***The Crystal City***

***Seria***

The room is large, with one elevated podium and seven chairs facing several rows of benches, making it clear to everyone who is in charge of this hastily assembled emergency meeting.

While the people on the committee were studying the reports and listening to Tjenemit's explanations, their audience of ragtag deities had fallen into complete silence, awaiting their sentence like chicken at the chopping block.

The problem wasn't just that the people on the seven chairs were powerful, but that they were the ultimate power as far as the civilised part of the multiverse was concerned.

Apart from myself, there were a few recognizable faces among the hapless fools in the audience, like Zenial, the Goddess of the Moon, or Ardun, God of War, who had wisely decided against a second stand-off with Ascathon, having learned his lesson the hard way from the previous encounter.

I was surprised to find him here myself. Normally, gods are of strong character, often too prideful to refuse to fight a battle, especially when they have a history. I would have pegged Ardun to be the type who would rather die than to admit their weakness, especially since his domain is war. Apparently, being locked in a small closet with Ascathon's pet taught him a few survival instincts.

“Those weapons are worrying. How did he get his hands on such powerful items?” El Shaddai asks after having studied all available evidence. He massages his golden chin, turning his empty, emotionless gaze on us. From among the whole Council, he is considered to be the most powerful and their leader.

“He is quite inventive. Maybe he made them?” Elohim offers, a rarely seen member of the Council. It’s said that most of the time he busies himself with magical research, exploring the ways of enchantment and nature magic. Green hair and plants are growing all over his body which makes him look like some strange mixed breed between an elf and a dryad.

The Council member's long ears droop. “It would mean that he rediscovered a lost art.”

“It would be interesting to learn how he managed that,” Amaru admits grudgingly, correcting the positioning of the monocle on his left eye. His plain clothes and the dishevelled hair give the impression of some mad professor, but everyone knows that he is the Crystal City’s leading authority in magitech.

“Too dangerous!” Enyo throws in. “Gather their souls once they are done fighting and weakened. Imprison them for good so that they are no longer a danger!” She throws back her glistening, black hair, sitting ramrod straight in her black battle regalia. A terrible beauty who is in charge of the Council’s military forces, a Goddess of Carnage and Destruction. “Say the word, El Shaddai, and I will take care of it.”

“You can always count me in when it’s about killing,” Eris admits cheerfully. With her brown hair and average human appearance, she looks the most normal of the bunch. But that's only her outside appearance. Many of her victims underestimated the Goddess of Strife and Discord.

“No killing. Haven’t the two of them served us loyally for millennia? I am sure that such devoted service should at least earn them a chance at redemption.” Lada throws her weight in on the other side, living up to her reputation as Goddess of Love and Harmony. She smiles, lighting up the room with her angelic beauty and wavy white hair.

Before El Shaddai can administer a sentence, Tjenemit raises a tanned hand, sensing his chance to influence the outcome of the edict. “I have a suggestion. We shouldn’t allow Ascathon and Myrm to run free after what they did. But the matter of the Crystal Weapons requires our attention. What if the problem isn’t solved by dealing with Ascathon? And how did Myrm manage to penetrate Ascathon’s aura so easily, without any weapon? Does she also have some hidden advantage?

“I think it's quite safe to say that the two of them are dangerous, but at the same time, they clearly have secrets that are worth knowing. We have to find out from where those weapons came, and how exactly Myrm did what she did. For that purpose, I suggest imprisoning them. Let them reincarnate in a controlled environment where we can safely learn their secrets.”

El Shaddai hesitates, his golden mien showing indecision. “How do you suggest doing that? As soon as they reawaken their divinity, they will be able to use the pathways and escape.”

I nod to myself. Normally, that would be the case. A god might be slain, but he or she would reincarnate just like any other immortal, likely regaining their divinity within a few decades.

Tjenemit gestures towards me. “We have a loyal individual who proved herself countless times. She can take the two of them into a Void Zone where they can exist as shadows of their former selves until they give up their secrets. There would be no way for them to escape.”

El Shaddai’s gaze falls onto me and I make a point of demurely fixing my gaze on the floor to his feet. With two voices in favour and two against, two more being only interested in research and knowledge, the ultimate decision falls to him.

“Seria, how certain are you that you could contain them? Is there a possibility that they could learn your skill in wandering the Void Zones? I would consider such a possibility quite troublesome, which is why we discourage people from journeying into the Void. Having one like you is already too much.”

Only because you couldn't possibly catch me if I decided to run away and cause havoc.

But I banish the thought and play the loyal servant instead. “It’s unlikely, as I explained before. Even if they learned the ability, it would take countless eons for them to achieve the necessary mastery to navigate the Void and free themselves. I myself don’t know exactly how much time I lost when I first entered a zone. The madness of isolation came and went, and it only rarely receded enough to train myself until I managed to break free. I remember nothing of the time before.”

