People were weak. They were like ants, individually they were nothing to worry about and could be corralled easily. Together however? That presented a problem even the Demon Prince couldn’t ignore. He underestimated the power of an individual, but not of a crowd. There was something of an hive mentality that could lead even the weakest, the most cowardly of people together and rally them. And it was something that was most savory to take hold of and control for his own pleasures.

This time, while he was strolling about in Adeluna, half listening to the mumbles of people questioning the recent turn of events, trying to figure out what to do in the quake of two Goddesses fighting one another for things their little minds couldn’t fathom, Xunatar was feeling particularly bored. He had already visited Dalanesca, seeing what he could learn of this sudden warring of deities and to see how he could used this to his advantage. Unexpectedly he found himself fascinated by her during their encounter, though there were plenty of parts that he could have wished he skipped along the way, but ultimately it was pleasant. It helped that his enemies had a deity on their side, so naturally he gravitated over to their opposition. Whatever blows could be done against them would suit him and his plans well which was why he was here. Death could not be claimed, so there was almost no point in a physical war, but one of mental and morale? The devil was very skilled in playing that game.

And the players involved, with their sniveling and fears, would best be dealt with as a group. The curl of his lips rose the more he overheard them as he entered the marketplace; why he was unsure as to why they weren’t panicking on the streets right now, causing discord and spreading the madness. Aye, if anything, they would likely lead to believe that every was to be okay, that the Balance would be restored once more. “Only, there is no Balance”, he spoke out loud enough to gather the attention of a mass of people. They ceased in whatever they were doing or their private conversations to turn their heads towards him. Many looked in disbelief, others held nasty looks at the well dressed man who for some reason was barefooted. He moved over to one of the crates at a stand and stood upon it, he had much of a better view of his audience and vice versa. “I’m sorry to say but there had never been such a ridiculous thing as that. It is not a nature occurrence, only one that we have created to ease ourselves of the burden that is chaos. Law and order is nothing but an illusion, and if you wish to question me on that, then ask yourselves? Why has the Justicar given up such a mantle and now wears that of Shadows and Death?”

His words were gathering them nearer to him like flies to honey. Their feeble minds were starting to wonder if what he was saying was true or not, he could sense it, almost taste it even. His smooth tongue was very good at what it did.“She has been wronged and who is to blame? Sure not me or you, my friends. We have done nothing wrong, yet we suffer the brunt of the punishment. We may not die right now, but what of the unborn? Will they forever remain in whatever place they are? What of those that were suffering that were now “healed”, what happens to them once this chapter is over? Death is a natural thing and now it's been tampered with as she fights to exact her revenge against the other.” He held up his hands and shook his head, “I have seen her! I have seen the Goddess in her own stead and I have came back more enlightened than before. Listen friends, this battle will only worsen before it ceases. Think it over carefully, we are but pawns in a game of kings…does it matter to them if we all are killed. Nay, we do not matter, they believe.We are expendable, and even if we all perish, then the Goddess of Life will merely create more people, more tools for this game. At least with Death, we are given an ending to pain and suffering- life is but those two things. The mutters amongst the crowd had been first quiet and soft as he had started, but as the words rang into their minds and hearts, there was an uproar that was awakening.

“See for your own eyes what will come of this, not of the words of puppets that say it will be alright in the end. Mark my words, this will all make you wish death came sooner for you.”  

Something was wrong in the streets of Adeluna.  Presently he had been making his way across the realm to visit the docking points of Dalanesca’s new domain.  Just as he’d feared on the night when he’d first gone to speak with her, people were rushing to them.  Immortality didn’t suit mortals, and he watched on with sad eyes and pity.  A great healer, even he could not undo many of the things that Dalanesca had done.  The psyche was harder to mend than a bone, but there had been a few souls he’d led to the entrances that still dotted the lands: shimmering pools of light, outlined in black tourmaline that would take anyone to the doors of Suisho no Kyuden. 
 
His two elementals certainly would have their hands full, but at least he’d be able to return home shortly.  In truth, he didn’t like being far away from his wife for this long, but at least she was safe…No one could reach her, and that was the only reason he’d stayed gone for as long as he had when finished with his -now counterpart- fellow deity. 
 
A confident voice broke through the streets and his eyebrows furrowed.  Torinasu hummed at his side, but as he walked in the direction that others were going, he realized that the hum grew to a buzz, and then to a near painful pulse.  This wasn’t good, and the negativity was so thick in the air that his blade was drinking it up too quickly.  Eagerly even, and there was no foe to release that much power out on.  At least he’d have a strong blast should he need it.
 
