He was surprised no one asked for his name. Of course, Dyra knew something more was going on with Him the moment she saw Him. He couldn’t blame her much for the staring either; to meet not one but two gods in your entire life… It would be unreal. Unbelievable. And yet, here they all were, on an extremely bumpy ride to the famous Fort Direwood itself.

Chaos sat back uncomfortably in His seat, the rocks bumping against the thin wooden tires. Two battles within the past month. 50,000 dead. Not including the skirmishes and other such conflicts popping up here and there. This war has been rampaging for just over 100 years now. Over a century has passed, and the death toll is in the tens of millions.

The ride came to an end at the edge of the town of Direwood. They were going to have to walk the rest of the way. All they had to do was follow the canyon. As they got off, Chaos paid the driver for the ride.

The man nodded gratefully before he pulled away.

“How are we doing so far?” He asked.

“I think my legs are shot,” Nalia stated.

“How far is the fort?” Reiha asked.

“15-minute walk from town. We just need to follow the canyon.”

They started walking the long trek along the edge of Direwood canyon. It was very deep. Very deep. And it seemed like it stretched on forever from either side. But that wasn’t what stood out. It was the special type of completely coal-black trees that would grow at the bottom and sides of the canyon. Some were fairly short, but some stood miles high in the air. One thing was common about all of them; they were all twisted around as if they were a wet rag being wrung out.

A few minutes into walking, they found themselves near the entrance of the fort. It was massive. The five mercs stared in awe at the size. The stones that made up the walls were ancient, yet they still looked like they were carved yesterday. Four watchtowers stood high up into the air; a dragon engraving taking up most of that space. They walked past the portcullis, going through the outer defensive walls. Inside were abandoned stables, training dummies, stacks of hay, and small blocked-off sections used for farming.

Chaos took a deep breath. He hadn’t been here in thousands of years. Old, hidden memories came rushing back. Each stone, each brick had a story. Every wall held a memory; each piece, a place, a moment, a word, a laugh or cry.

Before anyone could reach the massive, direwood doors, He went to stand in front of the group.

“Can I get everyone’s attention,” He asked.

All eyes glanced at him.

“There’s something I need to let you all know. And that is who I am. There’s no ‘simple’ way of putting this, so I’ll just put it how it is. I am-”

“A god,” Dyra whispered, already knowing where He was going.

He nodded. Reiha scoffed, obviously not believing a word He or Dyra was saying. Chaos knew this would’ve happened. He clasped his hands and muttered, “Alright… Guess I should prove myself.”

He reached out his hand not too far from his body and squeezed it. In an instant, everything around them disappeared. The walls. The ground. The trees around them. Everything became black. And then, in the next instant, everything came back to them. They were floating in the air. Below them was a city, full, and bustling with people.

“Oh gods,” Aigor gasped before nearly tripping.

“Where are we? Where did you take us?” Talion questioned, gaining his bearings.

“Doesn’t matter,” Chaos replied.

“This your plan?” Reiha asked. “Teleport us over a city?”

“No,” Chaos answered. He gestured down at the people. Again, He reached out his hand, and once more - he squeezed it. Just like that, everything froze. Not in a way of people just standing still. Freezing, as if you were permanently stuck in ice. The birds in the sky. The people on the ground. The clouds. All frozen solid. It took them a couple of seconds for the others to realize what Chaos had done, but once they did, their jaws dropped open.

“You… Froze them,” Aigor stated.

“I didn’t freeze them,” said Chaos. “I froze time. A skilled enough mage can freeze a person. Maybe a couple. But to freeze time takes something more than just skill.”

“Then who are you, really?” Dyra asked.

“I am glad you asked. I am Chaos."

Everything vanished again just like before. With a thump, they appeared right where they were standing at the fort. They all groaned and rubbed their eyes. Everything was back to normal; time had returned to its original state.

Before any of them could utter another question, Chaos addressed them all again. “It’s getting late. We should head in before it gets dark.”

He walked towards the fort doors, pushed them open, and gestured for them to come through. Slowly, they did, stepping over each other as they walked through the threshold. As soon as everyone entered, they felt a chill hit their bodies, causing them to shiver.

A gust of wind blew past them as they looked around. The inside of the building was large and bright, illuminated by the lights strung up high above their heads. The room was circular; the edges lined with pillars. There were two large windows along both sides; one to their left and another to their right. Above them, in the middle of the ceiling hung dozens of chandeliers. Their light reflected off of every surface, giving a soft glow. Below the chandeliers sat a massive circular table, which was made of gold and direwood. Reiha walked ahead, looking at the table. She glanced at it, running a finger on its edge.

“Woah…” Talion whispered. “How old is this place?”

“Old,” He responded matter-of-factly. "Very old."

The polite cough of someone behind him caught Chaos’ attention.