Ryan could sense something similar to what he sensed at the Haisar when the Blessed Ones arrived. A feeling of something thick in the air, only he knew it was contained within the Blessed Ones rather than simply flowing out of them. Judging by their forms, one was male and the other was female, which matched up with what Tyler and Michael told him while the mess of the attempted assassination was being cleaned up.

Both looked to be in their late teens according to his friend, but Ryan knew they were much older than that. The Blessed Ones were more than a century and a half in age, being the children of the Gray Mage.

He waited as they sat down and everyone else left, even if reluctantly.

"Hello," the male said. "If you are wondering why today turned out differently, the elementals informed us this morning you were running this day repeatedly, and that you were also here with a partial intent of meeting us."

"That is true," Ryan told him. "Though I hadn't expected you to arrive so soon."

"We didn't interrupt your plans, did we?" The female asked.

"No," Ryan answered. "I was seeing if someone would have sex with me, other events having already ended, but I'm sure the answer will be 'no' to that. She's more interested in Tyler than me."

"Tyler is your servant?" The female asked.

"Yes," Ryan answered.

"He is interesting," the male responded. "Forgive our rudeness, sir, we didn't introduce ourselves. I am Colin, and this is Emily."

"Sir?" Ryan raised an eyebrow. "You two are the children of the Gray Mage, I am only intending on becoming the next Gray Mage. I'm sure the elementals told you that much."

"They did," the male said. "However, that does not change the hierarchy."

"A hierarchy which puts me above you?" Ryan asked. "Tyler and Michael mentioned you two look like Novars, which is strange for the children of the Gray Mage."

"Actually," Colin said. "It's not strange at all. I was the first Novar. You are my great-great-great-great grandson. Emily here sired the Veloas lineage, though their blood has less of her in it than yours has of me, which is why there is a difference in appearances."

"Not that I'd notice," Ryan said. "I tend to miss things like that."

"I'm sure," Colin smiled.

"So," Ryan said. "Would that not put you above me in the hierarchy, as you're not just my four-greats grandfather, but the first Novar Head?"

"Would you put a mortal above a god?" Emily asked.

"I don't see how that's relevant," Ryan said. "Well, I don't see at all, but that's not relevant, either."

"Ryan," Colin said. "The elementals can explain some things, but that doesn't mean they do a good job at it."

"They seemed like they explained things perfectly fine."

"I'm quite sure they didn't inform you," Colin said. "That you are a god."

Ryan frowned.

"Godlike," he corrected. "Gods are not born from mortals. What makes me godlike is my status as a Divine in all types of magic and the reset upon death I receive automatically, unless someone else like me kills me."

"Correction," Colin said. "Unless someone like you kills you if you aren't on Earth. As I suspected, the elementals didn't explain things clearly. Not all gods are born of gods."

"How did the first gods form?" Emily asked.

"They came into being," Ryan said. "Through worship or some other cosmic event."

"Incorrect," Colin gestured with one hand, and the pitcher of water lifted up, then poured water into a glass, which then floated to the Blessed One as the pitcher set itself back down. He took a drink, then tapped the glass with a finger once. "The first gods were born to mortals. Perhaps the universe or some force outside it decided that to be the way, but that's how it is. You are one such god. You're more than that, though."

"Oh?" Ryan asked. "And why should I believe you?"

"First," Colin said. "Our magics don't work on you. We're also unable to kill you. As demigods – what the elementals call 'Blessed Ones', we cannot kill a world's Natural God. The Natural God is a god born of mortals on that world in a time where no god rules it. This automatically makes them a godking or godqueen, the ruling god of the world, until such a time as they either die while off of it or abandon it as their home.

"You cannot be killed here," Colin told him. "Not as long as you are its godking, Ryan. You will also be able to sense the exact location of any god present on this world. At the same time, any god present on Earth will find their powers suppressed to a thousandth of what they truly are, with that missing power granted to you."

If what he said was true, then that meant the more gods who served in a pantheon, the more powerful the god who ruled it became. Ryan wasn't sure how much he could trust that, however, as he did just meet the pair of Blessed Ones.

"And if I leave this world," Ryan said. "I become vulnerable?"

