Hope and Bliss song intertwined within the chamber, a chorus keeping the worst of his anxieties away. It was for the best as he watched the remnants of the battle taking place through Bliss. He’d been doing so since his creature had warned him the Giver was trying to convert it.

That had been a, heart-stopping moment.

He’d sent half of the layers stored reserves into Bliss casting out the foreign Mana. It had been foolish of him not to think others wouldn’t attempt to change his creature. Though whatever changes made would have been temporary, the souls within Bliss were her after all. They’d undo anything that was to outsider its nature. But the Giver could have turned a portion of his creation against him for a time, and that would have been disastrous enough.

Mumbling curses to himself, scorning his own stupidity, he’d whispered to the Mana over and over, demanding a means to protect his monster from outside influence. Only he could be allowed to change it, to make it into something better than what it was.

The Mana had answered. Odd workings formed within Bliss, constructs within a construct. These wandering Wards search for anomalies, forever on vigil to keep the network as it was. They even repulsed outside interference, he’d seen it occur when the Giver tried digging into Bliss for a second time. It seemed, for now, his creature was safe from being turn against him, a calamity avoided only for another to sprout and take its place.

The Nightmare was the true threat, always had been, and the things were showing that in force now. Hunger, the idea of it was presented everywhere, the Nightmare frames projecting that feeling. Rows upon rows of screaming chomping maws. At this point the Nightmares were nothing more than muscles and mouths, all of it aimed at consuming the Vail, and him.

Dailin watched the sight play again, Hunger surging from the Mana ocean, a Nightmare so larger it made Titans seem puny. Witnessed it shatter through Bliss and the Givers already weaken defenses as it raced upwards. A tower of flesh rimed with screaming mouths and twitching limbs. A tower that was in true an elongated mouth that could open as wide as it wished, the insides rimmed with the jaggiest teeth he’d ever seen. He watched with mind wide eyes as it swallowed the Givers Oasis along with a good portion of Bliss larger constructs. Constructs he’d sent to help keep the battle going and now that Hunger and revealed yet another version of itself. Those said constructs were the only ones keeping the beast contained.

Not to say the Giver was out of the fight, but for now, she seemed forced to watch helplessly as she gathered strength.

“Send as many as you can Bliss, as long as it doesn’t affect my task.” He said to his creature, he knew that it had been amassing strength, he could see it through the network. There were Blisses collecting Mana at the corners of the realm, far away from any form of fighting. There was also those up above with him gathering Mana directly from the suns. But those had other purposes.

“As you desire Maker,” a Bliss construct said to him as was relaxing in his cushion throne. Dailin felt a pulse go through Bliss, the message sent, and guiding his mind eyes he saw Blisses converge towards the Oasis. Bliss intended to gather there first before descending below in a full-on assault. Even with Hope fluttering in his chest, Dailin wasn’t blind enough not to see that the attack would only serve as a further distraction. But that was exactly what he needed, his progress had been slower than even he’d guessed, but his vision was being made real.

The Mana causing this madness was being bottled up in a fashion. The barriers blocking him denied a quick means of ending this. But an end could still be had, slowly, carefully he was blanketing the sky. He would cover the barriers themselves behind a curtain of his own making. All of it gathering every speck of Mana that glided down. Storing it within layers upon layers, all ready to answer his command. his will to become searing lights to cleanse the realm entirely. It was the only way, the Nightmare breed to quickly. Plus the Giver would never stop attacking him if she was allowed the means to gather strength and keep up her assault.

It would have worked wonderfully, all he needed was time, but the one thing that had been providing that was swallowed up by Hunger. The Blisses near the beast were still trying to pry open its mouth and extract the Giver Oasis. But all attempts had failed, even the constructs Hunger had swallowed met with failure. They’d spent themselves casting burning blazes down into the monster throat but no wails came of it. Nor did the act seem to harm the beast. It appeared the Nightmare had removed its one glaring weakness. Which meant there wasn’t any way to deal with them quickly now, the new beast was going to be just as difficult to put down as Bliss and the Giver.

Worse was it wasn’t the only one. Others had revealed themselves for a time to fight off Bliss when it began hammering the Realm Eater. Their screeches had thinned Bliss, kept his creature from cultivating enough strength to attempt to pierce the beast defenses. Not that Dailin really expected that to work. The worst thing about these mouth towers was most of the fleshly mass stayed under the Mana ocean. With its surface lined with mouths, the beast was continually feeding on Mana, keeping it reserves topped off, and enabled its continued growth.

It would end eventually, no matter the madness taking place, no matter how deep and wide the ocean was, it was dwindling. It had to be at this point, the size of the monsters, the spells being unleashed on the realm. The pool had to be shrinking. Yet he feared the kind of creature that would be left after the ocean was gone. And whether he’d have the means to put it down before it devoured him and everything else he made.

