Est, heal yourself! There is a plant below you!

Casiron's voice made its way through my muddled mind. We had stopped moving, but I couldn't remember when or how. He had been shouting for a long time, though, I knew that.

What? I asked, my mind's voice sounding slurred.

You are on top of a plant! Heal yourself before you die!

Die? I groaned as I tried to realize what that meant. Right, death. Not a good thing. Focus!

My mind kept doing front flips, and even simple concepts like opening my eyes seemed a hurdle. It was as if a torrent of chaotic impulses blanketed every one of my conscious thoughts and desires, wiping them away.

What should I do? I managed to send it back.

Cast that-

The effort of simply asking a question proved too much, and Casiron's voice dissipated as my conscious thoughts vanished in a chaotic storm of impulses and confusion.

--

Damnit, he is dying, Casiron thought as he looked at Est's twitching body.

The deep, puffy wounds on the muscular chest were pulsating in tandem with his weak heartbeat.

Casiron gazed at the mortal for a few seconds, then groaned as he realized what he had to do. He had so hoped not to spend another second with the loathsome Deity, but the boy wasn't going to survive. No matter how powerful Est was, the confusion status wasn't something a mortal could handle.

Casiron knew what that meant, and he quickly gave the tiny cave filled with mushrooms another look. There was only a single entrance, which he was blocking with his bulk, and nothing dangerous as far as he could tell. He lodged his front and back legs a bit more secure. Leaving Est here was a risk, but not doing anything would be a bigger risk.

Steeling himself for the annoying conversation to come, he closed his mind and relinquished control over the wooden vessel he had inhabited. A disjointed sensation came as his mind left the physical form, and for a moment, he was back in the dark, twilight zone that he had inhabited for eons.

Casiron's tiny mental form shivered, as even after all these years, a small sliver of fear managed to worm its way into his mind.

Then the darkness dissipated, and he sensed a moment of acceptance as he flashed through a previously invisible shiny silver barrier and into the tiny Mindscape of Est. The world around him unfolded before him, barely large enough for the teeming mass of karma and life inside. It was like heaven compared to the chaotic darkness beyond.

One tiny sliver of Karma burned brighter than the others, and a small shape burst out from one of the trees.

"What, what? What are you doing back, you ancient lizard?"

"Shut it," Casiron growled, trying to hold back the desire to hide in the other tree and ignore the vile thing. "Est is going to die if we don't do something!"

"Do you think I'm stupid? What do you think I've been doing!"

"Bandaging a mortal wound," Casiron roared, causing the birds to screech and fly away, hiding in the tree, while the frogs silenced, and even the insects seemed to vanish. Within a second, the entire tiny ecosystem was quiet, shivering in fear at the presence of the mind of the apex predator.

All but one. The tiny squirrel rushed down the tree and stood on the bank of the muddy lake, arms crossed and a scowl on its snout.

"Then what do you suppose I do? I have no idea what he is dying from-"

"He is dying of blood loss and is chaos poisoned to the point of being confused. Something, perhaps the chaos poisoning status, is blocking the regeneration he should be getting from the demon poison in the water," Casiron summed up, a deep growl coming from his long-form.

Raparion's arms fell, and a worried look crossed his face.

"What did that stupid mortal do? He is supposed to be careful with his body! He is far from being able to live without it, and if he dies now, I'll be stuck in here as his Mindscape slowly crumbles!"

"You truly only think of yourself," Casiron said, his calm returning.

Each time he spoke with the Deity, ancient even by his standards, he felt a mixture of fear, awe, loathing, and barely contained hate. It wasn't unfounded, he knew. It was his kind, Deities, that was responsible for what had happened to the Dracoserps! Still, he needed to remain calm. Angering the other to much wouldn't help.

"Let me think," Raparion said, either not noticing the turmoil in his mind or not caring.

Instead, the small squirrel began passing and muttering.

"We have maxed Karma as I was preserving it after I had to keep the constant unconscious state at bay. I wasn't sure I needed more. So, two hundred Karma to work with, such a tiny amount," Par hissed as he rose his arms in anger.

"He needs something… something to either get rid of that confusion, clear the chaos poisoning, or something to heal him, so he survives for the status to go away on its own."

