"Strange to have another typhoon so soon after the last one" Alicia muttered looking outside through her broken windows. "This is an unnatural storm caused by this child's magics. You cannot tamper with nature on that scale without repercussions" Joseph muttered as he tended to Selah. "She looks better than when you arrived" Alicia said. "She's responding well to treatments. The irony is her rapid aging is actually helping her recovery" Joseph said moving his hand across Selah's bare stomach. Alicia looked down at Selah's small form and held her tiny hand as she slept. Almost a week had passed since the battle and while the dead had been buried and mourned, there was still a sense of dread in the air. "Is there nothing more you can do for Mary?" Alicia asked him. "Her mind was flayed by images of hell Alicia. I can still her mind but waking up is beyond even me. That's up to her" he replied. Joseph finished his treatment for the day and grew to human size. "She needs to rest longer. Come" he said ushering her out of the room. They both walked downstairs. 

"How is she?" Lucy asked. "Recovering well. If it wasn't for that artifact, the slash would've sliced her in two" he replied picking up the damaged hero driver. "You think it still works?" Skylar asked. "The gem is intact thank the gods. If it was destroyed, it would've taken the entire island with it. As for the damage itself. Well look for yourselves" he said snapping his fingers. They found themselves on a polished black surface. "Where are we?" Lucy asked. "On the artifact. I shrunk us down to about a tenth of a millimeter for you to see" he said. They found it astounding at the ease of which he shrunk them, but more important things were afoot. He led them to a channel seemingly cut in the metal. "We're standing in front of the slashed groove. Be careful and don't fall it. At your size it's a 25 ft. drop" he said. "What're those things?" Lucy asked. "Those white shining things? Some kind magic imbued circuitry. As far as I can tell. The underneath of this metal shell is crisscrossed with them like some strange nervous system. It's fascinating. Lemurian magical tech mixed with Japanese onmyoji spellware all connected by circuitry. The circuitry itself seems almost...alive" he said. 

"Selah said a Japanese girl saying she was a program AI is in this thing" Alicia said. Joseph hovered them all down to the bottom of the grooved cut. "It's warm" Lucy said feeling the circuitry under her bare feet. "I wouldn't doubt that. Some artifacts have a bound will to them. If humanity has come so far, they can bind an artificial will to a magical artifact...then this could be a harbinger of things to come" Joseph muttered. "But does it still work?" Alicia asked. Joseph bent down and released a tiny bit of magical energy through the circuits. He sensed the progression. "There's a leak in the magics. That's why it shut down. The transformation was too unstable. Honestly, I don't know if it can be used again in this state. It needs to be repaired by the one who crafted it" he said. "...damn. Alright let me get on that" Alicia said. Joseph transported them back with their normal sizes.

Alicia dialed the phone. "Alicia? Is that you?" Hikari asked. "Who else would it be silly" Alicia chuckled. "You sound well" the Koonago said. "And you sound like you're in a big room" Alicia said. "I am. I'm back in my old office" she said. "Whoa is that safe?" Alicia asked. "Since you were here last, many things have changed. Japan is no longer in the throes of riots. Your worldwide song made everyone come to their senses. Even the JSDF have returned to the fold, after a few adjustments" she replied. "That's great!" Alicia said. "Not everything is Sakura blossoms. Because of Izanami, many are calling for Japan to return to isolationism. Even though she was a Japanese deity, many believe foreign influence provoked her licit rule" she said. "That's crazy. She did all that on her own" Alicia said. "Did she? Was it not Lilith that created the situation for her rise?" Hikari asked. Alicia didn't answer. "But you did not call to talk politics. How goes it?" she asked. Alicia told her the events a few days prior.

