As Elegy triumphed over the bat roach colony with the aid of his dependable companion Hats, a gallant chill ran through the entire Shrine. Those who were awake shivered to their very core, and those who were not were forced into consciousness because of it.

"Nerys." Sab stopped swinging for a brief moment, "Back the hell off."

"Iss cold, matey!" She latched onto him, cheeks flushed and body weak, "I be tellin' ye', fevarr's be lurkin' around evry cornah!"

"Is that so?" He smiled back, only to heartlessly shove her away, "Then I don't wanna catch your cold. Now stay out of my way or you'll soon be wearing an Eyepatch."

"S-S-S-Sowry..."

The bed had been broken, and from it a thousand echoes emerged. These echoes were chillier than the chilliest of breezes, and they flowed through the air like none other. Before long, everyone in Heaven 2.0 felt the disturbance. Including the Gods...

"Hrm..." Selzion breathed a long inhale before crashing out, "What the hell are they doing!?"

"Now, now. Deep breaths, count to 10." Prylos snapped his fingers, "Have some tea."

"I can't take it, are they... Are they trying to make a fool out of me? Out of the God of Knowledge!?" Selzion raged, "They! Measly ants in comparison to our own plane of existence! I know it's not their fault, Pry! They're ignorant fools who know not the intricacies of our giving hands, yet it irks me so to be met with such ingratitude! Am I actually the one in the wrong here? Tell me, is securing all of their souls eternal haven, regardless of the lives they've outlived... Is that not kindness?"

The usually grouchy, low energy ball of depression known as Selzion was now having a panic attack. As the God of Knowledge, he is the only one of the Five who chooses to never relinquish a single tidbit of information he learns, regardless of importance. Thus, his mind is quite prone to these moments, though he usually has Prylos to help calm him down.

"You're not wrong, Selz. Me and the other Three would've opposed you a long time ago if you were." Prylos patted him on the back, "Hey, come on. Humans have always been dumb, so what's got you so surprised? Look, we gave them a nigh infinite playground without any consequences, and yet they still chose to venture out and investigate the only area where they can get hurt and even get their souls destroyed. That's not your fault, right?"

"They killed the White Monster and the Bat Roaches, both meant to deter anyone from coming near that wretched Shrine..." He uttered back, "No matter how many times they best you, you will never permanently die from them, I've made sure of that."

"And so far it's worked wonders!" Prylos raised his hands, "No one has gotten their soul destroyed because of them."

"But now there is no bedtime stopping anyone from venturing out past the residential area." He shook his head, "There are no demonic chimerae springing up at them, scaring them back to whence they came. And now, even if someone did get hurt..."

"There's no bed at the bottom to guide them to in order to get them repaired, yeah..."

Even Prylos didn't have anything to say to that one. The fact was that their perfect rendition of Heaven was falling apart a second time now. The first Heaven already had many issues to begin with, like people briefly coming back to life after dying just to say a few parting words to their loved ones, or those very same people watching over their loved ones' final moments from the clouds above. Many such cases caused problems for those among the living, leading to rumors of ghosts and other foolish phenomena spreading. Ultimately, this new Heaven was supposed to solve everything, yet it ended up only doubling the Gods' worries.

"Hey, but look on the bright side!" Prylos noted, "Or rather, bright sides! Plural, 'cause there's more than one!"

Suddenly, the moping Selzion's interest was thoroughly piqued, as shown by a curious Eyebrow raise.

"Go on..."

"Well, for example, how many others in Heaven 2.0 want out and are causing trouble?" He asked.

"I... suppose none."

"Right? So if we somehow manage to deal with this little group of troublemakers, then literally, objectively speaking, everyone will be happy." Prylos smiled, "Doesn't that sound amazing? We're so close to that goal of ours—a world in which every single person is undoubtedly joyous and content."

A sudden memory flashed by Selzion's endless mind. One of the Five of them 45.351.711.621 Universe Cycles ago talking about their end goals. Ouroboras wished to experience everything—every emotion, sense, taste, touch, feel, everything. He now wanders the world as a human reborn, aimless and clueless of his divine origin.

Auros wished to find the most chaotic, negative moment. In the endless string of Universes, each just barely different from the last, he aimed to witness with his own Eyes just what "chaos" was. He now lazes about on his Golden Throne, bored of having to wait for such a specific and far-off moment.

Allucius, as the most mature one despite not being the eldest, wished only to help the others accomplish their goals. As difficult as they may seem, she was always willing to lend a hand... provided the life of an innocent human wasn't in the way of the Gods' plotting.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"Sigh, in the end, we really did end up being the only ones who followed through." Selzion slouched, "A world where everyone is happy, hm..."

"Isn't that good, though? We can rub it in those idiots' faces next time we see them!" Prylos joked, "Look, we gave these guys every chance we could. Every warning, threat and deal we could think of to make them just sit tight in their homes and enjoy what Heaven 2.0 has to offer, but they refused. Nothing we can do about that."

"So what's the other bit of so-called good news?"

"Ah, that's right." Prylos donned a wry smirk, "Now that they don't have the bed, they're gonna be desperate for a way to bring back Vastoria..."

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***

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We cut back to a lonely Sheep pacing listlessly around the hole. Every so often he would turn to see if anyone was exiting the Shrine, but the more time passed, the less frequent his glances got.

