creation myth 4

[warmskies]

It's all too stable.

Dust settling after a windstorm. A still lake after rain. The quiet which overtakes a mortal settlement at night, when they've put away their tools and tucked themselves away in what scant shelter they've made.

It makes him twitch in dissatisfaction. The beginning of the world was glorious, still piecing itself together and all of them a-whirl with learning what they were. He aches for those days again, when it felt as though creation and chaos and everyone else were a mix and nothing ever stopped. Nothing stops now, but it's too small, grains of sand that make only a pile and not a desert. He wants more. As he's always been, he wants more. After seeing the disaster that the two fledgling gods had wrought, even that small amount of upheaval their battle had brought about.... Now, more than ever, he wants it.

While 'restraint' is never a word he's taken particular interest in ever since its inception, still he makes an attempt. Only a small tug at the frayed edges of the world, a little place that won't be noticed by anything except perhaps some of the other Arcobaleno. Yet one tug becomes another, and another, and soon the world is unraveling at just his very touch, a maelstrom of past and present and destruction, and he smiles.






Creation means more than to create something out of nothing. It is more than a tree blossoming from earth. Creation, in some ways, is also change. A caterpillar to a cocoon to a butterfly. Wood into a sculpture. A living breathing being to a motionless corpse, flesh decaying and bones shining. Where one thing ends, another thing comes into existence. There is not a single aspect of this world she has bore that she does not know, even if she does not 'see' it. The void, that absence of anything, is the only place her senses do not reach.

There should be no need to worry about that, not in the world she has crafted. And yet.... There. At the very edges. Things change, and become, and are lost. It makes her heart hurt, a painful twist worse than anything she could imagine. Aria's fingers dig into her chest, into her heart, and Yuni's eyes are cast skyward. "Oh, my love," Luce whispers, softly and heavy with regret.





To think that such a small spark would become something so huge and uncontrollable.

He'd felt the beginnings of it, of course. Fon always does. When the first young god to step foot onto the earth had realized his calling, he had realized that spark as clearly as lightning igniting a forest fire. Likewise does he realize the exact moment in which Chaos' nature is prodded. Yet despite that, as he watches sunlight burn far too brightly on the horizon, he doesn't think he could have predicted the extent to which it would rage.

No secret has been made of Fon's desire to poke and prod at his fellow Arcobaleno, to see the true extent of their existences and what aspects of their personality bubble to the surface when stressed to the limit. Chaos, especially, has ensnared his interest over some of the others. Yet for all his curiosity, his lust for action.... He's held himself back. There are many reasons why he's done such a thing, from his interest in this new world and its inhabitants to hoping for the perfect time.... But most of all, perhaps it had been simple instinct.

He's glad to have listened to it, now. The light burning away the edges of the world makes him so.






And here he thought he'd gotten used to it.

The pain, that is. It certainly never stops, after all, so what else is he supposed to do? Nothing can stop it, because it's his existence, and Skull isn't exactly sure if one of the Arcobaleno can die for all Hibari seems deadset on making an attempt. So he's gotten used to it, all of it. There are the small things, a bee's sting sending a larger creature scurrying away, and then the big things, such as that same bee wasting away from its desperate suicide attack. Then there are all the pains that mortal people experience in their lives, a stinging rejection or aching fingers from weaving, and.... Well. The point is that it never ends. Skull can't say he's happy about it, but fine. Fine! He's obviously the best person for the job, above Mammon or Lal Mirch and Collonello or Verde. He weathers it.

However, nothing could have prepared him for the pain he experiences now, that which has made him crumple to his knees wide eyed and stomach churning. If he could heave, he would, but there is nothing in him, nothing but this agony as the very world keens in pain. Trees and people and beasts too small for most to notice or care for- everything down to the core of it. He thinks he even feels her, every part of her, Yuni's frightened tears and Aria's grit teeth and Luce's stoic heartbreak. This is not just him, but her, too, and of course it is. Of course it would be.

All her effort and love went into this world. Her pain is more vast and horrific than anything else.

Shaking, convulsing, he forces his hands into biting snow and focuses on that hurt to push himself up to his feet. Saliva drips from his lips, freezing along his chin, but he ignores that. Everything else can be ignored, but he needs to get up. What can he do? He has no idea. Never have the Arcobaleno ever gone against each other, or interfered with their natural inclinations.

There's no other path anyway, in his mind. Her pain calls to him.






In their lap, bubbles flutter out from the lips of a child half formed with each death that wracks the world, and Mammon watches them dispassionately.

Deep in the oceans, so far into the cracks of the world that what few creatures dwell in its depths have cast aside their eyes for little need, there is a darkness pitch enough to rival the Void. While others might fear it, Mammon finds it to be a comfortable resting spot. There's nothing to be desired here, not yet, but they are not merely desire. That is their core, their reason in this reality, but they know the truth. They are different than the rest of the Arcobaleno, save perhaps she of Creation. They were the last to be pulled from the Void, and it clings to them even now. Of course, they'd never stay down here forever...

...And not only because Chaos is completely undoing the world, starting from the very top.

More bubbles. Mammon sighs, and nothing escapes from their own mouth. This sort of thing was inevitable, honestly. Ever since they all took form in this world, Chaos' inherent desire has always been present. Mammon knows this best, out of all of them. Much like the ebb and flow of the tide, so too has Chaos' interest in throwing the world off its axis and seeing his essence reign through it shifted. The only real question was when it would break through the dam of his restraint.

The sheer force of his want is... tantalizing. Even down here in the deep waters, its taste is fine. Frankly speak, it's tempting to simply sit and do nothing, bathing in his desire until the end of everything. But this world is still young, and there is still more possibilities, more shapes desire can take that has not yet had a chance to grow.

Reluctantly, they set down the life still forming by mortal wishes, letting it be cradled by water and darkness. It's time to address this nonsense.






It is not easy to make one of the Arcobaleno bleed. In fact, Lal Mirch wasn't even certain they could, up until not that long ago. Yet what else can describe their conditions? Sweat drips along her body and his, and cracks in her skin reveal rippling shades of blue that fade into the air, into steam. Her form is warped- to what extent, she's not sure. Yet this is a battle that's forced her to the brink on how well she can hold herself together. In fact, if not for her and Colonello's very connection to loyalty, to binding things together, then they'd be scattered back to their purest forms already. None of the other Arcobaleno could withstand something like this, for sure. To only get away with the imprint of bones pressing out against her skin and the red of her eyes leaking down and over her cheeks, along with whatever else.... It's good fortune.

But it's not enough to stop what's happening before them.

