“Three days, huh?” The Abyss Sovereign glanced at the skies around him. What seemed to be a wall of cracked air had surrounded the Central Circle, stopping the cannon fire dead in their tracks. Fortunately, however, this blockade only affected the middle and upper airzones — the spectres could still flood out of the continent by dipping down low when leaving.

“Yes. That said, something like this is unlikely to happen again,” Nexus, who was sitting on his shoulder and swinging his legs, replied. “Hmm. Judging from the rate of advance, the fleets on either side will not be able to make it to the Cradle before it wears off. “

“Especially if we continue to harass them with spectres. Even without fire support, these guys can deal quite a lot of damage, no?”

Issuing a bunch of orders mentally, Gaius closed his eyes and reviewed the events that had occurred earlier. One of his many vessels had detected activity in the upper airzones, which turned out to be the great gods and the Demon Sovereign analysing the crimson sky cast by the Canvas of Memory. These fellows, who were probably analysing on the basis of what harm it would pose, were likely to spend at least a month on trying to solve this issue, or even more.

After all, they would never expect him of all people to protect the mind and soul of everyone present. This was a reason why no members of the expedition had gone mad yet; as long as they avoided direct contact between wills, being in close proximity to the spectres would have no ill effects on them.

Gaius was planning for the future, after all. His goals had been met; personal defeat or victory was irrelevant at this juncture. Even if he was indeed struck down and cast into the depths of the earth, his efforts would have sowed the seeds of a lasting cooperation between the Five Lands. All this would not be possible if every single invader here turned mad and started butchering their fellows.

In the same vein, bringing a bunch of maddened souls into Celestia wouldn’t do anything for his goals either.

“What kind of enemy goes to such lengths to ensure the mental wellbeing of their foes?” Gaius wondered out loud.

“What brought that question on?” Nexus asked.

“Just thought about it all of a sudden,” Gaius replied. “I was thinking about the earlier encounter with the great gods, who were busy investigating the Canvas of Memory.”

“That Zeroth Armament is indeed rather unique,” Nexus replied. “A one-use artefact that protects the soul and mind…it’s unlike the Terminus, which can be made if given the right materials.”

“It’ll be troublesome, at least.” Gaius clicked his teeth. “In terms of Zeroth Armaments, we’re on the losing end. I don’t care much about the offensive ones; it’s the auxiliary ones that are giving us trouble.”

A regular drumbeat continued to echo on in his mind. He could tell what these drumbeats did; they reinforced the courage of allies who were listening, while sapping away at the will of the enemies.

“That’s the Drums of Order,” Nexus replied. “Lost centuries ago, but it has actually made a reappearance for this war to end all wars.”

“Of all times,” Gaius muttered. “Why did it not appear in the invasion of the Wildlands?”

“I wish I knew too, Master Gaius.” Nexus slid off his shoulder and landed on the ground gracefully. “Fortunately, the wielders of the other Zeroth Armaments are unlikely to pose a threat to you. Your preparations with the spectres and the vault should be able to tie those people down.”

Gaius grunted, and then looked around the place. As usual, he was in the highest point of the Cradle of Creation, seated in a soft chair. In the middle of the room was the world seed of Cybral, which was rapidly growing and mutating under his and the Abyss’ ministrations. It would seem that the remnant will of the Crying Abyss was giving their all, for the sake of their hibernating children, which made things a lot simpler.

“A gold coin for your thoughts,” said Nexus.

“Just looking at the love of a parent,” Gaius replied. “For the chance of waking up the people of the original Orb, the Crying Abyss willingly consigned itself into true annihilation.”

“What happens if you fail?” Nexus asked.

“If the festival of creation is interrupted, the souls within will be liberated. The people of true Orb will be released into this world and join the reincarnation cycle. In the process, all who are released will see an increase in their physical and cognitive abilities,” Gaius replied. “That’s why the Crying Abyss was willing to help me. My goals, like the old gods, are met, no matter what happens to us individually.”

He thumped his chest lightly. Whenever Gaius thought of this or brought it up, he couldn’t help but feel pleased with himself. After all, how many could claim that they manoeuvred themselves into an unassailable position?

“Masterful, I guess.” Nexus sighed. “It’s nice to have things going your way for once.”

Gaius nodded with a smile. Without Weiwu and Oculus chiming in, he couldn’t help but feel a bit depressed. He wanted to go back to Isabelle and the others, but with the great gods fluttering around, he couldn’t relax just yet. This unassailable position of his hadn’t quite appeared yet; the world seed still needed to grow.

“There’s a few days before Orb goes past the point of no return,” Gaius replied. “Please don’t jinx it. I worked long and hard for this, you know.”

His eyes clouded over for a moment. In his mind’s eye, the film of translucent darkness, which had been created two months ago, was almost done with the Wildlands. Unfortunately, the great gods hadn’t expended much of their power in trying to impede its unstoppable advance, but that was just how life was.

“I should get myself warmed up for long periods of combat over the next three days, then,” Gaius murmured. “Do you want to tag along? Gather some battlefield data?”

“Sure.”