[Tartarus: Erebos]
Two deities were seated inside a vibrant cabin, Lord Hades and Adrian.
Tap.. Tap.. Tap...
Hades was seated with his back facing a wide window pane, his black gloved hands rhythmically tapping the cypress table before him. He wore a sleek black Bowler Hat with silver bands, a rich black buttoned Trench coat and silver-gray trousers. His cloudy mannequin like face twisting and churning, sternly glaring at Adrian.
Tap.. Tap.. Tap...
Adrian was surprisingly calm, sporting a polite smile over his bearded face. He was casually seated on an armchair, across Hades. Dressed in a leather brown poncho with red and blue patterns, Denim pants paired with magenta boots, draped in white sleeves with a gunslinger's glove over his palms.
Tap.. Tap.!
Adrian nervously fiddled with his Cowboy Hat, while Hades quietly leaned forward as he stopped tapping the table.
"Where were you, Janus?", he ominously questioned Adrian. "Be honest with me and answer wisely."
"I was here in [MYRIAD] all along.", Adrian replied with a nervous shrug. "I figured that the sovereigns wouldn't have allowed me to join in on your expedition."
Hades gave a resolute nod, and asked:
"Why is that?"
"Because, you know... [Covenant] has personal stakes in [The Outer Sector].", Adrian said, nervously nudging his hat, lowering his head. "A conflict of interest, you might say. Your goal is to unravel the [Source], mine is to simply fulfill my sovereign's final prophecy."
Hades sighed, exasperated. He leaned back, casually resting on his armchair, clasping his arms over his chest.
"Could you at least tell me about the prophecy?", Hades inquired.
"You know I can't.", Adrian replied, mildly agitated.
"Understandable, but I would have appreciated if you had been more vocal regarding your concerns.", Hades remarked as he drew an arcane circuit. "Instead of going behind my back and orchestrating a rogue operation."
The arcane circuit displayed a figure wearing a Jester Mask fighting Hermes. Adrian boldly leaned forward, keenly observing the fight. Recognizing Akelus, he spoke-
"He is not our operative.", Adrian boldly declared, staring at Hades with great resolve.
"Stop being dishonest Janus, I know he is not your operative. But, did you hire him?", Hades snapped back.
"We tried hiring him.", Adrian nodded, rubbing his knees, nervously shaking his head. "And, he did agree to work with us. But, he evidently ended up going rogue."
BANG!!!
Hades banged the table with frustration, startling Adrian. His spine chilled with dread.
"Do you realize what you have done?!?", Hades spat with rage, his cloudy face twisting in fury pointing at the masked figure. "This guy cost us the war, this clown is the reason why those Rift-borne survived. Now the entire bloody [Outer Sector] is sealed off for us!!!"
"We were getting desperate, Lord Hades! No one else was willing to help us, you of all people should know that.", Adrian nervously heaved with a frantic tone, calming himself he continued. "And... we lost connection to him mid-way, we aren't exactly sure of what he did in [The Outer Sector]."
"Ha!.." Hades laughed. "Janus... Janus... Why are you being this dishonest?"
"Sir, I am not bein-"
"Don't, lie to me Janus!", Hades snapped his finger. "I can see right through you, you know that right. Janus... please for your own good, be honest."
"Lord Hades, we simply sent him to do recon, to help us recover a package.", Adrian anxiously bowed before Hades. "We did lose contact with him mid-op, we really aren't that sure of what he did in [The Outer Sector]."
Hades nudged his chin, silently observing Adrian-
"When did you lose contact with him?"
"Right as he breached into the [Kingdom of Corzox].", Adrian answered. (Xyrak: For Context... Ch.18)
"He is not being dishonest here.", Hades contemplated, as he continued. "Did you manage to reconnect?"
"Yes, for a moment. But, then he got sucked into [Oblivion], and we lost him again.", Adrian said, avoiding Hades' glare. (Xyrak: For Context... Ch. 28)
"Hmm... did someone recommend him to you?"
"One of our external operatives found him.", Adrian answered.
"Is he a member of [MYRIAD]?", Hades enquired.
