Greene and the Cybernetic woman followed Barbatos as he guided them back towards his shop, as everyone seemed to scramble out of his way. The sounds of the sorcerer laughing still lingered in Greene's mind, accompanying the image of the Ethero Fiends ceasing to exist following his blinding power. Many questions resided within him now, incoherent and scattered as he tried to recall everything. He was sure he had forgotten something. That was the problem with memory. It was often selective about what it retained. Still, as he glanced toward the Cybernetic woman, he held out his hand to her.

  'Thank you, for before,' he said, before she nodded and accepted his gesture. 'My name is Greene.'

  'Shallai,' she answered, releasing him and nodding towards the sorcerer walking ahead of them. 'How did you get involved with him?'

  'My…co-worker,' Greene said, embarrassed over his pause, not sure how to describe the Lieutenant while he considered it. 'He brought me here. I'm conducting an investigation, though I question my reasoning for being here now…'

  He turned his gaze towards Barbatos then, as the sorcerer seemed to walk with a certain swagger, confident and knowing.

  'But I have my suspicions,' he added, hoping his tone would come across to Shallai. Thankfully, she didn't probe further.

  They proceeded past the endless stalls as they approached the spire with the orb of fire sitting atop it, reaching Barbatos's shop a few moments later. The blue-skinned man walked inside without unlocking the door. Greene found himself surprised, following him in and seeing that none of the vials appeared to have been touched. For reasons he wasn't sure of, he fumbled with the one in his inner jacket pocket. It was obvious the sorcerer wasn't afraid of anyone stealing his wares.

  Why would he be? After what he showed, Greene thought, releasing the vial before stopping, noting how Shallai paused alongside him as they watched Barbatos make his way towards the counter on the far side.

  'I assume you have many questions, my dear Titanius,' the sorcerer said, as he reached the counter and placed his glowing sceptre upon it. He turned and leaned against it, folding his arms with a smirk.

  'That would depend on what you're willing to answer, Barbatos,' Greene said, adding a slight edge to his own voice. Barbatos's smirk evolved into a grin as he unlatched his arms and swept them both outward in an almost theatrical gesture.

  'The floor is yours,' he said.

  I should be careful with what I say in front of Shallai, Greene considered, pausing; she could be part of his plans.

  'What is the Ether?' he began. 'I was told the Ethero Fiends believe in her, that she is a goddess to them. They also mentioned something about her having links to "Demons" that lurk within Lucifer and the Lieutenant. What did they mean?'

  For a moment, Barbatos said nothing, considering his answer.

  Or, he's choosing what information to divulge…Unfortunately, I'm not in power here. I have to play by his rules.

  Barbatos's lips curved, as though reading his mind. 'Tell me, my dear Titanius, what do you know of the past?'

  'That it's becoming likely it isn't the truth,' Greene said.

  'I think we all know that,' he said, folding his arms across his chest. 'But I wish to understand what you've been taught. Depending on what race you ask, you get different answers.'

  'So you're after a Titanius's perspective?' Greene asked, conscious of Barbatos trying to get a rise by including his own race. 'I think you already know the answer, but I'll entertain you. As far as we're aware, alongside humanity and the Hateful, the Divinity created us from nothing. He began with Ethero, spreading it into three continents that now exist as one. It was within each continent that our races existed, governed by the five Angels that were the first of his glorious creations. All of Exia's Districts are named after them.'

  'Indeed, they are,' Barbatos said, impressed. 'And are you aware of the events that took place after that? What caused things to become how they are today?'

  Greene said nothing at first, wondering why Barbatos was putting him through this, knowing now it was blatantly untrue. He stifled his growing frustration.

  Play his game. He's doing this for a reason.

  'There are many theories,' he began. 'One is that the Angel, Orphani, moved to usurp the Divinity, causing a war between humanity and the Hateful, before being stopped by the other Angels. Another is that both our races, Hateful and Titaniuses, joined together in order to destroy humans, and were defeated and punished by the Divinity for ruining the sanctity of his creations. In his rage, he destroyed our sun, casting our world into permanent darkness before joining the three continents into one. He then administered punishments to those who had turned against him. For the Hateful, it is said he placed a curse upon them that ruined their minds, causing their numbers to dwindle as they retreated to the Institute. As for my kind…' he paused then, looking into Barbatos's eyes. 'The Divinity forced us to serve humanity, to repent for what we did against them. However, I think your presence alongside Shallai's proves this to be false. So does this entire place. The Ethero Fiend I fought told me I was meant to live in ignorance, that "great machines" could not rise again. It is clear my race, alongside humanity and the Hateful are being lied to. The truth of our past has been twisted and fabricated. This "Ether" is connected. Even you said something about Angels rising from the depths, while "her" Demons shall fall from the sky. So, what is she? How is she tied to this world? I doubt this is the only place where all of you exist. My guess would be you're everywhere, hiding in plain sight while the rest of us live on, oblivious.'

