Food as far as the eye could see. Well, not quite literally, but it was almost impossible to see the large round table in the room's centre from all of the plates and platters that covered it.

Only one section was clear of delicious smelling food or drinks, the area where three exceedingly tall men were sat.

Lone pegged the shortest one at being about 7-foot-tall while the largest was easily a foot taller than that.

On the other side of the table, Rangah was digging into a sandwich of some sort with plenty of vigour while Master Lefrasburn was casually chatting with a short blue-skinned man no taller than 4-feet.

Lone almost mistook this man for a gnome of some sort until something clicked in his mind. 'A Changeling just like Fep. That must be Head Guider Owen. I'd have taken him for a kid if he wasn't the leader of this soul hall. Must've drawn the short straw on the old height lottery, huh? Unlike the fuckin' giants over there.'

Naturally, Lone, Master Millisa and master Dilroy's entrance didn't go unnoticed.

Divine Spirit nodded his head and gestured at the open seats. "Come, eat, feast. Enjoy yourself, Master Lone. We have much to discuss but I and my brothers must first insist that you fill your stomach. It won't do anyone any good if we talk on important matters while you're hungry, now will it?"

"Sure," Lone answered casually as he returned the 7.5-foot-tall man's nod.

He found a seat halfway between the Divines and the others while Master Dilroy placed himself next to Head Guider Owen and Master Millisa seated herself next to Rangah - likely in an effort to keep a close eye on the usually lazy and uncooperative tigerkin.

"This stuff smells great," Lone commented as his hands soon began shovelling food into his mouth in a very unrefined manner. "Tasty too. Doesn't seem local. And hey, look at that, Poison Resistance isn't going up. No super strong drugs in here then. That's a relief, haha."

Taking the obvious joke in stride Divine Weeping smiled. "I grew all of it myself. At our level, getting by as a soul oracle without some experimentation is impossible. Hence, I raise animals and plants for myself and my brothers. When mature, we test our theories on their souls then turn them into produce. All without pain, of course."

Lone raised an eyebrow. "Wouldn't it make more sense for your servants to do that or, like, weaker soul oracles? Surely there's more important stuff for the top brass to be getting involved in than raising cattle and veggies."

"The souls always come out stronger under my tender care. It's also a hobby of sorts. I'm sure you understand given your penchant for smithing," Divine Weeping answered.

"Hmm..." Lone munched on a drumstick of some animal he couldn't recognise from the battered and cooked limb alone, oddly enough. Funny how that was a lot easier to do back on Earth where only a handful of animals were commonly turned into drumsticks.

"Why aren't you boys eating then?" Lone asked as he gave all three of the Divines a bit of side-eye.

'By the Primals... He... He called them 'boys'... Could there possibly be any greater disrespect to the prestigious Divine grandmasters?!' Master Millisa thought in a panic.

Head Guider Owen, on the other hand, smirked. 'I couldn't make it to his match today due to preparing for the grandmasters' arrival, but he really is an arrogant fellow, isn't he? I'm interested to see how this plays out.'

Of course, Rangah didn't care enough to have an opinion on Lone's rudeness. Master Dilroy was a bit miffed by it, but otherwise, he understood what Lone was like and he had already warned the grandmasters of his mannerisms. Master Lefrasburn was of the same mind as Master DIlroy.

"As Divines, we need only eat once every few months or so. You see, Divinity makes one far more reliant on their stats than on their actual body, even more so for people like us who specialise in souls. Forgive us if you see us in a poor light for not joining in on the festivities," Divine Spirit explained.

Lone winced. "That must suck. Food tastes the best when you're hungry. I guess I'll have to restructure my body then if that change applies when I become a Divine. Not needing to sleep too often is tough enough to deal with as it is."

"Restructure your body?" Divine Rend's interest was immediately piqued. "How? Does that have some relation to the skill you used to mend your soul when Divine Bumble cut it in half?"

