XX-VIII

Past, present, and future… being able to see them are his greatest gifts. To see, to know, and to believe that everything happens for a reason that even humans won't understand. This is Salthifer's punishment; to serve and to bring justice to all mankind. These things might consider as gifts, but for him, they were a nightmare. He is here again, in his dark and cold room, sitting by the window looking for comfort.

The things he saw when he is overlooking Biringan is a product of injustice and manipulation. War might not be the answer to everything but war is the cause of many things. He doesn't know why Agus is asking for war, if only he asks the proper living god for his wishes, war is not needed. This is, of course, his only wish before chaos breaks loose. 

He stares at the moon and wishes he could turn back time rather than watching it pass through. His wings tighten, an indication that something powerful has been born. "The child," his wings whisper to him, making him frowns in frustration. He has been born, isn't he?" Salthifer said as he turns around and calls his sister, Sartilliane. Sartilliane answers with a hum and appears from behind the wall.

"What seems to be the problem, Salthifer?" she asks, walking towards her frustrated brother. "The child is born," he said begrudgingly, Sartilliane sighs and sits beside him. "Do you need help now?" Sartilliane asks as she combs his brother's wings to calm him down. "I need all the forces you can give," Salthifer asks her and she smiles. "Of course, brother. The other living gods and I will be willing to help you and your troops. I will tell Belevathan to send fifty thousand troops to be added to yours. Any other request?" Sartilliane offers, as she stands up and walks in front of her brother. "I need you to help me, us," Salthifer asks her. Sartilliane thought for a minute before realizing what he just asked. 

"You want the other living gods to fight against the Sluagh?" Sartilliane asks, looking at her brother as if he is crazy. Apparently, Salthifer is not joking about asking the living gods for help to eradicate the child, the moment he grows. Sartilliane is just looking at him worriedly before she sighs, "Okay," she said, making Salthifer looks at her with shocked eyes. "I will also ask the Sages to help in this war," she said before disappearing into thin air, leaving her brother with a smile on his face and a perfect plan for the war.

x-x-x-x

Salthifer is the type of God you don't want to be part of any battles. The Mended God's strategic elements could cause a lot of soldiers to die. The Queen is worried that could be the case if Salthifer will join this war, but she also knows that without him, they will never win this war. A living God is never a good companion, they were selfish, manipulative, and not easy to talk to. But she trusts him as much as she trusts Stephen's decision of being born again as Salthifer's mage. 

She walks around the island and to the forest to see the lively people playing along with their young ones and other creatures that exist on the island. This is her land and they are her subjects. She must protect them at all cost. She spreads her beautiful wings and flew through the trees and up to the wide blue sky. She stays there for a minute before Salthifer approaches her. "Your Highness," Salthifer greets with her Majesty flinching back a little bit before gaining her composure. "Salthifer," she said acknowledging his presence as he made his way to her side. 

"Your Highness, I have dreading news to tell you," he said facing the vast horizon in front of him. "Dreading? Is it about the war?" she asks, a bit shock that she is the one he told to and not Alviary. Usually, living Gods never tell their plan for battle unless it was the day of the war itself, but with Salthifer's sudden announcement, she thought that Stephen's helpful characteristics are rubbing on to him. "It is not about the war but it is certain that the war will be involved," he informs before facing the Queen of the island. "What did you see?" is what she asked of him. Salthifer closes his eyes and spread his wings, showing the birth of Agus' son, Keres. The Queen is shocked and confused, for she knows that Sluagh cannot multiply unless they find a suitable human to carry their kids. 

"How?" she asked, looking at Salthifer with worry. Instead of answering, the living God showed her what he saw the day he returned from the seventh kingdom. There, lying on the bed is a body of a woman in her late 40s, bleeding consciously as she tries to push the child out of her system. She is screaming in pain as she tries to squirm around to ease the pain she is in. The queen watches her give birth to the most beautiful kid that even the angels can't be compared.

Queen Meryanha had never seen a Sluagh newborn before. She always thought of them as dreadful and scary. She didn't know that they could be as beautiful as an angel. After the process of giving birth, Agus, the Sluagh King, burst inside and uses his magic to regain her strength and wipes away all traces of blood from the bed. In an instant, everything is clean, as if nothing happened in the room. 

