Fate's Mistake

Chapter 1 - Shards of Reality

The mindless tapping of a pen against the mahogany desk finally managed to pull Fate out from his daze. His eyebrows furrowed as he glared at the innocent instrument clutched between stiff fingers. Agitation. This feeling was nothing new to the immortal, but he couldn't help the intrusive contemplating as to why it held a presence.

Why and how could the knower of all things be so agitated, so anxious to the point where he zoned out to stare into the void? The thought itself was preposterous.

"Something's wrong," he whispered to himself.

After placing the pen at the edge of his desk and making sure the burnt edged parchment lay straight below the instrument, Fate rose from his seat. Setting his fingertips gingerly on the edge of the desk to prop himself up, he gazed out at the horizon of the Earth. With the sun rising on the opposite side of the planet, Fate squinted against the rays of light peeking out to reach the furthest depths of space.

At least the world was still rotating. He could cross that off from his list for causes of his current state of mind.

"If not Earth, then perhaps Heaven?" Fate mused momentarily, "surely it can't be Hell. They're all supposed to be acting up constantly regardless."

Fate took two steps backwards before turning to his right to look out the second set of windows overlooking Heaven's center city. Angels walked among the streets, undisturbed and ignorant to whatever problems their overseer faced.

Fate crossed his arms over his chest, ruffling the layers of ornate silver and black robes that adorned his figure. As he stewed and considered the possibilities, he let out a frustrated huff of breath before turning to the left side of the office. There stood a door made of black walnut wood with a simple gold knob and no keyhole.

"Life, Death, come to me," Fate commanded with a stern tone.

As if rehearsed, Life was the first to answer the call. That gold knob turned just enough to open up the door, allowing the beauty of the immortal to make her entrance. Life glided into Fate's office as smoothly and gracefully as ever. The tips of her wavy hair, colored in all vibrant shades, trailed along behind her as she approached the one who had called.

"Yes, my dear?" Life asked in her soft and loving tone.

"Where is your counterpart?"

"Oh, you know," Life beamed for a short moment as she thought about her partner, "he's around. Give him a moment."

"We may not have a moment to spare," Fate pointed out before brushing past her to get to the door.

"That's quite dramatic, my dear old friend."

Ignoring that calm voice behind him, Fate grabbed onto the doorknob and whipped the door wide open. On the other side, mountains stood firm under the vastness of the storm ravaging the area. He squinted against the bitter wind biting his face, a shiver running down his spine while dusts of snow tumbled into the office.

"I need your help. Now. It might be urgent!" Fate bellowed against the howls of wind, hoping it would carry his voice far enough to reach his intended receiver. He then took a step further back into his office, closing the door gently to return to his spot next to Life.

"You do seem quite upset. What could possibly be bothering you?"

"I don't know," Fate admitted after crossing his arms over his chest again, "I was hoping you two could help--"

"What?" Death's voice filled the room suddenly as the door flung open once again, "I'm kinda in the middle of something. Can't this wait?" His words were short, the annoyance of the situation clearly cutting through his tone. Behind his figure in the doorway, a darkened red and orange sky cracked with lightning. Fires burned and bodies dropped to the ground while the waging war continued.