Meeting of a King and a Queen.

The forest was extra dark and dead these twilight times and the sounds of all sorts of horrors echoed through the the forest. Pandora had come to hear the noises of torture and despair but something else had called her here this night. The full moons light was the only thing the lit the forest clearing where Pandora sat on a 6 meter tall rock.

Obsidian butterflies danced around the circle of tall rocks which lined the clearing. It was an interesting place because it was probably where sneaky imps communicated with the Astral planes. "..Hm? Who goes there?" Pandora said calmly as she looked around. Her crimson eyes went side to side looking for a certain presence.

"I swear... I don't think that map maker ever left the city..." Kaseki thought to himself. He held the parchment in his hands. The edges were tattered and frail from either disuse or age. The paper itself was something of the color of the skin of a human. Kaseki had been following the instructions to reach the Frost Mountains, but found himself elsewhere.

Kaseki sniffed at the air. Something didn't fit right. He knew he was far from his land. This realm was not that of his own. Someone there just didn't fit right... "Who goes there?" Kaseki called out into the darkness.

He was prepared to ignite the forest with his power.

Pandora seemed to hear an echo of a different voice. She smiled softly and disappeared into the darkness; She followed where the noise came from then reappeared with a Poof of Dark smoke 3 meters in front of the Creature who had spoken. She didn't know what language he spoke and so she began to talk in Common. "..I am Pandora, Queen Goddess of this Realm.. Who are you?.." She looked at him with her crimson eyes up and down, Observing the creature.

His energy was unlike any soul she had felt before, Of course she had been sealed away for 3,000 years and so new races could have appeared. "..What brings you to my realm?" Pandora said curiously while walking around the creature.

"Queen Goddess..." Kaseki thought to himself. "Wait... So I'm not the only one?"

"I am Kaseki, God of the Searing Seas and Frozen Flames. Er... King god. And... I am lost." I was a simple thing to say. It was true, he was lost. As far as looking good as a King God, Kaseki barely knew the meaning of the words. All he knew is that he inherited the throne due to an accidental killing of the previous gods. It was something from a children's tale.

And in many ways... He was the hero that parents told their kids about just before they went to sleep. Kaseki was the bedtime story.

Pandora drew closer a she heard the words 'King God'. "..Its not everyday that you find a King God in your forest.. Are you a Dark God..? Or a God of Light?" She couldn't what his alignment was for some odd reason and so she thought she could get more of a reading if she gently touched the chest of Kaseki. It had been 3,000 years since she had been in the presence of a King God. The last God she saw before getting sealed away was Xi, The God of Light and Creation who she hated more than anything.

"Lost? Dont worry.. We will help you find the way." from the darkness shadow demons began to emerge all around the forest looking at Kaseki with their bright yellow eyes.

Kaseki watched as Pandora seemed to circle her prey. There was something about her that Kaseki just couldn't put into words. "Me? Light or Darkness? No, I am either Kaseki... or... elsewise." Kaseki said the words as he even confused himself. Nothing in this realm seemed to be solidified into fact. He watched the hand of the Queen God touch his chest. It but made him nervous and at ease. "There's a lot that even I don't know about me. My time is not exactly... set."

Kaseki watched as eyes circled him. It made him smile. She seemed to have servants. A funny thing for him to see. "No, I am looking for one thing, but now I seek another." In that moment what seemed to be people, came out from the darkness. A good 10 people... wait, no, they weren't people. These things weren't humans. These things were transparent. They were made of water.

But what did they do?

"A King God that is neither Dark nor Light?.." Pandora still walked around admiring the God who stood before her. "..You are a very interesting God.. What Things are you looking for?.. Perhaps my children and I can be of some assistance?.." A dark aura of shadow surrounded Pandora as she stopped walking to take a seat on a throne made of only darkness.

When the Water beings came from out from the darkness Pandora smiled and spoke to her self. "Very Interesting.." Pandora waved her hand which made the abyss that surrounded them disappear to reveal the hundreds of Shadow Demons. "..I take it you control these Water beings?.. Lets play a game of chess, Shall we?" Pandora smiled wondering what the water beings could do.

