"So you do have bottled water…"

Angie's whispers turned a few heads in the hallway, though even more eyes were drawn to the supremely smug woman grinning by our side. She was the vice director of something or the other who brought me a drink after I got out of Teeny's magic cocoon thing. Her name was Advanced Tire… or something along those lines. I didn't care enough to make a mental note of her, but it sounded about right.

On the flip side, she looked like her delivering water for both Polemos and Deus was a legendary deed that would be passed down in her family for generations to come. Considering how undisguisedly jealous the rest of the directors present seemed at the moment… maybe she wasn't entirely wrong. The Elysium was a weird place.

In any case, once Angie emptied the small bottle and handed it back to her, she turned a curious gaze at me.

"Where are we going?"

"To get some fresh air."

I urged her forward, and she obediently started walking again, closely followed by Josh. Mountain Girl wasn't with us at the moment, as her presence was requested by Jaakobah, and the two of them were off to convince the still-rabid crowd in the tower's entrance hall to disperse. I instructed her not to be too violent, and then once they cut (metaphorically speaking) a path for us, we slipped through and beelined toward the elevators.

"I have a place in mind, O Archon," Tsephanyah noted with a harmless smile. "I believe you will also find the location very fitting."

While I wasn't entirely sure what he meant by that, I was more concerned with Angie. Even as we waited for the elevator to arrive, I used my phantom limbs to assess her condition. Back when I summarized the situation to the childhood friend couple, my theory about how Josh using the Deus powers he absorbed from her caused Angie to temporarily transform was just an ad-hoc idea. It was just to reassure them by making it seem like I was on top of things, yet I might have been more on the money than I could've ever imagined.

Angie's inner yarn-ball was more-or-less the same as the last time I checked on her, but the distinctly Deus-y threads mixed in with her own were visibly more active than before. Or at least as far as the term 'visibly' could be applied to my visualization of the abstract concept of a 'soul', anyway. The timing couldn't have been a coincidence, so I had no choice but to conclude that Josh tapping into his Celestial powers too much had indeed stimulated her inner Deus. This time, it wasn't too bad, because I intervened before the guy could start manifesting a full set of wings, but if I didn't realize something was off, there was no telling what could've happened.

Meanwhile, the lift's doors opened, and we squeezed inside. And by 'we', I meant me, Angie, Josh, Tsephanyah, and about half a dozen Reformist directors. Capitalizing on the opportunity, the blonde chief director pulled some of his confidants along as we passed through the crowd. He was obviously trying to monopolize Angie's, or rather, Deus's attention, and he didn't even bother to try to hide his intentions. In a way, I could respect that. I much preferred people scheming in front of me than behind my back.

The cabin started to move with a slight tremble, and I was just about to use another phantom limb to check to which floor we were headed when my attention was drawn to the guy in the corner. After the first wave of confusion settled in the wake of my interruption of his duel, he remained completely silent, yet even now, I could practically feel his eyes boring into me. Since when did I get so sensitive to other people's stares, I wondered? Whether it was another of those inexplicable 'Polemos things', a skill I developed by spending so much time with the disguised Mountain Girl, or something else entirely, was still up to academic debate.

In any case, since I noticed him, I figured I might as well try to do something about his peevish disposition. Of course, that was easier said than done. We were packed like sardines in the elevator car, so I couldn't just whisper to him without everyone else overhearing me. Luckily, as my dear girlfriend liked to remind people all the time, I was a man with many weird talents, and while being a ventriloquist wasn't one of them, I had something better.

"{Testing, testing. Can you hear me, Josh?}" My friend twitched in apprehension, so I added, "{If you can, nod.}"

He did so right away, and then promptly cocked his head to the side with a giant question mark circling over his head. Metaphorically speaking. I had to point that out, because there's been so much weird crap happening around us that literal punctuation marks materializing out of thin air was no longer as beyond belief as it should've been.

"{Don't mind the synthesized voice. I'm tapping into the Magiformer's communicator. The one that Judy uses.}" He apparently considered that a good enough explanation, for his body language immediately relaxed a notch. "{Can't speak openly, but this has to be said. You have to make sure you use as little of your Celestial power as possible. It has an adverse effect on Angie.}" After a pause, I also added, "{I should've seen it coming before setting you up for the duel. My bad, sorry.}"

Josh lightly shrugged his shoulders, which I chose to interpret as 'No problem, buddy.' I might've been a bit generous with that one, but for the time being, the important information was conveyed, so it was all good.