"Yes," Colin told him. "All of the gods here will still find themselves suppressed, but you won't be drawing on that suppressed power. In addition, you lose the divine protection you have which prevents other gods from killing you. Only if a god kills you will you not reset. They will also absorb any and all magical power and mana you have. Likewise, if you kill a god, you will absorb any and all of their magical power and mana, which incentivizes most gods to stay on their own worlds."

"What keeps gods within a pantheon from killing each other, then?" Ryan decided to play along with the Blessed Ones until he was more sure of them. "Then becoming powerful enough to kill a visiting godking or godqueen, or claiming their own world after?"

"Gods cannot be killed," Colin said. "On the world ruled by their pantheon, except by their ruling god. It's some sort of fail-safe designed to prevent such things."

"I see," Ryan decided to change the subject. "The elementals said you two wanted to teach me."

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"Is there anything you'd like to learn?" Emily asked.

"We can and will teach you any magics you wish to learn," Colin told him.

"Why?" Ryan asked.

"You are this world's godking," Colin told him. "Its Natural God. It is only natural we'd serve you."

"You are not gods," Ryan said. "Which means your powers aren't suppressed, assuming what you say is true. Wouldn't that mean you could rule the world on your own? Even find a way to suppress me that doesn't trigger a reset?"

"We already rule the world!" Colin laughed. "We've been manipulating the Families, Guilds, and Orders for a century and a half, Ryan. Everyone dances in the palm of our hands, all in preparation for the Fourth Age of Magic. For the day you take your rightful place as godking and rule over this world. For the First Age of the Gods."

"You're telling me," Ryan said. "You're manipulating the world? You're already controlling it?"

"We are," Colin answered.

"And you'd give that up for me?"

"We have no choice," Colin told him. "By nature, we are more than ten thousand times as powerful as a mortal, with ten thousand times as much mana. A god? Is ten thousand times us. There is nothing we can do to truly suppress you.

"Besides," he added. "Even if we did try to keep you from taking your place, the other two would come and kick our asses."

"The other two?" Ryan asked.

"You say you wish to be the next Gray Mage," Emily began. "But were you aware the Gray Mage wasn't a single entity?"

Ryan frowned. He'd never heard of any rumor which said the Gray Mage wasn't a single person. A single mage, who arrived at the dawn of the Great Collapse, then swiftly ended it, before disappearing just as suddenly as he arrived.

"Yes," Colin said. "The Gray Mage wasn't a single person, sir. It was three. Gods, specifically."

"The elementals told me," Ryan said. "The world was once bound by a seal, which prevented any magic from coming here so long as there wasn't any magic."

"And that is true," Colin said.

"So these gods were able to ignore it?" He asked.

"No," Colin answered. "Well, sort of. It was a paradox seal, and a pretty potent one. We aren't sure how it was created, but we do know that the first Gray Mage was the one who broke it. When the seal broke, a dragon came through shortly after, and he slayed it. Then the other two came through. The first god then disappeared, back to where he'd come from. It was those two who actually helped the world recover from the Great Collapse, which took a span of around twenty years."

"I'm assuming those are the 'other two' you were referring to?" Ryan asked.

"Yes," Colin answered. "Our father was the first god who arrived on Earth. We were sired sometime around the start of the Great Collapse. Then, the other two raised us to adulthood. They finished up their work helping this world when we were around twenty, then left."

"It sounded like," Ryan said. "Your father won't be returning, yet they will?"

"They told us," Colin told him. "That one day, when the world's godking was fully-fledged, they'd return to assist him."

"Ever been intimidated before?" Emily asked.

"We weren't quite intimidated," Colin said. "But they made it clear that once you were ready to take on your true role as this world's ruling god, they'd be back. And that would only increase your power further, and each would be more powerful than either of us could hope to become."

Which meant that, as long as the Blessed Ones were being honest, they genuinely could not act against Ryan. If they did, a pair of gods would come after them. A trio of gods, even. He had many questions for them, but he wasn't sure how much of what they said could be trusted.

He wasn't willing to risk entering their minds to find out the truth, either. As powerful as they were, it was possible they might be able to breach his mind's natural defenses. Colin's words did explain a few things to Ryan, such as what the elementals initially called him. 'Blind God'.

That was both insulting and amusing to the teen.

