“Stay safe out there.” Gemini rubbed Lila’s head. “Thasvia, is Aria already tucked into a cot for her afternoon nap?”

“I must confess that in my whole life,” said Thasvia, “I have never expected anyone to ask me such a question with this much authority. Yes, she is tucked in comfortably. Her favourite blanket is wrapped around her soundly, and some of my godkith are just swooning over her napping form in an adjacent room.”

“Good. Thanks.” Lila nodded at the God of Wind, and then gave Gemini a hug. “Don’t go playing the hero, okay?”

“That’s my line, actually.”

She nodded. Taking a deep breath, Lila tore herself away from Gemini, joining the gathering Knights above the allied fleet.

“She’ll be fine,” said Thasvia.

“Considering that you gave her a really thick barrier,” said Hereward, “the only way she’s even going to get injured is if the Abyss Sovereign attacked her personally.”

“So make sure you do your job and draw him away from the general battlefield,” Gemini replied.

“Is that how you speak to Orb’s God of Creation?”

“The Abyss Sovereign is on the verge of becoming Celestia’s God of Creation,” Gemini replied. “I think moderating the amount of respect I hold towards such beings is best for my mental state. It would not do if I am to shiver and tremble and quiver when my opponent powers up one last time to become a God of Creation.”

“You sound very experienced at this,” Hereward noted.

“Well, given that we’re the good guys — probably — I expect you two to pull out your hole cards only after you’ve been beaten to a pulp,” Gemini replied. “And the world’s enemy should have similar cards to play too.”

“…What books have you been reading recently?”

“It doesn’t take that long for beings like us to read books,” Gemini replied. “I just came up with the general structure after a while.”

“Well, it is true that we are probably holding on to some…aces.” Thasvia played with her emerald hair. “But the situation’s different this time. Now that we know that battles of Divine Will don’t affect him, the two of us are very prepared.”

“It’s probably going to be your stage, though,” said Hereward. “You’re the person with the most battle experience. Last I checked, you went through the Second Extermination, endured constant attacks from the primal demons and even fought the Abyss Sovereign before he decided to go all extremist on us. Of everyone present, you alone have the most experience.”

“I also have the most experience in getting killed, just so you know,” Gemini replied. “I’ve died and revived twice. Once by you, another time when Ark City escaped from the Wildlands…”

“You’re used to pain. Great. You’ll be the main attacker, then,” said Thasvia. “You tie him down, we flank him. That’s a pretty good plan, if you ask me.”

“I’m not going to play the hero here,” Gemini replied. “I made a promise. And being the guy whose sole job is to entangle the Abyss Sovereign while the others do the safer jobs isn’t going to help that. Someone must join me.”

“I’ll join you then,” said Thasvia. “Hereward’s not really good at actually fighting face-to-face battles.”

Gemini considered her words for a moment, and then abruptly remembered the scene of his awakening. “Right. True. Did you know that when I regained awareness, after the Demon God died, the first thing I saw was Hereward? I was holding his throat in my right hand; if the Demon God had died a moment later…”

“That’s rude,” said Hereward.

“But aren’t you really weak?” Gemini asked. “I mean, for your status.”

“I’ve been concerning myself with matters like preserving this world,” said Hereward. “The other gods, however, have been busy slumbering. Between these two issues, I haven’t had the time to find someone to spar with, and no one’s going to waste their energy on such pointless issues either.”

“Doesn’t seem that pointless to me.”

“No one expected someone like the Abyss Sovereign to show up either,” Hereward replied. “Look, I’m bad at fighting. Deal with it.”

“…alright. Just support us from the rear or something, then.” Gemini looked down on the massive expedition fleet. Floating above the various battlegroups of the expedition were huge floating hulks of metal. “Wait. How about coordinating a strike with the North?”

“That’s possible, but there’s also the possibility that the North might just decide to annihilate us with it,” said Thasvia.

“No, they won’t. Not on the first instance, anyway,” Gemini replied. “If they kill us, and then it turns out that the Abyss Sovereign couldn’t exactly be harmed by normal means, the Five Lands would have screwed themselves over. They will not do something as stupid as that.”

“Really?”

Gemini eyed the great god, but before he could say anything in response, deafening horns erupted out of the assembled fleet. As the thunderous sound rolled across the Never-ending Ocean, the largest force in the history of Orb began to move out slowly, and Hereward raised his arms.

“We’re starting?” Thasvia asked.

“Almost. I’m going to wait for the War Council’s signal,” said Hereward. “Once enough of the ships have drawn close to the Central Circle, I will forcibly repair the cracked space, and then we’ll join the Five Lands in creating a foothold.”

“The latter’s probably not going to happen, though.”

“Correct. We’ll engage the Abyss Sovereign physically, with Gemini taking the lead,” said Thasvia. “I’ll help too, and Hereward’s going to provide a lot of support and cover. We’ll delay him until the Five Lands have cleared out the local area, at which point he’s definitely going to retreat.”

Gemini closed his eyes as she continued to explain their plan once more. It really wasn’t needed, but the Demon Sovereign knew full well that she was talking only to assuage everyone’s fears and worries.

Thasvia was a good person, in many ways.

Everyone watched on in silence as the numerous weapons on the Locomotives began to light up. At the same time, the fliers of the allied forces were spewing out of the gigantic fleet, creating a crescent formation.

“Forces of Orb.” A sonorous voice spoke from the skies itself. “Let us begin.”