Casiron kept quiet, holding his tongue as he watched the ancient ex-deity walk around agitatedly and muttered to itself. He did have much knowledge of the things Par spoke about and could offer no help or insights. Dracoserps were nearly immune to confusion and gained chaos resistance before leaving the egg.

After what seemed too long, the squirrel stopped and looked at him.

"Right, we can do three things, and you won't like either of them," Raparion said.

"That doesn't surprise me," Casiron said. "Tell me."

"For one hundred and ninety Karma we can introduce a Despotin bloodline into his body-"

"No," Casiron snapped. "Are you out of your mind? His own Deity will destroy him if the others don't beat her to it! You know- ... Wait, how can you even do that? Aren't Despotin supposed to be-"

The tiny squirrel sniffed loudly, interupting him as Par shook his head with mock sadness.

"Not telling, you short-minded scaly old lizard," he said, glaring at the Casiron, coiled in the air before him.

Casiron growled, but Raparion just sniffed.

"Well, that was the easiest way. We can also use two hundred Karma to increase his chaos resistance to two. The problem is that he will need to survive through the chaos infection until it levels. That should clear the chaos poisoning," he said.

Casiron was quiet for a while, realizing the implications of what Par said.

"Why did you not share this earlier," he finally asked, his voice cold and dangerous."

"Nobody asked," Raparion said.

Casiron roared and rushed forward, and Par dodged back.

"Calm down! Reptile brain! If nobody asks, I won't remember," he shouted, raising his hands in defense. "I'm having a hard time as it is, keeping my mind together in this tiny place! It's like parts of me keep trying to disappear, and I have to actively think about them!"

Casiron quieted and growled. "He will die from blood loss within the hour," he said. "How long will-"

Raparion was shaking his head, a look of disdain on his face. "Not happening. It will take days for his chaos resistance to rise to two, not hours."

"And option three?" Casiron asked.

"You won't like it," Raparion said.

"I didn't like the other options either," Casiron growled, moving his massive head before the tiny squirrel.

"Yes, well… you really won't like this one then," Raparion said. "We can create the Ulixer'sin demon tree…"

Casiron hissed, backing up as he glared at the tiny thing.

"That is not a good plan," he said.

"Yes, well, we can still try the Despotin bloodline," Raprion said, crossing his arms again. "I've got nothing else."

Casiron glared at him, his mind spinning while trying to read the other's mind. Was Par speaking the truth, or was he holding back something? The Deity had tried to get Est to create the Ulixer'sin demon tree before, and Casiron knew full well how dangerous it was. Then again… an idea popped up in Casiron's mind. If Rathica was freed, she might be able to cleanse Est's mind.

"How would that vile tree help? Wouldn't it take time to grow?" he said.

"No. If I push Karma into that interesting spell the mortal found, the tree will fully grow within a few minutes. As soon as it does, it will begin pulsating its power around, drawing Est's mind in here to combat the threat. That should clear his confusion, and after he defeats the thing, the boost he will get from it should be enough for him to resist confusion long enough to heal himself," Raparion explained calmly.

"Those are a lot of shoulds," Casiron whispered as he hung back, gazing at Par while going through the options again. Not that they were options, really. The Despotin was a sure-fire way to get killed, and Est wouldn't live long enough for the second, leaving only the third option.

"Can Rathica cleanse Est's mind if he gets demon addled?" Casiron asked softly.

Raparion's eyebrows rose as his gaze turned unfocused for a split second. Then he nodded. "Hadn't thought of that! Probably. If she manages to get that Pantheon going, she would definitely have the power for it. It might cost her a bit, though, so I wonder if she would be willing to."

I'm sure she will, Casiron thought. "Create the Ulixer'sin demon tree," he said.

Raprion grinned and shook his head. "Yes, well, big guy. You aren't the boss. If I had been able to do it, I would have instead of discussing the options with you. Est told me not to do it, and as I'm bound to him as his Mindscape Keeper, I can't go against his wishes."

"What?" Casiron roared. "Then what was this charade for!"

"Don't get so upset. Just go back and tell Est to say, 'Raporion, do what you must, and that should do the trick," Par said, his eyes glittering.