"All I can say is that he is an unaffiliated deity."
"So let me get this straight, You hired a deity through one of your external operatives, he happened to go rogue and ended up sabotaging Hermes. That's the story you are going with?", Hades was relatively amused.
"Yes, but it's not a story, though. That's exactly what happened.", Adrian nodded.
"It's just hard to believe that someone like you, Janus, was gullible enough to trust a rogue deity.", Hades said.
"None of [The Covenant] members wished to navigate [The Outer Sector]. After three tedious cycles of [Ragnarok] that entire domain has become a taboo for us.", Adrian heaved with depression. "That rogue was the only hand we had, and he duped us as well."
"What's his name? The deity you hired." Hades asked.
"I am Oath-bound on Styx, to not disclose it."
"I can still feel you being dishonest, but never mind that.", Hades frowned as he continued. He discreetly tried to further pry into Adrian's mind, without Adrian's notice. But alas, he was blocked by a mysterious door of burning ember, a door adorned with many faceless soldiers, [The Herlakken].
Hades simply sighed his frustration out with a smile, casually leaning into the armchair.
"Maybe it's just your uncertainty that's throwing me off."
Staring at Adrian for a moment, Hades enquired-
"Let's go off topic, say did you manage to hire any new recruits this cycle?"
"Honestly, haven't had much luck with that. Dongfang Kongbu was our most recent pick, but he switched from your faction to [The Covenant].", Adrian sighed. "So no new recruits."
"Did you approach any [Fragment of Insurgence]?"
"Yes, we did approach one. We made him an loose offer, just waiting for his response." Adrian gave an apologetic smile, nervously scratching his head.
"Really?, Must be quite the impressive individual. Curious to who that might be?"
"I am sorry Lord Hades, but I am Oath-bound to maintain his privacy, but I know that he was approached by [Lord Hypnos] first.", Adrian said.
"Hmm... Good, that's all for now. Thanks for co-operating with our investigation, Adrian. But, I will have to temporarily restrict you within [The Covenant], for security reasons.", Hades waved him off with a obscure smile.
"And for now, [The Covenant] will be managed by the [Sovereign Commission], under our direct jurisdiction. I hope you understand."
"Yes, Lord Hades."
Adrian promptly got up and gave a formal bow to Hades. He then conjured a door and exit the cabin.
Thanatos materialized behind Hades in shades of black.
"Monitor [The Covenant] for now, report everything you find. Especially focus on any new recruit of theirs", Hades commanded. "Their Sovereign's prophecy is still protecting them, that means it's yet to be fulfilled.
"Yes, my lord.", Thanatos bowed and dispersed in shades of black.
"This is troubling, did Janus betra...", Hades mused as he shook his head, softly gazing out the window. "No... Let's not jump to conclusions. For now, I must simply be wary of [The Covenant]."
******** ******** ********
[MYRIAD-Paradis]
Within [The Lighthouse]...
The [Gates of Erebos] were pulsing softly with Cerberus the mighty hound guarding the gates. The beast had quietly nestled beside the gate in deep slumber.
Around him, was the boundless pavilion housing the [Gates of Erebos]. Embedded with towering, magnificent white pillars with gold embroidery. A rich navy blue sky with colossal drifting clouds. The gates softly rested upon a vast marble white pavement, polished to reflection.
Over on the marble pavement, before Cerberus, Gazeera and Aminon were sparring. Gazeera was sporting his regal peach-colored armor [Koharun], wielding the arcane staff [Bailka].
As Aminon gracefully flew in front of him, Gazeera was gliding through space chasing after her, hovering on a pale ethereal cyan construct. They were playing a game of tag.
Deimos was standing at a considerable distance, timing their game of tag with a counter. While Phobos was simply resting by Cerberus' belly, blissfully sleeping.
Gazeera's eyes were navy blue, glimmering in the night sky of the pavilion, his white iris shaped like a clock.
[Frames]:
{Aminon would nimbly sway in front of him, arching across the open blue sky elegantly curving to the right...
Gazeera's eyes traced Aminon's movements through visions of the future. }
Relying on his foresight, his mind keenly mapped Aminon's path across the open pavilion. His visions focused on a singular outcome with his intention being to intercept and tag Aminon.
