The ocean of souls below her churned, the liquid form they’d coalesced into rose, whirling strings of it went everywhere in the sky above. There were too many of them calling to the souls, demanding their attention, it caused them to race about answering one call or another. This mingling of spinning souls went with the chorus of chants, thousands at this point. And for all that display of worth, none of them were making any strides at superiority.

It was the time of Strife all over again. At least the beginning part of it, when the mightiest of the Vail conspired against each other over thrones. Each had held equal strength, enough that none could tell who was winning.

Now here she was embroiled in the same situation. Oh, she was going to win, Doubt couldn’t make her believe otherwise, but the breath of it was going to be long. If it wasn’t for the accursed Nightmare going after Sanctuary things could be quickly resolved. She’d have outnumbered Bliss easily, overwhelmed her and then the Maker. Instead, Bliss was feeding on the souls of those claimed by the Nightmare, growing in number equal to her own. Plus there was the Nightmare itself, taking the worse of her and Bliss assaults and still swelling.

They were stuck in a semi even state of three forces trying to consume the others. The souls maintained this unacceptable affair, but seeing how there was an ocean below them, one where most of the Nightmares were swimming in. That event wasn’t going to change.

Giver was pulled from her Thoughts as the ocean parted, revealing dazzling lightning and shredding air which surged up in multiple places. The width of it was enough that she and many of Bliss own constructs were unable to avoid the event. Giver felt constructs thinning, but theirs calls to the souls increased, and things leveled out. She retaliated swiftly, as did Bliss. Lightning danced from her many fingers and followed the course of her will where it parted the waves and speared down striking the offending forms with her Wrath.

All she was rewarded with was more of Hunger raving words. “Give them to me!” The thing shouted, “stop being like Greed, you’ve had your fill, now let me have mine!”

She pulled some of her forces away from chanting at Bliss and had them focus on the mounds of flesh instead. More Wrath cascaded down their sickening appearances, all of it rendered as worthless as all the others she’d sent. Gone were the Rotations where her Wrath swept away Curses and made Thoughts avoid her attention. Now they openly defied her.

She wasn’t the only one enduring this treatment. Bliss wasn’t fairing any better at smothering the pests below even with the Makers revised Anchors. The lights burning the realm below wasn’t enough to end the Nightmares ascension. Even though the strength of it had been added to as more Anchors showed up guided by either Bliss or the Makers will. Yet none of the extra strength had swung things in the Makers favor.

They simply weren’t releasing enough Wrath upon their foes. Something she was working on fixing. In many directions Giver sent versions of herself away from the battle taking place. Far enough the turmoil around her vanished leaving behind only the roars of the storm above. There, parts of herself siphoned the soul's strength, condensing it as much as they could in an attempt to avoid notice. Whether she’d succeeded or not, she didn’t know. But none of her distant selves were being bothered, and that was blessed enough.

‘This stalemate must end,’ she thought, all her various selves agreeing with her. She was the Giver, after all, the highest, worthiest of all beings in the realm. She would not let herself be suppressed by the likes of the Nightmare nor Bliss and her Usurper. All had to be shown their place, see the folly of it all to reject her.

She called to her distant selves, whispered that it was time for her reign. Each heard her, and the hidden lights came streaming back towards the endless dance of chants. Bliss was the first to notice, many of her rival forms turned their heads in the directions Givers returning selves were coming from. The Nightmare? It didn’t seem to notice or care, even now bombarded with chants that would have reduced the Worthiest Vails of the past to ash. The Nightmare only focused on Sanctuary, every one of them reaching out as she formed a maze of barriers to keep them back.

The barriers were fairing better than they should have against the swarm arrayed against them. But the pests wanted her Vail whole, so they were being careful with their attacks against her defenses. It was the only true blessing of the debacle taking place around her. Forced to witness a realm of pests that refused to lower themselves and offer to her.

