Medio: How long has it been? ~ Present

Medio was a bustling city, far from being the biggest of the nation, but its position gave it favor when the world still had a future, and its size attested to the hopes the world had for it. Maybe one of the most distinguishing factors was the fact that the city was perfectly colliding with a cliff while also being on the steep side of a mountain, which made the labor of protecting it from outsider invasions quite easy in comparison to all the neighboring towns.

And so, Medio was believed to be the second safest place the world had right now, just behind the fortified city of Yatro. But even then, a city is stuck on the land just like its people, and from the vast expanse that once could be seen from the ample side of the city, the inevitable future could now be seen approaching. What was once a beautiful visage people from all over the world came to see, had started being consumed by the waters. What a tragic day it was when they finally realized the blue that shined in the distance was no longer the colors of the sky and the mountains in the distance, but the waters that would eventually drown them all.

But, even if like everything it was destined to fall, at least they could take comfort in the fact that it was safe from the beasts until that day arrived, right? After all, with their position, they could have seen any invasion coming from miles away, and as they came from the sea, it was impossible for them to come down the mountain. It was safe.

While people did everything they could to fall asleep, in the government building of such a safe city, a beast was roaming with parsimony. That monster in particular was not like any of the others, as she didn’t use the characteristic blue tattered vests sported by everyone else, but instead dressed as a queen would do. And as such, she also carried herself with the same poise and elegance befit of her distinguished appearance.

She suddenly stopped, and with her, the chants that were sung by the group of beasts besides the invocation circle stopped too. After all, their guest had finally arrived. Mors, goddess of death, was now in the room with them.

For a moment, there was nothing but silence. Mors, who had been taken from Sueño against her will, did not react at first when she appeared. When the elegant beast stood in front of her, she decided to ignore it and instead looked outside the window.

“So we truly are in Medio. I guessed correctly then. You know that Ases will come, right?” Asked Mors, refusing to acknowledge the beasts around them.

“Is that how you greet your own family, Electryone?” Asked the queen beast, approaching Mors little by little.

“We have not been family for a long, long time now, Halia. And you know that I don’t use that name anymore.”

“And I don’t use the name Halia anymore either, but here we are. Also, you may not use it anymore, but you’ll always be my granddaughter, Electryone”  Halia repeated, irritating Mors.

“And there you go with that little speech again. It doesn’t matter, really, as soon as Ases arrives, I’ll make sure he dismantles whatever the hell you got going in here and then I’ll go on my merry way.”

“I don’t fear your little helper, my dear.”

Mors turned around and looked at Halia, who tried to caress her face, but she refused, slapping her hand away.

“Don’t even dare to touch me, especially with that body of yours” Mors said, starting to lose her temper.

“So many years and you still have not been able to accept it, although I can’t really blame you, it took me a long time to do so myself.”

Mors turned around, looked at the crown that Halia had on her head and grabbed it. It was an old rhedosian relic, but she simply threw it out the window. By the way she was looking at her, it gave the impression that she would throw Halia itself through it, if only she was physically capable of doing it.

She could not, but she could still grab her by the robes and raise her in the air, while the rock in the room started to corrode. The beasts who performed the calling ritual started aging, in tranquility, they felt as if years were passing for them. But they were not in pain, nor scared, they just allowed it to happen.

Halia was suffering the effects too, but she just looked at Mors, completely unfazed. Her once beautiful but now grossly misshapen face, the result of several scars and transformations as if she had been combined with a wide amalgam of beasts at the same time, looked at her eyes without the slightest concern for her own life.

“How incredibly petty, that is enough.”

Halia hit down Mors’s crown, as if she wanted it to incrust it on her head. She stepped back in pain, but recovered her composure quickly.

“I tried to be reasonable but I see that won’t happen, so let me make something clear from the get go, you can’t kill me. And considering who posseses your violence, I can assure you your helper cannot do it either.” continued Halia, unbothered by the Mors's display of power.

“Bringing me here was a mistake. Maybe I can’t kill you, but you can’t contain me, even if you wanted to. If I need to, I’ll rot the entire city down with you in it, but I refuse to stay here with you any longer.”

Mors started concentrating, channeling her power inside herself. She wasn’t sure if she should follow up on her threat, but of course, she couldn’t let Halia know of her doubt. She needed to get out of there

“Todo”

And with that single word, Mors piped down, quietly. All the death that was about to befall the city dissipated in an instant.

“You wouldn’t dare” Mors said, not with anger, but with fear.

“You did an incredible job hiding him, I for one didn't even know about him until the priest had already caught him. Unfortunately for you, it's too late for threats, my dear.”

The two looked at each other, in silence. Mors was trying to find the slightest trace of deception in her eyes, but could find nothing. Ever since she was a child, she always felt like she was one step behind, and that’s a fact that didn’t change even when she became a God.

“Is he in here?” Asked Mors, finally defeated.

“Of course not, you would be able to find him if he was. But we have him safe and sound, if that makes you feel any better. I also don’t want to hurt him, so let’s be amenable with each other, shall we?”

Another moment of silence. Now that Halia had proven she was in control of the situation, Mors visually deflated. They had her right where they wanted her, and she could do nothing about it.

“So, what is it this time? Is flooding the world not enough for you?” Mors finally said, resigned.

“I’ll put it quite simply, my dear. I called you here because I wanted to see you, that was all of it. But, the priest has other ideas, and he needs you to give him the blessing agaisnt violent death.

“How absolutely daft. You truly believe I would give you that kind of gift? My job as a Goddess is to protect death as a rule, not to break it.” Mors said, anger starting to rile her up again.

“Certainly, as much of a rule as waking up after falling asleep, or that the sea and the land are separated by the shore. But the rules are vanishing now, aren’t they? It’s a matter of time before death becomes a matter of the past, I fear” 

“I can’t believe that after so long, you still have nothing but incoherent ramblings on your head.” Said Mors, walking away from her.

“I’ll give you time to think about it, my dear. We are not going to hurt you, but we are not going to let you leave either. So let’s save us both the grief, and let’s embrace the new future that awaits us both, my dear, dear child.” Halia said, with an honest smile, born from seeing her granddaughter after so long.