[FIN] Life and Death (Elohim)

[Nairore]

x x

She was cold. And empty. Those were the two best words to describe how Nairore felt, wherever she was. It was all darkness, surrounding her. Darkness and loneliness. Emptiness. There was no Naurlambe, such a familiar presence on her back. That sword had always been her acquaintance, had always been there for her. It was the one friend she always had, and she had put it before her and let it explode. She had thrown it to the dogs and in return felt the sting of the weapon.

There stood the shard in front of her. She really wasn't sure which one it was, the one that had embedded itself in her shoulder, or the one she had pulled from her forearm to stab Merik with. She really hadn't known what she was thinking at that moment. She had avoided thought. She would avoid it now. Block that part of her away. The shard dripped with blood and she found herself wondering whether it was hers or Merik's. Which shard was it, and why did it matter? It mattered because it kept her from thinking.

But she was empty. Her life was chaos, she had no idea if Zenethil would truly forgive her, no idea what Lori would think. There was no running back to Merik now, not after what she had done. She could vaguely recall words, but they had no meaning. Not now. They were just empty shells, just like her. Cold and empty. Like there was nothing inside of her. And there wasn't. Not anymore. She had felt that presence inside of her drift away the moment Frostbite had stolen her warmth, had left her innards feeling cold and empty.

Wherever she was she no longer felt any of that pain. Nairore stood and stared into the nothingness before her, wondering if this was death. Was she dead now? No, she couldn't be. Zenethil was too skilled of a healer for that. Unless he resented her. Maybe he just let her die in the street wherever she had landed, disregarded all her words. Merik would get away and she would die for nothing. Just a dog, put down because she had bitten too many people, too many masters.

There was something in the emptiness around her. A very subtle and dim light. It wasn't fire, it was something else, just a gentle glow coming from something too far away to make out. Nairore squinted and found herself wandering toward it. Why not? She was empty, it was empty around her, but this was something. Why not try and grasp something? Nairore wasn't a quitter, she wasn't the type to just give up even when she was left empty and cold. So she wandered forward and found the doorway, the dim glow coming from inside.

Without a sound, without a care, she pushed the door forward and opened it.

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[Elohim]

Inside of that doorway, Nairore would find something unexpected. This was no heaven, no hell, no purgatory; well, may be the last one, if you consider being in the company of those within a fate worse than death. The room itself was a grand, thirty by thirty room, black and gold tiles covering the floor, and the door itself lined with a gold trim now that it was visible in the light beyond it's outline. The walls were hidden by curtains that encompassed everything but the doorway she now stood in, the curtains a red velvet with a golden thread trim on the bottom. From the ceiling, which was pitch black, hung a grand golden chandelier, each candle upon it lit and providing most of the light in the room, four standing torches in the corners of the room lit to provide a bit of extra lighting. On one side was a red velvet couch with a mahogany table set in front of it, a small chess set on the table, and there was a matching red armchair on the opposite side of the table. On the other side of the room, there was a raised circular platform, though it did not break the flow of the tiles, and on it sat an odd little assortment of instruments; two xylophones, a violin, and a grand piano. Near each of these instruments floated a sphere of pure white energy, though a faint outline of a person surrounded each one.

In the velvet armchair, which was situated so that it was facing the "band", was Elohim. One of his messengers had informed him of the death of two unborn children, something Elohim didn't hear of often and was rather curious about whom they belonged to. Upon being told that the Gerudo King was involved, his interest and amusement were piqued, and he decided to step into things himself, both as his duty as the Undertaker and as he wished to do as the King of Heroes. The very room the two sat in was a creation of Elohim's own design; a place created on the ethereal plane for this particular instance, which he would remove upon it's use being served. This did not mean that Nairore was dead; her near-death experience though did, for a brief moment, allow her spirit to enter the land of the dead.

Elohim himself was actually dressed quite casually for the situation, donning his white v-cut shirt and black slacks, though his jacket was currently slung over the back of the armchair. A white-sleeved arm moved one of the pawns on the chessboard, the pieces all golden and the board itself a mix of black and white panels with a golden frame. He let out a small chuckle as he noted the guest of honor arriving, giving a snap of his fingers to signal the band to begin. The ghostly outlines near the instruments all took up their positions, acting as if they weren't spirits and interacting with them as normal. With precision timing, they began to play a slightly haunting, but low-key melody. It was a personal choice of Elohim's for the occasion: he thought it was nice and fitting.

