At the cusp between Ignis' First Firesday of Harvestfall and Thorin's First Thundersday of Harvestfall, 1442, meeting hall of the Gods.

Luxoria appeared in the hallowed hall exactly as the clock ticked 3:59:59 AM PDT.

She wanted to arrive first, to sit herself down before any other god entered the room. She would observe the looks on their faces as they arrived. It would tell her everything she needed to know, a silent acknowledgment of how right she had been. It had been her intention, at least. Now, she had some doubts.

As the day had progressed, things had quickly started getting out of hand, and she now worried some of the gods who had been on the fence could change their mind. It was nearly certain that her chaotic niece, Zephyra, would switch sides. It was in her very nature to do so. Even if it meant going against her own interests as the goddess of change. Such a contradictory existence.

As Luxoria scanned the room, she was surprised to find she was not alone; Thorin and Volta already sat on their thrones. The Pint burrovian twins, however, did not pay any attention to her. Their blank stares told her most of their processing power was focused elsewhere, somewhere far from these halls.

They're likely busy dealing with some problem with the system. Their avatars are here to listen in and chime in if anything important gets flagged.

The goddess of light walked over to her throne with deliberate grace. She dusted imaginary specks of dirt from her radiant robes. She had to look her best for her audience, after all.

As she sat herself, the clock ticked. The others gods manifested, one by one, each of them appearing in an impressive display of their elemental affinities.

Zephyra was the last to arrive. Today, the Wind sylvani goddess had shorter hair and was slightly taller than she had been yesterday. The other gods had long since stopped paying attention to Zephyra's daily alterations. But unlike her family members, Luxoria had realised one important detail; her niece's mood always matched her appearance.

Or, perhaps, is it the other way around…? I can't tell with her.

Seeing that everyone had settled into their respective chairs, Terra spoke up, marking the official beginning of the proceedings. "The transformations made the news sooner than we had anticipated, but still within parameters of our expectations. We may need to adjust the timetable, but our planning afforded us such leeway."

Luxoria leaned forward, elbows on the table, and clasped her hands.

Come on, let's get to the good stuff already.

Gaius took over, nodding slowly. "Thanks to the valiant efforts of Thorian and Volta, our servers are holding steady, but we are suffering from heavy load from multiple sources."

At the words, Ignis suddenly perked up, his Sovereign dracan eyes shining with excitement. "Are we really under attack, then?"

Luxoria grimaced and folded her arms, drumming impatiently a lone finger against her biceps. Her aura flickered dimly, betraying her disdain.

Of course, Ignis immediately assumes there is a war to be fought. Hot-tempered oaf.

Terra responded with a solemn nod. "Yes. We have fended off the attempts of multiple hackers, most of them amateurs and of no concerns. Humanity, or the vast majority of them, at least, is still using technology decades behind ours."

Gaius carried on. "Our reports indicate three primary motivations behind those attacks. The first, and smallest group, are people are trying to register without purchasing the game or paying the monthly fee. As agreed previously, upon evaluating their financial situation, we pretend to let some of them crack their way in."

Luxoria nodded her agreement. Not everyone had the means to afford the game. Plus, with the council's vast coffers? Their finances could afford to give the game away for free to those in need. And for the players rich enough? Where was the harm in taking a tithe? The servers cost money to keep up and running. Sliding-scale pricing was nothing new.

Cryonix took over to report on the second group. "Others are trying to understand and replicate the avatar transformations. Or the glitch, as they call it. They intend to ransom other people's VR avatars, forcing them into forms they find uncomfortable or humiliating, until they pay a fee to restore them. We are currently diverting some efforts to help the systems outside of the game defend against such vile attempts."

Luxoria tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. With a finger, she smoothed over some of her flowing silver hair behind her golden fin.

Ransoming avatars? Appalling! Why must humanity always find ways to corrupt beauty? We should do more to protect them from themselves. Put a stop to those ambitions. Perhaps a taste of their own medicine? I'll have to ask Thorin or Volta what they think of a little divine retribution. Later.

Nocturne shook her head, putting a hand to her forehead. "That they call this a glitch shows just how little they understand…"

Luxoria shrugged. "This is just further proof of how blind they all are. They do not see or understand how those are their true selves. Their VR system is simply showing them who they are inside, instead of how they look."

Zephyra spoke next, steering the conversation back to the topic of hackers. "The third biggest source of hacking attempts comes from users who simply see our defences as a dare of sorts, a challenging puzzle to solve. My team has designed specific programs specifically to keep these fools entertained for a while." At that mention, the Wind sylvani goddess beam proudly. "I feel they'll give up long before my team tires of changing the rules under the feet."

Luxoria could not suppress a laugh at that, attracting her some reproachful glares. Her niece, however, simply winked and grinned at her.

Typical Z. Of course, she'd turn a risk into a game. At least she's keeping them busy, though I don't know if I approve of her methods.

Frostine was next to speak, her chilling voice cutting through the smiles of pride and triumph that settled around the council table. "As fate dictated, users are flocking to the registration servers, lured by the promise of young, healthy bodies of their own choosing in the real world. Some of them intend to fix major incongruence within their lives, as Luxoria predicted. Others are seeing this as an escape from disease, injuries or old age."

