Watching Weiwu’s face cycle through a whole host of emotions was an interesting sight for everyone, but that brought along its own risks. A heavy pressure fell onto everyone’s shoulders as the great god’s face changed over and over, and within moments, the sonorous roar of thunder could be heard from high above. The ground, brightly illuminated by the sun, darkened visibly as a howling wind brought along dense clouds.

Rain began to fall.

“Senior?” Gaius asked.

The pressure doubled, and the falling rain fell in far greater volumes, slamming onto the ground with vengeance. Gaius found himself trembling at this outburst of divine fury, forcibly reminded that the great gods were not beings that he could yet handle.

Nakama and La-Ti, however, were somehow insulated from the outburst of emotion from the great god. They were looking outside in surprise, and within moments, they had abandoned lunch to peer outside the window. Gaius tore his gaze away from the now-emotionless Chanter of Innocents, only for the abrupt pressure to subside. Weiwu let out a small sigh, the tension draining out of his body with it.

“Senior?”

“I apologise,” Weiwu bobbed his head. His aged countenance seemed to regain some youth as he looked outside. The torrential rain had weakened, turning into a drizzle that fell onto the ground softly. “I knew this day would come, ever since one of the seeds asked for help from Orb’s great gods. Some of them, as expected, have made their way here, looking for believers and familiar spirits.”

“It is one thing to accept it as a matter of the future to come,” he continued, “and another to hear and see it directly. Us great gods treat our creations as our children.”

A wry grin appeared on his face. “Is this how it feels like to be a great god-in-law?”

Gaius relaxed at that last bit. The Chanter of Innocents was indeed an easy-going god, capable of adapting and accepting everything that came his way. Rubbing his nose, the boy thought that it would be appropriate to bring up yet another relevant topic.

“That’s not all,” he said. Lowering his voice, Gaius took out the small wooden cube he’d gotten from the person he’d found being beaten up that night. “Nine months ago, I got this little indestructible bauble. A wooden cube that was highly sought after by a certain group of people.”

“A certain group of people?” Weiwu asked.

“Worshippers of Hereward, the Sentinel of Space. Apparently, one of his familiar spirits is here, and wants to leave Cybral to rejoin Hereward in time for the war.”

At the mention of the word ‘war’, Gaius felt a strange expression crawl up his face. He’d roughly spent nine months of just sitting around and carving, but given that one day here was three days on Orb…almost three years had passed on the surface world.

He didn’t really want to think about it, but the fact that war was knocking on their doorsteps couldn’t be discounted. Gaius had the feeling that the Five Lands were truly on a war footing now, with World’s End and the area around the Great Divide turned into a massive fortress.

“One of Hereward’s familiar spirits is here?” Weiwu blinked twice. “Given what I’ve heard about the Sentinel of Space, it’s not impossible for that to happen, but that must imply that he planted a seed here quite some time ago.”

Gaius speared another stalk of broccoli and brought it to his mouth. “Is that important?”

“Maybe. Maybe not.” The great god’s eyes were hard to read. “Of all the great gods, I found the Sentinel of Space the most mysterious. He looks down upon us all from the Divine Realm, but he has pieces everywhere.”

“Pieces everywhere?” Gaius asked.

“Yes.” The Chanter of Innocents looked at the ceiling. “He has a karmic link to the pure-hearted of this world. Although I’ve never met him, his chosen are all people who I consider under my domain.”

“Chanter of Innocents…” Gaius chewed on some broccoli thoughtfully. “What exactly is your purpose in the first place?”

“To protect and extol the innocent and those who seek atonement,” Weiwu replied. “The souls of the true Orb are pure, unsullied. So long as they remain that way, I too will remain alive. The moment they are freed, exposed to a true life on the false Orb, most of them will harbour doubts, guilt.”

“And that is when you will vanish.” Gaius shuddered, turning to look at the two children, who were now running around outside in the drizzle. In Cybral, no one ever fell sick, so he didn’t really think much of running around in rainy weather. “And yet, you desire to free them from their current existence, no?”

“Do not think of it as a sad fate. This is my purpose to begin with,” Weiwu replied. “But back to the matter at hand. Why would Hereward place a familiar spirit here?”

“Why are you asking me that question?” Gaius asked. “I brought this up to ask you about it.”

For a moment, a great god and a boy looked at each other dumbly.

“I’m not omniscient,” Weiwu replied.

“I don’t think I’m omniscient either,” Gaius replied back. “But can’t you investigate it? After all, I think you’re still a great god here, seeing as how the weather responded to your emotions.”

“That’s possible,” Weiwu muttered, running his fingers through his beard with a thoughtful look on his face. Tapping his fingers twice, he said, “Take out that wooden cube you mentioned earlier, and tell me in detail what you know about it.”

Gaius produced the cube promptly. The Chanter of Innocents examined the cube with one eye closed, but from his expression, the boy had a feeling that he too didn’t know what it did either. After a few minutes of turning the cube around, the great god sighed heavily.

“I must be getting old. Tell me how those worshippers intend to use this toy to bring that familiar spirit back to Orb.”

The boy immediately began to recount what he overheard.