The graveyard lay quiet beneath the dim wash of city lights, rows of stone markers standing like silent witnesses to forgotten centuries. Before one such grave—a modest slab bearing the name Xuhuna Xariot—a man bowed deeply. His right hand pressed horizontally against his stomach, a gesture so old that even most gods had forgotten its origin.
Hasan, the Supreme God of Wisdom, held the bow for a full three minutes. Only when the ritual was complete did he straighten.
Aether appeared without sound, as if he had always been there. "He refused."
Hasan did not react immediately. The cold air moved around him like a contemplative fog. Only after a few heartbeats did he sigh.
"Then our goal becomes harder," he murmured. "If only a Primordial God had chosen to back us."
Aether turned from the grave to him, unease flickering behind his composed façade. "Do you truly believe you can outmaneuver even the Primordials?"
His doubt was not insulting—only realistic. Cultivation could sharpen the mind, but intelligence on the level of cosmic beings was a different realm altogether. And while Hasan's wisdom was feared throughout the Council, he had never once moved against a Primordial. Not directly. Not even in the ancient wars.
Hasan met Aether's gaze steadily. His eyes were calm, unreadable. "If you believe I can, then I will."
A faint smile ghosted across his lips.
"Among three Primordial Supreme, Benevolent is the easiest to scheme against. The only difficulty will be Malevolent and Chaos. But it doesn't matter if we won't let them recover their strength quickly."
Aether stood there silently. He still wonders if he is on the right track or not. Will we win? He does not have much worry for other Supremes in The Council, but the Primordials are the one that pose many threats to them. They are very mysterious and contain many secrets about the universe. There is no doubt that the Primordials know many things about the universe which other Supremes do not know. They also rarely interact with the world other than Chaos.
Hasan had once theorized that the forms the Primordials showed to the Council were mere projections, masks worn for convenience. Their real forms might be something the world wasn't meant to comprehend.
"Well, you don't need to worry about the Primordials right now, other than Chaos. I suspect that even after the Benevolent and Malevolent wake up then the former will possibly just try to help humans while the latter might not even show his face due to insecurity. The only problem is Chaos."
Aether frowned. "That's exactly why I'm worried. If Chaos cannot be predicted, then how can you anticipate his next move?"
Hasan paused, looking up at the dark sky as if reading patterns invisible to others.
"Chaos appears unpredictable," he said at last, "but nothing in existence escapes the laws of reality. Even chaotic systems have boundaries. They are sensitive to initial conditions, yes—but once you uncover those conditions, the pattern becomes visible."
He began walking through the graveyard, hands clasped behind him. "Come. Since we're here, let's take a walk."
Aether followed, but hesitated as a thought struck him.
"There was also a god aside from Zigeyr there." Aether spoke in a tone of confusion. "And I was unable to see his divinity and his realm. It seems to be shrouded in layers of fogs."
Hasan stopped for a moment, but then he sighed and just started walking again.
"Another variable," he said simply. "I will address them one by one."
But Aether noticed something rare—something unsettling.Even the God of Wisdom felt insecure.
Aether turned toward Xuhuna's grave and bowed in the ancient gesture for three full minutes, honoring the dead and steadying his own shaken thoughts. Only then did he follow Hasan out of the graveyard.
Back at Zigeyr's apartment, Zigeyr watched the two gods through his divine perception. Even in his weakened state, he could observe nearly anything on the planet. If he had been fully recovered, his awareness would've spanned galaxies.
"They seem to have been awakened near this country, and their quick appearance just after awakening explains how the mastermind had planned all of this in a small time left before everyone fell asleep."
"That Hasan will be quite a problem." Zigeyr commented as he withdraws his divine sight. He looked at the Ked who was still kneeling before him. "You seem to have recovered much of your powers."
"Yes, Master, but it will still take quite a time to completely recover." The weakening effect of sleep had reduced Ked from a god to a mortal, but now he had recovered back to Divine realms. The divinity this servant of Chaos practice is a mystery to many, which even a Supreme cannot gaze upon. As for what divinity, this man is practicing, others can only guess.
"The others still seems to be in Mortal realms." Zigeyr speaks, and his tone was of displeased.
"Yes, Master. They are practicing hard."
Zigeyr was silent for some seconds, seemingly thinking about something. Then, he smiled and said,
"Ked, if they reach the Divine realms by next month, send them to station at the borders between nations. If they fail, bring them back."
Ked hesitated—not visibly, but internally. Was this a test? A punishment? Or something else entirely? Zigeyr had never kept servants long-term. Ked was the only one who had followed him for ages. Understanding Zigeyr's intentions was impossible.
"Yes, Master," he said.
"You may leave."
Ked vanished into a ripple of distortion.
Zigeyr rose from his chair slowly. More gods would wake soon—he had no intention of meeting all of them in a cramped apartment.
As he stepped outside, the air trembled.
His apartment walls dissolved like mist, stretching upward, outward, unfolding into titanic architecture. Towers twisted into the sky, shadows lengthened, and monstrous silhouettes emerged, taking flight around the structure.
Within moments, the humble apartment had become the legendary Castle of Chaos, one of the strongest bases among the Supremes. A fortress whose very presence warped the world around it. Its spires pierced the clouds, and its vast mass could be seen even from orbit.
Zigeyr looked up at it with a faint grin.
"Let them come."