“Senior Weiwu.” Gaius and Isabelle inclined their heads.

“Hm?” The old man’s eyes fell on Isabelle, before he chuckled. “It does seem that couples grow to resemble each other after a while. You two are very in sync. Anyway, you two have arrived at this place, a museum dedicated to remembering the tragedy of the thing they call the Oblivion Portal. What think you of it?”

From Isabelle’s expression, he could tell that Weiwu was speaking to her mentally too, but it would seem that she hadn’t noticed the ‘mentally’ bit. After planning to show off by dropping that bombshell on her later, Gaius returned his attention to the Chanter of Innocents and said, “It’s another reason why I need to stay vigilant.”

“In your duties?”

“Mm.” Gaius felt a load roll off his shoulders with that grunt.

The great god’s eyes were exceptionally bright for the next few seconds, but Gaius meant them all the same.

“Is something wrong?” Isabelle asked a moment later.

“No, nothing,” Gaius replied. “Anyway, what do you think?”

Isabelle eyed him, and then said, “I don’t exactly have an opinion on this, but if the Abyss is really as Gaius described — a single road that leads away from a giant swirly thing — how did the Oblivion Portal form?”

The great god froze, and then nodded his head slowly, the motion repeating itself over and over. “How, indeed…”

“What’s wrong?” Gaius asked.

“Yes, it should have been impossible,” said the great god. “Even if I was in hibernation, a permanent channel to the surface of the false Orb should have been impossible to create. And now that I am awake, I should be able to destroy it easily, no?”

“You failed?” Gaius asked, curious.

“No. I didn’t think of trying it.” The great god narrowed his eyes, and for a moment, that gentle façade vanished. “In fact, a far greater will is trying to prevent me from entertaining that thought right now.”

“A far greater will?”

The great god grunted, and his body began to fade out. “It is possible that I will soon forget about today’s events. As I speak, my mind is being forced away from here. It seems that my time here will be cut short.”

Gaius felt a chill run down his spine. “Senior?”

“Gaius, remember. In Orb, the will reigns supreme.” Weiwu forced out a smile. “This rare break of mine is being cut short by some greater will. But worry not. I am okay.”

His body faded from existence, leaving Gaius and Isabelle behind. After staring at the spot where Weiwu had faded from for a few seconds, he pulled Isabelle close. Gaius didn’t want to admit it, but he was…scared.

What kind of power could force a great god away?

Taking a deep breath, the two of them walked away from the room slowly. Gaius didn’t need to talk for Isabelle to understand his intentions and vice-versa — for the both of them didn’t want to stay here any longer than necessary.

With trembling hands, both of them made a beeline for the exit. It was fortunate that the museum was largely deserted, save for the staff at the counter, and the two made it out without any incident.

“That was scary,” Gaius murmured, raising his right hand up. It was shivering uncontrollably, and he didn’t need a mirror to know that he was just slightly paler than a bedsheet.

“Do you have any idea what happened there?” Isabelle asked.

“No,” Gaius replied. “But from his words, it seems that Weiwu must have thought about something taboo.”

In the past, Gaius had encountered mental blocks, whenever he thought about things like death, how sigils worked and things like that. These things, in general, were essentially secrets of the gods, which were exclusively guarded and hidden from mortal minds.

In fact, Weiwu had even told him that the mental block that occurred when one pondered the principles of artificing and sigil formation were his doing.

“Taboo…but why can I still think about it and have nothing happen to me?” Isabelle asked.

“Huh?” Gaius froze. “Idiot. Don’t think about that now!”

Kneading her temples, Gaius turned his mind onto the issue of destroying the Oblivion Portal and saw no difficulty there. As his hands moved to play with her hands next, a small frown appeared on his face.

She was right.

Nothing of the sort had happened. He could still think about the Oblivion Portal and trying to destroy it freely, so…

He ruled out the possibility that Weiwu was lying immediately. There was no reason behind that, and—

“Gaius?”

He froze. “What?”

“Are you doing the exact thing that you’re punishing me for right now?” Isabelle asked, a wintry smile on her face. “I can see it written all over your face. You’re deep in thought.”

Gaius wanted to back away, but before he could do that, Isabelle had reached to punish him. Within moments, his cheeks had been made extra-tender by intense pulling, and it wasn’t long before he capitulated.

“Hmph.”

Rubbing his sore cheeks, Gaius made a mental note to get revenge at a more suitable time, before bringing up his doubts to Isabelle. After telling her his thoughts, her lips curved into a frown, an expression Gaius didn’t quite like to see on her face.

“Maybe…he’s the only one with a mental block?” Isabelle suggested.

They discussed the issue for a little while longer, coming up with more suggestions, but for some reason, this particular one stuck in his mind.