I teleported to what looked like a forest. Well, it was a forest. Just like any other: trees, bugs, animals, and anything else that was mortal in nature.
Of course, that was the least of my concerns when I got there.
The first things I did was let out a loud, howling scream. My staff brightened as it cooperated with my rage, killing of the trees and any other wildlife around me. But that wasn't enough for me.
I then used my staff to decimate the entire area around me. I used explosions, lasers, earthquakes, and anything else that could destroy this place. When I was finally finished, my breath heaving, there was nothing left but a large crater.
It was completely silent now with all of the wildlife gone. The silence finally made me think back to what had happened.
"Damn them..." I breathed, my rage returning once more, "DAMN THEM ALL!"
They had something that could not only protect them, but can be used against me as well. If I wasn't as fast as I was to react, I would've been back in stone, and my freedom would have been all for nought.
The most logical thing to do would go out and eliminate those things, but how? They knew I was out and about, so they'd probably be wearing those things all the time now. And I also couldn't damage them if I wanted to, meaning that if they're wearing it, I'm quite fucked, but only if I encounter them ever again.
Suddenly, an idea hit me.
I could go to some city, take it over, establish my own state, and use my new power to build an army that would go on and conquer everything around it! And kill those ponies while I'm at it!
...No, too ambitious.
I could go around and destroy villages and then retreat if they are sent to stop me, like Fabius Maximus did with Hannibal.
...No, that's a coward's tactic.
Guess I'm going to be ambitious, then.
Just then, I felt something coming. I could also hear it coming, whizzing as it was getting closer. Soon enough, I realized what it was.
Offensive magic.
Swiftly, I turned to deal with the threat, swiping the magic away harmlessly with my staff. Although I concluded that it was shot not too far away, I could see no one in the distance who could have done it. Just the wasteland of my making.
"Show yourself, and I might be merciful in giving you a quick death!" I barked.
A brief silence.
"Told ya that wasn't gonna to work," I heard someone say from that direction. The voice seemed... oddly familiar. After that, three figures appeared from thin air, and I immediately recognized two of them.
The Gatekeepers of the Underworld.
I frequently met with them before my imprisonment, as it was one of my duties as Goddess of Havoc to watch over the Underworld. There were four Gatekeepers, all with the responsibility to check incoming mortal souls for impurities and sins, and most of the time they had them. Most. Key word.
At the time I had killed Faust, they were planning an incursion to the mortal realm to support my takeover, but since I failed in my attempt, I simply thought that their deaths were certain.
The first Gatekeeper present was Baron, the Dark Knight. He was, for the most part, the strongest out of all the Gatekeepers. He was also perhaps the most aggravating, as he consistently called himself "Lord" Baron, before I reminded him of his place as nothing but a lowly subordinate.
The next who was present was Stiermann the Minotaur. He was perhaps the most loyal out of all of them. Anything I ordered, he would follow without question.
But the next one was odd. I didn't know them, nor have I ever seen them. It looked like my species, although it had cat ears and a tail. It looked female as well, boasting long hair and wearing clothes fit for one.
"She's way beyond yer league, Baron." Stiermann said to Baron, "Did ya really think she'd fall for that?"
Baron growled, "Hold your tongue, heathen, or I will-"
"You will do nothing," I interrupted, "and as long as I'm here, you will not command anybody, Baron. Remember your place."
I turned to Stiermann, "What led you here?"
He answered not a second later, "We sensed ya gettin' free yesterday, and decided to look for ya, Mah Lady. But while we were travellin', ya just appeared right next t' us destroyin' everythin'!"
I hummed, then asked, "What happened to the other two Gatekeepers?"
"Ah. They went their ways after ya was imprisoned. Sendak went on somewhere, sayin' that he was goin' lookin' for some apprentice. Haven't heard from 'im since. Trajan went on somewhere else too, but he came back with his... kid."
I instinctively looked to the figure I didn't recognize. She flinched as we made eye contact. "Is that his child?" I asked simply. Stiermann merely nodded.
I walked over to the child in a quick manner. When I was directly in front of her, I noticed how she seemed to visibly cower in my gaze. Which was good, as she needed to know her place.
I narrowed my eyes, "What is your name, child?"
Not in any other time in her life had she felt so pressured and weak.