In the meantime, the elevator kept climbing the floors, and just as I was about to Far Glance at the other chief directors currently not within arm's reach, we reached our destination. That put the idea on hold for the moment, but not out of mind. Savir was suspiciously quiet despite the hubbub, and while Mensah's lack of presence was easier to explain with his recent argument with Tsephanyah, it didn't make me feel any less apprehensive about them.

And speaking of things that were bothering me, the woman who impromptu interviewed me in the open was also on the list. While her questions weren't anything unexpected, there was something about how suddenly she disappeared that didn't sit well with me. Unfortunately, it didn't occur to me to put a mark on her at the time, so I had no way to tell where she was at the moment.

Not that I would've had the opportunity to look for her, as for the time being I was determined to stick close to Angie and make sure she wasn't experiencing any further side effects from the sudden encroachment of Deus on her. She seemed to be mostly fine at the moment, if a bit quieter than usual, though I could probably write that up to us being squeezed into such a small space with so many unfamiliar faces.

At last, the doors opened, and we all but poured out into the hallway. Once everyone had gotten their togas adjusted and their laurel crows straightened, Director Tsephanyah took the lead once more and gestured for me to follow after him. Despite his overt show of respect to Angie/Deus, by the looks of it he still considered me the center of our little group and had taken for granted that so long as I was playing along, she would follow suit without a word. Well, he wasn't entirely wrong, but it was still pretty audacious of him.

Like that, I followed after him, Josh and Angie followed after me, and the rest of the Reformist directors were on our heels as we rounded a few strangely familiar corners. At first, I thought it was just déjà vu, considering all the corridors of the tower looked the same, but when we reached a pair of large doors, flanked by two hoplite cosplayers, things finally clicked and I realized where we were.

Tsephanyah gestured forward, and the guards spread the wings of the door wide, revealing a huge, semi-circular balcony with carved alabaster railings and rows of Greek columns holding up a transparent domed roof high over our heads. There weren't any flower petals wafting in the air this time around, nor a line of trumpeters waiting for our arrival, but it was unmistakably the place I first beheld the moment I arrived at the Elysium after the whole kidnapping conundrum.

"Whoooa!"

The previously quiet girl on my left cried out in amazement and was itching to rush forward. The only reason why she didn't was because she was waiting for me to give her the green light, and the moment I nodded, she skipped over to the railing, her white dress fluttering behind her.

"Wow! This is amazing!" she exclaimed and tapped on Josh's arm, who dutifully followed after her like her own shadow. "Look! Everything looks so small from up here! And it's so green!"

Her boyfriend nodded, apparently just as taken by the view as her. As for me, my eyes were rather drawn to Tsephanyah. He was, rather uncharacteristically, grinning like a well-fed cat. Not only that, but his expressions seemed to be completely genuine. Maybe this was the reaction he was expecting from me the first time I came here.

"Oh, wow! I can see the other Migdál from here!" Angie continued to marvel as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "It's just as I remembered! No, wait… As I imagined! Yes, that's what I wanted to say!"

"Indeed," the blonde director stepped up to the pair by the railings, his previous expression replaced by a solemn one. "The beauty of the land was preserved, awaiting your advent, O Deus. But at what cost?"

"Preserved?"

Hearing her echo his words bent the man's lips into a thin-lipped smile and he swept his arm out, gesturing at the vista in front of us.

"Indeed. The land in front of your eyes, as well as the men, women, and children laboring its soil, were defined by the Books of Hymnos. Unchanging and invariable, our Elysium remained as it was during the days you last set foot on it, in anticipation of your return. I presume you have already seen it with your own eyes, O Deus, how your subjects live their lives outside the walls of this Migdál."

"It's because of me?"

"Yes." He didn't mince his words, and as if afraid that I would interrupt him, he immediately cut to the heart of the matter. "It is only you who can change things. For the better. For them, and for us."

He was laying it thick, but once again, I couldn't exactly blame him for taking the opportunity. It also fell in line with my hypothesis that Tsephanyah was supposed to be the main ally of Angie and Josh on her route, so for the time being, I only observed them to see how things would develop from there. After all, to be able to course-correct the 'plot' if necessary, I first had to figure out where it was heading, in the first place, and if I kept interfering at every junction, it would only get more complicated in the long run. Or so I thought at the moment, hoping it wasn't any Narrative influence speaking.

In any case, I didn't sound too out of character to myself so, for the time being, I put this consideration out of my mind and focused my attention on Angie's reaction.

