On the ruined battlefield where Devon had fought the gods, a lone figure stood motionless. Ethereal armor and flowing robes could not hide his golden fur. Seythar, God of Chaos and father of Nick, surveyed the devastation.
Everything was dark and silent. Time itself had stopped.
He sensed the last faint trace of his son's nexus inside a collapsed building and descended.
From his robes he drew a black beetle artifact marked with white runes. He sliced his finger and let divine blood fall onto its shell. The white markings turned crimson; the beetle stirred to life.
He placed it on a patch of dried blood.
"Full Restoration," Seythar said.
Dark-purple nexus poured from his hands into the beetle. With every second, his golden fur dulled and his frame grew thinner, but he did not stop.
Thirty minutes later the beetle shattered. In its place stood a naked man: Nick, freshly returned from death.
Seythar approached.
"I'm glad I divided your orb into two. It weakened you, but it saved you today."
He pressed the second half of the orb against Nick's forehead. Light flared. Nick gasped awake, seized his father's wrist with one hand and throat with the other, then released him and fell to his knees.
"Seythar, I apologize. I deserve no lesser punishment than death."
"No worries, it's water under the bridge," Seythar said, waving it off.
"But how did you bring me back to life? I could have sworn I died, my Lord."
"Don't worry about such tiny details. You are back; that's what matters. Although you are not a deity anymore—merely a transcendent, a mortal—it might actually prove helpful for the task I'm about to give you."
"I will forever remember this kindness, my Lord. Whatever you wish me to do, I will do it to the best of my ability."
"Do you know what it takes to be an entity?"
"Entity?"
"Yes. An entity," Seythar said, hands folded behind his back.
"I heard it happens when one's understanding of the universe is complete."
"Not entirely. In fact, it happens when one becomes one with the universe. When we die, body, nexus, and core return to the heavens to be recycled. Becoming an entity means merging with the universe without dying. As we all know, Fate is the only entity that can still think, judge, and fight, but right now he can only alter destiny; he cannot move physically."
"But doesn't that mean he is aware of the conversation we are having right now?"
"Look around. What do you see?"
Nick glanced at the frozen world. "It's perfectly still."
"If you are aware, Time itself is an entity, and right now we stand inside Time's domain. Fate cannot encroach on the domain of another entity."
"I don't know what Fate is planning, but I know it isn't good, and Fariel is going to be instrumental to his plan. That fool doesn't even know when he is being used."
"I shall send you to the timeline of Devon."
"Devon?"
"You must grow stronger there until you reach the level of a god. If I'm correct, Fariel will arrive in a hundred years, but I can stall for another hundred. Watch Devon well, and when he becomes a god, steal his core."
"But my Lord, if I do that it means I'm…"
"Betraying your friend, is that what you'd want to say?"
Nick said nothing, face twisting in disapproval.
"I brought you back to life. What makes you think I can't do it for him? I need his god core because of its time and space attributes. I'm close to becoming an entity myself; I just need that last little push. I can feel it within my grasp."
"But my Lord…"
"Shhhhh," Seythar said, closing his eyes. "Fariel is coming. He probably didn't feel comfortable not sensing my presence. You must go now. Take this."
He tossed Nick a butterfly-shaped artifact of shifting colors, then pressed his foot against Nick's forehead and poured the portal spell directly into his mind.
"Nick, do not disappoint me, no matter what."
A rift tore open in the air. Nick stepped through and vanished.
Seythar stood alone once more as the frozen world waited for time to resume.