Finally, you arrive.

You are walking straight into the setting sun, and it’s almost blindingly bright, but this is the way the powerlines lead, and Chirek insists you keep moving until sunset. He doesn’t say it, but whispers spread through the trialcats that Chirek has started glancing over his shoulder more and more, anxiously watching the massive storm grow in the distance. It is weird that this storm has not ceased its endless rumbling since you fell back into your real world over five weeks ago.

The powerlines have been leading you up a steady slope for a while now, but the first of the group has finally started to reach the crest, stopping for some reason. When you finally reach them, your breath is taken away.

Ahead of you is the ocean. The sun is lowering into it, bright orange and yellow, sparkling off the vast expanse of sea. And between you and the sea is the ruins of an ancient human city.

The powerlines you had been following go straight into it. But there are more lines, too, coming from all different directions, all traveling into the distant city. You all stand there for a moment, marveling at the sight, before a few cats begin the descent down the slope, towards this place where you’ve been promised power.

It takes another half hour of walking to actually find yourself between buildings. As you had gotten closer, the powerlines over your head had gotten louder, pulsing faster and faster, before splitting into smaller wires and dispersing throughout the streets. You look around, follow some of the wires, looking for some sort of a secret to unlock. The sun is falling beneath the sea, and you feel like you should find something before night sets in. Chirek is leading the way, but he seems as lost as you.

“I thought--” he starts, shaking his head. It almost seems as if he’s talking to himself. “I thought there’d be...something more obvious.”

As soon as he’s finished speaking, there is a quiet, distant rumbling noise. But not from the sky, which you’d grown used to at this point. It’s from something...below.

Chirek’s eyes widen and his fur stands on end, but you can’t see why until he looks down at his paws. He’s standing on a circular metal plate, flush with the pavement. It looks like it’s quivering, and for a second Chirek looks up at you, starts to cry out-- before the hatch opens, swallows him whole, and snaps shut again.

Someone darts forward to try to catch your guide, but they’re too late. It happened too fast. You make sure you aren’t also standing on one of those mysterious hatches, but the rumbling noise has stopped, and you don’t see anything else suspicious about these streets.

“What are we going to do now?” someone says.

“What if there’s no power here?”

“Don’t be ridiculous-- what else would have taken Chirek?”

“We need to find him!”

The cats around you begin to bicker, and you notice right then, for some reason, that the sun has fallen, and the sky has turned from a bright orange to the soft purple of early nighttime. And then as the sun goes completely, it's as if color has been leached from the city. Lingering hues of the evening are sapped away, leaving everything bizarrely greyscale.

It is when you are examining the sky that you notice… the city has come to life.

You can hear noises coming from the buildings now. The soft sound of metal clanging together, of doors opening and closing, of voices floating through broken windows. It has a rhythm to it that, at first, you can’t quite pinpoint. But then you realize--it’s the same soft thrumming the powerlines had.

After a few moments, the sky has gotten even a bit darker, and the city begins to light up. But not how you’d seen cities illuminated in books, but rather… with more life.

There are suddenly odd plants snaking up the sides of the buildings that hadn’t been there moments ago, glowing soft greens and whites. Little creatures, unlike anything you’ve ever seen before, scurry out from the holes in the grounds and alleyways like rats, but they are all different, all varying in size. They are all semi-transparent, glowing different shades of pink and orange and blue and teal and just about every other color. You catch movement overhead, and see massive whale-like beasts drifting slowly between the buildings, high overhead, making soft, slow noises at one another.

And then the doors of the buildings around you start to open, and the ghosts emerge.

They are all sorts of different creatures, no two of them the same. Tall things with beaks that have to duck to not hit their heads in doorways. Long slithering creatures with nothing but whiskers all over their muzzles with ten legs. Two-legged insects that bounce and skit around. They all speak, all mingle like they haven’t seen each other in days. Hardly any of them pay attention to you, only the few closest glancing your direction, as if annoyed you are taking up space where they want to walk.

This city is ancient, but it is anything but dead.

”OH. MY. GOD.”

You turn around, and one of the ghostly creatures is staring at you all with a wide open mouth and four eyes widened in awe. It has four legs, and two arms in which it is clutching what looks to be a book of some sort to its weird, transparent chest.

”AHHH!” he squeals with absolute delight, and rushes towards you. You might have felt inclined to turn and bolt the other direction at the creepy creature, but it seems so utterly thrilled to see you there that you can’t feel threatened. ”You’re here! You’re finally here! Oh, just perfect, too! I was worried you wouldn’t make it in time.”

