High Warrior Calix knelt before the marble altar, his aged but still muscular frame barely contained by his ceremonial armor. After nearly ten centuries of service, he had seen his God appear countless times and served under him during the war against the Old Gods, yet the divine presence still filled him with awe. The massive chamber, lined with weapons taken from legendary warriors, seemed to grow darker as the Warrior God's manifestation began.

The God appeared first as a column of golden light that slowly took a human shape. Unlike the serene appearance of the Healer God or the ethereal presence of the Hunter Goddess, the Warrior God was a giant of a man, standing nearly twelve feet tall, with bronze skin marked by glowing sigils of battle. His armor was forged from what appeared to be condensed sunlight, and a crown of flames wreathed his head. A massive sword hung at his hip, its edge forever sharp with divine power.

"My Lord," Calix whispered, bowing his head lower. Even at Level 973, being the strongest fighter among the mortals, only a few steps below a God, even after centuries of faithful service, he felt like a child before his deity's presence.

"Rise, old friend," the Warrior God's voice boomed through the chamber. "You’re closer than ever to joining our ranks. You should get acquainted with treating me as an equal, not as your master."

“I could never, my Lord.”

Calix stood.

"The Old Gods stir again, my Lord. We've felt their corruption spreading."

"I know." The Warrior God's expression darkened.

"The others await for you in the Chamber of Confluence.”

A shimmering figure appeared at the entrance to the back chambers - a figure of pure magic—a follower of the Mage God.

"They await, Great Warrior. The matter is urgent."

The Warrior God's flames flickered with annoyance. "When is it not?" He turned to Calix. "Continue preparations. We may need every warrior ready soon."

Calix bowed again as his God strode toward the messenger, the deity's footsteps leaving briefly glowing impressions on the marble floor. The High Warrior waited until both figures had disappeared before rising.

* * *

In the Chamber of Confluence, deep within Valoria's High Temple of the Warrior, the remaining New Gods gathered. The chamber was very sober despite it being the place where all the New Gods met whenever emergencies had to be discussed.

It was because the Warrior God considered it ridiculous and obnoxious to have what he considered their War Room adorned with frills and precious stones.

Another more practical reason for the temple not to be too opulent was to avoid tempting the Thief God from taking a souvenir at every visit.

The Healer God sat upon a throne of crystalline light, his appearance the most human-like of the four. He wore robes of flowing white that seemed to move with an unseen wind.

The Hunter Goddess perched on a bow made of starlight, her wild green hair moving like leaves in a forest breeze.

The Thief God lounged in shadows that shouldn't exist in such a bright place, his form constantly shifting between light and darkness. He wore a cloak that seemed to be made from pieces of the night sky, stars occasionally twinkling in its depths. A circlet of black diamond rested on his brow, its facets somehow absorbing light rather than reflecting it.

The Mage God was perhaps the most alien-looking of the New Gods, their form a constantly shifting amalgamation of pure magical energy held together by will alone.

When the Warrior God entered, his massive form made the chamber feel suddenly smaller. The four remaining New Gods regarded each other in silence for a moment, each remembering when their number had been greater.

"She's dangerous," the Healer God said, breaking the tense silence. "The Avatar of the Twin Phoenix - she's unlike anything we've encountered since the war."

The Warrior God's laugh boomed through the chamber, making the moonstone walls vibrate. "Everything's dangerous to you, Healer. You've notified us, and we are here to discuss. I appreciate jumping to practical matters, but shouldn’t we start from our true enemies?"

“You've grown too cautious in your old age," the Mage God added, finally condensing into a human form.

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He was an old man with a long white beard and a pointed wizard hat.

"And you've grown too reckless," the Thief God's voice whispered from the shadows. His form solidified briefly, revealing a face of striking beauty marked by a scar. "Or have you forgotten what happened to our fallen brothers and sisters?"

A heavy silence fell at those words. The empty thrones around them seemed to grow more noticeable - spaces where their fallen siblings had once sat. The Bard God's seat, crafted from crystallized music, remained forever silent. The Blacksmith God's throne of living metal had grown cold and still.

The Hunter Goddess nocked an arrow of light though there was nothing to shoot at. The action seemed more habit than intent. "We should be discussing Machina's appearance, not this Avatar. The metal-walker's corruption spreads faster than we anticipated."

"The two are connected," the Healer God insisted, rising from his throne. His robes swirled around him as he began pacing. "I spoke with her. She has no memory of who she is, yet she bears the power of an Ancient Beast. And now Machina appears in the same backwater village?"

"A dangerous coincidence," the Thief God agreed, his form solidifying further. "The odds of both appearing in the same place..."

