God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

The Grand Hall was now empty.

Standing before Anathe, Cain was a bit stumped.

The large gathering was now over and all the other creatures had dispersed. Each one of them had been a dignified member of their own clan of creatures, each a powerful being in its own right.

They had all been gathered under the umbrella of the mother goddess and were now completely subservient under Anathe’s rule.

Slowly, the Ant Queen got off her throne and walked towards them,

"What did you think?"

Cain pursed his lips then spoke,

"It was a bit surprising to see the number of creatures that have become more than mere beasts. But I guess that is only normal."

Anathe smiled, "They represent just a small minority of us. Some species of evolving beasts find it easier to evolve their presence of being. However, under the grace of the goddess..."

Cain’s expression changed.

He found it a bit suspicious. He knew that most creatures had already evolved incredible intelligence. However, that was not the case for most of them. In the end,.most of them should have remained beasts.

In fact, for the most part, the Mutant Creatures found on the main continent were developing intelligence at a much slower rate when compared to the beasts of this island.

Such a thing got him thinking;

’There are other hands at play here.’

And when looking at it now, it was as clear as day.

’The Divinity of the Gods.’

If the Divinity shackles between humans and Celestial beings granted the humans boons and or special abilities, then for some reason, it seemed to be granted these beasts the capacity for more intelligence.

But maybe it was much deeper than that.

Because it was not like that was the only type of evolution he had seen.

The {Anchor Sovereign Beast} was clearly an evolved creature. However, it didn’t seem as intelligent as the beasts that had been in the Hall.

There were also more beasts within the Colony that weren’t intelligent. However, he did remember that strange rodent-like creature he had encountered on his last visit. That creature had been incredibly intelligent. However, it had also been very weak.

Cain’s brows furrowed as he silently considered what this could mean.

Before he could say anything, Evangeline spoke up,

"There were so many creatures on here, it seems hard to expect all of them to have evolved their current being without the influence of some external force."

Anathe turned her smile to her.

"It is indeed as you suspect. What has granted me this wisdom, is the power of the mother goddess herself. The same is true for every other beast."

Cain’s eyes narrowed,

’So I was right.’

Divinity could very well be behind this phenomenon. And if it wasn’t, then...

’Although the {Willow Direwolves} and the {Blood-Curse Bats} are also intelligent, that should have been only relative to the wilder beasts. If I consider what I just saw, they seem rather unintelligent compared to these creatures. Of course, excluding Roc and Ambrosia.’

This was not a good sign.

Not only did Anathe have brawns on her side, she also had brains.

Intelligent creatures were more likely to follow detailed directives, meaning if it came down to it, Anathe would have the tactical advantage over the other two hegemons. When comparing them, the {Blood-Curse Bats} and the {Willow Direwolves} suddenly looked much less frightening.

And that was just the tip of the iceberg.

Staring at Cain’s face, Anathe seemed even more satisfied,

"So? Is this enough to convince you?"

Cain wore a bitter smile,

"I agree, I’m a little more than impressed. In perhaps another six months or so, you certainly wouldn’t even need my help to conquer this entire island. However, your influence will still be limited to the island. And I can imagine how adverse that could be to your future plans."

Anathe readily agreed,

"Yes. That means we both have something we need from one another. We both help one another to achieve what we desire." The Ant Queen said as she moved in closer.

The beautiful of the creature was eerie and unnerving, Cain thought to himself.

He huffed deeply,

"I agree with you. I do stand to gain a lot of I throw my lots in with you. Unfortunately, I am still going to refuse."

Anathe’s expression remained unchanged, but her dark eyes seemed to darken further,

"Is that so..."

Cain nodded,

"I have two reasons..." he said, rasing a finger up,

"I have already made deals with Direwolves and the Blood Bats. I’m not one to go back on my word."

His eyes narrowed as he raised his other finger,

"The other reason you could say, is a bit petty. I asked for your help a few months ago, but you didn’t seem eager to give it then."

Anathe tilted her head,

"That is because you couldn’t provide much of a benefit to me in that moment."

Cain snorted and shook his head,

"You might be an intelligent beast, Anathe. But you clearly do not truly understand humans as much as you think."

As soon as he said that, Cain could sense a deep torrent of killing intent wash off of traxillion who was standing behind the Ant Queen.

Anathe however, didn’t seem offended by his statement.

Instead, she had her head slightly bent in contemplation.

"Then you really won’t change your mind?"

Cain shook his head, "I won’t." 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Anathe hummed.

Then she turned around and began walking away,

"Then I three days, you can be on your way. That is all the time I need to crush any stubborn stray unwilling to come into the arms of the goddess."

Cain sighed as he called out after her,

"If you go down this path, there truly might be no resolution between us in the future."

Anathe froze. Then she turned around.

The smile was gone from her lips, replaced with a frightening chill and air laced with the presence of a ruler.

"I’m willing to take that chance."

As she turned around, she continued,

"Perhaps if I kill those two off, you might have a change of heart."