God and Dragon
Eigengrau and Vordea walked around while time was stopped, taking note of everyone's positions. After several minutes of thinking, Vordea broke the silence.
"So, a second problem has appeared. Liddell was the meddler. Now what?" Vordea said, gesturing at Liddell and Narin, who remained locked in place by the time stop. "We can't leave her be, no matter what she's capable of."
"We cannot really do anything about her either, Vordea." Eigengrau replied. "As soon as time resumes and Narin removes his hand from her shoulder, she is going to achieve something I once thought impossible, limited to only the imagination of Mira Frost."
Eigengrau looked at Liddell, her face frozen in a look of dread. Why was Liddell so afraid of her ability to stop time to begin with? Knowing what she does now about her, Eigengrau slowly walked her way through her memories.
"...she's lonely." Vordea said eventually, after what felt like hours.
"Excuse me?"
"She's lonely, Eigen. What's the theme been with Amaranth her entire life?"
"Loss, loneliness, abandonment." Eigengrau stated.
"What if we let her win, kind of?" Vordea asked, pacing.
"Kind of?"
"Saint of the Abandoned. Let her claim the souls of the abandoned, in her new city that exists outside of time, much like Hell exists outside of the mortal plane." Vordea offered.
"Would still rather destroy her soul." Eigengrau admitted.
"So try." Vordea said with a smile.
"On this clockwork planet, where all is ordained by fate, is breaking fate even possible?" Eigengrau asked with a sly grin. "It is well past time for the pawns to start moving again. The ice gives way, the frost melts, time the unstoppable comes forth!"
---
Liddell watched in horror as Eigengrau and Vordea shifted positions suddenly. How long had they been plotting and scheming for while time was stopped? No matter, she had to deal with this infuriating dragon latched onto her first, though.
"Get the fuck off of me, lizard!" Liddell shouted, trying in vain to remove Narin's iron like grip from her.
"Always running out of time, aren't you Liddell?" Narin asked in response. "Lady Eigengrau, if you have a plan, now would be an excellent time."
"When darkness covers the soul, there is only redemption in oblivion." Eigengrau said cryptically as she walked up to Liddell with a wide smile on her face. "I have had just about enough of you and your stubborn refusal to just lay down and die like a good mortal."
"No! What was the point of all those years of suffering then?" Liddell screamed, as Eigengrau drew closer.
"There's no point to life, that's the secret." Vaust answered, shaking his head. "Just what you make of it."
"You lived a wicked unjust life." Sargon continued, frowning.
"No!" Liddell screamed, as her body began to glow. "It won't end like this!"
Eigengrau was forced to shield her eyes as she approached Liddell, the light piercing into every dimension. As she grew closer, the blinding white light filled her entire vision, and she grabbed Liddell.
"That is enough. You die here and now." Eigengrau said, her voice filled with anger.
Vordea watched with interest as for the first time in well over a trillion years, Eigengrau unlocked the chains in her mind, and unleashed her full power on a poor unwitting soul. The shadows seemed to come from the edge of vision, no matter where you observed Eigengrau and Liddell's struggle from. In the blink of an eye, the world all around them was replaced with inky black void as Eigengrau began to tear Liddell apart with her teeth.
"Stop! Please!" Liddell pleaded and screamed as her soul began to dissolve, faced with the full might of the God of Death. "I don't want to die!"
Eigengrau said nothing in response, and continued to tear into Liddell's soul, laughing manically as she did so. Oh, this was cathartic she thought to herself. Her biggest headache in the entire kalpa powerless before her. Eigengrau hissed and tore through Liddell like a shark, ignoring the screams of the doomed Saint as she bit chunks out of her, thrashing about.
Vordea took note as she remembered Eigengrau's animal motif was the shark, and not just any shark but the Great Hunter himself. Keeping it to herself, she continued to watch. Fascinating, she thought to herself. But what of the other Gods?
Sargon watched with concern as Eigengrau frenzied over Liddell's soul. Was this the true face of the Death God? Just what was she capable of, really?
Xellma was at first taken aback at how vicious Eigengrau was, but then thought of how Rebecca treated Victoria when she caught her, and just nodded. She definitely approved of the shark motif, at the very least.
"You foolish girl." Zalas said, shaking his head. "Rest in peace, Amaranth."
Just as soon as it started, it was over. The black void vanished in an instant and Eigengrau was left standing alone, a shadow on the ground being the only remnants of Saint Liddell. She looked wistfully at the shadow for a moment before looking back up at Narin.
"I did what I had to, Narin." Eigengrau said, her voice calm once more.
"Nobody will judge you, Shark of the Deep." Narin said, shaking his head. "Though, they may fear you. Look at their faces."
Eigengrau looked at the other Gods, and the fear was plain to see on the faces of the Minor Gods. Sargon was holding his war-hammer, as if worried she might pounce on him next. Zalas was no longer smiling as usual and looked guarded instead. Vaust looked mostly the same, but he met her gaze and she knew he wanted to talk later.
"So, the God of Death is the giant shark lurking in the deep." Xellma said, walking confidently up to Eigengrau, an unnerving smile on her face. "A fitting companion to the colossal squid." Xellma said, gesturing at Vordea.
"All Gods have an animal motif." Eigengrau stated, smiling slightly. "Mine just so happens to be the megalodon, the great hunter of the deep."
"I haven't seen Eigen that angry in nearly a trillion years." Vordea added. "There are chains that cover Eigengrau's mind, to prevent her from... well, going overboard."
"All Gods have an animal motif?" Xellma asked. "What about them?"
"Plain to see once you come to the conclusion. Lithe Zalas is the cat, obsessed with self-image. Steadfast Sargon is the turtle, with his layers of armour and short range yet devastating power." Eigengrau stated, gesturing at Zalas and Sargon.
"Gentle Vaust is the bear, a calm exterior betrayed by the hidden power within." Vordea continued.
"And what of Shining Light?" Xellma asked, pointing at Agbus, who merely shrugged.
"Is it not obvious?" Eigengrau said with a sly grin. "He is the sentient races."