Gaius looked around at everyone present. The Dragon of Time hadn’t just come with a message, but he doubted if anyone else would ever know that. In the first place, how did Aldnath move to the future and come back? Was that even possible? Or was there something else at play?

Either way, however, the Dragon of Time had not been as powerless as the other great gods might have perceived him to be. He had returned with so much energy that Gaius didn’t want to risk detonating in a fight, and it also helped that Aldnath had reached the same state as him, millennia afterwards.

He looked up at the rift of stars, which was currently connected to Orb. Gaius had promised the Dragon of Time to consider the opinions of the others, and the latter had sacrificed everything just for that message.

He wasn’t about to break this promise anytime soon. Black and white light danced around his body as he fixed his eyes on everyone present, but no one quailed from his gaze.

“Let us begin.”

His will spun madly, and the Border of Transmigration, which had melded with small strands of his own mind and turned into threads, began to shine. At the same time, the starry rift above began to shine, extending innumerable threads through the rest of Orb. Since this world was for the people of Orb, if he was going to judge the ideals and resolves of Orb’s elite, he had to extend the same privilege to the rest of Orb. It would not make sense otherwise.

The collective wills of everyone present, from the normal people to the stately great gods of Orb, hummed once, and the world shook.

“People of Orb,” Gaius whispered, his many thoughts helping with his improvisation, “reach out to your wishes. Channel your wills into the world before you. If you seek to change the world, prove that your wishes are worthy!”

Light blazed high above, in the starry sky beyond the rift, and the dark sky began to shift. Celestia was transforming, spreading its influence and laws throughout the new dimension. The tremors brought by the new world were beginning to ripple throughout Orb, and in that instant, Gaius understood where the Status thing came from.

He gazed at the unmoving Paragons, Demigods and great gods, who were now emanating their wills and resolves, untouched by the now-destroyed Abyss.

The interrogation of their wills had begun.

Almost everyone, anyway. Gaius turned to the Demon Sovereign, who was staring at him in silence.

“Not affected, huh?”

“Hard to, after you’ve been through the same thing over and over,” Demon Sovereign Asteria replied. “But we’re done fighting here, aren’t we?”

“Mm. Well played,” Gaius replied, walking back to his throne. “Didn’t expect you great gods to send someone over to the future, in the hopes that he would come back. His resolve was something that moved me to agree, although one could argue that there were…other factors.”

He sat down on his throne. “I suppose it’s fitting for us to talk like this, then.”

The Demon Sovereign’s lips twitched for a moment, and then created a small throne of his own. A table filled the space between the two, which had two glasses of water on it.

Gaius stared at the Demon Sovereign. “Your resolve.”

The Demon Sovereign picked up the glass closer to him, and then sipped from it, before placing it down. “Your entire endeavour was built for the sake of the masses. You saw their misery and suffering, and understood that it was the many physical needs that were required to live that debased those people. But I disagree.”

Willing a glass over, Gaius sipped from it. “What’s your answer?”

“A lack of compassion and empathy,” Gemini replied. “I got here because people empathised and cared for me.”

“You?” Gaius blinked. “Are you not Demon Sovereign Asteria? I cannot imagine that people would empathise with you, unless…you’re not Asteria.”

“The Demon Sovereign regained his memories and awareness,” he replied. “Gemini is what I go by, nowadays.”

“I see.” That admission, at least, did tell him why the Demon Sovereign had such a strong resolve. News about Constellation Gemini, his life and his valiant defence of Ark City long ago was rather common news.

Gemini truly believed in the value of memories.

“Compassion, huh.” Gaius looked down on his table. “We cannot change the hearts of others. You, me, the other great gods…we can twist their nature, but not their true hearts. You must understand that—”

“I know. But I want is for you to show the empathy and compassion you held when you first embarked on this journey. To give the masses a choice. A choice on whether to enter this paradise of yours. A choice to hold on to their memories, to let them choose their own way onwards,” said the Demon Sovereign. “I want you to remember the great desire you once had, the desire to allow even the weakest of people to choose, and to apply it at this moment. If you want to empathise with others, you must empathise with their choices. Your compassion should not limit their way forward; it should offer them more paths.”

His fingers fluttered once, and a small sigil appeared in his hands. It was a heart, a heart that children would draw, but Gaius could sense a great will from it, one that matched his own.

It was a small wish, brought to the highest heights. The wish to understand people, to grant them control over their own fate. In a sense, it was close to his own wish, which was probably why Aldnath’s little message was more than enough to change the future.

That didn’t even begin to factor in the others too.

Smiling slightly, Gaius willed the sigil over and examined the will inside it. “Empathy and compassion in all things. So, this is your own ideal. You must know that most of Orb will make their way to Celestia. Those that stay behind will tread a path of lonely thorns. Society, as they know it, will change forever. Your compassion now might end up in a world of regret for them. This is the only chance to enter Celestia, after all.”

“That would be a choice of their own making. Besides, surely you can empathise with their lack of knowledge,” said Gemini. “Tell them what will happen and the consequences. Lay out the truth for them, and let them choose the path ahead.”

“You…have a lot of faith in people, do you not?” Gaius shook his head.

