《The Cube - Discontinued》


 Chapter 0 - Prologue

    AN: Hello everyone (what can I say, I''m optimistic, right?)! It''s my first time writing, hopefully you''ll tell me what you enjoy and what you don''t - please don''t be shy with your criticisms, being a ginger I have developed very thick skin! Haha, I just want to know how you guys like this and whether you''d like some more :)


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    Many people assume that ¡®gods¡¯ and ¡®demons¡¯ are merely myths stemming from religion; they dismiss them as the fantasies of their undeveloped predecessor¡¯s who didn¡¯t fully understand what went on in the world around them. They would, in fact, be wrong. While not being on the level of a metaphysical being who was responsible for the Creation of the Universe, there are many entities who are truly powerful enough to be worthy of the title ¡®God¡¯ and they cross between these different worlds, sometimes helping them with their vast powers in order to increase the speed of their evolution from dumb beasts to sentient, intelligent life forms. Even on Earth, there are many examples of small guilds of Gods assisting smaller societies like with the Romans, Egyptians and Neanderthals.


    Despite this, the Council of Gods, formed from a group of seven Higher Beings who have moved one step further on the path of immortality than the other Gods; meaning that they are many times more powerful thus proclaiming themselves to stand at the head of the God community, had declared that it is irresponsible to meddle too much in the affairs of the mortal beings and instructed the Gods to take a passive approach in their worlds. They established a set of rules for the Gods to follow:


    1. Mortals must never be told the way to Ascend to Godhood


    2. Gods should not intervene even in the case of Apocalypse


    3. Gods are restricted to the management of one planet


    4. Those that fail to follow the previous three rules shall be imprisoned within The Cube


    As with all rules, there were Gods who did not follow them. Some Gods were too attached to the inhabitants and their benevolence lead them to divert nature from its true course while others were too greedy and made the inhabitants worship them and sometimes even wanted followers from other planets which disrupted the Balance which the Council of Gods had tried so hard to preserve. The instigators were stripped of their God titles, labeled as Demons and taken to The Cube whilst the mortals who had been taken away from the path of Balance were annihilated.


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    The Cube is something far from the comprehension of even the Higher Beings,  it is most likely the work of some Transcendent Being, hidden from the eyes of those who are not even worthy to look at Their feet. The Cube exists in a plane separated from the Universe and is incredibly big. Some even estimate it is bigger than the Universe as it rotates ominously in its lonely world, being the only thing one can see from the outside however nobody has ever been able to accurately determine its true size. Such a powerful phenomenon is totally inescapable even for the Gods. Nothing comes out of The Cube, it is the perfect vacuum, far greater than Space, letting no light, sound or even heat escape. Instead, it seems to suck everything around it in.


    Within the Judgment Room, where the Council of Gods passes unbiased judgment on those who sought to usurp their rules, stands a pristine skeleton draped in a royal purple Chinese-styled gown with luxurious golden ornamentation. He faces the high oaken table behind which 7 Higher Beings sit. Although he has no facial features, one could still somehow interpret that he had a rather grim look on his face.


    ¡°Former 7th seat, Higher Being ¡®Zed¡¯, for the crime of conspiring to overthrow the Council of Gods and destroy the Central Galaxy, we sentence you to The Cube¡±, intones a solemn voice of a middle-aged man, whom everyone would recognise as the 1st seat of the Council of Gods, Husk.


    The guards then swiftly move to apprehend him from the four corners of the room, a subtle look of fear on their faces, and lead him to the spacial rift, almost like a portal, in the centre of the wall. The skeleton, Zed, looks back, an aura of rage tints his usually clear-white divine aura which he customarily exudes and spits out at a smug-looking young man with long blonde hair and blue eyes, snarling, ¡°Enjoy it while it lasts, Zeus. One day, I¡¯ll come looking for you.¡± The young man just chuckles to himself while Zed is pushed by the guards, falling headfirst into the portal to the terrifying prison that spells certain doom for all who enter it; into The Cube.

 Chapter 1 - Conflict in The Cube!

    Hi! It''s me again! I thought it wouldn''t serve as something that would really hook you guys in unless I gave you a taste of the character himself and a little bit of action! Please enjoy and give me your real impressions, love from Sam <3


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    Bang. Bang. Bang.


    Dull thuds echo through the surrounding space as a skeleton repeatedly crashes various body parts against the inconceivably hard shell-like walls of The Cube. Unlike its external appearance, there does seem to be a form of lighting, at least in the area that Zed seemed to have spawned in. Yes, he quite literally grew through the ground on his first day after being unreasonably shoved into that portal to hell, so naturally he held a hefty amount of resentment to the Council of Gods, whom he had thought of as friends some time before. But none more so than Zeus, the recent upstart who had become the 8th Higher Being in the Universe.


    Upon Zeus¡¯ Ascension, he had petitioned to be allowed onto the Council of Gods. Husk, however, had refused due to his belief of the significance of the number 7. Actually, his belief was so strong that he had influenced many different societies about its value and they had adopted it as some supernatural number. Zed, on the other hand, knew he was just a stubborn old man who deigned himself above the others in the Council, except for his right-hand man Gabriel, the second seat, and so didn¡¯t involve himself within the politics of the Council itself. Zeus saw this as an opportunity and conspired with the 3rd, 5th and 6th seats to get Zed replaced with him due to their similar opinions on interactions with mortals in the Universe, the main point of dispute within the Council of Gods. Zed had always believed that Gods had the responsibility to assist the mortals to become as powerful and intelligent as they could whilst the rest, save for the 4th seat, Ariel, believed in jealously guarding their secrets so as not to allow the mortals to rise up and challenge them. Zed shook his head in disgust, before ceasing his punching of the wall and finally straightening himself out and properly looking around.


    In the dim pale blue light, perpetuated by small chunks of moonstone, he could see a labyrinth set-up around him. The spacial rift which entered through had long since closed behind him so he decided his only real choice was to start exploring and testing himself out. He really didn¡¯t know what to expect as no information from inside The Cube had ever made its way to the outside Universe but he expected he would start seeing his many enemies before long. Naturally, having been part of the Council for billions of years, he had been one who had condemned many others who had gone against the Laws to life sentence in The Cube and with Gods being the eternal creatures that they are, he doubted they would take kindly to his entrance even if he had been forsaken by the Council of Gods. Yet, it wasn¡¯t something important to him. How could he, a Higher Being, hold some lowly Gods within his eyes? No, his focus would be revenge on those who had dared to cross him. Neither was he impatient for it. A God was an immortal being, after all. Even one thousand years could pass in the time one spent meditating, so time was a far different concept to the immortals than to the mortals that they oversaw.


