Elvira led me deeper into her palace, holding the new soul I had made the entire time. And she presented before me a problem.

  “We need an army.” She said bluntly, leading me through the winding halls. Artworks lined them, from multicolored tapestries to stone busts of various gods, spirits, and angels. For a moment she stopped at a window overlooking a large courtyard, spirits playing amongst the garden therein. A bouquet of lightflowers grew in the windowsill, their petals emitting a soft yellow light that danced along the smooth marble sill and reflected on the clear glass window. I said nothing for a time, drumming my fingers upon my thigh as I watched the courtyard below.

  Behind me Elvira’s two right-hands, Sol and Gilles, pulled up behind us, a respectful distance away but still within earshot. They were the only ones to have followed. We were the only ones in this entire wing.

  Her palace struck me as unfortunately empty. The Heaven Realm truly had yet to fill up, especially when compared to the other Realms.

  “An army?” I pressed, when Elvira remained silent for a touch too long.

  “A force to fight against the Shadow. We have angels and powerful spirits, but the mortal races are as of yet too weak to really contend. In perhaps ten thousand years we will start to see more of them rise up to the required level, but we need something now. I am unsure if my siblings are aware, but besides the number of gods we have we are hilariously outnumbered. I counted at least twenty different dark angels – and that’s not to mention the devil cultivators popping up in the Physical Realm, and even here, in the Heaven Realm. Sparsely populated though it is.” Elvira said with a shake of her head, moving away from the window to lead the way once more. I followed, trailing behind with my hands clasped behind my back and a frown on my face.

  I understood what she was saying, but I didn’t see the urgency she clearly felt.

  “The Shadow will not be ready to make a move any time in the next few millennia.” I said. “You have time to work with the mortals, bring them up to the necessary levels. Immortals of all kinds will likely make up the brunt of your forces – alongside angels, holy beasts, and other such beings.”

  “I know,” Elvira grumbled, wings flaring. “But who wants to come to heaven if it is empty?”

  And at that, I had no answer. It would be hypocritical of me to reply, after all, as my first act as a god had been to create companions.

  “What of the avians?” I asked.

  “What of them? They are perfect, and beautiful, and I love them with all my soul. But they are meant to be companions to your Fae. They are mortals, and when they become cultivators they become more than just mortals. But what I want to create is more than that. Different than angels, different from mortals, different from gods…a celestial race. Immortal in body and spirit and directly tied to Heaven. If we are meant to embody an ideal, then these people would as well.” Elvira explained slowly, as if unsure what words to use. I nodded along, twisting my hands together behind my back.

  Was this a result of my rushing to create mortals? Was this something she should have created first, before they came into being? An immortal race? I looked back upon my creations and frowned. Just because I pretend to know what I’m doing doesn’t mean I do…but no. In this case, I do not regret my actions, and think that it might even have been more ideal. As Elvira said; who wants to come to a world that is empty? We have gods and spirits, mortals were a logical next step. Elvira is only feeling this way because of pressure from the Shadow.

  That doesn’t make her incorrect, however.

  “I cannot tell you what to do,” I said with a shake of my head. Elvira paused and looked back at me, brows furrowed. I moved to stand beside her, laying a hand upon her shoulder and smiling softly. “You are the ruler of the Heaven Realm. The gods look to you for guidance and leadership, new angels pledge themselves to you, and mortals look to the heavens as a place of beauty and peace because of you. This decision is yours.”

  “But…” Elvira started. “I just…I don’t know what the outcome will be. I have the people designed, the idea for it all laid out, and souls who may be willing to fulfill this purpose, but for all my supposed power I do not know what the ramifications of this will be. What will it say that I created an army? War is not an ideal. It is painful and hateful, it is no ideal.” I was silent for a long moment, watching my daughter as she shifted in place, looking at me with a mixture of apprehension and hope. Doubt welled within her chest, visible to me as shades of grey clouding her otherwise brilliantly bright heart.

  “I feel I must apologize,” I admitted with a shake of my head. “For putting too much pressure upon you with the word ‘ideal.’”

  “Father?” Elvira said.

