I wonder what that sharp thing was…
I scratched the back of my head while yawning, then walked over to the fridge with a glass in hand and placed it under the ice dispenser.
Ice clinked softly against the glass as my eyes drifted toward the hallway. Then toward the small kitchen window while the sound of the TV faintly echoed in the background.
For a second, I paused.
Looking down at the glass, I noticed only a few ice cubes had actually formed while the rest was just cold water.
"…That works."
I shrugged before picking the glass up and downing it in one gulp. The cold water slid down my throat as I placed the empty glass onto the countertop.
Then—
A hint of white hair caught the corner of my eye.
Anathasia manifested a moment later, long white hair cascading past her waist as she landed softly against the floor with a quiet tap.
"And… finally home. Phew…"
She wiped a bead of sweat from her temple before looking at me.
"What episode are you on?"
"…Just past episode one hundred and forty."
Another yawn escaped me.
"I forgot binge-watching could actually get exhausting."
She raised an eyebrow before recognition crossed her face.
"Oh right. There's only around a hundred and forty-eight episodes, right?" She pointed at me. "And you started around episode ninety before I left? That's honestly not too bad."
I stared blankly at the empty glass for a second before slowly looking back at her.
Then I pinched my cheek lightly.
"…Anyway."
I let out a breath.
"How'd the whole Xianxia Cosmology emergence thing go? Anything bad happen?"
Her expression immediately flattened.
"You're instantly assuming I did something wrong?"
"Knowing you? Yeah."
The edge of her lips twitched slightly.
"Rude. But yes."
"So you did do something."
I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.
"What happened?"
She walked over to the counter while pulling a chair out with a screech before sitting down. One elbow rested against the countertop while her cheek leaned against her palm.
"My subordinate kind of… misunderstood my instructions."
I narrowed my eyes slightly.
"Misunderstood in *what* way?"
She went quiet.
Her eyes wandered everywhere except toward me while she fiddled with her fingers.
That already told me enough.
Finally, after a while, she spoke.
"…She kinda unsubscribed a few thousand life subscribers from their subscription."
I stared at her.
"…What?"
"She killed thousands of cultivators in self-defense," Anathasia admitted quickly. "Luckily I already stored their souls inside one of my pocket realities beforehand, so I just had to reconstruct their physical bod—"
"She did what?!"
Anathasia instantly froze.
I facepalmed hard before dragging a hand down my face with a long sigh.
"She technically committed genocide."
I stared at her tiredly.
"What kind of subordinate did you even send?"
"The Sovereign of Crystallization…" she muttered. "I thought she'd be a good choice, alright? We were trying to test Continuity."
"What kind of self-defense wipes out thousands of people?"
"And test? Seriously?"
She looked ready to argue back—
—but two more figures suddenly manifested behind her.
Rania and Roselia.
One blonde-gold.
The other pale blonde-white.
"Well, Sir Kyle," Roselia cut in smoothly, drawing my attention toward her, "Yukihime—the subordinate in question—is not exactly human in the way we are."
"I kinda figured that already."
I leaned back slightly.
"We're not exactly human ourselves if we're talking about what we actually are."
Roselia nodded calmly while Rania wandered toward the stove instead.
Anathasia still stared at the countertop looking vaguely guilty.
"An interesting mechanism…" Rania murmured while tracing the induction cooktop lightly with one finger before glancing toward the gas stove nearby.
"So this is what this so-called electricity powers?"
She looked back at us over her shoulder before straightening her suit slightly.
"I wonder how one could harness this kind of energy."
Roselia and I exchanged a glance.
Then looked back at her.
"Roselia already knows how electricity works," I said.
Roselia gave a small nod.
"It would still take at least another decade… perhaps three before Aegea—let alone Kazar or Ishtar—could properly understand and implement such systems at scale."
"Technology discussion aside."
A deep masculine voice suddenly echoed throughout the kitchen.
Familiar.
Like someone we already traveled alongside before.
All four of us turned toward the hallway.
A tall black-haired man dressed in a tailored suit slowly stepped forward beside a woman with salmon-pink hair tied neatly into a high ponytail. Dark eastern robes wrapped around her figure while flowing golden patterns resembling living flames drifted across the fabric.
"Kagariel," Rania said calmly as she turned fully toward them.