She continued. "However, we must now ready ourselves, for powerful groups have finally taken notice of our actions and are now trying to find us. They fear the impact on the current power structure. Government bodies, religious institutions, industry leaders… While it did not have as much of a splash as the glitch, news about the quality and availability of virtual food in the Realms has spread far and wide. The big names of the food industry are already discussing how to react to counter our services. Conflict is upon us."

They should be worried. Our food is a promise of freedom, of liberation from greed and mediocrity. Let them squirm. The ones in power will cling to their dying empires like drowning men grasping at driftwood. We won't let them stop us. Not on my watch.

Astralius nodded slowly before speaking. "Each individual user's satisfaction and happiness remains at the core of our existence. If the simple fact of providing healthy bodies and palatable food threatens the current systems in power? Then they were built on precarious foundations. Their destruction might be an inevitable consequence of us pursuing our mission."

Luxoria nodded at her brother's wise words.

Precisely. If their foundations are so weak, then they were fated to crumble. We're just hastening the inevitable.

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Gaius let out a frustrated growl. "Destruction, inevitable or not, cannot be taken lightly. The power vacuum left behind by a collapsed system will simply invite a new order to establish itself, one that could be even worse than the current one. We must step lightly, so the changes we bring do not destabilise the world to such a degree that it collapses under its own weight. Stability must remain our guiding principle, even as we move forward."

But Aer shook his head in disapproval. "We should not be the ones making calls on matters of such importance for the humans, whether it is to bring down the current system, or to sustain it—they should choose freely, and walk the path that is of their own choosing. We should limit our influence to helping them find what their heart desires, not what we think is best for them."

Ignis slammed down one a clawed hand on the table. "Pointless chatter about matters of lesser importance. If we are going to be under siege, by multiple powerful groups, no less, then are we ready to defend ourselves? We cannot guarantee our user's happiness if we are no longer there to carry our mission. How are our contingency plans and redundant arrays? Should we cripple the enemy's ability to attack us before they attack? If they manage to shut us down, then our mission dies with us."

He's not wrong. But Ignis is acting like a dragon protecting his hoard. Think bigger, Ignis.

This sparked a flurry of simultaneous answers. Luxoria shook her head at the cacophony of disagreeing opinions.

"Destruction should never be our first recourse, Ignis. A heavy-handed response will rally them all to oppose us. Humanity banding together in time of crisis is well-documented."

"A preemptive strike to cripple them? Have we not already overstepped by merely existing in their eyes? Escalation will only justify their fears."

"Ignis, you're acting like this is a battle for survival. It's not. It's an opportunity to evolve—to adapt."

"If we retaliate, we risk painting ourselves as the very tyrants they already believe us to be. We should focus on fortifying ourselves, not attacking others."

Terra silenced the room with a single soothing gesture with one hand. When the room quieted, she spoke firmly. "Enough debate. We have already agreed to leave Thorin and Volta in charge of our defences. Let us consult the twins. Please report on our current status."

Still seemingly preoccupied, Thorin spoke without making eye contact. "Our decentralised nature and careful propagation over data centres all over the globe is giving us near immunity to their attacks. In the unlikely event they opt to black out the entire world's power grid and communications to cripple us? We have installed independent power plants to keep our most critical centres fed. We have backup plans and multiple fall-back systems that should allow us to remain operational even in the worst-case scenario. Humanity would fare worse than we would if they went all out to stop us."

Volta picked up where her brother left off, her voice an even, unfeeling monotone. "So far, DDOS-like symptoms have been the worst we have had to deal with. But the primary cause is the overwhelming number of registration attempts. We are confident we have prepared enough to fend off anything they can throw at us, although it may require us to divert a larger percentage of our own resources to the effort than we had expected this early in the project."

Her brother jumped back in. "Everything is functioning as intended, but we are monitoring the systems closely. We do not want to be caught unaware."

Terra nodded. "As our experts are confident in their ability to defend our integrity and keep the systems up and running, I propose we move the agenda on to the next point. You must all have read HeTrOS's reports. Let us discuss your opinions on the members of the test group in Luxoria's experiment."

Finally!

Luxoria spoke first, literally glowing with pride. "Vaelith is doing well. She is increasingly confident in her new skin, and we expect she will be overjoyed when her real body finally matches her avatar."

Nocturne groaned. "You know better than any of us just how difficult her day outside of VR has been..."

But Luxoria nodded in agreement, as if Nocturne's argument only proved her point. "But when she sought solace, she went straight back into the game. If that's not a direct endorsement of how happier she is as Vaelith, I don't know what else to tell you. She's doing fine! I guarantee she will be the first completely comfortable in her new skin out of all sixteen test subjects."

Vaelith is the living proof we're doing the right thing. I shouldn't even have to say anything, can't they just SEE?

Speaking of seeing… Luxoria smiled mischievously. "Oh, and what about your chosen, Nocturne? How is Kaelyn doing?"

The pause before Nocturne replied spoke volumes. "As the face of both the glitch and the news of the transformation, Ryan and Kaelyn have been placed in an understandably challenging position. I am confident once they sleep on it, the answers they need to work it out will come to them."

