Kathy
Back to the beginning, back to where it all started. Diova would often visit Gaia and rest upon her branches, often wating, often watching, hoping to welcome a new sibling. Well, not so much welcome more so tease. She loved getting a reaction out of her fellow divine beings, though deep down she also liked the idea of being there to welcome and witness a siblings birth. 

Like *He* Did.

*How is he anyways?* Diova pondered sighing softly, a small smile upon her pale lips as she thought back to her own birth. She sat upon a branch and let her legs hang down, kicking them playfully and titling her head side to side. It was one of her most memorable moments, her birth obviously and who had been there. The only sibling she had truly tolerated, who she even genuinely liked and cared about. *Pureman.* She thought, his name making her shut her eyes and smile wider.

"Puremannnn~" She said aloud, his name could bring a smile to her face like no other. She hummed quietly as she let her mind recall their small interaction. The Goddess hadn't seen him since, but was pretty happy with how it ended. She'd been somewhat concerned with how Pureman had been holding up putting her index finger up to her top lip and tapped it gently. Deep in thought, *When did I last see you brother...?* She perked up and snapped her fingers.

"Ah yes! Olet~ Where is that little Demigod anyways?"

She questioned, remembering how she lost connection with Olet while she had been in the Pure realm. "I'm sure shes fine~" Diova said confidently looking towards the northern realms and trying to spot hers, making it a small challenge for herself to see how fast she could find it. She hadnt checked in on her realm after she ran off to deal with her own mental state. She had entrusted Heredit to keep watch while she was gone so Diova shrugged it off. She took a deep breath shutting her eyes and then breathing out slowly, looking towards the realms once more. 

It truly was a beautiful sight.

A sweet familiar melody rang in Diovas mind, she smiled widely upon feeling the comforting sensation that was her brother. She relaxed feeling Puremans warmth against her back, doing a little shimmy agaisnt his body. The feeling and touch of another being, though it wasn't just any being, the feeling of him. 

Of Pureman.

She leaned her back against him, crossing her legs and placing her hands upon her lap. Kicking her foot up and down as she let his melodic voice ring through her ears. Smirking softly and turning her head to give Pureman a small glance upon hearing a chuckle, she'd hadn't ever heard such a lovely sound. She cherished it, repeating the sound over and over in her head.

"Exploring? I guess you could call it that~ Got confessed to then had a whole identity crisis you know the ususal."

She said casually, moving her hands in a circular motion to emphasize the last bit. Her smile faded for a quick second as her mind recalled what she went through just mere days ago, running a hand along Gaias branches and patting it once her hand reached as far as it could. She groaned a little but she coudlnt even mange to stay upset too long if she had Pureman here. She tossed it aside, for right now she could care less, strangly despite only interacting with the God one time Diova was so drawn to him. Everything that had been plaguing her mind previously had suddenly melted away. 

Everything was suddenly pure.

He was truly the God of purity, having cleansed her mind of anything even slighty filthy. She let out a small 'mmm' upon hearing Pureman speak again, then straighten up her posture and gaped her mouth open at the snarky comment, but she couldn't help but smile. Seeing this side of Pureman was refreshing, nice even.

"Why you~ Olets a sweetheart yes, little thing has no thoughts in that pretty head of hers. Haven't seen her home yet so I imagine she's off exploring as well. I know she visited you, it's sweet seeing just how cute you can actually be when you're not all stuck up~"

Diova teased putting her weight on her hands and leaning forward before gently resting against her sibling's back once more. It was odd, how much she cared for this other being that wasn't her own. Just another being Gaias had gifted the world with, and what a gift he was. In her eyes, Pureman was the exception, no other could compare. She put him on a pedestal, for he was the standard. 

"And what have *You* Been up to?"
Sarah
It was a rare occurrence to see Pureman relaxed in any way. One that should be appreciated, no doubt. The deity himself was at ease, enjoying the sensation of closeness with another. A few days before now he wouldn't have been able to tolerate this kind of closeness with any other being, but the events that had taken place had put into perspective just how minute this kind of affection was. He still found it uncomfortable; it was certainly not easy for him to do for more than a few minutes, but the fact he was attempting to show love at all was leaps and bounds ahead of how he once was.