To be destroyed is one thing. If it was over with, quick and the pain a burst, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. She thinks they'd still be tormented, because there's no way the undoing of bonds wouldn't grate at them, but it wouldn't be as bad. Yet this? This is infuriating as things are torn asunder and played with as before being tossed aside to disintegrate into nothing. Things that could be, mixing up with the things that are, things that were... And all of it is left adrift from the world proper, with the hole Chaos has made being the eye of it all. She'd call it a hurricane, but it's simultaneously too calm and too much of a disaster to say it is such. Hissing in a breath between grit teeth, she looks to Colonello.

Much like her, he's not in much of a state. The proportions of his arms are all wrong, and there are slits beneath his eyes that act as another pair. At least, she thinks they're another pair of eyes. Both areas have been overtaken by the blues of his irises, and every blink has them ripple. The sight has Lal Mirch bite down on her tongue until salt water fills her mouth.

They're not going to be enough.

"Colonello!" she calls, voice echoing across the canyon. Being pushed back like they have has put him on one side of the crevice and her on the other, but it doesn't matter. So entwined, they could hear each other's voices from across the world. True enough, his gaze turns to her and Lal takes in a deep breath. She hates to let these words even pass her lips, but... "We need to go!"

"What? Why!? He's still tearing everything apart!"

"He's tearing us apart!" she snaps, not having the patience for this. "We need more than each other, or we're just wasting our energy!" She knows who they need to go to, and, judging by the torn expression of his face, so does he. A useless swing of his fist, the only way he can get rid of his frustration, and then he nods, reluctantly. It pains her to do so but, with his consent, she turns her back at the threads of the world coming undone behind her. Together with her partner, she heads off to gather the rest of the Arcobaleno.






Verde snaps his tongue and glares. This is getting out of hand.

Chaos is disorder. Randomness. Unpredictability. To that end, sometimes it can work itself into such a state that things actually fall back into place, and the status quo is restored. It can be unlikely, but it can happen. Yet as things continue, they only worsen, and inaction isn't a choice that they can continue to make any longer. He has too many ideas for the world to end now. So, fuming, he searches out his kin.

Skull is the first he finds, traveling slow and stunted, swollen and heavy, utterly full of himself and forced to pay the price. While he's never been particularly kind to his fellows in any sense of the word, Verde says nothing of the other's trials. Even striding side by side with him, traversing the sky slowly back to where they once all gathered, has his hair on the back of his neck standing up painfully as though they'll be tugged straight out. Next to join their group, hand in hand, are Colonello and Lal Mirch. Her cheeks are smeared rust red, pupils pushing them out, and her partner is leaning against her shoulder for support with his own blond hair hiding any warping. The glare on her face is a challenge he doesn't care to bother with- and Fon, for once, seems inclined to agree once he joins their small ensemble. To be sure, his gaze lingers on the pair longer than on Verde or Skull, but no spark lights up. He's lost in his own thoughts, gaze dark and focused straight ahead. Last among their number to join is Mammon, appearing in the space of one second and the next, silent as mist. They say nothing, look at none of them, and only stew in their own annoyance.

Well. At least he's not the only one.

The world they have crafted passes through time in such a strange way. While it has felt like no time at all to him- and, he's sure, to the rest of the Arcobaleno- hundreds of mortal creatures have died and forests have grown larger since the time it was crafted. Yet as they all settle into the area that they first came together in... Nostalgia grips him.

The plain seems practically unchanged.

She is already waiting there for them all when their group arrives, every bit of her, but it's Aria who turns to face them with a mournful glaze over her eyes. The breath she releases is heavy but soft. "We're all together, then," she says simply. Every one of them is treated to the weight of her gaze. "Will that be enough?"

Is this a hypothetical question for her? Does she already know the answer, have a plan? Verde can't read her at all. If the others can, he doesn't have time to analyze them, because Loyalty steps forward together. "Colonello and I weren't enough on our own," she says, wiping the stains away from her cheeks and her eyes blinking into clarity. Impressive, that they're pulling themselves together so quickly. "But no one else here would be able to get so close to him without losing themselves completely."

"We're talking about you, hey," Colonello says over his shoulder to Fon, straightening up, and earns a rueful smile. Now standing more fully on his own, although his fingers stay entwined with Lal Mirch's, he looks to Aria. "Besides, he's part of everything too, right?"

"The foundation of the universe calls for his existence," Verde muses in agreement, arms crossing. "Without him, it wouldn't stay together, even less than he's making it now."

"Well," Mammon finally says, "we can't leave him be, either, or there won't be anything, let alone everything. We need to take action."

Skull looks over at all of them, still curled in on himself, crumpled to one knee. "But if Lal and Colonello can't even do anything... What do we do?" he asks, voicing the concern that's on all their minds. Chaos is powerful, an undoer where all of them are in some way reliant on things coming together. Even Verde has to admit that this is a difficult problem to solve... And, like everyone else, his eyes go to Her for guidance.

However, Aria isn't looking at them. Neither is Luce, or Yuni. Instead, her gaze is focused solely skywards, to something none of them can see. The minutes pass, dragging on and on, until her head finally lowers and she meets their inquisitive stare with another heavy sigh. It's not surprising at all that the next words out of her mouth are, "I hadn't wanted to do this..." Yet, she continues on, looking to Verde. "There is a way, I think, that could make him take a more stable form. That way, the temptation to let loose like this... It wouldn't be a constant danger. However, that would require to keep him still, and once he realizes that we're working together to trap him... He'll likely attempt an escape. The damage will become all the greater."

Lal Mirch and Colonello look at each other. "So we can't even get close to him to hold him down, or he'll get an idea of what we're trying to do..."

A conundrum, truly.... But, tapping his fingers against his arms, Verde starts to smile. "Actually, I believe we have the perfect tool at our disposal."





A shepherd falls, feet slipping out from under him in the treacherous mud, and the herd he's been trying to guide and protect this whole time threaten to break him with their hooves. Yet, with a snap, Dino's whip wraps around his wrist and tugs him up in a way that'll later be called 'divine intervention', and the god watches as the mortal hastily continues his work in the face of the tumultuous weather. Frowning, he glances up to the sky. It's been ricocheting from one extreme to the other lately, with only a sparse few moments for everyone to catch their breaths. Snow to rain to sleet to a sun burning hot in the sky that still seems to do nothing for the precarious state of the ground. Still winds only serve to make Dino more concerned. Calms like this only proceed the most vicious of circumstances; how could he trust it? So, for a while now, he's been whispering into the dreams and ears of every single person who has ever tended to his shrines. Go. Run for safety. It's all he can really say.