The Warrior God stepped forward, his armor blazing with divine light. The runes etched into the chamber walls flared in response. "I destroyed more Old Gods than any of you. The Blacksmith forged the weapons, and the Bard sang the songs of power, but it was my blade that struck the killing blows. I know their tricks, their patterns. If they're incubating in the Great Dungeons, waiting to regain their strength-"

"Then we must act," the Hunter Goddess finished. She lowered her bow, the arrow of light dissolving. "But we cannot simply tell our followers where to look. The Dungeons have shifted since the war changed their nature. We cannot even be certain where they all are. And the System forbids us from giving them knowledge like this, too. We would have to craft Quests—many, too many."

"And we cannot expend too much of our power directing our followers," the Thief God added, moving through shadows to appear beside the Warrior God. "Each Quest costs us a piece of our divinity. The Old Gods knew this would happen - they're counting on us weakening ourselves trying to find them."

The Healer God raised his hand for silence. Light pulsed from his palm, momentarily illuminating the chamber's highest reaches. "A dangerous weapon one knows how to wield is the most effective tool we have. No one let me finish talking about the Ancient Beast. What I wanted to say was that the Avatar may be unpredictable, but she's already proven herself by cleansing a Corrupted Dungeon."

"A low-level one," the Warrior God scoffed, his crown of flames flickering higher.

"Yet Machina appeared there," the Hunter Goddess pointed out, her living armor shifting restlessly. "That alone makes it significant. The metal-walker doesn't show herself without purpose."

The Warrior God paced, his footsteps leaving trails of fire that slowly faded. "Then we organize expeditions. More than we've ever attempted. Yes, it will diminish our power temporarily, but we cannot allow the Old Gods to be reborn. We cannot fail as we failed before."

"Machina isn't even the strongest of them," the Thief God mused, his cloak of night rippling. "But she's among the most dangerous. Her corruption spreads quickly, turning the world against us. If she's active again, and she unearthed Viscera’s ruins of all places..."

“If Machina was given enough time to tamper inside Viscera, her alone would lay Valoria to waste. We must organize an expedition to find the Bridge of Thraldrirlum immediately.”

“Why don’t you just send the High Warrior?” The Healer God suggested.

“Fool,” the Mage God scoffed. “Machina is strong. But if we empty our cities to find her, what happens when she comes out.”

The Mage God refused to say her name, but everyone understood whom she was talking about.

"Anyway, the Avatar must be monitored," the Hunter Goddess declared, standing on her bow of starlight. "But not interfered with. Let her hunt. She may lead us to the others."

The Healer God nodded slowly, his robes settling around him.

"I agree. She seems driven by a sense of justice, crude as it may be. And she has no love for the Old Gods, though she remembers nothing of her own struggles with them."

"What of the Bard?" the Thief God asked suddenly, his scar pulsing with absorbed light. "The one who was with her? I felt... something familiar when he played."

A troubled look passed between the Gods. They had all felt it - an echo of something old—older than them.

"Another mystery," the Warrior God growled, his hand resting on his sword's hilt. "Too many mysteries. We should strike now while we still can. Send our strongest followers to unearth the Nine Wonders once again. The High Warrior shall watch over Valoria. However, if we found her, he would have to go himself. The System doesn’t allow us to move against the Old Gods unless they reform."

“I’ll send someone to check on the Avatar,” the Thief God suddenly said, changing the topic.

“Only to watch,” the Warrior God warned.

"We watch," the Healer God agreed. "We wait. We let her hunt. And we prepare our followers for what's coming, even if we cannot tell them everything."

One by one, the others nodded. The Hunter Goddess dissolved into motes of starlight, her bow fading last. The Warrior God's form blazed once more before vanishing, leaving scorch marks on the chamber floor. The Thief God simply ceased to be, leaving no trace he was ever there.

The Healer God remained alone in the Chamber of Confluence, thinking of the strange Avatar who had appeared in their world.

The Ancient Beasts had ceased to exist a long ago, at least in this universe.

But somehow, one had survived.

It didn’t surprise the Healer God that it had been the Twin Phoenix of them all.

She had also convinced his followers to give up on the path of the Healer, which he didn’t resent. He saw the point in her action whom she watched through the young girl up until she had given up her Class, burned away by the Avatar’s flame.

"Hunt well, Monica Monroe," he whispered to the void. "Hunt well, and may your flames burn brighter than ours did."

Then he too was gone, leaving only silence and the empty thrones of their fallen behind.

Outside the chamber, High Warrior Calix felt the Gods' departure through the ancient stones of the temple. He closed his eyes and offered a silent prayer to his Lord, knowing that soon, very soon, the world would need every warrior it could muster.

The war was beginning again.