**But...**

No matter how much he wished otherwise, no matter how hard he tried; he still felt his ever-present disgust. A creeping, hot sensation at the back of his throat that threatened to make him vomit the contents of his stomach off the edge of the World Tree at the mere suggestion of contact with another being. He still felt his old animus towards the mixing of two separate things. Himself and his siblings included. Even the inside of his mind was **Messy** It seemed.
He took a deep breath, shoulders rising and falling. He would choose his words carefully now. He did not want worry his Sister, after all. He could tell she'd been dealing with issues of her own. To add another to the pile would be... *Cruel*. Not that he had cared about that before. Yet even now, though he was behaving more empathetically... He felt like he was living a falsehood. A lie of his own design to allow himself to be closer to others. To be closer to his Sister. To thin the fine line between everything and everything else. To do such a thing went against everything he stood for, everything he *Was*. **Everything he was made for.**

*"I will be truthful, Sister Diova,"* He began, clasping his hands together as he spoke, *"I have only ever done one thing. Clean up. But now..?"*

His mind raced back. Back to a spot not too far from here. A place where it all began, and where it all began to end.

**"...Now I am unsure of if... Of how... I can even begin to wash away the stains surrounding the world. So much has happened. Some good, more bad. Most calamitous at best. When the mess is caused by your siblings, there is only so much you can do to prevent it."** 

He unclasped his hands, holding them up to examine them. Even now, there were invisible stains that only *He* Could see. Only *He* Could comprehend. They trembled slightly as he held them up. The weight of what task he had been set, and his growing understanding of said task felt as if it were slowly crushing him one atom at a time. He turned his head, two triangular eyeholes in his helmet glancing back at his Dearest Sibling. His shining, white eyes glimmering in the shade of the tree.

*"I've done things, Diova. Things I can't comprehend the consequences of. I have killed people... Killed places. I've seen Realms crumble into the Void. I've seen the dust of infinite corpses drift across space. I've seen The World Tree, our Mother, Gaia burned to nought but cinders. I've killed one of our Siblings in cold blood because there was no other way to resolve our differences."*

His hands shook, his heart raced. He felt every second of every memory he'd never considered the importance of burn through his mind. He clenched his fists, the shaking stopped. His fingernails dug into his palms, causing grey ichor to leak between his fingers. Falling to the ground in droplets.

*"...And I know things, Diova. Things that nobody can understand but me. Concepts. Domains. Birth, rebirth. Death and nonexistence. I know what happens when time runs out. I know what happens when space doesn't exist. I plan to commit atrocities in the name of a type of love that only ever existed for me. I am made to clean up the mess... But if the mess is the mixing of different concepts then why did Gaia allow it? It is all for a purpose that is unknown to me. The true nature of it slips through my hands like sand and fucking water."*
Kathy
Diova got comfortable as she let the melody that was Puremans voice run through her mind again, she listened, she listened attentively, her mind remembering the way he spoke and what he said and how he said it. The Goddess was often used to silence, she was surrounded byu it, in her realm the mortals were quiet. Her creations would hardly make a peep, and even her own Demigods were created with no intent of being loud. The only loud thing tended to be the way Diovas creations looked, they made a statement, they captured one's eye, they made one turn to take a second look. She didn't mind the silence, not till now anyways, for even silence tends to get loud.

Pure silence.

The Goddess remained quiet as the god spoke, she didn't turn, she simply listened. She listened as the melody became less comforting, her body tensing up slightly as she heard the melody become more distorted. Her thin smile fell into a small but blank frown. 'Unsure?' *He* Was unsure? Diova remained unmoving until she too turned back to face her sibling, feeling his sudden movement. There she gazed back into the familiar triangular eyeholes, but there was something else, there was something glancing back at her. She could see a pair of eyes. Her dull boring white eyes met her brother's more bright ones, it was an odd feeling. Though she recalled their interaction fondly, she'd often regret not reaching out to Pureman sooner. The only other time she'd seen him again was through her own Demigod. 

She wondered... Why didn't she reach out to him after she lost contact with Olet? Had she not noticed his complete switch in behavior? Had she not been worried? Had she not wanted to check up on her so-called "Favorite sibling?" 

Why?
Why had she hesitated?

...