"And you did not summon me?!" the Koonago shouted. "We didn't know if it was a feint, a trap, or another proxy. We didn't even know she was with them until the last moment" Alicia replied. "At least you survived and won the day" Hikari said. "I wouldn't call it winning. Selah was badly injured, almost all my mages are dead, a third of the Valkyries, and not to mention a sunken nuclear missile is sitting a few miles off my coast I have to find" Alicia said. "How badly is the child hurt?" Hikari asked. She took a nice slash to the stomach but she's much better now. The hero driver took the brunt of it. It's why I called. We need the driver to be repaired. Can you contact the guy who made it?" Alicia asked. "...that will not be possible. He's dead along with others Izanami considered a threat to her. I've learned recently that she purged every onmyoji, Buddhist priest, and shrine maiden in Japan. Anyone who could use magics or symbology. I am sorry Alicia" she replied. "Thanks anyway. I'll be in touch" Alicia said ending the call. Hikari wanted to call her back to scold her for ending the call abruptly but figured the woman had other things on her mind than an annoyed Koonago Queen.

"The maker of the device is dead" she told Joseph. "Of course he is. Him being alive would be too easy" he hissed. "Can you fix it on your own?" she asked. "I don't know" he whispered. Hours passed and after checking on Selah and Mary, she went downstairs to see on Joseph. She found the hero driver sitting on the table and him unseen. "Joseph?" she asked. "On the driver" his voice said. She bent down and could barely see the speck of a man on the device. "Hungry?" she asked. "I am now I think about it" he replied. Alicia whipped up sandwiches. Joseph looked up at the titanic giantess before shrinking her down. "Whoa!" she said with the sudden size change giving her vertigo. "Take a moment" he chuckled motioning for her to sit. She sat down and gave him a roast beef sandwich. "Hmm...like mana from heaven" he smiled. "Any luck?" she asked. "Little in more ways than one. Divine weapons leave this aura behind making healing magics difficult to do their job. This is similar. Watch" he said pointing to a cut. Moments later a red misty like energy floated out. "That didn't look very good" she said. "It's not. It's contamination or in ways you may understand water in a smartphone. My spell work is acting like rice drawing it out" he chuckled.

"You told me you knew of Lilith, but you never said you knew her personally. You two got a history" she said. "An understatement. Lilith had a hand in the destruction of your ancestors" he replied. "Wait. I thought the ZODIAC council brought the final blow" she said. "What exactly did my son Markus tell you about the final days of Lemuria?" he asked. "That some kind of nuclear magics destroyed the bedrock underneath the continent and the council was the straw that broke the camel's back so to speak" she replied. "My son did not tell you the entire story and I am not surprised. Lilith made him look like a fool" he said. "Markus knew Lilith too?" she asked. "Knew her? He was fucking her" the old man jeered. "Okay. Some context is needed. I'm sure Markus told you about the civil war on Lemuria. The Loyalists who wanted to enslave humanity and use them as pets or livestock. And then the Preservists who wanted them to be free. Well, a few years into the war, Markus tells me he found this incredible woman. Vastly powerful and a Loyalist at heart. This was when we were still on speaking terms by the way. Anyway, I was curious of this woman and had him bring her to my home."

"She shows up with Markus and enters. Immediately, I could feel this ominous power radiating off her. Like a demonic snake coiled to strike. So during their entire visit, I can feel these vibes coming off her. Vibes I've never felt before. So I began asking her questions. Her age, family, where she was from. She refused to answer. Now at this point I'm really worried so I use clairvoyance to take a peek at this woman. Instantly I'm hit with this blinding vision of a garden, a man, a strange being, and then flames. "Are you unwell Joseph?" she asks me with a grin. "I... I am well. Tell me Lilith. Where is this beautiful garden you say you came from?" I stammered. "...I said no such thing" she said coldly. "My mistake then" I reply. "So father what do you think of her?" Markus asked. "She's a rare talent I will says that. However, I sense ill tidings from her son. She won't even say where she is from" I reply. "That isn't a concern" Lilith said gesturing with her hand. I can feel some kind of power trying to bend my will. Like tendrils invading my soul. It took a great deal of power to deflect it. She looks at me with shock. "That wasn't very nice. I think you should leave" I said. She gets up from her chair and rushes out. "Son, I know our differences about humans run deep but this woman is trouble. I do not know where she comes from, but I sense evil within her. For you own sake abandon this woman" I pled. Markus ignored me"

