Void of Stars

The Void of Stars is a realm cut off from the rest of existence by an ancient primordial. Very few can enter this realm and fewer can survive in the ever changing atmosphere. For one to be called here, their renown should be great and their skill greater lest they fall to the trials present within the broken, divine realm. Should the realm reappear to the rest of existence, a calamity tied to the fates of Aether, Nether, Divine and Forsaken is imminent.

EX 000: Phantasmal Distortion -Act One: It awakens...-
"Sometimes, I wonder why the world works the way it does."

"For what reason, Annie?"

"It often sees as if the worlds are held together by the thinnest of strings, dangling ever closer to the scissors that will eventually sever them and start 'That'."

"Anira, you're worrying too much. When the time comes, you'll be ready. We'll all be ready. It's that or death, no middle ground to stand on."

"That wasn't reassuring, Akua."

"It wasn't meant to be. We don't have much time left before our connection is severed by dimensional interference and boundary feedback, I have to tell you something before that happens."

"I see. Speak quickly the- What the hell!?"

"Annie, get yourself and my daughters out of there!"

"What's going on!? Alisa! Iylessa!"

-Transmission End-

"That was rather disconcerting," mutters Volmond, sipping a cup of tea, "Those three are rather important to my plans... Seraph, could you awaken Helios and Asteria? It seems that I will need them to do something for me." The doctor receives no verbal answer from his "assistant," instead he senses a slight energy fluctuation that notifies him of her departure. Several seconds pass and another energy fluctuation occurs, signaling the girl's return. Volmond does not turn around, knowing he will be displeased at the sight behind him, and continues to sip his drink.

"Did you not have the time to make yourselves decent? For shame," he sighs. What sounds like twisting and tearing metal being ground against stone fills the doctor's head, followed shortly by the sound of a sorrowful angel's song. Volmond's eyes narrow and he glances at the two indecent beings standing behind Seraph. "Dress yourselves and activate your vocal modules before you return. People must be able to understand you for the job I have in store for you two." He receives a pair of nods before the two beings behind Seraph vanish. A moment later, he sighs. "I'm beginning to understand why you chose to do what you did, Seraph." A rare look of longing enters his eyes. "Just as you would do anything for the Judge, I would do anything to have 'her' back."

The doctor receives no answer again, though he does not expect to. The longing in his eyes diminishes just as the two beings return. He is greeted by the sight of his two masterpieces in their peak forms.

On the right stands Asteria Adventus, a slender six foot tall female humanoid with piercing red eyes,  wild forest green hair that flows to just below her waist, skin the color milk chocolate and several patches of scales grouped in symmetrical pairs. She is clad in a combination of black leather and cloth styled into torn jeans, a corset under a thin jacket, boots, several overlapping belts and a choker with a red heart insignia. On her hands rest several rings decorated with various inhuman skull, partially obscuring the swirling tattoos that flow up her arms.

On the left stands Helios Avant, a being better known as Heaven, a male humanoid standing slightly above Volmond's five feet and seven inches of height. He is fair in tone and slim in build with honeyed blonde hair and turquoise eyes that gleamed even in shadows. He wears a simple white coat with white fur lining the hood over a cyan, short sleeved turtleneck and silver jeans with golden stitching. His feet are shod in what appear to be simple sneakers, but on closer inspection tiny blue flames erupt from their soles.

Volmond smirks at his two creations before giving his orders:

"Asteria, I need you to locate several willing people to help me with a... Project of mine." The female humanoid nods before vanishing in a plume of flames. "Helios... I need you to visit Yosai Fortress and request a favor from Lady White in exchange for a favor greater value from me."

"And what would I be asking for, Volmond," questions the humanoid.

"The assistant I picked out during my last visit," answers the doctor, "Her assistance will be required before the day is over and done with."

Helios nods then vanishes in a storm of feathers. Volmond sighs.

"Today shall be long."

