500th Time Reborn, A World Only Known By Women: The Karma System

[The Guides]

Each of these people had given their life to see Kadeon succeed. He repeated each of their names as he touched the dead skulls.

"I told you all that the sacrifice would be worth it, and soon, I will remake you all in the new world," Kadeon laughed as the three Guides watched him from outside of reality.

They all knew that he would fail, but that was the point of it all.

"What do you think that the True God will do now?" Angelios asked, but neither of the other two had an answer.

"This part is out of our control," Helios sighed.

"It will only be a matter of time until he divides the realms. We cannot stop him. We can only hold him here and force him to face us each. Only then can we become one again and stand a chance of fighting him," Apocolios admitted, and the other two nodded.

"We have been blessed to gain as much time as we have had, but not all is lost. Even if the True God has his memories back, he will know that he cannot touch us," Angelios said.

"And our last talk was the last part of the pact we were to have with him. Now, we no longer have to guide him or any of the others, and we will take our proper place as the Dark God that we are," Helios said with a nod, and the others agreed.

The three Guides looked at each other solemnly, knowing the world's fate was in their hands. They also knew that as much as they planned, nothing for the future was set in stone.

"We must be strong," said Angelios. "Kadeon will succeed, or he will fail. If we are to have this world, we must ensure that our pact holds. It is not he who is important; only the True God matters. We must keep him here and face him one last time."

"No matter what happens, we must not waver," Helios agreed. "This is the only way we can hope to stand a chance against him."

"It is a risk," Apocolios said. "But it is a risk worth taking if it means finally destroying Galio and freeing us from the prison he placed us in after ripping us apart. Let us swear together now, with all of our power, that our bond will remain unbroken no matter what happens until both Kadeon and the True God have been defeated."

The Three Guides looked at each other with solemn determination in their eyes as they clasped hands, swearing an oath that would shape the future of the land. No matter what happened, they would stand together and never forget their vow.

[Galio]

"What now?" Eliza asked after I had placed Cancer in one of my rooms and sealed it off.

"An excellent question. There is no doubt in my mind that Kadeon did this to throw me into a fit of rage, and I am mad but not stupid. None of you know what is actually going on or why this is happening, but I do, so I think that it is time to call a meeting," I said, and Titania frowned.

"What don't we know?" She asked, but I shook my head.

"Don't bother asking until all the women are here," I said, and then opened a portal directly to Tallia, who frowned at me when I reached through, touched her face, and she looked up from the weeds she was pulling.

"I thought that we... What is wrong?" Tallia asked, looking into my eyes.

"Call them all. Every goddess we are in contact with," I said, and Tallia nodded as I stepped through.

I looked over at Fate and Xena, who were still with Tallia, and nodded to them. "Both of you two can join us as well. This affects everyone," I said, and Fate frowned.

"You are really willing to let me go back? You know what I can do to you, right?" Fate asked me as she stood up.

"If you want to live, you will shut up and listen with the rest. I have sealed off two Astral Islands and barred all Zodiacs from my island. Cancer is being kept asleep in a sealed room right now, and Kadeon did what I always knew he was going to do. Everything we have been doing up to this point has been a lie created by Kadeon and the Guides. So, if you want to fuck around, be my guest, but then you will be left in Yaggisdral to become a puppet of his," I said, and Fate gulped and nodded, sheepishly walking through the portal.

"Are you sure that you want me to come?" Xena asked, and I walked over to her and hugged her.

In the same instant, Xena started to scream as Matthias's Dark Touch was purged from her body.

"Stop that, Galio! You are killing her!" Tallia screamed, coming over to stop me, but I gave her a look that stopped her as the darkness continued to be expelled.

"They are all infected by the Guide's Dark Touch, even your mother," I said in a calm voice, and the darkness stopped pouring out of her, and Xena collapsed in my arms, panting to catch her breath.

Tallia froze with her mouth open and then opened and closed it a few times before being able to form a few words. "How... Do... you know that?"

"Nothing is secret from me anymore, my eternal love and wife. I know what happened, and from your look, you also seemed to have known who Nemoria and Kadeon really were for a while. Your parents, not mine," I said as I adjusted Xena to pick her up into my arms easier.

"I only learned after fighting Aries, but I wasn't allowed to tell you," Tallia said as she put a hand on Xena's now bright blonde hair, sliding it down to stroke her face that was no longer covered in black cracks.