Danna watched as The First One studied the map of the universes where they'd yet to search for the Great Filter. The map made of light shimmered, illuminating the broken pillar upon which it sat.

Thankfully, they didn't have to search every planet in every universe, but only those where there was an unusual spot of order otherwise surrounded by chaos.

Many of the worlds were already marked as searched, but to the First One's current frustration, those were only those of medium or low corruption.

"It's going to be the most corrupted planet in the most corrupted world. That's just how fate works," Plutus said, repeating himself for the thousandth time.

The First One snapped. "I'm well aware of how fate works and this has nothing to do with it. It's about our capabilities. These two might could survive that level of corruption, but they'd never survive the chaos spawn. I could escort them, but I'd likely die or worse and then who would work the Filter?"

"Ah yes, I see. That is trouble. Very well. I will use the Filter for us."

The First One snorted, giving Plutus a scathing look. "I doubt you have the power, but I won't be putting our fate in the hands of a god of opulence."

Plutus placed one hand to his chest as though he was gripping a dagger plunged into it. The First One's mistrust probably did sting, but Plutus was simply playing a role as the First One vented her frustrations. Danna turned to look at Gi to see his reaction to The First One's unfortunate news.

To her surprise, he also held one hand to his chest. For a moment, she thought he was mimicking Plutus, but there was a look of confusion on his face and his head perked up. It swiveled in multiple directions as though looking for something he couldn't find.

"Are you okay?"

Startled by her voice, Gi flinched before relaxing. "I... think so. It's strange. I feel a warmth wrapped around my heart like a rope that is pulling me somewhere, but the direction eludes me. I have no idea what's going on."

"Does it hurt? Are you going to reincarnate?"

"I don't kno-"

They'd been speaking quietly, but the First One clearly wasn't in the mood for distractions and she stomped over, a disgruntled look plastered across her face.

"It's not reincarnation. It's resurrection." The First One's gruff words clicked for Danna and she immediately dove into the River of Truth.

Tiria was laid out on the floor of a broken inn covered in bandages. A goblin tended to both Tiria and Nori while Chum lay unconscious but mostly fine in the background. Poe being there surprised her as he and Tiria hadn't been together last she looked.

However, it was a miniscule Gang Otter staring out the window with unusually lifeless eyes that caught her attention. It had one arm hanging slack at its side.

"She did it," Danna whispered, returning her attention back to the camp.

Gi looked confused. Still with one hand on his chest as he felt what Danna now realized was his connection to the mortal realm and the doll that would ressurect him. "Who did what?"

"Tiria. She filled the vessel of chaos and created the doll. That's half the process of returning you to life!"

"Oh." Gi looked conflicted as he studied Danna's face. She understood his thought process. They'd come so far and were finally reunited. If Tiria was successful, they'd lose each other again. That wasn't the concern he spoke aloud though. "What of our work?"

He gestured toward the broken marble pillar where all the universes impacted by the Old Ones glowed in a display of light.

"This might be fortune in disguise." The First One muttered as she stroked her aged chin in thought. The goddess didn't seem as angry as Danna would have expected.

"What do you mean?"

"It's like you children never listen." She glared over at Plutus who raised his arms in surrender. "Our pace to search for the Great Filter has increased by threefold since you've arrived, but we've yet to find it.

"I'm coming to believe that it will be found in the greatest corruption as Plutus is so wont to say. With its nature, it makes sense. Why else would that spot of order be in the chaos? However if that is true, what then is our problem?"

Since the the First One has just been ranting about that very issue, it was easy to answer. It came across as a teacher checking to see if you were paying attention. Danna wondered if perhaps the woman had been a teacher before her rise to godhood.

"On the most corrupted worlds, we have the defenses required to tread through the corruption but not the strength to fight through the chaos spawn. The reverse is true for you."

"Correct," the First One said as she went to stand right in front of Gi. "However if this one could ascend to godhood... He wouldn't come here as a weak nascent god dependent on just belief. He'd step here through his own power."

"Wouldn't that require him to conquer the entire world? Against the demon empire and the humans both, that would be impossible!"

"Nearly impossible, but not quite." She took a few steps closer to Gi, studying him and muttering under her breath. "Yes, I think we could stack the deck in our favor. Perhaps, flip fate on its head."

Much louder so all the gods that had gathered could hear, she yelled, "Yes, I've decided on our new course of action. Come. Let us prepare."

He'd done nearly impossible things before as the Progenitor of the Underbridge Clan, but he'd also suffered and died. Could Gi truly be their savior?

It was Danna's turn to study her husband. She saw him as he was. Strong, yet vulnerable. Redeemed, yet still weak. They both were. It might take years for them to heal.

Was it right to put the fate of not just a single world but many on his shoulders?

