***

  Moon of the Light Elves, 1068 AR

  ***

  “And they’re safe?” Nicola asked with a concerned look as Lithael, her elven healer, concentrated on Miyu’s thigh. The stab wound from the assassin’s dagger closed slowly, and the treatment was fast enough that the hole went away without leaving any scars.

  “Well, as safe as they, like, can be… that woman destroyed their crystals, and… Seika-paisen had a hole in her heart…” Momo responded, looking to the side and biting her lower lip.

  “That is concerning,” Nicola confirmed with a deep sigh, crossing her arms.

  “But if their father Jove retrieved them and they left with him, then we can rest assured that they will receive the best care their kind can receive… and Seika…”

  Nicola rubbed her chin, pondering her condition.

  “You say she acted like she was some sort of middle between Seika and Minerva, yes?”

  Momo nodded in response.

  “Interesting. She may have taken over her body, but only halfway… I’m not sure what the implications of this are, but I know it means Minerva did everything in her power to save her partner’s life, even as grievously wounded as she was.”

  “And? What does that mean?” Miyu now asked, rubbing her thigh after it was completely healed.

  “Just that my assessment of Minerva being a virtuous one of their kind still holds up.”

  She offered Miyu and Momo a little smile.

  “I’m starting to lose my blanket hatred of the Deogemma thanks to her.”

  “Well, how heartwarming,” Momo grumbled and stepped towards Nicola.

  “Ya know these elves. Somethin’ happened between you that you were able to get the earrings and gift ‘em to us, so ye’re gonna explain everythin’ to us, alright?”

  She looked at Nicola with narrowed eyes for a while longer, then she let her head hang.

  “And… thank ya, for the tinkerin’ ya did with the earrings. Without my bow, Miyu would have been…”

  Nicola shook her head.

  “Think nothing of it. And no worries, I will tell you everything I know.”

  “Anyway, can’t we go to their world and counterattack? You know where they are,” Miyu grumbled, and Madame Bille shook her head.

  “Not right now. The coordinates I gave Mana have been blocked by the High Enchantresses’ magic. Nothing gets in or out, so we can’t do anything but wait and be ready for them. And, speaking of our young witch…”

  She turned around and looked at the young witch, Mana Kanno, now with cat ears and a tail, who leaned against the wall and had observed their dialogue for the past few minutes.

  “You’re going to tell us everything you heard during your scouting mission, of course.”

  ???

  ***

  His domain was shrouded in darkness as always. Thunderstorms were the only source of illumination, revealing the ash-colored ground for only a few seconds before anyone relying on light to see would be back in an eternal abyss. The master of this domain walked through the horde of shadowy animals residing in this place. They were all a part of him, and some returned to their master, dissolving into liquid shadow to merge into his body, while others simply bowed their heads as he walked by.

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  There was a certain irony to the fact that he was the brightest thing in this domain, as his hair glowed in a pure white light, while his eyes were as black as obsidian, and even appeared to swallow any traces of light around them. His face was a ghostly visage, shining as the only visible thing in this world of eternal shadow he created eons ago.

  He approached his castle, invisible to any but those with the eyes to see in the infinite pitch-black. The inside was illuminated today, as he was expecting guests. He walked through the large stone-hewn hallways at a brisk pace, past statues of himself and his beloved, and mosaics depicting the origin and end of all: a swirling cloud of nothing and everything.

  He pushed the doors of his banquet hall open, and there they were: The children of his beloved, and some of their own children besides.

  “How nice of you all to come. Eris, Limos, Morpheus, Apate, Geras, Nemesis, Thanatos, Moros, Oizys and even Philotes… I am assuming that’s all who could come today.”

  As their heads turned, he could observe a little bit of discomfort on their faces as he used their primordial names, rather than their face names. Except for Morpheus who held the same name for both.

  “My, what are you holding there, Eris? A new child?” he pointed at the crystal she cradled close to her breast, and she nodded with a little smile.

