#time lady rani

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

Mystic Drownwell was an off-putting place during the daylight hours, and utterly terrifying at night. It was a stronghold of death and twisted religious dogma, where only the Ocean truly felt comfortable.

Abercius, Lukas, and Rani stood around the sacrificial pool, wishing desperately to be anywhere else. Despite not being an official reaper, Abercius had been chosen to represent the reapers, while Rani represented all the lost people of Ticktop. Lukas didn't technically need to be present for the ceremony to create a new Dream Guardian, but they wanted to be there. They couldn't stop Despina's approaching ascension, but at least they could be there to help if something went wrong. The Ocean, currently in the shape of Calista Player, watched eagerly beside them. She occasionally shot Lukas strange looks that they couldn't interpret, which only added to the unsettling feeling in Lukas' chest.

"Ugh, my head." Despina groaned from the place she'd been unceremoniously dropped on the floor. "How did I get here? Where am I?"

"Good, you're finally awake," Calista replied eagerly. "It's finally time to take my vengeance on the one who destroyed my Dream Guardian. Despina Edana Tristine Darktide, because of your father's crimes, you will become my new Dream Guardian. You will watch over the realm of Jubilant Accosts and their dreams. It will be your responsibility to keep the dream demon hybrids in line, destroying them if you must."

Demon hybrids?

Lukas wasn't sure that they understood the Ocean's words. Despina wouldn't be forced to fight Xexys, but his descendants instead? What was happening to Xexys?

"No! No, please! I need to go home," Despina begged. It only took her a few seconds to understand what was happening here, and that she desperately didn't want to be involved with it. "I have a brother who needs me, and my school-"

"Irrelevant," Calista insisted. She waved her arms in an intricate pattern that Despina couldn't follow. The energy swirled from Calista's hand, wrapping itself around Despina, and lifting her in the air.

Calista's magic dropped Despina in the sacrificial pool with a splash. Abercius had never seen the sacrifices made to the Watcher; that was a privilege for adults or family of the sacrifice chosen. He closed his eyes, unable to watch someone lose their life in front of him. Even in his prior life as a reaper, Absydee had always hated seeing a soul cross the boundary between life and death. It was jarring and unpleasant. Abercius didn't know how to reconcile the thought of his parents, his uncle, and all of the Jacobean faithful standing around this pool to celebrate the sacrifice of one of their own. Would he and his siblings have followed their example when they became adults? Abercius didn't think so, but clearly none of the Jacobeans before him had disagreed.

"It's a baptism of sorts, not a murder," Lukas whispered to Abercius. "You can look. She's ascending, not dying."

Abercius opened his eyes, but still had his hands glued to his face in horror. This was all too much to take in. Izanami had never trained his reapers to deal with sacrifices or ascensions. Despina was his friend, and she didn't want to be bound to Jubilant Accosts forever. While she wasn't dying, Abercius still couldn't find a reason to celebrate what was happening.

"I-I can feel the dream realm. It's never been this strong before. I can see everything."

Everyone's attention turned to the pool where Despina was currently floating above the water, miraculously dry after being submerged in the water. She had a certain glow radiating from her and a presence that felt almost as commanding as Lukas or Izanami's when they chose to display their power.

"Arise, Despina. Arise and take your place at my side." Calista held out her hand, sending the energy needed to complete the transition. "You are now the Dream Guardian of Jubilant Accosts."

All of the fear left Despina the instant she ascended. She would worry about her limitations and seeing Eero later. She could feel the hum of the universe in her mind and the steady rhythm of the waves that sustained the Ocean. She could see Xexys as clearly as if he were standing beside her. The dream plague was a mere nuisance. No wonder the previous Dream Guardian had been killed by a third party from outside this realm. Despina could easily squash any attack from Xexys himself.

A sudden chill came over Lukas without warning.

Lukas, come home. It's an emergency.

Gee? What's the emergency? Is it Izanami? Is he okay?

Lukas looked around to see if their stepson was actually physically present, but couldn't sense Gee nearby. They didn't blame him. If they'd had the opportunity to avoid being in the Ocean's presence, they would have taken it too.

The seal is open for the next two minutes. I know this sounds crazy, but Dad is in labour. You're having a baby, Lukas. Dad has been pregnant this whole time!

"A baby?" Lukas repeated outloud. Their entire being shook with relief. All those months of worry, all the fear that they would somehow lose Izanami, all of it didn't matter anymore. Izanami would have this miracle child and then be back to normal.

Lukas couldn't even begin to process their feelings about this secret child. It was unreal. All the centuries of pining for a child, of grieving the pregnancies they lost...they couldn't allow the fact that this could be happening get their hopes up. They might still lose this child too. The Ocean could cause this pregnancy and still somehow take their child away. They couldn't afford to raise their hopes and lose their dream again. It would break them in a way that even the Ocean couldn't fix.

I'm coming immediately. Tell Izanami to hold on. I'll be there in a moment.

Calista locked eyes with Lukas, giving them a smug look that told them that she knew exactly what was happening.

"Bye, Lukas," she teased. "Give my regards to Izanami. It shouldn't be too long now. I hope little Lunen is everything you've imagined her to be. She was rather difficult to create."

The Ocean's words were strangely sympathetic, which caught Lukas off guard. The Ocean never thought of how others would react to his plans. Hell, Despina was a fantastic example of that. There was a fondness in his voice for this surprise child, which was even stranger.

"You won't take her from us?" Lukas dared to ask. They needed to be with Izanami, but they also needed peace of mind that the Ocean didn't plan to take this child from them.

Calista rolled her eyes and focused her attention back to Despina.

"I'm not a nanny service," she scoffed. "You made her; I'm only interested in her future abilities. Try not to screw her up too badly, I want this experiment to succeed."

Lukas vanished immediately after getting confirmation that they wouldn't need to fight the creator of all things for custody of their daughter. With that reassurance, Lukas was officially abandoning their mission in Jubilant Accosts. Only Izanami and their promised daughter mattered.

"Moving on." The image of Calista melted onto the cool tiles of the temple, reforming into the shape the Ocean usually assumed. Few people who saw the dark haired man with eyes as deep as the stars, lived to talk about him. "Xexys."

The Demon of Nightmares appeared in an instant, summoned from his lair by his creator. Abercius tried not to flinch at the sight of his enemy, while Rani glared beside him.

"Demon," she hissed. The pain of her many losses at Xexys' hand was clearly written on her face. "Slayer of Ticktop."

Xexys didn't have the chance to respond to Rani, as the Ocean spread out his giant wings with dramatic flair.

"Despina, do show Xexys what a Dream Guardian can do to the Demon of Nightmares. This game has gone on for too long, and I'm rather bored of it."

"Bored?" Xexys managed to choke out the word, but just barely. Despina had him in a magical grip that prevented him from moving. The Ocean quickly raised his own hand to support her so that Xexys was rendered completely immobile.

"Yes, bored," the Ocean sneered. "I gave you a chance to prove that you could be better than the Great Demons and a captive population to experiment with. All you've produced is a silly little illness that you've cooked up with Tredony's assassin and some uninspiring hybrids. My faithful have developed a far more complex and interesting society in your shadow, and you need the help of an assassin and this girl's wretched father to get anything done. You couldn't even kill my former Dream Guardian on your own. You, like a coward, let some foreign college student do the hard work of murdering my creation. You're weak and boring. How much longer were you going to wait to strike if that Tredonian assassin hadn't shown up?"

Xexys couldn't reply, but Despina was fascinated with this tangent. She'd never seen the Ocean for herself, but he lived up to all of Lukas' descriptions of him. She could feel the disappointment rolling from him like waves in a tsunami. Xexys could be as evil as he wanted, but being boring was apparently a capital sin. What had the Ocean expected of Xexys? What wouldn't be boring when a plague and an alliance with an assassin couldn't measure up?

Could she? Theo had always assumed that they were there in another realm to kill Xexys and end his plague along with his life. Her father hadn't held back from killing the innocent Dream Guardian who had stood in Xexys' way. She'd always said that she would kill to protect Eero or her cousins, but now when the choice was in front of her, could she follow through?

"I liked that Dream Guardian," the Ocean continued. "And you couldn't even kill the reapers yourself! That would have been so interesting if you had. Confronting Lukas after killing a whole team, just like their sister was killed? You would have been interesting. I thought that little blood demon hybrid and his crystal loving soulmate would have been a challenge for you since you've been in the presence of the old blood demons! Instead, you just let them wander around while you preened in your captured house. You're useless! The first Life deity had more potential than you'll ever have it seems, and I gave him far fewer chances than I gave you. Perhaps you can discuss my kindness when you're Drowned like him." He looked over at Despina, who was both terrified and fascinated by what was happening before her. "Despina, this next part should be as easy as blinking. Curbing those who threaten the dream realm should come naturally to you, especially in this sacred place. You have the power to save Xexys' victims and end the fear he's spread. Can you help me right this mistake of mine?"

