"Nothing is working," a voice spoke angrily in the black void.

"Maybe we haven't tried hard enough," an aged voice replied.

"It's not that we can't make the tapestry, we just can't cut the thread," a child's voice remarked.

"Is it because of the outside interference?" The first voice spoke again.

"Who knows, we like to have everything under control and guessing is beneath us," The aged voice answered.

"Luckily," the young voice drolled, "we know someone who can be of some help."

"That one disdains us," the first and second voice spoke in unison.

"Yes, but that one disdains the living even more. Especially those with long lifespans."

A figure in a black cloak walked through a battlefield of an unknown world. The people fighting didn't seem to notice the black robed one as it moved ethereally, weaving in and out of the two forces. No attack was launched against it and stay projectiles seemed to pass through it. Everyone it touched was met with a fatal injury.

The battlefield wasn't one of melee, or bows and arrows. These men had dug themselves into trenches, peaking up just long enough to aim a long metal object and squeeze a trigger. It caused a mechanical reaction which, in turn, ignited a chemical reaction and turned potential energy into kinetic energy as metal projectiles flew out of the ends of the hollowed tubes of the metal objects.

The mortals of this world were human, survivors from wrecked world. There was no magic here, and the energies of the heavens was surprisingly thin. Centuries ago, the original inhabitants of this world had arrived on an advanced ship made of metals that could not be mined, only smelted together - alloys. Conflicts had erupted and the advanced race had been reduced to the middle ages. Eventually they had climbed their way back up through rediscovered technologies. A powder keg of political ambition and civil unrest had been ignited through the assassination of a certain person and sparked a war reminiscent of one that had occured eons ago on the original planet of this particular species.

Time seemed to move in slow motion as the ghostly figure garbed in black touched the unsuspecting people. Eventually the figure made its way out of the battlefield and moved to other areas of the planet, gently touching people whose threads had been cut and collecting souls before the soul collectors of the underworld could arrive to retrieve them.

We request your assistance, a whisper drifted to the figures ears on the wind. The figure silently looked westwards, towards the setting sun, nodded its head and slowly dissolved into the air amidst the neighing of a horse.

====================================

Lynefra's mood had improved significantly throughout the rest of the day and into the night as the ceremony continued. When the liquor was served, Traigar, Freyd, and Laigrat had drank heavily. Eventually the behavior of the three men became so outrageous that Traigar had a complete lapse in judgement and he picked up an unsuspecting Lynefra, spun her around to face him, and proudly declared, "ANY OF YOU YOUNGSTERS WANT TO FOOL AROUND AROUND WITH MY DAUGHTER? STEP FORWARD NOW AND DUEL ME!"

Lynefra was rendered inert with embarrassment. As soon as Traigar set her down, she quickly tried to find some place to hide. She had been drinking quite a bit too but her tolerance to the alcohol wasn't quite as strong as Traigar's and she had ended up tripping over herself in her haste.

All in all the mood was quite good and the guests took the comment in good humor, most of them laughed at the man who was proud of his daughter. Cirwyn, on the other hand, didn't quite thing her husband's behavior was appropriate. She went to try and tone down her husband but he picked her up as well saying, "WOMAN! LET'S MAKE ANOTHER CHILD TONIGHT!" before he planted his face in her chest.

Cirwyn had wrestled herself free of his grasp, and thoroughly reprimanded her husband. He was too drunk to take her seriously but eventually calmed down. Eventually the pair bid everyone goodnight and retired, though it was unlikely Traigar was going to be enjoying any of the activities he had requested of his wife. Oddly enough, Cirwyn couldn't find Freyd or her daughter-in-law to be, Fonral. About an hour after Cirwyn and Traigar had left, the younger pair returned.

Freyd's clothes were a mess and fonral's lipstick was smeared everywhere. Freyd wore a stupid grin that he couldn't seem to put away. Fonral on the other hand, was radiant, even if her attire had become extremely disheveled. Her long hair had a couple leafs in it as her chest heaved up and down, drawing in lungfuls of air.