You have no idea what he means, but he clearly has no intention of explaining, words flying out of his odd mouth so fast you barely have time to think. ”You’ve already lost your guide, hm? Yes, I can see by the looks on your faces--no worries friends, for this has been prophesied since the stars first shone! You will find him again, I assure you, you will!” He is almost too excited, it seems, to keep speaking for a moment. His spectacles have slipped down his nose, but he pushes them back up and composes himself.

"Right! So. You must already know this by now, but we believe you have come to our glorious haven to uncover the secret that lies here. As destiny has foretold! Not a single wisp here has been able to uncover it for as long as we have existed. When you uncover the secret, you shall find your friend! But hurry! You only have a few days left, after all!” he chuckles to himself, as if he didn’t just say something quite ominous.

You don’t have time to ask him to elaborate before he straightens up, his face alight with glee. ”Right, then!! Since I am the one who has found you, that makes me your new guide! I am Ludlow, and I will be reconvening with you every so often. I have a few people to contact...” his eyes have a faraway look in them as he taps his chin thoughtfully, muttering to himself “Oh no, the Witches will want to be hearing about this immediately!” He snaps out of his thoughts and smiles widely at you. “I must go now, but please, explore, look for what you must, I’m sure there are many things in this city that will have meaning to you. Oh, this is so exciting! Finally, the prophecy will be fulfilled!”

Without waiting for another second, Ludlow spins and scrambles away, leaving you all alone and baffled in the middle of this bustling city.

As you all gather at the city square, word spreads quickly; the imposter has been found. And what’s worse— he’s more than a liar. He’s a god. He’s a killer. And his intentions still remain mostly unclear.

Kaulu sits perched atop a pile of rubble, seeming almost obnoxiously pleasant to everyone. If you knew him before, you know how odd it is to see him behaving in such a casual and comfortable way. What had happened to the shy, skittish teammate you’d fought monsters alongside with? Had he ever been real? What did he want with you now?

Only adding to the uncertainty is Oordeel, sitting alone at the edge of the city square, glaring at anyone who dares get near. Despite his hostile demeanor, he seems just as confused and unsure what to do as you all do. He keeps glancing at Kaulu before his gaze scrapes across the crowd, as if waiting for someone to make the first move. Chirek, too, sits alone, avoiding any contact with anyone. His body is transparent now, and you hear the whispers; he isn’t real. He never was.

After what seems like far too long, Kaulu stands and stretches. “Well! Now that you’re all here, let’s get some things straightened—”

“Why did you kill those cats?”

“Why are you helping Helena?”

“Did you really create the Red Plague?”

“Who are you?”

The questions fly out of the crowd all at once, voices overlapping and jumbling together. Kaulu’s eyes light up. “So eager!” he says, tail flicking excitedly. “You’ve always been so sharp. I should have known you wou—“

“GET HIM!”

You aren’t sure who had said it, but it doesn’t matter— the next moment erupts into chaos. A surge of cats push forward suddenly. Mavikus and Arrow, who had been guarding Kaulu’s impromptu throne, are forcefully tossed aside. While Lucreta holds aside Mavikus, and Florian distracts Arrow, more cats rush forward. Dog and Muttonchops leap up the pile of rubble and slam Kaulu to the ground. The brown cat thrashes.

“M-Muttonchops! C’mon! Y-you know me! It’s still me—” Kaulu’s words cut off as Oliver steps forward, wind rushing around him, pulling the air right from Kaulu’s lungs. Kaulu thrashes even more, his back legs kicking out violently, but Hannelore lunges forward and pins him down more, just as Spencer leaps up to the pile, dagger glinting between his jaws.

Kaulu sees the blade and begins to panic even more. He twists, yanking his front leg from Dog’s grip, and slashes his claws forward. The gust of wind smashes into Oliver face-first. The green soul is thrown backwards, slamming into Spencer and knocking them both off the perch. Spencer seems dazed, but Oliver is completely out of it.

Kaulu snarls. “I thought friends didn’t kill friends, kid!” he snaps, seeming furious now. He thrashes even more, wind whipping around, and Hannelore and Muttonchops are losing their grip on the struggling tom.

Another cat leaps up; Milky. A cloud of sleeping gas emits from her mouth and envelops around Kaulu’s head. The imposter’s movements slow, and he coughs. “M-Milky—” Kaulu chokes, and shakes his head again, his eyes clearing. “C-c’mon. You didn’t really think that would work on me?”

The cats are losing their battle against the struggling cat, and more cats are pressing forward, ready to join or intervene, but it doesn’t matter. Because Spencer pulls out a small golden trinket; an hourglass. He turns it in his paws, and for a moment Kaulu’s eyes widen in terror. As the sand falls from one side to the other, Spencer almost seems to teleport; one moment he’s standing on the ground next to Oliver, and the next, he’s sitting atop of Kaulu’s chest with the dagger plunged deep into the tom’s heart.

