Chapter 17: The Primordial

Vostus appeared on the ninety-ninth floor of the massive Tower. His eyes narrowed upon seeing two figures standing in front of the door to the one-hundredth floor.

"Past, Future, what do you want?" He asked the two with slight contempt in his voice. The two were widely considered troublemakers more than anything. Sometimes they gave out advice that benefited the people hearing it, other times it'd hurt them instead. Either way the advice was for their self-described 'grand plan.'

Vostus had no room to complain however since they were following their threads of time to the tee.

"Vostus, do you know what makes the people we rule over? Our creations?" The old man, Past, asked. "It's choice. For ages they've been able to choose choices but their fates don't change because they're always following it. No matter what they do or think."

"Your point?" Vostus watched him closely.

"We, the gods, are also bound by fate, but we have no illusion clouding our perception of it; we're fully aware and yet we never try to break free. Why? Because it is the norm. Our status as the rulers of this place."

"…" Vostus stared at the old man silently.

Then the young boy that was Future spoke.

"The times are changing. Be wary of the future or else you might not be able to escape it."

"And what exactly is this future?" Vostus asked.

"The Golden Age will soon end, replaced instead by the Dark Age. The bridges connecting the world will collapse and all life will be stuck for eons without a chance to survive. But a new world will be born from its ashes." The child was extremely enthusiastic, manic even.

They took a small step forward with mad hysteria in their eyes.

"Then we'll enter the Age of Fire! You are to be at the center of it all, so be a good guard dog and don't disappoint me." They let out an eerie grin causing Vostus' upper lip to curl in disdain for the god.

"You're eagerness is overstepping boundaries, mind yourself." The old man glared at Future. Future apologized upon realizing their mistake. Vostus however still regarded Future as a dangerous one, the brief apology wouldn't change that.

"But think about it Vostus." The old man spoke once more. "Fate is a peculiar thing. We study it, we follow it, and we punish rule breakers. The humans however have a saying that has grown in popularity, have you heard of it?"

"No."

"Fate is meant to be broken."

"Watch your tongue Past, heresy against the fates is forbidden."

"Like Future said Vostus, time are changing. I am stuck in the past so I wouldn't think of betraying fate. However, I recommend you contemplate it, because you'll need it for the future."

"It'd help with your problem too." Both Past and Future spoke at the same time.

Vostus looked at the two, the contempt returned quickly and he wore it directly on his face.

"Leave this place." Vostus said with a disgusted face. The two vanished immediately to some unknown place and Vostus looked ahead.

He tapped his foot nervously as he stood before a blinding light. The words the gods of time spoke were running through his head over and over again.

'Vostus, I need to speak with you.' Erus suddenly spoke into Vostus' head.

'I'm not in the mood.' Vostus quickly replied.

'It's urgent.'

'Then what?' Vostus said in an aggravated tone.

Vostus could hear Erus sigh.

'You need a six and you'll roll a five. If you enter father's chamber without asking for the right thing and the world will crumble. I know you've never given him a wish, so you have to think wisely about it. Don't go in there and waste it.'

Vostus narrowed his eyes again. Was it a coincidence he was speaking of the end times like the gods of time? Why wouldn't his threads of fate warn him of something like that.

He probed Erus.

'The world will collapse?'

'The Golden Age is ending my friend. The times are changing and everything I can see says it. You will be at the center, so change your fate. I don't know how, but change it.'

'I'm not going to, that's just what the universe has in store.'

'Vostus, please. I know your opinions on death, but this is on a scale nobody has ever even thought of before. This isn't just a tiny war sprouting up, this is the collapse of reality. The end of the civilization we've all worked so hard to build.'

'If that's what's in-'

'Don't give me that. Don't do it. You know exactly what I want you to wish from father. So please, think of the people for once.' Then Erus' voice vanished and Vostus made no attempts to try to talk to him again.

Instead, Vostus looked toward the door emitting a blinding light and began submerging himself in it.

On the bottom floor of the tower was the God of War watching Vostus enter their father's chamber. He rubbed his scruffy chin with unblinking eyes as he saw his fellow god disappear slowly.

The God of War saw that behind Vostus was an indescribable amount of threads of war funneling into the room. When Iyseuss had 'bothered' him yesterday, the threads of war told him to urge on Vostus.

Now war would slowly begin culminating.

On his lips were an almost unnoticeable smile.

Upon entering the room, Vostus had to cover his eyes. The light was simply too much, even for him.

'Child? What brings you here on this fine day?' A surprised voice echoed around the room with glee.

Vostus grimaced as he slowly lowered his arm. The light stung his retinas, but the room had now changed to a dark void.

He saw a being larger than existence itself staring down at him. It's body formed galaxies of various colored lights and there could be seen a strange string of stars that resembled veins. They had opaque features that seemed to create bones and all together it formed an unknowable, yet beautiful creature.

"Hello father."

'My child, you don't need to wear that false skin here. Be yourself without fear.' A jumbled collection of galaxies that were akin to eyes lowered themselves to stare at Vostus.

