Eiden blinked once. "Pardon?" he said. The word was quiet, almost gentle—yet in the divine plains, it echoed like a soft chime against a cathedral wall. The golden-blue sky shimmered overhead, and the white-and-gold grass rippled as if reacting to the sudden shift in the atmosphere.
Larry didn't move. He didn't blink. He simply stared—emerald eyes sharp, ancient, dissecting Eiden's soul with a gaze older than the land itself. The Sages stiffened behind Eiden, their auras flickering in instinctive alarm.
Larry's tail flicked once. The divine grass flattened in a perfect circle around him. "I said," Larry repeated, his voice low and impossibly steady, "I want to test you."
The air tightened. The world leaned in. Even the distant crystalline rivers seemed to dim, as if the Land of Gods itself wanted to witness what came next. Eiden straightened slightly, eyes narrowing—not in defiance, but in focus.
"Test me… how?" he asked.
Larry's gaze sharpened. Not with anger, but with something far more dangerous: a god's curiosity. He stepped forward, and the earth cracked beneath his paw. "You carry four blades," Larry said, his voice resonant. "You wield power that should not exist. You walk with a calm that does not match your history. And the gods tell me you can trick even me."
Eiden's expression didn't change. Larry's tail flicked again—a divine punctuation. "So," Larry said, "I want to see what you truly are."
Eiden lifted a hand slightly, confused but calm. "Well, c'mon. I'm not sure if I'm even allowed to try to do something like—"
He didn't finish. Larry moved. It wasn't fast or sudden; it was instant. A flick of black fur and emerald light, and Larry was already there, his fist driving through Eiden's chest. Eiden's body jerked, breath catching as blood spilled from his mouth like a waterfall.
Larry tilted his head. "Hm. Thought you got me, huh?" He withdrew his fist and spun, his paw slicing through the neck of another Eiden who had appeared behind him. The head flew like a loose arrow. "Trick me?" Larry scoffed. "Pfft. The gods were lying to me just to make me think he's special?"
He started to smirk, then stopped.
A pressure bloomed in his chest. Larry looked down to find a blade embedded deep within him. A second blade protruded from his back—the same strike, the same moment, an impossible angle. The Eiden he had struck was gone. The Eiden he had beheaded was gone. The Eiden he had pierced was gone.
Larry turned slowly. The body he thought he had hit earlier had vanished. He faced forward again, and there—far across the divine plains—stood Eiden. Calm. Still. Unmoving. His aura flared around him like a silent white storm.
"Those blades are connected to my aura and mana," Eiden said, his voice steady. "I can activate the power within them, and you'll be finished before you even register the movement." His eyes half-lit, his expression sharpening into something colder—something ancient.
Larry stood still. The divine plains were silent. The golden-blue sky shimmered faintly. Larry exhaled slowly. "I give up," he said. The words were simple, but coming from a god, they carried the weight of a mountain.
Eiden lowered his hand. "Good."
The blades dissolved into white mist, fading as if they had never existed. Larry placed a paw against his chest. He felt no wound, no pain, but the memory of the impact lingered—the precision of the strike, the impossibility of it all. He looked at Eiden, realizing for the first time why the gods were afraid.
The plains fell silent. Then—
A voice echoed across the sky. "You now understand why the gods gave those warnings?"
A ripple of golden light spread across the heavens as Rah descended with effortless grace, his white robe fluttering and the Eye of Rah glowing like a star on his forehead. He landed softly on the shimmering grass.
"Eiden," Rah said, "it is an honor to meet you."
Eiden's aura flickered faintly, but he remained composed. Rah's tone deepened. "Please. You and Morvath will follow me. The Council requested both of you."
Morvath stiffened, his shadows rippling. "Me?"
Rah nodded. "Yes." He then turned to the other Sages—Vaelus, Selyndra, Seraphaine, Dravien, and Iris. "You other Sages, follow Larry. He will take you to a place where you may rest and gather yourselves."
Larry's ears twitched. A "hangout spot" in the Land of Gods was a privilege mortals were never meant to see. Vaelus exhaled slowly, Selyndra's aura dimmed, and Dravien's tail flicked nervously.
Rah stepped aside, gesturing for Eiden and Morvath to approach. Larry watched Eiden for a long moment—not with hostility, but with respect and the faintest hint of unease.
Eiden walked forward, his expression calm. Morvath followed, his hands trembling slightly. Rah turned, leading them toward the distant white mountains where the Council Hall shimmered like a palace carved from starlight.
Larry looked at the remaining Sages. "Well," he said, his voice flat but not unfriendly, "come on." He turned, tail flicking, and began walking across the divine plains. The Sages followed.