(Ridiculous, Willow showed pain before, but this is-)
"Gaaaah! Ahhh!" Willow was on the ground in agony.
"Take the ring off!" Veronica screamed.
Willow did not; he looked at her like she was someone he wanted to roast. His eyes were different, far different from before.
(What is wrong with you, Willow?)
Fire erupted. Willow's power surged. Veronica backed off.
(Now isn't the time for this…)
"Hey," Sinephilim grabbed Veronica. "What in father's name did he say he was going to do!"
Veronica was at a loss for words.
"Answer dammit!" Her nails dug deeper into Veronica's shoulders.
"He- he said-"
"What! What the FUCK was that monster planning?"
Veronica only stared at her.
(Rhenvar what in father's name happened? I purified you and you still mumbled weird words… good thing you left with Urithax.)
"Why didn't you stop him Veronica? What did he say he was going to do, tell me!"
Sinephilim let go, rubbing her temples.
(He's gone now, I can't lose myself. I have too much to think about.)
She was exhausted. She used so much of the super powers these Gods gave her to keep everyone alive.
Perfect Shield.
(My new shielding magic is pretty powerful. It worked wonders for sure. Until…)
She felt fear.
(That thing, Calamity, he used Worldheart powers…)
Sinephilim looked around. Bunnygirl approached.
"Heeey… ground team Beta is about to come in and clear the area… you guys did so much." Bunnygirl looked uneasy. "Tell Rhenvar… thank you. He may be a killer but he's… my hero…"
(Him? A hero? Is this girl an idiot? Did she not witness what just happened?)
"Rhenvar is a monster-" Sinephilim said before getting cut off.
"I know what he is. But he saved me. And I don't care if that makes him a monster. He's still my hero." Bunnygirls voice cracked.
(There's just no way. First Veronica, now this little girl? Rhen… he has heart but he's a monster, a soul eating monster. My brothers…)
"Why?" Sinephilim looked at her. "Why are you so confident? I need to know. It's important!"
"Uh…" Bunnygirl was startled. "He's just feels- "
"Ground team Beta here." A team of armored humans arrived.
"Let me take care of this!" Bunnygirl said. "Oh! You guys if you can, leave, you helped but Rhenvar and Corvessa aren't exactly… heroes to them. I don't want things to get messy if they have the wrong idea about you."
Bunnygirl left to talk with the team.
(Yes, we did a good thing.)
Her thoughts lingered on Calamity.
She shivered.
(That wasn't even close to Fenrus or even… Urithax and Darkness as far as power goes. I think I'm beginning to understand Worldeaters like Aucteros.)
But something didn't sit right with her. In that moment of thinking of Aucteros, one question arose.
(Why is Aucteros, a Worldeater, why is he so… weak? Also… why did he help us kill another Worldeater?)
Sinephilim's mind had enough going on as it is. Willow was suffering, Rhenvar was a complete mess again.
"Willow passed out from pain." Veronica said, walking up to her.
"Willow is strong, trust me. I know- "
Veronica cut her off. "Look, I should have stopped Rhenvar and I know you two have been sent with him, and have Gods and Goddesses or reality bending magic and things going on…"
(She's doing what I'm doing. Realizing Rhenvar and Willow just can't be part of the mission. Rhenvar was obvious. Yes. He acts normal and a jester… but he hides his true face.)
"Sin?"
(And Willow? I don't know why he holds himself so close to Rhenvar, I truly don't… but Rhen… ugh Rhenvar is a creature that should have been killed in the shadow fortress. Willow… you and your sister were fools.)
"Sin!" Veronica continued.
"Oh sorry, I was lost in thought on what to do." She said, "Go on."
"We need a break… Willow needs one, and Rhen needs one- "
"Wait… we're saving worlds Veronica; we don't have time to- "
Apex walked up. "I need to go back to my world. I have much to report." Apex stared at Willow.
"I don't know if I'll return but another soldier will take my place."
Apex triggered his portal and stepped up to it but turned.
"Your mission, it's righteous, don't forget that."
Apex vanished in blue lightning.
Veronica was talking but Sinephilim wasn't listening, she was thinking.
(Aucteros could have planned it all… with his book. I should have just killed him when we teamed up. But… Calamity… at the time…)
"Sinephilim!" Veronica shook her. "Are you…"
Sinephilim was brought back to her senses. "No, I'm fine, Veronica, trust me."
She looked at Willow.
(His sister was always better, she used spies... She planned the peace between elves and demonkin. And it was accepted! But she died…)
"We need to rest…" Veronica was still talking.
(Wait. Willow holds our world. If he uses it, does it destroy it like Calamity. No, he wouldn't. But for Rhenvar? He… would?)
Veronica slapped Sinephilim.
"I'm trying to talk to you!" Veronica snapped.
Sinephilim held her cheek. Surprised by the sudden hit.
"Don't you start losing your mind!" She said.
"I- right, now's not the time, not here." Sinephilim looked up. "Sister!"
A rift shimmered behind them, a whisper of shadow pulling at their bodies. The Goddess of Shadow answered.
****
Darkness' Tea table.
They arrived. Darkness' glare shifted over them.
"I'll say, I did not expect this outcome. I wonder how our little group dances around death so easily?" Darkness said in an almost proud tone.
(No more wasteful words, sister.)
"It's time you tell us everything." Sinephilim said bluntly.
Darkness set her tea cut down.
Clink.
"And does this 'everything' entail?" She felt her glare sharpen.
"Just what was that? That monster, Calamity. It wasn't just strong; it was able to fight a Fallen God."
Darkness's glare now set on Willow.
"That my sister was a true Worldeater. That is why I pulled Rhenvar into our world. Why I gave him power and trust."
"But Rhenvar and Willow are Worldeaters, yet they never showed that kind of power."
"Yes, because they have not or will not unlock it. Calamity freely used his Worldhearts as a power source." She sipped her tea. "And now you know why I take this threat seriously."
"What are the consequences of using that power?" Veronica asked.
"To use it, requires the destruction of whichever world they choose, and everything in it. Souls and all."
(Using Worldheart powers does require destroying a world.)
(This is bad.)
"That girl, the one Rhenvar was protecting." Sinephilim continued.
"Bunnygirl."
"Bunnygirl, she held her own world's Worldheart, is it the same? Can Gods just move the Worldheart anywhere they want?"
"In their worlds, yes, it is the foundation of the world itself. That girl who held it, the Gods removed it after Calamity fell."
"Wait, were we being used again?" Veronica leaned back. "Was Rhenvar sent there so Calamity would be killed?"
Darkness paused.
"Gods knew Calamity was in that world. It just so happened they put their own Worldheart into a weak little girl…"
(It doesn't make sense.)
"Was this another test?" Veronica asked.
"No," Darkness answered. Tone dry and tired. "It was entertainment."
"What?" Sinephilim flinched.
"As I told you before, we Gods love a good story. You see a trial and we see entertainment." Darkness looked up. "Never trust a God."
(But you, you're helping us, but you don't want us to trust you?)
Sinephilim looked at Veronica. Both were thinking the same thing.
"So, are there more out there? More like Calamity?"
Darkness leaned in. "Yes, and some are becoming far more dangerous."
An unsettling feeling hit them.
And now Sinephilim understood. Now she knows what she must do.
(I need to get stronger.)
(No, I have to get stronger.)