‘But they’ll be corrected,’ she reminded herself as the condensed lights arrived and unleashed their collected Wrath. To the Nightmare, her condense selves plunged deep into their ranks and unleashed all the power gathered at once. A blinding sphere of burning lighted was born, consuming thousands of the pests within. A shockwave went out, and for a time the liquid souls around them parted leavening much of the Nightmare army exposed to open air.

They dropped, the entire horde harassing her plummeted into the depths below. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to pay any more attention to that event, instead, her awareness turned towards Bliss, and the collected power seeping into her rival constructs.

She mimicked what the Maker had done to her, commanded her power to change Bliss. It took a moment for her to bypass the Wards that made up the constructs, by after she flooded into Bliss connections. Her rival reaction was immediate, Bliss own strength pushed against hers. But Giver made progress as more of herself continued to seep in. She began shifting the Wards that made Bliss who she was, made them mirrors of herself.

Bliss constructs froze in place as she turned her full attention inward and began fighting to fix the damage being done.

More and more she forced the collected power into her rival, who didn’t have near the amount of protections Giver crafted for herself. While Bliss was busy trying to push her out, she had her army focus on Bliss stationary forces, where they sent aimed chorus and began shattering handfuls of constructs at a time.

Finally, she began to make progress, Bliss army slowly began to dissipate, their power focus on purging her from the connections rather than maintaining constructs. Then when things were going so well, Bliss many forms began to laugh. And from the connections, she heard a loud commanding voice.

“Begone!” the Maker shouted, and with his words came a torrent of his own power smashing into hers. His song reverberated inside his pet, making Bliss swell and her constructs begin to move again. All of Bliss forces focused on her, even the Anchors which turned a full ninety degrees to begin searing her ranks. Many even aimed and fired upon the barriers protecting Sanctuary, causing Worry filled gaps to escape from her lips.

She was forced to spend large portions of herself keeping the barriers fed, enough that she'd lost a few constructs at first. This shifting of attention, also caused her to cease her continual feeding of the chant changing her rival. The small portions of Bliss that began to convert to her, reverted instantly back to their original state. Even before the Makers influence washed over them. The Souls that joined Bliss began fixing things on their own. Even those that had once been Giver, those Vail who’d betrayed their commitments to her even after they’d promised offers of eternal service.

A hiss echoed from her constructs, the act unbecoming of her, a display she wasn’t in control. But the Frustration that poked at her warranted it. The Maker was ruining everything again. Already all the stored power she’d accumulate was being devoured by his own, with more flowing into his pet. A reminder that he wasn’t here fighting, he was somewhere else. Crafting things, and plotting his own ascension.

She had to change that, the Maker couldn’t be allowed to work in Peace, there was no telling what wonders he’d craft next. Even now it was a mistake she was being forced to commit as she fought to keep her Vail safe. One she couldn’t continue even if it put versions of herself at risk.

Focusing she made more of herself and sent them hurrying off away from the battle. They would gather strength again for another assault, but this time it would be aimed at the Maker. Wherever he was, yet another unacceptable thought. She had to know what he was doing and would have sought it out sooner if it wasn’t for the accursed pests consuming her attention.

“I’ll consume you all!” A thunderous voice echoed from below, many of her constructs vision went dark, only to be blinded with light a breath later as she felt a decent chunk of her army be disintegrated. She pulled Sanctuary up when other versions of herself focused on the new threat. Her attention on the Nightmare had waned to almost nothing, she’d thought them handle at the present. That assumption had cost her.

The ocean had collapsed back in on itself and from its depths, a Precursor of Precursors came soaring up. It made all Nightmares that came before it looked small in comparison, and that was just its head she was seeing. A head that had snapped up and clamped down on a portion of her army and began dissolving them with enclosed lightning. The sealed mouth, and its cursed Wards kept souls from getting to her constructs. It effectively stopped the flow of power, and with it her constructs chances of survival.

Sanctuary shot up faster, that Nightmare thing could swallow it and the barriers whole if she allowed it to get close enough. After that, it would be over, the last true Vail consumed by the Nightmare.