Doubt.
But she had gotten rid of it? She was happy. Yes? She was happy upon seeing her more tolerable sibling. Yes? So why must it still linger? Why must she also suffer from the gift she was given? And why didn't she know anything on how to solve it?

Doubt.

Shut up.
So she did.

She pushed her thoughts back once more and focused on Pureman again, so even he was unsure of himself. The Goddess hesitated moving, but ignored those thoughts as well and turned her body to sit and face the same side as the divine being on their mothers branch. Back to listening.

*Killed..*

Killed? Diovas could feel goosebumps appear along her pale skin, she stared down at them blankly and ran her hand over her arm to get rid of them. But to no avail she allowed the small chill to subside on its own. Pureman... Had killed a god? The goddesses' eyes met her brothers once more.

Doubt. DOUBT.

Her head ringed softly as the word echoed through her head, it was all she could feel now, it was all she'd been experiencing lately. And now this, someone who she was sure was so strongly tied to his morals was now questioning his purpose. *Please, not him. Anyone but him.* She ~~begged~~ thought, she gasped softly seeing the skin from his hands break and begin to.. Bleed? She gently hovered a hand below his own, letting the gray ichor drip onto her palm. Staining it, but she didn't mind, nor cared, her other hand reached up to pluck a somewhat large petal from her headpiece. From there she allowed the petal to rest on her palm for a second or two, letting it become flat, the curled edges of the petal became smooth and silkier in appearance. It had transformed into a small handkerchief of sorts, the Goddess laid the "Fabric" Atop of Puremans hands and let the ichor be soaked into the petal. She gently grabbed the edge and folded it in half, dapping up any remaining liquid that it had previously missed. Throughout it all Diova tried to maintain a calm posture, her usual relaxed demeanor was getting harder and harder to uphold the more her brother spoke. 

He was right.
She didn't understand.

She didn't understand it at all, but she understood he'd been through a lot, he had seen a lot, had contemplated a lot, like she had. She questioned her purpose, she questioned the very reason Gaia had given life to her. She questioned... Her life.

A chill ran up her spine, no, she would never. Her breath was caught in her throat at the thought of even considering doing something so... Cowardly. *She pushed back those thoughts again.* She placed her hands on her lap and took a deep breath, her gaze moving back to Pureman and her lap, she could see her hands were shaking. 

Fear?

~~Doubt.~~

It was forever present, it was going to be forever present wasn't it? She clenched them into a fist, her palm turning red the harder she clenched, when she released they returned to their once pale appearance. She turned to Pureman and gave him a soft smile.

"Brother, though my troubles are not as great as yours, and though I may not be able to comprehend everything you have witnessed.I understand. I understand you have questions. I do too, I've yet to find answers unfortunately. It seems as though you've done a handful of things since I last saw you, forgive me for not reaching out sooner. I had my- well doubts... About...*Everything*."

Her eyes sunk as she mumbled the last bit turning her gaze to face up towards Gaia, her comforting smile fell back into the expressionless frown. *PUSH THE THOUGHTS BACK.*
She winced at her own command and fidgeted with her fingers and then placed her hands on the very branch they sat on.

"And I'm sorry that I can't help. I'm sorry that I can't do anything. I can't do... Anything."

She couldn't do anything, her own domain. The destruction of the mind and even she didn't fully understand it. She didn't understand how to *Fix it*, her mind had been nothing but a blank slate, an endless void of ambiguity and enigma. It felt like a never ending loop, one she didn't know how to fix.

She couldn't do anything.

Tears stung the Goddesses eyes as she tried her best to hold back, a pain emerging in her chest with how much strength she was using to try not to break down. She got a weird sense of deja vu, sniffling as quietly as she could and chuckling softly. It was odd, it was odd how easy it was for her to be vulnerable around Pureman, to feel a sense of clarity and relief.

"Funny how I tend to almost cry whenever I'm with you..."
Sarah
*"...It is natural. To cry, I mean."*

Pureman winced as he finally felt the pain in his hands. It hadn't been felt in the moment. Yet another mistake made in the heat of an emotional tirade. He thought back to his last meeting with Edon. The last time he would ever interact with his brother as he was. It hadn't been fair to him. To either of them. They understood each other, or rather, understood that the only animosity they had held toward each other was really directed at the circumstance they were in. Pureman believed he was in the right, just as Edon had. 

