Thanja made her way towards the edge of Horizon with a pace she normally would’ve thought of as unbefitting of her status. As a Goddess, she did, after all, have all the time in all worlds to do whatever she set her mind to. This time, however, there was a slight gnawing in the pit of her stomach that made her believe that, if she didn’t hurry, something bad would happen. It was with a slight frown marring her features that she stopped before the barrier separating the higher realm from the dark void of Oblivion. No matter how big of a hurry she thought herself to be in, she would never be foolish enough to actually go beyond the barrier. Not in her physical form. There were one too many creatures that called Oblivion home who could threaten even her immortality and would love nothing more than to snack on her divinity.

So, instead, she sat down on the soft grass and let her intent float through the barrier and above the grey sand that covered the first dozen metres beyond Horizon before giving way to a sea of nothingness. There, she waited, until a purple light streaked across the darkness towards something in the distance. If she was going to find the cause of these chaotic energies, she’d have to follow them.

While her travel was more peaceful than she’d expected, having fully expected something would be attracted to her intent, it wasn’t exactly an enjoyable experience. Thanja’s discomfort wasn’t due to the darkness, but the very lights she had been chasing from the beginning. She felt her non-existent skin crawl whenever one of those filthy off-purple streaks happened to get close, due to the elemental qualities of these lights. As a Goddess closely associated with Order, high concentrations of chaotic energies could make her feel sick for weeks, should she come in physical contact with them. Luckily, she wouldn’t have to be concerned about embarrassing herself, as she never actually came into direct contact with the lights and there was no one around she’d associate with, anyway. She could still remember the shame of when she just came into power, and one of the other, less likeable, Guardians, had thought it would be fun to throw a Mana Core saturated with Chaos at her.

Needless to say that it was lucky they had servants to take care of any cleaning required.

Despite the speed of her moving intent, it had taken her further out into Oblivion than she had ever been before, as it was usually her job to simply scout along the peripheries of the barrier. That was everyone’s job. Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t ever actually heard of anyone venturing beyond the grey sands.

At this point, there was a strange quivering to the void that she’d never experienced or heard of from her fellow Guardians before, leading her to believe that the disturbance in the void must’ve been the catalyst for the gathering of chaotic energies. This thought did nothing to placate her instincts, as they continued to send alarm bells ringing through her mind, albeit more frantically than before.

It wasn’t long before she finally saw the source of the disturbances. Floating in the middle of the dark nothing, there were two enormous beings, tearing away, not only at each other, but at the void itself in a desperate display of hunger. She easily recognised the first of these beings; it was a Cleaner, a parasite that would patrol the borders of her world, consuming anything that was deemed a threat. It was supposed to be quite small, inconspicuous even, as its presence was made to imitate that of a mortal’s. She had never seen one like this, however, or even heard of one like this. She paused, shock coursing through her as she watched the Cleaner pierce the second being with a tendril, before ripping the misshapen soul apart before devouring what it had managed to harvest, adding it to its own growing mass of writhing spectral tentacles.

The second being was one she could recognise as well, although just barely. It was the soul of who she was looking for, although it resembled the Cleaner’s much more than that of a mortal soul. His soul, much like the Cleaner’s, was comprised of writhing tendrils that whipped and tore at the Cleaner and the void, stealing pieces to replenish its diminishing mass as every movement sent waves through the dark, giving birth to the purple lights she’d been chasing.

The only way this fight could happen would be if the boy’s soul had been marked as a threat, something she couldn’t comprehend. Sure, he was a wayward soul, but that was all. Not even the soul of a Divine should warrant such a reaction from the Cleaners. Hell, even the souls of a Celestial or a Primordial might not even be considered a threat. No, according to what she knew of the Cleaner’s existence, they were meant to protect her world from ‘otherworldy’ threats, whatever that meant. She was quite certain that the boy’s soul wouldn’t qualify as being an ‘otherworldy’ threat, however, leaving her confused as to the reaction of the Cleaner.

