In a quiet valley, hidden away amongst high mountains and nestled in the anabranch of a sparkling blue river, lay a cottage. It was no ordinary cottage. Its singular nature was not because of its appearance, or the materials that made up its structure, as it was ordinary in those respects. Golden thatchings of straw were laid atop wooden rafters and framing, supported by a foundation of cobblestone sourced from the mountains roundabout.

Instead, what made this cottage so peculiar was that it was the abode of a god.

Dorusc the Aloof rested comfortably in a hammock of white silk, which hung from the roof of the porch attached to this cottage. He swayed slightly in the growing light of a new morning; the start of another day in the Realm of Deities.

His flowing hair crept down the nape of his neck and around his shoulders, completing its serpentine journey at his solar plexus. The long strands shone a brilliant white in the morning's light, contrasting vividly with the tongues of red flames in his eyes.

"Faerie, I grow restless. Tell me, what should I do this morning?"

An orb of light appeared close to Dorusc's right hand.

"Lord, it's been some time since your last Contemplation."

The deity heaved a sigh akin to what one would when repeating something obvious, "A thousand years cannot change the mortal realm, Faerie. Has history taught you nothing about their stagnation?"

"As it stands, my lord, you face the risk of stagnation yourself."

Dorusc snorted, "Perhaps, though I fail to see how Contemplation will quell my melancholy."

He unraveled the folds of the hammock about him to stand, "Tell me, what is Majestic doing these days?"

"From what I've gathered, his majesty dispatched the yearly Cerberus horde while on his tour of the Underworld."

Of course, that's just what he'd do, "Just as I'd expect of the bastard. His age hasn't dulled his sense of bravado, not in the least."

"You talk freely of him in hiding, my lord. I wonder if you stated your opinion to the Circle, what would happen." The fairy archly proposed.

"The Circle of Ancients, you say? What union does age have with power, Faerie? I may be the last born of the Exodus, but does that lessen the gravity of my abilities?"

"It does not, my lord. It was only in jest."

"It pleases me that you see things my way. Though as things stand, it might not be wise to prove your jest wrong."

With a long stretch of his arms, Dorusc lowered his feet lightly onto the wooden porch floor. The sun's light reflected off of his bared body. He had enough rest for one day.

"Faerie."

"Yes, my lord."

An aura of light enveloped the deity. Suddenly, the light shattered into a kaleidoscope of color and sparkles, leaving behind robes of pure white wrapped around him. As Dorusc's servant, Faerie could do this much.

"As much as it bores me to look down on the mortal realm, perhaps there's some merit to your suggestion."

Dorusc's long strides soon outpaced the leisurely hover of the Fairy as they moved indoors.

Their progress halted at a short stool. The deity seated himself on it in a cross-legged fashion, and clasped his hands together into a meditative posture. Faerie hovered close by.

His red eyes closed, to be met by a sea of lights. bursting into kaleidoscopic splendor. They were near countless in number, and for any other being would be impossible to observe all at once, let alone privileged to such power. However, for a god, it was a trivial matter to gaze upon the many vessels of existence.

It was a deity's sovereign duty to maintain the harmony between these vessels and to preserve the mortals contained within. From the moment a deity emerges from the Exodus, this duty is consigned to them through the binding of Logius. Even the Circle of Ancients, who were the first to emerge, did not know the reason for this, or what machination brought them here to the Realm of Deities for this purpose. Nonetheless, they carried out their duty to the mortal realms, whether for better, or worse; diligently, or complacently; willingly, or begrudgingly, for the rest of their immortal existences.

The deity shook his head, dissatisfied. Vessels had one of two ways to end. Either by stagnation or annihilation. These millennia, the latter outcome had been pared down to only those whose age has gone beyond the vessel's limit. However, both are brought about by the mortals' ignorance of the way of things. Ignorance is a danger in many capacities. Ignorance of pride, ignorance of their own shortcomings as mortals. Ignorance of their own impending self-destruction. Technologies, magics, all of it in the hands of lesser beings with little ambitions magnified by lust. No wonder they endlessly marched to their doom. They had no other choice.

"All is in order, as expected. The mortal realm's monotony has not changed, it seems... hm?"

His gaze came to rest on a certain realm. It seemed innocuous enough at first glance. It seemed it had taken the path of stagnation, yet there was a certain something. Something that pricked his intuitive sense for these sorts of things.

"Truth, reveal yourself."

The Eyes of Truth saw all that happened, and what would happen. A gif from the Exodus to fulfill what was supposed to be his task as a deity, yet they hadn't seen very much use since his inception. Much happened then, so much that he was driven here, to live in a dimension of his own creation here with Faerie. It was... a necessary sacrifice.

Of the past, present, and future of that world, it was the latter that caught Dorusc's attention. The flames and cries of mortality rose as wisps of smoke, thin and weak. As quickly as they came, they vanished, snuffed out by the doom that consumed them. Demons leaked from dimensional gaps that led to the Underworld, ravaging cities, and entire continents. Inevitably, the globe vanished, engulfed in darkness.

If his recollection served him correctly, this realm was overseen by Lira of Apathy.

Although known throughout the Realm of Deities for her distaste for mortals as a number of others did, Dorusc knew that the goddess never made the mistake of purposefully neglecting the realms under her authority. However, this did not stand in the face of the egregious lack of control over this realm's descent into chaos.

With the sense of newfound dread in his spirit unabated and his suspicions aroused, Dorusc tore his gaze away from the chaotic realm, opening his eyes upon Faerie, who patiently floated in front of him. He weighed the urgency of this world, his obligation to Logius, against what awaited him if he did what was necessary. As a lesser deity, he hadn't the power to directly interfere with the world. Even if he did, it would go against the very principles emblazoned upon his spirit.

At last, he resolved himself. There was no circumventing his duty. What would come, would come.

"Faerie, prepare for departure. I'm to see Majestic presently."

"Did something in your Contemplation interest you, my lord?"

"Indeed, something very interesting. Waste no time, it is of the utmost importance."

"Yes, my lord."