Gi was very aware that he was surrounded by an army of humans inside the courtyard of their own castle with their King unconscious nearby and missing an arm from their recent battle. Whatever lingering instincts he had that remained from the First One screamed at him to fight or to flee, but those instincts were such small voices now. He ignored them.

Instead, he turned to the Table, as the First One had called them - the eight elders who'd ruled the Thousand Islands in secret. Gi hadn't been briefed on the etymology of their name, but it didn't matter.

While King Rellington had much more overt power, those here controlled the shadows. As someone who'd walked a dark path, Gi knew shadows could be very strong indeed.

"Honored Elders," Gi began and Elder Altman glared at him again. The First One had said they liked respectful routine, perhaps that didn't apply to monsters. "Frosthelm has fallen. Its cities have been ransacked and now its people amount to little more than refugees huddled in caves. They can not help us."

There were some murmurs among the lesser priests gathered there. Gi was surprised that these people were willing to have this conversation in front of so many others. Surprised until he realized that if Gi turned on them, they wanted an army to face him.

Honestly, it was an intelligent move.

"They've only ever been an empire by the size of their land," the Elder said. "Their population has always been less than even our own. It's startling, but not as substantial a problem as it sounds."

Despite saying those words to Gi, they were to assuage the fears of his followers that listened. He'd maneuvered to having this conversation in public to block a threat and was now controlling whatever information Gi provided in a manner that was more palatable to his base.

The man played the gruff leader, but was far more shrewd than Gi had expected after seeing him fight with his Aether steel blades. This alliance was going to be... difficult.

"During the Monster Surge," Gi continued, "a plateau was raised in the middle of the main continent that split the Empires in two. It ends at where the Northern Sea used to be."

"Used to be?" Elder Tisch asked. At least, he believed that was who the old woman was. She did wear the symbol of Matar across her robes, three graves that formed almost a backward C.

Gi nodded. "The Southernmost point of the Demon Empire rose up from its depths with the rest of it coming up from the ocean. With the plateau blocking them, they invaded Veridia and Frosthelm from the northeast and the northwest respectively."

Another of the Elders spoke up, this one with a sun symbol splashed across her robes. "Makholl was right on the Northern Sea. No wonder Frosthelm fell so quickly."

"Demons appearing on the doorstep of your capital will tend to do that," Elder Altman said dryly.

The Elder of Matar stepped forward again. "And how do you know all this, monster?"

Elder Altman turned his impressive glare on her this time. It was more song and dance. Gi knew Matar had contacted her people and that was the only reason that they were here now. For some reason, Elder Altman didn't want this to be public knowledge and Elder Tisch did.

Gi's father might have been able to navigate the politics here, but Gi had never been good at it himself. If he had, maybe he wouldn't have gotten fired from his job back when he was Richard.

So he kept it simple. Matar was one of the First One's allies so Gi assumed whatever Elder Tisch wanted was better for him than those followers of another god.

"I died recently and found myself among a collection of gods that have gathered to protect us from... a greater problem than demons. The gods instructed me on the state of this world so that we might defeat the demons together."

"So you met with Our Lady herself?"

"I did. Her divinity aside, she was both regal and mysterious, but she didn't speak often." Feeling as though he hadn't said enough, his mouth tacked on, "she was as quiet as the graves."

A single guffaw sounded from somewhere in the crowd, but was quickly silenced.

"Funny," Elder Altman said, flatly, but Elder Tisch smiled. The Patriarch of Hyshtel continued. "Why would the gods send us a monster?"

"Mostly because I was on the path of resurrection. It's not every day that a mortal returns from the dead. The rest has to do with the corruption. It-"

Elder Altman silenced him with a wave of his hand. "That is not important."

How quickly he'd cut in told Gi that it was very important to him. Was he afraid at what Gi might reveal to those gathered here? Did they know anything about the corruption currently?

Strange.

The Elder continued before Gi could add anything else. "Let's get back on task. Frosthelm has fallen. Veridia is invaded. The Demon Empire has risen in place of the Northern Sea. Tell us what wisdom the gods have for us there."

The crowd had been quiet while the Elders spoke, but now each one of them held rapt attention.

"We have no chance of defeating the Demon Empire without the might of Veridia. Veridia has no chance of defending itself from the oncoming armies alone. For the Western Empire to have a chance, they need us - a host of monster and man marching together."

"And you expect us to follow you, I presume?" And this was the power play. Elder Altman was willing to work with Gi's clan, but only if his Table could lead it, and by extension, he himself.

Gi considered that. Did he really want to lead? That answer was easy. Not really.

But did he trust Elder Altman to lead them? Also no. The man seemed more inclined to grow his own power than to protect their people. It was only because they risked total destruction that he was willing to come to this meeting at all - if Gi inferred correctly.

He didn't even understand the much graver threat that the Old Ones represented. No, Gi couldn't allow that.

"We will follow you." All eyes turned to the King who'd slowly sat up. Gi wasn't the only one surprised by the King's presence let alone attention. After Gi himself had fallen to the Old Ones' influence, he'd been unconscious for a long time.

"So you're still alive," Elder Altman said, "you've made quite a mess of things."

"As have you, Elder," he practically spat the last word. "If we want to throw both our sins into the light, I believe I'd come out the purer."

"Conflict breeds strength and it is strength we need in times like these."

There was no remorse in the Elder's eyes. The Elder reminded Gi a bit of his father with that unwavering conviction. Gi's feelings on his father were mixed after his second death, but it still wasn't a mark in Elder Altman's favor.

