Gemini and Thasvia watched in silence as the daily War Council meeting unfurled out. Held at an inconspicuous time — four in the afternoon — it was a daily meeting that those who had something important to announce usually went to, but today, the impromptu meeting room that had been formed through a thick canopy of energy was full of people. The incessant droning as people mumbled in low, indistinct voices made the place far smaller than it should have been, and it definitely didn’t help that the Paragons and Demigods were sitting with their elbows touching each other.

It went without saying that it was full because of Gemini and Thasvia’s presence, but the two of them were more than happy enough to go last. The other speakers had their own agendas too, although they were indeed speaking twenty-three percent faster than usual, so that was that.

Most of the topics were actually regarding resource distribution, since more and food had been lost in their slow march towards the centre. The teleportation formations that had been hastily constructed as they stopped — the Five Lands had advanced too far from the forward bases established a month ago — were naturally problematic, resulting in more than one-third of essential supplies being lost in transit.

Given that Gemini had noted an increase in losses as they approached the continent centre, he couldn’t help but wonder if the Abyss Sovereign had a hand to play in all this. Were these supplies really lost? Or did he just take the chance to bite a huge chunk of resources away from the expedition for his own gain?

A mental image of a teenager peddling things like maintenance tools, weapons and food at a market came to mind, and he chuckled. If, on the off-chance both sides came to a satisfactory agreement, would the Central Circle be the new market for international trading? He could see it in his mind; a teenager sitting at the head of a huge table, with multiple representatives smacking the table and yelling at each other.

It was a foolish thought, but a nice one nonetheless.

As Gemini ended his musings, the slim fellow at the centre left the stage. Judging from how there was no one else sitting in the speaker gallery, it could only mean that it was his and Thasvia’s turn to speak, and a bunch of piercing gazes fell on them as he stood up.

“Members of the War Council,” began Thasvia, “we’ve called this meeting to point out some…interesting observations, as well as to make some recommendations to everyone present. But before that…”

She clapped her hands twice, and her Divine Will flooded the venue. Thasvia was more than skilful enough to control it well, and Gemini could sense that it had given everyone present enough of a berth to avoid that.

“My apologies for this,” said Thasvia. “But I believe that the Abyss Sovereign has been listening into your conversations for a very long time. In fact, his influence on the Central Circle is not unlike the Demon God’s influence on the Wildlands.”

“Point, O Breath-maker.” Pinnacle Kolya, who had been emulating a statue the entire time, raised a hand. “If that’s the case, why has he not wiped us out yet?”

“He doesn’t want to,” Thasvia replied. “Or so I believe. My intuition, as well as the Demon Sovereign’s, tells us that he is, despite having gone past the point of no return, interested in watching the answer that everyone present is displaying. Can the Five Lands truly unite and integrate with each other? If you can disprove the premise of why he did all these to begin with, his will might weaken.”

“Disprove the premise?” An amused smile crawled up Kolya’s face. “So, what, hold each other’s hands? Get all the soldiers to engage in cross-continental romances and pop out babies together? Maybe dissolve the boundaries between the Five Lands and the Wildlands?”

Gemini, who was precisely someone who had dissolved such personal boundaries, disciplined his expression. Fortunately, the world at large knew him as the stoic and silent Demon Sovereign Asteria, which meant that his game face was already on display in the first place.

“If need be, perhaps,” Thasvia replied. “But I believe that encouraging amicable interactions between the individual nations of the Five Lands would be a good start, at least. The foundations have already been laid, after all. Of course, this will likely have a detrimental effect on nations that rely on fear-mongering and target-painting as a tool to control the masses, but are there any nations that actually engage in such shady practices?”

Giving a mental thumbs-up, Gemini made sure to keep his face straight. With this little utterance, Thasvia had implicitly linked the unwillingness to encourage intermingling to bad governance.

The room buzzed with an undercurrent of furious conversation, and Thasvia surveyed the people inside slowly.

After a while, Thasvia cleared her throat. “A bit unrelated, but it would seem that the Abyss Sovereign only retaliates if us gods offers overt help to you, or helps the battlefields of Demigods and Paragons. We’ve been interfering in the battles up until now, and it seems that the Abyss Sovereign has a soft spot for the mortals. Make what of that you will.”

Queen Hyperion cleared her throat, and a small flame of irritation kindled into existence in the pit of Gemini’s stomach. He didn’t like that gesture of hers, since it conveyed an ideal he disagreed with.

Vehemently.

“Get along with the rabble, and he’ll offer us the privilege of actually coming close to him?” Queen Hyperion asked, her voice grating to the ears. “Is that what you’re saying, O Goddess of Wind?”

“You can interpret it that way, yes,” Thasvia replied. “The Abyss Sovereign’s Celestia is a world targeted at those who lack the ability to choose. It provides for all basic necessities, freeing them from onerous issues like food, conflict and shelter that would affect the maximisation of their potential.”

Gemini’s mouth moved on its own accord. “It is a world that seeks to end conflict at its core, which has the highest impact on the common masses. I cannot quite see why you have an issue.”

The ruler of the Western Holdings twitched. At the same time, he could sense a lot of gazes falling for him, which was natural given the absurdly low number of times he had opened his mouth so far.

Thasvia levelled a glance at Queen Hyperion, and then at the others. “We have no intention of dictating everyone’s next course of action, but I think it is, at the very least, a good idea to keep in mind that the Abyss Sovereign isn’t the monster depicted by propaganda.”

With that, she floated back to her seat.