Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Do you believe in God? 

Perhaps in another universe she would long do for the freedom atheism granted its followers. Perhaps she'll always envy how individuals such as Schpood, Linguini, and even Turntapp could be so… Free. 

She may not like him very much, but she's always been jealous of how Schpood seems to act like nothing at all commands him. As if he was a god who descended to bless Westhelm himself.

She wouldn't admit that.

Perhaps she longed for company. Perhaps it was just the stress of Yggdrasil politics. Whatever it was, it nagged at her. 

It clawed, dragged, sunk, drowned—

She walked elegantly through the wheat fields the Blue Cross nurtured. Her step in rhythm, her posture perfect, just as she was taught. It was expected of her. The Volcano was not forgiving to sinners. 

She entered the room—less of a room and more of a gazebo— and stepped over towards her seat. It has the letters I-N-F-E-R-N-U-S carved into it. She sat down. 

The woman on the other side of her smiled at her. Her namesake had “The Cass Coalition” embedded into the silver plaque, no doubt from Pandora.

“Queen Cynikka of Infernus, I presume?” the woman asked. 

Cynikka nodded, giving confirmation, “Correct.”

She noted the woman in front of her seemed relaxed, even excited, really. She didn't seem to dress too formal either, headphones and a hoodie, or what she assumed to be one. It was too hot around most of Yggdrasil to ever see anyone wear one. Perhaps her armour made up for it. 

“My official name is CallMeCass of the Cass Coalition,” she smiled, “Confusing right? Cass works just fine for me. No need for any fancy titles.”

Cass’s smile looked— seemed genuine. 

Cynikka have a brief nod. It was only respectful. It wasn't as is she didn't like Cass, she actually appreciated her being what she called “on time”— early. The two of them descended into a quiet silence. The type where Cynikka would miss her father, the type where she would instinctively call out for her brother, forgetting he's not here anymore. What was his name? Cynikka couldn't even remember her mother. Did she ever have one?

Cynikka distracted herself from this. Cass has blonde hair. It faded into blue. Her hoodie... Sweater had a moon in it. She seemed shorter than Cynikka. How could she be so relaxed? Was Pandora truly such a paradise? 

More and more people filed in. Cynikka recognized some. 5yder, Westhelm’s finest and second in command. Turntapp, the revered leader of the Covenant. Benji_Button, the ever peaceful and loving leader of Elysium.

He belonged better in Pandora, Cynikka had to confess, it was a nice refresh for Yggdrasil to have him, though. 

Others, she did not recognize. Cynikka heard Cass greet each, sounding familiar yet foreign. Perhaps she has heard their names in passing before. 

SitzKrieg0 of the Commonwealth, most blurred.

Cynikka closed her eyes to silently pray to her beloved Volcano. It was the reason she was here today. She was interrupted by a man marching in, his steps in rhythm.

“And, finally, Fluixon of Luminara decided to show up,” Cass sighed. Cynikka opened her eyes. 

Fluixon…. That sounded familiar.

Fluixon, uncaring, took a seat labeled “Luminara”. Cynikka blinked at him. No doubt this nation was of Pandora, she’d never seen it on Yggdrasil maps. But that man, Fluixon, was not of that island. His gaze and just the way he held himself, that was just too familiar. Yet, no one could have traveled between the two islands until recently (bless Westhelm for conquering the waves of the sea between the islands). It was impossible for him to be Yggdrasil.

The Architect, he called himself. This meeting has already had a bad beginning. Those of Pandora had put down their wishes to supposedly capture the dangerous terrorist named Saparata, one that all Yggdrasili leaders knew very well. In fact, they had just met him yesterday. At least Cynikka and Benji met him yesterday, Emperor Schpood, 5pyder, and Turntapp seemed to have known him beforehand. Somehow, she had gotten mistaken for some other person. Flux. Yes, that’s what Saparata called her. Cynikka was unsure who Flux was, but she had certainly never met Saparata before.

Each of them glanced at each other as Pandoran leaders announced their bounty on his life.

The money would most certainly benefit their nations, that goes with for all of them. It wasn't like they were necessarily poor, far from it. But, compared to Pandora, the Yggdrasil could be considered lower class. 

Each leader had a motive. Each leader also knew that if one turned Saparata in, the other would band together against them in the name of "justice". 

No one spoke up about Saparata.

