Dia stifled a yawn and fiddled with her clothes. Given that she was about to appear in front of bigshots from all three sides of the ongoing conflict, she wanted to look her best and everything. After all, the bigshots were pretty much immortals…well, maybe not the Coloured Gods or the side who lost the war, but still.

She picked up a book, which she had been reading on and off for the past few hours. It was hard to focus when she knew that her mind would soon be summoned for some historic meeting, and Dia felt her heart flutter once more. It was a historic meeting, probably the first and only meeting between the Coloured Gods, the Moons and the Dark, and she couldn’t help but feel a level of anticipation.

An odd, incongruent feeling assailed her senses a moment later, and the makings of a question appeared in her mind. The Moons and the Dark weren’t participants in the Third Godsfall…so was it just a war between the Six Gods of Virtue and the Coloured Gods? Or was it something else?

“Why am I suddenly thinking about this?” Dia muttered, before her mind registered the odd scenery around her. At some point in her deliberations, the world around had transformed, turning into a grand, odd hall.

She was standing behind a wooden stand, one of around a hundred stands. These stands were split into three groups, and as Dia looked around her, she immediately spotted Risti, Nero and Nightfall, who were standing around her.

“You guys…”

“Great, no one’s naked,” Risti replied. “Still, this is even more subtle than the Black God’s Theatro Amimi.”

Dia joined the others in looking around the place. Although the venue was far smaller than the enormous hall during Ruler Istrel’s ascension, she could tell that the attention and detail paid to the place was far more exquisite than the huge venue that was created for Istrel back then.

“Lots of empty spaces,” Risti noted. “Given that there should have been thirty-three members on the side of Grandis, the fact that there’s only four of us plus the Moons and their own” — she motioned to the area behind them — “I don’t like this feeling.”

“Eh?”

“Normally, we’re supposed to have around a hundred people in total, but…” Risti shook her head. “Did our numbers fall this much within a millennium?”

“Uh, I think that’s natural,” Dia pointed out. “Not everyone can live for a thousand years.”

“But they should have found a replacement. There’s only twelve of us in Grandis, and the numbers don’t look that promising either,” Risti replied, before turning to Nero. “What do you think?”

“Can I not talk? I think I’ll screw something up if I do,” Nero replied, before clamming up. For some reason, the Holy Son of the Black God was fearful, intimidated, or both, and before Dia could ask why, he had retreated into a psychological shell.

“Uh…don’t die, I guess.” Risti looked at Nero and shook her head. “Anyway, our numbers shouldn’t be this small. Maybe this is also another reason why there’s a meeting now.”

Dia didn’t like what she said, but it wasn’t like she could say nope and leave now. Letting out a small sigh, she turned to Count Nightfall, who was staring at the wooden stand in front of him seriously.

“What are you doing, Count Nightfall?” Dia asked.

“I’m looking at this stand. The wood used in its construction is from the Bayfalls tree, which is extinct in modern times. The last tree died shortly after year 3592, nearly three millennia ago, so I’m surprised to see it in this mental realm.”

“I’m more surprised that you actually knew what tree it was,” Dia replied. “I mean, it’s an extinct tree.”

“Well, tree fanatics like me pay very close attention to things like this. But it’s odd, though. There are better, classier looking trees that also went extinct around the same time period due to the Great Ice Age, but why use the Bayfalls tree in particular?” Nightfall wondered.

“What’s so special about this tree?” Dia asked.

“Well, of all the trees that were wiped out in the Great Ice Age, the Bayfalls tree is the most famous of all.” Nightfall paused and ran his hand through the surface of the stands. “It is said to be decay-proof and nearly indestructible. What makes me curious is the choice of using such a material in making this mental venue, especially since you can note the very complex patterns on it.”

“Making such a stand in your mind is indeed very tough,” Nero chipped in with a monotone voice. “But do not confuse the ability of the Coloured Gods with your own.”

