Hel's Story

A being slowly formed just outside of the group, as if bit of shattered glass slowly pieced them selves back together. A withered and gnarled hand came first, followed by a second, a third... and a forth... then the sinewy arm followed.
A long eyeless face, with little to no nose, and a mouth that was ill fitted to it's leathery head. It smiled ;a twisted grin with teeth that seemed to large for the confines of it's head, but somehow remained neatly within the confines of it's black lips.

The thing continued pulling it's self from the nothingness, a leathery rib-cage ,sickly in appearance, with a stomach so thin it might as well have been hollow save for the skin and spinal column, fading out to a waist equally sickly. Only rags covered the things lap, and a long recurve bow and quiver hung from a thick belt. The thing stood at seven feet tall, it's long neck turned as the eyeless face searched, it's mouth fading near out of existence. The smile returned, as the thing found Gaia.

It moved with a grace ill fitting it's rickety frame, and smelled like ... freshly baked bread...

" Mi'lady" It's deep woodwind like voice hummed as it bowed neatly, it's right arms folding nearly at it's mid-drift as he went.

" What need does the fair Gaia have of one as lowly Famine ?"the things voice rumbled , needle like teeth stewing in black saliva. Famine paid no heed to the other beings around him, until he spied Lucifer morning star, To him he gave a bow equaling the one he gave Gaia. " Mi'lord...." He hummed. The eyeless face watched the others cautiously, hungrily.

Scowling she gave an almighty sigh before nodding to the new arrival, "Our job was non-intervention, for as long as we know. There was a process this was done, the process once mattered. Whether you think otherwise, Erebuz has decided he should control this process and acted actively. Long ago I merely acted my part, but my brother can't even reign himself in and whatever you call the Divine in the end, you clearly don't realize key fact here. Reason he does not act to stop Erebuz is the hope the rest of the cycle would reign him in. We are the ones who are meant to do something. If you can't see something, then clearly Little sister I regarded you more intelligent than you actually are. Erebuz is out of control. If he breaks the vow and oath we swore merely to be part of the cycle not force or control it. Then the oath is gone and thus my strings that once restrained me are gone. This will be the last cycle. This will be the last decay and destruction. Thus since I no longer have obligations dear sister. FUCK YOU." Gaia saw eyes raise as she continued, "The Unity is over and I am calling it now. You want this cycle to end, then so be it. But I will not play part in another cycle and since humanity and all species deserve a chance I will help them. I can't do much, but I know my brother better than you know him little sister and this was what he always desired. A war."

Finally she turned to Apollo, "That is why Apollo I will not let my brother forsake his oath and be forced to keep mine. An oath where one breaks it and others are meant to keep it is meaningless. This will be the final cycle, because once Erebuz is gone. I will end my existence and thus the cycle is over. It can never be restarted. That is my goal. My ultimate goal."

Seeing the Horseman Famine, she waited for his response, "If you choose to try stop me then you support my brother and my brother shown he has no regard for natural order. The Natural Order we were all meant to maintain, but not him no. He soiled his word and showed it is time for this cycle to be the last."

Finally her gaze turned to Lucifer, "That is good enough. I never imagined I would make this decision, but it is official. The cycle will not continue. Once Erebuz is destroyed I shall destroy myself and thus the cycle will end for good. No ties or such bind me now, so we each our side sister, but you can't win. Win or Lose I will end my existence and Erebuz may win but the cycle will end. FULL STOP. No more. Finite."

With that Hel turned away, "Then I am sorry Gaia, but I can't side with you. Good evening to all of you." with that she walked away vanishing into the woods.

Lucifer's first response to Alisah had been lenient. He was no longer so gracias. He turned to her, raised his left hand and snapped his fingers. From that moment forward those within the grove would find that whenever Alisah seemed to speak or make a sound, it could not be heard. "There, until she comes to understand her place, I will not have her interrupting this meeting." he said, gesturing about the grove to the various figures within. As he heard Apollo and Gaia lay about their grievances, he aproached Ondona and spoke to her. "Your a face I'm not familiar with, but that does not mean you are any less important than those around you. Keep your peace, if that is what you wish to do, but do not allow those here whos names are well known intimidate you into silence. You have a voice, and it's power is only present when used."

As Gaia finished her speel, Lucifer clapped his hands and strode into the middle of the grove. "Very well, said, by all. Now, I have things that I must attend to, if anyone needs me your more than welcome to come visit, you know where to find me. And for you, young lady." And at this he pointed at Alisah, and an stillness settled upon the air. An aura surrounded Lucifer, one giving the impression of barely contained rage. The seemingly insignificant presence that Lucifer held a moment ago suddenly vanished, giving way to to an overwhelming sense of power, so much so that even those gods as ancient as Gaia would feel as though a blistering heat was coming off of him in waves. With this barely held back strength Lucifer looked at Alisah and said "Your judgement will come, and when it does I shall make certain that you receive punishment fitting of your crimes."