"Welcome, little bird. Have a seat on the couch. One cannot say I'm a man without courtesy for a woman who just recently with child," he commented, letting a little of his arrogant side through but it seemed that for once, he was being genuinely kind. This situation interested him, and he felt that perhaps he might meet an interesting person or two. Perhaps the gerudo would provide him with a good way to kill some time. He didn't know how it'd go, but frankly, it'd be worth it so long as it at least amused him to some extent. He didn't bother turning to face the woman in the doorway, knowing that she would comply. When you believed you were dead, and the man who ruled death itself invited you to have a seat, you generally listen to him. At least, you do if you're not an idiot.

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[Nairore]

x x

Through the door Nairore exited her mind and entered somewhere completely different. She stood in the doorway for a long moment, completely baffled by this new place. This was not a creation of her subconscious, not like the emptiness, like the giant shard that was dripping blood. The very fact that she now recognized those things as creations and not some twisted reality told her she had awoken from a dream in this place. But it was not reality either, she could recognize that. Not when she stood on the border between her own mind and the world of another.

Then the band started playing an eerie tune that immediately fell into the background, simply setting the atmosphere in this bizarre place. Only when he spoke did Nairore even notice the other person, as he was the only other human in the room filled with floating orbs of light. Poes? Things began to click into place in Nairore's weary mind, and while at her best she might question the very line of thought right now it made perfect sense. "Elohim," she murmured, remembering her father discussing the man, or rather the ghost before. It was an odd thought knowing she was there talking to the Undertaker, the very lord of the dead himself.

So her father had abandoned her after all? No, that couldn't be. Unless he had given chase to Merik. Her last moments of consciousness were still a bit vague, blurry figures and garbled words. She wouldn't blame her father for abandoning her, but the other Knights that had been present . . . there had been healers on hand who would not have run after Merik. Their duty was to heal and Zenethil would be angry if they did not do that duty. That was what this was all about, after all, duty. It had been her duty, as she had been told all her life, to finish off the King of the Gerudo. She had seen that, perhaps, and embraced the moment.

No, she wouldn't think about it.

Instead she stepped forward through the bizarre room and sat down in the chair across from Elohim duteously upon his invitation. She focused on the chess board between them but didn't know if it was for her or not. She had learned chess; you didn't grow up under the Hylian Commander's tutelage without learning chess. It required far too much thought for her, but she was almost eager for Elohim to insist now, that she might focus her vagrant thoughts on something and avoid everything bad. "Until recently," she murmured, fixing his comment. There was no way she was still with child, Merik and Frostbite had made sure of that.

Empty. Cold.

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[Elohim]

As Nairore observed the chessboard, she would notice it was not a standard chess set. Many of the pawns had the form of vague humanoid torsos, lacking arms but with a blank head, the waist down being the standard flat base for the pieces. In fact, all of the pieces were in the form of people, but not all of them were vague humanoids. For example, the king piece on Elohim's side of the board was, in fact, himself. The piece had him in his armor with his hair spiked upwards. The queen on his side was, oddly enough, Princess Zelda, and one of the knights was Zenethil. One of the Bishops was, equally oddly, the Monster Emperor Nightmare Darklight, the figurine half-humanoid half-hydra, with his human head as well as a few hydra heads. One of the rooks was the Human Champion, Ryan Green. On the opposite side, many of the pieces are vague humanoids, but the queen piece was actually Titania, the Queen of the Fairies. The king, oddly enough, was a vague piece, and the rook closest to Titania was actually Merik.

Lastly, the pawn that Elohim originally moved, was a replica of Nairore herself, but with an obviously swollen stomach to show she was pregnant.

A few of the pawns were missing from the side closest to Nairore, particularly the ones that would be in front of Merik and Titania. Elohim moved to bring the piece representing Merik forward, two rows ahead of where the Nairore pawn was. He then moved the Nairore piece forward, which was responded with Merik moving horizontally to take out the Nairore piece. As he tilted it onto it's side, it changed, the belly no longer being swollen as two tiny lights emerged from the piece, drifting to hover over Elohim's palm, which was turned to face upwards.