The queen looks at Salthifer as he regains his sight and the reflection is done. His wings turn back to normal and his eyes were blue once again. "The Sluagh prince is born, now their forces become more powerful than ours," Salthifer informs, giving Meryanha a shock of a lifetime. She didn't know how to react to the things she had seen today. If Salthifer can see things like this every single day, which must've been torture to witness how mankind will be wiped out.

"Do you have any plan to win this war?" the Queen desperately asks, before she loses her mind of thinking certain ways to defeat the Sluaghs. "I have," Salthifer said as he looks at the Queen with confident eyes and a playful smile, making the Queen flustered a little bit but definitely happy that they might have a chance of winning this and saving the people of Biringan.

x-x-x-x-x

Alviary had never been wary of other living gods before. He actually never cared about them. He doesn't even believe that they exist and can roam the world using humans as their perfect disguise. But after his battle against Queen Siyenthera, his own daughter, and his death at the hands of the said Queen, this punishment that others call a blessing is torture in disguise. Having such powers give you the advantage of knowing how to helpful to humans.

It was never his thing, helping humans is not part of his dream of being a king. Alviary is the epitome of a selfish, manipulative, and not-easy-to-talk type of living God. If Santa Claus really does exist, Alviary will be his number one on the naughty list. Living gods are never friendly, no, never. They are more on the playful side. All the flirting and all the fighting and competition of who is the strongest living God are what they can think of; never in his life that he dreamt of being a living God.

For him, the job is exhausting and overwhelming. He is not good at working under pressure from his own peers. He always wants his old life back but this is his fate now, and he needs to do what he needs to do. 

Now, he is walking around the stables, watching the soldiers train with their swords, bows, and arrows, and their spiritual energy. He watches those twists and turns and falls to the ground and get back up again. Watching the process of combat training and martial arts is a fun way to waste time with.

He walks towards the fountains where he first saw the image of Salthifer in Stephen's body. He can still remember the doubts that the queen gave to him after spouting nonsense about another living God. Now, that he is here.

He knows that he knows something about the war that he is not quite sure if it is good or bad, but he trusts him. He is the only living God that they can trust now. He is just hoping that everything will turn out fine. 

He looks at the water on the lake before looking away again. It was just for a moment but he already saw that the war will not be great, especially for him. He was walking towards the forest when he felt tingles in his wings as if something brushes them will coldness; it sends shivers down his spine.

He turns around and sees nothing or no one else is there but him so he decided to shrug it off. He steps forward and felt the same sensation as earlier. With irritation, he shakes off the feeling of being touch around unwantedly; spreading his wings and flies up to the vast blue sky.

 He looks around to see if something is someone is secretly attacking the island. But instead of secret attacks, he was attacked by flashing of memories filled with blood and sacrifices, the Angel Gods are fighting together, the Oldest Sage's rebirth using an artificial sacrifice, and the rise of the living gods. The memories of the upcoming war had been descended upon him, making him anxious and worry about the said war.

When the memories stopped, only tears were shed in his glittering green eyes. He knows that something will happen to him but his urge to help the people of Biringan, overcome that fear of dying. He closes his eyes and when he opens them, the tears stop and only fierce piercing eyes were only seen in them. He flew back down and prepared everything that he thinks is necessary for the war. 

x-x-x-x

Triton has never been anxious ever since the day he met Stephen. He is basically confident that Stephen is the key to helping him escape this curse. But now, that he felt that the line between life and death is nearing, he knows that his end is near. The curse is getting stronger. The urge to fight and be released is getting painful for Triton. He doesn't know how much he could hold on.

The grumbling wolf is sitting by the end of the cliff, where he could watch as the sun rises over the horizon. He wishes that he could see such beauty with Stephen. But after his rebirth, he doesn't know if Stephen is still in there, in Salthifer's god-like body. 

He was never a fan of living gods and their magical powers or their gifts from God themselves. He thinks of them as vicious people who are being punished for their manipulative ways when they were still human. But he never thought that Stephen could be Salthifer's vessel of mass destruction. He is scared that Stephen will be hurt in the war. He is his only choice of surviving this curse. He wanted to be free and be human again where he can be with Stephen. 

But this selfish wish will never come true after the rebirth. Triton sighs as he watches the sun sets over the horizon. He hasn't checked the time very much. But when he sees the sun, he knows that it is time to go back to the hut and stop worrying about unnecessary things. He was just being anxious about the war, maybe. But deep inside his heart, he misses Stephen and he can't sleep because he is thinking about him too much. That he just can't admit it.