    With this in mind, he decided to start getting accustomed to the conditions within The Cube. It wasn¡¯t something that could be felt from outside of The Cube due to the suction force of its creating a vacuum, but once inside he realised there was an incredibly dense natural energy surging within the halls of this labyrinth. It really was the perfect condition for him due to his style of magic.


    Even outside, in the Universe, he had been an anomaly unlike any other God or Higher Being. He was the only Dead Immortal; or to steal his former planet¡¯s inhabitants¡¯ term for him, an ¡®Undead¡¯, more specifically, his race was a Flame Lich. Inside everyone, regardless of whether they were mortal, God or Higher Being, he was able to see their Soul Flame. He hypothesised that it was some form of their soul, and so he had held an extremely intricate knowledge of the workings of Life and Death, far more so than that of his former colleagues and subjects. He absorbed natural energy, as part of his race¡¯s characteristics, although he was unclear as to what stimulated him to be able to do this and was never able to go into much due to being a unique race. He assumed it acted as a form of sustenance for keeping his soul attached to this very much dead host body. His magic and techniques, which he had dubbed ¡°True Flame Magic¡±, allowed him to utilise the surrounding natural energy to both create and control flame, whether it was physical or even their Soul Flames.


    Zed decided now would be a good time to test his abilities ¨C if they failed him, after all, even as  a Higher Being, it is possible that a God on the precipice of becoming a Higher Being who specialised in physical combat could dispatch him ¨C albeit with some difficulty. Only with true control over his abilities would he once again be able to stand over those who had opposed him and maintain his ego.  A God, after all, was nothing without his ego. A lofty personality that holds power over others was, by his own definition, a true God. Those who were willing to submit to others should not dare call themselves something which stands at the epitome of Life, even if they were immortals. Zed¡¯s arrogance, even he himself admitted to it, came from his billions of years standing at the pinnacle of the Universe. Within the Council, he had seen them as, at the very most, equals to his own power, however he still was not able to fight them off when they acted as a group. He decided that in this place, with its rich natural energy, he would use it as his springboard onto a higher plane of existence where he would be looking down on that venomous pit of Higher Beings.


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    Kneeling down, he expanded his Divine Consciousness through the tunnels. He had absolute confidence in this tracking ability because of a fundamental difference between his own version and that used by the general God population; while they searched for the natural energy that seeped out from everything in Life, he was able to see their Soul Flames. A deep purple flame started tracing over the edges of his eye sockets as he rapidly expanded his view of these twisting hallways. He became aware of a group of five Gods, which he was able to determine through the difference in strength of the Soul Flame, being chased by something which he was unfamiliar with. Retracting his Divine Consciousness, somewhat startled, he headed to where the conflict was taking place, following the route which he had taken in his mind just before.


    Within a breath, he arrived. He saw a group of battered Gods, with an elephant-headed humanoid God equipped with a scimitar in each of his four hands (A.N. Basically Ganesha https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganesha</a>) leading them, being oppressed by a giant worm, wide enough to fill the whole tunnel, and apparently extending for at least forty meters. It seemed to be following them based on its sense of touch and the vibrations they produced while fleeing from it. Zed sniggered to himself, ¡®Truly, some people are even less than a worm!¡¯ before extending his magic and snuffing out its Soul Flame by exerting his willpower onto it ¨C even if it was able to dominate a group of five Gods, it still was at most at the level of a higher God. The gap between it and Zed was no less than a dragon and an ant. As it gave out a faint groan before grinding to a halt, the group of Gods slowed down looking confused before they sensed Zed¡¯s unfathomably strong Divine aura stifling the air around them.


    ¡°That skeleton face¡­ it¡¯s you!¡± the elephant God managed to choke out fearfully before attempting to run towards Zed until his aura pressed him onto his knees.


    ¡°That¡¯s no way to treat your saviour, is it?¡± sneered Zed. He had no fear of this little motley crew biting the hand that feeds it, to appropriate one of the human¡¯s metaphors. What could they possibly do to him if they had struggled so much against something as insignificant as a giant worm.


    ¡°We thank you for your assistance,¡± interjected a child-like pretty blue-haired fairy, hurriedly, ¡°Might we know our benefactor¡¯s name?¡±


    Zed¡¯s eyes flared up once again, only this time emitting the pressure of a monarch, as if his subjects were something to be stepped on, causing them to stagger back in fear. His voice resounded through the tunnel, causing dust to fall from the ceilings and shaking the originally firm foundations,


    ¡°I am Zed, once the holder of the Seat of Pride. Now, seeing as there is such a group of you insects formed together, I assume you must have a base for many of you somewhere, correct? Take me there¡± he instructed her, whilst releasing his pressure on them. He had long since established that whilst bonds with friendship were always more effective in the long term, they took far too long to establish and so didn¡¯t match with his current needs. In his immediate circumstances, he could control through fear temporarily.


    ¡°O-of course, my Lord Zed. Within this sector of The Cube, there is a town known as Daedalus Town. If you would please follow me¡­¡± the fairy said, giving a meaningful stare to the aggressive elephant God, before gathering the rest of their party who had instantly divided up the worm¡¯s body and leading down the tunnel.


    ¡®It¡¯s not too bad here, after all¡¯, Zed smiled to himself, ¡®It should serve quite comfortably as the impetus to my Ascendance¡¯ whilst slowly following behind the group who dared not even make a sound. ¡®Yes, indeed. To be powerful is to be free¡¯ he thought, once again affirming his motivation for his conquest¡­

 Chapter 2 - Enter! Daedalus Town!

    Hellooooo again, everyone! My second day of writing continues and I''m having fun! It''s unlikely I''ll continue this pace as I''m actually job-searching at the moment but I do hope you receive this one as well as the first :)


    Once again, please leave me your honest feedback, I loved seeing them last time~


    Sam.