"I saw my son six months later in the market. He wasted no time exalting Lilith saying she had discovered a magic that would crush the Preservists. "Father! Victory is within our grasp! Lilith promised told teach us fire magics on par with Etherion!" he shouted. "...what spell is this?" I asked. "She calls it nuclear magic" he replied. Alicia, it had been many thousands of years since that term was used. Well, it was called something else but for your understanding it's what I'm calling it now. Nonetheless, I was very familiar with that magic. When my brothers and sister waged war with one another, that was one spell they delighted in using. "You young fool! Nothing good will come of that magic! Where is she now?!" I shouted shaking him. "On the plains of Alheim at the trading village there" he said bewildered. I immediately translocated there. It was easy to find her with that power of hers. And there she stood on a hill overlooking the village. It was under siege by the Preservists, but my focus was not on them.

"Lilith. I heard you plan to teach the Loyalists nuclear magics. That's an Etherion level spell. You cannot do this" I said. "I can and already have. And that's not all I have done. Watch" she said pointing to the village. I watched as a Preservist had grown to giant size and smashed their way into the village. A torrent of magics struck her down and I thought that was the end of the assault. I was wrong. I watched in horror as the woman began to glow brightly before exploding in a blinding flash. My vision cleared just as a shockwave struck where I stood. It took a few minutes before I could blow away the dust and ash. "By the sky goddess" I muttered as I saw a mushroom cloud climb into the air. The village was obliterated. Nothing was left except piles of scorched stone. Not even a bone was left. Alicia, in modern terms, the blast was 30 kilotons. Twice that of Hiroshima. "She was a Preservist. You said you taught it to the Loyalists!" I yelled. "I did and then I taught it to the Preservists" she chuckled as the grass burned around us. "They'll destroy one another you crazy bitch!" I shouted gripping her throat. "That's the point" she said coldly. 

Her eyes. A literally burning hatred in her eyes. What came next was a battle so ferocious I still have dreams about. I was superior in terms of magics, but she far outclassed me in terms of durability. She would shrug off devastating spells. Completely heal within seconds. Imagine two colossal titans locked in a battle to the death for an entire day and night. The plains of Alheim became a wasteland that day. Our battle had done far more damage than that explosion. Hell, we stomped the hills flat with our bare feet. I still remember the smell of ash, mud, and blood. "What...what the hell are you?!" I yelled not seeing a way to defeat her. "I am wrath. I am pain. The first woman scorned. The first woman made Queen of the damned and forsaken. I AM LILITH!" she screamed pummeling me. She stepped over and placed her bare foot on my throat. Our clothes had burned away hours ago leaving us both naked but only me truly vulnerable. I had been alive for 40,000 years by then and very little scared me. But she, she was proof that there were beings far above our understanding and power. A being that could ultimately trump Etherion if given the chance. It cast my entire beliefs into question. And as her toes pushed into my windpipe, I saw that the woman was pregnant. I had not noticed it until then. Funny what you think about as death comes for you."

"You're with child?" I coughed. "Your son's. He served his uses. You should be proud" she laughed. Her laugh infuriated me enough to try one last attack. I prayed to the Sky goddess to help me and as I did, I unlocked a new power" he said. "Symbology" Alicia muttered. Joseph nodded. "The first punch broke her jaw and it stayed broke. The second broke a rib and it stayed broke. And the next, well I debate to this day if I should've done it or not. I punched her hard as I could in the abdomen. I felt her miscarry Alicia" he muttered. "Jesus Christ Joseph" she said. "That blow took the fight right out of her. She looked at me with this cold mix of grief, anger, and loss. I could feel her burn my image into her memory and then she was gone" he said. "What about Markus?" she asked. "Whatever hold she had on him disappeared as well as the memory of her. The only saving grace in the entire mess. But the damage was done. With both sides having that spell, the destruction of Lemuria was inevitable" he said. Joseph went quiet. "So that massive blow to her stomach earlier in the battle was psychological as well" she said. "Yes. I hoped the same trick would work twice and it did. If you will excuse me, I have to get back to work. Thanks for the sandwich" he said before unshrinking her.

