Angela looked like a wreck her red hair was a mess of bedhead curls and there were bags visibly under her eyes. She had the resolve to leave her room now but she was still… Not truly there yet. She had on her bed clothes as she sat in one of her many gardens by herself. It was a soft morning in the room and she was sipping breakfast tea. There she just contemplated.

The life all around had been on the mend back they were sad. One could truly tell how upset life was just by the aura around them. It seemed like even the flowers were sighing in sadness. Angela closed her green eyes and rested her head onto of her propped hands. “How am I supposed to move past this one?”

Of all the trials she had endured this one was perhaps the worst for her. “If anyone comes for me today… Only let them in if they matter.” She would at least see her long time friends but strangers would dare not look upon her in this state. She looked dreadful and a far cry from the goddess she needed to be for the public eye.

It hadn’t been too long ago since the destruction of one of the two eldest goddesses and despite the victory, all was not well. Painfully annoying, Nemesis could tell that at least one of the gods were still affected by the aftermath and it showed subtly at first by the gardens of the Bastion wilting. The very air around here as well as Kurayo seemed to be thicker and grey as if it were in mourning. It didn’t take him too long to figure out which it could have been and after much drinking and debating, Nemesis had decided to pay her a visit. After all, while her intrusion into his life ever since she had helped Celeste from a random attack had been bothersome, he did owe her a great deal with helping not only her, but in the creation of Sergei. It had also been her that sought him out as soon as he ascended.

Everything eventually led back to her, whether he was willing to accept it or not.

The way into her temple was a tad tacky for his taste but he dared not complain about it. To each their own as Fear Incarnate pushed himself through the trials and eventually made his way to the palace. It was foreign for him to be in a place like this, much less any other realm that was not his own. But even so, he could see that he had been correct in assuming that Angela had been the cause of the dying vegetation as he observed the effects it had on her own. Spotting one of the servants, he beckoned them to him with a finger. “Where is your matron? A friend of hers is here to see her well-being.” If he weren’t a man of sterner stuff, then he surely would have made a face that matched his reluctance in speaking of him as such away. The servant leads him to where Angela was sulking at before taking their leave. Nemesis stood there for a moment, calculating the best possible approach to address her. For a woman that before had carried such poise and knowledge that bested his own, she seemed like a defeated woman.

“I take it you are in this mood because of Dalanesca? For ancients like us, death shouldn’t be a surprise when it happens to those closest to us. It’s bound to happen eventually.” He kept his voice passive and closed his eyes, letting a deep inhale overtake him. “Still, it was cruel that you had to kill her. I said before, you are no killer. You don’t have the stomach for that sort of work.” It should have been him, who had no attachment to the Reaper or the very least one of the other Gods that had expertise in combat. He knew that Angela would have preferred some other way to save her if she could. Gentle hearts need not pick up blades if they couldn’t turn to steel themselves first.

Angela was a powerful elder goddess and the only remaining one from the Godslayer War. She had seen many of her friends die already but never had she been the cause before. Her connection to life was strong and because of it, she couldn’t very well take lives. The situation with Dalanesca had come to a head and she was struggling to deal with it all. Her powerful connection to all of life was what was weighing on her the most and not just the loss of her friend but also the breaking of her oath.

She felt his presence as he entered the room. Her green eyes flickered to him as she kicked the second chair out from the other side. It wasn’t like her to be so hostile but she was tired. The air she normally put on was all but gone. She rolled her shoulders. “I’m a doctor Nemesis. I fix people no matter how broken they are. I took an oath with life itself. I took a life and broke that oath. It will take some time for me to recover… but I won’t lie when I say that I am sad that it had to be me.”

The red-headed goddess finished her tea and rang a bell. Melina came in and her eyes wandered over Nemesis before she quickly went to the goddess’s side. “What can I do?”

“Can you make us a fresh batch of that Mamlak Tea? Do you like sugar in your tea?” Angela waited for Nemesis before shooing the girl off. “I wonder how selfish I could be if I had just left Dalanesca dead back during the war… We would have lost her spheres though and still been in a bit of a mess. Because of what I did… The only person who had the ability to kill her was the one who brought her back. The Voice didn’t want me to break my oath as much as anyone else… We just didn’t have a choice.”

