[Shieba]

Gemas shook his head. "There is no other form to switch into. We were created as companions - like the gods, as partners, but also as some...pet, I assume. Could we change shapes into a human form, we would look just like the gods we were created for, which would not be a good thing. I am bound to this form and as far as I know, this even holds true for the companion of the Creator. And if she can not change, no one of us ever will."

"Well, that makes sense then. How do you test these people? You seem to be a really cool guy! Surely you can't have boring rules and stuff like Dad!" There had been talks about pranks, Rosy remembered. Maybe the people were tested with those? That would be kind of mean...but fun. Rosy snorted as Valdemar spoke on. "Yeah, Dad is made to serve the Grim Reaper, but he loooves it. He does that since a few millennia and he never had interest in a woman before Mom came along. It was just work, work, work. He probably gets off by reading the work ethics or something. He's not blind with obdience, it gives him pleeeeeasure~" She winked at Valdemar.

"I hear you well, Rosy!" Gemas commented rather shrilly from the front part of the group.

Rosy snorted. "See, even hearing about it gets him all excited", she commented in more of a whisper to Valdemar.

Gemas sighed. There was nothing he could do right now and he had to focus on his work - to help this trapped spirit. He would talk to Rosy about her manners later. For now he returned to his own conversation. "For their sake, let us hope it is like that", he said. "The eight children of the Creator in my world, they are immortal, for the Creator will not let them die. The dark god of one world lost his battle against the light god, yet he survived, so the balance remains. But my master and the Master of Life, they do not have this protection of the Creator. They are gods, but they can be defeated, though of course not by mortal means. But since a world can not be without a Master of Death and a Master of Life, the one would would cast them off their throne would become the new god. If this holds true for Evelon as well, your gods might have been defeated and their power transferred." He wondered what that could mean for Julian. Would the new gods even care about decisions made for gods who weren't in this land anymore, for whatever reason? He waited until Julian had found a place to sit, then he sat down next to him. "I will listen attentively. Please, go on." A spirit stuck for millennia? How horrible.

"Oooh! Money!" Rosy focused on Valdemar instead of on the scary cathedral. "So he's rich thanks to you? And he doesn't buy you some better clothes then? Seriously? Maybe he's a pervert or something! He might like you half naked! That's creepy! I mean, I know that for some reason, some people don't wear ribbons even if they can afford them, but you kinda lend yourself to get groped if you run around in your human form with nothing but that piece of clothes! Seriously! He might be a pedo or something, given your short size!" Rosy still found the relationship between Julian and Valdemar odd. Very, very odd. And she was determined to get to the bottom of it.

[Kodai]

Hm, the whole question of why Gemas and his people looked the way they did was certainly a confusing matter, but it truly didn't matter, in the end. Regardless of whether their creator had seen into this world and taken a liking to the Fellox form, or if the two species had been created simultaneously and simply looked like each other due to circumstance, the fact remained that they existed, and there was nothing to be done to change that. Not that existing was a bad thing, of course – it just meant that there was no real sense in worrying over it.

"Hahaha! No, no rules. Though maybe some things, they are the same for everyone." Valdemar flared slightly. "The test, that is for each one's decision. Some, they are to see if the person has a good humor – those, they are more the pranks, heehee. Other tests, they are to see what the Moral are like. For Julian… Well! He has the bookstore, ja?" He flared up even more; perhaps this was this form's way of grinning? "So what you think the perfekt test is? To change the order!" At that point, he fell into a mad giggling fit, which exploded into full-blown laughter as Rosy teased her father. He was very likely not gaining any favor points with Gemas, but he didn't seem to be the type that would care. At least Rosy was gaining a possible friend, though?

Julian had to admit that Gemas's suggestion was a viable possibility, but he was certain that he'd never know the true answer. There was no reason for his gods to appear to him again, and he wouldn't bother to attempt to ask the Triumvirate's gods to answer (surely they had much more important matters to attend to). Besides, some information was better left to the shadows… and Gemas was patiently waiting for his story. "As the son of a priest, I was raised to become one myself. It was a… er… particular sect that was devoted to the Goddess of Truth and sought to ensure that Her light shone through even the darkest of lies. To this end, learning the magics associated with the art of illusions was utterly forbidden – after all, what are illusions but elaborate lies?" He exhaled lightly. "…Perhaps you have heard of the phrase, 'the ends justify the means'. Somewhere in my teenage years, the idea came to me that, perhaps, illusions could be used in order to reveal the truth, rather than simply mask it. And so… I began to study in secret. Once I felt that I had learned enough and had a reasonable chance of arguing my case, I went before the head priest to admit what I had done and why." The man gave a shake of his head, his expression slightly wry. "That… did not end well for me." Dropping that look for a more somber one, he explained, "The idea of using illusions to further the cause of Truth was soundly rejected, and I was… ah… subjected to punishment as outlined in our creed."

Valdemar listened to Julian speak for a while, still surprised that he was actually telling this story, before he turned his attention back to Rosy. "Haha, no, not rich. Only 'to live comfortably'. He is so strange, with money. Do you know what he says, when I come to live there first? 'I do not want riches,' he says. There is too much of the peoples' eyes watching when you are rich, and he does not want that." Suddenly he burst out laughing again because of what Rosy said. "Hahahahaha! That! That idea… Ohhh, you are glad he is not listening right now, to hear you say that! Du irrst dich gewaltig! And he would say so!" Trying to calm down, Valdemar added, "Also, he is smart; he knows to not give the Kobold clothing. To suggest your fashion on us? That is the sure way to lose favor! And also, I am not in that form so much. The Katze, that is best. Sleeping all day, haha!"

