MANY CENTURIES AGO
Trumpets blared in the usually peaceful divine realm and this startled the gods.
The divine realm was usually quiet, perhaps unchanging, yet suddenly the peace was disturbed and to their utmost surprise, they were all teleported to the meeting mountain.
The meeting mountain was the highest mountain in the god realm. It had a nice view, though whenever the gods thought of it, they wondered what happened to the first gods' naming sense.
"Ahhhhhh" Josephine the goddess of clouds screamed. I'm… I'm…naked. She quickly conjured clouds around herself while wondering why of all times it had to be when she was having a bath.
"It's not like you have much to show anyway, don't act all high and mighty" Enchanted smirked.
"How nice. The juvenile delinquent is here." Josephine rolled her eyes.
"So sweet of you to notice, though conjuring those clouds gives you too much free time to study mortals. What the hell is a delinquent?"
"Sigh. Never mind, I give up."
"As you should"
"Does anyone know why we're here listening to this buffoon?."
"I see y'all are having fun" Sabrina said.
The gods all screamed because the voice came out of nowhere. The sound wasn't the problem. It was the fact that none of them recognized it.
They all had their guard up and were watching the mysterious entity ready to strike at any time.
"Who are you?" Idris asked, for the entity was outside her predictions.
"I'm Sabrina."
They waited for something more but nothing came. They looked at each other wondering what to make of the situation.
"Umm… can you elaborate?." Timothy the god of passion asked.
Sabrina looked at him with sleepy eyes, she yawned before beginning.
"I'm Sabrina. The goddess of warnings and trials" she concluded, rubbing her eyes.
The gods' knew this wasn't normal, they didn't know what to do. A god of warnings, weren't gods already all knowing. What did they need to be forewarned about?
"Rest assured. I do not come bearing ill will. What I have to share with you is in all our best interests." Sabrina said, trying to ease their minds.
"Our best interests?" Idris asked.
"Yes" Sabrina replied.
The gods and goddesses started speaking amongst themselves, then finally Enchanted spoke up.
"I've never heard of such a goddess" he said.
"Because you never needed to and I never thought I would have to make an appearance but the situation is dire. It's about to happen…"
"What is?"
"An uprising"
BACK IN THE PRESENT
The gods and goddesses gazes were all on Sabrina. They had gotten used to random appearances and now they wondered what she had in store for them.
Sabrina looked at everyone. They wore solemn expressions as if she was being sentenced to death but she wasn't surprised.
"It's going to happen again but this time a calamity bigger than you all have witnessed."
The air blew past them as they sat in silence, the only proof that time still flowed naturally.
"We know that there's a second light and that the relic is missing but how does that all tie to this?" Idris asked, respectfully.
Idris looked up to Sabrina maybe because warnings were just like fortunes but with a guaranteed effect.
"It is tied to all those yes but a conspiracy will be the trigger. Find the hero hidden in the shadows of destiny for only they can stop this."
Enchanted was about to speak but stayed quiet. Something like this had happened before. A world level problem requiring gods and goddesses alike to give out their blessings on a mass level.
Thinking back, those memories weren't ones he was particularly fond of.
"It's alright, Enchanted. Your colleagues are all stronger and wiser now. Such a thing won't happen again" Sabrina said after noticing his expression.
"I really hope so"
"Badmiel, we'll have to work out the blessing plan. Look for eligible candidates, even diamonds in the rough will do. Meeting the quota before the timeline is the main priority."
"Why all tha rush?" Coctis inquired.
"Because we have less than five years before this happens"
The mountaintop grew silent once again. Five years seemed like a distant thing to mortals but for gods and goddesses that was like taking a two second power nap.
"Do we really have such limited time?. Can we even meet up with the schedule?." Frank asked.
"We have to for the sake of mankind" Jihad interjected.
Sabrina appreciated the fact that they had superb mental fortitude after all gods were once men after all. It was through the continuous learning of skills and acquisition of knowledge and renown they were that enabled them to ascend to godhood.
It was a broken system. It made people who were recluses unable to advance.
The power of blessings could only be manifested by high tier gods and it couldn't be used constantly. The gods knew this but were willing to accept the consequences.
"I will be at the usual place. Come find me once preparations have been made." Sabrina said before disappearing.
The gods and goddesses followed suit and teleported back to their residences.
IN THE VOID
Luminous had been waiting for hours when suddenly something entered the corner of his vision. He turned his head and realized that Mikhail had returned… alone. He wondered whether that was a good thing.
He floated towards Mikhail catching his attention.
Mikhail was about to swat Luminous away, thinking he was an unwanted fly. But upon closer inspection, he realized who it was.
"Oh, you're still here, my apologies" Mikhail said dispiritedly.
Luminous didn't know whether to laugh, cry or vent his frustrations. Had the oversized god just gone somewhere and forgotten his existence. He took a deep breath to calm himself.
"Yes, I'm here. Can I go now? Was the issue resolved?" He asked politely.
"Well for now…"
"For now?"
Mikhail paused and wondered how he should phrase this thoughts so that Luminous could understand. After a moment of thought, he gave a reply.
"For now, your issue has been put on hold. I will call you at a later time."
"On hold" Luminous muttered as if trying to grasp some hidden meaning.
Luminous couldn't hold back any longer. It had been hours or days since he had been here. He had important things to do, people to get back to and he had been pulled away against his will."
"You called me here for no reason, almost experimented on me, left me here and tell me the matter is on hold, am I supposed to be happy that I'm going to be stuck here." Luminous spat each word laced with venom.
Mikhail just looked at him amusedly. " You're too impatient, I never said you had to stay here now, did I?." he said with a slight smirk.
The earlier gloom in his voice seemed non-existent now.
"Wait, I don't have to stay?" he asked, partly surprised and partly curious.
"I'm a god. I can just call your soul to me anytime I want" Mikhail said.
Luminous didn't know whether a god of harassment existed but if they did he was sure that Mikhail totally fit that job description at the moment. But he ignored that statement entirely.
"Can I go back now?" Luminous asked.
"Yes, but for my delay, I'll give you a gift" Mikhail said while tapping his shoulder.
Luminous wanted to ask what he had done but then felt lethargic.
"Shh, go back to sleep. Something fun awaits you."
AT THE WEEPING WILLOWS
Luminous opened his eyes but the sight he witnessed was something he had never wished to see.