After the initial turmoil of the king's decree settled down, the city started to grow abuzz with energy, as Mundus and Stella each started to recruit followers. Stella's followers gathered around her due to her great foresight and wisdom, as well as her caring and compassionate nature. Mundus's followers mainly respected his bravery and strength. Once, Mundus tried to recreate the legend of the father of his lover, Venator. He set out with nothing but a spear to slay a stone-furred bear. He tried initially to only use his body and not rely on Minsol's power, but after getting severely wounded, he had to use the body-strengthening technique that he had developed, to slay the bear. This technique relied on the subtle use of Minsol's power to enhance the strength of a person to an insane degree. After about a month of preparation, two parties comprising about a hundred each left the city one after another. One headed north toward the nearby mountains, where it was said that many shiny rocks and special materials were exposed to the surface, which would otherwise only appear deep underground. The other party headed southeast toward the eastern edge of the continent. There it was told, was a great jungle bordering the flatlands that were currently the domain of humanity. This jungle was rich with exotic animals and special beasts. Here they were sure to find all manners of edible plants and animals. Scouts had also reported, that the soil was incredibly fertile, allowing for a greater crop yield than previously thought possible.

When the second party left the city, Minsol ascended the stairs leading to the top of the temple. God wasn't always within the temple, but he could feel through his bond with Him, that at this moment, God had returned. So, after sending off the second party, he hurried to the temple to greet his Creator. After entering the main hall, Minsol looked to the statue in the middle of the room. There he saw God, that floating distant star, outside time and space, peering into this world. "You have returned, God." Minsol joyously knelt before the Creator and welcomed Him back. Minsol queried how God has been, to which God replied with "Good. I believe that I will soon reach a breakthrough in my understanding of plants." Recently, God has been experimenting with plants, resulting in a giant forest within the center of the continent. There the tallest trees grew to be just under 200 meters in height. A towering size that no tree back on God's world of origin could ever hope to reach.

"God, both Mundus and Stella have left to establish new cities. In regards to my other children, both the second and youngest sons chose to support Mundus. The others chose to support Stella, except for the oldest daughter, who chose to stay here without supporting anyone specifically. I'm looking forward to both of the great cities that my children will surely build. What do you think God?" Seeing Minsol in a happy mood, God couldn't help but smile wistfully. "Why did you decide to hold a competition? Isn't Mundus better in leadership qualities, power control, and total divine blood amount? The only thing that distinguishes Stella from her siblings, besides her total amount of divine blood, is her curious nature and thirst for knowledge." Hearing God's query, Minsol scratched the back of his head, while avoiding His gaze. "True that may be, but Mundus lacks one key criterion - faith. Ever since the death of Venator, Spreta has never forgiven You for not helping her husband - not that you were required to!" Minsol hastily corrected. God waved Minsol's frantic corrections aside. "It is only natural that she would despise me, but nonetheless proceed with your explanation." Minsol breathed a sigh of relief and continued with "That being said, she taught her daughter that worshipping you is a fool's errand and one that will lead to no tangible results. As she grew up with Mundus, that idea spread to him and a few of my other children. It is precisely due to this lack of faith, that I wish to hold a competition between the two. Usually, I would pronounce Mundus the new king, but as it stands I can't do that. It is strictly mandatory that the king is faithful to God. I hope that during this competition, Stella will truly shine like the stars she was named after and give me a good reason why she should be named my successor." These were the true motifs of Minsol. Being before God, he could not hide any of his thoughts - not would he ever wish to.

Hearing these words, God could only sigh. "I've told you before that faith in me is not mandatory. Spreta's anger at me and her words aren't unfounded. It is true that whether someone prays to me or not has no bearing on my actions within this world. Even so, you insist that those named kings should have faith in me. Why? It would be better for humanity as a whole for Mundus to be king." Minsol chuckled as he digested God's words. Suddenly he stretched his arms upwards in God's direction with a certain glint in his eyes and a wide smile on his face. "Exactly! It is entirely my selfishness that dictates that the king should be faithful to God. It is because God created us and the world that we have everything that we do. Everything we possess can be traced back to you and that in and of itself is reason enough to forever be faithful to you. I am not so close-minded as to dictate to my children how they should live their lives, but it is my one and only selfishness to demand that the king of humanity forever be faithful to You. I told You, I wished for humanity to exist so that more people could recognize and worship your glory. It wouldn't be wrong to say that the reason for humanity's existence is to worship you. I can feel myself growing weaker. In a few years, there will come a day, when I will no longer be able to worship you. When that time comes, I will make sure that humanity will remain to worship you until the end of time" A silence fell over the hall as the afternoon sun shined into the hall from a window at the top of the temple. It was placed so that the afternoon and setting sun would shine onto the statue of God, giving it a holy glow. Now the shadows of the statue stretched over Minsol and towards the entrance. God contemplated Minsol's words, as Minsol waited at the foot of the statue.

