“First, a background brief on what has transpired over the last twelve hours,” said Queen Hyperion. A white screen rolled down from behind her as she said those words, and a huge black-grey tower that could only be the dictionary definition of being ominous appeared on this.

The auditorium fell silent at that sight.

“This tower,” said Queen Hyperion, “appeared in the middle of the Central Circle ten hours ago, shortly after 1200 hours local time. Every single building that was built on the landmass was destroyed or displaced. Fortunately, there was no loss of life, but…”

“No loss of life?” Aziz whispered. “What’s the odds of that being actually accidental?”

“Considering how the Wildlands dealt with our invasion, I would say that the chances that no one died being purely coincidental is slightly higher than me being allowed to resign peacefully,” Marie replied.

“Oh, you also want to retire too?” Major Xi asked. “Considering the amount of paperwork you apparently do every single day, I suppose that’s a given. They don’t call you Paperwork Princess for no good reason, after all.”

“Who calls me that stupid nickname?” Marie asked.

“It’s been making the rounds around the Heaven-cleaving Fortress,” the major replied. “In fact, it’s so popular that the last I heard, someone sent in the suggestion to the Conferment Committee.”

“What.”

“It’s great, though. Someone with an official nickname, as decided by the powers that be.” Major Xi chuckled. “The fellow who came up with that nickname and disseminated it all around the place is a genius through and through.”

“If I ever find out who did that…”

Aziz subtly shifted his eyes away from the two’s inane conversation. The colonel, naturally, was above all these little games, but the same couldn’t be said about the people under him.

Who were they again?

Aziz tried to rack his brains, but he could only remember Major Hans now. Most of the others had turned into passing memories, subordinates that were now distant from him. The same went for Thunderbolt and the First Aerial in general — so many people had come and left, to the point that the aerial division seemed a bit foreign to him.

It was a depressing thought, if nothing else.

Sighing, he focused on Queen Hyperion once more. Lost in thought, his mind had drifted away from her briefing for a moment, but she was talking about the initial assessment of the defences that had popped up there. Since assessments would have to be conducted over and over, this part was one that he could ignore with ease.

Queen Hyperion cleared her throat. “Now, moving on to the main threat this…building poses. I will yield the floor to Hereward, the Sentinel of Space.”

She stepped back, and then exchanged some words with Speaker Sephira, who nodded in return. Everyone’s focus, however, was now on the Sentinel of Space, who had descended in the usual form of a radiant shadow. Grey light spilled out of him, creating an air of majesty that made Aziz unable to look away.

“Thank you, Queen Hyperion.” Hereward looked around the place. “Good. Everyone’s paying attention.”

It was hard not to pay attention, considering that the great god was lighting up the entire auditorium in a way that no one could ignore. Besides, everyone was already frantic to uncover the truth behind such an ominous tower of doom and gloom — even the easily-distracted would not turn their eyes away at this juncture.

“Let me start, then. First, clarifications. This tower on-screen right now has nothing to do with the enormous risks Orb is about to face if nothing is done in six months. No, the real threat lies in the event occurring at the very top of the tower.

“A being that is the theoretical equal of the Demon Sovereign at his full strength resides there, protecting the seed from which a new world will bloom. It is an impossible world, one that promises a boundless world and never-ending resources for all who reside in it. At first glance, this sounds like a good thing, but the problem lies with this new world itself.”

He paused for a moment. “The Abyss Sovereign’s festival of creation is risky. Unlike the true Orb, which weathered for eons before the first signs of life appeared, this festival of creation was induced artificially. Unlike the false Orb, whose creation was guided by multiple Bounded Presences, this festival of creation is entirely dependent on the Abyss Sovereign’s desires, as well as the world seed it is built around on. Therein lies the danger.”

In the small pause that followed, Minister Eventide, who was sitting in the audience area, stood up. Aziz hadn’t noticed that he was in the front role, but again, the entire hall had been filled to the brim.

“You have a question?”

“What dangers are we talking about here?” Eventide asked.

“If something goes wrong…well, climate disasters, at the very least. I can guarantee, however, that even if this new world of the Abyss Sovereign takes shape without incident, no new lives will be born on Orb,” Hereward replied. “He is beginning to redirect Orb’s reincarnation cycle to flow into that world seed of his first. Once it takes shape, no new lives for humans, beastfolk and demons will show up on Orb.”

Murmurs flooded the auditorium.

“Are you kidding me?” Marie muttered. “No new lives? That’s horrible. Why is he doing this?”

“You’re asking someone who’s pretty much the Demon Sovereign, but with a different prefix,” Aziz pointed out. “That’s probably a question that no one can answer easily, no?”

“Still…if we do nothing, Orb’s going to be depopulated over the next few centuries,” said Major Xi. “Eventually, only the Demigods would be left.”

“Nothing short of a world-ending threat, eh?” Aziz noted. “And that’s assuming if nothing bad happens to this so-called festival of creation to begin with. If there is…”

The colonel didn’t complete his sentence, but the others got his drift. He could tell why this was essentially a second crisis on the level of the Demon God’s invasion, but even the World’s Blight hadn’t warranted a response from the Wildlands.

“Right, the Wildlands…” Aziz drifted over to the demon Demigods on the stage, who were standing out due to their third eyes. “They are helping, right?”