The sounds of water dripping slowly entered his ears. They fell at a regular cadence, each drip sending tremors through his psyche, and reason returned to his mind.

Gemini’s vision cleared. He was in a vast expanse of darkness, a place that felt very familiar to him. He had been here long ago, in the days leading up to his entry into Ark City. It was a mental landscape, one filled with countless others that had lost their sense of self and identity. He’d languished in this mental realm for months in real time in the past, and was familiar enough with it to see some differences.

Hundreds of millions of people stood together, their bodily movements betraying confusion and fear. It was a sea of people, one that Gemini was part of, a population distinct from the languishing ones that had been in this vast expanse for a long time. In the crowd, the Constellation could swear that he felt the presence of his fellows, the other Constellations that were still alive.

Is this some sort of collective unconsciousness? Gemini asked himself. This whole space, once dismissed as an illusion of sorts by himself, now seemed awfully real. Like he’d heard from the others back at Ark City, Orb was a place of mysteries…but this entire expanse of darkness would put that word to shame.

The dripping continued, but something had changed. Gemini could trace the origin, for some reason…or rather, the origin of the falling droplets had made itself known to Gemini and the crowd.

It was a chalice. Someone without the proper understanding of the great gods would call it a cup, but as one of the thirteen summoned by the Human God, Gemini knew all about the great gods and their symbols.

The chalice was ridden with cracks. As he continued to look at the chalice, the Lifespring’s holy symbol broke apart into thousands of small fragments, vanishing into the darkness. And with that, Gemini finally understood the dread that had infused everyone within Ark City, and most likely in the Five Lands.

Conrah, the Lifespring, was dead.

The crumbling holy symbol of the great god was the greatest proof. This place, whatever it was, was the only place in which the population of the Five Lands could pay their last respects…if they knew what was going on in the first place. But Gemini had no doubt about that final bit. This land, all things considered, was probably a place that responded to and disseminated emotions.

Now that he had returned with his full mental faculties intact, he could sense the grief emanating from some primordial part of his psyche. From how some of the others were reacting, it seemed to be a sentiment closely associated with the loss of hearth and home.

Which, on retrospect, didn’t seem too farfetched. The great gods were the reason why Orb was suitable for life to begin with, and…

Gemini’s thoughts faltered.

Now that the God of Water was dead, what would happen to Orb? And who had made a move on one of the fundamental pillars of this world? Even the Demon God didn’t make a move on the other great gods, for he too saw their importance in maintaining Orb as it was. But now…it was possible that the abundance of water that the world had enjoyed thus far would begin to vanish.

The Paragons of Ark City had foreseen numerous contingencies, even ones that assumed that the blessings of the great gods would be inaccessible, like they were right now. They had explained to Gemini, a few months ago, that the ecological state of the Wildlands was the true state of Orb; the great gods had smoothed over many issues in the Five Lands.

Ark City wouldn’t face much problems right now. It was self-sufficient, a city that could sustain an abundance of life. But Gemini couldn’t say the same for the Five Lands. The cities of the Southern Assembly were focused around enjoying abundance and harvesting nature for all they were worth. Little thought had been given to sustainability.

The Constellation had a feeling that the Five Lands was about to change for the worse.

Azure light flooded his vision, and with a rushing sound, the scene before his eyes changed to that of Lila’s tear-stricken face.

“I’m…I’m okay, Lila. I’m sorry to have worried you.” The Constellation raised his hand and placed it on the girl’s cheek, which was drenched with tears. All around him, the others were beginning to get up, fear and trepidation evident on their faces. Gemini rubbed the tears off her face, and then gave her a hug.

The other people here had lost looks on their face. Whether they understood what they had just seen was one thing, but no one could deny the horrible sensation in their hearts. The alley full of people began to disperse.

“What happened?” Lila asked in a whisper.

“Everyone just saw a great god pass away,” Gemini replied. “Our minds were brought into an odd place, and then watched as the God of Water vanished into the darkness forever.”

“A great god passed away?” Lila repeated. “Is that even possible?”

“I don’t know about that,” Gemini replied, “but it’s not something we can decide on our own. Let’s put aside lunch for a moment. I imagine the senators of Ark City are flustered and lost too.”

Lila nodded. Gemini scooped her up into a bridal carry and took off towards the skies — she didn’t have an Engine, and the application for a Dynamo was still in the bureaucratic machine. The two reached the Congress a few minutes later, where the senators were already gathering to discuss the vision they just had.

Uncharacteristically, Guo Ming and Harlinder didn’t make fun of Gemini as he landed, and instead moved to engage him in discussion instead. Both of them had made good, educated guesses about what just happened, and they were walking for the ex-chosen of the Human God to just confirm their words.

With a heavy heart, Gemini began to explain a few things.