Kei had found a new toy. His name was something like Rival – and he was just a goofy little guy with a crush on Gramps. Which was really icky to think about. Though she did wonder why he called Gramps Sylvia…she was fairly certain it had something to do with their little connection through karma and Gramps' past lives, but she wasn't certain. She'd have to ask Him about that, and about the big ball in the sky she could barely see that was somehow connected to the Rival…sometime later.

Right now she had someone to bug.

"So question; who are you, exactly?" he asked as they landed in the Physical Realm, somewhere on Pangaea. The leaves of the Life-Giving Tree waved in the sky above, angels and other powerful spirits flying about. Fu Hao, one of Gramps' old angels, flew toward them at a sedate pace, the brilliant energy of one of the most powerful angels in all existence impossible to miss.

Gramps must've sent her to keep an eye on the Rival. Maybe. She'd been busy doing other things, so that'd be kinda funny.

"Me?" Kei asked, letting Solana go, setting the Rival down and examining him with far deeper precision than she had before. He had black-ish hair, and small curling horns atop his head. His face was nothing to sneeze at looks-wise, but he wasn't an absolute beauty either. His cultivation was probably the most interesting thing about him, and only because it was so meticulously crafted – everything from his dantian to the energy pathways throughout the rest of his body were nearly perfect, only slightly flawed compared to Gramps' 'perfect example.'

If only he hadn't kept that Treant's soul in him for as long as he had, his body might even be in peak condition. How had he done that, anyway?

"Yes, you." The Rival, grumbled, sitting on the loamy ground with a groan, wiping his nose with the back of his hand. It came away bloody, and he just shook his head. "Is this universe just small? How am I running into so many Immortals already?" he muttered. Perceptive.

"I am Kei!" she said proudly, puffing out her chest and flaring her tails. The Rival looked up at her, cocked an eyebrow, then looked down at his feet, unimpressed.

"That doesn't tell me anything." He deadpanned. She pouted. Had he not gone to any of the churches at all? Or learned any of the lore? Not even her lore? There was only one nine-tailed fox in the entirety of the Four Realms! Oh well, at least now she got to give her own proper introduction.

"Well then, allow me to properly introduce myself! I am Kei, daughter of Reika, the Goddess of Change, She who stood against the shadow, the bringer of pranks and herald of mischief, the Greatest, Unrivalled beneath the Heavens!" she boasted, striking a little pose and pointing her bronze staff heavenward. She could practically feel Gramps amusement from way up there.

Solana chirped at her, no words, just a chirp full of intent as the little immortal bird settled in a nearby tree. She frowned at her. She still didn't forgive Sol for what he did to mother and the Tree…but was this really Sol anymore? She didn't know. She had mixed feelings about it. It wasn't like her to hold a grudge.

"Unrivalled? That's a bit of a stretch, don't you think? And greatest under the heavens? I knew a monkey that said that. Now he was unrivaled." the Rival asked. Kei just smirked at him, shaking her head that he couldn't see her greatness while filing that monkey note away for later.

…although greatness was, of course, a bit of an exaggeration. She was unrivalled under the Heavens, sure, but what about those who lived in Heaven? Gramps, Mom, her aunts and uncles, some of the older gods…she was powerful, sure, but not the strongest being in the Realms. Morgan included.

Though that might change soon because of the power she'd just gained. It felt like…a pillar, if she had to put it into words, but less binding than that. Free. She was a Pillar of Freedom, uncontainable and unchain-able.

No. She was a Pillar of the Tree. She was just free, like those who lived in the Realms.

"Right. Ok. Well, thanks for the save, I was really just about dead there. But why?"

"I find you interesting! What's with the big ball outside the Realms? How's it connected to you? Why are you looking for…you call her Sylvia? And why do you use the name Sylvia?" Kei babbled, bouncing on the balls of her feet. The Rival stared at her blankly.

"What is with all the super-perceptive people in this place? You're the third person to see through my existence in the first few moments of meeting me. What the hells, man?" He complained. Kei grinned and winked at him, one tail thrashing and leaving a stream of fire in the air that formed the word 'unrivaled.' He rolled his eyes. "You're almost as bad as me when it comes to showboating. Yes, I am looking for Sylvia. Do you know her?"

