Nariad

I ignored the dozen-odd white-clothed servants who each gave me a court bow as they passed by. They seemed afraid, hesitant, and didn't say any of their usual pleasantries; each of them eager to just dash past me but couldn't.

Afraid of me they should be. The soft clatter of their concerted leather footsteps were made inaudible by the stomp of my steel boots against the marble, which reverberated throughout the gilded white hall.

Yes, they should be afraid, since depending on the Orator's explanation, there's a significant chance of me burning this cursed edifice down the Eden's ground.

The arched wooden door of the council was nearing; I quickened my pace—the fury burning inside my chest could not be contained any longer.

The door maiden, who was clad in white vestment and that stood by the side of the door approached me in a half-rush.

“Goddess Nariad.” She obstructed my way and bowed. What a nuisance.

“Greetings.” I raised my hand for her to straighten up. She did so, revealing her youthful face wrought with apprehension. She knew already why I'm here.

“The Orator, is he inside?”

“Y-yes...” She gave a hesitant nod. “But the council is closed at the moment—”

“—Thank you, I'll go visit him, then.” I cut her off and worked my way past her.

This transgression, I won't tolerate it. I headed towards the imposing door, anger guiding my each and every step.

“Goddess!”

The door maiden tried to follow, but soon stood back after I glowered at her from over my shoulder. Her hand was even stretched out, I wonder what she would have done to try and restrain me. She can't do anything. Nor can Galadine.

I didn't bother with the golden bars that served as handles and shove the double door, causing it to swing open with a resounding blast against the hinges.

Inside the council's white chamber was Esoria and Tytus, their backs leaning against the alabaster marble pillars at the other end of the chamber, while Galadine sat before his granite desk, fiddling with his quill but was not doing anything in particular.

He stood up and fixed the folds of his white garb when he saw me approaching.

“Greetings, Light Goddess Nariad.” His long black hair fell down as he bowed courtly. “What seems to be the problem? You don't look so... well.”

“Cut the foolish act, Galadine.” I narrowed my eyes at his young face that feigned innocence. “Why did the council allow Nariod and Raien inside Asteria? This is a clear desecration of the sacred agreement that Alrion and his realm are not to be touched in any way as long as he does not move against Aether.”

“Hmmmm... I'm afraid the word is ‘harmed’, not ‘touched’, Light Goddess.” He closed his eyes.

My trembling hand wouldn't hold still and reached for the hilt of the sword that hung on my waist. I don't care if he's the first son of Nariod and Raien, this schemer deserves to be cut down.

He smiled and sat back on his wooden chair. “Please don't let your temper influence you to act recklessly.”

“Give me a good reason why I shouldn't just send your ethereal form to the afterlife.” My grip of the leather hilt tightened as I tried my hardest not to draw my steel.

“There is one.” He raised his pointing finger. “I did nothing that contradicts with the agreement.”

“Isn't that a good enough reason?” He tilted his head.

“Barely.” I held my ground and slacken my grip. “You have a few moments to speak.”

“Well then.” He reclined. “I'm sure you're already aware, that the God of Darkness has already regained his divinity.”

“I know, but he doesn't have his memories, so there's no further need to keep him in check as he will not meddle with mortal affairs again.” I said.

“But it might return.” He retorted. “Alrion is the first and only God to ever disobey Chaos' law of not meddling with mortal conflicts. And it was not just some trivial meddling, he almost brought extinction to mankind, all for avenging a mortal woman's death.”

“He is but an unruly and unstable God, what makes you certain that he won't repeat the same act of atrocity again? Just because he lost his memories? For all we know, he might be just pretending to not have them. All the more plausible like this when we don't even know the exact reason for the disappearance of his memories.”

“Alrion is not like that.”

“What do you know about him, Goddess?” His jeering jade eyes met mine.

“Alrion is my consort.” I glared at him. “I know everything there is to know about him.”

“Then do you also know that Alrion isn't just one being?”

“... What, do you mean?” An unknown feeling swirled inside me, like a horrible mixture of anxiety and fear and confusion. Cold, it felt cold, even though I wore full plate armor from neck to toe.