“And you don’t, no?” The Demon Sovereign leaned on his chair. “That’s why you turned yourself into the greatest enemy. You believed not in the hearts of people, but the circumstances surrounding them. That’s the difference between us and you.”

He paused. “Aldnath came back, did he not?”

Gaius trembled, and then sighed. Conceding the point, he said, “The Dragon of Time’s existence will cease at some point in the future. He cut his own future off, just to prove his own resolve. Did you know he had a clone or something along those lines residing in Celestia now? It was in Cybral back then, and in the course of Celestia’s creation, was relocated inside. In the years to come, he will probably revive…and then head back into the past to ensure a stable time-loop.”

“I wonder what happened to the original timeline,” Gemini muttered.

“Best not to dwell on it,” Gaius replied. He could make a few guesses, and none of them included the survival of everyone present.

He got up from his throne and handed the sigil back to Gemini. “Go. Make your wish. Speak your desire. Help make Celestia a true utopia.”

“…Is this the last time we will meet?” Gemini asked.

“Don’t be dramatic.” Gaius glanced up at the rift. “Hurry and begin, Gemini. I’ve paused the transmigration process to accommodate your resolve, so don’t keep me waiting. Go on. Enter the interrogation.”

The two shook hands, before Gaius sent him back to the crowd. As the Demon Sovereign’s unbounded presence swept out into Orb, Gaius floated up, towards the rift.

An enormous pulse rippled out from the starry rift, one that carried the element of choice, sweeping through Orb. Gaius regarded the sight slowly, and then nodded. As expected, the Demon Sovereign’s alterations had proceeded with no issue, given the strength of his will.

Celestia’s creation was over. His goals had been met. The new world he had envisioned was now a reality, and the people already inside had been given a choice to unseal their memories or not. There were already some who had unsealed their memories, who were now waiting for the newcomers to descend.

Soon. Both sides had won, in a way. The strongest of desires had altered Celestia, and although there weren’t that many desires…

Another pulse emanated out of the starry rift, and Gaius let out a sigh. The desire to grow stronger was so strong that Celestia had been forced to adjust. Rather than severing the path towards becoming a semi-divinity, beings who sought power on that level would be ejected out of Celestia and into Orb, creating a smoother path.

It was not a perfect solution, but it was a solution that Gaius found acceptable.

“Still,” Gaius muttered, “I suppose this is proof that the search for strength is an undeniable part of mortal nature. The ability to control their own fate…that’s what they want, no?”

The howling wind didn’t reply to him, but he didn’t need one either.

“It’s almost midnight, huh,” Gaius muttered, watching as an ocean of white globes surged towards the starry rift. There, they would descend upon the limitless, boundless world of Celestia, where their needs would be fed. For the first time, these people would be free to live their own lives, in a conflict-free utopia where all needs were met.

The people standing on the floating platform began to awaken from their own interrogation of wills. A simple scan was enough for Gaius to know that they were all wavering, each of them with their own thoughts and opinions.

Whether they succeeded or not was none of his business, however. As promised, he had provided a chance.

“People of Orb.” Gaius gestured once, and the edges of the rift began to glow. “The time has come for you to make a choice. Celestia has been opened. Here and now, the stairs to utopia have been opened. A new world awaits.”

He glanced at the semi-divinities that were gathered around the floating platform, as well as the great gods. “Come with me, and live out your dreams.”

As those words echoed throughout Orb, the white orbs streaming in from all over the world increased exponentially in number, turning into small shooting stars that plunged into Celestia as they crossed through the rift. For the people inside, for those who had unsealed their memories, these people would know what these sights entailed.

Gaius watched on in silence. There were a whole host of reasons behind this mass transmigration into another world, but the utopian aspects of Celestia was probably what had sealed the deal. Furthermore, the limitations that had been set on Celestia was also attractive: not everyone had the talent and will to become strong, and many people were also affected by the privileges of the mighty. Celestia, which prevented the emergence of semi-divinities, was a world that was far safer. The destructive might of the war, which had been made known to many people, had reinforced this line of thought further.

Everything he had wanted to do was already complete. The souls of old Orb’s people had been sent over to Celestia, living out their lives there peacefully. There wasn’t anything left for him to do here, especially since he had given them a choice.

“The passage to Celestia will close in a day,” Gaius said, announcing the final deadline. “Beyond that, there will be no way of entering until your death. Make your choices, and may you find peace in them.”

He glanced at the people on the floating platform one last time, before drifting over to the starry rift. Everyone was aware of what entering Celestia entailed; these people, who boasted of the most privileges and power, were naturally unwilling to forfeit them…but that was not his problem.

With a single thought, he stepped through the rift, leaving behind Orb. The rift didn’t exist on this side — it was a one-way trip, after all. Gaius watched for a few moments as the white orbs continued to stream past him, and then reappeared in Celestia’s control room.

Isabelle was waiting for him there.

“It’s done.”

She nodded. “Welcome back.”

“Mm. Any problems so far?” Gaius asked. “I introduced a few new things, after all.”

“None. All is good on our end,” Isabelle replied.

Gaius felt his muscles loosen up. “Good, good. I need some rest. After that…let’s go check out the fully formed Celestia, shall we?”