  “Courage, honor, duty, nobility, are these not all ideals? To be courageous, and brave, but not seek a fight. To be noble and peaceful, but willing and able to defend what is yours, and those beneath you. It is better to be a soldier in a garden, then a gardener on the battlefield. And when war comes knocking, is it not noble to be prepared for it?” I said softly. “Do not worry about how I may judge you. You have done well, and I am proud of you. I will always be proud of you, dear. But heavy is the head that wears the crown, and you must be willing to make decisions that will not be liked by all. This may earn you no favors, it may be good, or bad. I can see it going both ways; what matters is you. You are the deciding factor for what it will be.”

  “Father, I…” Elvira started.

  “Did you know, I was once an emperor?” I asked suddenly. Elvira blinked and furrowed her brows.

  “Huh?”

  “Don’t be so surprised. I know Randus told you that I had past lives, the chatty gossip.” I told her, amused.

  “No, I…but an emperor?” she asked.

  “Yes. It was my first life, actually. In that time the word didn’t mean much to a mortal – though I do wonder if I ever was truly a mortal soul, or something more, trained to be who I am now.” I mused, voicing a little inner doubt I had. Then, with a shake of my head, I continued. “In my time, I was forced to unite a number of tribes. Some joined me willingly. Some resisted, but eventually caved. And a few fought against me despite me never outright seeking war. In my time I was hated, loved, feared, and respected, yet the works I did lasted far beyond that life’s time.

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  “Now I can look back and see that. My character was idealized by future generations; to the point I became more myth than person, some of my deeds forgotten or misconstrued. But nonetheless, my actions ended up being seen as defining, even if I became largely mythical. Now, you do not have the luxury of a mortal soul, able to escape duty through death. And I cannot guarantee that your decisions will eventually be seen as righteous or whatnot. But I will know the truth, and that they were made to be righteous. And you will know the same. And if you ever need advice and support, I will be there for you.” I promised, laying a kiss on her forehead, my heart swelling with pride for her. “You did not come to me for advice. You came to me for permission, though you do not need it. Thank you for that.”

  Elvira wrapped me in a tight hug, shoulders shuddering for a brief moment before pulling away, expression soft yet determined.

  “Thank you, Father. I won’t keep you any longer.” She said.

  “It is my pleasure, dear,” I said, ruffling her hair. “No matter how big you get, my little empress, you will always be my little girl. Now you go. I won’t bore you with my stories any longer.” Elvira giggled, caught herself, glanced at Gilles and Sol, then cleared her throat and started to turn away.

  “Someday,” she said, pausing. “Would you tell me about your past lives?”

  “Of course,” I agreed. She nodded then promptly started marching off, likely to go complete her army. Gilles and Sol followed after her, both nodding to me respectfully as they passed, and I turned my attention once more to my duties.

  Only I held myself back from leaping right into work. There were others I had to visit, first. My children needed guidance, and as much as I truly needed to get back to work they were more important. With a heavy sigh I closed my eyes and forced myself to relax a bit.

  Heavy is the head that wears the crown. Except I don’t wear the crown.

  I hold up the skies.

  I found Keilan in his palace, working with a karmic king to further organize the influx of souls. His holy beast companion was elsewhere, likely at the mouth of the Valley, setting up an entryway, which left him largely alone.

  He sat at his desk, a large dark-wood thing covered in stacks of paper and scrolls. Bookshelves of the same dark material lined the walls, covered in personal effects and various other knick-knacks. A flint knife sat on one of the shelves – I recognized it as the first one the Karae, his mortal race, had ever created. He was sentimental that way, like me; though I also saw a chunk of stone with a crude cave-drawing of him as well, which gave me a little chuckle. He looked far too evil there, with fangs and great-big horns.

  “Mother,” Keilan said suddenly, breaking me out of my observations of his workspace. He looked genuinely surprised to see me, and framed against the large windows behind his desk, cut the image of a properly intimidating businessman. The Realm Sun was setting, orange and red light reflecting off of the waters of the karmic ocean and giving him a red backdrop. The light from a chandelier glinted off his horns, giving them a yellowish glow, and his dark robes were tight and well-fitted.

  “Hello, son,” I greeted, drifting over to him, feet gliding across the dark-marble floors. Flecks of yellows and lines of white cut through the dark stone, giving it a stark contrast. “I came to see how you were doing. What troubles you and such,”

  “Nothing.” Keilan denied. “We are doing quite well.” I raised an eyebrow at him, waiting patiently. He matched my gaze with a confident look, smiling politely as he waited for me to give in. I did not. He did. “Fine, fine. I’m just a little troubled by the Shadow, that’s all.”