Fluixon seemed annoyed at that. Which was strange, once Cynikka thought about it. SitzKrieg0 and CallMeCass seemed upset and vengeful, Fluixon just seemed... Inconvenienced. It didn't matter much, at least to Cynikka. She was just fine leaving Pandora to their own devices. Westhelm and the Covenant could care for the so-called terrorist themself. Infernus wouldn't involve themselves in that. 

The conversation flower. The Pandoran leaders seemed confident— even cocky. After their agendas were finally spent, Cass brought up something which very directly addressed the Yggdrasili leaders.

"One of my citizens brought rumors that the island of Yggdrasil has access to the Netherite mineral...? Perhaps would any of the Yggdrasili delegations like to elaborate on those?"

An uneasy silence passed, all other Yggdrasili leaders looked at Cynikka. 

She had to tread very carefully here.

"...yes," Cynikka confirmed cautiously, "Though it isn't very widely used currently."

Cass and Fluixon stared at her, as if she was saying that the people of Yggdrasil didn't drink water.

"And why is that the case?" Fluixon asked, failing to mask the suspiciousian creeping into his voice.

Cynikka was about to open her mouth to reply before being very abruptly cut off by 5ypder.

"All the Netherite located on this island is located under the volcano," 5pyder stated, a matter-of-a-factly, "where Infernus sits. They have not traded or opened mining rights for any other nation yet."

He wasn't wrong, that statement was true. However, it did make her nation look greedy or selfish, which Infernus was not.

The Pandoran leaders looked, putting it nicely, surprised. Obviously. Why would Infernus hoard all the Netherite and not even use or monopolize it? Perhaps Cynikka shouldn't have attended this meeting.

"Infernus has her reasons to not excavate the Netherite," she stated, "Enough damage has been done to the volcano by the 'Linguini Mafia' as is."

One of the other leaders, of the Commonwealth, SitzKrieg0 from what she said remembered, raised his hand to speak.

“If I must intervene, I must say Westhelm is rather eager to encroach on the territory of much smaller nations,” SitzKrieg0 said, calmly, in a way which almost mocked 5pyder.

So there it is, the so-called rivalry between those two nations. Pity Knight_Arcturus fled there. The two countries could’ve probably done wonders had they worked together.

Then again, the Commonwealth, from what she heard, was less of 5 nations and more of just Mykonos now that SitzKrieg0 was the only leader.

5pyder had responded with some remark of the Commonwealth’s own grievances and those two had gotten into an argument— or a “civil debate”, as they called it. Cynikka was unsure of what was truly going on between Westhelm and Mykonos, and so was almost everyone else. Least she dodged the netherite question…. For now.

Nearing the end of the meeting, Fluixon asked a strange question, at least to her.

“Did any of the Yggdrasili nations planned to invade Pandora at all…? I heard some very.., questionable propaganda.”

Someone, a more minor official from one of the nations, almost immediately answered him.

“Not. It was mostly just the Covenant saying that.”

The glare Turntapp gave to the official would have been able to kill a hundred men.

“But the Covenant was going to invade us, right?” Fluixon asked, almost desperately.

“Honestly? Probably not. The sentiment against Pandora was present months, perhaps years ago, not anymore.”

Fluixon forced a smile. A fake one at that. No one seemed to notice.

Strange.

Did she know him from somewhere?

Chapter Text

How hungry would you get for faith?

A stranger leads a girl and boy deeper into the snowy forest. Away from the burning tundra empire which they once may have known as home. Soon, it would just be a distant memory of what was. Their emperor lay with the ashes of his city, dying with it.

They reach the coast and begin the journey across to the colonies.

Cynikka can’t recall what happens after.

Fluixon approached her after the meeting.

“Queen Cynikka… of Infernus,”

He held out his hand for a handshake.

She debated taking it. She did anyway

He inquired about obtaining the netherite from HER volcano. He said Luminara would appreciate it and they would supply Infernus with other goods. Cynikka still refused. Fluixon looked irritated. Surprisingly, he didn’t push it.

He asked about Saparata. Fluixon knew he was on the island of Yggdrasil. In fact, he had apparently escaped on Luminara’s very own bridge they had built while their previous ruler, 3Below0, had been alive. He was supposedly assassinated by Saparata’s Conspiracy. Something felt familiar about 3Below0’s name. Still, Fluixon was probably just fishing for information. It was sort of stupid.
In fact, the Yggdrasili leaders weren’t very good at hiding anything for long. Saparata wasn’t even in hiding anymore, blindly parading around with the Covenant and Westhelm as his insurance. Blessed Volcano, she had half a mind to just tell Fluixon where he was, his arrogance (or how cocky Cynikka perceived him) was sickening. 