[Shieba]

Rosy giggled. "You switched all the books around? I hope you did some funny switches to make sure all the work was worth it! I would have put all the porny books into the 'bestseller' section! And the ones about diets between the ones for relationship help!" She glanced at Julian. "He doesn't seem like someone who would find that funny, though. Hmm. Maybe I should switch Dad's work documents with porn magazines. Or try to take some pictures of Mom's ass and put them between his papers so he'll get all flustered in the middle of work! Hee~"

"I can still hear you, Rosy. Both of you, actually." Gemas sent a glare into their direction. He was not really happy with Valdemar. It was too bad he had to take care of duty right now. Rosy and Valdemar were not a good match at all...

Gemas frowned. He could see where Julian had broken his rules, but not why a punishment of this size was put on him. "That Goddess of Truth, how much power did she hold?" he asked. "In my world, sects often have a bad ring to their name, but the title of 'sect' is, in fact, nothing more than a word for a religion with too little followers to be really called that. One would think a goddess of full power, able to trap a soul for years in the material plane, would have millions of worshippers." He paused. "I do not know anything about your religion, but these things do not add up. Are you sure you were not on the way to discover something you should have never seen? As I see it, a goddess only worshiped by few would either hold only little power or hold great one, but remain hidden from mortals so no one would knew her. But then, such a punishment, creating such a disturbance, would not fit in with that kind of personality. Maybe your 'goddess' was an illusion herself, creating laws against this very art as to not be discovered. A punishment of such dimensions for something like a different way of thinking speaks more of a deed done out of fear to scare others away from that art. Maybe your goddess was nothing but a fake, hiding the identity of a far more powerful god." He sighed. "But then, what do I know? This world is foreign to me. At any rate, your punishment sounds too severe to be deserved for your deed."

"If he doesn't want to be rich, he should just buy more stuff with the money so he doesn't have that much! Like ribbons!" Rosy wished she would have more money. Was Julian stupid? Money was great! But that wasn't half as interesting as the rest that Valdemar said, even though Rosy had trouble to follow with the amount of that foreign language spoken. "Kat-- oh, the cat!" She nodded. "Yeah, well, that makes sense. I'm glad I'm not a human, too. But still! Why don't you want clothes? He could give you money so you could buy your own if you kobold guys don't like human fashion! I mean, I understand that. You guys are so short, you would probably only get children's outfits. Like pink shirts with 'baby girl' written on them with glitter! But other clothes would be good, you know? Unless you're a perv who likes to flash people. The outfit I saw is pretty close to that... Do you like to flash people? Don't do it to me or I'll kick you in the nuts!" Rosy was pretty sure that either Valdemar or Julian was a pervert. She didn't know which one yet, but finding this out was pretty fun.

[Kodai]

"Eh, well, in those times, those Genres, they do not exist yet. But I did what I could. Mostly with the personal collection. And it is true; he tries so much to look like he does not care, but it is obvious to see he does!" And then Rosy had her brilliant idea. "Haha, you would do that? You are fantastic!" Valdemar snickered, even though he could feel the heat of Gemas's gaze. Dropping his voice, he added, "Your father, he does not approve of this. I think maybe he does not like me so well." He didn't sound overly concerned about the matter, however. And why would he be? It wasn't as if they absolutely had to get along, and it was likely that after this, they would never see each other again. Really, all Gemas had to worry about was Rosy, and if she was making the sort of suggestions she currently was, then she obviously already had a similar mind to Valdemar's and wouldn't be 'swayed' by his personality. …Sure, the fact that they were talking about such things and having such a delightful time together meant that she wouldn't get better, in that sense, but what were you going to do?

Gemas certainly had an interesting theory, to say the least, but Julian felt that it would be beneficial to explain his society's religion a little more. "Ah, well, when I say 'sect', I simply mean a group dedicated to a single god or goddess instead of the entire pantheon. Our religion contained numerous deities, and thus it was nearly impossible for each individual to receive the proper amount of attention without having their own sects. Depending on popularity, there could even be numerous sects all serving a single deity, with each sect differing in matters of what aspects to focus on, what the codes of conduct should be, and the like." Shifting slightly, he continued, "It was not the Goddess herself that barred my entry into the afterlife; it was one of our Death-related Gods that did so. And I have not been a disembodied soul all this time; rather, the punishment was simply that I would be alive, but unable to die." Julian paused, pondering this for a bit. "…I suppose to say that I was 'alive' isn't entirely correct, but I'm not sure if I would go so far as to say that I was 'undead'… It was a complicated affair, in that regard. At any rate, my current state as 'spirit without a body' is actually quite recent, but I'm certain we'll get to that story shortly." Right now they were focusing on the reason behind his existing so long in the first place. "As for the severity of the sentence… I must admit that your idea is just as valid as any other, though I would not believe it personally. Whether the Goddess herself existed, or if the others were trying to hide the fact that she did not… It is irrelevant. The idea, the concept, of Truth does indeed exist. To recognize one is to recognize both, even if you are not an adherent of the religion. That is my personal belief." The man paused again, a sort of distant expression crossing his face. "Since it is so personal, however, I can't say that those of the sect would have agreed. You could be correct in saying that there was no physical Goddess and they wished to hide this. Or perhaps illusions were forbidden as they had the potential to lead people to pursue ever-darker magics. Perhaps they feared for their standing? I can imagine that a practitioner of, for example, both illusions and necromancy could be a potent threat; by posing as a god on earth, that individual could tarnish the name of the true god through his actions, and if the individual proclaimed himself a new god… I am certain the gods do not appreciate challenges to their power, especially by mortals." He gave a somewhat weary sigh. "Whatever the case may be… What's done is done. My sentence was set, and I continue to carry it out."