Despina curled her fingers, feeling the fabric of the universe shift as she did. This was too much for her to do alone, but the Ocean was generous and patient. For as terrified as Life and Death were of him, the Ocean seemed invested in introducing Despina to the life he'd chosen for her. His grief or maybe just irritation about losing the first Dream Guardian felt real to her. He'd orchestrated a multi decade revenge scheme just to avenge her predecessor, so clearly he must have meant something to him.

Xexys was lowered into the deep red tinted pool by the magic Despina could feel engulf her. The Ocean was right-it really was as easy and quick as blinking. Her rage, her grief, everything wrong and twisted and broken about this realm all guided her hand. Her cousin had spent months terrified that his family might never return to him. Her newfound brother was sacrificed to infect a realm he'd never even seen before and then left for dead. Her father had once been a promising warlock with dreams that Coby and Xexys had twisted into a monstrous ambition. Xexys had taken from her, again and again, but now she would make things right. She would get justice.

A large wave rose to swallow Xexys whole, dragging him down into the fathomless red water, never to be seen again.

Something changed with the demon's absence that Despina couldn't fully explain. It was as if the realm itself was rejoicing and changing into something new.

"I don't understand," she said, hoping that the Ocean's interest in her might mean he'd explain what was happening. "Something is happening, but what? What's going to happen next?"

The Ocean smiled just as cruelly in this incarnation as he did as Calista.

"You'll see."

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

"Xexys! You're too late, I already found her! Just give up already!" Lukas descended from the sky triumphantly, laughing at the Nightmare Demon below them. "It wasn't easy, but I guess I'm just that good."

It had taken a while, but Lukas had found the Timelady of Ticktop tucked safely away in a current of time. It looked like she had sealed herself away from Xexys' grasp when she saw the other defenses of Jubilant Accosts fall. If she had been dead, the search would have been considerably harder, as that was Izanami's realm, but Rani had been crafty. Whatever Xexys was using of Ticktop's magic, it had barely scratched the surface of what was possible. He couldn't use it to hunt Rani down; she had been trained to be one of the best of her people and Xexys couldn't compete.

After "borrowing" a staff to complete the summoning of the Timelady, Lukas felt like showing off a little. They knew that the Demon of Nightmares was nearby, watching them, so why not call him out?

Xexys appeared in an instant, wielding an ancient sword. Apparently, the demon had been following Lukas' efforts, hoping to derail any progress they made.

"It matters not, Life god," Xexys sneered. He held the sword of the Watcher tight in his hands, waiting for the opportunity to strike. He'd never faced Life or Death in battle before, but he imagined that it was similar to fighting that assassin he'd tamed. Coby respected his place in the order of Jubilant Accosts. Lukas, on the other hand, was going to be more difficult to convince to obey.

"I summon the Timelady Rani Bachelor of Ticktop! You have abandoned your post and your sworn duty to protect the kingdom of Jubilant Accosts. I, Lukas Lane, protector of Life, call upon you to awaken once more and resume the sacred duties that were assigned to you."

Lukas scowled when the Timelady didn't immediately appear before them. Ancient medieval creatures were evidently stubborn. There were very few living things that could resist a summons from their god, Timeladies included. Lukas focused on the faint hum they could feel within the folds of time, picturing the last face they remembered the Timelady having.

"Rani, come forth. I command you."

Time wasn't part of the duties of Life, but Rani was alive even if she was hidden away. Part of why their ex-girlfriend, Hailee, had been so useful to have around was her limited ability to see the streams of time. All other safeguards of time fell to the Guardians of Time in one realm and to the Ticktop Lords and Ladies of Time in Jubilant Accosts. Lukas had done their part by alerting the Timelady that her presence was needed, now it was time for Rani to answer their call.

"My lord, Lukas, forgive me. I didn't recognize you at first. I feared that your call was a trick of the demon. I am here now, ready to serve."

A blonde woman kneeled before the deity. She was exactly as they remembered her centuries ago when they had resealed the realm with the Grim Reaper at the time. Rani may not have seen them, hidden behind the portal, but Lukas had insisted on seeing someone from a country as mysterious as Ticktop.

Lukas tried to hide their relief that they had correctly found Rani. They had been about ninety nine percent certain that they knew what they were doing and that they could rely on their powers to be accurate. They may not be able to shift into their preferred form, but at least they'd summoned a living, breathing Timelady with an ease they hoped frightened Xexys.

"Timelady, take back your power from the clutches of this demon! He's been abusing the realm of Time to strengthen his nightmares. This is your sacred duty and you've abandoned it for centuries!"

"Yes, my lord. Please understand, I had to abandon my post. After Absydee disappeared, and the rest of the reapers eventually fell, the Dream Guardian was murdered by an invasion lead by Tredony's assassin. I didn't have the resources to fight them all on my own, so I hid until you or Lord Izanami's representative appeared again. It has been a very long time since you last checked in on us."

"I was in a centuries long coma, trying to reincarnate," Lukas replied, their voice cold. They didn't need to be lectured by a subordinate about how to do their job. "I'm here now. Who the hell is Absydee and what happened to the reapers?"

"Now's not exactly the best time to catch up," Rani answered, looking anxiously over her shoulder at the demon nearby. "Though, I am compelled to answer you despite our guest. Absydee was the head of the reaper team in our realm. She disappeared the same day that our last king died. The reapers held on for some time without her, but someone came for them a few centuries ago. They are all no more. Has no one made you aware of this situation?"

Lukas ground their teeth, trying not to take out their anger on the Timelady they needed on their side.

"Again, coma. Reincarnation. I was busy. How did you manage to lose the head reaper? Izanami would have chosen the best to serve here. I wasn't created until after he'd staffed this realm with my predecessor, so I didn't know the reaper team personally. What exactly happened to them? I've never seen an entire team wiped out before."

"But you have, Life god," Xexys cackled. "Your sister and her peers were lost, or have you forgotten? The reapers here died in exactly the same way. I heard their screams myself. They begged for your Death god."

Lukas wasn't about to take the bait that Xexys was dangling before them. Some individual reapers, like their sister had been killed, but an entire team had never been lost before, and certainly not centuries after losing their leader.

And they would never beg for Izanami's help either. Izanami was incredibly hands off while serving as the Grim Reaper, and had always made his disinterest in management clear. The reapers should have known that Death would never come to save them; he'd let his own son go up against a cult of witches entirely on his own.

"Rani, I'm not going to ask again," they stated, glaring at the Timelady. "I don't need excuses, I need the realm of Time in the hands of its guardian. Now."

In an instant, Lukas felt the currents of Time swirl around them, following the sweeping motion of Rani's arms. Seconds, centuries, they all passed by, trailing snippets of life before the god's eyes.

The rise of the Jacobean church at the cost of all other faiths.

Two soulmates torn apart by the laws of the Proxy, and separated by this plague.

King Apophis Xechasménaeizam. The last king whose death apparently coincides with the team leader of the missing reaper team's disappearance. His name was marked with a "burning soul", was Hailee right that it might be connected to the reapers? To Riley?

No, I can't make that assumption just yet. Too much is at stake if I'm wrong. Still, there is something about this king that I need to discover. He seems to be somehow tied to all that's wrong with Jubilant Accosts.

And Izanami?

"You must know that there will be no returning once this is done. I trust you with this mission, but I need to know if you think you can handle it. I can send someone else if need be."

"No need, I've been preparing for this assignment for some time. To lead this new team of reapers in a new realm is an honour. Xexys doesn't frighten me and I have few attachments in this realm. I'm ready to do this. And this isn't goodbye forever. We can always catch up when you come to maintain the seal between realms. Plus, I'll have the rest of the reapers you've selected to keep me company. I'll be fine."

"Of course. I'm sure that you'll do an adequate job. Remember, you will be one of the only levels of protection this realm has. Its survival depends in part on you."

Oh Izanami, you sentimental idiot. She's the best you could pick? At least I know what this Absydee looks like now. That eye of hers is hard to forget.

"I wish you were dead! I want you to be dead! I don't want to share any realm with you, even if it means living in fucking Jubilant Accosts! You've already ruined any chance of happiness that I had, so piss off and leave me alone! Just leave me alone! We've done our job, so fucking leave!"

