Gaius reclined on his throne, looking out at the various screens that were floating around him. Other than the approach from the south, which was covered by a massive fleet of Locomotives, there was also a smaller, more elite force from the North. The latter had been delayed over and over, since there wasn’t much in the way of cover, but it wouldn’t be long before they tore through the defences there.

A grand total of one hundred Locomotives were besieging the Central Circle. Forty from the north, supporting the Mortal Light Dynasty’s advance, while another sixty supported the general expedition.

“Nexus,” Gaius called out. “Report.”

A small sculpture fell from the ceiling. “Yes, Master Gaius. Energy reserves at full value. Our artillery is firing at eighty percent capacity, while our underground forces have grown to three-point-three million. The Five Lands has set up a base camp, and a huge teleportation formation has been erected. Do we interfere with it?”

“Go ahead. Try to target one nation at a time. I want to see which link’s the weakest now,” the Abyss Sovereign replied slowly. Cupping his chin, Gaius closed his eyes and replayed the instant in which the Sentinel of Space retreated. Why did he retreat?

The only thing special about the spectres Hereward had destroyed was that they had been temporarily commandeered by some of the souls that were not in Cybral yet. Gaius was trying to see if they could put up a better fight against the elite fliers of the Five Lands if they had rudimentary survival instincts, but the Sentinel of Space had wiped them all out with a single attack.

“Hmm. Was the Sentinel of Space simply loathe to attack souls directly? Or…”

Gaius pondered the anomaly. The Sentinel of Space knew about Cybral, if the familiar spirit he’d planted in there millennia ago was of any indication. It was possible that the great god actually had some connections to that virtual world.

“Maybe Hereward had a role in constructing Cybral?”

“That’s plausible,” Gaius replied. “If so, I’m essentially taking his creation and expanding it, right? What’s the problem with that?”

“Craftsmen don’t want other people to modify their works, as a rule of thumb. Maybe Hereward was angry because you were changing Cybral and trying to turn it into something bigger and different,” Nexus suggested, before floating up to a particular screen. “But if so, going to what essentially was a vegetative state isn’t quite exactly the reaction we’re seeing, right?’

“True. And besides, his reaction came from seeing those souls.” Gaius fiddled with the screen Nexus was staring at, before replaying the moment over and over. No matter how he looked at it, Gaius could tell that the great god had a very visceral reaction to those souls, as if they were his family or something.

“Interesting. Well, we’ve found a counter to Hereward, if nothing else.” Gaius closed his eyes, and his will swept out, diving into a small monolith of lifeless crystal. The monolith lit up, and as a mild exhaustion crawled up his arm, the monolith shattered, liberating a whole mass of glowing souls.

“Go.”

Far below the Cradle of Creation, in the depths of the Central Circle, over a hundred thousand spectres trembled.

“One-point-five percent freed,” Nexus replied. “Is it worth it, though? You’re expending more energy than ever. If you aren’t careful.”

“Energy is transient; promises are forever.” Gaius smiled. “I made a promise to Weiwu. With so many Locomotives on their way here, I cannot guarantee that I can actually do something about these poor souls after Celestia is created. Best to leave no regrets.”

“The great Abyss Sovereign, troubled by mortal constructs.” Nexus chuckled. “Isn’t this proof of their potential?”

“Yes. The potential for both great good and great evil.” Gaius lifted his chin. “Just as how Pinnacle Kolya views me. Both of us stand at the cusp of greatness. He represents the peak of what mortal life can create…and I can only reject that. For him, I am what the great gods could very well be, and he must make an example of me if the era of the great gods is to end.”

“Life has a very wicked sense of humour,” Nexus noted. “Do you plan on speaking to him in person?”

“It would be awkward,” Gaius replied. “I’d prefer not to. Let him remember me at my best, not at my worst. The same goes for everyone else who I’ve come across. Should I go down the most heinous of murderers in Orb’s history…well, they won’t at least associate the extremist mass murderer with the teenage boy they knew personally.”

“…Are you a masochist?”

Gaius glanced at the sculpture. “Maybe. I am told that I am one, by Weiwu no less. Anyway, continue to harass the enemy. Make the most out of our near-infinite energy and our homefield advantage. The Five Lands are trying to prove me wrong by attacking the premise of my path. I’m willing to let my premise be tested.”

“By disrupting their sleep.”

“Only when they’re at the lowest can the truth be seen,” Gaius replied. “Besides, if they’re too tired, they’ll eventually blot out the sound anyway. Most of the elites are already spacing out, as an illustration.”

“So…”

“Vary the pattern. Stress them out. Launch feints. Make sure that the Five Lands aren’t going to get any peace of mind. I want to see if they will break or not. The Five Lands turned on each other when they tried to exploit their advantages. I now want to see if the Five Lands can stay together when they’re brought down low.” Gaius narrowed his eyes. “Prove to me that I’m wrong.”

“Master Gaius…and what if they do prove that they can stay together?”

“Then they would have cleared the first stage,” Gaius replied. “There’s a lot more to follow, right? I’m forcing them together, creating bonds by putting them in danger over and over again. If they can’t even satisfy the basics, they should just stay holed up there and suffer together.”

“I thought you were going to be soft…”

“I’ve taken the lives of thousands,” Gaius replied, his words slow and measured, “and you think I’m going to be soft now? Don’t be silly.”

He got up from the throne. “Monitor and continue their harassment. I’ll check on the depths of Orb.”