  “She will take many years to emerge, but yes: she was born from the remains of grandmother’s curse. I will call her Lethe, just like the curse she was before.”

  He nodded in response, then he took his place at the head of the table.

  “I will keep this short, as you all still have your roles to play, my dear nieces and nephews: I spent some time as a fly on the walls of Asclepius’ clinic and learned an unsettling truth: Athena and Enyo are alive, and so are their hosts.”

  A murmur went through the gathered crowd, and he continued unfazed.

  “They were, however, severely wounded and have now taken residence in Olympus, or Capitolium, if you prefer to call it that. Our ploy to use the High Enchantresses’ plan to invade Earth for sustenance for her starving population and have her assassinate the ‘Magical Girls’ who would offer her the strongest opposition has failed, and she is blissfully unaware of that fact, too, continuing her preparations as we speak.”

  Limos stood up and slammed her fists on the table.

  “That worthless mortal!” she shouted, facing towards her host. “Did she at least strike Bellona’s womb with Saturn’s scythe?”

  He could see her face contort in rage as he shook his head, and she immediately turned towards Morpheus, pointing and shouting at him with surprising vigor, given her haggard appearance.

  “You never knew how to pick them! Now a mortal is running around with the blade that mutilated the sky, without any results to show for it!”

  “Watch your tone, cousin,” Morpheus hissed through his clenched teeth.

  As their host cleared his throat, they all fell silent again.

  “Now, now, calm yourselves. This was just one of many opportunities. Now that they are in one of our home realms, we have the opportunity to extinguish them before they can bring forth the abomination.”

  “And what if that fails?” Apate asked with some bite to her voice. Her snake tail uncoiled, and she pointed the scorpion stinger at its tip towards their host, but he only smiled.

  “We will just try and try again. If the abomination can’t be prevented from being born, we just murder it. We try again until we succeed, for we all shall be whole one day, and we can’t have her stand in our way.”

  He could tell that his guests weren’t entirely convinced by his words, but he had faith. His beloved and him worked tirelessly towards the grand goal, and he would see their labor pay off.

  “So, what is the plan?” Moros asked. He leaned over the table, his intense, blood red eyes staring holes into his host. He had a rather unusual appearance among his chiton-wearing siblings, wearing a business suit instead. His true form sat as a purple crystal on his forehead, between and above his eyes. Heavy black dye suppressed the natural glow of his hair; he was torn out of some of his machinations by the sudden summon, his host intuited.

  “I will have a look at them myself, and then we can formulate a more impromptu plan of action. For this I want Eris, Nemesis, and Apate to return to Olympus. The abomination is currently visiting the past irregularly, so I want you to prepare something to lure her in, Thanatos. The rest of you, go back to what you were doing before. Keep the grand plan moving!”

  He grinned as he looked at his hands, which turned into liquid shadow, taking on the shape of various beasts until a wolf made of darkness separated from his body.

  “I’m sure Athena’s host and I can… reminisce about the good old days, and all the fun times we had together.”

  ***

  Most of his guests cleared out afterwards, except for Philotes. The girl stared at the ground, biting her lower lip while her pink-glowing hair gently swayed behind her.

  Poor girl. Too soft-hearted for what has to be done.

  He stepped over to her side and put a hand on her shoulder, which she immediately grabbed and squeezed.

  “I don’t like this, uncle,” she whispered, and he nodded.

  “You’ve always been too kind for this world, Philotes. I promise you: you won’t be involved in anything that requires killing. In fact, right now you will only be required to prepare a… contingency for me.”

  Obviously, she didn’t like this much more either, but she looked up to him all the same, asking her next question.

  “What will you have me do, Uncle Erebus?”

  He smiled as he noticed that Philotes abided by his request to be called by his primordial name. Probably out of fear of him, but it still felt good, all the same.

  “Oh, by my word: You will do not much different from what you’re always doing, my darling niece. I only need you to make some fools prioritize their base desires over their carefully laid-out plans.”