Baron and Stiermann had told her that Zerstörung was powerful, but as she glossed over her magical signature, she realised that the Goddess was far more powerful than all three of them combined. Compared to her, she felt like a mere ant.
She squirmed under the Goddess' merciless gaze, avoiding eye contact at all costs.
"Look at me," damn it.
As she forced herself to make eye contact, she wanted to look away again, even if that wasn't an option anymore.
But then she felt that she couldn't, even if she tried her hardest. She felt as though something had locked her in place, forcing her to keep looking into the Goddess' eyes. Those dark, judging eyes that stared deep within her own soul.
"Now tell me," Zerstörung began, her eyes narrowing even more, "What is your name?"
Baron attempted to get things over quickly, "Her name is-"
"Silence," the Goddess interrupted, "I want her to say it."
"I-it's N-Nova A-Aurora," she managed to stutter out.
However, the Goddess didn't seem to hear it, "Pardon?"
"It's N-Nova Aurora," she said again, more confidently this time.
"I see," Zerstörung replied simply.
"Now tell me something else, Nova Aurora."
"...Yes?"
A small, but predatory smile formed on the Goddess' face, "Do you fear me?" It was a simple question, and had a simple answer.
"Y-yes."
"Good," Zerstörung said, satisfied, "it's good to know that I can keep you in line easily. Now onto my next question."
"...Where is your father?"
A brief silence.
"H-he died not long after he met up again with B-Baron and Stiermann. I was still an infant. I... I never knew him."
Zerstörung hummed, "You never knew your mother either, I presume?"
"Yes."
The Goddess scoffed, "Of course."
She stepped away from Aurora, who let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.
"It seems as though mortals are staining our immortality," she began, starting to pace in front of the group, "We immortals are seemingly dying as we come of age, infected by mortal incursions. It's like a disease. A plague. First I learn that Sol and Selene died of age, and I'm presuming the rest of the Pantheon Gods with them, and now I learn that Trajan has fallen to it as well? The big question, however, is how?"
"It is like you say yourself, My Lady. It is a disease that the mortals have created to undermine the immortals and take everything for themselves." Baron interjected.
"True," Zerstörung concurred, "but I'm certain mortals have forgotten about the Gods since then, and practically regard all of them as myths, and if it were a disease, then the remaining Gods at the Pantheon would have surely figured out about it and eliminate the threat."
"Um... if I may speak, My Lady?"
Zerstörung snapped her attention to Aurora, making her flinch again, "Speak."
"Y-you remember Faust, right?"
"Of course I do. I killed her, after all." The Goddess replied, giving a look of annoyance, "Now stop your stuttering. It's annoying me to no end."
"Y-yes, My Lady!"
Aurora soon went back to the conversation, "What I'm saying is... what if it was Faust who gave us all immortality. Stiermann and Baron told me that she never fully trusted any God, so who's to say she didn't trust them with all their immortality, too? Without Faust, the Gods would no longer have the supply that made them immortal, and their days would become numbered like mortals?"
Zerstörung's face turned into one of surprise, if only for a brief second. Aurora felt somewhat prideful that she was able to break the Goddess' dark and cold demeanor.
Baron scoffed at her idea, though, "If your idea is correct, Aurora, then you must tell me how I have been able to live so long!"
"It's simple, Baron," Stiermann interjected, "Th' more powerful somethin' is with magic, th' longer it'll live. Centaurs 're definin' proof of that."
Baron just grumpled in response.
Zerstörung, meanwhile, was ignoring the conversation, and was in deep thought. She paced madly as she spoke to herself in a low voice.
"Damn...bitch...shouldn't ha...what...do...maybe..." She suddenly perked up, an idea forming in her head.
Yes, that plan would do nicely.
She looked over at the three Gatekeepers, only to find that they were arguing like children do for toys. It greatly disappointed her.
She tried calling them out in a normal voice, but they ignored her. The Goddess hated when she was ignored.
She breathed in deeply, and then, with full ferocity, barked.
"SILENCE!!!" everyone became visibly frightened, cowering in front of the Goddess.
"Now, if you're done ignoring my presence, then I can say that I've found a solution to this problem."
Her face seemed to grow darker, a menacing smirk on her features, "A very satisfying solution."
Stiermann smirked as well, "'Dunno what it is, but I gotta feelin' that I'ma like it."
