PART 1

As our tour of the settlement came to an unceremonious end, we relaxedly made our way back to the tower at the head of our unnecessarily large processions of guards. I rationally knew why they thought this was necessary; they were keeping a close eye on us because everyone was still afraid of Bel and his mysterious ability to freely invade the Elysium. Of course, I also knew that it was a moot concern, and it made all the mother henning all the more tiresome.

"Why do we have to walk?" Angie moaned by my side, tugging on my elbow.

"We discussed this already," I whispered back, but she remained fussy.

"But we are, you know, the Archons? Why do we care about those flight laws? Who's going to stop us? And my legs hurt."

Restraining the urge to roll my eyes, I leaned closer to her and whispered directly into her ear.

"Not all of us can fly here, you know?"

She blinked in surprise, but then she glanced at Rinne with a knowing glint in her eyes and let out a soft 'Oh'. I very nearly asked her why she was singling her out when she knew full well that I couldn't fly either, but considering the curious looks the guards were giving us, I refrained from leaning over again. The last thing I needed right now was weird rumours to start circulating in the Elysium. Not that I would've been surprised if they sprung up on their own anyway, but I didn't want to help the process. Even if I knew nothing of the Narrative and all the potential developments of the Angie Route, shipping Polemos and Deus under these circumstances made almost too much sense, and I didn't like it at all.

"I'll probably have to make some kind of public announcement to torpedo this whole thing while it's still in the dock…"

"Hm? What did you say?"

"Nothing."

After dismissing Angie like that, I levelled my eyes at the gardens directly surrounding the tower. Or rather, the second half of our nosy Praetorian Guards standing by the large marble arches leading to them, along with two familiar faces.

Sighing, I led our group towards them, and the men at the front came forward to meet us halfway.

"I welcome you, O Glorious Archons," Tsephanyah greeted us with a humble bow, and the man standing by his side awkwardly followed his example, though without any words.

"You've already met Director Tsephanyah," I said flatly, addressing Angie and Josh before gesturing to the uniformed man. "He's Primus Kane, the head of the Seraphic Safeguard."

"Really? Wow! I've heard a lot about the Seraphic Safeguard, but I never expected to meet one of them in person!" Angie exclaimed with sparkling eyes, only to rapidly tone it back and place a contemplative finger on her lower lips. "Now that I think about it, I never expected to meet a director either. Or to come to Elysium. … Or to become Deus." Pausing, she raised a pair of uncertain eyes at me. "Should I be less impressed? You know, to seem more dignified and stuff?"

"I think that boat already sailed," I quipped with just a hint of a smirk, and for some reason that caused everyone's eyes to open wide in shock and disbelief.

"Hey! I can be dignified if I want to!"

"Yes, you sure can." I forced my voice to be flat again, to avoid any misunderstandings, and gestured at Kane one more time. "For the record, he's also Michael's father."

"Wait! You mean, his dad father?" That was a pretty redundant way to ask, but I nodded anyway, and her eyes lit up at once. "Oh, wow! Mike told me his dad was a big shot, but I thought he was just bragging, like usual! Nice to meet you, uncle!"

"Un… cle?"

The Primus was startled silly by her sudden address, but she didn't mind at all and barrelled onward.

"Isn't that right? I mean, Mike is my cousin, at least on Critias, and on paper, and… Actually, now that I think about it, our connection is a little loose, but it still makes you my uncle, right?"

For some reason, Kane was looking at me for help, and I had to think for a moment to decide how to respond. After all, he was one of the few people who decided to support me on his own accord in the Elysium, which made him… maybe not a friend, but an ally of convenience. Being Deus's 'uncle' would undoubtedly bolster his station and make him harder to dislodge, so…

"That sounds correct to me."

While Angie let out a satisfied giggle in response to my words, Kane remained stunned, unable to fully process the situation. Ignoring him, I turned to Tsephanyah.

"What's the state of affairs in the tower?"

"There was a small commotion upon the staff discovering your empty quarters, but I suspected something of this nature would occur, and we quickly restored order. I'm pleased to see my predictions were correct, and you were indeed touring the fields of our Malakim brothers."

"That, we did," I confirmed, and Angie apparently found my Polemos act funny, as she barely managed to stifle a chuckle.

"If I may be so brazen, may I ask what Deus, hallowed be her name, thought of the underprivileged conditions of the Malakim?"

That was leading language if I'd ever heard any. Angie, unprepared for the directness of the question, was startled for a moment and stepped closer to me, as if trying to hide behind my back.

"It was… unexpected, and a little saddening."

"As I suspected. The great Deus, sacred be her name, would naturally perceive the unjust nature of…"

The man swiftly launched into a speech, but I couldn't pay attention to him, as Josh patted me on the shoulder to get my attention, much to the displeasure of the surrounding Praetorian Guards. When I leaned over, he whispered to me, barely audible through the helmet.

"Dude. Can you do something about these guys? They are still staring at me like a bunch of sharks. And I'm the raw meat in the water."

"Can't really help you much there." I glanced around, and while they behaved themselves when my eyes were on them, I could still feel a faint hint of hostility directed at Josh. "On paper, they are the most elite honour guards of the Elysium, and they probably thought they would now be guarding Deus. Of course they would be mad at some unknown, untested guy taking their job."

"Then why aren't they mad at Ms. Yamako?"

"That's because I had her beat them into submission on the first day."

"What?" While he didn't move his head, I had a feeling Josh was nervously glancing around under his faceplate. "You can't expect me to beat these guys!"

"They're not that strong," I whispered back, and the guy barely held down a groan before hissing back.

"I told you already! Your power gauge is way out of whack! And I'm stuck as a Celestial, too! You know it's my weakest form!"

As much as he complained, I was sure he would do well, so I gave him a reassuring smile and patted him on the shoulder.

"Just do your best."

In retrospect, acting this friendly with him might've poured more oil onto the fire, but as usual, I was bad with accounting for hindsight. In the meantime, Angie moved forward and she was already heatedly talking with Tsephanyah.

"Right! And what is this whole thing about wings being prohibited? It's stupid!"

"Indeed, it is a rather old and meaningless law kept in place by the Orthodoxy's blind adherence to the words of Deus, may he, she, reign eternally."

