“So…it’s all real?” Senator Guo Ming patted his chest, which was heaving madly, and then reached out for a glass of water.

The two senators were seated at a table, with Gemini and Lila on the other side. While Senator Guo Ming took a drink of water, Harlinder’s eyes were closed, as though as she was running through a bunch of things in her mind. A small artefact that looked like a featureless black cube floated above her open right palm, the sides flipping and turning every so often. Gemini and Lila watched, intrigued, as her expression flickered from one emotion to another in rapid succession.

With a soft clunk, Senator Guo Ming placed the cup of water back onto the table. “Harlinder, still looking?”

“Colour me surprised,” she replied, her eyes still closed. “There are actually subset plans for if the great gods die.”

“Plans?” Gemini asked. “Why are there even plans for something like this?”

“Beats me, but the person who came up with them also came up with the person who created Ark City’s many miraculous aspects,” Senator Harlinder replied. The black cube twisted and spun a few more times, and then landed gently on her palm. “The plans for everything are framed in a flowchart, and in our current circumstances of being in the Wildlands, our recommended option is to lock down the city for at least a decade.”

“We aren’t leaving or anything?”

“The exact opposite, Paragon Gemini. We are to let the dust settle in the Five Lands. The Memory Sifter revealed that the fall of a great god has strengthened the already-failing Great Divide.”

“The Great Divide?” Lila asked.

“Yes, Ars-Lila,” Harlinder replied. “The Great Divide is a barrier created by the great gods to keep the Demon God out. It has been weakening over time, and to be honest, I’m not sure about its recent state. But with the Lifespring’s death, enough divinity would have been released to somewhat strengthen it. It’s a shame that the legends of the Wildlands are mostly lost to memory, or else we could have discovered something we could use. But there’s one thing we can be certain of — we can gauge the Demon God’s attitude to a new war by seeing how the demons react to an abrupt strengthening of the Great Divide.”

Guo Ming narrowed his eyes. “By that, do you mean…”

“Yes,” Harlinder replied. She turned to Gemini and Lila, who were understandably lost, and said, “By seeing how the Demon God directs the primal demons, we can see whether he intends to start a new war or not. If the demons start hacking away at the Great Divide to weaken it, well, the answer is obvious.”

“Personally,” she continued, “I hope that happens. If the primals are directed towards the Great Divide, Ark City would probably enjoy a long period of peace.”

“Cold, but considering the circumstances that forced us out in the first place…” Senator Guo Ming licked his lips. “I’d say that they had it coming. Let the world burn, and the flames be the funeral pyres of our fallen.”

Gemini shivered at the sheer hatred in his words. Ark City had welcomed Gemini with forgiving arms — most of the people now understood that the Human God was the one pulling the strings — but the absence of help from the other continents during the Second Extermination had burned long and hard within the hearts of Ark City and the beastfolk in general. It was a sore point for them, that the world had watched on coldly as the beastfolk died in the millions.

The beastfolk survivors in the Five Lands would probably feel the same way too. Only a huge crisis would even stand a chance in reintegrating the two races once more, but that was impossible.

Who could blame the beastfolk? They were betrayed, abandoned and then left to die by the other continents. Only the Northern Continent had sent aid, but distance and geographical constraints meant that little help actually arrived. In his opinion, it was already kind enough of Ark City to not join the primals or help them by opening the teleportation formation to the Five Lands.

He held Lila’s hands, and felt the warmth of them envelop his own.

“So, moving on to the next topic,” said Senator Harlinder. “That space we all saw…what do you think it is?”

She glanced at Guo Ming, who began to contemplate. “I’ve never been there before. But if I had to make a guess…it’s probably a shared mental space of sorts.”

Which, considering that Gemini had seen what looked like the entire population of the Five Lands in there, seemed rather close to the truth. The fact that only their consciousness had moved probably left a lot of hints behind.

“That sounds about right,” said Gemini. “But I guess more research is required.”

The Constellation didn’t mention the fact that he had been there before, after a clone, which was under his direct control, was destroyed defending Heritage Basestation. For one, he had no desire to be recognised for his actions, and more importantly, he was in a state of confusion at that time.

“I wonder if we can use that to our advantage, however,” said Senator Harlinder. “The other Paragons should have their own take on that odd space as well. We just need to wait for them to come back.”

“They’re coming back?” Gemini asked.

“Yeah,” said Harlinder. “The Demon God’s familiar spirit and Exemplar Rilata just stopped fighting. The Paragons also blacked out at that moment, but when they came to, the familiar spirit had vanished. With their target of observation gone, the Paragons are now returning home.”

Senator Guo Ming took another drink of water. “That’s a relief, at least. I suppose we should lay out the welcome—”

Alarm bells rang, blotting out the rest of his words, and the three of them stood up at once.

“Primals…sighted?”

Harlinder cupped her ear. “In overwhelming numbers, no less.”

Gemini’s face darkened. “I’ll make a move first, Lila.”

The two exchanged worried glances. Senator Guo Ming cleared his throat after a few seconds, breaking the moment. After shooting an angry glare at the senator, Gemini reluctantly parted with Lila, taking to the skies with the other senators.

A sea of demons awaited them.