Reika was fascinated by all around her. A whole new world! Her initial annoyance at Mother dragging her out of her meditations had long since faded into the background in the face of the wonder of an entirely new universe. She watched in fascination as life and death swirled together in a mixture of white and black, blended by the rotation of the Realm, yet wholly distinct. She beheld that which could be considered the Realm Sun – what Lord Shin called the Guiding Light, sitting in the very center of the realm, and observed the passage of souls, push along by the currents. And the size; by Mother, the size of the realm!

  It was at least thrice the size of the Four Realms. She had to push her divine sense to the absolute limit to reach the edges! Reika sighed happily as she let her power relax within her chest, no longer feeling like the pressure of a thousand worlds was keeping her boxed up. Mother had been right. She did enjoy this, and the Four Realms needed more space.

  And while she doubted she would ever tell Mother that, the smug glances her parent kept shooting her way spoke volumes. Reika puffed out her cheeks in a quasi-pout.

  Ok, so maybe she had been sulking that she had been passed over to go with Mother for a mortal. But that was beside the point!

  “This is the retrieval corps,” Ze explained, gesturing to a collection of people – souls, Reika knew, as they were currently in the afterlife – all dressed in similar black clothing to Ze. They were congregated in a series of buildings near to the eye of the storm, on a solid stretch of land surrounded by tall walls and hidden by the churning winds of the afterlife itself. Some people trained with various spiritual weapons – from bows to scythes to daggers and guns – while others prepared spirit food or even stared into the universe using telescope-like apparatuses. Parts of the compound were still under construction; what seemed to be a workshop was being dug into the land beneath.

  The fact that even the afterlife felt so physical, almost directly mirroring the life realm in design, if not in construction, was fascinating. It was very different from the Spirit Realm, which layered itself over the top of the other Realms, in that it functioned more like another world. Life was material, the afterlife was immaterial…hence they could both be distinct and layered on top of each other, without interfering with each other. And then there were the retrieval corps.

  There were nearly two thousand of them in total; not a lot, considering the size of the Wheel Realm, but the Wheel Realm was also far…emptier than the Four Realms. There just weren’t as many people. That said, there was a certain quality of the souls that separated these from the standard souls of the Wheel Realm. Perhaps they had an innate talent, of sorts? Though it was odd to see that even these special souls, too, could fade away into the next life as opposed to gaining immortality. But she supposed that was more of a quirk of the Four Realms than anything else.

  Mother had certainly complained about it enough back in the beginning for her to realize it wasn’t normal.

  “As the realm of life is by its nature transient, we don’t have to worry about forcing the living to die. Instead it is getting those souls to move on that becomes the issue – keeping the rotation going, as it were. Hence, the retrieval corps. Sometimes souls try to stick in the life realm as ghosts, and their duty is to exorcise them. Despite life and death seeming close, if a soul remains in the life realm for too long they can cause damage to themselves and their surroundings.” Ze continued, gesturing at the compound below. “Of course, not all souls are willing to let go, and sometimes fight back. Hence, the training. I do wish there were easier ways to handle it.”

  Reika frowned a little as she watched the retrieval corps; most specifically, observed their habit and the decorations of their compound. There was a central castle, and while she tried her best not to pry too deeply into the personal lives of the souls, she could at least sense a distinct lack of…Lord Shin.

  “Why do they revere Lady Ze, and not Lord Shin?” she couldn’t help but ask herself. There were paintings in the main hall, but they were all of Lady Ze, with nothing that she could see representing Lord Shin.

  “Most beings are not even aware of Shin’s existence,” the one who answered was neither Ze nor Shin, but Rising Wind, Crashing Waves, the great stag-like god coming to stand beside her. The elemental gems in his antlers glittered in the light of the Guiding Light, his eyes, full of a deep, profound wisdom, watching the souls below train. “As far as I can tell, anyways. He prefers to let Ze take the credit for his actions, though he and he alone is responsible for most of the movement of the realm.”

  That was a shame, in Reika’s opinion. She looked back at Mother. She couldn’t imagine the Four Realms not knowing of Mother’s existence.

  “Tell me now, can you see it?” Rising Wind, Crashing Waves asked, folding his legs beneath him to lay down. Even in such a position, he towered over Reika, his head rising a good two feet above her own, his antlers taller than even that. Elemental power crackled through his fur as he turned his gaze heavenward. “The swirling of the world.”

