"Now, to further their invasion, the Aggressors must attack through the dungeons." There was a certain dread in Voloha's eyes while saying that.

  Well, that's to be expected, I guess.

  It's only natural to be fearful of a species that treats you like mere insects and would stop at nothing to wipe you out.

  But then again, that's to be expected of a Great Filter.

  ??The Great Filter???

  He doesn't know what it is? Bruh.

  [The Great Filter is basically the barrier that stands between prosperity and eternal death. A world with complex, intelligent life will one day, without fail, face a calamity that has the potential to wipe out all life from it with no hope of revival. It's the final threshold which that world must overcome to become a Class 1 world and step on the path to eternal prosperity.]

  By the way, the Great Filter is so catastrophic that only 1 in 1,000,000 worlds survive it.

  So yea, sorry to say this Voloha, but you and those you love are probably going to die a very horrific death.

  ??Nice explanation.?? He clapped. ??By the way, I knew that.??

  [Then why did you ask?]

  Does he know how much time I spent on explaining that? This little piece of shit.

  ??My real question was, 'How are you sure the Aggressors Voloha's talking about are this world's Great Filter?'.??

  [Then would it kill you to say just that?]

  Does he think being cryptic makes him cool or something? Tough luck, motherfucker, but society usually calls such people mentally unstable and autist and ostracises them.

  ??I thought you were smart enough to realise my true intentions, but I guess I was wrong.??

  [And what makes you think I'd actually spend the effort to guess the true meaning behind something YOU said?]

  Like bruh, I'd sell his soul for my recommended 16 hours of sleep.

  ??…Just answer my question, please.??

  [It's simple; Gods interfere in mortal matters only when a world is standing in front of its Great Filter. That's the standard protocol for every God presiding over a world.]

  They didn't have this policy before, but after several protests by the Class 1 worlds claiming that the non-intervention policy of the Gods was atrocious or some shit, a law was passed requiring the Gods to provide the minimum level of support necessary for a world to overcome its Great Filter.

  ??Well, they are technically right. Why would you leave those worlds alone???

  [To prevent an influx of worlds. If the system called 'Great Filter' wasn't there, this Universe would have been full of an infinite number of worlds, triggering a Reset of the Universe which would have destroyed everything.]

  ??What? Total destruction? That got way darker than I was expecting it to.??

  [The Systems are in place for a reason. We don't enjoy snuffing out worlds with theoretically infinite potentials, but it has to be done.]

  The more worlds there are, the greater the probability of Chaos?.

  That Chaos has the potential to twist the very concept of fate, thus triggering the Law of Causality. The fundamental forces of the Universe will interfere and start a Reset, destroying anything and everything.

  That's why the total number of worlds alive at any point of time is regulated using the Great Filter. That's why only the worlds which are worthy can become a Class 1 world.

  Being a Class 1 World means that they have a say in which direction the Universe will go in. Talented individuals from those worlds are often selected to be Gods and manage other worlds.

  ??Still, isn't it a bit cruel to destroy worlds just because you cannot manage all of them???

  [Not really. A world faces its Great Filter when it's nearing its end. There may be several reasons for that, like the lifeforce of that world reaching zero, or its Sun about to die and et cetera, et cetera. When the world is at its end, the probability of survival is exactly zero. The Great Filter increased that probability to 0.000001]

  ??Wow, so it's more complicated than I thought.??

  [Exactly.]

  ??But aren't you the Origin? Couldn't you have done something about this???

  [Of course.]

  The Great Filter was supposed to be a temporary measure, in fact.

  ??Then why didn't you???

  [I was dethroned before I could.]

  ??Sadge.??

  [Very sadge.]

  Anyway.

  "I see. I get the rough gist of it." I replied to Voloha.

  Let's finish this conversation, go eat something and sleep like a homicide victim.

  "You do?" Azell asked.

  "It's not really complicated." I shrugged. "Also, can I assume that the system called Dungeons was implemented by the Gods?"

  "Y-yes." Voloha nodded. "The Gods sacrificed a great deal to save us."

  Sacrificed?

  "They were just performing their duty."

  "Maybe, but they still sacrificed themselves for us, and we owe our lives to them for that."

  That's where she's wrong. They were literally performing their duty; that's what they were hired for.

  ??Hired? Hahahahaha! That's a nice term.??

  [And it's the correct one. The Gods are hired by the Ancient Gods. They get a salary as well as several benefits, including paid vacation, medical insurance, and many more.]

  ??Even the Gods are corporate slaves, huh? Wow.??

  [In the grand scheme of things, everyone's a corporate slave.]

  ??F.??

  "I see." I nodded at Voloha.

  "Okay."

  "…"

  "…"

  An awkward silence descended on the room; we had run out of topics.

  Should I say something like, 'Dolphins sometimes use the heads of dead fishes to pleasure themselves?'

  ??Wow, what a great conversation starter.??

  [Right?]

  ??In fact, it's so great that they'll probably be rendered speechless, think what a fucking weirdo you are, and silently leave.??

  [That would be like killing a rabbit with a stone when you were aiming for the bird.]

  As long as they leave me alone, I'm good.

  "Anyway, do you have anything else for me, or…"

  "O-oh, no. No, I don't have anything." Voloha nodded. "…Is that it?"

  "Is 'what' it?"

  "Um, you know, you just learned that Azell and others are from another world, so…"

  "So?"

  "So, I was expecting you to have some sort of, uh, reaction or something…" Her voice trailed off.

  "Yes, they are from another world. What do you want me to do about it?"

  "Well, uh…"

  "If you were expecting a, 'Booho! You guys hid something so important from me so I'm going to cry and shut myself in my room like a little bitch!', then I'm terribly sorry to disappoint you."

  Like what, does she think them that being from another world would make me excited or something?

  People being transmigrated into another world is such an overdone trope that I've become sick of it.

  ??Oh my God, I just realised that you're a living shitty story trope.??

  [I hope that when you wake up to drink water, you find the jar beside your bed empty. Then you'll get up to get some water but stub your toe. While clutching it and hopping like a three-legged goblin, you fall down a flight of stairs and break your neck, you fucking unseasoned chicken wing.]

  ??Oof, what are you, the Devil???

  "…" Voloha stared at me like a lost chick.

  "Pfft!" Noelle burst out laughing. "Hahahahaa, don't worry Voloha, you'll get used to it."

  "I-is he always like this?"

  "Pretty much." Azell chuckled.

  Wow, rude.

  ?? ?? ??

  "Wheew." Arteria exhaled a satisfied breath.

  While Samur was having his tear-jerking(?) reunion with Voloha, she had taken this chance to fill her stomach.

  After eating to her fill, she decided to retrieve her blood-stained blazer from Samur's room. She would have to wash it in secret to avoid suspicion.

  "Shit!" The moment she reached the room however, she cursed and moved with the speed of light to hide.

  She peeked from her hiding spot, "Goddamnit, we're done for."

  Standing in the front of Samur's room were Noelle and Neia.

  And they had frowns on their faces.