Chapter 24: A Perilous Return

Two weeks have passed since the revival of the one creates disasters.

Divi, the mature creation god, has relayed this information, along with other tidbits, to Nameless and Divine Flash. While these two have been busy, hunkered down in Lunace, deep in the middle of the city.

Nam sighs, tired. They have been holed up in this hotel for weeks, carefully plotting their next move. Nameless had been doing many jobs for that dirty city informant, Wells. What a scummy little bastard. He dressed proper and dapper, but was one of the worst human beings one could ever encounter. That wretched smile of his, those tiny little glasses, that little top hat.

Seeing him constantly tested her already limited patience. But it was necessary. They were getting very, very close to finding the location of the kidnap villagers.

Of those little children, Nicolas and Rachel, those poor orphan kids who were kidnapped against their will. How horrible, the thought makes her gravely upset.

Of Nathan. A big brother to the two of them and the man who taught her swordsmanship.

So, Nam and Divine Flash would endure anything to rescue them from danger. The Magician merely tagged along, helping them out daily with this grueling ordeal. The sage had found them a plethora of weapons, plasma guns. Thermal grenades, some prototype defensive armor. And when asked where she found all this stuff, she smirked and said it just “fell” off some bodyguards.

“Fell my ass, Ms. Sage! You just knocked em out and stole their stuff. We ain’t that daft.” The blue-haired teen chuckles at how devious this prim and proper woman can be.

“What do you mean, they just handed over their goods right after they took a nap? Surely, it was a consensual offering, was it not?” That timeless smirk, always on that perfect looking face. How the hell did she enjoy everything? This woman was stranger than strange, bizarre beyond belief. The fact sometimes she slept upside down in some lotus pose in the air was enough to make them raise their eyebrows. But that could be overlooked.

This woman’s obsession with magic. Was she really just some magician that wandered the star systems and learned from old people? Not when the sage was writing weird ass symbols in some book. Or rubbing their backs in the shower, slowly empowering their magic with some physical technique.

It was beyond weird. But as time passed, they just shrugged and accepted it.

Not like questioning her would give them relatively useful answers. The woman was as dodgy as a snake even though the Great mage was a terrible liar. It was more like this elder just enjoyed life greatly, embracing the bad as much as they embraced the good. It was sobering in a way but unsettling in another.

They could not get a complete read on here, besides the fact this master is just hiding a lot from them. The magician spins about twirling those long beautiful legs as she is wearing a night gown.

“Gotten real comfy, I see, Ms. Sage?”

“As comfy as you are with your sister every night, Ms. Nam. Every night I can hear you two bathing together, holding hands, and your faces are very, very close, staring deeply into each other’s eyes. Practically a couple.”

“Hardly! We just like rubbing the soap together in the bath together. We would never date, you magic obsessed nerd.” A laugh can be heard, a genuine one across the room.

“No matter. It does not bother me. You two can clean each other as much as you like. We have more pressing matters, hmm? What have you learned today from our ever so helpful Mr. Wells? A delightful man, isn’t he?” Scowling noises come out of Nam’s mouth. The young girl hates every fiber of that informant's essence.

Just what you would expect out of info dealers. Scum worse than murderers. But luckily, tomorrow would be the start of the last job the dear red haired teenager had to do for Mr. Wells. Nameless needed to hunt down some of those cultists that were feeding fake information to people around the city. And frankly, even Mr. Wells knew how bad those folk were, if he hates someone, you know it's a bad sign. So for once in a rare agreement, Nam gladly takes this job. It will take a couple days. The cultists spotted have been hiding out in the west part of the city. Nam will need to follow them to their small den, then root them out.

The informant does not care if those insects return dead or alive, and heavily insists on killing them on sight. The girl does not take pleasure in murder but these people cannot be reasoned with.

They prey on the weak. Deceive the weaker minded.

And sell weapons that corrupt people’s minds, weapons that suck the life out of them and the people they shoot or stab. These cultists are beyond average gangs. They have a greater, unknown purpose. Since they all seem willing to die as soon as they get captured, too, to prevent information being leaked.

Scum was describing them lightly. Perhaps more of sub-human dirt or filth.

It will be a busy next few days, so, the teenager waves the ancient magi goodnight and turns in for the night.