“Hm.” He nods, considering my answer. “I really would like to learn where these Crystal weapons came from. Go, Seria. Gather their souls and bring me these weapons for further study. Their ability to cut through auras is too dangerous to leave them out in the world.”

Bowing deeply, I depart with brisk, short steps to do the Council’s bidding. On one side, I want to be as far away from them as quickly as possible. On the other, I don’t want to look like I am running away.

The less time I give them to change their opinion, the better.

Internally, I fight the urge to do a cartwheel down the corridor between the mostly empty banks. Thanks to me influencing Tjenemit, they did exactly what I wanted them to do! It also helped that Lada has a soft spot for me which I might be able to exploit in the future. She is the only character among the Council members who isn’t utterly despicable in my opinion.

***The Void***

***Ashley***

“What are you doing?” I ask, entering Seria’s workshop. Ever since she transported a whole planet into her Void Zone, the Goddess of Life and Death was working feverishly on something. She even neglected to supervise me and my daughters, utterly confident that we wouldn’t be able to escape.

Now I finally understand how Ascathon must have felt under the influence of the world enchantment. Being confined to this dead world isn't much different.

“She is trying to repair Ascathon’s and Myrm’s soul,” Karin informs me.

She is observing Seria’s work from right next to the goddess. A bored expression showing on Karin's face, making it clear what the girl thinks of soul magic. She is talented with many aspects of magic, but soul magic isn’t her forte. What Seria is doing might as well be the script of the ancients.

I approach, studying the four globes which are hovering in front of Seria. She is manipulating them with both hands, trying to fix the damage. A relay of spell-emitters is holding her magical array in place, making it easier to manipulate each soul within a stasis field.

The whole machinery looks quite impressive and familiar. I remember the large, circular plate, with spikes protruding from its centre and the outer edge, bending back inwards to form something like a cage. The four lights which are caught inside are shining with varying brightness.

Her insecure actions tell me right away that Seria is having problems. First, she manipulates the spell matrix, just to undo the change right afterwards, then trying it with a different route. It's not the behaviour of someone who knows the solution to a problem, but of someone who is searching for a solution.

Three of the souls seem to have suffered heavy damage to the part that Ascathon always called the anchor, while one is in a moderate state. It means that their memories are essentially intact, but will remain mostly inaccessible. The soul which is the worst off looks like there will be some permanent memory loss.

I silently watch Seria’s efforts until I am certain of my assessment. “The way you are going about this will take you decades, maybe centuries...”

“Yes, it will. The damage to Myrm is extensive. Do you have a better suggestion?” Seria turns to glare at me. “Finally coming around to help?”

I press my lips together. “It’s not like we have much choice, do we? And I would like to see Ascathon and Willow again at some point.” I nod with my chin at the two souls which she was working on. “Who are those two?”

“Marigold and Nazareth. It took me quite some time to gather what the spell left of them.” She shakes her head. “I have no idea what Ascathon unleashed with that last spell, but it didn’t only fuck up the world, but every soul on it. It’s like their soul anchors were put through a shredder. Repairing them is like putting together a puzzle with several pieces missing. To be honest, I am not sure if I’ll manage. I thought I would first try my luck with the two of them before I risk Myrm.”

She returns to her task and I watch her for a long time, grudgingly admitting that she is good at what she is doing. But as a succubus, I naturally learned my own share of soul magic and I happen to know that there is a way to make this happen much faster. The question is… would Seria consider it?

“You know that there is a way of getting this done within a few hundred years, instead of a few eons,” I ask, waiting for her to turn her attention to me.

Once I am sure that I have it, I continue, “You can reforge what you have of their souls like you are doing it now, but there is so much missing that you will have no other choice but to wait for a soul’s natural regeneration. Otherwise, Myrm and the brothers would be a case for the mental clinic if you reincarnate them too soon.” I raise a questioning eyebrow. “Unless you have a way of accelerating the process?”

“No, I haven’t.” She twirls a strand of her blonde hair between her fingers and picks at the hem of her blue dress, making it quite clear that she is a little nervous about considering my suggestions.

I can't blame her. From her point of view, she should be wary of the possibility that I might try to betray her. She is right on that front.

Nonetheless, I have to admit that her ultimate goal is one I have to share in the end. Ever since I achieved divinity myself, the Council is as much a threat to me as it is to Ascathon and Willow. I learned enough about them to know that they wouldn't let me be. I could try to retreat into the deepest parts of the infernal planes, but there are things there that even the gods fear. Running to a place outside the Council’s reach would drastically cut down on my life expectancy, and I like living.

Sadly enough, trying my luck with Seria's ludicrous plan seems like the only viable option to achieve a long-term solution.

“Spill it.” Seria gestures towards the souls. “Share the secret of repairing what isn't there.”

