A/N: The pn kicks off into full gear. Above ground, Lopov's people do their thing.

  Below ground, the heist begins…

  -x-X-x-

  "Hey. You seeing this?"

  Gncing over at his fellow guardsman, the God Hunter being addressed raises an eyebrow and follows his partner's finger over to a group walking down the street about fifty feet away from them. He studies the group for a moment, eyeing them carefully before shrugging.

  "Seeing what exactly?"

  The other God Hunter scoffs.

  "This is the third time that group has passed by us in the st twenty minutes. They're up to something; I just know it."

  Frowning, the first God Hunter pays them a bit more attention now. Indeed, several members of the group are gncing over at the two of them in what might have been called a 'surreptitious' and 'shady' manner. Given that the two God Hunters are guarding one of the many entrances to what had once been the Grand Cathedral to Law, former King of the Gods and now dead loser, that was… perhaps a bit concerning. Especially if his partner had seen them three times now.

  "Three times? You positive it's the same group?"

  The second God Hunter snorts derisively.

  "Yeah I'm fucking sure. I'm the one who actually pays attention to this shit, remember?"

  Far from taking offense, the first God Hunter just chuckles, idback as ever.

  "Heh, well what do you want to do about it? Should we report it to someone?"

  Hesitating for a moment, his partner eventually shakes his head.

  "… Nah, I'll handle it. You stay here."

  That finally puts a frown on the first God Hunter's face, though he doesn't stop his fellow guard from walking away from the door and striding confidently up to the group of hoodlums. He's outnumbered ten to one, but… well, they're God Hunters. You would have to be brain dead to pick a fight with one of them in Skycastle of all pces.

  "Oi! You lot! The fuck do you think you're doing? Did you think I wouldn't notice you all loitering around here? You better have a good expnation for this or else-urk!"

  The first God Hunter furrows his brow as his partner sort of disappears into the group of men and women, only for his voice to cut out a moment ter. Hand falling to the sword at his waist, he hesitantly takes a step forward, not sure what to do… but in the end, he never gets a chance to make a decision.

  So distracted by his partner's confrontation with the group of ruffians, he doesn't see it coming as a knife is slipped into his armpit from the side, driving right into his lung and heart. He barely manages to take in a deep breath before it all comes out in one st rattling exhale as his legs suddenly give out under him and he slumps to the ground.

  The st thing he sees before it all goes dark is the group of hoodlums parting to reveal his partner in a simir state as him, down on the ground with a pool of red spreading out from around him.

  What did they think they were doing? God Hunters… were supposed to be untouchable…

  -x-X-x-

  Oren tilts his head to the side, his enhanced hearing allowing him to hear the conflicts starting to break out above them despite being deep underground. Simir conflicts should be starting up all over Skycastle. And Lopov's people weren't just targeting the above ground entrances of the Grand Cathedral either.

  Wherever the God Hunters could be found within the city, they were about to have a really bad day. Marketpces, busy streets, shops… anywhere and everywhere. The criminal scum of Skycastle were sending a message to the God Hunters in a rather big way, one that might also resonate with the common folk of Skycastle as well.

  Who could say, really? In the end, it didn't matter… because ultimately despite the amount of blood that would be shed up there today, it was all just one big distraction.

  Moving over to him and Sophia, Lopov grunts.

  "It's begun. We need to move."

  He looks directly at Sophia for this next part.

  "Hope your Otherworlder is ready. You and I aren't going to get far unless those runes are all destroyed."

  Sophia just smirks.

  "Oren and I have been waiting for this all day. You're the one that needed to waste precious time getting everything prepared."

  The God of Thievery and Kingpin of Skycastle scoffs at that.

  "People, especially independent types like thieves, don't move easily or quickly under another's orders. You should be gd I was able to get this much together in just twenty-four hours. Ugh, let's just go."

  With that, they move. They were already waiting just outside of the catacombs that y deep beneath the Grand Cathedral to Law, with a weakened wall ready to be broken down by yours truly. Once Oren busted that in, he led the way with Celestial Dagger in hand and enhanced eyes allowing him to see in the dark. Simirly, as the God of Thievery and Shadows, Lopov had no difficulty in the dark either. Sophia was the only one out, but she had a ntern that she was carrying even as she stuck close to Oren.

  At all times, Oren is more than ready for an ambush or betrayal. Frankly, his and Sophia's little dalliance the night before might have been a risk he would rather not have taken, but at the same time he knew it was something they'd both objectively needed.

