Rathra stood up for a moment, gave a sigh and closed his eyes, "be right back" he mumbled before vanishing, like a grumpy teen before vanishing into their room.
The floating boulder was quiet for a moment after Rathra's sudden disappearance. The only sound was Uzi's strained breathing as he tried to rise from the ground. The others circled around him, their eyes fixed on the god as if he were some rare prize on display.
The first to break the silence was the short girl with the bright red-and-blue hair. Her mismatched eyes gleamed as she tilted her head and smiled, her voice soft but edged with mischief.
"He looks so fragile," she giggled, swaying back and forth like a child playing with a doll. "What if we peel him apart piece by piece, see how long it takes before he cries for mercy? Ohhh, or maybe we use him as bait, leave him dangling somewhere until the others from this world come running to save him."
Raidren, standing just a few feet back, kept his arms crossed. His expression was unreadable, his calm tone cutting through her laughter. "You're too quick to play games. This one's no ordinary figure. He's worth more alive."
The man clad in advanced technology chuckled under his breath, his voice refined and deliberate, as though every word was a speech. "Ah, but alive in what way, Raidren? That is the question. A being with authority over entry to this realm... Imagine what knowledge his essence holds. I could study him for years and still not uncover half his mysteries." His cannons shifted slightly, humming as if they hungered for use. "No, this isn't about mercy. This is about progress."
The fox-woman crossed her arms, her mask glowing faintly as her tail flicked lazily behind her. Her voice carried a steady rhythm, calm but not without amusement.
"Progress, destruction, torture, whatever you want to call it... I don't care. He's not mine, he's not anyone's. Do what you will." She tilted her head, her tone suddenly playful. "Though I'd like to see him talk more. Gods rarely speak their true thoughts unless they're cornered."
A low, jagged laugh broke out from the final figure. The man with six floating rings twitched as his hands shifted nervously, his words spilling like broken glass.
"Heehee... corner him, yes, yes, pin him down like a rat in the dark. Oh, but don't kill him yet, no no no, not yet. Carve his light, strip his voice, break his faith, make him beg. A god who begs!" He bent forward, grinning wide as the rings spun faster around his arms. "I want to hear it, the sound of divinity cracking."
The girl clapped her hands, eyes lighting up as if his madness was a game. "Ooooh, that's a fun one. I like him. We could make Uzi sing for us before the end!"
Raidren's voice cut in again, softer, but carrying more weight than any of theirs. "Enough. Rathra has a plan, and whether you like it or not, this god's fate isn't for us to decide."
The group fell into uneasy silence, though their eyes never left Uzi. Each of them carried their own vision of what to do with him, but for now, only Rathra's word would matter.
A ripple of dark smoke tore open the air once more. Rathra stepped out, dragging the back of his hand across his jaw. Dark stains clung to his fingers, glistening faintly before he flicked them away with little care. Scratches lined his forearm and cheek, though none looked serious.
Raidren's calm voice was the first to break the silence. "You allowed yourself to be touched." His tone wasn't mocking, simply an observation, though it carried weight.
The fox-woman tilted her head, her tail curling around her legs as her voice carried its soft, steady hum. "Hmph. Never thought I'd see the great Rathra marked by anything. This world must be sharper than it looks."
The man of steel and cannons smirked, his tone elegant as ever. "To wear wounds at all is to admit imperfection. Though, perhaps even perfection needs contrast."
Rathra gave a short laugh, brushing aside their words with a flick of his hand. "You chatter too much. Scratches are nothing." He crouched down, his eyes locking onto Uzi, who still fought to catch his breath on the broken stone.
His voice came smooth, almost playful, yet with a calm edge that made his words strike harder.
"You get to live, little god. But you'll live to see your world burn. Every mountain, every forest, every soul, gone. And you'll watch it happen from the ground, helpless, just like this."
Rathra straightened and looked over his shoulder. His hand lifted casually as he spoke. "Beat."
The red and blue haired girl skipped forward at once, her bright mismatched hair bouncing. Yet her childish grin was gone. Her eyes, red and blue, flickered with focus as if she had been waiting for this command alone.
Rathra's tone was amused, but it carried command. "Use it. Pull his soul out. Glitch it."
The air around Beat began to distort. Sparks of crimson and sea-blue snapped into being, clashing and sparking like a firework too wild to contain. For a moment, the glow looked almost playful, like a sparkler in a child's hand. But beneath it was something far more dangerous, a sea of chaotic color bending reality at her will.
Beat said nothing. Her silence was sharp, unnatural compared to the wicked laughter she had shown earlier. She raised her hand, and the red-blue sparks twisted toward Uzi, the glow wrapping around him like threads of broken light.
Uzi's chest seized as the red-and-blue sparks crawled through him. His limbs went heavy, his skin turned numb, and every breath felt like it was being peeled away. The colors danced across his body before sinking inside, crawling under his skin like fire and ice at once. He gasped, his vision doubling, then fading to darkness.
The man with the rings tilted his head, his voice startlingly steady compared to his usual muttering. "Rathra. I should return to my post."
For a heartbeat, Rathra studied him in silence. Then he gave a slow nod. The calm mask slipped from his face in an instant, cracking into something wilder, sharp teeth showing in a grin too wide, his eyes sparking with a cruel delight.
Before the ring-bearer could move, the fox-woman leaned in, her voice smooth and almost teasing. "And just what are you planning on doing back there... Solus?"
The man turned his gaze toward her, unbothered. But before he could speak, the cannoned Man interjected with a raised hand, his voice elegant and cuttingly precise. "Not Solus, madam. Solus Sine Causa. If one is to speak of him, one should at least respect the full name."
The fox-woman's tail lashed behind her, ears twitching in irritation. Her voice, usually calm, cracked with annoyance. "Oh for the void's sake, I get it!"
For the first time in a while, Raidren looked surprised, It was not her character to lash out at anybody.
The fox-woman spoke again, "You do this every time I say somebody's name, I don't have to say their full legal name you know!" her angered voice turned into frustration, like she was halfway upset over annoying. Raidren had to turn away, he looked like a kid who had their first bite of ice cream, too amused for the situation.
Solus ignored her entirely. He raised one hand, his tone measured, polite, yet laced with a grotesque pride, Rathra noted in his head for some reason whenever solus uses that move, his tone shifts more towards Raidren, but sarcastic to the moon. "Names carry weight. And weight carries legacy. Where I go, legacy thrives. The prison state sings my name now. Such lively little workers are paid, in a sense. Such kind treatment depends on how one defines kindness. They break, they bleed, they build, and all under my gaze. It is... delightful."
The fox-woman rolled her eyes, muttering something under her breath, but Solus continued without pause. With a flick of his wrist, one of the great rings detached from his arm. It floated downward until it hovered flat on the broken ground.
In a blink, the surface inside the ring shimmered, then burst into flame-lined light. A portal snapped open, glowing with a low hum. Solus gave a shallow bow, then stepped gracefully into it. The portal swallowed him whole, and the ring shot up after him, vanishing as the gateway sealed shut with a hiss.
Silence pressed over the clearing for a moment, then Uzi gasped.
Or rather, his soul did.