Meanwhile in the land of Yomi...

Lilith walked the halls of the Japanese underworld. She was barefoot as wearing any kind of shoes was forbidden down there. As her bare feet slapped the desiccated wooden floor of the infinite sprawling castle, she took note of how similar it was to the realm of Hades. Dim and dark, the sounds of whimpering and soft crying. Torched lit with hitodama, spirit flames, were the only source of light. With the Buddhist realms folded into Yomi, one could see all kinds of history's deceased, at least the Japanese ones located here. Abe no Seimei, the world' greatest onmyoji akin to western world's Merlin. Oda Nobunaga, the feudal lord that united Japan simpering in a small room. Isoroku Yamamoto, the mastermind behind the Pearl Harbor attack, standing in a room issuing orders to phantoms of the past. All great men of their time reduced to shells after death. Lilith was after none of these men. She came to a door and opened it. "Hiro Yamanaka. I have need of your services" she said to the man sitting in the corner. He looked up at the foreign woman. "You're not the pale woman" he said softly. "No, I am not your jailer. I need you to make something for me" she said handing the broken shard of the hero driver to him. "This craftsmanship. It's onmyoji and things I do not recognize" he said. "Your handiwork. I asked around" she said. "What's it from?" he asked.

"A device that invoked and channeled the power of gods and goddesses. It's called a hero driver" she said. "A transformation device" he muttered. "I need you to make one for me. Use that as a guide" she said. "Why should I?" he asked. "Because if you don't, I'll have you transferred to an afterlife that makes this place look like paradise" she said coldly. "I saw what you and Izanami did to my country. To its people. I would rather burn in your western hell until the stars grow cold before I help you" he spat. "I thought you might say that, so I brought some leverage. Lilith extended her hand to reveal a shrunken teenage boy dangling from her fingers. "Yukihiro!" the man yelled grasping at him. Lilith pulled back just before he could touch him. "Your nephew survived the purge, and he still might if you cooperate" she said. "He can't be here! Mortals cannot survive Yomi! The very realm is deadly to them!" Hiro yelled. "Is that why he sounds sickly? His name is similar to yours. Coincidence?" she asked. "...my dead sister named him after me" he replied softly. "That's actually sweet. So Hiro, what shall it be? Do my bidding or watch this pathetic last drop of your bloodline wither and die" she said coldly. "...I will construct your driver" he replied with a whisper. In a puff of flame, the boy was returned to the mortal world leaving the Japanese Mage defeated.

"Begin immediately. You have every resource and help in this realm at your disposal" she said. "It will not work without a kami's spirit to invoke" he said. "Kami? You mean a deity. Let me worry about that. Just do your part" she said grinning. And with that, Lilith left the realm of Yomi for one much more familiar.

"Queen Lilith. There are concerns" a grisly looking being said moments after she appeared in the throne room of hell. "I am busy Azazel" she huffed. "Be as it may, the others are concerned that this plan of yours will come of naught. We sided with you on the conditions that we would be allowed to roam the mortal world. Each with a domain. And yet you return from battle defeated" he said. Lilith approached him. Her feet no longer on cold wood but hot brimstone. She grabbed him by his throat and lifted him off his cloven feet. "Are you saying you and the archfiends of hell now renege or their promise of loyalty?" she asked. "No! Simply what will your dark highness do next!" the ashen skinned black-eyed demon asked. She let him go. "It was not a defeat but a strategic withdrawal. I had not planned on Joseph interfering" she said. "The same Joseph that..."