What a strange memory to pop up now, especially one that took place at the portal to this realm. I need to explore this further. This must mean something.

Lukas opened their eyes and saw the magic Rani had pulled, pooled beside them.

"This is it? This is what you need?"

When Rani nodded, Lukas began the work of binding the magic to the Timelady it belonged to. It was easy to reattach, as it had always belonged to Rani. Xexys had twisted it over the years, stretching it to suit his whims, but that was easy enough to fix. Lukas hadn't been the deity of Life when Jubilant Accosts had been sealed away, but it was their job now, and the magic of the realm couldn't help but bend to their will.

"This is my realm! I will not let you have it! Your predecessor became a demon, just as I am, while you are mortal created. You're as weak as the mortals here!"

Xexys raised his sword and rushed towards the deity. The assassin of Tredony had surrendered to this blade and so would this would be god. Xexys could remember the first Life deity and the power they had once wielded. This god had been created from mortals and had already reincarnated twice before. Xexys was certain that he could cause an third reincarnation, one that would buy him more time to defend his realm from the gods.

But Lukas had been prepared for the attack and easily knocked the demon to the ground with their staff.

"Those mortals I came from are the best swordsmen in the afterlife," Lukas laughed. "They taught me everything they've ever known about swordsmanship. I've fought wars against demons stronger than you. You're a joke without your little gimmick, and once I end this plague of yours, you'll be stuck in here with a proper defense against you. I'm not as easy of a target as I used to be."

Rani stared in awe at the power Lukas was sending to her. Her mind slowly began to remember all the laws of time and the delicate threads holding together the universe. Her fingers relearned the specific motions needed to open a window in time and the way to halt the flow of time altogether. The long centuries of hiding, powerless to defend herself faded away. She was a Timelady of Ticktop and she had forgotten herself after the destruction of her people, after the destruction of her colleagues defending this realm. She had lost so much over the years, but it was in her power to take back what was hers.

Xexys scowled at the Timelady's transformation. It had been hard work to steal the reins of the realm of Time, but there hadn't been a god there when he'd done it. That Tredonian assassin was still haunting his own realm at the moment, and Xexys' own son was a prisoner there. He was at a disadvantage, and he was smart enough to know when to retreat.

"So long, Life god. You won't always be so well defended, and no one can stay out of the realm of dreams forever. We will meet again with a very different outcome."

Rani gasped as Xexys vanished from sight, astounded that the demon had given up so quickly. The Xexys she remembered had destroyed everything she'd ever loved in the blink of an eye. Well, losing Absydee had been the true beginning of the end of Jubilant Accosts' defenders, but everything had begun to snowball from there.

"Thank god he left," Lukas sighed, stretching the arm holding the very heavy staff. "I'd hate to actually have to use this thing. I had to steal this from a museum and no one's used it in centuries. It's been awhile since I had to duel with a staff. I don't suppose that you have much practice with one, right?"

Rani nodded her head solemnly.

"My people were peaceful, God of Life. We manipulated time in our defense, though I have completed some training with a sword."

"Call me Lukas. We're going to be working pretty closely for the next while, and it gets annoying hearing my title over and over in every conversation I have. You can catch me up on everything that I've missed here though. Starting with the first defense to fall here. I take it that was the reapers?"

Rani lowered her eyes. Dwelling on unpleasant memories was never easy, but her superior had commanded her to do so. She had always been fond of the reapers, especially Absydee. They had had a lot of fun together.

"Yes. When the king was killed on a hunt, Absydee was sent to reap him. No one knows what took place, just that neither of their essences were recovered, and the reapers found a strange notation beside the king's name on her reaping list."

"Yes, this burning soul business," Lukas said. "Neither of their souls were found in the afterlife? I know Apophis' was never found, but the reaper's too?"

"So the other reapers said. They were lost without their leader, and couldn't travel back to their home realm to ask Death about it. Death never came back to reseal the realm either, just his associates, so they had no instructions. Later, when they were lost as well, their souls were never seen again."

"Like RIley and the others. So this Absydee could have been killed first, and her coworkers were killed centuries later? That doesn't sound right. What happened to her if the king's soul supposedly reincarnated?"

"My people will reincarnate in a way when we are faced with death," Rani suggested, hoping to be helpful. "We generate a new face and body. The Jacobeans called us shapeshifters and sinners because of it, but it's what's natural for us. Perhaps there is something in the nature of a reaper that can explain this."

Lukas shook their head, disappointing Rani.

"No, reapers have little connection to life. They can't change their form in my realm. They rely on Death's power only. Perhaps if this soul truly was 'burning' it might have consumed the reaper trying to collect it. But how did this dead soul get the power to reenter my realm? Life and Death are incompatible. There's no way for those two realms to combine at all, let alone in one soul."

"I wish you were dead! I want you to be dead! I don't want to share any realm with you, even if it means living in fucking Jubilant Accosts!"

Lukas paled as they remembered the glimpse of their past while handling Rani's power.

"Oh, shit. I think I may...but how would she...I need to confirm something. Something important. Rani, I need you to reestablish yourself in this realm. Find a place to practice using your abilities again, and wait for me to return. There's a group of teens who are from Tredony, hoping to help us win back this realm. We need to assist them, and figure out how we're going to replace a trained reaper team and a Dream Guardian. I don't know what cost the other reapers their lives, but I have a sneaking suspicion about what may have happened to their leader. There's only one place where Life and Death combine. I just need to understand what she did. I'll come find you when I know."

Lukas vanished just as quickly as Xexys had, leaving Rani alone in a realm she barely recognized. Though for the first time in centuries, Rani had hope for the future. Someone with power had come to save the realm she had failed to defend and maybe things could go back to the way they were supposed to be. If this deity needed her be ready to fight against Xexys, then that was exactly what she was going to do.

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

"Abby, I can't believe it's you! I thought I'd never see you again! You remember me, right?"

Abercius chuckled at Rani's stream of words. The Timelady hadn't changed a bit in the centuries since they'd last seen each other. If Rani hated you, you couldn't pry more than two words out of her, unless she was asked about her homeland, Ticktop. If she did like you, you would never hear the end of Rani's opinion on any and all subjects. It had taken Absydee nearly a year to earn the Timelady's trust, and once she had, Rani had talked her ear off until the day Absydee reincarnated. Absydee was quite sure that she knew absolutely everything there was to know about Ticktop and how Rani felt about just about every person she'd ever met there.

"Of course I remember you," Abercius laughed, wrapping his arms around the Timelady. "I could never forget someone as important as you. I'm so sorry about what happened to Ticktop. You must hate me for leaving you without even a goodbye. I feel so guilty about what happened to your people, you can't even know how bad I feel. They were so important to you, and now they're gone."

Rani released Abercius, but made sure to maintain eye contact so that he could see her sincerity.

"Nothing could have prevented that, not even a reaper," Rani declared. "My people can bend time, and even we could not prevent it. We were the test run of Xexys' plan. The plague started in Ticktop and ended only when all of us were no more. The assassins picked off any survivors. I had sworn to remain by the Dream Guardian's side after we lost the reapers, so I could only watch it all fall. Without the reapers to collect the souls of my people, I don't know how to help them pass on. I'm glad you're back, Abby. You must know how to help them."

If this speech was supposed to ease Abercius' guilt, it had the opposite effect.

"I-I'm not a reaper anymore, Rani," he replied. "I can't do anything for the dead in this mortal body. I wish that I could, but it's impossible."

"Maybe not that impossible," Lukas murmured to themselves. "I'll have to think about it...Nevermind, we have more important matters to discuss. You and Apophis remember your past now, right?"

Helle and Abercius nodded.

"I'm pretty sure I remember everything," Helle reported. "My childhood, my youth, meeting Absydee, my death, and my rebirth into the Dean family. I saw myself as an infant, being hidden by Winnie Dean. It's my destiny to defeat the Proxy and the Jacobeans who would have sacrificed me to the Watcher."

"Destiny can be interpreted in many ways, but sure, let's assume that you're meant to destroy this whole broken system," Lukas replied, rolling their eyes. "You both need to work to bring Jubilant Accosts back to it's proper state. The Ocean doesn't grant second chances at life, but you've still managed to trick your way into one. You will help me set things right."

"Of course," the two teens said in unison.

"Um, just out of curiosity, will my eye ever go back to normal?" Abercius asked. "People already stared at it in my first life, and I know they'll stare even more now."

Lukas raised an eyebrow at this.

