(The Pit, Kaelith’s POV)
With Soron dead and Mauriss having declared his desire to become independent, Kaelith suddenly found himself surrounded by five Great Clan Gods, who while not openly hostile, now looked at him as if they were equals rather than vassals.
*Eye roll*
*Smirk*
Smiling slowly, Kaelith made eye contact with each and every single Great Clan God, as he widened his shoulders and portrayed his dominance, before slowly swinging his origin metal daggers between his fingers.
*Twirl*
Although he said nothing, he tried to portray his dominance through his posture alone, as he waited for any of the Great Clan Gods to dare project killing intent towards him.
*Nervous Glances*
*Tired Gulps*
The Great Clan Gods looked at one another, their expressions full of doubt, as they tried to gauge the will of the others.
However, after a few seconds, when they still failed to arrive at a common conclusion, it was Kaelith that broke the deadlock.
"I am going to return to the Eternal Garden, where I will erect a tombstone for my fallen brother.
If any of you wish to talk about the change in universal order, or Mauriss’s apparent defection, you can approach me anytime in the coming month."
He said boldly, before slinging Soron’s dead body over his shoulders, as he waited for anyone to offer a retort.
*Silence*
A few nervous seconds passed, and when nobody voiced an issue still, it was Kaelith who moved first, as he opened a Dimensional Portal out of ’The Pit’ and back towards the Eternal Garden, still unaware that on a separate part of the planet, his son Raymond had also lost his life.
—--------------
It was only after Kaelith was gone that the remaining Great Clan Gods finally looked beyond themselves and began to assess what was happening across the rest of the planet, as they extended their perceptions outward and found the Cult Army already gone, the battlefield emptied with unsettling efficiency, as the only remaining life signatures they found were of Clarence, Terence and the local barbarians.
"Looks like the Cult rats have run away yet again,"
Lu Han scoffed quietly, shaking his head in open disgust, while the others chuckled at his words.
"Well, its not like it matters even if they run anymore..."
Mu Shen added immediately, shrugging as though the existence of the Cult no longer bothered him at all.
"With Soron dead, we can wipe out whatever remains in the blink of an eye.
So in my opinion, the Cult is officially no longer a force we need to fear."
He declared, as his words were met with a quiet, unspoken agreement, as a shared understanding settled naturally amongst the Great Clan Gods, that without Soron, the Cult was no longer an existential threat, but rather a loose collection of survivors who could be hunted down at leisure and eliminated when the political climate demanded it.
As although Aegon Veyr escaping today was inconvenient.
It wasn’t outright alarming.
As with Soron dead, they still believed that they had come out of this war as victors.
However, while the Cult Army escaping did not bother them, what did was Mauriss walking away with an origin dagger and declaring independence, as their conversation quickly shifted towards that next.
"Mauriss walking away from the Righteous Alliance is bad," Ru Vassa said at last, her voice tight as she subtly shifted her stance to hide the blood steadily pooling along her hip, divine regeneration struggling to close the origin metal wound.
"Not just bad, it’s borderline alarming, for although Soron was hard to handle, he was still predictable, whereas Mauriss is just..... psychotic."
She added, as Lu Han nodded grimly, his sword tip still resting against the ground as his gaze lingered on the distant spot where Mauriss had vanished.
"The Cult escaping with Veyr is a mere embarrassment.
However, Mauriss defecting immediately afterwards makes us look incompetent."
He pointed out, as he tried to shine some light towards the optics of this war now that it was over.
"If word spreads that Mauriss no longer believes in the existing universal order, then the illusion of control we’ve maintained for millennia cracks overnight."
Du Trask added next, as it was that exact implication which weighed heaviest on every Great Clan God present, the issue none of them could afford to ignore.
The issue of optics.
For they understood all too well that universal authority was never upheld through raw strength alone, but through perception, and that in the silent war to maintain a favorable image, they had failed spectacularly today.
Aegon Veyr escaping The Pit alive was already a public humiliation, a visible stain that would invite whispers and doubt across the universe, yet that damage was still manageable, as Soron’s death provided a counterweight strong enough to stabilize the narrative.
However, Mauriss declaring independence immediately afterward threatened to drive that perception blade far deeper, as his defection transformed a contained embarrassment into a systemic fracture, one that demanded their attention before it metastasized into something they could no longer control.
"What do we do now?"
Yu Kiro asked at this moment, as his question made everyone take in a collective breath.
*Sigh*
For a moment, no one answered.
Then Mu Shen stepped forward.
"This is our chance," he said, voice low and insistent, as though afraid the others might not agree with his sense of urgency.
"Soron is gone. Mauriss has cut himself loose and Kaelith is injured."
He paused, allowing the implication to settle.
"If the five of us act together, right now, we could overthrow Kaelith and Helmuth entirely. No more overlords. No more hierarchy. We take control for ourselves."
The idea was dangerous.
Tempting.
For a heartbeat, the air itself seemed to shift as the possibility crystallized, a future where the Eternal Garden no longer dictated order, and where the Great Clan Gods ruled openly and absolutely.
However, just as he proposed this idea, it was Ru Vassa who laughed in dismissal first.
She gestured down at herself, at the blood staining her robes and the tremor lingering in her stance as divine exhaustion refused to fade.
"Look at us," she said simply. "This battle already cost us more than it gave."
Du Trask raised his ruined arm in agreement, jaw tightening as pain flared again.
"I won’t rush into another war half-broken," he added flatly.
"Not against Kaelith. Nor against Helmuth. And for sure not against Mauriss."
Silence followed, heavy and contemplative, as the ambition Mu Shen had voiced slowly lost momentum, worn down by reality rather than rebuttal.
At last, Ru Vassa straightened, forcing herself upright despite the pain.
"Let us wait," she said firmly.
"Let Helmuth return. Let the aftermath settle. Let the universe forget the noise before we make another move."
Her gaze hardened.
"For now, Soron is dead, and that alone is a victory."
The others nodded one by one, the consensus forming not through excitement, but through exhaustion and caution, as survival instinct overrode ambition.
All except Mu Shen, as he remained silent with his gaze fixed on the empty stretch of space where Mauriss had vanished, unease gnawing steadily at him while his instincts refused to settle, warning him that what they had just witnessed was not an ending at all, but the quiet beginning of something far more dangerous that was carefully disguised as closure.
Still, with no support forthcoming, even he was forced to relent for now.
*SLASH*
*SWOOSH*
Soon, without ceremony or further words, the Great Clan Gods began to disperse, each opening their own pathways back to their respective clans, as they abandoned ’The Pit’ as swiftly as they had arrived, leaving behind nothing but broken stone, fading divine residue, and the quiet certainty that the universe had shifted in ways none of them yet fully understood.