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Emryss watched at the younger mage tried another Time spell and snorted when it also did not work.

"Opposite of Chaos?" Emryss blinked, thinking. "The opposite of Chaos is order, but the more you order something, the more Chaotic the energies become." She shrugged. "And anyway, I'm not sure this is Chaos' doing."

She spun when someone demanded to know if they were using Time magic and found two Keepers staring at them.

Emryss held a hand to her chest in mock-offense. "Time magic? Always."

Time stepped around Chaos and Mother Earth, but she already knew who she would find. "You!"

"You!" Emryss shot back. She eyed the scythe in the Keeper's hand with mild confusion and glanced over Time's shoulder with expectancy. When no one appeared, she raised her eyebrows. "Where's my favorite Reaper?"

Time bristled, her eyes narrowing. Other than her fingers whitening where she gripped the scythe's shaft, she didn't move, but Emryss began to age rapidly.

Luck appeared behind Time, her fingers brushing across the smaller Keeper's shoulder. "Maybe don't do this in front of your admirer, hm?"

Luckily, Time's anger was dispelled, and she flicked her eyes to the other human--Ursula. Something flickered across Time's face before the stiff neutral expression returned.

This was not missed by Emryss, who had interacted with the Keeper enough to recognize it. "Wait just one tick of the clock!" she exclaimed, her tone that of a person just discovering their friend had done something a bit devious.

"No," Time interrupted her, stepping past her to eye the gash, "I doubt two humans could have pulled this off on their own." Her eyes slid sideways to glare at Emryss. "Unless they've stolen a Keeper's name."

Emryss shrugged. "The only name I have is A--"

She froze--well, not all of her had been frozen in Time, only her mouth. She shot Time a look, and Time released her mouth and, with a sniff, turned back to the gash.

Emryss grinned and turned to the group of Keepers. "Well, this is quite the gathering." Having made quite a nuisance of herself, she knew several of the Keepers. The others she could guess at. "Let's see. Mother Earth, Love, Luck, Chaos." She nodded to the morphing figure a little ways off. "And Change. This must really be a big deal."

Time crouched beneath the rip in Reality and regarded the grass like it would give up its secrets. Wisps of Time appeared around her, and she pulled out the one clock she kept tucked inside her shirt. She checked it before tucking it back inside. "Yes, this appeared at the same absolute Time as the one in our realm."

"How fortunate that it appeared here, away from people," Luck said as she nonchalantly flipped a coin. "Well, other than these two, of course."

Time rocked to her feet. "Chaos? Can you get any readings? Mother Earth? This is technically more your area. Can you tell anything? Change? What do you think?"

Time stepped back to allow the other Keepers to inspect the rip in Reality.




Death nodded sagely. "Yes, but isn't that the most fun thing about being human? You always have so much to learn!" At Seraphina's next question, he turned to Change. "I'm not sure. I believe Change will have to be our guide. Hold tight to me, now. Change, can you lead us to the others?"

He shifted slightly, his form trembling ever-so-slightly. Someone had nearly spoken his name, and it reverberated through him like a Death toll. He had a bad feeling about this, and figured he should probably rejoin Time to make sure she didn't atomize anyone.
 
She knows Death’s name?

Told you they were scum. Just kill ‘em already.

We’re not killing anyone
, Harmonia asserted. She could feel Chaos’s heart waver at Eris’s command, and knew she needed to speak louder over Eris so Chaos would remain focused. Like Time said, it’s unlikely they are responsible for this anomaly. They found it first, they might have answers.

They’re humans, what answers could they possibly have that would mean anything to us?

They are witches with expertise in different magics. They are worth listening to.


The only thing they’re worth is being dead.

Chaos, I need you to—

“Enough!” Chaos’s eyes shut tight and her hands balled into fists on either side of her head. She held her breath tight in her lungs, and silence descended upon her mind.

“What the hell is wrong now?” Mother Earth turned dark eyes on Chaos, her words sharp and filled with venom. “Get ahold of yourself, before you lose it. Earth has enough problems of its own without you unleashing whatever it is you have pent up in there.”

Chaos drew in a breath—in through the nose, out through the mouth. She took in one slow breath after the next, until she dropped her hands back to her side and reopened her eyes. She took a moment to remember where she was.

“I will try,” Chaos stepped forward, deciding not to acknowledge her minor outburst. She glanced over at Time, and then turned her eyes on Change. “Please, if you could stay close, in case I require your assistance.” Chaos stepped up to the rip, and peered into it. The call was difficult to resist.

What are you doing?

She’s thinking about going all the way in
, Harmonia’s voice was soft, cautionary. Chaos, that’s not a good idea.

You remember what happened the last time, and that was just your arm, Eris scolded.

Chaos considered their arguments and decided they were valid. She held both hands up to her face, regarded them closely for a moment, and then pushed them into the tear. Mother Earth, who had maintained her accusatory eyes on Chaos, finally stepped forward and moved up beside her. She glanced over at the smaller Keeper, whose own eyes were closed. Mother Earth knelt down in front of the rip and set a gentle hand into the grass beneath the Reality tear, drawing in a slow and calming breath. She cleared her mind and urged the Earth to speak to her. And, once she had heard all the grass had to tell, she pushed back up to her feet and turned her eyes on the trees around them. They whispered softly to her, speaking with the rustle of their leaves as a gentle breeze laced through them. That same breeze had its own story to tell, caressing Mother Earth’s cheek as it passed through the clearing, and then drifted away. Birds sang in the higher branches, squirrels dove from tree to tree in a frantic dance. Mother Earth’s mind was still, quiet, as she closed her eyes, steadied her breaths, and listened.

“There is only silence beyond this Reality tear,” Mother Earth opened her eyes and spoke. “The Earth speaks to me. All of tangible Reality speaks to me, really. And yet, I hear nothing.” Mother Earth appeared troubled as her eyes narrowed upon the rip in growing suspicion.

