"Carl mate, how much do you like Haven?" Gillian's question came after a fairly long silence whilst he let Carl work.

"It's fine I guess."

"Is that enough? You're putting your life on the line for "fine"? Why is it only fine, you have everything you love in one place, free to do and b-"

"Free? No one's free mate, hell it isn't even an option for me. I'm nothing but a slave to the system some elder god made to stop her husband. I have more than I have any right to have, so yeah I'll put my life on the line for it."

"Carl mate, not gonna lie, I'm worried about you. Is that really what you think?"

"Come on Gil, you know I wouldn't of said it if it wasn't."

"Well shit, don't even know what to say. No wonder you were happy to let us distance ourselves, you probably hoped we'd all just let you disappear..."

"Yeah, won't lie, would have been happy to know you were all chilling out back on Haven, safe."

"Yeah... Should of known. You know you're an idiot right, takes one to know one and I'm certain. Did you even consider the possibility that if you dissapear, everything you built might fall apart?"

"Why would it? There's remnants of the dead everywhere still going strong."

"Yeah, but the people in the faction aren't hanging around because it's safe, they aren't even hanging around because there's no inequality... I know you don't like it, but most of us are used to it. Mate, they're here because they want to be a part of what you're building."

"It might take longer, but it can be built without me now, there's enough hands and power with us to thrive if the danger is focused somewhere else. If anything, having me here is just a danger."

"Maybe you're right and maybe you're wrong, all I know for sure is that it wouldn't be the same. People trust you when you say "we're doing this", they don't ask "why's he doing that?". They trust you to put them first, but what I see is my mate being martyred. How are me and the others supposed to feel about everyone else being happy to ignore that bit?"

"What do you want from me Gil? Complaining won't change the situation."

"I know, that's why I'm not going to sit here and tell you not to. All I want is for you to ask a bit more in exchange than "fine", least your wife had the sense to ask for a realm you two can share."

"So what, hold all creation hostage?"

"i don't know dude, I'm an idiot."

"Yeah? Well what the hell am I then? I'm eighteen, this time last year I was scraping by having to put in ten times the effort to get barely passable marks, now I know things I don't even remember learning."

"Tell me about it... You know I was talking to Daniel the other day, he says to me "You've changed a lot in the last two months."

Two months! That's all it's been since we left SATS. You know what happened next?"

"What?"

"I have some kind of absent seizure, look him dead in the eye and say "A second, a minute an hour, constructs to make infinity tangible in the minds of the sentient beings." Then I get a damn pop-up saying "You have increased your understanding of the law of Infinity".

"Congrat's. Sounds like you'll be learning to speed up and slow time to your will eventually."

"This is what I mean man! How do you know that? Seriously, we can't keep doing this! So what if you can't stay on Haven, I say we take a damn holiday with everyone else, even if someone picks a fight we'll end it."

Carl walked over to where Gillian had made himself comfortable on the grass of Archyon and extended a hand to him. "You know what? Yeah, fuck it, let's go have some fun when I'm done with the variants..."

"What aren't you saying?" Gillian asked before taking the hand Carl offered.

"How much do you trust me?"

"Even if I didn't I'm too curious to say "no", so I guess you can keep your secret."

"Spread the word, me, the girls, you and the Mrs and Blanc and Sophie if they're down. We're going on a trip."

"How should I pack?"

"You have an armlet, pack everything, we're going on a trip. I'll post more specifics when I've planned it out a bit more."

"Sounds interesting, I guess I'll have to look forward to it. Why only the young couples though."

"Like I said, we're saying "fuck it"."

Gillian chuckled and shook his head, then Carl asked Tiamutael to bring them back to Haven.

The moment he got back he told Klaire and Kyubi, who were just as surprised but decided he had earned the right to play the wild card.

"Just tell me one thing. Why are you doing this?" Kyubi asked as she sat next to him.

"Gillian told me "fine" isn't enough."

The girls looked at each other, then back at Carl as Klaire sat down to join them.