At the present her army didn’t fire upon the new threat, they instead rose outside of the Nightmare reach first, as there was more than one lurking below the surface. Another speared out of the souls just as fast as the first this time biting down on a grouping of Bliss army and some Anchors. Yet unlike the first, this one stayed suspended in the air, jaw, and mandibles trying to chew on the objects it claimed. The rest of Bliss army turned their focus on the attacking Nightmare.

Another of the greater abominations appeared, blessedly Giver was too far above the ocean to suffer the same fate as before. But the Nightmare didn’t let her go without cost. Its mouth opened wider, revealing endless rows of teeth and barbed tongues, it wailed at her. Wards flashed with purpose inside its mouth, and a portion of her army, not to close to Sanctuary, was assailed by razed winds.

“Give them to me!” It shouted with its cutting scream.

“Know your place pest!” She screamed back at it as her constructs sent down choruses of her Wrath. The dancing lights stayed true even as it dived through the Nightmare attack. Her Wrath tried rending the maw presented, but like the outside shells, the Wards kept her chants from finding any purchase. That is, till a few bolts went down its gullet and she was rewarded with a wail of pain that caused the mouth to snap shut. The head plunged back under the ocean, where its mouth reopened and gorged on the souls around it.

The wailing hadn’t stopped though, Giver glanced over to Bliss. The head that had assaulted her still hanged in the air, it muscles retracting in its neck as the pest appeared to be trying to drag those caught in its mouth down. Yet it seemed unable to do so, and while the Nightmare struggled Bliss formed chains around the mouth, keeping it shut as its numerous over maws wailed in agony.

“What’s wrong?” Bliss constructs called out sweetly to the screaming Nightmare. “Is the light going down your throat a little hot?” she asked playfully, her smile turning sharp and wicked. “No, that would be silly, I know how resilient you are Hunger, so why not have some more?”

The wails intensified. Giving up on trying to pulls its head back down, the Nightmare went back on the offensive. Mouths rimming the length of its mass, warped, the flesh around them twisting grisly as maws angled at Bliss. They screamed and the air filling with pressure blades sent cutting at the chains and constructs making them.

Giver attention was pulled back to her own events, as the head from before busted thought the ocean and its colossal frame shot up into the air, mouth wide and snapped shut as when it reached its peak. Another followed shortly after the first and they both had been able to clamp down on more of her army. Namely, because of the Surprise Thought that had taken her seeing the heights the Nightmares had been able to reach. Instantly the claimed constructs were assaulted by searing light within the maws, the constructs dwindling to nothing.

Hissing she floated her army higher, nearing the water storm above. She sent more versions of herself racing way from the battle. Afterward, they plunged into the depths of the liquid souls and began gathering strength while her many focused on keeping the Nightmare preoccupied.

She saw Bliss doing the same, sending the freshly consume souls from her constant singing racing away in multiple directions. Bliss glances at her, smiling in a way that told she noticed the Giver as well. She scowled at her rival and the Nightmare.

‘They’ll all see,’ she thought. ‘All will offer to them, or be cleansed from this realm, my realm.’

“You will not deny me!” The Curse of Hunger screamed as multiple heads erupted from the ocean, the mouths snapping at her and Bliss army. “The Feast is mine! The Morsels are always mine!” the Nightmares shouted as their bloated forms fell back into the ocean.

“You know this Bliss.” Hunger said sounding hurt. “Yet you do this to me, keeping what is mine for yourself, I’ll make you pay!” More equally larger heads appeared, though they weren’t surging upward like those before. They stayed level with the waves, mouths open and angled at Bliss. Wrath erupted from their mouths, bathing the area in radiant lightning that slammed into Bliss ranks. Her rival suffered the assault with a blight smile, refusing to take her attention off the head she’d already held captive above the ocean.