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    The tunnel slowly started expanding as the group continued down it. None of the beastly residents had dared go near Zed after sensing his power and so skirted round the fringes of the tunnel if they needed to go past. Approaching the end of the tunnel, with his far-reaching Divine Consciousness surging through the passage, he realised that there appeared to be a dead-end. He tilted his head, seeming to be slightly confused.


    ¡°You,¡± he spoke for the first time in several hours to the fairy girl, ¡°Why are we going this way?¡±


    She flinched, before replying, ¡°S-sir¡­ this really is the correct path¡­ the method for entering is just a little¡­ unconventional.¡± Upon finishing her sentence, they had reached the end of the tunnel, which had spread itself out to now be several kilometers in width, likewise in height. A black flat slab of rock in front of them gave out a heavy monolithic presence as it blocked their path. The flames of Zed¡¯s eyes seemed to dance in surprise; he hadn¡¯t felt an oppressive aura like this for a very long time. What could this be?


    Without another word, the fairy placed both of her hands on the smooth surface before forcing her own Divine aura into it, upon which a faint glow started to come out of the rock. Lines of writing immediately started appearing, racing down it as the whole rock seemed to be covered in this moving ancient text. Zed was astounded, the theories that suggested that The Cube was not a natural phenomenon seemed to have some basis after all, although how could the people who have never been inside know this. The ancient text, from what he could tell, was an ancient Heavenly language which must have been lost before his time. Further surpassing his imagination, the monolithic rock face started splitting down the middle and opening outwards, before revealing an enormous paved road (A.N. Think ¡°Follow, follow, follow, follow the yellow brick road!¡±) leading to a vast open cave, easily a hundred square kilometers in its dimensions, with tall stone buildings lining the streets, similar to what he had seen of his human charges who had built cities like New York City or maybe Tokyo which he had explored during his years overseeing Earth.


    ¡°Please, follow me, Lord Zed,¡± the fairy beckoned, ¡°We must announce ourselves to the guards, the Crimson Crusade, before entering the town.¡±


    They approached a group of identically dressed Gods, clad in crimson red robes, all looking battle-hardened and seeming to be the veterans of many battles. One of them nodded in their direction and they approached to intercept them, as he called out, ¡°Hindu Gods, you weren¡¯t gone for too long this time, huh? What¡¯s wrong, got chased by a Karya (A.N. form of hellhound) or something?¡±


    The party chuckled weakly at this; they had travelled with each other for quite some time, even being forced into The Cube together, so had naturally banded together and so were recognised by the guards when together.


    ¡°Well, yeah, something like that¡­¡± the elephant God replied in a non-committal fashion, glancing back at Zed, nervously.


    ¡°Wait, isn¡¯t there one more God in your party than usual?¡± the leading guard asked suspiciously.


    ¡°Greetings!¡± Zed chirped excitedly. He had hurriedly extended his divine robe to cover his full body, like a cloak, so none of his skeleton was visible. ¡°My name is Jonah, the newest addition to the team!¡±


    ¡°Oh, a newbie, huh... Well, go ahead and enter the town¡± the guard responded uninterestedly before turning back to his colleagues.


    Zed proceeded to bounce along happily, keeping up his appearance of a youthful, inexperienced God who had been taken along by this seemingly quite well-known party of Gods, who trudged along dismally behind him, as if pondering their ill luck to run into him. He felt this was degrading to his high levels of pride but he was no fool. Anyone powerful enough to establish a town and run an organised force to control those within it was certainly no pushover. Neither was he arrogant enough to assume that he would be the only Higher Being within The Cube; if that little upstart Zeus had managed to break through, after all, then who could say if there wasn¡¯t a powerful God that they had sentenced who had managed to make a breakthrough, too?


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    It would be better, he felt, to practice prudence, at first, and establish himself whilst drawing on the knowledge of those who had lived within The Cube for many years. The Council of Gods had been pushing people into The Cube as punishment for nearly three billion years, now, so doubtlessly the survivors would have racked up a good deal of information on the goings on inside.


    ¡°My lord, Zed,¡± whispered the fairy girl behind him, interrupting his thoughts, ¡°Please allow us to go and sell our spoils at the market place.¡±


    ¡°Very well,¡± he replied, ¡°I would like to see a bit more of this town after all. Lead me there.¡±


    They came to a square with many Gods hawking their goods from the labyrinth outside of this haven. There were many Gods, with many different specialties such as Gods of War who had hunted raw materials and Gods of Craft who forged, cooked and created things. A God doesn¡¯t actually need raw materials in the Universe however one can only make armour and weapons capable of harming Gods or divine beasts with equipment forged with Essence of Divinity, something that cannot be formed through a God¡¯s powers but instead is part of their very being. As part of that, it was necessary for Gods to hunt other Gods and divine beasts, the latter being quite rare out in the Universe, to form their weapons and move up in the world.


    ¡°Come buy a brand new basilisk fang dagger! 5 Dull Mooncoins!¡±


    ¡°Fresh labyrinth moss! Perfect for basic regeneration potions! 30 Dark Mooncoins per bag!¡±


    Zed was interested to see that there was an economic system, resembling that of the Capital Planet of the Gods, Heaven. From what the fairy girl told him, who had later introduced herself as ¡®Yakki¡¯, there were Dark Mooncoins, Dull Mooncoins, Bright Mooncoins and Divine Mooncoins, with 1000 of each being equivalent to 1 of the next stage.


    After they sold the worm¡¯s organs and meat, Yakki had called it a Menus, one of the ruling beasts of the area, they distributed 20 Bright Mooncoins to each of the members, including him. He suspected he had gotten the worse end of the deal, what with him single-handedly killing it however he didn¡¯t press them on it, instead making use of their familiarity of the town.


    Daedalus Town seemed to have been formed by a powerful God named Lark, having an intense fascination with the labyrinths that had been created by an old God called Daedalus across various planets, including Earth. Common knowledge seemed to be that he and his followers sent many millions of mortals into these labyrinths and for that they were sent to The Cube. Eventually they found this sector of The Cube and chose to settle here, making use of the ancient magical formation¡¯s protection from the native inhabitants. Zed grimaced to think that anybody could admire that old sadist Daedalus¡¯ works, but he supposed it didn¡¯t make any difference to him, even if they had a little bit of history together whilst they both occupied Earth.