"I know," was all he answered with to her comment about recently, a small amused grin on his face as he watched the lights dance in the air above his hand. The two lights then hovered over from his hand to dance in the air in front of Nairore. They were similar to the lights of the poes performing on stage, but they were significantly smaller, barely being the size of one's fingertip.

"Some think that prior to being born, a life has no soul, but truly, even before that a child has a soul. These two should feel familiar to you," Elohim commented casually, resting an elbow on the armrest and his head rested in his palm. His crimson eyes watched the gerudo with amused, but a blatantly superior look. He was gauging the gerudo for now, holding back on many things he wanted to say until he had a good feel for her stance.

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[Nairore]

x x

Nairore examined the chessboard curiously, the different figures. It made rough sense to her, the pieces being where they were. Zenethil, Zelda, Nightmare. Elohim himself being the king was no surprise; Zenethil had spoken of the Undertaker's arrogance. Spoken almost exclusively of the arrogance. The Hylian Knight Commander hadn't said much aside from the fact that the poe was extremely arrogant. The rest of the chessboard was intriguing. She glared down at the Merik piece and felt oddly tempted to move it forward into one of the obvious danger zones.

Then Elohim moved the piece for her, but not where she would've put it. Instead he knocked over her piece and Nairore hid the horror she felt as she watched the obviously pregnant piece deflate. Instead she put on a smirk and reached out, picking her piece back up, knocking Merik's over and moving it back to safety alongside the other pieces that surrounded Zenethil. "Last I checked I'm still alive, and Merik's been bloodied and chased. I'd say I'm in a better situation than he is," she replied. Elohim didn't know, but Nairore was quite arrogant as well.

Of course Elohim had one up on her as he called down two dim lights and hinted as to what they were. Nairore grit her teeth at the sight, at his mocking tone. She stared at the two lights, but they did nothing for the emptiness inside of her. Nothing stirred. She just remained cold and empty. Her jaw relaxed and the subtle shift of realization reflected in her irises as she came to understand why nothing was stirring. They weren't her children. They were Merik's. It was a little surprising seeing two of them there, that she had been bearing twins, but had they remained after what she had done she wouldn't feel any connection to them.

They would've been parasites in her body, hindering her, getting in the way. A smirk spread across her face as she came to accept this realization, and that Merik's last act had been a favor. It was sadistic, in a way, and probably a little inhuman, but Nairore didn't want children. She had just come to accept that she had had them. "They're Merik's, they aren't mine," she said with an icy tone. "So where is this place and why are you here?" she asked, not feeling particularly inclined toward niceties all things considered.

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[Elohim]

Elohim liked this woman. She was different, she was interesting; had she reacted as he expected, it would have been dull and he'd have probably ended this whole thing now. He was glad that he did this regardless, as the woman proved to differ from the standards of this era. Good, good, this should make for an amusing show, watching them play around in the dirt,

[/i] he thought to himself as he moved the Titania piece forward in a straight line, right up to the space behind where the Merik piece was. The way the pieces fell, Merik's position allowed the Titania piece to legally move right up to him. With that being done, he stood the Merik piece back up, before both of them moved backwards, with Titania in her original place and Merik in the open space in front of her.

"It's far from over though, but that's a good thing. An abrupt end would make it boring," Elohim commented, maintaining his arrogant, but amused expression as he looked over the board. He knew Merik would survive; a messenger had told him as much. He had fled to the Fairy Queen, his little fairy wench, to recover from the injuries inflicted on him by the woman who now sat with the Undertaker. A very predictable move, and something he had accounted for when he first set up the pieces. That was why Merik was merely a rook, rather than a king piece; he had power, that much was certain, but he only knew how to move in a straight line with it. He had no creativity, so he was boring.

"You, however, I expect will keep that from happening," he commented as he looked over his own pieces, the pawn that was previously Nairore now fading into the same generic shape as all the other pawns. What was previously a blank knight on his side now took on the form of the gerudo woman, the knight situated on Elohim's side, while Zenethil sat on the side across from Zelda.

