Is a Gamble Worth a Gander?

Chapter 4: Hardheaded

Chapter 4

Hardheaded

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Beyond the lower world, where the many denizens of Orario go about their daily lives, lies Tenkai. The home of the many Gods and Goddesses, even those who've left it, sits atop the mantle of creation. The shining city of the Heavens stretches out as far as the mind can fathom, the various houses and manors of the Gods scattered here and there. Zeus and Odin sit upon their mighty thrones on either end, watching the goings on below with much interest.

A smirk here, a chuckle there. The two of them are having all sorts of fun watching how their fellow Deities interact with and change the ever malleable destinies of the children below. Zeus contemplates his own machinations as he watches a certain white haired boy, once again being far too forgiving. He stares intently through a divine mirror, granting him a clear view of the scene unfolding in the Dungeon, as the white haired child smiles at a little prum.

Zeus very nearly pulls a muscle as he is thrown into a raucous belly-laugh when the boy responds to her accusations of his idiocy. The two are putting on a fantastic show for the God with their ever fluid emotions and he is loving every hilarious moment of it. Hilarious to him, at least.

Odin strokes his beard in thoughtful admiration of the same white haired boy, who just moments earlier had dispatched a large crowd of killer ants all alone. What was even more impressive to him was the purity of this young warrior's spirit. He could see why Freya was so obsessed with the blooming chivalry within the snowy-haired child.

Completely unknown to the two Divines spectating the boy and the crying prum in his arms, there was a place beyond even their thrones. There was an existence, for that is all it can truly be described as, far beyond the knowledge or reaches of Tenkai. There was a small pocket of old space and time where a single, stone throne sat. All alone in this dreary corner of forgotten existence was a single entity of infinite divinity, its face too bright to even look in the direction of.

This lone entity sat quietly and contentedly on its stone throne, watching over the Gods who were themselves watching this one boy. With its shining face rested on a completely colorless hand, its body draped in a shabby ivory robe, the entity cracked a cheeky smile behind the splendor of its countenance. The being whispered a few words that will forever be left unheard to the endless vacuum stretched out in all directions around its throne.

With only a thought the pool at the foot of the throne, through which this thing was formerly watching the two Gods, glimmered brightly for a brief moment before displaying a different scene before its master. This time it was an image of a young man and a younger girl sitting in a carriage.

With one more cheeky grin and a few more unheard whispers, the being waved its hand over the top of the pool. It shimmered for a moment and disappeared entirely, removing the only detail from the entirely featureless pocket of existence. The being merely sat back on its throne and considered the events ahead with a divine curiosity.

Ω

The carriage rolled sleepily along through the last traces of night, having started the last stretch of its journey in the wee hours of the morning. It bumped and rolled lazily through a light fog that had collected as the hours of night passed by. The horse at the front trotted under careful guidance from the driver behind it, nostrils flaring lightly at the faint scent of danger only it could perceive through the veil of mist. Only the occasional whiney or neigh could have been any indication of its alarm, though the carriage driver was a tad too busy to notice these.