Above the Garden of the High Gods (World of Fae, Human, and Folk)

Cybelline dove into the watery depths but did not feel the kiss of water on her skin. Instead, she found herself standing on the surface of the water looking at large garden above her head. It was far off into the distance but she found it easy to see everything that went on there.

She recognized the garden with the God Tree. There, three gods stood arguing. Cybelline discovered that she could hear them even though she was millions of miles away.

"We have to help them! That thing, that dragon. I have feeling it's bad. They are waiting for more of their brethren, we need to kill them before they all arrive!" Morrigan argued, "That is not a power the mortals can deal with!"

"They are just fae." Nimus said, his eyes hard, "Once those things have killed the fae, I am sure they will be satisfied."

"Why are you being so stubborn?" Morrigan argued, "Why? Is it because you would sacrifice your people to see the death of the Fae? Are you blind, God of Humans? Because once they all die, human or fae, they won't be human or fae. They will be spirit. And I have a feeling that those things won't just stop at their mortal bodies."

"So? What's a few souls?" Asked Nimus, "They will get full, and they will leave."

"Are you sure, brother?" Ephyerion asked, "Because what if they kill everything and come for all the gods. There are thousands of gods who would suffer from the death of their humans. And if they come here, are you sure we can defeat them?"

Nimus laughed, "We are gods! They don't have the power. Let the mortals die, there will always be more. We have nothing to fear. Nothing can defeat us!"

"Ahem." A voice sounded above them. The three High Gods turned around and their eyes widened as they saw the red-haired girl who sat on the tree trunk staring at them in amusement. And then she spoke, "Do you guys know how to get to the mortal realms?"

They were High gods, the highest of creation. Nothing could escape them.

So where did she come from? Wasn't she dead? How was she on hallowed ground without their permission?

"How?" Nimus demanded. Morrigan and Ephyerion said nothing, only stared at her in disbelief.

"I really wasn't planning to stop, but I'm not sure I know how to get back." Cybelline said, "I'll be fast, if you let me know then I'll be on my way."

"She must have been chosen." Ephyerion said quietly, "How strange, it took this long. It looks like we have a servant."

Nimus looked at her as if she was a bug.

Cybelline smiled politely, "As I said, can someone point me to the mortal realms?"

"Shut up, mortal." Nimus said, interrupting her, his smile sour, "I can't wait to torture you until you wish you were dead. I have not been in a good mood. You are going to brighten it."

"I actually didn't want to deal with you just yet." Cybelline said as she looked at the god, "you're really just an afterthought on my to-do list."

"I will make you regret every decision." Nimus snarled when he heard, "I will make you bow to my power."

Cybelline paled and her entire body shook in fear, "Oh my. A big, strong god threatening me? I am so weak and unable to defend myself. Whatever, shall I do?"

She smiled widely at Nimus.

Nimus raised his hand and directed his power at Cybelline. He was going to crush her like a bug. He smiled in anticipation, waiting for her pain. Waiting for her to beg for mercy. Morrigan felt the rush of power and raised her hand, but she was too late.

Cybelline scratched her nose, "Umm..." There was no look of pain or fear on her face, just mild confusion...and impatience.

Nimus gritted his teeth and glared at Morrigan, "Stop fighting me."

"I'm not doing anything." Morrigan said after a moment, perplexed.

"You will bow!" Nimus said and increased his power, "Mortals must know my power. Especially fae."

The air froze and her smile became razor sharp and dangerous. Nimus felt as if something stepped on his heart as he looked into those unforgiving eyes.

"Bow, you say?" The voice above them now seemed to shed its earthly tones. The power that rushed at Nimus was torrential. He found his bones turning to jelly and his muscle screaming for him to kneel. Every inch of him felt as if it was lead. He had never felt so helpless in that moment. He had never felt his body betray him in such a spectacular fashion. He screamed in soul shattering pain.

BOOM.

Nimus's kneecaps met the earth and shattered on impact, a crater formed around his body as strength that far, far outweighed his came crushing down. Nimus felt the impact but did not have time to scream as his spine felt the pressure.

BOOM

Down he went, his face planted in the ground.

Mpphhmmmm! MMPHHHMMM! HE gurgled as he struggled. Dirt was in his mouth, the force pushing his head down until he saw nothing.

A force lifted his neck and head, but kept his body firmly planted in the earth.

BOOM

His face smashed into the earth again. Knocking out teeth. Gold blood, god blood poured from his face. He opened his mouth to scream a spell but just as he did, his face went into the ground again.

His face came up again, he took a deep breath, "You Bitch! What are you?"

Cybelline raised an eyebrow and shrugged. She then looked around the garden, searching for something.

"You know. this isn't as satisfying as I thought it would be." Cybelline said after a moment, "I think it's because you're so hardheaded. So I need something harder. And, maybe I can improve the fengshui of this place at the same time."

She beckoned a finger, and a giant boulder appeared. It was twice the height of the god and the size of a small mountain.

It flew at Nimus.

SMASH

Nimus's face met the boulder with the force of a meteor. Now there was an imprint of the face in the rock.

SMASH

SMASH

SMASH

Nimus's head was a blur as it went to work against the giant rock, unable to control himself. Unable to fight her power. He could only bow, his face denting the rock as he went.

Up and down his head went, going against the boulder.

"That mouth of yours was pretty foul." Cybelline said as she waved a hand over her nose, "Maybe this is the best time for some dental work."

Nimus's mouth fell open at that, and his face smashed into the boulder, teeth first.

CRUNCH...CRUNCH...CRUNCH.

His teeth splinted and fell, some pushing back into his gums as the shards had no way to escape since his head was moving so fast.

=Cybelline used his face like a hammer. She occasionally commented, "Well, that edge of the rock as been worn down, let's try a new edge." And a sharper, harder edge of the boulder was put to test against Nimus's face.