"You're a presumptuous woman, assuming you are alive when meeting with me, but the Goddesses favored you this day. Indeed you're living for another day, and I will keep my own hand out of things to permit this. Had you been dull, I would have ended you here to avoid having more wastes of flesh in my domain," he continued as the two lights drifted back over to his open hand, before crushing them without so much as a second thought. Such spirits were worthless; they held no useful knowledge or power, and were mere wastes. That would've pretty much been what he'd do to Nairore, if she did not interest him.

"The affairs of mortals are my only source of entertainment in this era, as most individuals are simply worthless and meaningless, not even worth scraping dirt off my shoes. Few catch my attention, and the murders of those yet unborn is a rare occurrence. I believed it would bring me something of at least some value, and naturally, I was right. You are a different type of mortal than many of this day, and such is a glorious sight to sore eyes. Continue in your quest for vengeance against the mad dog of the deserts," he casually explained, looking to his right for but a moment as the light of a poe formed in the air beside the chair. A small flash of curiosity entered his gaze before it reverted back to the same pompous, but satisfied look it had before. On the chess board, the second bishop shifted from it's basic shape into something....well, even more vague. It wasn't even humanoid, but looked more like an amorphous blob on a square base.

In truth, this was simply a placeholder for a new force he learned that had entered the game. It seemed the Twili, a race long banished to a different dimension, had returned to the Realm of Light. Naturally, they would have their own ruler, who would most likely appear as well, but Elohim could not be sure what to expect of them. Thus, for the time being, they would be a bishop until he could properly place them. He then, metaphorically, picked up his train of thought from before and turned back to face Nairore.

"Your torment and suffering amuse me, but seeing if the mad dog is put back in his place will be all the better."[/blockquote][/size]

[Nairore]

x x

Nairore watched the game continue as Titania had saved Merik and brought him back to safety. Of course that was where he had gone. She had suspected it, she could remember, warning Zenethil of her involvement before she had come here. She must've been out for quite some time, however, for Merik to have made that entire trip. When you were unconscious time wasn't a factor, you simply fell out of consciousness and woke up whenever your strength returned, however long that took. Still, Nairore had been stabbed quite viciously. Even now she felt the cold empty feeling that came with having a hole ripped in your stomach.

But what really piqued her interest was something else entirely. Elohim had known what had happened, and he knows where Merik was. He knew Titania had revived her, or, at least, he speculated as such. Nairore considered this as she listened to his arrogant little rant about what amused him. "Not presumptuous. Stubborn as high Hell. I'm not dying yet whether you're here for me or not. I aim to spill more of Merik's blood before my time comes, unless he finds a way to do better job of cutting it short. Either way, there were several healers about when I was stabbed, so I'm easily confident that I'm not dead," she said with a dismissive shrug.

There was another matter to address, what got her interest in the poe. Considering his peculiar placement of himself as king and her as his knight, she was pretty sure he wanted her to come to this conclusion. Or at least he was hinting at it. He seemed to want to watch what was going on, but wanted to get involved in such an errant way. "It's impressive how quickly you came to understand the situation of things. Your network of eyes and ears is admirable," she started, feeding his arrogance to build him up. She wasn't typically into this sort of political game, but considering her new quest for Merik she would have to learn.

"Give me your eyes and ears and I can keep things interesting for you. Otherwise it's a lot of nothingness as we hunt and search ourselves," she said, throwing it out on the table. Elohim liked interesting things, didn't like fluff, didn't like too much subterfuge. She would be straightforward with her request. "I'm going to find Merik and I'm going to end his life, personally, or he's going to end mine. Either way someone dies and you'll get appeased," she said without a hint of hesitation even when discussing her own death. It didn't matter, she didn't feel anything at that moment. "Either way you get a strong warrior by your side."