“You hear the Nothing,” Chaos corrected. Mother Earth glanced over at Chaos, not understanding.

“You keep saying that,” she frowned, watching Chaos closely. The other Keeper had both arms elbow-deep inside the rip, and she seemed to have a serene smile upon her face. “What does that mean? The Nothing.”

“Before all came to be,” Chaos explained, “there was Nothing. Before this Earth, before the Between, before Keepers, Nothing was. This tear in Reality, in the Between, it is an opening into that same Nothing. Odd, as I had always assumed that the Nothing had simply ceased upon the birth of the Something.”

Mother Earth was not sure she was following Chaos’s explanation fully, though earlier in the Between, Time had seemed intrigued by Chaos’s hypothesis. While Mother Earth doubted Chaos in all ways, she had never been given a reason to doubt Time.

Chaos turned her attention back to Time. “I can confirm, this rip is a gateway into the Nothing. The silence, it is intoxicating.”

Mother Earth then watched in complete horror as Chaos stepped into the rip. Without much thought, Mother Earth, being the closest to Chaos in that moment, lunged forward and took hold of Chaos’s shirt collar. She yanked the Keeper from the tear, nearly catching her hand in it in the process. She released Chaos once the other Keeper was safely back in Reality, and then inspected her own hand closely, to ensure it had not been touched or altered in any way.

Chaos thudded to the grass, her shape shifting and morphing as she struggled to maintain control over her form. She grit her teeth against the pain of the rapid fluctuating, and reached out a hand, trying to find Change.

Hades, what was that for?! Eris spat, her voice a sudden burst of fiery rage that only caused the morphing to quicken and grow worse. You trying to get yourself killed, you idiot?! They all think you're crazy enough as it is, and now you go and do this!

She's not trying to kill herself,
Harmonia replied, her words slow and deliberate. She's trying to kill us.

(((I'm sorry, it's very long...it kinda got away from me)))
 
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change grinned at emryss when she mentioned it "seem like me being around means its important no? or does it? hard to tell always is" change laughed a little bit, the jaw filled maw opening.. and the interior was a... eye yes... an eye inside a mouth inside a hood... honestly somewhat horrifying. when time asked change if it could sense anything change tapped its foot on the ground putting its hand in its pockets then spitting out something from its mouth... that flew directly into the rift it waited for a moment before emitting a childish giggle "i think your missing something chaos... and mother earth.. your not seeing.." the revelation from change was cut off by chaos trying to jump into the rift only to just be pulled out by one of the other keepers. rushing over to the other keeper change pulled chaos into a hug its form as chaos stabilized it seemed change destabilized its form warping and twisting into a myriad of eldritch monstrosities then.. its form fractured into hundreds of smaller warping and morphing entities each one change to fast to make out what they where... then they suddenly disappeared in a disjointed burst of painful screams the only thing left if the keeper seemed to be.. a small crystal its points constantly changed and its center if one where to look in it hand an infinite amount of results playing out all at once...

meanwhile, the other part of change with death and the pyromancer gave a small nod "foll-" suddenly clapping onto the group changes dress glowing a bright golden color there body seemed to spasm for a few seconds. before stopping change sitting up looking at death and Seraphina the expression on its face was of deep and unconcealed fear and worry "something happened... I'm missing the rest of me... its...gone somewhere" the most horrific thing was changes voice no longer a chorus of thousands of voices... but one smooth soothing.. almost seductive feminine voice... whatever happened to change...it was something incredibly bad.
 
Seraphina wrapped her arm around Death's and drew in a deep breath, preparing herself for traveling through dimensions. She felt Death tremble and looked up at him, slightly concerned. "Are you okay?" She asked, tightnening her grip of his arm.

She heard Changes sentence get cut short and quickly turned to the Keeper. She let go of Death and quickly made her way to Changes side as they feel to the ground. “What’s happening?” She asked, kneeling on the ground next to them. She went to go touch Change but drew her arm back, unsure what touching them would do to a human. Seraphina watched as Change sat up, their voice drastically different and looked back at Death concerned.



Love watched in horror as Change morphed and warped into a crystal like shape. She’s looked at Ursula and quickly walked over to her. “Now, now, that isn’t a lovely sight at all. Let’s go inside and make some tea, shall we?” She said as her glove clad hand lightly touched her shoulder, leading her to the small cabin. She wanted to get Ursula away from the scene so the other Keepers can try to fix the situation at hand or attempt to understand what happened.
 
Ursula spun on her heel and froze seeing several keepers staring right at her. Not even a breath was drawn for a few moments as she stared at time in all her glory, when the mage next to her started talking back to time before speaking "I don't think it's a good idea to yell or chastise Time herself Emryss.." She trailed off and went back to looking at the keepers with fear, unmoving and quiet to either wait her turn or keep the attention off her. She squeaked when change shifted and she backed up slightly out of fear, hoping that Emryss would do something or that she could make a break from it. Her backdrops quickly stoped when she realised she was rather close the the rip and she froze in place once again.

The young magi watched love walk forward to her and place a hand on her shoulder, her blur eyes searched loves face for anything she could recognise as anger or hatred but the offer of tea was tempting and she nodded, wanting to get away from the other magi and the angry keepers "T-That sounds lovely" she stuttered out as they made their way into the cabin and into the kitchen so tea could be made she the others continued on outside.
 
Time tilted her head at Chaos. She was Time. In order for there to be Something, there had to be cause and effect--entropy. And at her heart, Time was the direction of entropy. The Nothing--while Time knew the theory--was nearly incomprehensible to her. She could think about it in a sort of abstract way, but in no way was it Real to her. In a way, it was like a human trying to understand Time.

"Is it getting bigger?" she asked. After all, if the Nothing was encroaching on Reality, they were in serious trouble.

