The Wildlands’ strongest demons were gathered in a small tower, but instead of acting like some shadowy, all-knowing council, these illustrious and mighty individuals were more interested in savouring delicacies produced by their peers. They weren’t just waiting passively for those dishes either; everyone was helping to pass dishes around, up and including Gemini himself.

Gemini felt his lip twitch at the surreal sight. If the Five Lands saw this really heart-warming scene, what would they think? Reaching out for Lila’s dishes, the Demon Sovereign skilfully kept his beloved’s dishes in front of him, ignoring the dirty glances everyone else was sending his way.

Lila, who was sitting to Gemini’s right, raised an eyebrow at the dishes laid out in front of him. “Did you just hog every single dish I cooked?”

“That’s my prerogative,” Gemini replied proudly. “I see no issue with my actions.”

“You really can be…” Lila shook her head. “But you should at least let one dish go, right?”

“Oh.” Gemini looked at every single dish Lila had made, but he didn’t know which one he wanted to let go of. Turning back to her, he asked, “Any suggestions?”

“Well, I think I screwed up a tiny bit while making these patties, so…”

“Ah!” Gemini beamed. “I see. Alright, they can have the less-than-perfect dishes, then.”

For some reason, the Demon Sovereign could sense that everyone else’s ears had twitched collectively at those words, but it was not something he would care about all that much. Passing down the plate of patties, Gemini turned his greedy eyes towards the other dishes and licked his lips.

There was something he had to do first, however.

“My beloved subordinates, please, dig in.”

Small conversations erupted all around the huge table a moment after that small declaration of his. Most of his Demigods had a long period of shared history with each other. Some were friendly rivals, while others were old ancestors of demon tribes linked by a long history of marriage.

Gemini turned to Lila. “For some reason, this particular Exemplar slipped my mind.”

“What are you talking about?” Lila asked.

“Exemplar Rilata,” Gemini replied. “The strongest Exemplar of the Wildlands. Capable of matching even Demigods to a draw. Do you remember her? Your matriarch?”

Pai-Relix, who was sitting on his left, turned to glance at Gemini. “The strongest Exemplar?”

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

“You’ve heard of her?” Gemini asked, curious.

“My recent memories are very faint, like everyone else around here,” Pai-Relix replied. “That said…the strongest Exemplar, eh? Hmm. What tribe is she from?”

“The Ars Tribe.”

“Ah! The tribe of defenders! Little wonder her name was so familiar.” Pai-Relix chuckled. “My tribe abandoned their ancestral land years ago, crossing through Ars Fortress to seek protection. At that time, I was in hibernation, so I didn’t really notice that they had shifted me there at that time.”

“What happened next?” Gemini asked.

“You should know, right? Ars fell, and the Demon God led his primals to force our surrender. Faced with the threat of my descendants’ death, I surrendered my free will to him.” Pai-Relix shrugged. “But more importantly, couldn’t you locate Ars-Rilata by yourself? You are the ruler of the Wildlands, after all. And with your boundless powers, finding anyone in the Wildlands should be a cinch, right?”

“Right, I forgot about that.”

“You can be a weird one at times, Lord.”

“I’ll go look for her later, then.” Gemini nodded in thanks. “Thanks for reminding me.”

“It is my pleasure.”

“Well, we’ve at least gotten that settled,” Lila replied, Aria now in her arms. The little baby was staring at the huge table laden with food, an odd light in her eyes. “I suppose you’re still not used to being a great god yet, are you?”

“Definitely,” Gemini replied. “As I understand it, gods operate on a very…foundational system. They don’t rely on their senses. Instead, they rely on their will, their mind. In a sense, as long as they can think of something, it can almost certainly be done.”

Aria gurgled, prompting Lila to laugh.

“Yeah, I know. I don’t understand that bit either,” Lila replied. “Do you want mama to feed you some food? What do you want?”

“Auh, auh…” Aria pointed at a platter of sausages. “Da.”

Lila looked at the sausages, before bringing one over with qi. At that magical sight, Aria immediately broke out into a delighted squeal, before reaching out for it.

“Do babies react like this whenever they see qi being used in such a manner?” Gemini pondered out loud. This wasn’t the first time Aria had reacted in such a delightful manner to the use of qi, but this sight could never bore him. The naïve wonder of children as they reacted to such mystical sights were nothing short of enjoyable, especially for babies who had yet to understand the world around them.

A small hand tugged on his clothes.

It was Aria, and she was pointing at the still-floating sausage, an action that made his heart melt. He could tell that she wanted to share this miraculous sight with him, something a child would tell their parents.

“Do you want to tell me something?” Gemini asked.

Aria pointed at the sausage with both hands, before turning her shiny eyes to Gemini. The sight made the Demon Sovereign laugh, and he patted her head twice. “I see. Thank you, Aria!”

His little baby daughter giggled, and Gemini found himself pondering on the use of qi in this world. To him, it should have been the stuff of miracles, of impossibilities. When he first arrived on Orb, he was no different from a baby, but now…

Gemini had long recognised the fact that qi was the primary means in which violence was carried out here, but this was the first time he found that fact saddening.

Sweeping his gaze through the assembled Demigods, the Demon Sovereign leaned back on his chair, wishing for a day when people would regard qi with wonder once more. Would that day come? He didn’t know, but Gemini was certain that he was, at the very least, on the right track.

He looked at both Lila and Aria, rubbing the latter’s hair gently. There were so many responsibilities, so many debts, but with them by his side, nothing was impossible.

“Lila, Aria’s beginning to drool over the sausage. Best you feed it to her.”

“Oh, right!”