Kaseki watched as the shadows came to life. Surely Kaseki's beings were more strong and more powerful, but Pandora had him beat in numbers. The thought of a battle made Kaseki smile. But Kaseki did not want to fight. "Then let us call it even. There's no point in wasting our own skill. Perhaps with this army, rather them pitting them against each other, they can work together." Kaseki smiled about his idea. "A treaty, a truce, call it as you will. I would rather have made a friend than an enemy. Rather than to crush something and make the world more lonely, why not find someone to accompany in my conquest?"

Kaseki had plans.

But what were they?

Pandora giggled and smirked. She liked to see fighting and only meant for the beings of Water and Darkness to put on a show but what Kaseki said sounded much more interesting. "Conquest?.. Im all up for Conquest, What Realm are you suggesting we take first?" Pandora still sat on her throne while waving her hand simply. The abyss covered the Darkness Demons once more, only revealing their yellow eyes.

"Its been awhile since Ive seen humans and other beings all covered in their own blood.." Pandora spoke out loud. She wondered what Kaseki had in mind but was up for almost anything if they were equal partners, of course.

Kaseki gave out a small chuckle. What she said and did alone showed Kaseki exactly what he wanted to know. There were two ways to rule the world. It seemed the two would take either path. "My brother..." Kaseki stopped to speak the words clearly and efficiently, "... told me that there was two ways that one can lead an army. Both create the desired result, one with more power, the other for a longer time. You can command this army with either fear, or respect." Kaseki looked into the face of the Queen God, he stared into her soul, "My people see me as the King God, the Angry God and so many other things. If we, the both of us, can create an army together, the other realms have no choice than to listen." Kaseki paused. He leaned in close to the goddess's ear, "... And the Realm of Xi will fall."

As Kaseki glared into Pandora's soul She returned the glared into his soul with her crimson eyes. She listened to exactly what he had to say which made her skin crawled with excitement. "..Together Our powers are no match for the other realms." Pandora giggled. When she heard that the Realm of Xi would fall by their hands she smiled wickedly. This was exactly what she had been waiting for. Her main goal was To get revenge on the God of light and here was an opportunity that would only come around once. "..We shall prepare and strike as soon as possible.. The age of darkness will soon be here once more!" Pandora shouted.

Darkness spread out from her being like a wild fire all the while the white smiles of Darkness demons began to appear randomly around the forest. "My children! Its time to finish what we started 3,000 years ago!.. The time has come to take the realms!"

"...The age of darkness will soon be here once more!" Pandora shouted. Kaseki heard those words. Surely this woman, or well... Goddess would be the one to lead by fear. It was apparent. The Union of Ice was just a city that he protected and kept a close eye over. Those people, although inexperienced, would put up a great fight. All of them taught to never give up. Kaseki was proud of them. And the people, were proud of their god.

.. The time has come to take the realms!" Pandora had said. Kaseki stood before her. Almost in an instant. "No, Pandora, we wait. You expect us to walk into a kingdom of Light when you have tiny shades to follow you? My water summons can only last so long. We do not take war, no. We shall take up allies and arms. Today we start our brotherhood, our sisterhood, our army." Kaseki looked deep into the Queen Goddess's eyes. He wanted to ensure that they could make a swift victory with little to no cost of lives. He was not going to kill his people for a fight he won't win. Kaseki needed a larger army.

And who was to say that the other Realms aren't planning the same?

Pandora had gotten ahead of herself but who could blame her? 3,000 years in a prison of light would make a Goddess a little impatient. "..Your right. Then we shall start recruiting new allies and gain a mass army in order to take the realms.." Pandora thought for a few moments and then spoke once more. "..Word will soon get out that i have been released from the Seal of Truth.. Im sure they are planning to gather a grand army of Light to seal me away once more." Pandora clenched her fists tightly at the thoughts of That sword.