Once Melina got back Angela poured the tea for both of them. “It’s not over yet. That thing is still alive… beating on our doorstep. Perhaps that is why I am sour in mood still. The fact that I know that many people are going to die and that it could be people I love again. Could be Adraejen, could be Celeste…” Her eyes met Nemesis’s and she sipped on the tea. “Or Lucian, Nerezza, or Sergei. That is what keeps me up at night right now.”

Greif consumed the woman, that most were easily seen from just spending a few moments here. He looked on seldom as she kindly presented a chair for him but had yet to accept the invitation. For someone that had killed so many people in his life that he couldn’t keep count, he couldn’t quite understand this oath she spoke of. Perhaps it was taboo, but life was nothing more but survival or being killed for food. “I am aware of that. Unfortunately, it’s too black/white for my taste.” Tragic, yes, but it had to be done. The life of one didn’t outweigh that of the many and had Dal been left in the hands of that…thing, then this world would have suffered further causalities.

It seemed odd to him considering when he had first met the goddess, she had been a mortal that didn’t very well steer away from combat or the threat of killing. He left the memory at that before it continued onward into what occurred later that night and finally took to the seat. His eyes drifted over to the next servant summoned and though she had the appearance of a lover lost forever, he knew that it wasn’t Andrea. The resemblance was very striking though. “No sugar”, he replied, turning his attention to Angela as Melina was rushed off.

Brows narrowed at the matron and grumbled, “It’s always coincidences with you, isn’t it? The girl looks like my first love, but something else is off.” It seemed like he was a familiar face to her as well, or at least that what he assumed of her reaction. Nemesis rested his head against the back of his hand as he watched the goddess contemplate past actions. “Perhaps it wouldn’t have been as selfish, but that’s hindsight, unfortunately. No one could have seen your friend being taken over by a force that makes even that Voice quiver in its boots.” He gave Melina another side glance before dismissing the situation from his mind entirely. Picking up the cup, he went to drink it out of formality but halted before the rim met with his lips. That was a difficult situation she presented with the body-jacker. He was a killer, but could he strike down his own family should it take over them? Irritated at being informed of such a possibility, Nemesis thought long and hard on if he would surrender his own life for that of his wife, Sergei or one of the twins. “Should it come to that, then I will do what is necessary. Even killing them if that should come. My reason is clear- none of them would wish to live on as puppets. Perhaps it's cruel, but I will not lose them to this threat and would sooner track it down and slaughter it myself.”

And with that, he went to take a sip.

There was a sly smirk on her face that was oddly too much like herself before it slipped away. “Is it? Or is there more to it then what I’m telling you?” Like what she was known for, there was always something more to it. “I spent five hundred years or so slaughtering the innocent and the damned.” Her eyes met with him. “I violated life more than any other god at the time. It didn’t matter if it was their time to go or not… I did it because I felt like it. It’s not because I don’t have the stomach for it. This is something different… It feels wrong. The life essence that I’ve become makes me feel nauseous just thinking about taking a life. It makes you wonder if this power of ours has a will of its own.”

Finally, he sat down across from her and she watched as he discovered Melina. It was only a matter of time until he discovered her existence. “That’s because she is the granddaughter of the Andrea of this world.” Green eyes flickered to the door. “Reaver was taken back when he first saw her too.”

She tapped her finger against the table for a moment as she thought things over in her mind. “No, I would have suggested to kill Dalanesca after I realized she couldn’t be saved. I’m not a fighter or a killer Nemesis, you’ve said as much. I’ve grown very soft since my days of killing sprees. I would still rise up to protect mine though… That much is for certain. Dalanesca hit close because we were friends and my child’s godmother. She was like family to me.”

His answer wasn’t a bad one. “No, I would do the same but it would still destroy me to do so. I didn’t hesitate to kill Dalanesca, did I? Once I knew that there was no going back I did what had to be done.” She sipped on the tea and noticed that Melina hadn’t left just yet. “It’s rude to stare Melina.” It startled the young maiden.

