A vast, starless void stretched endlessly in all directions. There was neither ground nor sky, only an infinite nothingness. It was silent and heavy, as if the air itself had stopped moving. In the middle of that emptiness, five figures stood in a wide circle, each emanating a distinct aura, their forms suspended in the weightless abyss. None of them spoke. They simply waited—until one, cloaked in blue and wrapped in shadows, broke the silence. His voice reverberated through the silent abyss.

  "It's been half a year since the forgotten souls have been on the planet. Today we are going to track their progress and see what paths they have chosen, to analyse their chances to best the Demon King."

  Korr, the God of Strength, suddenly interrupted Noa. His intimidating frame turned towards another god. His voice was low, full of strength and willpower, and yet, a more complicated tone was hidden within his question:

  "Lir, how many of them have found the way back to you already?"

  A small child-like figure's head snapped toward Korr in an instantaneous manner. Its golden curls seemed to curl even more while the pitch-black eyes emitted the feeling of pure chaos. Its mouth formed a twisted smile as Lir exclaimed:

  "Eleven. Eleven friends decided to accompany me for eternity. Do you want to see them?"

  Korr's normally stoic expression shifted into a frown. He simply shook his head in order to decline the offer from Lir. He seemed to be in thought as the other gods proceeded with their meeting.

  Noa, the God of Balance, waited for his chance to speak up again in patience, seemingly uncaring of Korr's rude behaviour.

  "All summoned souls that are alive have already unlocked their Magic Core, while some have even formed their first circle. Even though we said that it would be wise not to form the first circle prematurely, it is nevertheless a testament to the effort of some heroes."

  The Goddess of Knowledge shot a glance at Noa as she wanted to continue. Noa nodded in affirmation to Eris's desire as he stopped talking for now. The silence hadn't lasted long as she continued, her voice was elegant and scholarly:

  "It is a pity that some of them have already fallen, but the future isn't kind. Of the remaining 539 souls, many will find their ruin by pursuing the path we have chosen for them. They wouldn't have survived the future predicaments if they already fail so early on. Instead, we shouldn't focus on the dead, as the living ones are our hope and future. Some of the summoned heroes show great potential and attitude. If they mature, great warriors will be born, that will definitely slay the Demon King. I will show you some of the most promising heroes through my magic projection. Those are all people who will be the toughest adversaries to that fiend."

  The four other gods anticipated this moment. In the course of half a year, they let the summoned souls mostly grow on their own. Yes, some of them appeared in the dreams of all the future heroes, but only two times. And even then they did not command the heroes anything, except to grow stronger at the Academia when they mature. Eris quickly proceeded by listing the first hero. A front image of a young boy with hazel-brown hair and amazon-green eyes was projected onto the screen. His expression bore a grin while his arms were crossed. He seemed to have well-developed muscles for a kid his age.

  "The first one worth noticing is Orion. He is a male individual, who immediately left his temple when he was birthed by the womb of nature. He chose traits that are fit for a self-sustaining hunter. He did not settle down until he reached a forest that was not snow-covered, near a village. Since he had built himself a small home, he proceeded to grow in power. The villagers are thinking he is the child of the hunter that died not too long ago. He has already unlocked his first circle with a runestone that fits his earth affinity. All in all, Orion could be described as a survivalist who has the desire to grow stronger. He even draws parallels to your youth, Ralos."

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  Ralos seemed unimpressed and uncaring as he simply blinked. All the gods already knew of Eris's antics and Ralos's nature, so they weren't surprised by the development of the explanation into a comparison. Korr looked at the goddess and asked:

  "Are there no other noteworthy heroes?"

  Eris chuckled and the screen of the projection changed from Orion to a girl with silver hair and shining violet eyes. She stretched her hand out in a motion that indicated that she was casting a spell.

  "Elise, the first child to unlock both Magic Core and the first circle. She stayed with a big group of summoned heroes and is idolized by them, gaining resources for growth and survival for free while being able to grow unhindered. Her affinity with magic in itself is remarkable, and paired with her intellect, she will be a lethal trump card in the battle against the Demon King."

  All the gods already knew of her, as the discovery that she unlocked her core a week after she woke up stirred the gods greatly.

  The screen shifted from the composed girl to two people who were sparring with each other. Ren, a lean boy with brown hair and black eyes. He held a saber with one hand while hiding his other hand behind his back. His opponent was Tess, a muscular young girl. She had short, deep crimson hair and fought with shin guards and knuckles. She had a ferocious expression on her face which nobody would expect a young girl to have. Both of their injuries healed at a visible rate.

  "Tess and Ren, both of them will be key figures in the future if they don't die too early on. They are in the same group as Elise and enjoy the same privileges as her."

  Noa and Korr nodded at Eris's, urging her to proceed, while Ralos and Lir did not react to the youth's.

  A slight smile formed on the face of Eris as the screen shifted once more. A boy whose future handsomeness is written in his face stood in the vicinity of the previous pair. He had sky-blue eyes and his hair seemed to be weaved out of strands of gold. His smile was kind and his demeanour was confident, which brought a small charm to him.

  "This boy's name is Leon. He has a kind heart with justice engraved into it. He gathered the majority of the people of his temple and united them into a big group. He led them down the mountain and now some of them grow stronger under a duke of the Wolfheart Kingdom. This kid is a born leader with talent and good intuition. He has already unlocked his first circle and his runestone has the ability to heal others, which makes him a pillar to rely on. In the future, this boy will most likely be the leading figure in the fight against our foe."

  The gods noted the name Leon down. This boy was the most fitting to become a hero and the gods knew that. They waited for Eris to proceed and introduce more future heroes. Eris hesitated for a bit before talking again.

  "The most promising candidates of the 539 summoned are them. There are many others who can't be underestimated, but the before-mentioned people are the most promising. In the other two temples no individual appeared who could turn into a good leader from the beginning, and now most of them are in many small groups, fighting for survival. There are some individuals who are promising to a certain degree."

  ...

  ...

  ...

  ---

  The gods grew bored after many heroes were introduced. They all were impressive, but they weren't at the same level as the geniuses mentioned beforehand. Eris too seemed a bit bored as the screen shifted again. A young and confident youth was depicted. He had wavy dark-blue hair and eyes seemingly made out of gold. The gods were unimpressed by his appearance, as looks alone couldn't birth a warrior.

  "This youth's name was originally Barus, but he changed his name to Alvin after teaming up with another youth. Alvin has a good synergy with water magic and has already unlocked his first circle with a fitting Runestone. He didn't leave the mountaintop with Leon's group and stayed with the youth Nestor. Alvin could grow into a strong supporter of the geniuses and is thereby worth mentioning..."

  Before Eris could change to another summoned, Ralos spoke up, which was quite unnatural for him. His feral eyes looked into hers and asked:

  "Who is this Nestor?"

  The other gods couldn't hide their surprised faces. Ralos rarely spoke up with interest in others, and when he did, it was because his gut told him to. The gods anticipated Eris's next words as she gathered information on this Nestor.

  "Nestor, he woke up a bit later than Leon's group and directly made himself unpopular by showing a selfish attitude. He unlocked his Magic Core relatively early but hasn't unlocked his first circle yet. He seems to have a special connection to the mysterious moonlight-affinity. It is said that the moon itself chooses its wielder, just like the sun affinity. The boy seems to have had a long first life, as his views on society are a bit twisted. He could grow into a strong warrior, but I wouldn't say it would be easy for him."

  Ralos seemed a bit unsatisfied but didn't remark anything as the other gods quickly grew bored from this introduction.

  Ralos simply disappeared. Eris smiled

  as she stopped the projection and transmitted the end of the meeting.