I've died before, and I'd do it again.

"Where are..." I begin to ask, cut off by Mortigan.

She interrupts by saying. "One of my father's adjacent realms, ruled over by Machae and his brother, Khalthosh; reigning in Ihsrom's name. Welcome to the Seknium, or dreamworld, as the mortals call it."

"Why does **** own the dream world?" I ask, puzzled as usual. "And isn't Khaff... Kath... Damn that's hard to say. Isn't he a Dark god?"

"Sleep and **** are cousins, always have been. As for the distinction between gods of Dark and Light? We of **** are the rulers in between, and have been since time immemorial. Since the time of the trinity, in fact. But that is not why we are here, my little monster." She speaks in a familiar knowing, robotic tone, much like Cilla; but she seems to add a hint of both a bit of joy, and a wellspring of earned superiority to each syllable.

She continues. "We are here to discuss what you've become, earthling. I would like to request that you imagine what your core looks like, and then attempt to manifest it outwards into the dream. Can you do that?"

I remember what it looks like from my time in our head...

I compel the image in my mind to go forth, and it does so. A multicolored sphere with octagonal growths; around the size of two hands clenched together emerges from nothing. ****'s own daughter approaches it, peering closely, pondering the orb.

Once more she acts much like Cilla, muttering aloud. "Interesting... It's not a true Beautiful Class Core as the cute martyr described... similar to arcane monsters... a mix? No. It is however, quite familiar... ah ha!"

She reaches into her own chest, and pulls from it a wispy essence which takes the shape of a sphere, seemingly a mist or fog that resonated with the air around it, causing visible vibrations.

It too has octagonal growths of some sort; protrusions in the fog of its being.

"Your core, while incomplete, has fully intertwined itself with a small fragment of your human soul; the result of which has created something far more interesting than a mere monster core... but where is the rest of your soul? As Ihsrom's spawn, I should be able to sense it within you, not just a fragment... ah, the arcane one... but that would mean... oh my..." She puts her hand to her forehead, rubbing it like a rash.

Worried as ever, and slightly miffed that my restful sleep was now replaced with even more bad news, I yell. "What do you mean my soul isn't in me?! Explain, now!

Mortigan sighs, answering with. " That arcane core you initially had, the one Ariel had to remove. It must have ripped away a large portion of your soul. According to his report, he destroyed that core, meaning it will reform with it's masters. So, best case scenario, either of the twins of terror will have it. In the worst case scenario, its with one of the worse Dark gods; and neither will be handing over such a powerful weapon. To be quite honest, I'm surprised you aren't entirely stark-raving mad."

"So that's what turned Ego into Madness. It wasn't the core itself; it was it's abrupt removal..." Says Logic, appearing in the flesh beside me in his Us, pianist suit and all.

"Oh, prehaps I was correct in my original assessment." The coy reaper exclaims. "A split personality, a long time since I've seen one manifest here in quite some time."

"Woohoo! Party time!" Yells Urge; appearing as well in his Us, mess of clothing and all. "Some time outside of our head! Awesome!"

Wait, whose holding Madness in it's cage right now?

Suddenly, hearing my thoughts it seems, the other two turn pale as ghosts before vanishing back into our head.

Stay quite if that means you guys are going to be staying inside when we're dreaming from now on.

...

Ok.

Mortigan stares as me, asking. "So... how many?"

"Four. Me; I am named Monster, one named Logic, another named Urge, and one called Madness... we don't like that one." I answer.

She begins to pace back and forth. "Hm... if you're this broken, than the arcane core must be as well. The fragment of your soul that is here... it seems to me that the Animus and Anima are both within it, but the whole of it, the Self especially... it is shattered. You are the mind of the core itself, then?"

I nod.

"Then you must be what is keeping the mind and soul together, acting as a metaphysical adhesive. Had the soul fragment not bonded properly, or should you suffer enough psychological trauma, your entire being would shatter." She takes a seat once more, holding the image of the core closely.

Mortigan stays in silence, clearly working a variety of problems through her head; until she simply says. "I am dumbfounded... I cannot ascertain what this means as a whole..."

Frustrated at being treated like an object by these damn gods and their children, I ask in a grating tone. "What does any of this mean for me?!"

Continuing to stare deeply into the image of the core, she says. "Any effects of what your core should be are null. No increased resistance to physical trauma as one would have with a Beautiful Core, nor the enhancement of spells as one would have from an Arcane Core. To put it simply, as a monster core, yours is merely granting you... this. This powerful, sane personality that can hold you together. As for what to even classify it... It is not my place to do so. It would require a joint venture of Maiyo, and Carnachias; which would be a near impossibility to organize..."

"And my soul!?" I shout, damn the 'effects' or 'classification' of my core! "How do I get it back!"

The God Hunter stands up, walks over to me, and slaps me across the face. The **** of the slap is so absurd that it sends me backwards, into the air, and through one of the shattered walls of my dream-room. By an invisible ****, I am then slammed back through the wall again; just next to the newest doorway my face created, and onto the ground near her feet.

Yep, got it, don't yell at the demi-god... ow, my everything...

She continues as if she hadn't just tossed me around like a toy. "As for your soul, you would have to obtain and consume the Arcane Core that houses it, however, it too will have mutated like yours has. It's appearance will be distinct, with these markings appearing across it."

She points at the octagonal growths, then sighs, taking a seat next to my limp body, speaking in a disgruntled voice. "Well... both of our lives just got a lot harder, Monster. You have a soul to catch, in addition to the search you are already on..."

"You know about that?" I ask, face still planted in the floorboards.

"Oh please, Father knows your every move, same as with that Tomoko you're after. After all, you're both of the dead." She lays down, staring up at the dream-scape sky.

"What happens when I get my soul back together?" I ask, a part of me... no, all of me; not as us, but as me... I, Monster, fear this questions answer.

"No idea. It may be that your core will become what it's supposed to be and your Self will reform, killing you, Monster. It may be that your soul is too far gone, and it will merely give you more power. Maybe it will make your scales shinier. All are possible... and I'm sure you're mostly conflicted about my first suggestion." Mortigan gives me a sad, pitiful look.

I might die... Logic, Urge, and Ego would live on, maybe even be Us again... but I would die...

I like the Tomoko plan a lot more than this. We need to find her.

I decide to change the subject; give myself a break from existential horror for once. "Why did your Father ask you to look in on me?"

She seems comforted by the change, saying matter-of-factly. "Because you are something new, and quite a lot like us reapers, Monster. Both Light and Dark make up your being, and from your core and soul, I can tell, you have a perfect harmony of the two. The gods hold many things within each of their domains; their realms of power. The primary one for the Gods of ****, has never been their namesake. In truth, they have always been beings of balance; the great equalizer. It is why Ihsrom's position in the Pantheon is called 'The Joint Throne'. He stands as the greatest among equals, bridging Dark and Light, as his Mother did, as her Father did, as his Mother did, and so on."

This brings up a whole new line of questioning for me, how does this this Pantheon work?

Well, I have a Demigod to ask, might as well us this time well.

So I ask. "What is this Pantheon? I keep hearing the names of gods, current and dead. What does it all mean? Where do you or Ariel fit into it?"

Mortigan takes a deep breath, ask. "Do you want the long answer, or the very long answer?"

My choice is clear.

"All of it."