"Do you take me for a fool?" Casiron growled. "That would give you the right to do anything Est has not agreed to!"

"So?" Raparion said. "That's only the Ulixer'sin right now."

"And everything you aren't allowed to do by default," Casiron hissed.

Raparion grinned and shrugged. "So, the Despotin bloodline then?"

Casiron roared, then vanished as he reconnected with the wooden vessel that served as his body. His mind shook as it crossed the boundary again, then he was back in the tiny cave, looking at Est. Blood clouded around him, obscuring it partially. The boy's chest was still moving, but thick purple liquid was oozing from the wounds on his chest.

Est!? Casiron shouted in the other's mind, not holding back.

A shudder ran through it, and he sensed the boy's consciousness through the connection, entirely confused.

Repeat after me, Casiron shouted, willing the other to focus entirely on him. Est's mind flitted about, and with an angry snarl, he grabbed it. He felt the confused mind shudder under his hold.

Par, create the Ulixer'sin! Casiron shouted, changing the words.

Est's confused voice came through, his consciousness brittle within Casiron's tight grip.

What? came his weak voice.

Casiron repeated himself a dozen times before he heard the boy attempt to repeat his words. Even then, it cost long, costly minutes before Est's weary voice repeated Casiron's.

Par, create the Ulixer'sin, Est uttered, haltingly and with long pauses.

Casiron pulled his mind back, hoping he hadn't left permanent damage by enforcing his will upon the boy.

May your Deity forgive me, boy, he thought as he sensed massive turbulence in Est's Mindscape.

--

"Why won't she answer us," The Stone rumbled as he glared through the thin barrier high above Boglodon.

A pale, tangle-haired woman sat on a rocky outcrop beyond. Eyes closed, she shivered on occasion as a dull green glow seeped from her into the chaotic murky fog around her, thickening it. Rathica and the other deities hung mid-air beside him, as they had ever since Wyerg had located Lischen.

"She must know that if she continues this, her realm will crumble in her absence as all her Primes will die?" The Stone said as he looked around at the others.

Flowheart was glaring at Lischen with frosty eyes.

"Lischen, you old hag! If you don't stop this, you will end up no better than us!" she shouted, her cold voice passing through the barrier in a way their bodies could not.

The pale woman showed no reaction.

"She joined Nimron's Pantheon. She has no choice," Ulderion said as he turned to the others. "You are too young to know this, but both forming and joining a Pantheon can be done multiple ways. The way we plan will let us mostly retain our autonomy while only making Rathica stronger as we share some of our might with her. Remember, this and the pantheon realm is why we are even here. However, there are other ways."

Ulderion sighed sadly as he looked at Lischen.

"She was too weak and thus forced into submission by Nimron," Rathica said, staring at Lischen.

"And whose fault was that?" Lischen's voice suddenly screeched out as her eyes snapped open, a sickly green glow within as she glared at Rathica. "You are the cause of all this! Why would you release Nimron?"

Silence followed as the other Deities turned to Rathica. She tensed, trying not to show it. It was something she had answered before, but apparently not to their satisfaction. It seemed she would have to share some more details, loath as she was.

"He wasn't like this when he was locked up," she said, not taking her eyes from Lischen. Her words, however, were directed at the other Deities.

"Long ago, he was just a stoic fool. His Pantheon and that of my previous incarnation had been in a cold war for eons, and to get rid of him, we tricked him. We locked him up just before the war with the Guidar. Before we could take advantage of this, though, the Guidar war happened, and soon after, we were all finished by her and the other fools that made a deal with those abnormal beings," Rathica said, glaring harder at Lischen. "When I was born again, I needed more active help to stop the three of you, so I let him out."

"So?" Lischen hissed, spittle flying from between her lips. "Happy that you got him out then? Thanks to you, we will all be here until he finds a way to end Ux!"

A loud boom came from the barrier, jostling the chaotic fog and clearing a small area. Lischen screeched in anger as a wave of green energy poured from her and into the surrounding churning mass of green grass. She glared at Ulderion, who had his open hand against the barrier and an innocent grin on his face.

