Hello my darling beasties, I'm finally back with another chapter of this story! (And holy crap, there's already slightly over 300 reads on this!  *tears up a little* You guys are so fabulous!) But a little note before we start. Remember the whole Eris/ Adresta side-plot thing I had going on? *had actually almost forgotten about that myself, whoops......* Well, we'll be focusing a little more on that this chapter, specifically with a character  that I've barely done anything with in this story as of yet: President Spheros. Because in this world, nothing is as seems, especially the President of Pacopolis.......(And I really hope that I'm doing his character right, especially since I'm going to be adding a bunch of stuff that corresponds to some ideas I've entertained personally(*thinks about how weirded out I was that Spheros was going to kill Pac over a food shortage among some other things I've thought about*), and have discussed a bit on Tumblr with certain people..... *has a mild stress attack at the prospect of introducing yet another character who I'm going to potentially stress over getting right*   )  But anyway, hope you guys enjoy, because stuff is going to get interesting......

Spheros's P.O.V

Nobody said whatever he had to do was going to be easy, but nevertheless, he persisted. It was one of his best qualities after all, the ability to take action in the face of a threat. It was one of the best qualities a leader could possess after all, and a much needed one at that.

And it was that quality that had helped him throughout the past week of all too troubling news....

Of course, he'd been concerned with other matters at the time, laws to approve, strengthening the country's military forces, and preparing for the 251rst annual Presidential gala happening in two months time; where he'd unveil his grand plan to put an end to this so-called "second ghost war" (as it was beginning to be referred to by certain groups....) for good this time(He'd prove that he was righteous, that he was the good man every one thought he was, because he was, wasn't he? Yes, that was it....) .....

But apparently, fate had other plans for him.

Mainly concerning an inhuman young woman, or as some of the more foolhardy populace called her: a demoness. He'd merely scoffed at the prospect of the whole idea at first. Demons were just creatures from children's stories, merely things put there to supplant some sort of lesson, not any sort of creature that existed in this known world. Even with the regular presence of ghosts, and an occasional slew of other supernatural creatures, the idea of a soulless beast from ancient myths and legends, could appear in this modern-day world was purely ridiculous, insane even! Spheros himself was a rational man, and he'd immediately dismissed the news when he'd first heard it. Honestly, reporters these days would do anything to get their viewer's attention or secure more reads to their silly gossip columns, so he'd merely deemed it nothing more than silly gossip at first....... 

That was until he'd seen the footage for himself of her(hands completely covered in the lifeblood of some poor fool) and her completely empty, dead eyes, looking up at a security camera before smiling an equally empty smile and dragging the poor sap near her feet(whether they were dead or comatose, it was unclear) away from the view of the camera before the video feed had cut out so unexpectedly.

So the old stories really had some semblance of truth to them after all, if there was such a thing as her that could exist in modern society without being immediately discovered......

A demoness......

 Who had a strange ability of being able to seamlessly blend in with society, hiding her ungodly powers with little to no effort. And  with slightly over a handful of people she'd so mercilessly slaughtered(and god, she hadn't exactly left much behind that would warrant for an open-casket funeral) now lying in coffins, the inhuman murderess had appeared to have vanished entirely from the very face of PacWorld, much to the bafflement of the police force and everyone else he had recruited in locating this  so-called "demoness".

And so far, they'd failed in locating her, claiming that it was almost like she had vanished off of the face of the earth......  He felt himself tense up at that, nails digging into the wood of his desk as his thoughts turned towards the young woman in question.

Valerie Sawyer.

Oh how he had grown to despise that name, although he kept a face of civility whenever it was brought up. Because for all maddening reasons unknown to him, Valerie Sawyer didn't appear to have even existed in Pacopolis until about four days before the murders.....

No driver's licence, no record of her even registering as a citizen of Pacworld, no birth certificate...  Almost nothing that would mark her as a citizen of Pacworld.

