(Based on the mythology my brother, Rey, and I created for a series. Credit to him. Sorry, it's long. Got a little carried away. And also, slight cliffhanger warning.)

Nine thousand years ago today...

In the golden night, I sit, watching them. Waiting. The sky lights up with streaks of golden Magic finally being set free. I won't have to wait much longer

I watch as the people exit their homes. Humans I've looked over for so long. Too long. I've grown attached to them. They are like my children. My heart aches to go down there. To live amongst them. To finally be recognized by all. To live amongst a community, instead of this dysfunctional group I call my family. I feel as though I am being pulled. But it is not time yet.

I feel like I might burst.

Jaws drop at the sight of the sky. It's changing. The stars are stretching, mixing with the golden hue of pure, physical magic. It all swirls together into one big circle, wrapping string and string until it's just one big net of magic.

There it is. My ticket out of this reality. My ticket to my people.

For as long as I have lived I have been stuck in this second plane of reality. I have watched the humans from afar. This plane is aligned with the sky, sewn into it so I can never go too close. And now, on the Day of Escape, I am released.

I hurry to the portal, moving as fast as I can go. The dimension shifts to my will, forming footholds wherever I walk. But this dimension is collapsing. The reflective walls and sections are turning in on themselves. I see many other deities escaping, leaping from the portal and dancing across the sky, finally showcasing themselves to the humans. Finally being acknowledged.

"Wait!" I hear from behind me.

I don't stop running, but I look behind me, trusting this dimension to keep me safe. There I see Arion, the god of Magic, trying to hold up a falling sky. "We cannot just allow this place to fall!"

"Give it up, Arion!" Cashlin, the goddess of Poison, shouts as she runs past him. "We cannot save it. Now escape while you still can."

She keeps running, catching up to me. Her green and brown hair trails after her as she runs. We run side by side. All deities become equal on the Day of Escape. Even the Main.

I finally reach the exit. The golden portal. I do not hesitate. Instead, I leap through, finally bidding farewell to this prison.

My first task is to find my brother. All of the deities are dancing around, showing off for the humans. They spread around the world so that every civilization notices them. Every civilization finally knows we exist. But Ryxen, the tiger of dreams, my twin under the moon goddess, wouldn't show off. He would be elsewhere. Already weeding his way through actual dreams, and not just the projections we get in the second reality. Actual, physical, touchable dreams. Ryx must be ecstatic.

My eyes scan the sky, watching for her specific Magic trail. Every deity has one.

As I am looking, I don't realize how far I've drifted to the ground. That is, I don't realize until I feel the solid dirt road underneath my feet.

People swarm me, gawking at the glowing being dressed in armor. "What... what are you? What are any of you?" one man asks.

I smile. Ryxen will have to wait. "My name is Kaira. I am the deity of Fortune."

I hear a loud sound. An explosion-y sound. A sound that sounds very very VERY bad. I look up and see the sky is... well, it's cracking. It's shimmering. Like the reflection of the night sky on a broken, cloudy mirror. And out of the cracks I see Arion emerge. I see the portal explode and spread, covering the sky until it seeps into the cracks. Blinding light fills my vision for a moment, before disappearing as quickly as it came.

Arion descends with his trail of Magic behind him, visible only to us deities. And it is thick, powerful, and glowing.

Present-day...

I sip my smoothie and walk down the sidewalk, brushing back my short bangs behind my ear. They don't stay there. They just flop back in my eyes. I sigh and magic up a different style. Shaggy. The bangs spiked up a little, instead of flopping about. My patience just isn't up for flop today.

As I walk down the street, people stare at me. It's like I have 'Fortune' stamped on my forehead. Well, I actually kinda do. It's on the back of my leather jacket though. Not my forehead. A group of teen girls walks up to me. "Excuse me, deity Kaira?" one asks. She has pretty red hair, not unlike Fiera, the goddess of Fire's hair.

I grin. "Hey girls. What can I do for ya?"