"Well, now I say it's stupid, so let's get rid of it!"

"If you command, I shall put the Bureau of Internal Affairs to work and we shall revoke the old law."

"One thing at a time," I cut in between the two before the blonde director could fire her up any further. "Let's move first, and then we can discuss which laws to replace later."

"As you wish," Tsephanyah relented rather quickly, though the way the corner of his eye was twitching told me he wasn't entirely happy about my interruption. I didn't give much of a damn though, and as I pushed forward, the remaining Praetorian Guards joined their comrades and formed a loose circle around us.

After some back-and-forth, Josh linked up with Angie again while sticking close to Rinne, probably for a sense of security, while I gestured for Tsephanyah and Kane to form up with me while we walked towards the main entrance of the tower. Using the opportunity, I also put a bit of a distance between us and the rest of the group, so that we could talk a little more freely.

"Any movements from Savir or Mensah?" I asked, and both men were troubled for a moment.

"I talked with Dolion, but he was still perturbed by the sudden and inexplicable return of Deus, hallowed be her name. As for movements, I can't say anything for certain yet, but considering the degree by which he was focused on your involvement with Bel of the Abyss, I doubt he would offer us an olive branch any time soon," Tsephanyah answered, and as much as he tried to stay polite, his body language betrayed that even he didn't approve of the Bel thing as a whole.

Neither did Kane, as his eyes narrowed into displeased slits and he spoke in a low voice.

"I've heard the rumors, but… did you truly conspire with the Abyssal?"

"Conspire is a strong word," I answered flatly. "When a useful tool presents itself, it's the height of foolishness to ignore it."

"But was it worth the cost?" Kane pressed on in a rare display of stubbornness. "It's a blemish on your reputation, and going forward, it may become a critical weakness for others to grasp."

"And all of that, just to contact the Draconic Federation," Tsephanyah added on with palpable distaste, and I figured it was as good a spot as any to put my feet down.

"Do not question me, Director," I warned him in a growl, and let the tension stew for a while before easing it up with a more level, "I know that you have overheard my discussion with Savir the other day, but let me state it again: my plate is much bigger than yours. The peace of prosperity of the Elysium is but a small component of my vision, and I deemed that the benefits of maintaining the stability of the Draconic Federation outweighed whatever impact the method would leave on my 'reputation'. My affairs are my own, and so are their consequences. Focus your attention elsewhere."

The two Celestial bigwigs glanced at Angie in unison, but then hastily averted their gazes, as if afraid. It didn't last long though, as Tsephanyah soon cleared his throat.

"As you command, O Archon. As for the answer to the second half of your previous inquiry, I know little of what Eris is planning at the moment. I have my men keep an eye on her movements, but she is currently in the Grand Archives. I have no hooks in the Cult of Deus, and therefore I can't say for certain what she's doing in there."

In other words, it was a place only the members of the 'Cult of Deus' could enter, and he had none of those on his payroll. But speaking of which, this reminded me of something that's been bothering me a bit. The Second True Archon was a pretty important figure in Celestial history, but he wasn't deified the same way Deus was. I still received lots of adulation, but I had a feeling a lot of it was arranged by Savir, including all the attempts to organize those stupid parades, just to entrench Polemos in the hearts and minds of the Elysium before Deus would return.

I had to wonder; now that Deus was back, in the guise of Angie of all people, how would the Celestials who grew up indoctrinated into his worship react? As it turned out, I didn't have to wait long to learn that.

The moment we entered the main hall of the tower, we met a wall of sound. It was a cacophony of cheers mixed with exulted screams, underscored by bellowed chants and the sound of trumpets barely audible under the voices of hundreds of Celestials shouting their lungs out. It was a mess, and the rose petals raining on us didn't help my mood one bit.

"We were short on time, but the Directorate voted that a reception was in order, so…" Tsephanyah said, his voice barely audible under the waves of voices.

All around us, there were Celestials barely held back by the volunteer guards creating a cordon with their own bodies. Some of the people in the crowd looked like they were about to have a seizure, like a hysterical teenage girl meeting the Beatles back in their heyday. Others were on their knees, praying, while yet others were waving their hands, hoping that their idol would spare a single glance at them. It wasn't hard to figure out who it was either, as the only comprehensible words that could be made out over the discord was a rhythmic chant of 'De-us, De-us, De-us!', almost like something you'd hear at a soccer game at the team's home stadium.

Thank god the Celestials haven't invented vuvuzelas.

Compared to my reception, this was way too over the top, and I wasn't exactly a fan of it. Neither was Angie, who was practically hiding behind my back while holding onto Josh's hand, an act that earned the guy another round of prickly glares from the surrounding Praetorian Guards. But speaking of which, my eyes skimmed over the surroundings, and quickly found armour guy a little to our left.

"She doesn't like this," I told him, though I wasn't sure he could hear me. "Do your job and get us out of here."

He was apparently good at reading lips, because he immediately saluted and started ordering the guards around, both the honour- and the regular variety, and before long, they created a corridor through the crowd. Without further ado, I led our little group through. It was only when I got closer that I started to recognize a lot of the faces among the masses. Most of them were part of the Directorate, and some of them were even there when I first arrived at the Elysium. Comparing their dignified bearing from back then to the crazed look in their eyes at the moment once again reinforced the difference between the importance of Polemos and Deus. I would've been lying if I said it didn't irk me a little bit, though I couldn't exactly say why.

Anyhow, it was only once we left the main hall and were led down familiar corridors that I recognized that armour guy was taking us to the barracks. Did he think I wanted to go there, or did he decide to lead us there of his own volition? In either case, the throng of Deus zealots already closed up behind us, so going back to the main hall was out of the question.

Before long, we arrived at the training grounds, where Jaakobah was already busy instructing a bunch of regular volunteer guards around. His eyes opened a fraction wider when he noticed our arrival, and he walked over to us with unhurried steps.

"Welcome back, Lord Polemos, and…" He hesitated for a moment but then gave a bow to the girl still sticking to my back. "And I greet the Almighty Deus, the Star of Elysium."

