THE HIGH GODDESS

Seven

   Ahrein watched her as she went into the building with Rena right on her heels. His supernatural eyes could see through walls and basically anywhere he wanted to see. They got in an elevator and stopped at the twenty-fourth floor where Rena's office was. She had wanted to be on the same floor with him but he refused. He didn't just work there, he lived on that floor too. His house was connected to his office. Of course, no one knew about that fact because there were no visible doors. And why would he need them when he could walk through walls? Mortals would have a heart attack or claim he was a ghost if they happened to see him. Their thinking was limited to a certain capacity. If they saw something they didn't understand their first instinct was to either distance themselves from it or destroy it. They called anyone who saw ghosts or believed they had powers crazy.

Which brought him to the mystery he was curious to solve. What would happen if he gave Reina back her memories? Could she or her human body handle it? If Raye was that powerful and Ahrein had no doubt he was, why was he hiding such an important fact from her? Why not tell her so they could find a solution together? Did he have other intentions? Most importantly, did he know what the elders were up to? He'd snuck into heaven a few days ago and was surprised to find them plotting to kill Gerena.

It was a great sin to kill mortals. You could do whatever you wanted with them but if they died then gods would suffer the consequences. Either a severe punishment or live as a mortal for a hundred years. The punishment for killing a god was having your powers stripped and turning into a demon. Did the elders have no fear? Being demoted from a god to a demon was the same as dying. Those creatures were the vilest and disgusting beings to ever exist.

As someone who had been captured, tortured, and fought them, he would rather be erased from existence than become one. He had lived as a god all his life and wasn't interested in changing his race. Those foolish elders thought they could commit such sins and get away with it. The more he thought about it the angrier he became. What gave them the right to abuse their power like that? But then again, was it their fault for being so dense? Anyone could become an elder as long as they had the ability to survive certain tests. Their age didn't matter. That was the problem with the rules up there. The more powerful you were, the higher your position. He'd seen intelligent gods being passed over because they couldn't pass the tests provided. Ahrein had hoped Gerena would change the rules but here she was, oblivious to her real identity. Could he wake her consciousness in that body without repercussions?

"Sir, we have a problem" Nisin materialized in front of him. Since he'd served him for a long time, Ahrein trusted him enough to let him come and go as he pleased "Henlena escaped"

"How," he asked calmly. It wasn't in his nature to panic.

"It seems someone helped her. I'm yet to find out who it was"

"Only a high god and a few other gods have the power to break the barrier I put around that cave. It shouldn't be that hard to find out who it was"

"Whoever it was didn't leave any trace behind"

"I have a rough idea of who would commit such a repulsive act. How long has it been since she escaped?"

"A day"

"Let her enjoy her freedom. I have more important matters to deal with" Henlena was set free so she could distract him. He wasn't stupid to fall for such gimmicks "I want you to find Gerena's body as soon as possible. I plan on waging war against the elders and would need her as a witness"

"Yes my Lord" Nisin left as swiftly as he came in. Having worked for him the longest, he knew when his master was angry. There was no doubt that anything to do with Henlena was guaranteed to piss  Ahrein off. At that moment he was planning on how to get back at whoever released that abomination. It had to be one of the elders. Those brainless beings thought they could play games with him? Didn't they have a sense of self-preservation? Once he was done with them, he'd make sure they went back to being the lowest ranking deities. He could have some of them as his servants and probably educate them on the importance of not coveting what is not yours.

Looking into Rena's office he watched as she taught Reina how to walk like a goddess. Apparently having your back straight and shoulders squared was the first step. As if she needed such lessons. For mere humans, it was an honor to be in the presence of the high goddess. The fact that she'd even taken orders from anyone made him want to hunt all her previous bosses down and have them worship her. Ahrein wondered why Raye had let that happen. He could have at least let her live a comfortable life. A confrontation between him and that man would happen sooner or later. Before that he needed to make sure Reina was Gerena. There was no room for mistakes. Henlena was on the loose and he needed to take care of her before she destroyed everything.

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Kun sat back listening to his father speak. He had these grandiose plans on how to reform the heavens and had been going on about them for days. Instead of looking for the high goddess, he was planning on having another god be the leader. In reality, they were just looking for a puppet they could control. Now that there was no ruler, none of the elders wanted to take on that responsibility. All they did was come up with excuses for how inexperienced they were. As one of the elders' children, the other gods respected and expected him to follow in his father's footsteps. No one had asked what he wanted to be. If they had, they'd know he wanted to join the scholar division.

In his opinion, they were the only gods who did something meaningful. Their job was to read old scriptures and transcribe them. Anything to do with their history fascinated him. He wanted to know how they came into being and how demons were wiped out. What the mythical beast looks like because no one had ever seen it. Was it ugly or beautiful? Did it even exist, to begin with? Only the High god could contact it. And why were humans not given any kind of powers? There were other races too like vampires and werewolves who lived in different universes. They each had a special ability. Why were humans weak? He wanted to know everything about the heavens, the earth, and other universes. Whatever his father was preaching about was of no interest to him.

"Are you listening to me? You must be prepared, Kun. I will have the other elders choose you as the temporary high god. Do as I say and you will keep that position forever"

Kun nodded. He couldn't come out and say he had no intentions of being the high god. The results of speaking his mind out loud would be either another lecture or punishment. He instead planned on visiting Ahrein and ask for help. He was the only god who could handle the elders. However, one thing stood in his way. Ahrein was currently on earth and there was no way he could go down there without his father's knowledge. He would have to send someone or try to find another way to contact him. Would the scholars know of a way?

"I'll be visiting the scholars tomorrow. Just so I can know the kind of work I should do as the high god" he added the last part just to please his father.

"That's good. You should prepare yourself so no one looks down on you"

"Yes father"

Hopefully, he would contact Ahrein soon before it was too late. The thought of going through any kind of test just to become a high god made him shiver. He'd seen how painful it had been for his father when he was getting ready to become an elder. Granted he was young but he would never forget how he'd been when he arrived home. It hadn't been a pretty sight. The other colleagues he'd gone with hadn't come back alive. Those tests weren't something he wanted to endure just for power.  

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New characters alert. There wasn't much about Henlena but she's one of those people you'll either love or hate. As for Kun, I'm not sure where he's headed. He sounds like someone nice but people change so.....

Good thing he's a god