After three minutes, the boulder which stood originally at sixty feet, was only two feet. It had been jagged and rocky, but now it was a smooth round ball.

"Huh, he's more effective then a chisel." Cybelline observed as she looked at her masterpiece, "If I ever get into sculpting, I have the perfect tool."

The bloody mass that once was Nimus shuddered upon hearing this. All of his teeth were broken. He could not open either of his eyelids. He whimpered. He could never fight against this force, he had been a fool. Regret and fear mixed in his hazy mind as he cried.

"What's that?" Cybelline asked, "You want to try more boulders? So you also find that your face and attitude greatly improves when hit repeatedly with a hard object? Well, I won't say no."

Nimus opened his eyes a crack and shook his head with the little amount of strength he had. Please, don't. He wanted beg, I'll do anything. I can't speak, all my teeth are broken.

"You don't have to use you mouth this time, aim with that hard forehead of yours." Cybelline said and pointed to a giant boulder twice the size of the one she had smashed his face with.

His body began to shake in earnest and he began to cry.

They had drawn an audience, as the lesser gods came to see what the commotion was about. they stared in silence as they watch one of the High Gods smashed his face repeatedly into the boulder.

"I don't think one boulder is enough, the garden still needs more fengshui." Cybelline observed, "You can do it yourself...Or I can help."

Nimus stiffened and then quickly crawled up. He moved faster than he'd ever moved. He picked out the biggest boulder and began to smash his face into it.

"Make sure it's nice and smooth." Cybelline called out. Then she turned to look at Morrigan and Ephyerion.

The other two high gods dared not to make a move. They looked at the woman in awe. They had felt a hundredth of the power that rushed at Nimus. And that was enough to make their legs shake. Ephyerion found his back to be covered in cold sweat.

"What power is this...Great one?" Morrigan looked at Cybelline.

Cybelline looked confused as well, "Power? What power?" She looked down at the prone High God and then laughed, "Oh, I was just thinking about how stupid he was. And I sighed. It must have been too much for him?"

A Sigh? A breathe had so much power against a High God? A simple act of breathe had this much power? That was not possible.

And then Morrigan knelt on one knee, "Great One. Forgive us. We did not know what we were doing."

All the gods gasped as they watched. And then, all of the gods outside the inner gardens knelt.

Ephyerion followed suit, "Forgive us. We were foolish and prideful."

"Yes. You were." Cybelline said and looked at them. And they found that they did not have the strength to meet her eyes. They were too weak, they were not gods in front of her. They were mere dust.

She shrugged, "But let's get back to the real problem. How do I get to the mortal realms?"

Morrigan answered, "In the last few days, there has been a Calling. Someone is trying to guide a soul back to the mortal realms." She held out a globe, inside was a figure in green robes. There was a ring of people protecting her.

Cybelline's face turned serious. She reached and the globe fell into her arms.

"All you have to do is answer the call, it will take you to her automatically. But once that happens The person making the call will have spent their life." Morrigan cautioned. "If you go, then she will die. That is the price."

Cybelline smiled, "No, she won't."

She looked at Morrigan and Ephyerion, "You guys are terrible at ruling. If you want to keep your jobs, you know what you must do." She looked towards Nimus, the god who was now smashing his face against a boulder, and then said with a straight face, "I for one, would not employ a god whose past time is trying to figure out whether his head or the rock is made of denser material."

And then she disappeared.

Nimus stopped after he was sure she left. He collapsed to the ground, finding that his power was depleted. He was as weak as a newborn babe. He grimaced and promised himself that he would find a way to get revenge against that woman.

A shadow stood over him. Ephyerion looked at him solemnly "Nimus, you have betrayed your honor as a God and a keeper of the world. You nearly destroyed us all with your arrogance."

Ephyerion raised a hand and muttered a spell. Nimus found that the once the woman was gone, he could heal again, as evidenced by Ephyerion healing him.

"We will wath waaarrr." Nimus said, his voice was hoarse, his broken teeth unhealed, "Bitthhh dieeethhh."

Ephyerion laughed sadly and then shook his head, "You will be the death of us all and I can not allow that." He spoke another spell as Morrigan placed her hand over Nimus's head and pulled.

Nimus's power, flew out of his body. Nimus screamed as his godhood was stripped inch by inch from his body. In the end, he was just a trembling mortal.

Ephyerion took the power and looked for lesser gods, then he ordered "Take him down to the mortal world in a day. Tell him, that he will never be a god again. He will always be mortal, exiled from this realm of gods. "

For a moment, no god moved, they were as still as frozen statues. And then as if they thawed, two came forward, bowed and took the unconscious god turned mortal away.

"It looks like this world will never be the same again, brother." Morrigan said as she looked at the spot from which the God of Humans had been dragged away from.

"No. Age of High Gods have come to the end. What was she called on earth?"

"Dark Queen." Morrigan answered.

"Then, the age of the Dark Queen has begun."

Author's Note:

Ahhh sorry for all the revisions today. I forgot to add a message. Some of you have asked how long this book will be. I don't foresee it going too long from here. I want to finish this before my birthday, that is my personal goal. That being said, the epilogues will come after my birthday. I have about ten epilogue chapters written, but that's also from long ago and I need to make some revisions.

I love the comments I've been getting and have been trying to answer. Thank you so much for writing to me. I have tried to answer to the best of my abilities when there are questions, I really enjoy it. Thank you so much for the votes and the reads. I can't say this enough, you are all amazing for following this long winded story.

And, as always - In these difficult times, you are loved, wanted, needed. You are strong, brave, intelligent. You will get through this, and you will thrive. My love and gratitude goes to you all.

Please, please stay safe

Rin