It is the destiny of the Gods to rule forever in power and justice.

- The Canon

[Cyril]

No one greeted us when we passed into the Realm of Gods, and that was a good thing. We transformed our forms of smoke and myst back to human.

The realm had a surreal feel to it, devoid of natural disorder. The cloudless blue sky seemed too blue, and light came from everywhere, casting no shadows. The air held a pleasant coolness, with not a hint of a breeze. Boulders on the mountainside conformed to set geometric shapes, and even the trees and grasses took on unvaried artistic designs. The order of this place was unnatural, even deviant, a fitting home for the Gods.

A path of interlocking smooth stones wound far up the mountain to the top, where stood huge white mansions and a grand hall surrounded by carved columns. The Moirai Chamber across the white stone terrace from the Gateway was not so grandiose, but had a style of its own. A large half-oval opening led into a domed structure of clear glass, reminding me of a gigantic drop of morning dew.

My mother pointed up the mountain with a sly grin. "I think I will pay my old friends a visit. They will be so surprised."

"Is that wise?" I asked. "Would they not try to harm you?"

She put a hand on my shoulder. "Oh, they will try, but all I must do is to blind them to the true threat. I have a few tricks to keep them entertained." She stepped back, allowing black smoke to emerge from her hands and swirl around her body. Before converting fully to the Chaos form, Mother said, "Be quick with your task. We have not much time. If I am not here when you return, go home. Do not wait for me." Before I could respond, she drifted away like a dark puff of smoke.

My mother's instructions sent a chill down my spine. Would she sacrifice herself?

Ophelia grabbed my hand and flashed me a confident smile. "This way."

She dissolved into Moirai form, and following her lead, I transformed into Chaos. Together, white myst and black smoke, we entered the Chamber. Just inside, the empty foyer led to three arched open doorways, all made of the same glass-like material as the outer dome. The thick glass bent the light coming in from the outside, distorting the view of Mt. Olympus.

At Ophelia's direction, we took the center doorway and floated down a hallway with curved transparent walls, shaped like a flattened tube. Through the thick walls, I could make out the distorted image of Moirai engaged in some sort of activity and apparently unaware of our passing. Making our way, we passed several small arched doorways. Within one, two Moirai laid horizontally on crystal platforms, resembling white clouds atop a mesa.

A voice came from within my mind. "A sleeping room." My smoke form pulsed at the unexpected communication, one not audible, coming directly into my mind. But I recognized it as Ophelia. She turned to me, a grin on her vaporous face. "I had not told you of thought-speech. In these forms, we may communicate by directed thoughts. Try it."

I focused my mind on Ophelia, concentrating. "LIKE THIS?"

Her myst body trembled, pulling back. "Not so loud! Just think of it as a normal conversation."

"Is this better?" I said, visualizing a quieter voice.

"Better." Ophelia turned ahead to a larger doorway. "We are nearly at the loom."

The Moirai Chamber contained many doorways but no doors, except for this one. A shimmering translucent curtain spanned the tall arched opening. The curtain stroked me as we passed, as if a thin waterfall, although we did not get wet.

I did not understand what I witnessed below, some kind of technology that appeared like magic. A wide tapestry extended into forever, paradoxically much further than this hall should contain, heaving and bending space itself with its bright colors. A massive crystal frame, easily ten times as wide as I was tall, held the sparkling warp threads tight as multi-colored weft threads wove themselves through. Two Moirai drifted above, making fine adjustments to the threads: pulling, smoothing, stretching, and sometimes snipping. Golden vaporous wisps fell from the weave in laminar ribbons, winding themselves on countless glowing glass spindles arranged in even rows beneath the frame. Then, from the spindles, the wisps combined into a glass tube, like rain rivulets coming together into a stream, flowing away. The Ambrosia, I presumed.

Ophelia stopped at the edge of the balcony, explaining, "Here the Gods control humanity and reap the Ambrosia. Each thread is a human life. Snip it, and the person dies, dye it, and a rebellious mind is subdued, all by the Gods' will. To my shame, I know well of this."

Drifting to her side, I said in thought-speech, "Then how do we be rid of it?"

Before Ophelia could answer, another voice shouted in thought-speech, "Apostate! Traitor!" A Moirai in churning myst form drifted closer, followed by another. "You betrayed the Order and the Gods, Ophelia."

"No, Archos!" Ophelia replied. "The Gods betrayed us. I have seen the truth. They are parasites to the consciousness of men, unworthy of service or worship."

