[Book 14: Abyss Ascendant]

Thousands of unmoving bodies lay in the darkness, illuminated only by an eye-piercing pinprick of azure. Gaius, who shouldn’t have been able to see it through a sea of snowpyres, was able to see it anyway, as if there was some odd property of the light that prevented it from being concealed.

“Is that it?” Gaius asked out loud, his voice echoing through the cavern.

An eyeball materialised in mid-air. “Yes. That’s the core of the world you call Cybral. Still, for so many snowpyres to be guarding it…”

“It’s fair to say that the snowpyres of Heritage and the Intersection come from this place, then. Spiritually, anyway.” Gaius stared at his trembling arms. He had physically carved a path through a literal sea of enemies, each of them hellbent on chewing him up. To make matters worse, the sea of lightning in Machia was one hell of a hazard — even if they didn’t go after him directly, coming into contact with one of the many sparks that fell off was a nerve-shattering experience.

A monstrous howl came from above him, but with a single movement, Gaius sidestepped the falling snowpyre. A sudden howling gale followed, and the snowpyre fell into two as a silver glint cleaved it apart.

Gaius, from start to end, hadn’t paid much attention to the sudden attack. What he was more interested in was the pinprick of azure that sat in what was probably the very centre of the true Orb. That pinprick of azure light was actually a world that contained billions of lives, each of them living in a virtual reality that was in no way inferior to the real deal.

A little puppet popped out from inside Gaius’ shirt. “Are you sure you want to do this? The sunk cost fallacy isn’t much of a deal yet. Think. Do you really, really want to do this? The great gods, the privileged of the Five Lands…none of them will accept this new world of yours.”

“You…haven’t really been paying attention to my plan, have you?” Gaius rolled his eyes. “There is no need for their acceptance. I will recreate Cybral and establish a new world, one that the common folk of Orb desires. The era of individual power will end. Every person will be able to decide their own destiny on a fairer playing field. Lords, Paragons, Demigods — all these will cease to exist.”

He clenched his fist. “This is my path.”

“You do know that the rich and powerful will not stand by idly, no? The armies of the Five Lands will march on you,” Nexus replied. “No, not just the Five Lands. The demons will likely join too. You and Isabelle are going to be facing the combined might of two worlds. This is insanity, Master Gaius!”

“That depends.” Gaius let out a small hiss, and held his head. “I’m close. Every step I take affirms my will. And besides…no matter what the outcome is, I will win. Either I am defeated by a combined front, truly united by the threat of a new God of Creation, or I reshape the whole world, thereby eliminating the problems of individual power.”

The divinity within Gaius roiled madly, and another streak of power flooded his veins, condensing deep into his soul. Gaius nodded to himself. His divinity was conforming to his will, not the other way around. This was explicit proof that this entire endeavour, as suicidal and as crazy as it sounded, was his truest wish.

Since the threat of the Wildlands had been neutered, the Five Lands hadn’t reached a state of unity that would bring about a post-war peace. In fact, the War Council was on the verge of breaking apart — the nations of the Five Lands were accusing and lambasting former allies and current enemies alike.

“How is the peace conference going?” Gaius asked, directing his question to Nexus.

“It’s going along well,” Nexus replied. “Isabelle and the others are watching the whole process at home.”

“Have they packed up their items?” Gaius pressed on.

“Yes. They can flee to the Library of Ancients at any time, although Isabelle wants me to tell you that she intends to come over to your position once you this festival of creation starts.” Nexus paused. “She’s not taking no for an answer, by the way.”

“…I’ll teleport her over once I step across the threshold,” Gaius replied. “I’ve given up on saying no to her.”

“Happy wife, happy life.” Oculus chuckled.

“A relationship is about both giving and taking. If Isabelle thinks she’s been taking too much, that’s also a problem, right? That might lead to small problems. And…I’ll be lying if I said that I don’t want her by my side.” Gaius looked at his hands. “For a long time, I’ve been standing still. Watching and reacting. I cannot do that anymore. It is time for me to truly start living.”

“Such is the essence of a Boundless One,” said Oculus, the light-hearted spirit in his earlier sentence notably absent. “Nexus. Don’t bother persuading him. He’s already on the path. There’s no way back. He will walk straight on, for the sake of Nakama and La-Ti, but also for himself. This is his honest wish. He will succeed, or die trying.”

“This wasn’t what the Monarch of Shadows wanted,” Nexus replied. “He just wanted Gaius to…”

“I haven’t heard those words for quite some time,” said Gaius. “But what he wants and what I want are very different things. I was a jaded, pessimistic person by the time I set up the orphanage proper. Back then, it was something I did to assuage my guilt. That was it.”

Gripping his Terminus, Gaius pushed a strand of divinity into the dagger, before slashing out. A wave of light swept through the horde of snowpyres charging at him, and their bodies shattered.

This was the final defence line for the physical form of Cybral, where hundreds of millions of lives were living out their days within. Beneath the little source of light were even more dormant souls, all sunk into an endless dream.

The sight before him was what remained of the ruined true Orb.

Nothing, however, was going to stop Gaius from achieving his goal. If he had to kill whole hordes of snowpyres to do it, so much the better too. After all, they too led miserable existences. By freeing those souls from their flawed shells, he could reincarnate them within Cybral or in the new world he was going to create.

“Onwards,” Gaius murmured. “To a real utopia.”