Elizabeth adjusted her dress confidently as Atlas stood tall, declaring, "My reading time is about to start, so feel free to do whatever it is you Goddesses do." With that, he strode into the mansion.
Entering the library, Atlas closed the door behind him, using the wall for support. His pulse quickened with excitement as he embraced the intensity of what he had experienced.
This was Atlas's first encounter with something so intimately charged, and with it came a powerful new sensation: Dominance.
The way he had effortlessly taken control of Elizabeth, making her bend to his will, overwhelmed him with an exhilarating sense of power. He was already eager for their next encounter, with both Luminaria and Elizabeth—mother and daughter—under his influence.
For now, he had some reading to do, and he spent the next few hours doing just that.
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Focus Shift: Goddess of Fate POV
The chamber of the Goddess of Fate was still, woven from threads of destiny. At its center, in an ornate chair of starlight, sat the Goddess herself.
Her serene gaze widened, her irises glowing with an otherworldly brilliance as her divinity convulsed violently. The air in the chamber grew heavy, as if time held its breath under her will.
She felt it—the unrelenting pull. The divine tapestries of fate, once balanced across her realms, were twisting and fraying. The harmony of destiny was unraveling before her eyes.
The vision came: destruction. A catastrophe loomed over her realms, extinguishing fates and snapping threads of destiny like fragile ropes torn by unseen claws.
Her intuition left no doubt; only one being could unleash such chaos—a god equal to her, her opposite.
The God of Destruction.
In that moment, her composure shattered. Fury ignited in her heart, and power surged through the chamber like a tidal wave.
The walls of her sub-realm shuddered under the weight of Fate, quivering in response to her wrath. The chamber groaned as her fury made the timeless realm tremble, as if it could collapse from the force of her divine rage.
"I need to warn the Deities of Fate," she thought decisively. "Kairos," she called out firmly.
The being stepped forward from the shadows. "My lady," Kairos—the God of Origins—responded, kneeling before the Goddess of Fate.
"Summon all Deities under Fate. I want them in the Celestial Board Realm within an hour," she commanded with unmistakable authority. Kairos felt a shiver run through him at the veiled fury in her voice; he had never heard her express herself with such forcefulness before.
"As you command, my lady," he replied. He rose to his feet, turned, and exited the Goddess's chamber.
Once outside, he felt he could finally breathe—his Lady was quite terrifying when angry. Standing tall, he prepared to announce her orders.
"By the orders of the Goddess of Fate," the God of Origins proclaimed, his voice deep and resonant, "All Deities are summoned to the celestial board realm. All Deities are expected to arrive within an hour."
The message spread across realms, and one by one, the gods heard him loud and clear, surprised by the unexpected summons.
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Atlas's POV
It was finally the last hour of the second half of the night, a time Atlas usually spent in Luminaria. He closed the book in his hands and stood up.
As he made his way to Luminaria's chamber, he felt the sub-realm tremble under the force of an intruding voice.
"By the orders of the Goddess of Fate, all deities are summoned to the celestial board realm. All deities are expected to arrive within the hour," the voice announced, and then the tremor ceased.
Confused, he marched toward Luminaria's office chamber. Upon entering, he found both Luminaria and Elizabeth already present, and to his surprise, they seemed far less confused than he had anticipated.
"Who was that I just heard? What's going on?" Atlas demanded, directing his question at the two Goddesses.
"The being you just heard is Kairos, the God of Origins, and the right-hand man of Lady Fate," Elizabeth replied, her tone dripping with reverence for the Goddess of Fate, which ignited a simmering anger within Atlas.
"I wonder why she's summoned us," Luminaria mused thoughtfully. "Regardless of her reason, if she calls, we respond as her vessels," Elizabeth asserted firmly.
"I don't know about that... there's only one person I respond to," Luminaria declared, catching Elizabeth off guard. Atlas's spirit lifted at her words.
"And that person is my one and only master," she stated boldly, locking her gaze on Atlas with unwavering admiration.
Elizabeth shot a glance of disgust at her mother for that comment, then turned to Atlas, her expression momentarily sour before shifting to one filled with desire.