"If that is truly your wish, then I won't say anything more on the matter. Let me tell you this, however, if you believe that Mundus and the others will be satisfied with your final decision then you will find yourself mistaken. Mundus might even do something drastic at that time." Minsol immediately replied with a proud and confident smile. "Don't worry God, while they may not worship you like the others, they still understand your grace. I'm sure that they will get over it." God felt like Minsol was being too optimistic about the attitude of his children. God peered into the distance as if He could see the dark clouds hanging over the future and over the faces of Mundus and Stella. "Be careful Minsol. The human heart has the potential to be darker than you could ever expect. You could give them everything they could ever want and they would still ask for more. Be that as it may, this matter has nothing to do with me. Humanity has nothing to do with me. I only care for you." Perhaps Minsol would have heeded God's warning with greater attention if he hadn't been so ecstatic from hearing God claim He cared for him. Minsol was almost shaking with excitement as he responded to God. "Of course, God. I will see to it, that everything goes as I planned it." God, noticing Minsol's lack of attention to his warning could only breathe a sigh. "If something ever happens, call me over our shared bond. I will make sure to come to your side. In the meantime, I will continue my research in the center of the continent." With those parting words, God left and traveled away from the temple at great speed. Minsol remained alone in the now empty hall, gazing at the statue.

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While God and Minsol were having their discussion Caeluma and Spreta were bidding farewell to their children. Once the last of the second convoy left, the two women were left standing at the entrance to the city. Caeluma let out a sigh. "I hope that they will be safe. May God bless them and their journeys." Hearing the worries of her friend, Spreta patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry, we raised the children to be strong. They will be just fine out there. Especially Mundus and Stella. You know how strong they are and I don't just mean their character." Seeing Spreta try to reassure her, Caeluma gave a weak smile. "I know how strong our children are. Even so, is it not the duty of a mother to worry, when her children leave the nest?" Saying so Caeluma chuckled lightly, though a slight gloom remained. Spreta furrowed her brows subtly before sighing once more. "You know what? I feel like going hunting. You should come with me." Hearing her say so, Caeluma startled, before turning to face Spreta. "You know how bad I am at hunting. Why would I come with, I'd only get in the way?" Seeing Caeluma's gloom dissipate, Spreta showed a bold smile and leaned in conspiratorially. "You might not be good with the spear, but your loud trampling can be used to scare the prey in my direction." Hearing these words, Caeluma lightly shoved Spreta away from her. "I don't have loud trampling! It's just that twigs seem to appear from nowhere whenever I take a step!" Spreta laughed a heartfelt laugh while saying "Sure, sure. That's also why the children would find you first, whenever we would play hide and seek with them." Caeluma pouted and crossed her arms. "That was then, this is now. I am a new woman, with improved sneaking skills." Spreta could only smirk. "Alright, in that case, let me get my spear, and let's put that to the test." And so it came to be, that Caeluma and Spreta embarked on a hunting trip.