‘Times draining,’ voices whispered.

Exhaling, he slowly rose from his relaxed position. He stood, rather than staying seated, and connected with the panel. The Oasis majesty coursed through him, pride welling in his heart at what he was building. At the center the Oasis was housed, spreading out from it was the new additions. A widening crystal tinted landmass was slowly covering the sky leading up to the suns. His creation was pressed against the barriers, keeping them slightly visible. A mocking touch to the obstructions, a petty thing but it made him feel better. Showed that it didn’t matter the path to the suns was blocked, he would still contain them none the less.

By now he’d claimed a hundred-mile circumference, maybe more. Yet for all that gain, he wasn’t near being down. And that was with him making the additions as thin as possible. The inside was still large enough for him to walk about comfortable, but that was it. None of the new places were made for people in mind. All of it was like the majority of the Oasis. He would have liked thickening the layer, adding to its capacity to retain Mana. But at the moment his creation main aim was to merely block more of the substance from gliding down to the ocean below. Once that was down, the sky covered in his curtain, then he’d begin improving it.

Taking a few calming breaths he prepared himself for the task ahead and motioned to Bliss to do the same. Without his creature help he’d not have come close to the strides he’d achieved so far. Bliss took a great deal of pressure off him. It kept the pieces aloft as he made them and aided in fitting everything together.

Still the progress was taking its toll, and sleep called to him more often than not, his mind weary from the constant commands he echoed for hours at a time. It was becoming more common for him to let Bliss make the pieces, large floating landmass in the sky, rather than him doing it. It was a simple part, after all, just basic slabs of crystalized Mana forced into a physical form. Only after things were formed together did the real work begin. Where he would sing to the Mana, demand it fuse them all together and be endowed with and connected to the Ward network.

That was when the strenuous part began. Though he was blanketing the sky, the slabs they made weren’t just to block out the suns. They, like his home, were covered in Hearts that could be activated alongside the Oasis primary weapons and aid in cleansing the realm below. They could perform other preset chants as well, such as the chains and Hands, which had seen limited use recently.

Technically all of this wasn’t really that complicated, or that many applications put into the chant. It was just so, outrageously large. The amount of Hearts and Wards that needed to be spun forced him to will to the Mana for hours, and he wasn’t used to that. Not in the manner was he performing, balancing multiple chants at the same time.

Dailin could already feel it as he began to chant again, the dreamless sleep called to him. Not an unpleasant circumstance, if it wasn’t for the prospect he’d wake up to an even more mad realm. But there was nothing he could do about it. He was already doing everything in his power, was the only one trying to contain the chaos spreading.

‘I just need time,’ he thought. ‘A month or more and the deed will be done.’ Instead, depending on Bliss performance, he wondered if he’d be given days. Such a thought would have weighed heavily on him, but Hope was by his side, singing her song and filling his chest with a warm fluttering that compelled him to keep trying. Even when everything else screamed for him to stop, to just lay down and accept the fate offered.

He refused, and together with the child holding his hand, Dailin chanted and blanketed more of the realm in his protection.

---------------------------

The storm of flame parted as her beam of light descended. It made the area quake as it dispersed the air and caused more of the realm to burn due to the heat being produced. Hunger hadn’t seen the attack coming and hissed Surprise rather than Pain. There was a bit of Alarm in the screeches as well, but not as much as she’d wanted.

‘Perhaps I should have sent down more after all?” she wondered to herself, it had been a difficult choice. She couldn’t cleanse Hunger outright, not the one chewing on the Givers Oasis anyway. The rest she could do as she pleased, but they weren’t important to the Maker plans.

He needed time to make a cradled for the realm, and that required for him be left undisturbed. But for that to happen the Givers city needed to preserved and kept in front of Hunger and Lust so their seeking eyes didn’t turn their gazes skyward. The Makers Oasis would become the last prize once the Givers was gone, and Hunger, nor Lust would let that last object be left alone for too long. Only enough that they had made the means to reach it, and with Hunger simple but effective method of merely growing the Nightmare into fleshy towers. It wouldn’t take that long before her Maker was removed from Peace embrace and thrown back into the screaming carnage that was Madness.

Bliss sighed, as it seemed appropriate, and the new army of constructs surged down fast enough for the air around them to warp and rumble discontent. The noise bloomed into a raging chorus when versions of herself crashed into and grabbed hold of the Hunger that held Sanctuary in its maw.

She could hear Hunger chewing on the object inside, perhaps even hitting it with pulses of lightning when it deemed such necessary. Hunger knew deep down it was reaching the end, that the vessels it resided in would soon eat the final morals of flesh they craved. After, things would get very violent. Hunger could be somewhat reasoned with, even guided. But Starvation? There would be no talk or persuasion, only struggles as it tried to consume everything. Tried in a vain attempt to end itself by devouring enough it would cease to be.