“Exactly what Galadine said.” Esoria, the daughter of Alrion with Raien—whose presence had been silent the whole time—spoke in a cold and calm voice with her eyes close and fingers twirling a lock of her hazel hair. Her sudden statement glued my eyes to her lax figure clad in the white garb of the councilors.

“We just found out that the amount of Aster inside father had grown enough to develop its own consciousness.” She said as she opened her eyes.

“Isn't that right, Tytus?” Her gaze turned to Tytus who, like Esoria, discreetly listened by the sidelines, leaning on a pillar to my right as opposed to Esoria who happened to be on my left.

“Seems so.” He nodded with his arms crossed. He corrected his laid back lousy posture and cleared his throat, before meeting eyes with me. “It must have happened because of the long-lasting war he waged against the humans and Nariod...

The totality of destruction and movement of magic that occurred over the millennium had been way past normal because of the clashes between us Gods, and that seemed to fuel the Aster inside Alrion faster than the time it takes for it to decay.” Tytus explained.

I tried to absorb what he was saying, and slowly I found myself running around a spiral.

---

The being known as Alrion is the consciousness that emerged from the initial, cosmic amount of Aster Chaos created. For the Aster Alrion controls to develop its own mind the same way, the power inside him must be near equal to the amount of power needed to create him.

“Then you're saying, Alrion is already...”

“Yes, Alrion is already the strongest of the primordial Gods.” Said Galadine.

“His power is now only next to Chaos'. Intentionally or unintentionally, he created a lesser God from scratch and without a consort, exactly like how Chaos created the four primordial Gods. He can already create a divinity, Goddess, we can't let such an anarchic God hold that kind of power.”

“But, but that doesn't make sense... A God can't take form in a single day...”

I don't know about a lesser God, but it usually takes at least three hundred Asterian years, or one hundred human years for a God to finish its birth cycle. Not even Chaos can create a being as powerful as a God within hours...

“We're not saying she was born just now.” Uttered Esoria as she hauled her weight from the white marble pillar. “We only got to see it now because this is the first time she took shape. She had been inside father for who knows how long. Either she started to form while father is dead, or father knew already and just hid it.”

She gazed straight at me with those almond, purple eyes of Alrion, of her father, that seemed to stare through one's soul.

“Whatever the deal is, Mother and Nariod did not come down to Asteria to kill father.”

“They're not?”

“Yes.”

“If that is so,” I returned her sharp gaze. “Then why are they in a battle against Alrion right now?”

“Because they need to restrain father before they can separate him from his power.” She said.

“... Separate? You can't separate a God's power from his control.”

“Normally, yes. There's not a way to separate a God from his power,” She began. “but now that his Aster already manifested as a vaguely-independent being, we only need to capture and seal it.”

“And you can't do that.”

They can't take Alrion's power away from him. Once they do that, he will cease to be a God. He will be powerless, and Asteria will crumble soon after.

“We can, and we will.” Galadine stood defiant. “The council exists for two purposes, that is keeping Gods from meddling with mortal conflicts, and keeping the balance of power. This is merely us doing our duty, Goddess.”

This...

My glance flew towards Tytus. He's a demigod whose mother is an Asterian, yet he seemed so calm—eyes solemn as he massaged the nape of his neck like none of this is any of his concern, even though Alrion's sealing means the destruction of Asteria and the death of his mother.

“I know what you want to say, Nariad.” Esoria added. “But father is already too powerful, and we have to make our move before his memory returns, or he will be unstoppable should he rediscover his full control over Aster and his hatred for humans.”

“Even if it destroys a whole race?” My voice came out loud and rough like a roar that shook the stagnant air.

“Asteria doesn't have to crumble, Goddess.” Tytus answered from behind me. “We will be absorbing the God of Darkness' power into a Narkhon crystal, so that we can transfer it to someone more worthy and rational.”

“Someone like father, Nariod.” Galadine smirked, while Esoria didn't say anything more and just shut her eyes.

“... I see.”

So that's how it is. My hands squeezed into fists. Nariod, he does not ever change.

I turned my back on the three councilmen and made my way towards the door.

The council might've let him do this, but I won't.