Tread Lightly

**********************

Killian 'Undying' Graves

I collapse onto a rock, my body screaming in a desire to give up, to rest. Pain is something I cannot feel, but I must be so far beyond that point that it's eating into other sensations. The shawl of the now-dead Goddess of Death clings to me, her remaining Divinity coursing through my veins like poison, slowly killing me. I’ve fought my way through the Underworld, slaying several Gods with Kudo's remnant aid, emerging at the summit of the Pained Peaks, the deadliest place in all the world.

Here... is the final Gate of Death. The one that he... entered with his comrades all those years ago. My eyes scan over the tallest peak of them all, the thousands of tiny holes within it that lead to the entrance deep within. Thankfully, we've made some distance. Though, it won't last long.

I open my lungs to inhale, only to remember that I don't have them anymore. Unable to sigh, I lean back, staring upward at the clouds I've missed.

The sky above is eclipsed, a dark omen that matches the despair I feel. I look up, trying to find some semblance of hope, but the weight of my wounds and the relentless Divine force inside me is too much.

Beside me, an old God, yet one of the newest, despite that fact, stumbles along with a long cane. He struggles to walk, his own injuries slowing him down. The Devil bore most of the danger down there. Three of us fought tooth, nail, and soul, but it wasn't enough. Louis Fern is on his last leg, one foot in the grave, just as I am.

There were... just too many of them.

And... the Court sided with Her. All we could do was run.

A diminutive coiled dragon lies beside us, slumbering to conserve energy. Even in its diminished state, I can sense the rumbling Ether in Leviathan's shrunken form, a stark contrast to my own weakened form. I am the only non-God among the three of us, and it shows. My mortal body can’t take much more, and every gust of wind feels like it could be my last.

I've clawed for Immortality, but... I still have a ways to go.

The Devil, leaning heavily on his cane, looks down at me. His eyes, filled with centuries of suffering and wisdom, offer little comfort.

“You must get up.”

The voice is raspy and strained, matching the awful wrinkles across his form. Like me, the Devil does not have much time. Without Wyatt's help, though, he would have none. His quick call saved his life. After all, Louis cannot constantly cycle his Ether. He is too weak for that. He needed the warning, however small. What a good kid. I wonder if I'll ever get to tell him that.

I try to muster the strength to stand, but my limbs refuse to obey. The Divinity of the Goddess of Death is both a blessing and a curse, empowering me just enough to survive the journey but killing me slowly.

“I can’t.”

A gasp leaves my chest, the effort of speaking almost too much to bear as my Ether has to fill my body with oxygen and other nutrients artificially. Among all the organs that are required for survival, I possess... only a brain and my left kidney. All others are gone, likely never to return. The Whispering Woe, Posiwn, God Of Secrets, leaves wounds that do not heal, not even under my Dominion. Thankfully, he will never bear another secret. I made sure of that.

Despite my struggle, the Devil insists.

“You don’t have a choice. If you stay down, you die here. If you get up, you might still die, but at least you’ll die fighting.”

His words cut through the fog of exhaustion. I know he’s right. I’ve come too far, endured too much, to give up now. Still, only one of the three I want dead has fallen.

I cannot die. Not until they have.

With a monumental effort, I push against the rock, trying to rise. My muscles tremble, my vision blurs, but I force myself to stand. It takes minutes, entire seconds ticking away without an inch of progress. But I do as he asks. As always.

The old God watches me, his expression unreadable. The dragon stirs slightly, sensing the struggle but too drained to do more than watch.

“I’ve seen mortals do incredible things...”

The Devil speaks quietly, almost to himself, but I hear him loud and clear through the rushing blood in my ears. The cane hits the ground from his hands, tapping powerfully as he stares off into the distance, where lights can be seen across the horizon from thousands of miles away.

“You’ve already done more than most Gods could. Don’t let it end here. We need you, Graves. If I have a regret from my old days, it is that we did not bring our own. He was young, yes, but not any less mature than your own boy. One might not be enough. Two? Two of your kind can change the world. Two of your kind would win any battle, no matter the foe.”