"I… I think I should visit the rest of Elysium," she said, surprising me. Still gazing at the scenery, her hand automatically reached for Josh's, and once their fingers found each other, she let out a relieved sigh. "This is a… lot of responsibility, and I have seen too little."

"We can arrange a parade around the land," Tsephanyah proposed, but she shook her head.

"No. I want to see how things are with my own two eyes. Up close. Not looking down from some chariot."

"Your sentiment… I'm familiar with it." The director's words sounded a touch sour, and he sneaked a peek at me. When I didn't respond, he faced Angie again and insisted, "I would still recommend at least one parade, O Deus. Your subjects deserve to know and celebrate your return."

"I… will consider it." Even though she relented, her eyes remained glued to the scenery, and she looked unexpectedly forlorn. "But not now. I have too many things to think about."

"As you wish, O Deus."

Tsephanyah gave her a shallow, deferential bow, but she didn't even seem to register it.

"Looking at Elysium from up here, it looks so small…" she whispered, and squeezed Josh's hand. "It's looks small, but it's… it's still too big for me."

Blinking in incomprehension, the chief director straightened his back and tentatively asked, "What do you mean by that, O Deus?"

"I'm… not ready for a responsibility like that. Not yet." Her voice was shaky, but her eyes became more determined with each passing word. Then, she dropped a bombshell none of us was expecting. "I would like to go home and think about this."

"I… believe your quarters are still under construction, but if you mean Archon Polemos's—"

"No, I mean home. Back on Critias," she clarified, and it caused a wave of shock to run through the Reformist directors crowding a couple of steps away from the trio by the railings.

"But… Please tell us what you find lacking, O Deus, and we will strive to resolve it at once!"

"I'm not missing anything…" she started, but then paused and shook her head. "I mean, I do miss Mum and Dad, and I bet they are super-worried about me right now, but that's not the point!" She swept her eyes around the balcony, her gaze only lingering on the directors for a moment before landing on me, as if looking for validation. "I mean, I'm too young for this. I haven't even finished high school! I'm not the brightest either, so… how can anyone expect me to lead Elysium like that?"

"But… you're Deus reborn!" Tsephanyah insisted, and she shook her head again.

"That doesn't mean I'm a born politician! I mean, I… I joked about ruling my own island nation when I grew up, but that was just a joke! I don't know the first thing about how to run a country! Where do you even learn about something like that?"

That seemed like a rhetorical question at first, but she was still staring at me, and since Josh couldn't speak in public, I figured it fell on my shoulders to respond.

"In university," I told her with all seriousness. "If you want to learn statecraft, that's where you should start. Political theory, economics, and so on. It would probably also require a lot of reading. Lots of big, dry doorstoppers with titles like 'Treaties on Liberty' and 'The Theory of Democracy'."

"Uuu… I'm not great with those, but I guess I'll have to do it!" After declaring so, she glanced at Josh and sheepishly added, "I won't have to do it alone, right?"

Instead of words, he squeezed her hand back, and she smiled for a moment before Tsephanyah interrupted their moment.

"You can't do that."

"Why?" she asked back, sounding unusually combative. "I just told you my reasons. I need to prepare myself. Education is the first step, and I can't get it here. I'll need at least a mast— No, I have to be realistic; let's aim for a bachelor's degree first!"

"You don't need any of that. You're Deus."

"But what if I mess up? Do you expect me to lead all Celestials without understanding the first thing about… Ack, I'm so under-qualified I don't even know how much I'd need to understand!"

"None of that matters. The Directorate is already in place, and we can—"

"But aren't the people out there living like that because the Directorate can't enact change without me?" She gestured at the hamlets and fields under us, and sounded genuinely angry for the first time. "You can't expect me to just go along with you without understanding the ramifications of my actions, and to do that, I need to know more about this whole… what did you call it?"

"Statecraft," I answered on autopilot, more than a little confounded by the situation unfolding in front of me.

"Yes, that! Thank you! I don't know the first thing about that, so I can't know if what you tell me is sensible or not! If I enact a change based on your recommendation, without understanding what it would mean to the people of Elysium or how it could have negative consequences, then how would that be any different from me causing harm by my own ignorance? I can't deal with something like that!"

"Please, listen to me!" Tsephanyah raised his voice for the first time, but instead of angry, he sounded almost desperate. "I understand your reasons, O Deus, but you can't leave Elysium. We have waited for too long for your return! We can't allow you to leave!"

