Ignis walked nervously into the room until he was greeted warmly.
’I didn’t understand why a god and goddess were on a planet... now I don’t understand why they have such a group of kind, diverse beings...’ Ignis thought while he smiled.
Everyone introduced themselves and Ignis was pleasantly surprised. He took a seat in an empty chair and led the conversation.
"So my first question should be obvious: What are a god and goddess doing on this planet and why are they with so many different types of people?"
"Well, to make a long story short, I was born half-god half-uthra. My mother is Aphrodite. I t my lovely wife when she was human while disguised in a dungeon. After she accidentally knocked my mask off, she offered to form a party with . We began dungeon clearing with her best friend, Sasha, the vampire over there and we t Levi, who she is sitting next to, on our second night together. After that, we began expanding our party as we found people who share our common goal: save our planet."
"Well how are you god and goddess now?"
"Athena t with in a dream and blessed as a god. My father passed the trial of the gods before he left to live in Paradise with my Mother. After Brie and I got married, she chose to take the trial of the gods and passed. She beca a goddess and now we have a child who is a god."
"And all of you work together to save the planet? From Azazel?"
"Yes and no. Levi is a mber of the legendary Steele family, who have lived here since the planet’s conception. Around 1,000 years ago, they saw a prophecy of a child born of an uthra and a goddess who would save or destroy Exteria. The prophecy has changed twice, and the current prophecy still has the sa two outcos."
"Interesting. So your party is essentially your teammates. On our planet, there was no war, only peace. I was King but my job was simple. I ensured my people remained happy. Unfortunately, Azazel has decided to repeat history that lay dormant for 4000 years."
"What do you an by repeating history?"
"Long ago, a solar system existed and had a sun, much like the one we have, only smaller. When it beca stressed, it began fracturing. Sensing imminent danger, Azazel and Helen used the titans, who were hiding on a planet called Earth, to destroy everyone, take their money and steal the lifeforces of the planet’s inhabitants."
"Ok, that makes sense but how did your race co to exist and how did Azazel and Helen find Exteria?"
"I am not sure how they chose Exteria. It was a newly created planet that hosted life for elves, werewolves, uthra, dragons, humans and chira. Demons showed up on this new planet, stayed far away and hid the titans. We know this because when the sun burst, it created mythical creatures and our race. We ended up on Solstice because it is closest to this universe’s sun."
"Ok, so, from everything we know, this lines up with a few exceptions. The demons were said to be the original race and they didn’t et another race for 250 years. I’m honestly embarrassed to say we only recently learned of the other planets’ existence. What happened to the phoenixes? Aren’t they reborn from their ashes?"
"Indeed they are. My Mother and Father were slain by Eris, which is why she was locked up by Athena. My brother and I are the only remaining phoenixes."
The room gasped. Revolutionary information just flowed through the room and changed the course of the party’s trajectory and actions.
*****
"Mama. I hungwy." Xander said while tugging at Brie’s shirt.
Sora handed her the invisibility cloak and she began feeding him. Before Xander latched, he said, "igny is pwetty burd like aunty lele dwagon."
Ignis burst out in laughter. "You have quite the intelligent son. He’s right, I can change into a phoenix. I sensed the presence of two mythical creatures. Bishop, you were obvious my friend, and I an no disrespect by that. I also stick out quite a bit. Leila, I could sense your energy."
"Well it’s nice to et you. I’m sorry about your planet. I know the feeling, so if you need soone to talk to..." Leila said empathethically.
Bishop nodded politely and the rest of the party just sat in awe.
"Ignis, what are your plans now?" Brie asked.
"I am not entirely sure. If you just recently learned of the other planets, you should take a trip to Nexus before Azazel completes his reckoning. I’d be happy to give you the coordinates or guide you there."
"Do you think you could give us all a few minutes? I think we need to digest all of this information." Brie said with a kind smile.
Xander finished feeding and Brie burped him. Afterwards, Xander teleported to Ignis and gave him a hug.
"Dadda, make sure igny stays with oawr fwiends."
Xander opened a portal to the backyard and motioned for Ignis to walk through.
With a laugh and a smile, Ignis said, "Just let know when you’re finished. I have nowhere to go and my brother is safely hidden on Solstice."
"Celeste, you got everything right? I’m unlinking now. Please return ho."
"Yup, be right there. Thanks again! What a crazy story!"
Xander closed the portal and the party imdiately began discussing the new information.
"This changes everything. I believe Sora and Brie should take Xander to Nexus and the rest of us should continue training and dungeon clearing to ensure we’re strong enough when Azazel returns." Levi suggested.
"So the ’race for the lost races,’ wasn’t even a race, it was a ploy," Jubelle said while shaking his head. "I knew the demons started the war because they were threatened by us, but that ans they killed Leila’s race to steal their power as well!"
"My goodness, you’re right Jubelle! I never thought of it that way! I thought they were just eliminating things they viewed as threats! This whole ti they’ve been playing chess while we’re playing checkers!" Leila exclaid.
"What does that an?" Julius asked while scratching his head.
"It’s a taphor. It ans they’ve been several steps ahead of us and tricked Exteria into believing one thing when their main objective has been to absorb and steal all the lifeforce they could get!" Sera scoffed. "I can’t believe I didn’t see it when I lived there! How could we all be so blind?"
"To be fair, my family did not see this in any prophecy or vision," Levi stated calmly.
"And the gods and goddesses didn’t seem to track this either. The human reckoning was so long ago everyone assud it was a one ti thing, when really this has been their plan all along..." Celeste said. She was embarrassed. Everything she’d lived through with Joseph and witnessed over the past 4000 years was all a lie.
*****
The masked god and goddess paced in the black space, watching over the Savior’s conversation.
"It seems they finally have caught up a bit," the goddess muttered.
"Yes, they have. Azazel’s group must hurry and destroy these planets and gain the strength needed to start putting our plans in motion. If we have to settle for 50-70% of Sora and Brie’s power, so be it."
"How long will it take for them to complete their purpose?"
"Around a year or two. The first two planets were easy. The rest will grow increasingly difficult until they finally face Juniper, ho of the Hydra."
"After they absorb the Hydra’s power, they attack the Savior party?"
"Yes. The goal of that battle will be to kill Brie and flip Sora. The more work he does for us, the stronger he becos and the more power we gain." the masked god said with a nacing laugh.
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