“You! Kage, right? Come with me! I’ll be right back, Pluvia!” Obscura demanded, briskly walking into a wall. “Buuhh… Who put this wall here!?” Obscura waved one hand while rubbing her nose with the other. I could feel the entire structure shifting, routes and rooms changing many places, like a moving maze, but somehow I felt I could not get lost if I was left on my own.

The wall before Obscura shifted to be replaced by a hallway. Once the structure was done shifting, Obscura proceeded, and I followed. We came upon a massive room, with the first light I have seen anywhere in this place. There were many massive mountains of the panels of light that Tochk presented to me and appeared from my wrist. It looked as though they may have been stacked in an orderly fashion at one point, but most had fallen over and scattered, probably from the shift earlier.

“This is…”

“Requests!” Obscura answered me. “Requests mostly from other gods or secretaries, and some from mortals. Not a lot of mortals want something from darkness, after all.” She said. Her back was turned to me, but I could feel the loneliness in her voice. “Regardless, here you go! Get to work will you? I have some important things to do.” She gestured to the entire room.

“I… I have to answer all of these requests?” I asked as I picked up the nearest one to examine it. It requested to answer a summoner - It vanished as I was reading it. “Huh? Where did it go?”

“That’s what happens when the requester no longer needs the darkness. I believe that one was a summoner trying to summon a creature of darkness, meaning they are probably dead due to the failed summoning.” She said in a nonchalant manner, shrugging. “Well, I’ll leave you to it. work hard!” She dashed back down the hallway.

“W-wait! How do I even answer these!” I didn’t get my answer, she already took off. She must be very busy indeed. Well, I guess I should try to start. I picked up another panel that just appeared from thin air, sliding down the nearest mountain of panels. “Make an appearance before the cult of shadows…” So I just need to make an appearance? How do I go about doing - as I was trying to figure it out the knowledge abruptly appeared within my mind, as though I had always known, and just remembered it.

“Huh, that’s convenient.” Wait, how am I able to read these now? I remember the one Tochk presented me having all sorts of weird symbols… Is this also an effect of being an elemental spirit? I attempt to stop dwelling on the past, and place my hand on the panel, palm down, and channeled an inexplicable dark energy into it. The panel vanished, and my surroundings shifted. I began to surface from an altar, into a dark room dimly lit by four candles at each corner of the room. At my feet were five praying figures, shrouded from head to toe in black cloaks. There was some runic circle that appeared to have been drawn with blood around the altar.

“The darkness has answered your summons.” I impulsively spoke out, sounding somewhat grandiose. Why did I- oh, the ‘forgotten knowledge’ caused it. For some reason I also knew that to maintain balance on whatever world I ended up on, this cult must expand its numbers and continue to worship the darkness.

“Oh magnificent being of darkness! We desire your power! Please, grant us your strength, and we shall have this entire world worshiping you!” The center figure called out, still in praying posture.

“Your terms have been accepted. I grant you this power, that you may expand and spread the teachings of shadow. Wreathe this world in darkness.” I said as I reached out my hand. A dark energy snaked its way from my hand, splitting into five separate streams, four of them were of the same thickness, while one that was twice as thick as the others. The thick stream surged into the man in the center, while the others found their way into the remaining four figures.

The figures began to writhe on the ground, and I took that as my cue to return. I sank into a pool of darkness formed on the altar, and the world shifted around me again. I found myself back in the room of panels. As I… formed… into the room, another bit of knowledge surfaced onto my mind. The task I just performed was supposed to be exclusive to the gods themselves. How did I…? Regardless, I need to go and apologize to Obscura.

I make my way down the hall to the previous room in which Obscura used the device. She was not here. I felt for her presence. There! I managed to find her somehow. I made my way straight to the room she was now located in. I could tell the structure had shifted again since I was gone, but it felt as though I was familiar with any possible variation the structure took.

I found her. She was sprawled across a bed, gently breathing. She was asleep. I guess she was taking a small break from her important work. It seemed as though she had used a blanket, but it had slipped off, only on corner of it covering her foot. I don’t know whether a god actually needs a blanket or not, but perhaps it would be safer to use one? Following this line of thought, I picked up the blanket and covered Obscura with it.

“Mmm…” Obscura made a satisfied smile as she curled up beneath the blanket. ‘Back to work I guess.’ I proceed back to the panel room. As I entered the room, I saw new panels appearing, while some also disappeared. ‘I should probably take care of the older requests first.’ Having decided so, I thrust my hand into the bottom of a mountain of panels, grabbed one, and pulled it out. As I was about to look at it, another panel appeared right before my eyes.

Batting the new panel aside, I go to take a look at the panel I was holding… When another new panel appeared before my eyes. I take this new panel in my other hand, and proceed to read the older panel- the new panel I was holding vanished, and yet another new panel appeared before my eyes. What, is it the same panel each time? I finally choose to look at this new request. It was from the goddess Pluvia, she wanted to see me.

“Haaahh… I guess this is part of the job too?” I sigh in resignation, and accept the request. The world shifts around me, and I suddenly find myself hovering above a crystal clear pool. Crystal clear waters flowed upwards, forming a domed room. You could easily see through the water to a massive structure sprawling around this domed room made of the varied whites, blues, and greens water can take on.

Before me stood a woman, about five and a half feet tall, amble breasts, wide hips, long flowing blond hair, and deep blue eyes that seemed like they could drown you. Knowledge surfaced in my mind, noting that this was Pluvia, Goddess of Life.

“Y-you needed to see me?” I asked hesitantly.

“Hello, Kage. I am Pluvia. I noticed your most recent work, that really helps me out! Now I can increase birth rates on that planet again. I wanted to make you an offer. You keep doing a good job restoring balance, and I’ll restore your life. I’ll even call in a favor with the God of Time, Chronos, and have you sent back to a few minutes before your death! With one other condition, become Obscura’s friend. Good deal, right?”

“W...what? You can bring me back?” I couldn’t believe my ears. Suddenly, I am being given a chance at living once more. What’s more, to before when my death would occur. That means I could save both myself and Aiko. I could tell her that I love her… And all I had to do was befriend a god and bring balance. “You have yourself a deal, master Pluvia!” There was no way I would hesitate to accept that.

“Good. You should probably go wake up Obscura now. I know she is asleep, and she likes to sleep in for centuries. You can’t become the friend of someone who isn’t awake, right?” She said with a mischievous smile.

“E-eh? What do you mean… sleep for centuries?” I asked, baffled.

“That’s just how she is.” Pluvia shrugged. My eyes widened. No way. I had to go wake her up immediately!

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Tranquil POV:

I shifted back to the water palace from my break at the tavern. I saw a shadow speaking to Pluvia. There is currently only one darkness elemental in the elemental plane, so it was undoubtedly Kage. As I was about to call out to him, Pluvia said something and shrugged. Kage became panicked, and abruptly shifted away. My words of greeting died on my lips.

“What was that about?” I asked as I approached Pluvia. She just smiled her usual mischievous smile.