Balgor sits upon the grassy plains of Dolor. His mind is heavy, and full of dark thought. His heart is heavy, feeling the weight of guilt upon his shoulders. He turns about and looks at his shadow. "God of Shadows, Nerezza, Black as Night, do you hear me?"

His shadow begins to quiver and swirl, growing in size to accommodate Nerezza to step through. The shadowy mass condences and his eyes glimmer gold as he steps into Balgor's vision. "Hello, Balgor. I see you've found Dolor again. Wonderful place, albeit lonely..."

"Lonely, yes. You have that right, my shadowy friend. Are we friends?" Balgor gives the God of Shadows a sidelong glance, inquiring.

Nerezza smiles, taking a step forward and standing next to Balgor. "Well, I know when we first met we didn't exactly see eye to eye. With everything that happened between then and now, though... I would have to say that we aren't friends, but closer to brothers. We are but a few of the Old Gods left..." He claps Balgor on the shoulder.

Balgor chuckles lightly, his shoulders slumping in relief and defeat. "You defeat me, God of Shadows. Here I am carrying a burden of guilt in long years of misery, and you call me 'brother!'" He laughs aloud, a sincere laugh.

Nerezza looks up at the sky, taking it in. He breathes deeply, and finally speaks. "Times were different then. The world was much larger. We had more to deal with. We couldn't be everywhere at once, and we blame ourselves for it..." he hangs his head, and says in a quiet, sad tone, "at least, I blame myself for it..."

Balgor looks up at the Shadow being, a pang in his own soul for the God. "As do I, my fellow immortal. If I hadn't have sent you all out on those missions against the Elder Evils...against Him....It is likely none of this would have happened."

"It is likely...." He stops, letting the rest remain unspoken.

Nerezza finishes the sentence for him, albeit probably not what Balgor was thinking. "It is likely that had you not sent us to stop him, Gideon would have destroyed the world and everyone, and everything, we miss and held dear... we have our memories, Balgor. We have more than we would if we did nothing."

"But...!" He stands up and faces Nerezza, looking him directly in the golden eyes. "Saar! He is gone! Forever! Body, mind, and spirit, and there is no power, principality, or energy great enough, or even sufficient in weight and strength to bring him back! He is total annihilation with the void that was Gideon's power...a power that has broken down reality itself...let alone the slayer of Gideon. Saar..." Balgor shudders, a chill running down his spine, "...is gone. And it is my fault for sending you and he the rest to their deaths. All of us old gods had a part to play in it, really." He turns away and sighs deeply. "Now you carry an untouchable grief of loss."

Nerezza returns his gaze, an odd look in his eyes. One Balgor hasn't seen for ages. Since Saar was alive. "Balgor... that is not all I carry..." He carefully and gingerly pulls something that resembles a black silk cloak from his satchel, holding it out for Balgor to see. "It's his, you know... Saar's. His true shadow. It came detached when I melded with him, and I kept it..." a wry smile creeps across his face, only for a moment, but it's there. "You see, he's not all gone."

Balgor is stunned. His mouth opens and closes, opens and closes again. "But...it's just a shadow! Or I'm not the God of Slaughter. Do you have kept the shadow of Saar Raidon-Kenta for this long...but....why? I mean, I understand for memories' sake, but it is never that simple with you, is it?" Balgor's eyes flash red for a moment, a dubious look in them. He reaches out, as if to touch the shadow, but stops just short.

Nerezza smiles his trickster smile, the same one Balgor has seen many a time before his weapons go missing, only to reappear in the center of the table. "You see, Balgor.... a shadow isn't just a shape your body lays across the ground. It is part of you. It contains some of your essence. Some of your soul. For instance..." He reaches out, taking a small piece of Balgor's shadow, pulling it free from his shoulder. "If I were to burn this shadow cloth, it would merely regrow as part of your shadow... as you are a God, though, I know you can sense all parts of your body. I know you can feel part of you is... detached."

He folds the cloth and blows on it, sending a shiver down Balgor's spine. "You see, it is connected to you..." Nerezza reaches out and reattaches the shadow from where he tore it, Balgor feeling the fibers stitch and weave themselves back together.