-Interlude- The Doctor's Reason
The Void of Stars, empty. The usually quiet realm had grown eerily quiet during the time in which Volmond left to deal with White. When he returns with Nezumi, he notes the difference.

"...The stability of this realm is worsening. It may be best if we process with-" before the word "caution" can leave the doctor's mouth a large blade erupts from the ground, creating spreading white cracks as it slides through the ground then returns to beneath the surface. "...The message is clear is it not?"

"Yes, it is. I will follow directions you need me to do."

"Then my first instruction is simple: Loosen up," replies the doctor, moving himself and Nezumi out of the path of another blade and the paths of those that follow. Initially, he had been surprised by the blades, but now he appears to expect them and know where each one is at any given moment. "I don't know what White told you to make you this stiff, but for your sake ignore it. I know that she trusts me to be within a yard of her, but a large amount of her wariness is unneeded... Ah, we've arrived."

The area Volmond notes doesn't appear much different from the rest of the Void of stars, but the air is different. While the rest of the realm felt cold and distant, this area pulsed with the power of the eight elements and another, older power. Additionally, there were several bookshelves, each crowded by dozens of books, and a large crystalline orb that floated several meters above ground.

Volmond snaps his fingers and his desk appears, messier than before if possible.

"Make yourself at home, it will take me awhile to decipher why there is such a clause within the spell," says Volmond, shifting papers around on the desk and opening the books around him to specific pages, "Until I'm finished, read a book or do what you normally would. You don't have to worry about safety, only the people I allow can enter this place and no outside interference can enter this place."

She quietly sits down and does little else except look around.

''She doesn't get out much, does she? I find that rather sad, but I cannot judge White for that. ''

"Is something on your mind?" Volmond continues to shift the mess around until something catches his eye. "Aha!"

"Nothing. I am just waiting. Have you found something?" She asks impartially.

"Possibly, though I can't be sure... Hm, it may work... or it will exile us to the Tartarusian Quarter... I'll see if I can find a safer method," mutters the doctor. "By the by, do you absorb knowledge and power like the other one like you? Not the one Lady White lost, but the one beside her at nearly all times."

"All of us have powerful minds. How we use them is subjective. All of us have the power to aquire new abilities, however. White creates batches of us to determine the most favorable attributes that can be produced, and through process of elimination has found her preferred variances for my generation. Our generation, the Eta will be made as long as White is content with us. She always looks for new ways to hybridize and improve us. When she finds the next race of interest, she will merely replace us with the generation that will result, and we will simply sleep until the time comes she has want of us."

She says this with no emotional intonation of how she feels about what she has said.

"That is indeed saddening, then. You've described your brethren and yourself as tools...," Volmond says. Suddenly, his eyes light up only to dull. "No, Antiva isn't fruendly this time of year... Or anytime of year for that matter..." He sighs before gesturing for Nezumi.

She gets up and walks over to him. "What is it?" She asks.

Volmond gives her a hug.

"Don't demean yourself, it leads to a cold existence... And no, the Land of Departed Souls would only reject the Realm and expel it this world," says the doctor before growling, "This is going to be a long day...!"

"Are you looking for locations to send the realm?" Nezumi asks. She looks at the books, curious.

"No, trying to keep is from being warped to inhospitable dimensions," replies Volmond, smiling, but annoyed at his lack of progress, "And so far, I'm failing~"

"I see. How did you learn of my mistress, if I may ask?" She pauses. "And no, I'm not being told to ask that by my mistress. She's meeting with the others." She laughs, weakly, though not out of an attempt to hide something, more of just seemingly unsure how to laugh, strangely enough.

"Oh, that orb. Phoenix has been on one of its displays since White I and Hadari seperated," answers the Doctor, "I only really took interest during the previous generation. Also, please inform your mistress that I am somewhat, actually very disappointed in her treatment of your kind... Now if you'll be a dear and take a few steps back, I'm going to get serious and I don't need you to have a mental overload."

Nezumi takes a few steps back as he asked her to. "Interesting. That long? What exactly does it do?"