“Spit it out Hunger!” she shouted struggling and gaining not ground opening the Nightmare mouth.

“No!” The fool said, “I need this Bliss, the vessels, they won’t stop, they keep making more of me, dragging me into this realm without a proper Feast.” Hunger began chewing on Sanctuary faster as it shook its mass about trying to dislodge her.

Bliss answered this with more constructs diving down from the sky and hammering the Nightmare with beams of light. She hit it everywhere but the elongated head. The Giver Oasis had to be preserved, and it wouldn’t do for her to accidentally destroy it. Though given the number of spells she was sending down Bliss wasn’t so sure she had to listen to Worry about that. Hunger had made quite the vessels for itself.

The swarm guided by Hunger converged on her, similarly larger and shaped Nightmares surged from the depths below. Their main mouths open and choruses of harming chants were sent her way.

“You had your chance to fed on them!” Hunger shouted as they attacked her falling army. “You wasted it, now go!” they screamed, chanting and filling the sky above with blinding displays as lightning zipped and zagged hitting constructs randomly.

“Sorry Hunger,” she said caringly to the revulsive Other. “But I have to refuse, it’s for the best I assure you, we can’t have you eating all the Vail. We both know what will happen next.” More of her army plunged into the fight, attached and slowly began to drag the chosen Nightmare up. Well, she tried to, but the Nightmare didn’t bung, the best she was able to achieve was keeping it in place. Taking off pressure the Oasis inside was likely experiencedly keeping itself from being dragged down into the ocean.

Nightmares crashed into her chosen adversary, their mouths open and clamping shut on constructs prying them off the Chosen head. Those received a mouthful of light going down their throats but like before that means of attack failed it enact an appropriate response. Instead she heard Hunger gluttonous laugh as more beasts bit down on constructs.

“You were right Bliss,” Hunger said, chewing roughly on the Sanctuary. “I should have had the stomach to eat your light, so me and the vessels made an agreement and did some changes.”

Bliss smile dipped, “that’s right Bliss.” Hunger continued its voice filled with Humor. “It thanks to your advice I finally decide to act on that issue. Obvious now really, me going around unable to stomach something. Unacceptable!” Hunger yelled, as its countless maws shouted their chants at her.

Bliss formed a cloud of chains, one that spiraling outward in all directions wrapping around what mouths it could. Hunger hissed Annoyance as she closed shut maws, the main ones anyway. Those that rimmed the Nightmares bodies were flat enough that closing them with chains wasn’t feasible. The flesh around those contorted and the maws aimed themselves at her constructs firing out their own chants. None were near the scale as the mains, but it was still a nuisance.

“Really Hunger, spit the sphere out.” Bliss pressed, firing down choruses of light, burning the realm around them, and making the liquid essence disperse from the areas of impact. The smaller Nightmares, those just being born, and the cloud of eggs that populated the ocean disintegrated. But the largest of Hunger forms were unfazed by the chants. “I know how much you don’t want to bring Starvation, so just let go of those morsels and we can work things out. Maybe let them multiple a bit, let their number spread again before you begin to feed?”

“I can’t.” Hunger wailed, the Nightmare launched skyward as beasts beyond the likes of Titan went after her army in the sky. “The vessels, they urge endlessly, always whispering and pushing me, I can’t stop, more of me just keep coming.”

Foreign bolts struck the Chosen Nightmare, the lightning weaving about it and Bliss own constructs.

“Then let me help you.” The Giver hissed.

Bliss widened her awareness, saw the Wrong was gathering her lights again. They were numerous and large, yet Bliss held little belief that it would change events. As the condensed balls of light neared, rather than exploding into radiant spheres, they instead launched beams, similar to what Bliss was using. Everything the Giver was amassing towards the area focus only on the Chosen. The rest were ignored as the Giver, like Bliss, tried reclaiming Sanctuary from the maws of Hunger.

The Chosen, under assault from some many directions, squirmed in Bliss collective grip, yet for all the spells being thrown at the vessel its Wards weren’t diminishing. Bliss eyes hadn’t picked up on the slightest of value changes, they glowed as bright as they did before the assault began. It was quite troubling, given the Chosen was chewing on Sanctuary with ever-increasing vigor.

More chants bombarded the Nightmare, the spells going down further its length, which kept going on and on deeper down into the clouded depths. “You will know your place Curse!” The Giver screamed, Frustration in her voice. “You will kneel before me like all entities or I’ll cleanse you from this realm like all the others.”