He rose the hood of his dark brown hooded jacket and pulled it lower over his eyes to hide their constant glow.  His telltale white markings were hidden under clothing, but even then, some of their light could peek from under the edges of his sleeves.  When he made it to the edge of a building he stopped, using his other sight to see this person standing on a crate further down the street.  His lips parted and his heart pounded as he listened.  It shouldn’t have come as this great of a surprise that someone would try and take advantage of a panicked situation, but more than that it was what this speaker was: a demon. 
 
His heart skipped a beat.  Whatever memories his now godly blood still had of his demonic heritage rang loudly.  Jaw locking, he slowly wove his way through the growing sea of people, all the while he kept his focus on this person.  He could easily see how the things he said could mislead others.  The saddest part was he wasn’t telling complete lies…it was a very conflicting feeling to realize that.
 
Finally he could take it no longer, and despite the shouts of desperate cheer, his voice amplified over all of them, “Stop!!”  With it, a blast of light shot out from him to spread like a crashing wave throughout the crowd; climbing up the walls of buildings so that for a brief moment the surrounding streets were awash in near blinding white.  He pulled the hood from his head, letting it drop down as he locked eyes with this manipulative creature.  His usually emerald hued eyes were completely white, their glow as startling as the markings on his body that even his clothing could no longer hide.
 
“At what could be considered one of the most dangerous times in our modern history, you have the audacity to spread panic.”  His anger was building, his usual calm resolve fading away…but when you had a pregnant wife whose unborn children were at risk, you tended to slip in your usual graces.  While one of the newest deities to the conclave, Naota was still quickly recognized by some souls in the crowd.
 
He stopped at the base of the crate, half lidded eyes staring upwards at the demon man, trying not to let his previously spoken words run rampant in his head or boil his blood.  No, his focus didn’t need to remain on him.  Dozens of pairs of eyes were on the both of them, and he turned to face them all, “I will not tell you that Dalanesca and The Mother will finish their dispute quickly,” he paused, his eyes slowly moving along the disbelieving faces, “but what I can tell you, is that the beliefs of this man are not going to help the situation!”
 
For a brief moment, his eyes saddened, but he tipped his chin up despite it, “He is right, this is a time where we all need to come together.  But not in war!  Your loved ones that have been given prolonged life will die.  Cherish them for the extra time you’ve been given.”  He swallowed down, “I have also visited Dalanesca…and I can tell you this, you are not alone.”  Without thought, his fingers moved to the hilt of Torinasu, comforted by its familiar bond,
 
“Mortals are not the playthings of gods, and gods are not untouchable!  We also suffer from this feud, and no good can come from violence.  Please…if you are afraid, seek shelter, have faith,”  His eyes weakened more, for even in speaking he didn’t feel the negativity lessen…it shifted some, from anger to sadness, but there were still enough dangerous spikes of rage that he wasn’t happy.  “Suisho no Kyuden has always been an opened sanctuary.  For those that wish to remain peaceful, I beseech you to come…” 
 
He slowly looked over his shoulder, narrowed eyes aiming at the one person here who had caused all of this discord in the first place, “The madness has leaked far enough, we don’t need to be losing our heads…I ask you to please stop.”  It was the only time he would ask.

Humans were so easily lured to the flames, their fears could be lite from the most easiest of triggers, and this whole aspect of Life versus Death played right into that. Xunatar truthfully didn’t need to do much to fan the flames, they just need a bit of a push was all. Beyond his own words he could hear some softly panicking amongst themselves, while others were vocal about their fears and anger. Hope was drowning fast in them, sinking to the pits of despair all the while it all fell into his plan, aligning itself piece by piece like an unfinished puzzle.

There was growing concern for the unborn that weren’t coming into this world, of the elderly that wished to finally rest in peace and for those they feared what would happen to their alignments once every came to pass and they forced to look at the possibility that they were gifted with false hope and would have their sicknesses return in due time. Dalanesca would see that he was a good ally to have in her pocket for he would spread her message, or at least what he interpreted to be that throughout the world. The denizens had been blind to truths of this realm for far too long and he would exploit it for all he could.. Everything that was painted rosy colored for them would unravel for his private leisure and the seeds of doubt would bloom all over. Why as he stood there and watched on, Xunatar inwardly felt like a giddy little child watching something amazing occur.

It wasn’t until one of the strangers among the crowd seemed to have an abhorrent reaction to his words and the devil casted his eyes onto beacon of light before shielding himself from it. Whoever the lad was, he was someone that he hadn’t prepared to deal with. “What you call spreading panic is merely me lecturing the masses because I grow sick of hearing them complain and whine of a balance that has never existed in the first place”, he responded, still covering his face from the blinding light.

