Sata remained silent.
She thought of her deepest fears. She, who had never known fear… and yet, for the third time in her existence, she had just experienced it.
Sata (thoughtful): What is happening to me? First the Supreme God, then Mother Lilith, and now Lucifer... This is becoming exasperating.
Raiku: Sata… are you alright?
Sata (regaining composure): Huh?! Yes, of course.
Let's go find that arrogant Apollo, it's time to teach him a lesson.
Raiku (perplexed): You want to go now? Are you sure?
Sata (firmly): Absolutely. I need an outlet. Someone must pay the price for my anger.
Raiku (smirking): In that case, let's go!
Thus, the two demon kings dashed through the planes.
In the heights of the divine world, Apollo was in his sanctuary, lulled by the ethereal music of his celestial instruments. Around him, flowers bloomed, enchanted by the divine harmonies.
Arophile (admiring): Lord Apollo… music suits you wonderfully.
Apollo (serene): Music is the very essence of beauty. It can even express evil… but for me, only pure music embodies good. Listen… this sublime melody makes life itself bloom.
Arophile (smiling): You are right, Lord Apollo.
The divine beasts, fascinated, gathered around him. It was said that this melody caused miracles-spontaneous blessings born from the mere breath of its notes.
But Apollo stopped the music. The moment had come: today would be the judgment of Zara.
Apollo (rising): It is time to witness it… and to put an end to it once and for all.
The Zara affair had occupied his thoughts for too long. He was tired of wasting such precious time.
In the vast hall of the first Suargaloka, deities flowed in from all realms, determined not to miss the event.
Here, time flowed differently: eight years had already collapsed in the human world.
The moment of the verdict had come.
Zeus (imperious): Zara, where is your daughter? Did you come alone, with this mere mortal?
Zara stood alone in the center of the arena. Her gaze was fixed on Zeus, her judge.
Zara (calmly): I did not think she would be useful here. And… I did not want her to be exposed to any danger.
Zeus (dark): Do you think I would want to harm her?
Zara (troubled): I…!
A frown from Zeus was enough to silence any protest.
Zeus: Protective Goddess, bring me Zara's daughter!
A deity of striking beauty then appeared. Her colossal wings radiated a soft but relentless light.
She was one of the most powerful tertiary deities.
The Protective Goddess (bowing): At your command, Lord Zeus.
She spread her wings and disappeared in a breath.
Meanwhile, Shiba, held back by angels, did not understand what was happening.
Shiba (stunned): Zara… you were a goddess all this time?
Zara met his gaze but did not answer. Her eyes, full of tears, spoke for her.
On the celestial bleachers, Mü Thanatos watched, seated, while Wamy stood to her right.
Mü Thanatos: Wamy… what will become of Zara?
Wamy: In my opinion, goddess, she will face the wrath of Lord Zeus. It is inevitable.
Mü Thanatos (sighing): Can I at least refuse to witness this?
Wamy (hesitating): I'm afraid not, my goddess. Such an affront would be seen as a grave offense to Zeus.
Mü Thanatos (resigned): I suspected as much… but I needed confirmation.
Wamy (puzzled): Huh…?
The Protective Goddess reappeared-empty-handed.
The Protective Goddess: Lord Zeus, Zara's child is nowhere in her giant dimension.
Zeus (furious): Zara… do you take me for a fool? Where is your daughter?
Zara (crying): I swear to you, Lord… I had left her with her father. I have no idea what could have happened…
Zeus held her gaze for a moment, then addressed one of his peers.
Zeus (solemn): Apollo!
Apollo (appearing in golden light): At your command, my lord!
Zeus: Choose a companion. I charge you with finding Zara's daughter.
Apollo: I will take care of it immediately, Lord. I will take Thanato with me.
Thanato (emerging in a whirlwind of ashes): Me again?!
Apollo (amused): You're terribly underoccupied. Follow me, and try not to complain.
Thanato (grumbling): Hrrrgh…
Both disappeared.
Zeus (threatening): Zara… if you play any tricks on us, I will erase you to the last trace of your existence.
Zara (gravely): I have no reason to lie, Lord.
Through the breaches of the Void, Apollo and Thanato traveled at dizzying speed.
But Apollo was not only thinking about the mission. An obsession gnawed at his mind: a demon had been trying to harm him for a long time.
And he intended to remind him of the cosmic hierarchy.
Thanato (curious): Why the silence, Apollo? Does this mission affect you that much?
Apollo (coming back to himself): Hm? Oh… no. Let's say I'm thinking about something else.
