The cold winds crashed against Chrunus. He was surrounded by multiple Supreme Chaos-type elementals. They were his most trusted aides and harbingers of his will. Each one was capable of easily dismantling all gods, even if they dared attack all together.
His yellow eyes flickered, and an expression of annoyance plastered itself on his face as Fortuna knelt in front of him. The lesser gods would be sacrificed at long last, and his sole reign would begin.
The plan was simple: make mortals believe that there was only one true god. They needed to believe it in their hearts so that they could serve his will. The way his church was set up was guided by the guidance of the [Voice of Chaos] itself.
The lesser gods were useful, but in the end, they would be discarded as the vestige of a long bygone era. He hated them all. Chaos had never failed him; it was his guide and his muse.
Ever since his ascension, the gods served him; some had to be erased, but most learned the futility. There was no being in existence other than Iguva that could even approach his power.
"Fortuna, speak. I want to know everything. Do you know what happened to Caridzorp?"
Fortuna knelt and bowed her head far enough to touch the chalky wasteland.
"Forgive me, Lord Chrunus. I do not know." She had to feign ignorance, as long as Chrunus did not know about Cedric and assumed everything was an act of Iguva, it would be fine.
"Supreme Chaos doesn't just disappear! Iguva killed them before, and I knew about it. But now I can't feel it. It's like it was erased." His voice sent the showwaves through the former divine realm, which created a realm-wide earthquake.
A small bead of sweat rolled down Fortuna's forehead. She knew who likely had ended Caridzorp, but it was prudent to hide such information from Chrunus. She had a plan, an intention to tear down the god of chaos once and for all.
All she had to do was hold on for a bit longer. In a mere day, she would have an excuse to descend into the mortal world and finally contact Ariel and, by proxy, Cedric.
Then she felt herself being strangled, and the oppressive presence of Chrunus grew once more. He stood up from the throne of chalk, his form as oppressive as always. The mists coalesced around her throat before they lifted her up.
"You are useless. Recently, you weren't able to provide me with anything useful. My Paladins are disappearing, my Cardinals disappeared, and even Caridzorp vanished without a trace. You are ruining my image of omniscience. I am trying to project to my subjects."
The mists subided. "You are fortunate, I know you are loyal. However, you will find out what happened and report to me once you descend. IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?!"
Fortuna dropped to her knees. Her hands traveled to her throat before she rubbed it gently.
"I understand, my lord. I won't fail." She bowed before she disappeared in a golden flash. Chrunus leaned forward with his arms crossed. His gaze wandered off into the darkness of the Chalky wasteland.
A small chuckle escaped his mouth. The rumble spread through the realm of chalk, causing the quakes that split open the ground. "Loyal... huh... Foolish Girl, I can read you like an open book. You have a face of hope." Chrunus pushed himself up.
"They take me for a fool. I wonder what caused her not to be as desperate. Even Natura has a look of hope in her eyes." He turned to his Supreme Elementals.
"Vozal, Acnanosid. Follow me." The elementals rumbled. His target was a specific domain. Soon, the trio appeared in front of a dark cage. It melded in its surroundings quite nicely, camouflaging so well that one would need to squint to notice it.
Inside the cage was a woman chained in dark mist. It swirled and danced around the woman's hands, legs, and neck. She had brilliant golden hair, and her dead eyes shone soft yellow.
"Celara, former goddess of despicable order," Chrunus stated with clear disgust in his voice. His eyes flickered. She was the first to rebel, but in the end, despite being only second to Fortuna, she was dismantled almost completely.
Her followers were all killed, not even 1 mortal remained who remembered her existence. She believed herself to be capable of rebelling, and yet she ended up paralyzed and bound. She was the only goddess who was on Level 0 of her high class.
One more push, and she would have died.
"Disconnected from your lifeblood, forced to use your power, and now helpless. Such is the fate of all things Orderly." Chrunus disliked her, no, it was an understatement to even say he hated her; he despised her.
Even now, he couldn't let go of his hatred. She was helpless, incapable of even movement. Many times he thought about erasing her at long last, and yet having his former nemesis at his mercy gave him thrills beyond thrills.
And yet, despite his belief that once the goddess of order was dealt with would mean his victory, the Grand Emperor Iguva rose up. A being representing Order, much like he had represented Chaos.
They were each other's natural enemy, yet his subjects revered him as the one true god. It gave Iguva an immense advantage in their war. As a way to counter him, Chrunus had guided the Cardinals to indoctrinate the remaining humanity that HE was the only god.
They were to convince every mortal that he was the only true god while everyone else was false. He needed to dismantle all others and consolidate his power. Yet Iguva had seen through his plans and attacked him prematurely.
He knew that Voice of Chaos wouldn't allow them to be at peace for too long, but he had at least a decade more before the final battle would begin.
"Damn you Iguva... You foolish upstart, after I am done with you, I will keep you in a cage like Celara."