Chapter 63 – The Balance of the Gods

The God of Balance or the individual who was sometimes known as Julius, walked across his small living area to the kitchenette that stood alongside it. He'd tried living in huge, lavish mansions and he'd tried living in nothing more than a small tent, but nothing seemed to suit him better than the small house he kept within the walls of the City. Nobody knew that the unassuming old man with the long grey beard was the God that everyone within the City looked up to and worshipped of course, but that just made life so much easier.

In his guise of a normal Citizen, the God of Balance could walk amongst the people, listen to their gripes and pleasantries, and ultimately remain unmolested in terms of requests or wishes. Of course, he could manufacture friends and acquaintances as he pleased, but over the centuries he'd learned that people are only genuine when offering up information and friendships of their own free will. And that's what he liked to do, potter around and do what he could to remain faceless in the crowds of thousands.

But something had been brewing for a long time now. Decades, in fact. And the God of Balance, as he walked towards his kitchenette, felt something change in the atmosphere behind him.

"I wondered when you'd show your face here," he said without turning to face the intruder. "How are you, Athena?"

"Oh, you know me, Julius, up and down," Athena replied.

"And what can I do for the God of Chaos today?" Julius answered.

"Don't try to play me, Julius," Athena replied. She didn't sound angry or belligerent; rather just a little serious, like she was addressing an old friend.

"Ah, it's that, isn't it," Julius replied. "Would you like some tea?"

"Yes, I suppose that would be good," Athena replied.

The God of Balance made two perfectly identical teas in two perfectly identical cups and handed one to the God of Chaos, who stood just outside the kitchenette. She was a younger woman, much younger than Julius with bright red hair and striking green eyes. Where Julius wore a long, tattered old robe, Athena wore a shining gold breastplate and a bright red skirt. As soon as Athena took hold of the tea, she drank some, so the cups were no longer identical.

"Tell me Julius, did you really think that I wouldn't be watching that boy of yours? I thought you might've heeded my warning when you decided to give him something that he shouldn't have."

"Oh no," Julius replied. "Though perhaps I have been a little overzealous. But then, did you really think that I would not notice what you did to your own Champion? Giving that boy abilities beyond his level and experience is not something that I could allow to pass."

Athena nodded. "Perhaps we have both been at fault in all of this," she said. "But we've already taken steps towards a future that disturbs what we have known for centuries, have we not? Not that I am complaining," she added, "but you must know that things have already escalated beyond a situation that can be undone."

Julius took a sip of his own tea to bring the levels back even and sat down at his small table. "Balance is as balance does," he replied simply. "And each action that is taken in this place will be met with an equal and opposite reaction, as has always been the way, and will continue to be always."

"There was no action for you to respond to in the first place!" Athena countered. "You gave a new Contestant a unique Class, one that can grow and threaten the lives of my children! I only gave my Champion the same opportunity as you have with yours."

"Ah, but this is not the action that I am referring to, Athena. For you must know that, like you, I pay attention to the happenings of this place, and I have seen that long ago, before my Champion was even chosen, that you have interfered in the balance within the City. Or do you deny that you have been creating opportunities for Citizens to turn to you for worship in exchange for unnatural abilities?"

"The followers that I offer..." Athena started, but Julius interrupted her.

"Yes, I know these abilities are almost nothing," Julius said, waving his hand, "but nevertheless they are unnatural and cumulative. You have upset the balance within the City, and it is time for it to be restored."

"I have upset nothing!" Athena replied, her tone sharpening. "Balance cannot remain when one side is inherently without it, and as a being of pure Chaos, I fail to see how you are so surprised by this fact!"

"Do I look surprised?" Julius replied. "Do I look angry, upset even? I have known your plans for as long as you have conceived them because I can feel when balance has been ignored. I understand that when the equilibrium shifts, the effect that it has on this place."

"The universe is bigger than this place, old man," Athena replied. "And the sooner you understand that, the sooner you'll understand your place in this war."

Julius sipped his tea again. "This war has been in action for longer than you or I," he said. "This place is nothing more than a tiny cog in a huge machine, a machine that is much larger than either of us could have ever imagined."

"That is where you are wrong, Julius," Athena said with a devious smile. "I have been stationed here for way too long, and I grow tired of the back and forth we share. Tell me, Julius, what would happen if I simply took my children and left this place?"

"Then another would take your place," Julius said. "The same as what would happen if I left, or if indeed the day comes when either of us shall die."

"Then what?" Athena spat. "We just stay here in this place raising our children until they're ready to fight for each of us in the greater war? And then what? Neither side has made any significant ground for thousands of years."