"Nah, different skill," Lone said casually as he savoured a glass of white wine, letting the smooth liquid flow down his throat as he enjoyed every drop of it. "Good stuff."

He then dug into a golden casserole as he said, "Well, you boys have a reason to invite me to dinner, right? I happen to have a request for you, actually. Well, more like an offer, but it's a difference of splitting hairs, really."

"Please, speak your mind, Master Lone," Divine Spirit answered with a warm smile on his face. 'An opportunity presents itself. Perhaps it won't be that hard at all to ensure Eldest Brother is satisfied. I really will require his favours in a few decades to make sure some of my experiments don't fall through.'

"My fiancée. I won't mince words, you guys are soul oracles too and grandmasters at that, whatever that means. I'd bet money that you three saw that her soul is splitting," Lone said as his otherwise jovial mood was ruined by a sombre aura. "Tell me how I can help her. Will her soul naturally split? Will she die from the process? Is there a perfect way for me to extract her second soul and put it into a new body without corroding it? Name your price and I'll pay it. You're surely aware of the Divine Soul Prisons I gave to this Soul Hall, right? I don't mind making hundreds of them, thousands, even, in exchange for the knowledge I seek."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"My brothers and I are, indeed, aware of the girl's... predicament, and, as it just so happens, we also wished to speak with you about this," Divine Spirit said very carefully.

"... Why?" Lone was immediately on-guard. People in power almost never had selfless intentions when they interacted and asked for things from those they deemed as lower than themselves.

At least, it was very rare for that to not be the case in Lone's experience back on Earth.

He was hopeful for help but he was also very, very sceptical since the matter at hand was of Soph and Sophie's well-being.

Divine Rend nodded. "Research, of course. Her case is not unique, her survival of said case, however, is. I would be more than happy to help you free of cost if you would allow me to examine her up close. Where is she?"

Lone narrowed his eyes. 'Why is his tone... so eager? Something feels... odd.'

"She's sleeping. I'd rather not disturb her right now," Lone answered a bit more defensively than Divine Spirit or Divine Weeping would have liked.

Luckily, Divine Rend was utterly socially inept, so he didn't notice how Lone was acting differently from a moment ago.

"I can assure you, I mean her no immediate harm. That skill you used to make her disappear. Do that again but in reverse. I'm confident it is some sort of contracting magic from the fluctuations. I'm certain you can make her appear again at will, can you not?" Divine Rend urged.

"I think that's none of your business, Pal," Lone said rather pointedly. Saturn hovered around him in an alert position, ready to extend its blades in but a moment's notice.

Head Guider Owen raised his voice to say, "Master Lone, this is our first time meeting, yes? A pleasure. I can understand your apprehension given the matter at hand involves your beloved, but please understand that you have no enemies at this table. If you wish to get assistance from the Divine grandmasters then surely you realise that you will, at some point, be forced to allow Divine Rend to inspect the condition of the girl, no?"

All of the other masters bar Rangah echoed similar sentiments. The two-tailed tigerkin had, instead, gotten up and placed herself next to Lone. She knew him, after all.

Lone frowned as he thought it over. Slowly, he nodded. "I guess being a Divine leads to certain... personality quirks. Divine Bumblefuck and Sarah proved that... Okay, I'll summ-"

Lone was interrupted by a hum from under his shirt. The sound was coming from his forge and anvil amulet - the key to The Glade.

Wearing a face of confusion, Lone answered the hum and opened the portal to the pocket dimension.

Sword drawn and mechanical limbs ready to strike, Swind rushed out of The Glade to stand in front of Lone. "Do not trust them, Mr Immortus."

"Where did you come from?!" Head Guider Owen said a bit more frantically than perhaps he had meant to.

"I would advise against raising a weapon and pointing towards the Divine grandmasters, Apprentice Swind," Master Lefrasburn calmly suggested.

Master Dilroy was shocked enough that he started choking on his wine.