    Yakki lead him to the God¡¯s residences. 50 meter square holes covering the western wall of the cave, which could be bought for 1 Bright Mooncoin. Yakki explained that the Crimson Crusade allowed them to customise the inside as they chose so long as they didn¡¯t change the dimensions of the caves. Nodding in response, Zed dismissed her, telling her he¡¯d see her again when he needs something else and headed into his new residence.


    Being a Flame Lich, he had observed that his needs in regards to, the rather ironically called, living were minimal. He needed neither sleep nor sustenance. Respiration and other such bodily functions had long since ceased occurring in his body. From what he could tell, as long as his soul remained attached to his body, it would function as he had become accustomed to. Through periods of meditation when he had lived in the Universe, he could tell that his grasp on his soul became far less tenuous and something much more real so he decided that in this natural energy rich environment, he would resume this practice.


    Beginning by engulfing the room in his True Flame Magic, an unimaginable inferno that repelled all those who came close, he sat down on his knees before entering the closest stage he could get to a deep slumber¡­

 Chapter 3 - Divine Consciousness

    Heya guys, second chapter today since it was just a short one and I had inspiration flowing through my Soul Flame (teehee), had a request saying longer chapters so I think I''ll work on doing this after this one! Hope you guys enjoy this, not too much action or any forms of fighting I''m afraid but I hope you like the characters I''ve very briefly touched on right now!


    Thanks, and again all feedback is welcome!~


    Sam.


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    Submerged deep within the Divine Consciousness of all life lies something akin to a building plan of the Universe. A scaled down model, copied to even the tiniest atom. Mortals could not perceive it, newly formed Gods were the same as they had not yet found their Purpose ¨C whether misguided or correct, only when a God had a Purpose could they truly exist.


    For Zed, his was the Purpose of Pride. He had his Pride of being powerful, of being a Higher Being and with this pride came his own sense of responsibility. He saw himself as a caretaker to the mortals whom he had been entrusted to ¨C gently guiding them to a life of intelligence, spreading his Divine Consciousness across the planet and visiting mortals at the hour of their death in order to comfort them; of course, some had misinterpreted it as an omen to be afraid of, calling him the Reaper, nevertheless he was content.


    Until the Council of Gods forcibly put a stop to any form of interference, try as he might he could not face against the majority rule of those equal to him. They believed that the understanding of the Universe, from their Divine Consciousness, gave them a right to rule and act as True Gods. Only he and Ariel, an Angelic figure with thick long red hair due to being of the Valkyrie race, whom he had treated as a little sister since her Ascension, had argued against them. Sadly, as powerful as they both were, they could not defy the Council and so for many years spent their life idling away.


    That¡¯s not to say those years were misspent, though. Just as he was now, in those years he had spent meditating for much of them, feeling his Soul Flame surging through this minute version of the Universe, feeling it absorb the atoms that compose it only to reform them an instant later as it passes by.


    Zed was sure that he was only one of few who comprehended some of its purposes; firstly, in regards to Creation, he was able to understand the components of a planet down to the finest detail, the position of every star, the forces that act within the Universe. He knew he was only just past reaching one tenth in the complete absorption of the Universe, but he felt as if the Universe within his Divine Consciousness became more real every time his Soul Flame moved through and analysed the atoms.


    Secondly, it gave him a far more intimate way of learning about the matters of Life and Death which he understood were the realms of a True God¡¯s powers. Physically looking at a planet and expanding his Divine Consciousness over it to watch, as he had done for so many years on Earth when he acted as the so-called ¡®Reaper¡¯, only granted so much insight. What he began to feel was that the answers actually lay inside this carbon-copy of the Universe. He had tried many times to completely cover it in his Divine Consciousness in order to watch and understand all of it at once however his Soul Flame was not yet powerful enough to envelop it so he could only cover about one tenth.


    Similar to his absorption of the Universe with the Soul Flame, he felt that the correlation showed the more he understood of this unfathomably large, which was not truly infinite yet growing, Universe, the more he would be able to investigate the laws of Life and Death, which were truly closest to his¡­ heart.


    He smirked at the irony as he continued to float through his Divine Consciousness in hopes of something giving him a flash of inspiration. Seeing there were none, he once again resumed his reminiscing, as his mind thought of how his adopted little sister would be faring now that she was on her own.


    (A.N. Scene change! Everyone get the new set ready and... action!)


    Located at the centre of the Universe, lies a galaxy inhabited solely by Gods. The Capital Planet of the Gods, Heaven, is the only planet where one could really say they lived a luxurious lifestyle. In fact, if they didn¡¯t, then no other planet should be able to say otherwise for it was the home of Gods who live the most decadent lives. Every God lived like a fantastical noble: throwing parties, summoning the most delicious food and wines and nobody would go wanting for anything. Such was the life of those who had ascended above mortals; such was the life that the Council of Gods had permitted them to lead in anticipation of ruling over the mortals.


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    A grand palace spans many hundreds of miles, so enormous one could even see it in space, and every inch decorated by the Universe¡¯s finest artists, from both Gods of Art and some inspired mortals whom even the Gods must admit had moments of brilliance. It exuded a brilliance that both promised lavishness and tranquility, as the flowers in the many acres of garden spread about and swayed gently in the breeze. Contrary to its exterior appearance, however, the domain of the leaders of the Universe, the Council of Gods, was quite shaken in its conflict. With Zed out of the way, a force who stood at the pinnacle of power out of the seven Higher Beings, although not so far as to subdue them, they sought to move on Ariel.


    ¡°You dare speak to me after the slanderous accusations you made against my brother?¡± a proud voice echoed through the halls, power infused in every syllable it spoke, causing the servants to shake and tremble.


    ¡°Come, now, Ariel. We both know what he was planning, don¡¯t we? He would have brought mortals into the Central Galaxy and tainted it. The fool of a mortal-lover.¡± drawled an arrogant voice. ¡°Anyway, what does it matter? He¡¯s been sent to The Cube, now, and nobody has ever escaped, even if it is unprecedented to send a Higher Being there.¡±


    The voices came from the Conference Room, just beyond the Judgement Room in the palace. Sitting around a circular table, four Higher Beings occupied the seats.


