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On the other side, we stepped into a dark library lit by candles and a single chandelier dangling from two stories above. Hydum pushed up the sleeve of his coat, revealing a thin pale hand. He waved it, and books and scrolls went flying, moving from the table and chairs and returning to the shelves.
"The moment you stepped foot in the city, I sensed her," he said, stopping in front of a long rectangular desk. He pulled his hood down and then turned to us. “Tedara.”
His eyes were large—like, massive—and pale blue.
He held his hands out. “Please, sit.” He sat down as well and took a breath. “I didn't believe the other gods when they told me about you, Natalie. I've never seen anything like this before, a mortal holding the divinity from a primordial being."
“Does that mean you can’t help us?" I asked.
He rested his elbow on the arm of his chair, then laid his cheek on his hand, looking at each of us. His pupils were vertical, and I hadn't seen him blink once since we arrived.
“No, Goddess,” he answered after a few seconds. “I can help.”
I shook my head. "I'm not a goddess. I'm an Enchanted.”
"Is that what you think?" He smiled, and despite his odd appearance, he had a friendly smile. "You've become a bridge between Tedara and this realm. You've become her vessel and, therefore, her—a goddess, a Primordial. If you survive, that is."
“We’re here to make sure that happens,” Rumir said. “We were sent here because the gods believe you know how to help her. She needs to lead the gods to wherever this virus is seeping into the realm.”
"To close it, yes." Hydum’s smile vanished. “I know.”
“You were a follower of Tedara…” Lucian leaned forward. “So why would you help us keep her sealed in if she’s trying to break out?”
Hydum’s expression didn't change, but I sensed he was annoyed at that question.
"None of you were told the real reason she was locked away, were you?" he asked.
I shook my head.
"She lived here in this realm until the time the other realms were populated. That was when I came into being.” Hydum looked away, seeming lost in his memories. “Before that, the Primordials had been… bored, I assumed. They’d created the realms but no life to occupy them, so they added life. That was when the Imperium and dragons were created. Only the Imperium soon evolved enough to realize they could create life, as well. That was when Tedara took form.”
He cleared his throat. “She grew fascinated with the Imperium because they started surpassing what the Primordials expected from them. But once they could create life, the Imperium no longer felt like creations of the Primordials. They fancied themselves gods as well. They stopped worshiping the Primordials, although their worship wasn't needed for power. But as this realm became the God Realm and Supremes came into being followed by the Dextura, Tedara began to watch the gods a lot closer.”
Hydum's stare was unwavering when he turned to me. "When souls began to die on Earth and the gods started losing their sources of power, they made it so that the most worthy souls came to this realm—to have an afterlife, but more importantly so they could keep worshiping the gods. After all, the greater the worth of the soul, the higher the prayer value. Higher prayer value meant more power for the gods.”
I frowned at that, and Hydum leaned forward. "By then, Tedara had a few followers of her own—me included—and she was as concerned about it as you are now. In fact, you have the same frown. "
The others looked at me, and Hydum smiled.
“She didn’t like that the Imperium was, to be blunt, enslaving their children. All life was meant to be lived, and then it would end. Just as a god vanished into nothingness, all souls were to come to an end and rest eternally. Tedara was impressed at first, but then she saw the selfishness growing inside the gods."
“What did she do?” Rehema asked, and Hydum turned to her.
"She unleashed her power," he answered simply. "When selfishness was created, so was greed, gluttony, and all the other sins. The Primordials created the realms, but magic can evolve and change. It's affected by what's around it. Eventually, evil began to dwell in a singular realm, which is now known as the Demon Realm.
“The gods started fighting amongst themselves, even sometimes influencing wars on Earth for entertainment. When Tedara could stand it no longer, she showed the gods what true chaos looked like. She’d planned to wipe the slate clean and start over.” He took a breath. “You must understand… Just because Tedara is the Mother of Chaos, that doesn't mean she’s bad. She helped create the realms, just as all the other Primordials did. But unlike her, the other Primordials didn't care much about what happened to their creations. They found it all entertaining.
Hydum stood up and walked away. “Only Tedara realized the beings they’d created were flawed. Through the selfishness of the gods, evil grew and demons came into being. And they poured into the other realms, especially Earth. But when she talked of starting over, the gods and some of the other Primordials stood against her. That's the real reason she was imprisoned. Even though her solution to the problem was wrong, her heart was in the right place."
"You'd think being the Mother of Chaos she'd enjoy all the wars," I said.
Hydum nodded. “Yes, you’d think so, wouldn’t you?” He tilted his head to the side, then pointed at Rumir. "You live with fire inside you. You know its beauty and destructiveness. But how would you feel if it was used by others only in a negative way?”
“I wouldn’t like that,” Rumir answered.
Hydum nodded again. “Tedara felt the same way. And even though I understood her motivation, I betrayed her. She wanted to kill all life—me and everyone else. A few stood with her, but in the end”—He held his hand out—"she lost, and so did we."
Hydum looked defeated. "The Earth is a horrible place, a far cry from what it once was. The God Realm isn’t what it used to be either now that the Demon Realm has come into being, and chaos is an endless plague. But it's better than nothingness. Right?” He shook his head at his own words and returned to his seat.
