The world had lost its color.
Gold became grey.
The warm amber glow of the evening faded into washed-out hues that seemed neither alive nor dead. The canal beneath the bridge became a smear of motionless water. The distant sounds of the city vanished.
Everything became quiet.
Not silent.
Quiet.
Elias stood perfectly still. Across from him Maria remained frozen in place, her hand still extended from their handshake. Except her eyes were wrong.
Empty.
Vacant white portals that seemed to suck everything in. Like a puppet waiting for strings.
Tamamo reacted immediately. The fox spirits presence vanished, Elias felt her presence withdraw from the outer layers of his Spirit Domain and sink deeper.
Further.
Further.
Until she curled herself around the deepest corner of his soul.
As far away from the conversation as possible. Well, it was probably for the best as there was no telling what Deus would do if he found out that thw two of them were together. Still Elias was a bit annoyed, for someone who had been boasting that she was enough backaup for him in any given scenario she sure did run fast.
'Some Divine Beast.'
''Some reincarnated idiot.''
'Coward.'
''You're welcome.'
Elias briefly considered activating Flow Suppression.
Deus had mentioned that deities could not descend to lower layers of existence without their very Presence tearing it all apart. Meaning he was limiting himself to an extent. Elias was sure that speaking through Maria would require more finesse and lesser exertion so perhaps suppressing himself would make it harder for the deity to perceive the divine beast him.
Then he immediately discarded the idea.
'No.'
It would only make him look suspicious.
And if Deus already knew something was strange then suddenly hiding himself would accomplish nothing.
Across from him Maria's posture changed.
Not dramatically. Just enough for it to be apparent that he was not her. Her shoulders straightened. Her stance shifted. The casual confidence Maria normally carried vanished and was replaced by something else.
Something older.
Something that wore confidence like a crown.
Then she smiled.
Too wide., too bright.
Too pleased.
"Excellent."
Elias resisted the urge to sigh.
"Of course."
Maria—or rather Deus—lifted both hands and inspected them.
He flexed her fingers.
Turned her palms over.
Made a thoughtful noise.
"Hm."
He looked genuinely fascinated.
"I always forget how inconvenient possession is."
Elias stared.
"Then why do it?"
"I haven't possessed anyone in three weeks."
"That's not a long time."
"For you."
Deus wiggled Maria's fingers again.
Elias rubbed his temple. Gods were annoying especially this one. Now that Deus had a tangible body and he wasn't weakened by predating the black oozes corruption after getting impaled, he was tempted to enact the burning desire within him that was walk over and sock the off white bastard square in the jaw with a Flow reinforced punch. The only thing stopping him was the fact that he didn't want to hurt Maria's body.
'Tch.'
The deity's cheerful smile widened.
"I've missed our conversations."
"I certainly haven't."
"Come now, don't be so rude, we haven't spoken in so long."
"We spoke less than a year ago."
"Exactly."
The smile somehow widened further.
"Its been an eternity."
Then Deus simply walked past him.
Not around him, past him. Like he owned the bridge.
The heels of Maria's clicked softly against the stone as he moved toward the railing and leaned over it.
He peered down into the canal.
"Oh."
He sounded delighted.
"Ducks."
The deity watched them for several seconds.
Then nodded to himself as if confirming something important.
"Still ducks."
There were indeed ducks. Elias blinked.
"What did you expect them to be?"
"You never know."
Deus straightened and turned around and simply wandered forward with Maria's hands clasped behind his back as if he had always inhabited her. Elias felt his eye twitch.
"Why are you here bastard?"
"The attempt to convict your father. The Revolutionist attack that happened while he was on trial. The Scientist excavating corpses to build an undead army with the leftover of your mentor. I believe you've encountered both Emma Gable and Deante Clementes and heard from them an operation that took place in Veridian involving pirates who were also being moved by hidden forces."
With each event Deus mention, ethereal threads began to form around them. The more events he mentioned, the more the threads expanded and connected until finally the web exploded outward, connecting events together though Deus deliberately left holes in it.
Deus walked through it casually, running Maria's fingers across strands as though browsing bookshelves.
"Mortals have a tendency to believe events occur independently."
A thread vibrated beneath his touch.
"Coincidence they say."
Immediately dozens of others reacted.
"Nothing occurs independently."
He plucked another thread.
The revolutionary attack appeared only this time there was a man, a familiar man Elias had seen in the Council Chamber that day, giving them orders.
Another.
The political conspiracy against Alaric with a certain individual attempting to bribe the speaker.
Another.
The expedition to Veridian only this time a figure shrouded in mist was sitting on a barrel with one leg crossed over the other on the Red Maw flagship surrounded by unconscious pirates.
Another.
The movement of distant nobles and Chad and Todd, people unknown to Elias at this point in time, speaking to shrouded people.
Another.
The Sigils of the other Traits representing the deities appearing at various points in the web where they had manipulated events.
The web expanded endlessly to include random events from sellers in the market to inmates in the prisons.
"For every choice there are consequences."
He smiled.
"And consequences have consequences."
Elias stared.
For the first time he could actually see it.
The game.
Not as separate incidents. But as one enormous machine. Each moving piece affecting another.
And another.
And another.
Deus stopped. Something caught his attention.
"Hm."
The deity turned.
Looked directly at Elias.
Silence.