"What? Just seeing how well you can control this primal chaos cloud," he said, shrugging. "Pretty impressive… but-"

And he laughed as he put both of his hands against the barrier, causing two booms to echo throughout the cavern as leaf-green energy appeared beyond, blasting a part of the churning mass away.

"You will destroy your own barrier," Lischen screeched as she clamped her eyes shut and began waving her arms around in esoteric gestures.

"She is right," Flowheart said. "As fun as it is, we can't waste the little power we have on harassing her."

"Fine," Ulderion said with a mock grin as he hovered back.

"Keep an eye on her," Rathica said as she looked at Wyerg. The canine Deity's eyes narrowed, but he nodded.

Rathica sighed as she saw the hidden annoyance at her request, and she flew down towards the sprawling city that looked tiny compared to the massive cavern system.

The other deities flew after her, and she scanned them quietly. A tiny group of powerful beings, relegated to being locked away like ordinary mortal prisoners. As she focused on the edge of the city where the troublesome Pantheon pattern still hung, Ulderion swooshed beside her.

"She is being used by Nirmon to power and keep under control that primal chaos energy cloud," he said softly. "But, she won't keep this up for more than two weeks. Unless Nimron himself shows up, we just have to hold on, and I think he is preoccupied, or he would have long since come. How is that brat doing?"

Rathica's worried frown softened, replaced by a small smile.

"I've got no idea what he is doing, but I've only heard unconfirmed stories about Prime's that could generate the amount of Karma he is producing," she said. "It's too bad it is not a stable stream, or we could have planned for something different."

"Planned what? An escape powered by the paltry amount of Karma you now have?" Flowheart snapped from behind.

Her shape blurred ahead, towards the eastern part of the city which she had claimed as her own.

"Her temper is getting worse," Ulderion rumbled.

"She lost another dozen Prime's," The Stone replied, floating beside them, staring after the blue streak. "If this continues, she will be left with nothing."

"And you?" Ulderion asked, staring at The Stone, a tiny worried frown on his bark-covered face.

Rathica turned to the hulking gray mass, equally curious. Currently, The Stone was the most powerful amongst them, showing just how many Primes he had managed to gather, hiding them from the big three when they still ruled. The still unconfirmed rumor that he had followers and even Primes from Earth likely helped greatly.

"They are weakening, but I didn't lose any more after the massive losses of yesterday," he rumbled, a weary resignation wafting from him. "From what I can sense, they have begun fleeing to the edges of civilization."

Rathica waited for more, but The Stone didn't continue, still keeping much to himself.

How is he even contacting them through this barrier of primal chaos, she thought, sneaking a look at the giant. The Stone had only said it wasn't something they could copy and hadn't been interested in explaining himself.

After a few moments, she ignored him and looked at the dried-up Karma gains of the last few hours, and worry grew.

What are you doing, Est? I need that Karma!

--

I awoke with a start. The pain, confusion, and fatigue vanished as my mind cleared up, and I became aware of my surroundings.

How did I get into my Mindscape? I thought as I gazed around the tiny world, white puffy clouds hanging above, the tips of the two massive Mildasir tree's poking through them.

"Hold that thing down," a frightened, high-pitched voice screamed.

Par? I thought, wondering why the Deity sounded so panicked.

I looked around, trying to make sense of what was going on. How had I even gotten here? The last thing I remembered was-

A stream of memories, pain, anguish, and confusion bubbled up as the sensation of demon fingers drilling into my body caused me to shiver. I tried to recall what happened after, but everything after that was a muddled mess.

I shoved it away for later and focused on my surroundings, looking for Par.

A third, horrifying tree stood on the bank of the water. Thick, black, and with blood-red veins growing across it, its long, narrow leaves jutted outward like daggers. Everything about it screamed danger. Below it, Casiron's massive serpent body wrapped around a struggling form, obscured by the scaled coils. Raparion prowled close by, arms held to the side, and his claws elongated dangerously long.

"What is going on?" I asked.

"Finally, you're awake! I thought you'd gone and died on us," Raparion screamed as he swirled around.

"Get over here and get ready to fight this thing! Your bloody body is dying!"

Dying?