All line of questioning was cut off as Chaos lunged into the Nothing, then Mother Earth dragged her back out lightning-fast, then Change couldn't handle Chaos and turned into a crystal. It was too much too fast.

Time stepped out of Time. She could, after all, see her area of Reality without the constraints she put on everyone else. Everything froze around her, and she eyed the last few seconds with a frown. Part of her itched to step further back and see the solution, but she--of anyone--should know what happen if people saw the effect before they saw the cause. Time was always moving, shifting. Knowing could undo everything or alter the Time-line, which was why messing with the past never played out well.

Time ticked on and its Keeper crouched next to what had been Change. "Hm."

"'Hm'?" Emryss asked. She could not tell Time had stepped outside of Reality, but the Keeper's thoughtful expression told her she had done something. "You could rewind it."

"I could," Time confirmed. She flicked her eyes up to the mage. "But you know what happens when you rewind Time."

Emryss scowled. She had walked into that one.

Light-blue ethereal light glowed around Time's hand. It condensed into a clock that ticked merrily along. She eyed the Change-crystal thoughtfully. "Didn't they say another, ah, part of them was with Death and Seraphina? Perhaps we should wait until they join us."




Death was about to answer when Change let out a cry and fell to the ground. He knelt next to them, glancing at Seraphina. Good, she hadn't touched them. Death had no idea what would happen to humans if they touched Change when something was wrong, but he wasn't about to find out.

The fear in Change's eyes worried him, but he smiled and held out a gloved hand. "Then we should rejoin our friends posthaste. If you aren't sure you can find the rest of you, I may be able to locate Time."

He gave Seraphina a small smile. "Be a dear and cover your ears. You, too, Change."

After drawing a pocket watch from his tuxedo, he looped one arm around Seraphina and the other around Change. It would be so much easier to just use her name, but not only were there others there, but Time would murder him, and he wasn't in the mood to reap himself. The glove on the hand gripping the watch disappeared, and the clock shattered in his hand. A deep bell tolled, reverberating through Death's bones. Wisps of Time floated up and fled to their mistress. Death followed them out into Reality.

"Well, isn't this lovely," Death said, stepping out into the clearing. He grinned at the Keeper crouched in the grass.

Time rocked to her feet. "Here, take your scythe."

"Trade you," he said, passing her the shattered watch.

"Again?" she huffed. "These don't grow on trees, you know," she added, catching the wisps and drawing them back into the watch.

"There he is!" Emryss crowed, hugging the Reaper.

"Emmy! Long Time, no see!" Death said, hugging her back.

"How dare you use my name like that," Time muttered. She glanced back at the Change that had come with Death. "You, mm, turned into a crystal. I'm not sure I can reverse it as it was done by the Nothing."
 
Chaos sunk into Change’s arms, closing her eyes as the sense of control slowly returned. She felt relief wash over her, as her mind quieted for a moment. The relief was short-lived however, when she turned to thank Change for his help only to find the Keeper was gone. Horror gripped Chaos and her whole being went cold. She reached for the small crystal, but snapped her hand back before she could scoop it out of the grass, not sure if touching it would send Change away forever. Chaos moved away from what had once been (or maybe still was) Change, for fear of making matters even worse.

“What did you do?” Mother Earth’s voice was an icy whisper. The grass around her feet began to wither and droop as emerald eyes shifted from the small crystalline object where Change had been and fixed Chaos with cold, calculating menace. She, too, was frozen for a moment, her gaze shifting back to Change in disbelief. And then her shoulders, which had tensed, suddenly relaxed. She drew in a breath, and upon the exhale, called to the trees around them.

It was not magic, Mother Earth did not do magic. With her breath, life was given to the Earth, and the energies of the Universe came at her beckoning. Black clouds rumbled overhead, and the sun was reduced to a pale and murky yellow. The leaves darkened, the canopy thickened, and the branches lengthened. Two stretched outwards, one branch from a tree on Chaos’s left, and another from one on her right. They thinned as they grew, and the ends wrapped themselves around Chaos’s wrists, stretching her arms out from her sides while lifting her to her feet and facing her towards Mother Earth. Mother Earth marched forward and stood over Chaos, darkness falling upon her face.

“What. Did. You. Do?” she repeated, punctuating each word with such vehement disgust that Chaos thought she might pass out from fear in that very moment. Her lips parted, a stuttering defense caught on her tongue. But then, something else happened.

Eris, who had been screaming obscenities in Chaos’s mind ever since she had attempted to dive into the rip, was clawing and scratching within the Keeper. Harmonia frantically fought to contain their other self, speaking to Chaos in a calming whisper, attempting to reach her before Eris did. She was too late, Eris was too powerful. Chaos’s eyes shut tight and her jaw clenched. Her breath caught in her lungs and her whole body shook in agony. And then she fell still. Seconds passed, and Mother Earth, who had stepped back in her confusion, watched the Keeper in weary suspicion. And then Chaos’s eyes opened and turned up to Mother Earth.

Chaos’s irises were no longer the muddy, forgettable brown that she preferred. They had turned a deep and fiery red, that almost seemed to glow in the low light beneath the trees. The fear was gone from her face, and had been replaced with a look so dark and venomous that Mother Earth forgot her own venom. The taller Keeper took another step back, having spent little time with Chaos beyond their annual gatherings and uncertain as to what she was looking at.

“Your...how...what are you...?” Mother Earth could not find the appropriate question, and so halted her stammering and flicked her eyes to Time instead, deferring to her experience and expertise. It was then that she realized Death had finally shown, the human and Change’s other self in tow. Chaos, too, had noticed, and upon seeing Change, her eyes returned to their murky brown and her face lost its defiant rage. She fell limp in the hold of the branches and, when Mother Earth released her, she dropped back to her knees.

“Change?” Chaos looked up at the Keeper’s fragment, wavering hope daring to enter her eyes and her heart.
 
