“I am no one’s enemy,” Hereward replied. “My goal has been constant. From the start to the very end. Whoever helps me is my ally; whoever goes against me is an enemy. Today, my enemy is greed. Fear.”

Gemini narrowed his eyes. “Elaborate.”

“Tut tut. What happened to your respectful demeanour?” The great god chuckled. “I have been paying attention to this War Council. The rulers of the Five Lands are fearful of the Mortal Light Dynasty, who has displayed a might beyond imagination. At the same time, they desire land. Resources. I do not believe that these people would gladly give my children a home on the surface of Orb.”

“If you know that,” Gemini replied, “you must have plans. What plans do you have?”

“The one I had in mind is no longer operable…unless, of course, you step in. Command the demons. Inflict losses on the Five Lands. Force them to a negotiation, and end their greed. They must learn defeat. Humility.”

“And what will you do?” Gemini asked.

“My troops, like yours, are immortal. I intend for them to intervene in crucial junctures, sparing you from the need to kill many humans or beastfolk,” Hereward replied, and began to laugh. “This will be the biggest show of the era. A play put up by the Demon Sovereign and the Sentinel of Space. What say you?”

Gemini thought over his words for a moment. If he carried on with his original choice of action, the Five Lands would probably take irreplaceable losses. Right now, the Wildlands were protected by the Demon God’s final action. A new natural law had been written into being there; while they were within the dome, no one could fly.

Demons, humans, items…nothing would be allowed to fly. Only someone who could resist natural laws through their will alone — a Demigod, in other words — could ignore such a law, but even then…

With such an environment, strategies that were slightly smarter than frontal charges would be very effective against the invading troops of the Five Lands. However, Gemini did not want to kill anyone from the opposing side. This was the selling point of Hereward’s plan, and to be honest, it was a bait he could not resist.

To drive away the enemy with as little loss of life as possible. It was an optimist’s dream, one that Gemini believed was truly possible. Right now, he still had control over the demons of the Wildlands; something as nonsensical and absurd as this was…possible.

If nothing else, Hereward had read him like a book.

“How would we carry this plan out?” Gemini replied. “If our deception were to be uncovered, you would suffer the most. Your reputation would take a hit. Your plans won’t succeed.”

Stolen novel; please report.

“This plan will work, if you give me your full help.” The great god closed his eyes for a moment, and then reopened them seconds later. “If you do, we can keep deaths on the Five Lands’ side to an absolute minimum. With that as your leverage, you can force them to the negotiating table and work out a ceasefire. From there on, the two worlds can make progress towards co-existence.”

“You make it sound easy.”

“We are gods. Nothing is beyond us.”

“What of the elemental gods?” Gemini asked. “If we make a move, they will know too, no?”

“Aldnath is one of my pieces,” Hereward replied. “Thasvia and Liamar are on the verge of a long slumber; if the North hadn’t intervened, both of them would have eventually met their end too. The Demon God had prepared for today, but he just didn’t expect that the North would have such a card.”

“What impact will his passing have on the world?” Gemini asked.

“First, as you said, the demons will eventually return to normal,” Hereward replied. “Second…I’m not sure what other effects it would have. It’s the same deal with the Human God; the effects of his passing are not discernible so far.”

“I see. Wait. The Human God’s dead?”

“Yeah. Killed by some teenager,” Hereward replied. “Riveting stuff; the Human God turned mad and was killed in a rather unceremonious manner. At least the Demon God died at the hand of an entire nation’s military and a couple of gods.”

“Oh.” Gemini didn’t quite know what to think. However, since the Constellation Heroes no longer existed, there really wasn’t a point in having the Human God, the cause of the Second Extermination, alive either. It was a bit callous for him, but Gemini felt that the great god deserved it.

Still, I’m not sure why I felt that way…

“Well, let us make some plans for the…grand show we plan to put on,” said the Stabiliser. “This here is the map of the Wildlands. I’ve identified some points in which the Five Lands almost certainly have to navigate. With my help, you’ll be able to send some demons there…”

From there, the two gods began to talk about their upcoming plans. It was a novel experience to see Hereward treat him as an equal, but after a while, any superfluous thoughts that he might have had were gone. Most of his attention was devoted towards foreseeing the future, and after verifying that their arrangements were almost certainly going to succeed, the Sentinel of Space departed to make some preparations.

Hereward’s troops were from what Gemini now knew as the true Orb, the old world before the two ancient gods — Pabar and Tiadall — fought on it. Like the demons, they were also immortal, but in a different sense. Demons made use of blood pools to revive; when they died, their core — their soul and mind — would return to those blood pools, where a new body would be formed. It was by no means a healthy process, but whenever demon tribes fought to the death, this was the usual means of resurrection.

Gemini tried to recall more information, but a sudden wave of fatigue struck him. He didn’t need to sleep, as he was right now — it was more of a warning from his own instincts that probing further was not a good idea.

“Alright,” Gemini muttered. “Let’s save the world from himself this time.”

Stowing away the crystal of scorching sunlight in his hands, he looked at the planet below him and then at the starry sky above. There were so many things he wanted to do, but…priorities first.

Casting a wistful look at the floating fortress that was apparently Ark City, he vanished on the spot.