The dragons were subdued. Their bodies bound and restrained by the veils. Celeste looked at them, none of them struggled at this point.

The goddess quickly dismissed the two goblins, sending them to check on the tree, which actually needed protectors at this point, since it was infused with crystalized Mana.

Celeste had to investigate how something like that had happened with no warning, but she was willing to bet it had something to do with the dragons.

Jasmine slowly sat down on a log that seemed only slightly singed from the battle. She didn't look at Celeste, and the goddess knew that there probably was some kind of unresolved issue between them. But Jasmine simply didn't have the spirit to take a social confrontation right after fighting for her life, and with less blood in her body than what was probably healthy.

Celeste turned her attention to the dragons, thinking that she might be able to get some information from them.

Moving over to the adamantine drake she stood in front of its snout. It was massive. Its mouth alone was as tall as she was, and she could see bits of amour from some of the human armies. Celeste knew that nobody had died, she hadn't allowed it, but had she not been here, they would have passed.

"I am Armandos." She said softly, and instantly every pair of draconic eyes shifted to her... except for the golden dragons which suddenly exuded a smug aura.

"Some call me the god of gods. Some call me the Architect of Reality. I know that you call my other half Father. Why did you go against the mortals, if you knew that it was against the will of your creator?" She asked softly.

The rumble from the adamantine dragon seemed to echo through the ground itself. And as it spoke the veil that had tied it up gave off that one singular note, like a bow moving over a single string on a violin.

"We are not obedient dogs that follow the wishes of our creator. We are the protectors of this world. We are the virtues of mortals. Why did you stop the world from healing?" The dragon asked, and Celeste could almost feel the pins and needles in her hands and feet from the vibrations of those words.

"Stop the world from healing? A god walking on this plane can lead to nothing but destruction." Celeste said, and a hiss from the dragons as a whole could be heard. As every single one of them hissed, it was like an orchestra tuning their instruments, as the veils vibrated.

"You do not understand then" The adamantine dragon said. "You have fallen, and no longer do what is best for the world."

Celeste took a breath. She was making enemies of what was supposed to be friends.

"Why don't you start from the beginning. Why did you come here?" She asked, trying to make sense of things.

This time is was a copper dragon that spoke. Its voice wasn't as deep as the massive adamantine drake, but it was still big enough to swallow Celeste whole.

"We sensed something that was our anthema. Our direct opposite. A creature filled with lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, envy, wrath, and pride. We came to restrain and annihilate it."

Celeste paused, her mind going through who or what might be the cause of these emotions. There was only one creature that she was aware of that could even begin to fill that description.

"I believe that was Orlek. He manifested himself in this world a little over a day ago. Though I did not sense any lust from him... however, he is the only ork I have thought of having a gender."

The copper dragon seemed to wince a little at the mention of the sin. Celeste knew that it was probably afraid of it in some way. The redish dragon was the next to speak, its maw barely restrained by the veil, but even so, it didn't seem to fight.

"We did not find the target that caused our very existence grief. However, we did find this tree. Its leaves crystalized mana and its roots slowly digging deeper into the earth. However, underneath it we found the elven woman."

Celeste looked at the dragon. It didn't take a genius to know that they were talking about Esselaia. However, it was a surprise that the dragons weren't the ones responsible for what had happened to the tree. Was it a bug then? The game had been a little weird around the goblins, maybe this was related. The platinum dragon continued, and The goddess listened.

"She was tending to the tree, while the green children were running all over it, both of them claiming responsibility for what had happened to it. However, the elf saw something that the young ones did not. She saw that the tree was a gift. A sign. That she could ascend to the heavens. That she could become a god. In that tree was more magic than we have ever seen in our lifetimes."

That made sense. The dragons were relatively young. Only a hundred years... almost to the day in fact. The incredibly shiny dragon spoke next. Its body almost cocooned in the veil.

"We were hesitant at first. Curious to what she would do with such power. However, she claimed she wanted to be a goddess of the elements and of pacifism. We asked her to accept a soul oath from us, and in exchange she would become the goddess of dragons and we would help her. What better goddess of dragons than one who knew our strength, but also had the dedication not to use violence."

Celeste couldn't help but wonder. Was this the game regulating itself? A goddess of pacifism would be the exact opposite to Orlek. With Orlek being the antithesis of the dragons, it would also make sense to have them pledge their loyalty his counterpart. But why had the dragon tried to keep her on Kalish?

The golden dragon was the next to speak. Celeste realizing that it had been the dragon that had joined her in the orphanage during the last iteration.

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"We poured our will into the goddess and we saw what she could do. Her power was overwhelming, so we contained it to ensure that the world would come to no harm, but we also understood that if she could remain on this plane for just a day, the world would know peace."