Giver attention pulled away as the new forms of Hunger weren’t the only things that came bursting from the sea. Carver forms came streaming up into the air straight towards Sanctuary. She formed barriers to block their path, coating the area in a maze of them.

Their needle-sharped mouths punctured through of few, their momentum carrying them forward before that slowed and she was able to reinforce the barriers enough to withstand the strikes of their Warded beaks. The Carver precursors unable to move forward, opened maws and screamed at her workings. They were able to shatter some as they worked together to peel away barriers.

A meaningless effort as she crafted more, and rose her Sphere higher up, she was touching the water ocean now. Yet the Nightmare still reached for her.

The Carvers latched on to her chants, refusing to fall back down below the waves. More of them came flying out of the ocean each focused only on her rather than her rival. They bounced off the blocks, only a few being shattered in the process. But like before the new arrivals attached on with their unnatural long appendages.

More and more came, often from directions that would allow them to bypass the blockade, forcing her to develop it even more. They continued to stick to her chants, even with them being smoothed surfaces. Endlessly crafting new versions of herself, she sent them away from the blockade, and began sending choruses of Wrath, tried in vain to cut away the Carvers.

“Look how beautiful it is Hunger,” the Carvers screech. “That object full of everything we want, do you crave it as much as I?” the Curse know as Lust mused to its partner.

“Give it to me!” Hunger shouted back, and one of its forms came flying up. It slammed into the barriers and some Carvers, but nothing came of it. There were too many barriers in place now for so such a thing to work.

The Hunger to her Surprise didn’t go tumbling back down into the ocean, instead, its many limbs sprouting from its fattened form grabbed hold of Carvers. It was then she saw the Nightmare had formed a makeshift bridge out of itself, and she watched as more Hungers came flying up pouncing off, then attaching themselves to Lusts forms.

Up they climbed, the sight ludicrous considering the size of the heads, and the skinny nature of the elongated Carvers. Yet they didn’t break in two or buckle, the Wards coating their shells kept them sturdy.

“I’ll get the Feast from you, pathetic thing, one way or another it will be mine!” The Hungers howled at her as they climbed up.

With a growl of her own, she willed to her barriers and in a Breath, they shattered to pieces. The Carvers losing their grips weaved about at first, but they didn’t fall back down as she’d expected, not completely. They instead attached to each other, one by one forming a loose tower. They began to rise, accompanied by the bulbous forms of Hunger that had stayed latched to their partners. Up they all went their eyes trained on Sanctuary.

Alarmed she hasty recreated the blockade of barriers to stop them, but the Carvers, their heads pointed upwards, launched choruses, the lightning shattered the still forming chants, and went plunging into her ranks. Her constructs nearest Sanctuary hymned adding new layers of protection as the lightning shot up into the water storm. Sparks of it hit the barriers she’d formed as Sanctuary was moved away from the Nightmares attack.

Hungers hissed from below, its maws opening and closing angrily. “Careful you fool!” their screeches echoed across the expanse as Hungers hurried their numerous limbs up Lusts forms as the tower of Carvers continued to rise. The heads at the top kept launching volleys of chants trying to keep her from blocking their path. Giver answered in kind, her own Wrath descending down onto the Carvers and their open mouths. Shrieks of pain followed when chants entered said months and carried down into the jagged abyss beyond.

‘Don’t like that do you?’ Giver thought and glanced towards Bliss. The Head it held high above the waves was lifeless now, its mouth partially open and from it Bliss was sending chants and souls down into its gullet.

‘Well then, that’s one way to handle things.’ Horribly inefficient but it was better than they’d been doing before. So she gathered the power of souls, readied her large constructs and sent them spiraling down towards the tower of Nightmares. The pests chanted at her as she approached, at least the outliners, both were being careful not to send up chants that could collide with Sanctuary. Knowing this, a good portion of those moving down always aligned with the sphere overhead.

