It didn’t take long before the demon forces were wiped out. Granted, the enemies were far fewer than the horrifying force that had assembled on the day of Ars’ fall, but good news was rather scarce in this world. Gemini would take it where possible, rather than moping over things he was powerless against, a sentiment shared by the others.

           Other than the one-sided bombardment from their aerial forces, this attack had revealed a tiny bit of how defended the city was. The walls were stuffed with rapid-fire versions of the Straight Shot, a new invention that no one had bothered to create a name for yet. These contraptions, however, reminded Gemini of those mounted miniguns he’d seen in movies back on Earth, and it certainly didn’t help that they were equally proficient in mowing down enemies like their counterparts on Earth.

           “These, uh, weapons mounted on the walls,” said Gemini, “who made them?”

           “Familiar to you, eh?” replied Campmaster Magnus. “The battle at World’s End chasm should have made you realise that we had far more up our sleeves than you thought. It’s a pity they came a bit too late.”

           “The more you speak, the more I get the feeling that there’s someone like me hidden in the top echelons of Ark City,” replied Gemini. Most of the people that had been watching the battle had departed, leaving behind  leaving behind the Campmaster. Warmaster and General Degurechaff. “Wait. That’s odd.”

           “What’s odd?” asked the Campmaster.

           Gemini wondered briefly if he should reveal the fact that Gaius, the little lecturer that he’d seen in Heritage Basestation, was someone from Earth, and then figured that the boy must have revealed his origin to take up that post in the first place.

           “I don’t think I told you this before, but I briefly infiltrated Ark City to assassinate someone. My target was like me, someone from Earth, but then I failed the quest not long after,” Gemini answered, concealing the fact that he’d snuck into Heritage Basestation somehow after being knocked unconscious at that time.

           “Someone like you?” The others turned and asked in unison.

           Gemini shivered from the sheer weight of their gazes. “It was a little boy, actually, with his younger sister. I think his name was…Gaius?”

           “Come again?”

           “Gaius,” Gemini replied obligingly. “The Human God wanted me to off him, but I only saw him for a day or so while he was undergoing some military training, before he vanished from Ark City entirely.”

           “Is that who I think it is?” Campmaster Magnus turned to Warmaster Chamberlain and General Degurechaff.

           “I think so,” replied the general. “That little fella that beat up Senator Alexandre. Wait. If he’s from Earth…does that explain why he was so adult-like?”

           General Degurechaff turned to face Gemini. “Do children come of age at seven years old on Earth? The kid was more mature than a good three-quarters of our troops, and that’s saying something.”

           As he said those words, everyone could hear cheers and drunken yelling from the ground, and the general gestured, as if to say, “See what I mean?”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

           “I’d like to say that’s the case,” replied Gemini, “but that would probably skew your image of us in a way I wouldn’t like. But my point was that the Human God had wanted me to assassinate someone from Earth back then, but if there was another otherworlder in Ark City’s brass, why did my quest fail?”

           “Because that wasn’t your target?” General Degurechaff replied, who blinked a second later. “Wait, why would Gaius be the Human God’s target in the first place?”

           “Exactly,” replied Gemini. “The Holy Temple only persecuted otherworlders who were being too blatant about their status, and the Human God never really cared about them either, unless they exterminated half a country or something. What was so important about Gaius that the Human God would send a Constellation to kill him?”

           “That’s a very good question,” said the Warmaster. “Never knew a nine-year-old boy from Earth could be that threatening to the Human God.”

           “Exactly.” The Constellation nodded. “Why pick on a kid anyway?”

           “Maybe Gaius wasn’t summoned over like you lot,” said the Campmaster. “Remember what he said? Some people from Earth are reincarnated into Orb. Keeping the memories of their life on Earth as a child, maybe. And now that I think about it, Gaius did ask me something.”

           “What did he ask?” said Gemini.

           The Campmaster brooded for a moment, his eyes looking at everyone present. Gemini had the feeling that he was trying to think through something, but before he could analyse that gut instinct any further, Campmaster Magnus said, “I think you guys are fine.”

           “For?”

           “The question Gaius asked me back then,” replied the Campmaster. “When one of my students passed away in Heritage.”

           “Harvester Liam, I believe.” Warmaster Chamberlain folded his arms. “I remember you boasting about him two years ago or so. He died a hero’s death.”

           “Mm.” The Campmaster blinked rapidly, and for the briefest of moments, Gemini could sense an air of profound sorrow. “After the funeral, Gaius came up to me. He wanted to ask a simple question.”

           “What did he ask?” said the Warmaster.

           Campmaster Magnus closed his eyes. “Where do people go after they die?”

           The air stilled for a moment, and all of a sudden, the Constellation had a feeling that something huge was staring at their little party.

           Gemini took a few steps back, as did Campmaster Magnus, when Warmaster Chamberlain and General Degurechaff suddenly clutched at their heads. The Constellation had no idea what was going on, but he could sense an immense power swirling around them, a power that possessed a quality that he was so used to.

           Divinity.

           Air shrieked, and Campmaster Magnus leapt backwards. Gemini mirrored the Campmaster’s actions a second later, as silver lightning streaked across the skies, illuminating thick clouds that hadn’t been there a second ago. The city shook as the two clutching their heads released an outburst of incredible force, and the Constellation was suddenly reminded of the fact that these two men were also Paragons, even if he called them by their occupational titles.

           Seconds passed, before the storm around the Warmaster showed some signs of abating. He dropped onto his knees, blood dribbling out of his lips. The ground below him had turned from a smooth grey stone to cracked grey dust, and Chamberlain grimaced, before rolling away from the incredible power swirling around General Degurechaff.

           The clouds above continued to churn madly, and without warning, lightning fell onto the general, lighting up the vicinity. Qi erupted out of General Degurechaff’s body, and clarity began to return to the general’s eyes as whatever got through his defences danced around his body.

           “That’s new,” muttered Campmaster Magnus. He glanced at the two of them, and at Gemini. “Let’s get them to a bed first. I didn’t expect this to happen.”

   Which part? Gemini asked in his head. The lightning or the insanity?