"I figured you''d arrive before me. Zag, did you call me just to brag? Grow up." Thanatos said, ring at the towering structure of fleshy mass, bearing thick, elongated veins throbbing as if alive, ck as tar. Thanatos sighed and stood, unsure what to do. He had gotten in contact with Iliana, but she merely said, ''screw em.''


    That hadn''t been the answer he had been looking for, but he couldn''t simply abandon them.


    It had been an entire year, and things were growing worse by the day. The sun seemed to have perished with the death of Aria Silvermane, leaving the world a ve to the night. And with many restrictions gone, demons were evolving after every battle. They were growing smarter, faster, and more resilient to modern technology as they found themselves attuning to the Nine Hells.


    "I didn''t call you for that, actually," Zag said on the hologram in Thanatos'' hand. "Those of the Prime Worlds within Babels Tower are descending to this realm. One of them tried to seize Iliana''snd and got his head taken clean off his body by her. Thatdy doesn''t y. But be careful if those in Babels Tower are here. It''s safe to assume people from Heaven''s Gate have descended."


    "Heavens Gate," Said Thanatos grimly. He groaned, feeling a headacheing on. " Heavens Gate shouldn''t have an issue with Altair as of yet. If anything, they should be trying to pull Altair to their side. So unless the person Lady Iliana killed was from Heaven Gate—"


    "He wasn''t," said Zag thankfully. God knows the trouble they''d be in if Heaven Gate got involved.


    "Then we''re good for now. But keep that woman hidden. God knows how many people she''s killed already, "said Thanatos, staring at the cocoon that held Altair and Reina. He disconnected and tossed his Holocube into his Draupnir Ring. "Boy… How long are you going to keep me waiting? You''re fourteen today, you know.


    October 31. That''s your birthday, right?


    Spending the New Year in utter silence, surrounded by his undead guarding the Prince and Princess, Thanatos stared up nkly toward the skies. He hadid down a few Wardings to defend against wondering eyes, but he could still see hovercraft, starships, andrge metal frames shrieking through the skies,ying waste to the raging demons.


    Beams of light seemed to shine more brightly than stars as they fired into the earth, tearing through flesh and bones.


    It was an unfamiliar sight to Thanatos, though the prospect of war was not. He thrived on war, much like the God of War; each death aided him in his growth, delivering death to countless.


    "Look at me… God of Death, standing guard while his master fucks. Hells. What the hell am I doing?" He sighed, regretting his decision. He hadn''t given up his divinity for this.


    Suddenly, the Mana quivered, jolting about like fireflies, alerting the former God of Death, who turned to the cocoon. He frowned and sat up, taking a few steps back, sensing the Mana growing wilder by the second. It began to congeal, growing so bright it became seen with the naked eye.


    Thanatos took another step back, conjuring a dense ck mist around him, causing the grass and trees to wilt as if they''d touched upon death. Even the Mana seemed to fade into nothingness.


    The cocoon stirred before it began to reel, thrashing back and forth. Splintering lines ofceration stretched across therge mass of flesh, seeping blood as ck as the night skies, thick as tar, slid down the horrid curves of the tumor-like mass. The grass turned to me at its touch, and the Mana began to burn, twisting'' into light so blinding Thanatos dared not look too closely.


    Searing heat came at him in a surge of waves, searing the wilted grass to ash, consuming Thanatos and all manner of beasts, cryptids, and demons within a hundred miles.


    They burned. They all burned. Even those that bore resistance and immunities to fire burned. A great pyre of horrid emerald gold fire tore at the heavens, hounding at it. Starships that hovered just outside the atmosphere veered away, employing barriers and shields. Hovercraft that stood inside the atmosphere turned to liquid metal, falling from the skies in a great molten rain of metal.


    Millions upon billions perished in the blink of an eye, leaving gods awe-struck while the demons sang madly with praise. They roared towards the great pyre of mes, seeking what they could to mount, willing or not.


    When, atst, the pyre faded, dwindling into fleeting light, Thanatos stood Untouched but horrified, clenching a sk that held the lingering bits of his divinity. It had been the only reason he survived. He shuddered, looking down at the two Lords still adjoined with one another.


    "Arsene… you owe me big. I did not sign up for this Bullshit."


    ***


    It had taken nearly three weeks for Altair and Reina to wake, groggy and weak; Thanatos became like a maid to their whims. Feeding them demon blood every hour on the hour while roosting meat of whatever wild beast he found. When he found them, the two had been nothing more than skin and bones. Their faces were hollow, as though they''d been encased and mummified.


    Despite three weeks slipping through their fingers, the duo didn''t look that much better, but they could talk now, though mobility was at an all-time low.


    "Hard to believe two years just flicked bye," Altair said within the carriage. "Time really is rtive."


    "And meaningless," said Thanatos. "You''ll realize that when you be gods."


    "If we be God''s." Altair closed his eyes, bringing up the system mission.


    [Kill Altair ckwood]


    He groaned, looking at that sted red lettering.


    "Do you know where the Portal is? Remaining in this dungeon is no longer a benefit."


    Thanatos nodded. "I do… but you''re currently in no state to fight, and with the level of demons wondering about, you''d die before you made it there. We need to regroup and recover."


    Altair could believe it, and it was especially true now.


    "I—" Noticing Altair had fallen back asleep, Thanatos eyed the vige a few days'' journey beforemanding his skeleton knight to veer the carriage off course. The fewer people who knew about Altair and Reina''s arrival, the better.


    They came from the south using the forest as a cover before stopping as the blood-stained wooden barricade stood mounted around the outskirts of the vige. Pointed with various types of demon heads mounted on the wall. Crows and ravens fluttered about wildly, pping their wings, as Archers stood on towering outposts, arrows at the ready.


    Thanatos lifted Altair and Reina and lept over the wall covered in a veil of darkness. He moved without sound like a blur, whirling through the streets filled with different kinds of people until he arrived in the cottage they''d prepared for the two a year ago. Secluded from most of the vige, it stood surrounded by a dense canopy of trees.


    "This ce really changed in thest year," said Thanatos, resting Reina and Altair down in the same bed. He sighed. "I''d give it to humans. Their ability to colonize is legendary. You''d think they''re dwarves by the rate in which they build." He nced at Altair and sighed. Pulling out a tankard of blood, he fed the duo,id down a few runes, and left.


    Altair opened his eyes. "He''s… a nice guy."


    "He''s like a nanny," said Reina, opening her eyes. "Think he can be trusted."


    "If you''d asked me a few weeks ago, I''d say no. But Thanatos could have killed us if he wanted to days ago, but he didn''t. And Mother did send him."


    Reina looked at her withered hands, nothing more than skin and bones, and sighed. "How long do you think it''ll take for us to recover?"


    He shook his head, weak. "Hells if I know. Thest time I was like this, it took nearly six months."


    Reina''s sunken face bore an ugly smile that didn''t quite seem like one. "Am I still cute?"


    "You look like a withered cranberry. A raisin if raisins could look more deformed. Maybe a little retarded."


    "... But am I cute?"


    "..."


    "A~R~T


    With augh that ached, Altair managed a smile, "Yeah, you''re still cute."


    Content, Reina fell back asleep, and soon Altair followed; for nearly a month, theyid in bed, tended to by Thanatos and, at times, Zagreus, who''de to make introductions. He was a lot more expressive than Thanatos. Altair liked that. Expression meant control, and when it came to the Former God of Death, he only saw Pride and Honor. Nothing more, nothing less. He seemed like a simple man.


    Though Iliana never came to visit, she gave a singlemand she delivered through Zag: "Don''t forget to practice the Ninth and Eight Forms."