Chapter 115: Chapter 114 - Of realms and afterlives

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”Khaine! What are you doing here?! Shouldn’t you still be under house arrest?!” One of the other Deities demanded in an angry voice. The goddess in question wore a rather revealing toga that left little to the imagination, but her power was even more obvious than her appearance.

It was easy to tell the gods apart from the immortals, as the gods were all significantly taller and constantly surrounded by a golden glow of power. They were also all striking in appearance. As shown by Karna, even Godlings were all attractive to various degrees, unless they specifically chose to be otherwise, so of course the same applied to the parents of said Godlings. As long as they wanted to of course. Of the gathered gods, one was completely covered in scarlet armor covering him from head to toes but still somehow managed to make it look good, one had clearly focused more on being intimidating, and two had chosen to look like older men to highlight their eminence. The rest were at least moderately attractive in a universal way.

“Wouldn’t you like that Astarte. Unfortunately for you, I’m not, and before you say anything you’ll regret, the Heavenly Emperor is fully aware that I’m here.” The Goddess that looked so much like Karna retorted rather smugly. “I wouldn’t want you to disparage the emperor by accident by claiming he’s unaware of my presence here.”

“You were imprisoned for a reason. That reason still stands!” Astarte replied, apparently taking the lead in the group that seemed to be standing against Karna’s supposed mother. It was easy to see the animosity between the two went far deeper than the issue in question.

Karna could sense that this Astarte was a relatively important goddess, while most of the others were less so. Aside from her mother of course. There was only one more Deity present that stood out, and that one seemed to be standing apart from the group led by Astarte, joined by two other gods. “And what gives you the right to interfere in the internal matters of House Asuryan? Or any other House aside from your own for that matter? My imprisonment was part of an internal power struggle, and it wasn’t called for by either the Assembly or the Host. And even if it had been, you don’t speak for either.” Karna’s mother seemed to enjoy throwing that fact at the face of the other goddess.

“It was sanctioned by the Emperor, and as his loyal subject, I will naturally enforce his will.” Astarte seized on a potential loophole in the argument, as weak as it was. “Even if you claim he’s aware, that’s not the same as sanctioning your release.”

“Was it though? Did you hear a decree from His Majesty? Or any word from him at all? Or did you just buy into Hoeth’s blathering? No need to answer. We all know you’ve always been Hoeth’s good little bitch, and will continue to be. Now stand aside pet! A good dog should not bark at its betters, and untrained and rabid dogs need to be put down. You have no power or authority to stand against me. If you try, I’ll take great pleasure in freeing another realm from an incompetent claimant.”

“Ooh, that one had to hurt.” Envy joked, while making an exaggerated face. They were only partially aware of what was going on, but they could guess a lot from just what the two said.

“Is it just me, or are we being ignored?” Valor pointed out in a whisper. “We might actually be able to slip away while they butt heads. Assuming of course you don’t want to stick around to help the one who claims to be your mother?”

“They’ve still got their senses on us despite not looking our way.” Hope shook her head, shooting the plan down immediately. “We wouldn’t get far. Not here anyway. This golden path doesn’t work like standard roads.”

“Lady Khaine.” The representative of the Host stepped forward. “We’re still under orders to draft every new immortal into the Host to fight the scourges.”

Finally, the third powerful Deity interfered. “And we all know you’re not walking away from here with them, so you might as well forget it.” The man wearing rather ostentatious green robes with a dragon motif stated with a deep voice that almost sounded like a growl. Either that or his vocal cords had been impacted by constant smoking and drinking, which seemed unlikely as immortal bodies were not so easily damaged. He stepped towards Karna and her companions, to look all of them closer. “One of you registered as a dragon as you Ascended. Which one?”

The four of them looked at each other before the three others grinned and all pointed at Karna. The man made an exasperated growl. “This complicates things. The House of Dragons invokes its ancient right to any and all Ascended dragons.”

“As does House Titannica!” The leader of the titans interjected. The houses founded around certain races had long since established the right to recruit and establish dominance over anyone belonging to their race. It only applied to the most powerful races of magical beings though. There was no unified house for humans or other more common humanoid races.

“As does House Asuryan.” The woman in phoenix robes wasn’t one to be left behind. Her group was at a disadvantage with no god of their own present, aside from Khaine.

“You really are too popular.” Envy muttered, not sure if she should be envious or relieved for once that she wasn’t the center of attention.