And yet she appeared to be a completely normal twenty -year old woman, taking a "year off" from college as it said on he PacBook page(which barely presented any sort of useful information, just a few pictures of her with a golden retriever puppy-someone else's? Her own?- and a few random shots of the urban areas of Pacopolis, nothing that suggested that this woman would go on to murder slightly over a handful of people in cold blood.....), who seemed to have some sort of obsession with children's fantasy books and tv series featured on supernatural elements(most ironically, he noted, she seemed to be obsessed with a show that featured the hunting of creatures like her. It was almost laughable at how ironic it was....), and barely seemed to have any notable friends to speak of(had she been purposely isolating herself at the time?) .

And yet every scrap of information he had received revealed the same thing: Valerie Sawyer didn't exist. Or at least she hadn't until four days before the killings.  She was dangerous, possibly mentally deranged. But she had an almost perfect record of mental health(save for a few hastily scribbled reports about potential anxiety in the medical report). But then again, the most bloodthirsty of people had never appeared to even be capable of doing half of the things they had done, as he'd known from experience.

But yet......

Nothing appeared out of the ordinary with this woman, she appeared to have been in her right mind until the eve of the deaths, no suspicious contacts, no evidence that she had been involved in anything against the government,  no weapons had been found in the search of her apartment, and god forbid it, the most troubling detail of all......

A tarry, inky substance, found in small amounts around the crime scene, didn't appear to be blood, yet it had the same consistency of it when it had been tested. And most troublingly, it didn't seem to match to the samples of her blood(she'd clearly been injured, whether by one of the victims or by something else entirely, it was unclear) that had been collected. And there weren't any fingerprints on the victims, even though one witness had specifically spoken of seeing her dragging one of her victims, and then there was the baffling lack of the murder weapon itself. The slash marks on the body didn't seem to match any sort of weapon he'd ever seen, they were far too ragged for one, like the victims had been torn into pieces by the claws of a large animal. And the bodies themselves..... the girl looked barely strong enough to lift twenty pounds above average weight, let alone apply enough force that would completely sever a grown man's head from his neck......

It was all too absurd to even consider, even after he'd looked at all of the evidence himself, because it couldn't be, it simply couldn't be,  it went far beyond anything he currently knew, but yet, the evidence was all too clear.

   For it had appeared that there may have been something else, something inhuman, in the seedy apartment.....

Basically, Valerie Sawyer may very well be innocent.  His heart nearly stopped at that thought.  He may have very well have turned an innocent woman into an enemy of state.

Did he really desire to have another stain on his conscience? Hadn't he already done enough?

As soon as the thought had entered his mind, he pushed it out. No, the damage was already done by now, and even if the girl was really innocent, who would believe her now?

She was a dangerous enemy concealing herself among the good people of this country after all, and if she hadn't revealed herself on that date, she surely would have been found out soon enough.(Really, were the people of this country that big of fools that they didn't immediately think her rather.... unique hairstyle was sort of odd?)  He was just merely doing his duty, protecting his country from a potential treat, no more, no less.   And as for the evidence of what really happened on that night?

Well, the public wouldn't need to know about that.  If anything, they were searching for somebody to place the blame on for the horrible tragedy, and wouldn't you know it? Valerie Sawyer was the perfect scapegoat for it. An unnatural creature, possibly-no, that didn't sound believable, his words made people listen to what he had to say, and it needed to sound more convincing-..... no highly deranged, no human qualities of mercy or compassion, and.....

Potentially in league with his brother.  Yes....... that sounded right.   Even years later, people still crossed themselves when the first Ghost war  and the atrocities of it happened to cross their minds, much to his displeasure.

Oh how he had tried to make them forget the war and all it had entailed, for what was past was past, and they all needed to move on from that troubling time in history.(But why couldn't he?) And he had succeeded at that for a time, until that one fateful day, three years ago........

When his brother and his ghostly army had officially began their assault on Pacworld.

But enough of that. What was past was past, and there was

  The people would get their answers, and be happy with them, and then go on back to their little lives, satisfied that

Yes, that was what he was doing. The girl wasn't righteous, she was more of a beast than a woman, operating

After all, he was a righteous man.