In this world where everyone believed they were in the right, could anything really be called wrong, objectively? In a world where everyone was right, was there any wrong even left? Nobody was wrong. Nobody would ever describe themselves as truly evil. Would the only logical choice to make a difference be... To be wrong?

...

Pureman began to think. To think that Edon may have had the right methods, but the wrong intentions. To follow something he felt was right by going about it wrong... The difference that came of it. The new concepts. The new creations, relationships. The death of an infant god, made possible through an act of misplaced violence. Was that not Purity in its own, twisted way? He shook these thoughts off. He must focus on the present.

*"I imagine you've been through a lot. Ignore this... Plain old man that sits before you, bleeding, for a moment. Tell me what has happened, my Dear Sister."*

...

He pulled his hand away, still dripping with silver-grey blood. The pain was still sharp and present, but was ignored for the sake of another. For the sake of his Sister, he would ignore his own anguish, For the sake of his Sister, he would cling to what allowed him to mix and mingle with the rest of Gaia's children. He would not become a *Force* Just yet. He still wanted to be *Someone*. Not just *Something*.

...

``"Please."``
Kathy
The tears had begun to dry from Diovas tearducts from how much she was holding back. She took a deep breath and sniffled a few times, her gaze falling back to her brothers hand. *Something was wrong* Though he was acting like himself to some degree. He seemed so... Paranoid. As if he too was holding back, what urges could someone like *Him* Possibly have. The Goddess hesitated, she knew she could be comfortable around Pureman and tell him anything but she still felt as though her own issues werent as big as his and that she seemed inferior...

...

"Ah... Well um- there was a demigod who I got familiar with a while ago. And for some reason he awakened some feelings in me I didn't think I had the capability of experiencing. I belive its the emotion called... Um love-"

She cringed saying that, her body recoiled uttering such a word. She sheepishly turned her head and began fidgeting with her hands again. *This is what she'd been fighting? This is what had been bothering her?*

Inferior. The word was brought up once again. That's all she ever felt around her sibling, she as though had not been deemed worthy enough to feel as bad as she did for what she had experienced. She knew, she knew it shouldn't have been a bigger deal than what she had made it. Thinking back to it... It was quite stupid. The Goddesses mind began to race, backwards. She was going backwards. Back to the mindset in which she'd been in a sort of weird limbo between wanting to explore this new feeling to wanting to completely rid herself of it. What she would give to return to the blissfull mindset where she lived unaware of such things. But even so, without discovering it she wouldn't be able to feel any sort of empathy for her brother.

How confusing... She didn't know how to go about this anymore. She yearned to feel and understand, she wanted to help Pureman. But she couldn't, the silly Art Goddess could do nothing to help her brother. Diovas hands clenched into fists as she tried to withhold her tears once more.

Crybaby.

She'd done nothing but try to hold back a tantrum. Because perhaps, she had finally come to the realization that she was nobody. Her gift. Her domain. It was useless. One of them anyways, the part of her that she truly loved. The part of her she wished thrived more. The only part of her that was ever truly acknowledged.

...

But there was no need for art. There was no need for expression. There was only ever Destruction. There was only ever *Doubt*. 

There was no need for Diova.

...

The Goddess turned her body and faced Pureman, giving him a soft smile. Back to her calm demeanor, she wanted to be strong for her brother, to try and help him.

"There should be a way brother, a way to stop feeling these emotions. I will do my best to help, for I have no other solution. Even I cannot understand my own domain... I only ask for one thing. That if you manage to stop feeling this *Weakness* You lend me the information so that I may return to that unknowing bliss."
Sarah
Inferior. Such a word, such an experience was not something he was familiar with *Feeling*, with experiencing. Feeling it as he listened to his sister. As she spoke of what that demigod, nay, that *Mortal* Had awakened within her. It wasn't often Pureman felt unsure of his place above others. Though he truly cared for and loved his siblings, he was always assured of his place above them. Above their *Whims* And *Tangents*. But for his Sister to be capable of feeling *Love* For a mortal... It made him think.

It made him think.