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[Elohim]

Truly, this woman would keep him amused, if not for just a little while. It was an extremely short amount of time by comparison to how much he had behind and ahead of him, but it was better than nothing. One had to strike at the moment if you wanted to gain the benefits of it, after all, and sitting by letting such an opportunity get away would just make things more boring for him. The fact that pleased him more was her understanding of the circumstances, and refusing to believe she was 'beyond him' like the mad dog did before. He knew if this woman got what she desired, he would simply have to destroy the spiritual remains of the Gerudo King, but were she to die then he would gain a loyal, if not competent, subject. Still, ending her himself would just result in having to destroy her spirit as well since she wouldn't be too happy about it, and more importantly it'd just make things boring again.

"Perhaps I shall, but in return, you cannot share the information I provide you. After all, you've got two other bloodhounds who now have an excuse to destroy an obvious evil," he replied as he picked up two of the pieces from his side between his fingers; Ryan Green and Zenethil, the Human Champion and the Commander of the Hylian Knights. He knew both to be men who hated evil and put 'justice' on a mantle, and so he knew they would gather their forces and seek out the Gerudo King if they knew where he was. Thus, the natural conclusion was that Nairore would have to act independently if she wished to bring this to a personal ending.

"Their simple-minded pursuits of 'justice' bore me; there is no ending other than achieving a man-made ideal. Such individuals lack creativity and lack their own desires. Allow them to wander in the darkness, and you will achieve your goal. If you inform them, they shall move swifter than you to impose their belief on the mad dog, and then you shall be left with no satisfaction," in truth, Elohim didn't care whether she succeeded or not, but the bloodied, twisted path of vengeance always made for a fun story. Good versus evil was bland, and it had lost meaning long ago, being nothing more than something fools held above all else as a belief to cling to when they had nothing to call their own.

"Fools are quick to act but slow to think, after all," with that, he tossed the two pieces to Nairore, pretty much forcing her into a decision. She could have his aid, or she could have the aid of justice. Really, the goals clashed, and Elohim just wanted things to remain interesting. Her selfish desire was infinitely more entertaining to watch than the blind pursuit of fake ideals.

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[Nairore]

x x

Nairore didn't even think about the possibilities of her partnership with Elohim going beyond the veils of life and death, should she die. That was too far ahead of time. Right now she was looking to track down Merik. Two months with him had been enough to shroud her eyes, but when it came down to it she knew where her loyalty lied. She had seen his facade, but the moment she had acted for herself he had tried to take everything. The stab through her stomach? That was justifiable, but his words, that sheer hatred he had come out with so suddenly. That wasn't created on a fly. That had to be lying somewhere deep down waiting to be released. It was Merik's true colors.

And she aimed to snuff them out of existence.

"I aim to cooperate with the two 'bloodhounds', however you see it. That doesn't mean I aim to give them everything. They have resources at their disposal that will make my hunt easier, they have forces that will help make my chase become more effective, but I can assure you that I will be the one who cuts Merik's last breath from his throat. So I won't tell them where I get my information, nor will I tell them more than they need to know to serve my goals, if that's what you want. But I can't cut them out altogether," she said, making sure Elohim saw how vehement she was about this.

Of course she still didn't know Zenethil's disposition. She might wake up just to be locked away. She might wake up already locked away for all she knew. He had been there as her consciousness failed, but his words, whatever he had said had been completely lost. He could have kept her alive purely out of duty or honor. Perhaps her entire chase of Merik will become her own anyway, without their resources. Then again Zenethil was not Ryan and she could easily appeal the Champion for aid. He was a lawful man and Merik was a scoundrel, there wouldn't be any objection from the Champion.

Granted Nairore was working without any cards in her favor as she discussed this partnership with Elohim. He would help her and for what? Mild entertainment? The promise to keep him interested? How did she even do that? Still, even if he lost interest later on, whatever help he provided would help. Whatever she could do to keep her thoughts away from the cold emptiness deep inside of her. Not because of the lack of children, no, there was something else that she didn't want to approach there and so she kept her mind busy as her multicolored eyes stared across at the Undertaker. It was his move.

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[Elohim]

Indeed, Nairore had nothing physical for Elohim to gain out of this in exchange for his aid. This was intended, as Elohim already had anything he could ever want. The man carried the very power to create anything he could ever want, and so he was never short of anything. Alchemists glorified turning coal into gold; Elohim took that a step beyond and created gold from nothing. He never needed anything that could be bought with money, so in truth, no material objects held meaning to him beyond Etnapishtim and Uruk Hai, but those were special cases. Beyond them, Elohim cared nothing for material things. Man strove to be able to create anything they need, but they didn't realize doing such a thing would remove all meaning from it. Elohim learned this long ago, and so he had nothing to gain but personal satisfaction and immaterial things.