Once she neared the Carvers, hands went out and grabbed hold of the opened mouths making sure they stayed that way. Mimicking Bliss she began to pour down her Wrath. Their wails were immediate, so to their reaction as the tower once stationary began to writhe in Pain. Lusts tried to pull away, but her constructs held them in place at the expense of using up more power to maintain their position. Hungers angled their fat headed forms at her, began screeching Wrath at the constructs holding the tower in place. Like Bliss, she ignored them and focused on maintaining both her constructs and the chants burning the pests from the inside out.

It didn’t take that long before the Lusts forms stopped struggling and became as lifeless as the one Bliss held above the waves. Even with most of their eyes cold black stone, she could see the life in them had gone. For now, the Nightmares that followed Lust were dead and she was the only reason the tower was staying upright.

A small victory that was short-lived as more of the wretched things sprouted from the ocean, like the Hungers they fired at her constructs holding up the corpses. A distraction mostly, as more Lust Nightmares came from the waves, each intertwining and forming a tower. One that went racing upward towards Sanctuary. Already Hungers followed suit shooting from the ocean depths and clinging to the tower. They began firing upon her growing army, as she strengthened the blockade of barriers.

Giver kept making more of herself and willed her army to descend. She performed the same trick as before. Or tried to, the tower wasn’t as eager to aid her like the last one. the Carvers kept their mouths sealed shut, and refused to retaliate when she began assaulting them with chants. She’d been forced to pry the mouths open, and given the way Carver beaks were formed it had been a trying experience. Made even worse as Hungers bellowed their chants at her, and new towers began to sprout across the area. All bent towards her location, all aimed at Sanctuary that she’d half encased in a blockade of barriers.

She sent a pulse towards her scouts far away, monitoring their state and how much they’d grown without being harassed by lesser beings. Collective they’d gathered a worthy amount of power, but not enough, not for what was taking place around her. More of the unruly pests were appearing, each larger than the last, the Nightmare seemed to be sending its strongest now.

Towers were everywhere, Hungers climbed upon them, their heads aimed and sending endless waves of chants, Her barriers pulsed to her, called for more power to maintain them, and she was forced to respond. The Carvers were going in size, and more than once elite forms had appeared sailing up and striking against the blockade, the Nightmare could reach her Vail still. With how things were going, it was time to retreat. If it was just her fighting and nothing to defend, she’d win this fight eventually. But Sanctuary had to be kept safe, and that was becoming increasingly difficult.

‘You will all suffer when the time is right,’ she thought with Bitter. Then raised Sanctuary up into the water ocean, only to blink back Surprise when barriers instantly appeared to halt her advance.

“No, no, my dear friend,” she heard Bliss call to her. “There will be no running.”

She looked over at the Curse, her mask of Surprise warping into that of Anger, then Rage.

“Thats right Bliss, don’t let it get away,” Hungers screeched upward, climbing ever closer. “Keep it in place, and I may even give you a small piece of the Feast.”

Some of Bliss constructs sent mocking smiles down at the fellow Curse. Yet the majority continued their fixed gazes on her, smug smiles on all of them.

Giver didn’t waste time talking with her rival. What use were words to beings that would either no longer exist or be no more than playthings in her hands? Instead, her army turned their attention away from the growing number of Lusts and chanted at the obstructions in her way.

Bliss reinforced the barriers, and like her began to ignore the Nightmare, more intent on keeping her here. The choruses clashed with one another, both at the moment were even. A win for Bliss, as the barriers remained, barely. But that was enough, it kept Sanctuary in danger, and let the Nightmare grow closer. But not to close as it turned out. Bliss constructs began attacking Nightmares that seemed to cross a line in the realm. One moment Bliss was thwarting her effects, the next her rival switched to blocking the Nightmares advance.

“Stop it Bliss!” Hungers growled upward, their mouths and limbs jittered irritably as their flesh warped and small mouths angle about sending forth cutting screams. “Stop dangling it in front of me!” They shouted as Bliss formed barriers everywhere blocking the paths of the rising towers and climbing Hungers.