"And Chi Rong Guang," Roselia added with a faint smile slowly forming on her lips.
"The First Outer God of Continuity."
She tilted her head slightly.
"Welcome."
"To the—"
Roselia paused mid-sentence before glancing toward Anathasia with visible hesitation.
"Do I truly need to say the name aloud?" she asked tiredly.
"And why exactly Quartet, Miss Veridielle?"
My eyes narrowed immediately.
I leaned slightly closer toward them.
"Quartet?" I repeated.
"What's that even supposed to mean?"
"The Four Outer Gods, obviously," Anathasia replied while raising one finger confidently.
"There are four of them, therefore: Quartet."
She nodded to herself.
"If there were only three, I would've called it a Triat instead."
Roselia immediately looked away after hearing that.
Her eyes turned hollow as she quietly muttered something under her breath about administrative burdens and naming conventions.
Meanwhile, Rania simply walked toward Kagariel and Guang before calmly shaking their hands and gesturing for them to enter further inside.
"So anyway…" Anathasia continued before lightly clearing her throat.
Then she snapped her fingers.
Instantly—
The entire kitchen dissolved.
Our surroundings blurred apart before reforming into an enormous open pavilion situated within endless grasslands stretching beyond the horizon itself.
A massive circular table rested at the center beneath the pavilion roof.
Seven chairs surrounded it.
"…Wait."
I blinked once while glancing around the table.
"Seven?"
My gaze shifted toward Anathasia, who was already motioning for everyone to sit down.
"What's with the seventh seat?"
She gave me a quick look before subtly gesturing toward the distant grasslands with her lips.
I followed her gaze.
A woman with long white hair draped in dark-violet robes slowly approached across the endless field.
"It's Liscia. Obviously," Anathasia replied casually.
Meanwhile, Roselia, Rania, Guang, and Kagariel had already begun taking their seats around the table.
The woman finally arrived before quietly sitting down at Anathasia's left side.
I ended up seated on her right.
Silence briefly settled across the pavilion.
Then Anathasia cleared her throat once more before finally speaking.
"Alright…"
"One person is technically missing, by the way."
She leaned back slightly in her chair.
"But the daycare she's currently working at is still open right now. Apparently there's an event happening too, so she couldn't leave."
"Missing…" Kagariel murmured quietly while lifting his gaze toward her.
"Are you referring to The Original Creator, Rhea?"
"Recreator?"
Anathasia nodded casually before slumping deeper into her seat.
"Yeah."
"I tried speaking with her consciousness earlier, but she said she couldn't come."
A faint smile tugged at the edge of her lips.
"So I didn't really bother her anymore,"
"The children clearly enjoy having her around far too much."
Kagariel gave a quiet nod while Rania and Roselia focused more on the tea resting before them than the conversation itself. Meanwhile, the newly emerged Outer God. Chi Rong Guang sat quietly beside Kagariel, staring down at the table as if trying to disappear entirely from the discussion.
"This brew smells excellent…" Rania murmured softly.
"It truly does," Roselia agreed, lifting her cup slightly before glancing toward me across the table.
"The aroma is surprisingly refreshing."
Her eyes narrowed faintly with interest.
"Was this brewed by Sir Kyle?"
Hearing that, Kagariel finally picked up his own cup. He brought it toward his lips before taking a slow sip.
Then paused.
A brief silence followed before he nodded quietly.
"Mhm…"
"The same blend The Recreator once prepared long ago."
His gaze slowly shifted toward Anathasia.
"And this one in particular was brewed by the Absolute Stillness, yes?"
"…Why are all of you more interested in the tea than the First Outer God finally emerging?"
Anathasia's voice flattened immediately.
The entire table went silent.
Meanwhile, Liscia simply scoffed from beside her, still staring out toward the endless plains surrounding the pavilion.
"And here I thought these people would be formidable."
A faint look of disdain flickered across her face as she finally glanced sideways toward Anathasia.
"Turns out the apple truly doesn't fall far from the tree, huh, Anathasia Veridielle Augthoria?"
Anathasia's smile twitched slightly.
"…What exactly is that supposed to mean?"
Liscia leaned back lazily against her chair.
Then answered without hesitation.
"You're all idiots with ADHD."