The next few days went by in a flash. Examining a single tile had taken far longer than he had expected, and even the first one, the one that had made up the introduction, was full of ultra-dense material that was related to the theory of life itself. It was a primer to understanding the realm the Demon God called ‘Boundless One’.

He hadn’t gotten all that deep into it. The theory bits were beyond his comprehension; only someone who had created life would understand what life was in the first place. The Demon God had recorded this bit based on his own experiences…or rather, he had recorded his entire experience as-is in the form of a memory.

For things like life and whatnot, words were woefully inadequate. Analogies and other devices fell short too; and besides, his Divine Will was too underdeveloped for him to make sense of the whole thing, even in its fragmented form.

The sun was rising for the second time when Gemini finally gave up. There was nothing about the control mechanisms of the black dome on the first tile, for better or worse.

“Maybe I should check the last few tiles,” Gemini muttered to himself. His bones cracked and popped as he got up from his mediative pose, but fortunately, there wasn’t a stench of unwashed great god lingering around him.

A small benefit, if nothing else.

Still…why do I regard this benefit so much more than the unlimited power I have at my disposal? Is this a natural defence that arose from my mortal origins? Gemini rubbed his head. His comprehension of what being a great god entailed increased with every passing day, but his fixation on staying mortal hadn’t weakened.

If anything, his desire to continue a mortal’s existence had strengthened. Gemini found more and more people to cherish, more and more phenomena to protect.

Shaking his head, he got rid of those superfluous thoughts. There were things he had to do. His Divine Will swept out, enveloping the entire land mass, and in that single instant of omniscience, Gemini focused on the main issues of today.

The captured troops of the Five Lands had been walked to the Great Divide, before being released unconditionally. In fact, from the way how some of his Demigods were trying to send them away, the Demon Sovereign had a feeling that these people didn’t want to return home.

As for the reason…Gemini narrowed his eyes, before focusing on a particular Demigod. Apparently, a bunch of star-struck fools had developed crushes on some demons, but for them to refuse their liberty over this…

Gemini thought about Lila, and those devoted, praiseworthy fellows instantly became very palatable to him. The Demigod — Los-Ajax — froze up as Gemini transmitted a set of instructions to him, and the cape draped around the Demigod’s back fluttered as he came up with new procedures on the spot.

These devoted fellows immediately cheered. Gemini had told Los-Ajax to tell them that the Wildlands would open borders to the Five Lands when peace was attained. Migration, therefore, was not off the table.

That said, they still had to leave for now, since this was under the terms of their initial agreement. Gemini had no intention of giving the Five Lands a cheap means of ending his long-desired peace process.

The earliest deserters, however, had been given a choice as to whether they wanted to stay or leave. The Wildlands Council — the Demigods had finally been named as a whole — was split on this issue, but Gemini didn’t want to force the deserters away. Nothing good would await them upon their return, and in his eyes, each and every participant in this invasion was a victim of the War Council’s warmongering.

Of course, he wasn’t going to say that outright. However, no one could deny that these deserters were both desperate and conscripted into an invasion that they never signed up for.

He would have effectively killed them if he forced them away from the Wildlands.

Shaking his head, he shot another approving glance at the departing troops, before turning his attention to the Great Divide. There, in the middle of the landbridge, was a huge round table, replete with chairs. This set up was the best setup one could ask for when it came two negotiations between two sides — a simple setup that couldn’t hide any sneaky mechanisms.

As a show of good faith, the Locomotives that had been floating near the Wildlands had retreated by two hundred and twenty-two kilometres. Even the fortress that had stemmed the Demon God’s invasion was closer to the negotiation site than these metallic behemoths.

A few low-ranking soldiers from the Five Lands were milling around the area. Flowerpots were being moved into the vicinity, and some of them were even holding on to brooms. As for why they saw the need to sweep rock and soil, that was another question all together. If he had to warrant a guess, it was probably some overzealous superior hoping to butter up to the War Council or something.

This buttering up would have been more effective if said superior was actually the one sweeping the ground, however.

After rolling his eyes at the blatant misuse of authority here, Gemini checked on Aria and Lila, before making his way out of the mediation chamber. Dissolving the structure with a wave, he relocated to the cottage and knocked the door.

Lila popped her head out. “Good work out there.”

“I didn’t do all that much, though,” Gemini replied. “I’m back.”

“Welcome back, dear.” The smile on her face lasted for a second or so, before worry sank in. “The peace conference starts today, right?”

Gemini nodded. “Yes. It starts today. Don’t worry. The War Council…seems to be playing fairly with us. Those Locomotives have retreated far away, and—Lila? What’s wrong?”

“I’m not sure,” Lila replied. “I’m not sure. I just feel that something huge is going to happen today. Something…that will change the world.”

Gemini narrowed his eyes. He didn’t dare to take those words lightly — the Demon Sovereign was a focal point of destiny. For someone close to him to say something like that…there was probably a reason or two.

“I’ll take extra care, then.” Gemini thought about it for a moment. “Don’t worry. I never intended to step out of the Wildlands in the first place. If the Five Lands found out about my existence, they probably wouldn’t dare to call for a ceasefire.”

The Demon Sovereign drew himself up to his full height. “After all, I’m the strongest person in this world. They will never give me the time to develop.”

“Make sure it stays that way, then.” Lila rapped his head. “Or I’ll get Aria to bite you!”

Behind her, on the cot, Gemini could swear that Aria just made some chewing motions.