"You...." Balgor mulls it over in his mind for a moment. "You think you can bring him back? From pure annihilation, by his shadow? Is it...Is it possible?" He marvels at Nerezza's tenacity, ingenuity, and perseverance. "How do you hope to accomplish this, God of Shadows?"

"First, I would need to be able to visit the God's Nest. Once there, hopefully we will be able to convince others, if there are any left alive, to help rid the ether of Gideon's filth. I... know a spell that will do such." He says the last part with some grievance in his voice.

"A spell? What spell is that? Do you speak of the Miracle and the Ritual of Five?" Balgor eyes Nerezza inquisitively.

Nerezza smiles sadly. "I'm afraid I do, old friend... I had hoped, that with you being the God of Slaughter, you may not be as learned in such things... yes, this is what I speak of."

Balgor smiles wryly. "I am more learned than you think, friend. 2,500 years ago, before I came into this material plane, I had a discussion with some of my....compatriots...." He almost spits the word out with anger. "We discussed the possibility of performing a Miracle spell using our own essences to power it. None if them would have it and dismissed the idea altogether." Balgor eyes you again, this time in a new light. "Were you there, Nerezza?"

"I was not. Where did this take place?"

"In the God's Nest, of course! During that time, magic was still just in its earlier stages of breaking down, so planar travel was somewhat possible still." Balgor looks Nerezza in the golden eyes again, a serious expression on his face. "If we can get the other gods to aid in performing the Ritual, what is your plan? How...How do you plan to bring him back?"

"Performing the ritual, the person being sacrificed will have roughly an hour before being fully absorbed into the void. From all my research, if it works, Saar will be brought back almost immediately. If it doesn't work, he will remain in the void. Either way, I will see him one last time, be it in the void or before I pass through."

"Your essence will be destroyed, Nerezza. Being filled with Gideon's ichor, it will draw you in, swallow you up, and, like what happened to Saar, annihilate you, body, mind, and soul. It is void, yes, but it is void corrupted by Gideon's essence." All sense of pretense and friendliness are gone at this point. Just a cold, blank look from the God of Slaughter. "I do not think you will have less than a minute in there of existence...not that I know. But then again..." Balgor's face softens, remembering. "Saar was able hold himself together for the whole of his own destruction until he reached the surface and...well...you know...." Balgor thinks. "Maybe you might have more time than I am giving you credit for, God of Shadows. But once you are in the Tear from the performing of the Ritual Miracle Spell, I fear no power of your own or anyone else's could draw you back out."

"I understand, Balgor... But I do not know if we have any other option. I cannot ask anyone else to sacrifice themselves..."

"Someone of immortal stature must be sacrificed in order to rid the cosmos of Gideon's influence...and you are suggesting you be the one to do it?"

"I am saying that I cannot ask someone else to do something I am not willing to do myself. I would rather not, but... he was taken, Balgor... ripped away from a life he should have been able to finish. I've lived countless lifetimes. I've seen empires come and go, kingdoms rise and fall. Oceans erode mountains. I've seen men erect great wonders, and nature reclaim them... and in that entire span of time, I've but once known a friendship like his... If no one else is willing, I will gladly trade my life for his."

Balgor looks at Nerezza, his dark eyes sad and full of anguish for his comrade. "Don't you have a son? While not all of his...persons are overly fond if you, one or two are still. You have that connection with him, and you are his father--the only father he has. Would you throw your life away and abandon him to loneliness and grief?" Balgor sighs, looking imploringly at Nerezza.

"No, I would of course talk with him first... He must understand that the sacrifice is for the good of everyone, including him. He could be made whole again. He could be... " Nerezza looks away. "Not damaged by what I did."

Balgor approaches Nerezza and rests a hand on his shadowy shoulder. He is silent and looks Nerezza in the eye. "Live on, my friend. My brother. If this is your path, then I swear to you with an unbreakable oath that I will do what I can to see it through with you to the very end." With that, Balgor removes his hand from Nerezza's shoulder, and unsheathes one if the great, horrible Blades of Slaughter. He cuts deep into the palm of his hand and resheathes the blade. He drops someof his black void upon your head, and then extend his hand to you, bleeding.

Nerezza watches in silence, a sad smile on his face. "I will, Balgor. We will see this through together. For Saar. For our Brother." He takes your hand.