Gi and Danna walked towards the mansion. From the vines and the weathered stone, it had a quaint aura about it which seemed entirely at odds with The First One, Goddess of Monsters.

"You're sure this is her heaven?," Gi asked.

Danna chuckled. "Yes. Plutus said that it was modeled after her home from when she was mortal."

"Strange to think about."

"As gods, we do change based off of the beliefs of our followers. As both the creator and god of monsters, I'm sure that's impacted her demeanor."

"Terrifying to think about."

"I agree."

As the two of them entered the house, the size of the interior caught him off guard. It had a huge open sitting room with dozens of lush couches and rugs with plants nestled everywhere. Perhaps, it was the size of the place, but it didn't look busy to the eye.

There were several gods within that main sitting room, but compared to the hundreds of tents at the camp, the number present seemed quite low.

He did recognize Matar, Goddess of Graves, as well as Plutus, but Noctua was not visible. The Fighting Drakes had been completely wiped out during the war and Noctua's lack of presence was likely from no longer having followers rather than whatever tragedy had befallen the camp.

Gods didn't reincarnate like mortals did. They ceased. It might have been what he wanted, but the thought made Gi somber.

"Good, you're finally here." The First One's brusque voice drew all eyes to her as she stepped out of a door that seemed to lead to a kitchen of all things.

The First One had an elderly appearance, but only if an elderly person's spine was made of iron and muscles made of molten steel. Her dress matched the fae-like surroundings with a simple gentle green color and trimmed with gold, but she had that same bark that belied the avatar of the hound that she summoned.

Without having to be ordered, all the gods present gathered to her so that they might hear her speak.

"Most of you already know the current situation, but I'll restate it for any idiots among us and Gi, newly ascended God of Mercy," she smirked in a way that included him with the idiots, but it was more of a friendly dig than an insult. The First One acted very different in her own home.

"The Old Ones' influence pushed over to our side of the universe much more quickly than we've ever seen it move before. Dozens of worlds have been corrupted and many more stand to fall soon. The only bright side is the fickle bitch that is time is currently elongated near the edge of their influence. If it wasn't for that, we'd be lucky to have even half of our planets still remaining."

The First One snapped her fingers and a model of the universe appeared. A green so dark that appeared black pooled and grew across one side of it, snuffing out stars as it swallowed planets whole.

Unlike when he'd seen the model back at the camp, the image flickered and shifted. One moment, the corruption would shoot forward and the next it would retract revealing planets that looked lost.

"Why is the corruption acting like that?," Gi asked.

The First One grunted. "It's not. The broken pillar back at the camp was not actually a broken pillar. It's an artifact from ages past that can amplify either Chaos or Truth. Similar to the Great Filter, this allowed it some semblance of accuracy when displaying the momentum of the Old Ones. Without it, this is our best guess."

"That's why a shield is still in place at the camp? To protect it?"

"And to protect you after your ascension. I tied my anchor to the pillar as well."

"If it can wield Chaos and Truth, why do we need the Filter? Is that not the whole point of retrieving it?"

Gi looked around at the other gods, but his question must have been either a stupid one or one that was common knowledge among them as no one seemed particularly enlightened by his idea.

"No. It can amplify either but can't wield them." She sighed as though explaining this was a necessary evil when she had more important things to discuss.

"Divinity is a god's resource that allows them to influence Truth. Influencing Truth allows us to influence reality, but it's like trying to use two hammers to cook pancakes. It's difficult, messy, and rarely comes out exactly as you want. That's because reality is a mix of both Truth and Chaos. You understand this, yes?"

"I do." He'd gotten the gist of it from Danna, but as a new god, he hadn't had an opportunity to flex his divinity himself. "The issue is that the pillar can only amplify what we can already wield, but the Filter will allow us to use Chaos more directly?"

"Correct. Functionally, I'll use it and the pillar to create a vacuum of Chaos as a shield that should serve as guiding path for the Old Ones, moving them to another section of existence."

Plutus's voice rang out for the first time since the discussion started. "If the Acolyte doesn't fuck it up."

"Acolyte?"

The First One sighed at Gi's question, but Danna responded. "We suspect that some follower or worshipper of the Old Ones was responsible for the sudden shift in corruption."

"So when you say follower, you mean like another god?"

"Or Chaos equivalent, yes."

That was bad. If that Acolyte was strong enough to move the Old Ones, something that even the First One needed not one but two artifacts to achieve, how were they supposed to be someone that powerful? His worry must have been apparent on his face as the First One laughed.