"Come on, at least let me do something..." He groaned, "Brr, what a chill... Wait, why did I feel that just now?"

"So you've noticed, Shopkeeper." A familiar Divine Voice approached him.

"What the-!? Back off, I don't wanna talk to you!"

"Covering your ears won't work, for I dwell inside the mind." The Voice echoed, "Shopkeeper, you know us as enemies, but the truth is we have an urgent matter to discuss."

"I said I won't-!"

"Vastoria will not wake up."

Needless to say, Sheep's heart dropped immediately.

"H-Huh?"

"That cool breeze just now, it means one, some or all of your teammates down in the Shrine have killed the Queen Bat Roach, though we do not currently possess the knowledge to tell you who did it exactly."

"Heh, thank goodness...!" A smile twitched on Sheep's face before he quickly subdued it, "No, wait! I don't trust a word you say, you hear me!?"

"And if I told you the bed that was supposed to be used for yours and Vastoria's repair has been destroyed as well?" The voice echoed, "What will you do then?"

Sheep's mind was in disarray. He could not process the shocking information being relayed to him by one of his adversaries. On one hand, it shouldn't even be considered for a moment to trust the words of these Gods, the Gods that tried to send in people to kill them. Yet, on the other hand, if anyone would know of this info, it'd have to be someone as Omniscient as them. Simply put, Sheep was torn.

"If that is all, I shall be taking my leave." The Voice trailed off slowly.

"W-Wait!" Sheep yelled, "What do you mean?! You're the one who approached me! How should I know if that's all!?"

"Hmph." The voice let out a smug chuckle, "You said you wouldn't listen to us, so I cut the theatrics short. Is this not to your liking?"

"...You wouldn't just tell me this for no good reason." Sheep sat down on the edge of the hole, "Is there a way to bring Vastoria back to a stable and healthy state?"

"Would it make you happy if we told you?"

"Of course."

"Would you happily return to live in the residential area without ever causing a fuss again?"

"...If the method actually works and restores everyone's bodies to their full health, then yes."

Sheep considered this deal to be worth investigating. He was careful with his words, making sure he had so far only agreed to hear them out. If the method they would give sounded too far-fetched or sketchy, he would immediately back out.

"Then, have no fear. It is quite simple, though difficult all the same." The Voice contradicted itself.

"I'm out."

"No, hold on, wait-!" Prylos bit his tongue, his mysterious aura seemingly dissipating in a matter of seconds, "Okay, I'll be straight with you! Sigh, basically—it's easy for you, but difficult for us."

"Oh, so that's what you meant." Sheep smirked, "Then, you gonna be more specific?"

"I'm getting there, wait a bit!" Prylos shot back, "In essence, you will need to help us craft a new bed. This process cannot be done by Gods, you see, as it requires the unique powers of an archangel."

"...And that is?"

"A step above a seraphim."

Once more, a shocking piece of information came to light all of a sudden.

"I thought seraphim was the highest rank?" Sheep tilted his head.

"Was this ever specified?" The God retorted.

"Mn, fair point. So how do I become an archangel? Do I have to do like, a thousand good deeds or something?"

"You have to personally help one of the Gods." Prylos barely kept his excitement from showing, "And this isn't a superficial rule either. We need to be genuinely thankful for your contribution in order for this to work."

"Oh." He paused, "Whack."

"Fret not, Shopkeeper, for we have made the necessary arrangements for that as well." Prylos chuckled warmly, "For now, follow this Voice. It shall lead you to our abode, where we shall explain things in more detail."

"Hold on, I still have to wait for these guys to show up." He glanced down the hole hesitantly, "Migu and Energy might still..."

"Migu is safe, Energy is all but dead." The Voice sounded honest, "In fact, I do believe his current state is worse than Vastoria's."

"Huh? Worse than... Y'know?" Sheep mimed snipping his neck off with scissors.

"Even worse." Prylos assured him, "Sooner or later they will all reconvene, so why not show that you've done something yourself and bring Vastoria with you to the celebration?"

This tone was suspicious on every account. Sheep wasn't naive, nor was he dumb, but this was Vastoria's life at stake here. He had to tread carefully.

"Why are you suddenly doing this for us?"

"Believe it or not, we don't actually prefer to have people dying in Heaven 2.0." Prylos revealed with a deadpanned and monotone voice, "If anything, we'd much rather avoid that. From what we've gathered, all you folks want is to revive."

"...To an extent."

"Well, we can't do that." Prylos explained, "But we can give you everything you want in the residential area. A bigger house? A bigger yard? Whatever items you want shipped to your abode, you'll get them, just say the word! Honestly, if it'll keep you from causing trouble for us Gods, we don't mind giving your group special treatment at all. Consider this our defeat."

The Gods admit defeat. Now there's something you don't see every day... or any day for that matter. Sheep was convinced though, or at the very least he wanted to be. Deep down, this stopped being about revival a long time ago. Sheep just wanted to be with his friends, alive and well. Surely, with this opportunity the Gods were giving him, they would agree as well, especially Migu. Without the bed, she has no way of being with Vastoria ever again, and that hurt him more than anything.

"Please..." He flapped his wings to follow the voice slowly, "Please don't let this be a trick..."