Disappearance

Trunsoest looked at the seven gods. The Gods who were above all, including order. He fared far better under their divine aura than the last time he met them.

Under the divine pressure, he stabilized himself while letting his "Order" share the pressure with him.

He had already become Hand of Order during the first five years of the empire. He brought order to humanity for the advancement ritual with his own hand. He segregated the classes, sectors, provinces and many more.

Now, he also used his authority to restrain his thoughts and emotions. He didn't want the gods to see through his hate for them. Though, he had a distributing inkling that the gods already knew and they couldn't care less…..

He took a deep breath and bowed to the seven gods.

"Your excellencies."

The statues of gods disappeared, replaced by the projections of the seven gods. They towered above him, unleashing their divine might without restraint on him.

"Get up." Earth Mother said softly, breaking the silence between the gods. "Tell us, Trunsoest. Why you requested a audience with us?"

Trunoest stopped bowing and gazed at the seven gods. He immediately noticed a difference. It was palpable enough, even for him to notice.

The divine aura of the Eternal Blazing Sun was weaker than that of other gods. His golden eyes were dim, quite similar to setting sun.

Eternal Blazing Sun turned and looked down on him, as if noticing his scrutinising thoughts.

The Sun God averted his gaze after just sparing him a glance. His eyes were indifferent and divine.

Trunsoest breathed a sigh of relief inwardly, restraining his blasphemous thoughts.

He finally said, under the gaze of Gods. "Bethel Abraham, Mr. Door, had vanished from the empire…"

He didn't immediately bring up the main topic, but instead told the gods about the problem with Mr. Door.

Bethel Abraham disappeared from the face of the earth. Nobody knows where he went. He didn't inform anyone, like he usually does, before leaving for faraway places or even the cosmos.

He just disappeared one day, silently. Trunsoest investigated on this. He asked Alitsa, Amon, Antigonus, and Silvia. And, there was no clue to where he actually went. Though, Amon was making an obvious guess about the situation of Bethel; Cosmos. He was in Cosmos.

However, Silvia told him of a secret when he mentioned whether her grandfather had travelled to cosmos. She said that the gods would know. Her grandfather always informs the gods before he leaves for the cosmos.

So, Trunsoest is now asking the gods of Bethel. The disappearance of Bethel Abraham was not made public yet. Only the consuls know. Bethel Abraham is too important for the empire, even more so now. His presence is absolutely required to keep it all together. Yet, he is nowhere to be found….

"Bethel Abraham." God of Knowledge and Wisdom said, his starry eyes twinkling. His tone, though, was heavy. "You don't need to worry about him. We will take care of the situation."

The other gods were silent at that, as if they had already discussed this matter and had managed to come to an agreement.

Trunoest still wanted to ask more, but was interrupted by Evernight Goddess.

She said ethereally, "Bethel's situation has become tricky. I can see your worries, Trunsoest. But, his disappearance was a betterment for all."

Trunsoest frowned; his confusion was pretty evident. However, the gods didn't seem want to elaborate on the situation of Bethel anymore, as they remained silent.

'Does the goddess mean that Bethel's presence would have brought disaster?' Trunsoest analysed, 'Why?...'

He couldn't understand, as he wasn't aware of the secrets of the cosmos.

"Go on." Lord of Storms said impatiently, noticing his thoughtful expression. "We don't have all the time in the world."

Suppressing his doubts, Trunsoest brought up another major issue.

"The Bayam Empire had cut off all trade with us, your excellencies. They are also attacking all our ships without any provocation from our side, resulting in tensions between the empires. I predict a war. The Bayam empire will soon declare war on us."

The God of Death had already awakened. He had regained control of the Bayam Empire. He had been implementing radical decisions in the Bayam Empire. Death was also said to have declared total war on the Devil faction. The entire southern continent is in chaos even more than it already was. The only faction that is not affected by the chaos is the chained faction, as they have received the blessing and protection from Eternal Blazing Sun.

Trunsoest even suspects that Eternal Blazing Sun is slowly expanding his influence into the southern continent through the chained faction. The entire chained faction has already started to believe in the angel of redemption under Eternal Blazing Sun. It was said that Tolzana named Edward as his successor. Everyone believed it without a shadow of a doubt or question, because there was a detailed and ancient record that Edward was related to Tolzana, but got separated from him during the chaos of third epoch. As for Tolzana, he was said to have gone into in-definite seclusion.

Trunsoest can only sigh at the might of the Eternal Blazing Sun, who is altering history and reality to his whim. Even he wouldn't have sensed this change, if not for being an archangel.

"Salinger…" Lord of Storms snorted, his figure flickering with sparks of lightning. "He will be the least of our worries in the coming chaos."

"I don't know if you are pretending or truly ignorant, Leodero…" God of Combat retorted , his orange eye behind the helmet gleaming in twilight. "Salinger's situation is strange. We all know it. He managed to suppress Farubati and even sever the connection with the abyss. Even after all of this, do you still think that he is no threat? There should be a limit to one's arrogance….."

"Watch your mouth, Badhiel." Lord of Storms glared at God of Combat, his voice shaking the entire royal palace.

Trunsoest can even hear the rattling of thunder and rumbling of the land, while having hard time resisting the tyrannical aura of Lord of Storms.

"This is no time for us to fight…" Earth Mother said in a soothing voice, trying to dispel the heavy atmosphere. "Over such small things…"

However, she failed. Trunsoest only felt the tyrannical aura increase by the moment. It was like a tsunami crashing down on him, ripping him apart.

A waning light also filled his vision. He found it difficult to even think further.

He was desperately using his authority to resist the might of the gods, despite knowing it was futile. His blurry vision saw two towering figures standing up from their thrones, while other towering figures remained unmoved, as if they didn't care at all.

"Enough." A calm yet powerful voice sounded, bringing peace and tranquillity with it.

Trunsoest felt the aura of tranquillity cover him. His injuries healed in an instant, bringing him back to his peak state without any sequelae.

He deeply felt the power of the gods at this moment.

He stood up from the kneeling position, stabilizing himself. Even though he anticipated the cracks between the gods, seeing it himself made him realise how much worse the situation really is.

His hands were clenched tightly, as he remembered the sense of powerlessness he felt facing the might of gods.

However, his attention was soon drawn to the ethereal voice of the goddess.

"There is no point in arguing like this.." Evernight Goddess said, "Even though we have our differences, if push comes to shove, we should unite to deal with the coming calamity."

Lord of Storms snorted and retracted his aura, taking his seat. God of Combat also returned to his seat. The tension between the gods dissipated with just the words of Goddess of Night.

The other gods remained silent, as if agreeing with the Evernight Goddess. Eternal Blazing Sun and God of Steam and Machinery didn't speak or express their opinions from the beginning of the meeting. Their expressions were indifferent.

"Okay, now…" Evernight Goddess looked down, focusing on him. "Let's get to the main topic, shall we, Trunsoest?"

Trunsoest nodded, taking a deep breath. He finally said.

"The Black Emperor is about to resurrect…"