Seraphina nodded and covered her ears. She watched as Death pulled out a small clock. It was small and very intricate but suddenly shattered once Death's glove disappeared. Her eyes widened but she quickly shut them when deep vibration went through her body. The sound was so deep, it almost hurt even with her ears covered. The vibrations stopped and she opened her eyes to see small wisps in front of her. She opened her mouth to ask what that noise was but was quickly pulled by Death through dimensions and into Reality. Seraphina wasn't able to prepare herself and immediately felt sick. She let go of Death and slightly stumbled, regaining her balance.

"Oh Keepers, I'll never get used to that." She groaned, running her hands down her face. She looked up to see that she was in a small wooded area with the small group of Keepers from the ballroom. She watched the exchange between Death and Time and smiled. Her smile was replaced with confusion when a woman whose age she couldn't quite tell hugged Death. She looked young but her spirit felt old. She shrugged it off and looked towards the rip, quickly noticing a small crystal on the ground. "Is that... you?" She whispered to Change. Her question was answered by Time who seemed to be avoiding looking at the exhange between Death and the woman.

Seraphina couldn't help much in this situation so she walked over to a tree and sat on the ground, leaning her back against the trunk. She watched as Mother Earth and Chaos exchanged looks. "I guess something happened." She mumbled to herself, twirling blades of grass between her fingers.



"So! Whats your name? I'm Love! You know, the loveliest Kepper of all. I Love this house? Is it yours? It's quite lovely." Love laughed, sitting at the small table in Ursulas kitchen. Two small teacups and matching saucers decorated with red and pink hearts materialized on the table. A teapot appeared in Loves hand and she poured herself and the witch a cup of tea. "Don't worry, its passion flower. It'll help calm both our nerves." She smiled, poorly hiding the fact that she was quite worried for her fellow Keepers, but knew her place in kepping the order between the Keepers and the few humans caught in this mess.
 
“Yes I suppose we should go find the rest of me then” change rubbed their head a headache slowly building up. Taking deaths hand change then covered their ears at deaths instructions. The toll form the bell seemed to affect change little aside form ruffling their dress a little bit. But generally nothing changed, concerning.

Once they had peaked back into reality change was met with a group of keeps and a few humans. time explained what had happened to the rest of itself. Grave concern flowed across changes face brushing their golden hair to the side. Walking towards where the rest of itself was change stopped turning to chaos who was on the ground. Looking down at the poor keeper it looked like she had been through a lot recently. Changed walked towards chaos a small but still concerned smile across her lips, running their hand through chaos’s hair slowly.

For the other keeper it was strange to see change so stable for once there form having not changed, keeping the elegant golden spdress and feminine appearance. Change lifted chaos up, hugging then keeper once more. Change finding some comfort in chaos’s chaotic nature change currently being taller the chaos said keeper only being chest height comparatively. “Yes chaos it’s me..just a small part of me, but I’m still here”. Change’s reply was likely surprising to everyone else there not for what change had said but the voice, a singular smooth feminine voice. Remaining for a few moments longer change finally let got picking up the crystal staring into it deeply.

“I think we might be wrong about this nothing, it’s very much something, but soo something that it doesn’t have time to be something so it looks like nothing” change answered rolling the crystal around in their hand tapping their chin thoughtful. Then the headache got a great deal worse, everyone and everything would feel off all of a sudden as if reality had begun skipping beats or for the keepers parts moving at different paces. Change itself had begun to lose consistency, with its keeper lacking the rest of itself there wasn’t enough to keep track of everything. Since change was the ever presence intermediary between everything this wasn’t exactly good. “I need to sit down for a little I think... then I might have a idea how to get the rest of me back together... good news is that rip isn’t going to be doing much for now... I think” change tried to say confidently the sure tone still filled there voice.
 
Ursula sat down at the table and took a cup in her shaming hands with a nod of thanks to the keeper, she quietly takes a few sips a before speaking up to calm her nerves. "I'm Ursula, apprentice chronomancer. This was my tutors house but he has left on a travel to find something so I'm in charge around here" she smiled slightly at the keeper still nervous about what was going on outside of her cottage.

"I have no idea what has caused the rip but I am pretty sure that I couldn't have done it, I haven't used by magic to cause chaos." The young magi muttered as she took another sip of her tea and looked up to meet the eyes of love once more. She has been too caught up in what was going to take notice of how the keeper looked, just as worried as the young Magi herself. "B-But I'm sure thst you keepers can fix this! You are the best of the best after all" Ursula stuttered out, trying to instil some hope in the keeper of love or atleast give her some hope in this situation.
 
Time had watched the exchange between Chaos and Mother Earth with slight unease. If it went much further, she would have to step between them. She understood Mother Earth's concern, but the likelihood of this undoing Change was slim. She considered talking the Keeper down as the trees grabbed Chaos. But then Chaos' eyes turned red, and Time felt the ticking of the clock in her chest slow. That was not good. She had not seen this happen in a while. Death might have unwittingly saved the day by dragging Change back to their other self, and for that Time was grateful.

"What's with all the long faces?" Death asked in a stage whisper.

"We were having a, mm... misunderstanding," Time said, trying to figure out how to be diplomatic when she was not diplomatic.

"How Fortunate," Luck interjected, "that you showed up when you did."

Time rolled her eyes. "Not everything is Fortune, Luck. Some things are simply a matter of cause and effect."

"Are they?" Luck asked, her red eyes twinkling.

"If you want me to trace all the lines of cause and effect--" Time began, but Death gave her a gentle push in the direction of Change.

"The Nothing that is so Something that it doesn't have Time to be Something?" Death repeated the confusing trail of words in a tone of amused bemusement. He dropped his eyes to Time. "Love, translation, please?"

Time hmphed. "I disagree."