After all, he's not even sure where 'safe' is anymore.

In the end, he is his mother's child: someone who thrives in creation and guides things with a sure hand. But that doesn't erase his father's influence at all. It's still part of Dino, it shows, and that part is what recognizes the taste in the air when he takes in a deep breath. Chaos.... at its strongest he's ever felt since he first came into existence and all he could feel was chaos and creation before the world came into focus. None of the Arcobaleno should be this strong, should they? None of them should be sending the world into such a state...

But if any of them would, he knows it's his father.

There's no time to worry about it, especially because something like that is out of is hands. Instead, he tends to the present. A mother, feet still swollen as she works while heavy with child, picks up her firstborn to balance on one hip and makes her lover hold onto what meager possessions they have wrapped up. Dino is right behind her, his hands at her elbows, lending strength to her as she moves determinedly to save what she has. A trio of siblings run around helping whoever they can, so he presses his hands to their backs, urging them onwards. When the whole settlement is finally on the move, everything too big or heavy to carry left abandoned, he lets out a breath. He's not done yet.

Heavy hoofbeats announce Romario's presence as he comes up from the plains, snort hot enough to form fog in the air. "It's not stopping anytime soon, Dino," the horse tells him as he climbs onto his back. "We've guided every mortal settlement away from immediate danger, but I'm not sure how much good that will do us in the end."

"Well we can't do much else," he responds from between grit teeth, nudging his steed and partner forward. Romario shoots off like the wind. "Damage control is the best I can do for those who have worked so hard for me."

Before them, lightning suddenly strikes in the plains, and Romario rears back in alarm. Digging his fingers into that mane, Dino can't see anything until all four hooves hit the ground again, and he's staring into piercing green eyes. Patting Romario's neck, he raises his eyebrows. "I kind of thought you'd have more important things to do than pay a family visit," Dino says, incredulous and holding back his impatient desire for answers.

"Of course I wouldn't bother with such trivialities." Verde waves away the statement. "But you're necessary for a strategy, so leave these floundering things to their own devices and come with me immediately."

Such dismissal of his followers, his domain, tugs at the strings of his patience, but Dino holds himself back. Instead, leaning against the back of Romario's neck, he stares straight at Verde. "Does this have anything to do with what Chaos is doing?" he asks simply.

If there's one good thing about having to deal with Verde over any of the other Arcobaleno, it's that he doesn't waste any time with his words. There's a scoff, annoyance at time wasted more likely, but he's to the point. "Yes." No details, no more information than that, but... Dino closes his eyes shut as his fingers curl tightly against Romario's mane.

Maybe he doesn't really need to know more than that to understand the gravity of it.

"What do you need of me?" he asks, straightening up on his steed's back, and some of Verde's annoyance eases up in place of satisfaction.

"Just make your way to the place your parents first showed you off at. I'll meet you there." Another snap of lightning, the rumble of thunder simultaneous with its flash, and Verde is gone once again with the only trace of his presence being the light which buzzes through the clouds overhead. Dino doesn't bother to stare at it for long, or see where it goes. Instead, he pats the side of Romario's neck again. His partner is clearly on edge, powerful muscles tense beneath Dino's legs, and he doesn't need to speak for Dino to understand what's going through his mind.

"What can you do against something as powerful as your own father?"

"Who knows." Nudging him along, Dino holds himself close against Romario's back as the burst off fast as light, wind whipping through their hair. "But we can't let this continue. This is the only choice I have." His hand presses down firmly. "I know this isn't what you agreed to when I first approached you.... You can make a run for it if you want, and stay somewhere safer. I won't force you into anything at all."

Romario's snort makes him shake somewhere from his spot on the horse's back. "I thought we had already agreed that there's nowhere else to run to? The mortal humans call you Light and Labor, and that is the name I have pledged myself to. Whatever happens, you won't find me running from it so easily. You don't have to offer an escape for me- I'd buck you off my back if I had any problems with this."

Ducking his head, Dino grins to himself- rueful and grateful all at once. "I have quite a partner at my side," he say quietly.

Only a few seconds after he says that, maybe less, and Romario slows to a trot as they arrive at the silent plains of the Arcobaleno. It's a scene all too familiar to Dino, one that reminds him just how young and inexperienced he is, how small. To be among all of their number, a streak of color laid across the sky announcing the gathering, is to feel.... overwhelmed. Dino has seen mortals quake when in the dark of Kyoya's domain, surrounded by tall foreboding trees and things unknown in thick shadows, and he understands them well when he thinks of being surrounded by the Arcobaleno like this.

Leaving Romario behind is out of the question, not when he's already made such a pledge to him, so Dino merely dismounts and keeps his hand to his partner's neck as he looks around. Few actually meet his eyes. Skull is crumpled into himself, hissing quietly, and Fon's eyes are focused straight towards the burning sun. A glance to Mammon shows they aren't even looking at anyone else at all, instead choosing to glower at nothing in particular. Lal Mirch and Colonello size him up silently, judging, and it's only Luce who meets his eyes with a tired smile.

"A perfect speed," Verde announces before Luce can voice whatever heaviness is in her eyes. "And that was without him pushing himself to any substantial degree. It's decided, there's no other candidate that will be able to perform in the same way."

"Perform what?" he has to ask, raising an eyebrow. Verde starts to open his mouth again, but Luce raises a hand, and he falls silent.

"Chaos needs to be stopped," Yuni says quietly, firmly. "If we want this world to last, that is the only option. However, none of us can get close to him. It's.... our nature. These forms are not how we truly are. To look like this is simply how we interact with the world instead of only being a part of it, yet in the gentlest way possible." Aria smiles wryly. "Pure creation or anything else touching this world would be reckless, and disrupt so much. Chaos' actions show this. However.... His nature calls to all of ours. We're all part of one another in the end, Dino, and his part can undo us from the inside out."

That's reassuring to hear.

"So..... Can we do nothing?" he asks incredulously, hand sweeping out.

"We can't do anything," Verde corrects him. "You, on the other hand, are a different matter entirely."

"What?"

Electricity crackles excitedly behind Verde's eyes, and he steps forward, hands moving animatedly through the air. "While you were created by both Chaos and Creation, you never had a 'true form', so to speak. The form you have now is the form you have always had, and you are your own unique entity separate from the Arcobaleno. He can't undo you because that is not how it works."

"...I mean, he could still kill me, right?"