Thanato: And what might that be?
Apollo (coldly smiling): A matter of honor. It's time I remind the vermin what a true god is.
Thanato (sincere): That's… inspiring. And why involve me?
Apollo: Because if I catch the one who wants to soil me, I will make him know eternal pain. You will continue the mission alone.
I believe in your power and your seriousness.
Thanato (touched): That flatters me. Very well, let's proceed!
But Apollo was not telling everything. He wanted to test a forbidden hypothesis: the ability of death to affect a super-being.
Thanato, a living emanation of the concept of death on a cosmic scale, was linked to Mü Thanatos-his metaphysical origin.
He embodied the deep Meta-concept of the Evil of Death, superior to the simple death that subjugates the living, and even to the divine meta-concept that subjugates some gods.
And yet… Thanato existed before Mü Thanatos according to some accounts. A paradox only the Omnis gods could truly understand.
Finally, the two gods arrived in the World of the Void, the cosmic equivalent of the Realm of the Gods and the World of the Underworld.
Apollo (scanning the area): Where could our enemies… and the little girl be hiding?
Thanato: We should probe the worlds; they couldn't be in such a transcendent domain- even Zara wouldn't have been able to…
Apollo (impulsive): No time.
He made a luminous spear appear.
Apollo: This spear will guide us.
He threw it into the void. It vanished instantly.
Thanato: One of your famous tracking spears?
Apollo: Exactly. It has found its target. Take my hand!
Thanato complied. They disappeared… and reappeared in front of a statue pierced by the spear.
Apollo (disconcerted): What is… this statue?
Thanato: It looks like your weapon was tampered with.
Apollo (dark): Impossible… it only responds to me.
Slow applause caught their attention.
Clap… clap… clap…
Sata had just appeared.
Apollo (pointing at Sata): So it's her…
Thanato (intrigued): She looks like Mü Thanatos… Disturbing.
Apollo: Isn't she that demon, Erasa?
Thanato: No, Erasa's skin is lighter. She… is something else.
Sata (coldly): Silence, both of you.
Apollo (with a mocking smile): What insolence…
Sata: Which one of you is Apollo?
Apollo: You dare... Apollo is me, you...
But he did not have time to finish: Sata had already attacked him. A blazing demonic claw, which he barely avoided before leaping back.
Thanato (serious): She's not joking…
Apollo, now serious, stared at Sata.
Sata (calm and impressed): Good reflexes. I now understand how you defeated Ëpres, Zérécla, and Sai.
Thanato: Apollo, the honor is yours. I'm off.
Apollo: Fine. I want her for myself.
But Raiku appeared, crashing between the two like a comet.
Apollo (in midair): Do you only know surprise attacks?!
Raiku (threatening): Neither you nor your sidekick will leave this place alive!
Thanato (sinister grin): Talking about life in front of me… How ironic! Hahaha!
The two gods landed on the Void's ground.
Apollo (clenching fists): I will annihilate them.
Thanato (amused): We share, agreed?
Apollo: Very well. Leave me that arrogant demon.
He fixed Sata with intensity.
Sata (smiling): Be honored by my interest, Apollo. Few deserve it…
Apollo: Separatio…!
With this invocation, Apollo summoned a force field of rare power, a mystical barrier that split reality itself. The world was thus separated from the Void, allowing each entity to fight in its own space, without interference or disturbance.
Apollo: I will teach you respect, little demon.
Sata: We shall see…
Sata took a fighting stance, ready to settle the score. Yet Apollo, impassive, remained still. He cared little about the outcome of the duel.
In the first Suargaloka, Zara found herself alone in the center of the arena, accompanied by Mü Thanatos and Wamy. There was not a soul around them.
As for Shiba, he had been imprisoned in a kind of energetic shroud, sealed and out of reach.
Zara: If only… if only I had listened to you, Mü Thanatos… I wouldn't be here. I hate how things are turning out!
Mü Thanatos simply stared at her in silence, her gaze filled with a strange calm. Wamy, seeing the goddess's silence, spoke in her place.
Wamy: Alas, goddess Zara… there is nothing more to be done. All that remains is to hope that the course of events changes… and improves, for you.
Zara: That's what I do, Wamy. I hope… But we gods have this sad privilege: to sense what is coming… and as far as I'm concerned, the future looks grim.
Wamy: What do you mean?
Zara: I am doomed, my dear Wamy. All I have left is hope that this all ends quickly… and that my daughter, despite this fate, can live in peace. She is already twenty-one years old… and she wields magic with great dexterity.