As soon as the killer of saints was captured, Raguel appeared inside of Athenia’s prison. His head bowed to the nightlord’s daughter; he knelt for a moment before bringing himself up and looking at her radiant figure. Hand outstretched, the archangel spoke, lullabetically.
"And so your champions have done what I’ve advised you not to," shaking his head, he continued, "Captured the killer, a man known for his ill-mercy. He belongs to no one, for he is of two minds and an otherworlder in Atlaris, granting him far more potential than anyone else on this world."
"And why is that, Raguel? I’ve been wondering why these gods have been so fond of these otherworlders. Why exactly do they have so much more potential?" Instead of being surprised, after having read that special book, Athenia was curious to decipher the secrets of everything. "Nightsilver, his initial party members and now another band of otherworlders of whom only one remains, what exactly is so special about them?"
"Since you ask," taking a step forward, Raguel gave her a smile. "Our world is brimming with magic. Theirs is not. Our world is much smaller, and so the laws of nature are much more confined. Theirs, however, is a more expansive world, and that expanse gives their soul nourishment that you cannot even imagine in this world. But alas, the lack of magic constricts their potential, which, however, no longer holds true once their soul passes from that world and enters ours."
"You should lie to someone who’s easier to fool," Athenia retorted quickly, seeing right through that facade.
Raguel’s smile instantly affirmed her suspicion, but why would he lie? The archangel wasn’t yet ready to reveal.
"In any case, we must decide on that mortal’s fate for neither me nor you can send him back, only one god in the council and one general of the demon lord has that power."
"The god of dimension and that nun..." Looking around with her mind drifting elsewhere, Athenia wondered what to do about the killer. She could surely offer him some sort of deal, but to fulfil it, only Nexsuem, the god of dimensions, could help her. "He’s unlikely to help; that only leaves the nun."
"Of course, but that’s even less likely to happen." Lifting her head, Athenia stared at the angel in front. He was neither smirkish nor arrogant in his comment; it was purely the fact that he had spoken, and yet, given her own teasing nature, she didn’t like it one bit.
"And what do you suggest?"
Bobbing his head, the advocate of the gods advised.
"A temporary truce with lord Nexsuem. He has been quite troubled himself by these otherworlders and in fact I’m sure he would prefer if they were gone, especially since it’s clear that the council–unlike the elder–can’t control them."
’The more likely path is his solution?’ Athenia had expected more from the archangel, but what she forgot to consider was that he was neither her ally nor the enemy of the council gods. Instead, he was among the few peacemakers who kept the gods in line. Not through force but the diplomacy of his words, and better diplomacy was there than to call a truce until a common problem was resolved?
"Very well, but this truce; what if the other gods get wind of it?" Athenia asked.
"It’s in Nexsuem and your best interest that they don’t," the ever radiant smile on Ragual fluttered just a little as he looked up into Athenia’s eyes. "But before that, I want you to promise in writing that you won’t reveal this deal in any shape or form to the other gods, not even Elenaria, for if the council finds out Nexsuem is as good as dead and at which point there’s no deal to be made at all."
"You have my word, and sure enough, I’ll write it down." Conjuring a piece of paper and an inked quill, Athenia wrote the terms in simple words and signed the agreement. Handing it to Raguel, she leaned back on her throne and asked one last question. "I don’t suppose he would stop the other gods from moving against me, will he?"
"The truce only stands for you two," folding the piece of paper, Raguel gave Athenia a gentle bow. "He won’t help them, but he won’t be inclined to stop them either."
"Tck...Expected as much." To the goddess’s disappointment, Raguel chuckled.
Lifting his head again, he looked into Athenia’s eyes and said his final words before disappearing.
"I’ll make sure that the terms are held and the otherworlder is returned to his world, but until I’ve made the arrangement, look after that stranger from another world and try and convince that man of two heads. In that I feel like our goals are much the same, one a mortal and another a god, who knows what it takes to set their animosity aside and accept a deal from the enemy."
’Hmm, when he puts it like that, we might face some push back from that man even if the deal heavily benefits him.’ As her mind mused on that thought, Raguel vanished before Athenia’s eyes. Noticing only then that the angel was gone, her mind steered in a different direction. ’Haven’t the other gods beside Asmareth been too quiet? After their play against my city, I thought that the war between us would turn fiercer, but that doesn’t seem to be the case...or are they planning something in silence? But then why do Asmareth’s actions through his chosen feel so desperate?’
From confronting the army at the gates with Frazer to passively making his people hate the army that has come to help, it all felt far too desperate for him to be relying on anyone else. And if so, then that only meant two things.
"He’s either been abandoned by the other gods or acting independently without their consult, either way, I still need to know what the hell the others are up to." Turning her head back to the spot where Raguel stood, Athenia cursed her luck as she’d missed an opportunity to ask him about the other gods. And now, with no outside information besides her chosen, the only thing she could do was uphold her part of the deal and hand the killer to the god of dimension once he agreed to the terms she’d written down for him.
’I guess all I can do is wait...’ And so it began, the agonising game of waiting for someone in the bureaucracy to do their work–something Athenia couldn’t stand already.