POV: Reika
Kei came to me about ready to burst into tears. The nine-tailed fox had appeared out of thin air, looking obviously distraught as she had bags under her puffy, red eyes, her hair a mess, and again, she looked to be about ready to burst into tears. Almost immediately I stopped what I was doing, dropping the Seed I had been examining (and not staring at because I got distracted, no sir) and wrapping her up in a big hug as she launched herself at me, trying her hardest to hold back sobs.
"Shh, shhh, shh," I hummed, stroking my child's hair and attempting to soothe her. Her shaking subsided a bit and I started humming, a song that I used to hum to her back when she was just a babe, one that encompasses the trees and the forest, the wind and the waves, all that is full of life and beauty. Kei slowly calmed down, and I held her until she pulled away, still looking upset but clearly feeling better.
"Sorry," She mumbled, wiping away a tear.
"It's perfectly ok, dear," I told her softly, smiling gently at her and waiting for her to look at me. When she did, peeking out at me from behind her beautiful black hair, I continued on. "What's wrong?" I asked. Kei muttered a bit, shaking her head, but I just gave her a pointed look. "You can talk to me about anything, Kei. Remember that. Now, what's got you so worked up, hmm? I haven't seen you like this since Dei reincarnated." Kei flushed a bit at the mention of that little breakdown she had - she hadn't taken it well, even if she vehemently denies such a thing to anyone else who ever asked - and stayed silent for a moment.
"Chaos," She said finally, shaking her head slightly. I cocked an eyebrow and waited for her to continue. "My domain, it was...it wasso closeto becoming Chaos. I don'twantit to be Chaos." Kei whispered, shaking her head.
"Why not?" I asked, having heard that before but never really finding out the reason.
"I...Chaos is bad. It's, well, it's the opposite of Balance, right?" She asked rhetorically.
"There is Chaos in Balance, dear, just as there is Peace." I observed neutrally. Kei snorted and pulled away from me, shaking her head with vehemence.
"No! I mean, there is, but...not this Chaos! The Chaos that wants to be my domain it...it scares me." Kei said with a shudder, eyes growing distant. Then she shook her head, took a deep, shuddering breath, and continued on. "It's the exact opposite of balance - it's true Chaos! Anarchy! The lack of any balance whatsoever! It's not..." She trailed off, not finding the words for a brief moment. "I don't want tobethat! All the worst things happen during times of chaos."
"You were born in times of chaos," I pointed out softly. Kei shook her head and sniffled.
"'ts not the same." She murmured. "I'm talking about -"
"Absolute Chaos," I answered for her, "yes, I know." Kei nodded, and muttered something else, something I didn't manage to make out. "I had much the same problem with my domain, you know."
"It's not the same!" Kei proclaimed, throwing her hands up into the air and pacing around. "You don't understand!"
"I do understand," I said suddenly, smiling at her. "It's why you came to me for help. My domain was originally life, and as you are well aware it eventually came to be both life and death. Do you know why it is I was so obsessed with having a domain of life and death?" I inquired. Kei frowned and shook her head. "It's because a world of only life is terrifying." I said bluntly. Kei's frown deepened.
"How so?" She asked slowly. "Isn't it just about Balance? A circle of life and death?"
"Think of it this way; life is only half of the circle, yes. That means I only get half of the information - that means I can only watch and interact with half of the beings. It is the problem immortals face; all around them, the life continues to fade and differ. Entire worlds start blending together, the lives of mortals become short, and even immortals, for what a misleading name that is, start to fade into dust as time passes. And I can only see all the life that dies." I said softly, shaking my head. "It is a nightmare, and simply knowing that death is another part of life was not enough to counter it." Kei was silent as she digested that, thinking about it in the way only a deity could. I had it lucky, with Mother, Keilan, Alexander, Elvira, Kei, and all the other deities standing by my side. But even then, deities may eventually fade. Sol, for one, was all but erased after his crimes in the Sun War.
"I..." Kei started, and I shook my head.
"I do understand Kei - I lived through it. Now I want you to look out there, and tell me; what is Chaos? Is it absolute anarchy? Yes, that is part of it." I admitted. "However, Chaos is what we are all born from. Before Mother there was a Void, then there was Mother, and She created Chaos, Chaos from which we were born, and the Four Realms was made. Chaos is as much creation as it is destruction, endless, looping, and untrackable, yes, but creation all the same."
"But -" I cut Kei off, shaking my head.
"Kei, listen to me," I told her sharply, and Kei promptly closed her mouth. "Now the Four Realms are in a time of chaos, different from the Primordial Chaos I spoke of previously, but chaos all the same. There are many faces of chaos, as I'm sure you know. This chaos is a chaos of the people, a time of strife and confusion, where much happens and yet nothing seems to end. That is but an illusion, of course, as it is but one age in many. This chaos is born of creation, the creation of new systems, but there's something else I want you to pay attention to. Look down into the Mortal Realms and listen. What do you hear? What do you see?" I asked.
