-----

Bestellen sighed in calm anger, as he was beginning to slowly lose his sanity once more.

​​

For a moment, he wanted to tell that idiot a few truths while, perhaps, slapping him into the ground with his divine light.

But such a thing was impossible, Hekaton lived outside of Kritias, within his Divine Realm that existed in between the many worlds he managed.

He began to wonder if what he needed to do was to contact him and ask him directly, although Hekaton was so idiotic that he could simply lie to him even if he did something bad…

The subordinate Gods that were always at each side of Bestellen, Astraea, the Goddess of Balance and Justice, a goddess that was holding a balance, while having her eyes covered in a cloth and possessing long, angelic wings, and Forohr, the God of Laws and Order, a wise old man with blonde hair and beard, holding a sacred book, noticed their lord's discomfort, and decided to ask him what he had on his mind.

"My lord, is there something within your mind? I notice some discomfort with your expression," said Forohr.

"Indeed, I also wanted to ask the same…" said Astraea.

Bestellen sighed a bit more as he gave his loyal subordinate Gods a bitter smile.

Astraea and Forohr were the first Gods that Bestellen had ever created, born but a few hundreds of years after he was born, they were made by his own Divine Soul, which he fragmented into two pieces and made into Familiar Spirits.

As Bestellen needed some help assessing the newly created humans, their nations, history, and the development of their culture alongside the maintenance of the world's Laws and Light Attribute, such help came really handy.

As time went by, the two Familiar Spirits that always stood at each side of Bestellen became worshiped deities, and through the power gained from the prayers and belief, they slowly began to grow stronger as thousands of years went by, becoming Divine Spirits, and then Gods.

Since then they had served Bestellen in everything they possibly could, they were loyal, attentive, and they often spoke for him as they knew him so well that they were even able to know what was in his mind.

Their loyalty, however, was for Bestellen and Bestellen alone, anything the Gods saw as a potential enemy was their enemy, and they even did things without his consent that could benefit him or could bring a certain enemy to their demise…

Such as having planned to lower the reputation of Ervas and his group by telling the priests of the Church of Bestellen to eliminate and conquer Aquaria, and blaming the death of the King and his family on the Half-Demon Boy, which was now cataloged as the "Demon King".

This was done behind Bestellen, but after being revealed to him, he acted quite happy over such a decision, thinking of it as something beneficial to him, especially because Ervas was trying to fit into his continent's society in the present day.

However, such things were already discussed, and what was troubling Bestellen's mind was something else now.

"Hm… I believe that the reason why he and the Living Armor do not have Fate Thread is because of Hekaton… they are reincarnations through his system… Do you recall the time when he brought those "Heroes" back then to deal with the Demon God King and how they made things worse, without actually saving anything at all and simply making the Demon God-King stronger? Those "Heroes" also lacked Fate Threads…" said Bestellen.

"Hm, I see. I have thought the same thing, my lord. And indeed, it does seem like that is the case…" said Forohr.

"Hekaton is once more putting his filthy hands in our world, and whenever he intends to "help", he only brings more misfortunes to us while blaming our lord for his wrongdoings. Such a being shouldn't be a god," said Astraea rather harshly.

"There is an entire list of all the things that Hekaton has done to wrong, I have achieved it all, should I say them?" asked Forohr.

"No… Do not bother, Forohr. However, now I am in a dilemma of what to do… I want to believe that this might be of another origin," sighed Bestellen.

"And not Hekaton? There could be quite the possibility that their lack of a Fate Thread being another thing," said Forohr.

"But… there is a larger possibility of it being Hekaton," said Astraea.

"Sigh… I hope Hekaton realizes his mistake and tries to solve it! I am tired of solving all of his screwups…" sighed Bestellen.

The two Gods calmed down Bestellen until he finally decided to leave the issue aside.

"Any news about the group of Gods assigned to watch over him and the living armor?" asked Bestellen.

"Not now, he and the living armor seem to be still going around that small nation, and are slowly adapting to its society through their underhanded methods… They are gaining authority at an outstanding speed," said Forohr.