"Do you not know what it means?" they asked. "Izanami should have made that clear, though, knowing how he is, I can see him not going into details. Your eye marks you as a creature of the Creation. You were never mortal or an angel, but you were created along with Life and Death and the universe. You're marked as something ancient and powerful. It's something to be proud of, not ashamed. It is extremely rare to see someone with that mark."

"Oh." Abercius should be flattered, but this news didn't make him any less self conscious.

"I have forms to switch between," Lukas continued. "This is likely your permanent form, one that connects back to your previous life, but uses your reborn body. I doubt that Helle will experience much of a difference going between two mortal bodies, but for an immortal, especially one as old as you, there may be some lingering connections between your two lives. There's never been a single case like yours, except for mine, of course, so I'm not entirely sure how you'll be affected. I'll be watching you two with interest."

"I think your eye is beautiful, Abby," Helle stated. "You should embrace it, especially if it shows how unique you are. Didn't you see other reapers your age with it?"

Abercius shook his head, trying to delve deep into memories he was just getting reaquainted with.

"There weren't many reapers created in the beginning," he said, looking to Lukas for confirmation before realizing that he was somehow older than this deity. "It's a little fuzzy, but I don't think that there was ever more than three of us. I can't remember for sure. The members of my team here were once mortals."

"You two are marked in Death’s list as having 'burning souls' so I'd imagine there will be some overlap from your past life," Lukas advised the teens. "There's an energy surrounding your souls, blazing bright enough to make even a reaper shy away. If you ever leave this realm, a lot of supernatural creatures are going to be very interested in you."

"Interested how?" Helle asked nervously. "Like, they'd want to kill us?"

"No, at least, I don't think so," Abercius replied quickly. "Two mortals with the same energy that forced a reincarnation would probably intimidate a number of creatures. Beings with the energy of Life and Death together? It's unheard of."

"Do you think that werewolves or vampires could see this energy burning?" Helle asked. "If they could see it, they might be more easily convinced to accept us as leaders of Jubilant Accosts."

Lukas looked at Abercius, equally as curious as Helle. Abercius tried not to shrink under their stare.

"Well, werewolves are alive," he answered. "They don't cross with the realm of Death until their time is up, but vampires? We don't reap vampires unless they somehow manage to die. They live in a state of living death, similar to zombies, so they may be able to see this burning energy. Their senses are supposedly quite different than mortals'. If anyone could sense the difference in our energy, I would assume it would be them."

"Abby, I should see if that energy can be seen by TimeLords and Ladies. Come with me, and we'll try to work it out." Rani didn't seem concerned about the energy at all, just getting to have some time with her old friend. Before Abercius could object, the Timelady had grabbed his hand and started walking towards a nearby room. Abercius shot Lukas and Helle an apologetic look, but didn't fight against Rani. Talking to a god was intimidating, but Rani? That was much easier, and besides, she had watched the reaper team fall and could provide Abercius with details that Lukas couldn't.

"So, uh, I guess that just leaves us," Helle said nervously. She tried to frame this moment in her mind so that she could paint it later. Reawakening as a queen, meeting the god of Life for real and not just selling a painting to them-it was all a little surreal, which made good art.

"Judging from that crown, I'm guessing that you intend to restore the monarchy?" Lukas asked. "You're ready to try to lead this mess of a realm?"

Helle nodded with the confidence of someone who had previously been born into royalty. She'd never had to gather people to support her cause, but it couldn't be that hard.

"Yes, I believe that Jubilant Accosts needs a strong leader going forward. I don't see free elections working well with the number of people who would try to ruin the system, and most people have followed the Proxy, even if they didn't believe in the Jacobean faith. This realm needs a strong vision and someone to make it happen. I know that I can be that leader. There's already a prophecy declaring that I will return to vanquish my enemies, which only strengthens my case."

"Who made this prophecy exactly?" Lukas replied. "It seems awfully convenient. Are you supposed to defeat the church or the Demon of Nightmares? I'd like some clarity on what this involves and how it's linked to your reincarnation. Who knew that you would reincarnate when they made this prophecy?"

"I wish I knew."

"So can you see the energy I apparently give off?" Abercius asked, already guessing the answer.

"Eh, maybe a little," Rani replied. "The currents of time are a little murkier around you than they used to be. You might be harder to use time magic on, but only slightly."

"Oh, that's interesting." Abercius hadn't expected that his friend would actually attempt to see the burning energy. "I thought that the whole 'burning soul' inspection was a ruse to get away from that god. I'll try to keep in mind that I do appear differently to some people."

"It was largely to escape from them," she laughed. "I just wanted to catch up with you alone. It's been so long and I have so many questions. What was it like to reincarnate? Could you feel the stream of Time? Did you remember everything all at once? Are you attracted to Helle in his new body? Tell me that the romance isn't dead after risking everything on that one chance."

Abercius smiled, remembering just how chatty Rani had been a lifetime ago. She had pried into every detail of Absydee's romance with Apophis, which had given the reaper valuable social skills that Death hadn't taught her.

"I don't remember feeling the stream of Time. Reincarnating was painful and disorienting, and I'm still trying to sort through my two lifetimes. It feels weird talking to you again while in a body that has never seen you before. Helle feels the same way, but there's definitely still that same spark between us. She's just as beautiful as Apophis was, but younger, and unmarried. I don't have to watch Hetepheres glare at me when I want to see Helle."

"I haven't thought about that bitch in years," Rani confessed gleefully. "Oh, I hated that woman. For your and Apophis' sake, of course, though she was a terrible queen in her own right, who lost the monarchy to a literal cult. My people at least lived long enough to see her fall. There were some of us who were hesitant to officially link ourselves to the Yacothian throne, and Hetepheres was all the proof we needed."

"What was the Dream Guardian's opinion of her?" Abercius asked. "I never got to spend a lot of time with him. He always seemed to be lurking behind me like he was trying to startle me."

"Yeah, he was a prankster. I guess looking like a kid made him act like one. I couldn't believe that someone could kill him. I mean, he looked like a kid! Who could hurt a kid?"

"But he wasn't a kid," Abercius replied. "He could have been my age for all we know."

Rani shook her head, disgusted by the memory of losing her coworker.

"I saw the man who killed the Dream Guardian. He had dark hair, and even darker green eyes. There was no light or warmth in them, only hatred."

"I've been working with that man's daughter, Despina," Abercius replied carefully. "Don't give me that look, Rani. She's an innocent and a victim of her father too. She was only born to sacrifice for more power. All of his children are innocent, especially his son with the assassin. They are doing their best to undo their father's work. One of them has even contracted the plague because of the assassin."

"You always did pick up strays," Rani said dismissively. "I'd forgotten that about you. Do you remember that child that spent the day in your office because it lost its parents in a crowd? I thought you were going to keep that forever!"

Abercius shot his old friend a dirty look.

"I returned him after two hours of looking for his parents' names in my work book," he corrected. "I couldn't help it. He wasn't scheduled to die, and I had the means to find his parents. They were all so happy to be reunited. I was jealous of them all, just a little bit. I've always wanted to have a family of my own."

"And now you can!" Rani exclaimed. "You can have a royal family, and I can help babysit. It's perfect."

Abercius smiled wistfully at the thought.

"Yes, I suppose I can. Helle has always wanted a family too, but that's years away, if we can defeat Xexys. I can't bring children into this world with a plague and a demon to fear." He paused. "Did you ever find love, Rani? Some kind of TimeLord or lady, rich enough to make all your dreams come true?"

Abercius expected laughter or embarrassment from the Timelady, but a sadness overcame Rani at the question.

"Loving mortals is hard," she replied. "I haven't found a TimeLord or Timelady worthy of my love, and now I never will. I did experience love though. Twice in fact." She sighed heavily. "But I live much longer than the mortals here. I'm not immortal by any means, like you were, but a Timelady lives long enough to watch her lovers die of old age, disease, homicide...it never ends. So I understand why you did what you did for Apophis, and I would do it myself if I had the chance. Timeladies can't command Death like you do though, otherwise, I'd save my people and the Dream Guardian too."

Abercius smiled kindly.

"I'm glad that you found happiness twice in your lifetime," he said. "You will die one day and be reunited with your loves and your people again, I promise. In the meantime, you may not be able to command Death, but you can command time. I don't know a lot about the abilities of your secretive people, but surely you could do something with time to see them again."

"Don't tempt me, especially with that god around. I find them hard to read. If I could change time, would they be angry for exceeding my mandate or happy that there are more citizens of Ticktop to help us?" She sighed miserably. Thoughts like that had plagued her over the years. "I can't do it though, Abby. The laws of time are clear. We are subject to the whims of Life and Death just like the mortals, and once the names of my people appeared in Death’s book, it couldn't be changed. Even if your team had been around back then, I couldn't have changed it."

