***The Crystal City***

***Seria***

“Glorious!” My mother storms into my office, her blue and golden regalia flaring out around her legs as she rams the door shut. Then she turns on me, one step bridging the distance between the entrance and me to bring her looming over my desk, allowing her to glare down on me as if I committed some lethal offence. “It’s happening! Exactly as you said it would.”

I raise an inquisitive eyebrow, daring to play oblivious. “What’s hap-”

“Don’t play dumb with me, girl,” she growls. “I am not in the mood for games. It’s difficult enough as it is to wrangle with my two personalities.”

“Sounds more like three, the way you are talking,” I mutter, but press my lips together when I realize that Celes really isn’t having the best of days. Better if I get to the point. “So, he has had the idea and probably came up with the solution I described. Was he honest with you?”

“Of course not!” Celes punches the table with enough force to repel her fist back upwards, rattling the entire thing and causing my pencil-holder to fall over.

I wince and reach out to rearrange my stuff back the way I want. If I did the same thing, every bone in my fist would be broken despite my godhood. Luckily, everything in this room is made out of Mana Crystal.

“I don’t understand why I can’t just tell him to get his act together,” Celes continues and cracks her knuckles. “Maybe add a few good punches on top to set his head straight.”

I lower my eyes to my paperwork – which seems pointless now that the gears of fate are starting to turn. “I’ve explained multiple times that this is how things have to happen. The Calamity has its own pieces on the playing field and it is far better at this game than we are. Our enemy is only playing dumb to give us the illusion of security. In truth, it is already preparing for another reset. If we give it any indication that this iteration is different from the others it might change the rules of the game.”

My mother sighs. “And we don’t want that.”

“Indeed.” I play with a lock of my hair while looking up to her. “Please don’t waste my efforts. I really don’t want to repeat all of this.” Waving a hand, I indicate the multiverse at large and myself. It’s not like I have any bad memories, but being the only deity with a vast amount of life experience among my age group is annoying.

“Can you at least tell me why the Bright One didn’t solve the issue the last time around? Do you have any new clues?” Celes asks. “Why was it necessary for you to lose your memories?”

“Because it wasn’t possible,” I reply, pondering how much I would be able to share without changing this iteration too far from the acceptable deviations. My former self was very insistent on the importance of staying as close as possible to the established timeline.

“The ploy I hatched to save the multiverse from an endless time-loop was quite devious I must say. Even now, the current me doesn’t have all the pieces to my own game. Step one was to get Angrod and you back together and I had to make it look like some accidental happenstance to avoid the Calamity’s attention.”

I tilt my head. “At least that’s what my past self felt that I needed to know.”

“So, the past Seria left some records in the form of memories where the current you would find them once you returned to the crystal city. I wonder what would have happened if we left you back at Chimera,” Celes clarifies a point which I already shared with her previously when I was forced to involve her in the grand plan.

I shrug. “Nothing much. I had to return to the Crystal City at some point. It’s doubtful that the former me truly cared whether that would have happened within a decade or two…” I let my voice trail off, leaving the rest to Celes.

In order to assert dominance over the Council, the Chimerans had to take control of the Crystal City. As the princess of the royal family, my eventual visit to the place was a given.

When I returned to the Crystal City as a child, my past self had already ensured that the Crystal City’s AI, Warden, would secretly share a record of what I had to know with me.

To say the least, the little scheming Seria was quite perplexed when she encountered a hologram record of her past self who tried to explain what was at stake.

Apparently, the Bright One left a loophole in his curse, allowing people to cross over into the next iteration of the multiverse with their memories intact. For one reason or the other, at the end of the last iteration, he sent Seria onwards into the next iteration to ensure that things would happen the right way this time around.

“The Calamity already played this game too often, making it literally impossible to beat it. It knows our next steps before we do, which makes it almost impossible to perform a finishing move. The Calamity seems determined to reset this game as often as necessary in order to win, even if the Bright One already placed it in a checkmate.

“Seria, or I, decided that the only way to win was to hide my own endgame from myself. From the point of the old Seria’s death, I was playing out a game of cards with a stacked deck. Seria thought this necessary to ensure that the Calamity had not even the slightest chance at realizing what was happening. She even set up a chain of events that ensured that her own memories got wiped. The current me is simply going through the necessary steps, hoping that she arranged for me to have the right cards at hand when I needed them. I can’t tell you more, because I myself don’t know why we need to do things the way they were prescribed by my former self.”

Celes smiles at me. “The question is, can you trust yourself? I knew the past you, and you were always a scheming one. While I never truly realized how long-reaching and interwoven your plans were, it is a new height even for you to turn yourself into one of the pieces on the playing field.”

