Dimensional Travels: World at War-Chapter 77: Life never waits

Heith stood in front of a man who was looking through documents. The man had a similar likeness to Heith, and in place of Heith’s arrogant posture; his was calm and collected.

"You sent over one hundred thousand men to simply..."

His cold voice paused, the very atmosphere seemed to freeze with the man’s voice.

"Test... these soldiers?"

Heith sat back. His eyes widened. His father never spoke to him like this. "Father, did you not say that mortals were like breeding mice?"

Mithrael sighed, turning to his son.

"Fool! Do you not know the basics? You will never be a full God like your brothers if you do not cease treating mortals like trash! Their loyalty... their faith... gives us power. We need them. They need us. Do. Not. Make. The. Same. Mistake." With each word the God growled, the pressure weighing on Heith increased on his shoulders. It was as if the very earth was dragging him down.

Heith sighed as he looked up at the Avatar. "Father, I can explain!"

Mithrael held up his hand. "Enough. I have been watching you, child. Perhaps I should have one of your brothers come train you. You have proven you are not worthy of kingship."

The God mutters as he looked down at the city. "Cull the mana suppression circles. They do not work on these otherworlders. Their weapons do not rely on mana. We are wasting men on maintenance of the circles."

He looked past the horizon, at Esponia. A phoenix was staring at him, and Mithrael ignored it.

"Bring back all forward troops." He said with a growl. "You were foolish to attempt engagements against an enemy you do not understand."

"Bring those heroes to me. I wish to speak to them."

Heith left to follow his father’s orders. Mithrael stayed behind, listening to the bustling of the castle. He closed his eyes as the Avaatar lost all power. His mana coalesced into his true form as he looked down at the Empire. "Demi-God’s are still mortals, father." A blonde haired god said as he lounges across a couch. "It may take brother another one thousand years to fully ascend at this pace."

Mithrael shook his head. "Misael, do not speak of your brother in that manner. When you were still young, you would often act brash like Heith."

A deep, even voice echoed from the back as a larger man walked up, standing over the two. "It saddens me to see my brother act like this towards mortals." He said gently.

A woman walked into the throne room, her mana circulating like a storm. Purple lightning and yellow clouds hung around her.

"Leave us." She commanded.

The other Gods quickly vanished as she took her place next to Mithrael.

"Our strength dissipates by the day, husband." She said, her voice cold and like steel. "When we first alloted this world, you promised to never cross the lines of fate. Yet here you stand, writing with threads as if they are your playthings."

Mithrael looked calmly at his wife, his eyes cold. "Trephania, for the last thousand years you have grown colder to me. Was this not your wish?"

The woman got up, looking at him with disdain. "You ire me so. We wished to lead the mortals, not control them. Other Gods bear guidance upon those whom walk the soils of the universe. You and Heith bare your sins. I wish to have no part of it any longer. For centuries, I have looked past your ill begotten altruism. I can bear it no more."

Mithrael clenched the armrests of his throne. "My wife, I am merely doing what is necessary. Mortals cannot rule themselves. They rot in inequity and bear inequality among themselves. Look at the Empire we have built. It is prosperous. Mortals are happy and peaceful. Do you think a Human Empire could accomplish the same?"

The Goddess sighed as she looked through a Mana screen. She scried the surface of Brishan, showing slavery and debauchery. "You call this happy and peaceful?" She hissed.

Mithrael waved his hand, his eyes cold as he watched an Elf soliciting services in a parlor, a collar on her neck.

"Half breeds serve no use. Humans need to solicit their pleasures, and what better use is there than to use half breeds?"

Sha panned to the Dwarves working in mines. "And this?"

He sneered. "If I could eradicate those brutes, I would." He growled.

As he spoke longer, bile raised in her throat. "We of divine nature should never be partial to one mortal race or the other." She growled. "You are acting no better than an evil, lesser God. I am ashamed of the God you have become. I will no longer bear your name. You bring shame upon our nature as a pantheon."

She left the room, waving her hand.

Mithrael felt something in his divine sea vanish. "WRENCH!" He screamed as she calmly walked out of the room. No one saw the tears slipping down her face as the wedding ring on her hand disappeared.

"You were truly a benevolent God once, Mithrael." She whispered, a burning sensation aching against her chest as she left the palace.

After leaving the Divine plane, Trephania assimilated into the mortal plane. She stopped at her first destination: a slave camp.

The first thing she heard was:

"Please! I can’t bear it any longer. It hurts. It hurts! Please have mercy!" A woman screaming in pain. Trephania then saw it. Female Dwarves laying down in beds, strapped down while Dwarven men lined up.

A human male held up a weapon, pointing it at the woman. "You will continue. Or you will die. The mine workers are dying too fast, and we need you lot to replace the numbers."

Trephania gasped, her eyes filling with tears as she held her stomach, remembering each of her children. The joy she felt as she carried them. To be deprived of that? Was a fate worse than death.

Having seen enough, Trephania phased through the shadows once more. She hid between dimensions as she watched another scene, men carrying pillars for a project. Whips against skin echoed out. Beast man grunted and groaned as they carried loads too heavy for them. One man collapsed, his tail cracking underneath him as he fell...

And a large "crack" broke the stillness of the air. An empire soldier stood there, weapon raised. "If you stop moving, you die." The man growled.

Trephania watched the soul of the beast man travel towards the divine realm. She sat down against the barrier. "You were right Grandfather." She whispered. Her eyes once more filling with tears.

A warmth enveloped the Goddess as time stopped outside of the barrier. A gentle but ancient voice filled the void as flames surrounded her. They were comforting, the warmth one would find in a shower or bath.

"Child, You see now, the follies of trying to control a world. Altruism does not beget acceptance among God’s and mortals."

Dreha appeared next to her, his flames dissappearing as he wrapped his arms around her in his human form. "Watch this world with your own eyes my beloved Trephania. See the suffering this world has undergone."

Trephania nodded while hugging Dreha. A sad smile on her face. "Thank you, Grandfather."

The Phoenix smiled back, stroking her hair. "Remember this in your travels. No matter how dire, desperate, or evil the mortals are... we cannot intervene. We are to be observers. Your..."

"Ex husband... is only able to guide and assist because he is in Avatar form."

Her eyes lit up. "Can I do the same?"

Dreha shook his head. "It is not that you should or should not do so, Trephania. You do not know enough about mortals to walk the realm in an avatar. Now that you have left your husband’s pantheon, if you were to make an avatar, your main body would become that of a demigod."

"You would throw away divinity."

Trephania trembled as she thought of his words. She stood up, conviction burning in her eyes as she looked out past Esponia.

"Show me the otherworlders." She said gently.

"I need to see what they are like for myself."

Eric sat at his desk while scanning through documents. Reports from the security company they hired were stacked in front of him. He read through the last week’s worth of work, comparing them to the reports from the element they had left on overwatch.

"It is quiet... too quiet."

As soon as he said the words, he regretted them, because then he felt two presences materialize behind him. He groaned. "You have a friend now?"

Dreha laughed as he looked at Eric. "Oh, you never cease to amaze me mortal. You remind me of a mortal I knew in another universe. Even knowing that I was a cardinal phoenix, he treated me with the same brash nature."

Eric grumbled as he turned back to his papers. "Who’s the Goddes?"