In the dark reaches of space outside of time, in a place devoid of light and sound, a ball of light blinked into existence. Tearing through the silence that existed here since the dawn of time with one sound.
Vroooom
Floating in space without directing the ball of light turned. Left, then right. Seemingly studying the space with which it had disrupted with its light. For an inoperable amount of time, the light hung there, floating, doing nothing.
Seconds, minutes, years, a lifetime. No one knows how long it stayed there, for what is time where there is none.
Then, there was a whisper.
Light, centered around the ball, surged, banishing the blackness of space and expanding in all directions. Inside its new white space, the ball of light continued. Below, white-tiled floors clinked together on the ground while ornate walls built themselves into existence around the light.
Marble pillars sprang up, rising into the sky to support the giant, gilded, golden-domed ceiling that hung stories above. As red-velveted curtains shimied onto the walls, draping themselves against the pillars.
Between two pillars, a large black screen emerged from the wall. Curving against the contour of the wall, the screen stretched itself, reaching both the floor and the ceiling. Plopping themselves into reality were various types of seating. Couches, chairs, and even a few bean bags all landed right in front of the screen, encircling it for the viewing audience.
In the back two walls on either side of the theater fell away, bringing into view two hallways stretching out further away.
Outside, a glass dome protected the theater from the surrounding space, as grass and flowers grew in the area between, transforming it into a garden right outside the theater. The garden was complete with walking paths, bird baths, pergolas, and seating areas for relaxation.
Further out, the black space transformed. Stars appeared, then died, exploding into nebulas that then proceeded to birth new, larger stars that lit the black space, changing it from nothing into a symphony of color.
Finished in its construction, the ball of light looked around in satisfaction. Now that the theater was complete, it was now time to bring in the audience.
Blinking once, the ball of light whispered again. < Sending invitation>
Vrooom
Blinking once more, the ball of light left the theater, leaving to collect its charges.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Bell Cranel, captain of the Hestia Familia, layed his head down for what felt like the first time in weeks.
After Ishtar ascended back to the Upper world, the Guild got to work trying to keep Orario together. Many people were scared. The pleasure district, brought to its knees in a single night, with its head goddess forced to leave and return to Heaven, left people scared and concerned.
Everyone wanted to know what happened and who to blame.
Bell was honestly surprised when he woke up the next day, after making sure that Haruhime was safe, to Eina knocking on their front door. With a sad look, she explained that the Guild needed to question everyone involved.
He won't lie, he got scared. Scared that he had caused problems for his goddess. He didn't regret what he did for a second, saving Haruhime was not wrong. And he would do it again if he had to.
Thankfully, nothing came out of it. Freya came forward and took all the blame for what happened, even admitting herself that she personally threw Ishtar off her tower. Bell doesn't know what happened after that, but everything seemed fine now, so he guessed she took care of it.
Bell didn't know how to feel about Ishtar. He knew that Mama Mia was once her captain, and she never said anything bad about her. Only rolling her eyes and sighing under her breath when he asked that one time.
Weirdly, he caught her looking at Syr watching them out of the corner of her eye when Mama Mia spoke about Freya. Strange. When he glanced back at Syr to see if he saw correctly, she just smiled sweetly at him, so he assumed it was nothing.
But with the Guild out of the way, the rest of the Familia got to work helping Haruhime get settled in. Yamato stayed with her, walking with her around the city and letting her get used to being free.
Welf and Lili got to work setting up her room while Ryuu helped Bell and Hestia get the rest of her things from her old place.
There wasn't much, so Hestia and Ryuu went off by themselves to buy her some more clothes, leaving Bell behind to carry the rest.
It took a while, but Bell believed that now that everything was calming down, everything could start getting back to normal. Bell was planning to go into the dungeon tomorrow with everyone, he wanted everybody to get used to working together, plus they were starting to run a little low on funds at the moment. Getting Haruhime situated, plus Hestia's ever-present debt to Hephastus, they weren't in the red yet, but they were getting pretty close.
It wasn't dark yet, but everyone already had dinner, and Bell was wanting to get up early tomorrow, so he better get to sleep. Of course, just as he was closing his eyes, the world decided otherwise.
" BELL-SAMA!, Bell-sama!" Lili called.
Running up the stairs, she threw his door open with a bang.
"Whoa!" Bell exclamiend. He got so surprised that he tried to jump out of bed. Long hours in the Dungeon crafted his rexles into a spring ready at any moment, to bad they didn't account for his blanket.
Tangling his feet in his blanket Bell, with the grace of a minotaur, lept halfway out of his bed only to land on the ground in a tangled up mess of limbs and cloth.
" Ugh" He groaned, face flat on the floor.
" Bell-sama!" Lili shouted again. "The Guild sent a letter!"