The next day arrives. Nam quickly leaves after a hasty breakfast and begins her journey to the west side of this ailing city, which was known as Libra. Where the Libra’s city center is filled with those glorious ivory towers, the rest is mere slums. The drug-addled people riddled the street, either twitching from withdrawal or desperately begging for more credits to get that next big hit of Crysthos, a popular banned drug used by the less wealthy to cope.

One use of that stuff and your mind is hooked onto that forever. Nasty stuff that is hard to break an addiction from. Despite all the other terrible things barely being policed. Gangs sell booze to young children. The “schools” here merely train people to become servants of those damn demons overlording the place or to become illegal criminals. They train in crime, sex, and manipulation for those that want to follow in the footsteps of those heinous corporations.

These inverted schools are funded by the second biggest corpo, the I-ledgers. Fronting as a bank, they are merely just a planet wide crime syndicate that wants to enforce their rule over more and more people. So, anyone with sense, typically gets the hell out of the capital as soon as possible. The rest merely become slaves to their desires and tools to create more money.

Nam ignores these people, she has greater purpose.

After about an hour, the bored teenager begins closing in on a local Sybus. It will take passengers to designated stops in the city. One of the few remaining gracious gifts given to the poor. And of course, the bus is slow as hell.

It will take two hours to get there.

Everything in this god damn city is miserable. It was all by design. The design of that damnable Goddess of the Underrealm, who was still missing. Where on earth was this woman? It has been over a month now and still nowhere to be found. These thoughts run through that young, sharp mind of hers, as they slowly hover through the streets of the bustling city. It was close to noon.

All the hookers would start to shuffle out onto the street.

Some male, some women, some in between.

Like this hyena woman. Extremely beautiful and posing with remarkable make up, this prostitute wore the most revealing attire imaginable. A skimpy skirt barely masking those massive, muscled thighs. And most likely, hiding some obscenely large thing.

Nam did not want to stare too hard, it was rather lewd to think about.

And a crop top showing off a rather large bosom. That pretty hyena girl hopped on the bus and sat next to Nam, showing off those hefty assets.

“Want a good time hun?”

“No thank you. Besides, I am not exactly walking around with a bunch of credits, I don’t have money for this, anyway. Don’t you have better prey?” The hyena girl shrugs.

“Perhaps. But most people are scared, anyway. You know how hyenas work, right?”

“I am not stupid. Anyway, I decline. Go find someone else.” As the hyena turns away, she somewhat notices something. That red hair.

“That hair. Did you have a mother with red hair? With golden eyes? I used to live in that village that got razed.” This perks Nam’s interest, ignoring the obvious flirting that woman was doing with her body.

“You knew my mother? Ah. If only I knew where she went. We got abandoned at a young age, part of me still wants to find her.”

“I see. Well, you are of age, so feel free to find me again if you want to ‘play’. Since I like ya, I won’t charge ya. Ever. Something about you feels good. Feels like I’ll meet you again, hun.” The hyena throws some business card at the teenager and hops off the bus as it reaches its next stop, strutting away with grace.

“How strange. I met a damned prostitute today, what luck.” Sighing heavily, the sixteen-year-old shrugs. The bus will reach the west side stop in about thirty minutes.

And so it does. The next half an hour passes by without incident. The Sybus finally reaches the most dangerous part of the city. Nameless hops off, slowly gathering awareness of this foreign place. Even more prostitutes than before. And lowly gangs strutting out in the open. It was best not to interact with any of them.

Minding to yourself was the best way to survive in the slums, after all.

Walking down the wrong street could lead to your death in this place not fit for humans.

And following the established order was just as important. Need to know who to respect and who to ignore to live.

This was a place where life and death were at a crossroads.

It reminded her a little of fighting that War Goddess but in a much lesser, more murky sort of way. Nam walks forward and walks deeply into some back alleys.

Several more days pass.

Nam had brought enough credits for food and drink and little else. The teenager had found the den of those abominable people wearing the snake symbol proudly. There was a den of at least twenty of them, with some beastman that looked like the leader of this group.

They were inspecting their cache of weapons. As well what looked like some girl they had kidnapped. That large Lion man, wearing a dark cloak with snake patterns, had some horrible instrument in his hand. He plunged it deep into the girl's torso and was draining blood out of her in the worst way possible.