“Sorry Ma’am.” The young woman scurried out of the room after she bowed to Nemesis and Angela smirked a bit more.

“I think this is the first time that she’s realized you exist. The children adore her and she helped with Nerezza’s wedding like a doting second mother. Your light loves her and that’s why she was staring.”

“Possibly. You know me well enough to at least know that I can tell when someone has something to hide or is lying to me.” He was taught well in the game of deception and used it to his absolute best. While this Angela seemed to be more on the level with him than her former self, he wasn’t convinced that she was absent of the former’s traits. “I’d imagine so, though murder is typically justified as what you had done to the Reaper. Slaughter, on the other hand, doesn’t have to be.”

It seemed as of late that his former lovers seem to have to haunt him to some degree; the fact that the girl looked like Andrea didn’t help quell the idea. His face obviously showed that he wasn’t amused at all, whether she was her or simply a descendant. “Wonderful. And if she wasn’t enough then I have to be reminded of my brother.” He figured that since she spoke of him, she knew who Reaver was anyway.

Nemesis expected an answer like the one Angela provided, but he couldn’t say that he wouldn’t be torn if it came to destroying his own. He had done so before, but with each time, the lingering bits of humanity left in the monster died as well. In the end, he was a survivor through and through. “You didn’t, Angela. You gave her mercy that her puppeteer wouldn’t have.” He took another sip of the tea, “She’s somewhere in that stream of yours, I’m sure.”

The vaewolf didn’t bother to look at Melina’s direction again; they had no further business. Whatever she had with Raeguel was simply between them. “I suppose, and as much as I enjoy having to be reminded of my past, I’ve buried all of that within the abyss you’d call my heart.” He was the true Nemesis- his human side could live the lie he had always wanted but the darkness would bask in its truest nature. That was their fates respectively, never again to entwine. “Get strong soon, Angela. You wish to seek revenge against the entity, then we can’t have you basking in your wallows until then. If you must, feel like you owe it to her to do so..”

“Oh but my dear, why would I waste my time lying.” Her eyes flickered to Nemesis. “On some level, I am always telling the truth. Like the greatness of the grand fae who can not tell lies. I have always spoken the words that I must. My past me is a different story, the miserable bitch that she was.” There she sat mulling it over. “Even when I felt dirty I put my duties above myself.” Her eyes looked him over carefully. “It’s true I have a taboo for taking life but all things die. The illusion we put into the world for people to believe in us, it can matter greatly. I am just not a fan of taking lives. From what I gathered from my other me, I was a warrior. I had to be. The circumstances are different here and while I can fight, I would just prefer not to. I’m not as skilled at fighting Nemesis. My greatest value is in the preservation of life and taking that life away should need be.” That last sentence was eerie coming out of her mouth. It was almost as if there was a loophole she was able to get through.

“Your brother as it were… Is quite fond of the twins. He helps there where he can. Family is something those two have a lot of. It will help shape them more as they grow older. The people they are meant to be hasn’t quite solidified yet. I met him during Nerezza’s wedding and briefly I did see him visit her.” It was that simple for her. “It doesn’t appear like Reaver realizes there are two of you quite yet.”

She took a sip of the tea and nodded. “That I can agree with. She is somewhere, but the vast amount of spirits I hold makes it slightly difficult at times. I do wonder if he is making it so I can’t find her. To force me to move on as it were. Not that I would bring her back. I don’t see the point in bringing back a broken person.” Her friend was indeed very broken at her core. “I can at least agree that it was mercy.”

Angela poured some more of the tea for both of them and she thought about it. “Both of us have buried a lot in many different places.” Her eyes flickered from the tea to Nemesis. “If it is anything I am not… It is weak. You don’t need to worry about myself.” There was a rush of magic from her spreading far as it could go.

It was almost like being drowned in a raging tempest. The plants in the area burst into fire and became something more. “I am controlling it.” The power died down and she put her cup to the table. “Wallowing is keeping me in check as much as I hate it. When I am done, I will create something that will house my sorrows and be a guidepost. It will regret the day that it decided to prey on this world. For now, I am finding myself in these emotions. I would be more worried about those who will claim the thrones left by Dalanesca and Lokir. They will have to be ready more than any of us. This is truly a terrible time to become a god of this world.”

