Aziz looked out of the window, towards the blue sky of Orb. Half a year had passed since Celestia was created. Unlike most of the others, however, Aziz had chosen to stay behind in Orb. The Abyss Sovereign — his former student who he had taught for a few days — had presented a very good argument over and over again, but Aziz didn’t want to leave Orb.

“You’re up early.”

Aziz turned to look at Marie. “Was just thinking if I made the right choice back then. It’s very quiet here. Not many people stayed behind. Well, it’s not permanent, as far as I can tell. Once we die, we’ll be reincarnated in Celestia, so I suppose my next reincarnation will lead a rather good life.”

“The way you put things, it sounds like you aren’t living a good life now,” said Marie.

“How can I enjoy life when so many people I know are already dead?” Aziz replied. “Familiar spirits cannot enter Celestia. If the two of us enter that world, there’ll be no one left to look after their graves.”

The ex-marshal — the Republic no longer existed — looked out at the garden outside the cottage, where a few tombstones were situated at. The familiar spirits of Orb’s great gods had died to open up a path for the Demigods back then, in Orb’s last-ditch attempt to stop the Abyss Sovereign. They succeeded, but the price they paid was one too high.

The Abyss Sovereign had fought to protect the mortals, but he forgot about the familiar spirits, who were artificial lives. Even though Aziz knew that it wasn’t his fault, he couldn’t help but hate him. After all, he and Marie had made friends with quite a few familiar spirits back then, in the now-dilapidated Heaven-cleaving Fortress. Now that they were all dead, Aziz felt that it was up to him to at least honour their sacrifices in this lifetime, because no one else would do the same.

He just didn’t expect Marie to feel the same, though.

Either way, however, the creation of Celestia had caused irreversible changes to Orb. The people of the Western Holdings and the Southern Continent had left for Celestia in such a totality that both nations had simply ceased to exist. He hadn’t seen anyone else at all in the Southern Continent, save for Marie, and he was fairly certain that that held true for the other nations. Perhaps a few semi-divinities had stayed behind, but for all intents and purposes, Orb had been changed beyond recognition.

The basic manpower needed to run a society no longer existed. Manufacturing had ceased, as was farming and other labour-intensive procedures. Now, even Paragons and Demigods had to fend for themselves and make preparations for the eventual end of their stockpiles.

The world as Aziz knew it had been completely destroyed.

Not much remained of the great gods either. Thasvia and Hereward had sunk into a deep slumber shortly after Celestia’s creation. Hereward had managed to send out a warning right before it happened, telling those that remained about their inability to regulate Orb’s weather and other natural processes.

“Right, yesterday, I paid a visit to Liamar’s Divine Kingdom,” said Marie, changing the subject. “The godkith are still there.”

“Eh? They’re still alive?” Aziz blinked. The godkith were lifeforms created by the great gods, although only Liamar had godkith in such huge numbers. “I thought they would shut down or something.”

“Rather than shutting down, these godkith have shed their connection to Liamar,” said Marie. “That red colour that they sported now doesn’t exist…I suppose that’s due to the Worldshaper returning to Orb itself, though.”

“…What should we do?” Aziz asked.

“Help these fellows become the new inhabitants of Orb?” Marie asked. “I mean, that sounds fun. And we might be able to rebuild Orb from the ground up. Get them to figure out the basics of society, give them ways to protect themselves. How does that sound?”

Aziz considered her words for a moment. “If there are as numerous as I last remembered them, the semi-divinities who stayed behind would definitely covet them upon discovery. Even if their most formidable aspects no longer exist, they still pose quite a threat to those godkith.”

“Exactly. Besides, these are Rene’s…siblings, once removed. We should protect them. Arm them. Teach them how to defend themselves against Lords and Paragons and things like that,” said Marie. “If we can get them to occupy Interregnum, they’ll be safe and secure there. Teach them the General Formula and the ways of using Shot artefacts.”

“Is that possible?”

“Won’t know until we try,” said Marie. “But that’s the only method we can make use of.”

Aziz stared at the tombstones outside. No one knew what happened to the familiar spirits. Perhaps they weren’t completely wiped out or something. However, until the two of them found out the truth…

“Well, it’s not like we have anything better to do,” said Aziz. “And you never did get around to completing your pet project on the godkith either.”

“There’s no point in completing it now either,” said Marie, a gentle smile on her face. “That research would have been useful in another world, in another time, but the Orb of today no longer needs it.”

“No time like the present, then.” Aziz got up, and then reached out for the Exo-Skeleton. Officially, the two of them were still soldiers of the Republic, which was probably rebuilding itself in Celestia, but Aziz really doubted that their indefinite suspension for failing to protect critical infrastructure had been recorded in the chaos that followed Celestia’s creation.

Since the soldiers there had transmigrated en masse to Celestia, the supply depots and other resource buildings had been left completely unguarded. Aziz, who didn’t want to leave, had been ransacking the area and tossing useful tools in a small wagon before being discovered by Marie, who had the same idea.

One of these useful tools happened to be the Exo-Skeleton and its many components.

“I wonder what the First Aerial will think when they finally realise that the two of us didn’t go with them,” said Aziz.

“…It’ll be best if they assumed we died or something,” said Marie.