Verde pauses, blinking at him for a second. "Oh, well, yes, of course, but that is an entirely different thing." Before Dino can open his mouth to voice any protests or, at the very least, concerns, Verde waves him off. "Anyway, the other reason you are a prime candidate is the speed you are capable of. I noticed it when you first found your purpose in this world, your ability to move fast as light when you decide to be. Being approached by anyone willingly will no doubt make Chaos suspicious, which may make him run, which will certainly cause more damage. We need someone who can keep up with him and catch him before that kind of thing happens."

Catch him.... Huh? Dino would ask how, but he doesn't need to. Wordlessly, he glances down at the whip he has tied around his waist with a pale tan cloth and touches it lightly. When he had created it, it hadn't been from nothing. He isn't his mother, he doesn't have that much power. His only tool had been himself, and the materials.... Those had been the words sent to every shrine dedicated to him, every little offering, every head bowed in reverence and hope to him. Even now, he can feel the people's frantic prayers thrumming through the length of him.

Will that be enough? Will all the prayers and belief and hope he's reliant on be enough to catch and stop the very essence of Chaos? At his back, Romario huffs in concern, breath gusting over his shoulder. It's a risk he's never taken, never even tried to take unlike the vicious little god that is Kyoya Hibari. Yet there's no way to know for certain. Not until he does it.

Taking a long steadying breath, he looks up. "What next, after I catch him?" As though it's a guarantee, a certainty.

"That's where we step in," Lal Mirch says, sharing a look with Colonello. "We still need a little while longer to make sure we're completely together.... But the sooner you can catch up to him, the better. Mammon will be there as backup, if that's any reassurance at all.

Dino blinks a few seconds as that knowledge sinks in. "Wait... Mammon? Really?"

"His desire is to completely tear the world apart and fling every bit of it to the metaphorical wind," they drawl. "But that's not the only thing he wants. As Desire itself, I can keep him distracted for a little bit. In fact, I'm probably the best suited for it."

"Considering the plans that have been put into place, you're the only one available for the task, actually."

"Verde, you have absolutely nothing to do after you went to get Dino, so I believe we can both agree that phrase is false, and you're also full of- "

Luce interjects right around that time. "So we can rely on you, then?"

"Of course." He smiles wryly. "It's not like I have much of a choice then, right?" Nodding to the loyal pair, he starts to pull himself back onto Romario as Mammon disappears in a twist of mist and shadow. "I'll leave now. It's like you said- the sooner the better. I have people to look after." And not only because he has to take care of them...

There's no point in waiting for any other response. In sync with him, Romario takes off, a shooting star across the earth, and Dino steels himself. It was his own choice, but Romario's speed means he doesn't have much time to prepare himself for what's coming. One breath, two, thre-

Romario skids to a stop, hooves leaving long drags in the earth, and Dino finds his breath stolen away as he looks at the monstrous sight before him.

Describing it all is impossible, undoable, and yet the order of Dino's mind still makes an attempt anyway. It tries to follow the rapidly shifting shapes, that which is carried away in the gravity defying whirlwind of action and that which is changed completely and utterly, the pandemonium of colors.... Futilely, he latches onto the predominance of shimmering and golden yellow that flickers through, but honestly... He knows even that could possibly just be a result of chaos as well instead of anything consistent. So stunned, he nearly misses the sight of a large chunk of rock twisting through the air, and it's only Romario's quick actions which save them both. Yelping at the sudden leap and jumps, he scrambles to keep a steady hold on the horse.

"Dino!" Leaping into a chunk of earth that seems the most steady, Romario tosses his mane back. "Don't lose focus!"

"Right, right..." Sweeping his hair back, Dino grits his jaw and looks out into the tempest. Focus... His eyes search through it all, trying to find the part of Chaos he knows must be the center. Everything else is superfluous, an extension of his power, but he needs to find the part he can anchor. Quickly, however, he realizes something. "Romario, keep going! We need to go deeper!"

The horse jerks his head to glance back at him. "Are you sure?"

No, he really isn't. It's dangerous, to get so close to Chaos' true essence. Even with what Verde says, who knows what might happen? Not to mention, the further he gets into the storm.... There's no guarantee he'll reach a calm eye. In fact, it might just get worse. But there's nothing for it. Nodding, he spurs Romario onwards. "We have to keep going or else we'll never be able to do what we need to!"

With a snort, Romario goes all the faster, and Dino clings close to his back to avoid every animal corpse and log that goes twisting through the air- sometimes those two things being one and the same, although he doesn't let his mind stay for too long on such matters. All he thinks about is what's ahead of them; Romario can guide them through the worst of it all. Soon, the air itself changes, thick as fog and burning his eyes, all sorts of different colors and sensations going through it, but it doesn't matter.

There's a miniature sun shining up ahead.

Perhaps there's more to it than that, some shape he can't see- because he can't see, the light blinding him, and Dino has to duck his head for his eyesight to recover. His hands go to the whip at his side, not needing sight for that at least, and he lets it unfurl in his hand while Romario runs circles around Chaos' core. They're being lashed out at, Dino thinks, but it's hard to tell. So much light, so much turmoil, he can't tell anything apart or what things might just barely be missing him and Romario.

Well, Chaos can do that all he wants. Dino won't stop.

A snap of his whip, and it snaps around something- no, not what he wants, the weight is of a piece of rock, and Dino tugs his arm to send it flying elsewhere and out of his way. Another snap, and it goes through something.... Was that a tree? Gritting his teeth, he tries again and again, exchanging blows with his father, and he's wondering if his arm will fall off before he'll get his mark-

His whip, the extension of himself, goes through something, and then wraps around it tight, and that's when he knows he's done it. He's caught Chaos. Digging his heels into Romario, getting him to stop, Dino wraps his other hand tight around the handle of his whip. It is not in Chaos' nature to be tamed, to be restrained in one place. Yet it's for the better. Beneath his body, Romario strains and digs his hooves into what is left of the earth beneath them both. A young god and the spirit of horses- is it enough? He has no idea.

All he knows is that he has to try, even if it feels like Chaos will tear his arms out of his sockets.

For- a few minutes, hours, eternity, he and Romario struggle to keep Chaos in his place, for all that it is impossible to tell if they are doing so or merely being dragged along as Dino's father fights against his bonds. Eventually, however.... The whip starts to go slack in Dino's hand, and he squints into the burning sun. "Chaos...?"

Something in the light flicks, like a fish just barely seen in the depths of water with shimmering scales. No size, no shape, just a glimpse of something... and it makes him uneasy. "Dino," Chaos says, an echo, a reverberation, a chorus all calling to him at once. Chaos' voice has always been like that, a mangled mix of a thousand voices instead of a singular one, but it's only now that Dino feels the hair stand up on the back of his neck from it. "My Dino..."