"Haha, but then he has all the stuff and no place for it! Though, you would say he should buy more books and a bigger store. And maybe a separate Haus, even!" The flame giggled. "Ja, so strange, he always looks for the store with living-quarters, when we move. But that is better for to keep an eye on the secret material, perhaps." Valdemar's voice was full of mischievous glee. "What he has down there, in Keller, well! Such things he should not have at all! But he says, it is better to have them there, put away, where the others cannot use them, than to let them remain where others may find them." Trying to pull himself away from that topic for now (oh, what fun they could possibly have with Gemas and the forbidden inventory!), the kobold addressed the clothing issue. "Ehhh, the clothes now… Das ist nicht mein Fall. And also the size, as you say. Buuuut, I will tell you…" He floated a little closer to Rosy, as if preparing to share a secret. "I did like the nobleman, the royal clothing. So very nice!" Moving back, Valdemar paused to consider Rosy's last few comments (likely trying to translate the slang) and then promptly burst into laughter again. "Hahahahaha! You, you are a good mind for this! No, no, I would not do that to you. I like you. But I do not do that – do you recognize what problem that would cause, for legal matters? Everyone today, they will make you pay for the smallest thing."

[Shieba]

"Duh!" Rosy shook her head. "If this stuff didn't exist back then, what stopped you from buying a few magazines from the next kiosk? As an added extra to the confusion, so to say? Then again..." She snorted. "With your height, it's a bit doubtful someone would sell you porn magazines, huh? They'd all think you're an innocent little boy...with some clothing problem." She giggled and then noticed the look her father gave her. "Ah, Dad." Rosy winked at Valdemar. "Don't mind him. Of course he doesn't approve; he's a boring as they come. He thinks you'll give me bad ideas or something. Not that you do, I can get them fully well on my own. I just like sharing them with you since you understand." She happily wagged her tails.

Gemas sighed when he figured there was nothing he could do to discourage Rosy right now. It was probably best to deal with one problem after another and fully concentrate on Julian first and dealing with his troublesome daughter later. Which of those two problems wuold turn out to be the more difficult one was hard to say...
Julian's tale was quite fascinating, though. "How interesting, to hear how mortals dealt with having so many different gods. As those in my world only worship the white god and sometimes the Creator, I have never thought much about how difficult it must be for humans to deal with a huge amount of gods. It seems logical they focus on serving one they feel the closest to." He frowned. "If a death-related god sentenced you to being unable to die, it surely cannot mean your body was given regenerative abilities to survive forever. Such would have been the work of a god of life. Or at least that would be how things would happen in my world - not that such an event would ever happen there, unless the dark god would curse someone with the most horrible of spells. I understand you cannot explain it better, though it would be very interesting to learn how your body managed to house your soul for longer than it should have normally."
And there was this word again...Necromancy. "I have heard of necromancy before from someone from another realm, though the concept does not exist in my world. My knowledge of the matter is very limited, but I agree that it is not something any god would agree with. And you are correct, gods do not like challenges to their powers, though it would be interesting to hear if your goddess was immortal or half-mortal." He paused, trying to think of a way to explain what he meant to Julian. It was hard to guess where the concept of his world and Evelon were the same, different or if they simply had different names for the same thing. "In my world, the white and dark god are immortal. Though the white god defeated the dark one thousands of years ago, the worst he could do was to divide him into seven pieces and seal them for some time - because if he would have died, the balance would have been upset and the world would have been destroyed. However, my master, the Master of Death, is a god as well, but a half-mortal. It means he can very much die if someone can defeat and kill him - thus becoming the new Master of Death -, though he does not age and will never get sick. Of course, a normal mortal could never dream of besting him in combat or coming even close to defeat him. Not even an army of mortals could. In the end, this means that my master would indeed be at least worried if a mortal would gain godly power while the white and dark god would not care at all. My master needs to be half-mortal, for someone who can never die would not be able to grasp the concept of death and govern the afterlife well. A goddess of truth, though...I would not know." He sighed. "I apologize for my long-winded explanations. I merely try to understand better what your gods must have been thinking. Please continue with your tale. I am interested in hearing what changed and robbed you of your body."

