God's Eye
God’s Eye
The haunting melody my partner was humming was starting to get to me. The tune was...so…peaceful. She was using a single white hoof to stroke the red creature, the same crimson as her flowing mane.
The little beast had draconic wings pinned tightly to its sides. His ruby like scales, each diamond shaped and shiny, shone and sparkled like fire in the faint light’s glow. He was limbless but his extraordinarily long tail was clamped tight in his jaws, an ever flowing trickle of ichor dripping past his lips as his sharp fangs dug into the flesh and hide of his tail.
The little scarlet spikes, curved and nearly invisible against the rest of his hide, pricked my partner uncomfortably, but she patted it continuously in long delicate strokes.
The creature, as unresponsive and silent as ever, drooped slightly around her armrest. She scowled at me in annoyance, as if it was my fault her pet was constantly trying to eat, or swallow, its own tail.
I curled my claws around my own throne, trying to ignore the goddess’s unwavering gaze. I leaned forward and peered curiously at a small chess table that floated in the dark void. The pieces were moving on their own.
Following my line of sight, the other being sighed and poked her little pet, as if hoping to coax movement out of it. She pouted at her failure slightly and blinked at me.
“They keep trying to play themselves!”
I nodded at her obvious statement. “Well of course.”
She looped the snake ring that was her pet over the throne tighter, securing it safely there. She took a quick ‘glide’ over to the chess table and glared at the black and white pieces, shivering in place on the infinite chess board. She turned her head back to look at me.
I immediately withdrew my claws from where I had attempted to grab her snake from its comatose position. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. She rolled them. She looked back to the black and white squares. Silence ensuing once more. I reached out a claw to the ouroboros again. An excited chitter from Faust grabbed my line of focus.
“Look! Those creatures you wiped out are still here!” She cried excitedly when she caught movement on the board. She waved me over beckoningly. I grudgingly obliged.
She was not wrong. On the board, there was an unmistakable creature, twisted and made of many animal parts. My chimera. I tapped it with a claw, regarding my partner coldly.
“You…wouldn’t happen to know why there’s still a draconequus left…would you?” I hissed malevolently, dropping my voice to a dangerous tone. My exogenesis was mine. It had been promised. A new race started, another slate wiped clean. It was one of the rules we went by. Gods’ rules were never broken. Never.
My partner fended me off with a casual hoof, dismissing my suspicions. “I didn’t stop the windigos, if that’s what you’re implying.” Her eyes met mine. Her expression and voice hardened. “I do believe the late Chaos spirit passed her powers to him.”
I suppressed a groan. Eris had been one of the few Northern Giant Dragons left. My partner tossed me an unmoving chess piece, missing my outstretched claws by inches and clattering to the board again. I picked up a small draconic piece, Eris’s piece, now a dull faded grey-brown, and tossed it off the board in a single fluid motion. It cracked when it hit the void’s equivalence of the floor. The many faded pieces that Eris’s joined throbbed silently.
I gripped the edge of the chess board angrily, causing cracks to run down the sides. My partner pulled me off, frowning at the mark I had made. My mind set to working.
“Since the draconequui race continues, doesn’t that mean the exogenesis didn’t work? We can’t create a new race. I guess you’ll have to say goodbye to-“
“No!”
The other god grabbed the two pieces, one black, one white, from my grasp. It stung when their edges scratched my palm. She was petting the pieces and staring at me in horror. It was the two “alicorns” she had created from a Pegasus and unicorn at the death of the draconequui. She had moulded them in her shape, and treasured them greatly.
I cursed inwardly. I had hoped I could get rid of them for good, I hated immortal beings. I knew she would not let go of them that easily. I glared in frustration at the two offending pieces she was sill petting. I swear, Faust had an obsession with petting things.
I could see her eyes blank and fog over as she was consumed in her own thoughts. Her mind was working rapidly to come up with a solution for not having to get rid of her “daughters”. I crossed my claws behind my back.
Unfortunately, Faust had a few tricks up her imaginary sleeve.
“What if, we made a bet?”
I whirled my head around quickly to look her in the eyes. A bet? I cocked my head, indicating my interest.
“You’re rooting for the draconequus, since you made him. I’m rooting for alicorns.” Her smirk was widening. “Let them battle it out.”
My mouth gaped slightly in disbelief. The great, benevolent Faust wanting to bet? I let my fanged mouth settle for a smile. Faust nodded at my reaction.
“It’s on, then.”
We turned back to the equine world. We watched as chess pieces scurried about, their destinies and fates entwining in a horrible messy tangle, most destined to end one day. Above each oblivious creature, was a string. Some strings were more opaque than others, signifying they were more easy to manipulate. Some had nearly invisible strings, but everyone, still had strings. Several creature sometimes could control the board slightly, due to great power and manipulation. Eris had been one.
Behind us, on our twin thrones, the ouroboros stirred. He opened a single golden eye that shone brightly in the void of emptiness. He glanced at the two superior beings, staring silently at the chess board.
I let my eye catch the draconequus. It was young and wandering, clearly upset by the wipe out of its kind. I knew Faust was doing the same to the two alicorn sisters. The board revealed several outcomes of their destinies entwining. It would take subtle manipulation, both on mine and Faust’s part, to get their paths to cross. It took a God’s eye to see what would work. I tilted my head and two god’s eyes slid to stare into mine. I smirked.
Faust was my equal, my partner, my god, my friend. Right now, she was my rival.