Upon entry, Gaius couldn’t help but suspect if the Eastern Territories had a part to play in constructing the Hall of Guardians. The interior looked very much like the pagoda that handled rewards and everything during the East-Lifespring war.

“I think it’s called the Pagoda of Equivalent Exchange, though,” Gaius mumbled.

“What’s wrong?” Isabelle asked, her eyes looking around the place. “Oh, you’ve seen someplace like this before?”

“In a way, I guess.” Gaius looked around the place. The inside of the huge, prismatic tower was far bigger than it seemed on the outside, which was probably spatial manipulation at play. Was it the Sentinel of Space’s handiwork? Or just some really complex artefact?

That was a question that Gaius didn’t want to waste precious brain cells on.

Four small counters filled the place, each of them manned by a bored-looking clerk; given that the Hall of Guardians was pretty much devoid of people right now, that didn’t seem odd. In the middle was a huge octagonal pillar, and each side had something like a huge Display embedded in them. Long lists of items and other things like requests filled the screen, but he wasn’t interested in most of them.

“New here?” someone asked.

Gaius and Isabelle turned to their right, where a soldier was leaning against the wall right beside the entrance and reading a book.

She rolled her eyes at their sudden gaze. “This is the Hall of Guardians, but I suppose you know that already. Approach any counter to commence your formal registration. Instructions and rules are provided there, so don’t stand around and block the place.”

“Oh. Uh, thank you.”

The soldier rolled her eyes and made a shooing gesture. “Be off with you.”

With such a prompt, Gaius could only make his way towards the closest counter, and the fellow sitting there looked up from his Display. “Sir and madam. How may I help?”

His eyes lingered on Gaius’ face for some reason. The Abyss Sovereign knew that it was probably due to his youthful countenance…well, his young age, so there was really nothing much for him to complain about.

“We’re here to register at the Hall of Guardians,” said Gaius.

The man blinked, and then pulled out a pair of spectacles. “Alright, then. Fill up this form. Do note that you’re required to be minimally a Knight before you can join the Guardians, though.”

“You do know that flying is pretty much the only way to get here, right?” Gaius asked.

“But Squires can use an Engine too. Or a Dynamo. Some kid had a bright idea; he hitched a ride with some Lords,” the man replied. “He faked injury and got them to bring him here.”

“What happened next?” Gaius asked as he continued to fill up the form.

“He was badly injured during his first battle. Upon closer inspection, we realised that he didn’t have a proto-Fief, and that his overall combat strength was far below that of a Knight.” The man shrugged. “As we speak, he’s sitting in a hospital bed, with an arm gone.”

“Why would he do that?” Gaius shook his head, and then passed the form back.

The man examined his papers for a moment, and then raised an eyebrow.

“Demigod-rank strength? At seventeen years old? Are you pulling my leg?” He looked back up at Gaius. “Name: Gaius...hmm. That sounds very familiar. Let me go and pull out some files for a moment.”

He reached for his Display and thumbed through it. His spectacles flashed with light as he swiped his finger upwards, before they promptly began to tremble. His head jerked up and down, as if he was confirming the appearance of the teenager before him, before his entire face turned pale.

“L-Lost Star… Gaius.” His words echoed through the Hall of Guardians, prompting everyone to look at the counter they were at. “I-is that you?”

“The one and only,” Gaius replied. “The Human God died at my hands. Is that a good enough requirement?”

“Y-yes! Of course!” Trembling, the man stamped down on his and Isabelle’s papers, before pushing them through a machine beside him. As it hummed away merrily, Gaius could see the clerk sneak a few glances at him, fingers twitching madly.

“Is there something wrong?” Gaius asked, his words gentle. He was incredibly cognizant of the gazes that were currently directed at him, and he didn’t want to add to the pressure the clerk assisting him was probably feeling right now. It would probably not reflect well on him too.

“Sir,” said the man. “Did you really…kill the Human God?”

Isabelle laughed. “Even if he wanted to deny it, it’s all over the Internet. You can pull out videos from the Display, you can find it from the news.”

“So it’s true…” The man glanced at Gaius. “Pardon me for being rude.”

“Rude?” Gaius shook his head. “There’s nothing rude about being curious. Anyway, didn’t any instructions come in about me? I was quite sure that a whole bunch of important people knew that I was going to register. Informing you guys about me would have been the fastest way to get me registered and everything. Wouldn’t it be a problem if someone thought that I was bluffing about my strength?”

“There should have been such a message,” said the clerk. “We’re supposed to treat semi-divinities with lots of respect and pomp.”

“All of a sudden, I’m glad that no such message came down,” Gaius muttered.

Beside him, Isabelle bobbed her head up and down. “Would be awkward.”

The clerk took a deep breath as the machine beside him stopped humming. Plucking out two bracelets, he presented them to Gaius and Isabelle.

“Those are…”

“These two bracelets are Counters. They record the kills you’ve made, and serve as a means of identification for the Heaven-cleaving Fortress,” said the man, before taking a deep breath. “Now, moving on to the instructions…”