"Oooh!" Rosy was fully attentive. "What exactly does this 'secret material' consist of? Sounds like something you can have a lot of fun with. Forbidden things are usually the ones which are the most fun!" She giggled. "And yes, I think royal clothes are really nice, too. I'm not much into humans, though, but humans in fancy clothing tend to look better to me. Especially with bow-ties. Like fancy ribbons for men! Awesome!" She snickered when Valdemar had to laugh. "Well, good then! But really, you shouldn't need to worry! You're so small! I was at the coast once for some kind of swimming contest and a lot of humans let their children run around naked at the beach, for whatever weird reason. If you get mistaken for a child, you could probably flash people no problem! Sure, it doesn't have the same effect when they think you're a child, but it would have at least some impact! You should try! It would be fun, embarrassing for others and if you then claim Julian is your daddy or something, he might get into a bit of trouble without it being too bad!" Rosy was quite proud of herself. So many fun ideas! She and Valdemar were a good team! When she got back home, she probably would get scolded by her father, but hey, she wasn't doing anything. Just thinking of things and the mind was free...

(I have no idea if it's the same on American beaches as it is on German ones when it comes to children and being clothed. Going with the German ones for now because I wanted to finally reply, haha.)

[Kodai]

Valdemar was quiet for a moment. "Huuh, that is brilliance! Why I did not think of this?" He paused to float a bit closer to Rosy, burning brightly. "And, why you would need to buy? Just 'borrow', ja? He would not have them in the store for keeping, anyway." Likely another idea that Gemas would strongly disapprove of. "Heh, I should do this sometime. I have been nice so long, I think he forgets wer I am." The fireball paused again (considering Gemas's personality and Rosy's words). "Hahaha, it is good he has a Tochter like you! Even if he may not think so! But I am sure he is always giving you that face, eh? He must learn that Ihr beide seid wie Tag und Nacht… and also he cannot change this."

Julian could only agree with Gemas's conclusion on focusing on one god when there was a wide pantheon. Those that believed in a faith with only a few gods or even a single deity certainly didn't have the problem of remembering to give them the proper amount of attention daily. Thinking back to his experience, the man tried to answer the Fellox's first question. "Ah… I believe the answer to the length of my physical existence is that my body was 'frozen in time', as it were. It simply could not age, though there was a bit more to the situation than that." Listening carefully to Gemas's second question and explanation, Julian nodded, understanding precisely what the Fellox meant. "By your definition, all of our gods can be considered both half-mortal and truly immortal, in a sense. Naturally, a normal mortal cannot touch them, but they may kill each other – and they may also be revived. That is how our Lord of the Underworld gained his position: he was murdered and then restored so that he could rule the dead. As for the Goddess…" He considered for a moment. "Insofar as she has a form as all the others, then I would say that she can be destroyed and resurrected in the same way. Even Truth as a concept can be 'killed' by pervasive lies and restored by those who recognize those lies for what they are." Whether that reply would actually help Gemas understand why the punishment he had received was so severe was debatable. Still, it was the only answer he could give, and besides, the Fellox was interested in hearing more of his story. Julian grew somber once more. "It was a few years ago… It feels like only a moment and yet ages, oddly enough. I had met a woman that was in a state mildly comparable to mine – she had died, but through force of will, she was able to return to the realm of the physical. We became good friends… When she was due to give birth to her Fiancé's children, I was invited to be present." He faltered slightly, hoping that Gemas would be able to wrap his mind around what had happened next. "She… She was a sickly woman. The strain of birthing twins was too much for her, and… she died for a second time. I… I became distraught, and… somehow, I passed the result of my judgement onto her… Thus, I revived her… and lost myself in the process."

"Eheeheehee! This is true!" Valdemar agreed. "But these are very dangerous things. They are the dunkle Magie, the torture and killing and Nekromantie." He thought a moment. "I wonder what your father says to him, if he hears? Heheheh…" Unfortunately (or fortunately), the conversation was moving a bit too quickly for Valdemar to consider going over to Gemas and mentioning it right now. "Haha, the Ideen you have! You would be welcome to all faerie-folk, I think! Ja, maybe I will try this, too, though Julian does not go out so much and we are not together so much in the shop. But! Über kurz oder lang!"

[Shieba]

[Daiii~ Fiiirst...*pokes German text* It should be 'Ihr beide seid wie Tag und Nacht'~ <3
And second...I'm so, so sorry for the WALL OF TEXT! D= I also didn't proofread - it's just too long!]

"Oooh, 'borrow'!" Rosy giggled and wagged her tails happily. She wasn't a fan of stealing things, not even for a limited amount of time, but in this case, the idea seemed to be very justified. "That's an ingenious plan! Not only would he have to deal with finding these magazines in his shop, no, he'll also have to bring them back to the kiosk and then explain how - and possibly why - he has aquired porn magazies!" She snorted. "Man, I wish I could see this! Too bad Felloxes don't buy such stuff, so I can't pull something like this on Dad." Behind her mask, she smiled at Valdemar. "My sister is totally like Dad, so he actually has someone like him - so yes, it's good that someone in the family keeps him a bit busy. He loves me a lot, but yeees, I get that face a lot!" Not that it bothered her much - she was used to it and while her father could be angry at times, it never lasted, even if it was mostly her mother that calmed him down in the end.

