"What do you mean everyone?"
"Take a closer look, Kuromi.."
Lucio was seated to the left of the throne, his body bandaged from head to toe, his posture stiff despite the obvious effort it took to sit upright.
His usual composure had been tempered—not broken but weighed down by the battle he barely survived.
His left arm was still wrapped heavily, blood having soaked through parts of the cloth. His breathing was measured as if he were forcing himself to appear stronger than he was.
But his eyes.
His eyes still burned with that same, unyielding fire.
Lucio might be battered, wounded, and barely held together—but he was still here. And if there was one thing they all knew about Lucio…
He never broke.
Nathan let out a low breath. "You look like hell."
Lucio's mouth twitched slightly. "Funny. You're the second person to say that to me today."
Despite the sarcasm, his voice was hoarse, his usual strength slightly dimmed—but the fact that he was alive was all that mattered.
Rhea looked as if she wanted to rush over, but the room's energy kept her in place.
To the right of Kullen's throne, standing was Jalen.
And he was glowing.
It wasn't just his glyphs anymore, in fact, his glyphs weren't even there. His entire being radiated a faint, barely perceptible aura, a mixture of gold and deep violet, shifting like something that couldn't decide what it wanted to be.
He didn't look exhausted.
He didn't look wounded.
He looked changed.
His posture was relaxed—almost too relaxed—as if he wasn't even aware of the energy spilling from his body. But Nathan saw it.
They all saw it.
The way the light flickered subtly around him, the way the floor hummed beneath his feet as if his very presence was altering reality just by existing. But the most notable change was his eyes. What was once A calming brown was now a limitless gold.
"…You're awake," Jalen said simply, his voice even, unreadable.
Nathan exhaled, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah. Barely."
Rhea hesitated, still staring at him. "Jalen… what happened to you?"
Jalen tilted his head slightly. Then, for the first time since they entered the room, he smirked.
"I'd ask you the same thing," he replied, his tone light, but his aura still humming.
Nathan took a step forward. "Alright, no more avoiding it—what the hell happened while I was out?"
Jalen exhaled, rubbing his neck. "Long story."
Kullen finally spoke.
"And we have plenty of time for it."
His voice, smooth yet absolute, commanded the room, silencing any further words before they could even be spoken.
He leaned forward slightly, resting his chin on his hand.
"You all have questions," Kullen said, eyes gleaming with curiosity. "And we will get to them."
His gaze flickered toward Jalen. "But first—"
His smirk returned, laced with something between amusement and intrigue.
"I think we should start with the most important one."
Kullen's fingers tapped against the armrest of his throne, slow, deliberate.
His next words cut through the air like a blade.
"What, exactly, have you become?"
Jalen looked at Kullen and laughed. "Next question."
Kuromi's face stiffened instantly at the disrespect.
Rhea who had been unusually quiet spoke next. "Um... well your majesty I was won-"
Jalen walked over slapping Kullen on the back. "Rhea just call him Kullen. He doesn't mind do ya buddy!?"
Kuromi reached for the hilt of her sword. "You will refer to His Majesty with the proper respect—"
Jalen waved her off. "Yeah, yeah, respect, titles, bowing, ahh boo so boring whatever. You really think he cares?"
Kullen just grinned. "She's not wrong, you know."
"You gonna start calling me Lord Jalen, then?"
Kullen laughed. "Not a chance."
Kuromi exhaled sharply through her nose, clearly biting back a retort.
"Alright," Kullen said, stretching slightly. "Enough playing around. Let's talk business."
His expression shifted, his tone lowering slightly.
"You've been operating under the assumption that there's only one god."
Silence fell over the room.
"There are gods here in Kairoth?" Nathan questioned, "Am I the only one who didn't know that?"
Kullen leaned forward. "A pantheon, actually. You already met one, well, Jalen has—whether you knew it or not."
Jalen's fingers twitched slightly. "...The old man."
Kullen nodded. "He wasn't lying. He's a god. But he's not the only one."
He gestured toward a massive tapestry hanging near the throne. It depicted figures of immense power—some humanoid, some monstrous—all etched in gold and deep violet against a backdrop of shifting stars.