She supposed if The First One was right then they didn't really have a choice. If they wanted to live, he'd have to go back and succeed where he previously failed. She reached out and squeezed his paw.

This time, she'd make sure he wouldn't have to face his trials alone.

***

Ellen Swamp's gaze lingered on the massive army of demons that marched to snuff out Veridia. Surely such an army had to be the bulk of their forces which told her that Frosthelm must have already been dealt with. There was no way they'd leave themselves undefended from the East.

The Thousand Islands forces were significant, both King Rellington and the churches had seen to that, but even if they could impact this war, they'd never make it in time.

And if they didn't assist, it would be a long war of attrition where they put the demons' navy to the test.

Cursing, Ellen pulled back from her hiding spot along the cliff side and followed it out of sight of the mass of demons. She wanted to be further from the demons and losing herself in the forest atop the cliff seemed wise, but something about it felt... off.

Instead, she continued along the cliff until she found a cave that was concealed by an outcropping of rock. Enough light came through that she didn't want to risk being spotted by a scout or errant monster.

She sat crosslegged in the center of the cave. "The King must know."

Her words reverberated off the rock that surrounded her, but she doubted the sound went much beyond her hiding place.

Her problem was circular.

If she took the time to tell the King, they could never arrive with their army in time to be of any use. But what could she do by herself? Ellen had spent her entire life chasing power and it frustrated her when her own power came up short.

Sighing, she pulled out a small figurine of a dog's head and placed it on the ground in front of her. Prayer was something she rarely engaged in, but that didn't mean she wasn't religious.

Quite the opposite in fact, but her god was one of action not meditation. With no sure step ahead of her, Ellen prayed. She sat much as she did when she cultivated with her legs crossed and arms resting on her knees.

"Oh Great One, I have grown my power as per your tenets. I've pushed to become one of the strongest humans in the land, but still, the broad application of my power is not enough. I need your guidance on how my Skills could best be used."

The times when Ellen did pray, its process tended to be one of self discovery. She'd relay her problems to her god and eventually find the answer herself. If there was any sort of divine assistance, it was supremely subtle.

This time there was no confusion on whether her god spoke.

The color drained from the walls of the cave like melting paint revealing the endless void beneath. She tried not to panic as all sense of self and space abandoned her into the unending blackness.

The void was interrupted by two giant red eyes.

Words, more growl than speech, shattered the unnatural silence of the vision. "I have need of your obedience, Ellen Swamp."

***

Taking deep breaths, Samba and Mark rested their hands on their knees. They'd abandoned the army as neither the humans nor the otters had been able to keep up with Junior's demons that continued to march ever southward.

"Come on," Mark said, taking two deep breaths. The two of them maneuvered towards the edge of the trees that they ran in and peered backward along the southern path. Despite their sprinting, they could still see the dust of the demon army behind them.

"How?" Samba breathed. "We've been sprinting for days!"

"A Marching Skill? I never got one, but I know some companies in the Veridian Army had them. Required them, in fact."

"That can't be it."

"Maybe Junior is doing something with the earth also?"

Despite the calm, inquisitive nature of his voice, Samba could see the tightness in his eyes. The stakes weren't lost on him. The demons were marching directly towards Wavecrest - directly towards both of their families.

Much of the shore was just open space, there was no strategy that they could implement that would allow them to defeat the more numerous demons. They just didn't have enough experienced soldiers.

"We'll make it," Samba said, patting Mark on his back.

"I know," the man said simply, but the tension in his jaw didn't loosen. "We rest for an hour. Drink water and food and then we sprint the rest of the way. With our Vitality, we should be able to do it."

"Can we afford the time?"

"I'm not sure our endurance will last if we don't."

Samba wouldn't argue. Honestly, it was taking him much longer to catch his breath than he'd ever thought was possible. After marching for weeks, the battle, and then running for days, his Vitality was nearing its limit.

He pulled some dried fish from his [Expanded Pocket] and handed a filet over to Mark along with some water. His friend thanked him, ate and drank quickly before dropping into a cultivation pose. The humans' way of gaining strength was strange to him, but it should help restore Mark for the journey ahead.

"You can sleep if you need to. I'll wake you when it's time."

Samba snorted. "As if I could sleep with that giant demon breathing down our necks."

Mark didn't respond and Samba eventually settled onto his back to rest his aching feet before it was time to run again.

He found his mind wandering to Gi.

His Progenitor had done horrible things and pulled the clan into pointless conflict, but he'd also gotten them out of some dire situations as well.

What would he do if he was in my place? Sadly, his imagination wasn't up to the task of figuring it out. Probably destroy them all somehow though.

That was the last thought he had before exhaustion took him and he passed out.