Aminon would nimbly sway in front of him, arching across the open blue sky elegantly curving to the right...
Gazeera shifted right and quickly flew in a straight trajectory almost intercepting Aminon right as she ended arching to the right. His dazzling white iris flickering as the clock kept ticking.
[Frames]:
{The ever graceful Aminon simply dissolved into her surroundings, submerging herself within the grand pavilion. Parts of her body appeared randomly flickering across the vast pavilion, distorted and varying in size.
With a playful smirk, Aminon re-emerged through one of her organs, specifically her torso.
Gazeera peeked into the future...}
Gazeera continued pursuing Aminon, and right as he was about to tag her.
The ever graceful Aminon simply dissolved into her surroundings, submerging herself within the grand pavilion. Parts of her body appeared randomly flickering across the vast pavilion, distorted and varying in size.
Gazeera quickly adapted, scanning his surrounding for Aminon's torso among the flickering body parts. Spotting her torso, Gazeera made a mad dash for it.
With a playful smirk, Aminon re-emerged through one of her organs, specifically her torso.
Her arms were outstretched, with a smug smile on her bashful face, surprisingly startled. She stood still rooted in place, welcoming Gazeera into her embrace.
"And, Time!", Deimos intervened, halting Gazeera. "You are doing the same thing over and over again Gazeera. You are too focused on tagging Aminon, you have to at least try and perceive the other branching timelines."
"And, that's what I am doing, technically.", Gazeera shrugged.
"Yes Gazeera, you are partly correct.", Aminon chimed in with a calm and soothing smile. "You are perceiving several possibilities at once, but it seems as though your mind is conditioned to sub-consciously focus on the canon timeline."
"Well, what's the issue with that?", Gazeera questioned. "I will always know what will happen in the future rather than what might. It has worked well for me all this while."
"The issue is that you are limiting yourself by simply focusing on the main continuity.", Aminon gently answered with a bright smile. "The greatest strength of an oracle is their ability to coerce with fate. You know, influencing the way future is perceived by people."
Gazeera simply gave Aminon a blank stare, lost.
"You have the ability to see visions, Gazeera.", Aminon continued, grinning. "But, all you are using right now is a singular possibility. You are not seeing the future that you want, but rather a future that has been pre-determined."
"I still don't follow.", Gazeera replied with an apologetic shrug.
"She is basically saying that you are not working up to your full potential.", Deimos sternly clarified.
"That is to be expected, Gazeera still is a demigod.", Aminon sighed, addressing Deimos. "Someone tried to rush his ascension, he hasn't fully matured. He might as well be the first demigod that directly ascended to [MYRIAD]."
Facing Gazeera, she continued-
"However, your sponsor is not our concern, for now. But, we do need to understand what he has done to you and how you ended up here. And, for that you need to be comfortable delving into possibilities beyond your known destiny."
Gazeera simply nodded, contemplating.
"[Yggdrasil] is vast, it might overwhelm you at first but eventually you will get used to it.", Deimos assured. "We are here to help you with that."
Gazeera remained still, silently mulling over his thoughts:
"Did The Shadow really do something to me? All he did was share some memories of my past..." (Xyrak: For Context... Ch. 14)
"Now.. Now.. let's not dwell on it any further.", Aminon gently patted Gazeera with a bright smile. "There will be a trivia for you tomorrow, hope you are ready. You did have a week to prepare for it..."
As Aminon and Gazeera made their way to the exit, Deimos approached Cerberus. Caressing the mighty hound, he gently kicked Phobos who was sleeping by the beast's belly.
"Huh?", Phobos woke up startled, stretching his arms he got up. "Yhaaaw... Is she done?"
"Yup.", Deimos answered, casually placing his hands over his hip. "Aminon is done for the day, but we need to get going. Remember? Lord Hades assigned us to regulate [The Covenant]."
"That was today?", Phobos groaned, shaking his head. "Of course it was."
Deimos simply sighed, as the two joined Aminon and Gazeera. The group then made their way onward to [The Covenant].
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