"Hmmmm? Exploiting the hounds for their noses? Simple, a bit bland, but it puts their zeal to good use," Elohim mused, mostly to himself, the two pieces vanishing from his hand and reappearing on the board in their proper spots. It seemed he didn't feel like moving this time, as the pieces began vanishing and reappearing on their own to signify movement. The pawns in front of Elohim and Zelda both moved one space forward, as did the one in front of Ryan. Ryan, in turn, moved a space forward to replace where the pawn once was, and in the two empty spaces moved the knights. Nairore now sat in front of Elohim, as Zenethil sat in front of Zelda. The implications of this arrangement were more than obvious.

At the same time though, the pieces on the other side of the board began moving as well. The pawn in front of the knight moved a space forward, as the knight moved to be next to that pawn, filling the gap left by Merik before. The bishop then moved behind the pawn, and Titania and Merik both moved to the back row before going further in. This left Titania positioned behind the Bishop, and Merik behind the still unmoved pawn next to said bishop. They had holed up for the time being, and though there was an obvious path straight to them, it was a blatant trap. The king was left unprotected on one side, but as it stood, the true force on their end was unknown. Elohim refused to believe that Merik was the mastermind; he was a mad dog that bit the hand that fed it, he had no foresight to allow him to lead. Someone had to be providing him with direction; the Undertaker just had yet to determine who that someone is.

"For now I'll amuse your plan and provide you with information as I see fit. What I provide will be proportional to how interesting you make things, so be sure to continue down the thorny path you now tread," he finally answered with a chuckle, a replica of the Nairore piece appearing in Elohim's hand. He tossed it over to her nonchalantly, but if she caught it and looked, she'd notice a difference from the normal piece. The front was the same, but on the back, it became Merik. It was a flip piece now, which side showing was based on which way it was set down. He didn't bother explaining it as if this woman was intelligent, she'd figure out his purpose for that.

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[Nairore]

x x

"Bland, but effective. You have to remember I'm doing this to hunt Merik down first, and entertain you second. Your entertainment is not a priority, but an accommodation I'll be making to make use of your services in this partnership. I do intend to make it entertaining, though, because your resources will be invaluable, but the ultimate goal is Merik's blood and that goal comes first and foremost before everything, even my own safety," she said with a steely tone. She did not fear death, even when she was face to face with it, not anymore. But she would not let it take her until her mission was complete, that much she was adamant about.

A curious thought crossed her mind as she considered this partnership. She looked down at the chessboard, at the way the pieces were arranged and the obvious trap in the opening for Merik. It was a dangerous game she was playing, perhaps it wouldn't be unwise to create a contingency plan in the case that she misplayed. Her eyes wandered back to Elohim, the lord of death. "I do have one more deal to make, which should keep you interested as well," she said, debating the gravity of what it was she was going to propose. Eternity was a long time, after all.

"I'm no fool, I know this may lead to my own death. But I cannot rest until I see it completed, at the very least. So what I want to propose is simple: in the case of my untimely demise I want your permission to finish it, since you control the realm beyond. Allow me to linger and finish what I must and I will in turn swear my allegiance to you and serve you as you see fit when the time comes that I must join the otherworld." An eternity was a long time to serve, but once her mission was complete Nairore didn't know what she would do anyway. It was a gambit she was willing to make.

She caught the chess piece he tossed easily enough and examined it carefully. It was curious, especially for chess, but then this was no normal chess board either. The pieces moved in a familiar way, but they didn't all follow the rules exactly. There were legal moves and illegal moves alike, but then this was no ordinary game of chess. This was a matter of war, or something similar, and sometimes rules had to be stretched or broken for the ultimate end. She considered the two sided piece but didn't place it, not yet. She had proposed something new that wasn't accounted for. That had been her move, so now it was Elohim's, and she found her eyes drifting down to where her original piece stood in front of the Undertaker's king.