"I am not surprised," Death said with the wise nod of someone who had a lot of Time with Time.

Time gestured with her hands, her eyes lifted up while she explained. "Without Time there is still Something--just no direction and no Change. Just infinite possibilities. But this"--she waved at the rip in Reality--"has Nothing. None of us. No possibilities. It is empty."

Death nodded, his eyes narrowed in thought. "Like black holes."

Time glanced back at him.

The Reaper smiled a little sheepishly and leaned on his scythe. "Not exactly like a black hole," he explained. "I mean like a black hole in that it expands, eating up all of Reality."

Time blinked. He may be on to something. "I hope not. Black holes can't be killed."

"Not true," Death said. "They begin to lose matter due this one type of radiation. Takes ages and ages, though." At Time's quirked eyebrow, Death shrugged. "I chatted with the scientist who proposed the theory for a really long Time a little while ago. He was one of the greatest minds of this Time."

Time hummed. "Black holes are created due to a large-massed object collapsing in on itself. This seems almost like the opposite. Like something has been ripping away Reality." Or was it? Could Reality have collapsed in on itself? She would have to think on this later. Time glanced back at the small house. "But why would it appear here?"

"Perhaps we should venture into town?" Luck suggested. "There are quite a few covens and such here we could ask. Plus, I have a good feeling about it."

Time was about to say where Luck could stick her "good feelings", but Death saw it in her eyes and quickly said, "Oh, yes, we could do that. There is also an odd group of people who have some interesting ideas about the Dark."

"You mean a demonic cult," Time said.

"No," Death said with sigh. If he had wanted to say it that way, he would have said it that way.

"If I find out it's Dark and Light again, I am going to have a strong chat with both their generals."

Time looked like she might march into Light's and Dark's respective planes to yell at them--again--so Death tried to steer her back on track. "What should we do about the rip? Can we contain it in anyway?"




Emryss dropped onto the ground next to Seraphina and shook the encroaching years off. "Yeah, Chaos grabbed Change, but Change couldn't contain the... uh, Chaos, and poofed into a crystal. The Mother Earth went all natural disastery--she has a temper, don't mess with her--and Chaos lost her temper, and then you showed up with Death and Change's other half." She turned a grin on the other mage and held out her hand. "I'm Emryss. How did you end up with this lot?"
 
Seraphina looked over at Emryss and smiled. "Ah, a Time spell. I bet that got quite the reaction out of Miss Prestigious." She laughed. She listened to Emryss explain what happened and frowned a little. "I'm still trying to remember all their names but it sounds like they got themselves into a tough spot. I'm not much of help so I'm just chilling" She said, taking the other mages hand and firmly shaking it. "I'm Seraphina, a pyromancer. I got stupid drunk and somehow summoned Luck. Asked her to bring me to Time because of some rumors going around about a witch who can control Time. I didn't know if they had malicious intent or not but I decided to be better safe than sorry. Ended up being sorry when Time didn't even give me a second of her multiple timelines. Long story short, I'm heir to be a protector of Keepers but got feelings hurt so Death had to comfort me." Seraphina explained, slightly laughing at herself.


Love smiled at Ursula and took a sip of her tea. "Chronomancer? That's quite a hard magic type to learn. Very few can even do the simplest spell. I used to friends with so many witches of different gifts. My daught-" Love stopped herself from revealing too much information to the human and took another sip of her tea, almost drinking the entire cup. "Anyways, I doubt you caused the rip. That particular group of Keepers is not quite fond of humans. Well, except Death of course! He might Love humans more than I." She laughed, feeling a little more relaxed. "I'm quite fond of your little home but I don't get many chances to interact with humans anymore. Is there a town nearby?"
 
Chaos allowed Change to lift her off the ground and embrace her. The soothing reassurance of the constant of Change was no longer there in the Keeper’s presence, and Chaos felt the emptiness within the Keeper despite their attempts to conceal it. She appreciated the gesture however, glad to see that a piece of Change had survived, at least. That meant there was Hope. If anyone knew how to fix Change, it was Change.

How are you feeling? Harmonia cooed, her voice a soft and gentle touch of reassurance.

I am fine, Chaos’s mind had quieted and all had been put to normal. For now.

She is sulking. She feels betrayed.

As she should
, Chaos replied solemnly. Her eyes drifted down to her feet. It has been a while since I have let her out. The longer she is bottled up inside, the more severe a toll her presence will have on Reality.

Reality is suffering enough as it is. Her time will have to wait.

You are right. Now, try to convince her of this.

There was no response, but a flooding of relenting understanding. Whether Eris was to be convinced or not, she had no other choice.

Mother Earth had been watching Chaos ever since she had seen that flash of red in the Keeper’s eyes. Chaos had always been an odd one, and Mother Earth had never much cared for her, but she was beginning to think the Keeper held secrets beyond what even she knew. Time and Time again, Chaos has wreaked havoc on her Earth, starting wars that lasted decades, mass disasters that had taken life beyond anything she had ever attempted. Mother Earth’s disasters were one thing; Chaos was on a whole other level. For the first time in her life, Mother Earth felt a tinge of unease in the Keepers’s presence. It was not fear—Mother Earth did not fear anything. But, she felt she needed to keep an eye on Chaos, should she lose her temper again.

“I don’t know that any of us could contain what is happening inside this rip, whatever it is,” Mother Earth offered up, emerald eyes peeling away from Chaos for a brief moment.

“As for that which has breeched this Reality...perhaps Time? Maybe Luck? Change, if they are up to the task?” She cast a glance over at Change, who seemed to have forgotten that which they Kept. Or more, it had been stripped from them. “Together, you three might be able to at least freeze it as is, while we figure out what it is.”
 