A very lovely talent of Xunatar’s was his ability to remain calm and watch like a tiger from tall grass, waiting for the right time to strike and kill. Therefore for the time being, he lowered his arm and listened as his newfound critic sought to undo what his preachings. He slipped down to sit on the crate and produced a long thin pipe and took a deep inhale of the strange herbs burning from it before releasing it from his mouth. Doubt was a powerful instrument and despite his efforts, the feeble human mind wouldn’t be cleansed of it completely. He couldn’t help but to let out a boastful chuckle before taking another puffing session; he had never claimed to want to help them get through this ordeal, why that train of thought was simply rubbish.

"Wars are inevitable, regardless of the reasons behind them. It is in the nature of man. Over the course of history nothing has ever made more of an impact than factions warring for power and dominance. I have been around long enough to see it as true”, he spoke in a calm, nonchalant tone but then shook his head. “Of course I wouldn’t be advocating such a ridiculous concept against the immortals. Parpova would do well to serve as a reminder that fighting them is but foolish.” As would his one time lover when she did everything possible to gather the attention of her sister who was a deity just because she wanted to rage at her. Cyprus, for all her cunning and intellect, was simple minded at the grand scheme of things. If he were not careful to undo all that she had did to their son, then Colden would be little better and mess up all he had done so far.

It was faith he was looking to shatter into pieces, and from the looks of it, there were already cracks in their armors just waiting to be burst wide open.

“I merely speak what I have known of this world, and the fragility of faith simply came out from them. It was to come sooner or late, and I just helped it come out.”  From there, Xunatar turned his sights back to the captivated audience, it wasn’t hard to see that they were struggling internally between both sides of the argument. "Do you think Dalanesca will truly stop her path to vengeance on her own accord? From what I have seen, I severely doubt such an option. The only way I see this ending is by an act of destruction- hers or Angela’s.” He flickered the burnt ashes away before relighting the pipe, inhaled then exhaled a puff of smoke up above him. He was starting to get the picture that among them was a God and it made him chuckle deviously. “But of course a God would wish to soothe the souls of the restless and the doubters. It’s easier to believe that it will all turn out right in the end and not face the grim reality that our current situation is going to be rather bleaker beforehand.”  

The devil smiled from the corner of his lips and rested his head on his free hand. “Think for yourselves- why is one of the divine here before us instead of trying to quell the fighting between the goddesses? Where are the other gods, and are they doing the same thing- appealing to us with their presence instead of getting involved like they should? Why argue against a lowly man like myself for? Do you have something to prove?” He did nothing more than just sow more seeds into their minds; it would be by their own accord as to what would become of them.

He peeked back to his verbal opponent and gave him a long face.“And what will you do? Strike me down just because you can? Because I disagree on how the world works and of the darkness that will envelope us all from within?” He remained playful in tone though his eyes spoke of something entirely different as they latched on and narrowed darkly upon this young God.

“Remember this if nothing else my friend- fear breeds anger, which festers into hatred and in turn produces suffering. It is inescapable for most of them as you can see. Even if I were to stop, the panic will spread on its own accord. I’d say let them decide freely instead of strong arming me.”  

His eyes narrowed further, following the man as he sat down on the crate as casually as if they were discussing the weather.  This smug aloofness of demons was likely one of the most irritating things about them…he was glad that in his mortal life he had only been half of one.  The second most frustrating thing was their ability to twist and turn anything that was said, which this one was doing very well so far.  After his own meeting with Dalanesca he wasn’t exactly the most patient man, but despite the goddess acting like a selfish child, he still didn’t want the world turned against her.  As soon as people began resorting to violence and panic-filled chaos it would all be over.
 
Despite himself he felt a smile slowly spread across his face, his eyes however had begun to shift and change until there was no trace of iris or pupil: leaving them completely white and aglow with his light based divinity.  Likewise the marks along his body followed suit until it almost seemed they were part of the design of his clothing from how easily they shone through.  “You’re better than most, I’ll give you that much…”  But just like Dalanesca, this man knew very little about himself.  Even if he’d known every inch of him it wouldn’t matter: this demon was doing what they all did and curving the truth.
 
“There is no argument to be had when you already know the true answer.  And,”  His eyebrows rose, but his face stayed just as calm as ever, “if I wanted you struck down, it would have happened without a verbal exchange.”  Again he smiled, a much happier one, and turned his attention back to the crowd: the focus on them was more important, but this whole engagement reminded him of just how many thorns in the side of Revaliir he’d have to deal with before this ordeal was over between Life and Death.
 