"Don't look at your mother like that," Atlas commanded, his grip firm on Elizabeth's chin as he leaned in, closing the distance until only an inch separated their lips. "In time, your eyes will be opened, just as hers have been."
He released her nonchalantly and turned to Luminaria, firmly pulling her by the waist and kissing her. She responded with the same intensity.
Elizabeth watched, envy in her eyes. Just a moment ago, she had been an inch away from tasting Atlas's lips, but now her mother was the one receiving a kiss.
Why is this happening?! she shouted inwardly, directing the question at herself. I should be the one being kissed, not her, she thought.
Atlas and Luminaria pulled away from each other. "That was your reward for being such a good girl," Atlas mused, amusement dancing in his eyes.
"Now then, explain to me what it means to be summoned by the Goddess of Fate," Atlas demanded, his heart clouded with resentment.
"To be summoned by Fate means something significant has occurred that requires all Deities under her divinity to address the situation," Luminaria explained calmly.
Atlas narrowed his eyes. "Which other deities will be present?"
Luminaria tilted her head. "All of them—every deity, constellation, and pillar under Fate's dominion."
Atlas frowned. "Be precise."
Her light blue eyes gleamed as she began to recount. "There are a thousand mortal realms woven under the threads of Fate's tapestry. Out of those thousand, only half have produced beings worthy of ascension—five hundred in total.
These five hundred Deities will be present. They range from Minor Deities, whose influence barely stretches beyond a single realm, to Mid-Tier Deities such as yourself, and even to the High Deities whose very wills can shape the threads of fate itself."
Atlas's expression darkened, but she continued without pause.
"In addition to the Deities, there are fifty Constellations birthed by Fate's own weaving. These, too, will answer her call. Just as with the Deities, they vary in stature—from Minor Constellations who guard single stars, to High Constellations who command galaxies of influence."
She drew a quiet breath before her tone grew weightier. "And then… There are the Pillars of Fate. The ones who stand closest to the Goddess herself. Originally, there were seven. But the seventh original pillar has left us, and two new beings were born, expanding the circle to eight."
Atlas leaned forward slightly, listening.
Luminaria raised a hand and listed them with reverence:
"The Goddess of Life—myself."
"The God of Origins—Kairos."
"The Goddess of Earth and Fertility—Elizabeth, born from me."
"The God of Legacy."
"The Goddess of Free Will."
"The Goddess of Consequences—born from the Goddess of Free Will."
"The God of Time."
"And lastly, the God of Redemption."
Her words hung heavily in the air, almost like a confession.
"These eight pillars are the foundation of all Fate's order," she continued softly. "And when summoned by the Goddess, none may refuse, unless the have they have the power to go against Fate."
Atlas clenched his jaw, the image of the Goddess of Fate flashing once again in his thoughts. His resentment only grew sharper, though he masked it with a faint, bitter smile.
"Who was the seventh pillar and what happened to them?" Atlas asked.
Luminaria's gaze shifted slightly, and for the first time, a flicker of something deeper—old pain—passed behind her calm expression.
"She was—is my twin sister, Lilim, the Goddess of Death, and my counterpart. She betrayed Fate and joined her greatest enemy—the God of Destruction," Luminaria responded in a voice so calm it was almost unsettling.
Elizabeth's eyes widened at her mother's composure. For as long as she remembered, her mother would become despondent at the slightest mention of Lilim. Luminaria had even ceased calling her 'sister.'
"Mother, I thought you hated talking about her," Elizabeth said softly.
Luminaria's eyes shifted from Atlas to Elizabeth, her expression still eerily calm, her divinity settling like an ocean before a storm. "I did," she admitted, her voice steady yet carrying an edge of newfound conviction.
"That was until Master opened my eyes. I now understand how she must have felt by betraying Fate. I am no better than her. I've betrayed Fate myself—by swearing absolute loyalty to my Master."
She lowered her head slightly, her light blue eyes glinting with something between devotion and defiance. "My soul, my mind, and my body no longer belong to Fate. They belong to my Master—Atlas."
The air thickened at her words, a silent weight pressing into the space between them. Atlas's lips curved faintly at the corners, not quite a smile but a shadow of satisfaction, while Elizabeth stared at her mother in stunned silence.