“None of you is going to touch my daughter.” Karna’s mother wasn’t having any of it. “You can all make what claims you desire, but they’re leaving here with me, and there’s nothing any of you will be able to do to stop me.”

“Don’t push your luck Khaine.” The dragon looked at the Goddess of War without fear. “Your power buys you some leeway, but not as much as you might have once had.”

“Would you like to put that to the test?” The weapons in her hands suddenly glowed with power.

“I just might.” The dragon growled and scales started appearing on his skin, and he was clearly prepared for a fight.

“I think this calls for a timeout.” Karna suddenly interjected, and something in her voice caught everyone’s attention. “I will go along with her for now with my companions. I have not picked a side yet, nor will I do so without exploring my options. Everyone will get a chance to make their case. However, she is supposedly my mother, and I haven’t seen her since I was sent to the other planes." She noticed the representative of the Host gearing up for remaking the original claim and interrupted. "My friends and I Ascended without the assistance of the Host. Thus, by the ancient laws, any claim you might have over us is null and void until we pick a house, since we do not owe you for helping us. In fact, we are not subject to any of the laws either, until we pick an association or gain help from the Host.”

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The Host controlled the Divine Planes, but its control relied mostly on the fact that new immortals needed the Host’s help to Ascend and to help purify their cultivation once they reached the Divine Planes. Strictly speaking, the Host had no hold over the Divine Planes, only the Heavenly Emperor did. The issue was that most houses, gods, and the Assembly supported the Host because either they themselves or their progeny owed the Host for helping them. The Host was also a convenient method of keeping at least nominal order and the scourges at bay. Someone who Ascended by their own power and didn’t need help adjusting to the purer power of the planes didn’t owe the Host their allegiance, and that was one of the reasons such people were valued.

“She’s correct and has you there.” The woman in the phoenix robes took some glee in pointing out. She was actually pleased with this result. Despite their obvious differences, Khaine was still a member of the House Asuryan. Either the wayward goddess would bring the Princess back to their house, or she would have to fully betray the house and join another, which would label her as a traitor. Having a clear enemy was often better than having an ambiguous ally. It seemed Khaine had no intention of waiting for a full consensus anyway, as one of the realms surrounding them suddenly surged forward and pulled both her and Karna’s group inside it.

"And that's why it's dangerous to wander on the bridge without keeping your destination firmly in mind." Karna quickly explained as they were all recovering from a sudden bout of dizziness from being instantly relocated inside the realm controlled by a True God. She knew they could’ve resisted, but there would’ve been no guarantee of success.

The place they found themselves in was inhospitable, to say the least. They stood in a circle made of brown stone and man-sized stone obelisks were placed around the circle at a few meter intervals. If the obelisks had once had some writing on them, that writing had disappeared long ago, eroded by time and sand. The ground itself was covered in more brown stone and only slightly lighter color sand. The most notable thing surrounded them on all sides and almost literally stared them in the face. From the circle opened four narrow paths in the shape of a cross, while the paths were framed by what looked like walls of giant sand-covered skeletons sitting on stone thrones. The walls of thrones rose up endlessly on all sides much like an amphitheater, except the rows of thrones were placed almost directly on top of each other instead of a slow incline. These walls of thrones and skeletons seemed to extend so high in the sky that they saw no end, and the same held for the four paths placed between the walls of thrones.

While all of the skeletons looked to be gigantic in size, the smallest being at least five meters tall, they were far from identical. Most of their clothes had deteriorated and rotted, but you could still see the remains of various styles of clothing and armor. The skeletal structure of the remains also differed, ranging from humanoid, to draconic, to various beasts and avians. Whatever race you could think of, their skeleton could be found in this odd gallery of bones, sand, and decay.

“What a cheery place.” Envy was the first to comment, observing her surroundings.

“It’s the realm of the Goddess of War.” The very goddess in question explained. “You didn’t really expect puppies and rainbows.”

“Hey, your old realm actually had both of those.” Envy pointed at Karna with a grin. Karna in turn ignored the comment.

“I was expecting more lakes of blood. Maybe a skull-throne.” Valor added his impressions in an effort to gather his bearings. “Although, you do have skulls aplenty, so I wasn’t entirely wrong.”

“Blood was more my predecessor’s thing. Gods must maintain a certain type of aesthetic according to the concept they rule over, but I personally have no patience for blood and viscera in my realm. This is just for the arrivals though. I wasn’t sure if some of the others would try to tag along, and I didn’t want to take them to the more pleasant areas by accident.” Khaine explained with a slightly regretful tone. This was the public access point for any arrivals.

