Prologue I
Up in the seats of the Divine, between the realm of the Beasts, and down in the mortal realm, there have been many myths and rumors concerning a goddess lately. Her highness Adelaide: the twin sister of the Lord of New Existences, Lady of Fate, Sister of Music, princess of the Faes-
The goddess, however, was revealed to be a man.
Once the late deity's identity was revealed, it caused an uproar in the three realms. Most of "her" grieving suitors, whether it be deities or mortals, have fainted after receiving the news, confused and mad at the Divines for concealing this secret for so long. The news wasn't supposed to be passed this quickly though, as a deity's affair would be hidden for a few decades before. Few thought that there must be someone who leaked Heaven's affairs, but most were too shocked to care. All that they knew was that their beautiful "goddess" was a man, no more than that.
"But why was the deity forced to crossdress for so long?" many wondered. Perhaps it was because of their royal descent, or superstitions and old wives' tale. Many centuries ago, probably long before your ancestors were born, the Queen of the Faes had given birth to two twins of the same gender. The palace divinator saw this as a bad omen, an ominous sign for the future - there was no doubt the faes would see this as one too. Distraught and panicked, the only solution they could think of was to raise one as a girl, while the other would continue to be the heir and live a normal life. The deity spoke of - his highness Adel - was forced to grow up as "her highness", wearing dresses and attending balls, lied to by the whole world. No one ever was suspicious, and nobody ever thought to. The deity was beautiful, of course, handsome for a woman, but many didn't see anything wrong with that. "She" was just taller than most, and…
After the dumbfounding reveal though, what came next was a wave of despair. Predecessors of justice thought, "If there is no God of Fate to bring forth truth, how will the sins of criminals be brought to light?!", while the common people thought, "If there is no deity of music, how will the upcoming celebrations go?". This deity was a lady, or should one say, a man of many talents. Other than overseeing fate and truth, the deity was also responsible for recruiting talents and managing the various music houses. Without this deity, many important things would go amiss. Needless to say, the god has been with humanity for over 200 years. He has seen many events that through history, he has witnessed two centuries worth of memories. The god's believers and disciples alike refused to believe he wouldn't guide them anymore. This didn't just happen in the mortal realm though.
A few years after his death, the air in Heaven still felt heavy, and the hallways without the melody of a flute playing felt empty. The deities who'd usually scoff at the noise, saying "So annoying!", or "I can't focus!" would begin to miss the ballads.
Two years later, people still remembered their god. This time, however, they were finally about to let go. That was when another wave of news passed through. The deity of Fate and Music will not be replaced, for he will come back once recovered.
It was revealed that the god was only asleep, recovering from his unstable, nearly destroyed mana veins.
Faes and spirits, as well as descendants of deities and elemental beings, were born with mana veins. These veins were a part of them - one could think of them as an elemental being's lifeline.
Unlike human mana manipulators, once their mana veins are heavily injured, they will suffer a mana disruption, causing a deep recovery sleep or in certain cases: death. Gods who were elemental beings before they ascended were no different.
"But why was he on his deathbed in the first place?" was partially difficult to explain.
A few months before his rest, the deity had accidentally killed his companion's younger sibling while on a mission. He had unknowingly sucked her into his illusionary boundary, where she was then injured, then passed. A few months after the incident, in a rage, the deity's companion had disrupted Adel's mana veins during a duel - which the fae had lost. Only when the other god has regained consciousness had he realize he had heavily disturbed his companion's mana veins.
The day will come when he will be back to his post when the Heavens will finally be able to hear the sound of a distant flute again.
So they waited and waited, and faith hasn't changed. The news sparked devotion and belief in all three realms of the Divine, Beast, and Mortals, and they believed that one day, no matter how long, the Lord will return.
The first year felt lonely. The second felt unnatural. The third was something in between. They continued to wait, until nearly a decade later when the God of Fate was only a bittersweet tale in the Mortal realm.
The Lord of New Existences was strolling in his late brother's palace when he heard a mellow, deep sound of a flute. He stopped and held his breath. Tears fell out of his eyes as a familiar silhouette walked toward him.
"Artin, I'm back."
That familiar voice, familiar figure, familiar face. He wondered how Dimor would feel - would he be glad or remorseful?
He wanted to cry, but who would want to show such a weak appearance to their younger siblings, so he kept it in and smiled.
At last, he ran towards the other as he whispered, barely keeping the tears in his eyes.
"Welcome back, Adel."