After learning about The Quatinum Four last night, we closed the shop and headed home. When we entered the Inn, Sorbi (The Receptionist) notified us about the visitors we had while we were away. Apparently, Head Inventor Miro came by and dropped some things off for Sophia. To be more specific, Miro's adamantite golems dropped off her things. Sophia told me that Miro wasn't fond of many people, but he considered Mayor Ross to be a great friend. He was fond of Mayor Ross because Ross believed in the same concept as him: It's Not About What You Do, but Why You Do It. Once Miro graduated from Platinum Crest, they appointed him as their Head Inventor. He was only 16 at the time, but Sophia said that the rest was history.

But when we entered our room and walked upstairs, we immediately understood why he sent his golems.

------------------------

[Early Morning: Mio 8, 3728]

As Sophia, Justine, and I relaxed on the large mattress, I struck up a conversation.

"I still can't believe you have this as a spare mattress," I said.

"It's comfortable, but it's ridiculous," Justine said.

"It is what it is. Though, I'm not sure what we're going to do if Ryan comes back. This is technically supposed to be his mattress, but he's not home often," Sophia said.

"So...this Alaskan king-sized bed belongs to some guy named Ryan?" I said.

"I wouldn't worry about it. He’s my older brother, but he’s busy doing Warden missions with Vera. He probably won’t be home for at least another month. Since Fayhelm only has three Wardens, Faith has to stay while Ryan & Vera complete missions for the Security Committee," Sophia said.

"I can't say I'm surprised he's a Warden. He seemed like a bright kid when I last saw him. I think he was 6 years old back then, which means he's...about 31 years old, right?" Justine said.

"No. He's 32. You probably saw him when he was 7," Sophia said.

"That's great! I'm glad he grew up to be a hero! Unlike someone I know...," Justine said.

"I'm just going to act like I didn't hear that," I said.

As Sophia chuckled, Justine and I smiled. A few minutes passed before Sophia broke the silence. She looked at Justine once she sat up on the bed.

"Hey, Justine. How come you always wear your blindfold in public?" Sophia said.

"My mother wears her blindfold in public all the time, so it's only natural that I do the same," Justine said.

"Why don't you wear it like an eyepatch? I think it'll look cuter!" Sophia said.

"You think so? I've never tried that before," Justine said.

"I mean, I think Justine has beautiful eyes, but I'm pretty sure that's not how blindfolds work," I said.

"Who decided that?" Justine and Sophia said in unison.

As Justine and Sophia laughed, they began discussing a variety of beauty topics. I took this as my signal to leave, as I got up from the bed.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" Justine said.

"Anywhere that isn't here, obviously," I said.

"C'mon, Owen! Don't be like that! This is our chance to bond like a team," Sophia said.

"If I tell you about my meeting with the High Council Of Quelyn, will you stay?" Justine said.

As I stopped walking towards the steps, I turned towards Justine.

"Now you have my attention," I said smiling.

------------------------

[2 days ago at Quelyn's High Council]

"Hm. Interesting. So...the hero is less like Themy and more like Ledos?" Qemir said.

"I don't see a problem with that!" Ledos said grinning.

"Clearly, your mind isn't in the right place if you think that," Themy said.

"I don't know, Themy. I think Ledos might be onto something," Dalios said.

"Bullshit! I say we kill him and start over!" Zaldir said.

"That's definitely not how it works, Zaldir. Maybe you should actually pay attention for once," Cira said.

"I'm surprised Justine was the Goddess chosen for this endeavor. I'm not exactly confident in her ability to save this particular world," Kodyn said.

"Sadly, I have to agree with Kodyn. I would prefer to have peace sooner rather than later. Justine may be too young to handle a SS+ world," Faylen said.

"Even if that's true, her hero has a weaker version of my 'Creation' magic. From what I can tell, he seems to be pretty good at using it," Aesha said.

"But he should use his Light Magic more often. He's the only person in the world who has it and he's barely even using it!" Onvyr said.

"Yeah. I agree with Onvyr," Orva said.

The High Council Of Quelyn is comprised of the 12 most influential Gods. They are the governing body that manage the 40+ worlds that the Gods of Quelyn are in charge of. Each God sat on their own custom throne, which floated high above the marble floors of the Pantheon. The Gods surrounded Justine, as she stood next to the floating podium in the middle.

The Gods are:

Qemir - The God Of Wisdom, Knowledge.

Themy - The Goddess Of Justice, Order, Law.

Cira - The Elven Goddess Of Nature, Hunting, Agriculture, Wine, Food.

Dalios - The God Of The Sun, Moon.

Khelios - The God Of Time.

Ledos - The God Of Wealth, Fortune, Currency.

Zaldir - The God Of War, Destruction, Chaos.

Faylen - The Elven Goddess Of Beauty, Love, Peace, Fertility.

Kodyn - The God Of The Sea, Storm.

Aesha - The Goddess Of Creation.

Orva - The Elven Goddess Of Spirits.

Onvyr - The Elven God Of Magic.

Justine could tell that they were not very confident in her abilities. Her mother could tell as well.

"Look. At the end of the day, Khelios says that Justine is the right God for the job. I say we give her a chance to prove herself before jumping to these conclusions," Themy said.

"You say that, but Khelios said we were in an atypical timeline! That means his margin of error is higher than usual. For all we know, Justine will fail and we will lose to the demons!" Zaldir said.

"I didn't realize you even had the capability to listen, Zaldir. Good for you," Khelios taunted.

"Preposterous! We would never lose to those demons!" Qemir said.

"Depends on how you define 'losing'. Did you already forget about the Xisona situation? Or that we have TWO Demon Lords running around the continent?" Cira said.

"If we look on the bright side, we gained a legendary hero who was destined to solve this problem for us!" Aesha said.

"That's dependent upon the hero, though. And as far as I can tell, he isn't even as heroic as he could be," Kodyn said.

"Even if the boy's mind isn't ready, he is still destined to save that world! Otherwise, he wouldn't have Cindra's blessing!" Qemir said.

"That's...true," Dailos said.

Several other Gods nodded in agreement.

"Qemir's a little bitch, but...I have to agree with him," Zaldir said.

"You say that, but to this day; I live in your head rent-free. According to my vast amounts of knowledge, you could only be defined as an arrogant asshole who's only on this council because the last two cells in your brain wants to gawk at Faylen all day!" Qemir said.

Justine slammed her hands on the podium to get their attention.

"Dammit! I didn't come here so you could gossip! I came here to warn you about the things that will be set in motion by Owen's arrival! It may be true that I'm too young to handle a threat this large. But if I’m going to save this SS+ world from extinction, I’m going to need the council’s help!" Justine said.

As the council began whispering amongst themselves, Justine looked at her mother with a pleading look. Themy smiled before she gave her suggestion.

“Quelyn Law forbids us from directly helping another God’s world-class assignment. That's how it's been and how it will always be. However, if you were to help each of us with our own problems, I’m sure we can all agree to help you indirectly, right?” Themy grinned.

As all the Council members expressed varying forms of agreement, Justine let out an enormous sigh.

Just what the hell did she get herself into?