TREAD LIGHTLY

Minerva at the bottom of a large mountain of crystal. High above, meditating Ancestors sat on clouds of pink, their eyes closed and the postures filled with a disgusting sort of superiority and feigned indifference. Under normal circumstances, Minerva should have waited for their acknowledgment to speak. Even now, they hadn't even cast a single glance toward her. But at the moment, she couldn't be bothered to give a damn.

"The Void Race will likely send someone to wipe us all out soon," she said lightly.

Dozens of eyes flashed open at once, their gazes landing on Minerva in unison, an unbridled pressure that could crush a Mortal in an instant rippling out from them in all directions.

The words Minerva had just spoken were far too ridiculous, far too shocking. It sounded like a joke, but it also didn't make any sense for it to be one.

Minerva blandly explained everything that had happened. The shock of the Ancestors grew one after another, and when she finished, a frightening pressure blasted her away.

Minerva rolled away, only using her wings to stabilize herself after she had flown past what must have been at least several kilometers. But to experts on their level, this might as well have been no distance at all.

A man stood from his pink cloud, his gaze fuming. His wings even began to pulse with red runes as though he might burn the world down at any moment.

"Calm yourself, Solarius. Killing her will lose us control over the Dream Pavilion, she remains our strongest Dream Force user and right now access to it is one of our greatest trump cards currently," a female Ancestor spoke.

Minerva wasn't surprised by this response.

Ancestor Solarius was the great grandfather of Elrik. There was nothing more he wanted to see than her swollen of foot and big bellied. But now it seemed that she had thrust them into the eye of the storm.

There were probably no small number of these so-called "experts" who thought that she had done all of this on purpose.

In the past, Minerva's parents had been among this group. They were exceptionally young, all things considered. But they were still among the Ancestors of their Race, and they were likewise Dream Force experts.

Unfortunately, they had died too soon via methods that Minerva was still uncertain of... ultimately destroying what remained of her backing in this family.

What was left was entirely built up in her hands.

There was no doubt in her mind that there were some here related to the demise of her parents. In fact, they might have all been involved.

Even so, she seemed entirely unfazed by what was happening.

"What's that supposed to mean, Uriel? Is she supposed to go unpunished for this clear scheme?" His wrinkled face sneered, his fury towering.

The Owlans had had such peace for so long, and now they were suddenly thrust into this? Content © 2024.

"You selfish little bitch. You would rather burn your entire Race down with you than suffer even the slightest loss, right? You and your parents are just the same."

Minerva looked up. "Speak ill of my parents again, and I will disband the Dream Pavilion. I would like to see how you'd defend yourselves then."

"You-!"

"Solarius!"

A booming voice came from the side, so deep and resounding that the air quaked.

The Ancestors and Minerva fell into silence, a middle-aged man with slicked back peppery grey hair commanding their attention.

His name was Elysium, and the current undisputed strongest of the Owlans.

When his gaze met Minerva's, she felt like she was plunged into the deepest depths of the ocean.

"Did you do this on purpose, Minerva?"

"... No. This was the scheme of the Celestial Embers. From the beginning, they wanted to pull us into this mess. It seems that they have the intention of becoming God Beasts once more, and they received an opportunity to pull us into the fray with the sudden appearance of the Life Tablet."

Elysium looked toward Minerva with a deep unknown in his gaze. At the moment, she felt like she was an open book, her thoughts laid out for all to see.

"And the intentions of the Pluto?" Elysium asked.

Minerva looked down. "I have no way of knowing."

Elysium nodded, expecting this.

There was no doubt that the strongest catalyst here wasn't the Life Tablet, it was the stamp of approval from the Pluto.

They were closer to the Gods than most other Races. They were standing near the peak and they had insights most others didn't... especially since they had Gods amongst their ranks as well.

"Elysium, we can't allow this. We-"

"That's enough," Elysium waved a hand. "The situation is untenable. Sacrificing Minerva will do nothing but weaken us. They won't accept such a concession because in their views, she was always set up to be a scapegoat in the first place.

"Even if they smell something fishy, they would rather kill an innocent than let the guilty off. They will crush us for no other reason than to deal a blow to the Pluto and stop any attempt at rising back up.

"This is clearly something the Fallen God Beasts know. Their history is not much unlike our own, even changing their names to the banner of Celestials.

"There is no avoiding this. The Beasts want to regain their title, and the Humanoids won't allow it. This will be a war that will soon sweep up much of Existence.

"If for no other reason, the members of the culling factions will take advantage of this to whittle down worlds in order to ease the presence of the Northern Star.

"You all need to understand this as clearly as possible. Focus on the task at hand and don't turn your blades inward. The first person to do so will be killed by me personally, that I promise.

"And much like the God Races, I would rather kill the innocent than let a guilty party escape.

"Tread lightly."