After four hours of rest, Arsere slowly sat up, still feeling the lingering warmth of sleep in her limbs. She stretched, then opened her interface to check on the Eternal Sea Plate.
But just as she was about to inspect the newly forming life, something tugged sharply at her senses — a disturbance inside Crevalis.
A very loud disturbance.
"...That's definitely not from the sea," she muttered. "Nightvail… what is going on there?"
Curious — and a little nervous — she shifted her awareness toward the shadow‑filled plate.
---
In Nightvail
A ripple in the darkness tore open, and two figures popped into existence.
The first one immediately struck an exaggerated pose, chin raised, robes fluttering despite the lack of wind.
"Behold! I am the Star‑Slaying Sword God, Xian Gao!" he shouted with absolute confidence.
He looked like an actor ripped straight out of an ancient Chinese drama — long black hair, serious eyebrows, grand robes — except the dramatic effect was ruined by how loudly he screamed the line.
Before he could continue his speech, the second visitor groaned loudly.
"Oh for— STOP with the cringe intro! We look like idiots!"
The second figure, Virex, wore dark casual clothes and carried himself with tired, sarcastic energy. Without hesitation, he scooped up a handful of Nightvail's shadow‑mud and hurled it at Xian Gao's face.
It landed with a soft splat.
"VIREX!!!"
"YOU ASKED FOR IT!"
And just like that, the two self‑proclaimed gods of who‑knows‑what started arguing and flinging mud at each other like overgrown children.
---
In Arsere's Divine Domain
Arsere stared at them through her divine sight.
"…What… am I even watching?"
They were clearly gods — newly ascended, like her — but somehow weaker. Much weaker. And definitely far noisier.
She pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Nope. Not letting that chaos spread."
With a snap of her fingers, reality folded around the two chaotic newcomers.
---
A moment later…
Xian Gao and Virex vanished from Nightvail and reappeared kneeling on the floor in front of Arsere.
Both of them froze when they sensed her presence — the weight of a much stronger divinity pressing on them like gravity.
"E‑Eh— explanation?" Virex squeaked.
Arsere crossed her arms. "Yes. Explain. Now. And maybe stop attacking random gods while you're at it."
Xian Gao lowered his head. "We apologize… we panicked a little."
"A little?" Virex muttered.
Then Virex start to explain
"This our story... "
Arsere ignored the bickering. "So, let me get this straight. You two were living normal lives on Earth… then suddenly appeared in the void… and became gods?"
They answered in perfect unison.
"Yes."
Arsere thought 'They like me '
"And while wandering, a… black‑hole‑looking thing sucked you up and spat you out into Nightvail?"
Xian Gao nodded. "Correct."
Arsere frowned. Something about this was wrong.
"A black orb pulling in gods? That's no random accident."
She grabbed both of them by the sleeves before they could protest and teleported them back to Nightvail.
There, floating just above the ground, was the source — a palm‑sized black orb, quietly absorbing surrounding shadows.
Its surface pulsed like a heartbeat.
Virex gulped. "Yeah… that. That's what dragged us."
Xian Gao stepped back, expression serious for once. "That orb is definitely not normal."
Arsere stared at it, eyes narrowing.
"No… it's not."
For the first time since she arrived in Crevalis, she felt something she hadn't felt before.
A threat.