His words give me the final push I need, the strings of determination already frayed at their edges. With a guttural cry, I pull myself all the way to my feet. The world spins around me, but I remain standing, defying the resistance of my body and the Divinity tearing me apart from the inside.

At this point, it is willpower alone that keeps me moving, my Power melding with my Dominion and being forced to work beyond its typical calling.

“We need to keep moving. Our journey is far from over."

The Devil points down the trail of the mountain, the bloodstained path left by Lazarus, who came here at my behest months ago. I had to make him keep it a secret why, just in case, but I needed a way out should worst come to worst.

We're... about there, I'd say.

I nod, unable to speak, and take a step forward. Every movement is a nightmare, but I refuse to fall. The mantle of the Goddess of Death flutters in the cold mountain wind, the Mortal Veil straining against the land of the living.

As we begin our descent, I focus on putting one foot in front of the other. Pained Peaks is the deadliest place in the world, taking into account the wildlife and environment, but it is nowhere near as bad as the Underworld.

The few remaining Angelic beasts, thought to be extinct, still roam here, birthed and bred by the war that once took place on these darkened peaks stained with Darklight.

My eyes flicker over to Leviathan as she awakes. Her wings flutter with feathers and exhaustion before she rises into the air like a serpent. The demon changed her form into another creature to handle the strain of Godhood. They all do it in their own ways from what I've heard.

Louis created a balance within himself of his Concept, Balance, but that comes with its own dangers, as he must balance it at all times. If he does a good thing, he must also do a bad. Sure, he can manipulate it for his benefit, but it is still a risk, or he may lose control of his very Divinity.

Vincent forced his Endless, the billions and billions of tiny insects that formed his Dominion, to become him. He is no longer human upon a powerful magnifying glass. He is those tiny creatures mashed into one being.

Leviathan is similar to Vincent, shifting her admittedly gifted demonic body into a far more worthy one, that of a dragon, a vast, adaptable, and beautiful beast.

Kaisen, whom I've heard from Louis, did it a little differently, first rising to Godhood by imbuing his Divinity into his weapon, becoming a Godshaper. These beings are still, technically, mortals, but they possess the might and rights all Gods do. With the Mother Below's help, though, Kaisen elevated himself properly, turning into an aspect of ashen war.

Those are all the four Unnaturals in the universe that still live, and I can't imagine becoming one without doing something similar, shaping ourselves into a non-human form. According to Louis, all others have died across the cosmos, leaving him alone for millennia in his rank with Kaisen sealed. Though, in a short year or so, two more have joined him, and I foresee a few more doing so, too.

Wait...

I stumble, feeling that marker I left within Lily vanish utterly, our connection dissipating as she's outgrown my guidance. Her death would sketch a similar feeling, only no wave of grief hits me, meaning... she did it.

As for Lily... I built her to intake the ownerless depths of the Cardinal, allowing her Divinity to spread into and mix with the Wonder. With that, she wouldn't have to worry about bearing the weight of it, for it'll be a continuous ebb and flow. Furthermore, as she's constructed from my soul and the Primordial within the river, she should grow quite fast, even for a God. Origin, after all, is one of those Concepts that are terrifying in nature, no matter how it is handled.

The roars, growls, and fluttering of wings echo through the mountains, sending chills down my fractured spine and pulling my focus back to the real world instead of the vast darkness I've built. These are the sounds of the deadly creatures that inhabit the Pained Peaks, beings that could tear a battalion of men apart in seconds. Yet, as I shamble forward, leaning heavily on my remaining strength, nothing attacks.

The Devil walks beside me, his cane tapping rhythmically against the rocky path. The diminutive dragon slumbers fitfully, coiled protectively around itself. Every step is suffered, but the path ahead remains eerily clear. I glance into the shadows, into the crevices, where the eyes of snakes, raptors, and other fearsome creatures glint with a mix of curiosity and fear.

