Once they got back to camp, Elmeria walking a little unsteadily, Mitzi's sharp nose discovered their previous activities immediately. She shot a searching gnce at Elmeria and finding nothing but contentment on the dark elf's face, made no comment. She did look a little envious, Fenrir thought, but he did not regret that she had not been there since Elmeria was almost certainly not ready for a threesome yet.

  They settled down for a few hours' sleep, both of the girls snuggling close to Fenrir, although Elmeria had to be coaxed in order to overcome her embarrassment. Fenrir would have expected that after sex, cuddling would not seem such a big deal to her, but then they were no longer alone, either. With a little cajoling, however, she settled down in the hollow of his arm and seemed very happy to be there once the worst of her embarrassment wore off.

  The goblin scouts continued their vigil, at least one always on duty and scanning the city out in the chasm for any sign of the White Horror while the other two slept or rexed around the camp. Their attitude towards Fenrir was marked by deepest respect and even a little trepidation. Evidently his story of his encounter with the White Horror and the proof he had produced in the form of his Key had had a great effect upon them.

  Once awake, the three travelers ate a quick breakfast then set out for the city. Fenrir did not know exactly how to use the Key to leave Apollyon, but it was clear to him that the Key was pulling him towards the city, and he was certain that following that pull would lead him where he wished to go.

  Both Elmeria and Mitzi were wide-eyed admirers of everything that they saw, neither having seen anything to equal the grandeur of the cathedral-city before. Nor was Fenrir in any way inured to the sight. The somber mood of the pce affected them all, keeping their conversations to a low murmur and making the two girls press rather closer to Fenrir than they might otherwise have done. The Key eventually led them up to the cathedral at the summit of the city, where they paused to rest and to admire the massive fountain there. Not even Elmeria was familiar with every being depicted in its stonework.

  Once rested, they continued into the cathedral itself. The doors opened at the touch of Fenrir's hand upon them, and the statue of the Twin Goddesses stared down at them. Mitzi only dropped her gaze submissively under their scrutiny, but Elmeria quailed, hiding behind Fenrir and peeking around him at the likenesses.

  "What's the matter?" he asked, lifting one arm so he could see her face, peeking out around his side.

  "They don't like me," she almost whispered, clinging tightly to Fenrir.

  "No need to worry. As far as they're concerned, you're right where you should be. I think, anyway."

  Elmeria did not look comforted. "You think?"

  Fenrir shrugged. "You're the servant of a Dark-race. From everything I know about them, I believe that's exactly where the Twins would put you, although I'm pretty sure Menoche would prefer you to be a lot more miserable and Carnachias would want to have you constantly being fucked. Or raped. I don't think she much cares whether or not the sex is consensual."

  "You say that as if you know them personally," Elmeria said, forgetting some of her fear in her curiosity at Fenrir's expnation.

  "We've met," he replied offhandedly. "Now come along, time's wasting."

  He stepped forwards around the statue. Elmeria stared at him open-mouthed, her mind no doubt overflowing with questions, but then she realized she was standing alone in front of the statue and with a frightened gnce up at it she scurried to catch up. By the time she did, they were in the cathedral's main hall, and wonder at the sight before her drove every other thought from her mind, at least for the moment.

  The many portals and the glimpses of the realms of Apollyon each of them provided held Mitzi and Elmeria in awe. Fenrir himself was gd to have the opportunity to examine them more closely. The portal which led to the realm of the White Horror showed a blizzard so fierce it was impossible to see more than a few feet. Together the three wandered slowly up the rows, peering closely into each portal, specuting among themselves as to what each realm must be like.

  At length Fenrir yielded to the pull of the Key and proceeded down the length of the cathedral to the rostrum, Elmeria and Mitzi in tow. As he approached it, there materialized in the air in the center of the raised dais a keyhole, hanging in space as though the rest of the door it belonged to had forgotten to exist. Producing one of his two Keys from his pouch, Fenrir slid it into the keyhole, and turned.