Laughter echoed, but it wasn’t Hunger. “It’s it the sweetest little thing?” Lust said, as its Carvers speared about the realm crashing into Bliss and Givers constructs at crushing speeds. “I do believe its serous dear Hunger.” More of its vessels appeared and attempted to wrap around Constructs. “The thing really thinks we’ll grovel to it, even after we’ve eaten all that it once held.”

“Its was such a grand Feast at first.” Hunger screeched melancholic as its largest forms continued to rise from the depths. On all those that appeared Bliss summoned chains to wrap around their frontal maws. Those that were still closed at least. The ones already opened, and spreading wider she had her constructs flee from. They danced about wrapping chains around those Nightmares, having them squeeze tight so the fat frames of the Mouthers couldn’t unravel themselves more.

Bliss didn’t fire on them, she only tried to keep the damage they could cause in check. Her real attention was on the Chosen same as the Giver, who was raving about the Wrath she was going to unleash upon them all. Of the kinds of Suffering they’d endure for their disobedience. Lust laughed more at the Giver, while Hunger continued lamenting about the state of the feast.

“You will release my Vail Curse!” the Giver screamed both upset and coursing with Rage. There was also Desperation in her actions as she continued to bring in more lights, spending them as swiftly as she could.

“I’m so close though.” Hunger chittered, its words mocking. “The orbs' light Is almost out, and then,” its voice rising in pitching. “I WILL FEED!”

Open maws from the Mouthers screamed their chant wildly both at Bliss and the Givers lights that raced and collided with the Chosen and releasing their stored power into deadly chants. The Chosen shifted in her grip, tried to flee into the depths, but Bliss kept it in place as more of herself converged in the sky above. They oriented themselves and sent forth songs that struck the Chosen on the sides. She even maneuvered the Anchors to do the same. The Makers objects of cleansing completely ignored by the Nightmare even as they killed endless scores of unborn.

Still even as the Chosen was encompassed with chants that would have turned any other of Hunger into dust the vessel remained, the Wards protecting it still as luminance as in the beginning.

“Release them.” The Giver Howled, but Hunger only laughed, the sound mixing with its chants as its other forms tried to free the Chosen.

This unpleasing dance of duels lasted Rounds, only to ceased abruptly when Bliss hurried from the Chosen maw, the sound of stone breaking. The vessels of Hunger went still, the chants stopping and from the maws a collectively sound of rasped pleasure echoed from them as the Giver screamed in the denial of what had just been done.

Hunger, for once in its existence, took its time chewing, savoring the moment while the Giver went into a frenzy. Hunger paid the attacks no mind, its awareness focused solely on the act that was temporally relieving it. Then all too soon Bliss watched as the chewing stopped and the Chosen swallowed the now thoroughly grounded Sanctuary. Hunger remained still, the relentless vigor running through them ceased, leaving behind calm almost sleepy like vessels.

“More.” The Chosen screeched out quietly, yet it still echoed, the calmed swarmed shifted, the nervous twitching started up again. “More.” Hunger said louder, maws opening snapping at nothing at all. “More!” Hunger shouted, the calm gone, replaced with the endless drive to consume. Nightmares that had been ignoring Bliss and the Givers Constructs turned their maws towards them. Chants however didn’t flow.

The beasts surged and swallowed constructs where they could. It wasn’t many as Bliss had her army scattering and fly back up into the air. The Giver, however, was rather distressed at the moment. Her constructs continued fighting the beasts, chants sparking against them uselessly.

“I need more!” Hunger wailed, “so much more, the morsel, they’re so small, so unfulfilling.” Those mutterings carried to all the Nightmares as they went after the Givers army. Bliss continued her retreat the reinforcements she had coming stopped their advance and went hurrying off to the Maker side.

“There’s one that could sate your need Hunger,” Lust cooed as its Carvers raced towards Bliss and the Giver. “Even better it’s the only piece left.”

Hunger mad ramblings filling the air stopped as did the Chosen Nightmares. Their mouths sowed back together, and in a breath, Bliss watched them all be jerked back down into the ocean depths. “That’s right!” its voice boomed, “The fattest slice is still out there.” Hunger said cheerfully as a new form rose from the depths.

It was a singular bulbous mass of flesh, numerous limbs hanged uselessly from it as the thing floated through the water and rose into the air. As it neared, Bliss saw that the roughly spherical mass was a giant head, with an equally large mouth that opened wide and sucked in enough essence at once to cause rushing currents. Covering its entire surface was the heads of the chosen that had fitted back into place. And in the instant Bliss witness them shoot back out and snap at Givers still fighting. Even with its onyx eyes Bliss could feel Hunger gaze fall on her, its mouth curling up into a loose mandible filled grin.

“And I know,” Hunger said pleased. “Exactly where it is.”