Inheritance

Toxins swirled into every particle of the atmosphere. The putrid death plagued their lungs, from alveoli to capillaries. It made the sand below their boot-covered feet wet and caused the land to appear as though it breathed as more gas escaped the depths.

Asik knew if he possessed blood, his lungs would be swimming in it by now. He felt his mohawk drooping under the weight of the heavy air. It seemed such a contradiction that some mortal environments' sole purpose was to reap their inhabitants' temporary souls.

The god spent little time among those whose lives were fleeting. The war continued as it always did against the powers that protected these easily extinguished souls from godkind's influences. His was a support role, best suited to crafting the weapons needed to smite their enemies.

Beside him, the sleek, blue-haired, Chirkka, Goddess of Time, floated silently on the desert plains. They headed toward a thick jungle-like tree line. But Asik struggled to fathom why they appeared so far from their destination. Still, Chirkka pushed forward with a confident gait, and who was he to defy their new leader?

Argentina was the rightful ruler. The tragedy that befell her sent ripples through their home realm. No one could have foreseen light gods performing such a chaotic act.

It was unthinkable enough that such a bright and powerful goodness had chosen a mortal life for something as trivial as love. But as long as she lived, the chance of reascending to the throne to rule them existed, as destiny intended. Asik hated that the only goddess he called a friend refused to return once the war was decided as much as he struggled with her demise. Argentina lived for war and had no respect for mortals. It was the malicious reason the previous overthrown ruler punished her with banishment as a mortal, and yet she stayed by choice. 

"Why are we walking to our destination? We could have entered at ground zero and been done with this." He grazed his fingers against the sword's sheath strapped to his back, Argentina's blood-won blade. No one could handle the hilt beyond the late Goddess of Power and Balance.

Death... gods can't die; we can't die; how can she be gone.

The fighting that never ceased between the factions of chaos and light gods stopped that day. They felt her violent passing. It took moments for those that ruled in her stead to find the source. However, everyone knew it was their kind that murdered the great powerhouse. Many were so shocked they remained frozen in the streets like statues. It was a concept few lesser gods could comprehend and stilled until their minds could grasp the loss.

"Are you ever going to explain this mission and what it has to do with the Great Light's sword?"

The question remained in the air as they trudged through the thick underbrush that oozed slime from blackened tree trucks garnished with mould. Beyond the sound of movement, silence followed them into a small bog-laced clearing.

Just past the swamp lay a small hill and the open mouth of a cave, buried deep within a mound of earth. There was a darkness that made the over-confident god halt. Black particles warned mortal, god, and immortal that they would perish if their path continued. Grey stone encircled the entrance, and no life grew on it, including the fungal moulds that ravished their surroundings.

"There isn't much time; hurry," Chirkka's soft voice echoed in its otherworldly tune.

"You mean to enter that place? Can't you feel how forbidden it is?"

"I am time; nothing is forbidden to me. We are meant to be here, at this place, for this purpose." Her opal blue eyes fixated on the entrance.

"Are we also meant to leave it? I'd prefer to do it in one piece."

Chirkka waved her hand, indicating they should move toward the beast masquerading as a cave. Asik was convinced the mouth was the source of all the toxic fumes. But his question from earlier was answered. Whatever powered the cave blocked any direct descent into the area, and that fact unsettled Asik.

Once in front of the monster, the atmosphere thickened with ill intentions. The goddess seemed unphased, as she always did, rarely ever showing emotion.

"The sword." She held out her hand expectantly, and Asik passed the blade. His eyes widened when she fed the mouth with Argentina's weapon. Shock gave way to astonishment as it suspended in the air with particles circling like swarming blackflies. The greatest weapon of the gods was pulled inward and lost. "Please take back what is yours until she finds a new master worthy of yielding her."

"Wait! What? She could end up with anyone! Our enemies could be chosen! Eden's Pillars! Or a God Slayer!"

"This is the cave of destiny; the sword belongs here."

"No! One of our kind—"

"Would try to take it for their own. One after the other, all perishing in the pursuit until no gods are left," she stated. "Argentina came here in mortal form. She proved herself the rightful yielder and gave us back balance. We won't throw that away just for a chance to defeat our enemies. We ca—"

Deep tremours preceded the violent hurdling return of the weapon, covered in black rust, an impossibility for the sentient sword that possessed a soul and chose its yielder. Cautiously they approached the spot it landed. Chirkka reached for the hilt.

"Don't—"

Pale fingers wrapped around the hilt before Asik could stop it. The blade would kill anyone that grabbed it without a right.

Nothing.

Nothing happened.

Nothing, until Chirkka pulled the swordless hilt from the scabbard. The remains of the power blade fell to dust and joined the wind in retreat.

"It's gone," she stated the obvious.

"Where? Did Argentina take it with her beyond?"

Chirkka shook her head. "It must have been inherited. It's with the child Argentina gave her head and life to birth. The new queen has already been decided."