Lucifer's wings, brilliant and shining, wrapped around himself in a flurry of wind and feathers, and then he was gone. Only a few, rapidly dissolving feathers of brilliant light remained to bespoke of the being that had stood there only moments ago.

Odin watched Hel leave with a sigh. "Asgardians are no strangers to war. Whatever else may come, I assure you my dear, you will have our support. She may not see it now, but my grandaughter will realize the necessity of these events. I go now to speak with my kin, and to rally those who can be gathered so that we may set a course through the coming storm." He said, turning at last to an arch at the far end of the grove, through which he passed and faded along the shadows.

Imnariel meowed, leaped into the air and fluttered as a dove upon Gaia's head.

Alisah could barely contain her laughter while the Gods discussed down below her, taking bites of her popcorn each time one began to speak. Each word, so expertly ringing in her ears to hit just the right notes. She was already laughing by the time Lucifer began to speak. Now it was a full blown belly laugh. Lucifer’s magic would fall completely short of silencing her, infact it only made her laugher grow as Alisah finally had what she wanted all along. Alisah looked at Gaia with a look of utter glee on her face and began to clap

“Bravo!! Bravo!! Encore!!”

She clapped and slid down to the ground once more but this time: There was malice in her movements. Alisah was using a fraction of her power now and this was going to cause quite the disturbance. Gaia would be filled with an intense pain as the ground underneath Alisah’s feet began to wither and fester, rotting with each step and causing the very earth to die. Trees melted, grass yellowed and browned then broke and animals who tried to flee rapidly decomposed right there where they stood will nothing was left. Darkness seeped out of the ground and then pulsed down as the All Consuming Darkness flexed with her power to show that she was the one truly in control

“Gaia, Gaia, Gaia…how naïve you are. You overextend your position and place yourself so high on the totem pole. You are but a low rung, a mere Custodian of Creation. Meant to tend to the world in which you are bound to. Nothing more, nothing less. You could not stop the cycle even if you tried! There are only two who can and your looking at one of them”

She laughed a little more and rose into the sky.

Alisah’s grip reached out towards the sun and made a choking motion as the bright Light of the sun began to dim to quite a decrease before she grinned savagely at Gaia and moved towards her again

“You think you are the Elder? You whom are born of this cycle? I have seen a thousand more Gaia’s worthy of the title of Custodian then you. You want to try and end the Cycle? Go ahead!! Try me!!”

Alisah then began to speak, but in a language no one could even begin to comprehend, Gaia could barely make out the words that were spoken. But they were corrupted, they were abhorrent and they oozed with the very malice Alisah was composed of. It rang out throughout the Woods, and beyond to the deepest reaches of space. So powerful were the words that even Heaven and Hell, even Leolik would hear what she spoke.