“Anything can be the truth of one really believes their own delusions. The line of sanity and lack of is extremely thin.” He leaned back and placed his head on a hand before waving with his other. “Relax. I doubt you would lie to me. You hadn’t before in this realm or in the last one. Everything you did back then was to ensure the preservation of your family and people.”Nemesis hadn’t done everything in his power to do the same for his own, and it costed him dearly. Perhaps he was resentful of her not because of their tryst, but because she did what he could not. It lingered behind his mind even after all these years after their first encounter in Revaliir. Of course, he would admit it to her openly; it would be a foolhardy thing on his part. Death was a common thing in his life; from the lives, he had taken to seeing it snuff out from those closest to him- at this point, the term life was something that seemed taboo to him even as he drew the breath that once was lost to him.

He cared not about Reaver, and it showed in how he rolled his eyes. “That is good. I didn’t know what was to come for them when they grew older.” Back then, the twins were born not only out of wedlock, but their existence wasn’t supposed to happen. Not to mention that they differed much from their other siblings, the ones that the god was familiar with anyway. Lucian, of course, was to be an heir by the law of the goddess’ people, but Nerezza had been simply overshadowed aside from her gifted magic. They both carried the Shiran bloodline, of what remained of it. Even he wasn’t sure if it would have any effect on their lives. Hopefully not.

“Probably not, but he’s at least smarter than most. I suppose he will learn soon enough.”

He suspected if the former priest was still being watchful of the pantheon, then he would learn of the secret. It wasn’t a concern for him though. He owed the man nothing and vice versa.

“The dead should remain dead, regardless.” He agreed. “[That is the singular truth that I have learned, my friend. What you bring back isn’t guaranteed to be the her that you remember.” he believed that Angela’s powers hadn’t been damped, even before the display she put on. It was her mentality that was he was unsure of. The entity that threatened the realm would be dealt with in time, somehow. But when she spoke of not only Dalanesca's post being taken but also of Lokir, Nemesis eyed her in confusion. “Another has fallen?” There were only two males aside from him and Angela’s significant other among them and he believed that one to be of War, was it not? “Perhaps it is the worst time indeed, or it could an advantage. If we don’t know who they are, would that entity know then? Right now it has five targets it’s seen already. If we can find out early enough, then we can use that somehow against it.”

“That is very true. A desperate person can make their false reality the truth in their eyes. It’s why people like that hold no sign of lying when you watch them. They honestly believe every word that they say. That is the meaning of insanity after all… At least one of them.” He knew her well and she didn’t fight him on any of it. Her words were quiet and meaningful.

There was a chuckle from her as she thought about them. “We could have spoiled Nerezza a little less.” It was said with a smile as she thought about it. “She certainly likes to act up when she gets bored. Though she has always been too smart for her own good and always trying to find her place in the world even when she was little. Lucian could use a bit more confidence but I’m unsure of what we could have done for that. He will grow into it I am sure. Though if he could learn how to handle his twin he could conquer the world at his fingertips.” There was a running joke there somewhere. No matter how strong Lucian seemed it was always Rezza who broke him first.

“Oh, even I know that. Resurrection is a terribly taboo thing even for myself. To even have the chances of getting the whole intact soul back you need to travel to the Soul-Stream, find them, and make sure they haven’t begun their journey. If they have… You might as well turn back. Dead is always better though. People die and that tends to be life. I have made exceptions in the past though… I am not without selfishness.”

Angela nodded to him once they spoke of the fallen god. “Lokir of War and Strength. It got a bit too much for him. After all, he practically helped me kill Dalanesca. I’m sure he is thinking things over. A simple farm boy is what he reminds me of.” She sipped on her drink and had her own private thoughts. “…The one who replaces Dalanesca should appear soon enough. I haven’t felt the change but for Lokir’s position… I feel that of Light and Strength. Perhaps it is something we need right now. Still, the changes have come at a rather bad time.”

