As Basillius' words rang out through every available speaker, the populace of the galaxy felt a sense of surreal disbelief. In their minds they replayed the sentence 'If anyone has lost their life due to my incompetence, then with permission from the next of kin, we will reverse the damage to your lost family members and bring them back into the mortal fold.' over and over. Across all the different worlds of the GC and throughout the special military installations of the Razeri Alliance and the Fellid Empire... Everyone heard the behemoth of a creature claim he could simply reverse death.

Even those in the Council, who had already been exposed to the Terran high technology, as well as Basillius' own powers couldn't believe what they heard. Surprisingly it was Malenth who spoke up. "I... I don't mean to doubt you, Lord Death... But, could you explain to this lowly one how you can reverse death? Our souls depart after death, so it should be impossible."

Basillius nodded thoughtfully, "Indeed. We can bend time to our will and completely reverse a body to its original state. Though if souls could actually depart after death, it would be rather difficult, as the bodies that we put back together would be soulless husks. However, the veil has been in a sealed state since the dawn of this universe. No soul can freely enter or leave without creating a doorway through. The souls of the present simply float around a small area near where they died on the edge of the veil. Their energy manages to seep through and recycle through the veil, though their conscious soul dissipates."

This brought a cold expression to everyone listening. Atrenta flapped his wings and leapt in front of Basillius, "You're saying that there's no great hall of battle after death?! We don't battle with the demons for eternity?!"

Basillius gazed at the raven with sympathy and his tone softened. "I'm sorry. What you said is true. Currently, there is no afterlife. Mael stole that from everyone. Not just this universe, but every single universe. Countless lives and none of them can access the veil. Even if they could, it would be as you said... an endless battle. The veil no longer supports a beautiful afterlife. It's only an infinite hell now."

Basillius turned back to Catherine and stared into the camera. He spoke with a soft, somber tone. "I am truly sorry that you have to hear this. But perhaps, one day I may be able to repair the veil. So there is hope. For now, however, live. Do not allow yourselves to die, for there is nothing after that. Not yet."

Catherine scowled at him, "You're just gonna scare them more, Uncle Bassi!"

He gave her a sad smile and motioned for her to turn off the camera. Once it was off, he spoke, "Yet, if I hadn't told them that... How many would allow us to revive their deceased? Seeing where their beliefs lie, I believe that almost all who had died today would remain dead. However, now that they understand the... severity of death, perhaps we can save more. Perhaps there will be fewer suicidal charges once the Azarians come. I believe that I took the best course of action, Cath." Catherine frowned but she kept quiet.

Azariah took a shaky step towards Basillius and asked, "Is what you said true?" her voice quivering slightly.

Amaranth glanced down at Azariah and spoke in a flat matter-of-fact tone. "What he said is true... if a bit dumbed down. As the goddess of death, I was incapable of performing my duty after falling into my brother's trap. Due to my own... incompetence, all of you have suffered. I apologize."

Basillius could feel great sadness from the Councilors and the other aliens in the room. He stared at them for a moment before coming to a decision. "I am going to go with Amaranth to do battle with the Azarians. We will be moving alone, our fleets will remain to protect you as you get up to speed and I will request that all Terran kind move to assist you. I swear that I will do my best to ensure as many of you survive as possible until I can fix the veil. But that could be centuries. You will need to work with us and allow our assistance. If you do not... that is your prerogative, and I will respect that."

With that said, he extended his hands outward and pulled them to the side, wrenching a hole through reality open. Pale green energy poured off his arms as it formed a sort of bubble around the hole and he stepped through with Amaranth. As soon as they were through the rift closed without any fanfare.

Catherine stared at the empty space in silence for a moment before sighing, "Alright, time to reset." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before her perpetually happy expression returned and she leaped into the group of sad aliens, "Time to make the floofs happy!"

Basillius and Amaranth walked the veil for a moment in silence before he opened another rift into the -Emperors Glory-. He stepped out of the rift and seconds later Aurelius pinged his communicator. Basillius accepted the request and Aurelius appeared in his vision, with a crisp salute. "Lord Basillius? What task do you need me to handle?"

"I need you to prepare the fleets and bring together the Primarchs. I'll have you handle the strategy with them. Amaranth and I will be flying solo, so the mission will be left to you. We need to make sure there's enough Terran fleet power to go around for an entire corner of the galaxy... As such, I am going to request that the Terran collective assist in the war. Whether they be veterans who have served their duty or even our A.I. counterparts. I have also considered lifting the restriction on Terran uplifts and allowing them to leave the safety of our systems. They've had enough time to acclimate. If not, they can exclude themselves. It's their choice after all."