Out of consideration for his current state, Thasvia supported him with a gust of wind and led him out of the cave slowly, into an equally dark passage.

“Where are we exactly?” Gemini asked, curious. The last time he checked, the entire continent had two types of structures: land flattened and turned into glass by some extreme emanation of heat, or an overwhelming number of man-made defences that the Abyss Sovereign had conjured up without paying any heed to the logistics of warfare. “I don’t think there’s any mountains or hills left on this continent, no?”

“We’re underground,” Thasvia replied slowly. “With this many Paragons and Demigods, we were able to dig a small network of caves underground. We made use of the Locomotives as they retreated to hide the fact that the strongest of the Five Lands had burrowed underground. Subsequent, I expended a great deal of my divinity to ensure that we could evade detection.”

“How effective are your anti-detection measures?” Gemini asked.

“No attacks so far, but again, that’s to be expected. The Abyss Sovereign hasn’t had time to mature yet. Six months is not enough for him to learn how to use his Divine Will properly, or else he wouldn’t have expended so much power in fixing reality. Did you know he recently expanded the scope?” Thasvia shook her head. “It’s insane, the amount of power he’s using.”

“But if he’s fixing reality in place constantly, it means that he fears that there’s something we can do to stop his plans,” said Gemini.

“Which is a moot point, considering that we don’t know that that something is.” Thasvia lowered her voice. “He’s fumbling around in the dark, cautious and paranoid at the same time. I get a feeling that he’s actually mistaken about something, but he’s free to go ahead and waste his power.”

“Better for us, anyway,” Gemini replied. “Would make our— yeowch.”

“You’re floating too high up.”

“And whose fault is that?”

“Well, if you don’t like it, you can walk the rest of the way. I don’t mind, really,” Thasvia answered.

“Sorry. Right, where’s Lila and Aria?”

“Aria’s busy making herself comfortable in her mother’s arms,” Thasvia replied. “As we speak, the two of them are walking around random hallways, with your feisty little daughter pointing around and directing her carrier’s movements.”

“And of your Divine Kingdom…”

“I had them retreat with the Locomotives. The same goes for Ark City and the other Divine Kingdoms,” Thasvia replied. “Can’t be helped. We’re launching a sneak attack, after all. However, at the critical moment, I’ll summon my Divine Kingdom and smash it on the Cradle of Creation, which means that I’ll be offloading everyone in there into your Divine Kingdom.”

“Which is in the Wildlands.”

“Yeah, I know. We’ll help to spruce it up as rent. It’s just a freaking single palace. Not much of a Divine Kingdom.”

“Before you criticise me,” said Gemini, “you should seriously look at Hereward’s Divine Kingdom first. The last time I went there, the only thing I saw was a study and nothing else.”

“Yeah, that’s an extra special case,” Thasvia replied.

“And I’m not?”

The two exchanged some light banter as they proceeded to a wide-open area, illuminated by a white sphere of light. What looked like a stone table was set in the very middle, and a bunch of people were mediating on smooth, backless seats. For a moment, Gemini thought he had stumbled upon some monastic retreat, but the familiar faces everywhere made him recant that thought a second later.

“Wasn’t there supposed to be a meeting?” Gemini whispered. “I did not pull myself up from a relaxing slumber just to watch a bunch of guys seat around in silence.”

“They’re probably deliberating on something,” Thasvia replied. “Don’t worry— see?”

“Thasvia, Goddess of Wind, and Demon Sovereign Asteria, we bid you welcome,” said Queen Hyperion. “This is—”

“Stop being so stuffy,” Pinnacle Kolya stretched his neck. “Anyway, it’s great that you’re up.”

“That’s just being rude.”

“Who cares about niceties now?” Kolya shot back. “Right, darling?”

“Kolya, dear,” said the red-haired Oracle, “I think you’re just being overly friendly.”

“Et tu, Sofia?” The ruler of the Mortal Light Dynasty clutched his chest dramatically. “Fine. Still, we’re literally an underground resistance, and we’re still hung up on being polite. Don’t you think that’s a tad ridiculous? And it would get really uncomfortable real quick if I have to call everyone by their titles, and—”

“Fine, fine,” said Thasvia, her eyelids twitching. “Just call us normally. You have a point there. Now, can we get on with the meeting? What have you guys come up with?”

“There are many plans,” said Minister Pauline, who looked the worse for wear, “but generally, we’re going to split ourselves into three different groups. We’ll all split up and attempt to approach the Cradle of Creation from the south, the east and the west.”

“Most of the Paragons will be split into the eastern and the western approaches—”

“The southern approach will be full of our strongest combatants, and we hope that the two of you can join us—”

“Might need a fake or a clone to help the two distractions seem more legitimate—”

The chamber filled up with chatter as people took turns to introduce the numerous intricacies for their plans, and before long, Gemini got a rough idea of how Orb’s last attempt to overcome the Abyss Sovereign would be conducted. Although there were many problems that could potentially arise from this bait-and-switch…

Well, he wasn’t the professional here, so Gemini felt it prudent to shut his mouth and let them work it out. He had been hired muscle for a long time, and this wasn’t going to change just because he had more thought strands.

He just needed to know what was expected of him and nothing else. Thasvia, who clearly thought the same, twiddled her thumbs and listened intently as the congregation of Orb’s smartest and strongest continued to refine their strategy over and over.

Time was not on their side, however.