The denizens of Aigas were coming out of the First Layer of the Empyrean Hatcher, ushered out by Strawlers into the open area sprawling ahead of it. By then, most of it had been restored to its most pristine state, but most of the creatures, human or otherwise, couldn't spare their eyes to tell. Most of them were still recovering from the overwhelming, brute sensation that had stolen their faith earlier – a product of Boron's ambitions.

For the commonfolk among them, it felt like something deep within them – something fainter than their souls – had been disconnected, stretched taut, and connected to a different socket of sustenance. It was…uncanny, so much so that they found it hard to focus on anything else.

Elita and Revia were seated over one of the floating islands in the Bosom, watching over everyone below.

"I can only blame myself. My vision of a sacrifice was… stunted, so insignificant when compared to that," Revia said, a sullen look on her face. "Can you imagine? There's villainy much greater than what an Incandescent Stage necromancer is capable of. I couldn't fathom it."

Elita gave a sad smile, but the image of a common woman below, carrying her toddler while weeping bitterly, stole that smile away at once.

"It took me nearly getting trampled on by a god to see things the way you do, I guess," Revia continued, before turning to her sister. "Was I really wrong, though?" Her eyes were filling up with tears. "Maybe I never should have been born strong. When everything went to shit, I couldn't channel my strength correctly. My solution to losing against the necromancer and your disappearance was to turn the Purity upside down, no matter what. That was stupid, wasn't it? If I truly understood how much bigger the world was… I would have thought of something better."

Elita considered her. She was sitting in a lotus position. It helped her feel less nervous about talking to Revia after their argument earlier. All things considered, it was going well. Revia had come to a reasonable conclusion all on her own.

…But it wasn't enough.

"You know, I haven't changed as much as you think – as much I said I have." Elita summoned Broodweiler. "Ever since Void took me away, I kept to my ideals to help people. I was a Knight, after all, a Paladin Champion, and this sword completed me. I was desperate to use my powers to create my own brand of justice, even if it evolved because of, well, just how complicated Reality is." She set the sword down and held Revia's hand. "I was determined to be someone who showed up for people, even if they didn't ask for me. That's how my Voided Death powers were molded, actually. Selflessness."

Her interpretation of the Void – the Voided Death Aspect.

"But I recently learned that there's another side to helping people. There are people who already know how to call for help. I never saw them. I didn't see that side of selflessness until someone pointed it out for me. Stupid, right?" She smiled brightly and squeezed Revia's hand tighter – warmer. "So, I can't say you were wrong, Revia. I'm sorry if I belittled your way of trying to reach me. The truth is, justice isn't defined by some overarching system that governs Reality. It's personal. That's why I loved being a Paladin Champion but hated the Purity. They interpreted the Deities against the will of the Deities themselves and forced everyone to follow that interpretation."

Revia considered the words for a little while. "So why didn't the Deities bother to remove them?"

"Because… the Deities can't steal free will, even if it comes at their expense. At least our Deities don't."

Revia thought back to the mighty powers from earlier. She could have died right then. It was all beyond her. She needed years to fully fathom all of it.

"The thought of punishing myself for joining hands with the necromancer…seems so absurdly foolish now."

"You can still do it."

Revia was stunned. "What?"

"Penance. You can pay it," said Elita.

"How?"

"You have all the time in the world to grow strong, learn, and redefine what it means to serve the Deities. I think having someone who even cares to pay for what they consider to be sins is a good start for an organization that builds morals. Maybe that can be your role."

***

"Fuck, this is unsettling," said Aurolio. "And here I thought I had a good grasp of what weakness meant."

"Did you go through your entire life thinking you were never going to die?" Uyuniya gave him an awkward look. It was rather bizarre, because she towered over him in height. The humans passing by them, ushered by Strawlers, were intimidated by her.

"Of course, I did, but I often read that the greatest of combatants got only a single moment of reckoning – a single divine revelation about their own weakness – and then learned to overcome it with time. Didn't work for me, though. It feels like yesterday when I got trounced by a dragon, rendered irrelevant in a fight I thought I could easily dominate." He skewed his lips, huffing a breath. "And you two ladies opened up a whole new dimension for me in terms of what Voided Death means in one night. One fucking night."

Uyuniya reeled. "I didn't think you'd be so… open about that."

"I have no choice but to. I died," said Aurolio scathingly.

It didn't really melt his heart when he saw Reon bawling his eyes out before breathing his last. He was too busy thinking the bastard had cut him with an attack he couldn't see just minutes before that. How could one forget such a thing?

A moment later, the usual, fierce light in Aurolio's eyes dissipated. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"I always thought I was different – special," he said. "The fact that Void chose to take Elita away and not me shut that shit down."

"I'm glad it did, even though I'm sure Void had her reasons," Uyuniya said, but she sympathized. "I can relate. I'm probably the weakest among all my siblings – Divine princes and princesses with Void powers like me. Yes, it's a symbol of royalty back home." Uyuniya was amused by Aurolio's shocked expression. "It's one of the reasons I employed Elita to help me fast-track my way to Divinity."

Aurolio took some time processing that absurd tidbit.

"Yeah. I need to sit the fuck down and re-establish myself. I'm not ready for Reality if it carries a consistent stream of stuff like this," he said. "I'll start here… and maybe make the Families of Pelian great again."

Uyuniya gave a nod of approval.

"And maybe you're being too harsh on yourself," she said. "You're clearly a prodigy. I didn't think you'd learn my entire language in a few hours."

Aurolio snorted haughtily.

"If I couldn't do that fucking much, I probably would have killed myself a long time ago."