F́҉͈̱̞̼͔̝r̖̲̩̉ͬ̊̂ͪ̓͐̀̚ö̢̦̘̳͕̞̰͖̯̥̉̂̚m̰̻̣̰̪͎̥̝̾̓͡ ̠̟̭̣̯̙̣̙̈́͊̈́̌̈͛̃D̤͇̙͙̯̝̫̄͛ͭ͌ͬ̉̇̀͘͠ͅạ̧̻̗̃̂ͣ͘r̸̨̝̥̃ͩ̈́́̓̃͋́k̯͊̒ͪ̅ṅ̷̥̰͓͇̺̰͎̫̍̕ę̪͚͈̠̲̱ͣͫͭ͐̀s̡̛̝̦̪ͪ͒̒̓́ͬ̎̈s̜̙͕͙̙̟̘̘ͧͦ̐ͯͮͧ̀̿̕͢͝ ̨̟̳̠͉͖ͤ̽a̷̝͖̰̘͔̗̖̮̎ͨ̀͋͂̒l̻̙̹͔͍̦̣̜̳̒͌̅ͬ͋l̗̥̣̻̲̜̙͓͖ͯͧͥͧͮͮ̾ ̡̬̱̞͕͚̭̐t͇̪͙́̇́͊̍̆͘h̴̝̝̦͊į̛̮̖̼͈̠̳̒̽ͦ͑̂͗̃̀́̀n͑͆̒ͣ̍̎̀͌҉̨̗̫̕g̨̒ͤ̂͠͏̗̦͚̻̥̥͓s̛̺̼̲̟̱̗̘̗̝͂̑̔̈͢ ͐ͯ̐͋̀͒̅͛͝͏̘̳̱̩̝a̱̭̖͓̠̝ͧ̆͐͊͒͛ͮ̊̚ͅr̷̲̮̗͉͍̠ͭͩ̏ͭͮͫ͊̀̇i͖̥͙̰͗̂̃̇͋ͯ̕s̢̙͍̤̼̄ͩͨ͗͒̀̃͑e̷͚͉̰̫̠̩̒̓͟
̵̖̹͕̲̝̬̪͕̇̈̏̃̇̎̈̒ͤͅṬ͎̫̔̀̏͊͋̚ọ̡͕̲̫̻̰͂̔͐̓̏ͭ̓ͣͣ́͟ ͙̼̱̬̻̥̱̄ͫͣ̆͝Ḋ͖̣͎̰ͬ̑̓̎͢a̢̯̜̭̲̭͙̪̬̭ͥͤ̅ͫͨ͡r̓̂͛͏̡̺̜͎̖̼̝͍̤̭k̨̜̜̖̣̘̰̓̈̈́̏ͧͮ͝n͗̌͐ͤ̿҉̵̶̩̪͇͎͇̲̤ę̟͇͖̹̐̐ͮ̏ͨ̚s̵̢͙̠̹̜̼̦͉͕ͬ͌̇́̓̃͐s͕̥̤ͨ͒̂̉̊ͥ̋̆ ̊͜͜͏͍͎͙̳̝ą̮͖̯̱͈͑̅́̈ͩ̋l̰͖̄̌ͭ͑ļ̟͔̙̭̱̫̟̾͌̽ͯ̄ ̨̬̩̏ͣ͞ţ̝̟̩̖̈̉̒̆h͇̱̲͈̻́̒̄̑̔͐i͓ͯ̋̆͘͝n̖̝͇̖̉̑͠g̡̫͙̞̪̼̠̏̿̆̓͛̐ͥͭ̊̀s͉̱̮̭̍̃͌͆̓̄́͝ ͈͍͉̰̦͌̎̒́̇̾͗̐͝g̷͉̯̜̟̞̈ͭͨ͋̆ͪ̋̄́ͅõ̢͕͓͇̗̓͒̂̐̉̋͞
̛̼̬̟͚͂̿ͅY̹̮͖͕͂̆̃̒ͧ̕͟o̡̥̞͇̺̻͒̈͋̉ͨ̽u̴̟̞̣ͤ̊ͫ̏ͤͭ͜ ͚̘̈͊̋ͩ͆ͪ͆ͧẃ̷̧̨̦̤̑͋̓ͭ̈̏̂ĩ̷̻̰̜̰̭̮̝ͮ̊͌̉ͨ̂͠l̶͖̤͉̖̙̦̑ͧ̊͑̄͝ḷͨ̽̀ͅ ͔̖̗͇̞̺̳͊̓a̢͚̠̫ͭ͠l͉̖͈̭̮̞̥ͤ͑͘͢ḽ͉̩̰͎̓ͣ͛͊ͤ͆ͧͣ ̾ͮ̂ͮ̒ͨ͋̕҉̫̖͘b̰̲̬̯̙̟̗ͯ̃ͩ̀o̧͕̻̺ͬͪw̵̧̞͓͑͌͂̒ͫ̇̊̈́̾́ ̛̗͇́͆ͫͧ̀ͯ̃̽t̋̇̿ͫ͏͔̻͎̖̭͍̖̞o̩̅ͥͫͣ̂̍͜ ̡͙̦ͣ̃̔̃̓̏m̛͙̱̪͎̉ͬ̈̒̊ͤ̀e̸͖̭̙̩̣̐ͧ͜͟ ͑͛̋̇ͪ͌҉̸̵̻i̵͒͒̇ͯ̿̔̓͏̢̜͇̳ṉ͎̣̘̈́̓̌ͫͪ̚͠ ͥ͗҉̷̬͓̲t̝̲̩̦̲̙̽̓̐̇͆̎̌h̨̫̘̥̟͈̅ͫē̫̻̬̠̤͈̬̪̈͒̃͞ ͔̝̟͈̲͙̗͕̪̓̈̌͋̎͂ͫ̚ê̙͇̆͒̽̒͆n̵̹̙̤̺ͭͬ͆̊͌̊ͥ͛̕͡d̷͖͔̆̈́̕.̟̞̅̀̕͜
̶̶̻͖̯͓͕̯̰̆̽͡ͅĮ̲̹̩̹̖̺̤̑͝ ̸̸̧͚͚̜͑̔ͮ̌͌̆͗H̶̺̼̳̭̜̠̘̽ͣ̎ͩA̴̜̪̤̖̦̫͕͌̄͢V̵̸̜͉͍͙̼̞͉̥̳ͥͯ̿͒ͥͯͯE̋͏̢͈͍̬ ͚̞̮̘̳͍̂̈́̒͐̕͝R̳͚̂ͩ̅͊̍̊̽̚͠͠E͙͍̥̳̅ͩͨ̐̾͌͒̊͠͡Ṫ̴̙͍̺̠̱̼̳̬̑͛̃ͩͭ̽͂͜U̴̧̝͕͙͈̓ͪ͆̌͋̀̈̚R̷̘̲͙̺̮ͦ̿̓ͯͥ͢N͇̣ͯE̯̙͆͐ͣ̎D̗̭̗̜̠͉ͫͧ̀͊ͧ̏͆̃ͅ!̠̀ͫ̿ͩͭ̇̕ͅ