“Are you sure about that? Knowing those buffoons, they’ll set up a small shrine to worship your spirit or something. And besides, no one actually died in this war save for the familiar spirits, since everyone else was reborn in Celestia,” said Aziz. “They might go around Celestia in search of your reincarnation.”

Marie swore twice, and then fixed the Exo-Skeleton onto her back. “Stop saying those creepy things, and we’ll still be partners.”

“Fine, fine.” Aziz fixed his own Exo-skeleton on, before reaching out for a bag to stuff some necessities in. “Come on, let’s go.”

“Wait,” said Marie, before reaching into her pocket. “I forgot to pass this to you. Picked it up yesterday.”

She handed a small gem to Aziz, who put it on.

“An Engine, huh? Where did you get this from?”

“Well, I checked on Interregnum’s treasury. Since there’s no one guarding it, I simply tore open the door and entered to look for useful items. I’ll bring you there after we bring the godkith to occupy the capital,” said Marie. “They’re already waiting for you and me to guide them there.”

“…Just what did you do in the past month?”

“Lots of things,” Marie replied, walking towards the door. “Come on. Let’s not waste time. I would have gotten them to go alone, but monsters have increased in number over the past few months. Maybe it’s a side-effect of Celestia’s creation of something.”

“Like what? Since there’s a utopia in the form of Celestia, Orb is going to be a dystopia to balance things out?” Aziz asked.

“Maybe. Or it’s the world itself trying to change things,” said Marie. “Either way, however, the age of humans, demons and beastfolk has passed. This world will belong to that of the godkith and monsters, who have their own ways of increasing their numbers.”

“When you put it like that, I feel like I’m betraying Orb,” Aziz quipped.

Marie pushed off from the ground. “We’re just passing on the baton of potential to our successor species, that’s all. The godkith are going to inherit the legacy of the Five Lands and nothing else.”

“You sound rather pumped at this prospect.” Aziz joined her in the air, and together, they sped off southwards.

“Who wouldn’t be?” Marie asked. “This is a chance to start a new creation myth! Two gods, who came from the sky and brought the last godkith tribe over to a new land of promise and resources…it’s our way of making a mark on Orb. And besides, Rene would probably be grateful to us.”

“Rene…” Aziz took a deep breath. “Yeah, you’d be right about that. And besides, if we don’t bring them to Interregnum, the next Paragon or Demigod to come by will almost certainly try to enslave them or something. After all, those who decided to stay behind wanted to retain their own power.”

“Yeah.” Marie sighed. “I wanted to bring them to Ark City, but Ark City’s vanished. I don’t know if the floating city entered the rift physically or something, but I haven’t seen another beastfolk ever since Celestia’s creation.”

Marie, who was a beastfolk herself, sounded a bit sad at those words, and Aziz patted her shoulder. “I’m still here, you know.”

“Yeah, my trusty subordinate.” She chuckled. “What will I do without you?”

The two of them laughed.

Speeding through the skies without restraint, the two of them crossed through the border between Liamar’s Divine Kingdom and the territory of what used to be the Republic. The spires that had once attacked fired at Aziz and the troops of the Southern Continent were now completely darkened and crumbling. The red tint that once suffused the land was completely gone, and the red star that should have been hanging above the world was now a mass of grey crystal.

Liamar’s Divine Kingdom was on the brink of collapse too.

“Let’s descend,” said Marie, pointing at a certain area. “They’re waiting for us there.”

The area she was pointing at was a flat plateau, which had hundreds of thousands of people. Little wagons trailed behind every group of godkith, who looked very much like a normal human now.

It was clear that Liamar no longer existed as an influence upon Orb.

Descending swiftly, Marie made her way towards the head of the convoy, where a red-robed woman was standing at.

“You’ve come,” said the woman.

Aziz narrowed his eyes. The woman was giving off a presence that resembled that of a Paragon. However, her presence was muted, flickering. From the looks of it, she was probably a familiar spirit that had survived the final battle at the Central Circle, but had been grievously wounded in that moment. In fact, her presence was flickering so quickly that Aziz half-expected the familiar spirit to drop dead anytime soon.

“Yeah. Everyone here is connected to Rene, after all,” said Marie. “Can’t just standby and watch her relatives become enslaved or something. Have you done your own scouting?”

“Interregnum is indeed abandoned,” said the familiar spirit. “But why are you helping us?”

“Do I need a reason to help others?” Marie asked. “But if you’re pressing me for an answer…hmm. Well, monster numbers have been increasing. I don’t know if they will overrun your home and mine, but if we work together and make use of Interregnum’s extensive defences, we can make it through the next few decades. Centuries, even.”

The woman took a deep breath. “True. And that’s why you brought your friend along, no? To protect everyone, in case monsters and other beings showed up.”

Marie nodded. “Yes.”

She let out a long sigh. “I can tell that you’re being sincere. Yes. Thank you. In that case, we shall go with the original plan. I’ll have to trouble the two of you, though. I need to slumber. Wake me up if there’s an enemy you can’t handle…although there shouldn’t be an issue.”

“Have a good rest,” said Marie.

“Thank you.”

She headed towards a small casket, which had been placed nearby, and then laid down in it. Aziz, however, wasn’t in the mood to crack quips about foreshadowing and whatnot, and simply followed Marie as she rallied the godkith and got them to follow her.

The trek to Interregnum would take a few days.