Gemas pondered Julian's words. "'Frozen in time'...what an odd concept. In my world, time is the one thing that cannot be controlled. It was when time started to exist that the Creator emerged from the Sea of Chaos, being chaos Herself, but out of that, the aspect of order, since chaos is everything, yet it cannot exist at the same time with the order. But even this 'everything' does not include time. Time always passes and while it does not have the same meaning it has to the Creator or Her children that it has for mortals, it is still unchangeable. To think that something in this world is able to stop time, even if only for a single body, is a concept I cannot truly grasp, as I have no idea what powers could make it possible." And Julian had said that there was even more to it. Gemas frowned. He obviously had no way to fully comprehend the way Julian's punishment worked, which was unsettling for someone in his position. But it seemed he just had to accept that fact for now and listen more, hoping to understand better once more pieces of the puzzle were on the table. "If I understand correctly, then dying and getting revived changes or at least can change the position and powers your gold held? That sounds very...bothersome. If your Lord of the Underworld gained his position through revival, what happened to the former Lord of the Underworld then?" Gemas tried to be not confused by the fact that Julian had said that said Lord 'ruled' the dead - he himself would never get the idea to call his master the ruler over the dead.

But he knew that asking that would lead them too far away from the actual topic. He hoped to have time to come back to that question later, though. Especially since the next part of Julian's story seemed even more confusing than what he had heard before. "A soul who returned to the world of the living through sheer will? Why would a soul wish for something like that? I guess that doing so is what caused her to be so sickly? That..." He sighed. Comparing his own world to Julian's really brought few results, but it was needed for him to try to understand what had happened better. "Please bear with another long-winded explanation of mine? Allow me to quote the will of the Creator of my world. She said 'The light gives all mortal beings their soul and the darkness their hearts. And those with souls not strong enough to fight against the darkness their hearts want to drown them in are those who are weak. Mortals know jealousy and greed. They wish for wealth and riches, but above all for power - power over others. Such is the legacy of darkness and that which moves their hearts. But they also know love and kindness. Such is the legacy of light and that which moves their souls. There are no evil mortals in My worlds, for souls cannot be tained. There only are weak mortals with evil hearts. And those who are strong enough to not lose their souls in the dark are those who will stand above the sky.'"

Gemas paused. It was a long explanation and he hoped that Julian didn't feel like Gemas was pushing just knowledge onto him for the sake of lecturing. He himself wasn't even completely comfortable to share such godly knowledge with a mortal soul, no matter if it was bound to this realm or not. "So in my world, each mortal being gets one chance - one life - to forge a path, be it towards darkness or light. At the end of the path lies death and my Master, who passes the judgement without being a judge, for he just announces the results the mortals have earned by walking their own path. It is the same for every mortal soul and those who die before they have a chance to do so - children unborn in the bodies of their dead mothers, for example - are the only ones who get reborn through the hands of my Master's sister. No soul has the right to live a second life. And not only that - it is very much impossible to do so anyway. Mortals wish to keep their individuality after death and so the souls sorted into Prahna - which is heaven - can create their bodies anew, but those are not made from flesh and bones but their sole wish to regain them, for Prahna is closer to the Sea of Chaos and the power of creation is available to even mortals in small parts there. Those souls who get sorted to Rarohenga - hell - do not get punished by pain or fire, as so many mortals believe. Their punishment is that they are not allowed to regain a body and are forced to spend eternity in a state where they are still individuals enough, but are not able to act on it anymore. As Rarohenga lies closer to the material plane of the living and away from the Sea of Chaos, they are cursed with the eternal feeling that the most essential thing for them is missing."

"I am getting to my point. Please excuse me, I should try to not talk so much, but I do not know how to shorten my explanation." Gemas shook his head. He had to be careful so that he would not lose Julian along the way. "Even though souls wish for a body, they do wish to leave the one of flesh and bone behind, though, as it - and their hearts - are the legacy of darkness. No soul would willingly return to such a state. If a soul has left its body for long enough that it had entered Elys and, by whatever means, gets forced back into its old body then..." He sighed. "The mortals named the state that occurs then after the godly word for hell; Rarohenga. They also call it 'The eternal bleeding curse', as the soul tries to leave the body again with such force that the body bleeds without end; from eyes, ears, mouth, from under the fingernails and even the roots of their hairs. Those unfortunate souls, they do not live long, but they live. Blinded and choking, they only hope to die in the little sleep the pain lets them get when the blood runs into their lungs. The body, having been detached from the soul already, does not follow the normal path of mortality anymore, for it is able to produce more blood than it ever should, being able to keep the soul for as much as a year. It is the most gruesome ordeal one can ever go through. As such, what you call 'Necromancy' is impossible in my world. Such a being could not exist. Now, if you tell me that a soul wanted to return to the living and even managed to...I can not comprehend how that is possible. 'Sickly' is, given what happens in my world, the mildest word I would be able to find for such a being. And to think that she got revived yet again...I do not understand." Gemas tried to collect his thoughts, but this was all too foreign. "I cannot comprehend how your friend managed to live again in the first place. Neither can I comprehend how you passed your fate onto her - and what exactly that meant for her soul. Or for yours. Why did you not pass on? If your body was not 'frozen in time' anymore, why did you not die? This is beyond anything that is right. I...I must admit that my very instincts tell me to send you, to right as much of that wrong chaos as possible. And yet those instincts are bound to the rules of my own world, which are possibly so wrong in yours."