To be capable of truly *Loving* A Mortal (though to be truthful, Pureman knew little of the concept itself), one must imagine their 'other' to be their equal. Diova described more than the simple love he himself had for his own mortals, the love of a mere pet. She had described a sensation far from the lust others had experienced. No, she was truly in love with them.
He felt a tightness in his chest, clutching at it instinctively with his wounded hand. Though the aching throb of his self-inflicted injury was distracting, he could feel another aching pain. Not physical. Emotional.

It made him think.

The love that he held for Gaia, his creator... What kind of love was it? It could not be lust, for Pureman had never lusted for anything. It could not be the kind of love Diova held for 'her' mortal, for he had never truly known Gaia in such a manner for those feelings to develop. Though he had a more personal relationship with her than most, his part in it was entirely one-sided. He had been created for a purpose... But that purpose seemed more and more muddled with each passing day. Was he a cleaner? Was he a protector? Was he... An enforcer? The great tree **Could not** Reveal it to him.

Or,
Perhaps,
**Would**
**Not.**

*"I..."*

Pureman continued to think, to *Truly* Think on the structure of his mind. The hills and valleys of his psyche. Just what *Were* His defining traits? He began to think. To feel.

~~Past~~
**Duty** Was at the forefront of his mind. He had shoes to fill, he had a role to play. He was... Meant for something. Something he couldn't truly grasp... But his grip was tightening. He had forgotten it before the event of his birth, and had spent his life thus far trying to fill the 'empty cup' so to speak with things not present before.

*"Will..."*

~~Present~~
**Love**. The feeling of the moment. The love he felt for his siblings allowed him to make connections. The love he felt for his realm allowed him comfort. The love he felt for Gaia gave him purpose. Anything and everything he had done... Was it not out of love? Was it not because of *Love* That he could bear to be within arms length of another?

*"..."*

~~Future~~
**Distance.**
...
...
...
So.
That was it?

Though Pureman wished to peer deeper into the recesses of his own mind, he found the path blocked, his entry barred. Though he knew its name, he could not know its purpose... For that was not what was meant for him. That was what his true purpose was. Ordained by his Mother, perhaps? Was that why the deepest depths of his own mind were off-limits to him? He wanted to know. He **Needed** To know.

There was only one thing for him to say to his Sister. His nearest and dearest Sibling. The one truly closest to his heart.

*"...Not."*

There was a pause. All of this thinking, all of these conclusions and ideas. These concepts and remembrances, all of it had transpired within just a few seconds. While his mind was distracted, it seemed that his heart had spoken *For* Him.

*"..."*

Pureman stood up, cape billowing in the breeze. The light from the void shone upon his silver helm. His smooth, grey skin. The triangles blotted across his body. His three pearlescent eyes. These features, these unforgettable features were what made up his appearance. One that could only ever be attributed to *Him* And *Him* Alone.

He raised his injured hand, holding it at level with his eyes.

...

The wounds had closed.
He lowered his hand, looking down at his younger sibling. In this moment, he almost seemed to tower over her. His aura of serenity had returned. Even as the breeze stopped, still his cape fluttered and billowed behind him.

"I will not take this feeling from you, Sister Diova. I will not take what makes you **Better**. What makes you better than *Them*. Better than **Me**."

His gaze rested on his Sister's face. His eyes met her.

"Though you do not wish to admit it, you are still a child. So as your elder Brother, I beseech you: listen well."

The three-eyed god pointed at the three-eyed goddess. Right at her *Heart*.

"Your domain **IS** This feeling. Embrace it. Hold fast to it. To love. To the pain. Hold it in your heart. Spit it out into your very being but *Never*, **NEVER** Even for a SINGLE instant believe that it is *Weakness*. Express it. Express it to all who make you feel such a thing. If they believe it to be weakness, strike them down with it. If they believe it to be strength, share it with them until you truly believe you have **NOTHING LEFT TO GIVE**. This power, this emotion. Love."

"..."

"It is a gift. Do not forsake it. For to forsake it is to forsake your very being. You are better than the rest of the gods, Diova. Better than me. So say I, Pureman the Pure."
Kathy
Once again, tears would sting the Goddesses eyes. One by one they trickled down her cheek then gently flipped onto her exposed thigh. Faster and faster the tears began to flow out of her eyes. This overwhelming sense of vulnerability had exploded and it had begun to flow out of any orifice it could find. Her body shook and trembled violently. She was under the assumption that her brother might have given into whatever urges he was holding back, she had sensed they were...

