Getting There

She grabs Toki roughly by the arm, and a slight hint of envy from Shina passes by. She then leapt into the air, shortly after being followed by Shina and Era, and underneath grabs her girl and jumps up as well, leaving the three of them suspended in midair. The sun highlights their last-ever journey.

“You can sense that power too, can't you, Era?” Falsity side-eyed her quickly before turning towards the campsite, where Shina returned from.

Era nodded. “They are two forests away and at a campsite. They seem to be letting out their power quite openly, like an invitation.”

“Of course they are; they wouldn't love to see anything more than my downfall,” she smirked.

The quick thought reminded her of another thing she was supposed to inform them about.

“Love, that's a goddess that remains in that group; there are also Justice, temperance and diligence.”

The four names hung heavy above their minds; the deities they were facing were all like justice, concepts entirely. Not bound to anything like Era or Silas

"We won't need to worry about Love and Justice for the time being. Justice can't make the field uneven, and love isn't able to harm. Their biggest strengths are their biggest weaknesses.”

They start flying at Shina’s speed towards the camp.

“Ah—” Ayuri’s hair blows all around her, her done-up hair getting all messy; she sighed out in annoyance before pouting and letting it blow wildly.

“This is rather fast…” Toki struggled to maintain his grip on the spear, his hand losing its strength; he analyses it down before seeing the black thread emerge from the bottom and wrap around his arm, securing it without any effort.

Era and her girl were both flying with no issue, their robotic-like movement perfectly presenting their scientific side that never falters in the face of issues and obstacles. From what Shina could gather, they were talking about scientific papers and research. It was too confusing, however, for her to understand.

“If they have two supporting roles, then how come there is such a power gap?” Toki gazed up towards Falisty. The logic wasn’t making sense.

She sighed out, “Integrity, temperance and humility are all made up to complement one another; the supporting power of love is also tremendous, which allows them to do abnormal stuff even by God’s standards. Justice is stronger than all of them; they usually let the others fight it and then take on the whole group in a four versus sixteen.”

“You never mentioned integrity… Are you planning to let us die?” Toki wasn’t completely convinced of her motives yet.

Falsity smirked, “Era, tell them what happened.”

Her face flashed in annoyance at their interruption. “She killed Integrity himself. It doesn't usually matter to your mortals, but the fact that she managed to erase him under mutual agreement means his representatives don't have anyone to go to.”

“So they get deleted with the god,” Toki quickly joined the dots.

Falsity instantly burst out laughing. It seemed each moment she was enjoying herself more and more. “Of course, your goddess, the beautiful and powerful Falsity, could wipe out such an honest brute.”

“Yet you need my help now,” Era struck back.

She ignored the comment; looking down, they could see the campsite where Shina caused chaos, and they could feel the presence of the barrier being up once again. It was naive to think that they were safe despite being broken once.

They shouldn't have much issue with that shield; it seems weaker than before. They will arrive in an hour at the moment we arrive at the purity division.

The cloaked figure from before glanced up at her, flying past them, its three eyes homing in on the group's quick passing.

“That barrier is weak,” Ayuri muttered; her thoughts were the same.

Toki just ignored her words; a barrier to him is basically impossible, a person unaffected by even a god's magic.

The sun was already at its peak, the light shining down on them as they continued their travels. The forest after was just as empty as the one before. They managed to fly above until its very edge until they saw a floating person in the distance.

The one was wearing a priest outfit made of pure white and gold that went down to his ankles. He wore a warm smile on his face, his warmth complemented by his blonde hair and bronze eyes. He extended his pale arms out towards the group before they ultimately stopped, just in case.

“Humility, it’s been a while,” Falsity spoke.

A soothing voice came out, “Of course it has, a couple of thousand years to be precise. Let's speak after the games are over, since we're all pretty busy, I assume.”

She nods before Humility starts floating himself down slowly towards the floor; the group follow him before they all land on the floor around a hundred metres away from the camp.

“I will get all our representatives; please wait a moment.” He walks over to the camp; from their distance, they could make out three more impeding-looking figures staring towards him. They all seemed ready for this battle to begin.

After a minute of waiting, they see fifteen members walk out, all of them hooded behind white and gold clothing, making their features and identities hidden. It was a smart choice to try to stay mysterious after all.

They all have the power of connection?

Shina was confused by her ability to scout out just one connection despite being faced with fifteen members in front of her.

“I think it's time we finished our game. A soft voice spoke out behind Falsity, everyone instantly turning to meet a small figure gazing up at her.

“Ah, she's pretty…” Ayuri couldn't resist the urge to compliment the girl.

Falsity thought it over, her eyes glaring down towards her. “I think we should make it the final game, Justice.”

Toki instantly rebels, “What do you mean by the final game? You're supposed to be helping us and not playing games during this.”

“This is that mortal without powers, hm?” Justice scans him around; she couldn't deny that he looked plain. His black hair and greyed eyes gave her a neutral opinion. Her eyes were more interested in the spear, however, which seemed to radiate Falsity's energy.

She also looked around, noticing the one member missing that she had seen before.

“Where is your last member? Is this a futile attempt at a trap?” She looked around quickly before staring back towards Falsity.

Falsity, however, just shook her head. “He's dead; it's natural in this game after all.”

"That's unfortunate." She looked at Toki, seeing his neutral expression clearly, even unaffected by the name. Ayuri, despite being emotional in these situations, had a straight face while Shina was being Shina. Justice definitely found it unusual that they were so calm, her thoughts shifting towards something Falsity must have done.

“It's whatever; let’s just begin our game already. I'm planning on high stakes after all,” Falsity spoke out.

Justice nodded before taking a glance towards Era. She nods down a bit, a sign of respect crossing between them, before she walks off towards the camps with Falsity following.

“I scanned their power; they can handle everyone but my team. So I won't be getting involved this time as well.” Her matter-of-fact tone suggested a lot.

Falsity smirked, “That's what I planned after all. I have an idea for the stakes if you don't mind.”

They both walked towards one of the tents that was open; there was one still closed, somehow, even though they were told everyone had left. Falsity knew it was too late to turn back; however, after her scan, they entered a tent, shutting it closed to avoid any distraction.

“The stakes,” Justice demanded.

Falsity smirked, “If I win, I want you to forfeit the games, including your representatives as offerings.”

“That's fine with me. If I win, then I expect the same.” They sit down before a chess table appears with its positions reset to zero. A new game, a final game that would decide both teams