"I'm sorry that the laws of the universe are so unfair. I only barely broke one part of the natural cycle of Life and Death, and look at the consequences! I get the feeling that I was extremely lucky that I triggered reincarnation instead of something else happening. Apophis' name was in my book."

"Well, I'm glad that someone got to cheat the system at least. I don't know how we're going to get everything working the way it should be again. We need reapers and the Dream Guardian. I never knew what the Dream Guardian even was, aside from a creepy child who never seemed to age."

Abercius nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, that always stumped me too. Where did he even come from? I suppose Lord Izanami might know."

"You and your hero worship," Rani teased. "Either way, we'll figure it out. It's good to have you back, Abby. You don't know how much I missed you."

"That's high praise from a Timelady," Abercius laughed. "I hope that I can live up to your memories of me. Do you still have your golem wandering around or did you take that into hiding with you when the Dream Guardian died?"

"Oh, I'm sure he's around somewhere," Rani replied dismissively. "I'll track him down and see what information he's collected while I was gone. I tried to program him with a decent personality, but by the Watcher, he's boring. Paranoid too."

"They say that a time golem takes on the personality of the one who programmed it, or so I've heard," Abercius laughed. "He's made in your image."

"You just wait til you have kids and those creatures made in your image start acting out. Then, my golem will look like an angel."

"There's always been a prophecy about the old king," Helle stated. "I grew up hearing about the story, but it was always told to scare kids into behaving so that the king didn't come to get them. I never asked who started the story, but it's at least fifty years old, probably even older than that. It's written about in some of the books in the old library."

"Why can't we just kill him?" Helle asked. "I don't understand why we needed to seal him away when he could just die and everything would be okay again."

"So Xexys likely isn't the one behind this story. He would have spread this threat via dreams, and he doesn't stand to gain much from this prophecy spreading. If people interpret it to mean that the king could destroy Xexys, they would only need to wait for this reincarnation to save them. No one would fear him. We need a Dream Guardian to keep Xexys in check," Lukas said. "Whether the prophecy is true or not, we need something to hold him back. Maybe if we can trap Xexys, we can stop the plague at its source."

"Yeah, that sounds easy," Lukas replied irritably. "Why didn't I think of that earlier? Oh, right, that's not how demons, especially old demons work. When a demon dies, it's soul can choose to go to the Void, and from there, after many tries, it can sometimes reappear in the living world by clawing it's way out or being summoned out. Strong demons can repossess their physical remains or even possess other mortals. Why do you think that blood demons and the Great Demons were so hard to fight? It was far safer to just trap the Demon of Nightmares and cut him off from accessing the dream realm completely. Obviously, his breaking free of this realm changes things. I don't know what the solution is, but just sealing him away again obviously won't work. That's what you should be trying think about if you want to rule this realm."

"We weren't asked if we wanted to live in a realm with an out of control monster," Helle snapped. "No one gave us the choice of living free of him, like your realm has. Why couldn't you have just trapped him alone? Why curse a population of innocent people with Xexys?"

Lukas scoffed at the audacity of this young woman, future queen or not.

"That's above my pay grade. I don't ask the Ocean why he makes things the way he does. My role is to obey his rulings and not piss him off, and you should do the same. He told Izanami that this was the way that he wanted Xexys handled, and that's why your people were trapped with him. If I had to guess, you were meant to be distractions for Xexys to play with, to keep his attention away from escaping. I can't prove that's true, but that is consistent with the decisions I've seen him make."

"The Watcher?" Helle asked, suddenly hesitant to confirm what she'd already begun to accept about the god she was raised to serve. "He's...not happy with the sacrifices we make or the worship the Proxy lavishes on him. He doesn't care about us at all. My twin brother died for nothing."

"I don't know," Lukas confessed. Why lie about what they knew about the functioning of the universe? If they did, the teenager was only going to ask more questions. "Maybe he appreciates them, but they will never buy you his favour. Just look at me! My husband is sick in a way I can't fix or even begin to understand. I'm trapped in this incarnation that only reminds me of hate and loss and losing control of myself, and I'm supposed to 'enjoy this stroll down memory lane while it lasts'. The Ocean loves games and cruelty and masterminding some scheme only he can understand. He told Izanami that 'she' was coming, whatever the hell that means! Is it a threat or a promise that someone is going to return to us? My little sister was killed just like your reaper team here, so maybe she's coming back to fix what went wrong in Abysdee's absence. Maybe he meant Absydee herself was coming back. I don't know what the Ocean has planned, only that I don't understand it and you should definitely be afraid of it. I know for a fact that he has a resolution to the problem of Xexys, but will he share that plan? Again, I don't know. Maybe we don't want to know."

Helle paused to absorb this strange theology lesson.

"You have a husband?" she asked. The look on Lukas' face was pained when this was her followup question, but she quickly clarified her question. "I mean, you're two men or you used to be before you became like Abby. Gods can love the same gender without punishment? That is how life outside of Jubilant Accosts truly is?"

"Yes, absolutely," they said with kindness. "I was brought into existence to complete Izanami as his opposite and equal. Your Watcher, as you call him, was the one who made that happen. He might not appreciate Absydee's little act of rebellion, but he doesn't hate anyone who doesn't have the sexuality or gender identity that your Proxy thinks you should have. He might hate you for a variety of other reasons, but never those. Don't take that as a sign that you're safe from his plans though. If you do become queen, you're putting yourself at a higher risk of catching his attention."

Abercius warmed himself by the fireplace in the monarch's bedroom, still a little wary of how familiar it felt to him. Absydee had spent countless hours in this room with Apophis, something Abercius was still working on comprehending.

After their reunion with Rani and the deity she now followed around Jubilant Accosts, Abercius and Helle had decided to retire to their bedroom in the home they were reclaiming. The Tredonians were amused that the two of them were living in an old castle, and had immediately agreed to join them there the next day. The Tredonians had to pack, and Abercius and Helle needed a quiet night to themselves. Too much had happened and they needed to make plans of their own.

"The bed seems fine," Helle announced, giving Abercius a pleased look. "The sheets and blankets too. It's like some kind of magic preserved things inside the castle. Is that possible? I've never heard of that kind of magic, but this place should be in terrible condition, and it isn't. Either way, I guess we can spend our time with other matters if we don't need to set up our sleeping arrangements."

"Maybe it's the castle itself," Abercius suggested. "Nothing has rotted, and the Demon of Nightmares hasn't taken this building as his own. There really could be some protection that we're not aware of."

"Then we should ask the Tredonians to test your theory. If this place is protected, then that might help us with Xexys." She paused to remember Lukas' dire words about the indifference of the Watcher. "We could use any advantage we can get against him. We're going to need it."

"Tomorrow," Abercius promised, pulling Helle towards him. "That's a problem for tomorrow. Right now, all I want to do is enjoy a quiet night with you. I think we've been through enough to deserve it."

"I couldn't agree more. We have several centuries to make up for after all. Plus, the Tredonians will be here tomorrow with their loud noises and dream experiments. We deserve some time for ourselves."

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

"I can't kill my uncle," Abercius protested, looking at Trysten's still form. "Besides, he's almost dead already, what would be the point?"

"The point is all about control," Lukas clarified. They looked irritated that they even had to explain this to a former reaper. "If we slowly remove the energy of Life from him and then replace it, fused with the energy of Death, we should be able to simulate the creation of a reaper."

Abercius shook his head. There was a crucial point that the deity was missing.

"You need a servant of Death to do this. We don't have anyone from that realm. Life can't make proper servants of Death."

"But I do have one, or rather I did have one." Lukas winked at him, only deepening Abercius' confusion.

"You see, what I have is a mortal with a permanent physical connection to their reaper past, and a Timelady of Ticktop. It's a little unconventional, but it's all I have to work with. You, Abercius, are as old as the universe. Power like that goes dormant, but never truly leaves, just like your eye. Each reincarnation still leaves a little of the past each time. I have forms to switch between, and while you're not a deity, I believe that you have another form as well. You just need help to find it."

Abercius paled at these words, looking worriedly at Rani to support him.

"I-I don't have any other form," he stammered. "I promise! I wouldn't even know how to even-" He stopped when Rani lifted her hand, revealing a swirling ball of magic.

"This shouldn't hurt, Abby," Rani promised. The magic in her hand somehow began glowing more intensely than before. "It's Time magic. I'm just manipulating time around you, gradually subtracting the years before your awakening, until we get to the time when your old body released your soul and your new body accepted it. That time in-between when you first became Absydee-Abercius, the fusion of Life and Death."