Violent.

Perhaps it was wishful thinking, perhaps she truly did want to die. Perhaps she had hoped that with how much of a burden she assumed she was being to Pureman he'd attack her. Maybe even kill her, and finally put an end to her own self suffering. She wished he had pitied her in such a way, but... She felt relieved. Relieved that she was still here, relieved that she could still feel herself breathing she could feel the oxygen enter her nostrils and fill her lungs then feel herself exhale through her mouth. Her breathing was still shaky, and her arms trembled as well. Everytime she tried to suppress her cries she was only met with a poor attempt to suffocate them and ended up coughing and continuing to cry. Her mouth salivated, drool and spit spilled from the corners of her mouth as she tried to put on a brave face. He'd given her something she lacked, something she often found useless, something to feel.

Hope.

She had hope, again(?) Hope for what? She couldn't exactly recall when she'd been hopeful for something, most of her life so far had been creating mortals or life for her realm. Her life so far has been... Simple to say the least. What most could she have to say? She was always isolated in her realm, she hadn't been here for a fight she remembered hearing about or any rituals her siblings had invited her to. Had she been choosing to be alone? Nonsense! She had her demigods... A pain stung Diovas heart, she'd abandoned them, when was the last time she saw her ~~childrens~~ demigods faces? Held them, talked to them? Hell! ,interacted with them? 

Doubt.
Existential.
Ambiguity.
Time.
Hope.

She was spiraling again, guess that was just something she was going to have to get used to. There were a lot of things she'd have to get used to at this rate. ~~Acceptance?~~ No.

Toleration.

She'll tolerate this gift ~~curse~~ of hers until she can't take it anymore, if Pureman wasn't going to give her a cure she'll take the obvious route. But for now that route was merely a backup plan, if anything went wrong to the point where Diova couldn't take it anymore, she'd know what to do. Ask for how... She'd figure that out soon enough. For now, her brother had given her hope, hope that she'd be able to find her place in the abundance of Deities she still has yet to meet. Finally Diova snapped out of her trance and stood alongside Pureman, she did indeed listen, as best as she could anyways. Her mind was flooding with newfound emotions and thoughts. She wiped her tears and mustered up a smile, shutting her eyes and tilting her head slightly. She turned her body to face Pureman and hummed.

"Thank you for your kind words brother, I will heed your advice and look towards my future with hope..." Diova hestated on what else to say, her gaze slowly trailed down back to Puremans once injured hand. "...But surely that doubt I sensed a while ago still lingers?" She whispered softly, slowly approaching him. She held out her hand and grasped the one that she had slightly tended to earlier and held it within her palm, raising it up to her eye level. With her free hand she placed her index finger on where the wound was previously and followed along the shape she recalled it had been in before it healed. 

"Is there perhaps... Something you want from me?~" She said again, her tone still low as she let his hand fall back. She had no idea what his intentions were but she knew he wasn't about to leave empty handed, those sweet words couldn't have been for nothing. Right? She placed her hands behind her back and began to rock her body, the slits that were embedded into her skin opened and a bright red eye with black irises and veins looked towards the divine being. Diova allowed her third eye to slowly open, it gleamed a bright red. It resembled the slits along her body, a black pupil surrounded by a bright red. The eye started almost lovingly at the deity as the slits that ran across her body squirmed and fixated on anywhere but Puremans face. 

Slowly but surely that pedestal that Diova had put Pureman on had begun to crack.
Sarah
Pureman's posture shifted, betraying his relief that his Sister would take heed of his words. Truthfully, Pureman really did mean every bit of what he said. Not that he even *Could* Lie to her. He knew she would be able to tell in an instant. Not that her heart would allow her to accept that truth. Love is a powerful force, he reminded himself. Powerful, but capable of betrayal. The three-eyed god's train of thought was interrupted as he felt Diova's finger trace along his hand. Though his immediate instinct was to pull away, to withdraw out of disgust, he controlled that urge. Love. A powerful force indeed. A sense of regret crossed his mind. As he watched Diova's eyes open up, he remembered why.

