems to be as sane as someone of her age can be. She has a serious mental issue with love and happiness though, so she couldn't hurt a fly. Besides our little princess, Lada is one of the oldest beings in the multiverse. It's fascinating that anyone can stay sane over such a long time. But otherwise, we can't tell that there is anything wrong with her. We are keeping her in the medical bay and are having an eye on her until we get different orders. Just in case.”

I rub my temples, worrying that this apparent victory is just a huge setup for worse to come. “So, Lada is fine? But El Shaddai and Enyo were some sort of brainwashed proxies?” I mumble. “Tjenemit was also his own person, so not the whole Council was taken over.”

Tjenemit was the one who had my former self restore Eris’s mind. That was a long time ago. Does that mean that whatever happened to El Shaddai and Enyo almost happened to Eris, but Tjenemit got in the way?

It is tempting to pull out the Tjenemit globe and to question him in detail about this part of the past, but there is no point to take the risk right now.

“That's what we wanted to ask. What the hell did you do with El Shaddai!?” Nicosar asks.

“I used a spell on him which attacked the soul, but it doesn’t explain why there are parts of it missing,” I explain. “My spell should have scrambled him. It’s not real annihilation, so the whole thing is more than suspicious.”

“From what I have heard, it attacked a little more than his soul. The guys who were close to the event talked about a portal to hell itself.” Nicosar shakes his head while studying the tactical display. “As if having your soul scrambled like egg-yolk isn’t frightening enough.”

“So, anything else?” I inquire. “How many people did we lose.”

“While we were sorting out the aftermath the Nomad found the energy junction which Lada told us about, but we are still unable to find a way in. We lost about ten thousand people in the battle.”

“And the other Council members?” I can't believe this. We may have paid a high price, but it still feels too cheap.

“Gone. There is no sign of them. It looks like they packed their things and ran. There is no trace of their troops either. The guys who fled just vanished as soon as they got out of reach of our inhibition field.” Celes steps closer and gives me a peck on the cheek. “I am happy that you are alright, but this feels like a trap.”

“So, all that’s left to do is to wait.” I sigh. “Either they will find out how to use Lada’s bracelet for more than a person or-”

“Explosion inside the Crystal City!” The technician at the sensors interrupts me. “Their barrier is down!”

I smile. “Send the troops. All the people who come up from the city will have their minds checked. Don’t let anyone escape, even if they are an unconcerned third party.”

My wife looks at the tactical display with an incredulous expression. “How?”

“Remember my agent? Looks like he succeeded,” I comment with a smug expression, intentionally letting the wrong gender slip.

The following hours and days prove to be an exercise in patience as our people slowly root out the last Council loyalists and take over important infrastructure. But none of the remaining Council members make an appearance.

Celes and I watch over the proceedings from the bridge of the Ragnarok, eagerly waiting for something to happen that requires our direct interference.

It feels like we won, but someone ruled the universe while using El Shaddai and others like dolls on strings and that is impossible to forget. It is a situation which gives reason to be paranoid about everything and everyone. Our only advantage is that this Mr. X had no opportunity to get his hands on us – until now.

I use the available time to inspect El Shaddai’s remains and Enyo who isn’t more than a husk with the guiding entity gone. Sadly, all I can do is confirm that their state is very similar to the one I found Eris in.

One of Celes’s concerns is that the Crystal City is a giant trap which is just waiting for us. The mysterious entity already managed to mind-wipe the rulers of the multiverse once. Why wouldn’t it try a second time?

It takes over two weeks to establish our control over the multiverse’s capital city and to process all the inhabitants, sorting out those who might resist the new rulers and throwing the troublemakers into a Void Zone. It won’t get us rid of them permanently, but by the time they return, we should have established our political power base.

Finally, I am wandering through the Crystal City, not as a citizen, but as its ruler. It's a beautiful place I have to admit, but I am still tempted to nuke it to oblivion from a safe distance. The possibility of all of this being a trap is always at the back of my mind.

Securing the facility with the Sphere of Sight under quarantine protocols had utmost priority.

After an exhaustive discussion with Lada and Tjenemit I know one thing for sure.

They almost never touched the Sphere of Sight or any of the city's installations.

Lada doesn't like technology and Tjenemit never had much reason to use the Sphere.