"Do I know her? Silly question, or course I do! Also, her name is –"

"No! Wait!" The Rival stared at her for a moment, eyes narrowed and pinching his chin in thought. Kei froze in place, not moving a single muscle. "You. Did you come to find me after learning about my connection between me and her?" Kei nodded. That was close enough. No one had told her, of course, but she absolutely had come chasing after what had made Gramps so giggly. "Is that cheating? Does this count as cheating? She told me to find her myself…and I get bonus points if I figure out her past lives…does that mean I get a date? Don't tell me who she is. I'll figure it out by myself." He said, pouting. Kei giggled at the way he phrased it; it sounded like he was a toddler trying to prove he could do it himself.

"You sure? I could tell you right here and now. It's…"

"Lalala! I can't hear you!" The Rival clapped his hands over his ears and Kei laughed, fluffing her tails and setting her hands on her hips.

"You've already walked by the answer like five times. I think you could be forgiven for a little cheating." Kei argued. He just shook his head harder, trying and failing, to stand on shaking limbs, nearly falling over in the process. Kei hesitated, healing magic pooling in one of her tails – the one made of condensed life energy – ready to heal him if it looked like his condition would worsen. Slowly she leaned forward, only for him to shove one hand out with surprising quickness – no, that wasn't what had caught her off guard, it was the total lack of intent or forewarning in his aura that he was going to move – a finger pressed nearly to her lips.

"I know you're gorgeous, but alas, Sylvia is the only one for me. Begone, foul temptress! Seduce me not!" he shouted dramatically, startling a number of spirit beasts in the vicinity. Kei furrowed her brows. Processed what he said. Then turned bright red and leapt backward, ears laid back.

Gorgeous?! He called her gorgeous – and no! She hadn't been trying to seduce him! Yuck! He was so…so…old.

She stuck her tongue out at him.

He stuck his tongue out at her.

And she teleported away, but not without sending a quick little burst of healing energy at the man. Mom did teach her manners, after all.

But she would be back!

Now, she wondered how Gramps little love interest of an Origin Deity would react to a - heh - Rival. And that brought her right back around to what she had tried to tell Curie in the One World about her Shadow. She wondered how she was handling the rot, and the obsession it may cause?

***

"Gilles, you're with me." I told the deity of shadows. He turned to me with one eyebrow raised, setting down whatever little project he'd been working on. Something inspired him to try and create a container that could hold Void Shards, a little pet project he'd been working on for quite a while in his off time.

"Is it time?" he asked, putting away the container. He hadn't gotten around to actually testing it on full-on Void shards yet, so there was very little clean up for him to do – I nodded, folding my hands into the sleeves of my robes.

"It is time. Come. Keilan and Elvira will meet us at my home, where we will depart from." It was time for the meeting, now. Things had not advanced as much as I had wanted them to between last meeting and now, but it was still within the margin of error I had calculated. The Mad Scientist's boost, and the Rival's as well, was doing us a great favor here. This time, though, instead of my angels I would be bringing Keilan and Gilles; hopefully Mr. Boxes would allow us to send people into the other universe.

Gilles stood and dusted his hands off, moving to stand just beside me before I teleported us both into the grand hall of my palace. We appeared just before my central fountain; the first fountain ever made by the Fae, my mortal children. It still burbled with water, and I found myself staring at it for a brief moment, nostalgia swirling in my heart...Gilles moved off immediately to go give Elvira a hug, and say his potential goodbyes; we had no idea if he'd be able to stay in the One World for a time or not.

"Mother." Keilan greeted from the side. I could feel both his and Randus' gaze upon me, and I turned to them with a smile. Keilan's dark eyes were narrowed, focused on my aura, suspicion swirling about his soul. "You feel different." He accused softly. I shrugged, now feeling Gilles' own gaze upon me. This was the first time any of them had seen me since I'd been meditating and severing some of my karma, so that made sense.

"Shall we?" I asked, sticking out my hands as Mr. Boxes' representative came flying in from outside the Realms. It pulsed once like a nerve ending and a portal appeared behind me, swirling black and purple. At the same time he spoke, though his words did not ring in my ears but appeared in the boxes that were becoming less and less frequent the further I progressed as an Origin Deity.

Ding!

{[Assuming the Oshun Trio agrees, it is entirely possible for you to have a short exchange between a few deities.]}

I nodded to myself. Good.

Keilan's eyes flicked to the portal, back to me, then he stepped forward and took my hand. Together, with Gilles trailing behind, we slipped into the little meeting room to find Yueya, Alala, Curie, and the Primeval Dragon, Sehuyun, already there. It seemed like Shin wouldn't be showing up this time. My eyes were mostly drawn, however, to the new occupants to the room. Two new gods stood behind the Oshun Trio; one an elf with purple hair, bright, shining eyes, and the aura of a deity of space, and another a dwarf with a big, bushy beard, heavy armor, and the aura of a deity of war.

