The gods settled into their seats one by one, their presence filling the chamber like a rising tide.

Hajin stood near the wall as he watched the memories play out around him, the figures more defined now that the full gathering had arrived, their forms flickering between indistinct shapes and moments of clarity where he could almost make out faces, almost hear names, but the details slipped away before they could settle.

The Goddess sat in her chair with the same bright energy she had shown before, her posture relaxed and her hands folded neatly on the table, looking around at the gathered faces with an easy smile.

’She is happy to see them,’ he thought, watching the way her eyes moved between the figures she had known for thousands of years, ’they must have been really close.’

The figure at the end spoke first, its deep voice carrying across the chamber.

"We have called this meeting to discuss a matter of importance," it said, "one that concerns the balance of our world and the systems that govern it."

She tilted her head, still smiling, "what systems?" she asked, her tone light and curious.

The figure did not look away from her.

"Ours," it said, "but specifically yours, your universe holds something the rest of us do not have." "the souls that pass through your reincarnation cycle carry a density of essence that ours simply do not produce, and as the population has grown, the demand for that essence has grown with it."

Hajin felt his jaw tighten as he listened, because now he understood what they were really asking for.

They wanted her souls.

The special, dense souls that only existed in her universe, the ones that went through her reincarnation cycle and came out stronger than anything the other gods could produce on their own.

A second figure spoke from the middle of the table, its voice softer, carrying a warmth that felt practiced. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"We are not asking to take anything from you," it said, "we are asking for a limited connection, a way to channel a small portion of that essence into our own domains so that our universes can benefit from the same quality of power."

She looked at the figure for a moment, her smile fading completely.

"The seal has been stable for thousands of years," she said, her voice still calm but carrying a new edge, "why is it suddenly weakening now, and why was I not informed about this before?"

The room went quiet for a second, the other figures exchanging looks that Hajin could not quite make out.

The third figure recovered first, its tone careful and measured.

"It was gradual," it said, "so gradual that none of us noticed until recently, but the decay has accelerated in the last few centuries, and we did not want to burden you with it until we were certain."

She looked around the table at the faces she had known since the beginning, at the gods she had laughed with and argued with and built worlds alongside, and something in her chest told her this was wrong.

The seal had never weakened before, not once in all the ages they had existed, and the fact that they were all sitting here together asking for access to her souls at the exact same time it started to decay felt like too much of a coincidence.

But they were her family.

They had been there since before the worlds took shape, since before the first souls were born, and the trust she held for them was older than most civilizations.

She let out a slow breath, pushing the doubt down.

"Fine," she said, the word leaving her mouth heavier than she intended, "you can have limited access to the soul distribution cycle, but I retain full control over the core mechanics, and if I sense any abuse I will revoke it immediately."

The figure at the head of the table inclined its head.

"Agreed," it said.

Hajin watched the memory shift, the light in the chamber dimming as the figures began to fade, their forms dissolving into the golden air one by one.

The Goddess’s voice lingered for a moment longer, her expression carrying a faint frown that had not been there before.

"I hope this was the right call," she said to no one in particular, and then she was gone.

The chamber fell silent, the empty chairs and the long table stretching out before him in the vast, glowing space.

He stood there for a long time, staring at the spot where the figure at the head of the table had been sitting, and felt the weight of what he had just witnessed settle into his bones.

’That was the moment everything started,’ he thought, his jaw tightening, ’the moment she gave them a foothold, and they used it to tear her apart.’

He turned to leave, but before he could take a step, a new memory flickered into existence, sharper than the others, more defined.

The Goddess was standing now, her form clearer than it had been at any point during the meeting, and she was looking directly at the figure at the head of the table with an expression he could not quite read.

"Jion," she said, her voice soft, almost sad, "I hope you know what you are doing."

The figure did not respond, and then the memory shattered, the golden light exploding outward as the chamber dissolved around him, and Hajin felt himself falling backward into the dark.

The flower field was quiet, and Vella walked through the endless rows of colorful petals with her hands cupped around her mouth, calling out his name again and again.

"Hajin!"

However, no matter how much she called, there was no response.

She turned in a circle, her eyes scanning the horizon for any sign of him, but the field stretched on in every direction with nothing but flowers and sky.

"Master!" she tried again, her voice cracking on the word.

Still nothing, and the silence pressed down on her like a weight she could not shake.

She had come here the moment she dissolved back into the ring, expecting to find him lying in the flowers the way he always did when his consciousness drifted here, but the field was empty, no footsteps in the grass, no scent of his mana lingering in the air, nothing to suggest he had been here at all.

’He is not here,’ she thought, her pulse climbing, ’if he is not here, then where is he?’

She started walking again, faster this time, calling his name over and over until her throat felt raw, but the flowers just swayed in a breeze that felt colder than before.

She reached the center, the place where they had sat together, where he had given her a name and sealed their contract with a kiss, and found it empty.

The grass was undisturbed, and the loneliness she had carried for millennia came rushing back all at once.

She collapsed to the ground, her hands pressing into the soft earth while tears streamed down her face.

"Not again," she whispered, her voice breaking, "please, not again."

She curled up in the grass with her arms wrapped around her knees, and the sobs that shook her body were raw and desperate, this was crying that came from a place deeper than sadness.

She had spent so long alone in this place, so many ages with nothing but the dark and the silence, and the thought of going back to that was more than she could bear.

"Please," she breathed, her fingers digging into the grass, "someone, anyone..."

A hand settled on her shoulder.

She froze, her breath catching in her throat as a familiar warmth spread through her chest, and a voice she knew better than her own said, soft and confused, "why are you crying?"

She turned her head slowly, and there he was, kneeling beside her with his expression gentle and confused as he looked down at her tear-streaked face.