Volmond snaps and the crystalline orb roars to life, becoming blindingly bright before several circles appear on it, one of which has the image of Yosai Fortress. Not looking up, a storm of papers and eldritch sigils erupts around the doctor, thousands of equations and phrases phasing in and out of existence each second.

"Just what are you...." She wonders for a moment, then shakes her head. "Why do you care about what our mistress does with us? ....Sleep is better than the waking world...."

''Call it an interest of mine. I care for beings such as yourself because your situation is similar to mine or at least was...'' Volmond's mental voice trails off after connecting to Nezumi's conscious.

She sits down and watches what he's doing, quietly thinking to herself.

Hours pass with little success on Volmond's end. His frustration mounting, he stops and slams his hands on the desk before taking deep breaths.

"Ask me a question," he more so commands than requests.

"...Is there something I can do to help? You are.... trying to banish? This realm somewhere?"

The doctor grows more irrate, but reins in his temper.

"Depends," he pauses, "Can you understand Chaosian, Eldritch and Aetheric Languages? If not, no, ask something else. I am trying to permanently seperate this realm from your plane of existence, something that is already grossly complicated. Then there are the secondary effects I'm trying to avoid as well, mainly expelling us to another, locked dimension."

"Do you know of the seven beings that guard Yosai? White never tells me much of them, she largely ignores the questions about them I ask."

"Elemental Warlords. They are 'allies' of Phoenix and are related to their swords, the Slayers from what I recall. There are eight, but the eighth is ALWAYS with White from what I recall. Anything else?"

"....I don't know what to ask to be honest...." She trails off.

"I have a story to tell, but... It isn't for eavesdropping ears..." Volmond trails off...

"I understand.... White is too stubborn to relent.... I'm sorry."

"I wonder," says Volmond, a thoughtful expression, "Could you ask White what her opinion of dreams and ideas?"

"....She asks what are you implying by that? She also says that dreams and ideas are pointless in a world where Mythos are denied their existance and hunted like animals. The Second World shall put an end to the days of oppression and fear. That's what she said at least."

"A thing or two... Could you ask if she has five minutes?" The look on Volmond's face is priceless.

"She would like to know why you're asking these things. Very much so," She says, a little nervous.

"She can ask in person when she arrives~" Volmond smiles eerily as the crystalline orb begins to spin. The image of Yosai Foryress is replaced by a feed of White's face with several icons floating around it. "White, care to hear a story? You may even bring your two protectors and the Warlord at your side if you'd like."

White sighs. "Fine. I'll hear what you have to say." She rubs her forehead.

As White speaks, the image of her brightens then swirls before drawing White into the realm.

"It seems my job is to pester you at this point in time," Volmond smiles, "At least until I come up with a new possible solution to fixing Grand Schism's flaw. Have a seat please, I'll begin my tale shortly."

She sits down next to Nezumi with a sigh. "Very well....."

Over the next hour, Volmond explains his rather difficult life, though he does not over act or embellish the story. He explains how he met Aeon and how he got her body in return for a homunculus body and how she reacted when she found her powers limited. He goes over the creation of Helios and his betrothed, Asteria, and the story of Seraph, who was once a human in love with the embodiment of order. The only part he seems to skim over is his time with the Lord of Inverse.

White sighs when he finishes. "A rather interesting story you tell Volmond. Though it worries me that you have such enemies." She looks at him. "What was the point of the questions you asked of me? I despise cryptic conversations."

"I wonder," smiles the doctor eerily, "Maybe I was curious, maybe I was bored, maybe I had some reason I'm not interested in disclosing... Indeed, I wonder."

Her next sigh comes with a bonus of smoke and cinder that lightly bellows out of her mouth from her annoyance. "Whatever...."

"Please be careful with any flames," Volmond chides, "I cannot allow anything to be caught on fire at least not at this moment."

"Then don't annoy me further...." There is still a hint of smoke in the air from her slight outburst.