"I'm… not that almighty…" Angie muttered in a daze, still rattled after our encounter with her rabid fanbase. I couldn't exactly fault her.

"We'll secure the perimeter and ensure a passage to the main elevator shortly. I recommend you rest up, and…" Jaakobah paused and glanced at Josh. He was no longer holding Angie's hand, but he was still sticking close to her, and after looking him over from head to toe, the phlegmatic man raised an unimpressed brow. "Is he the new Arbiter I've heard about?"

"News travels fast today," I grumbled, but my words by overwhelmed by Angie butting in.

"Justicar!"

"Is that his official position?" Kane interjected next, and while on the surface he was calm, I could tell he was also a bit unbalanced by the undignified display of his fellow Celestials just now.

"Does he still act as His… Her Grace Deus's somatophylax?" Jaakobah inquired, sounding as if that was the most important thing to discuss under the circumstances.

Before I could get a word in though, Rinne nodded, along with a soft grunt to draw everyone's attention, much to Josh's confusion. I couldn't blame him; even though we discussed his role and disguise beforehand, we never explained this 'somatophylax' thing to him, mainly because I wasn't entirely sure what it meant either. In any case, Jaakobah solemnly nodded, and gestured for the eight Praetorian Guards to come over.

"I understand. While you wait and rest, the Praetorian Guard requests permission to challenge the Justicar." He paused for a split second, and then he addressed Angie again. "It is one of the few traditions of the Praetorian Guard. I hope Her Grace has no objections. One claiming to be Her Grace's somatophylax should have no trouble proving his qualifications this way."

Rinne nodded once again, and while Josh didn't speak up, I could practically hear him screaming 'Dude! Why isn't anyone asking me!?'

"Well, if it's tradition, then I guess it's okay…" Angie muttered, apparently not entirely clear on what Jaakobah was talking about, sealing Josh's fate in the process. Or, if I wanted to be a bit less dramatic, ushering in the inevitable.

Wishing him good luck, I patted my friend on the shoulder and leaned closer to whisper, "If all else fails, remember Rick Astley," and left him to fend for himself. Some might've said I left him to the wolves, but if you asked me, I was just practising the momma-bird school of child-care. He was a big boy. It was time for him to learn how to fly on his own and properly establish himself.

PART 2

After what, to the unaffiliated eye, appeared to be a very intense round-robin-style Celestial roshambo tournament (pretty much the same rules, but with different finger gestures), it was decided that sci-fi-guy would serve as Josh's first opponent on the training field.

"I don't know, man… I don't like this…" my friend griped in a low voice, so I patted him on the back for encouragement.

"Don't stress it. Consider this an opportunity to get used to combat as a Celestial."

We were standing a bit apart from the rest of the crowd. As usual, the only people who dared to approach me were the head directors and Kane, and at the moment both he and Tsephanyah were busy listening to Angie complaining about flight restrictions. That one was her pet bugbear at the moment, and I had a feeling it would soon get rectified, just to please her.

More importantly, Josh was still a little skittish about sparring with the Praetorian Guards, so I hit his back a bit harder. He let out a gasp and then turned to me, clearly irritated.

"What was that for?"

"To make you stop overthinking this."

I gestured at the training field, where sci-fi-guy was already doing some stretching in preparation. While I had to admit that he looked pretty fierce with his spiky blonde hair, glowing high-tech armour, and his large, double-ended glaive, he was probably the best first opponent for Josh. Contrary to his appearance, he was a fairly cautious fighter, and while all of his twists and twirls with his weapon looked very dynamic and threatening, they left him with lots of openings and opportunities to disrupt. Overall, out of the eight, I would've put him around rank six or seven in a straight-up fight.

"Are you sure this is safe?" Josh continued to grumble, despite my best efforts. "That's a real weapon there. And he looks kinda intimidating…"

"Don't tell me you're scared."

"I'm not scared," he bit back with an indignant huff, but then a beat later he amended, "Well, okay. Maybe a little. That thing looks sharp."

"Pal, you regularly spar with the Knights. Since when did something like that give you a pause?"

"Since I can't shift to Draconian. Or Abyssal. Heck, anything but Celestial would do, really."

"You'll do just fine. The Magiformer can take a couple of hits for you, as usual, so just focus on familiarizing yourself with Celestial tactics."

"I could use some advice though…"

Sighing, I collected my thoughts before responding to his request.

"You call it your weakest, but your Celestial form probably got an upgrade out of the whole Deus-ordeal. Use the opportunity to find out if you have any new abilities, but don't overdo it. Overall, just keep your cool, experiment, do some of that harmonic-whatchamacallit we discussed in the past, and it should be fine. If not, I'll—"

"Step in?"

"Give you a fancy state funeral."

Despite not being able to see my friend's eyes, I could feel the heat of his glare on my skin.

"Very funny. Should've said you'll take care of Angie for me or something…" Before he could say anything else I reflexively slapped the back of his head. The Magiformer's wards should've absorbed the impact, but my weird magic resistance stopped that from happening, and the guy's noggin snapped forward, followed by a surprised hiss. "Ow! Hey!"

"Don't even joke about something like that."

"What? Only you're allowed to joke now?"

I levelled a purposefully dispassionate gaze at him and stated, using the most deadpan tone I could muster, "I never told a joke in my entire life." I maintained a silent beat for effect, and then I relaxed my posture and added, "That said, Angie is going to be cheering for you, so do your best."

"Ah, right! Thanks! Pile some more pressure on me, why won't you?"

While Josh continued to gripe and moan, sci-fi-guy finished warming up and was looking expectantly in our direction. I wasn't the only one who noticed, as Angie, ignoring the two grown men glued to her, skipped over to our side.

"Is it starting?"

"The opponent is ready," I stated plainly, falling back into my Polemos routine like slipping into an old pair of comfortable gloves.

"Allrighty!" With an excited smile, she pointed one finger at the sparring ring and mimed throwing a ball with her other arm. "My Justicar! I choose you!"

I could practically see Josh rolling his eyes under the helmet, but at last, he walked into the training field, closely followed by the eyes of his girlfriend. He was reluctant, but I knew the guy, and I was sure that once the match began, he would quickly lose his inhibitions and give the onlookers a good show.