"We were just wondering if we could get a picture with you?" she asked.

"Of course," I smile.

They all grin like children as the girl pulls out her phone and we all bunch together for a picture. They all give their thanks. "Good fortune to you," I say, conjuring a swirl of Fortune Magic to cast on them. The golden dust settles in a Y-shaped symbol on each of their wrists. They grin like maniacs and run off.

I smile after them. The symbols always fade after a day or two. Can't have everyone running around with good luck all the time. But those kids will have the best two days of their lives before then. I like to give those to the people who meet me. Makes me feel like I'm making an impact.

A man walks over to me with a nervous smile. "Um, deity Kaira?" he asks.

"Yes, sir?"

"Do you think you could sign my book?" he asks, showing me the notebook in his hands.

I nod and open it, seeing hundreds of other signatures.

"Woah. You have everyone," I comment, looking over the pages.

"Yes! I'm collecting them. I'm hoping to get every deity I can," he smiles proudly.

"Well I wish you luck in your endeavors," I say, knowing my words are literal. He knows it too.

"Uh, um, i-if you could sign here? Next to god Ryxen's signature?" he says, pointing to a page.

I smile, write my name, and then doodle a little smiley face with a tongue sticking out next to Ryxen's name. "There you go. Good fortune to you," I say, casting the spell once more.

"Thank you so, so much. For everything you do," he tells me, and turns around to leave, smiling to himself.

For thousands of years, we have been worshiped. Ever since we appeared on the Day of Escape, all those years ago. These days, we're just a modern equivalent. We're celebrities. We have fans. We have become a staple in modern society.

Many other people stop me on my way to sign things or take pictures. Then I finally arrive at my destination. I stop before I walk in and look at the sky. Nine thousand years ago, a god named Arion decided he was too sentimental and merged two realities, changing the course of human history. When one looks at the sky, it is cracked, like a mirror. Like the mirror dimension in that one Marvel movie. That was based on our old dimension. Or at least, what humans knew of it.

You see the sun, slightly darker than it would have been had Arion not decided to change fate. You see the stars joined by golden light in some of the cracks. Dots of gold sprinkle the surface of the mirrors and shine with the little balls of gas in the sky.

I shake my head and open the door. "Honey, I'm home!" I shout, in a casual tone.

A head peeks out from beyond the kitchen doorframe. "When are you gonna learn to knock?"

"When are you going to learn that I am beyond learning anything and will forever burst into your home whenever I please?" I ask my brother.

Ryxen. God of Dreams. Though, most know him as the Dream Warrior or the Tiger of Dreams. That's one of his symbols. A tiger. He has many. I have, like, one. A coin. Or a deck of cards. Ooh! That's two. Or a fork in the road. But that's not really a physical symbol, is it?

He rolls his eyes and smiles, stepping out so I can see his whole form.

There are some Deities who embrace the human culture. Look human, act human. The only indication that they aren't human, is that their face is plastered all over the world branding them as a diety and usually the magic they use on the day to day.

But there are some who decide it's best to use a very non-human form instead. Really distinguish themselves from others.

That's Ryx.

His skin is a blue-ish tint, his ears pointed like an elf. Purple, blue, and golden dragonfly wings extend from his back when needed or when he just wants to be showy and can be dissipated if at an informal affair or in a small space. Purple tiger fur coats his arms and back. and a blue tiger's tail extends from his... well, you get the idea.

He's possibly the most distinct god of us all. Ryx likes to show off.

"Ok. Art thou ready?" I ask.

"People haven't talked like that in hundred of years, Kai," he says.

I roll my eyes. "I know. It's a human thing. It's like... you know what? You won't get it anyway. Come on, we're gonna be late."

He meets my eyes and the lighthearted vibe I was trying to keep up falls. The clock on the wall next to me stops, a ticking disappearing. I hear no sound. No cars rushing by, no people laughing, no TV blasting. "Right. Time to see what's so important they need to stop time."