Rosy had been listening to Valdemar, but there was no way she could have overheard that kind of speech. "Holy crap, I know Dad talks a lot when he's all in work-mode, but I think he just set a new record", she mumbled to Valdemar. "I hope Julian's brain isn't fried now, really. Dad heard about this Necromancy stuff before and he totally flipped out...so we better not tell him. He might never stop talking if we do it now. So let's not." She tried to ignore her father again, though she was slightly worried about what had caused that talk. "I really would like to meet more of your kind! You're pretty awesome guys, if the rest is just like you! Sounds like I'd have a blast and get many new ideas! And really, if you don't have the opportunity to flash people live, I dunno, put up photos? A lot of humans have photos of their children on the walls which are embarrassing and since you look like a child, there's no harm in doing so? There must be a way to set Julian up like that!"

[Kodai]

"Heeheehee! It is perfect! Though, I wonder, when we will go back and I may do this?" The fireball wavered a little, thinking. "Maybe we will stay here, for some time. We have not been here for so long, as we said, and… I would like to see der Wald, again." Hey, if the forest around this place had changed so much since they'd been here last, then it was likely his home had changed some, as well. Returning to the conversation at hand, Valdemar clucked disapprovingly (though in jest, as was his custom). "So you must deal with the both of them! How sad for you! Or maybe it is the best fun? Hahaha!"

Freezing time… Perhaps that wasn't the best way to have phrased it, but Julian was having trouble thinking of a better description. The reason he had thought the phrase most appropriate in the first place was because that was how it seemed to be for his body – it had neither aged nor decayed, suggesting that it had been 'stuck' at a certain point in its existence. "I'm afraid I cannot explain it in a more accurate way, as I don't explicitly know how it worked, myself. All I know is what I experienced." Leaving that question for the next, the man thought for a moment. "I… couldn't say. I'm uncertain if there even was such an entity before he gained that position." He'd never heard of there being a Lord of the Underworld prior to the one everyone had acknowledged, at least. "Granted, this was early on in the universe's development. Perhaps the order was still being set, and it was simply fate that set him up to receive that role?" Quite honestly, he had no idea. It wasn't something that had crossed his mind, ever. As everyone else around him, he'd quietly accepted how things had ended up instead of wondering what had been in place before.

Still, that was not the most pressing question they were discussing, and Julian listened as Gemas continued to try to understand his past. "I believe, in her case… The motivation was love. She wished to remain on the earth with the man she loved, and did not wish to wait for his death to reunite them." He paused. "…Assuming that is how the afterlife truly works, after all? There are those that adhere to the idea that death is a permanent separation, after all, which would make the desire to remain even more potent. I don't recall what her belief was…" He wasn't sure if she'd ever told him in the first place, actually, but the point remained. "Love, jealousy, greed… Such things are powerful motivators in life, so it's not unreasonable to assume they remain as such after death." Or maybe it was? Really, the differences between what he himself had experienced and heard of and what Gemas knew or believed to be true were vast.

Gemas then launched into a more detailed explanation of how life and death worked in the world he'd originally come from. Julian sat, listening patiently as the Fellox spoke. Frankly, he found the whole thing fascinating (although that was generally the initial opinion people had of hidden knowledge), and so remained quiet until Gemas had finished. Personally, he agreed with the concept of 'one chance at a full life on earth, followed by reward/punishment and a subsequent afterlife', but he could also understand why others might want to return, as in the case of his friend. Did that mean such people should return? No, perhaps not, but Julian was in no position to judge the actions of others. Besides, spirits of those that had died and somehow managed to pull their way back into a mortal body were only a small portion of earth-bound spirits. What of those that had been cursed or hexed? Being punished by the gods, as he himself was, or even 'blessed' with a second chance by them? What of the ones that had somehow never been able to pass into the afterlife in the first place? Was it fair to lump all of these explanations into one category and consider the lot of them 'wrong' for existing?

The man said none of this, however, focusing on the more immediate questions Gemas had posed. "I did die, in the sense that my spirit was finally freed from my body. But as it had been decreed so long ago, I could not continue on into the afterlife." He paused. "For that reason, I don't believe that 'sending' me would succeed. This occurred relatively recently, in comparison to when I had been sentenced. The addition of a few more years after several thousand would not suddenly cause my sentence to weaken, surely."

Valdemar had also noted the length of Gemas's speech. "Hah, maybe he goes into Politik?" he joked, floating around to the other side of Rosy's head. "Julian, though, he will be fine. I am certain he listens all day, if your father speaks so much." The fireball was about to agree with Rosy on not making Gemas talk any more than he already was (and was prepared to make a joke about Gemas going hoarse from doing so) when he thought of something. "Hey, but… if he does not stop, maybe us two, we can get away from here?" Obviously he was still uncomfortable with being in this desolate place. "Though, he speaks so much now, we may do this already." Slowly he floated back a few inches towards the doors, continuing the conversation as he went. "Oh, well! they are not all so nice, like me," he replied, shimmering with a poorly-disguised pride at being called 'awesome'. "But, if you do not insult us, there is no problem! I think, it would be fun for you, and everyone. If Julian and I, we decide to see Roraldi, you must ask your father to travel with us! Say that it is for your benefit, to see the world!" He paused, thinking about the Fellox's newest prank idea. "Ahh, that thought is best, with photos, but! we have no Kamera! …Maybe I go to borrow from someone. Heeheehee!"

