Mad God

After 3 days, Orsi had already examined and meditated with every expert in the town and even a handful of civilians, sometimes even successfully drawing out their oldest memories in a trance-like state. The things she learned were all recorded and passed on to Ren, who started to place the puzzle pieces on a table, slowly making the picture clearer and clearer.

"It is hard to believe it, but it is true…." Ren stood at a table, watching the piling stacks of papers on it, all of them recording the townsfolk's fragmented memories. "All of them originally died on the same day!"

"When you tore open the Sky!" Ophila replied, standing next to her, and the only other soul in the room was Ariana.

"Yeah…" Ren nodded slowly and with a heavy expression.

"Did they die because of the Cosmos's energy invading our Realm?" Ariana asked, and Ren only answered after a little bit of a pause, pondering the same thing for a long time now.

"It should not be the case… I can't rule it out, but then it would have resulted in millions dying! It is more likely they were dying as the event was going on. Passing through life and death at the moment, I tore it open. Maybe it had a different effect on those who were just passing on. But it is doubtful! I died at the same time, so what about me? My technique protected my memories and feelings, so I could've been torn to shreds just the same! Especially because I was at the epicenter of it all! Yet I wasn't!"

"If not, the Tear and the flooding of pure energy is what caused it…." Ophila crossed her arms, "Then it had to be the working of a spell. I also do not believe the flooding of energy would have caused it! It awakened the first demons and nurtured the world; It was everything but destructive!"

"And the only ones who can make a spell that influences reincarnation are the twins!" Ren agreed, and that was when the door opened, and Orsi came in hurriedly.

"I found something important!" She said, gasping for air, clearly hurrying here immediately, raising her hand with a recording crystal. When Ren took it away and infused her energy, the voice of Zakku was coming from it, clearly in a trance, reliving the last minutes of his life before death.

"I was a general of his Majesty… the head warrior of the land, able to raise walls on the battlefield, a wonder bestowed upon me by the Gods… My name is Zakkun, the Guardian of Helt," he murmured, relieving more than 2000 years old memory. Back then, a feat like that was already way above others as cultivators were a rare sight.

"Helt?" Ariana asked, but Ophila just shrugged.

"There were countless kingdoms; whatever was Helt back then, it is nothing now, lost in the flow of time!"

"We were fighting against the western barbarians, raiding our fort, and I was struck down… Those damned filthy mongrels somehow got their hands on catapults! I bet the damned Frenlens had a hand in it! My part of the wall was hit, and I was buried under the rubble, suffocating to death under its weight."

"What comes next is…." Orsi murmured as they listened more carefully to Zakku's voice.

"When I was floating up, watching the battlefield getting smaller and smaller, I heard two voices… beckoning at me. I don't remember what they said, but I remember a feeling… like I was caught in something, getting drawn away from where… where I should go! I… don't know! I didn't want to go! I wanted to stay! I had to stay!" He quickened his breathing in the recording, getting almost panicky. "I can't go towards the voice; that is not normal! I know it! I feel it! Somebody, help me!" came the crying voice of his that, after a few seconds, calmed down quickly. "There were so many voices saying the same… And He listened to us! The Sky opened up! I heard the Mad God's voice, saw him fighting with the others, and how they struck him down! Those traitors! But when he opened the Sky, I was freed, escaping the strange thing that was sinking its claws into me! I was freed!" came a relieved sigh at the end as the recording stopped.

"That is all. After it, he fell unconscious! He must rest before even moving again; recalling this memory almost killed him!" Orsi shook her head.

"It IS the twins!" Ophila and Ren said at the same time.

"Are they collecting souls?" Ariana asked as she crossed her hand, thinking out loud.

"If we start from there, I wouldn't think it is a wrong assumption!" Ophila nodded.

"Hmmm…" Ren walked up and down before the table, thinking, "Nobody pays attention to it, not even the other Gods; they leave it to the twins as none of them thinks they could influence it! They could do whatever they wanted, and nobody would be the wiser! The questions are, since when and for what reason are they collecting souls! Damn… we need to look into this somehow! Orsi, I hate to ask you this, but can you stay here and see if you can dig up something else from them?"

"Yes!" She cupped her hands. "I'll do it, don't worry about it!" She exclaimed with a determined voice, happy to finally be able to repay everything as it was Ren who gave her a new life, saving her.

"I will go and send out some of my spies and warn my brothers!" Ophila nodded at Ren. "There are multiple sects following the twins; we are going to start and monitor them as a priority!"

"One more thing!" Ren stopped her before she could go. "Can you contact Nilier?" She looked into her eyes.

"What?" Ophila froze for a moment but then quickly calmed down, thinking about it. "I can..." She murmured with a defeated sigh, "I'll visit her main temple!"