The King stood shakily, his balance still askew from battling the corruption and losing his arm. "We won't follow blindly, but we will follow. I can see that both Ellen and the Table had already given up on me. You could have killed me without any consequence to your alliance but you didn't. That speaks to more character than many gathered here."

King Rellington's eyes were steel as he dared the Elder to contradict him. There was a will of fire within the King, one that had been nurtured by loss and the heavy mantle of a crown. He could see why Fader had held the man with such high regard.

"Very well, my King," Elder Altman said with a bow. "Let your will be done." Gi had no idea what his true thoughts were, but no one else seemed willing to call out his shift in attitude. There was a layer of accepted politics here that made Gi's head spin.

At least when Samba hated him, he said it outright. Thank Danna that he'd managed to save the King.

"What must we do?" With the King's backing and whatever spat had been aired out, everyone returned their attention to him.

"Every soldier that you can spare needs to be on a ship headed for the main continent. We will meet our other allies at the bottom of the plateau - the south coastline that is inline with the Northern Sea. From there, we make our battle plans and march north."

"And have the gods provided you a path for us?"

Gi shook his head. "They've provided some information, but the future can only be inferred through the trajectories of the present. It will be on all of us to decide our course of battle."

The King nodded as though he'd expected that. Gi kept waiting for someone to disagree with the King and try to force Gi to heel, but it didn't happen. Even after having been corrupted, they still respected the King implicitly - or recognized his power.

"Time is of the essence," Gi said, "If our alliance has been established, there are others that I must meet before I head back to the main continent."

Gi could see the ears of the Table perk up as he mentioned others nearby them, but the King cut off any pursuit of that information. "We will make our way to the meeting place. May the F-," the King stopped short with a sour look on his face. "May the gods watch over you."

"May their wisdom guide you as well." Gi looked over the humans gathered in the courtyard and then swam into the air. He wondered if leaving was the correct move, but he suspected if the Table made some sort of power play that Ellen would back the King.

With their strength combined, he suspected there was no cause for concern.

Gi headed east. The many islands of the Thousand Island Kingdom were sprawled out before him. Signs of civilization spread across each of them. Some were full of fields of wheat while others held signs of industry or residence.

The sun had long since set during their battle and the conversation afterwards. The lights of torches or lanterns dotted the land below him, sparkling in the darkness of night. It was pretty, but his destination wasn't here.

He continued east.

It wasn't long before the islands thinned out and two massive ones sat side by side separated by a river or perhaps more accurately called a strait.

Myshk to the west and Igna to the east.

He flew over the burned husks of Myshk's forests. The dark city had spread throughout and Gi had once made it his hunting grounds for Soul Orbs. It was desolate now, only the occasional sign of a monster who'd spawned in as part of the ongoing Surge.

Igna, on the other hand, looked much as it always did, but the signs of battle were still there. Most of the non-rock structures had been limited to the bazaar and it had been turned into a trash heap.

Whether that was the war between Myshk and Igna where Gi had killed the Queen or from the Thousand Islands Kingdom's genocide after, Gi didn't know as he'd been dead at the time.

The Fort likewise had been knocked down where he'd met Captain Mesano all those years ago, the manticore like leader of Igna's faux army.

He considered heading to the bottom of the lake beneath the massive dock that led to the sky, but Gi didn't want to see his old home empty so he continued upward.

The Flight Tiers he remembered from the few Assemblies he attended. He passed each tier - The Breeze, The Sky, and The Sun- until he arrived at the very top.

The Throne.

It was Queen Siht's cave at the very top of Igna. The inside was lined with bookshelves that all stacked high up to the ceiling. A few books littered the ground around the bookshelves, but most were just gone.

He assumed the humans had taken them or destroyed them and it made him sad.

Queen Siht had been a devoted follower of Noctua Dominus, the God of Knowledge. Like many stories of dragons from back home, she'd filled her lair with a treasure that she valued most. To see the knowledge that she'd collected stripped bear sent a surge of guilt through him.

"I'm sorry, my Queen..." His whisper was lost in the vastness of the cave before it could echo. "You deserved better."

Gi walked slowly through the cave, letting his memories of the time before his second death wash over him. He'd been desperate for any port in his storm of confusion, first latching on to Danna and then to the Father.

He almost felt like an entirely different person now.

He made his way to the very back of the cavern where one bookcase stood out to him. It looked just like any other, but it had to be the one that the First One had called out to him.

He tucked his finger in the slight crease between the bookshelf and the cave wall until his hands felt the steel of a latch. He lifted it and the bookshelf easily swung outward.

Behind it lay a pit that was easily twice as big as Gi from head to tail. Gi looked down it, but it quickly descended into darkness.

"Good thing I can fly..."

Without further ado, he jumped. Darkness encased him for only a moment as he activated [Unstoppable Nobility]. His Liquid Light twinkled as it dripped down his body and lightened the fall through what felt like an endless pit.

He gently swam upward to keep his fall at a safe momentum, even if the fall couldn't harm him with his C Ranked Vitality.

He continued falling.

And falling.

Just when he started to think the First One had played some cruel joke on him that would doom them all, he felt a slimy layer pass over him as though he was enveloped by an invisible bubble.

After he passed through another few feet, it popped and his Soul Senses came alive. A thousand points of light dotted the darkness below him to his senses, each representing a life.

They were here just as she'd said - the survivors of Igna.