Barely moments after Gaius landed, Isabelle burst out of nowhere and jumped into his arms. Gaius caught her, holding his beloved tight to his chest for a few seconds, before rubbing the back of her head gently.

“I’m back,” Gaius replied. “Safe and sound, as promised.”

“You look like a mess,” Isabelle replied, looking up. “You fought with someone, right? Someone strong. Your arms are trembling, and there’s this extreme lethargy radiating out of you. It’s like you’re a drenched bird or something.”

“The latter has nothing to do with the fight though.” Gaius grimaced. “And the opponent wasn’t strong. He was cheating.”

“For you of all people to say that…” Isabelle separated herself from Gaius, before placing her forehead on his. “There, there. I know. I’m here, okay?”

“Wait. He didn’t shatter my confidence or anything. When I say he’s cheating, he was literally cheating,” Gaius replied.

“Let’s talk in our room first, okay? You don’t look so good,” Isabelle replied. “Cheer up! The kids would be worried if they saw you like this. They’ll even stop playing too.”

“Just how I look like?”

“A bird caught in the rain,” Isabelle promptly answered. “All your metaphorical feathers are drooping. I really want to dry you up, but there’s nothing I can do about metaphors.”

Gaius tried to imagine him as a bird that was soaking wet, but he couldn’t quite bring himself to do it. Shaking his head, he decided to inform Isabelle of his decision a little while later, when they were in private. With that decision made, he reached out to hold Isabelle’s hand, their fingers intertwining together.

The two leaned on each other slightly, and began to walk.

Silence was the order of the day. The Guardian Barracks was largely deserted, a sight that confirmed Gaius’ hypothesis. The Guardians were not interested in fighting for territory and land in the Wildlands. After all, according to the policies and regulations laid out in the Conference of the Four, simply showing up for the defence was enough for the Guardians to claim their benefits.

Of course, all these arrangements were made when he was in that three-year coma, but the basic tenets were very obvious. Now, with the Demon God defeated and his forces sent into a retreat, there was no point in working one’s gut out unless they had more incentives to do so.

But what incentive was more important than one’s life?

Gaius looked around at the empty hallways, before stopping.

“Something wrong?” Isabelle asked.

“Maybe it’s just me, but I suddenly…feel like dancing. Just you and me, in this empty place.” Gaius checked on Oculus, who was napping away in his pocket, before nodding to himself

In three minutes, the little guy had fallen asleep. As for how that was possible, Gaius could only chalk it down to talent — there were talents for everything. Including the time it took to fall asleep.

“A dance?” Isabelle asked, amused. “There’s no music, though. And you’re going to wake up Oculus if you do.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t.” Gaius pulled Isabelle into his embrace. “Long ago, I had this ability called Background Music. Not useful, but it sounded interesting…and like every other ability, I can replicate it.”

“But in the hallway?” Isabelle flicked his forehead. “At least do it in a more…”

She fidgeted, and Gaius understood. “You’re right, I guess. We should do it in a more significant place. I actually have one in mind, actually. Someplace that’s not here, a place that’s more interesting.”

“More interesting?”

Gaius smiled. “Yes. A place of utter significance to my dream.”

“What kind of place would be this important in bringing about true peace to Orb?” Isabelle asked, curious.

“I’ll tell you about it later. But…I need to tell you many more things too.” Gaius endured the awful hollowness in his heart, before pulling her close. “You’ll probably be angry at me again.”

“I’m never angry,” Isabelle replied. “Just worried. You always take up the heaviest of burdens. Let me share it with you, okay?”

Gaius smiled.

Within minutes, they were back in their room, and the usual sounds of children and teenagers playing boardgames filled the air. These sounds were far weaker now, however. A few of Nakama and La-Ti’s companions had probably departed from the Heaven-cleaving Fortress, with the demon threat now neutralised.

It was the logical course of action, after all. It was one thing to join in the defence, since if the demons won, the Five Lands would be wiped out. But with the demons on the backfoot, there was no reason to risk one’s life, especially if they had family to care for.

“So, what was that about cheating?” Isabelle asked.

“The Demon Sovereign, like the Constellations, are all cheaters,” Gaius replied. “I had to slay gods and do all kinds of weird things before I reached my current strength, but Asteria just needed to be created. He wasn’t as strong as me, but there was just a tiny gap missing.”

“Demon Sovereign? Demon Sovereign Asteria? You fought him?”

“Yes,” Gaius replied casually, his focus on the cheating bastard. “He could redo the fight over and over again. I would nearly kill him, and then time itself would rewind or something. The fight would happen again, but I was locked into my initial course of action. Over and over again. In fact, I did the same overhead slash more than fifty times, because the Demon Sovereign of Cheaters kept replaying that single move.”

“I would hit you for endangering yourself, but my heart would bleed if I did that,” Isabelle muttered. “What kind of overhead slash is that impressive, though?”

“No matter how impressive that slash was, it can’t be compared to the Demon Cheater…”

“You sound very bitter about that,” Isabelle observed wryly. “How did that work?”

“It’s a battle of Divine Will,” Gaius replied. “The great gods and the Demon Sovereign can control the future to a certain extent in an area around them. This makes them near invincible against just about everyone else. Unless an outcome is absolute, there is no way a normal person can win.”

“You sound rather chuffed at that last bit, though. Even those damp feathers have dried up.”

“We’re still continuing on that metaphor?”

“It’s a good one,” Isabelle replied, a twinkle in her eyes. “But before we do anything else, you should tell me about…your new plans.”

“I can’t hide anything from you, can I?” Gaius dispelled his clothes and recreated a thinner set. Plopping down on his bed, he looked up into the ceiling. “It’s a long story.”