"Lord Archon?"

Surprised by the unfamiliar voice, I turned to my left, where I found a short woman dressed in one of the many types of military uniforms of the Elysium, this one being a blend of a modern dress uniform mixed with ancient Greek style bronze greaves and bracers. Her face was unremarkable, and her auburn hair was done up in a short ponytail. I couldn't recall her from memory, but considering the circumstances, I figured she was one of the volunteer guards.

It was the first time I was directly approached by one of them, so I couldn't help but raise an intrigued brow at her. She remained resolute, despite my lack of response, but her eyes were betraying her apprehensions.

"Yes?"

The moment I spoke, she exhaled a pent-up breath, as if she just overcame a major obstacle.

"Please forgive my brazen approach, but we… I mean, the guards have many questions about what's happening, and there are some strange rumors as well, so we thought we should inquire from the Archon before the news gets irrevocably twisted."

It took me a second to untangle her meaning, but if I understood the gist of it, the rumour mill was already going at full steam, and she wanted to get confirmation from me. I would've been surprised, but then again, my time in the Elysium had already proven that the whole place was practically running on rumours. If anything, her unexpectedly direct approach was a breath of fresh air, and I was willing to humour her just for that.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Be more specific."

My prompt made her twitch, but seeing that I wasn't going to chase her away, she retrieved a small notepad from the pocket of her uniform, along with a cheap ballpoint pen. How unexpectedly analogue. Also, why did I suddenly feel like I was being interviewed? Did the Elysium even have any newspapers? Or other news services? I didn't think so, and in retrospect, the lack of news reporting probably contributed to the rampant rumour-mongering. That said, I was planning to make some official announcements to quell the shipping wars anyway, so maybe this was a good start to that.

In any case, while she was busy with preparing her writing implements, I glanced over at the training field, where the sparring match was already in full swing. As expected, once he overcame his nervous streak, Josh was performing about as well as expected. Sci-fi-guy twirled his weapon over his head before comboing it into a rhythmic series of slashes. Diagonally down from the left, then using the other end to swipe from horizontally to the left, followed by another twirl and a stab at the solar plexus. It was all very telegraphed, so Josh had no trouble avoiding it, and he deftly dodged out of the way of the strikes before closing the distance with a burst of speed and delivering a knee strike at his opponent's chest.

Sci-fi-guy's weapon, despite technically being a polearm, had a fairly short range due to it having blades on both ends. Yet, it still had the weapon type's weakness in close-quarters combat, making it hard to swing once the opponent slipped past its ideal engagement distance. Josh must've realized this as well, as he stuck to the guy like a fly to the glue-paper by grabbing onto his weapon and didn't allow him to increase the distance.

He was always more of a technical fighter than a powerhouse, and without the raw power boost of his Draconian form, or the offensive magics of his Abyssal form, he had to rely on his instincts more than usual. Still, the way he suddenly twisted sci-fi-guy's weapon and used it to throw him was rather surprising. While sci-fi-guy wasn't the strongest of the Praetorian Guards, he was still pretty nimble, and I thought he would've foiled something like this fairly easily.

"Go, get him!" Angie cheered for Josh from the sideline, standing all alone, without anyone daring to approach her. "Give him the eye of the tiger!"

Did she mean that literally, I wondered as I tried to focus more on the duel to see if it involved any of that Celestial harmonic malarkey? However, before I could get into it, I was reminded of the nervously fidgeting woman by my side and I turned back to her. I figured I'd have more than enough time to watch Josh's fights later, so I decided to get her out of my hair first.

"Ask your questions."

"Yes! Thank you for your time, Lord Archon!" She flashed a nervous smile and put her pen against the scratchpad. "Let me see… Ah, yes. This Justicar? Is he like Lord Archon's esteemed Arbiter?"

"Yes, you could certainly say that."

She jotted down a few words, then hesitated.

"Speaking of her, are the rumors of her being the Lord Archon Polemos's mistress… um… true?"

"No."

My dry response made her shrink back. In the meantime, I sneaked a glance at the sparring field, where Josh was steadily gaining the upper hand. Using a move that reminded me of Elly's approach to hand-to-hand combat, he once again closed the distance. Even though they weren't meant to be used like that, he utilized the wards on the sleeves of the Magiformer to deflect the blade swinging at his side, and before his opponent could respond, he delivered a right hook to sci-fi-guy's chin. On second look, it was more of a palm strike, but it sent him reeling back either way.

"If that's the case…" The impromptu reporter by my side called out to me again, pulling my attention back to her. "What about the relationship between the second advent of Deus and her, erm, Justicar?"

"It's their private matter. Ask them."

"I-I wouldn't dare to question Her Grace!" the Celestial woman sputtered in audible fright, even going as far as to shake her hands defensively.

"But you are fine with questioning me," I pointed out, with just a hint of irritation. Yet, after some thinking, she gave me a faint smile.

"It's different. Lord Archon Polemos is very reasonable, so there's nothing to be…" She paused, as if just realized what she was saying, and after staring at me for a bit, she sheepishly amended, "Not as much to be afraid of."

"Does she look scary to you then?"

I pointed at Angie, and she followed my outstretched finger, just in time to catch her excitedly hopping in place as Josh finally caught sci-fi-guy in a double wristlock and forced him onto the ground, his weapon clattering to the ground just out of range.

"It's not about that, it's just that…" She hesitated, but when I urged her with my eyes, she explained, "Raising the ire of Deus would be worse than death."

"Quit being overdramatic."

Despite my warning, she remained entirely serious. Meanwhile, sci-fi-guy left the sparring grounds and got replaced by midriff woman. I imagined Josh would have more trouble with her, and I was curious how he would deal with her ranged hit-and-run tactics, so I circled a finger in the direction of the Celestial woman by my side.

"Let's move things along. Do you have any other questions?"

"Y-Yes! Only a few more!" She hastily jotted down a few things, and then took a deep breath, as if to steel herself. "This isn't something I personally believe, so please don't take offense, but there are many voices who say that the way Deus returned to us to too much to be chalked up to coincidence."

"Elaborate."

