Two Days Before Kol returned.
The sun cast a warm glow over the tranquil landscape as Lisa's house buzzed with a rare sense of calm. The weight of recent events still lingered like smoke after a storm, but there was a moment—fragile and real—where things felt whole again.
Kol was gone, having disappeared on a personal journey. But Lisa, ever resilient, smiled gently as she gathered everyone in the main room.
"Let's all go out and have fun," she said. "even if it's just for a day."
There was a pause, then slow nods from the rest. They needed this more than they admitted.
And so, they paired off:
Lisa and Elizabeth: They decided on a day of self-care. Shopping, refreshing their spirits, and perhaps—if only briefly—forgetting the war that loomed in the background.
Jacob and Dain: They went to a private training ground nearby, eager to spar and sharpen their combat instincts.
Orin and Valen: The twin brothers chose a different kind of therapy—hiking through the forested trails, where memories of their past missteps and regrets could be aired under open skies.
Brad: Lisa's father, stoic and wise, went for a solitary walk in the surrounding hills to reflect on his daughter's future… and Kol's haunting destiny.
The marketplace was alive with color and energy. Women bartered for fabrics, merchants shouted deals, and laughter echoed. Lisa and Elizabeth walked side by side, their robes fluttering like wings in the breeze.
Lisa's eyes caught on a small, hand-carved pendant with a starburst engraved in divine silver.
"It's beautiful," she whispered.
Elizabeth smiled and picked up a thin bracelet adorned with ancient runes. "For luck," she said, slipping it onto her wrist.
The two wandered, laughed, and for a few fleeting hours, they were just women—not goddesses, not warriors—just Lisa and Elizabeth.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, long shadows stretched across the street. The peaceful hum of the city faded into silence. They turned down a quiet alley on their way home.
That's when they saw them.
Two men—tall, robed in faded silver, with glowing marks etched into their arms. Their presence rippled the air.
Lisa froze.
One of them stepped forward, kneeling.
"Lady Davina," he said with reverence.
Lisa's heart sank. "I'm sorry… what did you call me?"
"You are one of the goddess, the Divine One. You belong with us. You must come and fulfill your purpose."
Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. "She's not going anywhere with you."
"This is not a negotiation," the other said, drawing a blade of white fire. "It is destiny."
Without hesitation, Elizabeth stepped forward, her own energy flaring with divine rage.
The alley became a blur of movement.
One tried to subdue Lisa with chains of radiant light, but Elizabeth was already behind him. With a flick of her wrist and a roar of power, she severed both their heads in a single arc of her blade.
The silence after was deafening.
Lisa stood, shaken. "That power… I've never seen someone like them. Not in this life. Not in any."
Elizabeth wiped her blade clean. "Then something's changed. And it's time we go home."
Back at Lisa's house, the group had reconvened. Everyone had returned by evening, their spirits slightly lifted.
That is—until the world shifted.
The wind howled. The ground trembled. The air grew impossibly heavy.
A screeching wind tore across the valley, snapping trees like twigs. The very heavens cracked open, and from the skies, three figures descended.
Each step shattered the earth.
Each breath carried ancient authority.
The air itself bent to their will.
Ruhamiel – God of Wind and Sky
His eyes were swirling cyclones, and his cloak billowed with the storm itself. His voice echoed like thunder.
> "I am the whisper in the clouds. The storm that sings. You will return the goddess to us."
Evanoriel – God of Earth and Stone
His body shimmered with molten rock and ancient mountain. Where he walked, the earth obeyed. He raised a single hand, and boulders lifted like feathers around him.
> "You stand in the way of the will of creation."
Chaziel – God of Visions
His pupils flickered like a thousand stars, showing past, present, and future in an endless stream. He said nothing at first—because he already knew what they would say.
> "Your resistance is known… and it has already failed."
The group was paralyzed.
Lisa and Elizabeth stood in front, activating their divine light and forming a protective barrier around everyone.
Jacob readied his blade.
Orin and Valen stood back-to-back, their eyes flicking between the gods.
Dain clenched his fists, muscles bulging, ready to protect.
Brad moved forward calmly. "You'll find we're not as fragile as we look."
The gods didn't flinch. Then, all at once, they attacked.
A hurricane of stone and wind.
Evanoriel raised an entire segment of the mountain and hurled it toward the group. Ruhamiel spun his storm-blades with a single gust, aiming to shred their barrier apart. Chaziel stood still, watching outcomes collapse and reform in real time, adjusting the attack before it even happened.
Despite their combined defenses, the house crumbled to dust.
Lisa cried out, reinforcing the barrier.
Elizabeth divine light surged brighter than it ever had.
Still—it was breaking.