    An infuriated voice once again resounded through the palace, coming from the war-like red-haired young woman, clad in silver armour, concealing her slender figure. ¡°He was framed by Zeus! Isn¡¯t it obvious? Besides, what¡¯s so wrong about bringing mortals here, anyway? We were all mortals once, too, you know, or have the legends that those mortals tell corrupted your brain so much that even you believe it now?¡±


    ¡°Well, we know he wasn¡¯t ever mortal at least, that damn freak of nature¡­¡± muttered one of the two men confronting her, the leader of the famous Drakon species and 3rd seat holder, Daius, his blue-scaled dragon head twisting towards an indistinct mass of repulsive green flesh overflowing from the 5th chair. ¡°Help me out here Zash? This pigeon will never shut up. Every time we try to have a small meeting it turns out like this.¡±


    Finally, as if growing bored of the entertainment, a humanoid wolf creature, known as the Werewolf Kain, the second seat, growls, ¡°Enough. Let us proceed with dealing with Council affairs as we planned. We have fallen behind schedule enough as it is¡­ firstly on the agenda; a supernova is occurring in the Jeya Galaxy, should we stabilise the star or let nature progress¡­¡±


    Ariel sat down once more, placing her hand on her face, her thoughts wandering off as she thought of her brother who had looked after her for so many years. ¡®Will I see you again?¡¯ was something at the forefront of her mind however she knew that somehow they would be reunited. As far as she was concerned, even Gods are part of that cruel chain called ¡®destiny¡¯ and she slowly extended her Divine Consciousness through the galaxy, just as her brother had instructed her to do all those years ago.

 Chapter 4 - An Expected Betrayal!

    Hey guysss~


    I tried my best to steer the story into some action (at last, I hear you cry?) and lengthened the chapter a bit more!


    As ever, feedback is appreciated, please enjoy!


    Sam.


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    Having been wrapped up in what he was doing, time passed, and years upon years rolled on by. Naturally, for a Higher Being such as Zed, time means little but he was startled to suddenly find disturbances trying to disrupt his True Flame Shield. He gave a groan as he forced the dust and chippings of stone that had built up over his bone joints out and wreathed his purple cloak around him once more, again covering his whole body. Extending his Divine Consciousness outside he sensed a mob of around two hundred Gods with the more powerful aura of the guards at the head trying to force their way through his magic.


    Feeling out the crowd¡¯s Soul Flames, he recognised a few of them in the mob as the ¡®Hindu Gods¡¯ whom he had saved from destruction before his entry into meditation. If you could see beneath his hood, you would think that ghastly skeleton was grinning; far more disconcerting than even the horde of Gods who seemed to hold malicious intentions towards him.


    He dispersed the flames which had enveloped the cave for so long and felt a familiar rush of warmth as they added themselves to his cloak, further decorating it with the gold ornamentation that had become so familiar to him. Walking into the painfully bright light, he stood in front of this crowd of all shapes and sizes, having been sent there from every corner of the Universe, and his dignified voice once again shook the foundations of this labyrinth, saying, ¡°Who would be so bold as to disturb me when I have not deigned to approach you?¡±


    An angry murmur rippled through as someone yelled out in response, ¡°We know it¡¯s you, Zed! The Hindu Gods told us all about how you threatened them to help you enter the town!¡±


    Looking around, he located the source of the shout. He saw a weasel-faced man, stooping with slightly graying hair, surrounded by the Crimson Guard. Seeing his Soul Flame was proportionally larger than any of the others, Zed instantly knew who he was. ¡®That must be the follower of Daedalus¡­ Lark, was it?¡¯ he thought whilst his eyes started flaring in a deep and hateful red.


    ¡°Hmph, looks like I¡¯ll need to start dipping back into some of my old habits.¡± Zed muttered, quite annoyed, before angling his body and, faster than even a flash of light, arrived in the centre of the mass of Crimson Guards holding Lark up by the throat. His sleeve had fallen back, revealing his almost luminescent bones causing the crowd to react once more, their fears confirmed, making some of the older Gods even step back in case they got caught up in it. They all felt that Zed was, at the very least, worthy of being feared¡­ it wasn¡¯t for nothing that he had been given titles by the God¡¯s population such as ¡®The Bone Lord¡¯ or ¡®The Death God¡¯.


    ¡°So, tell me, now that I¡¯m sure you are giving me your undivided attention. Again, why did you seek me?¡± Zed asked in the same tone as before, although this time with a more obvious threat behind it as he tightened his grip.


    ¡°Release our Lord!¡± cried out one of the braver Crimson Guard members, he seemed to be only a few million years into his Godhood, while charging at Zed.


    Without even looking at him, one of the golden decorations on Zed¡¯s robe started moving through the cloth and quickly made its way out, turning back into his True Flame Magic. This was arguably one of the main reasons as to why Zed was so formidable, he had such a fine control over his magic that it had nearly gained sentience and so was able to defend him without his even needing to focus on it (Like Gaara''s Shield of Sand, only with flames is how I imagined it). It was an unparalleled defense that allowed him to focus solely on his target. The snake-shaped fire entity gave off an angry glow, matching Zed¡¯s eyes, before repelling the aggressor, leaving him with burns all over the front of his body.


    Another wave of the guards again came, looking to rescue both their Lord and avenge their fallen comrade. Zed sighed; he had wanted to deter them from any further foolishness so he could continue his peaceful talk with the little man in his hand.


    ¡°ENOUGH!¡± he roared, quickly creating a bubble around him from his Divine Consciousness and using it to seize a hold of each of their Soul Flames. He felt such a brute force technique was beneath him, however when it came to Gods there really wasn¡¯t any need to overexert himself and so he tightened his grip on those within his aura. Sinking to their knees, any form of resistance was impossible unless they could not feel pain through some demonic methods, as he had quite literally grasped onto their very lives.


