Eventually, the world fell back into something that some people might call peace.
Even though Shang was dead, Gregorio was still a massive threat since he could free the Archivist.
So, no one wanted to push Gregorio too far.
For now, it was best to keep things calm and wait until the fateful day.
The war essentially stopped, except for a couple of minor conflicts between some Empires.
The population of Mage Lords started to recover.
No one attacked the Lightning Manor anymore, and the Lightning Manor also didn't expand further than their original borders.
The war was over.
Well, officially, the war was still going on, but nobody was actually fighting.
"You seem quite calm, sir," Wester said as he brought some tea to Gregorio.
Gregorio was reading a couple of books with quite a lot of speed. All of these books were related to Abominations and ways to stop them.
Wester had noticed that Gregorio was reading these kinds of books all the time while also writing several.
Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't be anything strange. After all, that was what Gregorio was doing most of the time.
But these were not normal circumstances.
Shang was dead, and Abaddon was bound to become a Mage Emperor in 24,000 years.
Wester thought that Gregorio would seem more gloomy or pressured.
Yet, he didn't seem different than any other time.
Gregorio raised his eyebrows in surprise and looked at Wester. "Do I really look calm?" he asked.
"You do, sir," Wester said. "Frighteningly so."
Gregorio just chuckled a bit and looked back at the book without answering.
Wester just raised an eyebrow at Gregorio.
"Wester, what do you think of Aterium?"
A slightly surprised expression appeared on Wester's face. "That's an odd question."
Wester fell into thought for a bit. "I would call it my home."
"What makes it your home?" Gregorio asked.
Wester put the tea to the side and thought about his answer carefully.
He hadn't truly thought about these things.
Wester's Spirit Sense stretched outward and encompassed a big portion of the Lightning Manor's lands.
He could see children playing, parents talking, criminals committing crimes, Mages fighting, warriors training, beasts patrolling, and all other facets of life.
"The variety and beauty of life," Wester answered.
"Interesting," Gregorio said as he continued reading his book. "You know, I also asked a couple of the others."
"And their answers?" Wester asked.
"One of them said the people."
"Another one said because this is where they had been living for their entire life."
"One of them even said she didn't know."
"Was that Emilia?" Wester asked.
Gregorio chuckled. "Yes, it was Emilia."
"The point is, we all View Aterium as our home, but we all view it as our home for different reasons," Gregorio said as he looked away from the book, his Spirit Sense encompassing the Lightning Manor's lands.
"You know what Abaddon is most likely planning."
"Yet, have you noticed that if Abaddon succeeds, not everyone will lose their home?"
"He plans to destroy the world, but he will also recreate it, and it is even possible that the variety of life will even increase. Additionally, he will very likely also create humans again."
Gregorio looked at Wester. "If Abaddon succeeds, would you lose your home?"
Wester looked with concern at Gregorio. "Have you given up, sir?"
Gregorio just sighed. "I've accepted the truth, Wester," he said as he looked at this Empire with melancholy in his eyes. "All the others wanted to kill and stop Shang, and they have succeeded."
"All of them know what Abaddon has planned. And yet, they still support him."
"Linastra and I are the only two that didn't completely follow them."
Gregorio looked back at Wester. "Is it so wrong to give them what they wanted?"
"Sir, I wouldn't have thought that you had such a sense of humor," Wester said with a chuckle.
Gregorio didn't say anything.
"Give them what they want?" Wester repeated. "Let the entire world be destroyed and remade?"
Wester politely chuckled again.
"That doesn't sound like something an ancient Emperor would do. That sounds more like a teenager throwing a fit."
"Morality is subjective, and yet, there are things that nearly everyone can agree are wrong. I would say destroying the world is among these things. Something like that is as close to being objectively morally wrong as it can get."
"Saying that you are fine with destroying the world because one of your plans didn't work doesn't sound like something the eternal Emperor over quintillions of people would say."
Silence.
"Don't you think we have a duty?" Wester asked. "Don't you think, as the most powerful people, we have a duty to this world?"
"This world gave us a chance to reach our current power. I believe the least we could do is to not destroy it in return."
Wester chuckled again. "But you already knew that. After all, you were only joking."
Silence.
Gregorio looked at his Empire with a lost expression.
At that moment, the image of the red-cloaked Shang appeared in his mind.
That toothy grin.
It was filled with confidence and disregard but also rage and hatred.
Gregorio had been surprised about Shang's change, but after thinking about it for a while, he realized that it actually made sense.
Shang had been under unimaginable pressure and pain for his entire life. Shutting off his emotions and becoming an unfeeling ghost had been the only option to survive in this condition.
And after finally being freed of this torment, the repressed emotions came back out, stronger than ever.
Lastly, the composition of Shang's mind had changed drastically.
Gregorio knew that Shang's values and personality had been strongly influenced by that change.
Shang had attained freedom.
Sadly, Shang had long forgotten how to be happy.
So, Shang celebrated his rebirth the only way he could.
By becoming even more powerful and pledging even more dedication and sacrifice to his cause.
He was somebody that happily cut out their organs to sell them for money.
"Protecting the world is the right thing," Gregorio repeated absentmindedly.
"It is," Wester answered.
Gregorio didn't say anything.
Meanwhile, many kilometers to the northwest, several long and dark shadows stretched upwards.
They were long, thin, and imposing.
Suddenly, the shadows vanished, and black blood exploded outward.
A moment later, the pieces of an Abomination King fell downward.
And only a sinister laugh could be heard.
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