"Delores? Why are you here?" Tallia asked weakly as she looked up at who she thought was the person that delivered the Goddesses their golden eggs.

"Oh, I just wanted to see how this would play out. I have to say, I am impressed! You are quite the fighter!" Kadeon exclaimed as he looked down at Tallia with a smile.

"But Galio is in trouble! I have to go to him!" Tallia exclaimed as she tried to get up, but she was too weak.

"And you will, my child," Kadeon said as he knelt down and picked Tallia up in his arms. "But first, you need to rest. You have done enough for one day."

Kadeon opened the portal, and they walked through it back a golden temple. As they walked, Kadeon looked down at Tallia with a smile.

"You really are something special, Tallia. I can see why the boy loves you so much," Kadeon said, and Tallia blushed.

"I love him too," Tallia said, and Kadeon chuckled.

"I know, my child. I know. This is your first time, right? What do you think of my home? Do you like it?" Kadeon asked, and Tallia nodded.

"It's beautiful," Tallia said, and Kadeon smiled.

"Yes, it is. Just like you," Kadeon said, and Tallia blushed again.

When they arrived back at the temple, Kadeon placed Tallia down on her bed and covered her up.

"Rest now, Tallia. When you are feeling better, you can go to him," Kadeon said, and Tallia nodded.

"Wait! I can't just leave him! Galio needs me! He could die!" Tallia exclaimed, but Kadeon shook his head.

"No, my child. Galio is not going to die," Kadeon said, and Tallia looked at him in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Tallia asked, and Kadeon chuckled.

"Time is frozen until you return because Ophiuchus has lost his balance. While he is like this, everything will start to warp, and it will affect everything. You coming here was the very best thing that you could have done, but you need to rest now so you can be at your best when you face him again," Kadeon said, and Tallia nodded.

"Okay," Tallia said, and Kadoen placed a hand on her forehead, causing her to instantly fall asleep.

Instantly, three hooded and robed Guides stood before Kadeon. Hellios, Angelios, and Apocolios were all on edge.

"I hope you are not going to try to say that you have this under control?" Apocolios asked with crossed arms, but Hellios stepped right up to the God of Light.

"This was not supposed to happen! This is all your fault and it is going to ruin everything! You know what will happen if Balance is upset! That child is about to tear everything we have ever worked for apart!" Hellios snapped, but Kadeon's smile didn't break

"What would you suggest I do? You all are the ones playing the dangerous game by hiding this from him. I will be the one that he comes to after this is all over as the savior! It was only natural that things would go this way," Kadeon said, and Angelios sighed.

"You are being foolish, Brother. You know as well as I do that telling him too soon could unravel everything. This is on us for not being able to keep Ophiuchus in check," Angelios said, and Hellios gritted his teeth before turning away.

"What are we going to do then?" Apocolios asked, and Kadeon sighed as he walked over and sat down on his throne.

"I am going to have to go talk to him myself," Kadeon said, and the Guides all looked at him in disbelief.

"You know that is against the rules!" Hellios snapped, but Kadeon just shrugged his shoulders.

"What rules? The ones that you three thought would be a good idea? Or should I just leave him?!" Kadeon said with his voice rising. "You are the ones to blame here! You all seem to think that you are all part of your own game, but you seem to forget that I am the one that controls everything!"

"You will not be going anywhere near that boy!" Nemoria snapped as a portal black as night snapped open, and the Goddess of Darkness and all that shadows touched marched out to stab her finger into Kadeons chest. "You might think that you are smarter than the rest of us, but I already knew that you would try to do something this stupid, and I was prepared!"

"What are you talking about? Do you see your son right now?!" Kadeon snapped, trying to stand up, but shadows pinned him down.

"Yes, my child looks beautiful, Pretender," Nemoria said, and Kadeon tried to move, but he was frozen in place. "I have been protecting him since the day he was born by using my power to keep you away. It is because of me that my son will rule everything as it should be!"

"What are you talking about? He needs me! I am the only one that can help him now!" Kadeon snapped, trying to break free from the shadows.

"No, what he needs is a strong mother that will guide him into his destiny!" Nemoria snapped as she looked down at Kadeon with a look of triumph. "And that is something that you could never give him!"

"You know that you can't go down there either, right?" Hellios asked but flinched back when Nemoria turned her burning gaze on the three Guides.

"Yes, I do, and I do not need to go down. None of us do. But I am taking the girl with me. Ophi would never forgive me if I left her with you," Nemoria said as she walked from the struggling Kaedon, who was starting to become brighter. "You will not have your way, Pretender. While I will not ruin the test, I also will not let you control all parts of it."

"Do you think that I will just let you take her?!" Kadeon roared, but no matter what he did, he could not break the shadows.

"Yes, I do, but my, how ugly you look when you lose your temper. My sweet child is feeding from my power now, not yours. You know what that means, right? While Ophiuchus in this state is not good, when this beautiful creature helps my son to return, I will be in the lead, and everything that I have been forced to do will finally mean something! I will not let you rule in the new world!"

Nemoria gently picked up Tallia as Kadeon struggled futilely, but it was no use. Nemoria was right, and with the boy, as he was, Kadeon was now the lesser of the Balance. If this continued, things were not going to go as the self-named True God had planned, but because of Balance, he was all but powerless at this moment. Kadeon would have to work on a new plan to earn back his son's favor, or his title of True God, which he had already dubbed himself, would mean nothing.

"You win this round, Nemoria, but I will become what I was always meant to be! Even you know that the power of light will always triumph over darkness!" Kaedon growled, but Nemoria only smiled as she walked over to the portal that swallowed the light, but she stopped before walking through with the sleeping Tallia.

"This is not a fairy tale, and you would do well to drop such an immature view of things, Pretender. My son is no white knight, nor is he a dark one. What path he chooses to take will be decided by him and him alone, but she will learn the reason when she is so important. This is something that is allowed, right?" Nemoria asked as she looked over at the three Guides, who were extremely quiet during this exchange between Gods.

"You may, but she is not allowed to reveal it to Ophiuchus," Apocolios said, and Nemoria nodded with a smile.

"I will see to it that she doesn't," Nemoria said, then turned and left, the portal closing behind her, releasing Kadeon, who screamed out in rage.