500th Time Reborn, A World Only Known By Women: The Karma System

Nemoria was furious, and all of that was directed towards one person that was far too handsome for his own good, but he was also an idiot.

"KAEDON! I Summon Thy! Get over here, right now!" Nemoria snapped as she walked out of a black portal in a dress made from shadows into a forest. The cracks on her face leaked shadow and darkness, and there was a fire in her eyes to match her tone.

"Nemoria? Now, what is it that you want? Are you not too busy ruining someone else's day? That is what you do, is it not?" Kaedon asked as he appeared from a golden portal, his silver white robe glittering in the dappled sunlight that broke through the foliage above.

"What have you done?! Are you trying to undermine everything that we are working towards?! It is too soon for him to know everything, you stupid God! You are nothing but a seller of finite dreams, and now look where he is going? What do you think will happen to our son in this place? He knows of his darkness now, and he is being sent to a place that is going to do its best to draw it out of him!" Nemoria snapped, the area starting to wither.

"Since when did you care about the rules?" Kaedon asked curiously, and the trees around him flourished, and flowers sprouted around him.

"I have always done my part! I have always done what no one else could do! You are the one that failed him, Kaedon! You were too weak to do what needed to be done when he came to you!" Nemoria snapped.

"You think that I should have forced him? Do you think that would have been better?" Kaedon asked, still smiling.

"Do you know how long it took me to put Xena back together? Do you think that me forcing that poor girl to kill her was the best way? You are a coward. You hide behind that smile, but you only care about the results, and now you are even messing with them. Why did the Guides allow this?! When this is all over, you will still be the beloved Father that meant the best. I will be branded as the one that started his pain and the one that continued to cause it!" Nemoria screamed with tears in her eyes.

"This is all part of the test, dear. Ophiuchus needs to keep growing, and this is part of it. We decided that it was best to give him some parts slowly. You know what this test is and the reason for all of this, or would you like to go back to the way that things were? How the first step is made is not as important as where the last will land. Each of us has a part to play in this, do not stray now," Kaedon said, but this time without a smile.

Fury burned in Nemoria, and then the forest started to catch fire around her. She should have never had to do what she did to her son, but fate required it. Since Kaedon had failed to initiate it, Nemoria's hand had been forced, and she entered the world with him.

Of those that had ever existed, her son was the one that deserved to have something that he desired, but the Guides played on this. No matter the path Ophiuchus picked, her son's fate was locked the same. Nemoria brought Xena and then burned her memory from his mind. There were so many things in play right now, but this moment could ruin everything.

"You know, if he kills her, this will all be for nothing. Do you really think that he is ready for this? If he does kill her, not even the Guides or you will be safe. Think about that, God of the Light and all things that it touches. I might play the part of the darkness, but you four are wolves in sheep skins," Nemoria said, and gestured for a black portal to open, then walked through.

The portal closed, and Kaedon let out a long sigh as the fires stopped, and then the forest where Nemoria stood began to heal itself.

"She is right. You play a very dangerous game, True God," Apocolios said as he appeared in a hooded robe that completely hid their entire body.

"Ophiuchus is growing, and I think this is the only way to keep that growth moving forward. We must challenge him and place him in situations that push him to his limits. Without that, I think that he will fail when the ultimate test comes. How long have we waited and planned for this? Was this not what we had planned?" Kaedon asked, but Apocolios shook their hooded head.

"Nothing that has happened has been to plan. Nemoria is right, and your weakness is what derailed everything. If you would have only done what we asked-"

"NO ONE WILL FORCE ME TO DO ANYTHING!" Kaedon roared, and reality cracked around him, making the Guide let out a sigh.

"Control yourself. Getting upset about the truth is hardly fitting for the one that calls himself the True God. You are the one that failed, not us. We are all puppets on your strings; even if you play that, it is the other way," Apocolios explained.

"I have faith in my son that he will make the right choice. This experience is finally starting to make him grow, but this is not about him becoming a good person. You know what it is that I seek, and I will stop at nothing to get it. Maybe you should tell Helios to stop being so sore and offer the boy some advice," Kaedon said, his anger cooling, and Apocolios nodded.

"As you wish, but I make no promises. You know how Helios is when it comes to Ophiuchus," Apocolios said with a shake of their robbed head.

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