  Impenetrable bckness blossomed from the keyhole, blocking out the view of the cathedral and wrapping itself around them. There was a sensation as of falling, then nothingness.

  Fenrir opened his eyes. He appeared to be standing upon a pearly pink surface, ft, smooth, and slightly warm. He lifted his eyes to look around him, but there was nothing to see. There were no walls, nor was there a void, but neither did there seem to be any great distance in front of him. In fact, try as he might, he could not make out any distinguishing features in anything around him. It did not look like fog; rather, it was as though there had never been anything there at all, not even an empty space.

  This should have unsettled him, but somehow it did not. He was not given much time to dwell on it, however, as before long before a voice behind him made him turn.

  "Well met, Champion." It was a voice that was beautiful in the extreme. Warm and tender, soft and melodious, and sounding as though its owner were genuinely happy to see him.

  He turned to face the mysterious voice, and stiffened as though an electric shock had passed through him. There could be no doubt. He knew deep in his soul the instant his eyes came to rest on her that before him stood the Goddess of Light, Beauty, and Love, so wondrously beautiful it was almost painful to look at her.

  An overwhelming urge to bow swept over him, which he only barely managed to stifle into a deep nod. No less strong was an unreasoning terror of the goddess before him despite the fact that she did not seem angry or even displeased. On the contrary, a welcoming smile curved her perfect lips and out of her eyes shone nothing but love and goodwill.

  Her smile wilted a little when despite his best efforts, his muscles tensed in preparation for fight or flight. "Please, do not be afraid. I mean you no harm. I only wish to speak with you."

  With an effort so great it must have been visible to her, Fenrir retracted his cws and rexed slightly. "Why do you call me Champion?" he asked, his voice still tight with the inexplicable terror that coursed through him.

  "You are, are you not? The Champion of the Dark, the next Demon King. My sisters brought you here from the pce you call Earth, just as my brother and I brought our own Champion, Tomoko Sakurai."

  "I believe there is already a Demon King," Fenrir pointed out, watching the goddess' every move like a hawk. He felt more than a little unsettled by the terror her presence brought him, the first time he had been really afraid since coming to Ruyanei.

  "You mean Rea? She holds the title, but you know as well as I that she is not a true Demon King. But let us not bog ourselves down in semantics. You were meant to be the next Demon King by my sisters, and the intent of the gods holds weight in Ruyanei." She took a little step towards him, and he flinched back, causing a look of pain to fsh across her face. "I am sorry," she said, retreating slightly. "I had hoped that your spirit would not yet have bound itself so tightly to your flesh. The fear you feel is the instinctive fear any creature of the Dark feels for a Power of the Light. Your spirit is of the Light, but your body is not."

  "And that is why I am torn between a desire to bow and a desire to flee?"

  "Yes, your flesh and your spirit; that is, your soul, are in conflict. I can take the fear away if you would like." She extended a small hand to him, her eyes anxious, troubled. Fenrir realized she was afraid he would reject her, and also that it hurt her to see him show fear of her.

  He forced himself to step forward despite his every instinct, bringing him within reach of the perfect little hand which was outstretched to him. "You will only remove the fear? You will do nothing else to me?" he asked.

  "Nothing else. You have my Word as a goddess," she answered. The words vibrated with power, and feeling reassured, Fenrir extended his hand and took hers.

  The feel of it was as nothing else he had ever known. Impossibly soft and smooth, perfectly formed, feeling small but warm in his own hand. The sudden vanishing of his fear caught Fenrir by surprise, and he realized that his every faculty had been wholly and completely concentrated on the feel of the hand held in his. He might have been standing there for a second or for a century, he did not know. Fighting a strange reluctance, he let it go and gnced up at the goddess' face.