Looking up from the floor, Bell turned his head toward the door. There, standing in the doorway, was the young Pallum Lili. Panting, Lili bent over, resting her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. Her torn-up hoodie and shorts clung to her skin from sweat.
Lili, full name Liliruca Arde, was a level two supporter of their guild, someone capable of running between floors of the dungeon no problem, so to see her looking like this worried Bell.
Lili caught her breath and was about to speak again when she saw Bell. Stopping what she was about to say, she tilted her head in confusion.
" What's Bell-sama doing on the ground?"
" N-nothing, just relaxing." He stuttered out. It was too embarrassing to say that he got trapped in his blanket. What kind of captain can't even get out of bed without getting tangled up in his blankets? " A-Anyway what were you saying?"
" Ah! Lili forgot! The Familia's being summoned by the Guild!" Lili screamed, gripping her head with both hands.
"WHAT!" Bell screamed in shock.
W-w-what did she mean they were being summoned? He thought that they were past all of this. Freya took full responsibility for Ishtar. Were they still going to be punished?
" No time! Come downstairs!" Lili surged forward, grabbing Bell's hand, she pulled him up and out the door.
" W-Wait! Hold on!" He said.
Even being two levels above her, Bell still felt like he couldn't match her absurd strength. Years of carrying that giant backpack built Lili into a monster of muscle that could easily drag Bell wherever she wanted to take him.
Taking him by the hand, Lili raced down the stairs.
" Ow! Wait! LILI! "
Bell, crashing into walls and tripping down steps, could only struggle to keep up. Finally, though they reached the bottom. Jumping down the last few steps, Lili pressed on. Leading Bell into the sitting room, where the rest of the Familia was already waiting.
Taking his hand back, Bell tried to steady his breathing. Fixing his clothes, he looked around the room. Ryuu, their resident elf, was seated by the window, looking out with an indifferent gaze, but Bell could feel her support as she prepared to stand by her friends.
Feeling Bells' eyes on her, cause she turned to look at him. It was embarrassing to say, but with the light on her wet hair, she took his breath away. She must have just gotten out of the bath. Only having time to put on a bathrobe before coming down to check the commotion.
She gave a small smile to Bell, just a small quirk of her lips, but it said enough. Blushing, he smiled back, giving a small wave in return.
Wolf, his first male friend, stood behind the sofa. Leaning over, he barely noticed Bell coming in, too focused on the letter in front of him.
Yamato and Haruhime sat on the couch, each one on either side of their new goddess. Hands on her shoulder, Yamato said comforting words as Haruhime rubbed her back.
Hestia, his goddess, sat between the two of them. Her eyes swirls of despair as she held a letter between her hands. Her hands were shaking. Now Bell was really concerned.
"What's going on?" He asked, breaking the tension in the room.
Hestia started by his words shouted.
" Ahh!" Throwing her hands in the air, she let go of the letter, somehow, it floated its way over to him.
Catching it out of the air, Bell read the letter.
Dear Heastia Famila,
You are hereby invited by Ouranos to attend a gathering at the Guild tomorrow morning. Bring whomever you shall wish to this gathering. The gods and their Familias are expected to be at the guild no later than sunup.
Thank you,
Fels
Bell didn't know who this Fels was, but this didn't seem to be fake. The Guild's official stamp was on the letter. This must be serious.
" Bell-kun" Then, out of nowhere, a white colored missile collided with his stomach.
"Ooof."
His butt crashed onto the floor. What was that? Looking down, he realized Hestia had leapt off the coach and tackled him to the ground.
" Waaaah! Bell-kun, the Guild is calling us again. I knew it was too good to be true. They're trying to take our house from us!" She cried.
" K-Kami-sams it's ok." He tried to calm her down. Looking around the room, he tried to call for help, but everyone turned away, leaving Bell to clean up the mess that was their goddess.
Hesti lifted her face from his shirt. Tears falling from her face, she asked, " Really?"
" Yes, yes. Calm down." Bell patted her head.
Bell looked at the letter again. There was a par that got his attention.
" The letter says, 'The gods and their Familias,' that seems to me that were not the only ones who got a letter."
"That's right, Hestia." Wolf came over. Picking Hestia up from underneath her arms, he set her down and then helped Bell to his feet. "They're probably calling us for something else."
Ryuu chimed in. " And even if it is something bad, don't worry, we're all going with you."
" Yes, Hestia-dono, we are all willing to stand with you no matter what." Yamato stood up, clenching her fist in the air, her eyes shined with conviction.
" M-me too." Haruhime followed, standing behind Yamato, her fox tail swishing behind her.
" Don't you worry, Hestia-sama, Lili will be right behind you."
" Who are you telling not to worry. You were the most scared of all, Lil Lili."
" Ah! What is Wolf-sama saying? Take that back. Lili wasn't scared s-she was just surprised, yeah, that's all."