"Killed my unborn child. The very same but no matter. He can die with the others once I've gained the power I have in mind" she muttered passing him. There are many ideas of what hell looks like. Some say fire and brimstone.  Others say it's a frozen wasteland. But the truth is hell is as varied as the souls that reside in it. Every concept, belief, and idea mixes together to create realms within realms of the damned. The irony is that hell, while divine in its creation, runs on mortal beliefs. A soul damned to hell makes its own prison. Creatures one would call demons or minor devils are just jailers. For example, if you found Hitler, you would see his eternal torment is being exposed to the masses for having Jewish blood. A repeating cycle until the end of time. A room mocking him with a demon laughing the loudest. Or in the case of Caligula, a never-ending night of rape by the ugliest women one could imagine as a demon ushered in one diseased pox marked hag after another. That was the type of place Lilith called home. She was its queen, but for as its King...

Lilith entered his prison cell quietly and clashed the door behind her. "Back so soon?" Lucifer asked. "I found him after you told me how to" she said quietly. "So then can you undo these sliver shackles?" he asked tugging on them. "Would you still stand in my way if I did?" she asked. "Very much so" he replied. Lilith chuckled. "You really don't lie, do you?" she asked. "I never have. Sure, the humans call me the Prince of Lies or the Deceiver, but I've never told a lie. The devil made me do it is the biggest crock of shit they tell themselves to absolve them of their actions. I never made Eve eat that apple. She chose to do that on her own. I give them a choice. If they make bad ones that's on them" he said. Lilith stroked his cheek. "And that's what I love about you. The straightforwardness" she said looking in his eyes. If one were curious to know what the Devil looked like, that would be complicated.

He looked like every man to ever walk the earth and ones that have yet to. His appearance would change every time you looked away. Oddly though you would know who and what he was no matter what he appeared to be. When she walked in, he had golden hair, then black, then brown. Even his eyes changed. Even Lilith didn't know what he truly looked like, and she'd been his consort for eons. "So why are you back?" he asked bored. She summoned the key to hell. "The Authority of hell" he said. "But not the Authority of you" she said holding the key. "Ah so this is what this is about. You want my divinity. Why? Your plan not working?" he chuckled. "There have been difficulties. I am not as strong as I planned" she replied. "Of course not! You truly thought you would be granted the level of power of the Creator just by stealing his followers? One of the reasons he's so powerful is because so many love him. People around the world may love you but more and more have either turned away of simply fear you. If fear and worship was all it took, I would've conquered them long ago" he said laughing at her. "But fear has its purpose. It can grant power. You are proof of that" she said. "True it can but an empire, an realm built on fear never lasts. The Assyrians, the Ottomans, the Nazis.  All ended up on the ash heap of history" he said. "But none had power like yours" she said gripping the key once more. "Some have to learn the hard way. Well, what are you waiting for?! Do it!" Lucifer yelled. Lilith stabbed him in the heart with the key and turned it. The fallen angel grit his teeth as the divine power within him was drawn out into the infernal key. Lilith pulled it out once she was satisfied. The Lord of Hell was visibly drained. "Mark my words. Naught will come of this" he muttered softly. 

Back on the island, Alicia was on her hands and knees scooping up and moving sand. She was not building sandcastles though, and standing at 100 ft. tall it wasn't a small task either. Alicia had been at it for three hours and if one approached her, they would not forget the grisly sight which is why she waited until nightfall to do it. The destruction of the pacific fleet has caused hundreds of dead bodies to wash up on shore. Alicia paced the shoreline, scooped the bodies up, carried them, and dumped them in piles. Then she scooped sand around the pile as a barrier. With no ceremony, she used fire magics to incinerate them. The giantess sat down to catch her breath as being this size was taxing. She hadn't even considered that would happen until she went out to retrieve the sunken nuke from earlier. Then she began spotting them. Like little beached shrimps in their grays and oranges. Her giant toes dug into the sand as she wondered what was to come next. Alicia got up and paced the beach one last time not finding any more bodies before shrinking down and heading back in.