The possessive doesn't exactly fill him with confidence.

Swallowing, he sits tall. He is Light and Labor; he can withstand the light no matter how hard it burns and blinds him. Words won't work, he thinks, but if it will buy the world even a little bit of time... "You have to stop this, Chaos. The world won't last if you keep going."

There's a hum, something that makes his teeth ache. "My Dino.... I remember when you were a spark at the tail end of my and Luce's essences..." Around them, the air ripples, and, deep in his chest, Dino can feel his heart start to go cold. "Do you?"

It takes a moment for him to get words through his throat. "I remember."

Reality jerks, cracks, distorts and opens into everything and nothing, and Dino realizes just what he's looking into:

Chaos' gaping maw.

"Come back to it, Dino."

He can't move. Can barely breathe. Beneath him, Romario can't either, even though he can feel him trembling and quaking hard. In the overwhelming face of pure and utter Chaos, he's unable to do anything at all. A god truly isn't a match for any one of the Arcobaleno; Kyoya had been reckless to try all those days and months ago. And now-

"How troublesome you are, really."

The sun's light lessens- no, it's being blocked. Mist and fog curl through the air, thick and impenetrable, blocking the all powerful burning light. Dino blinks a few times, stars still popping behind his eyelids. Around him, he can see everything so much clearer now: the debris that's strewn around him, the gashes in earth and solid stone that Chaos had left behind when he'd been lashing out. Anything too far off, however.... He can't make out. Fog obscures everything, fills up his entire world now instead of sunlight.

Well. It obscures everything except one person.

Despite their shock of purple hair and the loose dark garment they keep draped over their petite frame, Mammon still somehow seems as part of the mist as anything else. As though their cloak is simply a thicker patch of it instead of clothing, and their hair a trick of the light. With their back to him, it's impossible to see their face, but Dino can hear the exasperated amusement in their voice. "Your little bender here is distracting me from a fascinating development that's coming about, you know. Couldn't you at least wait for a century before starting an event like this?"

Even with all the mist blocking the light, Dino can still feel the ripple of Chaos' aggravation that sends goosebumps popping up along his arms. Beneath Romario's hooves, small stones rattle and leap up. "Out of my way, Desire."

Around him, Dino can feel the air get thicker, and every breath he takes is more mist than air. Mammon laughs, quietly. "So you can do what?" Their frame is shimmering, multicolor lights flickering in the blackness for their form, their hair shifting and shimmering. "Is devouring your son really what you've decided you want, on a whim?" Their form disappears, mist tugged every which way by a breeze, but Dino can still hear their voice. "Or is what you want something else entirely...?" A purr hums through the mist. "Tell me, Chaos. Tell me about everything."

This time, when the light eases up, it's for real and not simply because it's blocked out, and Dino finds himself able to breathe without that unimaginable pressure weighing down on him. Trembling, he pats Romario's neck- they're alright. He almost forgot, but they had backup this whole time. He can only be grateful that Mammon stepped in when they did. Now there's only one question: should he stay in case they need him again, or run while he still has the opportunity?

Romario has his own thoughts about it. "Dino.... It's dangerous."

"I know, but-" Dino yelps as something suddenly jabs him in the side, and he twists around. Right there is Lal Mirch, her burning red eyes not focused on him but whatever scene she can feel past the mist. It's only then that Dino realizes how a faint wetness has spread over his kin. Mist, or a soft rain?

"You should get some distance between yourself and this," Lal Mirch says simply, voice low. "Your parents dancing made you- I have no idea what us fighting will cause."

"What about you?"

Jaw clenching, Lal Mirch starts to stride around him and towards where Mammon is surely distracting Chaos. Hard to tell with all the mist. "We'll have things covered." And she disappears.

Best to do what she says- Dino knows Lal wouldn't tell him that if she didn't think she had reason to. She's a no-nonsense kind of person. So he lets Romario carry them away, gritting his teeth as he tries to find a safe space in all the mist. He's barely made it that far at all- maybe a mile, before he hears something go flying through the air. Dino twists around just barely in time to catch the tiny little figure that's aimed at him, and he squawks in alarm. "Mammon!"

Their form is still adjusting itself, particles of mist arranging itself into skin and hair and clothing, but that doesn't seem to bother the Arcobaleno at all as they have and straighten up. "She didn't have to pull that hard!"

"What- what happened!?"

Dusting themself off, Mammon huffs. "I was distracting Chaos, like I said I would. I just.... might have gotten a little too into it."

Suddenly, Dino has absolutely no desire to learn anything else about what happened. He abruptly shifts the subject. "Did Lal Mirch go against him all by herself?"

"Huh? Oh-" Mammon waves him off. "Don't worry. Of course Colonello was there too."

Before he can ask more questions, an enormous boom shakes through the air, nearly rattles his teeth right of his mouth, and the mist surrounding them is blown straight away. Raising a hand to shield himself from any debris scattering through the air, he squints past his fingers. Off in the distance, he can see a swarm of light and chaotic mess all gathered into one, squeezed down towards the earth in a funnel, a tornado. Holding it tight and narrow, at the very bottom, he can very faintly make out two different figures keeping it squeezed and held together. Occasionally, between them, the maelstrom jerks and flickers, is almost a person for half of a second.... And then the coherence disappears.

Somehow, watching it almost feels unnatural, a sight he isn't privileged to witness, and the knowledge of what he's looking at makes an icy feeling drop down into the pit of the gut. Beneath him, Romario trots and whinnies anxiously. And Mammon?

Mammon simply settles themself, watching intently. "Now we only have to wait for the others."





In the distance, something booms, and Skull swallows thickly. Here, they are at the highest point of the world together, where pure white snow burns a bright shade in contrast against the empty black sky, and the chill would kill a mortal dressed in the way the Arcobaleno are dressed. However, what makes him feel cold and drops a pit of ice into the core of him isn't the air or the snow. It's the knowledge that they are on the verge of doing something.... more than he can comprehend. Something bleak and piercing, a last resort that he knows hasn't been chosen lightly.

And yet, darker than that, is what lays behind that burning bright light of Chaos.

Not too far from his side stands Fon, and he's not sure if the lack of casual ease on the other man's face makes him feel reassured or not. Both of them stand in the snow, slightly beneath Aria as she takes her position at the very tip. At this height, the wind should be vicious, snapping to and fro.... But everything around them is still. Aria is still. Whatever goes through her head is a mystery, but Skull isn't asking for the answers to that.