Kaulu gasps; deep and gurgling. The cats restraining him let go as he rolls over and stumbles, trying to get away, but blood pours out of his chest and he falls, collapsing at the edge of the rubble pile. He lifts his head shakily, his eyes wide with alarm and fear, and locks eyes with Milky. “Milky,” he gasps. “Pl-please…” Forcing the words out was too much; Kaulu shudders, then collapses, still.

Silence hangs in the air for what feels like too long. One single voice breaks it.

“You idiots,” growls Oordeel, shaking his head.

And then Kaulu coughs again. It sounds so unlike him, like a voice is coming from something much larger than the scrawny teammate you’d all known. He picks himself up off the ground, the fur on his shoulders spiking. His limbs look unusually long, his ears too pointy. Had he always looked like that? Kaulu’s tail bushes, and you realize...he’s changing.

Pulling back the veil.

“That... fucking... hurt!” Kaulu bellows, suddenly seeming so large, so ferocious. His tail whips around, and in a blast of magenta light, all the cats on the rubble pile are knocked backwards. The dagger clatters to the ground at Spencer’s paws. When Kaulu finally turns, a grin splitting his muzzle, he’s no longer a cat.

A coyote. A god.

His tail is made of what looks like stardust, and the scruff of fur on his shoulders has bright magenta and teal feathers poking out. Stars dance across the fur on his paws, and his grin, too wide, too stretched, swipes across the crowd as if he’s gauging your reactions. His eyes briefly land on Beet.

“Beet! Hey, here,” Kaulu says, pulling out Beet’s old hat and tossing it to the red soul. “This is probably too small for my head now. But thank you, friend! That was the first gift I’ve ever received from a mortal. I loved it!”

“Cut the bullshit, Kaulu,” Oordeel snaps from where he’d shouldered his way to the front of the crowd. “What are you doing here? What do you want?” He tossed a glance at Chirek. “How did you manage to create fake cats like that?”

“Oordeeeeeeel!” Kaulu sing-songs. His tail whips back and forth, scattering stars into the air. His gaze darkens. “No one told you yet! Did you really think I was just some minor insignificant chaos god? After everything? You thought Helena created the Plague on her own? You think she gained the power to rip holes in the universe on her own?”

Oordeel pauses, looking confused and annoyed. “I don’t have the patience for your riddles, mutt,” Oordeel snarls. “Why are you helping Helena?”

“Jealous?” Kaulu sneers, rising to his paws. He drops into a stance that reminds you far too much of a hunting crouch. “Let me even the playing field.”

Before Oordeel can react, Kaulu lunges for him. There is a brief, awful moment where Kaulu straightens up, holding Oordeel’s neck in his jaws with the black cat thrashing uselessly against the canine’s jaws. And then Oordeel’s entire neck begins to... glow. White light turns to gold, then shifts to green between Kaulu’s teeth, and Oordeel begins to cry out in agony. You’re sure he’s going to die. Kaulu is killing him. Oordeel is frantic, throwing his claws and what little powers he has left at Kaulu’s chest, but the coyote god doesn’t even seem phased.

And then Kaulu tosses Oordeel aside like a ragdoll. The black cat lands in front of the crowd of cats, his body weak and shaking. Kaulu is watching him like a starving dog watches its prey die. Oordeel’s glowing neck only gets brighter, more agonizing, and more parts of Oordeel begin to glow— his back, his tail, his face. It’s blinding, unbearable to even look at, but you force yourself anyway; you watch as Oordeel’s entire body lights up, and you watch as...as he grows.

When the glow finally fades, Oordeel is alive. And more than alive, he’s standing, sure on his feet, looking healthier and more real than he had just moments before. A gold necklace adorns his neck, his tail vanishes into black smoke, his cheek fur looks like black clouds. And as he stands there, Oordeel opens his huge, pitch-black wings, and he smiles.

This is Oordeel, the God of Judgement. And his wings are back.

“Feel better?” Kaulu snarls with glee. “Believe me now?”

Oordeel turns to him, and a smile stretches across his face. There is a gleam in his eyes that you can only describe as pure power— and Oordeel looks, for a moment, drunk on it.

“You fucking fool,” Oordeel says, his voice a mixture of disbelief and thrill. Kaulu smiles. “Do you know what you just did? I can do it myself now. I can stop Helena.” His paws begin to glow bright green. “And this time I won’t hold back.”

“I wouldn’t count on that,” Kaulu sings, but the green has enveloped Oordeel, and then he is gone.

Kaulu stares at the spot where Oordeel had just been for a moment longer, then turns to the crowd with a grin. “Oh, shit, you’re still here? Alright. Oordeel will be back. Until then! I’m sure you have some questions! Hold on tight!”

The world around you begins to violently spin, and then it’s over, and you’re standing in a very different place.