Why won't you show yourself?

What kind of God lets another God massacre His creations and let said God get away with it? The creatures created by Yvara slaughtered the Toscans by drowning them and Esgard did something about it but why wasn't He doing anything about this situation now? Why wasn't He doing anything about me?

Notice me Esgard!

I sounded like I was desperate for attention and sadly I was. I wasn't denying anything. This was a life and death situation and many have already died by my hands and I was giddy about it.

Can't He see how good my mood was? Didn't He realize how atrocious and ominous this situation was? If I was merrily humming and waltzing then that meant more deaths were coming.

Heck I was growing scared of my own insanity and I can't tell anyone about it!

HA HA HA! MORE PEOPLE WILL DIE AND I WAS LOVING IT.

"Corlos, the shifting has begun," Chaos came up to me after minutes of waiting for Esgard to show up.

I turned around and found everyone frozen up except for Rupture, Chaos, Guta and I. The old priest was trembling like a leaf and as much as I wanted to slice him up into little pieces or broil him alive, I'll wring out information from him first and then I'll sauté him.

"You knew the crazies will come, how?" I asked Guta without looking at him. Without his staff, he was powerless. These holy servants were given great power by Esgard and with that power arrogance started to grow within their hearts.

The priest managed to compose himself back into a state of fragile valor before answering to my question.

"What makes you think I'll tell you?" Guta questioned with defiance.

A simper spread across my lips and I turned to him fully now. Rupture sauntered his way behind Guta in case the old priest will do something that will cost my life and Chaos slowly started to stand in front of me in protection to avoid paying that price.

It wasn't Guta that they should be worried about.

"And what makes you think that you won't?" I challenged him back. "Your planet is dying and still you display your conceitedness and self-interest to those who only want to help."

Guta stepped forward with a sneer on his face and Rupture held him back with two hands.

"Lies! This planet is far from dying. The days of Judgment have finally come and Esgard will ascend to reward the virtuous and punish the bent!"

Ah this was one of those "End of the World" shit that Gods stir up to make their creations worship them more. I heard of this from Guardian back in our planet and this was one of the tricks that Fuxborh taught the newborn Gods in case things go into an unfavorable path and they needed a fresh start in a blank paper.

"I see... Well you're not looking any straight to me so have you prepared your apology yet? " I asked him.

Guta relaxed himself in his delusional stance and closed his eyes. "My God is with me and I am with Him. The crazed ones are only the start of His divine providence and I am merely a shepherd guiding the message across the world."

I felt Chaos slightly bend to whisper something in my ear causing a crack of humor in my lips.

"We have a cuckoo in the nest..."

This guy was far from being cuckoo. He was a mix of having a massive breakdown and a worst case of mumbo jumbo bird shit vodoo non compos mentis fanatic.

What was that?

I seriously didn't know but I was witnessing it firsthand.

The first sign of such disease was having an obsessive and possessive behavior known as the Ebu Stage. You'll make up lies to destroy those which threaten you and have the tendency to whip someone to your amusement. The second stage was the Guta stage. Sadistic and spiritual insanity govern the mind of the ill and they have a high risk of promoting cannibalism. Further studies about the current stages and future stages have yet to be conducted because the first subject sadly died and I was at the edge of slaughtering the second test subject if not stopped.

"Get everyone inside. Put the priestesses and priests in a cell and put this old geezer in office arrest," I instructed the two brothers.

Extracting a proper answer from Guta will be mentally tiring and emotionally straining. The next thing I know I'll have ten feathery fingers in my palm and ten toes finely cut on the floor and I wouldn't give a shit.

Rupture escorted Guta inside while giving warning looks at Chaos and Chaos seemed to completely understand what his brother meant when he nodded in a dejected expression.

"I better get to work then," Chaos faked cheered and pumped his fists up. "You're really amazing and uh... scary but amazing," he complemented while avoiding eye contact with me. "No wonder Rupture fell for you—I mean I always knew you were great but yeah... Um are we still friends?"