"Lighten up," Volmond pauses then erupts into laughter as if he heard an amazing joke, "S-sorry, I realized that wasn't the best thing to say, but seriously, relax White, a little fun never killed anyone... Oh wait, I DO have coffee, just not very strong coffee... Have some." Three cups filled with steaming coffee appear on the desk before two float away, one towards Nezumi and one towards White... Before all three cups promptly explode in the faces of the recipients. Volmond is not amused.

"..."

If it was just that particular moment, or just a result of pent up stress, he doesn't know, all he knows is a definitive 'snap!' in her mind goes off when she looks at her slightly singed hair. She lets out a growl and a jet of white fire spews at his general direction, aimed at his face.

Volmond dodges the flames and prepares to apologize when he sees his diagrams and books burning. Immediately his irises become the color of the sun and six armored wings sprout from his back.

"Those papers were IMPORTANT," he roars, clenching his hand in White's direction. A moment later, an explosion of black flames jettisons the chair white was sitting in skyward.

".....Volmond." Nezumi speaks up. "I don't think that's normal paper. Look."

Volmond holds a silencing finger in Nezumi's direction, but glances at the papers anyways. Much to his surprise in the papers aren't completely gone. In their stead are  thin, sturdy metal frames that form parts of a picture. His anger drains and he immediately begins to arrange the frames until a genuine smile forms on his face. He cheers loudly, then runs to Nezumi, twirls her around then activates a different function of the orb. The crystalline mass begins to slow before it stops entirely and glows a faint white. Shortly afterwards a complex seal with various ancient symbols and equations form within the sphere.

"That's it! That's the flawless version of Grand Schism," Volmond gushes, "White, I'd actually kiss you for this, thank you... Oh, oops..."

She slows her ascension with large white dragonic wings, letting the chair fall unceremoniously back to the ground.

"Ah, you aren't a stain in the sky," sighs the doctor, his wings melding into a coat with three tails, before repeating what he did to Nezumi, adding a kiss on her cheek. "Thank you very, very much, White! It's complete!" He plants another kiss on her cheek before releasing her and surrounding himself in a rapidly fluctuating storm of sigils and ancient symbols.

She flaps her wings, before gracefully landing. "That was... rather frightening."

As if on cue, maniacal laughter bubbles from the storm before Volmond reaches out to White telepathically.

''Don't think for a second I'm done with you. I have to reward you, even if yyou didn't intentional aid me. Corvus, Kokua, Freischutz, take your pick.''

''.....And... those are....?''

Are you sure you want a cryptic answer?

''Just what are you offering to give me Volmond? ''

For one reason or another White sees the mental image of Volmond's eerie smile, often accompanied by his  cryptic "I wonder". Volmond does not say the words, instead answering vaguely.

Superweapon...

''I don't really care Volmond... whatever you want. I'll take whatever....''

''The lack of anger makes me think either that you've developed a slight, molecule sized soft spot for me or I've simply broken your drive to be angry with me... Take Kokua, which I will not explain how to use.'' Outside the storm materializes a pair of black metal loops with four oily colored metallic feathers connected to each. Shortly following is a black gauntlet with the crest of a crow on it.

"What is the gauntlet for?"

"Accuracy and precision," replies Volmond, stepping out of the storm, "Nothing else to say. Now to actually prepare for the spell. White, since you are here, you may as well enjoy the show... Things are about to really kick off."

-Interlude- The Inverted King
The Void of Stars. A mysterious place with an even more mysterious inhabitant. Very few recognize the name Volmond Blatt, and fewer have seen the secretive man without him wanting them to. The man claims to be a doctor of sorts and indeed does practice the art of mending, but there is far more to him than simply healing and dealing with others... What motivates the enigmatic man and why does he go through such lengths to to conceal his past?

"It seems that Asteria has returned earlier than anticipated," observes Volmond, "And it seems she has brought...!" The doctor chuckles then adjusts his glasses. "It seems she's brought something... Rather someone I'd never expect to be outside of that realm. It has been some time since I dealt with a Relic God..."