“What is it that you want to ask?” Isabelle, who had been called over by Gaius, glanced at the sculpture, a curious light in her eyes.

“It’s about the Altar of Gods, actually.” Nexus tapped its forehead in what looked like contemplation to Gaius. “How many other…items are as steeped in history as the Altar?”

“Hmm.” Isabelle drummed her fingers on the table, causing some water to leap out of Gaius’ cup and splash down onto Nexus. “Well, everyone knows about the Divine Ladder, which was moved from the Central Circle to Empyria in the South. In the Northern Continent is the Heaven-Bridging Blade, which was reportedly destroyed by the current regime.”

“Anything else?”

Isabelle frowned. “According to my family, there are two more. One in the Eastern Territories, and one in, well, the West.”

“So, three out of five have been destroyed.” Nexus turned to Gaius. “There you have it.”

“Have what?”

“The reason why the gods have been forced to descend. These artefacts were probably responsible for maintaining the ethereal state of the gods’ Divine Kingdoms, one way or another,” replied Nexus. “And now that more than half have been destroyed…”

Gaius narrowed his eyes. “That’s a very simple explanation. Something I wouldn’t associate with the gods.”

“I never claimed to offer an accurate explanation. Given the timing that the gods began to descend — after the Altar of Gods was destroyed, it fits into my explanation, however.” Nexus wiped itself dry. “You know as well as I do that these events at least have something to do with you.”

It turned to Isabelle. “Did you know Gaius here was also responsible for the destruction of the Divine Ladder?”

“What?”

“You didn’t?” Nexus fell silent for a moment. “Well, now you do. But yes, the fact that he was responsible for destroying two items on the level of the Altar of Gods…and the Altar itself isn’t going endear him to the gods either.”

“From your words, when these gods finally get their stuff settled, they might just look for the culprit afterwards.” Gaius played around with the tablecloth, a small frown on his face. “Might be able to track me down afterwards too. Worrying. If I were to cause some conflict between them…”

“Perish that thought, Master Gaius,” said Nexus. “The gods, as they are now, are at both their strongest and their weakest. I’ve explained their mortality to you — but right now, in the mediums that they’ve created, they have the potential to know many things.”

Gaius looked around the house. “You mean…they can hear our conversations?”

“If you’re near their medium of yore and they’re paying attention to you,” said Nexus. “They are by no means omniscient — but they are very close to it. If we’re not in the Library…best not to speak too much. It’s alright for now, but give it a day, and their Familiar Spirits might start listening into our conversations.”

“I hear you.” Gaius tried to steady his trembling hand, a task he wasn’t having much success at.

Isabelle took this chance while Gaius was questioning himself to ask a question. “What’s the chances that the dragon of time and the sentinel of space might descend too? Are they going to descend together?”

“You ask me questions I have no replies to either, Isabelle.” Nexus folded its little arms. “The gods are gods, for a reason. We know not their circumstances, and even our best of guesses can fall short. But if you have to beat an answer out of me…well, history has no records for how what the last two gods look like.”

“But we know that Aldnath is probably a dragon, right?”

“Have you ever seen a dragon before, miss?” Nexus asked back.

“No, but we have descriptions of one,” said Isabelle.

“The description of a dragon — long, scaly and horned — is something that came from the Cardinal Champions themselves. Maybe these guys have seen a dragon before, but they don’t exist in living memory,” replied Nexus. “Aldnath could look like anything, and we wouldn’t know. Another question: what does a sentinel look like?”

“Uh.” Isabelle went into a minor short circuit.

“Stop bullying her,” said Gaius. “You seem to love doing that.”

“Well, part of my programming dictates that I showcase my superior wit and intellect to humans,” Nexus replied. “Exposing and breaking down the basic assumptions people leave by is one way of achieving that goal.”

“What the hell kind of goal is that?” Gaius muttered. “Anyway, what should I do?”

“You’re asking your assistant for your goal. Incredible,” said Nexus. “Well, get that Crystal of True Restoration, and get stronger, maybe.”

“And how do I do that without compromising my free will?”

Nexus pondered on the boy’s question for a moment.

“Isabelle,” said Nexus, “what vow did you take when you became a Knight?”

“To protect my family and to never harm innocents,” replied Isabelle. “Why?”

“Just wanted you to say it out loud, for the record.” Nexus nodded to itself. “Master Gaius, if you recall my words, a Knight — as well as the realms beyond — advance in terms of qi. If you’re willing to forgo the other improvements, like a Lord’s Fief or a Paragon’s Dominion, it’s not impossible for you to grow stronger from here.”

“Not impossible. But hard.”

“Yes, Master Gaius.” Nexus paused for a moment. “And my method will not cut off your route to acquiring a Fief or a Dominion if push comes to shove. You can gain one at any time, if you need it.”

“What’s the catch?”

“You just need to bring a Lord to me. Or even a Paragon. Lay your grubby hands on one, kill or knock out that bugger, and I’ll be able to do something for you,” replied Nexus.

“You make it sound easy, Nexus.”

“I aim to please.”

“Any suggestions?”

Nexus posed dramatically for a moment. “Of course. In fact, there’s a low-lying fruit near you. You see him once every few days, in a drastically weakened state.”

“Drastically weakened? Who?”

“Paragon Sasori.” Nexus replied. “If you can strike him while he’s in that weakened state, he won’t be able to unleash a Paragon’s true might in time to save his life. Oh, he could, but he would probably die in the process of doing so.”

Gaius listened quietly to the artificial intelligence’s words, his mind churning as he came up with scenarios.