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the constant of change continued to become even more inconsistent, everything doing things at and time interval it felt like, although only within a few seconds of one another when it should have happened. change still looking into the crystal shaking their head at times response to what they had said "no time you see things to linearly, for there to be nothing that had to be something and therefore a change of something to denote that there is nothing" change responded with a dreary sigh rubbing their eyes with one hand, change frowned disappointed in itself and the other keepers "and your wrong... its not that I couldn't handle the chaos... its that there wasn't enough of it" the responded bluntly once again glancing towards time death and chaos, slowly but surely a small smile grow on changed face then looking over to mother earth as she asked if change was up to help with the rip change laughing slightly "now I think iv got an idea but I'm going to need to four of you, time, death, mother earth, chaos" change giving an energetic twirl there dress and hair following along behind them and the dropped the crystal onto the ground, it then rose into the air expanding to the size of a large basketball spinning slowy in the air as the infinite possiblties within spun around as well "now my friends if you would touch the crytal we can fix this mess? so what do you all say?" change asked with a beautiful smile hoping they would "well at least fix me? and please do it quickly we don't what thing to start changing in the wrong ways now do we?"
 
Ursula ponders for moment as she sips her tea "Chronomancy came easy to me for some reason, I tried my hand at pyromancy and cryomsncy but they didn't work for me. Chronomancy was my last try or I would give up magic forever and it stuck. I would have been a Astromancer if I could have but here I am." She nods sagely at her words and finishes her tea, placing the cup down carefully before trying to remember what towns lay around the forest she made het home in. "I do have to wonder why they are not so fond of us but then again, not everyone is a good person and they can sway opinions rather easily" the young Magi muttered and shrugged slightly as she spoke to herself, it was her way of figuring things out. She looked up again to realise that Love was still there and her face flushed in embarrassment before mumbling an apology.

"Well there are a few towns around the edge of the forest that are moving inwards as they cut down trees and scare the wildlife, but they all take a day or so to travel to on foot. I have no horse nor cart thst can make the travel easier, but if you so wish I can draw you a map to these villages while the keepers try to close the rip or figure out what caused it." Ursula said as she got up to look for some paper and a pencil from her desk. She disappears from the kitchen for a few minutes and returned with a leather bound book and a pencil just in case the map was asked for.
 
Emryss chortled. "Oh, you know she loves it when people mess with Time." She arched an eyebrow at the younger mage's explanation. "I wouldn't take it to heart. That's just how she is. We haven't gotten along in the couple-hundred years I've known her. The only one who actually likes her is Death, I think." Emryss nodded when Seraphina explained Death had comforted her. "He's good like that."

Emryss arched an eyebrow when she mentioned being a protector of Keepers. She chortled. "Oh, they need that for sure. Just because they're powerful beings, that doesn't mean they are very smart. They need someone with a little brains to make sure they don't do something stupid. They're not as stupid as the forces of Good and Evil, of course, but they're up there."



Time flicked her eyes to Change and opened her mouth.

"Love, can you freeze it?" Death quickly asked. They would be here until the end of Time (and possibly even after) if he let her get going on this sort of discussion.

Time flexed her fingers. Freezing the rip was near impossible. There was a very slim chance, but all the events would have to line up perfectly. She should be able to spot the right order when it appeared. Well, then. She might be able to freeze the rip if she had help. She scrunched her nose at Luck, but without the Keeper of Fortune, it might go sour. Even with Luck and Change, it could turn bad pretty quickly, and they might not have enough randomosity to locate the right order with just Change. She closed her eyes, thinking. Luck, Time, Change, Chaos, Mother Earth--they needed them all.

"Love?" Death asked, recognizing the expression of intense thought.

"We might be able to freeze it, but I will need everyone's help." Time opened her eyes. "Chaos is ultimate possibilities at random. Luck may be able to... guide her, so to speak. If we hit on the right order, I may be able to trigger the arrow of Time in that direction. Change will need to generate the movement, and Mother Earth will need to monitor the outcome to make sure we don't trigger any negative consequences for the Earth and her inhabitants."

"And me?" Death asked with an easy grin.

"Moral support."

"Yes, my favorite."

Luck shifted her stole around her shoulders as if the night air bothered her. "So, what? You want me to make the outcome more favorable? Shuffle the deck in our favor?"

Time nodded.

"Oh, Darling, I thought you'd never ask."

"Isn't triggering the arrow of Time against the rules?" Emryss called from her position next to Seraphina.

Time shot her an annoyed look.

Emryss leaned over to Seraphina and stage-whispered, "Yeah, she breaks rules when it's convenient, don't let her fool you."

Time chose to ignore that and flicked her eyes to Change. They would need to get that fixed, first. When Change listed the four they wanted to help, Time shot Death a concerned look.

Death just shrugged. "It's Change, Love, I doubt it could go wrong."

"And I'm here," Luck added with an easy smile.

Time groaned and stretched her fingers towards the crystal. "Let's just do this."
 
Seraphina smiled at Emryss as she held a conversation with her, happy to have someone who wasn’t a keeper to talk to. She watched as Time attempted to find a solution to the rip, feeling a little pity for her. She may have been rude to Seraphina but she was still dealing with something of such large magnitude that it could really screw some things up. Emryss whispered to her and she laughed a little. “Maybe I could be of use. Put my protection skills to the test.” She said, shrugging her shoulders.

Seraphina stood up and wiped the dirt off her knees before walking over to Time. “Sorry to bother you, but I know quite a few protection spells that could be of help. You know, if something were to go wrong.” She said, smiling.



Love listed to Ursula explain her journey through magic and smiled. Her daughter was the same way, testing out different types of magic but ultimately finding her gift in the elements. Love was too deep in thought to hear Ursula mumbling and perked up at the mention of a town.

She watched as Ursula got up to get a map and looked down at her empty teacup, sighing a little. She lifted her head when the young magi reentered the room. “Who says we need a cart? I’m a keeper after all. We travel at our own will wherever we please.” Love smiled, pushing away the thoughts of her long-lost daughter.
 