“You could merge them,” I suggest. “Replace the damaged parts with the working parts of another soul and you will end up with a working amalgam.”

“No way!” Seria looks at me, aghast. “I want them back like they were! Mixing them with another soul would only create an abomination!”

I purse my lips. “In Ascathon’s case, you might be right. He was tolerable, though I would say he is worthy of an update in the social skills department. Regarding Myrm… really? What is it about her that you want to preserve? That woman was a total bitch.”

“I explained that already. She wasn’t always-”

“A bitch?” Karin interrupts.

Seria presses her lips together instead of answering, looking like a petulant child.

I shrug. “It’s your choice. This is your project. If you consent, it would allow us to ramp up our timetable. The suggested solution wouldn’t even be permanent. We would get Myrm into a working state, hopefully doing away with some of her more nasty character traits. The damaged souls would still heal until they are strong enough to repel each other. During her next reincarnation, they would split from each other naturally and return to being two separate individuals. The key is not to bond them too tightly, or that could have other undesired outcomes.”

A hoarse cough comes from Karin. “You sound like you already tried that,” she comments, her tone questioning.

“I happened to make one or two experiments in that direction, hoping to find a way of strengthening a soul.” I make an indecent gesture with my hands, forming an 'O' with my thumb and index finger, then stabbing the other index finger in and out in a rapid motion, smirking all the while.

Karin presses her lips together, annoyed at the obscenity.

Oh, how I enjoy teasing her like that. One would think that she got used to stuff like that after going through my succubus training. Given her age, she showed a stupid amount of stubbornness in sticking to her ideals.

After getting no further reaction out of her, I explain, “You know… it would have been quite interesting to have a male who doesn’t give up the ghost, just because you go a little wild. I thought it might be possible to create a soul that's too strong to be pulled from its mortal shell.”

Karin looks away, grumbling, “I knew it would have been for a reason like that. It also sounds like it didn't work anyway.”

I pat my belly. “Sadly, no. Innate demon magic is quite potent at taking souls. Which doesn't mean that the procedure doesn't have certain benefits that align with your desires.”

Seria tilts her head, not sure about the idea. “I’ll admit that it sounds like a workable route – if I were to risk it. But! I’ve only these four souls to work with. You have no idea how much salesmanship it took me to get Tjenemit to give the two idiot brothers. The Council confiscated all the others who were caught up in Ascathon’s spell to do their own research.”

She points at the soul orbs. “And I’ll certainly not use Marigold OR Nazareth to repair Myrm! One gender-confused psycho is enough!”

I follow that stabbing finger of hers with my eyes, wondering why she is so emotional about the situation. It isn't like she didn't already sacrifice countless people for her cause. What are Ascathon and Myrm to her?

“I am always wondering why you get so worked up about those two.” Though, I have an idea. “Won’t you consider telling me about your history with them? There must be more than what I was told.”

“None of your business!”

I press my lips together and pick absentmindedly at one of my horns, considering whether I should really make that last suggestion or not. It comes down to whether my daughter would go for this or not. She was always a conniving bitch, but she really liked Ascathon. She was emotionally destroyed when he left. It took her almost a century to recover. The only thing that kept her from running after him was that she didn't want to leave the rest of her family.

It wasn't like she didn't share some responsibility in Ascathon's decision to leave. A big reason for the failed relationship was her manipulative and obsessive character. Strangely enough, I am quite certain that she would take the opportunity to make things right if she was given a second chance.

“Use Isabella’s soul to repair Myrm… or at least what’s left of her.” Isabella never officially achieved godhood, but Myrm’s soul was damaged quite heavily in the fight, so there is a reasonable chance that Isa’s personality traits will come out on top when the two of them are reforged into one being.

Karin gasps and Seria looks at me as if I am a monster. “We can’t do that! Isabel’s soul is unharmed. It would be like… like…”

“Taking organs from a healthy patient!” Karin helps.

Seria nods rapidly. “Thanks, Karin. That was the picture I was searching for.”

I cross my arms in front of my chest. “Are you saying that Isa's own mother can’t speak for what her daughter would want? Because I can see what you are trying to do.” I point at the spell-matrix which is holding the souls in stasis. “This little connection here, and that slightly altered memory there.”

Seria blushes, but Karin just furrows her forehead, not understanding any of it.

Leaning closer, I whisper into Seria’s ear. “You might be able to repair Myrm the hard way, but I can prophesize that when Isa remembers her past and sees that someone else took her place, there will be more than a little drama. Following my suggestion would avert another disaster.”

Seria furrows her forehead, looking like she is considering it. “What kind of disaster.”

“A poisonous one,” I chirp. “Back in the day, Isabella was quite the black widow when someone triggered her.”

The Goddess of Life and Death purses her lips. “Considering everything I did to get to this point, what is one more abomination? For all I know, this might as well have been fate...”