    He placed down the sweating weasel-faced man in his hand who started stammering out, ¡°I-it h-h-had just come to my notice, my Lord, t-that we did not p-produce a sufficient welcome for you. P-please allow us to throw a feast in your honour!¡±


    Zed smirked, whilst he nodded his head. ¡°Very well, I shall arrive at your home tonight. I¡¯m sure it will put even the parties of Heaven to shame!¡±


    ¡°O-of course, my Lord!¡± the weasel-faced man responded, tears welling up in his eyes as he counted how much this was going to cost him. He would even have to use some of his own spoils from the Sacred Labyrinth, so naturally it would make him miserable.


    ¡®Now then, time to tie up some loose ends¡¯ thought Zed, the flames in his eyes glinting murderously. He vanished once again and reappeared in front of the Hindu Gods who had tried to distance themselves from the pack after seeing what had happened.


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    ¡°Well, fancy seeing you here. I was sure I told you that I would search for you upon coming out, not the other way around?¡± he asked, mockingly, to Yakki, the fairy God. Curiously, there had seemed to be some dynamic shift within the group as he could tell from the flickering Soul Flame of the elephant God that he had suffered some trauma, perhaps due to infighting as was often the case amongst ambitious Gods. They seemed to be following Yakki now which he supposed to be the reason for this current change in circumstances. He had seen her as the type to scheme upon seeing how she sucked up to him, earlier, and now in her sudden shift in attitude.


    ¡°Eheheh¡­ my Lord, this is all a misunderstanding¡­ as you heard we just wanted you to have a real welcome in our humble town¡­¡± she giggled nervously, glancing around for moral support from her companions who quickly shook their heads, except for the elephant God who continued staring at the floor.


    ¡°Ah, is that so,¡± he nodded agreeably whilst slowly lowering his hood, revealing his perfect white skull. Once again, the golden decorations on his robe started to shift only this time they headed towards his head, snaking around it until the True Flames merged together forming a brilliant golden crown, quite simple with no jewels adorned to it, giving the others around him of his being unparalleled under the heavens as it shone out.


    The older, experienced Gods immediately started fleeing. They had heard the stories of what the crown meant, and were wise enough to not even dare stay within a mile of him. Seeing this, the Crimson Guard, Lark and the newer Gods followed suit leaving only the Hindu Gods before him.


    ¡°Let me see how pure your souls are¡­ True Flames of Judgement!¡± he cried and instantly, as if the heavens themselves had manifested in their material plane, his True Flames started amassing in the sky. The Gods before him squirmed against his aura but could not move an inch. Strangely, just before they descended, Zed flicked his hand sending something flying back east towards the town but there was no time to closely examine it as everyone¡¯s eyes were firmly fixed on the roiling flames which crashed down and swallowed up everything except for Zed. He had tried to keep it under control, and was secretly quite pleased at how he only scorched the cave faces behind him, attributing it to his recent success in his meditation and his more powerful soul. Before hand, he would have definitely made them all melt.


    Grinning at the stunned faces of the other Gods who were looking at the place where the Hindu Gods had disappeared, leaving not a single sign that they had ever existed in this world. They could hear his strange clacking sound which was recognised by all as his chuckling as he returned back into his cave, even hearing his nonchalant comment of ¡°Oh, what should I wear tonight?¡± and then stood there for many minutes more, barely daring to breath, until they finally made their hasty retreat to the town. The Gods who owned caves along the western wall all cursing in their minds as they swiftly made plans to relocate.


    In the centre of town, a bedraggled God continues staring at his feet. The scenes of the past few days replayed through his mind. His friends whom he had travelled with for many years now had scorned him, claiming him to be an oaf. Unworthy of being a leader for them. They argued that his fear of Lord Zed had made him irrational in regards to matters concerning him, feeling that they would profit more by ousting him to Lord Lark and allowing him to deal with them. In truth, he, too, had felt increasingly nervous over Lord Zed¡¯s presence¡­ his silence over these few millennia had been like a crushing pressure on his mind, however he knew that realistically there was no way to stand against such a being for them, or anyone in this town, perhaps even this quarter! With this in mind, he told them to have a non-aggression approach, and to tread lightly in all matters concerning Lord Zed.


    He remembered how as one of the more powerful Gods around an intelligent planet that they had visited called ¡®Earth¡¯, he had always felt a presence shrouding it, making him uneasy. His companions, being newer Gods weren¡¯t able to feel this faint oppressive aura which had been seemingly reigned in so as not to affect the mortals. Upon investigating, he had seen Lord Zed easily dispatching some of the Gods who had influenced the population there too heavily and so he had been aware of the unfair level of power he had in regards to them.


    His companions, with Yakki as the mastermind, had gone ahead with their plan, forcibly restraining him. Now, he was pretty sure they were dead. Lord Zed had spared him, throwing him back to the town before the impact of those murderous flames. He felt a sense of bitterness but not due to missing his companions, as far as he had been concerned they were simply travelling companions to pass the time. He could find new ones quite easily, being a moderately powerful God himself. No, he was bitter at his lack of power for preventing such a thing. How could he, a God born for the Purpose of Power be held back by a bunch of young Gods and put into such a state where he simply had to cooperate?


    He was not able to even obtain his own revenge, instead having relied on Lord Zed to dispatch them for him, and even having spared his life! He felt an ambition surging through him that he had not believed still existed within him. Resolving himself, looking back up off the floor, he made his first steps to the west.

 Chapter 5 - Forming Connections!

    Hey hey hey, second chapter of the day~


    Writing makes you hungry you know? Hopefully reading my chapters makes you hungry for some more too (cringe)


    Feedback as always is appreciated, thanks!


    Sam.


    ------


    Zed left the stunned Gods, returning back into the vacant cave that had served as his resting place for the past few thousand years. Seeing that it was gradually collapsing and that he had failed to furnish it appropriately, he waved his hand, removing the dust and rocks and raising a plain golden throne, reminiscent of the style of his crown, in the centre of the room.


    Sinking into his new seat, and resting the side of his head upon his knuckles to keep himself propped up as he slouched to the side, an image of a small slightly chubby girl with red hair and red cheeks floated to his mind, as he imagined her saying ¡°Bad big brother  Zed! You can¡¯t just kill people like that!¡± He chuckled at the thought, remembering how long ago it had been since that little face reprimanded him in such a manner, before scolding himself on her behalf. It seems he really had overdone it this time. Only meaning to frighten them, he had used one of his most renowned and powerful abilities, his True Flames of Judgement, and tired himself out quite considerably.