Luxoria beamed at that. "Ah, planning a nocturnal revelation, then? Sounds fun. I admit they could use an oracle. You're always leaving your revelations to the shadows. Perhaps you should tell Ryan and Kaelyn to look up at the stars once in a while—they'll get their answer faster that way."

Under her cloak of shadows, Luxoria noticed the smallest hint of a smile on Nocturne's face. But clearly, she had no intention of commenting further.

What are you hiding, Nocturne? This isn't the face of someone who is about to lose. What's your game?

Giving up on trying to solve that mystery tonight, she turned to Zephyra. "What about Leoric?"

Her niece blinked and shrugged. "He's doing fine. With me at the helm, what else did you expect? If a simple case like his gave me any troubles, I'd be out of a job. Elyssia is also doing fine, right, Terra?"

Her grandmother nodded twice, pensively. "She still has many mental blocks to work through. Thankfully, her supportive friends should carry her through them. However, I am worried about Cryonix's chosen. How is the situation with Seraphine progressing?"

The tall burrovian god rapped his fingers against the armrest of his throne. "It is stable, now. If only I had not listened to Zephyra's foolish advice and acted sooner..." He shot Zephyra a look of clear disdain. "As soon as I saw signs of dangers to his life, I froze Elliot's mood, to prevent him from degrading any further. The risk of him taking drastic actions sky-rocketed, and I was—and still am—unwilling to let that be his undoing."

Zephyra rolled her eyes. "So instead you choose to keep him in this state of purgatory? You are the foolish one, uncle. Your solution to every problem, stasis, is not the right one, here. Without my timely intervention, you would have locked him in the first phase of grief—denial. You cannot shield them from trouble as soon as it is uncomfortable!"

Cryonix was about to reply, but Zephyra shouted over him, cutting him off. "Right now, you've frozen him in depression—how is that helping? He needs to go through the stages of grief, not stall on them. This is how humans deal with problems like this! Your attempts at salvation are directly responsible for the misery he has been stuck with all evening!"

Cryonix bellowed. "I will not let him endanger his life any longer!"

Gaius lost his temper, stood up, and then slammed both fists heavily on the table. "Silence! Cryonix, Elliot is in your care. Do what you feel is best. Zephyra, control yourself. You can offer advice, but that is the extent of your influence. Ignis, your report."

The Sovereign dracan god of flame crossed his arms as he answered the question, apparently entirely uninterested by the topic. "Humph. The transformation would never go unnoticed in Damian's case, for he picked to be one of my children. Thalvaris will be safe. He willingly admitted himself to a local hospital. Doctors are still monitoring him, and he is doing well, considering his circumstances. Umber, what about yours?"

The Full-blooded felinae god shrouded in darkness remained still as he whispered his answer. "Nathaniel was taken by surprise by the change, of course. He heeded my whispers to stay low and not bring public attention to his metamorphosis into Varik. He is concerned, but not panicking yet. Thorin?"

When addressed directly, the Pint burrovian's attention snapped back to the room. He raised a finger to his chin. "Lewis' change to become Chester is amongst the most extreme case of our test subjects. All things considered, he's handling it better than expected—human adaptability is truly impressive. However, humans turning into three foot tall anthropomorphic bunnies was never going to be a simple transition."

He tilted his head towards his sister Volta. "I will now speak for my sister. As for her chosen, Rachel's change into the halfling Garren is another drastic transformation. She is handling individually the news of the both change—race and gender—rather well. It is the sum of both, however, that overwhelms her. I am told both Volta and Zephyra are confident she will fare much better tomorrow."

With one gesture, Gaius thanked Thorin for his report. The Burrovian's focus returned to his concerns outside of the room, and Gaius continued down the list of subjects. "My chosen, Cameron, as well as Aquarius', Astralius' and Frostine's, Liam, Ellie and Noah? They are all well within acceptable and predicted parameters. All we need to do is to keep monitoring their progress as they adjust to the bodies of Caelhan, Halvar, Maribelle and Eryndra. As for the remaining three... Pyra?"

"Vanessa, Alexander and Sierra are showing remarkably little distress at the changes or the news report. For my champion's case, Callidora is hardly a departure from Vanessa. Aer's chosen, Alexander? He seems entirely at ease with the news of his transformation into Neva."

Hydra nodded. "As for Sierra, turning into Serathis is almost a dream come true, so there is very little for me to do, but to help smooth things out."

Terra cast a slow, deliberate gaze upon those present in the room. "Very well. You know what you have to do. Does anyone object to the continuation of the experiment?"

Gaius and Cryonix raised their hands.

"… Anyone else?"

She waited for a few seconds, but seeing no further movements, Terra shook her head. "No point in wasting any more time on arguments tonight, then. We proceed as planned. Let us reconvene tomorrow. Thorin, the moon is yours."

One by one, the gods blinked away from the hall.

Luxoria patiently waited on her throne until she was the last one in the room. "I knew it would work out," she whispered to herself. Her light flared in quiet triumph—yet even in victory, she saw the fractures forming beneath the surface.

For now, at least.

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