And besides, it was time to focus on more important matters.

Mainly concerning the whereabouts of the demoness .....

Where had she come from? Where was she now?  What was her real name? God forbid, what if she was working with his brother.......

His brother.

The one person who was able to draw such feelings from him, rage, hatred, fear, and regret(But he did what he had to do, there was no way any of what had happened could have gone any differently, it was the only way, the only way, the only way....), the last feeling twisting through his core like some sort of diseased worm.

Oh, how he tried to get the populace to forget the horrors of the past, and he'd very nearly succeeded in achieving some sort of normalcy and order to the country...... That was until his brother ruined everything, as per usual( a monster ruins everything it touches remember.....).

And now, when there was a potential new threat, his brother had been remarkably quiet, save for the few invasion attempts in the past eight days....

What was that bastard hiding from him? Of course, Betrayus hadn't responded to the video chat he'd sent out in the past week (but then again, he never did), and any other attempts of making contact.  Either he didn't care(which was normal of him), or Betrayus was hiding something, and he didn't want to reveal the details of what he was planning......

But what if.....

No, no more speculations. He needed to remember the way things were. His brother was one of Pacworld's greatest enemies, the "bad guy" so to speak(that's all he was, nothing more, nothing more.....), while he himself wasn't.

After all, he was the president of Pacopolis, dedicated to putting his people first no matter what, a man of virtue and honor-

Uh huh, sureeee you are.... 

The mocking tones of his brother entered his head all too soon, making him grit his teeth in anger. Even all these years later, his brother still was still able to get into his head, constantly taunting his every move, merely a whisper inside his mind, but always there, always present...

He tried to tell himself to ignore the voice and its lies it spun(but was it really lying?), but the weight of its words washed over him like a cold wave.

If only your people could learn who you really are. Not some noble leader striding for  the betterment of  his people, no........ You're far worse than me....

He gritted his teeth at that. "You know nothing about me." One may have thought it strange he was seemingly talking to nobody in particular in the room, but the main room of the RoundHouse was completely silent. He'd sent the secret service away less than a few hours ago, so he could get some important documentation finished, so thankfully he was alone.

You're nothing but a two-faced, murdering liar. Honestly, I'm surprised they didn't put you on the chopping block instead for what you've done......

And you still haven't told your own brother about what really happened during the war, and your own bloody part you played back then.

And don't try to play innocent with me, I think we both know what I'm talking about.....

I mean, if everyone learned the truth about your instrumentation in your own brother's damnation....... 

Well, you'd be the one imprisoned in the Netherworld for an eternity. After all, that's where the worst of the worst have gone.....

"It was the only way, there was no other way it could have gone-" What he'd done..... there was no other way, of course somebody had to take the fall for the bloodshed in that god-awful battle, it was the only way that order and civility could be restored.......

Mhmmm.... So you tell yourself.  Tell me, are you such an accomplished liar by now you're beginning to believe your own lies you spew?

I don't think so.   You've got blood on your hands you know, and the blood of thousands doesn't  wash away so easily I hear......

He shut his eyes, trying to ignore the whispers from inside his own tortured mind, but yet they still kept coming, and he was helpless to stop them....

Murderer-

You promised, remember? Don't you remember-

Murderer-

Perfect Spheros, with his perfect grades, perfect friends, perfect life-

Monster-

I'd never lie to you, Eli-

Blood on your hands-

It was an accident, simply an accident-

Madman-

I promise to be the best big brother ever-

Jealous-

Monster-

Liar-

Murderer-

The pain from all those words blending together in his mind was almost too much for him to bear. Gripping onto the side of his desk, it took all his strength to avoid crying out-

Then, a voice from outside the door brought him back to reality.

"Is my Uncle busy right now? I wanted to talk to him....."

"I'm sorry Eli, your Uncle's busy at the moment. Come back a bit later..."

