The Gods turned to look at Tyna Janar.

A ripple of indescribable power surged across the land of Runia, affecting mortal and divine alike. It was dark and bitter, angry and purposeful. The moment Gargantuanatia was killed by a mortal woman, every God, human and creature in the world knew everything was about to change, whether or not they were conscious of the reason why. Whether or not anyone saw or knew a God had been slain, the reverberations of the impossible made possible were felt by all.

The Nobles felt it as anxiety. As if the order of things were breaking down. They stared out their windows and double checked their documents and held meetings with their confidants to make sure all was well within their cities. Much to their liking, yet confusion, all was the same as it was yesterday. So they were left with the indescribable feeling of uncertainty.

The Mystics in their temples felt it as the breaking of a heart. As if a moment of doubt slipped into their prayers. There was fear within them, as they felt the cracks appear within their devotion and within the Divine Realm, even if they didn't know how or why. The wave of power that had hit them belonged to no magic they had ever known and it was a terrifying sensation.

A certain Mystic in the town of Gradrosa found herself suddenly crying, briefly finding a lack of answer and connection with the Gods. Out of nowhere, the image of a girl she once knew entered her mind, as if taunting her, as if that girl was showing her that she had made it despite everything that tried to stop her.

And the everyday people of Runia felt the surge as a discomfort within their everyday actions. They swayed from headaches or tripped up on their travels from weak knees. The animals of the land scurried off from an unknown enemy, only knowing that they felt bloodthirst in the air.

Certain townsfolk of that town of Gradrosa thought that the discomfort felt familiar. As if a girl from their pasts that they abandoned had returned with a vengeance.

However, with all the people who felt it, as the strange fear, brokenness and confusion passed, all felt one thing equally — they felt as though something was beginning to slip away. Though it was sad at first, a sense of relief came over all, a sliver of freedom never tasted. A letting go. And then their everyday lives continued.

Though the Mystics remained on alert, continuously pursuing the feeling, asking the Gods for guidance and for answers as to what had just happened in the world.

And then, of course. the power that touched the very soul of Runia, bursting forth from Tyna Janar’s encounter with Gargantuanatia didn't stop in the land of mortals. It penetrated all barriers and slipped into the Divine Realm. And so, the Gods stared at the mortal Godslayer.

There was stillness among them. Silence. A pause that none of them wanted, that all of them wanted to push past. But the confusion and attention that the woman had demanded from all was undeniable.

Gargantuanatia was indeed one of the weakest of all the Gods. He had spent countless mortal years without followers, slumbering away in the Divine Realm as an outcast. His death did not sadden many of the Gods and for a moment it did not concern them that he had died by the strange powers of a mortal.

But still... Gods were meant to be above all mortal things, even if they did step between Realms. Even if Gargantuanatia was the weakest of them all… it still should have been impossible for a mortal creature to bring any harm to Him.

They felt their confidence wane. They thought of all the ways they could simply erase this woman from existence. But… even with all their power… they knew there was no direct way. It was an old law of the Realms, after all, that still held true -- Gods could only interact and affect people through the connection made between themselves and their devotees. So, if this Tyna Janar were to be foolish enough to try and invade their temples and slay any of them, then she was fair game. So until then… all the Gods could do was go after her through their faithful mortals.

But even then, was that even something to focus on? Should they *really* fill their followers with doubt, telling them of the fallen God?

No... No, there was no need. This was simply a one-time occurrence.

So, almost collectively, the Gods scoffed. They spoke curse words in irritation and disgust at her existence. And then they turned away. None of them, they decided, cared all that much.

...

...but they all lied. Tyna Janar remained in their hearts. Or whatever the equivalent of a heart for a God was. Because the unspoken truth among them was that a mortal had found a way to slay a God. There was no denying that truth now. And for the first time since the beginning of time itself, the Gods feared the existence a mortal.

Tyna felt the cool breeze upon her burned skin. The sting was there, but comfort prevailed for a while. Her body was weightless, like riding a cloud without a care of direction or purpose.

The pull of dreams come to her but they didn't feel similar. They did not feel as though they rose from her own mind. They were the tugs of another presence. The presence that was and wasn't her all at once. The presence that emerged as she resisted Gargantuanatia. The darkness that freed itself.

In Tyna's dreamlike, coasting state of being, she found some clarity and reached out. She asked who it was. Where it came from.

But there was no response. She only felt its gaze from behind her closed eyes. It truly felt like she was only talking to herself. Nonsense. Yet it made perfect sense. Whatever or whoever this was that slumbered deep within her soul, she loved and hated it. A darkness that saved her life and achieved what she sought. She must know more about it… but for now… for now she is tired. So tired.

As she was lowered to the ground, she thought of her journey. Her lost gear. She remembered the handsome man who stole from her. So much had happened so quickly.

She hoped more might happen when she opened her eyes. She hoped that her eyes would open at all. But for now... there was true rest beyond the pain.

The Redsmoke Dangerbear shifted from his ethereal smoke into his enormous, solid figure once more. He grunted and shook himself out, stretching in the lingering sunlight. He traveled as far away as he could from the destroyed temple he once lived in, knowing he couldn't go to any of the the places he saw along the way -- he sensed so many people in those huddled places of strange structures and knew instinctively there would be no safety there for either of them.

He turned to Tyna, understanding her pain, seeing the state of her body. She rested beneath the shade of trees, surrounded by colorful flowers. Her flesh was no longer the color it once was. Now it was darkened and damaged, singed and scarred. Patches of her hair were missing and wounds oozed blood and didn’t seem like they would stop its own anytime soon.

Without words and with only limited understanding of things, the Redsmoke Dangerbear knew that she was slowly dying.

Tyna stirred and shuddered in breaths.

“Redsmoke…” she muttered. “Redsmoke…”

The Redsmoke Dangerbear understood she called to him. He took it as his name, something he had never had as a slave to a forgotten master. Redsmoke. The last of his kind. He would take on the name of his kind as his personal name. Perhaps he would only spend a few more moments with another creature who truly cared about him. So, he went to be with his new master, perhaps for the final time.

He nudged his nose into her body. Her face. Redsmoke licked her cheek but she flinched and makes a sound that seemed like pain. He only wanted to help but truly did not know how. All he could do and settle in next to her. Be with her.

Being an enemy of the Gods, there was no supernatural force for Tyna to reach out to now. In her desperation, in her final thoughts, she considered it. She refused to resort to that weakness. So she reached out to something beyond even the Gods. Something guessed-at and probably nonexistent. Perhaps there was a caring being beyond the Gods, beyond religion, beyond everything known and unknown. Perhaps that might take pity upon her and support her cause.

And then her thoughts ceased and Tyna entered a place that wasn’t life or death. Simple unconsciousness.

And as Tyna and Redsmoke lingered beneath the shade of trees, far away from Runic County, on the edge of a forest without a name… somebody watched them.