Nothing was being gained from this, the Nightmare was barley being halted. Even as the Anchors rearranged themselves to fill in the gaps the first Hunger had caused. The corpse of which was still being kept aloft by Bliss constructs. The pillars of light diving into the ocean depths, searing the realm wasn’t what it used to be. The Nightmares had grown too large, and cleaning lights were reflected whenever a Precursor was in trouble. The best the Anchors did at this point was keep smaller Nightmares from growing to the hulking forms now in front of her. But it wasn’t adequate, like times of old the pests multiplied to quickly to ever be thoroughly cleansed. It only took one to get away for a new horde of them to be born.

She would take that strength, even now somewhat contained she never stopped making new versions of herself. Rather than assaulting those offending her, spending what power they’d gathered, she kept sending them down into the ocean where they swam away to grow unbothered. Giver checked on those further outs, felt the strength they’d gathered. She’d like to have kept them where they were, growing and searching for the Maker. But Bliss was forcing her hand. Sanctuary had to be protected, and her inability to get it to safety thanks to Bliss left her with little choice.

‘To me,’ she called out, as Bliss added to the barriers.

They sped towards her, heeding the command given and the pull of the bindings that kept them pure. Some of Bliss constructs turned their gazes to the bright lights as they surged through the souls and around Nightmares, even barriers that were in the way, before rejoining with her.

Smiling wickedly, she fired half of the claimed strength upward blasting through the barriers put in her way. Sanctuary rushed upwards, and as that took place, she used the remainder of the power to distract Bliss. Like before she aimed at Bliss constructs and sunk into them as the Maker had down, tried converting what she could. Or enough that Bliss would have to act on that rather than being a nuisance.

Yet as she made constant, and her souls began to submerge with the Wards, instantly they were repulsed out.

Bliss laughter was rich, as all her constructs joined in. “Really now Giver? Do you hold the Maker in such Lowly esteem, did you think He’d let you try that act again?” The Curse asked mockingly as Bliss constructs as a whole focused on her. A blockade of barriers formed around Sanctuary stopping it in the storm of water.

Anger slithering in her, Giver took back the power that failed its purpose and sent it upward. Lightning guided by her will smashed through Bliss works, and her Sphere surged up. A large chunk of her army followed with Sanctuary, putting blessed distance between her true Vail and the maws of the Nightmare.

“That's far enough,” Bliss said to her, but the words had come from above. Giver turned her gaze upwards saw more of barriers form and interlock in front of Sanctuary. She also witnessed new Bliss constructs, so large they made the ones below look like Newborn, each was slightly bigger than Hungers new forms.

Seeing the revealed threat, she called to her remaining army, had it fly up towards Sanctuary, leaving the Nightmare behind to continue its path up undisturbed. She divided herself in a frenzied speed too. Those newly made she had plunged down into the Soul ocean.

Bliss had surprised her, she’d only been watching the cumulation of strength from the ocean, not above in the sky.

For now, she was at a disadvantage but she would correct that. But first, she had to get Sanctuary to safety. Bliss hadn’t attacked her Sphere, a blessing. Even though the Curse could kill all the Vail inside and still be able to Consume the souls within, Bliss had yet to act. Giver would do her best not to provide a continual chance for her rival to do so.

She strengthened the thick layers of barriers around Sanctuary as it began to descend. But Bliss had other ideas. A blink of an eye, and the next moment Giver founded Sanctuary encased in foreign barriers. One that kept being added to as Bliss took Sanctuary for herself.

“You Dare!” She howled, launching waves of chants at the Blisses descending towards Sanctuary.

“I do,” Bliss said laughing as her forms didn’t bother with defense and let her attacks assault them. Rather than going on the attack Bliss instead manifested more Barriers, mazes of them, all obstructing the path ahead.

“I find that you are lacking the skills needed to keep these few Vail safe from the monstrosities below.” Her rival said, the wretch smile spreading wider. “So naturally I will take up the burden, it’s only fitting, seeing how much of a failure you are.”

