The sensation of wriggling muscles and veins was somewhat uncomfortable, but since Gaius was busy conducting a descent onto one of the stronger spectres in the battlefield, there was nothing that could be done about it. In his mind’s eye, he could sense the trepidation of the countless enemies fixate on him, and he couldn’t help but let out a small smile.

Whatever phenomenon that appeared as a portion of his consciousness descended onto the spectre was probably too eye-catching for anyone to ignore, and for a moment, the expedition fleet faltered in its tracks. The battle halted for the briefest of moments, and a small tingle ran down his spine.

Gaius clicked his teeth. “How troublesome…but at least there’s going to be a rather good justification as to why I’m not dealing a fatal blow, right?”

He had no intention of killing. Gaius knew that it was hypocritical of him to step out of the battlefield with this mindset, but to him, those who died while attacking the Cradle of Creation had nothing to do with him. They were either forced by their desires or by their rulers to expend their lives in this crusade of theirs; for him to take responsibility for their deaths was absurd.

To him, anyway.

“Is it possible that the great gods will attempt to threaten you by using the lives of everyone here?” Nexus asked, his voice echoing in Gaius’ head.

“Not my responsibility,” Gaius replied. “Even if they notice my desire to avoid killing, they can’t exploit it. It won’t make sense to them either, since people are already dying anyway. If they do indeed try to pin their own deeds on me, that’s their problem.”

“Good.” Nexus paused. “You now sound like an old-timer who’s seen through many things. I mean, that’s pretty much given, but you sound extra-jaded now.”

“Do I?” Gaius asked. “I like it when Isabelle pats my head and spoils me, though.”

“That’s different. That’s just your fetish or something. Or maybe something couples do.” Nexus chuckled. “I don’t know. Maybe when the festival of creation ends and you become a Boundless One, you can try to do something about me and La-Ti. Turn us into real souls and a real body or something along these lines.”

“Sure — wait. What do you mean by that?” Gaius asked, curious. “How does the formation of Celestia have anything to do with advancements in my personal strength? Did Weiwu or Oculus mention anything to you?”

“I guessed.”

“You guessed?” Gaius glanced at the projectiles of qi headed his way, and then began to weave through the barrage. “What do you mean, you guessed?”

“I ran through some of the things we learned in the past few years,” said Nexus. “From what I can tell, one’s ability to manipulate energy is dependent on the will.”

“Uh-huh.” Gaius batted aside a solid steel pile, and then glanced at it as it fell into the sea, bemused. He hadn’t expected to see solid projectiles here, but there was always a first.

“Restricting the will improves one’s ability to manipulate energy,” Nexus continued. “This forms the basis of the Knight…back in Xanadu’s timeline, that is. In our current timeline, the restricted will is then offered up to the Crying Abyss, which confers onto the newly-ascended Knight the boon of a proto-Fief.”

“I know this much,” Gaius replied, bobbing through another wave of shots again. “But what does have to do with Celestia and all that random things you mentioned?”

“There’s many ways to refine one’s will,” Nexus continued. “This obsession of yours — to create a utopia and to bring about an everlasting peace — is one such method. I hypothesise that in the next few days, when Celestia’s formation is half-complete and your lesser goal is met, your personal strength will undergo a transformation hitherto unseen in the likes of Orb before.”

“And why would that happen?”

“Because you’ve affirmed your own will and path,” Nexus replied. “Remember the Human God’s last words? For you, doubt and the fear of failure are your fetters. You cast off the former when you first embarked on this insane undertaking. Once the three months are up and Celestia is half-complete, you will have fulfilled your promise to the Crying Abyss and met all your smaller goals.”

“Thereby casting off yet another fetter.” Gaius made a little noise in his host body’s throat, before pulling back slightly. A bunch of Knights had decided to draw close to him, despite the fact that Gaius had done nothing save for bobbing left and right.

“Yes. Of course, the sole proof I actually have is your sudden uptick in strength after you embarked on this insane journey,” said Nexus. “Whether it’s intentional or not I have no idea, but when Celestia is fully formed and the festival of creation comes to an end, you will probably surpass the great gods through and through.”

“What am I, a villain?” Gaius muttered, before narrowing his eyes. The Knights that were charging him seemed a tad too slow in his eyes, and he sidestepped their attacks with a single movement. As one, they curved together in formation, before charging forward for another pass.

“Something wrong?” Nexus asked.

“Just a bunch of odd Knights, who insist on fighting me with their physical body. What happened to firing shots at—”

Gaius propelled himself back, cutting his own words off. Another Knight had somehow appeared high above him, before diving down with a huge sword. Frowning, the Abyss Sovereign scanned his enemies, and then blinked twice.

“They’re all…the same.”

“What’s all the same?” Nexus asked.

“Ten Knights with the exact same body and energy-gathering structure.” He glanced at the enemy Knights, who were increasing rapidly in number. “And more, as I speak.”

“…Is this body you’re occupying a disposable one?”

“No harm done, even if it’s killed,” Gaius replied. “Interesting. I’m going to warm up thoroughly, in that case. Right. Do keep a lookout for the cause behind this…interesting phenomenon, as well as any interlopers.”

“Yes, Master Gaius.”

The Abyss Sovereign, in the body of a spectre, stretched his neck and began to move.