Then he walked closer. Until Maria's face was inches away.
"Hmmmm."
Elias frowned and took a step back.
"What, wanna kiss? Sorry but I don't see you that way."
"Is that whats on your mind?"
"I was talking to Maria. Fuck you."
Deus didn't respond and tilted Maria's head.
Left.
Right.
Curiosity danced in those empty eyes.
"In any case something about you is strange."
Elias's pulse quickened. The deity continued staring. This continued for several seconds. Then suddenly snapped his fingers and the smile returned.
"Oh well."
He waved dismissively.
"I can still see your future so it doesn't matter what you're plotting."
And just like that he moved on.
"Oi, what was that? You can't just do random shit and just move on like nothing happened."
"I just did."
"And what the bloody hell did you mean by 'I can see your future'? You better not be planning anything funny."
Deus pondered for a moment.
"Oh that."
Deus continued strolling through the pale world, occasionally stopping to poke floating futures.
"Being a deity means existing beyond the fourth dimension. A 4D being does not merely see you—it sees through you. Your bones. Your blood. Every secret hidden inside your body. Visible all at once."
"But that is not the strangest part. A 4D being also sees your past and your future simultaneously. Every mistake you made. Every moment yet to come. Your entire existence—laid out like a map."
Elias was silent. At that point he sat in a chair that manifested from nowhere.
Crossed one leg over the other.
"To a 4D being, you are not a person moving through time. You are a fixed shape—a sculpture stretching from your birth to your death. We see the whole thing at once."
"Then you know what I'm going to do."
"Flick me a profane gesture.''
That caught Elias off gaurd as he was in the process of raising his hand. That didn't stop him from flicking the deity anyway. Deus smiled.
"You see, there are multiple futures. They are not random—they are the result of choice. The choices of mortals determine which future manifests and which becomes a parallel or an alternative. We, deities who exist beyond the contsraints of 4D see the possibilities. We do not know which one you will choose.Though we can make fairly accurate predictions."
"That was educational and all but why are you telling me this?"
Deus chuckled.
"I'm also an expert at manipulating events but I prefer a hands-off approach. I want you to make choices. To reveal things to me through your actions rather than me simply telling you what to do."
"You want me to be a wildcard."
Deus snapped his fingers.
"Exactly. That is what I like about you."
Deus's expression sharpened.
"The game is approaching a critical stage. You need to prepare to make your move and retrieve the Oblivion Cube fragment for me."
"Why do you want it? You're already a god."
"Small 'g' god, Elias. There is a difference. Being a god does not make one as all-powerful as you might think. For instance I can see the future, but not which future will manifest until a choice is made. I could use my authority to bulldoze my way, but that would lead to the destruction of everything I have sought to uphold since my Ascension."
Elias filed the word away.
Ascension.
Deus waved a hand.
"I am digressing. Due to the imitations imposed by my station, I cannot tell exactly where the fragment is. However, there are two possible locations."
He held up a finger.
"The Royal Palace. A specific chamber known as the Chamber of Silence."
He raised a second finger.
"The Forbidden Vault beneath the Museum of Ages."
Deus lowered his hand.
"Both are extremely dangerous. Anyone foolish enough to attempt illegal entry would face consequences. But those are your best bets. You can do whatever you want. But at the end of the day, I want to see results."
Elias wanted to tell Deus to go fuck himself. He wasn't afraid of death but death wasn't the only thing that could be inflicted upon him. He thought of his family. His mother. His little sister. Jamie.
These thoughts made him refrain from angering the deity.
Deus smiled with a knowing expression.
"Good. You're learning."
He turned away.
"You are not the only wildcard on the board. There are others. They possess blessings from their patron deities. Especially your fellow anomaly."
Elias's eyes narrowed.
"The Fool's ward. Who is he?"
Deus pondered for a moment.
Then smiled.
"I won't tell you. It takes away the fun."
Elias's jaw tightened.
"How the bloody hell am I supposed to fight the avatar of another god? I don't have any extra blessings or abilities or whatever."
Deus looked at him incredulously.
"Without your own blessing?"
He gestured at the space around them
"This realm—the 4.5 Dimension—was built for you. To allow you to fully utilize your potential as my pawn."
Elias stared at the washed-out void.
"What?"
Deus' gsmile became almost smug.
"As my only ward don't need to divide my blessing among others."
Then the world began bleeding with color.
The conversation ending. The ducks continued being ducks.
Deus clapped his hands together as he got off his seat and walked backward towards where Maria was standing initially.
"Well." The sound echoed through reality.
"I believe that's everything."
"Retrieve the fragment."
Another step.
"Prepare for what comes after that."
Another.
"Try not to die...too many times."
Another.
"And Elias?"
He stopped.
The smile became unexpectedly warm. Like a teacher addressing a favorite student.
"I do hope the odds remain in your favor."
Then the world returned.
The bridge returned.
The canal flowed.
Maria blinked.
One moment she had been shaking his hand. The next he was standing a yard away, his body angled strangely, and looking like he'd just swallowed poison.
"Elias?" she stared at him in confusion
He looked at her. His expression did not change.
"There's something I need to do. Go ahead without me."
Before she could respond, he vaulted over the bridge railing. Wind caught him, and he shot across the canal, disappearing into the evening sky.
Maria stood alone on the bridge.
She looked at her hand.
She did not remember letting go.