All the lifeforms across the multiverse, who had just been watching the final, universe-breaking battle, found their system panels go dark.

The live broadcast, which had become a central part of their lives, was cut, replaced by a simple message.

[Due to the entry of an unexpected guest, the live broadcast has been concluded.]

[The winner of the Demigod Tournament is: Demigod Nexus!]

[We thank you for your participation. As a reward for your wonderful enthusiasm, the Gods have decided to host a new, celebratory event... a 'fun activity' to be announced shortly.]

Across six billion worlds, a collective, frustrated groan went up. The live chat, their connection to the wider universe, was also severed.

They were left in a vacuum of information, their minds buzzing with questions.

What guest? What had happened in those final, chaotic moments? And what was this new "fun activity"?

The mystery of it was almost more agonizing than the abrupt ending.

In the quiet corner of Veridia, by a serene, crystal-clear lake, Thorn sat. His new, demigod form, clad in simple robes, was indistinguishable from a mortal's, save for the faint, jade-green scales that adorned his hands and neck.

He had watched the final match, felt the impossible power radiating from both Nexus and Mammon, and was now quietly contemplating about this fun activity Thea spoke of.

"Lady Thea, God has told me that I will be participating in this activity too. Can you tell me what it is?" Thorn pleaded looking at the system panel.

[You will know soon, Thorn.

Thea's voice, a soft, melodic sound, chimed directly in his mind. She, as the system, was the only one who could still communicate with all of them.

"I am just curious, Lady Thea," Thorn said, his voice a low rumble.

He was one of the oldest living beings in this new world, a man who had been a king, a father, and a grandfather. He had seen his own son, Anaske, grow into an excellent leader.

He had seen his grandson, Light, grow into a demigod. He had seen the entire civilization he founded evolve from a few desperate survivors into a cosmic empire.

He had died, and been reborn. His perspective was long, tempered by loss and a profound, unshakeable loyalty.

"What about my future path, lady Thea. God said that you would be explaining me what my future holds" Thorn said, stating his biggest worry and the thing he was most exciting about.

[Don't worry too much about it. My particles have already scanned more than half of this home multiverse. The remaining half will be complete in a few years]

Thorn felt a thrill, a resonance in his very soul. He knew if it was scanned by lady Thea then he doesn't need to worry about anything.

"What of Master Shenlong?" he asked, his loyalty to his master, the one who had granted him the power of Hope, just as strong.

[Your master Shenlong's path... will lead him to a much darker and more dangerous place, Thorn. You will be the Emperor's beacon in the shallow void. He will be the sword in the deep.]

"He always was a wanderer," Thorn said with a small, sad smile, remembering the decades he had spent with the serene, enigmatic green dragon.

"He never took it as a big deal, just… his duty." He paused, a new, human anxiety creeping into his heart. "This new mission… it means leaving Veridia. For how long? Decades? Centuries? I must… I must see my son before I go."

[you really don't need to worry so much, as I, your big sister, will be there with you.]

Thorn couldn't help but let out a dry chuckle. "Yeah, yeah… I'm older than you, though, haha." It was his one, simple flex. As one of the oldest living beings in Veridia, he was one of the few who could make that claim.

[... Be ready, Big... Brother.] Thea's voice replied, the pause filled with amusement.

"You are too polite lady Thea, i was just joking. I know my place, we are just result of evolution. While you are what the God truly wanted to create. A small mishap and i wouldn't even exist" Thorn said, he knew that the personal creation the God will always be above the lifeforms.

[But that's just your thinking. He spent more time *creating* you than he spent creating me. I was just built in a few minutes. You... you took years of evolution, of planning, of hope. You weren't just made, Thorn. You were *forged*.]

"That's one way to put it," Thorn smiled, the thought warming his heart. He stood, his mind made up. He would see Anaske, his son, the leader of the Cosmic Empire.

He didn't know when he would be back. He took a deep breath of the Veridian air and launched himself into the sky, a green and golden comet streaking toward the Northern Continent.

[You are stupid.]

Thorn faltered in mid-air, nearly stopping completely.

[I said I will be *with you*. Don't you know what that means?]

"What does that mean?" Thorn asked, his mind, even with its SS-Grade comprehension and the buff from Sunny, completely baffled.

[Portals... You foo... I mean, Big Brother,] Thea's voice was laced with exasperated fondness.

[I can create portals. You can come back *anytime you want*. You can spend a day on a mission in a Godless, war-torn world, and step back into your own house in Veridia in time for dinner]

Thorn stopped, hovering twenty thousand feet above the world he had just been preparing to leave forever.

He was… not being exiled. He was being made an envoy. It wasn't a farewell journey, that he was thinking.

He nodded, a slow, profound understanding dawning on his face. He still flew towards his home, towards his family.

Even if he could return in an instant, a father should still see his son.

In the quiet, cosmic expanse of Sunny's God space, two figures sat at a simple, manifested table, the remnants of the Void Beast's failed assault still a faint stain in the air.

One was Sunny, his cosmic robe swirling, his mask an unreadable void. The other was Adam, his newly restored divine form radiating an ancient power.

He held the green token in his hand, his thumb gently caressing the name 'Adam' etched upon it, his thoughts with the sleeping soul within.

"That was dangerous," Sunny said finally, his voice flat. He was talking about the gaze, the single, malicious glance from the Void Beast that had killed Nexus and cost him quadrillions in faith to repel.

"Yes," Adam replied, his voice a low rumble. "If not for that new God's Domain talent of yours, we would all be dead. That beast would have devoured this entire realm. It was… hungry."

"Adam," Sunny leaned forward, his casual, lazy demeanor gone, replaced by the cold focus of an emperor. "The universe i created isn't truly safe, is it? It's all just floating in the same, dark ocean as that… thing. That thing or something similar could attack Veridia or even the universe anytime"

"The Void is everywhere, Cosmos," Adam consoled. "It is the ocean we all float in. But they cannot tear their way in on their own. We were unlucky. Nexus, rang the dinner bell. And that beast was, unfortunately, close enough to hear it."

The words settled between them, a grim, new reality. They were safe… as long as they were quiet.

Adam, sensing Sunny's dark mood, decided to break the tension. He took a sip of his manifested drink, a swirling nebula in a glass.

"So," he said, a playful glint in his eyes, "about that 380 quadrillion faith I lent you… when are you planning to repay me?"

Sunny looked at Adam, his cosmic mask unreadable. "Repay you?" he said, his voice a perfect imitation of shock. "I think I'll call it my fee… for saving your life from Maledictus's curse. A Pill of Life isn't cheap, you know."

For the first time in a million years, Adam let out a genuine, hearty laugh, the sound a welcome relief in the heavy silence.

The camaraderie between them, forged in shared secrets and a near-death experience, was now real.

Adam's laughter subsided, his expression turning serious once more. "So, Emperor of the Multiverse," he said, his voice respectful but sharp. "What is your next plan of action?"

Sunny just sipped his own drink, the galaxies in his mask swirling, his gaze distant.

"What plan?"

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