Nexus had been working on an artefact, a sculpture of himself that was capable of communicating between the Crying Abyss and literally anywhere else. It wasn’t as impossible as it sounded, since he could already transmit from the Library of Ancients to Orb proper, and as Gaius continued to listen to his explanation, he couldn’t help but feel the beginnings of hope.

“Nakama and La-Ti have been helping out too, so don’t be this pessimistic yet,” said Nexus. “We’re all working on a solution, one way or the other. Don’t give up hope just yet.”

“I have never given up hope,” Gaius replied, gazing at Isabelle. “But thank you.”

Isabelle turned away to hide her flushed face, but there was no hiding it up close. Deciding to spare her for now, Gaius let the mirth drain out his brain and drew to a stop, a serious expression on his face.

“Nexus, are we close?”

“Quite.”

Gaius closed his eyes for a moment. “Isabelle, I’ll proceed alone from here. Stay here with Nexus. A battle between me and a Demigod might be quite messy, if it comes down to it.”

He had discussed this…personal quest of his with Weiwu last night, at which point the great god had reassured him that none of them were radiating a madness on the level of the Human God. Conversation was still very much possible, and apparently, the Preserver was the only one who wanted to swallow Gaius to boost his strength.

“How certain are you of a battle?” Isabelle asked, worried. “If you can’t win…”

“Relax.” Gaius closed his eyes. “I won’t lose. Not against Demigods.”

Opening them once more, he gave Isabelle a peck on the cheek, before heading over to the direction Nexus indicated. Before long, a small figure appeared in his view, a woman who was hovering above the ocean. A lithe figure with pale skin floated under the sun, her eyes looking at the ground. There was this contemplative air towards her, but again, the only thing one could do while floating over the ocean was to think about life, so…

“Hold.”

A chilly voice spoke in his ear.

“Don’t come closer, or else you might be in danger,” the voice carried on. “My Lord has fallen, but I am still fraught by madness. I might not be able to control my bloodlust.”

“I came precisely for that reason,” Gaius shouted back. “I made a promise to the Human God!”

“A promise?” The figure shuddered. “You are—”

“The person who put Anren out of his misery. I made a promise to help his familiar spirits,” said Gaius. “That’s why I’m here. It’s a personal quest of mine. I don’t expect anything in return.”

“I’ve been contemplating suicide. If you want to kill me,” replied the familiar spirit, “at least let me choose a scenic location.”

“I can…suppress the madness inside of you,” said Gaius. “If you want to die so badly, at least die fighting against the demons. Help your master fight. Help him to salvage his crumbling name.”

Another shiver ran through the familiar spirit, and for the first time, she raised her face to look at Gaius. A pang of pity ran through him as he took in her face; small, creepy eyeballs dotted the right side of her face, while her own eye was now an empty hollow. A blue flame burned in them, in a manner that reminded him of a snowpyre.

“Can you really help?”

“Yes,” Gaius replied. “But you must be willing to let me help. Can I come closer?”

“I’ll try to hold myself back,” the familiar spirit replied. “Please, help me.”

Gaius nodded, and then began to approach her slowly — he didn’t want to trigger any fear within her; strong, negative emotions could worsen her current state or even trigger an irreversible descent into madness. He could feel her gaze track him slowly as he continued to edge closer to her, qi ready to gush out anytime. Even though his body was sturdy, he wasn’t planning on taking attacks directly, least of all from a Demigod.

Slow and steady was the way to go. After a few tense minutes, Gaius stopped five metres away from her. “Are you ready?”

The familiar spirit took a deep breath. “Yes.”

“Okay.” Gaius clenched his fist for a moment, opening it up to reveal a small string of grey flame. “I’m going to suppress the power of the Crying Abyss within you now.”

Running through Weiwu’s instructions in his head one final time, Gaius reached out with his will. It was something he couldn’t quite describe, other than the fact that he was suddenly incredibly aware of an awesome might within his body, one that thumped every second or so. In such a state, he could sense the Human God’s power melding with his qi, and feel the will of the Crying Abyss bend to his own.

The grey flame reached out towards the familiar spirit, enveloping her in a cocoon of grey flame. At the same time, Gaius could feel something like a part of himself burning within the familiar spirit…or rather, a part of the Crying Abyss within her.

He didn’t dare to extract it, however. Instead, he focused on willing that bit of the Crying Abyss to sleep, and before long, Gaius found himself heaving a sigh of relief. The surging, mad will within the familiar spirit had entered a state of hibernation, and when he withdrew the grey light, Gaius was pleased to see that the creepy eyeballs had vanished.

“Done,” Gaius replied. “I recommend that you spend some time getting in touch with your own feelings. Learn to control them, and your ailment might not flare up again.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s something I find…fulfilling,” Gaius replied. “No need for thanks. If you really want to do something for me, head over to World’s End and help in the defence there. That’s all I ask.”

The familiar spirit nodded. “See you around, Abyss Sovereign. I will behold your glory in the war to come with pleasure.”

After waving goodbye, she turned into a streak of golden light, soaring towards the south at a speed that beggared Gaius’ imagination. After the trail vanished, he smiled and returned to Isabelle, who was somehow playing a board game with Nexus.

Their next stop was the Eastern Territories.