Many of them possess mighty Sigils, dozens with those as high as the 6th, something unheard of even in the Frontier. Most dangers to the Colonels are other sentient creatures, not monsters. And yet... I spot as many as four Angelic beasts on this mountain alone in a range of dozens.

We call the land between humanity and all other races the Frontier, but... in reality, the Frontier is the unexplored sections of the planet, those that no race has ever settled. And this is the last remaining bastion of such lands on this continent.

The beasts watch us, but they do not strike. Their hesitation is palpable, as it should be. They can sense the Ether we wield and the sheer gap between them and the Gods beside me. The Sirzas we possess have left a mark that even the wild beasts of this forsaken place can sense.

We continue our descent, each step bringing us closer to the base of the mountains as we recover bit by bit. I'm not ready to move at a fast pace. I need time. The path is treacherous, but the fear in the eyes of the creatures around us gives me a strange sense of security. They respect the danger we represent, the trail of destruction we’ve left behind.

It's a good feeling, one that I've come to enjoy in beasts and men alike. These things won't touch a hair on us. They know better. Many of these are as intelligent as men, but they only lack education.

As we reach a particularly steep descent, I stumble, my weakened body nearly giving out. The Devil catches my arm, steadying me with surprising gentleness.

"Easy. Almost to the river. We've got a ways to go, but once we're off the mountaintop, Leviathan can ferry you to the war. I don't want to risk the Ether of this land affecting her flight until them."

I take a deep breath, forcing myself to stand upright. The sounds of the creatures fade into the background as we focus on the path ahead. The sky remains eclipsed, the heat beating down on me anyway.

Finally, we reach a lowered plateau, a small respite from the harrowing descent as a river flows just a few feet away. I collapse onto a boulder, my body trembling with exhaustion. The Devil stands beside me, leaning on his cane, his gaze scanning the horizon.

“A ways to go. But we’ve made it this far. That’s something. Leviathan. Unfurl your wings.”

I nod, closing my eyes for a moment, savoring the brief recess. The creatures continue to watch from the shadows, but they keep their distance.

The feathered serpent growls, unhappy to be ordered as she fully awakes from her slumber. Still, she does as he asks, elongating and stretching to fit a hundred men onto her back.

"Fine. I already regret some aspects of this ascension, Louis. At least I'm not at risk of losing it all at any time, though."

The Devil chuckles while manually climbing up Leviathan's feathers, not using a lick of Ether. Right. He has to be careful and not waste even a lick of Ether. Still, the wisened man doesn't feel the bite of her words, offering me a hand to join him. I take it.

"There are some things worth more than strength, Levi. I'd sooner lose all that I have built than myself. I can die. But I will not be transformed into some beast."

Another string of growls rings out, the tension rising as Leviathan flies into the air without a stream of wind to carry us. Her mind does all the work while we soar across the sky.

"And some would rather shape their future than die as a dog to their 'duty'."

Unable to have a place in this argument, I simply listen and rest, fixing what I can about my injuries. Not that there is much I can do at this point for my missing organs.

"Then what are you doing now, Levi? You are joining us in this duty anyway, aren't you? You say you don't care about this world, but you never left it. You stayed. Why is that?"

The long tail behind us flicks angrily back and forth as the winds wreathe our forms from the speed of flight. Leviathan's frustrations don't physically reach us; they only reach us mentally.

"I... I didn't stay! I... What else was there to do? The cosmos is nothing but splatters of darkness! A billion worlds, and not one that is worth visiting! All are cold, dead rocks, or just starting to give birth to life! The few that were before us... all belong to Her now. I didn't want to be alone."

My eyes notice the war in Onyx Gate from here, our height letting my stolen irises peer that far. I can see the battle already at a start, Gods and Motherbound overflowing from their defenses.