We took the previous government completely out of service and exiled them to a Void Zone. It's the perfect prison for the moment.

We also investigated the Council's sealing method, which meant throwing someone into the system’s black hole. I completely dismissed the possibility of using this method ourselves. Doing that to a soul would ensure that they are caught there until the black hole would dissolve on its own due to Hawking Radiation.

Worse, I am fairly certain that this wasn’t the device’s original purpose. The baleful-looking teleportation room’s position within the city, its makeup, and general functionality, made me relatively certain that it is a waste disposal system – never intended to get rid of people.

Worse, I have no idea what happens to a soul inside a black hole.

For the time being, we entrusted only experienced soul mages and the absolutely needed amount of guards to search the city’s facilities. If our suspicions are true then nobody without extensive knowledge of mind-magic should bumble around in unchecked parts of the city.

I also inspected various other installations and weapon storages throughout the city. The Council’s light-weapons are one of them. The light-weapons seem to be a very advanced part of the crystal tech. Funny enough – they seem to be equipment intended for crowd suppression; not a tool for warfare. I came to this conclusion because the anti-healing curse on the weapons could have easily been something far nastier.

So much to do and so little time. What would I give to be omnipresent?

>>

At last, it is finally time to inspect this so-called Sphere of Sight.

I step into the corridor which leads to the sealed and locked room with this mythical artefact, followed by Celes, Seria, Nix, Lada, Arthur, and Nicosar. Interestingly enough, I know the facility which holds the Sphere of Sight. It is the same one in which I treated Eris. I also remember a particular incident when I stumbled across Seria and two of her minions snooping around.

I turn to one of the guards who are warily facing the large blast door which allows entrance to the Sphere. “Are these ‘creatures’ still guarding the Sphere?”

The man nods and salutes. “Six of them, sir. They are just standing around the Sphere without moving. You can see them from the observation platform in the other room. As instructed, we haven’t tried to enter the room and they didn’t attempt to leave.”

“No need.” I wave my hand dismissively. “If I remember correctly, then those things are quite dangerous.”

Celes turns to face me. “Could you elaborate on that?”

Narrowing my eyes, I try to recall as much as I can. “I was here in the past and encountered Seria with two of her minions. They were obviously illegal trespassers and spying on the facility. They were fighting two of these black semi-humanoid creatures who were seemingly immune to any low-tier magic. Their claws also penetrated auras without effort.” I look towards my frowning daughter.

Seria shakes her head, looking confused. “I am sorry. I remember nothing of the sort.”

“No problem.” I pat her head. “Memory loss will always be an issue of reincarnation. It’s a good reason to avoid dying, even if you are a god.”

Lada shakes her head. “I can’t remember the Sphere having any guardians – aside from the facility’s regular security.”

Nicosar immediately jumps on that particular piece of information. “Does that mean that these guardians could have something to do with the mysterious person who was puppeteering the Council?”

“I wouldn’t rule it out.” Celes turns, studying the door.

Nicosar clears his throat to gain our attention. “If those things are as dangerous as you say, then I should probably draw their attention.” He unsheathes his crystal sword and strolls towards the entrance.

Celes uncrosses her arms and follows my grandfather, clearly intending to lay waste to these guardians.

“Just be careful and don’t rely too much on your defenses,” I warn them and transform my staff into two longswords. “The Sphere sounds like the perfect place to set up a mind-trap.”

Nicosar nods and gestures for the guards to open the door.

The men oblige and unseal the room.

The door to the room with the Sphere of Sight opens and we wait for a tense moment, hoping to fight the guardians at the door which represents a choke-point.

I take a step forward when nothing happens.

The creatures are just like the one in my memory. Their bodies are black and gaunt with huge claws instead of fingers. They could be compared with starved humans, were it not for the proportions. Their torso is too small and their arms and legs much too long. Aside from that, there aren’t any distinct features. The things are covered from head to toe in some inky, black substance that seems to constantly evaporate away from them, hiding their features and bodily outlines.

They are standing around the Sphere, a crystal globe which hovers in the centre of the room.

“I suppose they aren’t going to invite us in.” Nicosar steps into the room, but as soon as his foot passes the door sill the creatures shriek and fall into a frenzy. They spread out and rush towards us, but instead of retreating, Nicosar runs into the room, yelling like a maniac to draw their attention.