    The lasting effects of using his magic were that it was tied directly to his Soul Flame, thus expending his own life force. Luckily, counteracting this was his racial ability to absorb natural energy, a very rich resource within The Cube, from what he had seen of it, and that would speed up the process much more rapidly than it would have done otherwise outside in the Universe. Nevertheless, being in a state like this was dangerous for him and he cursed himself for his lack of stamina when he fought. He supposed that in this state, he could only use such an ability twice more. ¡®Quite impressive¡¯, he thought, ¡®It seems my progress in enhancing my Soul Flame has improved me to some degree, at least.¡¯


    Prior to his reclusion and exile into The Cube, he had only sufficient energy to use it twice before he fell into something akin to a coma as his Soul Flame was nearly too weak to remain attached to his body. His reason for being apprehended by the other Higher Beings was absolutely down to his lack of stamina to repel them an infinite number of times and they had simply overwhelmed him. Shaking his head bitterly, he weaved his True Flames around his body in his old style (A.N. the purple robe like a Chinese Emperor), seeing no need to hide his identity anymore and awaited his new pawn¡¯s arrival.


    Yes, seeing that the elephant God had been alienated from his group, he had saved him in order to manipulate feelings of gratitude and attachment to him as he felt he needed someone with more understanding of The Cube to use and someone with a bit of standing within the area to handle those around him. Zed had chosen this town to set up as a base to start from, seeing The Cube was something so powerful he felt there were many things similar to the ancient gate entrance that he had seen when he first arrived. Perhaps there would be things he could study, knowledge he could only garner inside this place that would allow him to surpass his rival Higher Beings.


    In regards to Higher Beings, he knew he had to be careful. He felt that he had overwhelming power over the others within the same realm, even more so than those beneath him, the Gods, but with his power came the extreme fragility of his Dead Immortal state. It was a contradiction that even he thought was too bizarre to be natural, and the conflict within his nature meant it may only be too easy for him to lose his Soul Flame, and whatever mockery of Life he had been given and so, like he had decided when he first entered The Cube, he would be prudent.


    Who¡¯s to say if other Higher Beings had not seized control of an area in the same way that Zed was planning to do? With his many years of experiencing the politics of the Council of Gods, he had long since learned to be wary around everyone, especially those close to him. Of course, he had doted on his younger sister dearly and would not believe that she would betray him intentionally but he knew that there may be a way in which she is manipulated into unintentionally harming him in some way. Caution may be the way in which the weak chooses to survive, however employed by the strong it would not permit any bugs to crawl through the cracks, nor any weeds to grow. He had realised this too late, however, and so stamping Zeus out had been impossible. Sadly the cockroach had already gotten his claws into the Council and forced him out but this time he would not make the same mistake!


    Zed turned his throne to face the entrance to the cave and, as if following a script, the elephant God knelt down at the entrance crying out, ¡°Lord Zed, allow me to pay my respects and beg your pardon for not doing so from the moment we met! I would like to follow you, if you would have me.¡±


    The flames in Zed¡¯s eyes changed to a mellow yellow colour, seeming to dance happily at this notion. Although, if Ariel saw this, she would certainly deliver a punch to his tibia, knowing his various quirks and recognising that expression as a malicious scheming face. No, he did not understand it either but it seemed she could read his expression on his fleshless face. Nonetheless, he was pleased that his hunch had been correct. The elephant God in front of him, while seeming to be impulsive and perhaps ill-tempered, he was smart. ¡°Of course,¡± he replied, a note of sarcasm underlying his words, although too subtle to be picked up on, ¡°I¡¯m always looking for capable Gods such as you to assist me. Although, I do not believe we have been properly introduced and so I feel slightly disadvantaged. May I have your name?¡±


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    The elephant God humbly spoke again, no trace of arrogance around him as he kept his eyes to the floor, ¡°My Lord, your humble servant¡¯s name is Raq¡¯uesh! Please inform me if there is anything I can offer you as assistance?¡±


    Zed was impressed, by all accounts. Very rare was it to have a God so smart while being committed to this degree. In the past, the retainers who had served him, as it was impossible for him to deal with all of his Council work at once and so he needed to have delegates to represent him. Even then, even when serving him and confronted by his absolute power, they still held an aura of aloofness, something that had infuriated him to no end and even hurt his Pride. Yes, he just knew that Raq¡¯uesh was going to be very useful.


    ¡°I do have some queries, actually, Raq¡¯uesh. Firstly, tell me the composition and power distribution within The Cube.¡±


    ¡°Yes, my Lord. The structure of the inside very much follows what one would assume from the outside, following a cubic pattern. Daedalus Town that we are in is the hub within the sector that the founder and current ruler, Lark, has named the Sacred Labyrinth. This sector is located in the quarter of The Cube that the other inhabitants of The Cube called the Lawless Zone due to being the only territory not claimed yet by a Higher Being such as yourself. There are a total of twenty-four sectors, all of the same size except for the Capital of each quarter which is roughly four times larger than a normal sector, and four quarters which form The Cube.¡±


    Zed seemed to blink, slightly perplexed at this torrent of information surging from his first subordinate. ¡°Very good. You implied that there are Higher Beings within The Cube other than myself?¡±


    Raq¡¯uesh nodded, looking quite pleased from the praise, before saying, ¡°Yes, three others rule three different quarters however whenever one tries to claim the Lawless Zone, the other two suppress them, thus creating a stalemate.¡±


    ¡®Interesting¡­¡¯ Zed thought, ¡®I arrived in a place separated from the other three Higher Beings, could it be a coincidence¡­ or..?¡¯ Dismissing the thought as he knew without any further evidence, it would be pointless to conjure up empty theories.


    ¡°My final question is regarding you. How come you know so much when you seemed like an idiot when we first met?¡± Zed said rather bluntly. He was never one to tiptoe around the feelings of the weak.