To truly know his purpose, to erase the doubt... He had to perform a ritual. Not one involving any other gods. No, a rite that involved only himself. Himself and pieces of those most connected to the core traits of his personality. Those who brought those traits out the most. The ones he'd finally been able to acknowledge as he searched within the recesses of his own mind. He could not have the interference of another god tainting the ritual, but to look deeper within himself, to bypass the mental block on his true, core purpose, he would require objects. Artefacts of significance to him.

As he gazed into Diova's third eye, meeting his own, he knew what he had to ask of her.

"Not something I want. I... Truly never wish to take from you. Something I need. Please. I cannot take this from you. It must be given of your own free will. I need a piece of you, in order to... Look deeper into myself."

He covered one of his eyes. He felt an all-too-familiar feeling rising up in his throat like bile. For the first time, he was feeling disgust towards *Himself*.

"I know it doesn't make sense, and I know it is... It's... A lot. But I wouldn't be asking you this if it weren't of the utmost importance to me."

"It is up to you, whether you give me what I so desperately require. I will not force you."
Kathy
He was being vague... Diova wanted to let her curiosity get the better of her. But the dam cheesy one liner held true, curiosity killed the cat. Though it seemed she was going to die either way... At least this fragment of her anyways.

*Still couldn't face him with your real self huh?*

The voice taunted.
The voice of doubt.
The voice of Diova.

Diovas voice of doubt.

DOUBT DOUBT DOUBT!!!!

That's all that filled her head, she... She was losing trust. Trust for the only person who was her friend who she even considered family. Who she loved liked family, she felt like such a fraud. A phony of a Goddess, a coward. 

A coward.

She turned towards Pureman and met his gaze, their third eyes stared deeply into each other. She knew. Maybe. Perhaps. Most likely.

He had doubt. He'd been hesitant in his request. The pedestal cracked more and more, pieces had begun to crumble and fall. Diova was losing trust for Pureman. 

She looked down towards their mothers branch then back to her sibling. She let out a shaky breath, her pale hand mimicked her brothers and made its way to cover her third eye.

"I see..."

She chuckled, not at the poor attempt of a pun, but perhaps at the hesitation she now possessed. She... She didn't want to. She'd have done it immediately beforehand, he was her favorite! Her favorite sibling, the one she cherished most, the one she held the most respect for, someone who she looked up to, strived to be!

The list could go on and on.

Doubt doubt and more doubt began to stack the longer she waited. For the first time she felt so delicate, so fragile, she didn't feel immortal. The Goddess felt as though she was teasing death, dancing along the lines of inevitable suffering. She was scared. But there was something that lingered, something her rotten brother had planted moments before his request.

Hope.

Hope that somehow overpowered the doubt. The Goddess touched her third eye, causing it to close shut immediately. She let out a soft sigh and tried again this time forcing it open. Her normal pair of eyes began to swell up, tears stung the corners of Diovas eye. One by one they trickled out, until they began flowing out uncontrollably, she had begun to dig into the left side of her right eye.

It hurts, IT HURTS, STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP!!!!!!!!!

Her body yelled, but she didn't listen. It twitched and convulsed violently every time she dug deeper. It was weirdly warm. A
Her divine blood spilled out as she finally dug past the surface, she smiled. She was smiling, her smile was wide, her pearly white teeth stretched into her cheek bones. She squished her fingers on what she assumed was the wall of her skull and latched onto the back of her eye. She popped it out of its socket, a good amount of blood spilling onto her poor mothers branches and trickling down her trunk. 

Diova then pulled, she let out a screech between a scream of agony and wild laughter with wheezing. She had pulled a nerve, a long stringy tendon that was still attached to the back of her eye. The more she tugged the more it hurt, it wouldn't break. She was beyond the point of feeling any pain anymore. She wheezed softly and held the stringy bit over her teeth. Her smile remained as she bit into it to break the nerve off. Her teeth became stained in red as she spit out the disgusting substance. 

Her eye remained glowing as she presented it to Pureman. She grabbed his hand again and held it in hers, placing the eye in his palm and shutting it into a fist for him.

"I have mutilated myself for you brother...~ Make use of this, whatever it is you need it for... I LOVE YOU HAHAHAHA!!" She giggled, running up to him and hugging him tightly. She squealed in delight and gently grasped the corners of his face pulling it towards her. There, she planted a small kiss on his forehead.

This fragment of Diova served its use, though it was only a small bit she'd done what was asked of her. The body fell to its knees and plopped onto Gaias branch in a clumsy fashion.