  A smile was forming on her face, relief and happiness growing in her eyes as she looked up into his. The sight struck him like a physical blow. To have the Goddess of Beauty so close was overwhelming, bewildering. He staggered back a little, looking away, trying to collect himself. As he did, he realized that while the blind terror was gone, a certain wariness of Marstolle still remained to compete with the urge to bow and worship her. Relieved that his caution in the presence of such power had not entirely been lost, he refocused on the goddess. Her smile now was slightly self-conscious. Evidently she knew the effect she had had on him.

  "Where are we?" he asked, gncing around at the impossible surroundings.

  "We are in a space between the pnes. I hope it is not too uncomfortable for you."

  "Oddly enough, it is not." He looked back at the goddess, who was watching him much as a mother might watch her child. "You intercepted my return to Ruyanei."

  She nodded. "I did."

  "May I ask why?"

  The goddess sighed a little, smoothing out the front of her dress in a wholly unnecessary gesture. "You have great potential, the potential to remake this world into something greater than it has been for many ages, possibly ever. You are the first of a kind, the first ever hybrid between Dark and Light, and so you have garnered much attention from all the gods. Your actions thus far have been admirable, if influenced by the Dark."

  His brows furrowed slightly in disconcertion. "Influenced how?"

  "Your spirit is influenced by your body even as your body is directed by your spirit. They are not two separate pieces; they are one whole, even if your spirit can survive the destruction of your body in a way. You have already taken notice of some of the changes your Dark Core has made to your spirit. The desire to dominate, to possess, the urge to spill the blood of those who would take or harm what you consider yours, these are all the influence of the Dark. For those of the Light, and even some of the Dark, the taking of a life is not an easy thing. One's very soul rebels against it. Yet for you it was as nothing.

  "There is also your ck of fear. You possess caution, respect for death and pain, but not fear. Not terror. Until but a moment ago, you knew no terror in this, your second life. And then there are the physical changes. You learned the use of your new body with ease surpassing the natural, and you have already become aware of your increased intelligence. And have you not noticed how you are able to rgely ignore pain when in combat? Since you have come to Ruyanei, when have you st cried out in pain?"

  Fenrir took a moment to think. "...Never, so far as I remember. Wait, no, there was the time Elmeria used her Divine Song upon me."

  Marstolle nodded. "I will admit surprise that you were able to withstand it so well. That spell taps into the Creation Magics. It is not something that can be learned; it must be given, and its power is drawn from the very foundations of the universe."

  "Speaking of which, you gave it to Elmeria. You brought Tomoko from Earth, and if the Twin Goddesses are to be believed, you and the other gods of the Light 'cheated' and made the Saintesses into what they are now in order to defeat the Dark. So why then this meeting? Why do you care about me beyond destroying me like any other creature of the Dark?"

  The goddess sighed, and for a moment looked very sad. "I have never wished to destroy any living being. I do give of my power to those who destroy Dark beings, and they do kill in my name, but I have only ever done so because I did not want the Dark to destroy my children of the Light. This war between Dark and Light that has ebbed and flowed all my life has never been more than a source of sorrow and distress to me. Would that I could bring it to a peaceful end, forever. Which brings us to you."

  "Don't tell me you want me to bring peace to the whole of Ruyanei for all time."

  Marstolle ughed, a lovely musical sound which Fenrir thought was perhaps the most beautiful thing he had ever heard. "No, that is far too great a responsibility to y upon anyone, even a god. But you are the closest thing to a bridge between the races of Light and Dark that this world has ever seen since the First Rift. And you have proven wise beyond even my greatest hopes. Therefore, I have brought you here to offer you aid in your journey."

  "Aid? Me? ...You are aware of what I have done to your Archbishop, yes?"

  The goddess' smile deepened. "She is happier now than she has ever been."

  "But I ensved her. I took her free will."