“Oh.” Nightfall looked at the stand with a hint of longing, and then let out a sigh. “I wish I can bring this back with me…the Tree-huggers would be jealous!”

“Tree-huggers?” Risti echoed.

“All kinds of scholarly organisations exist,” Nightfall replied. “One for every single hobby imaginable. There is one dedicated to a series of books, one dedicated to watching the sun, one dedicated to planting soybeans…you get the picture. There’s naturally one dedicated to trees! And I’m a sponsor.”

“…What do you sponsor?”

“Methods of tree preservation, naturally.” Count Nightfall rubbed his hands. “Most trees can survive in Licencia’s nice climate. As long as it doesn’t start snowing like in the other continents, we’re totally fine. There’s actually a reserve in the middle of my palace dedicated to raising all kinds of trees. If you guys want—”

A bell chimed once, and Nightfall fell silent. As one, Dia and the others looked at the source of the chime, which was a floating circular platform that she hadn’t noticed earlier.

The bell chimed again, and without warning, three translucent shadows appeared on the platform.

“A moon, a shadow and a god,” Dia whispered, her mouth moving on her own. Even in this illusion, in this mental landscape, she could sense an overpowering majesty flooding out of these three existences. She couldn’t find it in herself to describe the three beings in her eyes; it was as if the very act of doing so went against her nature.

“Members of the Eternal Bulwark, I bid you welcome.” The moon floating above the podium glittered blue, and Dia finally recognised the speaker as Plota, the Blue Moon of Wisdom. “Today is a historic moment, a gathering for the powers at war. While we are pitted against each other for the world, this is our world. Let us not forget that today.”

The distinctly blue moon seemed to ripple out of Dia’s mind, and she fixated her gaze on the sphere floating above. Yet, the concept of roundness seemed to bleed away within seconds, and before long, only her awareness that the Blue Moon was there remained.

At the same time, she finally realised that the voice she had heard was simply echoing in her head, and to make matters worse, she could not attribute any quality to those words. It was as if she had received and spoken them herself, rather than hearing them from the Blue Moon of Wisdom.

The other two divinities added their own pleasantries, but Dia couldn’t even peg any description to the Dark and the Coloured God. It was no different from trying to hold water in her hands; no, it was even worse.

The frustration continued to mount in her heart, but there wasn’t anything she could do about it.

“Today’s purpose is to simply let us recognise our new members and to issue a general directive. Continue on your work. In this time of covenants and strife, we are very vulnerable to the predations of Limbo.” Plota’s voice continued to echo in Dia’s head. “Let us stay vigilant and wary of any danger.”

“While our numbers are low, this is not an imperative recruit new members without sufficient checks,” the being that represented the great Dark continued. Once again, Dia found herself completely unable to recognise any aspect of the Dark’s words, and she could only listen to its words obediently.

“The mind is the strongest and weakest link in all of us,” the Coloured God added. “Let us not give up the good fight. Against the night beyond, all we have are ourselves. Where possible, live and let live. Watchers are few and far between nowadays.”

The three paused for a moment, and the Blue Moon of Wisdom rippled once.

It was a warning and an appreciation of their hard work so far. A few isolated incidents had occurred, but had been resolved by the agents of the Eternal Bulwark all over the world. However, it was by no means an invitation for complacency, and while there was a war going on, everyone was still united against the parasites of Limbo.

Everyone present were to be protected from the ongoing war, no matter what.

As the warning dissipated, the feeling of being scrutinised intensely flooded Dia’s veins. Intuitively, she understood that this was their way of protecting everyone present; like what Risti had said, this meeting was a meeting to protect the protectors from ongoing strife.

The mental world began to break apart shortly afterwards, and an unprecedented fatigue filled her body. Within seconds, the grand hall gave way to her room seamlessly, the change from one venue to other imperceptible.

Any desire to find Risti and Nero for a chat was swiftly extinguished by her fatigue, and she ambled over to her bed.

Without even changing out of her clothes, she flopped over and fell asleep.

Other considerations could wait.