"The time has come," said Yunan to those sitting on his table, they were the major players in the alliance, those who had the true authority, and he was the one to lead them. Although the meeting room seemed full, it was small, just enough to seat the three dozen gods, give or take a few.
Most of these were first-timers, they knew who he was, but couldn't see through him, some wanted to issue challenges, some wanted to watch a good show by instigation and whispering taunts, the rest knew not to poke a bear, even if it looked docile and clawless.
"War is coming, call it glory, horror, evil and whatever else you may think it is, we are fighting it and no one can prevent this war, it is not about supremacy nor about control, it is about survival for us, for our families, our worshippers and our entire universe. In this room, gods from all corners of the universe stand side by side, that is the true purpose for this prison planet, and we have achieved it as best as possible".
Yunan then ushered to Death asking him to explain a few points just to bring these gods up to date.
"You should all know who I am, Death, the guardian of the council, well, that is bullcrap, I am not a guardian, I am their monitor, they are here to perform a mission on behalf of beings you shall know about soon enough, these councilmen and women are not from this universe, neither am I, we are the same as the creator, all came from other universes and we're chosen by these mighty entities, you may also have heard about avatars, those are native gods who are chosen by the great beings."
Death did not look at the faces and sat silent for a moment, letting the gravity of the situation sink in, just before anyone could say anything, he continued, his voice steady and blocking anyone from interrupting him.
"These great and mighty beings chose the universes that provide them with faith through a battle between newly matured universes, it is called the culling, and each culling witnesses the end of many universes, thankfully, this universe is still juvenile and we have some time left, this prison planet was created to deal with the council and hinder their mission or completely stop it, prepare for the culling by eliminating all those who may cause harm to this universe"
"As for those great beings, well, they seem to enjoy the situation and have decided to not interfere, the council must accomplish their goals, the avatars must spread the faith of their overlords, and this kid, he gets to ruin everything as best as he could.''
Death then leaned back quietly in his chair and left the details to his fellows to explain, eventually, the hall calmed down, the gods got all the information they needed to have and let the rest be. When the restlessness settled, Yunan continued his talk.
"All of you here are burdened with the weight of an entire universe, if you have no power to fight, then you have the power to build, if you have neither, then you can help with organisation, there are places that need every single one of you, the universe needs you, if you, your subordinates, or anyone related to you wish to step out from under this burden then please leave us immediately, our mission is too big to carry the weight of others, therefore you have one week, chose to stay or leave, there will be no consequences for this instance and this one only."
Yunan stood up soon after, he left the gods to debate among themselves, they would provide more desirable results if he and his retinue were not around, of course, Debauchery, unknown to most gods, were playing the part of instigators, pulling on any string that was required to get as many gods to stick with the alliance.
Yunan was ready to disband the alliance after the war was over, it would exist in name only. When every living god in the universe had killed to achieve a modicum of serenity, they will be easier to control, especially if they thought they were free, even the grand speech from the meeting was just another rope to tie them with, the ego of a god would not allow them to accept the idea of being manipulated, they would accept being forced to do something, because strength signified authority, manipulation was beyond gods, it was tactics to be used on mortals.
It did not take long before Leader came with the news, not a single god chose to leave, some asked for different assignments and positions to better suit their skills rather than divinity, the report was followed by a very bitter "well played".
"You guys know the drill by now, keep busy, I think it is time to go poke the council out of their holes". Those were the words he left behind before he left Dreamscape, he was sure that the council and the avatars had spies infiltrate his domain in the last ten years, he would deal with those when the time comes, for now, he wanted both factions to prepare for large scale war.
His footsteps took him to where the council had erected their domain, according to the information obtained, this was the heart of the influence of the council of over-gods. Tasha was floating gently above ground, she seemed to be waiting for him, these ten years should have been enough to sway her, so he only smiled at her and stood before her, he was standing on the ground, and she floated before him, looking down on him, through her scowl he could see melancholy and heartbreak.
"Took you long enough,'' she said, "are the terms still valid?" She slowly got down to ground level, looking Yunan in the eye this time "you were right, it is dead, a husk, nothing but dirt and rubble, you win, as long as you don't kill me, I will do anything you ask for, it no longer matters, you hold the key to my revenge, give me my revenge and whatever you ask for is yours".