It wasn't his place to tell Evrin what to do. But he was the Keeper of the Sanctuary. He did not want to make false promises of safety. Even right now, Sam, Voidshaper, and Evrin herself had red, blue, and gold mana threads attached to their heads.

If anything, his fight with Sea Snake had made the gods more interested in him and his Sanctuary. They were not going away anytime soon.

"Evrin, Einar, you can choose a relatively peaceful dungeon as well. They can talk to transcendents but can't read their minds. Only the two of you should know which dungeon. Just like Lucian, Einar can be part of the party so she can find Evrin and visit her or stay with her as she likes." Damian said.

Then, looking at Evrin and Einar's conflicted faces, he added,

"Of course, it's merely a friend's suggestion. Not a Keeper's command. Ultimately, it is your choice."

"That is the only way," Evrin nodded.

Einar said nothing, nor did anyone ask. It was their personal matter.

"Damian.. What happened back in the duel against the Sea Snake?" Lucian asked.

It was a question on everyone's mind, but no one wished to ask. Damian glanced at all the faces turned towards him and exhaled,

"Through ascension, I have become something not human. Seems like I am closer to beastmen now." Damian replied. "My mind and body became one in search of any aura left inside. Let's just say I found more than I was looking for."

"Calling of the beast marks the maximum rank of aura mastery for a second ranker," Landbreaker added.

"What's the limit of a transcendent?" Damian asked.

"At the very peak of third rank, pugilist often create an aura-dense weapon or armor surrounding their body and flying, of course. It's like a second skin but tougher than even steel walls. An achievement equal to making a coat of seven for spellswords and mages."

Damian leaned back slightly, eyes drifting shut in a brief, appreciative blink as the fact settled in.

"What are we going to do?" Einar asked.

"What can we even do?" Souldealer replied. "Thanks to Damian, we barely avoided being public enemies of all gods. And settled the matters with Faerunians. Sanctuary is spared. We should consider it the best outcome."

"Peace is temporary. We are caught between a rock and a hard place. If he chooses Astraea, the Sun God will come after us, and if he chooses Sun God, Eldoris will come after us." Sam made a statement.

"Eldoris will never attack!" Vidalia refuted.

"We respect your words, Spellmaster. But as we saw, if the gods will it, there is barely any chance for any of us to do otherwise." Souldealer said.

"If the war is the design of the gods, you can count on Highswords to aid you." Landbreaker declared.

Damian's eyes widened as he, along with other Sanctum heads, looked at the Supreme Sword. They all nodded with full respect for the declaration. They all knew there was no privacy from the gods. That made the open declaration of support just that much impactful.

"We can never be sure if the gods are behind it or not," Voidshaper added.

"Just spreading word about Highsword's support will make them think twice before taking any rash action," Torwin said. "Of course, we can't specifically mention Sanctuary. Anyone who breaks the peace treaty will have to answer to the Highswords. This sounds better."

"That is acceptable." Landbreaker approved.

"So... What will it be?" Mindseer asked. "Sun God or Astraea?

"Astraea's influence is direct; maybe the queen is her scion. Sun God's scion, on the other hand, is hiding in the shadows. If it is not the Emperor, the influence the scion will have won't be big enough to cause Sanctuary trouble." Sam said.

"Doesn't matter which one," Damian replied. "The matter of my choice does not break divine code, which means the gods won't interfere directly. As long as that remains true, no force on the mainland will step inside Sanctuary borders without my permission."

"Oh? Will you fight with everything you have this time? Or will you blind yourself and tie your hands behind your back for a challenge?" Sam asked, not hiding his sarcasm in the slightest.

Damian met his eyes.

"The point of the duel was not only to defeat Sea Snake, but to show the Sea God and other Gods that even if he tried coming after us with all his children, it would not be a battle easily won."

"And you were ready to die for that? To prove a point?" Lucian added, her eyes holding almost the same intensity as Sam's.

"What would have happened if this calling of the beast of yours had failed!?" Sam raised his voice without realizing it.

"Clearly, I miscalculated some things. Not my first mistake in life." Damian replied calmly.

"If proving strength was your aim, you could have easily cleaved that damned snake in half with a single attack." Lucian matched his chilling calm.

"It's not as simple as that, dearest." Damian said, emphasizing the last word.

"A duel is a sacred and personal thing. A warrior's choices are his own." Landbreaker added.

Thankfully, that was the end of it. No one stretched the matter any further.

Other than proving a point, his reason for not using his spells was to maintain mystery about his abilities. His hesitation in using spells would guide the gods' thinking towards, 'He is afraid of showing it to us.' The thinking that will lead them to believe that it was more than just a skill. That Damian's unique spells and the method to create them could be stolen. That it was definitely something they could use to gain the upper hand against other gods.

A doubt in their minds.

A pause before they order their scions to do something irreversible.

Souldealer cleared her throat and spoke,

"Anyway, the story we shaped for the events that happened goes as follows: the lord keeper was researching his potions when a guard accidentally opened the door to the lab to deliver a message. The smoke that escaped messed with the heads of the guards present. The guards affected by this accident will be kept away till we find a treatment for them."

Damian eyed her but said nothing. He already had an image of an eccentric researcher who creates weird things. This narrative suited the events better than he wished to admit. Still, the smug faces of people around him did not make it easy to swallow.

A minute later, he stood up.

"The gods do their own thing. Neither the Eldorians, people of Sanctuary, nor the Empire will truly know what actions are from their own will and what was the influence of beyond. We keep going as we always do. Nothing has changed for the people of Sanctuary or the mainland as a whole.

Those are the people we have a duty to protect.

Gods will not reveal themselves before the public. If word spreads, people will only have doubts about them. And we will have panic on our hands. That scenario does not favor anyone.

We keep our eyes open. Double-check all delicate matters that might become a cause of bigger problems. Almost all important secrets and duties will be carried out and performed by only the transcedents. Keep your wits about you and ignore all voices whispering in your minds."

All sanctuary heads lowered in recognition of his words, and then everyone stood up. The emergency meeting had ended. Now they go back to their duties.

The Keeper's office emptied, and Damian was left alone with three leaders of Highswords. He activated his sacrium mana cubes; golden liquid mana flowed in the air, powering a waygate spell. In a second, connecting Sanctuary to Edgeheaven.

Voidshaper and Mindseer nodded respectfully at him and entered the blue swirling portal. Landbreaker, however, watched the two leave without moving a single step.

Damian knew why that was. He wanted to talk. Damian also needed to discuss some things with him, since he was the only person that the Gods could not control in any way. Perhaps it had something to do with how he could ascend to the fourth rank while all other transcendents in history had failed to do so.

Damian did not say a word. Instead used a mana hand to write on one of the papers and placed it in Landbreaker's hand. It read,

'They can sense you. Tonight, far from the mainland.'

Landbreaker read it, then nodded and silently chanted for a fireball and burned the paper. At last, he too entered the waygate, and Damian closed it behind him.

Since last night when Steelweaver woke up till now, half a day had passed. The breaking of the prime spell, the primordial age story, and the fight with the Sea Snake took the whole night and morning. Damian saved Steelweaver a couple of hours ago, and now the end of the meeting had brought midday.

He took a bath, changed clothes, and ate some food. All the while, his mind was racing to absorb and analyze all the details he had learned and witnessed in a single day.

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