Right as the man was about to start his task, getting a blood sample for their lord, the Ouroboros, he could not finish his thought. A longsword slashed his body into two. Bone and flesh fall quickly onto the ground.

Blood splashes onto the right side of Nam's body. But it does not deter her. The rest of the cultists that were outside, five of them, quickly noticed, attempting to grab some of the weapons they had stockpiled near them.

Not that the enraged divine warrior would ever give them the chance.

In a super human sprint, the teenager easily slashes off the left hand of the man closest to the cultist rifle. Then in the next moment, beheads the hooded figure, a tiger head landing next to his feet. Another river of blood shoots out of the neck left and the body crumples to the side. The other four walk back in fear. But there was nothing they could do.

Within twenty seconds, all of them had been reassembled into a pile of guts.

There was no mercy for these souls, death was the fate that awaited them after this sight Nameless had seen. The youth slashes the door apart and bursts in.

Fire magic forms in her right hand. She throws it at another figure that is running away from her, trying to escape in the back exit of this place. The flame slams into his back and he screams in raging agony as he is burnt by flames that are hotter than 3000 degrees celsius.

That Magician was truly helping them learn quite quickly. Soon, Nam would be moving into more intermediate magic. For now, simple fireballs and a fire sphere were the best the furious red haired slayer could do at this moment.

Two more spheres of flame instantly shoot out of the left hand, incinerating another three members of the cult. Nine down, eleven to go. The teenager runs into another room, finding the rest hiding behind some quickly conceived magic barrier. This would not be enough to stop her rage.

Blue ki begins flowing into their long sword. This will easily slash apart their magic barrier. One screams at her in disbelief.

“Who are you? Using magic and ki with ease? No mortal could do that! No, it cannot be, it is the red-haired slayer!” As the bird woman screams as the barrier is slashed to pieces, Nam merely yells back at them, angry as hell.

“I see you bastards gave me a nickname! Yes, I have been slaughtering you subhuman pieces of filth. Today was merely a big catch, it is usually one or two of ya’ll. I always kill you scum on sight. Truly you have forsaken all things that are good, haven’t y'all?" Not waiting for a response, Nameless beheads all of them in a similar manner as the leader, quickly and efficiently.

Finally, a moment of peace. The warrior walks back outside and checks on the girl. A young girl, a cat girl. Her pretty silver hair was covered by the blood but it did not look like much blood was taken. Nam had appeared at the opportune moment.

“T-t-thank you. Hero of red.”

“Is that what you are going to call me? Just call me Nam.”

“No, I insist! What you did here was heroic. No ordinary man or woman can fight these cultists alone, head on. They have strange magic and technology that makes confronting them difficult.” The hero with red hair merely picks up the silver fur lady. They walk inside and wash off some of that blood with water from a sink.

Luckily the bathroom wasn’t full of those worthless fodder. The two get as much blood as they can out of their hair and face. It seems that blood has stained the young child’s ragged shirt.

“Where will you go, Ms. Nam?”

“Back to the informant with some of their robes and ‘parts’; that will suffice. I came here to slaughter these men. These people who spread disease and destruction in an already tattered city. What will you do, young one? I did not catch your name.” The silver catgirl mumbles out a word, clearly entranced in her savior.

“I-I am Vella. Those creeps killed my parents and kidnapped me. I guess I would have been dead if you didn't show up. Thank you, thank you Ms. Nam.” Before the girl can respond, the older teenager just grabs the eleven-year-old by the arm. Dragging those dainty little boots right out of this nightmare. Apparently, this cat was being taken back with Nameless.

Not a subject for debate.

“Are you taking me with you? But I didn’t even ask!”

“I wasn’t giving you a choice in the matter. Besides, you have been seeing these cultists at work for a while, haven’t you? We will see what we can get out of your little self, so hold my hand tightly. This side of the city is still dangerous.” The youth nods, obediently following the lovely mighty warrior.

Beautiful dark skin and crimson hair, such a fetching sight. Some feelings started to bubble under those young, innocent eyes. Nam noticed but ignored it for now; it was more important they got the hell out of here.

In four hours, they finally find their way back to the Magi and Divine Flash. The Magician greets them, surprised to see the little companion.

Unfortunately the older one was, well, only wearing a bra and panties.

Apparently going commando when not on duty.