"You were foolish to return." The Archos turned to her companion. "Summon the Gods and tell them that--" She gasped, noticing my Chaos form rise behind Ophelia. "What have you brought? You defile the holy Gods' Realm!"

With a growl, the Archos charged at Ophelia, transforming her white myst arms into the shape of spear points. But before she struck, I launched an attack, sending forth swirling claws of Chaos around Ophelia and into her assailant, slashing like swords. The Archos shrieked in thought-speech, letting loose a mournful wail as she writhed. When I pulled back, her cries silenced and her myst form settled into a fog like mass on the balcony floor. Through the thought connection, I sensed she remained alive, but unconscious.

With a confirming nod from Ophelia, I attacked the Archos' companion and the two Moirai tending the loom in the same manner, slashing them simultaneously with extended dark claws. They too fell unconscious, drifting down.

Stopping the Moirai proved to be a simple task, much easier than when I faced Nemesis. Apparently, the Moirai had little offensive capability, perhaps by design so they could never threaten the Gods.

Ophelia came closer, allowing her myst form to merge with my smoke. To me, it felt like a warm embrace. "The time has come," she said. "Allow me to direct your Chaos and let us be done with the Gods."

After a moment of concentration, I allowed the Chaos within me to burst out like swirling columns of black smoke, ceding control to Ophelia. Dark fingers snaked around the loom, probing, enveloping, scratching. Ultimately, the crystalline order of the machine could not withstand the disorder, decaying as all things eventually do. The spindles that collected the Ambrosia cracked and shattered into countless shards. Fissures advanced through the frame, spreading and multiplying. Sharp cracking sounds reverberated within the hall. As the frame disintegrated into sparkling sand, the warp threads snapped, one by one, and the Tapestry of Life fluttered to the floor, never to be fully completed, its connection to humanity now lost.

Ophelia recalled the Chaos, and I took it back within myself. We transformed ourselves back to human form and watched in silence, hand in hand, as the last of the Ambrosia drifted up in a golden haze, disappearing into the air like morning fog.

She shuddered, tightening her grip on my hand. The destruction of the machine she once reverently tended must have been traumatic. I wrapped my arm around her, drawing her in to my chest, and whispered, "It is done. Let us go home."

Lifting her head, a smile brightened Ophelia's face and warmed my heart at the same time. "I would like--" The smile disappeared, and a gasp escaped her mouth. Twisting, she flung me to the floor, spilling out the arrows from my quiver. At the same moment, a crystal arrow hissed by. She cried out as it grazed her arm and imbedded itself in the far wall. "It is Athena!"

The Goddess stood tall and in the open doorway, now without the shimmering curtain. "What have you done, Ophelia?" the Goddess shouted, then answered her own question. "You have betrayed us!"

As Athena reached back for another arrow, I rolled, grabbing an obsidian tipped arrow that had spilled from my quiver, and notched it in a single motion. In the race to shoot, I fired first from a kneeling position. The arrow streaked, striking the Goddess in her hip. Staggering back, she let fly her crystal arrow, but it missed the mark, flying above us. Athena grimaced as black tendrils from the arrow tip snaked through her crystal body. Shaking from the internal assault, her bow clattered to the floor and she teetered at the balcony edge. Raising my hand, I let loose a stream of dark Chaos, striking the Goddess in the chest like a fist and pushing her over the edge. She crashed on top of the crumpled tapestry within the ruins of the loom.

Dropping my bow, I helped Ophelia stand. She grasped her upper arm grazed by Athena's arrow, crimson leaking through her fingers. My breath halted. "Are you hurt?"

"Not too bad." She answered, tilting her head. "We need to go before more Gods arrive."

We ran through the Moirai Chamber, retracing our steps, Ophelia leaving a trail of blood drops. Emerging out on the terrace brought only heartache. The Gateway, our way back home, stood cold and lifeless, the shimmer within gone. Frozen in dread, we gazed at the white stone circle and then at each other with the same stoic expression. Had we come so far only to be trapped in the realm of our enemy?

Before I could speak, a harsh grating laugh came from behind. Ophelia and I turned to the God who strode forward, standing half again taller than me. "Ares," she whispered.

My spirit dropped into an abyss as I observed what Ares carried, a long crystal sword in one hand and my mother in the other, dragging her along by one foot. With a smug smile, Ares threw Mother forward with an underhanded motion, as if tossing out rubbish. Her body tumbled across the smooth stone floor and settled face down before us, motionless.