"At once! Some say that Deus being reborn as a young girl, and one Lord Archon Polemos was personally acquainted with before your awakening, is divine providence, and that the two of you are meant for each oth—"

"No. That's not a thing," I stressed, on no uncertain terms.

"I… As I said, I personally do not think anything of the idea, but are you certain of this? Some say Deus's second advent took a female form just for the sake of the union between the two of you."

Levelling the flattest stare I ever stared, I closed my eyes and slowly exhaled.

"That is one of the most asinine things I've heard in my life, and I have encountered more stupidity than you can fathom."

Blinking, she wrote something down with trembling hands, and it took her a couple of seconds to gather her nerves and look me in the eyes again.

"So you are against a personal union with Deus?"

"As I just said, it's a brain-dead notion."

"Would you say it's something that shouldn't happen, couldn't happen, or mustn't happen."

"Yes, on all accounts."

My response left her conflicted, and for the time being, she retreated behind her notepad. Considering this an opportune time, I glanced over at the duel, and to my shock and surprise, I found Josh battling armour guy in the ring. When did he beat midriff woman, I wondered, but not for long, as my attention was drawn two different ways at once.

On the training field, Josh was glowing much brighter than before, surrounded by an ethereal haze of colourless light that permeated the entire sparring ring. More alarmingly, I could see the outlines of wings behind his back. I had no idea whether they were visible to anyone else, because all the ambient magic lighting made it hard to determine, but while one pair was fully defined, another pair was more of a vague outline, while the third pair was little more than a negative space leaving behind a wake whenever Josh moved.

And oh boy, did he move. He was fast, and even though only his toes touched the ground at any given time, he was dashing around so fast that he was practically leaving afterimages in his wake. Though again, that might've been just my perception because of all the ambient magical lighting and whatnot. That said, while his form was different, the way he was zig-zagging around armour-guy was very reminiscent of my knightly sister's Sanic the Red Hedgehog impression. The guy was lucky nobody really cared, but his blatant copying of others' moves like that was seriously infringing on their intellectual properties.

But staying on topic, Josh used his speed to get into the blind spot of armour-guy, and I could hear a short, jaunty whistle even where I was standing. My friend wasn't fond of singing, or even humming, so whenever he used Celestial harmonic magic, he preferred to whistle the tune… which, now that I thought about it, was what I used to disguise my phantom limb based tweakery in the Elysium. Huh. The guy was stealing tricks from literally everyone, wasn't he?

In any case, Josh swung his arms to the side, until he was T-posing, and it created a shockwave. Since he was right behind armour-guy, it made him stagger forward and momentarily lose his footing, but it even buffeted the clothes and hair of the people standing around the right. Right after that, Josh's hand glowed and, accompanied by another series of whistles that definitely reminded me of a popular song, he swept them down diagonally, creating two overlapping, crescent-shaped waves of light merging into a large X.

The wave rushed forward, and while armour-guy was caught flat-footed, he still managed to raise his shield and deflect the attack, though it still sent him reeling back and rolling on the ground.

That… was weird.

I'd seen Josh use that move before, but I was pretty sure it wasn't supposed to be that powerful.

"That's it! Keep up the pressure! Hit him with interference!" Angie continued to cheer from the side, and as I glanced over, I was reminded of the second thing that was drawing my attention. Namely, the brightly glowing halo over her head.

In fact, as I thought about it, I couldn't remember any other Celestials with literal halos floating over their heads. Even Seraphim bigwigs of the Directorate only had a vague light around their heads when they showed off their wings, not an actual, rotating ring of light. To be fair, until very recently, I didn't meet enough Celestials to connect the dots, but I figured that probably had something to do with her Deus-ness as well.

But if it was glowing that hard, did that mean?

"Ts. Ow…" Angie let out a pained hiss and touched her temple, and before I knew it, my legs were already carrying me over to her side.

"Are you all right?"

"Hm?" She looked up at me, and I shuddered for a moment. Her eyes were hazy and dull, yet there was also a strange light in her pupils, giving her an eerie atmosphere completely unbefitting of the usual Angie. At first, she had a hard time focusing, but after blinking a few times, her lips bent up into a modest smile. "Don't worry, Polemos. It's just that my head… What did I say just now?" She paused and squinted to look at me again. "I thought I just said something strange, but I don't know what it was. Do you know what's going on, old friend?"

Now it was my turn to blink, and it didn't take long to figure out what was going on.

"Hold that thought for a moment," I told her, and after assuming a pre-dashing position by sheer reflex, I Phased right next to Josh.

He had his arm raised over his head, and he had a flat, oval disk of light extending from his fingertips, vaguely resembling a blade ready to strike down at the bracing armour-guy. The armoured man was obviously at the end of his rope and unsteady on his feet, and even his magitech shield was flickering, as if it would give out at any moment. It wasn't that surprising, considering Josh was obviously tapping into Deus's power under duress.

With a swift motion, I grabbed Josh's wrist and held it in a vice grip, starling both him and the onlookers.

"Stand down, Justicar," I ordered with as much gravitas as possible.

A second later, the disk-blade over his fingers faded out of existence, and only once it was completely gone did I let go of his hand. From the corner of my eyes, I could already see a mixture of surprised, confused, and discontent faces, so I had to quickly give a suitable excuse for my interruption.

"Justicar. This was meant to be a spar. I thought it was implicit that killing your opponent was not allowed."

Josh remained stock still, but I could practically feel the perplexity radiating from behind his face-plate. It wasn't the time or place to explain any of this to him, so I patted him on the shoulder and practically dragged him along towards Angie while loudly telling him, "You did well holding back so far, but you require more discipline. You are not allowed to spar with the Praetorian Guard again until you can control your powers under all circumstances."

That should've been enough to allay the suspicions of the onlookers for the time being.

"Aw. It was just getting good! I didn't tell you to do that!" Angie complained with a pout, but then right after that she shook her head. "Or did I? My head feels kinda muddy…"

"What's going on?" Josh hissed in a low voice, after making sure nobody was within earshot.

"I'll explain later."

Saying so, I glanced around, looking for Jaakobah. I couldn't find him, but my eyes did meet with Tsephanya's, and he took that as a signal to come over.

"Is everything all right?"