All he asks is, "Aria? Are you alright?"

Shaking her head away from the sight of what's above her, Aria glances back to him with a weary smile. "I'm just tired, Skull," she says. "All of me is. Don't worry. We'll settle everything soon enough." Her gaze slides away from him, then, and she extends one hand. "Fon."

Sliding his hands out from his sleeves, Fon steps forward and places his hand in hers. "You need me despite all you've done?" he asks, smiling slightly. It doesn't reach his eyes. Aria smiles back, and hers does.

"I especially need you," she says, and looks back up to the dark sky and all the colors which swim in it.

From the standpoint of the world, Skull knows that the Void is so far away from the earth of the world, even from its highest point. Not even birds or other winged things can touch it, not really. However, with her free hand, Aria reaches up, and her fingers brush against the Void so easily. It ripples at her touch, a pebble dripping into a pond, and she smiles sadly. Regretfully, maybe. However, no amount of regret stops her from what she does next. Her touch sinks further in, and something about the sight is just- wrong. It's wrong all the way down to the core, as she twists her fingers in, pulls, and it's pure absolute black that she tugs out from the sky. Such a deep black that it doesn't seem real, as if it's more a hole in the universe than an actual shade or lack thereof. Something in the fabric of the world keens as Aria pulls on it, and Skull has to grind his hands against his ears just to alleviate the pain he can hear humming somewhere distant.

So lost within his own existence, he almost doesn't realize Fon has stepped up besides her until he has. Blinking away tears, he watches as the other man reaches up as well. Around them, once still air billows violently about them, tossing his long braid about, flinging snow about recklessly, but Fon ignores it. Is part of it, perhaps. Either way, it doesn't really matter. Nothing stops Fon's fingers from lightly setting upon the stretch of blackness in Aria's hands....

The faint keening in Skull's head stops, sharply, abruptly.

In its place is a soft ache, and in Aria's hand are folds and folds of void. She gathers it gently in her arms as Fon steps away. It's a success, right? Yet her expression is as heavy as it ever was. For a long moment, there's nothing but silence and the weight of what's been done as the snow continues to flurry around them. At last, she sighs.

"There's no more time to waste," Luce says. "Let's go."





Where his arms are wrapped around Chaos, the skin has gone translucent, see through, revealing deep blue trickling through his veins and all the rivers of the world laced throughout his person. Before him, on the other side, Lal's fingers are wrapped tight around what might be a throat and her legs are locked down below. Her nails shimmer, light refracting off of water, and her bared teeth have gone shark-jagged. He thinks he can see into the ocean's depths through her hair, feel its spray against his face as it's whipped back and forth violently in the maelstrom they're in. Perhaps its the same for her, when she looks at him and sees waterfalls where his irises should be. This is close, the closest they've ever come to unraveling, but they can't let go.

Not yet. Not until the others get here.

"Lal!" In their grip, Chaos is yelling, screaming, cursing them, the words warbled and such a violent mess that Colonello can only understand him on the most primordial level. "How are you holding up!?"

"Holding!" she grits out, nails digging in harder against their kin and current foe. That's the most that can be asked for, that they're holding together against it all, and he digs his essence harder in place. A little while longer, just a little longer, and the others will be there soon. It's what he tells himself, over and over again, as the pair of them hold tight all of Chaos in place. With how his body is dissolving, falling apart in flakes and droplets, he nearly misses how Chaos is bubbling beneath his touch, star hot and not stopping any time soon. His light is reflected in Lal Mirch's eyes as she stares at him, her face twisted in a grimace, jaw set, and Colonello realizes what Chaos is about to do just a second too late. Even as he shouts, tries to jerk a hand upwards, fire suddenly bursts out and, for a heart-stopping second, he can't see what's going on at all.

When his vision clears up, his heart stops. Light- no, flame, sun's harsh fire, is still burning a cruel trail across the side of Lal's face. Just like they've always been, they're a mirror of each other in that moment: his wide eyes locked onto hers, her pain echoing to him. He calls out her name again, ears deaf to his own voice, as she falters for a second. All he can do is watch in horror, desperately wishing more than anything that he had been in her place, as she sways and starts to fall-

Her fingers spasm, tighten, and Lal hauls herself back up to smash her head into Chaos.

The crash of Arcobaleno against Arcobaleno sends Colonello's ears ringing, sends a wave of rain cascading across the land in a heavy shower. For a full couple of seconds, he swears he can see a body in Chaos' mess of an existence- flinching and dizzy.

"Fuck you," Lal hisses, eyes glowing red hot in rage. In her breath, steam that could melt skin clear off bone comes from between her teeth. "It's one thing when you're being an idiot who's too caught up in your reckless fun, but you're going to attack me? That's going to be the last thing you regret, you rotten- "

Colonello realizes, suddenly and as Lal's nails dig into Chaos' throat, that his other half might kill Chaos before the rest of the Arcobaleno can arrive.

"Lal, calm down, hey- "

"Don't tell me to calm down, I'm going to tear him apart until Luce will have to gather his remains in a snail shell- "

"Everyone else needs to get here first!"

"I don't need an audience to murder him, Colonello!"

"That's not what I'm talking about, hey!"

The sky calms.

Immediately, the pair of them cease their bickering, and even Chaos' raging falters. Around them, no more sunlight bleaches the earth dry. No more rain threatens to flood the earth. Off in the distance, Colonello's sharp eyes pick up Dino still atop his horse and Mammon perched right behind him. Even Verde is by the small group, watching carefully. Colonello meets both his fellow Arcobaleno's gazes, but only for a split moment. Soon, he looks to the ones who have arrived some distance behind Lal Mirch's back. Flanked by Fon and Skull, Yuni looks even tinier than she normally seems. Responsibility weighs down on her, wide blue eyes full of regret and exhaustion. In her arms, obscuring most of her torso from view, is- something, fabric he realizes after a moment, only it's darker than shadows or the night sky or the very deepest depths of the ocean. It doesn't seem real. Yet it is, and Yuni holds it close to her chest. The very sight of it makes Chaos go stiff, bristling with a hundred spines pressing into Colonello's arms.

"Yuni," he says, the chorus of voices coming together in unison and wrought tight.

Her eyes fall shut, as if looking at him is too much a burden for her, and the sound of her sigh makes Colonello want to fall to his knees. Across from him, the quiet tremor of Lal's brow says that she feels the same. "You knew there would have to be consequences," Yuni says, quietly. "You've had all this time to look at what you've wrought and stop yourself. Since you haven't... It's up to us." Opening her eyes again, she looks to him with all the force of the world in that blue stare. "I'm sorry."

