Yokai shrieked with laughter, her strength obviously returning in droves. “As if you think love can solve everything! Don’t you realise that’s the cause of all these problems? And you’re trying to encourage it?

Phantasia hid behind her fringe, unable to meet the flaming eyes of the Fire faerie. Yokai waltzed past her and towards Wotan, hands on hips and head held high.

“Yokai has a point,” said the former-Bishop, “Love may be a strong, positive emotion, but like all light it casts a shadow. The stronger a person loves, the stronger they hate.” He took a few steps towards his throne, then looked back at Phantasia. “Godhand itself is proof of that. It encourages devotion from its subjects and its Inquisition practices exorcism magic fuelled by faith – yet at the same time, that power is put to use to discriminate and destroy opposing ideologies. The Patriarchs’ shared vision is of a world worshipping one almighty power – a world without war or suffering – and yet you have now seen the corruption one of them is capable of,”

Yokai eased her top up so Phantasia could see her midriff, where the mark of a spider was patterned across her ribs. “You better understand it,” she said. She poked the tattoo with her finger. “Apeliotes sacrificed himself for you, remember.”

“If everything was as easy as ‘Light’ and ‘Darkness’” continued Wotan, “Then the world wouldn’t be in the state it is.”

“Like ‘purifying’ everything will make it better,” said Yokai, “How you gonna purify it? By killing everybody?”

Phantasia still couldn’t meet their eyes. They stood on the steps, looking down on her like frustrated teachers. “I just want everyone to be happy…” she whimpered.

Wotan sighed. “One person’s happiness is another’s pain. Light and Darkness are forever entwined. You’d do best to forget such things.”

But it’s important! If people are sad then bad things happen!

“First Fae I’ve ever known to get herself worked up over it,” said Yokai.

I’m not! Queen Thetis and Prince Dionysus – they were worried about it too! They wanted to find a way to save the world just as much as I do!

Wotan chuckled. “She is a rather unique individual, though, but still a faerie. Like you, her personality and subconscious goals are as ingrained as her element, whatever that may be.”

“Sounds like trouble to me. Doesn’t ‘purification’ sound demonic to you?”

“I’m used to hearing the term from Godhand. ’The Purification of Our World’ is a tome by one of the old Patriarchs, I believe. Nasty stuff, too. The moral is very much just ‘kill everything that’s different to protect yourself from pain’.”

“Just like her, then. She wants to get rid of all the ‘bad’ things without even thinking what’s so ‘bad’ about them in the first place.”

That’s not true! I just want to protect everyone from getting hurt! That’s not a bad thing, is it?

“That’s the faerie mindset, though, you have to agree.”

“Hey, that’s why one reason we abandoned them. Got fed up of all that self-righteous crap from Queen Amaterasu about fighting the evil demons to help secure the future. Like that’s helped us in the past!”

Why is protecting people from bad things wrong? What would I do if someone tried to protect me from bad things? Like if someone had saved Dionysus from death? But then…that made me stronger, didn’t it?

“It’s been the same for too long. An Apostle shows up; everyone fights; the Fae try to kill the Apostle; the spirit lingers; the Apostle is reborn; the cycle continues. That’s why some of us stopped trying to kill them in the last war and got into trouble with the Fae. Sealing them away wasn’t good enough, apparently. Like the faeries knew any better!”

If I hadn’t suffered Dionysus’s death, I would never have found the World Axis. I’d have never made it here! And if I’d not been attacked by that leansídhe, I’d not have begun to understand my powers…

“Totally stuck in their routines. They’ll only be happy when all humans are dead and there’s no corruption. Maybe that’s why she’s like that – will of the faeries given form, ey?”

No! That’s not true!

“Perhaps. But I doubt she would be so inclined to save her friends if she was. At any rate, I’d rather be leaving this place sooner rather than later. There should be a Reaper here soon,”

Phantasia shot up from her introspection, eyes wide as she scanned the chamber and its surroundings. “There’re no Reapers around – I can sense them coming before most people, and it doesn’t take this long for one to show!”

Wotan still had his back to her – and the devastation – but she could feel the sudden tension in his aura, as if he’d come to the same conclusion she was making.

Chapter 23
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