Cynikka didn’t fully believe Saparata, however she did not think he was guilty either.

She smiled and shook her head. Better to deny knowing anything than involve herself more in this mess of a situation.

That only made Fluixon more irritated. 

It didn't matter.

Cynikka walked away from that conversation, leaving Fluixon alone with only the rest of Pandora, arranging ships back home where they came from.

As she walked away, she heard a conversation between Fluixon and another. Something about it being an outrage…

The Volcano was Cynikka’s home. No matter how far she travelled, no matter what path she decided to tread, that was always a constant. As the world moved on from the old gods, Infernus was the last of the polytheistic nations out there. Some call it stupidity, why hold on to a false idol? Except it was real, at least it felt real.
Deep down, Cynikka knew the Volcano was just as regretful, just as unpredictable, as any human was. The Volcano was not an all-knowing god, Lady Lava wasn’t a beloved mother, caring for all her followers. It was cruel, she was ruthless.

And perhaps that's what Infernus needed in a time like this. A time where larger powers believed in Darwinism, believed in “might makes right”.
Of course, they couldn’t all be winners, could they?
A winner required a loser, just as a police would require a criminal. Both hated each other to an extent, both also required each other to exist. It was two sides of the same coin.

The next few days were a blur of negotiations, reiterating to the new continent of nations that, yes, Infernus was not giving it up.

Westhelm, Infernus’s own neighbor, had begun pressuring them increasingly. It was laughable, really. Still, there was some level of concern. Westhelm was a large nation, perhaps only second to the Cass Coalition.

The situation had really been enlightening to who truly was friends of Infernus. Elysium, Nevermore, the Southern Alliance. Bless their souls.

Pandora nations never really reached out to many on her island, though she heard that the Commonwealth had found out about Westhelm and the Covenant harboring Saparata. They were supposedly pretty pissed off.

Let them be.

Cynikka didn’t remember much of her family. She knew she had a father, everyone did. She could vaguely make out two siblings, though how they looked and what they were called was lost to her. All she knew was that a stranger had dropped her off at a small church devoted to the volcano while the area north of Infernus had been a colony of the former Aculon Empire. All they knew was she had arrived around the time which they assumed the heart of the empire collapsed. It wasn't uncommon, really. The devastation of the war on mainland Aculon resulted in a lot of orphans and families fleeing to safer areas. She assumed she was among the mix.

Cynikka knew that someone who was important had been connected to her before she arrived at Yggdrasil. Though, she only knew this from a note which had been stuffed into the sleeve of her dress she wore that day.

“My little Cynikka,

I know I’m not supposed to talk to you. Your father decree that I was to be banished for supporting Turkey. Lord bless him. I didn’t agree with him, but I don’t want him dead. Tomorrow, tell Mr.3below to tell Emperor Elanuelo to stay far, far away. It’s not a battle he can win. Tell him to give up on Aculon, to have some self preservation and just live on. I don’t want to see his name on the top of the casualty list. Leave with him, you and █████. Despite everything, I still care. You’re running out of time. Stay safe. I hope one day I can meet you all again under better circumstances.

Love,

E███”

She had assumed 3Below was a random servant or guard in Aculon, yet earlier Fluixon mentioned his name, stating he was the previous ruler of Luminara. Strange. Pandora wasn’t even close to Aculon, in fact it couldn’t have been farther away. She knew Elanuelo was the last Aculonian ruler and AFreakinTurkey was a de facto ruler of Aculon due to his paranoia of assassination. Elanuelo supposedly killed Turkey in cold blood to prevent the common people from living in better conditions. That was the story the Alliance told anyways. Whoever E was, she did not know. It wasn’t like ItzzEnder of the Republic of Aculon gave out much information anyways.

At least she was raised with proper faith. She couldn’t understand how people could exist and not believe in a higher being, not believe in salvation, that better times will come. Perhaps they just wanted some easy benefits.

Honestly? Faith wasn’t supposed to be easy. Lady Lava wasn’t forgiving.

But, if push comes to shove, Cynikka of Aculon Infernus would starve for her faith.