She takes one step close, and then another, and the pair of them, Colonello and Lal, have to tighten their grip on Chaos as he thrashes and burns. Once close enough, Yuni turns to Skull. Throughout all of this, she has bore the scene with a quiet if resigned gracefulness. Skull, on the other hand, looks like he's going to piss straight to the floor and is barely keeping it and his fear in. When Yuni hands him the layers and layers of pure black, he holds it as far away from him as he possibly can.

But then, perhaps Colonello is being too hard on him. Now more than ever, he understands what Luce had meant all that time ago when she had been explaining their reasons for existing. No one would ever be alone in their pain.... And as Skull tentatively steps closer, somehow, it almost feels as though some of the burden bearing down on Colonello is easing up a little bit.

Just a little bit.

Skull comes to a stop in front of them, the shifting of his hands hidden in the blackness. Exchanging a glance, Colonello and Lal nod to each other. That's all they need. When Skull jerks out the void fabric, pure black cutting through the air, they let go simultaneously and dodge out of the way as to not get caught in its embrace. Chaos isn't so quick. Oh, he tries, form warping and shifting now that they've let go, but he's not fast enough. The void practically devours him- cuts something so enormous and all-expansive into a body that's bite-sized. It is not a kind process. It is not a harmless one. Even as Colonello scrambles around to grab Lal Mirch, it's with his hands slammed over his ears as Chaos screams.

It's the worst sound in the world. In all of reality. He screams and screams and screams, a sound so horrific that it stops being a sound at some point. It's a sensation, one that threatens to unravel him straight through the core as he drops to his knee by Lal's side. How she stays together so well in the face of it, he has no idea. All he focuses on is helping her to her feet while she glares ice in their trapped companion's direction.

And then it stops.

Tentatively, not sure if he wants to see what has happened, Colonello looks up again. Fon is besides Skull now. It's impossible to see his expression from where Colonello stands, but his hands are visible. They've curled into the darkness- have locked it tight in place, Colonello realizes. For such a painful act, only Skull would be fit for the job..... but the act of changing something? Of course.

This is why Fon was brought along when they retrieved that. To finish the job.

As both Arcobaleno step away from what they've done, the sound of hooves gets closer and closer. In the gravity of such a situation, it's still hilarious to see Dino riding over with Verde holding on tight behind him and Mammon perched daintily on the young god's shoulders. If not for the fact that he's completely drained of all energy, him and Lal Mirch only barely still people, Colonello would probably laugh. What's not a laughing matter is the concern spread all across Dino's face as he stares at his father.

Verde, in contrast, only seems smug, and slides off of the steed. "So it worked as I thought it would," he announces simply.

"As you hoped it would," Mammon corrects him, floating down serenely. They seem more solid now, a lot better than when Lal had pulled them away from Chaos and their body had left a streak of color through the air. At least someone is recuperating from this whole mess well enough; Colonello lightly touches the edges of skin that's been warped and burnt.

There will be no healing this, he thinks, heart clogging up his throat. Yet even as he touches her, Lal reaches up to grip his hand and her eyes still burn bright as she looks at him. "I'm fine," she says, voice as clear as rain and stronger than the ocean, and something settles in him.

"Who was worried about you anyway?" he says, trying to grin even as he lies, and he only gets a jab straight to his ribcage.

There's no time for them to just play around, however. Dino steps closer to them, even though it must be putting him on edge, and he's still so focused on what's before him. Together with Lal, Colonello turns his attention back to what was once the center of the storm. Skull and Fon have stepped further back, both of them wary, but the cloth of dark void stays right where it is. Now that everything has calmed down, staring at it has Colonello bristle. It's something that... doesn't belong, not here, on earth. All he can think about when he looks at it is suffocation, restriction....

Luce has no qualms as she steps forward, closer to him, and she kneels down alongside their restrained kin. He's truly different, now- pale skin drawn tight over his frame with no color to fill it, hair and eyes reflecting the black that's holding him tight. Panting, chest heaving and sweat dripping down the curve of his face, all he does is watch helplessly as Luce reaches towards him.

"One day you'll be allowed to do as you please," she says softly, her fingers curving around his jaw and her palm cradling his cheek. "You can tear this world asunder, and lay it to rest. But not now." Sighing, a tired and sweet smile curves along her lips, and he leans into the gentle stroke of her fingers with his own eyes barely held open. "So much can happen, must happen, before then. So restrain yourself, my love, and reign in smaller ways."

Leaning close, she kisses his forehead.

"Be Reborn."

He crumples into her arms, then, too tired and worn down to stay upright. The muffled sound he makes is impossible to discern, but the feeling is one of agreement, and Luce strokes his hair gently. Finally, with that done, she looks to the rest of them. Colonello has never been much good at discerning what messages lay in the eyes of creation, but it's sympathetic, surely, he thinks. "Lal Mirch," she says, "how are you feeling?"

"When we're both recovered, I'm going to beat him so bad he'll forget what he is."

Luce's smile is on the verge of letting loose a laugh. "I see." Her gaze turns to the others. "And the rest of you as well?"

"Pass on the fighting," Mammon says, and narrows their shimmering eyes at Fon until they settle into a distinct ruby red. "But I'm fine enough."

"You're welcome."

"Thanks, Lal Mirch."

"I'm great!" Skull announces, way too loud and way too proud for someone who looked like his own heart had been a split second away from bursting out of his chest not that long ago. "That wasn't too hard, right? We did great. Especially me."

Before Colonello can get up to remind him who really did most of the work, someone steps forward. Dino's expression is still warped and twisted with concern, eyes having not left his father for a moment. "Will he be alright?" he asks, quiet. "What do we do now?"

Luce's gaze drifts back down to Reborn as her hand strokes down from his hair to settle along his back. "He'll be fine, in time. For now, however... He simply needs a place to rest for a while. Somewhere.... stable."

Colonello looks around at the debris scattered violently about them, at the gouges in the earth and uprooted trees and things growing where they simply shouldn't be. "I don't think we have a lot of options," he says bluntly.

"More than you think, actually," Fon murmurs, a smile playing on his face. "The universe provides, it seems."

Carefully, Luce pulls herself up to her feet, Reborn hanging limply from around her shoulders. It's hard to tell if he's conscious or not. "What Fon means," she says patiently so that no one tries to give the guy what he wants by starting a fight, "is that taking a piece of the Void made some... changes." Her eyes flick upwards. "There are places that are our own now.... Realms we can make from our essence, places to rest and dwell."

"He merely needs to be taken to his," Fon adds, genuinely helpful for once.