"Did she just run long distance? Was that an event that was scheduled?" A more innocent guest had asked. It had drawn a bit of attention to the two and Freyd just continued to stupidly grin as Fonral blushed slightly. They quickly moved back to the assigned table for the Nihili Zelix family. As soon as the two sat down they were assaulted with questions about their wearabouts for the past two hours.

"Making ba-" Freyd had no tact but Fonral had firmly planted her shoe in his shin, silencing him in pain.

Fonral looked ruefully at her man before saying, "Isn't it improper to kiss and tell?" The ambiguous admission started a wave of gossip that was not soon to die down.

As soon as the younger boys noticed Traigar's absense, several of them swarmed Lynefra. In her lack of control due to the copious amounts of alcohol consumed, her "charm" was set on high and though the boys had not partaken in any liquor, were soon intoxicated. The girl's gestures and movements contained a certain sensual grace that not even the most practiced women of a specific trade could imitate. Thankfully Syble and Lystall played the roles of chaperone and the young men managed to keep themselves from outright assaulting Lynefra.

There was a young man who caught Syble's eye. Lynefra's "charm" had no effect on the handsome youth. The boy had white hair and could have easily have passed for a lean High Human if it wasn't for the pointed tips of his ears. He deftly weaved his way through the cluster of boys and arrived in front of Lynefra, offering a humble bow. He then leveled his gaze upon the inebriated maiden with piercing Hazel eyes.

Syble nudged Lystall, Look, see that white headed boy?

Which one? Lystall asked, There's so many here..can you be more specific? The goddess smiled playfully.

Ugh, the one in front of Lynefra, woman! Pointed ears, slender build. You know, your kind

Oh, what about him?

Watch.

"Lady Lynefra," The boy said, offering his hand, intending for the young woman to accompany him.

Lynefra complied. That is my name, she replied curiously.

"If I may have this dance," He spoke unhurriedly. As if on cue, music started playing for a slow dance.

Lynefra raised an eyebrow, I don't see why not. She leaned heavily on the white-headed youth due to partaking of alcohol and resulting unsteady steps.

As the pair stepped onto the dance floor the boy spoke again, "My name is Micah Mishall, and I would like to formally apologize for any.." the boy hesitated, searching for the proper words.

Think nothing of it, Lynefra, in her fogged state of mind, managed to put two and two together.

Quite the smooth operator, Lystall commented to Syble. Just then, Lystall noticed an eery black figure passing through the croud unobstructed. Syble, isn't that? Fear colored the goddess's voice.

Syble didn't reply, goosebumps covered his skin as he regonized the figure, and panic settled in as he realized the direction the figure was headed in. He cheated them before so they've called backup? Syble tried to move in the direction of the black figure but his legs trembled. 'I'm..scared?' The proud god thought to himself.

The black figure moved silently, approaching the Nihili Zelix family table. If anything, fate was tenacious. Freyd's death was to play a pivotal roll in Fate's plans for Lynefra.

It was then that a slender black haired man emerged from the crowd of people, a normal sized human dressed in green and gold robes. While normally I don't usually do much more than cause trouble, the man spoke, I really dislike that witch you're working with. Time appeared to slow down as the man spoke.

"Loki.." an ethereal voice hissed as a horse neighed in the background. "Move and I will take your soul last."

I think..not, the black-haired man replied as his clothes started to change shape. Horns grew from his head and his eyes turned to a golden color. It appears everyone has forgotten I wasn't only known for causing trouble when I was younger. His robes changed to blue and black, with a black feather lining around the neck and shoulders. The robes took the form of a long, unfastened trenchcoat with no shirt underneath and a pair of black pants. The god's skin paled until it was almost transparent.

The black figure reached out and touched Loki on the chest and Loki faded from sight. Finally, there's someone else who that works on. Another materliazed from the air and plunged a dagger into the back of the ghostly form of the would-be assassin.

"You cannot kill Death" The figure drifted forward and rounded on the Norse God. "I've claimed many of your companions, perhaps it's time to claim you."

Perhaps you can't be killed, but you forget I fathered one of your kind. Loki smiled menacingly, It is unwise to try and claim the life the father of Hel.