"Yes, it's just that…"

"Pole— No, wait. Leo? Yes, I think it's Leo," Angie mumbled by my side, tugging on my sleeve. "Where can I get a glass of water around here?"

Sighing, I turned back to the Reformist director and told him, "Deus requires some fresh air and something to drink."

"I'll arrange for both!"

Sounding unusually energic, the blonde director turned on his heel and started giving out orders. In the meantime, I glanced around again, trying to find either Jaakobah or Kane. Either of them would've been good enough to relay my message to the Praetorian Guard members, but I couldn't see either of them in the crowd.

Neither could I find the woman who was quizzing me until recently. That bothered me, but I quickly shook the concern out of my mind and gestured for Josh to support Angie instead. We had more important things to worry about. Finding out how my interview would affect the Celestial rumour mill had to wait.

PART 3

"So you do have bottled water…"

Angie's whispers turned a few heads in the hallway, though even more eyes were drawn to the supremely smug woman grinning by our side. She was the vice director of something or the other who brought me a drink after I got out of Teeny's magic cocoon thing. Her name was Advanced Tire… or something along those lines. I didn't care enough to make a mental note of her, but it sounded about right.

On the flip side, she looked like her delivering water for both Polemos and Deus was a legendary deed that would be passed down in her family for generations to come. Considering how undisguisedly envious the rest of the directors seemed at the moment… maybe she wasn't entirely wrong. The Elysium was a weird place.

In any case, once Angie emptied the small bottle and handed it back to her, she turned a curious gaze at me.

"Where are we going?"

"To get some fresh air."

I urged her forward, and she obediently started walking again, closely followed by Josh. Mountain Girl wasn't with us at the moment, as her presence was requested by Jaakobah, and the two of them were off to convince the still-rabid crowd in the tower's entrance hall to disperse. I instructed her not to be too violent, and then once they cut (metaphorically speaking) a path for us, we slipped through and beelined toward the elevators.

"I have a place in mind, O Archon," Tsephanyah noted with a harmless smile. "I believe you will also find the location very fitting."

While I wasn't entirely sure what he meant by that, I was more concerned with Angie. Even as we waited for the elevator to arrive, I used my phantom limbs to assess her condition. Back when I summarized the situation to the childhood friend couple, my theory about how Josh using the Deus powers he absorbed from her caused Angie to temporarily transform was just an ad-hoc idea. It was just to reassure them by making it seem like I was on top of things, yet I might have been more on the money than I could've ever imagined.

Angie's inner yarn-ball was more-or-less the same as the last time I checked on her, but the distinctly Deus-y threads mixed in with her own were visibly more active than before. Or at least as far as the term 'visibly' could be applied to my visualization of the abstract concept of a 'soul', anyway. The timing couldn't have been a coincidence, so I had no choice but to conclude that Josh tapping into his Celestial powers too much had indeed stimulated her inner Deus. This time, it wasn't too bad, because I intervened before the guy could start manifesting a full set of wings, but if I didn't realize something was off, there was no telling what could've happened.

Meanwhile, the lift's doors opened, and we squeezed inside. And by 'we', I meant me, Angie, Josh, Tsephanyah, and about half a dozen Reformist directors. Capitalizing on the opportunity, the blonde chief director pulled some of his confidants along as we passed through the crowd. He was obviously trying to monopolize Angie's, or rather, Deus's attention, and he didn't even bother to try to hide his intentions. In a way, I could respect that. I much preferred people scheming in front of me than behind my back.

The cabin started to move with a slight tremble, and I was just about to use another phantom limb to check to which floor we were headed when my attention was drawn to the guy in the corner. After the first wave of confusion settled in the wake of my interruption of his duel, he remained completely silent, yet even now, I could practically feel his eyes boring into me. Since when did I get so sensitive to other people's stares, I wondered? Whether it was another of those inexplicable 'Polemos things', a skill I developed by spending so much time with the disguised Mountain Girl, or something else entirely, was still up to academic debate.

In any case, since I noticed him, I figured I might as well try to do something about his peevish disposition. Of course, that was easier said than done. We were packed like sardines in the elevator car, so I couldn't just whisper to him without everyone else overhearing me. Luckily, as my dear girlfriend liked to remind people all the time, I was a man with many weird talents, and while being a ventriloquist wasn't one of them, I had something better.

"{Testing, testing. Can you hear me, Josh?}" My friend twitched in apprehension, so I added, "{If you can, nod.}"

He did so right away, and then promptly cocked his head to the side with a giant question mark circling over his head. Metaphorically speaking. I had to point that out, because there's been so much weird crap happening around us that literal punctuation marks materializing out of thin air was no longer as beyond belief as it should've been.

"{Don't mind the synthesized voice. I'm tapping into the Magiformer's communicator. The one that Judy uses.}" He apparently considered that a good enough explanation, for his body language immediately relaxed a notch. "{Can't speak openly, but this has to be said. You have to make sure you use as little of your Celestial power as possible. It has an adverse effect on Angie.}" After a pause, I also added, "{I should've seen it coming before setting you up for the duel. My bad, sorry.}"

Josh lightly shrugged his shoulders, which I chose to interpret as 'No problem, buddy.' I might've been a bit generous with that one, but for the time being, the important information was conveyed, so it was all good.

In the meantime, the elevator kept climbing the floors, and just as I was about to Far Glance at the other chief directors currently not within arm's reach, we reached our destination. That put the idea on hold for the moment, but not out of mind. Savir was suspiciously quiet despite the hubbub, and while Mensah's lack of presence was easier to explain with his recent argument with Tsephanyah, it didn't make me feel any less apprehensive about them.

And speaking of things that were bothering me, the woman who impromptu interviewed me in the open was also on the list. While her questions weren't anything unexpected, there was something about how suddenly she disappeared that didn't sit well with me. Unfortunately, it didn't occur to me to put a mark on her at the time, so I had no way to tell where she was at the moment.

Not that I would've had the opportunity to look for her, as for the time being I was determined to stick close to Angie and make sure she wasn't experiencing any further side effects from the sudden encroachment of Deus on her. She seemed to be mostly fine at the moment, if a bit quieter than usual, though I could probably write that up to us being squeezed into such a small space with so many unfamiliar faces.

