While teaching Shiro how to use the ’new’ runes that they once knew along with combinations that wouldn’t strain her body, Anima noticed a hint of sadness within Shiro’s eyes when they had a break.

  Only when she busied Shiro with the next task would this sadness fade for a moment but come back.

  Scratching her head, Anima furrowed her brows and snapped her finger.

  A table and chairs appeared around them as Shiro looked towards her.

  "Are we not continuing?" Shiro asked but Anima shook her head.

  "As much as I would like to continue, we’re going to take a small break. Even if we are able anything that we see once, it’s rather displeasing to try teach someone so distracted." Anima waved her hand while sitting down.

  Conjuring up some tea, Anima gestured for Shiro to sit down.

  "Care for some tea?" Anima asked.

  "Nah, I’d rather have juice."

  "Juice? When did our tastes become so childish?" Anima raised an eyebrow before conjuring up some tea. While Shiro wouldn’t actually drink juice, it was more of an action to occupy them for now.

  "Che, what’s wrong with juice? It tastes good." Shiro pouted.

  Looking down at the juice, at her reflection on the surface, she couldn’t help but frown slightly before taking a sip.

  "So care to tell me what’s on your mind? While I can just flip through your thoughts and memories, I’d rather not. It’s quite rude after all. Plus, it is far more constructive to hear from the person herself." Anima asked while giving Shiro a side glance.

  "Well I suppose I was being pretty obvious about it. When you said that we are the bane of all life, can you expand on that? Is there not a way for us to control our power? Must we always bring destruction?" Shiro asked as Anima raised an eyebrow before nodding.

  "As you know, the influence of a god is largely based on their divinity. Those with stronger divinities will find themselves affecting the world passively just by their presence. When I said we were the bane of all life, I did not mean our actions. Just being around a place would slowly corrode the area and rid it of all nourishment and life. Those that have weaker wills will find themselves more violent around us. The filter that stopped them from destroying everything in sight will slowly disappear the longer they stayed with us. Even when I limited my powers around Aria and Rokarn, it still affected them. For Rokarn, he was able to vent the rage out during battles but Aria could not. I think a part of what made Aria begin to act different was also because of my presence." Anima replied honestly as Shiro tracing her finger along the rims of her cup, causing a ripple through her reflection.

  "Is there no way to stop this?"

  Shaking her head, Anima took a sip of her tea.

  "Can fire stop itself from burning the wood? Can mana stop itself from filling a room? They would need outside interference and unless you extinguish it completely, it will always be waiting for a moment to burst free. There needs to be someone of equal power than us to offset our destructive nature. But unless we’re extinguished, we’ll always bring destruction." Anima replied as Shiro was silent.

  "However, it is not a bad thing. The universe will always seek balance. In all things, destruction must be present. For a blade of grass, it absorbs the nutrients from the ground and sun to support its own growth. When it collapses towards one side, the effects are amplified. If a tree was tilted towards the side of life, the power of destruction WILL catch up. The life around the tree will die to bring balance. It’s the same for destruction. With too much destruction, life will seek to fill that void.

  "So I never really cared for the effects I brought if I am to be honest. Because I know balance will be restored. We’re just not the ones that will see it come to fruition. Our power of destruction is simply too strong, too potent. By us leaving our home, our prison, we tipped the scale heavily to the side of destruction. And thus war began. Even if life is trying to catch up, the places we visit will collapse. I’m sure there is a First Born of Creation out there…… Somewhere. And they’ll be undoing our work wherever they visit. I just won’t be able to see them since there is a natural repulsion from the purest destruction and the purest creation. I and whoever is responsible for creation will never be close to one another. Such is the way of the universe."

  "I see……"

  "But while we’re on the topic of balance, I afraid I’ll have to warn you about your city. It is work befitting of someone who wants to bring stability to the new age but it leans too heavily towards the aspect of life. Your utopia while stable now, will crumble in due time. The people within are happy and peaceful but the destructive tendency within their mind is brewing. There is no challenge, no strife and no danger. Soon their existence will begin to crumble due to the imbalance and a breakout of destruction will take place to restore the balance you destroyed. Anarchy will descend to your city and it will be another relic of the past. Why do you think there are so many ruins in the world? Of ’great’ civilisations that seemed like it was a utopia, of a generation that made great advancements in technology? They crumbled from within. The balance tipped towards life and destruction surged forth, ending an era of prosperity and welcoming an age of hardship to its people. Without equal destruction, life will not go on. The progress of life is slow but stable so that destruction is not given time to grow. This stability allows progression. It is also a shield to stop the civilisation from crumbling. But once it becomes to eager, it is time to reset and start over."

  Hearing this, Shiro furrowed her brows.

  "So are we never to bask in the light of creation then?" Shiro asked as her hand tightened around the cup.

  "No. We are beings of the primal destruction. As you grow in power to protect, the nature of our divinity will grow. The primal beings of destruction may never lay eyes upon the balance brought by destruction as their presence will destroy the balance. It is the same with the beings of creation. They bring about the ’perfect’ utopia but do not see it to the end. The moment they seek to build another destruction swallows their world. It is only in the middle where neither the being of creation nor the being of destruction can see that ’peace’ is present. Though funnily enough, ’peace’ is not the peace that you humans desire. Peace is when the universe is in balance, where both life and death meet to create the balanced world that will not crumble. Wars will be waged but life will go on. Even if a civilisation comes to an end another will take its place. Such is the life in the peaceful world. But we will never see it." Anima shrugged while drinking the last remainder of the tea.

  "So everything I worked towards is for naught? That my growth in power will only bring destruction? Was my rebirth what caused this world to be chosen for the next great war to take place?" Shiro asked as Anima was silent for a moment before opening her mouth.

  "It was not for naught, we’ll just never see it. When we were reborn, the balance started to crumble. Why else do you think the world is ’abnormal’ compared to previous standards. We just weren’t in it and our power were weak in comparison. With each age, our power grows stronger as we passively feast off the destruction. As much as Aria would like to delay, she will never see peace so long as she is trying to keep us in check. She is the making of her own prison. Like us, she will never see the peace she so desires. But don’t be disheartened mini me. For within destruction there is will the essence of life. While we may not see ’true’ peace that is everlasting within the centre of life and death, we are still able to find joy in our lives. The universe is not so cruel as to forever doom us to destruction after all. Chaos wishes us well. So seek happiness where it may be. Such is our tenacious nature after all." Anima grinned as Shiro looked towards her.

  "If…… If I continue to grow my power, destruction may follow. But can I still seek to bring balance? If my presence continues to destroy, can I continue to create to offset that destruction and bring even the smallest semblance of peace to my world?" Shiro asked as Anima nodded.

  "Of course you can."

  "Have you ever succeeded?"

  "No. I embraced the fact that I only brought destruction and gave up on creation. Though that might be why I failed and was struck down, the balance was broken. You, on the other hand, may certainly try. I will watch from afar with earnest hopes. Such is the nature of progression after all." Anima smiled before opening her mouth once more.

  "Such is the nature of life."