Elliptica. His own darling niece. So sweet and innocent, perfectly carefree with her life(as she should be.....) She'd extended her stay in Pacworld after the whole voyage she and the Pacman took to PacTokyo to try and locate Pac's parents(they weren't there. He knew where they might be, but he wasn't telling. Pac needed to be focused.....). Now, Eli'd decided to finish her school year abroad, living in the round house, keeping in contact with her mother through weekly video chats.

But why had she decided to do so? Surely after the summer, one would assume she would have wanted to return home to PacTokyo and her mother........

But after that trip...... She seemed changed. More withdrawn, less vibrant, more argumentative(he winced at the memory of their argument a few hours ago), her bouncy bob beginning to look a little shaggy(really, she was looking a little slovenly with that haircut she currently had, it'd look better if she did a little something with it.....)as she refused to take the hairstyling appointment he'd generously set up for her or any other of the little gifts he'd offered her(the two unused tickets to that sold-out musical still sat in his desk), and she was beginning to ask about her father, the one who'd never came back home to his family after the war....

She was so unlike herself, had that encounter with his brother damaged her in some way he couldn't see?

No, it couldn't be that. People reacted to trauma differently, and even if Eli had changed in some way, she was still the same happy little girl that he'd known before, wasn't she?

It had to be something else that was causing her to act out like this, but what could it be.....

Just what had his half-sister told his niece? Not the truth hopefully, he wouldn't be able to explain what exactly had transpired on the eve of her father's death(two shots to the back, a slashed neck, two shots to the back, a slashed neck......), and she'd never understand what he'd done, the lengths he'd gone to in protecting his country........

No, it was better if she was placated, given what she'd want to hear. She'd be able to get on with her life then, resume her innocence. For the truth causes one all too much pain.......

Inhaling deeply, he straightened his back, wiping away a faint sheen of sweat that had gathered on his forehead.

It was decided then.

If he went public with the fact he'd condemned an innocent woman, that the government had made a mistake..... Well, he shuddered to think of the potential consequences.

If the public realized that he'd been lying to them, they'd begin to wonder just what else he'd been lying about.

Order would crumble, chaos would reign supreme, the very foundations of society would dissolve, everything he worked for would have been all for nothing.....

Everything he lied about would come to light.

The truth about the first ghost war, the truth of what he'd really done to the ghost army, What really happened to Eli's father.......

He wouldn't let any of that happen. Not while he was still in power, not while there was still breath inside his body.

After all, he did swear to protect his people, and that's what he was doing, wasn't he?

He was merely protecting them from the truth, a truth that very few would be able to handle.....

And as for his brother and the demoness?

The two of them could rot in that hellish realm for all he cared. (He ignored the little stab inside his heart at that thought.)

For Betrayus, for all of his passion and burning-hot rage, never even thought to suspect that it was he who orchestrated his damnation....

Well, he guessed he'd have to take that little piece of information to his grave.......

A voice, highly female and smooth, with a slight Valley-girl accent, broke him out of his thoughts.   "Well, well, you're more interesting than I first thought. Good for you!"

Whirling around, he was greeted with the sight of a woman, hovering a couple feet in the air above him. Who was she? How did she manage to sneak into this heavily guarded room without him noticing?

She was  a ghost.....

At that thought, he stumbled backwards, hands reaching out just in time to steady himself, pulling himself up so he was face to face with the ghostly woman.

"Oh, did I scare you? I'm very sorry, really I am, but I wouldn't call anyone here if I were you, they wouldn't exactly see what you're seeing right now."

Instinctively, he went to call for the secret service, Pacman, anyone really......

But wait.

On closer inspection, this woman didn't appear to be a specter at all. For one, ghost's forms didn't exactly seem to flicker in and out of existence, like a picture from a junky television  set. And her hair, ocean blue as it was, moved seemingly of its own accord through the air, as did her white dress, which billowed around her like a cloud, as if the woman lay suspended underneath the water. And her eyes...... no living being had eyes that ancient, that all knowing.

Those were eyes that had seen the dawn of a thousand worlds, witnessed countless lives begin and end, and would watch the final moments of a thousand more worlds.