"They aren't more powerful than me, boy. If they were, they wouldn't be on a scale to worry about us and the Old Ones' true attention would probably destroy them. No, they're using some tool or trick to make it happen - same as us. If I can combine the Filter and the pillar, I should be strong enough to wipe their efforts aside."

Gi wasn't as confident as the First One seemed to be, but he had about ten minutes of experience as a god if one didn't count the stasis so he recognized that his knowledge was lacking. Neither Danna nor any of the other gods seemed to share his specific concern so he dropped it.

"Then I guess Danna and I need to get back to scouting planets."

The First One shook her head. "Even with only the planets with S Rank corruption left to explore, we won't have time to do a thorough sweep, but here is where the Acolyte is helping us."

Gi sat down on one of the couches as he continued to listen to her. His body wasn't made of mortal flesh and blood anymore, but his mind hadn't quite gotten used to that fact. He'd been standing awhile so his instinct was to sit. He barely even noticed.

"Helping us?"

"Yes." Unlike him, the First One and other gods remained in whatever position they wanted to be in - none of them uncomfortable. The First One stood, hands nestled behind her back like a general addressing her army.

"The corruption has not spread evenly. Most of it has been pulled directly in our direction, but there is one outlier. One of the planets in our list seems to be corrupting quicker than the others. Our belief is this is either the Acolyte trying to prevent us from collecting the Filter or the Filter itself causing anomalies in the Old Ones' influence."

"Knowing where to look is good, I suppose... but if its corruption was already S Rank, then what is it now?"

The First One pursed her lips. "That scale was based off the system I'd made, which in turn was based off of the cultivation levels from my original planet pre-ascension. It doesn't go higher than S. It's breaking the scale by about two or three times as much."

Gi ran a paw between the fur atop his ears and let out a deep breath. "So double or triple S?"

The Demon Emperor as powerful as he'd been didn't have even one Stat as S though his Constitution had been close. Within the First One's system, S Rank was considered the peak of mortal power and it was enough to change the fate of planets as Gi had just been apart of.

For the corruption levels to be two or three times that? Even with Gi and Danna's unique protections, they'd had to maintain physical contact to even withstand an S Rank planet.

"How will we even survive?"

The room had grown quiet. Even the First One's confidence couldn't completely negate the worry of the gods gathered around. Most of them would be completely twisted by A Ranked corruption. Their outlooks were bleak.

"Don't act so defeated!" Her words cracked like a whip, causing Gi to flinch backwards unconsciously. "The whole point of forcing you to ascend was so you'd be strong enough to deal with the corruption. We know which planet it's on so you only need to withstand it once. I can't believe some monster of my creation would be such a coward."

Gi wanted to argue that he wasn't a coward, but a glance at the other gods brought him up short. She wasn't saying that for him - or not just them. The other gods had already begun to doubt their mission due to Gi's words. She was getting all of them refocused.

His initial despair hadn't been unfounded. His clan, the Thousand Island Kingdom, Veridia and all their people would die to the corruption if he failed. Then both Gi and Danna would cease to exist, no reincarnation, no second chances.

He would be a fool to not appreciate the weight of what was required of him, but he wouldn't be alone. Danna wrapped her hand in his and Gi squeezed it. He'd been through so much for this moment. He couldn't back down now.

"You're right," Gi said, standing back up. "Let's get to work."

The power inside him felt different than it had as a mortal, but his new Divinity seemed to translate it for him easily. His powers just as they'd been as a mortal were right there at his beck and call.

His Skill [Divine Spouse] seemed even stronger now, the two of them as intertwined as gods can be without sharing the same Soul.

He squeezed her hand again and they shared a look. He saw determination in her eyes and could feel it through the bond they shared.

This was the woman that had brought him out of the dark place he'd been in during his early years of college as he struggled to meet his father's expectations of him. This was the woman who'd spoken to him first, the one who'd brought light into his life, and stood firmly by him throughout their lives.

It was true that their family had broken, but their bonds had been reforged through death and were now stronger than ever before. With Danna by his side, they could do anything.

The First One clapped once, interrupting his thoughts. "Very well. While I portal them to the planet, the rest of you need to prepare yourselves for war. As soon as we have the filter, we march on our old camp. The Old Ones' children already have it surrounded, and with the power involved, I doubt they will simply watch. This is it. All of our plans have led to this moment. After today, we succeed or we die."