"And I will help peel away some of the Life in you that enough of Absydee's connection to Death will remain the dominant energy in you," Lukas explained. "With us giving you your best chance to access Absydee's powers, you can guide Trysten towards death, killing the plague when he dies, and then reviving him as a reaper after his heart stops. I've seen Gee do it before, and because of how you were first created, I suspect that you can do it too. It's not perfect, but we can get Gee to correct anything that goes wrong when he next checks in on our progress. Easy."

"Easy," Abercius repeated, still looking terrified. He could feel Rani's magic wrap around him, burrowing into his skin, looking for any trace of the person he'd once been.

"There, that's more like it," Rani said, watching as Abercius' red hair faded to a dark black and massive black wings sprouted from his back. Abercius instinctively reached out and grasped the scythe that had appeared, just as real to him as any of his other piece of his body.

Abercius could see the energy of his uncle's soul hover above his body, almost ready for a reaper to grab. He was so close to death, his spirit was nearly beyond Lukas' ability to control.

"I'm going to start to withdraw some of the life within him," Lukas announced. They looked at Rani to be certain that she had control over Abercius' time manipulated form. To their relief, she nodded back at them with confidence. With that settled, Lukas turned to their strange time distorted reaper. "Abercius, the instant his heart stops and the dream ends, you need to transform him into a reaper. You must have done it before in your past life, so try your best to remember the procedure now before we lose him."

"Uh, and if I haven't?"

Lukas' face somehow became even paler at this admission.

"Never? You were the team leader! How could you not have ever created a reaper before? The candidates destined to become reapers appear in your book! I've seen it myself during the Demon Wars! You've done this, just remember!"

"Lord Izanami made several of them. I did see one or two created, but from afar. Those mortals died in the living realm and I spent my early life in the afterlife, assisting with the work of maintaining that realm. Someone else must have assisted Lord Izanami, but it wasn't me!"

Lukas sighed deeply.

"Okay, so guess based on what you saw. Because I have a history of imitating his realm, Izanami has never decided to share how a proper reaper is made. If you can get Trysten to a functional undead state, that might be enough for now, and Gee can fix it later. There have been cases of dead souls who are meant to become reapers functioning for years after their death before being properly activated. But not a zombie, just undead! I'm not dealing with zombies."

"What's the difference between someone undead and a zombie?" Rani asked. Her eyes danced with excitement, which could only mean that she was getting ideas from this conversation that Lukas didn't have time to deal with. The residents of Ticktop had always been interested in pushing the boundaries of life, as well as time, whether it was their practice of assuming different faces or their goal of creating golems to be as lifelike as possible.

"Don't answer that!" Lukas ordered, eyeing the Timelady warily. "Stay focused on what we're doing here. The last thing I need is to come back in a year to find golems patched together with pieces from corpses. I will tell Izanami all about you spilling undead secrets if I come back to an army of undead golems running around here. You remember how Ticktop used to be, and I don't need that chaos once we finally get this place fixed. Some things should stay in the realm of Death."

Abercius nodded in agreement, though he had to marvel at the hypocrisy of the god of Life trying to make a reaper. Apparently, the rules only applied to mortals. Still, there were more important things to do than satisfying Rani's curiosities about the realm of Death, especially if his friend would use that information for mysterious purposes.

"No pressure," he muttered, holding up his hand and hoping for the best.

It was an important distinction to make though. A zombie was an improperly resurrected soul, while an undead person was usually flagged by the realm of Death for some purpose that hadn't been fulfilled yet. Someone who died and became a zombie would decompose and shamble their way through their second chance at life, while an undead person would be frozen at the exact moment of their death until a reaper could reap them and complete their transformation into their new state. Making Trysten undead until a proper reaper could finish the process would freeze him at the moment of his death; accidentally making him into a zombie would ruin whatever hope they had of restoring reapers in this realm.

"Okay, so I need to flag him as a potential reaper candidate first. I think I can sort of remember how that works. The Ocean used to whisper secrets in the old days. Maybe if I...."

The previously bright glow of his uncle's spirit began to dim, signaling that Abercius was running out of time.

"Rani, can you reverse time any further? I don't think this body has the power to do what I need as it is."

"I can try, but it might be dangerous. How much time do you need? I can try to move a little closer to the end of Absydee's existence, but if I go too far, your current life could be in danger."

"Let me handle that. Keeping mortals alive is literally my job. Once I'm done with Trysten, I can focus on Abercius. Work fast, Timelady." Lukas gave Rani an impatient look, and the magic in her hand grew brighter.

"Okay, but it's not my fault if this goes badly."

"Yes, that's more like it," Abercius exclaimed, wielding his scythe with an authority that came with centuries of practice. "I can remember the whispers now. The secrets of the dead...and the undead are mine."

"Is he okay?" Rani hissed, glaring at the deity. "You'd better not get my friend killed when I just got them back!"

"I can see it," Abercius exclaimed. "The plague, the dream, all of it. I can touch it."

Rani looked distressed at these words.

"Abby, what are you doing? Don't go anywhere near the plague! The dream will end when he dies, and we'll all be safe, remember? What are you doing?"

To the horror of everyone else in the room, Abercius' non glowing eye began to develop the same film over it that had engulfed his uncle's.

"Abby? Are you in danger?"

"Can't you see them?" Abercius asked. "They're talking, lost in the dream together. Alphaeus Pryor is physically across the street, but they're talking to each other here. The dreams are all connected, like Xexys' own private afterlife. Dead souls all sharing a single dream. I don't think that we can end the plague until we end the dream and the only way to end Trysten Vienot's dream is through death."

Both the Timelady and the deity stared at Abercius with dread.

"Abby, you have the plague," Rani whispered. "Your eye is-"

"There's a reason Xexys went after the reapers first," Abercius continued, ignoring his friend's concerns. "They can see the illness, see the dream. They can reap the souls and steal them away from this perpetual state of undeath. Without these trapped souls, Xexys has no hostages to continue the plague. If the dream dies with the dreamer, it can't spread. The dream needs to die."

"Abby, listen to me, this is too dangerous. You have the illness, and I've already turned time back way too far. You need to just create a reaper and end this."

Rani watched with a mix of horror and amazement as Lukas did as instructed and Abercius went to work.

"I can end this," Abercius replied dismissively. "I can end a lot of this. Trysten Jacob Vienot, I command you to wake up! Lukas, remove the rest of the life from him! Wake up!"

In an instant, Trysten's once plague covered eyes snapped open, and he bolted up in the bed, looking wildly around him.

"Alphaeus? Alphaeus where did you go?"

"He's still sick, Uncle Trysten," Abercius replied. The film over his eye had vanished, but his frustration with his uncle still remained. "We'll get to him in time. You need to get used to your new state. Rani, you can stop the time magic now. My work is done."

Rani eagerly snapped her fingers and the ball of time magic disappeared, along with the changes made to Abercius. His hair was once again a brilliant red and the full, black wings and scythe had vanished.

"Thank god," Rani said, looking her friend over carefully. "Is everything still okay? I didn't hurt you by going back too far in the past?"

"I said that I had it handled," Lukas replied irritably. "Abercius is perfectly mortal and perfectly alive. His link to his past form isn't stable, but it exists. He's more like me than we thought."

"I can see again!" Trysten exclaimed, excitedly examining his body for changes. "You cured the plague! You actually did it! This changes everything!"

"Not quite," Abercius said. "You're dead now, Uncle Trysten. You died, and I've made you a reaper. You now have the power to help this realm and free souls from the same suffering you experienced. It's not a cure for the illness, as we can't just kill every afflicted soul and make them reapers, but it will decimate Xexys' plans. Each soul freed will mean one less dreamer. We can slow the spread and make his communal nightmare weaker."

"The eye is a choice," Lukas remarked, ignoring the confusion of the newest reaper. "Are you sure you did it right? I've never seen that marking transfer to someone else before or have it be any colour but ocean blue."

"I'm not entirely sure," Abercius said. "I did the best that I could with the body I had. Maybe some of my own power transferred over or maybe it was just because we cheated to access Death’s realm with magic. Lord Izanami would likely know."

Lukas chuckled to themselves at the thought of Izanami knowing the answer to any of this. Their stepmother, Destiny, would likely have a stronger hypothesis about the glowing eye than Izanami ever would. Their husband was naturally uncurious about his realm, so long as it was functioning correctly.