My main issues about solving world crisis and managing self-control were immediately snatched by the issue between Rupture and I and the fact that Chaos knew about it.

"Of course we're still friends, what are you talking about?" I asked him in a worried tone. What did Rupture tell him?

Chaos cleared his throat and he was giving off this atmosphere of being used only to be kicked and thrown away.

Hey I didn't use him for anything only to dump him. I did that to his brother not to him so he had no right to be upset.

"I'm glad that we're still friends. Rupture told me to stay away from you and it's a general rule in our planet to stay away from someone's property especially if it's already marked."

Property?

Me?

Corlos?

Marked?

Not in a million dicks.

My annoyance simmered and I wanted nothing more but to strangle a certain someone's balls and skewer them using Guta's bones.

I raised my hand to touch Chaos and he hastily turned away.

"I uh, better go."

"Chaos—"

"I hope you're happy with my brother," he bitterly cut off before running to the temple dragging two frozen Knights with him.

"Sheesh, what a drama queen," Guardian commented. "If he wants to smash just let him smash. This is why I stayed single."

"You're still single because no one bothered themselves with you," I scoffed.

"Ha! That's what you thought kid. Your Guardian was smoking back in the old days," he boasted.

"Someone you pissed must have set you on fire," I retorted.

I went back inside of the temple and into the room where Kogen rested and generated electricity out of my hand before slamming my hand on his chest. His body vehemently shook and his eyes shot open. I cut off the electricity from my hand when the God of Justice screamed.

"What is your problem Corlos?!" he questioned me. The burns on his body quickly healed which only encouraged me to sting the other God with harmless electricity.

"Ouch!" Kogen yelped.

"Are you awake yet?" I drawled.

"Stop that Corlos!" he snapped only to be zapped again.

"How's your beauty sleep pai?" I asked him while my eyes feasted on his agony.

"Alright! You're mad I get—Corlos!"

"I'm glad you know that I am not pleased with your absence," I scoffed. "Now talk."

Kogen visited Esgard in His realm and talked about the missing Light Stone. At first Esgard was completely sane and He assured Kogen that He was the one who ordered a servant to retrieve the stone but once the said Light Stone arrived, Esgard drastically changed.

"When the Light Stone returned to his body, Esgard started to get violent. My suspicion is that someone must have converted the Light Stone's power into something else which made Esgard be the way he is right now," Kogen explained in a grim expression.

"Why would He even separate His own power away from Himself and let incapable and self-righteous scums guard it?" I asked him. It didn't make any sense. This was just careless and stupid and just freaking Ebu and Guta all in one plate.

"Putting the Light Stone on land makes it easier for Esgard to manage the shifts and because of Esgard's sudden take off from lucidity and abrupt landing to lunacy, it's only a matter of time before Belraria is flooded once again."

All my suspicions to the sea water that I found were confirmed.

"So what do we do?" I asked him.

"Easy, we purify the planet by purifying the creator," Kogen told me with a confident look on his face.

"If it was so easy then why was Esgard's pet carrying you like shredded packed lunch?" I teased him.

Kogen's confident smirk fell and a blush of embarrassment formed on his cheeks. "I was caught off guard."

"And you said this was going to be easy because?"

"Because you're going to help me," he simply answered with a further expansion of red on his face.

"Aw cute," I cooed.

Kogen and I discussed our plan with regards to purifying Esgard using a rehabilitation stone in his possession. We were going to seal him inside the stone and keep Him in there until the stone dissolves and releases Him.

"There is one tiny problem," Kogen murmured.

"Don't lie, tell me how big it is," I deadpanned.

The God of Justice released a sigh. "I don't know how to get back inside His realm. It's probably closed off."

Irritation started to bubble inside of me and I massaged my forehead. "How do we get in then?"