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[Elohim]

The woman knew what she had to do, but she did have a bit of fight in her. A feisty one that, right now, would not be restrained by anything. Perhaps that was what interested Elohim; she was a woman who would fight the world itself to accomplish this goal and turn everyone against her if she had to. Her single-minded path was a long, jagged road, where decisions would have to be made. Her choices are obvious, but the path it leads her down was one of interest. This is what made vengeance more entertaining than justice to him. A man pursuing justice will only do what he can, but a man pursuing vengeance will do anything necessary. Morality was a secondary concern to the primary goal, and humanity itself was often shed for the purpose. It was like a tragic comedy to him.

As he listened to her second "deal", however, Elohim could not help but burst into laughter. It was haughty, but it was genuine laughter. He found her little proposition to be entertaining, since after all this, she showed ignorance at this one thing. She knew so much about her situation in life, but knew nothing about her end destination. When it was all said and done she would die, regardless of success or failure, but she did not know exactly what awaited her. She was running in blind to a fate she knew nothing about, but assumed she did. No one was perfect, but this arrangement of hers was nothing short of a joke to him.

"Ha....you talk as if that were not a matter of fact. You will serve me upon your death regardless of what is arranged now, or you will cease to exist. It is not a negotiable point, little one; that is the law of my domain, and my kingdom is the world. If you make this interesting enough during your lifetime, however, I may show kindness to you and permit you to finish. It will all depend on you, Nairore."

With that, Elohim rose from his seat, donning his black jacket as the room around them began to dissolve. Nairore's body was trying to reclaim it's spirit, so their discussion in the world beyond would come to an end there for the time being. Before the woman would be able to place the piece in hand on the board, it vanished, along with virtually all of the room. It left the two free-floating in the air, and if Nairore would look down, they were high in the sky above Castle Town. The Undertaker seemed to have no qualms about their location, and she would notice that neither of them were falling.

"Follow your path, and we will no doubt meet again. I am always watching," he commented before fading from her view. She would find herself falling, but she would not die. This was only her spirit returning to the body, and upon her awakening back in the material plane, she'd find the unusual chess piece in her hand just as it was within the black and gold room, upon the red velvet couch. Elohim himself had departed back to his estate, to continue monitoring things and updating his little 'political chess game'. Perhaps he would visit the Monster Emperor later, he wasn't sure.

All he needed to know was that things had been set into motion.

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[EXIT]

[Nairore]

x x

If there was one thing Nairore didn't like . . . well it would probably be Merik at that point. But if there was another thing Nairore didn't like it was being laughed at. She had gone her entire life as an outsider with no real spot among the people she tried to fit in with, and had worked to make sure they knew they should respect her. Any time they got a sleight in against her, any time they had an opportunity to laugh at her, Nairore had stopped them. Typically with her fist. Yet sitting there across from Elohim as he burst into laughter Nairore couldn't stop him, and found her fists clenching tightly until her knuckles were white.

Still, the ends justified the means and she got her assurances from Elohim that she could get what she wanted. Even if her deal would not follow through, if it meant nothing to him, she was still walking away with what she had wanted out of that deal, and that's what mattered. But then suddenly they were in the skies above Castle Town. Nairore's head spun for a moment but as they were not moving or falling she found she was able to ground herself and keep her focus on Elohim. This was the realm between life and death, anything was possible as was proven merely in the sudden shift of location.

"I'll keep that in mind," she said to Elohim as he was clearly departing. She didn't know exactly what caused the Undertaker to suddenly wish to depart, especially since she had not seen any new messengers appear to him. But regardless he was leaving her to fall back into her quiet and dark reveries in the depths of her unconscious mind. Or so she thought. As he faded out and disappeared Nairore realized that she was actually falling, straight down upon the Medicae. But before she could even make a noise everything went black.

And then she was back into her mind. Blackness all around her except for a bright light inviting her in. Nairore heard you weren't supposed to go into the light when you were standing on the line, but since the lord of the dead himself had just greeted her she felt she was fairly safe walking toward the light. It grew and grew as she approached and she felt her grasp on that dark unconsciousness was dwindling. It was time to wake up, and then there was only whiteness.

[FIN]

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