My fear grew as I scanned my body. All I got was a distant, muddled sensation of pain and chaos.

"What the hell is going on?" I asked as I swished forward, hovering beside Raparion.

"We don't have time for explanations, mortal," Par shouted as he pointed at Casiron. "Serpent, get ready to let go so this fool can battle it!"

"Battle what?" I shouted, worriedly looking at the red figure wrapped up by Casiron. I couldn't see what the hell it was, but a single, muscular arm poked out from the coils. It was red and ended in a hand with long black claws.

"Wait, how am I going to battle anything like this?" I shouted.

"Look at your skills!" Par shouted. "Use the Mindscape projection one!"

Mindscape projection? I thought as I pulled up my status window.

The first I saw was my karma level, three and just increasing to four, then five. Below it was a host of messages, and my eyes widened as I read them.

> Raparion used 200 karma to create: Ulixer'sin

> Raparion used 12 karma to accelerate the growth of the: Ulixer'sin

> Raparion used 80 karma to unlock the skill: Mindscape Projection

> Mindscape projection allows you to project a mental representation of your physical body into your Mindscape.

He used all of the karma? I thought, horrified as I looked at the sliver remaining.

It was increasing, but not as much as it had days before. Still, if Par had used over two hundred and ninety it must have jumped again. I could only hope that someone had found another town or populace and spread my title so it would increase again. Having none left seemed like a bad idea.

"Hurry up! You only have minutes left," Par screamed.

I focused on the skill, and before I could even wonder what it would do, my status closed, and my perception of the world changed. Everything turned bigger, then my feet thudded into the muddy ground, and I took in a breath of clean, fresh air as the blubber flowed between my toes.

"Do you want to die?" Par snapped beside me, and I looked at him in surprise.

He came to my waist, the size of a small child, and I blinked.

"I'm small?"

"No, foolish mortal! You are the same size you always were," Par said as he straightened up and glared at me. "Now stop wasting time, and create your armor and weapons!"

I blinked and looked down at my naked body.

"How?"

"How the hell do you think?" Rap shouted, spittle flying across my chest. "Imagine it! This is your Mindscape! Did the little brains you have fry?"

I growled at him, then imagined myself clad in my leather and wood armor, a large ax in hand. The armor appeared instantly, and I felt the reliable weight of my ax tug down my hand.

"Good! Now get ready to fight! This first one should be easy enough for you!" Raparion shouted as he backed up.

"Serpent, release it!"

A strained growl came from Casiron, then he uncoiled and flew sideways in a single move, dropping a red-skinned, horned, and spike-tailed devil to the ground. It landed on its clawed feet before looking around, snarling at Casiron. Then it turned its four narrow, vertical eyes to me and a wide grin appeared on its out of proportions face.

"Mortal souuuuul," it crooned as it sprinted towards me, a long, thin sword appearing in its hand.

Slow, I thought as I prepared for action.

I raised my ax and stepped forward as the sword swung towards my waist, intercepting it mid-swing before mechanically stepping into an offensive stance, slashing at the devil's face. Its eyes widened, and it yanked its head back as a thin barrier of red light appeared before its face. My ax slammed into it, splintering the thin barrier as if it was glass, then biting deep into the devil's face. Blood, bone, and gore sprayed outward as the top of its head was sliced off.

I blinked, staring at the figure as it slumped down, turning into red energy particles that flowed around.

"That easy?" I asked, looking around for more.

"Of course it was. That was just the first one," Par said as he stepped beside me.

"Now, get ready to return to your body. The energy will give you a few seconds of clarity to cast that healing spell. You are atop a plant of some kind, so make it count!"

I stared at him in surprise, just as I felt a hot, almost spicy energy bubble up into my mind. Nasty, spiteful thoughts began popping up, almost like what I had felt long ago when Par had become my Mindscape Keeper.

"Be careful, Est," Casiron rumbled. "I'll head back to guard you!"

"Stop wasting precious time," Par shouted, shoving me.

I stared at him, noting the barely contained worry, and gritted my teeth as I prepared to return to my body.

"I expect an explanation when I get back," I snapped.

Then I stepped out of my Mindscape, and my world turned to one of pain and anger below a thin veil of calm.