  "Did you?" She paused for a moment, letting her point sink in, then continued speaking. "Do not mistake me. I do not entirely approve of your methods in handling her, but through you she has begun to heal from the wounds pced upon her heart. She should have healed through her friendship with the other Saintesses, but we cut that possibility short when we circumvented their natural growth. Even the gods make mistakes, and while their uplift was necessary to save the lives of many, it was a grievous misstep and most unkind to them. You know something of them. You know the hurt in each of their souls, and you may be the one to help them grow where we failed them. So no, I will not judge your handling of the Saintesses too harshly. We all must serve something. If your values remain wise and true and they should come to serve you and so through you the principles you uphold, I will not frown upon you. Be good to them, and you will have your reward."

  Fenrir stood looking at her for a moment. "You are not what I would have expected."

  "And yet you are not truly surprised. Your spirit knows me, even if your mind does not." She smiled up at him, a warm smile that tugged at something deep within him.

  They psed into silence for a moment. Fenrir was turning over everything Marstolle had said in his mind, and the goddess, whatever her thoughts, only watched him in fond silence. Eventually he spoke again. "You said this war between Light and Dark has persisted your entire life. Does that mean...?"

  She chuckled merrily. "Clever. Yes, I am not eternal, as many mortals believe. None are, except the One Above All. He is the Creator God, the One who was Before, and will be After. I and the other gods merely look after his Creation as best we may. I am not even the first Goddess of Love."

  "So then when the Twins made reference to being forty thousand years old, that was true?"

  "Yes. They are still quite young for gods, though not the youngest. The youngest of us you have already met; Ariel, The Lion of Heaven as he calls himself. He is the God of Courage and Protection."

  "What happened to the gods that came before you?" he asked, curious.

  "They became ready to pass on." she answered simply.

  This did not entirely answer his question, but he sensed further questioning along that line would be futile, so he shrugged and turned to his next point of curiosity. "Why do none of you intervene more directly? You could reach out and smite those who cry for war, or simply change their minds in any number of ways, and in so doing prevent untold suffering. Why do you not?"

  "It is forbidden." When Fenrir did not appear satisfied, she continued. "To do so would be taking free will from mortals, and free will is the foundation of love. Furthermore, if one of us did then the others would as well, and the destruction caused by our conflict would soon become absolute. Thus, the One Above All has forbidden our meddling directly."

  "Is that not what you are doing right now?" Fenrir queried.

  "You are something of a special case. But it is true that we have skirted dangerously close to that line in recent times, and our children have suffered for it. It is no act of love to hold a child close forever. They must be allowed to try to walk and run even if they should fall in the doing of it, for otherwise they will never learn or grow."

  "How many of you are there?"

  "There are four of us now. Ariel and myself, of the Light, and Menoche and Carnachias, of the Dark."

  "That... doesn't seem like a lot."

  Another warm ugh filled the air. "No, it is not. Our pantheon is far from full, but gods are not born from nowhere, and only the One Above All decides when a new god will ascend."

  "Ascend?"

  "Yes. We were all mortal, once."

  "I... see."

  Fenrir's next question was forestalled by Marstolle, who said with a regretful sigh, "As, our time grows short. I do not wish for my sisters to know I have spoken with you, and so I cannot keep you here much longer. I must impart to you the aid I have promised, and then we must each go our own way.

  "Two gifts I have for you. You will know what to do with them when the time comes. The first is these words: To awaken the mind-bound, give selflessly of the joy of pleasure, and take none for yourself. The second is this." She held out to him a worn doll, much beloved and on the verge of falling apart. It had been patched in multiple pces and its snout was misshapen.

  "You will know what to do when the time comes," she repeated, smiling at his obvious confusion. Shrugging a wry acceptance, he took the proffered doll and tucked it carefully into his pouch.

  "Now we must say farewell, but we will see one another again. Ah, and one st thing. You will find those you seek in the city of Eldfall. Fare thee well, Champion."

  With those words she was gone, and a moment ter Fenrir opened his eyes to rough stone walls, shadowed in darkness.

  TheBestofSome