Bell laughed, seeing Lili and Wolf get along helped everyone calm down. Smiling at the sight in front of them, everyone felt like everything was going to be ok.
Bell's just worried about what Oraunos could be calling them for. If more than one god was being called, then it must be important.
Well, there's nothing to do but wait for tomorrow. He was looking forward to getting everything back to normal. Guess the Dungeon will have to wait for another day.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The next day, the whole Familia was up, making their way toward the Guild. Waking up it was still dark outside with sunup not happening for another couple of minutes. Just enough time to make it to the Guild before Ouranos's deadline.
" Ugh." Lili groaned. Not a morning person, Wolf had to carry her on his back so that they wouldn't leave her behind. Bell would have done it himself, but he was forced to carry Hestia.
" Bellululu" Hestai dreamily muttered into his shirt.
Bell laughed nervously. She hadn't seemed tired before, but when she fell to the ground, complaining that she stayed up all night worrying about what was gonna happen to them, he just couldn't deny her when she demanded that he carry her.
Although she did seem a little upset when he bent down for her to get on his back after they left the Familair home, she was all better. Out of sight, Yamato shook her head in exasperation while Haruhime lookedat Bell teary-eyed, jealous that she couldn't be the one being carried.
" No fair Hestia-sama," She muttered.
Ryuu led them down the street. Occasionally, she turned her head to look back and check on how the group was doing when she happened to catch Bell's eye. Embarrassed, she quickly turned her head back to the front, her cheeks warming against the cool morning air.
Walking in silence, the Hestia Familia eventually made it to the Guild. As it was still early in the morning, the Guild was currently empty. Not knowing what to do, they decided to wait until someone came and opened the door for them.
Wolf set Lili down on a bench nearby, and Bell, following his example, blacked Hestia right next to her. They must have both been very sleepy, as neither of them woke up after being set down. Lili and Hestia, probably seeking warmth, leaned closer together and started cuddling.
Happy to see that they were comfortable, Bell walked to the group, making sure that he kept the two of them in his line of sight as he went.
" Bell- kun!" Someone shouted down the street.
Bell turned. It was Syr. She and the rest of the Hostesses of Fertility were coming down the street, walking towards them.
" H-Hey Syr, what are you guys doing this early?" Bell stuttered back.
" Oh, the greatest thing happened yesterday, we got hired to cater for the Guild." Clasping her hands together, Syr gave a cute little tilt of her head, beaming as she smiled at Bell.
" What?" Bell asked.
What did she mean, cater? Wasn't this supposed to be a serious meeting between gods? Why was the Hostess being called?
" Yeah, yesterday Mama Mia got a letter saying that the Grand God Ouranos was personally asking us to come and cater for a gathering of gods today, I guess Hestia-sama was invited too."
This was all too confusing for Bell. Yesterday, the letter made it seem that this meeting was something super important, but now it looked like it was going to be like a picnic instead. What was going on?
" W-What about the restaurant, how are you guys gonna open if you're here?" He couldn't help but ask.
" Oh, don't worry, Bell meow, we're being paid to be here, so we closed shop for today meow." Behind Bell, a figure jumped out of the shadows, wrapping their arm around Bell's neck and pulling him close.
" C-Chloe-san! T-To close!" Bell tried to pull away, but it was difficult. Though she didn't look it, Chloe was a former level 4 adventurer, and even though she rarely fought, she still kept her strength.
" Stop messing with the poor boy and come help us with these boxes, you lazy cat! You too, Syr!" May the resident chef at the Hostess called out angrily.
" Meow!" Chloe, in fright, letting go of Bell, she ran off towards Mama Mia, taking a box of cooking utensils from her as she did.
" Ahh, too bad I wanted to talk to Bell a little longer." Syr pouted as she looked back at everyone working.
" Uhh, Syr, what did she mean you guys were being paid?" Bell asked.
" Oh, it's nothing, the Guild just promised to pay 10 million valis to cook for you guys."
" Te-Te-Ten Million!" Even though they were deep asleep, both Hestia and Lili woke up immediately when they heard the price.
" Wha- Lili, what are you doing? Where's Bell-kun!"
" Hestia-sama, why are you in Lili's bed!"
" Yare Yare, there to much shouting for this early in the morning."
Bell turned when he heard a new voice behind him. " Huh." Bell gasped, he never expected to see them coming.
Coming from the opposite direction was the Loki Familia. And not just a few, their whole top brass were here.
Loki led the procession, and Finn and Riveria took either side. Behind them, Gareth walked with Tione and Tiona as Lefia and Bete brought up the rear. And further in the back, walking at a sedated pace was.. Ais.
Bell's breath caught. Even in the dark, Ais always seemed to draw his attention. The way that she walked with purpose and carried herself with such power made him sigh.