Master Millisa, on the other hand, was seconds away from striking Swind down where he stood. Lone's rudeness was tolerable given his status as an incredibly young master like Rangah as well as the fact that he was the Divines' guest, but Swind? It took everything in the woman to not bear down on his soul with the full weight of her X-ranker foundation.

Lone calmly took stock of everything that had happened in the past 5-seconds and then posed Swind a question. "Lemurian's Sixth Sense?"

His scaly humanoid friend nodded without looking back at him. Swind simply refused to keep his eyes off of the three exceedingly tall gentlemen who had silently been watching this all unfold.

"... Sorry, Divine Weeping, Divine Spirit, Divine Rend, but I must politely decline. It seems that we won't be able to work together on this matter. Thank you, Swind, you can go now," Lone said confidently and with a smile as he held Swind's shoulder and reopened the portal to The Glade for him.

"... Are you sure you will be fine on your own?" Swind asked, gripping his sword even tighter.

Lone nodded once again. "They haven't tried to kill you immediately, which is a good sign, isn't it, guys?"

None of the Divines looked happy, least of all Divine Rend, but yes, they certainly didn't seem to have any intentions to lash out with violence. Lone could only thank his lucky stars for their current passiveness.

"... Very well. I shall leave the rest to you, Mr Immortus," Swind said as he slowly backed up into the portal.

Lone deactivated the gateway to The Glade and then stood up. "Well, as you all heard me a moment ago, I'm sorry to have to disappoint you, Divine Rend."

"What?" Divine Spirit was incredibly confused. "That child's words are enough to prevent you from saving the life of the one you love? You would go so far as to reject the kindness we brothers are showing you by humbling ourselves and sitting at the same table as you?"

Lone narrowed his eyes. "You're a grandmaster soul oracle, aren't you? Surely you can see how pure and bright his green soul is. I would trust him with my life. If he does not trust you, then I am sorry to say that neither can I."

All of the masters present paled. Even Rangah was starting to look worried. "Master Lone, I would suggest apologising right no-"

"Why?" Lone interrupted Master Millisa. "They gave me an offer, I rejected it. Are you guys seriously going to tell me that I had no real choice in the matter? Fuck that. I've politely said no. Go find someone else with a splitting soul to research and run tests on."

Divine Rend got out of his chair and his massive figure towered over Lone. "There are no other persons like her. A splitting soul immediately destroys the body. There are no exceptions. She is the only anomaly."

He glanced down at the man two-feet shorter than himself as he said, "Middle Brother, I apologise. I tried the diplomatic route as you suggested, but it has failed. I shall still provide you and Youngest Brother with the promised favours. After all, I may require your help in dealing with the fallout of my actions considering who supports him."

Lone wore a very serious expression on his face as his lips curled in disgust. "Go figure. A big and powerful person wants to throw a fuckin' tantrum the second things don't go their way. You think I'm a fuckin' pushover, do you? You think you can get Soph and Sophie before any of my Divine connections come to my rescue, do you?"

Lone let the full brunt of his SSS-ranker aura flood the room. It did nothing to everyone present except for Rangah who was frozen solid as she stared at the massive golden fox growling menacingly behind Lone's back.

While it didn't really affect anyone given Lone's rank, it showed his attitude and intentions as brightly as day.

"Do you think that because I couldn't hurt Divine Bumblefuck beyond a tiny cut on his finger than I can't kill you? Well, I've got some bad fuckin' news, boys. I was holding back." It was then that Lone unleashed all 12 of his daily uses of Mental Destruction on Divine Rend.

Lone was more than willing to bear the consequences of killing such a renowned Divine if it meant upholding his sense of personal justice.

Never would he allow someone to misuse their power as Divine Rend clearly wished to do so. His bond with the Soul Hall be damned, he'd teach these arrogant fools a lesson today. If that meant he would be hated by yet another faction of the continent, then so be it.