She tapped her fingers on the table. “Oh, I tend to know all of the gods when they happen but the Voice talks to me and tells me… Since I can call the conclaves I suppose I should know at least their names and what they do.” There was a scoff a bit at the added responsibility she had. “If this being can eat worlds… I suppose it can sense spheres too. It wouldn’t take long to find all of us and murder us. Right now it can only use puppets but as long as its not a deity we can kill it just fine.”

She rubbed her head in thought now as she stared down at the liquid in her cup. “We’ll need to trust each other more than ever… All of us. If we want to survive past this next attack. We’ll need to know each other inside and out so we know if something is wrong and more importantly we’ll need to be ready to kill each other just in case.” There was a wince from her as she looked up. “My realm has been safeguarded I noticed. It’s almost like a second bubble around it. A void within a void. I imagine anyone who has a realm like mine also has it. The Voice is cautious indeed.”

She closed her eyes. “Nemesis,” her voice was quiet. “I very much did love you in the other world. As much as I must have fought it for obvious reasons. Those children made me love you because I saw how you were with them. Such a good liar and hider I was back there.” There was a chuckle from her. “I have gained that love here as well because you are a good father, especially with Sergei too. Maybe it is not a romantic love but it is love all the same. While you might hate me at times I do consider you a dear friend of mine.”

Had he wished that he was a part of the twin’s lives? There was much confliction considering that he had a new life and family, but secretly he would have wanted to. They were of his flesh and blood, conceived in a peculiar sort of situation but they were his. The light side of him was the only reason why he refrained from ever making contact with them- the two would surely be in conflict. “Hers was my fault; since Lucian was born to rule your people, wasn’t Nerezza meant for something just as deserving? But the Shira would have not taken to her and see her dead.” He sighed sadly, it had not been his interest to keep her away from her heritage but it was through the others in the family that would see either of them dead before they would be allowed through the doors. To them, the twin’s creation was abnormal and corrupted their bloodline. “The boy will rule just fine- he is still young and will learn over time. There’s nothing more you could that you have other than to be patient with him.”

Duties…responsibilities…selfishness…this was the internal conflict that the gods dealt with. Nemesis hadn’t been one for very long but he had been around enough of them to know that the struggle was truly real. Titans with mortal hearts, he fancied to call them as, and Angela was no exception to the case. Nor would he, in the end. There was much that he could do with his powers, things that he would do at some point but he knew not to step too much over the line. The conversation turned to that of the recently fallen and he nodded with a stony look. “It’s not meant for every person. I have heard that most that elect to step down willingly go on to live decent lives, a far cry from when one is knocked down from their divine pedestal. Of course, the numbers of the former are very small from what I could recall from the old world alone.” He shifted in his seat as he thought carefully of who could have taken the mantles. The next moment, he dropped it when he heard Angela’s proposal.

“You ask me for the nigh impossible, dear Angela. For one thing, to trust in a bunch of misfits I hardly know and to let them know of how to…kill me?” He looked at her seriously but his tone was attempting to stray laughter. It was beyond ridiculous, but he was sure her words held merit, no matter how feeble it seemed to him. He rolled his eyes and shifted back into his seat. “I’m positive that because of my godhood, silver, holy magicks and wolfsbane won’t directly kill me- weaken me, yes. Probably decapitation could work still. And I don’t…magics and stuff stronger than us? I will only reveal what I said to you and you only.” He had some comfort in that the Voice did more than just boss them around, but how much would the realms be protected? That really was the question to answer- though the timing for it would not be the most ideal in his case.

“I will try to show some goodwill, but make no mistake, trust is a powerful weapon that could backfire. Due to Dalanesca being manipulated, I can’t really put all my trust to complete strangers.”

Her final words left him with a slightly hung mouth. In any other case, he would have bashed that idea right away, but instead, he sat silently and drank the rest of his tea. “I do not hate you. If I had, I wouldn’t be here. I told you once before that things could have been different in another time, in another place. Perhaps I wouldn’t be the monster I’ve become. I never regretted the children, despite my absence and its because of you that you granted Celeste and my wish for a child. As annoying as you can be sometimes, I trust you enough to give you the knowledge to kill me, if that time arrived. I suppose that makes you a friend of mine”, he spoke, not enthusiastic about that last bit too. Probably because he knew what was going to likely come next.