"Hmph… If such a place were not so far away from my authority, I would have already sent more Heroic Spirits after him. The coasts of my continent are filled with Demon Gods hiding around, and even those disgusting Vampires that we had taken so long to deal with…" sighed Bestellen.

"Well, what we can do for now is plan new strategies, my lord. The other Bright Gods and their subordinates might also be able to bring a hand, we need to simply prepare good measures and ways of fighting through what we have at hand," said Astraea.

"Indeed, nothing is impossible, we simply require to slowly yet steadily develop ways to counter-attack these beings' influence over our people," said Forohr.

"The Aquaria Kingdom issue was a good way to do it, but there might be the need for more of such things to be done to cause any substantial change in the course of fate," said Astraea.

"Furthermore, some Gods had offered their help and also have ideas regarding the nurturing of Heroes to fight against the two," said Forohr.

"Heroes… it has been a long time since I have found a fitting Hero that could share my ideas," said Bestellen, recalling the Heroes of Light that once served him through different generations, all of them were turned into Heroic Spirits after their deaths and some had even ascended into Heroic Gods, who were serving and helping him in maintaining the Light Attribute of the world.

"A vessel of your power and that of your Heroic Spirits and Heroic Gods should be a good target, someone within this world who has been born with the spark of light to share your ideas and fight for the benefit of the greater good," said Astraea.

"Is there such a man?" asked Bestellen.

"Perhaps… Although we cannot manifest ourselves on the surface, we can nurture such valiant Heroes into someone fitting and strong, strong enough to be capable of defeating them. Someone that can become the Divine Vessel of your holy power," said Forohr.

"The Five- no, Four Constellations?" asked Bestellen.

"Those are High Battle Popes with enough and fitting strength to do such tasks, however, they are assigned into different areas and have their own personal values that often conflict with yours, my lord. Although they are loyal devotees, I was thinking of someone more fitting, young, and filled with potential," said Forohr.

"Who is it?" asked Bestellen.

"His name is Myhner, and he is the young son of a humble family of soldiers within a nearby Nation which belongs to the Bestellen Empire, my lord. He is a young man, of around 16 years of age, he is slowly reaching full maturity, and his talents had already shown with affinity to all Magic Elements and outstanding Sword Techniques," said Forohr, he was a God who could record anything. With the help of the Fates, he finally found the fitting Hero that Bestellen needed, someone with the "spark of light".

"Oh? Has he been taught well?" asked Bestellen, seeing potential.

"Indeed. His parents had taught him the doctrine of Bestellen, and he is growing to be a righteous and good-hearted man with a gentle yet strong conviction, he aims to become a Hero like those of legends… And his party of friends are also rather talented, hiding great talents within," said Forohr.

"Interesting. How do you plan for me to approach the boy? Should I give him my Divine Protection?" asked Bestellen.

"No, my lord, it would be more be more appropriate if you were to give a Divine Message to the church of Bestellen within the Empire, so they can retrieve the boy and his party as future Heroes, this way, he can be taught and trained by the elites within the church," said Astraea.

"A good idea indeed," said Forohr.

"Hm. As long as he can bring his parents with him, of course. If he is separated from them, he might develop some grudge against us, which is not what we intend, even if the entire family has to be dragged with him, make sure that he does not lose hope nor strives further away from the path he is walking in," said Bestellen.

"Oh, for sure. My lord is as considerate and benevolent as ever," said Forohr.

"It will be a good idea to nurture him while he's still rather young, although 16 years of age is not so young, it still midway through, there are hopes for him to become a fitting hero that could harbor my lord's power…" said Astraea.

"Aside from this, other Gods are willing to cooperate with you, my lord, and some had even shown interests in certain mortals that might become their Heroes as well," said Forohr.

"I see. I am glad that everyone is trying to help as much as they can. Perhaps there is some hope," said Bestellen.

Meanwhile, within a close Nation to the Empire of Bestellen, a young and blonde boy with shiny aquamarine eyes glanced at the starry night while resting after having practiced his sword technique.

"Hahh… I want a shower…"

As the boy thought about what the future awaited for him, a crack in space emerged behind him without him even being able to notice, as he heard the faint voice of someone else…

"Hm… The golden boy, eh? Maybe you can be of some use…"

-----