ARICSON SPRUNG to his feet when a fairy glided into the room. He and the Prima had been waiting on the palace clinic's lounge since Elise fainted in his arms.

"Is Elise alright?" he asked. "The one with black and pink hair."

"Among the four, she is in the most critical condition, my lord. However, that's only because she's a Mundran, and her body is still adapting to the purity of Faerilyn," the woman explained.

"I should bring her back to Humana," he muttered.

"It is no use, dear. The fight is still ongoing. Taking her there will only be a burden. Let our fairies do their work," his grandmother said.

"But..."

"Enough and just set your worries aside," she stated and pulled him back to the couch.

Aricson jittered in his seat when something dawned on him.

"Grandmother..." his voice trailed, trying to form the words in his head that would not ignite his grandmother's ire.

He had already summarized how he met Elise and told her she might be a Harbinger. Not only that, all possible Harbingers were sent here yet the Prima acted like she was aware this would happen.

"What is it this time?" she queried after his moment of hesitation.

He glanced at the Healer who understood and took her to leave. Though she was a trusted aid of his grandmother and was fully aware that she was treating all the Harbingers, some things were meant to be private.

He cleared his throat after they were alone. "Don't you despise Harbingers, Grandmother?"

"My..." Her eyebrow curved upwards. "Who said so?"

"Everybody? Didn't you forbid anyone to mention anything about the Harbinger?"

"Nonsense. It is not for me. It is my compensation for a mistake I made decades ago. Anyhow, you have confirmed that she's alright so go get yourself treated too. Take a shower as well. You smell awful, my dear."

"It's—"

A shadow of a man appeared in the middle of the lounge. The Regis was clutching his chest, kneeling on his right knee. Blood splattered in his mouth before he could talk.

"Regis!"

The Prima quickly hovered towards the Regis. An array of sallow spirits was summoned in her hands. The light spirits floated and exuded warmth and brightness. Aricson simply stood there, watching the two being enveloped by the glowing orb.

A subtle frown made way on his face. His grandmother was not a Healer but the number of spirits she was giving the Regis was immeasurable that the white light could be visible to a Mundran's naked eye.

It was almost as if the Regis was fading. When his breathing steadied, the Regis was transferred to the couch by his grandmother's magic. His eyelids peered open and those viridescent irises from before had become amethysts.

He stilled upon recalling a previous incident. He was not deaf and heard words spoken between the Regis and the God of Destruction. That was a language he was not familiar with but that kind of intonation was something he only heard from his grandmother. 

'And the Regis's eyes...' His attention may be with Elise in the cave but he had caught a glimpse when the Regis's irises changed into another color. Aricson was not certain about his conclusion but he knew no creature could change its eye colors.

But then again, he had no inkling about any features of the gods. They said that the Ruin of Elith was the greatest calamity and destroyed almost all of Elith. It left every piece of history in tatters with no collection of Elitiya, the Language of the Gods, and the gods, themselves, along with the missing sacred artifacts that no one would ever know what they look like.

Nonetheless, Regis's abundance of knowledge was certainly on par or maybe even greater than his grandmother's, further proving that he was indeed a god.

It was only until today that he learned that all the mounts of the Ancient Clan were actually gifts from the Origin of Destruction. It was why their plan worked. A Vermilion, whose power came from Destruction, was able to suppress the god.

Thinking along the lines that it would be easy to defeat the god if he had summoned all the mounts of Humana, it was a pipe dream as mentioned by Regis. The only reason they were able to succeed was that the Regis was able to goad the Origin of Destruction.

"What happened? Should I send my men there?" He heard his grandmother's question, pulling him from his reverie.

The Regis was already sitting up though his skin was still pasty from exhaustion. "You know it's futile, and it's too late. He's fully awakened."

A long pause filled the room. 

"But..." his grandmother spoke, eyes flashing with bewilderment. "Didn't you tell me to leave them alone because it was a mistake? How could he be awakened?"

"I don't know what went wrong either. They must have done something to break the seal or one of them was indeed the real Harbinger."

"What should we do next? We can't stop once the prophecy begins."

"Right. There is nothing we can do but wait. This is bound to happen sooner or later, anyhow."

"I understand but Regis, did you know that..."

The Regis stood quiet for a moment. "I know."

"Is she...?"

"No. She's only a Mundran who holds the blood of the Sky." He stood up, fixing his clothes. "I have to leave. I'll send my people to help clean up Humana," he said before his sight was directed at him. "And you, boy."

The disturbing feeling of someone infiltrating his mind came again. All that time during their encounter with the ghastly god, the Regis was speaking to his mind, directing his every move. In addition, it was another ability exclusive to shifters.

'Are gods really this powerful?'

Aricson was certain the Regis heard his thought when his lips tugged upwards despite his ashen complexion.

"Take care of that woman," he said before disappearing.

Aricson faced his grandmother who was now lost in thoughts while he collected all the passing fragments of the conversation the elders had.

"Who were you talking about grandmother?" he prompted.

"Elise... that woman looked exactly like the one I remembered, especially those downturned-shaped eyes. Anyone who had lived since the beginning can clearly see her semblance towards the Origin of Inception. The goddess that looks over us, fairies."

He took an intake of breath. His pupils trembled paired with raised brows and slackened jaws. His stoic face was completely shattered. Numerous surprising encounters had happened right after he met Elise but this one was something he never reckoned with.

"H-how can that be? Is Elise the reincarnation of the g-goddess?" He questioned, tripping over his tongue.

"I had no idea either and I don't think she is. It must be a simple coincidence. After all, gods are something we can never understand, but this can explain why Regis intervened this time," she said.

Aricson held his silence, pondering before he voiced out the one thing that had been bothering him for a while now. Doubts he had been holding out since he met the Regis.

"Grandmother, if Regis is a god, why can't he just seal back the Origin of Destruction?"

"So you realized his identity... He must have taken a liking to you that he did not erase your memory or worse, put you to death."

He almost arched a brow from his grandmother's choice of words. Those were not something she should say to her eldest grandson.

"Unfortunately, he cannot," she continued. "Else if he can, we don't have to worry about anything. The tale of the Origin of Destruction being the strongest god is never an exaggeration. The only reason you were able to stand against him with only the two of you is that Destruction's magic is not even a fraction of what it was before. "

"So you also know that the Abyss Faction's leader is a god? Does that mean you know that they killed my parents?"

"About that... There are things best be ignorant about."

His right eyebrow twitched, forming into a wrinkle. "Grandmother, they killed not only your daughter but also your granddaughter."

"I know. I remorse that day of carelessness but it was all fate. No one can change fate unless they are gods."

"Then why didn't Regis take over Elith if he was an Origin God? There will never be a war among races if he stepped in and unified all the races."

"It is a god's choice. Those choices can be wrong and gods can be plagued by their consequences. The Origin Gods of the past are far different from their current states. Without a doubt, they can change fate but it will currently take a greater power to disrupt fates set in stone and a barter greater than they could pay." Her gaze became distant. "Yet then again, fate has now been interrupted but the more it does, even Time will not be able to fix it."

Her voice lowered as she spoke. She took his hands in hers and their eyes met. A hint of warning glinting on those pair of silvers.

"My dear, this is one thing you should remember now that you are aware of their existence. All races are just instruments of fate and all our fates are tied with our gods. We are nothing more than creatures that bear the brunt of our god's actions. A mere stipend meant to be used. Unless you're with a god, never dare cross another god."

The finality in her tone could only make Aricson nod in agreement.