Sometimes, Nam wonders.

Who is the real adult here? The redhead covers Vella’s eyes quickly then throws a nearby pillow at the mischievous elder with perfect skin. How the hell was she in her forties? The sage barely looked three years older than her sister.

“Can you try to look presentable? Damn! I just got back from that job. And dragged along this small lady, who was moments away from death. I knew this city was doomed but jeez, you see things and you just, just can’t forget that shit.“ It was sobering to be back in this hotel room they have rented out for the next month or so. It let her wind down from the absolute rage that was blazing through her mind only earlier in the day. If the cultists had kidnapped this girl, what other nefarious deeds have they done? In the name of their wretched god, the devourer?

All Nam and her sister could gather was that the cultists worshiped some kind of snake god, an ancient one. When they spoke to the Divine Hammer last week, for some reason, the creation goddess had forgotten the actual name of that beast.

That was strange, strange indeed.

Flasie walks out of the back room. Their hotel room is on the third floor of this five-story hotel room and has a large balcony. The ancient magi apparently has a load of money, probably acquired from theft, knowing her. The two could not believe for a second that this crazy lady actually earned the credits properly.

“Welcome back and welcome, young lady. I usually wouldn’t approve of a stranger but I have a feeling that this girl will be safer with us then out there, for now. What happened, little sis?” A quick recount of the story only infuriates the usually calm sister a little, but the look of concern from Nameless calms her down quickly.

A large sigh can be heard from the both of them. They are so tired of being back in this awful place. But they must endure. Finally, they got concrete information of where every surviving village member is being held. Some are being held in the I-ledger building. And the others are being held in the tower called the Ivante, the residence of the Underrealm Goddess.

Of course, of course. As expected, they both thought gravely. As they look at the photos that Nam received after handing in some "evidence" of the dead cultists, the sage quickly takes the blood-soaked girl into the bathroom, cleaning the still shaking child and comforting her.

The magician gently draws a bath then undresses the Vella. Seems the catgirl only has a small puncture on the chest.

A green magic orb appears, quickly healing that pain, but that mental damage can only be healed by herself.

Yet another victim of the ancient magician’s plan.

But it was necessary.

Pain and suffering were inevitable, but the living had to endure. Endure to grow and deal with the greater chaos that has yet to come. The smirk slightly fades off that pretty face.

A small smile returns on the bizarre elder mage. She dutifully cleans Vella with hot soap and water, improving the girl’s mood a little. Meanwhile, Nam and the Goddess blessed with speed are deliberating. On the dinner table, a large map has been placed. They were planning their route to sneak into both buildings but the issue was obvious.

Do they infiltrate both simultaneously or one at a time? It was difficult to say. Both buildings had a comparable level of security. Luckily, they were next to each other.

The prisoners in I-ledgers were held on the tenth floor, while the prisoners in Ivante were near the top, on the thirtieth floor. Two seemed lost in thought about how to approach this problem. And the answer came to them, from the great sage, of course.

“Simple, we are going to sneak into I-ledgers, then blast a hole into the window on the opposing window, then just jump in! Easy peasz!”

“You know, we are trying to be stealthy, right? What about that approach screams subtle! You are a character, Ms. Magician. Is this your real answer or are you just messing around, as usual?“ The Magi nods enthusiastically. Sometimes the simplest answer was the best one. No need to overthink. Why try to be perfect when being perfect is impossible?

Gods are not perfect despite what mortals think, thinks the ancient god.

Perfect is the enemy of sensible thought. A prison that can lead to stagnation.

Instead, at times, just dive straight in! The simplest answer can also be the most profound, truly.

“Yes, Yes. You two are overthinking this. The security will catch on to us anyway, so why not one of us distract the security for a bit while the other group secures the villagers. Then we can magic them away.” The two scratch their chins but just nod, accepting this as a valid strategy.

Smart girls.

“And who is going to be the distraction?”

“I. Omni-Knight.” The voice comes out of nowhere surprising all of them a tiny bit. They can see the projection of the mighty machine god floating next to him. He was not there but his spirit was connected to theirs, always, it seemed.

“Well hello! Jeez. But sure, Mr. Omni-Knight. If you insist. Also, you have this kind of look on your face. Is something wrong?” That worried expression is clear to the sisters. It seems he can’t hide anything from them.