Celes reacts instantly and rushes forward, catching one of the creatures by the foot. She spins it around, jumping up and propelling herself off the ceiling to gain momentum.

The creature’s arc ends with it hitting one of its companions, causing both of them to go ‘splat’ on the ground.

I detach my blades from my armour and send them forward. They spin and fan out like a blooming flower, catching another two guardians between its petals and covering the walls in black ichor.

Nicosar stops his mad dash and turns around to face his opponents.

He buries his sword inside the first creature’s head with a yell, but the second one dashes past him, not caring in the slightest about its companion. The black claws flash out and Nicosar’s head topples to the ground.

Then the creature turns to face Celes and me.

But Nicosar’s headless body doesn’t fall. Instead, he kicks the corpse which is stuck on his blade, turning the movement into a slash which cleaves through the torso of the remaining creature.

It topples over, letting out a final shriek.

“Man, that itches!” Nicosar’s head speaks from the floor while his body tries to sheathe his blade. “Could one of you help me with that?”

Celes shudders but jogs over to pick up his head. “I swear, your ability got even more frightening since you ascended.” She turns the head, placing it correctly on Nicosar’s shoulders. “Can’t you do the full misty-thing and emerge completely healed?”

I watch the scene with a grin, wondering what would happen if a mischievous person would put the head on backwards.

“Thanks, sweety.” My grandfather sighs. “And, yes, I could. But for some reason, my ability doesn’t stretch out to include crystal armour and weapons. I would hate to pick up everything from the ground to put it back on.”

I return my attention to the guardians who are slowly turning into black puddles and evaporating. “Looks like we won’t learn much from their remains.”

I step over a puddle and circle around the Sphere without coming too close. It's a solid object made out of Mana Crystal and lazily spinning while it stays centred in the room.

“Are you supposed to touch it?” Celes asks, studying the artefact curiously.

“Lada didn’t know much about the Sphere. She just saw Amaru standing before it for hours on end. When she tried it once, she got a headache,” I retell her story. “It’s supposed to establish a mental connection. There is no interface.”

I reconnect my longswords, turning them back into a staff, and gather my other blades back to my armour. “Mental interfaces have advantages, but they can also be a huge pain in the butt. I am reluctant to try it.” I don’t want to have my brain fried.

Bracing myself, I sit down cross-legged to concentrate. Doing this right can't hurt.

After my mind is clear, I start setting up my mental defences. A good mental defense has to consist of multiple layers and insurances in case something goes wrong.

After spending a whopping twenty minutes with setting up every trick I know, I slowly stretch my mind out for the sphere.

At first it feels unhealthy and cold. But then I get used to it, realizing that the thing is a gigantic conductor for divination magic. This particular type of magic can be used to search for something lost, but I never heard of it being used on such a scale.

The Sphere channels my magical power and forms it into a pre-defined spell. Suddenly my perception increases drastically and I have to gasp as it almost overwhelms me.

Is that what omnipresence should feel like? I know it isn't real omnipresence, but it comes very close to it. I can see the people in front of the room.

Above me are other worlds.

By focusing on one, I can search it in seconds. And there are sparks of pure power everywhere.

After concentrating on one of the sparks, I realize that I am watching over the shoulder of a god who is playing an immoral prank on a mortal. Seeesh. Is that everything an ascended being can do to kill time?

Carrying on, I return the focus of my attention to the Council's city to watch its inhabitants. Then I focus outward again in an attempt to find the missing members of the Council.

But there is no way to distinguish all the godly sparks from one another.

Then I become aware of a heavy presence. It's watching me. And it's close. I search for it and find its origin within the black hole.

It's ominous and dark. The same feeling I got from the sealing room and the sphere. Suddenly I feel a strong pull on my entire being and I am jerked towards the black hole.

“Who are you?”

I try to resist, but my soul falls towards the black hole. Every resistance seems futile.

“Come!”

Something black and slimy pulls on my mind and I strike out, flailing at it with all my will. It shudders in pain but keeps enveloping me while I fight. I am being pulled down! Down towards the darkness!

And there are teeth!

“Fresh!”

The thing claws into my mind and starts eating! All my defences fail or are blown aside like smoke and all I can do is scream.

“Betrayal!”