She didn’t have long to ruminate, though, as an ear-piercing hiss blasted her intent and the two battle-locked beings, resulting in all three of them freezing. It only took Thanja a moment to stabilise, and the boy seemed to come back to whatever remained of his senses as she watched him use the momentary pause of the Cleaner to devour it in its entirety. As the battle concluded, the tremors stopped and the void stabilised, allowing her to finally act. She knew the source of that sound, and she had to act quickly, as she was in no way able to contend against the approaching being in her current, non-physical, state. So, instead of preparing for a head-on collision, she isolated the area around the boy’s soul, trapping, and protecting him.

***

Things had gotten out of control.

He had been sharing what remained of his memories with the being before he felt something within it change. Like a spark setting off an explosion, the presence was no longer dwarfed by his own but instead towered over him. Where he once felt nothing but curiosity, he now felt voracious hunger ooze off of the being in waves that sent him into a catatonic state, only woken up when the being tried to devour him. As desperation filled him, he somehow managed to keep his distance, despite having no way of knowing if he was actually moving.

It was just as he was about to calm down that the presence lashed out. While he couldn’t see it coming, he felt the movement and knew that it was coming, allowing him some time to prepare, although he once more had no idea how to. Whatever he did manage to do wasn’t in vain, though, as what he expected to be a direct hit turned into a glancing blow. The feeling of mind-numbing pain that went through his being was the first thing he had physically felt since his arrival and had caused whatever mindset of acceptance he’d conjured earlier to give way to feelings of spite and hatred.

Fueled by his anger and unwillingness to get devoured, he had somehow managed to rip a piece out of the creature in much the same way it did to him, using his smaller size to evade the majority of attacks coming his way. As he grew by consuming what he stole, however, it got to a point where he was no longer able to dodge, and the fight devolved into simply tearing more out of his opponent than it tore out of him.

The fight remained in that state until a howling mix between a hiss and a shriek washed over them, causing a momentary pause in the battle. Luckily, he had managed to recover quicker than the other being, allowing him to devour it without much issue. With the battle won, he calmed down and regained his senses as the maddened snickering once more retreated to the recesses of his mind. He had feared for his life, but instead of relief, he felt hopeless. He could feel something else barreling towards, a presence leagues above his own, and he knew that he had no way of escaping it. So, instead of pointlessly attempting to escape, he turned towards the direction of the sound and saw something.

The unending darkness flowed away from a single point like a viscous liquid, leaving an almost flaring white in its wake. Seemingly in response to the change, another howling wail sounded, only to disappear as swiftly as it came, blocked out by the pristine whiteness. The viscous darkness that had once surrounded him was now flowing together, forming a blob of complete black, before shaping itself into a vague human-like silhouette. “Look at you,” it said, its voice decidedly more feminine than its shape, “You’re lucky I made it. Another moment and you would’ve been consumed by one of Oblivion’s less… savoury inhabitants.”

Instead of answering, not that he believed himself capable of doing that, he felt lost. At this point, he had come to the realisation that wherever he currently was wasn’t where you went when you died. He had fully expected to be eaten but, contrary to his expectations, he had been saved, something he struggled to rationalise. His thoughts felt foggy and unclear, requiring more effort than normal to think.

“Still, you did manage to best a Cleaner at its own job… A testament to your future capabilities, I’m sure,” she said, self-satisfaction evident in her tone. Why would she feel that way? He’d never met her before, and he didn’t believe she had assisted him in his fight against the ‘Cleaner’. “Anyways,” she continued, “I’ll be sending you on your way. I expect to meet you again, Alleyn.”

Seemingly done with talking, she waved her hand causing a rift in the white background to appear, sucking Alleyn’s soul into a much familiar darkness.

***

Thanja watched what remained of Alleyn get sucked back into the mortal world with a frown. Yes, she had found the boy’s soul and managed to attach it to his corpse, effectively reviving him, but she still couldn’t help but worry that he’d cause her yet another headache. And soon. The Cleaner’s reaction still bothered her, too, but she hadn’t detected anything in the boy beside a great many pieces of the Cleaner itself, something the travel through Horizon would wash off. After that, the soul should heal itself naturally without issue, even without considering the fact that she had infused a bit of her own mana into the soul to accelerate the healing process.

Now all she could do was inform the others of Oras’ awakening, not that it should matter. In the end, the serpent would go back to sleep, pointlessly waiting for its next meal...