“Whoever this creatures is, he is absolutely right about one thing: you have the choice to freely decide.  Therefore, don’t let such taunting words skew you.”  His eyes softened, knowing that despite what he said there would still be people that left here today with hatred and fear in their hearts.  But if even one of them left with a bit more faith and hope then he would have considered this a success.
 
“For now though,” he slowly untied Torinasu from its place against his hip, the power near painful between his fingers from how much negativity it had drunk in, “I’ll leave you with enough clarity to make such decisions for yourself.”  With that he quickly sliced the blade up into a high arch in front of him, sending out a brilliantly near blinding tsunami of light to flare out into the crowd: consecrated to pure holy rays; the man behind him was left untouched.  Its effects wouldn’t be permanent, but they would at least have strengthened state of mind and clarity to have a clean slate.  So to speak.
 
Moving the blade back to his hip he tied it off methodically, calming ever so slightly as a few in the crowd took advantage of their second chance at clarity and left, “You know…sometimes fear and anger doesn’t always unleash suffering.”  In this moment it was meant literally since the very point of Torinasu was to take negativity and refract it into positivity and light.  Both hands rose up into the air, slowly, and with them large pools of holy light lined the walls as makeshift portals: encrusted in black tourmaline.  They were the very same as others that dotted the world to give access to any that wished to go to Suisho no Kyuden. 
 
He walked towards the closest one, speaking calmly as he did, “As I said before, any that wish to come to my domain are welcomed.  Though any that are of wicked intent…it might not be wise.”  It wasn’t even meant as a threat towards anyone, the evil could not last long in his domain without feeling great suffering.  Already a few people had tentatively moved towards and through the portals.  Not all like he would have wanted, but as before: even one person was a success.
 
“Don’t waste the opportunity to take advantage of a second chance.”  And with that he moved through one of the portals of light, setting foot back onto the snowy mountain top he called home.

Blowing more smoke into the air so coolly, Xunatar gave him an aloof look. “Perhaps. Please don’t insult and think of me as one of my mindless and violent crazed brethren. I’m one of a much higher mental pattern than them.” He craved destruction and discord, but he wasn’t like the other demons that were so narrow minded. Had he been one of them, he would have surely used more than just his words on the people. They would have been mained in ton a bloody mess, a glorious one for certain, but still a bloody mess. And they certainly wouldn’t be playing games with a divine like he was doing now. The game itself was simple, to see how long his opponent could retort before he pulled some stunt, some physical altercation against him. To him, that was more entertaining than just pure ravaging at the weak minded. So far the man had proven to have great mettle, though bit by bit there were kinks in the armor and the people around them seemed to be the correct ammunition in his ploy.   

The rather crude warning resulted in the faintest of smile as he huffed on the pipe; that was what he was expected and yet had not received it in full. All it took was for him to cause him harm merely because of his words to help fill the hearts and minds of these “innocents” around them with further doubt. Despite it though he wasn’t taking the bait. Clever boy. Xunatar knew in a direct fight, he would surely lose and while he wasn’t one that enjoy losing, he wasn’t as pig headed as certain people were when dealing with the gods. No, he knew when to fold his cards and take the lost, if only to live for another day and use that to his advantage.

There was no point in arguing his point when it was made clear, so he let the man take the stage and try and convince the people to decide whether they would seek sanctuary or if they would resist it. Another light show was summoned though not as painful towards him as he closed his eyes, waiting for the radiance to cease. His work was done either way; he got them all to shut up about hoping this and balance that. Besides, he had more pressing business to conduct and the daylight didn’t last too long during the Glaciem season.

His eyes opened back up and traced along the god’s features as if he wanted to remember him. Because he did so truly. “In that case, let us meet again for some clashing of philosophies, friend.” He made not a move against him nor of the people that drifted away, either to go to the divine’s realm or seeking the comfort of their own homes or other establishments. A delicious smile came over his face- there couldn’t be evil with good, and vice versa. While many of the darker stuff sought to snuff out the light, he would have preferred to keep the ever continuing game of cat and mouse alive. Pointless destruction and grieve didn’t seem the same without hope completely gone. But as for a form of balance as these peons before him loved to drown themselves in, he’d much rather tip the scales towards his own favor. Once everyone had left, he kept on with his smoking session until boredom drew onto him and flung himself off the crate and made his way through the city. It was time to look for something else to enthrall the devil.