These words thundered far louder then anything the Gods could produce then silenced as Alisah now was at level with Gaia with whom she took her head into her hands and raised her head to look at her eyes

“Poor poor Gaia, Poor Poor Mother of Earth. I feel such pity for you. Such sorrow and pity I feel for you. This cycle has gone on for far too long, One hunded Million years is far too long for anyone to have to suffer this burden. This curse should have ended so long ago. Even now you wilt and rot. But it is okay. Soon you will feel no pain of hurt. Just peace”

She leaned down and planted a kiss onto Gaia’s forehead and ran her fingers across the top of Gaia’s head then turned towards the assortment of Gods before her and smiled at each and every one of them.

“I am Alisah, Second to Exist. I am Equal to only One in this Multiverse. I am the All Consuming Darkness. From Darkness all things come. To Darkness all things shall return. I have returned and now, the Reclaimation has begun. And you are all powerless to stop it”

Alisah then disappeared from sight, leaving the forest grove a desolate, rotting patch of ground. A parting gift that could not be cured even by Gaia’s magic. It was her mark.

Ondona smiled when Apollo told her she remained him of Artemis and was happy to help her. "Thank you Apollo, I feel happy knowing you are willing to help me." She smiled at him before returning to the conversation at hand. Profanities were thrown, Gaia was not willing to participate in another cycle, The Horseman Of Famine arriving and more talk about destroying Erebuz and ending the cycle.

Soon Ondona watched as Lucifer turned to face Alisah before he snapped his fingers, following it Alisah would no longer speak or even make a noise. She was surprised at how powerful he was, just a snap of his fingers and he stopped Alisah, a fellow Goddess from talking or making noise. She then watched as Lucifer approached her, she was surprised that he would walk up to her. What did she do? Did he have a question? She hoped it was nothing serious. Once Lucifer began talking to her, he was actually telling her that she was no less important and that she should not be intimidated into silence. Her words had power, but they only had power if used. Ondona would blush a little when she heard Lucifer say these words. For someone like him to...encourage her she was surprised and glad he talked to her. "Thank you for those words, I will keep them in mind." She replied and gave a smile in return.

Once Lucifer was finished talking to Ondona, she would watch as he would stride into the middle of the Grove and was concluding his visit. But before he left she could feel the air turning still when Lucifer pointed at Alisah, a aura surrounding him giving of the impression of barley contained rage. She would shiver a bit, he was nice one second and the next second it felt like he was ready to kill another person. Once Lucifer finished warning Alisah, he would wrap himself in his wings which were now shining and vanished just as quickly as he arrived. Ondona was impressed by his exit, it was pretty but she still wondered why he would focus on her twice. He was nice but was there a reason? Maybe those stories were false? Maybe he was actually nice? She did not know the answer to this but she was grateful for his kindness.

What followed after Lucifer departed was when Alisah slid to the ground from the skies while clapping with a strange look of glee in her eyes. What followed next was Alisah purposely causing the ground under her to wither and rot. She would then cause the sun to dim, such power...it was immense. Ondona was scared about what was going on but when Alisah vanished she gave a sigh of relief but it was clear that she was still scared. "I think...I think I am going to leave this meeting. What I just witnessed was horrible, I am returning home. If anyone else has any questions for me go ahead and ask, but if there is none I would wish to leave."

"Mother Gaia tell me what must be done and i will complete it the best of my ability."

The light around Apollo began to intensify, he really didn't like Lucifer and the fact that Alisah think she can command the sun like she is all powerful made him upset beyond mere anger. As anger began to arise deep within Apollo the light aura around him started to pulse to the point the sun above mimic his light as it began to get brighter and brighter.

"I am the god of music, truth and prophecy, healing, the sun and light, plague, poetry, and more and you will not think that you can control my domain so easily"

At the end of his words the light around him spread from his body covering a dome a mile long. After a min past Apollo snap his fingers and the dome shatter into star dust as the sun became normal once again.

"This all i can do for now Gaia."