“This must be the most extravagant adventurer party ever,” Gemini observed wryly, eyeing the squad in front of him. Aria, who was sitting on his shoulders, reached out to the four great gods in front of him, making little gurgles as the radiance they emitted fluctuated over and over.

For the first time ever since their battles against the Demon God, the great gods of Orb had come down in person. Other than Hereward, Gemini had never seen the true form of the other great gods before…nor, for that matter, the entire world.

“For all the extravagance we’re giving off right now, younger brother, we aren’t confident of returning alive from the Demon God’s final redoubt.” Thasvia, a tall woman with flowing green hair and equally-brilliant eyes, folded her arms. “If we all fall here in the stem of Orb, that would be the end of days. The Abyss Sovereign would become our only salvation.”

Gemini’s attention, however, was drawn to how he had abruptly become the little brother of all the great gods present, to the point that it took him an entire second to process the words that followed.

“Younger brother…”

“That’s what you were focused on?”

Liamar, who was a burly fellow with red rippling muscles, roared once, and an incredible amount of information flooded into Gemini’s mind. It was simultaneously an acknowledgement of Gemini as his kin, an admission that he knew who Demon Sovereign Asteria actually was, a detailed explanation about the loose connections of the great gods as a family, adulation for Aria’s overwhelming cuteness, an earnest desire to fight and finally, a query about the status of breakfast in their home.

Gemini didn’t know how to reply to such a surge of questions and statements at once, and the sudden pause made the others laugh.

“Come now, Gemini.” Hereward patted his shoulder. “Liamar’s always been like that. Most people don’t actually understand his roars, but those that do always have the same dumbfounded look whenever they hear it for the first time.”

“There are other people who understand it?”

“Partially, if nothing else. No one, aside from us, can fully comprehend this extreme form of voice transmission,” Hereward replied. “It’s enough to give Demigods a good headache, though. Talk about an acoustic weapon.”

“Auh!”

“Right, your daughter doesn’t seem scared of Liamar. In fact, she isn’t crying at all.” Thasvia reached out a hand experimentally, and Aria immediately reached out to grab it.

The Breath-maker smiled immediately. “Can I pat her?”

“Just a word of warning — once you do, there’s no turning back,” Gemini replied. “Also, she loves it if you pat her really slowly. If you want to hear her make delightful sounds, rub her scalp gently.”

“Hoh?” Thasvia massaged Aria’s head gently, and the little baby squealed. “Haah. Maybe I should find a baby to raise too. So adorable.”

Aria nodded. “Auh!”

“Did she just agree with my assessment of her?” Thasvia asked. “How old is she?”

“Nearly seven months old,” Gemini replied. “She’s really clever, right? If I were to put her in school, she’ll definitely skew the bellcurve or something.”

Thasvia tilted her head. “Bellcurve?”

“Something from Earth,” Hereward cut in. “Don’t think too much about it.”

As the three gods focused on Gemini’s little daughter, he turned his attention to the unmoving Aldnath, who had taken the form of an old man, whose hair was white with age. Clad in a set of silvery robes, the Dragon of Time had a distant look in his eyes.

“What’s up with Aldnath?” Gemini whispered to Hereward.

“He’s…communicating with the world seed the Abyss Sovereign is using,” Hereward replied. “Or rather, the people inside the world seed. The two of us have believers inside that nameless world, from which he is currently gathering information from.”

“World seed…what’s it like inside?”

“According to my familiar spirit, it’s a place very similar to Earth,” Hereward replied. “No qi, nothing. However, there’s quite a few differences, including the fact that they depend on something called energy salts to survive. Furthermore, anything can be ingested for energy, and the world itself seems to be never-ending.”

“Never-ending, eh?” Gemini clicked his teeth. “What kind of world can be never-ending?”

“One that defies all known laws, that’s for sure,” Hereward replied. “It’s another reason why we’re treating the Abyss Sovereign with the highest caution. That fact that he’s creating such an impossible world can only mean he is linked to the Crying Abyss. With that connection, he can harness incredible levels of divinity, enough to slaughter even Bounded Presences with ease.”

Gemini thought about the death of Rahwei, and then nodded. The Demon God himself had taken in a fraction of the Abyss’ power, which was more than enough for him to hold off multiple great gods at the same time.

“Can’t we take it in too?” Gemini asked. “You know, deplete the enemy’s source of power at the same time.

“Only if you want to risk madness,” said the Sentinel of Space. “But we can’t even do that now. The Crying Abyss has closed off all remaining connections, as evidenced by the closure of the Oblivion Portal in the Western Holdings. As we speak, the Five Lands are busily trying to get Queen Hyperion to move the enormous army that once stood guard over the place.”

“More reinforcements, excellent.”

“More warm bodies, I guess.” Hereward clicked his teeth. “The ground troops of the enemy are…fearsome. They’re spectres, the exact same spectres that flooded out of the Oblivion Portal six thousand years ago. They’re very capable of inducing madness.”

“Like the same way the primal demons were…” Gemini clicked his teeth. “I think we might be getting down to the bottom of some mystery here.”

“Indeed.” Hereward glanced at Thasvia and Liamar, who were making faces at Aria. “Come on, the two of you. It’s time to head off. Gemini, you should reassure your wife that you’ll indeed be fine, before she stares us to death with those daggers in her eyes.”

“Well, you did pull her husband out of retirement. I’d say you had it coming,” Gemini replied. “Aria, can you release Thasvia’s fingers? It’s time for us to go.”

“Auh…”