20 More of a Suggestion

Qut narrowed her eyes at the distracted goddess of flame. "Cat got your tongue, Vrea? You have committed countless small acts of defiance towards the All-Father, but all was forgiven when we thought you were dead! And yet here you are, weakened but very much alive. How is such a thing possible? How is it that with only a single believer, you still hold the powers of a god?"

Vrea waved her hand dismissively. "Perhaps my believer just prays really hard. You'll have to ask him. Besides, I have better things to deal with than you; I have a parasite problem," she shook her head and drew a rune that remained glowing in the air, steadily growing in power. "Why do you care, anyway? It's not like I did anything to offend the All-Father, or I'd already be dead. Who knows if he even cares at this point? He's been absent from his throne for far too long, and the Eldritch Lords only get stronger as time goes on. I doubt he would care if, after my Kingdom was genocided by those bastards Adal and Kosbokal, I used some magic to ensure my survival! All-Father forbid I survive unlike so many of our brothers and sisters!"

Qut scoffed. "Trying to guilt-trip me, old woman?! We both know the only thing you care about is your own survival! You've never cared about what the Eldritch Lords were doing, and yet here you are, preaching how dangerous they are!"

"And you are so innocent?! You, who is but a child, question me?! You forced your people to move to an island in the sea for self-preservation! Entire villages starved to death, and others were too exhausted to go on! How dare you look down on me! At least my people went down with a fight!"

"And look where that got you! Your castles toppled, your people slaughtered like cattle, and Kosbokal now owns your lands. All but one are dead, and who knows through what forbidden magic you have used to retain your power! Have you forgotten the laws upon which Annwn is built?!"

"Do not cite the deep magic to me, temptress! I was there when it was written!"

"Then you know that forbidden magic is just taboo for a reason, you old fool!" Qut suddenly looked around in shock. "I feel a time fluctuation. What is happening?"

Vrea sneered. "A god who cannot control the time within their own domain should not be called a god at all. You've much to learn, Qut. I have however much time I need, and I use however much time I want. An Elder God should be able to do this at least," She said, laughing arrogantly.

She continued to siphon mana into the rune, which looked the same as the one engraved into Goleil's soul: ᛞ

As it continued to power up, the golden dawn of the eternal day became high noon and finally dusk. The horizon was blood red and purple, the beautiful sunset indicating Vrea's weakening strength.

Qut sighed. "That bad, huh? You're barely holding this plane together, Vrea. Why bother? Why can't you descend to Annwn?"

Vrea chuckled sadly. "Why? Perhaps you don't understand as your children roam Annwn. Not all of mine do, Qut; some of my children live here. Enough chat. I need your assistance with something." She waved her hand, and a massive runic circle appeared and shrunk before disappearing as it touched her maker's mark, which continued to glow brighter and brighter with more intensity.

Reality cracked as the rune magic disappeared, and she stuck her fingers into the now open space.

Qut gasped. "What are you doing?!"

Vrea began pulling the rift in reality wider until it was wide enough to stick a few hands through.

"Saving my subject." She said calmly, "Now I can take care of the Eldritch, but I'll need you to reconnect his soul tendons and restore them. We have infinite time, but runes simply don't have enough control to pull it off. Will you do this for me?"

Qut furrowed her brow and studied the problem. The Eldritch had done a messy job, it had abysmal chances of success, and it was more likely to turn itself into a vegetable than gain control of the warrior in front of her. She couldn't see very much of him as her view was constrained to his soul, but she could see it was as average as a soul could be. As far as she knew, there was nothing special about it.

...

The eldritch was confused. Hadn't it already found the maker's mark? What was it looking at right now?

Something answered his question far sooner than he would have liked.

A golden light pierced his eyes as a hand ripped through reality itself, tearing the space in two.

Goleil could feel it, too, a familiar and calming presence. It told him he would be safe, and to keep his faith. It lit a flame in his heart, and allowed him to see his soul and the battle with his own eyes. Perhaps it was just to see how bad his situation was, or maybe it was to teach him something. Goleil didn't know.

The eldritch didn't have much time to react before the divine presence wiped its consciousness from existence, sent back to the Inbetween, that dark and endless plain where Eldritch go upon death. He wailed as he felt Death take him.

Goleil sighed in relief, but realized that he couldn't move or feel his legs. He watched as the eldritch's now lifeless soul orb began to break down and merge with his own, strengthening him and reconnecting his soul tendons in one fell swoop.

The dark energy around him faded and he stood up shakily, but the damage was already done.