The inside of the fortress-city — Gemini didn’t know how to describe it with any other words — was bustling with life, far more so than when he entered Ark City for the first time.

“There’s so many people,” said the hero.

“Rightfully so,” replied Ortega. “Before you and Capricorn locked down the city, we managed to evacuate most of the population here, as well as a good number of our strongest defenders.”

“The Paragons who never took part in the Second Extermination?”

“Correct,” said Ortega. “Now that we’re all in this together, there’s no point hiding it. We have eight Paragons hibernating in this city, each of them able to wake up for only a few more hours. If you had pushed us to the brink before the evacuation occurred..."

He smiled mirthlessly, and Gemini was forced to suppress a shiver. Blinking away his discomfort, Gemini asked, “But why are you telling me all this now?”

“The Commonwealth of Federated Races is always short of manpower.” He looked at the clueless hero, and continued, “After the remnants of Ark City reached the Wildlands, we decided to formally do away with the boundaries that the old beastfolk cities had. We’re now a, err, democracy.”

Gemini looked at Ortega. “Where did you even learn that world from? I didn’t know it was in Orb’s lexicon.”

“I know you climbed out from a rock a few hours ago, but the word ‘democracy’ has been spreading around the South for years. How did you not know this?” Ortega shot back.

“Around the South?” Gemini repeated. “I didn’t…”

“Hmm. Maybe it slipped past you when the Second Extermination began. It was the buzzword eleven years ago, and many of the beastfolk cities are clamouring for…I think the word was ‘rights’.”

“That sounds like one of my previous colleagues,” said Gemini.

“When were you lot summoned anyway?” Ortega asked curiously. “If only my great-granddaughter was here. She always loved anything to do with the Cardinal Champions and the Constellation Heroes.”

Gemini coughed at that last part, and then said, “Frankly? I’m not too sure. The first part of my life here was filled with death and war, maybe a couple of feasting with fat old men in opulent cloaks.”

“From your words, it seems that you don’t like them.”

“That’s one way of putting it mildly, Paragon Ortega.” Gemini smiled. He couldn’t remember much about his life before he entered Heritage Basestation anymore, partially due to his desire to let go of his past. But those memories hadn’t vanished. They had just coalesced into a single multi-layered memory of death, more death and some senseless merrymaking.

The leaders of the Southern Houses weren’t as bad as he remembered them to be, it was the memories he’d associated with them. And of course, their constant war-mongering.

His thoughts were interrupted when he entered what looked like a town plaza. A giant sculpture had been erected in its middle— the craftsmanship was slightly lower than that of the little lecturer’s kid sister — but that wasn’t the point. It was at least five times taller than Gemini himself, and depicted a man smiling peacefully as he held his hand towards the sky, as though as he wanted to protect the land below him.

“That’s…”

“The hero who saved Ark City.” Paragon Ortega looked at the sculpture sadly. “When the Last Star attacked the Intersection, one of our guards overdrafted his lifeforce to create a miracle. He was a rabbit-type beastfolk, according to our records, and had been sent to a secret location to recuperate from mental problems arising from constant war.”

Gemini fought to keep his mouth straight, and then settled on his next words after five seconds. “What did he exactly do?”

“He created a defence that held off the Demigod Nox’s attacks, long enough to enable us to teleport out.” The Paragon sighed. “We never got to bury his body, however. The next best thing we could do was to immortalise his appearance and name, which we got from his distraught buddy.”

“It’s truly a miracle,” said Gemini. He looked at the baskets of fruits and flowers placed underneath, and felt his spirits lift for a moment. The people here weren’t celebrating him for his acts of war, but rather, for his act of saving them. Such recognition was something he could accept, although no one here was going to believe him if the claimed that their saviour was his clone.

He looked at the statue again, and his face began to burn. For one, he didn’t look that heroic, and more importantly, that pose of his was so embarrassing Gemini wanted to roll on the floor. The feeling of being appreciated had given way to that of shame, and the hero wanted nothing else right now, other than finding the sculptor for a good, productive discussion.

Gemini tore his eyes away from the statue. “Let’s not stand around here. The food isn’t going to wait for us, is it?”

“Key appointment holders always have their own portion prepared, so there’s no rush,” said Ortega. “You’re really hungry, aren’t you?”

He nodded.

“Fine, fine.” Ortega rolled his eyes. “Let’s get you some food, and then get to up to speed about what’s happening here. I’m quite sure you already have your own suspicions, but it’s best if you understand the full story.”

Gemini nodded. The fact that this…Commonwealth was willing to ignore his previous status, coupled with the “all in the same boat” vibe he kept getting from Ortega, had long tipped him off to the possibility of an external threat. It was most likely the true owners of the Wildlands, the demons of legend, as well as the Demon God.

Months had passed, apparently, after Ark City was teleported here. That was more than enough time for any two cities to get into local conflicts, let alone two different races who had historical animosities. It was possible that this fortress-city was built the way it was due to the demons attacking, which led to the predictable result of the Commonwealth seeking out elite warriors to protect their home.

Never a free lunch, eh? But it’s not like anyone here really has much of a choice either. Gemini scrutinised the inhabitants of the city as he followed Ortega into a tall building, and noticed an undercurrent of fear and uncertainty within them.

The situation wasn’t as good as he thought it would be.