Inside was a snoring Joseph on the sofa and a wake human sized Selah sitting at the table eating ice cream. "You gonna hog all the rocky road?" she asked her. Selah scooted the ice cream box to her as Alicia grabbed a spoon. "So how do you feel?" Alicia asked. "Well, it doesn't feel like my insides are going to be my outsides" she replied. "I'm proud of you. You stood your ground" Alicia said as she licked her spoon. "I looked dead in her eyes as she was choking me. She had moms' eyes, but they were so lifeless" Selah said burying her spoon in the ice cream. "Appearances can be deceiving kiddo. She was counting on you to hesitate" Alicia said. "You smell like smoke and something else..." Selah said changing the subject. "I was on burial detail. A lot of dead people washed up on shore. Left unchecked the smell alone would've polluted the island" she said. "How many?" Selah asked. "I didn't count but easily 700" Alicia replied. "She won't quit until every man, woman, and child on the planet has been brought to heel. Even if she has to kill half the world" Selah whispered. "Right now, you need to chill. Let someone else worry about the world" Alicia said. "I don't have that luxury. Something very bad is coming. I can feel it" she said softly.

"She say something to you?" Alicia asked. "Nothing of consequence. But I know something is coming. Something that will take the lives of very many for I am a Valkyrie and can sense such things" she said before getting up. "I'm going back to bed. Goodnight" Selah said softly leaving Alicia. "She's probably right" Skylar said coming downstairs. She poured herself a glass of water. "One of the things a true Valkyrie can do is sense the coming death of a person. The more there are, the stronger the sense. For her to sense it tells us two things. One, her power has grown by leaps and bounds. And two, if she can sense that without being a true Valkyrie in body and soul, a great dying is coming. I believe our next battle may truly be the last" Skylar said softly.

Two days later...

"I have to head out. I was able to partially repair the driver, but I worry it won't be enough. Lilith is like a wounded animal. And like wounded animals that are cornered, they tend to lash out" he said. "Then what should we do?" Alicia asked. "You? Nothing but wait. I'm going to find some more allies. I have a planned meeting with them very shortly" he replied. "Who?" Alicia asked. "Good question. Who will appear at this meeting?" he said smiling slightly. Joseph disappeared in a flash of light startling her as that was not the normal way to translocate. Where Joseph was going was not a place for mortals. It was a place called...The Nexus.

The Nexus was like what its name would suggest. A center, or focal point of realms that were divine.  Its appearance would change from time to time but usually it resembled a tavern or bar. It was a place where gods and goddesses could meet and talk without the trappings or pretense. It was neutral ground for all its intents. At the moment it appeared to be an American 50's diner. One would ask why Joseph knew about the place as he was no god. The short story was he brokered a deal between two foolish gods that destroyed much of the Mediterranean very long ago. As a reward, the deities of the time granted him the privilege to enter the Nexus. The irony as it turns out is over the course of many thousands of years, the gods and goddesses that frequented the Nexus died out as beliefs changed but Joseph remained even though he was not divine. "Have you been waiting long?" Joseph asked the dark-skinned woman sitting at a booth. "No. I just arrived " she replied. Joseph sat down across form her. "You're the first to arrive?" he asked. "Yes, but not all of us has our punctuality" she replied. "You were always punctual Kali" he said looking at a menu. Kali grinned as very few non deities in existence would dare act so aloof in the presence of one so majestically powerful as she. The goddess of time, death, creation, and destruction, Kali ranked very high compared to anyone and Joseph knew that. "So how has life been treating you?" he asked her. "Quite well until this perversion of reality" Kali spat as she tapped her bare foot on the floor.

