Gemini stared in the direction of the Five Lands, his hands trembling. An existence far higher in the hierarchy of life had taken root there, one that even he did not dare to confront. His instincts were shrieking madly, warning him to not even think about approaching that new existence.

It was an intensified version of when he faced that black lightning back then.

“What on Orb is that?” Gemini asked, directing his question to Hereward, who had frozen up.

The Sentinel of Space began to laugh quietly, his body rocking back and forth. “So…this is the arrangement of not destiny, but of one’s will. Impressive, impressive. None of us could have seen this coming. After all, who could see destiny when it has been inherited by another?”

“Inherited by another?” Gemini couldn’t wrap his head around those words.

Aria, who was having fun on Lila’s lap, made a little babble to indicate her confusion too, and as Gemini rubbed her head, the Demon Sovereign found himself deep in thought. There was no way this abrupt descent of what seemed to be a creation god — he didn’t know any other means to describe such a personage — had nothing to do with the fact that he could only see a pitch-black in the future.

“Yes,” said Hereward. “. Not by treachery, but by one’s will and ideals. The Crying Abyss has sacrificed itself willingly to give rise to such an impossible plan. What should I do?”

A hint of madness had tinted the Stabiliser’s words, and Gemini frowned.

“What’s wrong?” Gemini asked.

“I am marvelling at the arrangements of fate, for lack of a better word.” Hereward calmed down slightly. “Do you not see it? Your counterpart has taken action. Not in response to you, but to the whole of Orb itself!”

“The whole of Orb?”

“Yes!” Hereward’s skin began to ripple. “The madman that is the Abyss Sovereign is harnessing the entire Crying Abyss to create a new world! A virtual world, where all needs are met and fulfilled! He intends to create a world that will never have reason for conflict! Where one’s individual power is limited!”

He laughed once more. “It is an undertaking of incredible proportions! Cast your senses into the centre of the Wildlands, and listen to his lament!”

Guffawing, Hereward snapped his fingers to produce another blue screen. On it was a horrifying tower of darkness, one that was entirely unlike the featureless tower that the Demon God had created. All kinds of defences and walls surrounded the place, each of them as alien as the next.

As such, it took Gemini a minute to realise that this was actually the Central Circle.

“What’s this?”

“Do you really need to ask?” Hereward replied. “This is the fortress the Abyss Sovereign has created. His troops are truly immortal beings, spectres made up of the emotions and wills discarded when one ascends in the hierarchy of life. They will protect that madman’s child until it bears fruit.”

Gemini felt his head hurt, which should have been an impossibility for him. It was a relic of his more mortal side, but either way, he still didn’t quite understand what was going on.

It took him ten or so seconds to review and parse Hereward’s voice, and he couldn’t help but frown. If the great god didn’t get it wrong — something he’d never seen before — there was someone hoping to create what essentially would be a utopia for all life. The Demon Sovereign couldn’t help but feel that should such an endeavour succeed, the Five Lands and the Wildlands would be upended forever. Normal people, Soldiers, Squires, as well as their demon counterparts, would probably leave for this new world en masse, once they understood what it entailed.

The old systems would be destroyed. Labour forces that had been responsible for all facets of life would vanish into this utopia, if Hereward’s claims about a world where all needs were fulfilled was true.

“What…kind of world is this?” Gemini found himself asking.

His question calmed the Sentinel of Space down. “Long ago, millennia after the great battle between the Eternal Presence and the Epochal Boundary ended, the denizens of the original Orb pooled together their strength to create a virtual world. Unlike their current world back then, which was a ruined land of dead crystals, this virtual world was boundless and alive.”

He paused. “This nameless virtual world was meant for the people of the true Orb to subsist in, while agents of the Crying Abyss fought to carve out a space in the false Orb for them to live in. People like me, in other words.”

“This world…is being used as a foundation for such a utopia?”

“Yes. Empowered by the Crying Abyss, the Abyss Sovereign intends to collapse this virtual world and recreate it with his own rules,” said Hereward. “Once the collapse is at its peak, the process would reverse and…I see I’ve lost you somewhere along the line.”

Gemini, who had no clue about what the Sentinel of Space was saying, nodded. “Lost me, yes.”

“Alright, let’s put that aside, then. No one’s going to be interested in this topic anyway,” said Hereward. “So?”

“So?”

“What do you intend to do? This new world will doubtlessly upend order in your nation. How do you intend to respond? Are you going to lead an army and besiege the Abyss Sovereign?” Hereward asked.

“Uh…I need some time to think about it. A lot of time, in fact,” Gemini replied. “I just abdicated from my position as the Supreme Dictator of the demons and the Wildlands. It would be better if I let the Wildlands Council decide.”

“You don’t really care, do you?” Hereward rolled his eyes.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Gemini replied. “This utopia you described sounds great to me. It’s only the ruling and upper-class that should be alarmed by a mass departure of low-level workers and soldiers. None of my business.”

“…What a weird great god.”

“You can lay off the flattery, you know.” Gemini glanced at the snoozing Lila. “This world is bounded, but ambition is boundless. I came from Earth, where the little things in life were good enough for me. If they find the Abyss Sovereign’s utopia to be a better world, then so be it.”