Kei was silent for a long moment as she did so, frowning. "War. Death, strife. Confusion and chaos." She said softly. I shook my head.
"You are listening to all the wrong things. You are focusing too much on specifics within the chaos - let it play. Let it hit your ears in all its incomprehensibility, in all its randomness. See it in all of its confusion, without any pattern to make sense of." I told her softly, putting a hand on her shoulders and gently floating into the air, so we hung above the Life-Giving Tree. "It's waiting for you Kei, just asking you to listen, hear, feel, taste,touch."We hung there for a long moment, Kei slowly relaxing and allowing the sounds of chaos - much louder to her than myself, I'm afraid - to hit her.
It took a while, but eventually Kei heard it, the thing I had been listening to my entire life. Mother had been the one to show it to me, and now I was showing it to my own child in her time of need. "It...sounds like...a...song..." Kei said slowly, and I just nodded, smiling to myself as Kei began to sway back and forth, unconsciously dancing to the tune she heard. This was what I had been aiming for - not me telling her what this grand revelation was, but allowing her to get there herself. Some well-placed guidance always helps, but simply giving someone an important piece of enlightenment can be detrimental in the long run.
This revelation that Kei had is simple, to me. There is beauty in chaos. And I mean that literally and metaphorically. "The greatest of advances are made in times of chaos." I heard Kei murmur to herself, tapping her foot and closing her eyes, lights swirling around her. "Is that what you wanted to show me?" She asked. I nodded.
"Yes," I said quietly, smiling.
"I still don't want to be a diety of chaos." Kei said simply, pulling out of her trance just slightly. I shook my head and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"You don't have to be. But chaos is a part of you, so don't reject it...just as Mother didn't reject the Void that is a part of Her." I whispered.
"...I know," Kei said slowly. "Iknow.Music...arts, sciences, enlightenment, the greatest advancements in history are made in times of chaos, sometimes they are the cause of said chaos because something needs to change - because that is what they are; a statement of change. There is a song in one's heart that must be heard, but for that song to come out there must be a muse...and oftentimes that muse is chaos. Or a rock, an island of tranquility within the chaos, can be the muse..." Kei said, and suddenly she had a domain - that of Art. I smiled and took a step back, glad that Kei was finally beginning to accept the chaos within her. There is far more to her than chaos and mischief, as there is far more to everyone, but...this was the one thing she consistently rejected about herself.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
And in truth, it is but a minor thing, that chaos. It is only what she focuses on now, to say nothing of the future.
Kei began to dance, swaying back and forth in a rhythm only she could hear, to a boundless tune. Her feet carried her far across the Realms in but moments, swirling and spinning and dancing all the way, lights trailing off of her as she did so. Slowly, each tap of her foot, each swish of her tails and sway of her hips and bob of her head started to create sounds, rings and streams of multicolored light pouring off of her in time with the musical notes ringing throughout the Four Realms. And then she began to sing. It was paradoxical, both with and without rhythm and rhyme...and yet timeless and boundless. The words were no words, it seemed, nothing anyone could truly recognize, but...it was a song that all beings within the Four Realms understood.
For a brief moment, the Four Realms stood still, simply listening to Kei's Song.
I smiled as I turned back to the Life-Giving Tree, slipping through the leaves and sinking into the trunk of the great Tree. Inside, close to the core of the tree, sat my home; a few small chambers carved out and filled with various trinkets and curios I'd picked up over the eons. One room, in particular, was filled with the results of a hobby of mine that wasn't gardening - weaving tapestries. With a small smile I sat down and began to fiddle with the string and needles I use, thinking about how to weave this one. Picking a black string, I began to slowly begin my work, not using an ounce of my divine power. It was more fun this way, rather than creating it in an instant with my powers.
Another smile flitted across my features as Kei's song began to resonate within the Tree, causing its branches to sway. It's good to see that she's on the right track.
POV CHANGE: Statera Luotian
"I've forgotten how much I missed music." I said to no one in particular as I tinkered a bit with a music box, listening to Kei's song as she continued to sing. By now she had amassed quite the crowd as her domain continued to solidify, turning the area around her into a mass of deities and angels that were just...dancing, and slowly relaxing. And what a domain it was. She had gained the domain of the Arts, or, in another form, Advancement and Change. Her Art encompasses everything that can be considered as such - and her Chaos added the Herald of Change to her domain. It was...annoyingly abstract.
When are you going to get around to taking a nap? I've been looking forward to this.