After the primal demons’ march to the Great Divide three months ago, a subtle sense of schadenfreude had permeated the atmosphere of Ark City. But other than that, daily life now had a new normal — the daily attacks that had been a thing before the death of the Lifespring had ceased entirely. The Demon God had imposed his will upon the people of the Wildlands, creating an unprecedented state of peace to facilitate the destruction of the Great Divide.

As a result, the northern skies of the Wildlands now flickered with light at a regular cadence. Gemini was in awe at how the primal demons were attacking the mythological barrier as a single, unified entity, but there were more implications than this little, small thing had on the surface.

“Like?” Lila asked.

Gemini grinned, and then took a bite out something called a satay stick. It was…Southeast Asian in origin, if he recalled it correctly. There was probably an otherworlder from one of the nations in that region, but whoever he or she was, bringing it into Ark City was a great idea.

After swallowing the meat in his mouth, the Constellation said, “Well, doesn’t this mean that the Demon God can control the primal demons? Direct their movements, their thoughts and perhaps even their will? An army of primal demons, who were already pretty much immortal to begin with, directed by a great god…none of the Five Lands would put up anything more than a decent struggle.”

Lila thought for a while, stealing some of Gemini’s food as she did so. “The Five Lands are divided, judging from their name itself. That’s already a minus point. And if they are all individualistic, giving into fear isn’t out of the norm, which means that units can be routed…”

“And they lack the near-instantaneous coordination that the Demon God’s forces have,” said Gemini. “The chances of victory against such a foe are almost zero. The only thing we have going for us is the presence of incredibly powerful weapons.”

“Weapons?”

“Yes. There are some materials in Orb that carry an anti-life property.” He paused for a moment. “Well, ‘anti-life’ might be pushing it. But artefacts made with them have inexplicable, non-replicable effects on affected souls, items called Zeroth Armaments.”

Gemini smiled. “Or so the Memory Sifter says, anyway. They sound like fanciful stuff to me, but the Memory Sifter is the greatest genius in Ark City.”

“Genius.” Lila mused on that word for a while. “I heard that geniuses tend to be very lonely. Should we pay the Memory Sifter a visit or something?”

“Might want to make an appointment beforehand,” said Gemini. “But if you’re with me, it shouldn’t be an issue…”

He shivered. A few…bad memories had surfaced into his mind at his previous meeting with the Memory Sifter. Sure, she was an engaging person, and in a competition of intelligence and empathy, the Memory Sifter would get first place, easily.

But all that would switch off when she entered her scientist mode. Gemini was spared from the operating table only because Senator Harlinder was with him at that time. Otherwise, Ark City would have had a greater understanding about the anatomy of the Human God’s chosen, and how it differed from a human being and even a beastfolk.

Gemini rubbed his nose as he made that invitation. I feel like I’m forgetting something, however.

“Well,” said Lila, “let’s go book another appointment! You haven’t been sleeping all that well recently. Maybe hearing a more in-depth analysis about the upcoming war might change some of that. Even if you’re exhau—"

Out of reflex, Gemini stopped her from continuing her words by stuffing another satay stick into her mouth. The Constellation looked around the area, a park where many couples gathered for lunch, and then heaved out a sigh when it seemed that no one was listening.

Lila pulled his ears a moment later. “Don’t go around scaring me like that! Don’t you know it’s rude to stuff long things down people’s mouths without permission?”

A burst of heat ran up Gemini’s face. Fortunately, the other couples were still immersed in their little world.

“I’m sorry; that’s just a reflex action.” The Constellation bowed his head

“That’s a reflex action?” Lila glanced at Gemini, a questioning look on her face. She narrowed her eyes slightly, and then smacked him on the head after she understood what Gemini thought she was saying. “Pervert! You know that Harlinder taught me about what to say and what not to say, so why are you assuming…”

Her voice trailed off. “Pervert.”

“You were being misleading!” Gemini protested. “How was I to know that you took her words seriously or not?”

“I did, alright!” She picked up a satay stick and stuffed it into Gemini’s mouth. “Doing anything like that without permission is nothing but rude, you hear me?”

Gemini nodded docilely. “Just because we’re together doesn’t mean I can do whatever I want, right? I’m sorry.”

Lila stole a glance and sighed. “Fine, you’re off the hook. Just remember the importance of consent, okay?”

The Constellation knew that she was talking about how rude and dangerous it was to stuff food in other people’s mouths, but somehow, these words reminded him of a few lessons on informed consent back on Earth. Orb, in any case, was probably more progressive and respectful of women than on his own world. Considering that civilisation on Orb was around a hundred millennia old, that didn’t seem all that weird, however.

After taking some time to finish off the satay Lila had given him, Gemini’s thoughts wandered over to the Great Divide once more. The more he thought about it, the more restless he felt, and without knowing it, he was already on his feet.

“Let’s go visit the Memory Sifter,” said Gemini.

“What happened to the appointment?”

“It’s lunchtime, and other than working on whatever brainchild she’s interested in right now, she’s usually free,” said Gemini. “She’s not going to turn down a visit from me unless she’s in the middle of some huge experiment. C’mon. If we go now, we can catch her before she buries her nose into work again.”

“So…screw the appointment?”

Gemini nodded with all due seriousness. “Yeap. Screw the official procedures.”

“Nice.”

The two got up and left. Whatever food that they hadn’t eaten…was now a little gift from them, a point that was agreed upon silently.