Around them, a sense of trepidation ripples through them. Even the ones who haven't taken as much damage aren't certain if they should take the risk in guiding Reborn anywhere. The cloth holds him, for now, but what if something happens? Chaos by its very nature throws the future into disarray. Before any of them can say anything, a figure steps forward.

"I'll do it," Dino says, and smiles to his steed with a steady pat to his side. Only after reassuring the horse does he step closer, leaning closer to his parents. "Can you hear me, old timer?"

A hand bats out in response, but it's hard to say if it's truly to the words or not. Either way, it doesn't matter. There's no strength behind it, no will, and Dino catches it carefully in his hand. Gently, he takes on Reborn's weight from Luce and begins to step away. His steed steps closer, huffing from its nose in dissatisfaction, but Dino shakes his head.

Well, perhaps he won't accept the horse's help, but someone else has different ideas. Before he can stop her, Lal Mirch pulls away from Colonello's grasp. "We'll go with you," she says, maybe a little to Colonello's despair. Anyone who looks like they're going to say anything is subjected to a piercing glare. "If anything happens, we're the best suited for damage control, and we know how to traverse the areas outside the earth being what we are. We're going." That last one is directed to Colonello in particular, her jaw set, and he can tell that there's no changing her mind.

"You need to stop being so stubborn, hey," he tells her, but doesn't stop his partner as the pair of them stride over to where Dino is holding Reborn up. She's still weak, the burns still a swollen mess along her shoulder and throat and cheek, and yet none of that stops her from standing tall on one side of Dino's. Colonello takes the other side, letting his hand rest on Reborn's back. Together, they go.

There is no other word for it. They simply go, shifting from the warped and twisted plateau where Reborn had fought against them to the shifting ethereal areas that are both the sky and the core of the world and everything. Being what they are, all of the Arcobaleno have passed through it, natural as fish to water, birds to air, in their ventures from one place to another. They are it, in a way. Dino, on the other hand, seems almost disoriented as he tries to find his footing (of which there is none) and his fingers grip tighter to Reborn.

"Whoa-" Quickly enough, he adjusts, looking around. "Then.... where do we start?" Before Colonello and Lal Mirch can answer him, he looks down to Reborn and gently shakes his shoulders. "Reborn, wake up. Where do we need to take you?"

Nearly dead from exhaustion, slumping completely against his son's shoulder, Reborn doesn't look as if he's in the position to do any guiding. Yet, to Colonello's surprise, his free arm raises up, one finger barely able to hold itself up straight from his limp hand. In the twisting wash of everything that is this space, something rumbles through the air. Things warp and change, as unpredictable a maelstrom as that which they'd only recently put a stop to. Yet as it all pulls together, it solidifies, becomes solid and smooth- cool and pitch black obsidian from the eruption of chaos. Nothing is completely level or settled just yet, mind. Stalagmites and stalactites form unevenly, along with small hollows in the walls that seem large enough for people to curl into. Polished and rough simultaneously... As the walls form around them, hiding the scattered realms of existence from immediate view, Colonello has to admit that it suits the occasion. From Dino's other side, he sees Lal Mirch ease up a little.

Yeah. He'd though a turn for the worst might happen for a second there too.

With a solid floor under his feet, Dino begins to move forward towards the end of the long dark room. "I think we'll be fine now," he says, faking confidence pretty well. Settling down on the ground, he checks to make sure that Reborn is doing well enough before looking up to Colonello and Lal Mirch. His smile is a little tired, but still somehow bright. "Although I'll be the first to make a run for it and tell you all if anything does happen."

"You're sure?" Colonello asks, even with one eye on Lal Mirch. Her own have drifted shut, and her scars still stand out burning and raw against her skin. "Things could still go badly, hey."

"If it happens, it happens." Dino's smile grows stronger. "I'm sure we'll handle it."

Well if he says so, then he says so. Colonello edges over to Lal, not wanting to waste much more time when he doesn't have to. "We'll leave it to you," he tells the young god, and, with that, takes his leave. Out and away from the little domain Reborn has carved for himself, the pair curl into each other, and he takes on her weight as best he can. He can feel a part of reality calling their names, too, although not quite literally. Rain, and ocean, and gray clouds smeared across the sky which block out all light... He'll take her there, and the waters will help soothe her ache.

It's the most he can do.






"They always have so many questions," Verde says, although the words are not in any way judgmental. In fact, he's delighted. Mortal humans always come to such interesting conclusions, not even speaking of the actions they take. From around the small little shrine of stone at the base of the mountain, barely able to be a shelter to the people hiding there, Mammon settles against the statue that's been made in reverence to the gods. It's barely bigger than them. "Do you think they'll come even close to the truth?"

Soft and insubstantial next to something of stone, yet no doubt able to last longer, Mammon rolls their head to the side. "Who knows," they drawl. "They know of Dino, for certain, but we might still be a mystery to them. They're a young race, after all."

"That's true, although..." Trailing off, he watches as distaste spasms across their face, green eyes flickering to vibrant red, and he doesn't even have to look to the side to see who has joined them. "Ah. Fon. I didn't think you would have an interest in this sort of thing." Curious, Verde quirks up an eyebrow. "What brings you here?"

Smiling as if Mammon isn't trying to gouge out his throat with their gaze alone, Fon nods to the small gathering on their knees before the shrine. "I was curious, much as you two are, I'm sure. Is that such a crime?"

"You're never just curious," Mammon grumbles, watching with clear suspicion as Fon ventures closer to crouch by the woman up front. Verde recognizes her from a night that only seems like a few days ago, the memory accompanied by the night's chill and horses snorting. Older, now, much older than she already was, but it's her. "You have an agenda. The only question is what it is."

"So suspicious." For all he says that, he doesn't stop smiling, even as he leans close to the mortal woman. In the silence of the shrine, made heavy by the quiet prayers of mortal souls, his whispers are easily heard by the two other Arcobaleno as they echo against the walls. "Before light, and earth, and life, there was Void."

Mammon straightens up abruptly. "What are you doing?"

"Then, from the void, came forth Creation: the Matriarch, ruler and leader and founder-"

"Are you telling them-"

"-the Mother, keeper and caretaker-"

"I wanted to!" they hiss, a fact which likely wasn't true until the moment Fon began to do it.

Laughter starts to creep into his voice. "-the Maiden, daughter eternal."

"Fon!"

Crossing his arms, Verde makes a face as he turns away. Honestly, Fon's idea of getting Mammon's attention is on par with pre-adolescent children's. Best to leave before it gets any worse.