"Today's show was so boring!" Novitates whined as he watched Ophelia leave the stage, her body covered in injuries and slightly limping. "There was nothing to get excited about! She kept grunting but never said anything interesting or cool!"

Cultura sent a death glare to the God of Novelty in resentment, fury evident in her glowing red irises. "Will you shut your mouth, Novitates? You have no clue what you are talking about, the art of war is not something someone like you could ever hope to understand."

Obviously offended, the other scoffed. "Oh please, you keep talking about it with arrogance, like you knew so much better than me, but the truth is, Cultura, I think you are starting to lose touched with reality."

It was a bait, and Cultura seemed to latch onto it immediately.

"Excuse me?!" She stood up from her sit abruptly, the throne she had been previously sitting on being thrown backward. "And what, pray tell, do you mean by that?" She hissed, only earning an amused chuckle from the other.

"Oh, you know what I'm talking about." He stood up as well, albeit more composed than his colleague, before joining her under the star roof. Their two screens immediately closed, their respective apprentices disappearing in a flicker before letting the darkness in.

"You have not been on the field for so long, I wonder, what kind of excuse did you feed your people so they would leave you alone?" He taunted her, a smirk on his lips as he watched the other's fingers twitched. 

Aeternitas sighed as she spun her chair around, her usual smile still on her face. This kind of conflict between Cultura and Novitates had not happen in an eternity and she was quite curious about how this one would end, after all the last one nearly wiped out--

BEEP!

She blinked in surprise as the sound stopped as quickly as it started, turning her head to see where it came from. Unluckily for her, it seemed like she was the only one who heard it. 

Cultura and Novitates were still gravitating toward one another, their little argument looking like it was about to escalate to a physical brawl while the other deities were still watching their respective Dove in silence. Only one Goddess of The Seven Heralds was known not to spy (quite ironically) on her apprentice.

Said Goddess was looking straight in her direction, smiling as she brought her index to her lips.

 As realization hit her, Aeternitas let out a breathy laughter before nodding and returning to her activities. Vissicism was right, it would be quite problematic if she were to let out such sensible information while she was being watched.

"And I wonder what you told your people when your last invention nearly--" Cultura got up to his face, shoving her finger into his face aggressively. She would have continued her sentence if only the loud impact of wood against the concrete did not interrupt her mid-way.

The two immediately separated, before kneeling down next to one another, heads lowered. After a few seconds, the remaining members also left their comfortable seats, bowing down in respect as footsteps approached their location.

Vines and flowers quickly made their way through the pores in the walls, spreading to the ceiling in a bust of colours and shapes as a sweet scent swiped through the room. A flower shaped like a bird mimicked a chirp as it flied straight toward the throne illuminated by the stars above.

It landed on the headrest, immediately causing it to light up.

Its owner finally showed up, his distinctive crown of Red Spider Lilies resting proudly on his head as he dragged his heavy robe around. Dux, God of Life, had finally arrived. 

He smiled and waved at everyone, some of them rolling their eyes at him. He should know that they were not kneeling because they chose to, after all he too often liked to show off the power he had over his colleagues. 

That is one thing both Gods and humans could say they had in common.

***

"Is there really no way for us to go back home?" Myra let out a grunt as she stood over the piano, glaring at its keys like it had personally wronged her. If the instrument itself did not do anything, it was still a reminder that she was not where she belonged.

Tenebris shook their head. "I'm afraid not." Their voice echoed once or twice as usual. "We need to keep you here in case problems arise."

Myra clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Yeah, whatever you say." She got up from her stool, falling face first into the covers of her bed. Tenebris followed her quietly, humming in curiosity as they observed her behaviour.

"Why is it that you seem so desperated to go back?" Tenebris finally asked, after a few minutes of silence, only broken by the sound of flowing water. Seeing Myra's confusion and lack of answer, they proceeded to elaborate. "What is so interesting about Mendax that you want to leave this place so bad?"

"I told you, I'm at home there." She closed her eyes as she muttered the last syllable, the memory of her mother's loving smile the only thing she could see. "My mother is living there and while we may have argued here and there, I love her and I want to stand by her."

However, when she opened her eyes back and stared at Tenebris, she could tell that her explanation did not satisfy the petite being. 

"I do not understand." They admitted, now floating above Myra's covers as if taking a closer look at the human could help understand her better. "You say that you love your mother, that much I can understand, but does love really make one want to be at the object of that love's side? Can you not love something or someone and stay at a distant?"

Myra raised her eyebrow, surprised by that turn of event. She would have never guessed Tenebris could be so clueless, especially since they had been in this world for far longer than she ever had. 

"Do you not have any family, Tenebris? Do you not want to spend time with them?" Silence was the Ducibus's only answer as they stayed in place, stunned.

Sensing their confusion, she was about to change the subject but Tenebris seemed quite determined not to let this conversation escaped their grasp. "To my knowledge, I was not conceived but created."

The lower part of their hood perked up, resembling the tail of a startled cat. "... Would that make Master Vissicim my mother?"

Myra's nose scrunched at those words but she quickly regained her composure. "That depends, do you love her, Tenebris?"

"I am not sure I quite grasp the concept of love well." Their hood lowered again as they floated next to Myra's pillow, plopping down next to her. 

"Let me ask you another question then, do you feel safe with her? Would you trust her to help you if you needed assistance?"