"Let's say I believe you," Ryan told the Blessed Ones. "You would really teach me any spell I wanted to learn?"

"Yes," Colin answered.

"Is there anything in particular which comes to mind?" Emily asked.

"Quite a few," Ryan frowned. "I've noticed that you only ask questions, Emily. Is that normal?"

"She was, ah, cursed by one of the gods," Colin explained. "A geas which forces her to only ask questions. She cannot even just say something in a questioning way to get around it, she can only ask questions."

Ryan immediately loved whoever set the geas.

"What did she do to deserve that?" Ryan chuckled and reached for a glass.

He filled the glass with water, then took a drink as Colin answered.

"She refused to ask any questions," Colin told him. "For two years straight. It was pure stubbornness on her side. So the god cursed her so that she can only ever ask questions."

"Have you ever wondered who is thinking about you?" Emily asked.

"Doesn't everyone?" Ryan asked. "That was totally random."

"That's actually an excellent way," Colin said, ignoring Ryan's comment about the randomness of the topic change. "To prove our honesty to you, Ryan. Your expression has told us that you're not quite believing our words."

"Well, they are fantastical," Ryan said. "What do you mean, a way to prove your honesty?"

"Every god," Colin explained. "Can sense every person who is thinking about them. They can also sense anyone who worships them and how strongly they worship them, as well as any children they have. They can also detect any prayers offered up to them and act upon them if they wish to, even from a distance. It's a form of divine magic unique to gods. As demigods, we can sense those who are worshiping our father. Keep in mind, we cannot do this for those who are not on the same world we are."

"Because your father is – was – one of the Gray Mages," Ryan said. "Does that mean you can sense anyone who participates in those 'secret' cults of Gray Mage worshipers?"

"Yes," Colin answered. "Though the sense is weakened with them because of the Gray Mage actually being three gods rather than one. Outside of that, we're completely unable to sense anyone who worships our father."

"Teach me how to do this," Ryan told him. "If it works, then I will believe you… maybe."

"Focus inside yourself," Colin told him. "Draw upon the core of your power. As you do, infuse your desire to know those thinking of you into it."

Ryan did his best to follow the instructions as Colin continued instructing him on how to perform the spell. According to the Blessed One, most of it came from an innate knowledge Ryan held, but Ryan first needed to access that knowledge.

It took him time, but after nearly an hour of trying, Ryan was ready to quit and declare the Blessed Ones liars. Just as he came to that decision, however, he felt a sudden rush of power accompanied by a complete awareness of many people across the globe.

He could sense Tyler pacing in the hall, full of worry for Ryan being left alone. He could sense Amy and Michael downstairs, both wondering who the guests were and why Ryan was expecting them. He could sense the Blessed Ones and the genuine desire they held towards helping him turn into the god he truly was.

Ryan could sense the worry in his father's mind from more than one hundred and fifty miles away, of the concern in the man's mind for his son and the fear of something happening to him. He could also sense his father's desire to send more guards there to protect Ryan, just in case something like what happened to his wife occurred once more.

There were the thoughts of those plotted against him, those who had a momentary thought about him, and even those who held a mild interest in him. Those who wanted to use him or kill him. The elementals who were thinking of him, no matter where they were in the world.

That last part stunned Ryan. He could sense the thoughts of any elementals thinking of him at the time, confirming they had actual thoughts running through their strange minds.

The god played around with his newfound sense, narrowing it down to only those who worshiped him as a joke, instinctively knowing how. He became surprised when he actually sensed people who did because there were a few who did.

It took him a few moments to realize that someone didn't need to be known to be a god to be worshiped. Several of the guards for his family worshiped Ryan for one reason or another, as did several servants, Tyler included.

The revelation that Tyler not only worshiped him, but did so more strongly than anyone else, shocked Ryan even more than the revelation about the elementals. He couldn't sense the cause of the worship, but knew he would eventually learn it.

"Okay," Ryan said as he finished playing with his newest sense ability. "That confirms it to me. That doesn't mean I trust you, but it means I might learn some stuff from you, beyond just what I wanted to know about the Gray Mage."

"You wanted to know what it took to be the next Gray Mage," Colin said. "Now you do."

"Yeah," Ryan said. "I do."

He needed to come into his full power as a god.