"You confused a God of Death with Death itself!"

Is that so? Then I shall have another title after we're done tonight, 'Loki: slayer of Death'. Loki grinned as he conjured a fireball.

You know, Loki started as the surroundings fractured and shattered like glass, I'm usually not one to hold a grudge but I really just can't bring myself to let go of how Fate made me the Harbinger of Ragnarok. The surrounding courtyard of the Royal Academy was no more, in its place was a dark, foreboding sky, and purple dirt. The air smelled like it was made entirely of sulfur and the temperature was easily past the boiling point of water.

"So you've dragged me away, did you think there was only one of us to aid Fate?" The ethereal figure asked. "You forget, there is more than one of us."

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Syble and Lystall slowly recovered their wits but to their surprise, the passage of time didn't resume at its normal pace, instead things seemed to slow down even farther as the neighing of horses rang out through the stagnant air. Around the guests, three horses appeared. The first horse was white, the second horse was red, and the third horse was black.

What the hell is going on? Syble asked to no one in specific. The only other who could perceive such an unnatural phenomena at the moment was Lystall.

Ghostly figures seemed to emerge from the three horses, though they didn't give the same feeling of absolute dread as Death had, the three of them together were enough to cause Syble's legs to tremble one again. Syble had enough, angered at the intrusion of the unknown individuals on Pandora he roared and brandished two serrated daggers.

Lystall also prepared herself for battle as she formed a staff out of pure energy and her clothes changed from her formal attire to her battle garb. I don't know who you are, but you're not welcome here, she countered Syble's firey rage perfectly with the bone-chilling coldness in her voice.

Syble rushed towards the red cloaked figure while Lystall moved to intercept the white-cloaked figure, leaving the last horseman free to move against Freyd.

The two gods were at a disadvantage in number and environment. The intruders could use all their abilities at their disposal but the gods couldn't very well release all of their power or they would claim countless mortal lives.

The red figure laughed at Syble as he swung a double edged braodsword toward's Syble. "How fitting that the god of the most violent race in the Universe chose to attack War." The exchanges were quick and fierce as Syble tried to draw War away from the crowd of people but the Incarnation had much more experience with tactics and fights than the god did. Syble was quickly overwhelmed beaten back, large gashes on his arms and across his chest.

Lystall wasn't fairing much better herself. She had unknowingly attacked Pestilence. Not only the Goddess of the Elves, she also had a high affinity with healing and purity. Lystall had quickly figured out that her powers of healing somehow dimished the ability of her foe but unfortunately, the more power she expended to supress Pestilence, the more it started attacking the mortals. If it had only been the two fighting in a dimension where only the two of them existed Lystall may have been able to win, but mortal weaknesses to disease gave Pestilence an almost unending supply of power. It was a battle of attrition and Lystall was losing ground very quickly.

The two gods fought valiantly but they weren't able to defend themselves completely, let alone try and protect the intended target, Freyd.

With the time dilation, Freyd wasn't even aware his life was in jeapardy, much less be able to fight back or flee. The last horseman closed on its unsuspecting target with ease. Famine. Whatever it touched would have its life force drained, leaving only a dried husk behind. As a ghastly hand reached out to claim its mark, it stopped.

It wasn't an intentional pause, there was an invisible barrier that it couldn't pass. The ghost pulled down its hood, seeking to use all of its power against the boy, revealing a brown head, mutilated beyond recognition of anything that could have once been alive. Flaps of skin were hanging off the creature's face, exposing bone. In place of its eyes were rotten looking opaque spheres. The black horse of Famine neighed and reality shuddered. As it again reached towards Freyd a hand grasped what should have been the creature's wrist, seizing its movement.

As if there was a miniature star shining right next to it, the creature started to burn. It looked at the owner of the hand who had dared to touch it. The hand belonged to a young girl, shining brighter than any star. Skin, clothes, everyone looked to be shining with a blinding radiance, the outline of the girl barely discernible. She had pointed ears, what appeared to be long flowing hair, and seemed to be wearing a dress. Her facial features couldn't be seen under the light she was emitting. Her hair looked like it was made of the cosmos.