"Carl, I love you, but the others wouldn't forgive me if I didn't use our new relationship to kick your habit of being excruciatingly vague. So say what you mean, or so help me I'm going to have Tiamutael teleport you even more than before."

"I told him things here are fine and he said that wasn't worth putting my life on the line and he was right. I'm not fighting to protect fine, I've been fighting all this time for perfection and perfection is the freedom for me and the people I love to go where we please, when we please and enjoy life how we enjoy life."

"So we're going to go on a trip so you can enjoy yourself? Then I'm okay with it." Kyubi said with a shrug.

"Really? I thought you would try to say I have responsibilities and stuff?"

"Carl, we've been staring at the apocalypse in the face for a thousand years, if the one person who has a chance at averting it says "We're going on a trip", then we're going on a trip. Besides, I lost everything once, I want to appreciate the second chance I never thought I'd get."

"I personally hope that Gilgamesh and Margo kill each other while we're gone. Where were you thinking?"

"I want to explore earth a bit, explore some abandoned realms and lay claim to th-"

"Carl, that's dangerous, very dangerous."

"Why? I got the impression from Gaia's monopolisation of earth that neutral parties are autonomous."

"They are, but the hero isn't a neutral party Carl." Kyubi said as she took his hand to show she wasn't trying to be argumentative for the sake of it.

"I disagree. I'm not claiming it permanently, I'm just going to claim it, spruce the place up, then make it open territory where violence is prohibited and where anyone who enters it automatically agrees to follow the rules."

Kyubi and Klaire looked at each other, then laughed as they leaned forward into him.

"Carl, you truly are one of a kind. You're going to risk enraging gods to make a beach anyone can use."

"Oooo, beach, good idea."

"Just make sure that everyone but us has to pay a tax of some kind my love, the others won't trust anything that's free." Kyubi said as she kissed him on the cheek.

"While we're away, can I ask a favour please?"

"Please don't ask me to keep my hands to myself..."

"No, don't worry, I'm done keeping the good things in my life at arm's length. I want you to teach us about some of the immortals and gods, we only really talk about them as they appear and I get that you did that to not overwhelm us, but thanks to the committees censorship we know nothing about them."

"He's right, they just broke you down into vague classes and practically empty profiles."

"Really, why would they do that and what about the half-breeds?"

"Simple, the less people know about them, the less they trust them and that means more pure humans."

"I see, well then of course, but I'll tell you about those of us you know first. If you don't mind, I'd like to educate me on my own lineage and origins first."

Carl and Klaire each gave her a kiss in turn and told her they couldn't wait, then she started cooking whilst humming to herself.

"Carl, one thing I can't talk about is the elder gods, I think that might cross a line." Kyubi said as her tails waved back and forth hypnotically.

"No worries, maybe just some names?"

"That will be fine, they like to be known but like their privacy. One thing I think you should know sooner rather than later is the general heirarchy, which you actually filled in yourself:

The highest known existence are the origin laws.

After that are the fundamental laws.

The next would be the synergistic laws.

After laws are the elder gods and aspects which are the direct descendents of the laws or each other, of course you are acquainted with a few; Nergal, Primordial Chaos, Margo and Ishtar.

Then there are the chief deities which are the elder gods children who were starved of divinity due to the first war; Gaia, god, Odin are a few examples but the only one I know personally is Gaia and that was the result of that socialite grandmother of yours.

After that are the gods, celestials, zodiac, elevated spirits like myself and the hellions; The list covers pretty much every other entity that sent you a wedding gift and also the pure-bred demons, angels and technically Gilgamesh since he is more than a demigod.

Which brings us to the next group; demigods, true spirits, elementals, dragons, elves, dwarves, etc. Honestly the list goes on and on.

After that, are variants and hybrids which as you know can sometimes appear as random mutations or recessive, but also as the result of blessings or be made by gifted creators reshaping them and directly by progenitors.

Finally and please don't take this to heart, are humans. The first creatures to simply evolve from start to finish."

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