Celeste was starting to see where this was going. Martin, Jasper and she wanted different things than what the world wanted. They needed a world of conflict and inequality. Playing in a world that was inherently peaceful would not make sense, or at least, Celeste assumed that it wouldn't. A bronze dragon spoke next.

"So you see, we were defending what might be the peace of the realm, while you fought for conflict and misery. You fight to stop the world from healing itself. We see what you cannot or what you refuse, we know our creator to be of a good heart, and yet here you are, invoking the same name as him, and you stand with the side of war."

Celeste sighed a little. She felt like she had been scolded by her students. It was a strange feeling, but she also knew that what they said was true. They couldn't allow the gods to stay in this world. Even with the seven elder dragons containing the power of the goddess to ensure that the world would not shatter, things would not make a good game. Esselaia could probably be used to enforce that there would be no PvP in the game, but stopping all conflicts during world creation wouldn't lead to anything positive.

How could Celeste explain this to the dragons without sounding like she wanted nothing but war? The goddess opened her mouth and slowly started to talk. Hoping that she could convince the dragons that their logic was flawed in some way.

"You are all ignoring the fundamental nature of free will. If you enforce peace, damming all to live a life of virtue, then that is not a virtue. Good does not exist without evil. You would essentially condemn all to a life of pain and misery, as peace will no longer be something that is celebrated. Free will for all is what matters. That is why the mind control prevention rune exists. So rejoice in the nature of your virtue, and welcome those that embrace, but do not force it on the people that cannot see its merit."

Celeste wasn't sure if she believed what she was saying. It had the air of the religious arguments that she had heard before. That god could not intervene with mortal affairs as it would tramble over free will. It felt wrong in some way to parrot that kind of logic, when she knew full well that wasn't the reason why she was making this argument.

The goddess could feel her existential dread slowly start to set in, as she couldn't help but draw parallels to the real world.

The dragons still snarled. Their lips curled back and their fangs showing. It was clear that they had not been convinced that letting people run free was the best cause of action.

Celeste sighed and looked to Jasmine. The Scribe was barely staying awake, and the goddess couldn't blame her. She was tired too. Dawn was starting to colour the sky a bright pink, and none of them had gotten any sleep. Having not travelled much and enjoying the benefit of her Journey Domain, Celeste's body was screaming for her to take nap.

You have prevented world peace [https://i.postimg.cc/dtF7KsKd/image.png]

Text from Image:

> You have prevented world peace!

> It t akes a special kind of person to put work above bettering the world. Congratulations! You are that kind of person! You have ensured that peace is not an option.

> You gain 10 worship.

10 Worship was a massive gain. But then again, she hadn't received any while travelling. She was probably slightly behind the curve but there was no telling at this point. What was more important was that she regained her Energy with the dawn.

Health 40/40 Energy 7/7

She dedicated one of her Energy to use Time as a weapon once more. It made her feel much more comfortable to have something that could actually do to harm the dragons before her.

Withering Hour [https://files.catbox.moe/o21snu.png]

Text from Image:

> Withering Hour

> Type: Activated ability

> Energy usage: Committed

> Full effect: As long as Energy has been committed, you may use time as a weapon. How this manifest is dependent on the target. The attacks have a range of 200 meters and bypass any damage resistance. Even immortals will find themselves withering away under your attacks. This deals 1d20 damage per hit.

Next she went over to Jasmine and spent one Energy to perform a Health miracle, restoring Jasmine completely. Celeste also restored her outfit, which returned into to its dull colours.

Health 40/40 Energy 5/7

Jasmine still looked exhausted. Her exhaustion was deeper than something physical that Celeste could mend. The goddess considered taking the Passion Domain next time, just so she could help heal people's emotion.

Her attention then turned back to the dragons. With her powers restored she looked at Jasmine and gave her a nod.

WIth a relieved look on her face, Jasmine released the veils and the dragons scrambled to their feet. The chorus of hisses from the dragons only increased as they acted much in the same way that cats did. Really big cats. That could spew various flavours of elemental death.

"What is done is done. You can believe me or ignore me. It does not matter. The plane of mortals belong to mortals. That is why we are only here for a limited time and only to clean up the mess that other gods make." It was another lie, but Celeste could not justify why she should be allowed to roam the world when the other gods were not allowed, beyond that she was supposed to fix the game, something that she hadn't really been doing that much.

The dragons paused for a moment, looking between each other and considering if they should attack Celeste and Jasmine. However it was obvious that the power dynamic had shifted.

Each of them quickly took flight, while the adamantine drake power through the forest, leaving a trail of destruction before it vanished. Celeste didn't detect any teleportation shenanigans so she assumed that it had changed its shape.

She sighed and looked at Jasmine. "Do you want to talk?"

Jasmine shook her head. "I would like to sleep."

Celeste nodded. She could get behind that, and in the early rays of the dawn, The Traveller and The Scribe took a well earned nap on the forest floor.