"Thanks!" Ren smiled before nodding, letting Ophila disappear.

"What are your plans, Master?" Ariana asked after they only remained in the room.

"For now, nothing. We know too little to start planning anything! But if this is true, their souls were being absorbed by not the natural reincarnation cycle! When the Sky opened up, it must have damaged their 'fishing nets' and let a few thousand souls or even more escape! No wonder they were that angry when they appeared!" Ren laughed a little. "They are not used to being fucked by others~."

"Master!" Ariana murmured with a smile.

"Aaahhh, whatever! Poor souls, now I am not that angry… I even pity them! I'll reinforce this village a little, set some rules for them, and have Orsi and Reignar train them up a little! The latter has the gift of multiple affinities being used simultaneously! Maybe he can work out something!"

"Are you planning to build a base of yours here?" Ariana chuckled, but Ren just only smiled, not answering her question.

…
….
…..

Nilier was inside her own little realm; finally, after weeks, she managed to calm down her mind and restore her usually stoic and cool outer look when a sudden message reached her mind. It came through the faith that her followers generated, and when hearing its contents, he could not help but be shocked.

"Is this some kind of prank?" She murmured to herself before disappearing from her garden, and when she opened her eyes, she was standing in the middle of a huge, white marble temple. Surrounding the platform she appeared on were a handful of young and beautiful women dressed in pure white robes laced with jade-like, incredibly thin green threads that only shone brightly when the sun's light scattered on their clothing. Watching her kneeling, praying maidens, she flashed a small, satisfied smile before her eyes landed on Ophila. She stood not far away, waiting for her with crossed arms before her chest. "At first, I did not want to believe it, but it is true! An Immortal, visiting my temple, requesting to meet with me! Is it about the previous battle?" Nilier walked forward, wearing a sarcastic smile. "You are lucky that you are a woman and you were let inside of here!" she held her hand behind her back, looking into her eyes without blinking.

"I won't thank you for it! And I only came because my Dad has asked me to do so!" Ophila replied with a simple, emotionless voice, but that alone made Nilier stop in her stride and the smile she wore quickly vanished. All the maidens present gently raised their heads, listening to them, watching Ophila, ready to jump in if required. Not all of them were in the know, but those who were privy to the most secretive things knew that the previous exchange meant that the Mad God had resurfaced, drawing shock onto their faces.

"How is he?" Nilier asked after a brief pause, managing to remain calm and indifferent on the surface.

"He is fine! Even better, he is only a step away from becoming an Immortal." Ophila answered honestly, as lying would be easily discovered before a God's senses.

"Should've suspected that…." She closed her eyes with a soft sigh. "So? What does he want?"

"Here." Ophila presented a rolled-up parchment with everything they discovered written down, passing it to Nilier. "Read it, and don't worry, it is not a love letter! Dad wanted to meet with you to tell you personally, but in the end, he gave way to our objections!" she said firmly, watching every move Nilier made and then her changing expressions as she read it. "We don't trust you at all," Ophila said coldly, but Nilier ignored her completely.

"This is a heavy implication. A smart plan by you and your brothers," she spoke after she read it through, destroying the parchment with a quick blaze of fire, not leaving even ashes behind. "At least you are trying something new! Probably his idea, eh? Always liked playing around with others' emotions."

"Believe what you will!" Ophila shrugged, "It is up to you if you go and investigate it or not! I did what Dad asked me to do; the rest is up to his ex-girlfriend to do!" she turned around, not wasting any time there, but that word alone shook most of the maidens present. Their Goddess…? An ex? This was not even known by the most elite members of theirs!

"I am not his ex!" Nilier retorted with an angry voice.

"Yes, you are!" Ophila answered with a satisfied smirk, looking back over her shoulder into Nilier's eyes. "He had married already in this life!" she said, feeling especially good while watching her reactions to the news. "See ya~" She mocked her a little more before teleporting away.

Nilier stood there for a brief moment, taking a few breaths to recompose herself before her maidens.

"Immortals have no sense of shame!" Nilier turned around as her maidens were nodding heavily, agreeing with her. "Call up a gathering of my Maidens and Priests! I want everyone back here! There may be a crusade brewing!" she shouted before disappearing, and her disciples were shocked as there were never before such words uttered amongst the followers of Nilier. Skoorn's disciples frequently went on so-called crusades, attacking others in the name of their God, but the others…? Rarely! Theirs? Never before. When the bells rang, and their sounds were carried far away by the wind in the immediate vicinity of Nilier's main Sect, the first of her followers went into shock, and for a brief moment, they knew not what to do. When they finally started to scramble and recall everybody who followed the Goddess of Purity, roaming the wide world, the peaceful area around the temple in the middle of a flower-filled field became one of the busiest places in the realm.