“I can feel the presence of the Chaos Knight in that bigger building. And it feels like several other chaos warriors. It will be a trap, they will be waiting for us.”

“Fantastic, all of this just to get us into another fight. Honestly, I wouldn’t put it past that petty Chaos Knight. Didn’t she hide that spirit on your back? What on earth does she have against you, Nam?” The nameless warrior shrugs. It was beyond her little brain why a powerful knight was petty or jealous of her.

Frankly, it sounded childish. And if Nam thinks you are childish, you must be.

“I have no idea. All we know is that the Knight in black armor is a petulant warrior that has something against me, for unknown reasons. But it does not matter. I figured we would see them again. Those people are persistent as hell. I mean, the Proctor unit? Wouldn’t be surprised if they are in cahoots, they got a similar M.O. Just a hunch tho, sis.” A sound of agreement whistles out of the blue-haired youth.

So. it seemed Omni-Knight would be the distraction and gather the security drones, while they would rescue the prisoners in the smaller tower first, then quickly head over to the other.

Despite the danger, this was the most practical solution.

The three women spent a couple more days gathering gear, properly planning the routes and acquired three walkie-talkies to stay in touch with each other. Nam took a brisk walk and took the TecCommunicator with her. While talking a walk around the block, the red slayer received an audio buzz from the Divine Hammer. Nameless updates the Builder of worlds, describing the final details of their rescue plan. This confirms their earlier suspicions as well verifies that the Chao knight lives on this planet, for sure.

There was only one goddess that lived here. It could not be anyone else, could it?

Putting that to the side, the blonde woman responds.

“We had a hunch that you were going to do something dangerous like that. I already have the Dreadnought in orbit, we are hiding on a nearby moon near Lunace. Let us know when you have saved all of your friends; we will provide an escape vehicle for you. No way we are taking through a portal or with my magic, too many people.”

“Fair enough. Thank you in advance, one of us, we'll let you know. We will start tomorrow evening, right after the sun sets. I’ll stay in touch.”

“Good luck, my friend. Take care of yourself, young lady!” And with that, the audio transmission ends.

#

A sigh can be heard. She has said her piece, now it was time to wait patiently for their allies to commence the operation. It would be unwise to force the ship straight down into Lunace without careful planning. Diana, with Tony's help, has analyzed the planetary shield around Lunace. There are four shield drones that power the large energy barrier.

Tony already has broken through their encryption and installed malware. They will be able to temporarily lower that shield for a couple minutes. The other drones? Probably not. They don’t have access to the terminal on the mother drone and those machines can act autonomously without its guidance, anyway. It would not be worth the effort.

They expect fierce opposition from the drones, the planet's long-range weapon systems and probably those machine slaves, spotted on nearby planets. Soon, another battle will start. Is this foreshadowing, she wondered? Diana walks over to her, rubbing that strong back gently.

“My lord, nothing we can do, we have to wait.”

“I know it is just troubling. Troubling to wait, it is somewhat frustrating.”

“Patience. Soon, they will save them. They got this!” Bouncy Bouncy, the immortal machine bounces all over the place, cheering for their success. And that makes the creation machine do the same.

Hoping for their success.

Back on Lunace, Nam stows away the device in that big left pocket on the backside. Nam walks back home slowly, enjoying the fresh air.

Tomorrow will be another day that will be intense, the girl feared. As she walked back into the room, there was Vella, playing with some yarn they found. No sight of the elder sister or the Magician, tho.

No matter. They both had gone to the store for food. She shall simply wait for both of them here. Nam sits down next to the young girl and pats the young lady's pretty silver hair.

The Magician hums and hums. The woman has bought some fresh steak.

A little preemptive celebration, tonight was time for a fine little feast. The two deserved it after working so hard to plan this rescue mission. As the Sage wanders about the store, her cart full of meat, Divine Flash is outside, holding a bag of fruit. The divine warrior is waiting patiently for the elder.

“Hmm, taking so long. Well, no biggie. It is just some food after all.” Waiting for a couple more minutes, some figures began to approach her.

Thugs. Thugs armed with guns.

Now, normally, this would not be an issue. Flasie was as capable as the quick to argue sister in combat and faster, to boot. But seeing these metallic sleek guns remind her of that day.

The fateful day when those machines slaughtered her friends, her family.