    Raq¡¯uesh opened his mouth slightly, before shutting it, the question throwing him totally. Collecting his thoughts up, he laughed bitterly, ¡°My Lord, I had heard you didn¡¯t pay attention to the affairs of those beneath you¡­ but I didn¡¯t expect you would forget my presence on your own planet¡­ oh well, I am actually regarded as a God of Wisdom on many planets around the Milky Way Galaxy¡­ despite those damnable humans actually getting my name wrong¡­ not like I could correct them a few hundred years later though could I?...¡± he started mumbling off at the end, clearly Zed had hit a sore spot. Being the merciful Higher Being that he was, he allowed him a few moments to turn back to the conversation.


    ¡°Ah yes, where was I? My Lord, the only reason I reacted aggressively upon our first meeting was due to fear blinding me, forgive my foolishness.¡±


    ¡°Ah, it is behind us now,¡± Zed laughed arrogantly, ¡°Now let me grant you the uniform of being my retainer.¡±


    Lifting his hand, Raq¡¯uesh¡¯s robe changed into one of a pure royal purple, similar to Zed¡¯s own robe however without the many golden adornments, instead a single golden flame, about the size of a candle-flame lay down like an emblem by his heart.


    ¡°This robe will protect you from a life-threatening encounter; the flame on your chest will save your life once. At the same time, should you harbour any ill feelings towards me¡­¡± He was sure that an intelligent God like Raq¡¯uesh would figure the rest out (A.N kukukuku).


    ¡°Now, leave me while I prepare for tonight¡¯s feast,¡± he continued, ¡°I wish to collect my thoughts before leaving. Accompany me there later.¡±


    ¡°As you command, my Lord.¡± Raq¡¯uesh affirmed quickly before dashing off.


    ¡®Now then,¡¯ Zed thought, ¡®how should I approach this?¡¯

 Side Story 1 - Fall From Grace!

    Hey guys, I had a pretty tiring day of interviews today so I really couldn''t commit myself to writing another chapter, sorry about that. As an apology I figured I''d try my best at a more comedic short (and I mean SHORT) story from the POV of our new character Raq''uesh! Please, as ever, give me some feedback if you feel like it, it would really help me!


    Sam.


    EDIT: Just fyi, I don''t think I''ll continue in this manner in the main story but I felt like it was getting a little heavy at times so thought I''d try my hand at something new. Maybe I''ll try and incorporate a little humour as far as I can into the dynamic between Raq''uesh and Zed though, I''ll see how it goes


    -----


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s over, is it?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but ask a redundant question to my companions. Looking at each other with fearful eyes, I sighed and sunk to my knees. Swarms of Divine auras could be felt converging on our location and, frankly, I was too tired to resist anymore. It seemed that ¡®resistance was futile¡¯ just like they had always claimed.


    Gods like me care about image very much but that is only to a certain degree. Even we have breaking points, although we would never show such a thing to a mortal. An image in front of the mortals is very important, whether you rule by fear or by example. My group and I had set about gaining followers, each of us pursuing the Purpose of Faith, but we had tried to surpass our stations. The Council¡¯s laws were simply too limiting for Gods like us who could grow in power, to some degree, from the Faith of the mortals, as we were not allowed to manage multiple planets or grant miracles, as that counted as intervention.


    We had secretly started gaining followers on other planets, including one particular close encounter where we nearly stepped on the toes of that monstrous Bone Lord Zed¡­ luckily that prideful monster did not deign to pay attention to what we were doing on his planet. Who knows what he does on it, that old demon. Sadly, eventually some flunky¡­ sorry, I¡¯m trying to cultivate an image of Wisdom, I meant retainer, reported us to the Council who mobilised their nearby forces to apprehend us.


    ¡°What should we do?¡± wailed Yakki, sinking further into despair.


    The others, Kris, Vil and Div all seemed to be the thinking the same thing. That was a bad sign, it could get dangerous if they get hysterical and I really don¡¯t feel like dying. That would be a real blow to my immortal status, you know?


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    ¡°There¡¯s only one thing we can do,¡± I bravely call out to my comrades, ¡°Surrender and beg!¡±


    The shamelessness of my statement shocks them into silence before they start looking determined.


    ¡°Right,¡± Vil agrees, a fierce expression showing on his face, ¡°We¡¯ll beg for our lives! That¡¯ll show those Council do-gooders!¡±


    When you go with it that easily, even going so far as to think of it as an impressive plan, it¡¯s actually really embarrassing. I decided there and then to commit myself more fully to this path of Wisdom.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move! Stay right where you are!¡± calls out a praying-mantis God.


    ¡°Yes sir! We shall submit ourselves peacefully!¡± Vil replies gleefully.


    No, really, you¡¯re getting way too into this.


    ¡°Shut up!¡± snarls the angry insect whilst knocking him and the rest of us out.


    -----------------------


    We wake up in front of a tall oak table. An impressive looking dragon-headed man looks down on us, somewhat uninterestedly, before looking back down at the table. It looks like he¡¯s reading something. A few minutes pass before Div suddenly snarls, ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t just ignore us!¡±


    Personally, I didn¡¯t feel that the words fit the situation, what with us having been knocked out by Council forces just before but I was too frightened from the imposing aura suddenly exerted by the dragon man to scold him for it. Looks like this was a bad move but I¡¯ve always agreed with group responsibility so I won¡¯t hold it against Div too much if he cripples us, or something. I¡¯ll still be pretty annoyed though, I have so many dreams!


    ¡°I was just considering on whether to kill you now or send you to The Cube but I guess you¡¯ve made my choice for me,¡± the fearsome dragon man snickered, seeming to have restrained himself, ¡°Looks like it¡¯s an eternal life of struggling and misery for you! Bye now!¡±


    With such a terrible fate uttered in a tone that really didn''t fit the situation, following my, admittedly, abridged summary of our life in the Universe, our life in The Cube together began.

 Discontinued - So sorry :(

    Hi guys,


    I went away for a couple of weeks due to work only to come back and find that I didn''t really know where this was going anymore. I tried to think about it but I found myself a bit disillusioned with the character as I feel putting him in a powerful position as I did so early kinda ruins it.


    I think I''m going to try writing something again soon though but I intend to write a fair few chapters out first before posting it as that''ll let me plan things a lot more fully.


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    So sorry guys, I guess I''ll just have to treat this as a learning curve and not be so eager to jump in and write things out like that as it ended up ruining for me what may have been an okay story