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Most surprising, however, was Sehuyun's addition. A little wyvern with ash-grey scales sat before her, watching the table curiously. It had no domain, no aura, and in fact appeared no stronger than the dragons Alexander had made. But it was still a form of life in Sehuyun's previously barren universe; I met her eyes, and she bared her teeth in a smile.

"Statera," Yueya greeted warmly. I nodded to her with a smile as I approached the round table, sitting in one of the chairs and folding my hands on the table, my gaze drifting between all the occupants. The room felt more serious this time. It made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I met Yueya's eyes, her beauty radiating and nearly blinding in a way it hadn't been before - she'd grown stronger. "How are things progressing on your end?" she asked.

And I told her. I explained to her where we were at, how things had changed, and what I expected from the future. Honestly, the only thing I was worried about not finishing in time, unless something terrible occurred like our timeframe being shortened, was the Pillars. Fang Xu and Celene were getting close to hatching, I felt, but Solana could take quite some time to become a Pillar, and she was far and above the most likely candidate for it. Sticking next to the Rival may help her grow…but it may hinder her just as much.

And I highly doubted – in fact it was an impossibility to my eyes – that the Rival would become a Pillar, even if temporarily. That just didn't seem like his speed.

"That is good news. We are progressing fine; the number of gods we've been able to raise has increased exponentially. With the new hands, our own defensive capabilities are rising rapidly. Stations are being built on key ley-lines across the entirety of the One World – that should help us aim the Four Realms to any designated area, thereby making the tunnel option more viable. Our surface is still fragile, however. Impact will do a lot of damage, and that is an issue I do not see us solving before the catastrophe happens." Curie said, tossing a little metal cube out onto the table. It twitched and shone with a peaceful blue light, floating into the air and spinning rapidly. A series of holographic projections shone off of it, detailing the entirety of the One World and their current projects.

It was all standard. All within expectations.

When Curie was done I thanked her for the explanation; only for Alala to step up next, grinning like a madwoman. The tanned goddess of sport flexed her muscles and rolled her shoulders, winking at me.

"I can see Fate now. You're right, it does look like steel thread." She said proudly. I stood sharply, a smile blooming on my face, my concern washed away by potential excitement. It wouldn't do to get my hopes up, but another solid plan, like grabbing ahold of the fate thread and using it as an anchor to spin the Four Realms away from the One World, would greatly benefit us.

"Can you grab it?" I all but demanded. Her grin faded a little, and she shook her head.

"Not yet. Was hoping you might have some advice on that." She admitted with a shrug.

"This plan again?" Curie complained. "Alala, we talked about this."

"We talked about this, but we didn't." Alala countered, pointing between herself and Curie first, then me and herself after.

"Statera," Yueya interjected, silencing her other halves. I took a mental note of that; Yueya seems to have come out as the genuine leader of the trio, whereas before they were all relatively even. "Do you truly think it could work?"

"It has potential, but we'd need to work on a few things. Grabbing the Fate thread is imperative; I can manipulate it and almost touch it, but we'd need to dedicate a bit of time and effort to it." I told her. Yueya nodded slowly, playing with a strand of her red hair. It seemed deeper than before, but no less beautiful; neither was her smile, which she flashed at me. "I had an idea, however…I do not know if it would work."

"How so?" Alala asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Well, Gilles here is one of the Pillars I was telling you about. He expressed desire to visit the One World to help you with some of your projects and to foster good karma between our two Realms which will, I believe, make manipulating the fate strands easier. I was about to suggest we do a trade, with Alala coming to the Four Realms to work directly with me, but I do not know how you would fare with her gone." I admitted, shaking my head. Missing an entire third of their Origin Deity was bound to cause some issues, assuming the Overgod even allowed it. Not to mention there was the whole "Will" problem I ran into in Sehuyun's universe…but having Alala visit may help me with my severing, as well, specifically because of that.

"It's not a bad idea," Yueya said, making eye contact with Curie, then Alala. Gilles stepped forward as well, bowing slightly, while Keilan laid a hand on my shoulder.

"We'd need more than just your shadow-god to balance it out." Curie mused slowly, shooting Yueya a curious look. "The other one here, Keilan, could greatly help with our reincarnation cycle. Would he be missed?" I hesitated. That was…

"I'll go," Keilan said firmly, interrupting my thoughts and calculations. "Mother can handle the Karmic Realm in my absence, and I have plenty of capable subordinates. I would need to inform some of my people first, however." I turned my head to meet his eyes over my shoulder; his expression was tight and inscrutable. But I could see deeper than that. Keilan was feeling…fear? Curiosity? An odd mix of emotions.