"And for thousands of years our war has remained perfectly in balance. It is the lack of balance that creates loss, and that is something that neither side is prepared to accept."

"Loss or victory?" Athena replied. "Because when the balance is lost, then there will always be a victor."

"And sadly that is not a decision that either you or I can make," Julius replied. "Because we have our respective orders from our own superiors, do we not?"

Athena knew she couldn't give a good argument to the contrary, and her face twisted into an angry grimace as she slammed her fists on the table.

"I am sick of this existence, Julius!" She said, and although the two Gods fought for opposing sides in the grand war, she spoke to him like he was an old friend. "We were sent here to train future soldiers for our armies, to use this place as a battleground to prepare our children for their futures but we sit idle, locked in a grand nothingness for centuries. Tell me, Julius, do you not want more?"

"I neither want more nor less," Julius replied.

"Then maybe I should force your hand, Julius," Athena said. "Perhaps I should begin the war that has been brewing for these last few decades and allow us both to move on from this place."

Julius smiled and sipped his tea again. "Athena, you have always been a constant to me here in the City. Even though you are the embodiment of chaos, you have unwittingly fallen into a grand trap. Because you believe that your scheming, your concealment, and your preparations for war have gone unnoticed and unbalanced."

"You make idle threats now?" Athena asked. "Now that your precious City burns and my children prepare to breach your walls and kill every citizen within?"

Julius pushed his mug forward and across the table towards Athena slowly and purposefully. "The thing is, old friend, is that balance is in everything that I am and everything that I do, but it is not always as obvious as one might presume. Tell me, Athena, how is your tea?"

The God of Chaos looked down at her own cup of tea and saw that it was still mostly full. And then she looked into the cup that the God of Balance had pushed across the table.

And then she inhaled sharply.

Because his cup was empty.

"How can this be?" Athena asked in a small voice. "You would never..."

"I have grown as a result of your actions, Athena. Because the only way to match your chaos that threatens the balance of my universe is to inject chaos into my own actions, and then through chaos, we shall once again find balance."

Athena stood up and reached behind her, and when her hand returned it was holding a long, shimmering blue sword.

"This will mean war, Julius," she said, lowering herself into a combat-ready stance.

"Athena, my friend," Julius replied. "This war, as you say, has been going on for centuries. If you truly believe that it is only now growing into importance, then you are more naïve than I ever imagined."

Julius did not draw a weapon of his own though, and as Athena lunged for the God of Balance, he made no moves to defend himself.

"Athena," Julius said as he casually stepped to the side so that the angry God of Chaos lurched right past him, to her absolute surprise. "You know that this never works, don't you?"

Athena, who was apparently deaf to the God's logic now, swung her sword in a ferocious backhand in an attempt to cut Julius in half. But the strike was interrupted by the loud thud of steel against wood.

Julius stood in his kitchenette with one hand raised  holding a small wooden spoon, and as offensive as it may have seemed, Athena's sword was unable to pass it by.

"We are in total balance, Athena, as it should be," Julius said.

"You just said that balance isn't as obvious as all that!" Athena growled as she pulled her sword free of the wooden spoon and swung it about her head into a devastating swipe. Again, the attack was abruptly halted, though this time it was by a short rolling pin.

"Don't make me break out the metal cutlery, Athena," Julius said almost nonchalantly.

The God of Chaos then retracted her sword and sheathed it behind her, but as she did so, she kicked out with her booted foot directly at Julius' midriff. This time Julius caught the attack with his bare hands and held his opponent in place.

"That is enough," he said. "If you cannot respect the privacy of a man's home, then you are no longer welcome here. Do what you must outside these walls, but good guests do not attempt to kill their hosts."

"And what will happen when you have no walls left, old man?" Athena growled. "What will you do when thousands of my children come to tear down this City and everyone in it?"

"We both know that your creatures are already amassing, Athena. And we will see what happens before long. Just remember that for everything you do there is balance."

"There is no balance in chaos," Athena replied. "My children will..."

"Your children will both arrive and leave, as balance would have it, Athena. It is what happens in between that is important. And so it shall be for you, too. Goodbye, old friend."

And then Athena vanished.

Of course Julius couldn't harm her in any way. It was the price for her not being able to harm him, but he had given her hospitality, welcomed her into his home, and conversed with her pleasantly. On balance, being able to remove her invitation to remain within the house was trivial. Julius could only hope that Athena wasn't too upset by their conversation, though he did know one thing: war was coming, and in war, everyone tended to lose.

He turned back towards his kitchenette and stared at the small sink where he'd already placed the two empty cups.

"My people aren't ready for this," he muttered to himself. "Most aren't ready for what awaits them after they complete their training, but this? This is too much, too soon."