Vostus looked away from his father in thought.

Then a creature of unthinkable size tore slowly out the back of Vostus' body. Unlike its father, Vostus' ego was much more corporeal. It seemed to be primarily made of hard, lanky bones that were serving as both a regular skeleton, as well as an exoskeleton. Beneath the bones the body had what looked like rotting flesh and organs, but they were extremely lacking in quantity.

Despite having a larger ego than the other gods, his ego paled in comparison to the sheer scale of his father's.

'It seems you have a lot on your mind. You know I have trouble reading human faces.'

'Sorry about that. I don't let out my real self much anymore.'

'No, I understand it; you and the others have solid reasoning. I doubt the races would take kindly to half of your real bodies, much less yours.'

Vostus looked down without saying anything.

'I was right, you do have a lot on your mind. Tell me or else I can't give you any guidance.'

Vostus looked up at the starry creature that was his father and spoke, 'I just don't know what to do anymore.'

'…' His father just let him keep talking uncontested.

'Erus, as well as Past and Future, seem to want me to ask you for a wish. A very specific wish that I never wanted them to bring up. Then Iyseuss told me something he shouldn't have but I forced it out of him. Since its what the fates had in store, it's what should've happened, but I don't know anymore.'

'Did my son find someone?' The starry eyes Vostus' father curved into a crescent upon hearing Iyseuss' name as he looked at his son with pride.

'Not exactly.' Vostus said dashing his father's expectations.

'Ah… I understand what happened. Iyseuss said you'd fall in love with someone and now you're conflicted. Am I correct? I presume that's what you originally came here before, but I felt the other three on the other side, meaning they talked to you before coming here.'

'Spot on as always father.' Vostus couldn't smile in this form, so like his father, his eyes curved slightly into crescents.

'Tell me about your first problem, then we shall tackle the second.'

'She's an idiot.'

'…Okay.'

'She got drunk from a single shot that she sipped.'

'…' The two of them floated a bit in silence before the primordial spoke again, '…I see.'

'She's a dragon but with the most pitiful treasure pile I've ever seen.'

'I didn't take you as one to care about something like that.'

Vostus shook his head, 'I don't, I just thought it was funny. You like things like that so I thought I'd tell you.'

His father turned away and thought some, only blinking every so often in the meantime.

'I know what I said a moment before, but what is the second problem? Perhaps I can think of a solution for both.'

'They want me to use my wish.'

'So you said, but what do they want you to wish for?'

'They want me to ask if you can unshackle me from fate.'

The void returned to silence as the two floated. Eventually the primordial sighed.

'What bad children. Do they wish for the universe to go awry? A god cannot simply-' He cut himself off and sighed.

He thought hard for a moment and looked at his son.

'Vostus?'

'Yes, father?'

'You already know this, but I was much more involved in your childhood than the rest of the children. You are my firstborn and you hold a special place in my heart.' He paused and hesitated, but eventually continued, 'Are you prepared for the consequences?'

'What?'

'This is not your wish, so I will grant it for free if you so want. But you have to know its consequences. Reality will become unpredictable. Gods that break free from fate are to be put down because they can cause untold damage to the universe, that's our rule. But I shall break the rule for you and I won't punish you. Just know that nothing will be true anymore. Everything will change.'

'Father…' Vostus got uncomfortable.

'You wouldn't have to force any love and you could listen to the others and help them from any plights they may have. As the firstborn, you have to protect them and this will help. It could all spiral out of control, and maybe it will, but I'll still love you no matter what.'

'…'

'So, my son, would you want me to grant you this wish?'

On the bottom floor of the same Tower, all the gods were having their weekly meeting. This was except for a few gods who were busy, or who never came like Vostus. They all spoke without any particular hurry and were all collectively lax.

Then a chill was sent down their spine. All of them raised their gazes to the artificial sky in the Tower as a horrifying premonition played out in their heads.

"He's gone."

"W-what happened?"

"Did he die?"

"A one way ticket has been punched. We're all going to die." Remis muttered under her breath.

"It's beautiful…" Future's eyes glistened as the future he had previously seen disappeared completely. Instead it was replaced by a constantly fluctuating reality, shifting and contorting the future with no rhyme or reason. The only thing that remained the same was death.

"A war will come. Grander than anything before it." The god of war, Zinmes, smiled widely, grotesquely revealing all of their teeth.

Among all the gods there however, only two remained silent. Iyseuss couldn't say anything in shock. His heart fluttered in fear and confusion. He needed to know if his brother was okay so he instantly disappeared from the room.

Then sitting in their grand cathedral was Erus. He was tattooing his leg after recently shutting off all the windows and barricading the door. He paused briefly as he felt his connection with Vostus falter.

He raised his head with a blank face before blowing out all the candles.

CREATORS' THOUGHTS
WheresMahPie

So I’ve had Auclair designed and drawn for a long time and decided to use him for the story because why not. Anyway, I have a 90%(ish) complete cover sitting on my computer, but I really don’t feel like finishing it.

I really should though lol, I have a habit of getting art very close to complete but then starting other works.

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