I blanch, feeling rather downtrodden. Mom is right. Being just a pawn to myself is a new experience. “I must admit that my past self reached new heights. It must have been all that time in isolation inside the Void Zone. Otherwise, not even I could have come up with such a piece of twisted insanity.”

“You are the daughter of Chaos,” Mother points out. “Though, the thing I really don’t get is Sharid. Why her?”

I scoff, ruing to admit that I haven’t got a clue. “There is also some Order within me, thanks to you. My old self told me to bring Sharid into the fold, but I don’t know whether there is a reason, or if she is only a diversion.”

“A diversion?” Celes pulls a face. “We are talking about someone who you set up with your own brother.”

“I know, I know. But you said it yourself, it stands to question whether my old self was trustworthy,” I point out. “I have a feeling that she played the game for the game’s sake… and primarily to win. I am not even sure whether Aengus or Sharid were a part of her concern. The only thing she was adamant about was that you and Angrod together are the key to victory.”

“How could she even have known about Sharid?” Celes bites her lower lip.

“From now? Or from the previous iteration now?” I guess. “I have no clue when the past me was removed from her timeline. Or I should rather say, how far the timeline of the previous multiverse progressed before she was forced to cross over.”

Celes looks at the floor, clearly dissatisfied with this conversation. “Be that as it may, I have to go back, or your father will wonder where I ran off to.”

I allow myself a naughty grin and form an ‘O’ with my thumb and index-finger, thrusting ring-finger of my other hand through it. “Make sure to give Enyo a chance. Dad’s mind is assured to be distracted when he has something to play with.”

Mom only glares at me and whispers, “Once this is over, and if everything works out as intended, the two of us will have a looong discussion – from mother to daughter.” She turns and opens the door to my office. “And I promise you that you won’t like it.”

And with that, she steps out and slams the door shut.

I slowly lower my hands, having no idea why I did that. My mind drew a blank and I just acted, pissing off Celes right before she is supposed to…

“I am so screwed!”

***The Crystal City***

***Celes***

I cuddle myself into the arms of my sleeping husband.

The accursed tail is bound with a tight knot to the armrest of a nearby chair, ensuring that it stays there. One day, I will use that thing on him!

Yesterday’s revelations were scary, both those of my husband’s and to learn that Seria really didn’t pile one of her fantastic stories into my lap in a vain attempt to hide her deeds. I didn’t truly believe her until Angrod came to me with his newest theory on the curse’s nature.

To believe that the whole multiverse is at a decisive pivoting point? I was on the verge of losing it when Seria tried to bring me into the fold of her plan. And to think that we almost lost Aengus! I don't want to lose any of my family ever again.

I am still hoping that the Arcane Community will find another solution, preventing the need for Angrod to execute his plan. They have many smart guys after all, so there is still hope. Maybe Angrod will find another solution, despite the old Seria’s message.

Though, Angrod didn't sound hopeful when he shared his edited version with me.

That bastard lied to me, his wife!

He is trying to protect me the only way he knows how...

My chest tightens in pain when suddenly conflicting emotions and thoughts wreak havoc on my mind, forcing me to hyperventilate. It takes a minute, but I finally manage to calm down.

I am holding on, but Katarina predicted that my current personality may eventually lose to either one or the other extremes of my split soul.

I quickly get out of the bed to get dressed, deciding that distraction is the best solution to deal with a problem that can’t be solved one way or the other. For as long as I still can, I will avoid following the extreme suggestions of my two halves. Instead, I will try my best to choose the middle ground between the two.

Taking my time, I make some breakfast for Angrod and myself.

Ah, I almost forgot, but I could also take a look at Aengus and Sharid while I am at it. They were pretty banged up when they got caught by the Calamity. Sadly, I am afraid that the damage is more of a mental nature than physical.

I set out towards the living room, but find an empty couch once I arrive. The two kids were supposed to bunk here for the night instead of running off to yet another adventure. Sharid and Aengus are gone! I turn around and walk quickly back towards the bedroom.

“Angrod! Angrod? Have you seen Aengus and Sharid?” I step next to the bed and shake him out of his sleep.

“Hmmm... no... why...” His voice is muffled beneath the pillows as he stirs in his sleep.

Stupid sleepy head! “They are gone! Do you know where they went? Did they say anything to you?”

Angrod sits up straight and looks at me. “What do you mean? Gone?”

That's when I hear a siren from outside the window and the light inside our room shifts towards red, indicating that we are under attack.

“We have a security breach,” Warden's voice announces. “Agents of the Calamity are trying to gain access to my crystal core and it seems like Aengus and Sharid are with them.”