There was only one logical explanation for this.

"I've gone mad, haven't I?" That would explain why he was seeing this woman-no, this thing- that shouldn't be here, who appeared seemingly out of nowhere. That must be it. The stress of the past eight weeks had finally gotten to him, and he had finally cracked.....

The woman rolled her sapphire eyes. "Trust me, you haven't cracked. You're still thankfully as sane as ever."  Wait, had she read his thoughts?

"Then how....."

A small smile played on her cupid's-bow mouth. "Well, I'm not exactly from around here for one. And my physical form doesn't have enough solidity as of yet, which is probably why you're wondering 'bout the whole flickering thingy." She waved a hand, the motion passing through her shoulder almost instantly in a shower of diamonds, before quickly reforming. "I'm more of a...... oh what was that word you mortals use...." She snapped her fingers, as if trying to think of something.

The word came to him in an instant. "A goddess..." He breathed.

Impossible.

But yet she was standing right here before him, talking and moving, seemingly able to read his every thought......

"Ooooh! You're so smart!" She clapped her hands together like an overly excited child before she composed herself. "Oh where are my manners? The name's Adresta, goddess of order and balance."

So it was true, this woman really was of the divine beings. He made a move to formally introduce himself, but Adresta cut him off.

"No need. I already know who you are, President Spheros."

He hadn't even spoken his name, so how did she- "It's a goddess thing. We see all, know all, blah, blah, blah. Anyway, I'm so happy to have finally met you, the man who ended the first ghost war!"

He instantly relaxed at that. So even his deeds had made it to the ears of the divine? How remarkable!  "It was nothing, I just merely did what needed to be done for the greater good of the people."

The woman gave a little eee at that, then her expression clouded over. "I can understand that myself. But there's always those who ruin all the work that we do, aren't there?"

He felt a coldness sweep over his chest at that. "Yes."

"I mean, all I do is bring harmony and balance to the universe, and what does she do? She just immediately meddles in my business and ruins everything! Well, no more of that....."

"If he'd have just never caused all the bloodshed, it wouldn't have had to come to any of this...."

They seemingly both realized they'd been ranting at the exact same time. Did she have a troublesome sibling too? After a moment of awkward silence, the goddess spoke.

"You know, I admire you, I really do, and I think there's a way we can help each other...."

"Help each other with what?" One never took things lightly with divine beings. As a child, he'd read enough stories about humans getting turned into beasts, driven mad, or cursed irreparably to know......

"Me, and a group of close friends are planning something for this planet. Something big, that will forever end all the chaos that your selfish brother causes. I'll just give you a little gift to help you out with your peace plan, and in return, you'll do something for me."

"And what would that be exactly?" She'd piqued his interest at that. A way to end the war with his brother? It was almost too good to be true.....

"Dispose of the traveller of two realms."

She was talking about the demoness. Somehow, some small part of him knew that in an instant.

"You don't mean...."

"Oh, I don't want you to kill her or anything, just get her to leave this realm. Her presence is completely screwing up everything I've worked for. It's just one eensey teensy favor, and then I can restore balance to this universe, and you can finally prove you are a better man than your brother....."

Lord, it was so tempting..... But wait. The thought crossed his mind.

If you're making an unknown deal with this being, shouldn't you know what she means by "restore the universe's balance?"

Where had that come from? It was almost as if someone had dropped it into his head.....

But he shook the thought off. This goddess was a kindred peace-maker after all, and soon, he'd prove that he really was a better man than his brother.....

With a wide, almost wicked-looking smile, he turned to the goddess.

"I'm listening....."

Well, I'm finally done this chapter, my beasties! Now how about that? It seems like Spheros has some things he's hiding, doesn't he? And what was all that Adresta stuff about? What did she mean by: "balance the universe".......

Well, I know, but I'm not telling! Yet.......

Anyway, next chapter we will be back with our favorite horned girl and ghost lord, and we'll see a little development of their relationship hopefully......

I'll see you soon my beasties, and remember......

Hail Lord Betrayus!