  Now though there was no time for nonsense. No time for anything but business. His head on a swivel, his ears open, and his eyes darting back and forth, Oren cannot be surprised right now. Not by God Hunters, not by Lopov. He and Sophia are in agreement that the God of Thievery is going to betray them eventually. It's a matter of when, not if.

  However, their justifiable paranoia cannot be allowed to distract them from their true goals. Not just reaching the Celestial Armory and retrieving as much Celestial Metal as Oren can carry but also finding the locked portal down here in the catacombs that would allow them to escape to the Void where the God of Forges would hopefully still be breathing.

  But first… the runes. Even down here in the catacombs, there are divine suppression runes everywhere. The moment Sophia and Lopov both stumble is the same moment Oren sees the first of the runes up ahead. With confident strides, the Otherworlder moves forward and sshes through the glowing rune with the dagger, breaking its effect and allowing his two godly companions to continue on.

  That becomes their process for the next while. Operating in silence, they move through the catacombs with Oren leading the way. No God Hunters stop them, no ambush materializes to prevent their passage. To be fair, that was the pn to begin with, but Oren finds it a little frustrating. He hates it when a pn actually works, because it feels like something must be going wrong in the background.

  Especially when…

  "Heh, there it is."

  Blinking, Oren and Sophia stop and look to see Lopov gncing into a side chamber along their path. Sharing a look, they gnce over as well to see a somewhat nondescript room. However, both of them stiffen at around the same time upon noticing what's wrong about the room. For Sophia, Oren suspects it has something to do with her divine senses being able to pick it up. But for Oren, it's his enhanced eyesight.

  With how powerful his eyes are, the Otherworlder can just barely make out a pinprick of swirling darkness in the center of the room, no rger than a penpoint in size. It's positively tiny and yet… he knows what it means even before Lopov just comes out and tells them.

  "That's the portal I was telling you both about earlier. That's how we got from the Void here to the Mortal Pnes. Of course, only Tyranos can go back now I suppose, but I doubt many of us care really. There's nothing worthwhile in the Void. I'd rather die here on the Mortal Pnes than spend another few millennia nguishing in that forsaken pce."

  … Seriously? Oren exchanges a gnce with Sophia and she just stares back at him wide-eyed. Both of them can tell that this is indeed what Lopov says it is. This right here is the entrance to the Void. And Sophia, as a blood retive of Tyranos, should be able to unlock and open the portal when necessary.

  But they're never this lucky. Either this was a case of Folly with a Capital F on Lopov's part, or they'd actually gotten a stroke of good fortune for once… something that felt a little unlikely. And yet, what could they do but forge onwards, really?

  "That's nice and all, but we need to focus on our goal. Let's keep going."

  Lopov grunts and nods.

  "Right, the Celestial Armory. Come on then."

  Lopov gives directions while Oren continues to lead the way, carving a very literal path for the two divine beings through the suppression runes that seemingly line every inch of the catacombs as well as the Grand Cathedral above. Eventually they reach a spiral staircase that takes them upwards, causing the sounds of bedm to increase in volume as they ascend.

  However, even now the fighting is distant. Lopov's people were not tasked with completely ransacking and conquering the God Hunter Headquarters, after all. They were thieves, not soldiers. Instead, their purpose was to surprise attack as many God Hunters as possible and have the organization running around with its head cut off for as long as possible.

  For those who were targeting entrances to the Grand Cathedral itself, this meant them hitting the door guards and going in just far enough to find some valuables before running out again. Any and everything they could loot in the short time before the God Hunters mobilized on their positions was theirs to keep, but they knew better than to venture too deep into the fortress.

  Of course, the Celestial Armory itself was located smack dab in the middle of the pce, in the most guarded section of the entire headquarters. But then, that was why they'd taken the catacombs route and had everyone else hit the building above ground. All in all, when they finally leave the catacombs behind, the innermost rooms and hallways of the Grand Cathedral are… empty.

  Now more than ever, Oren is on high alert. Especially when Lopov starts to fidget ever so slightly, giving off the smallest indications that his treachery is all but inevitable.

  "We're almost there. Let's pick up the pace, Otherworlder."

  He almost stops to ask the bastard why he's so antsy right then and there… but no. Oren keeps his mouth shut and focuses on making sure Sophia is close, nobody is coming for them, and the divine suppression runes in their path are all disabled.