That day where Nam had to watch their foster mother be slaughtered.

All of those feelings hit her too quickly, making the young adult lose her composure easily. Fear overtook her. Fear that she was alone.

The blue-haired girl needed her sister right now!

But Nam was nowhere in sight; perhaps the younger girl had gone home and was waiting for the two of them to return with food. As these thoughts cloud her mind, that beautiful body became wracked with fear, shaking violently.

“N-n-n-n-n-nam please, n-n-n-am, please save me.” A scared voice murmurs out quietly as the thugs are now right next to the scared youth. Armed with those weapons that are way too similar to these metal machines.

These thugs were being prepared. For something bigger than them, it seemed.

“Dang, I thought we would have been out of our league, but this bitch is scared shitless. What got to her, some of that Crysths?”

“Perhaps. No matter, just take their food. We are just here to intimidate them into giving us food or money. I saw their friend in that store. We gotta move fast.” Another nameless thug says. Right as he is about to reach for Divine Flash’s bag of food.

The sky opens up, the clouds above begin to part. Divine green energy begins to form.

A pillar of green and blue appears upon them. A large wooden staff descends from the heavens, slamming into the ground, right next to those thugs.

Scared shitless, they all run off, dropping their weapons. A green cloud of energy appears next to the chosen warrior. It does not scare her, but it calms the frightened young adult. It seems to be saying something but the words sound like electronic static. All she can see is a green cloud of stars floating next to her.

However she can feel this thing or beings intent and it seems to be more positive than negative.

The Magician, finally done her shopping, walks out, only to a disapproving look.

“You know, you are supposed to be watching over them. This one still needs your guidance.” Where the Divine Flash was unable to see this being at all, the ancient Magi could see it. It was one of her ancient allies, after all.

They came from the same place.

It was impossible to even smirk; she just sighs. Got caught being irresponsible. Any attempt to avoid responsibility will further make this green-haired sage more disappointed.

“Alright, alright already. Don’t stare so hard. I’ll make sure to keep a better eye on them.”

“You cannot pretend you didn’t hear me show up either! Taking your sweet time. Ah, you better be lucky. I like you, ancient magician, master of magic.” The ancient green robed sage grabs the wooden staff, then begins rising back into the air.

This being cannot stay for too long; it would disrupt the balance of the stars.

“I only came to remind you of your mission and our shared purpose. Now, I will return. Keep us updated, as you have been.”

“Later my eternal comrade.” That unruly, silly magician bows seriously, respecting the desires of her ally. Like Nam, this girl still had quite the trauma for that day. The magi needed to help them heal, so they could reach their full potential.

The distraught older woman picks up the bag of meat and walks over Divine Flash, hugging her.

“It will be okay. Those thugs are no longer here.”

Tears drip on her shoulders, the girl still hasn’t fully healed from that horrible day. They stay in silence for several minutes until the tears stop, for now. It will take much longer to heal the wounds on this young, tender heart.

“Sorry you had to see me like this, I. I just am still hurt by that day. The day the Chaos Knight tore our home apart.”

“No one would blame you if you sought vengeance. But unlike your sister, you seek something else. I can feel it. What do you seek from the Chaos Knight, Ms. Flash?” The girl stands up and the two slowly start walking back towards their hotel room.

“I want. I want that Chaos knight to atone for their actions. I know, a far-fetched idea, based on what I heard. But I have a feeling. A hunch, there still might be something good in her. A tiny bit, at least. I have no proof nor have I told Nam this, but that is merely the way I feel, Ms. Magician.” A genuine smile emerges on the master of magic.

Truly. Her faith in these star warriors was not misplaced. There was something different about them compared to all of their other previous creations, their older attempts. Some deeper about them. Something richer.

“You can see the light in the darkness. Can’t you? Well, I believe you. There is still some light in that misguided mind of hers. But it will take a great defeat to humble that chaotic knight and make her reflect on those awful things she did to you and the others. It won’t be easy, for sure.” The girl nods, not completely surprised. Though this person was strange, she was also sensible. The magician can see the light and darkness in everyone, she felt.

So, Flasie felt this was true. There was something worth fighting for, besides just defeating the Chaos warriors or that great Demon tester-lady. No, there was something else much more important they needed to do. Repeating the cycle of hatred and vengeance only spurs more and more vengeance. No, they need to end that cycle less they become trapped in it eternally.

