After a long and winding journey — the closest comparison Gaius had was that of a rollercoaster ride — the boy found himself dumped unceremoniously at a sandy shore. The squeezy feeling that he usually experienced while blinking, especially over long distances, was noticeably absent. The way here had probably been forced open by Constellation Scorpio, which accounted for the smoother journey on the part of Gaius.

The boy examined the sandy beach for a moment, and then stopped a second later. It didn’t make sense to look for footprints when the Constellation was clearly still capable of flying.

“Where am I?” Gaius muttered.

“You’re on an island some three kilometres off the westernmost shores of Mi-Zu,” replied Nexus. “And…there’s some signs of life in the middle. Two people are fighting there, one of which is the Constellation Scorpio.”

“Two people?” Gaius furrowed his brows. “The Phantom Blade caught up to him?”

“That’s not exactly it, Master Gaius. You should take a look yourself.” Nexus burrowed into the boy’s clothes. “At any rate, you should play the oriole and wait for the fight to be over. If Scorpio meets his end here, your problems will be solved without lifting a finger.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve learnt that time and time things just don’t always go my way,” Gaius replied darkly. “I’m going to watch their battle and act when it’s appropriate. No point leaving things up to chance, is there?”

“An excellent plan.”

The boy rolled his eyes, and headed into the island he was on. The island rocked as the boy vaulted over the fifth rock in his way, a silent quake that was far more menacing than it had any right to be. Gaius frowned. From the fight that was going on, he could tell that both sides were still lively and full of vigour, something that didn’t really correspond to the fact that Scorpio only had one arm left.

After a particularly violent quake, Gaius’ body turned invisible. The boy had enough of trying to maintain his balance. Ascending rapidly, he flew towards the source of the commotion, where two people were engaging in close quarters. Constellation Scorpio, who was missing an arm, was twisting and fending off a fierce onslaught by someone Gaius didn’t recognise. Evidently, the fight had just started — the newcomer had probably arrived at the Constellation’s location not too long ago.

“…good burial ground for you, isn’t it?” the burly stranger asked, glee evident in his words. “To think that you would actually use something the Plenum gave you, after what you did to its members. What a fool.”

Sand flew as the man smashed down with a greatsword, and Gaius thanked his foresight for not remaining on the ground. Scorpio fumbled for a moment as he lost his footing — from the looks of it, something was stopping Scorpio from flying, if he was grounded like this.

He noticed it a second later. Fine threads were suspended three or so metres above terrain, and as the boy took a closer took, these threads seemed to shift in and out of existence. It was an artefact, that was certain, but it didn’t look like the artefacts that Gaius knew about. The qi channels that granted these artefacts their mystical power was only slighter smaller than the threads he was seeing right now.

Gaius forced any thoughts about the artefact out of his mind, just in time to see Scorpio smash his fist into the stranger’s falling sword. Air whipped outwards as fist met sword, whipping fallen leaves and torn blades of grass into the air as the two contended for supremacy.

Another tremor followed, this time emanating from Scorpio himself, and the stranger was blown backwards, sword and all. The latter stabbed his greatsword into the ground, carving a chasm in the ground some ten metres long before he finally bled the rampaging force away.

“As expected of Constellation Scorpio, a hero of the Human God. We had our suspicions long ago, but who knew that you would readily admit to it?” said the stranger, his voice gruff.

“You knew?”

“Please. The Eastern Territories are a hundred thousand years old,” replied the man. “We had a feeling that you were one of the Constellations, given your meteoric rise through the realms. A Paragon at twenty years old? None of us were born yesterday.”

“And yet, the Plenum accepted me. Too bad you never got around to finding out my true abilities, no?”

“We knew you were threatening to harm the children of the East’s high-born for insurance, after that unfortunate squabble, but your…display earlier made us realise our folly,” said the stranger. “You can kill people with a simple exertion of your will. It didn’t take us long to draw the dots, but by then…”

“Makes me wonder why you’re still attacking me, then,” replied Scorpio.

“To prove a point, and nothing else,” replied the stranger. “The gods have descended onto Orb. The Human God remains uncontactable, ever since the fall of the Divine Ladder. The Demigod Nox has been missing for months. Your comrades are lying low, after Pisces was killed. If we intend to kill you for good, you will not make it out alive today. You know, as well as I do, that the Plenum is made up of cold-hearted, calculating people.”

“Enough with the word games. What do you want?”

“Information.”

“The Plenum still dares to trade with me, after everything I’ve done?” Scorpio asked, incredulous. “Your balls are made of steel, Paragon Dak Ho.”

Paragon Dak Ho, eh? The origin is…Korean, isn’t it? Gaius noted this piece of information in his mind, a small smile on his face.

Dak Ho folded his arms. “We’ve been observing you for a long time. For all the bells and whistles about you being sent off to start a war between us and the South, nothing has happened. Our spies report that you’re actually surprisingly philanthropic and empathic, for someone affiliated with a group of mass murderers. Of course, all this might be an act, but you are clearly not the monster some of your other companions are.”

The Constellation froze for a moment. “What of it?”

“You will not hurt these children unless you really need to. Isn’t that right?”

“You can try,” said Scorpio. “Maybe you’ll think better if one or two explode, eh?”

“I won’t,” replied the Paragon. “I’m too far away. By the time I find out, you’ll be dead too. And I’ll just make an apology to the sorrow-stricken public and bow a few times. That’ll be the end of it.”

“You bastard…”

“You’re the one who turned them into bombs to begin with,” Dak Ho said quietly. “I’m just acting according to your plan. So, what of it? Feel like dealing with us now?”

“…Come up with a list of questions,” said the Constellation. “I’ll be there next Friday to answer them. In return…I have something I want you to do for me.”

“Good enough. And the children?”

“Nothing. I’ll remove them after our little exchange.”

There was a moment of silence. “Fine. But this whole exchange is predicated on nothing happening to these children.”

Scorpio smiled. “You talk a big game, but you’re just as much as a softy as me, aren’t you? You have my word. Nothing will happen to them, and I’ll remove the Hidden Ends I placed in their bodies after the Q and A session. Good enough?”

“Very. We understand your need for security too.”

The two laughed in tandem. Gaius, however, was on the verge of going down to question these two about their thought processes, a sentiment shared by Nexus.

Its head popped out of Gaius’ tunic. “Mas—”

“Someone’s eavesdropping on us!” Paragon Dak Ho roared, sending out a net of sword lights arcing towards the boy’s location. Instinctively, Gaius threw on a burst of speed, shooting into the upper atmosphere.

However, Scorpio and Dak Ho were a second too late to react to that sudden escape. By the time their feet were off the ground, Gaius was already reaching out to the marker he’d left in Mi-Zu, leaving two men, who were glaring at where they thought he should be, behind.