The material plane is an odd place. An empty slate – an intersection of magics – a complex knot of free will and outside influence.

That makes it powerful and that makes it fragile.

With the balance broken, there is only so much the Gods can do to preserve it. The connections between planes are unraveling, sustained temporarily by the strength and the sacrifice of the Sun Angel. But even her will can only halt the catastrophe, not stop it.

By now, even the Vengeful Hedonist accepting his responsibility as the Kind of Hell couldn’t, but some Gods pursue him in vain hope.

The Twin Moons turn their eye to humanity though.

Their magic might be borrowed, but their strength is not. With some help, with a little push, they will be capable of doing what gods could not – removing the rot that had penetrated too deeply, severing the knot, tearing the planes apart for the matter of the world to heal itself.

In that world, there would be no place for Gods.

The Gods of destiny and death, they accept it as a simple truth.

They hint, and their followers understand and accept it, too. They figure out the things that the Gods, by their nature, cannot say.

All they need is a little divinity, and the Twin Moons will give it.

In their eyes, it is the more merciful fate. Instead of keeping their power uselessly in the void of between-planes, they will join the now loose river of souls they were once shepherds of.

They do their duty until the end. They guide the helpless, depowered souls of the Gods on their last journeys and fill the Hospitable Crafter’s masterpieces with their divinity.

A God is not meant to give up their power, but they do, with no one to watch over them or to guide them. The broken shards of moonlight run along the river of souls to the land of the living, and only their shells remain.

The pain comes as the connections snap, prayers and dreams gone, emptiness filling the consciousness. For the first time in eons, the Twin Moons remain alone. Unrestrained, the river of souls carries them into the darkness, and they fade, two souls reaching for each other.

As their followers had once put their faith in them, they put their faith in humanity.

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These are the gods Remi, Qiao Xiu and Kalidasa serve. They appear in various pieces, but here’s one with all three together: The Council