"Thank you, Abercius. I don't fully understand any of this, but I know that you've saved me somehow, and I'm incredibly grateful. I can see my son. I never thought that would be possible. Thank you."

He hugged Abercius gratefully, which the teenager didn't know how to handle. All of the anger, hurt, and betrayal still raged inside of him, but maybe those were feelings for later. Right now, he had successfully accessed some of his old power, and made the first reaper in Jubilant Accosts in centuries. Well, something reaperlike at least. Progress was progress, so Abercius pushed away the negative feelings for another time, and took this moment to celebrate.

"Now that's one Timelady, one off brand reaper, and my husband's biggest fan," Lukas boasted. They looked extraordinarily pleased with themselves for these accomplishments. "If Trysten or Abercius can make more reapers, then we've got a fighting chance at defeating Xexys. If we can get a proper team, and a new Dream Guardian, then Jubilant Accosts' defenses will be back to what they're supposed to be."

"How did you free yourself from the plague?" Rani asked her friend. "One minute you had the telltale film over your eye, and the next it was gone. If we can replicate what you did, we would have a cure. I could try to mass produce one for the two realms."

"I don't fully know," Abercius answered. "The answer has to lie in the realm of Death somewhere. Dying ended the plague for my uncle, and when I could briefly touch Death’s realm, the illness vanished from me. I could feel the demonic energy it's made of clear as day. I remember how demons were formed from the first Life deity and I've seen the magic that Theo can do. This illness can be harmed by the realm of Death. Not necessarily cured for every mortal still wanting to live, but it's a start."

"It's not only Death that can impact it though," Lukas added quickly. "Theo and Adam are immune because of demonic magic and some strange version of Life magic I can't explain. The solution will involve the magic of both Life and Death, unless you want to make reapers of every victim of the plague and just hope that no one new catches it."

"It's a start," Abercius acknowledged. "It's more than we had an hour ago. This will change things for us, I know it."

A being in the shape of a man silently watched the celebration from afar. For once, Life was not only doing their job, but also a passable attempt at their husband's job as well. It was remarkable to witness after watching Life and Death bicker over the centuries and neglect the only purpose tied to their existence.

The new "reaper" was a clever choice, especially utilizing the skills of Ticktop. Life was more creative than Death, and more likely to think of unusual solutions to big problems. That was likely due to their mortal parents and experience with the mortal world. Izanami and the first Demonic Sovereign were creatures who focused rigidly on the rules of the universe, how to follow them and how to break them. A clever deity needed room to grow and experiment, with parental guidance to shape them. It was an experiment he couldn't wait to begin.

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

Abercius stared at the garden, hardly believing that it still existed after all the centuries that had passed. The proxies over the years had maintained the landscaping, which baffled Absydee, but Abercius knew first hand that disobedient students were often assigned garden maintenance at the castle. It would dirty the hands of the Proxy and his faithful to step foot on the unholy land, and it was an excellent reminder to the students about the penalties of living a disobedient, sinful life. The Jacobeans had destroyed the monarchy, and left its remains as an example to anyone who might question them. Disobey, and you would face the same fate as Hetepheres and the rest of the royal family.

The gardens were a little overgrown in areas, but were fairly similar to the ones Absydee had walked in during another lifetime. The fragrant flowers comforted her while she and Abercius tried to sort themselves out.

He hadn't gone to see Helle, like Adam believed, and maybe he should feel guilty for lying or not rushing to Helle's side as her partner, but he needed time to process everything. The Tredonians meant well, but they didn't understand the realm they intended to save. None of them knew what it was like to be a servant of Death who somehow followed their love into the realm of Life. They hadn't seen the construction of the world or sat at Death’s side.

Helle could understand somewhat, but it was Abercius who caused them both to reincarnate. He hadn't asked permission from Helle to take her out of the natural order of things. She had never asked to be separated from the dead souls of her family, even if the royal family was dysfunctional at best, or to end up as an orphan girl in a religious society that hated who she'd once been. Everything was strange and confusing now and neither Abercius or Absydee knew how to move forward.

"You still love gardens. I'm happy to see that hasn't changed."

Abercius recognized the voice, but didn't dare turn around to face Helle. Apophis. Both of them.

"I thought that I might find you here," Helle tried again, softening her voice. "I had to climb out the window to escape the Tredonians and their concern. They don't understand, so we'll have to think of something to tell them. Maybe that deity will save us the trouble and catch them up. How likely do you think that is?"

It was a silly question, meant to break the tension between them, but it appeared to only upset Abercius more.

"Life wants me to atone for the wrongs I have done, so I doubt they will do anything to help us. I'm to help them in anyway that I can to restore the realm to the way we left it. Before I broke everything."

"You didn't break everything," Helle assured him. She gestured wildly at everything surrounding them. "The castle is still here. You and I are still here. A god is here to help set things right with Xexys. You saved us. You gave us a second chance at life. We're free to marry and start a family together now. We've learned from our second lives how to fix the mistakes of our first. Abby, you've given us everything."

"You're truly not angry? After I disobeyed the natural laws? I couldn't ask you before I acted. I just couldn't...couldn't imagine spending an eternity apart from you. To have to visit you in an afterlife that I couldn't stay in. To let you go and pursue another love that could never measure up to what we had. I didn't even think about the consequences before I acted. My entire team was lost, and Rani's people...so many people fell because of me. I might have been able to stop it all from happening."

Helle gave him a compassionate look, but she refused to accept his words.

"Abby, you're being too hard on yourself. You're not all powerful, and you will never know if you could have made a difference if you'd stayed in your role. Maybe things would be fine now if you'd stayed or maybe you would have fallen with your team. I can't imagine what I would do if you had vanished like they did. Even a god can't seem to find them, and I refuse to consider a future where I have to languish in an afterlife without hope of ever seeing you again. I won't. I'm sorry that things didn't work out for the best after I died, but I'm not sorry that we are both still here together. I'll never be sorry about that, as long as you are safe and by my side."

"Truly? You've never stood in eternity with the Ocean listing your responsibilities, so you cannot know the depths of my failure."

Helle shrugged.

"I've spent all of this lifetime listening to the Proxy tell me that my existence and feelings were a deep moral failure. You've grown up listening to the same thing. You're afraid of how your mother will think of you for just being your true self, and I understand that. Trust me, this is where we are meant to be, and I will fight any deity who disagrees with me. You belong with me and that's that."

"Apophis. Helle. I don't know what to call you. This is the most confused that I've ever been, which is saying something," Abercius fell into Helle's arms, holding her tightly.

"Don't worry, we'll figure it out together. As for me, I intend to continue on as Helle. Apophis is dead and gone, and if I'm able to restore the monarchy, then we'll need a fresh start with someone who was raised Jacobean. Someone who can lead now that the Proxy is gone."

"Is that what you want? To become queen and rule?"

Helle nodded.

"It's what the prophesy says I'll do, and it's what I know. I know that with a consort by my side who I love, and the Jacobeans scattered and leaderless, I can fix things. You can help Life, like you promised, and I can fix Jubilant Accosts. We can fix it together. That is, if you want to become my consort. I'm sure you remember the dangers and difficulties that come with the position, but I couldn't imagine ruling without you by my side."

Abercius smiled, though it didn't quite fully reach his eyes.

"I admit that I had hoped that we could live our lives away from the throne," he said softly. "It did such damage to our relationship, and twisted your family against the throne in the end. I couldn't bear to see our future family willing to kill for the throne or have their hearts fill with hatred like Ranya's. But, if this is your destiny, I will follow your lead. If you must be queen, then I must be your consort."

"Abby, things are already so different from our previous lives, and I know this time will be different. I'll protect you, just like you'll protect me."

Abercius groaned at the idea.

"Life has commanded me to study magic with the Tredonians so that I can replace my reaper skills. You know how the Proxy limited the Pryor family to defensive magic; I know Helena complained about it to anyone who would listen. She should be the person who should learn forbidden magic, not me."

Helle brushed her hand along Abercius' face, hoping that the action would bring him comfort.

"You can do that just as well as Helena could," Helle assured him. "You're not such a bad warlock. If you're half as good with a wand as you were with a scythe, we'll be fine."

"Maybe I won't be. I've never really studied magic as intensely as the Tredonians do."

Helle immediately wrapped her arms around Abercius, squeezing him tight.

"You're going to be great at it. A god would not ask you to learn otherwise. The two of us are going to fix everything, especially if we have the help of a god and some strange guests from another realm. Anything is possible now. Maybe one day, we won't need to be sealed away from that realm. We have our whole future ahead of us, Abby."

Abercius smiled at Helle's optimism.

