In the end, what Humanity needed to come together was an enemy. A true enemy. Without an enemy, all Humanity does is divide. A divided enemy is isolated, and an isolated enemy is dead.

The most frustrating thing was that the world itself seemed to stand between Somnus and his goal. It would not give him a hundred years, Somnus was sure of that. If the world tried to fix all the paradoxes that were introduced by things that came from another world, who knows what would happen. Somnus, even as a machine, could not calculate the outcome of such an event.

Somnus entered the Great Hall and headed towards the exit. Baryon and Photon were on either side of the throne, and when they saw their master head for the streets outside, they followed him.

Somnus wondered how something like this could've happened in the first place. Somnus could understand that something could be summoned from another time. That is fine. But to summon something that never existed? That was difficult to comprehend. Somnus thought there had to exist a precedent for it to be possible.

[Hypothesis: Type 40 Archangel meets Somnus in the future, outside the loop and they merge. Designation Aeon is summoned from the future.]

Yes, that was a likely scenario. Equally as likely as Somnus and Archangel meeting in the past, before the loop.

In fact, thinking about this was not going to get him anywhere. He had other problems to deal with.

Primarily, he could not allow the world to end before he completed his mission. That was not going to work for Somnus. But what was the world? It was not something that could make decisions. At least, Somnus did not think so. It was like blaming the world for allowing something to burn—no, oxidation was just a process, a property of the laws that govern the physical world. Therefore, Somnus could not blame the world for this situation either, a.s.suming that it was merely another aspect of the laws that govern existence; to fix paradoxes.

So who was the culprit?

Somnus stopped in the middle of the streets, and countless people walked around him, glancing in his direction every now and again. Mostly they tried to mind their own business, but seeing his halo and glowing, mechanical wings made even the most jaded curious.

It didn't matter anymore. It was already done. Finding and killing the culprit would not extend the life of the world.

The problem was Seraph. It was the link between Somnus and Aeon. If the drone merged with Seraph to become Aeon, and this happens in the future, then removing Seraph would eliminate that possibility. But what would happen to Somnus if he did that? Somnus existed only to validate Seraph's existence.

Somnus smirked. Stupid human body. Still, he could not help but feel pride over his conclusion on how to fix the problem.

Somnus would not disappear. If Somnus kills Seraph, then both Aeon and Seraph exist to validate Somnus's existence. That is how it should be. That is the proper hierarchy of this world. G.o.ds? No! Somnus was G.o.d. He was the master of Fate. And he decreed so: This world will not end until I defeat my enemy.

"Master, wait for Lod!" Somnus heard a voice shout from somewhere behind him.

"Lod, wait for Det!"

Somnus turned around to glance at the two goblins and was once more reminded that he had wings, as he caught a glimpse of them.

What was that all about? Why does he have Aeon's wings? He understood that they were merged now, but he did not think that meant they were amalgams of each other's physical form. It had to be the G.o.d of War's doing. Which made Somnus wonder what kind of interest the G.o.d of War had in him in the first place.

Somnus narrowed his eyes at that thought. Somnus always thought himself as War itself. Could it be that the G.o.d of War was another version of himself?

"Where master go?" Lod asked, perhaps realizing that Somnus was not out on the streets for no reason.

"Kill Seraph," Somnus said.

"Who Seraph?" Det asked.

"Seraph tasty?" Lod asked.

Somnus pondered the two. These two could no doubt accelerate Humanity's evolution. When Somnus begins a world war, and all of Humanity unites against him, then these two goblins would no doubt be the centerpieces of that war. In fact, everyone Somnus met so far would have a role to play. Somnus thought it was uncanny for him to meet so many skilled Lieutenants. Was this another doing of the world or just pure chance? Was he the puppet or the puppetmaster?

This did not sit well with Somnus. A world that had a script was not a world worth preserving, nor an existence worth cheris.h.i.+ng. Ultimately, everything should have free will. Perhaps that is strange of a machine to think so, considering it takes away choice by putting bullets into problems.

Somnus's enemy could not exist without free will. His enemy was not something that was forced to fight him, but chose to do it. Even though their reason for doing so may be irrational, Somnus found that to be the beauty of the mundane creature that is Humanity. Their true self s.h.i.+nes in those moments, and to Somnus that s.h.i.+ne was like the glimmer of stars strewn across the night sky—immortal, captivating and beautiful.

"Lod, Det, find four hundred soldiers," Somnus said.

"Soldiers? We go war, master?" Lod asked.

"War?" Somnus asked and then shook his head. "War temporary solution for permanent flaw. No, not war. Extermination."

Lod's eyes brightened up and he chuckled. "Come, Det! We go recruit!"

Somnus looked to Det and then said. "Also bring Goblin Engineers. For Battalion.

Det nodded.

Somnus continued down the road, heading for the city gates.

"Who want to join army? See exotic places. Meet new people. Kill new people. Pay decent," Lod shouted over the crowd.

"Army good! Army make strong! King Somnus need fighters. If no want to join, that ok. Lod wives kill anyone who no join! But that ok, like Det say."

Their recruitment methods were quite crude, but some people seemed to be interested. Mostly the minorities, which were all demi-human.

Somnus saw Gemma and Mia exit into the street from a nearby inn, probably drawn by the commotion. When they spotted Somnus, they bee-lined straight for him.

"What is going on?" Gemma asked. She seemed to have more questions on her mind, but for now, she held them back. They were probably about what happened to Somnus.

"Kill Seraph. Save world," Somnus said flatly.

"What? Seraph? You can't kill Seraph! Seraph is the protector of the Empire!" Gemma protested.

"Seraph problem. Somnus eliminate problem," Somnus said.

Mia and Gemma had to hurry up to keep up with Somnus.

"You can't be serious. How is Seraph a problem?" Gemma asked.

"Subject Gemma not part of Reclaimers soon. No need to know."

Gemma didn't seem pleased with that reply.

"You are doing this for a n.o.ble reason?" Gemma asked, finally.

Somnus thought about the word "n.o.ble". Was it really a n.o.ble reason? Somnus? n.o.ble reasons? He did not think so, all things considered. He was only doing this for his ultimate goals. Outside of that context, it probably was n.o.ble.

"This unit will prevent the end of world," Somnus said, which wasn't a lie. "Probably."

"Probably? What do you mean probably?" Gemma asked, spark of fury in her eyes once more.

"No proof that killing Seraph will have desired effect. Must make attempt," Somnus said and then glanced back to Gemma. "Gemma and accessory has permission to follow."

Gemma's "accessory" glared at Somnus. Mia felt like she was just insulted. Did Somnus think she was useless?

He probably did, yes. After all, he only wanted Gemma and even that was in part because she had a Fragment—something Somnus considered to be a weapon.

"This unit will provide advanced training," Somnus said.

Gemma and Mia weren't sure what that meant exactly, but it was what sealed the deal.

They followed Somnus.