There among the darkness of space, the twinkling stars illuminated the endless vast expanse. In the background, a shattered moon littered the canvass adding flair to the otherwise mundane. The quiet solitude only enhanced the beauty of this extraordinary yet dismal scene.

A lonesome and solitary figure stared off into that distant horizon steeped in silent deliberation. Her tall lithe figure was clearly visible, as if the light of the sun shone for her and her alone. There was a certain desolateness about her which only made that forlorn back seem distant and cold. Yet her beauty was such that any man would be instantly dazzled by her natural charm.

She wrapped her arms around her as she stared into the abyss. Her mouth moved, but no sounds were brought forth by those enchanting tender lips. Nonetheless, she conversed with a shadowy presence.

“Everything is moving as we had predicted. Finally, we will see results of our thousands of years of planning and patience. With Fayde killing Balthazar and absorbing his power, that first opened the way for us to acquire a portion of the origin. Now with Fayde having been sent out of the fragment, it is time for the harvest. It is unfortunate that we still can not acquire the entirety of it however.”

“There is no need to be so greedy. We have already waited for so long, what is a little more time in comparison? With this, we will become stronger and then uniting all the fragments as one will become a reality. Only then will I be reborn anew, and we can truly be together.”

A shadowy hand stretched forth from the abyss, gently caressing the elven woman’s face. There was a gentleness to that touch which warmed her heart. An awkward smile appeared on the face of the shadow, as if it were attempting to smile but did not know how. It was an empty smile devoid of emotion.

The woman closed her eyes, her fantasies running wild. This love that had never once left her heart had continued throughout the millennia, never fading. It was an obsession that defied logic. A love that she thought she could never have would soon be in reach.

“I promise you will live again Edgard and this time that bitch isn’t around to get in my way.”

She thought to herself with a smug smile. She wouldn’t voice those words, she didn’t even want to give life to the memory of that person she hated the most for stealing her precious love.

While engrossed in her thoughts, she suddenly sensed someone approaching through a spatial gate which was formed of light and expanded rapidly until it was as large as a door. The shadowy presence abruptly disappeared and she turned reluctantly, but soon a smile warmed her face.

However, one should know that the smile was only surface deep. It bore no true mirth or cheer, but a facade filled with hidden deception. A spider’s smile, one which slowly entangled its prey.

“You’re here Mystra. I thought I would arrive first. I was hoping that I could be the one to be waiting for you, to add to the atmosphere so to speak. It’s the man who should be the one waiting for the woman, no? Unfortunately you beat me to it.”

A wide smile adorned a man’s shadowed face as he walked towards the light surrounding Mystra. His features soon came into view, those of a handsome and physically well proportioned Human of an uncertain age.

While he appeared young, there was also an aura of ancientness to him, especially in the depths of his eyes.

“Regis, you have arrived.”

Mystra feigned youthful exuberance while hugging Regis enthusiastically. There was no one better at pretending than Mystra. It was why she had been the one who had adapted the most to their circumstance, even believing the lies she fabricated for herself.

Truly believing herself to be a divinity, fully transforming her body into that of an elven goddess. She did all these things and more. She wasn’t the only one of the divinities that did so, but she was the first to fully embrace it, having always enjoyed cosplaying when she was just an ordinary mortal.

Pretending to be something, or someone, she wasn’t was in fact her forte.

“Indeed. It is good to see you again Mystra, you have been keeping to yourself lately. I have missed you greatly. Do you still persist in keeping this form? Why not let me see your true self, it has been so long.”

Although Regis kept his original form, he kept it forever young. In a way it wasn’t much different from any other, but he had a certain disdain for those of the divinities who took their fantasies a bit too far.

“Such a hypocrite.”

Although Mystra thought this, she didn’t voice her thoughts. Instead, she continued to smile.

“You’re right, it has been so long. So long in fact that I no longer remember what it was that I looked like. I have spent so much time perfecting my current appearance, there is no going back. This is who I am now, why? Not satisfied?” She said with a hint of displeasure.

“I didn’t mean it like that. I always found you to be beautiful, I never thought you needed to change yourself at all. No matter what you look like, you will always be in my heart.”

Mystra feigned a smile once more, acting as if his words touched her, but in her mind she held nothing but contempt for him.

Regis attempted to draw close to her, but she placed her hand gently on his chest stopping him.

“Not just yet.”

“Must you be so distant? I only wanted to embrace you for a moment.” Regis sighed.

Mystra laughed coyly, “This is to motivate you. Once you become the supreme divinity, then I will be yours. That was our agreement, or did you forget?”

“I haven’t forgotten, but you don’t have to be like this…”

“Stop, the others will be here any moment. We can’t have them knowing about our little agreement.”

Mystra pushed him away and turned her back to him. Regis resigned himself and did not approach further.

“Fine.. Are you really going to pass this round of the competition? If any of the others are victorious in the first round it would give them an advantage. The more territory you gain, the more powerful you will become, but you know this.”

“Sometimes you have to give a little to gain a lot…”

“I don’t really know what you have planned, but I trust you have thought things through. It’s about time for the conference to begin. Let’s sit before the others come.”

The two seemingly walking amidst space found their seats at the conference table and sat quietly. It was the same conference table which Fayde saw when entering the space earlier and this table along with its accompanying chairs was the only fixture among the backdrop of space.

It was a strange and eerie scene that none would ever believe if they hadn’t seen it for themselves.

Soon, more beams of light formed into doors and the other divinities entered into that space and seated themselves at the conference table.

In all, there were seven divinities. Three of which were female and the other four being male. Only two took the form of Humans and most likely were their original forms. Regis, who had been the assistant supervising scientist before he became a divinity was one and the other was Valera.

Valera was originally a female scientist who specialized in molecular biology. It was she who had pioneered the means to create various new lifeforms based off of Human DNA by using the power of the Void.

This process was not the same as the process of fusing animals and Humans in order to create the existing Demihumans, but instead creating new species of beings such as Elves, Dwarves, Orcs and Dark Elves.

These races came into being through their knowledge of science, their ideas regarding fantasy creatures and through the unique power of creation existing with the Void. Otherwise something like this wouldn’t be possible.

Nonetheless, they had made what was impossible to be possible and had changed their world forever. The divinities then divided these new races among themselves creating factions. Most of the divinities took the form of the races they ruled over or at least the dominant race within their spheres of influence as some of them ruled over multiple races.

Mystra ruled over the Elves as she had always been intrigued by their beauty and grace. In the past, she had enjoyed roleplaying as an elf. Kalina on the other hand ruled over the Dark elves as she had always seen herself as a competitor to Mystra in many ways, especially in love.

They both had once loved the same man, although neither were ever able to gain his love in return. They had come to be rivals in many ways and so Kalina had chosen Dark elves in opposition to Mystra. She had also taken the form of a Dark elf of unparalleled beauty.

The other three male scientists who had been on the original team had chosen Orcs, Dwarves, and Dragonmen. They had also taken the appearance of their chosen races. They especially loved to roleplay and were always in character, taking on the personality and characteristics of their respective races.

Mystra too would usually remain in character, but she was also known to act out of character on occasion unlike those three.

There were other races which had been created but they were subordinate to the major factions. None of the divinities took the form of any of the minor races.

With the seven divinities having finally assembled, the 500th Fragment War had officially begun.