" Oh, I should have known it'd be you Itsy-bitsy." Loki barely spared Hestia a glance as she turned away.
" YYOOOU! Don't come strutting up here, those bug bites you call tits and start acting all mighty Loki!" Hestia stood up, enraged, she immediately got in Loki's face.
" WHATDYA Say, half pint!" Loki immediately pushed back.
Watching everything go down, Bell could only laugh nervously. There was no way that he was gonna get into a fight between goddesses.
Finn, the captain of the Loki Famli, came over. " Sorry for our poor showing, our goddess can be a little… rambunctious."
" N-No its ok, we're sorry too." Bell didn't know what to say. The captain of the Loki Familia, Finn the Braver, was talking to him.
" This early and those two are going at it like a couple of dogs."
" Hepheastus-sama," Wolf cried out.
Behind the Loki Familia, Lady Hepheastus and her captain, Tsubaki, walked up. Both were wearing matching eyepatches, looking like sisters, though Bell heard a rumor that Tsubaki didn't actually need to wear an eyepatch.
Nodding to Wolf, Hepheastus went over to break the two goddesses apart.
" Yo, how are you guys doing? We met Loki on the way, but she kind of went ahead of us when she heard the noise." Tsubaki came over and started talking to them.
"Everything's fine, Tsubaki-san, we're just waiting for the doors to open," Wolf said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
Bell smiled. He knew that Wolf had left his old Familia to help them in their war with Apollo. He left on good terms, but he guesses that it was still kind of awkward to see them. Bell also remembered the Wolf had said that he needed to keep a promise with Hepheastus and that leaving was the best way to follow it, he wondered what he meant.
" Well, know, looks like we are the last to arrive."
" I told you, Hermes-sams, that we should have left ten minutes ago."
" Ah, come now, don't be like that, Asfi, we are here now, so no harm done."
Hermes and his captain, Asfi, walk around the corner coming into view. But Bell barely had time to notice them before another set of voices came up.
" Not quite Hermes, sorry everyone, it took a little longer than anticipated to decide on my escort for today."
Freya, the goddess of beauty and war, as well as arguably the head of the strongest Familia in Orario, came strolling with her King Ottar, the strongest adventurer.
Bell couldn't believe it. Four of the most famous Familai in front of him. Sure, he's met all of them before, but having them all in front of him right now still gave him the feeling that there was a big gulf between them.
Bell clenched his fist. Soon, he would be standing with them.
" What just Ottar today, Freya? I thought that at least you'd bring a few more, you know, there wasn't a limit on who you could bring with you."
Freya smiled at Loki. " Oh, no, Ottar is enough for me. What about you, Loki? Is your castle gonna be ok with so many of you gone?"
Loki waved her off. Locking her hands behind her head she didn't look worried at all by Freya's subtle threat.
" Oh, they'll be fine. I left Raul and Anakitty in charge until we get back, we shouldn't be long anyway."
With the pleasantries out of the way, the four Familai quickly settled in. It was still a few minutes before sunup, and no one knew when this Fels would come and collect them. Riviera and Lefia tried to keep Loki away from Hestia while Yamato and Wolf did the same with their goddess.
Hephaestus talked with Hermes while Freya an Ottar went over to be with the Hostess of Fertility.
Bell stood with Lili and the rest of the Familia, not particularly knowing what to do. Everyone here was so high-level that he felt like their little guild just didn't fit in.
Finally, as the first hint of light came over the horizon, the door opened. Out came a cloaked figure wrapped in black cloth, his face was covered so Bell couldn't see who it was, but he assumed this was Fels. Before anyone could say anything, he spoke.
" Thank you for coming. I am Fels. Please, I know you are all curious as to know why you have been summoned, but I ask that everyone hold their questions until after Ouranos meets with you all." From behind the cloak, a gravely voice ground out, sending chills down Bell's spine. It made him wonder. What kind of person worked with Orario's Grand God?
Having said his piece, Fels walked back into the dark Guild. Everyone looked at each other, but they had no choice, they followed Fels.
In the dark Guild, it was hard to see. Bell knew that they had left the main area and entered a stairwell, but he couldn't make out anything on the walls or even which part of the Guild they were going down.
Soon, though, they reached the bottom of the stairs, and to their surprise, they saw a curious sight.
In the throne where a god should have sat, there was instead a ball of light.
" Hey, what's that?" Loki asked.
" I..don't know, is it a spirit?" Hespeastus rubbed her chin, trying to figure out what she was seeing.
But then, before anyone could do anything, the ball of light spoke.
< Guest arrived, preparing transportation>
" Wha-" Bell barely had a chance to question what it said before a great wall of light slammed into everyone. Gasps rang out as everyone tried to move or dodge out of the way, some of them pulling out weapons, but it was too late, the light reached them.
And then there was nothing. The throne room under the Guild was empty.