[Shieba]

"I hope we can meet again and you can tell me how it went!" All that talking and scheming had made Rosy pretty excited despite the fact that she didn't even really knew Julian. "But seriously, staying here? This place is creepy! There are monsters here sometimes. Dad just takes me here to teach me how to send the souls of dying creatures to the afterlife." She wasn't sure what a 'Wald' was - a wall, a vault? - but she doubted that anything here was non-creepy. Since she didn't really want to think about these things, talking about family matters was far more preferred. "Not just with Dad and Symona! I have another, little sister, too - Mom and Dad sure are busy! She's still a small child, but totally weird in the head. All she cares about are ducks! My family is way crazy. But I guess I prefer insane children over boring fathers."

Gemas meanwhile was still trying to comprehend how Evelon worked. "If you do not know how it worked, there is no use in speculating about it", he finally decided. If even Julian didn't know how his body got to be the way it had been, there was nothing he could find out. The next question bothered him even more anyway. "Up to fate, you say? Even such important matters are simply random in this world? What about the one who created everything in this realm? Did the creator not decide these things? My sister, she is not happy with being the Master of Life since she feels that we half-mortal gods do not get the acknowledgement the light and dark gods do. But she can talk to the Creator about it. I do not want to imagine a world where gods get their roles at random and no one regulates these things. Those unhappy might try to escape their fate and upset the order." Gemas sighed. "I am sorry if these questions bother you. For someone who was a normal mortal, it must seem unimportant to figure these things out compared to what burden your fate already is. It is just for me, as a godly being, that such things are very interesting."

Gemas frowned. "I do not see how it matters what your friend believed in. There is one belief system that is right and the others who are wrong, correct? Even if she believed in something not existing, she would get judged by the true system. But you are right, emotions are powerful. They are what drive mortals to pick their paths. But still, for them to be powerful enough to break the boundary...that is something I have never heard of, though it might just be my world being different from yours again."

"For you not being able to pass on to the afterlife, though, that is a difficult matter...I am not sure that sending you would fail." Gemas pondered this. "Though this is not my world, my powers still remain and our worlds are different from each other in such a vast way that I might just have the ability to succeed." He sighed. "Would you listen to another long-winded explanation of mine? I might be able to explain to you why I believe I might succeed and then you can give me your opinion on it? I need to start with some irrelevant-seeming knowledge to make you understand, though." There was a slightly horrified noise from Rosy that she tended to always make when he was holding a speech, but he ignored that. "As I told you, the light and dark god of my world are immortal. This is true for all four worlds of the Creator. In the last of the four, the white and dark gods are pacifists who duel through manipulation and subtle means. Both gods sell technology to the humans - the dark god because he believes that the humans will destroy themselves and the world with it. Things look good for him, seemingly, but only because the light god believes that the humans will realize the plan and turn against the darkness. The dark god disguises himself as a human and has a big company, ruling it as the richest man in the world, pulling the strings as the great manipulator from behind the scenes. The white god does the same, but does not have the fame or riches. But because the dark god knows that he cannot die, he reaches for perfection already during the fight, calculating that the Creator does not want Her creation to fall that easily, given the way She set the balance up, which is seemingly frustrating to both gods. It is terrible for the dark beings since they want to destroy the world and return to the perfection of the chaos, but even the try to do so keeps the balance and helps to maintain the world. And it is frustrating for the light beings because they want to save the world, but a victory would mean the destruction through stagnation. Yet it only is seemingly so. The problem of the darkness is that every action they take causes the opposite of what they want to happen. But for the light, this only happens in the case of their victory. But they cannot win at all, since gods cannot die! And because they cannot win...they already won. Do you understand? There will never be an end of the world through stagnation. The dark god can do whatever he wants - as long as that fact holds true, the light is victorious, no matter how much the dark god towers over the white one. The white god wants to keep the world safe and seemingly, so does the Creator - he does not need riches or manipulation, for the Creator alone is his victory. And because of that, he wishes the dark god good luck in his search for perfection, because if he manages to find it, both have won and then the world truly would be perfect."

"But the Creator is fair to all beings in Her creation. This problem is only in regards to the god's immortality. It has never been specified how the darkness should go about in destroying the world. Sure, destroying the other god is the straightforward way, but no one says it is the only one. If the dark god succeeds in his plan to make the humans kill each other and everything else, is that not a 'destroyed world'? If all of the Creator's creation is dead, there is little use for Her in keeping that world around. That is what all dark gods aim for - one in his manipulative way, the others with violence. Even if light and darkness remain at the end, but all humans are in the realm of the dead, it still holds true that such a world, with the creation in ruins, counts as a victory for the darkness, because without human life, the Masters of Life and Death are without use - there would be no more souls to judge and rebirth. And if that system breaks down, so will the world. So the winning conditions for the dark beings are different. They have an actual, working chance to reach their goal. At the same time, the light beings are not allowed to win, but that cannot happen anyway and because of that, they are victorious as long as they keep the darkness in check. The Creator is fair, but in the end, She wants Her creation to remain, otherwise She would not have bothered to create everything in the first place. She loves us, her children, and because of that, She does not allow us all to simply die like that." Gemas made a small break to allow poor Julian to catch up with him, in case the man wasn't completely lost yet. "But there is another reason why the Creator forces the darkness to take the long way around instead of allowing them to kill the white god to make things faster. If the white beings are, right now, victorious, would it not be fair to make the white god mortal? As long as the dark one is immortal, the white one can be content and assured of the victory he has right now in this part of the battle. If the white beings are happy with their opponents being immortal, is it not unfair that the dark ones are unhappy with the same applying to their opponents? The answer is simple - and no, it is not to make the starting conditions the same. It is because the Creator does not want to bind the survival of all mortal beings who do not wish to return to chaos to the survival of a single, other being. The dark beings have to take the long way so that the humans contribute to the battle as well instead of being forced to just watch how a different race fights the battle for them. She forces the darkness to deal with the humans to destroy them. It seems cruel, but it is not - the humans can fight for themselves and they prove it in all worlds and the white gods have trust in them. The humans are important to the Creator; too important to make them simple spectators. And now, we slowly get to where we want to go."