Kogen began to think of our plan of action and an idea slipped into his mind. Seeing the scowl on his face told me that this plan of his was going to have a double effect.

"I have an idea but it's not a pretty one."

"Trust me, I've seen a lot of ugly faces to even worry about how your plan is going to be," I assured him.

I stormed out of the room walking in long and fast strides hurrying to get to where we locked Guta inside. Chaos was leaning against the wall just outside of our room and when he saw me, he automatically straightened up.

"Corlos," Chaos called out.

"I'm in a hurry Chaos, what is it?" I asked him.

The General looked a bit hesitant but seeing the urgency in my expression, he manned up and told me something that I appreciated.

"I made a casket for Croot. I was wondering if you wanted to see her before I burry her," he told me.

My face softened and I gave him a solemn smile. "I would like that."

I never experienced grieving before. I never experienced attending an entombment and never really thought of having the need to since I was surrounded by immortal Gods.

And now speaking from experience, it honestly sucked.

I slightly peeled the golden linen covering the head of Croot and bitterly winced.

This was what death looked like.

And I will be seeing more of it.

"You don't look happy," Guardian whispered inside of my head. "A while back you were a hysterical maniac dancing under the pouring rain made out of blood. What's the long face God of Death and Destruction?"

Guardian was right. Why wasn't I blissful? Why did it hurt me so bad? I massacred thousands of crazed ones not caring about their past lives or even considering that they had a chance to get back their lives and yet here I was...

"That's the thing isn't it?" I replied back. "I'm the God of Death and Destruction..." I dreaded.

"That you are."

That I truly was.

"And yet I couldn't even give her a better way to die."

"There are things still uncontrollable even for a God," Guardian comforted.

"That's ridiculous. You're just saying that to make me feel better and it's not helping!" I spat.

"I'm telling you this because it's the truth. When have I ever fed you sugarcoated lies Corlos? If you continue to blame yourself for things in which you can't handle then you won't survive this universe. You'll drown yourself in self-blame and regrets."

Guardian's words never meant anything to me. I was just too young and too immature to take his words into heart that all his supervision got drowned by all my introjections. I set him aside and I felt like that severed our bond.

"You don't know anything," I bitterly seethed. "So just shut up... Just shut up and leave me alone!"

"Do you have anything to say to her?" Chaos asked me.

I stared mindlessly at Croot's corpse and then turned away.

"Prepare for a mass funeral," I instructed Chaos. "We'll need Belraria's entire land."

I ambled away with weak and shaky legs but had a strong desire to crush everything that will get in my way.

I won't stop for anything.

I won't stop for anyone.

"Come with us," Chaos called out stopping me from my tracks. I felt two arms embrace me from behind and I was pressed against his body. "After all of this let's travel throughout the universe. Come with us...okay?"

"You...want me to come with you?" I asked him with wide eyes.

Chaos twirled me around and I caught a glimpse of his constrained expression before being kissed directly to the lips.

It was just a smack but it meant more compared to what I had with Rupture. It was gentle and considerate which was the complete contradictory of the name of the person giving this kiss to me.

At that time I found my anchor. Hope was replenished within me and I found love in front of the dead.

I found the love which destroyed me.

I barged inside Guta's room and saw Kogen already waiting for me. Guta was beaten up pretty badly and Kogen gave me the "I didn't do it" face. I cleared my throat and I offered a bowl of water to Guta in which he accepted wholeheartedly.

"Guta, I think we started off pretty bad. Why don't we start over again?"

...

...

...

"Are you sure that setting him free is a good idea?" Rupture questioned us. "If he goes back to his temple, he has an extra staff that he can use to get back on us."

I watched the carriage carrying Guta from afar and shrugged.  He bit the bait and we were already cooking him. We'll see how he'll taste.

"Knowing him, he will get back on us and I'm hoping that he will go all out."

Belraria will be covered in blood and Esgard should ready Himself for unwanted guests.

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