Healing these wounds could take years, decades even.

But if the Divine Flash could get her sister to overcome that hatred. And to get the rogue chaos warrior to see the errors of their ways, then they could both start to heal each other.

A hopeful thought but not a very realistic one at the moment. For now, they’ll have to take them head on in their den. But one day.

One day they might be able to help each other. The possibility exists, even if it is faint.

How else can people heal if they don’t forgive each other? And forgive themselves?

The two walk back into the hotel, finally arriving. Vella greets them, dashing straight into Flasie’s arms. Happy to see the big sister is back.

That was what the little girl was calling her, Big Sis, and calling Name, red hero.

A very adorable little catgirl, she had lived in this city her whole life. Deep in those horrid slums. The little one had grown quite attached to them, a bit too fast and too much.

They knew they could not bring her along. So the Magi proposed a solution. Sending the child to the care of the Divine Hammer. Before the two could debate, the savvy women plucked the TecComunnicator off the side of Nam and quickly phoned their favorite creation boss.

“Hello? Did you need something Nameless? What a second, this isn’t Nam. Who is this?”

“Ohoho, it is your dear Magician, the one, the only, the best! We have a child that the little hero picked up, so I figured it would be better to put the girl in your care, rather than drag the civilian into danger. Before you ask how, it is simple. I’ll make a little portal into your main deck and push the little kitten along, hmm?” Questions wanted to come out of those slightly annoyed pale lips but the goddess shrugged. Based on their previous brief conversations, this one was a strange one, but also quite authoritative.

Almost like a queen, though, the dark-skinned woman would never agree to that title. Nam called her that once and the Magi denied it all day long like a five-year-old. The Builder chuckles. No matter the questionable origins of the experienced lady, this person clearly wanted to help.

That was enough, at least for her.

“Sure. Send them soon. Divine Hammer, out.” The communication ends. The device is flung straight back at the unexpecting youngin, who catches it easily. After raising an eyebrow, the warrior helps the Sage make dinner. Tonight was the feast after all.

Steak, roasted chicken, and french fries. A bit unhealthy but it was nice once in a while. And they brought out some of that wine they still had, stored in their TecCube. That delicious nonalcoholic deep red wine. They poured several glasses for all and a little glass for the small Vella.

Within an hour they were all stuffed. The Sage of the stars had packed a little backpack full of goodies and clothes. Where the clothes came from, well, they mysteriously appeared a couple days ago. Skirts, dresses, and little onesies that all perfectly fit the small catgirl.

Where from? Who knows? Most of the shops in the capital hardly had clothes for children. Children were a waste of time, the real money makers were older adults, children's clothes were a luxury for the rich. In this slum ridden city, most kids wore hand-me-downs or second hand wear.

How kind and thoughtful. Though, the Divine Hammer would probably add to that collection too. That goddess was very mother-like, after all. Despite those flaws, there was something powerful, something charismatic you could feel from her.

It was intoxicating, in a good way, Divine Flash thought.

The two stand together, hugging the girl, who is a little teary-eyed but understands, she cannot come along. A reunion will happen not too long from now.

“Now, now, don’t cry. We will be away for a day or so. The people on that ship are as kind as us. You will be in good hands. Vella, it was great staying here with you, even though our trip back to this planet was short. We found quite the bounty, yes.” After letting go and kissing the less shaky girl on the forehead, a magic portal appears. Different from the teleportation circle the Divine hammer or Divine Guardian used.

A circle requires previous experience of a place to send someone back and forth to that place. While a portal can send anyone anywhere, as long as the user can concentrate their spiritual energy on a designated place and “see” it with their spirit eye. So, using a portal was harder and technically more dangerous. Losing focus even for an instant could send the people walking through somewhere else or worse, to become trapped in dimensional space. The magician had taught them this difference a couple days ago, as they began asking about somewhat more advanced magic.

Vella quickly walks through the portal, which was already open on the main deck of the dreadnought. Diana quickly grabs the child and picks her up. The Builder takes a peek through and shows a thumbs up, briefly seeing the two sisters waving at her. Then, a moment later, the portal closes as quickly as it had opened.