"You certainly haven't changed. You always see the best in a situation, even when it's hopeless."

"That's why you love me," Helle laughed, earning a genuine grin from Abercius.

"I guess so," he teased. "Among other reasons."

The inside of the castle hadn't changed much over the centuries. It was like a time capsule, locked away for years, waiting to be opened. Some things weren't exactly as Helle remembered them, but Hetepheres had ruled for a few years before being overthrown and Ranya had made a valiant effort of her own to claim the throne after Apophis' death. Things were going to be different.

Dust had claimed most of the palace, but things were in surprisingly good shape considering how long ago the monarchy had fallen.

"Do you think that anyone's been here since Hetepheres died?" Abercius asked. "I'm trying to remember my history lessons, if we can even trust that the history we were taught was accurate. I've been assigned gardening punishments before for falling asleep in class, but just standing in the gardens of this land was supposed to be unholy. I don't remember anyone being brave enough to even climb the steps of the castle, let alone spending any time inside of it. Have you?"

Helle shook her head.

"No, orphans don't have parents for the Proxy to complain to about their bad behaviour. If I misbehaved, my financial support was cut. You learn to behave pretty quickly when you can't buy groceries for the week."

Abercius gasped in horror.

"Really? How could they? You were a child!"

"That's how the Jacobeans operate, Abby. They want obedience at any cost, and I didn't have parents to scare me into behaving. I'm just lucky that I was considered to be too impure as someone without an established family, otherwise they might have tried to sacrifice me to the Watcher. Lucky for me, the Watcher might not accept me if I had secretly come from an unacceptable family, so they couldn't take the risk. They sacrificed my twin brother because they knew his background. My family in this lifetime has been destroyed. I don't know if I have any siblings left."

"Siblings? Do you know who your parents are? I didn't think that we'd ever know."

"I saw it when my memories awakened. My parents were Winnie and Ezra Dean."

"You're Gabriel, Tiffany, and Jason's sister!" Abercius gasped. "That's amazing, Helle! You have a family! We can find Tiffany and Jason together."

Helle nodded, but kept her eyes focused on the throne room down the hall.

"One lifetime at a time, Abby," she replied. "First, I need to acknowledge Apophis, and then I can look for the Deans. Knowing my family will help get me support to rule, but I don't have the luxury of being Helle Dean at the moment. The throne must come first. Restoring peace to Jubilant Accosts must come first."

Abercius tried to hide the exasperated sigh he'd released upon hearing those familiar words. He may have succeeded because Helle made no comment; she was focused on the throne room. How many times had Apophis declared that the throne overruled everything in his life? How many times had Absydee reminded him of what was appropriate for a king and the consequences that might come from him declaring his love for her?

This time would be different, or so he tried to tell himself. Helle would be his. They would navigate things together. Their throne would come first.

Helle cautiously made her way to the throne room, climbing the steps to the ancient throne like they might collapse at any second. From what she could tell, everything looked safe to use. There wasn't a single loose board or missing nail to be seen.

"Why hasn't Xexys torn this place apart?" Abercius wondered, checking around him for obvious damage. "I mean, I can see why the Proxy didn't want to set on unholy ground, but a demon who's obsessed with ruling this realm? He should be residing here, not at the Proxy's house."

"Maybe there's something here that repels the demon," Helle guessed. "Or the castle isn't to his taste. The church is against all things demonic, so maybe he's taken it personally. It would be lucky for us if there is something repellent to the demon here. We could move the Tredonians here where they could be guaranteed safety."

"That's a good idea. They aren't exactly focused on safety. Despina seems attached to the house though because of her parents. Hopefully, they'll see reason if we find out that the castle is safer."

Helle sat gingerly on the throne, checking to make sure that the ground beneath it was stable. Memories rushed to her mind, slamming into her with an intensity that she hadn't expected.

She remembered the first time Apophis had sat on the throne. Of being coronated. Hetepheres running around the room giggling as a toddler. Of sneaking Absydee into the room late at night for some fun. Listening to the Four Peers give their reports and wondering which one of them was sleeping with his daughter.

There were so many memories, both good and bad. Helle had never expected to find her biological family in this lifetime, and now she'd found two. The crown had manifested for her upon her awakening, and her destiny was clear. Helle Dean was in the place she belonged.

"You look just as regal as you used to," Abercius remarked, drawing Helle's attention from her memories. "A true queen."

Helle descended from the throne to kiss her love.

"You have been remarkably patient with me these many years, and I want to give you something to promise that you will have my devotion for a second lifetime."

Helle dropped to one knee before Abercius. She couldn't interpret the wide eyed look on his face, but she kept going anyway.

"Abercius Pryor, Absydee, servant of the realms of Death, I never want to be parted from you ever again, in life or death. We've spent one lifetime together, and I will spend as many as I have left by your side. I know that you've said that you will be my consort, but I want to make things official in a way that I couldn't a lifetime ago. I know we are young, and we don't have to marry anytime soon, but Abby, will you be my wedded spouse and spend the rest of our days together?"

"Yes!" The words were out of Abercius' mouth before he could even think about it. A year ago, he was trying to juggle hiding his and his siblings' secrets from their parents and worrying about school. Now his family was split between realms, with half of them missing, and he was engaged to the future queen of Jubilant Accosts while trying to use his memories of a different lifetime to fight a demon. Brion and Helena were going to freak out whenever he saw them next.

"Oh, thank the Watcher," Helle said, sighing with relief. "For a minute there, I thought you were going to say no and bolt out the door."

"It is a lot to ask Abercius Pryor, someone who is still afraid that his mother might jump out from behind a pillar to scream at him," Abercius laughed. "Absydee knew her answer immediately, and Abercius agrees. Is that weird to say? I feel like the two are merging into one united person, just slowly. Slower than I'd like."

"I feel the same way," Helle reassured him. "It's a little disorienting, but maybe it's easier for me, going from one mortal existence to another. You always seemed to have all the knowledge in the universe in your head back then. It must be a lot to sort through."

"Maybe I can teach theology when this is all settled," Abercius joked. "I now have the answers to so many history and theology tests that I failed in school."

"I'd like to hear them all," Helle replied. "Do you like the ring? It was my mother's. I would never make such a promise to you with a ring I bought my wife. I don't remember my mother very much, but she's been the only family member I feel I can trust. Someone who cared for me because I was her future, just as I know that you will always be my future."

"I love it," Abercius confirmed, looking at the large ring in awe. "Where did you find it though? Did it manifest like the crown did?"

Helle chuckled, and tapped on a loose brick next to the throne.

"Nothing so spectacular. Do you remember how Hetepheres was acting towards the end? Jewelry belonging to her mother began to disappear, as well as some of my own. In order to protect the items that were precious to me, I hid them in the walls. Some of my jewels are hidden in here, and some in the walls of my bedroom. It looks like no one found this stash at least. I'm glad that I still have something from our previous lives to give you."

"Good to know."

A familiar voice rang across the room. The pair turned to find a very familiar deity watching them beside a woman Abercius knew immediately.

"Rani!"

"Abby! I can't believe I'm seeing you! You don't know how much I've missed our talks." Rani beamed at the former reaper. "We have so much to catch up on."

"I should also catch up with you two," Lukas insisted, shooting the Timelady a weary glance. Abercius was more than welcome to Rani's tiresome presence, but they still needed to address the reincarnated pair first. A deity still outranked a Timelady no matter what realm they were in.

Abercius tried not to wilt in Lukas' presence. No matter how many times Helle told him that he had made the right choice to leave the reapers behind, he was still plagued by guilt. Lukas was married to Izanami and could tell him that he should hate Abercius for Absydee's sins.

But he had to be brave if he was going to be a consort to Helle. He needed to project the same confidence as Helena did when she snuck out of the house to see Phuong. He needed the self acceptance that Brion was developing every time the full moon came and he shifted forms without drawing attention to himself.

"Yes, we should talk about a lot of things," Abercius stated, trying to sound authoritative. "I'd like that."

[luverofralts]

Simblreen Day 3

Rani Bachelor comes with the neighbourhood of Jubilant Accosts but her face has changed a couple of times over the years.

This is her third face and current one if you choose to ressurect her character. The other ones may only be seen in pictures around the hood, so for a Halloween treat, I've included her first two faces to download.

Rani the first

and Rani the Second

Rani the First

Download

Rani the Second

Download

@simblreenofficial

[luverofralts]

Not-So-Simstober #12: Uncanny Valley

Time Lady Rani of Ticktop isn't kind to the golems who don't meet the specifications expected of them.