Spreta was equipped with a stone spear made by Minsol's power, while Caeluma was equipped with a sharpened walking stick and basket woven from ferns. They each also took tools and food to last them three days. After leaving the outskirts of the city, they soon came across a nearby forest. It was quiet in the forest, with only the rustling of leaves and the chirps of birdsong breaking the silence. Spreta crouched down and examined the ground. "Look here. See these hoof prints? Look how the edges are still kinda sharp, that means that the herd passed only about half a day ago. It means we were lucky. You can thank your God for that." Caeluma crouched silently next to Spreta, looking at her point toward the hoof prints. "Hmm, I don't know. Every time you take me out hunting, you show me these things, but I never see the difference. I told you, I am best suited for gathering edible plants." Spreta sighed and, while dusting herself, stood to her full height. "You'll never learn if you're gonna keep that attitude. Look. These twigs are snapped. See how those only at chest height are snapped? That means that the herd is comprised of common deer. The jumping deer are bigger because their legs are built differently. They have the same hoof prints, but the adults are as tall as an average person. Based on their prints, they were moving slowly. Their tracks head west, towards the river. Perhaps, if we move quickly, we can catch them with their backs to the river. Come quickly." Saying so, Spreta began her march following the animal trail toward the western river. Seeing her friend leave, Caeluma hastily stood up and ran to her, walking side by side with Spreta.

"I don't think I'll ever be as good a hunter as you. But thank you anyway for bringing me out here." At that, Spreta glanced at her from the corner of her eye. She made sure not to betray her emotions and keep a still face. "Thanks for what? I told you, I wanted to go hunting, so I went. You coming with me is purely so that I could use you, to lure the animals in my direction." There was a moment of silence before both women burst into laughter. Even though they were laughing, they never stopped marching. "Sure, whatever you say, Spreta. But on a more serious note, thank you. I needed to get out of the city, to stop worrying about the children." At this point, Caeluma glanced towards the forest canopy and the light filtering in through the forest leaves. The sunrays made a mosaic picture on the forest floor, interchanging light with shadow. "Whatever may come, I'm sure that God is looking over them. I trust that everything will go as He wishes it." Hearing these words, a shadow flickered across Spreta's face. "Just like my husband's death?" Caeluma, realizing her blunder gasped and turned toward her. "Spreta that's not what I meant, you know that. I'm sorry for misspeaking. It's just that I'm worried for the children." Spreta let out a sigh and let out a bitter chuckle. "I know Caeluma. It's just... stop asking God to save them and start trusting them to handle themselves. Each of them is strong and talented enough to handle this world. You don't need to always cry out to God to protect them. But we've already talked about that." Having this heavy topic be brought up Cealuma couldn't help but sigh. "While God may not interfere directly with the world, He interferes subtly. Just like today, we came across a herd close by on the first day. You said so yourself, that we were-" Caeluma immediately shut up once Spreta raised her hand. Spreta then slowly moved a finger to her lips and then to her ear. Seeing her do so, Caeluma strained her ears, while being as still as possible. Faintly among the birdsong and rustling of leaves, she could hear the sound of flowing water.

Spreta leaned in close to Caeluma's ear. "Now move very quietly, like we practiced. Remember? First, bring your foot to the spot where you want to step, then before placing any weight, use your toes to move any twigs that might be underfoot. Once you've done that, only then place your weight. Now come, follow me." Without looking whether Caeluma had understood her words, Spreta turned and started to sneak her way towards the river. After a few minutes of sneaking, they finally were able to see the river. As hoped, a herd of deer was currently drinking from the river. Seeing this, Spreta gestured to Caeluma to lean in. She then whispered "Alright, now you go upstream while I go downstream. In three hundred heartbeats, start moving in their direction and try to spear one of the deers. I will wait on the other side to catch them when they run away." Caeluma gave a determined nod and snuck away. Spreta herself split off from the animal trail and snuck downstream. After two hundred heartbeats, she heard from Caeluma's direction how a twig snapped, followed by a muffled curse.

The deer were startled and started to along the river downstream. Spreta cursed and ran toward the river, hoping to cut the deer off. When she arrived close to the river, most of the herd had already passed. Only a few deers were left. Acting on instinct, Spreta pulled back and hefted her spear. The spear flew true and struck a deer in its hind leg. The deer, however, kept running and the spear eventually broke off, leaving a broken spear stump within the deer's leg. "Sorry, I lost my balance and consequently stepped on a branch. Did you catch it?" Coming from the undergrowth, Caeluma emerged. "Yeah, now the fun part starts." Saying so, Spreta picked up her broken spear. "Now we get to see who has more stamina, a wounded deer, or we." A big and wild grin was plastered upon Spreta's face. Seeing her friend smile so freely, Caeluma couldn't help but have a slight curve to her mouth as well.