[ERROR]

[Attempt to access forbidden knowledge, erasing data...]

***

"Master wants you to acknowledge your role." Tenebris' words made Myra pause.

"What is that supposed to mean?" She hissed as she put down the plate of desserts in her hands. "I have already risked my life multiple times because of that role she assigned to me, what else could she possibly want from me?"

The sight of the setting sun in the distance colouring the sky a honey hue as the blades of grass swayed in an elegant waltz, followed closely by the tree's feeble leafs could have made for the perfect picture. A peaceful silence had befell the beautiful terrain, the simple lullaby of the wind being the only melody accompanying the lack of nuisances.

If it was not for Tenebris, Myra would have finally gotten the courage to step outside, admiring the scenery, and appreciate the only thing the Gods seemed to be able to do right: make nature beautiful. Hell, she might even have brought her favourite book with her, finishing the last few pages of the characters' journey as she took in the pureness of the air.

But all of her plans were sabotaged.

And it was no surprise to her that this wicked Goddess had something to do with this.

If this coward could stop hiding away in the safety of her unreachable chambers, Myra would gladly give her a taste of her own medicine or at the very least, inconvenience her in the worst way possible for her before she runs out of time.

Tenebris seemed nervous, it must be hard for them to have to play the delivery man for Vicissim. If she wanted her to acknowledge her role that bad, would it not be normal for her to finally show face and tell it to her face instead of always relying on the Ducibus?

"You are the Spy." Tenebris reminded her gently, their voice soft as they attempted to soften their echoes. "Your main task is to collect intel on the Seven and we are currently still in a tough position when it comes to the Seventh's identity."

Myra froze as she heard those words. "We... We lack information on the Seventh's identity?" How many centuries have passed since the creation of the Mystical Doves? How was it possible that they were able to defend humanity for all these years and lack such basic knowledge on the enemy? No, the biggest problem here is how they never figured out anything.

How stupid could they all get?

Tenebris tilted their head on the side, seemingly confused by Myra's shock. "Yes..." They confirmed, their voice soft as they continued: "Why are you asking? Did you not already know that?"

Myra shook her head vigorously. "How the hell was I supposed to know that? You guys act all mighty and stuff but you have no information on the seventh member of the organization that you are fighting against?"

Tenebris chose to ignore the blatant disdain Myra was displaying, instead focusing on her first question. "Typically, whenever Master selects someone as the next Spy, they instantly know what they are searching for and the intel the previous Spies have collected."

"So, what does it mean if it is not my case?" Her question seemed to fall on deaf ears for a moment, so much in fact that it got her questioning if Tenebris was even awake. She called out to them and they eventually stopped zoning out on her.

"My apologies." They scratched the back of their robe, where their neck would be if they were a human. "I am not sure what this all means either, I will be talking to Master about this problem later though." They mumbled something under their breath, quickly regaining their composure.

"You need information on the Seventh then." Myra confirmed, crossing her arms around her chest. "But where am I supposed to get this information, exactly?" She asked, frowning as she could feel another migraine pulling the corners of her brain.

"It is not like I could just come up to the enemy and ask them about it, how would I even find them?" As she asked, she could see the Ducibus looking more and more distraught, only looking for an opening to get out of this conversation.

"... I am afraid this is something you will have to figure out yourself." They finally answered, much to Myra's frustration. She was about to start ranting if not for the petite being beating her to it. "Master has explicitly told me to leave you in the dark for this mission."

Her teeth clanged together as her fingers held on for dear life onto her sleeves, nails digging into her skin. She squeezed her eyes shut, only able to discern the colour red. Rage, that is what was making it so hard for her to breathe normally. Rage is what made her heart beat faster, pumping more blood for a fight that was most likely going to break out soon.

Of course, that dirty Goddess had been looking to piss her off since the very beginning. 

That would explain why Myra ended up in her current situation pretty well after all.

She chose someone with more hatred for the divine than love for all that they created as her servant to torment her, then she made it so she would not come out of this endeavour of hers alive and above all, made her run dangerous errands for her without any information or instructions to take joy in seeing her struggle and fail.

Because of her, she was already not going to live her 28th birthday.

Because of her, she was not allowed to see her mother when she was free from those duties she imposed on her.

The list was long.

Her body trembled slightly as her chest heaved, her lips stretching in a small grin as chuckles escaped her mouth. She must have looked deranged, if the way Tenebris called out to her in concern was any indication of that.

She wanted to play like this? Fine.

She got up from her seat, abandoning both the book she was holding and the plate of pastries on the table. Myra ignored the confused cries of Tenebris as she walked out of the dining room, slamming the door shut behind her.

Just as she left, a familiar silhouette walked toward her with a smile.

"Myra--"

"Sorry Yazan, I would love to hang out but I was given a mission to fulfil." She managed to say between cackles, something that clearly seemed to shock the younger boy. However, it was hard to tell if he was more disturbed by her behaviour or by the content of her apology. "I won't be here for quite a while."

"... That is fine, but are you alright?" He reached out to her but she immediately dodged his extended hand, walking right past him as she assured him that everything was indeed okay.

She left the building, yelling Avner's name at the top of her lungs.

"What can I do for you, Lady Windsor?" He asked as he bowed down in respect, surprised at being summoned this early on. 

"Prepare the car, we're leaving in ten minutes to Lex Aeterna."

That stupid Goddess will see how badly she was going to regret her actions soon enough.