At last, the doors opened, and we all but poured out into the hallway. Once everyone had gotten their togas adjusted and their laurel crowns straightened, Director Tsephanyah took the lead once more and gestured for me to follow after him. Despite his overt show of respect to Angie/Deus, by the looks of it he still considered me the center of our little group and had taken for granted that so long as I was playing along, she would follow suit without a word. Well, he wasn't entirely wrong, but it was still pretty audacious of him.

Like that, I followed after him, Josh and Angie followed after me, and the rest of the Reformist directors were on our heels as we rounded a few strangely familiar corners. At first, I thought it was just déjà vu, considering all the corridors of the tower looked the same, but when we reached a pair of large doors, flanked by two hoplite cosplayers, things finally clicked and I realized where we were.

Tsephanyah gestured forward, and the guards spread the wings of the door wide, revealing a huge, semi-circular balcony with carved alabaster railings and rows of Greek columns holding up a transparent domed roof high over our heads. There weren't any flower petals wafting in the air this time around, nor a line of trumpeters waiting for our arrival, but it was unmistakably the place I first beheld the moment I arrived at the Elysium after the whole kidnapping conundrum.

"Whoooa!"

The previously quiet girl on my left cried out in amazement and was itching to rush forward. The only reason why she didn't was because she was waiting for me to give her the green light, and the moment I nodded, she skipped over to the railing, her white dress fluttering behind her.

"Wow! This is amazing!" she exclaimed and tapped on Josh's arm, who dutifully followed after her like her own shadow. "Look! Everything looks so small from up here! And it's so green!"

Her boyfriend nodded, apparently just as taken by the view as her. As for me, my eyes were rather drawn to Tsephanyah. He was, rather uncharacteristically, grinning like a well-fed cat. Not only that, but his expressions seemed to be completely genuine. Maybe this was the reaction he was expecting from me the first time I came here.

"Oh, wow! I can see the other Migdál from here!" Angie continued to marvel as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "It's just as I remembered! No, wait… As I imagined! Yes, that's what I wanted to say!"

"Indeed," the blonde director stepped up to the pair by the railings, his previous expression replaced by a solemn one. "The beauty of the land was preserved, awaiting your advent, O Deus. But at what cost?"

"Preserved?"

Hearing her echo his words bent the man's lips into a thin-lipped smile and he swept his arm out, gesturing at the vista in front of us.

"Indeed. The land in front of your eyes, as well as the men, women, and children laboring its soil, were defined by the Books of Hymnos. Unchanging and invariable, our Elysium remained as it was during the days you last set foot on it, in anticipation of your return. I presume you have already seen it with your own eyes, O Deus, how your subjects live their lives outside the walls of this Migdál."

"It's because of me?"

"Yes." He didn't mince his words, and as if afraid that I would interrupt him, he immediately cut to the heart of the matter. "It is only you who can change things. For the better. For them, and for us."

He was laying it thick, but once again, I couldn't exactly blame him for taking the opportunity. It also fell in line with my hypothesis that Tsephanyah was supposed to be the main ally of Angie and Josh on her route, so for the time being, I only observed them to see how things would develop from there. After all, to be able to course-correct the 'plot' if necessary, I first had to figure out where it was heading, in the first place, and if I kept interfering at every junction, it would only get more complicated in the long run. Or so I thought at the moment, hoping it wasn't any Narrative influence speaking.

In any case, I didn't sound too out of character to myself so, for the time being, I put this consideration out of my mind and focused my attention on Angie's reaction.

"I… I think I should visit the rest of Elysium," she said, surprising me. Still gazing at the scenery, her hand automatically reached for Josh's, and once their fingers found each other, she let out a relieved sigh. "This is a… lot of responsibility, and I have seen too little."

"We can arrange a parade around the land," Tsephanyah proposed, but she shook her head.

"No. I want to see how things are with my own two eyes. Up close. Not looking down from some chariot."

"Your sentiment… I'm familiar with it." The director's words sounded a touch sour, and he sneaked a peek at me. When I didn't respond, he faced Angie again and insisted, "I would still recommend at least one parade, O Deus. Your subjects deserve to know and celebrate your return."

"I… will consider it." Even though she relented, her eyes remained glued to the scenery, and she looked unexpectedly forlorn. "But not now. I have too many things to think about."

"As you wish, O Deus."

Tsephanyah gave her a shallow, deferential bow, but she didn't even seem to register it.

"Looking at Elysium from up here, it looks so small…" she whispered, and squeezed Josh's hand. "It's looks small, but it's… it's still too big for me."

Blinking in incomprehension, the chief director straightened his back and tentatively asked, "What do you mean by that, O Deus?"

"I'm… not ready for a responsibility like that. Not yet." Her voice was shaky, but her eyes became more determined with each passing word. Then, she dropped a bombshell none of us was expecting. "I would like to go home and think about this."

"I… believe your quarters are still under construction, but if you mean Archon Polemos's—"

"No, I mean home. Back on Critias," she clarified, and it caused a wave of shock to run through the Reformist directors crowding a couple of steps away from the trio by the railings.

"But… Please tell us what you find lacking, O Deus, and we will strive to resolve it at once!"

"I'm not missing anything…" she started, but then paused and shook her head. "I mean, I do miss Mum and Dad, and I bet they are super-worried about me right now, but that's not the point!" She swept her eyes around the balcony, her gaze only lingering on the directors for a moment before landing on me, as if looking for validation. "I mean, I'm too young for this. I haven't even finished high school! I'm not the brightest either, so… how can anyone expect me to lead Elysium like that?"

"But… you're Deus reborn!" Tsephanyah insisted, and she shook her head again.

"That doesn't mean I'm a born politician! I mean, I… I joked about ruling my own island nation when I grew up, but that was just a joke! I don't know the first thing about how to run a country! Where do you even learn about something like that?"

That seemed like a rhetorical question at first, but she was still staring at me, and since Josh couldn't speak in public, I figured it fell on my shoulders to respond.

"In university," I told her with all seriousness. "If you want to learn statecraft, that's where you should start. Political theory, economics, and so on. It would probably also require a lot of reading. Lots of big, dry doorstoppers with titles like 'Treaties on Liberty' and 'The Theory of Democracy'."