Gemas started to pace up and down; he was obviously used to hold something that was close to lectures and from the look Rosy threw him every now and then, it was pretty clear that she tended to be at the recieving end of them. "As I said, the dark god of that particular world poses as a human and tries to reach perfection by studying them. From what I told you, you might guess that it is because humans are light and darkness at once and therefore closer to chaos and the perfection it brings. But that also means that they are part darkness like him. Why is he not studying the white god? In this case, he would be the part the dark one is missing: The light. As they are pacifists, they worked together before. The reason is that it is not about the light. It is because humans have something that neither god has - the choice of picking their own path. This is something no other god but the Creator has. Because of that and not because of his plan for destruction the dark god disguises himself as a human; wears human clothing instead of creating them, allows the humans to interact with him like if he would be one of their own, allows it that the humans do not even know about his true existance and pray to other, false gods - and it is the same for the white one. They want to understand what they do not have. But the dark god is so very proud about how close he is to perfection and about his vast knowledge - and still he does not deem it degrading to pose as a human. And the reason why he does it and why he does not feel like it is degrading is the fact that I want to show you. Look at what I told you about the Masters of Life and Death. They are gods and yet not, because they are mortal despite their power. And they are humans and yet not because despite being neutral, they do not have the free choice you humans have since they are opposites as well and bound to their positions. They are both and yet none, because if they would be both, they would be perfection!"

Gemas looked straight at Julian. "You humans pick your own path and get the result at the end of your life, but you do not have godly powers to really influence the fate of the world. The light and dark gods have that power, but no choice of what to do with it. And the Masters of Life and Death have a half of both and end with the same sum as the others. The humans are important to the Creator and that exactly as much as the gods! The Masters of Life and Death are also not weaker, less important gods, like you might believe. The Creator has both those things that She has Herself, power and free choice, divided up between humans and gods while having both fully Herself means that She is perfection. And none is better than the other. You as a human have something that the gods are missing and the gods have something that you are missing. Gods and humans are absolutely equal! Both have one half of perfection!" He sighed. "But of course it is alright that humans pray to gods. Because if we look at my world and the way it works, then the humans have seemingly gotten the worse deal. Their lives are so short that they cannot use as much of their half of perfection as the gods can. And that is why the light god shares with them. He uses his powers to stop human souls from returning to chaos after death. Instead, he built the realms of the dead in which they get a bit what they are missing - a part of immortality, as long as the worlds exist, and a bit of power to create a body for their souls again and whatever else they desire, at least in Prahna. That is also why there is Rarohenga, since he only want to share with those who are worthy. Sadly, it does not work the other way round; humans cannot share the gift of free choice with the light beings. All religions there are in the worlds revolve around death and the afterlife because it is there where humans notice what they are missing and what a god can give them. And this is why it is completely alright that there is a hierarchy in the world. However - the Creator lives outside of Her worlds. For Her, this hierarchy does not exist. For Her, both is equal. And this is why for Her, you would not be 'just a human'. You are not worse or weaker than my Master or even the light or dark gods. You are different since the parts of perfection are differently distributed in you than in them. A human has the same value for the Creator as a god, which is why She forces the gods to deal with them since they deserve the same chance as the gods to defend or destroy the world because of that."

"And this is what I want to tell you: In my world you are not worse than a god, just different. A human has the same rights as a god in my world and my Master - and with that, me - considers himself a servant to the humans anyway since he sorts and sends souls. In this world, it seems that humans are inferior to gods, with gods punishing them as they see fit. But my powers were given to me by the Creator who puts humans and gods on equal value and because of that, I might just be able to send you. Do you understand?" Gemas sat back down and looked at Julian, waiting to see if the poor man had managed to comprehend everything.

Rosy had stared at her father and now that he had finally shut up turned back to Valdemar. "Are you sure Julian is fine? I think my ears are bleeding by now and that without me really listening. You're totally right - let's get out of here as long as Dad is busy with breaking Julian's brain. I'm not sure if your friend will be sane afterwards, though." The idea to leave this cursed place appealed to Rosy a lot. "The weather is so nice, let's go back outside. And I'd love to meet your people! I can teleport anyway, so it's all good. Really, teleportation is the only good power I got from Dad, even though he uses it freely himself to suddenly appear behind me and attack me with an avalance of one million words. Think your people could survive that, too? I'd find it fun if Dad would suddenly appear in their midst and everyone would prank him then, though!" The thought of that was simply hilarious. "In this case, you should totally borrow a camera so that you can also take pictures of my Dad then, haha!" She slowly turned into the direction of the entrance and started to walk, hoping that no one would catch her and Valdemar.