Thief

As I seem to fly through the darkness, I get the strangest feeling. I wonder if this is how it feels to be strangled in your sleep. Then there's a sudden tug and I fly in a different direction. The air seems to return to my lungs. It's not long before I feel the ground under me.

"Shawl? Are you alright?" a voice asks, almost urgently.

I open my eyes and find myself in a place I don't recognize. There's something vaguely familiar about it, though. Blinking, I look around.

I'm lying on a cobblestone street in what appears to be a back alley. Hunched over me is the permanent grin of Risus. That, paired with the oncoming migraine, can only mean one thing; I'm back in the celestial realm. It's... raining?

"Risus? What happened? Where are we?"

The last thing I remember is going to sleep in my room with Vol and Elizabeth after putting away the melted sword. Why did Risus bring me back here so soon?

"My apologies, but I had to drag you here. The Cyrene tried to bring you to them after you fell asleep. I've managed to evade them for now, but it seems they've started trying to get to you directly. You need to be really careful."

"What? Why? Who is Cyrene?"

"Right, right. I keep forgetting how little you know."

That sentence kind of irks me. I dislike not knowing.

"The Cyrene is a group of lesser gods. It consists of those who are unsatisfied, unhappy, or downright angry with their positions and stature.

I used to be a part of their group, but... I changed my mind. They weren't too happy with that, and they aren't pleased with me helping you, either."

"Why do they care?" I ask.

My head has started hurting again, though it's a bit slower this time. Then, a thought crosses my mind.

"Is it because I'm trying to learn how to cast your magic?"

"I believe it's more than that. I believe they're afraid of you."

"Afraid?"

"Indeed. In using you, The Cyrene and their leader, Civis - the woman you once knew as Gaia - have unintentionally put you in the perfect position to stop their plans. I've never seen them this desperate."

He talks quickly, but there was some important information there.

The woman I once knew as Gaia? So Civis is the name of that unpalatable fraud. Good to know. I'll be sure to kill her myself.

"You need to stop talking in riddles, Risus. My head already hurts enough as it is. Just tell me what they want."

"They want to stop you."

"From. What."

"Oh, my apologies. I didn't say, did I? The purpose of the Cyrene - is to bring down the greater gods. Once they've killed every last one of them, they intend to take the worlds under their rule."

What kind of fucked up plan is that?

"Why would I be able to stop them?"

"You've already replicated our magic once and you're well on your way to doing it again. Worse yet, you are in possession of ᴛʜᴇ ɢᴏᴅᴋɪʟʟᴇʀ."

"The- Argh"

My head is pounding again and it feels like something is pulling on my body. Risus glances away, as if looking into the distance.

"Lao'na! You have to wake up, Shawl. Your friends need you."

---

Cut off early again. We need a more stable method of communication.

It felt like it took longer that time, though. I wonder why. Come to think of it... my head didn't hurt at all when we went to rescue him from Not Gaia's - no, Civis' - vines.

I wonder why.

---

"Seb!"

I'm shaken awake by Vol who appears, for lack of a better term, "scared shitless."

"Seb, the sword is gone! Elizabeth's sword!"

Elizabeth's sword? How is that possible? It was in the room with us, not to mention hidden and protected by magic. I pull myself up and spin around the room.

The entire place is a complete wreck. Tables are turned over, papers torn, boxes smashed in half. In the corner, the floorboards have been torn to shreds. Something catches the corner of my eye and I look to the right.

Uh...

Was there always a massive hole in the wall of my bedroom?

Splinters are strewn across the floor. It almost looks like somebody smashed directly through the wall. I doubt they were even trying to be quiet. How the hell did I not wake up from that? Maybe that's why the Cyrene were trying to pull me into the realm of the gods? So I wouldn't notice?

"Elizabeth is chasing them down," Vol continues, "They left about a minute ago."

"Alright," I say, giving my neck a quick stretch.

"Let's go catch that thief."