With a single thought from the goddess, they found themselves in front of a rather comfy-looking longhouse. The walls were made of logs while the roof was made of thick straw. The sound of merriment, drinking, brawling, and fighting came from inside. “This might be a bad idea.” The goddess muttered. Khaine seemed to have some trouble deciding between slight embarrassment and a fond grimace, as she stopped them from entering just yet. “Right, so, something you should be aware of. I’m not sure how well you are versed with what happens to souls after people die. Some reincarnators are experts and others have even less of an idea than normal people.”

“River of Souls, right?” Valor summarized.

“In essence, that is true for most souls. However, if there is enough faith for an afterlife among the believers of a god or pantheon, those that fulfill whatever conditions they believe in for said afterlife can be sent into that afterlife instead. The souls will eventually end up back among the rest, but that can take a rather long time. Assuming of course that the god administering said afterlife has enough power to maintain that afterlife." Khaine realized that at least one member of the group was operating under limited information and was likely a newer reincarnator. “This doesn’t apply to everyone of course. Anyway, many of the warrior cultures of this universe believe in an afterlife where worthy warriors can go after their death. Well, you’re hearing the sounds of said afterlife, where they can feast and make merry until being called to battle once again.”

Karna burst into laughter. “You have created your own version of Einherjar.” The concept was common enough that it had even been given a name among the reincarnators.

“Something along those lines. I like to think of them as a strategic reserve. They don’t retain the power they had in life outside my Domain or my Realm, as they are just souls, but in those two places they can manifest their old power. And they are a formidable force, considering they tend to be the best warriors around.”

“That sounds like a powerful Domain.” Valor nodded. “Would also combine great with mine.”

“Yes, well, I’m not giving you a lecture on the subject just for the heck of it. There’s a problem you might run into, seeing as most of you are female. The warriors that end up in my realm have certain beliefs about what they find in this afterlife, as it is supposed to be a reward for their heroic deeds, and they tend to be somewhat bawdy with their imagination and beliefs. They also tend to be majority male. I can’t help them with the bawdier aspect myself as the goddess for obvious reasons, nor do I want to, and the female warriors who end up here usually don’t want to volunteer either, so the realm itself creates them sort of courtesans they can…unleash their lust on. Said courtesans aren’t actually real souls or people, however, sometimes some of the warriors have a little bit of trouble in telling the difference between these courtesans and any visitors, so you should be prepared for such advances.” Now Khaine was clearly a little embarrassed. “Also, you three are rather attractive, so don’t be too surprised if you’ll see courtesans that look a lot like you in the near future. The courtesans are basically fantasies given form, and you’ll likely be present in many fantasies soon. It’s easy to tell the difference between the real person and the courtesan copies though, so no need to worry there.”

“Not sure how I feel about that," Hope admitted. She wasn’t exactly a prude, but the idea was somewhat unsettling at the same time.

“Bloody brilliant, that’s what!” Envy declared loudly. “I wonder if I could end up in a threesome with two copies of myself created from someone else’s fantasy. Oh! Oh! We can have a competition about who will inspire more of these courtesans in the next week!” She wasn’t a stranger to being the object of sexual fantasies and actually considered it only her due.

"Isn't the winner rather obvious?" Hope lifted an eyebrow and gestured towards Karna.

“Ah, that’s probably going to be doubly so since I’m exempt from any such fantasies, and Karna is my daughter. So now they can fantasize an almost identical copy of me, with the added forbidden fruit from her being my daughter as well.” Khaine grinned a bit. “On the other hand, most of them might be too scared of incurring my wrath to try. Anyway. I just thought I should warn you in advance and also apologize. I wasn’t planning on bringing my daughter here when I first created the system.”

“It’s fine.” Karna just shook her head wryly. It wasn’t the strangest way she’d seen an afterlife solve that particular problem. Many religions had a concept of an afterlife with certain perks, and most of the afterlives had to get inventive unless they wanted to force some souls into servitude to provide said perks.

"Alright. Enough stalling. Let's get this over with so that we can talk." Khaine wasn't the type to get anxious or afraid, but she would've been lying if she had claimed that she wasn't dreading the conversation she was about to have with her daughter. That conversation might also decide how vengeful said daughter would feel towards the River of Souls. They also had plans to make as she’d brought the soul of Karma here for a reason.