The two other horseman stopped their duels with the two gods and gazed upon the starlight emitted by the girl, they dared not look at her directly. Syble's crimson eyes squinted as he tried to see who the newcomer was but before his sight could focus, he felt like his soul was about to be lit on fire. Lystall's reaction was different. The Elven Goddess felt energized when the light fell upon her body and she started to emit a dim starlight of her own.

The being of light opened its eyes to reveal darkness, in sharp contrast with the rest of her body. No light was reflected from her eyes as they turned to stare at the face of Famine. "Do not touch this girl's family," the voice spoke slowly with Lynefra's voice but carried with it an otherworldly aura. As the being of light's gaze fell on Famine, the black horse in the distance neighed mournfully as Famine itself started to burn in black fire.

"Tell whoever sent you," the girl made of starlight addressed the remaining two horsemen, "that if they do not cease in the attempts on this girl's family for nothing more than to see her fly into a rage, I will destroy them and everything they represent. Everything they seek to gain and all their ambitions will turn to dust. There are deaths much worse than being burned by my black flames."

The girl made of starlight abruptly vanished, leaving only ashes of the incarnation of Famine. The two horsemen who had been fighting with Syble and Lystall seemed to fade from reality as the fading neighs reverberated in retreat.

Was that..Syble wasn't sure if it had been Lynefra or not. The stature of the girl seemed about right and it even sounded like her but it didn't speak as if it was her.

I'm not sure, Lystall found Lynefra in the still motionless crowd, still on the dance floor with a young boy.

In their many years of experience, the two gods had never experienced anything like what had just happened. The foes seemed to draw power from the environment but only certain aspects of the environment. Syble's opponent had gotten more powerful after each exchanged of blows and Lystall's opponent seemed to have powers she had never seen before. The beings they fought weren't gods but easily matched and surpassed them.

As the two gods stood motionless in reflection, Loki re-appeared looking a little worse for wear. His horns were gone and his skin color had returned to its healthy shade. Oh hello, he said as he waved at the two. Noticing some wounds on Syble and Lystall's pale face he chuckled. The four horsemen never travel alone do they?

Horsemen? Syble and Lystall asked.

Oh yes, they're known as the horsemen of the apocalypse. I've met them before, charming fellows. The trickster god paused as if he had suddenly had an epiphany, Since I fought with Death, and I highly doubt the two of you could hold your own in a fight with even one of them...there should have been three.

There were three..what makes you think I can't beat down a horseman? Only cowards depend on a mount! Syble cried causing Lystall to smile and regain a bit of her color.

The horses are symbolic you idiot, Loki retorted, exasperated. And they draw power from things outside themselves. You may be able to create universal law to an extent and manipulate certain forces of nature but their power is different.

Perhaps you would care to enlighten us? Lystall interjected.

I suppose you might as well know now. They hadn't been able to come here before Veorful used Syble as a battering ram and broke the barrier that had been set up around your territory. Loki smiled, watching prideful people getting beaten up always improved his mood. But before that, who helped you?

If you didn't need help fighting against Death, what makes you think we would need help? Syble was unwilling to admit he was inferior to someone he thought a coward.

Oh well that's simple, Loki replied cheerfully. I'm most famous for being a Trickster God, yes? But that's not all I am. I'm also a God of Fire, I'm also not just a god. Technically I'm a Giant. I'm also the father of a god of Death. hmm..what else? Oh yes, I was once a harbinger of the apocalypse myself. All the gods here are only the god of one specific thing. You haven't bothered to expand your horizons yet. Not to mention, I cheated.

That doesn't make sense, Syble said.

Wait..like the Giants on Pandora? Lystall questioned.

Not to you it doesn't. Loki replied to Syble. Well, I did created the giants on Pandora but only because we're an endangered species. Don't get me wrong, you two are powerful, yes. Very power, in fact. You just have a shallow foundation.

So you think you are stronger than I am? Syble felt like he had just been challenged.

Syble, dear child, Just because I don't fight often doesn't mean I'm weak. Yes, I'm stronger than you. Much stronger than you, but I simply fighting you would be boring. Stop puffing up your chest.