"Uuu… I'm not great with those, but I guess I'll have to do it!" After declaring so, she glanced at Josh and sheepishly added, "I won't have to do it alone, right?"

Instead of words, he squeezed her hand back, and she smiled for a moment before Tsephanyah interrupted their moment.

"You can't do that."

"Why?" she asked back, sounding unusually combative. "I just told you my reasons. I need to prepare myself. Education is the first step, and I can't get it here. I'll need at least a mast— No, I have to be realistic; let's aim for a bachelor's degree first!"

"You don't need any of that. You're Deus."

"But what if I mess up? Do you expect me to lead all Celestials without understanding the first thing about… Ack, I'm so under-qualified I don't even know how much I'd need to understand!"

"None of that matters. The Directorate is already in place, and we can—"

"But aren't the people out there living like that because the Directorate can't enact change without me?" She gestured at the hamlets and fields under us, and sounded genuinely angry for the first time. "You can't expect me to just go along with you without understanding the ramifications of my actions, and to do that, I need to know more about this whole… what did you call it?"

"Statecraft," I answered on autopilot, more than a little confounded by the situation unfolding in front of me.

"Yes, that! Thank you! I don't know the first thing about that, so I can't know if what you tell me is sensible or not! If I enact a change based on your recommendation, without understanding what it would mean to the people of Elysium or how it could have negative consequences, then how would that be any different from me causing harm by my own ignorance? I can't deal with something like that!"

"Please, listen to me!" Tsephanyah raised his voice for the first time, but instead of angry, he sounded almost desperate. "I understand your reasons, O Deus, but you can't leave Elysium. We have waited for too long for your return! We can't allow you to leave!"

"You can't allow her to leave?"

Startled, I glared at Josh, who broke his silence with a threatening growl. It had no effect. By the looks of it, he was already in his own little bubble, where only Angie and Tsephanyah existed. However, before I could send a phantom limb out and politely ask him just what the bloody hell he was doing, I was further startled by Angie flaring up with a bright, golden light.

"Who do you think you are?"

Her voice echoed with power, and I could once again see both her halo and the wings behind her back gaining definite shape. Not only that, Josh was following in her footsteps, and the lights behind his back were also slowly forming into familiar outlines. I told him not to do that, so… Crap. Could it be that this whole theoretical 'resonance' wasn't a one-way street? Was he being taken for a ride by Angie's inner Deus acting up?

"I am Deus, First True Archon, and Father of Elysium!" Angie didn't shout, yet her words shook the whole balcony and made the lesser directors behind me stagger back. Some in surprise, some in fright. "Tell me. Who are you to tell me what I am allowed to do?"

"I…"

Tsephanyah also didn't expect this development and was stammering for words. Suddenly, there was a wave of invisible pressure that washed over the premises, and he suddenly fell to his knees. By the sound of it, the same thing was happening to the people behind me, but I was either excluded, or immune to the effect, as all I could feel was a slight prickling sensation of my skin.

"You are but a lowly administrator. Do not presume you hold power over me! Your position is as worthless as your lowly life, and I should end both for the affront alone!"

"Okay, that's about enough," I cut in and walked over before things could escalate any further.

"Lord Archon?" Tsephanyah gasped as if he had a mountain on his shoulders, but I didn't even glance at him and focused on Angie alone.

"Take a deep breath, both of you, and calm down."

"Polemos. Why are you—?"

"Don't 'Polemos' me right now," I chided her and stepped even closer, ready to either plunge a phantom limb into her or knock her out in case things got out of hand. "You are still unstable at the moment. You need to reel in your emotions."

"I… If you say so, it must be the case."

That… was much easier than expected, and she closed her eyes. After a few deep breaths, the light surrounding her dimmed.

"{That applies to you too,}" I messaged Josh, and he shuddered. Then, as if a switch was flipped, the colourless magical glow surrounding him was wiped out in the blink of an eye, and it caused the light around his girlfriend to fade even faster.

"I… I think I've got it." There were sweat drops of effort glistening on Angie's face, and after exhaling hard, she let out a low hiss and nearly toppled over. Thankfully, Josh was right next to her and caught her before she could fall. "Ow. And now my head hurts again."

"Welcome to the club."

She blinked at me, as if I just said something funny, and forced a smile onto her face.

"Does it get easier with time?"

"No. You just learn how to ignore it."

She nodded, as if that was something profound, and finally managed to stand upright once more.

"Where were we? Going home, right?" She sounded like she was trying to sweep what just happened under the rug, and directed a weak frown at me. "Why didn't you back me up? I thought you would want to go home even more!"

"… You want me to go back as well?"

"Well, duh. You haven't seen the girls in weeks, right? I bet they are getting stir-crazy by now!" She didn't know that I was visiting Judy and Elly practically every single day, and this certainly wasn't the right situation to reveal that, so I just nodded. "Then gimme some support, will you?"

Glancing around the balcony, and seeing the still heaving directors on the ground, I couldn't help but shake my head.

"I don't think you need it at this point."

"But I could've used it earlier!" she retorted with a pout, once again sounding like herself.

"So, are you sure you want to go back to Critias?" She nodded without any hesitation. "Before or after touring the Elysium?"

"Erm… After, I guess? Only if it doesn't take long." Looking outside again, she gazed into the distance, and then sheepishly added, "If I'll have to be in charge of this place, I have to at least see it with my own eyes first, right?"

"Sure."

"Everyone's already farming, so I should probably also ask around about stuff like… you know? Climate and soil and stuff? To see what kind of cash crops are best suited for growing."

"Spoken like a true la presidenta," I jested, though with my Polemos personal layered on top, it might've been a bit too dry, as she let out a dissatisfied 'Muu!' noise and pouted at me with the power of a thousand exploding suns.

I didn't mind though, as my mind was too busy calculating the ramifications of this development, coming up with a strategy to convince the rest of the Directorate to play along, and I also had to devote a few brain cycles to try and come up with a natural way to wedge a joke about her 'cookie plantations' into the dialogue. Because I had my priorities sorted out, as usual.