Giver awareness blinked out as Rage coursed through her, and when she came to, she found herself in a brawl with Bliss. The mazes that been blocking the path ahead were gone, and there were many more versions of herself than previously. She swarmed over Bliss, or tried to, her rival was pulsing out compressed air and wind blades. They were strong enough to shatter the many small constructs that she'd formed. But her larger ones kept Bliss distracted as smaller versions dived down into the Souls below. They drank deep from them and hurried back up rejoining the fight and refilling Givers dwindling reserves.

She noticed it then, how much her lapse had caused her to spend herself, namely in trying to dig into Bliss weavings. There hadn’t been any success on that part. Her souls were continually and uniformly rejected from the Wards that made up Bliss. Whatever the Maker had down it had removed that means of attack. How he’d done it so quickly was yet another mystery she would pluck from his mind when she got her hands on him.

Focusing she forced back the last remnants of the Curse that had blinded her. She’d wasted so much of the power she’d culminated, power needed to keep the three Curses back. At least Bliss hadn’t gotten away unscathed, her rival had suffered loses as well, the new Constructs she’d brought weren’t nearly as larger as they'd been before, and her army had thinned as well, but not enough.

Sanctuary was still in Bliss hands, the Vail within in danger of that singing harlot. ‘This is only a setback,’ she told herself, dividing into great numbers, all of which went down into the Soul ocean. There was nothing she could do at the moment, she’d not the strength to take back the Vail from Bliss, and by some fortuities event that occurred, she’d lack the strength to keep the Nightmare away.

A Nightmare that had risen enough to enter the sky ocean. The Lust constructs tried heading for Sanctuary but Bliss formed barriers stopping them. Hungers screamed and sent Wrath at the shimmering blocks shattering them, it forced her rival to focus on the Nightmare more. Seeing this Giver reluctantly pulled back her forces and let the Nightmare take the lead.

They’d keep Bliss entertained, all the while she would gather her strength. ‘You’ll not get away with this Bliss!’ she screamed inside the connections that made her up. Her rival would pay for the words spoken, of the audacity of trying to replace her.

Larger portions of her army descended down, dropping into the ocean of Souls and began siphoning off their strength. Her mind spun with plans and means of attack to get back what was rightfully hers, of the punishment she was going to enact to all defying her. Her thoughts stopped, however, when some of her constructs gazed below, looked into the depths forgotten and lost to the Nightmare.

Eyes, endless eyes stared up. Maws were everywhere all open and consuming souls. the darkness that shrouded the realm lost was not made from a lack of light, for the Anchors still bathed portions of the realm with luminosity.

No, the dark was the color of carapaces, but not made up of thousands as she’d first thought. The dark moved, the pillars of lights appearing harmless to it, and Giver saw the size of the Hunger before her. Everything the Nightmare had sent before was a newborn to the monster presented now. And there was more than one, the realm below began to shift, the still mass once content on feasting on the souls stirred. The eyes once watching passively as their smaller kin tried for Sanctuary, now focused on her Vail, Hunger clear in their eyes.

“I!” the Curses screeched, “Will!”, they surged up the dark rising from the depths. “Feed!” The Ocean of souls bloomed upward at first before the liquid was left behind and Hunger traveled up. A thunderous screech erupted from its maw, shattering constructs and barriers in its path. Its Wards blazed, pulsing away chants sent against it, and in a quick passing of Breaths the bloated tower of flesh pierced the ocean above. Its mouth opened wider, for it was only the illusion of head. There were seams going down the length of it, seams that undid themselves letting the mouth spread more and more.

Bliss larger forms sent chants down into the bowls of the Nightmare, but it didn’t scream like those before. The act only had Hunger moved up faster. Bliss hastily lifted Sanctuary up higher into the realm. But it was too late, Hunger screeches shattered every barrier put in its way. The wide mouth, the size of precursors, snapped shut encasing Bliss constructs and Sanctuary within its layers of flesh.