At least they evacuated the weaker people to the southeast. It's the safest place to be with what's to come. Beyond that, I can see similar forces rushing from the far north and the west, though Vincent has the latter locked down. The Endless... it is something, huh?

Soon, Pained Peaks will overflow, and we'll have to deal with that—north, west, and south. The east is the only safe location. Or is it? I don't sense Her anywhere quite yet. Vincent is fighting several of her powerful Gods at once, a seven-to-one battle, but the Mother Below is nowhere to be seen.

Perhaps she's still regenerating. Or... she's plotting something? That must be it.

I turn my pupils to face the ocean, where Vincent got the idea of the Endless. The Endless Sea, where he took his very first adventure as a Demigod, doing what all others said was impossible, facing all manners of creatures and abominations.

"I see, Levi. I see. You don't want to be some Creational God. But then, what do you want? Your only friend is now dead, attempting to follow you. What is next for the great demon God?"

Leviathan's draconic shoulders visibly sink in surrender as we start to near Onyx Gate, her speed even faster than I expected.

"I wanted to... I wanted to rule the world. But that was a long time ago, a wish of young Azureye. Today, though, I just want to live. I don't want to die. Call me a coward or a weakling, but it's the truth. I enjoy living. Every second of it. From the foods to the sex to the wonder of Ether. It's all so much fun. But it's meaningless if there is just me in the world."

All the wonder of one with plenty of lifespan and power. I wish I could say the same. I never got to enjoy much of that life she speaks of. Louis Fern, however, seems to understand her.

"Hmm. I do not think you are a coward. In fact, I believe you are brave, Leviathan. To live in a world such as ours after seeing all the darkness it holds requires a heart of the strongest kind of steel. You, Letrian Drasonian of the Azureyes, are no coward. You are the bravest demon I have ever met."

Leviathan, or Letrian as her proper name seems to be, shudders under Louis' heartfelt words. The human God speaks his truth to the demon who warred with his people her whole life. I've always thought Louis was too kind for his own good. And every time I listen to him speak, I'm proven correct.

"While your civilization crumbled, was destroyed from within by corruption and disease, with zero hope of revival, you took a stand. The whole world collapsed, and yet, you stood triumphant in its ashes. Amongst us all, those that history would call the strongest of our time, the first people to reach this step of power, only you will remain in a year. Only you will remain in a thousand. Kaisen and I may still live, but that will not be for long. It is not for long."

The sincerity and authority in his voice leave zero room for discussion or doubt. The Devil believes wholeheartedly in what he says that he will be dead shortly. It is as if... he has something planned.

I look at him the same way I've looked at myself in a mirror my whole life, the same way I stared at my mother's corpse after my promise. The weight of death lingers painfully in my eyes, and with the Mortal Veil, it is only worse.

Louis notices the gaze of a deadman and returns it, his pupils just as lightless as mine. Then... they blaze with his Concept, a balance emerging within those tiny spots that teeter on finality.

The Devil steps forward on Leviathan's back as we hover above Onyx Gate. An explosion more devastating than a Sirza's beginning rings out behind him, backlighting the God with the fiery waves of heat as he speaks to me with a hand on my shoulder.

"We are not dead yet. My death will come with time. So, I shall use every second to the fullest, guiding those I can and killing those I cannot. As for you... Your death will come when you accept it, and only then. I am... confident that none could kill you if you did not wish it so. As such, my only advice, son, is to be as stubborn as I know you to be."

And then, he pushes himself right off the edge of the dragon's back. I reach out to balance him, but it doesn't come, as the God of that very thing refuses it with a grin, waving toward me with his cane on his way down to the shattered city below. I fall onto my ass on Leviathan's back, listening to the old man.

"Follow your gut! I would love to meet this Vincent Harvey I've learned so much about, but there is a bigger picture here. If we are to win, there must be something to win for. I shall go and guarantee a great many lives. I have learned from my mistakes with the Court. I shall do better. And so shall you, Killian. Levi! Take him westward, to his second promise."