"Come my children. Listen to me." Pandora spoke in Demon. The three tones of voice were frightening and disheartening. "Send word across my realm.. All Demons who serve me shall travel across the realms and begin recruiting the races of Darkness.." The Darkness demons nodded and vanished from the forest to begin.

Kaseki reached out to the Queen Goddess of the Valley of Darkness. He placed his hand on her shoulder. "Shadows," it was the voice of not Kaseki... but the darker side. "Remain where you are. Leave this realm and you will never find a home again." The demon's voice echoed the forest. The trees seemed to amplify his voice. "Listen to me. You fail to follow my words and I will slay you all. There is none that will hide from me. No one escapes me. No one hides from Kodai." That name... It echoed. Not in sound, but in feeling. It was a name you never heard, you only felt. And it... would... always... leave a scar behind.

Between Kaseki and Kodai, they were older than everyone in the realm combined. And between the two of them, every shade of darkness, every bit of light was covered. One was your demonic villain, the other the great white knight, and something that could not be named.

"Eager for War, milady?" Kodai asked his princess, "Do not worry, destruction will be soon. But do not rush things. Even if you are ready, your shadows are not. We do this under the cover of night. We do this in a way that even the heroes will join our side. Soon, everyone will serve us. Heh." Kodai smiled. "The King and Queen of the world."

Even though Kodai's voice reflected off the trees and grew loud, there was a faint sound. If you listened close you could here it. It was a million silenced voices. They were all the same person. They all said the same thing...

"Help me."

Anger, Rage, And Darkness ran through Pandora's veins when Kaseki commanded her children in her Realm. She kept her composer and waited for the God to finish his words. It was then she realized that he referred to himself as Kodai. Pandora Closed her eyes, This God had two personalities-- or maybe Two souls. She listened very carefully, In fact Kodai's words were listened to SOO carefully that Pandora was able to pick up the Faint 'Help me'.

Kodai/Kaseki's Energy was in fact very ancient, This was true. But Pandora was ancient as well, She had lived since the beginning of Creation and even before that. It was Pandora herself who was the Darkness and the Void before anything else existed. It was Pandora who was awoken from her slumber when the God of Light began Creating.

After Kodai finished speaking Pandora became the darkness itself, her spirit was everywhere yet nowhere and her words Echoed through the forest. "..Where is Kaseki?" Pandora's words moved left to right and then Right to left. "What have you done with him?.." The darkness covered everything in a pitch black. "..I never agreed to make an alliance with you, Kodai. I shall only join forces with Kaseki!" Her voice boomed in the God Language. There was nothing but the void, The Darkness and The echos of anger. "How Dare you insult me in my own Realm..!" The Darkness was as thick as can be, packed together like Ice.

Kodai laughed. The voices of millions seemed to speak his words. It was as if...

"I have seen the end of this world as well as the beginning several times. I have traveled to worlds you have never seen. It is by chance that this weakened soul bested me on the battlefield without lifting his sword. Hmph." Kodai scoffed, "But what can you expect when Kaseki is me." Kodai was nothing more than Kaseki's alternate timeline. He found the path of evil. He didn't just walk the path, he defined it. He killed his brother, his family, his friends. He killed everyone. He gained power and strength from this killing. Then he had an idea... to kill himself. So he traveled through time, encountering Kaseki's many timelines. He killed millions of Kaseki's. He went all over time and space, because, after all, Kaseki traveled to other lands as well. But then he found the final Kaseki, his last target. He was nothing more than the rest with only one difference... That Kaseki had found a member of the Fallen Demon Bloodline, and that alone gave him strength.

That Kaseki did not harm Kodai, but instead sealed him within himself. And so it began, the great paradox. The boy who lived longer than even time existed, and carried the souls of himself.

"Please..." Kaseki thought, "Do not attack Kodai, you will only give him more power... I need... My people." His people. Those people alone gave Kaseki the greatest tool in the universe. Hope.

"Hiding in the darkness my princess? Well I always did love a nice game of hide and seek. But only children hide where the light doesn't touch."

