“You’re telling me to enter the Northern-Central battlefront now?” Gaius glanced at the ceiling of the Library of Ancients, which he had taken to be the main body of Nexus. “Where two Demigods are slinging power at each other?”

“Almost correct, Master Gaius. Only the timing of your entry isn’t.”

“You might want to enlighten me on that.”

“It means that we’re waiting for two events to occur before you enter the fray.”

“Two?”

“Keep observing. I’ll tell you when these events occur.”

Gaius turned back to the holographic screen, just in time to witness the golden Demigod appear in the path of an attack from Northern Demigod that had missed to divert its course. The giant tower to the Demigod’s left exploded, and debris rocketed over to the inner areas of the capital of the Central Circle, where they would probably kill a whole host of humans.

The golden light weakened as the golden Demigod lurched slightly. The Demigod opened his mouth and spoke some words, but Gaius wasn’t too sure what he had just said. The holographic screen blurred, static flashing across its screen as a pillar of golden might descended onto the weakened Demigod, changing its appearance entirely.

“The first condition has been cleared,” said Nexus.

“I assume it has something to do with the Demigod activating his final form?”

“Final form?” Nexus echoed, its tone surprisingly lifelike. “No, the condition that has been cleared is the Descent of the Human God onto its servant.”

“I’m sorry,” said Gaius, “but did you just say ‘Descent’?”

“Yes. It is an essential condition — the destruction of the Divine Ladder, coupled with a forced descent, has weakened the Human God greatly.” Nexus paused, clearly choosing its next words. “Master Yong Yue has planned extensively for this, so we are not to move yet.”

Gaius turned his attention back to the Map of Stars.

The Human God, in the body of his familiar spirit, struck out casually, sending a giant torrent of energy surging towards the retreating Northern armies. At the same time, golden light fell like rain from the heavens. The Northern Demigod vanished in that instant, escaping the worst of the attack, but the others weren’t so lucky.

Purple light encapsulated the Northern forces from all directions, creating a barrier that immediately began to crack under the sheer might of the Human God. The ground buckled, and in a matter of seconds, giant, glaring cracks had appeared on the surface of the Northern forces’ countermeasure.

The Human God paused, in what looked like interest, and then struck out again, repeating the same devastating attacks. The purple shield shattered, and golden light assailed at least half the Northern ground troops.

Only corpses remained where the Human God’s light swept through. Gaius stared at the screen, eyeballs on the verge of falling out. He pointed at the screen and said, “You’re asking me to appear on a battlefield with a supposedly weakened god? What part of this looks weakened?”

Right on cue, as though as the world itself wanted to rebut Gaius’ words, the sky darkened, as ominous red chains fell from the heavens, landing squarely on what looked like a giant hemisphere that had enclosed the entire landmass of the Central Circle. A golden hue, which Gaius belatedly realised had permeated and tinted the surroundings, began to dull visibly.

The power swirling around the Human God dissipated greatly, and as the god looked upwards, Gaius pinched the holographic screen to zoom in on the myth’s true appearance.

Unlike the Paragons, or the Demigods he’d seen, the Human God’s features were visible. His face was chiselled, and by the little boy’s estimation fit the Golden Ratio rule of Earth. His hair, however, was constantly swapping between gold and black, as though as the world itself had no idea what hair colour suited the god the most.

The wings that that appeared when the Human God descended onto the familiar spirit were beginning to turn translucent, and the edges of his armour were growing fuzzy.

“The second condition has been cleared, Master Gaius.”

“Those chains?”

“Yes. Now, prepare yourself.”

“I don’t suppose I have a choice, do I?”

“Master Yong Yue was adamant on you doing this. It’s for your own good.”

Gaius puffed out lightly, and briefly wondered about what would have happened if he didn’t come to the Library for a second time, or if he had delayed his arrival. He wanted to ask, but judging from the shadowy rings that were manifesting around his body, it wasn’t really a good time to do so.

There was a slight sensation of being squeezed through a rubber tube, and Gaius found himself sitting on a rather hard rock…or rather, some debris. A few bodies lay around him, most of them missing limbs or a head. A few survivors were crawling away from the scene, those who were lucky enough to at most be impaled in their hands or legs by small bits of jagged rock.

As he stood up, Gaius’ body shimmered and vanished. Here, in the battlefield itself, he could sense the Human God’s presence clearly, even if he didn’t want to. Leaping into the air, Gaius flew to the epicentre from which a horrifying power continue to radiate from, cursing Nexus in his mind the entire time.

Chains continued to fall from the sky, and with every passing second, the golden light that tinted the surroundings continued to fade and fade, as did the presence of the Human God.

“Communications established.” A voice spoke in Gaius’ head, and he stopped on the spot. “Listen to me, Master Gaius. The Human God must be weakened permanently, if you are to survive in the Five Lands. You pose a threat to him, beyond that of any other otherworlder, due to circumstances surrounding your transmigration. You must kill the Demigod and steal part of the Human God’s power before he cancels his Descent, if you are to ensure your relative safety in the years to come.”

Gaius narrowed his eyes, and resumed his flight.

“This is the best opportunity that Master Yong Yue created for you. If you miss the best timing, the Human God will never descend as casually as he did today for the next century or so,” said Nexus, “and you will continue to be hunted down by his own Summoned.”

“So, I must strike when he’s weakened enough, but the Human God will return at a certain level of weakness,” replied Gaius. “Am I right?”

“Correct. The Demigod of the North owes Master Yong Yue a favour, and also has a vested interest in weakening the Human God. But these circumstances rarely occur,” said Nexus. “And therefore, you must strike with utmost lethality today. Do not be discouraged — the body he occupies is ultimately one of flesh and blood.”

The little boy landed onto the ground, fell prone on his belly and crawled towards the Human God. His eyes stared at the golden figure, who was staring at the skies, at the ominous chains that were bearing down on the Central Circle.

And waited, rearranging his equipment as he hid in the shadows, holding his breath in as he circulated the General Formula within his body. Nexus too had fallen silent, as though as it was mimicking Gaius, watching as the predator surveyed his prey.