  Barbatos smiled, while Greene felt Shallai turn towards him. Still, he kept his gaze fixed upon the sorcerer.

  'My, my, you are perceptive. I can see why the DFA hired you; the first Titanius in their history, I believe.'

  'Yet there's a part of me that feels you've known about that,' Greene said, folding his own arms across his chest. 'And other things… Something is taking place within the Hateful, from Lucifer's acts to the Lieutenant's responses. So tell me, what is the Ether? What are her children, these "Demons"? What are they meant to represent?'

  'Who knows?' Barbatos replied, causing Greene's face to tighten as the sorcerer smiled. There was something about that smile that crawled beneath the skin, infuriating you while also making you more cautious. The worst part was that the way he looked at you suggested that he knew that. 'Yet, it amazes me that even as the proverbial carrot is dangled before you, you still choose to pursue the matters of your investigation. Are you not curious to discover the truth behind your race?'

  'I don't believe you will tell me,' Greene said. 'And I think you mean to use any wish to uncover more in order to achieve your own desires. I refuse to become your pawn, even if I wish to discover the truth.'

  'And that's why I know you're special, my dear Titanius,' Barbatos said, grinning as he stood upright, reaching behind for his sceptre before spinning it in his fingers. 'That is why you fascinate me. Of an entire race that's known nothing but subjugation, never questioning it or seeking to change, here you stand before me! An exception. An example of chaos in its natural beauty! You are proof that chaos cannot be stopped. It is the force that rules all living beings. It would seem she's chosen now to make her move, to lay down the pieces she has held for so long. I cannot wait to see the fruits of her patience.'

  'You speak in riddles, Barbatos,' Greene said, unable to hide his frustration. 'Will you answer any of my questions?'

  'I already am,' Barbatos said. 'It is not my fault if you dislike the answers.'

  'Your answers are cryptic,' Greene replied.

  Barbatos smiled again before holding out his palms. 'Alas, you have caught me in the act, my dear Titanius. Very well, I will give you some simple answers.'

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  He paused then, taking another step towards Greene as Shallai took a step back. Greene, however, remained where he was, showing no sign of intimidation. Barbatos smiled at this.

  'At the beginning, before Ethero, before all that is known, there was only the Ether. Oblivion and eternal chaos. Everything lived on the plane of non-existence and existence, forever shifting between the two states. Permanence did not exist until she created it, and it was called the Divinity. He was permanence personified, and amid constant chaos he sought more like his own. Like the Ether, he too possessed the power to create.

  'Unlike her, however, his creations represented the opposite of the Ether, and they too shared his sense of permanence. Yet all permanence is born from chaos. It is inherent. It exists within all things. Without realising it, every creation of the Divinity possessed its own essence of chaos, of the force he wished to extinguish. The battle we all face between order and chaos was born, forever fated to remain in our nature. Of course, he didn't know that yet. As far as he was aware, everything he created represented his order. First, he created Ethero, named in her honour. Then, the land, skies, oceans, and even a glistening sun emerged from his divine power. Every one of them contained slivers of the Ether's chaos, but still the Divinity remained oblivious.

  'Once he created this world, he sought to populate it. He created the five Angels. First, he created Seraphu, Angel of Wisdom. Second was Rai, Angel of Hospitality. The third was Anubi, Angel of Love. The fourth was Greyr, Angel of War. Finally, there was Orphani, Angel of Curiosity. These beings were to serve as his representatives, guides for all races to follow. The Divinity began creating these beings, and it was here things went wrong.

  'Humans were the first of his creations, and they did not turn out how he wanted them. They were emotional, irrational, and flawed. Even as he blessed them with his own power, his "Blessings", the Divinity recognised he had made a grave mistake in creating them. He wished to try again, to create another race that wouldn't possess the same faults. It is here we meet your ancestors, my dear Titanius. Mechanical beings that were like humans, but were too subservient and lacking in individual thought. While they best represented the Divinity's desire for order, they did not do so of their own desire, so he had created beings that possessed the exact opposite flaws. The Divinity was unhappy, realising every time he created beings with their own minds, they never became what he wanted them to be. In the presence of his Angels, he asked how he could create beings that would represent what he wished to create. But it was then he understood what was happening. Amid his horror and his subjects' confusion, he ordered them to prepare for war. He realised, just in time, that he and they had been set up from the start; from the Ether herself.