  “It is no shame to ask for help, Keilan,” I said gently.

  “I know.” He nearly snapped, a little irritated. Good. That should make him more willing to loosen his tongue. “It’s just…I do not wish to bug you. I of all people know that you are busy with the Four Realms.”

  “Despite meditating and/or sleeping for such great lengths of time?” I teased.

  “Especially because of that. The works you create after exiting your restful sleep or enlightening meditations are always defining, and work to stabilize the Four Realms.” Keilan said firmly. “I would not deny you that. Not for some silly questions.”

  “Thank you, Keilan,” I said genuinely, throat closing up a little at his praise. But I pressed through it. “That means a lot to me. But that doesn’t mean I can’t spend time with my children, or help them out with their troubles. In fact, I am more than happy to spend time with you.” Keilan nodded, looking away and biting his lip for a moment.

  “The karmic realm is woefully undefended.” He said bluntly. “Thankfully there seems to be little here that the Shadow wishes to assault, but I still fear an attack of some kind, and there isn’t anything to ward such a thing off. I have been considering creating beings specifically for that purpose; defenders, beyond the purposes of the angels or holy beasts who may or may not pledge their allegiance to me.”

  “The karmic kings are not enough?” I asked. Those karmically aligned spirits – which were, somehow, different than angels and the like as they were more focused upon the workings of karma and being judges – were fairly plentiful in the Karmic Realm.

  “They are excellent at what they do, but you do not ask an accountant to fight a war.” Keilan said bluntly.

  “An excellent point, but it sounds like you have the idea mostly decided. What do you need help with?” I asked.

  “The form, and purpose. Imposing a singular task upon a soul is a terrible idea; even my karmic kings do more than just judge souls, and I would fear for their ability to be judges if they didn’t. I need something that is both guard and…something else.” Keilan mused. “Do I go for fear, for the shock and awe aspect? Mortals already fear me as some sort of judgement king, do I lean into that? Or do I focus my attentions elsewhere?”

  “Show me what you have,” I said, because, knowing Keilan, he already had a few ideas planned out. True to my expectations he waved his hand in the air, a number of sketches appearing in a swirl of black shadow. I snatched the first one out of the air and examined it, raising my eyebrows. This was the shape of a soul, using one of my truesouls as the base, of course, and guiding it in multiple directions with karmic strings. I frowned and switched to the next one, finding another variation of the same thing.

  My frown deepened.

  “I don’t think you should focus so heavily upon karma,” I admitted after looking through all the sketches. Keilan waited patiently for me to continue, his fingers steepled in front of his mouth. “You already have the Karae, karmic kings, and even your holy snake beast is karmically aligned. But despite your realm being the Karmic Realm, that is not all it is, is it? There are also memories stored here; psionic energy radiates from the ocean in waves. I would experiment a bit more with that.” I told him.

  “Focusing too much on one thing is detrimental,” Keilan agreed, realization dawning in his eyes. “No wonder I couldn’t make any headway in the designs. I was too focused on the karmic aspects. But if I add mental energy…” he trailed off, eyes glazing over, and I smiled.

  “Sometimes it just takes another pair of eyes,” I said. “As for the physical form, I leave that up to you. Fear, nobility, strength, shadows…the choice is wholly yours.” He nodded in agreement, standing and straightening his robes.

  “Thank you, Mother,” he said. “That helps quite a bit, actually. I will get right on it.”

  “Glad I could be of help,” I said, hesitating a bit. A large part of me wanted to stay longer, converse with my son a bit more, but…well, he clearly wanted to get back to work, and to chase this thread of creativity he was holding.

  “Before you go,” Keilan said, just as I started to step forward for my goodbye hug. “I was wondering…after all this is over, would you like to go boating with me? Like we used to, out on the karmic ocean.” I nodded happily, giving him a big hug that he briefly returned before forcibly pulling away.

  “I would love to. And don’t think for a moment I won’t hold you to that!” I exclaimed, stepping away and preparing to teleport. “Goodbye, Keilan. Don’t ever be afraid to ask for help, or even if you just want to chat.” But, knowing my son, he rarely wanted to just chat. It just wasn’t his personality.

  He bowed exaggeratedly as I teleported away, forcing out a quick chuckle. Now, where was Reika…?