Inside Angleus’s house was something you would expect to see in any random house you can find in America. Complete with a fireplace, modern technology, furniture, and even family photos. Who knew that anthropomorphic personifications of concepts can even have families and relationships? Angelus told me that he doesn't care about living inside castles or anything you would find in an alternate dimension. I, for one, appreciate his appreciation for the mundane despite being the Avatar of Chaos.

“I actually can’t believe you actually beat Exodus by yourself.”

Angelus said as I was stuffing my face with blueberry pie and drinking some sort of tea that I have never heard of before.

“Exodus?” I said as I swallowed a piece of the pie.

“It’s the name of the Master you slayed,” Artemisia answered.

Pride swelled up in my chest. For the first time in my life, I was able to surpass someone’s expectations of me.

“Of course I did it!  Angelus, that I have these awesome superpowers!”

“That’s not what I meant. What I am saying is that you killed a Master on your first try. Honestly speaking, I was expecting either for Artemisia to kill it or for you to die a horrible death.”

There it is.

Even after proving myself by doing what he asked, he still has to find a way to belittle me. If he wasn't the one who gave me this power, I would punch him in his pale nose.

“If this is how you treat your subordinates, then I’ll hate to see how you treat your enemies.”

Says a woman, who until now, has been sitting silently in a corner eating sweets.

Her name is Alexandria and she is Ancient just like Angelus. Alexandria’s not an Avatar but an Emanation which is basically an aspect of an Avatar, which is why they also go by Echoes. She’s the living personification of Fire itself, which apparently comes with a lot of responsibilities that are not just making things go up aflame.

“You know what I mean! Norah is a recently turned Acolyte and had no fighting experience before today. There should be no possible way for her to defeat a Master by herself.”

“Shouldn’t that be the reason to be praising her instead of trying to bring her down?” Artemisia said.

“Fine, I’m sorry .” Angelus threw his hands up in the air.

Even though it wasn’t a real apology, it is something I can accept at the time. I’m just glad that Artemisia and Alexandria could stand up to me against Angelus.

“Anyways. Let’s move on. You already killed Exodus, which means that you have two more Masters to go.” Angelus said, holding up two fingers.

“Only two? I thought that there would be more of them.”

“There were originally seven, but there were some humans who were able to survive Terrene’s genocide. The survivors were able to evolve beyond the limits of humanity and developed supernatural abilities.”

“It is with these superpowers that some individuals were strong enough to destroy three Masters,” Alexandria said.

“Wait a minute! How long have I been in the Chaos Dimension?” I asked, nearly spilling the tea I was sipping.

“It’s been over six thousand years on Earth,” Angelus said matter-of-factly.

“But that’s impossible! I have been here for at least thirty minutes.”

“Yes, it’s as if time flows differently from realm to realm.”

Ugh, this is giving me a major headache. Why can’t these things ever be simple?

“This time I will accompany you on this second hunt,” Alexandria said.

“Why don't you guys trust me?”

“It’s not about trust or lack thereof. With you being the first of a new race, we are recording data on you so Angelus can work out the kinks for future generations.”

“So you are basically telling me that I am a glorified prototype?” 

“You are not a glorified prototype, you are one.” Artemisia clarified.

“Thanks.”

“Before you head out you should prepare yourself, Norah. The Earth as you knew it no longer exists and I don’t want you freaking out over it.”

“You give me little credit, Angelus. At this point, there is nothing out in the universe that can freak me out at this point.”

“I’m glad you have some confidence. Let's just see how long your confidence lasts.”

With the snap of his fingers, I am transported to some back alleys.

Dammit, I didn’t even have the chance to finish my pie.