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Chaos looked up at her name, eyes finding Time. Upon looking up, out of the corner of her eye, she caught Mother Earth’s suspicious stare. She flinched, eyes flickering over to the red-headed Keeper for a brief half-second before resettling on the ground, shoulders drawing in as she shrunk in her cowardice.

You need to stay focused.

But she harbors such hatred towards me, hatred I cannot explain.

She is but a distraction. Her emotions toward you are inconsequential. She only hates you out of fear—you are older, stronger, and more powerful by far. She hates the idea of you, the idea of one she cannot best. You must stay focused, in order to do as Time and Change instruct.

We will need Eris.
Chaos’s shoulders relaxed some, and her eyes shifted slightly upwards as she searched for Eris. She has repressed herself.

She is sulking. We can do this without her.

No. In order for this to work, I need all possibilities and outcomes at my disposal. Good, and bad. Luck will ensure the proper possibility is reached, however we cannot say that that possibility will not be one of Eris’s. We need her.

I will do what I can.


Chaos stepped forward, eyes finding Time once more, and then Luck.

“I am ready.”

Mother Earth watched Chaos’s eyes flit about as if she were deep in a thought that took her mind and eyes every which way. It almost looked as if she were speaking with someone, though her lips did not move and her body stayed still and betrayed nothing. Only her eyes moved—up, down, left, right. And then Chaos had finished and had declared herself fit to join her power with theirs. Mother Earth did not like the idea of allowing Chaos free reign with her Earth, but Time had been the one to suggest their need for Chaos, and so Mother Earth said nothing in argument.

The red-headed Keeper stepped forward as well, coming to stand beside Time and giving the other Keeper a curious, sideways glance. Time was being awful patient of Chaos, which Mother Earth had begun to question, though dared not do so aloud in front of the others. She respected Time too much to question her in public. Instead, she drew in a breath in an attempt to calm herself, and decided to trust the elder Keeper. She always knew best, and if that meant they needed to use Chaos this once, then Mother Earth would trust it was truly necessary.

“We shall set Change back to their usual self, and then we will see to the Rip. On your word, dear,” Mother Earth turned kind eyes on Change, awaiting their instruction.
 
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with the four keeps now making contact with the crystal it began to buzz rapidly changing colour opening-up slowly as the infinite possible changes withing flying out and writhing around changes body seeming to be absorbed back into them. changes form become an indistinguishable mass. reality seemed to begin to tick along at the correct pace once again now that they where all back together again "now that's much better" change spoke once again with an innumerable chorus of voices it was however very reassuring, however, "hmm now.. let see if I can get some form back together" the mass shifted into a form becoming a... rather "top-heavy" and curvy demoness clothing coloured gold change looking at their appearance with an annoyed expression "hmm... well whatever this will have to do" the said with a shrug "now let's get to work shall well...unless this is too distracting"

1577081370737.png

(sorry if the post is a little wierd with changes form... but the rng decided it...you know how it is)
 
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Time dropped her hand away at the earliest opportunity and frowned slightly and the newly-formed Change. "None of us care what you look like," she said somewhat impatiently. "We need to get started."

Death arched an eyebrow at his friend, whose patience almost had no limits. He figured by the way she was poised on the balls of her feet that it was taking all her willpower not to slip out of Time and see the future. Deciding now was a good time to do his job in this, he rested his hands on her shoulders. "Easy, Love, we've got this. It will all turn out."

Time flicked her eyes to Seraphina. Her pride questioned what a human could do, but her logic suggested they could use all the help they could get. "Yes, good, thank you."

Death tossed the young mage a wink. "That's nervous for, 'That would be splendid, thank you so much for offering.'" He squeezed Time's shoulders. "Tell us what to do."

Time took a deep breath. "Chaos, you are going to generate all the possibilities for us. Change, you create the movement. Luck, you... what did you say?"

"Shuffle the deck," Lady Luck supplied. Smiling, she slipped over to stand next to Chaos.

"Yes, that. Mother Earth, monitor the Earth. I'll direct the arrow once we have the right sequence of events." Time swallowed. If she got it wrong, they were screwed.

Emryss pushed herself to her feet and strode over Time. Allowing the years to come for her, she rested her hand on the Keeper's arm. "And Seraphina and I have the protection aspect."

Time caught the years creeping up Emryss and pulled them away. "I'd rather you at your physical best, thank you," she muttered. "Death, call it."

Death nodded. "Alright, ready? Chaos, when you're ready, my dear, start us off."

Time stretched out her hands, ethereal blue light coalescing into the figure of a clock around her. Luck flexed her own fingers, gold light shimmering around her.
 
Seraphina sighed out of relief when Time let her help. “Of course. It’s the least I could do.” She smiled a little and caught the wink Death threw at her. She chuckled at Deaths translation and started preparing herself for the spell. She watched as Emryss walked over to Time, her Time spell quickly aging her and Seraphinas smiled wavered. She couldn’t imagine the type of strength Emryss had to maintain to uphold her preferred age. Her smiled returned when Emryss joined her in casting protection spells.

Seraphina stepped away from time and closed her eyes. The ends of her hair became burning embers and quickly became small flickering flames. Her hands glowed red as she brought them up to her chest, interlocking her fingers together and small trails of smoke and embers emitted into the air around her. A small ring of fire formed around her feet and slowly grew to surround the entire group. Her fire was more warm than hot so it didn’t burn nature or touch the Keepers. She opened her eyes and her spell was set in place. Her once green eyes were now a fiery red and she smiled, letting her powers take over.


Love felt a familiar energy in the air and swiftly stood from her chair and walked towards a small window. She looked out to see Seraphina finishing her spell. Her fire was a familiar warmth but Love continued to watch the mage, holding her breath.
 