  Until finally, at long st… they stop in front of a massive set of doors.

  "Here we are. Beyond this point… the Celestial Armory. Just give me a second and I'll start working open the door.

  Oren focuses on the room beyond… and senses nobody in there. However, that doesn't mean the three of them are alone. Down the hall just behind them in two rooms off to either side, Oren can hear the heavy breathing and very soft cnking armor of what sounds like dozens of men.

  He gives Sophia a quiet look and lets his eyes flick back behind them out of Lopov's line of sight. The goddess' lips purse and she nods ever so slightly.

  With a grunt, Oren steps forward… and rears back before kicking the huge double doors in with all of his might. Lopov's eyes bug out of his skull at the sheer cacophony of noise that follows as the doors are smmed open and hit the wall on either side with a great big WHUMPF!

  "What the fuck do you think you're doing?! We still need to get out after we retrieve what you're looking for!"

  Technically they didn't. They just needed to fight their way back to that room in the catacombs and have Sophia open the portal for a split second so they could jump through. But Oren just psters a cocky smirk on his face and shrugs.

  "No one is around anyways. They're all busy with your people, right? We'll be fine."

  Lopov scowls, something ugly fshing in his eyes. The ugliness of betrayal. Oren wants nothing more than to reach over and grab the God of Thievery by the head so he can stab him in the face with the Celestial Dagger before his treachery can come to fruition… but his priority is Sophia at all costs.

  Moving into the room beyond, the walls are covered with Celestial Weapons, the floor stacked high with crates full of different forms of Celestial Metalworking. Honestly, the craziest thing is that Lopov actually fulfilled this part of the deal. He brought them here to the Celestial Armory after all.

  Maybe he intended to slow roll trying to unlock the door so that the men in the rooms down the hall could ambush them from behind. Maybe he intended to sneak off with a few choice artifacts of his own while the men killed Oren and Sophia. Or maybe he just didn't think it through.

  Either way, Oren moves swiftly to destroy the divine suppression runes all over the Armory, even as he hears the doors down the hall opening and the sound of marching boots in their direction. Sophia, smart goddess that she is, stays close to him all the while, just as they'd discussed.

  Until finally… he and Sophia turn back around to find themselves face to face with what appear to be fifty of the God Hunters' finest. Wearing Celestial Armor and wielding Celestial Weapons, they're armed to the teeth. Lopov stands behind them, making his position clear as he just smirks and shrugs.

  "Oops. I guess they weren't all busy with my people after all."

  The most armored of the God Hunters steps forward and stabs his massive sword point-first into the ground.

  "Surrender the Goddess to us, God Killer. Neither of you are a match for the might dispyed in front of you."

  Perhaps it looked like that from their perspective. Him without armor and nothing but a dinky Celestial Dagger to his name, against fifty men wearing shining divinely enchanted armor and wielding all sorts of glowing divine weapons. And yet…

  "Oh? Are you all Otherworlders too then?"

  Oren takes a step forward as he tilts his head to the side questioningly. Just from the way they all shift from foot to foot, the answer is obvious.

  "Hm… no then. Well, that's a shame, isn't it?"

  "It does not matter, Otherworlder! You are outnumbered all the same, and outmatched! You will find-!"

  Oren cuts the leader of these Elite God Hunters off by throwing the Celestial Dagger. However, while the leader immediately raises his sword to deflect it… he's not the target. None of the armored God Hunters are the target, in fact.

  Flitting between all of them faster than any can react, the Celestial Dagger finds its third godly target in so many months… in the form of Lopov, Void God of Thievery and Shadows.

  Oren doesn't need to know why Lopov betrayed them despite how obvious it was that Tyranos would eventually kill him and every other Void God who stood in his way. Maybe the Kingpin foolishly thought that he could make some sort of deal with Tyranos.

  As, in the end it doesn't matter. The Celestial Dagger sms into Lopov's throat and out the back of his neck, cutting right through his spine. As the dead god colpses like a puppet with his strings cut, the Elite God Hunters all react far too te, startling badly before turning back to him and looking all the more determined despite his dispy of speed.

  Oren just grins and reaches to the side, his hands curling around the long shaft of a Celestial Halberd sticking up out of one of the barrels beside him. Pulling it free, he gives it a few test swings and hums.

  "… Shall we?"

  -x-X-x-

  A/N: "I'm not trapped in here with you… you're trapped in here with ME!" – Oren probably

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