It was noon when Gaius finally left Sundown Residence. Without Nakama, Nexus and Isabelle at his side, the boy felt a pang of loneliness well up within him as he streaked across the skies, which were still divided into four different colours.

Evidently, this was a permanent change — the descent of the four gods who had made Orb into a liveable place for humanity had altered the world’s fundamental nature. Or, to be more accurate, the presence of the four gods’ Divine Kingdoms were the catalyst behind this change.

And now Gaius was going to help kill one of these gods’ soldiers.

He had no choice, really. The boy had been thinking up of scenarios in which he would assassinate Paragon Sasori, but there were far too many variables that Gaius wasn’t really confident about the attempt, one of which was his body. He had healed most of his wounds by bathing in a copious about of water from the Fountain of Life, but his instinct was telling him in that it would not be enough when push came to shove. It would be nothing short of suicide to embark on a road of Paragon-slaying as he was right now.

Getting better had to come first.

According to the leaflet that the information broker had slipped into the file, the gathering point for any interested combatant was at the extreme East of the Eastern Territories, at the furthest reaches of Eo-Seu. The Territory of Eo-Seu had been the one hardest hit by Conrah’s invasion — half of the landmass there had been taken over by the God of Water’s soldiers.

Before Gaius left, Nexus had told the boy that the Lifespring’s newly acquired real estate was marked out by tall, blue towers, from which soldiers sprang out from at a regular, tireless rhythm. And more importantly, Gaius should not attempt to venture closer than a kilometre — the artificial intelligence didn’t tell him why, but Gaius wasn’t going to disobey his advisor’s warning. After all, he had learned enough that anything Nexus couldn’t say probably had a lot of relevance to the great gods.

Without Isabelle and Nakama around, Gaius was free to move at speeds too severe for the normal human to bear. The Barrier ability didn’t prevent force from seeping through, which meant that people without sturdy bodies couldn’t go faster than a certain speed without suffering from debilitating injuries afterwards. Gaius’ body could handle speeds that were still subsonic, but that was pushing it for him.

Land gave way to ocean as the boy left the Territory of Mi-Zu. Unlike the previous journeys the boy embarked on, Gaius had adopted a streamlined position while flying, to ease the pressure on his body. He had passed a few others along the way, most of which were adopting more relaxed postures like a cross-legged position.

These people weren’t in a rush.

But Gaius was. The battle had started to ramp up the day before, after the four-coloured sky appeared, and the defence lines had already buckled a few times over. Nexus had also helpfully informed the boy that the God of Water was spreading his influence across the oceans, and that those towers that had appeared in Eo-Seu were also popping up on the waters.

With these towers creating an encirclement of sorts, the initial defences the rulers of the Eastern Territories had become inadequate. The defences faltering was apparently the reason why a reward scheme had been drawn up and disseminated to any who were able to fight…and there were only so many Crystals of True Restoration going around. The boy didn’t believe that the Eastern Territory would succeed in pushing back Conrah’s invasion, but that didn’t mean he shouldn’t extract as much benefits as he could.

Sighing, the boy passed a few more groups of fliers, who were headed in the same direction as he was.

Time flew past in a blur, and soon, the moon was beginning to rise. Gaius had zoned out while flying — he’d accomplished nothing but a little relaxing flight the entire afternoon. Gaius briefly debated the wisdom of continuing on a night flight, but as faint lights entered his vision, his perseverance decided to go on strike.

The boy landed in the middle of a small town. This town was somewhere in Feng-Lang, and as Gaius started making his way towards what looked like an inn, a small group of fliers — the boy didn’t know if they were Knights, Lords or Squires who were able to fly — descended from above.

He looked at the newcomers for a moment, and then continued making his way towards the inn. His eyes flashed, and the boy created a marker for Blink in an alleyway beside the building, just in case he needed a quick escape in the battlefront.

Gaius stopped at the counter, where a man was sitting and watching the diners inside chatter away. “One room.”

“We only have one suite left, dear guest,” replied the receptionist.

Without any hesitation, Gaius nodded. “Add some room service too.”

“Very good, dear guest. The total is five gold.” The man took out a menu from somewhere insider the counter. “For room service, we offer two sets. Which one do you—”

“Set A.” Gaius slid the gold over and received a key in return. He nodded at the man, and then walked upstairs, just in time to see the group that had just descended enter the room.

He chuckled lightly as the small group did a doubletake, clearly surprised by the receptionist’s words that there were no more rooms available. One of them, clad in armour fitting for a knight from medieval Earth, dropped onto his knees in nothing short of dramatic fashion, drawing laughter from the other diners present. Gaius stifled another bout of laughter, and then continued to climb the stairs.

His room — the suite — was located on the third floor, and the boy whistled softly as he entered his room. A fountain of water in the middle, crystal chandeliers hanging off the ceiling, even artefacts that played music…this suite was not meant for a single person. Gaius could easily imagine the faces of couples who had spent a night or two here.

It was probably a place of memories for many people.

But if the God of Water had his way, it wouldn’t be standing for much longer. The same too, for the other continents, menaced by the gods of Orb. Gaius removed his outer layers of clothing, and tossed himself onto the bed.

He wasn’t in a mood to cultivate tonight. Gaius spent a few hours rolling on the bed, his heart heavy with some indescribable burden, before he finally fell asleep.