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Mother Earth trusted Time, but that did not mean she was not going to monitor the group’s progress. She took a step back, so as to allow the group room and give herself a better vantage point to watch from. She slipped off her heels and allowed her feet to sink into the cool grass, the remnants of a fresh dew caressing her toes. She drew in a breath, closing her eyes, and opened herself to the Earth. When her eyes reopened, the emerald green of her irises was brighter, a light shining from within.

Chaos was not comfortable with so much riding on her own ability to control the storm within. But, Time was not asking for controlled possibilities, she was looking for infinite possibilities. A Chaotic outpouring of each and every possible future that lay at their feet. It was Luck’s job to choose the right one, to ‘shuffle the deck’, as she said. Chaos was merely going to supply her with this deck.

Death’s question woke Chaos from her musings and she blinked up at him, contemplating her answer. Was she ready? Really?

Where is Eris? I need her.

She is here.

I do not feel her.

She is here,
Harmonia repeated. Chaos had no other choice but to believe her. Chaos, whose eyes had flickered away from Death and drifted back to the ground, lifted them up again. She found Death’s gaze, and gave a nod. She was ready.

Chaos glanced over at Luck, eyes finding the soft glow at the Keeper’s hands. She reached her own hand out, offering it to Luck. There was an energy in Chaos’s eyes as she began to draw on the power of the Universe, feeling it bubble up inside her, charging her. And then her eyes changed, the muddy brown disappearing beneath two different bright and vibrant colors. Her right eye, a pale blue, and her left the same red from before. Eris had indeed returned and, despite her silence (which Chaos had always begged for but now regretted), was lending her energy to the task. Chaos could not help the small smile of relief that pulled at her lips, happy to be whole again. And now that she was whole, it was time to move things along.

Chaos drew in a breath, held it, and then released slowly. As the air was released from her lungs, the Earth about them—the Universe itself—began to shift. She drew on Change’s energies to formulate the shifts, flickering through each and every possible future, racing across infinite timelines, every one laid out before them, swirling around them in a haze of color and darkness. It was in these moments, when Chaos relinquished what minimal control she struggled to maintain, that silence descended upon her being and she was not three, but one. She loved these moments, but they were short-lived, and she reminded herself of this.

Chaos pulled herself back, reining in her desire to let go and escape. They had a job to do, she had a job to do. She turned to Luck.

“There, your deck is ready.” Her voice was different. Calm, but charged. There was a confidence in her tone that she did not carry in her controlled state.
 
As Chaos worked, Luck's hair rose in the air, frizzing around her like a halo of red. She grinned, her red eyes sparking almost manically. Oh, there was so much. There was... everything. Part of her wanted to revel in it, but Chaos called her from her revelry. She gave the other Keeper a nod as she raised her hairs. Red and gold energy buzzed around her as she flicked her eyes over the "deck".

The order shifted, and she was fairly certain their aces were at the top. "Time?" Luck called.

Her eyes unfocused on this plane, Time gazed at the order of events in question as they flashed past her. No, that would result in nothing, that might blow them--there! The blue witch-light surrounding her darkened in color, and the clock's hands met at twelve. The blue light condensed into a single clock hand. The clock hand thinned, then shot towards the rip in Reality like an arrow fired from the bow. It gathered the other Keepers' magics in its wake, then exploded around the rip.

The rip froze. It had been shifting ever-so-slightly and warping the Reality around it, but now it simply stopped.

Time let out a breath and wavered on her feet, her physical form flickering. Death caught her, but her form did not stop flickering. He looked up, catching Seraphina's eyes. "Quick! She used a lot of energy! She'll need your help so she doesn't get sucked back into the Between. Fire is energy, if you give her energy, she should be able to hold her form."

Luck was doubled over, panting. That had been quite the shuffling and stacking she had done. "Mother Earth?" she asked, tossing her hair back from her face. She flexed her fingers, felling Fortune waiting for her command. "Did we trigger anything unwanted that you can see?"

"Butterflies and hurricanes," Emryss mused. "I suppose I see now why Ms. High-And-Mighty doesn't tend to do this sort of thing."
 
Seraphina watched through fiery eyes as the Keepers worked. Her fire grew stronger when she felt the pull of reality as Luck picked the most fortunate outcome. She glanced over at Time and something inside her wavered, causing her flames to flicker. She shut her eyes and focused, making sure her spell couldn’t fail. When she opened her eyes, Time collapsed into Deaths arms. Her eyes caught Deaths and without hesitation, rushed to the ground next to them. She nodded, listening to Deaths instructions. Seraphina took a deep breath, her hands covered in flames and hovered over Time. After a few seconds, nothing happened. “I have to touch her.” She whispered to herself.


Love continued to watch Seraphina through the window of the cottage. A small smile graced her lips as she watched her used her powers to protect the keepers. Faint memories ran through Loves head but we’re quickly dismissed as Seraphina went to the ground next to Time and Death. She heard Seraphinas whisper and gasped. Love teleported her way outside and appearing a few yards away from the Keepers. “Seraphina! Don’t touch her!” She yelled, running towards her.

Seraphina heard Love and ignored her, grabbing both of Times arms. Pain shot through her body but she pushed through it, putting every ounce of power she had into Time. Once she was sure she gave everything she could, Seraphina let go of Time and collapsed.
 
change's form fragmented once again into multiple different appearances letting itself and its powers move everything to give the deck and the possibilities the changes that it needed each one of changes voices chatting amongst themselves in an aggravating course change reforming into its previously hodding form "OOOH THAT WAS FUUUUUUNN wouldn't you say yes no? maybe? I would and wouldn't" change laughed happily glad to be back to its old self, seeing what had happened afterwards changes large tooths maw frowned time collapsing due to the strain and then Seraphina attempting to rechange time... only to collapse as well change shifting to the side of the mage "to much and to little for them... perhaps i we you can help?" change picked Seraphina up off the ground.
 

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