Fight me, Syble demanded.

Oh would you focus? Loki was losing his patience. Take Kuzunoha for example, she's a minor god but she wields power that minor gods do not have. Did you never wonder why that was?

She's a minor god? Lystall blinked, I don't know much about you older gods, apologies.

She's weak! Syble shouted.

Is everything about strength with you? Loki asked as he nodded his head slightly towards Syble, binding the god's movements. Loki then conjured up a sock and shoved it in Syble's mouth. Be a good boy and listen. You both are very strong but there are many stronger gods out there than you...Loki educated the two gods about the various older gods. He explained the Norse Pantheon, the Greek Pantheon, he told them of Buddha who was initially a mortal but had become a very powerful god himself. Eventually Loki shared with them all the knowledge of all the gods he had at his disposal. That's why I said your foundations are shallow, Loki concluded his lesson.

sho weehre..Syble started talking with the sock in his mouth. Loki removed the sock for him, hoping his next question wouldn't be about strength. To Loki's dismay, Syble asked, So how would I compare to the old gods? I've met a few and they didn't seem too impressive.

Loki rolled his eyes, You could beat gods like Ares in a duel. I'm fairly certain you'd even do well against Horus but against the really strong gods, you'd just get squished. Speaking of which, I'm sure the horseman of War was here earlier, yes?

Syble recalled the thing he fought had called itself War and nodded.

You lost right?

Syble's face darkened as he nodded again.

Ares would have won.

But you just said I'm stronger than Ares!

I did but you draw power purely from yourself, Ares has the power of a god but he can also draw power from any kind of conflict. Emotional conflict, or an internal war, external conflict, like actual wars, Even duels feed his power the more they go on. It's similar to War.

That doesn't make any sense, Syble exclaimed..again.

Let me put it this way...There's this goddess I know, she's actually the daughter of Ares. Her name is Adrestia and she's a goddess of balance. Being an actual Goddess, no mortal can fight against her and actually win but she's an extremely weak Goddess..most of the time.

And the time she's not? Lystall was fascinated by all the new information.

Well, she's the goddess of balance between good and evil, so while she's normally weak, when there's a huge imbalance between the two forces, she can draw from the power of the imbalance to bring equilibrium back. When things are out of balance she's extremely powerful. I don't think even Odin could win against her if the equilibrium of the Universe was completely skewed.

So, how do we become more than just the god of a race? Lystall questioned eagerly.

It kind of just comes naturally to you I guess. You never did tell me who helped you against the horsemen by the way. Who was it? Loki replied with a question of his own.

I don't know, Syble said in frustration. It was a being made entirely of light but it spoke with Lynefra's voice.

Her eyes seemed like black holes, Lyst all added.

Oh? Loki raised an eyebrow. Her soul is already strong enough to handle his power?

You mean that was Lynefra? It referred to Lynefra as 'her' though...Lystall's voice trailed off as she recalled the speech the girl made of celestial energy. And who exactly was she before reincarnation?

It wasn't exactly Lynefra... Loki said thoughtfully, Eventually it will be though, his soul was sealed off to let it stabilize itself so it wouldn't self destruct and take Lynefra's new soul with it. It was more of an experiment really. Lynefra is the first mortal who has been given a Divine soul, and not just any Divine soul, an extremely strong and pure one. The problem is that her body can't necessarily handle all that power and I'm not even sure if it will ever be able to handle that kind of power.

so..? Lystall pressed Loki for more information.

Well, it had to be a divine soul with that much power because of how powerful he was. A mortal soul would have just disintegrated. In any case, to answer your question about who he was. We don't know his name, only Veorful does. We just called him Divinus.

Divinus? Lystall didn't think it sounded like a name.

Yes, it's Latin for 'Of Divine Origin,' Loki explained.

How strong was he? Syble blurted out.

Ugh...really single minded.. Loki commented with disdain. You remind me of Thor. Loki paused before continuing, Divinus was the strongest of us. If Lynefra ever manages to harness an iota of Divinus' power, pray that you're still on her goodside.