  Reika turned her gaze away from those below to focus on the Wheel Realm at large. White and black mixed together in a swirling maelstrom, elegant yet chaotic, souls traversing life and death together as one. There were no endings here, only beginnings, even as some souls faded away into nothingness, returning to mere energy before being reborn anew as something else. There was a beauty here that the Four Realms lacked. A binding that blended all of existence into one, rather than a series of stages. And through it all, woven invisibly like little strings, was Lord Shin’s power.

  Ever present, yet unseen. However, it was missing something.

  “Where are the elements?” she asked, reaching out and feeling a distinct…lack of such things. The wind felt dead to her ears. Fire mere heat. Water just wet. She reached out one hand and gently grasped a strand of life energy – white in color, as opposed to her green, so different yet so similar to what she knew.

  “Good eye.” Rising Wind, Crashing Waves said. “They are present, but dormant, waiting for a soul to call upon them. Fascinating stuff, really. So much different from what I’ve seen so far. But it just goes to show there are as many paths to tread as grains of sand on a beach.” Reika nodded in agreement, clasping her hands before her. She sucked in a deep breath. This was how wide the skies were, it seemed…if only she could show Kei something like this.

  “I believe that is the end of our tour,” Lady Ze said suddenly, loudly. Reika glanced her direction to see her and Lord Shin standing side-by-side, slowly flying down to Lord Shin’s sanctum. Reika cast one more glance down at the compound, bowed to Rising Wind, Crashing Waves, and started off after them. There was much more to see, but she had gained a lot from this outing.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  The sound of hooves clopping against the ground alerted Reika, and she turned to see Rising Wind, Crashing Wave’s partner, a strange half-man half-horse god of the hunt named Arche, come riding up through the chaos of Shin’s realm. He bounded across the afterlife, landing upon stretches of ground that gave way to nothingness and leaping to the next until he came to walk beside her and his Origin God, who had stood and now followed.

  “They have many mighty warriors here,” Arche said to Rising Wind, holding his bow in one hand. “Their training is impressive. None can best my skill with the bow, of course, but I do commend them.” The centaur puffed out his chest, strutting confidently and tail swishing. Reika giggled and shook her head, mischief swelling in her breast. He had been very…vocal about his skill during this whole trip. She could think of one person she knew, however, who might have him beat…if only in feats.

  “You’re good with the bow?” she asked. He narrowed his eyes at her.

  “Is this going to be another pun? If so, I will not listen,” he accused her. Reika stuck out her bottom lip in a mock pout. She wasn’t going to pun at him this time. Clearly her jokes had grown a little old.

  “Nonsense, I do enjoy a good pun.” Rising Wind, Crashing Waves said, shaking his head. Each twist of his antlers sent energy to swirling and swaying, making eddies of power that went against the current of the Wheel Realm – the casual display of power reminded Reika very much of Mother.

  “I wasn’t going to say a pun this time. I was just going to say I know someone who might be better with a bow.” She said. “But if you don’t want to hear about it, I guess that’s fine too.”

  “Who?!” Arche demanded, stomping one foot. Reika giggled. So easy. “I am the greatest in the universe – nay, in all universes! I slew –“

  “But have you stopped the incarnation of the Sun in its tracks with your arrows?” Reika interrupted, cocking her head to the side innocently as they descended into Shin’s inner sanctum, the portal that brought them here swirling with a myriad of colors. Arche spluttered, and Reika hid her smile behind one hand. “Sorry, that was a strange thing to say. I must go to Mother’s side now, it was a pleasure to meet you both.” She bowed to them and promptly skipped over to Mother’s side, who watched her with an amused smile. Beside Her stood Shin, the skeletal deity unreadable as he listened, and Yueya, the beautiful red-haired goddess, laughing at something Mother had said.

  Reika suppressed her suspicious frown. Those three were spending a lot of time together.

  “Did you have fun?” Mother asked, wrapping her in a hug as they stepped through the portal and entered into the Quiet Room. The dead silence of the white-walled room unnerved her in many ways, but also reminded her of the time before creation. When it was just her, her siblings, and Mother.

  “Yes. Thank you.” She said, sneaking quick glances at the other deities. The Dragon, in particular, caught her eye for some reason, even if it was only sleeping. “Is it time for me to return?”

  “Yes. I have a guess as to whose we will be visiting next, and your other siblings need turns as well.” Mother said, ruffling her hair. Reika leaned into the touch, then wrapped Her in a hug. No more words were spoken as she turned to the portal, pausing only once when the great bird of space and time hop-skipped over to her, cocking its head to the side.

  “Nyxteria was wondering if Nyxteria could have a flower,” it cawed, talons clicking against the floor. Reika smiled kindly and pulled a single flower from her hair – it held the essence of lightning, though it was purple in color, and flashed with iridescent light. Nyxteria took it in its beak and, with a happy caw, promptly stepped away. Reika bowed once more, nodded to Mother, glanced at Shin who watched her closely, and vanished into the portal home.

