“A small, reusable troop of Knights, eh?” Gaius glanced at the falling bodies, who were actually projections of sorts. They were actually energy given form and substance. In a way, they weren’t too different from the spectres, who were coagulated wills and nothing else.

“Seems like a Zeroth Armament, but from how it has such a coherent function, it’s probably something manufactured with a purpose in mind,” Nexus replied. “Like your Terminus, although I did not intend for it to have such a destructive Zeroth Release.”

Gaius mulled for a moment as the barrage of fire resumed. The fixed defences aboard the allied expedition fleet had stopped firing on him the moment the hundred-odd projections started their assault, which admittedly didn’t last all that long.

“Do you know what that Zeroth Armament is?” Gaius asked.

“No, but I am reasonably sure that the creator is from the Western Holdings,” Nexus replied. “The opening of the Oblivion Portal six millennia ago, which created enemies that could corrupt any soldiers dispatched, would provide an incentive for the West to create a means in which battles could be fought without sending real people onto the field.”

“Hmm. The ability for the spectres to turn anyone insane has been retrieved by me, and I’ve even added some precautions. It should be fine, then,” Gaius noted. “Wait. That’s not the main issue. So, a Zeroth Armament…in that case, the enemy might have used it when they noticed the abnormality going on with this body.”

“Reasonable hypothesis, Master Gaius.”

“Yeah, I know. After all, nothing like madness has affected the Five Lands’ troops so far, but if there’s an odd-looking spectre bathing in a pillar of light, playing it safe is better,” Gaius replied, blocking an entire wall of fire with a single thought. “And to be fair, their caution did pay off. I just took out over a hundred Knights with two attacks, no?”

He glanced down at his body. “I’ll just warm up my reflexes for a few more minutes, and then let this spectre expire naturally.”

“You’re the worst god ever,” Nexus replied.

“You’re the only one calling me that, buddy.” Gaius scattered another deluge of shots aimed at him, and then continued to extend his senses. Combat situations like these, where he could practice and do absolutely nothing else, was good for the eventual battles against the great gods.

Probably, anyway.

“I never thought you would abandon your host like this,” Nexus replied. “At the Human God was forced out of his familiar spirit back then, so he has an excuse. You? There’s no excuse. You’re just using this spectre as a tool for exercise or something.”

“Oh, come on. Spectres aren’t alive to begin with,” Gaius replied. “They’re different from the likes of you and me, got it?”

“Really?”

“I’m pretty sure the fact they didn’t need to eat or drink should tip you off to that particular aspect.” Gaius shook his head, before looking up at the crimson sky. From the earlier encounter, he knew that the great gods were currently preoccupied with the crimson sky, save for the Demon Sovereign, who had dragged one of his stronger spectres into a battle of Divine Will.

His desire to train himself physically weakened at this thought. Gaius was well aware that of everyone present, he was the only one who didn’t have experience in a clash between Divine Will. He had inferred some aspects of it, while Weiwu had told him some other chunks before his death, but the latter was just theoretical aspects.

After all, the Chanter of Innocents had never saw a need to fight before.

Gaius closed his eyes and let the incoming attacks tear his host body apart, absorbing the experience for all it was worth. He had a feeling that death and defeat was commonplace in battles of Divine Will, if nothing else. What really mattered was a will stern enough to impose one’s reality onto the real world.

What that entailed was another question altogether, though.

When he next reopened his eyes, he was back in the Cradle of Creation. The smoky, grey robe around him was somewhat drenched in sweat, and Gaius couldn’t help but pat his cheeks twice.

“Being torn apart by bullets of energy really isn’t a fun experience,” Gaius muttered. “Quite bracing, even. I should get used to this, though.”

“Says the masochist,” Nexus jumped off his head, leaving behind a messy, sculpture-sized bed of hair. “The poor spectre, though.”

“Shut it about that spectre,” Gaius replied. “It’ll be back in another form anyway…although I’m not sure what to do with them, now that I think about it.”

“Won’t these spectres be destroyed along with the Crying Abyss?” Nexus asked.

“Yes, but wouldn’t that be a waste?” Gaius asked. “So many ready-made monsters. There has to be a use for them, right?”

“As a common enemy for the new world, then,” Nexus replied. “Even if you provide them a boundless world to play in, there will come a time in which expanding is more costly than just snatching and grabbing. If you make it such that conflict will trigger the appearance of spectres, you can further delay such things.”

“True, but is there really a need for me to intervene in things like this,” said Gaius. “But my whole point in all this was to…”

He fell silent.

Indeed, his original goal was to create a good world for Nakama and La-Ti to grow up in. One where the threat of war didn’t exist, but as it turned out, the path he truly wanted was so much larger. It was a development that seemed natural to him, one that he would embark on with no regrets.

Did one truly need a reason to end conflict? Or was that a reason in and of itself? Getting up from his seat, Gaius scattered the grey, misty robe of energy, reforming it a heartbeat later to produce a brand-new version of his clothes. He gazed at his new robes for a moment, before creating a mirror.

“You should have a crown or something,” said Nexus. “And you should definitely decorate that seat of yours. Make it look like a throne.”

“Why?”

“So that you can internalise your own status,” Nexus replied. “You’re still in denial, do you know that?”

“Really?” Gaius tapped his feet. “And what kinds of problems might that create?”

“Well, for starters…”