"I expected the others to be here. Where are Shiva, Vishnu, and Deva?" Joseph asked. "I came on Vishnu's behalf. Since this perversion, the cycle of life, death, and rebirth has been broken. The fundamental order is crumbling and right now it is taking Vishnu and Deva's power just to keep an even keel" she replied. "And Shiva?" Joseph asked. "Shiva has gone missing" she said quietly. "How the hell does a god of his stature simply go missing?" he asked. "He is mercurial. He goes and does what he does for reasons only he knows. You know that" she growled. "But now? The world needs a god such as he just as it needs a goddess such as you" he said. "I know that!" she sighed loudly as two of her four hands rubbed her temples. "I didn't mean to upset you" Joseph said softly squeezing her third hand. "I know. In any event it is good to see you again Joseph" she said smiling. Kali valued his company as he was a voice of reason to talk to when her pantheon became a little too chaotic from time to time. And in turn, Joseph valued her company as she was one of the few beings that truly understood the delicate balance between great destructive or creative power and sharing such power among family. So entuned to her, he could tell her inner emotions by the sparkling glean of her blue skin. Soft like sapphires thinking in moonlight, she was content and happy. Radiant as sapphires in the noon sun, she was enraged. The door chimed and another entered.

"Anything happen yet?" a young man asked entering. "Just the pleasantries. Have a seat and we can order something" Joseph said. The young man, looking like he was 16 or 17 but very much not in reality, sat beside Joseph. His chest was bare, his skin the color of red clay and yet a strange faint green sheen to it almost like a dragonfly's wings. He wore a loincloth and on his feet, sandals made from corn husks intricately woven. Around his neck and in his black hair, the feathers of beautiful, majestic birds. And his eyes were the color of sunflowers but if one looked very closely you could see lightning dancing in his pupils. "Kali" the young man looking god said. "Quetzalcoatl" Kali acknowledged back politely. Kali raised her hand and a waitress appeared from thin air before approaching them. "What will you all be having today?" the young woman asked. "Uhh...Kathy" Kali said reading the name sewn on her vintage uniform. "I shall have a lotus tea" she finished. "Root beer float" Joseph said. "The blood of 12 fine virgins and the heart of a pure blooded Alux cooked medium rare. I have not eaten lunch" the Aztec god replied. Joseph was not fazed by the gruesome order for he knew it was the way of things. Just as it would be strange to be upset over a spider eating a fly or a snake a mouse.

The waitress herself was no God and in one way not mortal either. Now and then, a mortal soul would wander into the Nexus when it hovered between life and death. Kathy, full name Kathy Bridgeton, was a woman in Hartford Connecticut who at that moment was in a vegetative coma.  Her soul did not understand where she was or whom she had been speaking to. She simply knew she had customers with orders that needed filling. She opened the large icebox in the kitchen and reached in. Her hand went through a portal and plucked up a beautiful lotus flower before she pulled it back. Kathy put the kettle on before going back to open the icebox. This time when she opened the box, it opened a portal to a female catholic school in Mexico City. With nary a hesitation from her, she began plucking up schoolgirls left and right from classrooms. One by one she would look upon them and if they were a virgin, place them in a bowl. If not, they went back. Within minutes, she had the twelve. The portal shifted to the Yucatan and the home village of none other than Elena. 

Elena was not present in her village as many others had fled for safety in the cities. With Lilith twisting the faiths of so many, the Alux had found their powers at an all-time low. Only the most pureblood could hold human size for any length of time. The weakest of them couldn't even eat a shrunken human to regain their powers. The weakest were sheltered in the village and a woman named Yasmin their protector. A direct descendant of the ancient Alux priestesses of long ago, Yasmin was arguably the most powerful of her kind. Her God and fate chose her as a sacrifice. She was plucked away with no warming and ended up in a kitchen. Immediately she tried to grow and found her power sealed away. She could hear screaming in Spanish about a giantess, the giantess looming to her right turning in a broiler. The woman placed a small plate next to Yasmin before grabbing her up. Yasmin screamed to be let go but the giantess paid her no mind. She acted as if she was entranced. She looked dead at the Alux and tore off her top exposing her chest, stomach, and breasts. Yasmin thought she was planning to rape her. If only it was just that. The giantess' fingernails skewered her chest and snapping her rib cage open like it was nothing. Yasmin couldn't even scream she watched as the giantess tore her heart right out of her body. Death was not immediate. Yasmin clung to life 22 seconds longer before dying.