  'She smiled, knowing everything had ultimately resulted from her power, her chaos. She watched as the Divinity created everything she wanted, waiting for the day she could make her move. Her goal was to create beings of her own that would replicate the Divinity's creations. After all, pure chaos is without form. Without permanence, it can never take shape. She had needed the Divinity, order, to create the structures, so she could then implement her chaotic design. To begin, for the Angels, she created five Demons, beings of exceptional power who would reign over the new world. For your kind, she created the Titans, monstrous colossal machines that possessed a different mindless obedience to your kind. They laid waste to the lands and oceans, seeking to destroy so the world could be reborn. For humanity, she created the Hateful, beings that possessed all the Divinity's Blessings, unrestrained potential personified. She sent them all to meet the Divinity's forces, to teach him the greatest lesson that words never could, the lesson she had planned from the beginning: that order will always be at the mercy of chaos.

  'However, what she did not know was that the Divinity had conjured up his own plan in response, his own lesson to give her. This would lead him to victory in their decisive battle – that order exists to fight chaos. The great battle waged on, as order battled chaos, as god fought against his own creator. Lands were ravaged, while the Ether's Titans consumed and shifted parts of it into the metallic monstrosities in which we all make our homes. The Hateful, far stronger than humanity, then began their advance, cutting down their enemies. All that remained then were the Divinity's Angels against the Ether's Demons, both sides knowing victory would see them win the war for the battle for Ethero. The fighting was brutal, as the war stretched on for years, destroying the sun in its wake. It would be Greyr, Angel of War, who would turn the tide.

  'He defeated the first Demon, Korai, the leader of the Ether's forces, who overextended himself and created an opportunity for the Angel to make the fatal blow. Once he was overpowered, the Ether's forces looked on in horror. The Divinity knew then the war was done, for he realised chaos would eventually destroy itself. All he needed his creations to do was hold out, remain strong and constant, to represent the stability that manifested him. It was then that Greyr led the other Angels in destroying the rest of the Ether's Demons. Once that was done, they turned their attention to the Titans and the Hateful. Having seen the Demons fall, they surrendered soon after.

  'The war was over, yet there was much to be done in the aftermath. The Angels struck the Titans down, leaving the land they had devastated to grow over them. They remain beneath us to this day, ready for the Ether to call upon them again. As for the Hateful, the Divinity decided not to destroy them. Instead, he sought to make an example of them, casting a curse upon them, ruining their minds and making their power almost obsolete. As for his own creations, humanity and the likes of yourself, he regretted having ever created you. Looking on his greatest creation, this world and everything else within it, he felt nothing but apathy and anger. He abandoned this world, left it to go about its own business. It is said that is how we've reached our current state, while flickers of memory between the races keep things as they are. The Divinity watches us with a keen eye, waiting for her to make her next move.'

  'Which is what you believe is happening now,' Greene finally said.

  'Yes,' Barbatos said.

  Silence fell between them as Greene considered everything he had just heard, before glancing to Shallai, who had remained quiet throughout.

  'What do you think?' he asked her.

  Shallai frowned, showing more agitation than confusion. 'I don't trust a single word he says,' she answered.

  Greene nodded before sighing. 'It seems a convincing enough story, if you forget to include all the races that exist here. If you choose to ignore what the Fiends said about "Demons" living within the Hateful, and the fact you ignored Orphani throughout the entire story. Maybe you mix truth and lies together. Perhaps you have another goal in mind.'

  'Perhaps I do,' Barbatos teased, flashing his teeth in amusement. 'But how would you know, my dear Titanius? You cannot deny that something is happening. The Ether is stirring again.'

  'You believe war is coming?' Greene asked.

  'I think you can figure that out,' Barbatos said. 'Your Lieutenant is changing. Ever since Lucifer emerged, he's not been acting like his usual self. Would you not agree? Or is he finally acting in accordance with his true self? Is the pristine image he has spent so long cultivating finally fading?'

  'Why does it matter?' Greene asked, trying to hide that this conversation was unsettling him. 'The Lieutenant has always sought to unite his kind and humanity. He has always believed that was the only way this world would change.'

  'Yes, and it's true,' Barbatos agreed. 'But whose dream is it, really? His? Or someone else's?'

  Greene paused at that, his expression hardening. 'What do you know?'