Her dull pink eyes remained open as well as her smile, the now empty crevasse pulsated still. It even began glowing slightly, the corpse was but a mere night light for those who would unfortunately wander onto this branch. 

It wasn't over.

The body gasped for air and stood itself up, or at least tried to. Diova sat up, if anything, and began to crawl past Puremans feet, clinging onto what little life it still had. She wheezed painfully and rested her back on Gaias trunk. She gave her brother one last look before this fragment met its demise.

"I hope to see you again Pureman..." She croaked out. And with that, this small piece of the Goddess of Creativity and Destruction took its last breath.
Sarah
...

Pureman felt his sibling's eye in his palm. His fingers had been closed around it, not that he'd noticed. He had witnessed what his Sister had done, yet none of it felt real. A haze had clouded his vision. A layer in front of what he was seeing. Like looking through a screen or gazing at a painting or into a telescope. It was solid. Felt solid. He could feel something radiating from it. A dangerous, foreboding power. It beckoned to him. Tantalizing him with something just out of reach. Whispering little secrets, little hints of nothingness that called for him to crawl into it and be embraced forever within. For the first time, a strange thought occurred to him.

*"I'm going to hurt you, aren't I?"*

What he was doing felt sinful. Blasphemous. Heretical. He felt Gaia's judgement being cast upon him. From the trunk, miles away. From the leaves up above. From the god-fruit surrounding them. By going through with this plan, he may discover something. Something he wasn't meant to. Something no soul to ever exist was meant to know. But he *Had* To know. He had to know. Though every fibre of his being told him to turn back, to prostrate himself before the great tree and kneel; praying, begging, crying for forgiveness...

**He did not.**

"Sorry." He muttered.
 His forehead still tingled from the small kiss Diova had planted upon it. Even through his helmet, he still felt the sensation. It burned. It burned and scorched and singed and rendered everything useless. It was horrible and terrible and everything else. He opened his hand, flinching as his Sister's gaze passed over him. Passed judgement. He cringed in fear. The urge to cast this terrible possession of his into the void was overwhelming; but it wasn't his, no. It was given freely. Given willingly. It was hers. Hers that she gave to him freely and out of love. So it was his. It was his? No. No it was hers. But it was given freely. So it was his? No, it was hers—

"AAEEEERRRRRHHHHH!!!!"

He screamed, he wailed, he begged and prayed for forgiveness. He knelt before the corpse of his Sister, the only one who had ever let him love whilst being loved in return and he mourned. He felt this loss in his heart. His grey heart with blood of the same hue coursing through his veins. He dragged the carcass upright, the gaping chasm where her once-vibrant eye had sat, nestled safely, comfortably, closely. Curled within her flesh like an infant in its mother's womb. It stared at him, judging him for what he had done, what he had convinced her to do for him.

And he tried to turn back. He gasped, gagged, choked down the bile he felt at the mere thought of touching another being for this long. He embraced her, professed his love for her. Cast her away and dragged her back again. He took the gift he was given and tried to give it back, screeching at the top of his lungs as he pressed the eye back into its socket, only leaving the corpse more mutilated than before. He tried again and again to revive the corpse, each time only raising a mortal soul within the body, killing them again to try to create a better, purer recreation of his Sister. Though he knew he had not killed her forever. That he had only killed a mere fragment, the guilt tore him apart.

He grasped his helmet, ripping it from his face. Tearing away the veil that kept his true form hidden. He felt his Sister's still-living eye stare at him, into him. He felt his grey flesh slough away to reveal black, smooth wood and eyes of pearlescent hue. He felt everything fall apart just to keep his body together. He grieved like this, wept for an eternity. Clutching the carcass of one he had loved and betrayed.

And he stopped. He stood, picking up the carcass. He took back what he was given, which was a gift for him. Pulling it from where it sat, being pulled with ease. This was no longer its home. This was no longer hers. He held it up like the most precious jewel in the universe. Gazing at it with wonder.

Then he spoke, and what he spoke was truth. He cast the body aside, allowing it to fall into the void sea far below. He allowed his helmet to reform over his face. His flesh to grow back, layer by layer. He spoke, what he spoke was truth.

"A gift of love. Nothing more."