"There are many," Kullen continued. "Each with their own domains, their own followers, their own agendas."
He let that sink in before adding—
"And if we want to get home… you're going to have to deal with them."
"Kullen are you just bullshitting us? Because I'm finding all this pretty hard to believe."
Kullen smirked slightly. "Make no mistake—the divine exists. And they do not sit idly by."
Kullen, seated on his throne, exhaled slowly. He steepled his fingers, his emerald eyes scanning each of them before continuing."
"You all think you've seen the worst this world has to offer," he said, his voice smooth, calculated. "You haven't."
Nathan scoffed. "We've literally watched an entire jungle try to kill us."
"You destroyed a jungle," Kullen corrected. "Not the world beyond it."
His gaze sharpened, and with a flick of his hand, the entire room darkened.
A map—no, not just a map, an entire projection of the known world—illuminated between them, glowing in golden and blue light. The lands they had traveled were small in comparison to the vast, sprawling continents that stretched beyond Everlock's borders.
Jalen narrowed his eyes, scanning the glowing regions. The area they had come from Stabilous, Veyport, the Spider Dungeon, even the Verdant Expanse—it was nothing more than a fraction of the map, a mere province in the grand scheme of things.
"You've been fighting for survival in a backwater region," Kullen continued. "But this?" He gestured toward the massive landmasses beyond Everlock. "This is the real world." With another flick of his fingers, the map shifted. No longer just geography—it now displayed massive structures, floating citadels, hidden temples buried in uncharted lands, and entire fortresses dedicated to divine worship.
The Pantheon of Kairoth.
"The Primordial Four are the oldest, the ones who shaped existence itself," Kullen explained, his voice taking on an almost reverent tone. "Vorthos, the Architect of Order. Nyxis, the Ever-Veil of Chaos. Zeraphon, the Keeper of Souls. Aulora, the First Flame. Each of them maintains the very foundation of reality."
Nathan frowned. "And they just… let the world run itself?"
Kullen shook his head. "No. They ensure balance. But balance doesn't mean fairness. And they are not the only ones with power."
With another motion, the map expanded further, displaying the names of other divine beings.
"Kieros, the God of War and Conquest," Kullen said, his tone growing heavier. "Selmira, the Goddess of Forbidden Knowledge. Vaelrith, the Trickster of Fate. Orivelle, the Abyss that Watches. Tzarkan, the Beastlord."
Rhea's face paled slightly. "And they—what? Dictate everything? Control the world from their thrones?"
"No," Kullen said simply. "They fight over it. They use mortals as their hands. Their cults, their chosen champions, their armies—all of them shape the world according to their god's vision."
Lucio, who had remained silent up until now, finally spoke. "If that's true, then where do we stand in this?"
Kullen's smirk faded. "That's the problem," he admitted. "You—we—are not supposed to exist in their plan."
Jalen's eyes narrowed. "Meaning?"
"We were reincarnated into this world, Jalen," Kullen said, watching him carefully. "And unlike most mortals, We are changing it in ways that even the gods didn't predict. For example, you started bending reality to your will, and I forced this world out of medieval times, and into a magi-tech era ruled by capitalism. We became an anomaly."
Jalen exhaled through his nose, looking away.
Kullen continued. "And anomalies? They don't go unnoticed."
The room felt heavier.
Nathan broke the silence, his voice edged with skepticism. "So where does Everlock fit into all this?"
Kullen leaned back on his throne. "Everlock is the last free kingdom. Every other major power in this world bends the knee to a god, whether they admit it or not. Every kingdom, every empire, every nation—you follow a divine, or you get erased."
He spread his hands. "I don't intend to kneel."
Rhea's brows furrowed. "You mean to fight against the gods?"
Kullen chuckled, shaking his head. "No. That would be suicidal, we're going to fight them! I intend to ensure Everlock doesn't become a pawn in their game. A Kingdom that'll last once I'm gone."
Nathan folded his arms. "Us?"
Kullen's gaze flickered to Nathan, then to the others. "You want us to go home, don't you?" Standing up he proceeded to walk down to his friend staring directly into his eyes.
"All we have to do is kill the Gods and collect their artifacts. That's not too hard is it?"