"You can't allow her to leave?"

Startled, I glared at Josh, who broke his silence with a threatening growl. It had no effect. By the looks of it, he was already in his own little bubble, where only Angie and Tsephanyah existed. However, before I could send a phantom limb out and politely ask him just what the bloody hell he was doing, I was further startled by Angie flaring up with a bright, golden light.

"Who do you think you are?"

Her voice echoed with power, and I could once again see both her halo and the wings behind her back gaining definite shape. Not only that, Josh was following in her footsteps, and the lights behind his back were also slowly forming into familiar outlines. I told him not to do that, so… Crap. Could it be that this whole theoretical 'resonance' wasn't a one-way street? Was he being taken for a ride by Angie's inner Deus acting up?

"I am Deus, First True Archon, and Father of Elysium!" Angie didn't shout, yet her words shook the whole balcony and made the lesser directors behind me stagger back. Some in surprise, some in fright. "Tell me. Who are you to tell me what I am allowed to do?"

"I…"

Tsephanyah also didn't expect this development and was stammering for words. Suddenly, there was a wave of invisible pressure that washed over the premises, and he suddenly fell to his knees. By the sound of it, the same thing was happening to the people behind me, but I was either excluded, or immune to the effect, as all I could feel was a slight prickling sensation of my skin.

"You are but a lowly administrator. Do not presume you hold power over me! Your position is as worthless as your lowly life, and I should end both for the affront alone!"

"Okay, that's about enough," I cut in and walked over before things could escalate any further.

"Lord Archon?" Tsephanyah gasped as if he had a mountain on his shoulders, but I didn't even glance at him and focused on Angie alone.

"Take a deep breath, both of you, and calm down."

"Polemos. Why are you—?"

"Don't 'Polemos' me right now," I chided her and stepped even closer, ready to either plunge a phantom limb into her or knock her out in case things got out of hand. "You are still unstable at the moment. You need to reel in your emotions."

"I… If you say so, it must be the case."

That… was much easier than expected, and she closed her eyes. After a few deep breaths, the light surrounding her dimmed.

"{That applies to you too,}" I messaged Josh, and he shuddered. Then, as if a switch was flipped, the colourless magical glow surrounding him was wiped out in the blink of an eye, and it caused the light around his girlfriend to fade even faster.

"I… I think I've got it." There were sweat drops of effort glistening on Angie's face, and after exhaling hard, she let out a low hiss and nearly toppled over. Thankfully, Josh was right next to her and caught her before she could fall. "Ow. And now my head hurts again."

"Welcome to the club."

She blinked at me, as if I just said something funny, and forced a smile onto her face.

"Does it get easier with time?"

"No. You just learn how to ignore it."

She nodded, as if that was something profound, and finally managed to stand upright once more.

"Where were we? Going home, right?" She sounded like she was trying to sweep what just happened under the rug, and directed a weak frown at me. "Why didn't you back me up? I thought you would want to go home even more!"

"… You want me to go back as well?"

"Well, duh. You haven't seen the girls in weeks, right? I bet they are getting stir-crazy by now!" She didn't know that I was visiting Judy and Elly practically every single day, and this certainly wasn't the right situation to reveal that, so I just nodded. "Then gimme some support, will you?"

Glancing around the balcony, and seeing the still heaving directors on the ground, I couldn't help but shake my head.

"I don't think you need it at this point."

"But I could've used it earlier!" she retorted with a pout, once again sounding like herself.

"So, are you sure you want to go back to Critias?" She nodded without any hesitation. "Before or after touring the Elysium?"

"Erm… After, I guess? Only if it doesn't take long." Looking outside again, she gazed into the distance, and then sheepishly added, "If I'll have to be in charge of this place, I have to at least see it with my own eyes first, right?"

"Sure."

"Everyone's already farming, so I should probably also ask around about stuff like… you know? Climate and soil and stuff? To see what kind of cash crops are best suited for growing."

"Spoken like a true la presidenta," I jested, though with my Polemos personal layered on top, it might've been a bit too dry, as she let out a dissatisfied 'Muu!' noise and pouted at me with the power of a thousand exploding suns.

I didn't mind though, as my mind was too busy calculating the ramifications of this development, coming up with a strategy to convince the rest of the Directorate to play along, and I also had to devote a few brain cycles to try and come up with a natural way to wedge a joke about her 'cookie plantations' into the dialogue. Because I had my priorities sorted out, as usual.