  Familiarity surrounded her. But change churned in her soul, and her mask slowly fell away. Reika closed her eyes before her surroundings could chase away that feeling, immediately sitting cross-legged and letting the sensations of her memories wash through her. And all around her, her home began to change.

  I watched Reika go with a proud smile, even if I was feeling nervous. I did not know what changes she was about to go through, as I had purposefully hidden such information from my eyes. My hands clenched and unclenched as I chewed my bottom lip. This was very much like sending a child away from home for the first time – Reika had experienced something new, free of my hand, even if I had been there, and that experience would shape her. My children needed to “leave the nest,” as it were…as much as possible…and I was having trouble letting go.

  Such was part of the karma that bound me to the Four Realms. I considered them all my children – and children needed to get out from under their parent eventually. But where did that leave me? I had dedicated everything to the Realms for so long now…Fear is holding you back. My mind whispered to me.

  “She’ll be fine. She is a good child.” Shin said, startling me as he came to stand beside me.

  “I know she will be. I have faith in my child.” I said without a hint of falsehood. I did have faith in her, I told myself. It was in my nature to worry though.

  “…what did you see, in my Realm?” Shin asked quietly, low enough that no one else could overhear. I did not look at him as I pondered his question, knowing the root cause of it. He had hinted once or twice that he knew I had seen something in Reilly’s realm with Steward, but to be honest, Shin’s Shadow confused me. It was no being, after all.

  “Watch the storm. That is all I can say.” I advised, the words heavy upon my tongue. Something about the churning of the Wheel Realm felt off, the storm-like qualities at odds with the stability an image of a wheel conveyed. Was that too much? No, it felt a little on the nose, but not too much. Shin nodded his acceptance, linking his boney fingers together. “That said, which Realm are we entering next?”

  “That will be mine,” The Emperor said, standing slowly. He stretched his six arms one by one, like a muscle-man preparing to lift weights. That made picking the next child to come with me easy, at least. “Assuming no one else has any objections.” There were none, and the gold-skinned god-king crossed his arms. “Then who will be coming with?”

  Sylphina was the first to rise, the chaos butterfly fluttering its wings as it lifted into the air. Followed by Nyxteria, MR-10, Reilly, myself, Shin, and Yueya. It was quite a group that wished to travel to the Emperor’s Realm, lacking the Progenitor, Rising Wind, Crashing Waves, and the Primeval Dragon. The Emperor met each of our eyes and nodded respectfully in turn, gesturing behind himself, where a glowing golden portal appeared.

  I, for one, glanced at it and, assured that my next choice of child was the correct one, stepped back to my own archway. The portal to my realm opened once again and I reached my hand inside, purposefully refraining from pushing too much of myself back into the Four Realms.

  “Elvira,” I called, and immediately heard a sigh. Followed by a wave of annoyance that was transmitted to me the moment she grasped my hand. I led her through the portal, mentally thanking Mr. Boxes for making the transition easier. Elvira stepped out dressed in the same fine white and gold robes she always wore, meeting the eyes of the assembled gods with careful neutrality, her wings flaring slightly and tails twitching.

  “First Reika, and now myself?” she asked. “You interrupted something good. Gilles was about to work up his courage, you know.”

  “You and I both know that isn’t true,” I said, though in truth he very well might have. I was just guessing, though judging by the scowl that briefly flashed across my daughter’s face, it was not far off the mark. “Elvira, meet everyone. Everyone, this is another of my children, Elvira.”

  “Another one, Statera? This one is just as powerful as the last, if not slightly moreso,” Reilly drawled, taking a long draught of some wine. The Emperor met my eyes with a raised eyebrow, and I shrugged helplessly. The great golden-skinned god chuckled softly. Looking for a good influence? He mouthed. I smiled sheepishly. I was looking for an influence for Elvira, beyond myself. Good or bad would be up to her.

  “She’s cute, too!” Yueya praised, earning a small blush from Elvira; an expression I had rarely seen on my usually brash daughter.

  “Nyxteria wants a feather,” Nyxteria said, nodding his head sagely as if that was a completely normal thing to ask. Elvira furrowed her brows at the bird, her wings flaring a little at the odd request. “Nyxteria can wait though. Nyxteria will ask later, after Nyxteria has gotten to know you. Now we can go,”

  The Emperor laughed, gesturing for his Jester to lead the way.

  “Come then,” he said. “I formally welcome you into my Kingdom.” And with that, he vanished into his portal.