“I see. A portal is fascinating but I think a bit too hard for either of us for now, Ms. Magician. How on earth do you see so far with your ‘spirit eye’?” A valid question which will receive a valid answer.

“With practice and practice. First, you have to be able to sense the things around you. Try feeling the things in this room, first. Then eventually you can expand your focus bit by bit. Perhaps to the point you can see things planets away or galaxies. You two do have that potential. Divine blood flows through your veins.” The two are not surprised but more expectant.

They had strong suspicions of this and this only confirms those feelings.

Divine Flash did save those crew members in the capsule and land, burning away the flesh of her feet, then, she regenerated her body in mere moments after landing. Just like Star Breaker or their friend, the creator of worlds, regenerated in battle. Not to mention their speed or ease of learning magic.

No mortal could learn this quickly, based on their observations of the cultists the two ran into during their stay here. So, it was nice to know they were right.

“How do you know? Does something give our divinity away, Teacher?”

“Calling me teacher now? Well I will allow it when I am teaching. It is just your aura, the spirit energy you two exude. I can feel it is divine in nature. Almost like a sharp edge of a sword. Nam is the edge, while you are more so the back edge or sheath, Divine Flash, if that comparison makes sense. And if you are asking how I learned how to sense or differentiate, that was also with practice. You can tell different types of energy simply by instinct but you can further and more deeply tell the minute differences by observing and seeing more of that energy. I merely observed the energy of different species, beings, immortals. A few gods. There are a number of gods that merely roam the land or stars, less important than say our six stars of the heavens.”

A reasonable explanation. Thought frankly, a little too reasonable. It was almost like this crazy woman knew exactly what to say at the right moment.

That thought intimidates Nam. Divine Flash asks another question.

“Fair. I have heard of other retired gods, like the goddess of transport or the great spirit, a godly being that is the king of spirits. That spirit is a servant of that lord of creation and manages the population of those cyber spirits that randomly float around the realms. Most people don’t meet him, he is a bit shy. You are quite traveled, despite being only in your forties. Most impressive, Ms. Magician. I also have one last question, if you do not mind. Can a powerful spirit or god create another being? I know Ms. Builder, a creation goddess, obviously can. But can other beings similar in nature do the same?”

“Always with interesting questions, lady of the wind. A powerful god like being can reproduce like a human. Or it could create spawn in different ways. Perhaps it can use people’s emotions as fuel for a container to create something like it. Or it could create a son or daughter that contains parts of its essence. Many possibilities. All I can say is one thing, though. The older a powerful being gets, the harder it would be to erase or kill. That great deity has become so connected to the system it is in, it practically becomes a foundation of the world. Or universe.”

“Foundation of the world. You are implying like. The spirit is so powerful that even death would not ’kill’ it. Perhaps more of exhausting its will to live through many deaths or something even worse. That is an interesting and frightening thought, Teacher. An interesting theory.” Very interesting indeed. The intrigued Flasie was unsure if she could completely believe that but there was a possibility of that being real.

She simply just had no proof, this was mere conjecture. No matter, sometimes answers aren't always straightforward, you have to interpret things for yourself. The Sage delivered an answer, it may or may not be accurate.

“Well, thank you for your answer. I can't say I believe all of that but the essence is sensible enough. Ancient gods are fundamental and getting rid of them isn't impossible but more impractical. I guess something as strong as an ancient thing could combat it. Fight fire with fire, they say.” Nam nods in agreement, understanding, but not saying much. Just digesting these complex words.

The great magician smirks. Even if these two did not fully understand, one day they will.

Understand the importance of this conversation.

For now, enough theory crafting! Time to eat dessert, then get ready for bed. A freezer in the room is opened quickly, revealing the favorite dessert of all three present.

The almighty Strawberry ice cream. Seems it was being kept secretly until this very moment. A little reward for their hard work was fine.

So, in a very unlady-like manner, the three devoured all the frozen desert in record time.

“Ooh that brain freeze was worth it! So good! Thanks, thanks, let us thank the Strawberry Goddess for this delicious reward, yes!” Two hands praise the mighty power of strawberry. The Magi doesn’t care for this type of behavior but lets it slide. Won’t hurt anything, anyway. She ushers the two to bed quickly, taking care of the dishes for them.

Tonight would be the last day they spent peacefully in this little rented room.

Tomorrow will be an adventure.