The waitress dropped the half pea sized heart on the plate and stuck it in the broiler. She set the time to 12 minutes before grabbing a syringe from a cupboard. She turned her attention to the bowl full of shrunken virgin schoolgirls plucking one of them up. She ignored their sobbing and wriggling as she tore off their clothing. Their shoes and then socks, skirts, panties, button top, bra slipped off their tiny bodies with the care one would give for shelling shrimp. Once naked, she jammed the syringe into her jugular vein and pulled the plunger back. Within a second, the girl stopped screaming and just whimpered. 5 seconds she passed out and her skin began turning grey. 12 seconds and she was dead. Then she jammed the syringe into her femoral artery extracting the very last drop of blood in her. Done with her, she tossed the body in her mouth and devoured it like a potato crisp as she squirted the blood into a glass. The other girls seeing the fate of their friend began hysterically scrambling to get out only to keep one another in like a pot of crabs. She repeated her grisly task over and over 11 more times before she was done. By then her belly was bloated and her glass was 2/3 full. The broiler dinged and she opened the door. On the plate was a human sized Alux heart cooked medium rare. 

She made the lotus tea and root beer float minutes later. "One lotus tea. One root beer float. And one Alux heart medium rare and a glass of female virgin blood" the waitress said placing them down. "Hello hello" a voice said as he entered the diner. "Fashionably late I see" Kali said sipping her tea. "Ares or Mars today?" Quetzalcoatl asked the man. "Mars" he replied sitting down. "And you sir?" the waitress asked. "Wine is fine" he replied. She nodded and went to the kitchen. The God of war (the Greek/Roman one) was an imposing man standing 6 ft. 6 inches. His hair like bloodstained dirt. His skin like bronze. He wore a shirt that said, "Martians do it better". His pants worn and faded. Boots on his feet. "You brought your appetite I see" Mars said looking at the Aztec God. "Pickings are slim. Not everyone is fortunate to have a planet names after him" he replied eating his heart. "Anyone showing up?" Joseph asked. "I do not think so" Mars replied. "Kali was explaining the precariousness of her pantheon. Is it the same for you?" Joseph asked. "Aye. We were on borrowed time before all this. As our serpent bird friend said, I have a planet named after me which is what sustains me now. Athena lives through the cites. Hermes, the poor sod, lives on through florist ads. Hera and the others live human lives. And then there's Hades and the backstabbing whore of his wife" he hissed. "Can we rely on their help?" Joseph asked sipping his float. The waitress returned with a jar of wine and a cup. "For battle? Zeus and Athena maybe" he replied.

"You speak of battle as if this Lilith threatens us all. This is mortal problem. The Aztec gods have seen wane times before" Quetzalcoatl spoke. "This is a disaster you feathered fool!" Kali said hissing as her long tongue escaped her mouth. Joseph raised his hand. "This isn't the same as a handful of conquistadors in leaky boats. The queen of hell has upturned the natural order. Kail and her brethren were affected first with the cycle of life, death, and reincarnation broken. Their purpose for existing being erased as we speak. Then comes you, a being that thrives on sacrifice. The face you made with the first sip of that blood says you are dying slowly of thirst. And then comes Mars, gods and goddesses that meek out existence living in myth and lore. And you think this is temporary? You sound like Mazelduk" Joseph said. "Who?" the God asked.  "My point exactly. A dead forgotten God of the Lemurians. He sat on his ass and watched his people destroy themselves. By the time he saw his own demise assured, it was too late. I wanted him fade away here. Fading away was a kindness compared to living as a human in those days" Joseph said coldly as he finished off his root beer float.

"...you're right. The Keeper of Bones and the Great Mother have not seen a single soul in months. That has never happened before" Quetzalcoatl muttered. "Which is why I called this meeting. While mortals plan, we shall plan more" Joseph said. "Then let's get to it" Kali said.

Meanwhile...