This God was an odd one, Was he just as old as she was? a God that was there before there was anything--Just like her? "Hide?.. I do not hide in the darkness, I AM the darkness." Pandora smiled. Perhaps she could agree to an alliance with Kodai and Kaseki but even She, The Goddess of Darkness & Demons had an uneasy feeling about Kodai.

"What is your greatest goal, Kodai?" The echos of Pandora's beautiful voice sounded from all sides.

"A goal?" Kodai asked, "Ah, a question of great youth. You say you lived before this world, yet you do not see? I have already reached my goal. I've destroyed this world in one time or another. And my eyes have seen everyone here fall. But that was another time, another place. I hold the destiny of infinite lives in my palm." Kodai laughed. His bitter and cold tone seemed to shake his voice and soul. His volume reached a great distance. His eyes began to fade into a violet color after a moment.

He fell to his knees, curled up on the floor. He stopped laughing and begun to wheeze.

"His anger... it tortures the body, the heart. If we all don't die by the hands of another, he will kill himself.. us." Kaseki said. And he was right. If Kodai remained in control for too long, the body would die. But if he split.... then what would become of the world?

"So your goal is to destroy the world once more.. In this Timeline?" Pandora understood very well how it all worked but she wanted to know what his goal was this time around. However, Before her question was answered Kodai's body began wheezing and he curled up on the ground. Pandora's Darkness faded and she appeared on her throne. "Why Dont you split apart from this body.. Kaseki?" Pandora said while she Observed Kaseki in pain, or at least it looked like he was in pain.

Pandora had noticed the change of eye color which would be helpful in the future with telling who is in control.. Of course, the energy and everything gave it away anyways.

"...And let Kodai run free? My life is just a small cost compared to what he would do. Soon he will forget what he can do, perhaps he will forget how to live." Kaseki had no idea what to do. Kodai has turned him into a monster. The time he let Kodai take control was known as the "Ten Days of Reckoning". It was then that Kaseki watched his own friends die by his own hands. But Kaseki never killed a thing... it was Kodai.

"... The army.. The alliances, they come first."

A small bit of Feeling awakened in Pandora's heart which was odd for the Goddess. She wanted to help Kaseki with this Soul issue and knew the item that could help, However, This would come at a later time; First thing was first, The alliances. "..I have just the trick to seal away a Dark God.. However, That will come in Time. Your right, the alliances." Pandora got out of her seat and snapped her fingers making Darkness lift Kaseki up like a gentle breeze and sitting him down in her Dark throne. "Do you want to split up? or would you like to go together to set up alliances?" Pandora couldnt stop thinking about Kodai, The bastard. She was suppose to be the most evil being in all the realms! She couldn't help to be a bit jealous of Kodai because of how much Evil flowed through his veins.

"Two million years I lived, and two million Kaseki's were slain." Kaseki thought about the question. However he thought to Kodai. Maybe this army wasn't just for Xi, but Kodai. If everyone joined them, both the light and dark, how would Kodai resist? "First, you must meet my people. We go to the my ice kingdom first." How would the people react? Would they even know of her? Possibly not, after all, Pandora had no idea that Kaseki even existed. "There, I have my IronBark shards. The sacred element. The kids call them sacred shards. Heh."

But was the exchange of currency good enough for the dark queen?

Pandora Thought of how long Kaseki and Kodai had lived for, It sounded about how old Pandora was. Of course, back then she was only the darkness and did not have any features. "..The Union of Ice is where we shall go then." Pandora smirked, Reciting the Old name that she remembered from 3,000 years ago 'Union of Ice'. Pandora's name was only spoken in the old Legends which were turned into Myth and fiction. Pandora, The Goddess of Darkness and Demons was simply a fairytale to most people but She would use that to her advantage.

"Sacred shards? I like the ring to that.. It reminds me of my Blood Rubies.." Pandora began to walk through the dark forest. "Shall we?"

"Let us go." and the hooded man led the way back to his kingdom. All he would have to do, is get lost... backwards.

But how would his residents react to Pandora? Did they even know who she is?

______
NEXT:
https://oneworldrp.rpg-board.net/t121-the-union-of-darkness#424