I mean, I could take over for Keilan fairly easily, all things considered. It'd only take an incarnation with strength equivalent to one fifth of my power. But that was…I don't know. It felt bad. Weird. Different.

"Alala?" I asked, turning to the tanned goddess.

"Let's do it." She boasted, crossing her arms. I bit my lip, hesitating once more, then nodded in acceptance.

Ding!

{[Acceptable. In one year, Keilan, God of Connections, and Gilles, Pillar of the Mountain and God of Shadows, will travel to the One World for a span of ten-thousand years. Alala, Origin Deity of Sport, will travel to the Four Realms for the same time frame. Any longer is ill-advised.]}

Well, that was useful information, at least. And the one year would allow Keilan to make a few preparations of his own before leaving…I laid a hand over his, which still lay on my shoulder. He was tense, his power pulled tightly against himself.

"Then that settles it. With nothing else to talk about, I suppose the meeting is adjourned, unless Sehuyun has something to add?" I asked, turning to the great dragon. To my surprise, she actually seemed to be considering it.

"Two things. One is just for Statera Luotian." She rumbled, rising to her full, impressive height, the shadowy dragon looming over everyone present. "The other is this; I want Alexander."

"Excuse me?" I demanded, taken aback. Sehuyun grinned at me.

"When your boy gets back from his little journey, send Alexander to me. We're exchanging things, no? I can send you a few of the nascent gods that have appeared in my realm. One troublesome one, in particular. Could use some humbling that doesn't come from me." She rumbled. I stared at her for a moment, that having come completely out of left field.

"I will talk to Alexander about it." I said. "If that is alright with Mr. Boxes and him, fine." I really didn't like it, but that was just possessiveness talking. I could feel it. This was the desire to have my children in my Realms, with me, where I could protect them. Gilles was different because he had asked for this, and was acting to protect the Realms. Keilan and Alexander? They had been requested.

"Good. Now we can leave." Sehuyun said.

"What was the other thing you wanted to say?" Yueya asked. Sehuyun turned her gaze to the beautiful elf and snorted, smoke filling half the room before it was sucked away.

"Nothing to you. Show me your self, Statera," the way she said my name, in that brief second, conveyed everything she had wanted and more. I bristled. My aura was kept safely in check, but the room stilled as Sehuyun turned her gaze to me. It was heavy. It felt like a threat. And I remained unmoved. Sehuyun smiled. "That's what I thought. There you are. Now I leave. Come with me." She snapped at the little wyvern, who followed after her back into her portal.

What followed was a quick goodbye with everyone else. I hugged Yueya, and she gave me a little peck on the cheek, her Beauty, so much like my Sight, sparkling in my eyes. Curie patted my arm. Alala promised to meet me in a year, wrapping me in a big hug. And I walked back to the Four Realms in a bit of a daze, feeling like I had missed something important.

***

Alala would be the first to admit she wasn't the most perceptive of people, however, it seemed like she was the only one thinking Yueya was hiding something. The way she had turned her Beauty, which wasn't unique to her alone in their little trio, was surprising. Neither she nor Curie had felt the need to, so why had she? A quick glance at Curie showed nothing, even through their connection Alala felt like the smartest of the three didn't care about Yueya's actions.

Still...their Art-focused third had been acting a little weird lately. Well, weirder than normal.

"What do you think that final thing was about?" she asked instead of voicing her doubts, cracking her knuckles like she did when she was nervous. She and her other two halves stood just inside Yueya's palace, where numerous artworks lay unfinished. Yueya hummed and stroked her chin.

"It was nothing." Curie said, shaking her head. "Sehuyun wanted to see Statera's reaction and determination, as if he'd been hiding it ever. She just likes dragging reactions out of people - sorry, out of Statera Luotian specifically."

"I felt it was a warning, for us, maybe." Yueya disagreed. "You saw Statera's reaction. They'll protect their people, their children, even from Sehuyun." Alala furrowed her brows. That didn't seem right to her. She was a bit of a muscle head, but that didn't mean she was stupid, either. A healthy body was nothing without a strong mind.

"I think you're reading too far into things." She said, crossing her arms and already moving off. She had a lot to do if she wanted to go visit Statera in a year; and what a good opportunity it was! Maybe then she'd be able to figure out why Yueya was obsessed with the god – she liked him an awful lot. Though obsessed was a bit strong of a word. Still, it was because of that she nearly missed what was said next.

"It's a feeling I wish I understood."

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