A/N: The morning after. Breakfast in bed, a frank discussion about their chances, and a whole lot of talking about what happens next.

  They just aren't willing to give up yet.

  -x-X-x-

  Oren awakens to the sound of his goddess humming a soft melody and the smell of breakfast filling his nostrils. He opens his eyes and looks over to see Sophia working away at the little stove, seeming quite happy with herself.

  That's good because admittedly, part of him had worried that she would have regrets over what had happened between them the night before. It had been… amazing, to say the least. Oren certainly didn't regret a thing. But what was amazing for him didn't necessarily have to be amazing for her.

  If she didn't enjoy herself, or even just didn't think they should have done it, Oren's not sure how he would have reacted. It would have been devastating. Fortunately, from what he can tell, the goddess is quite happy.

  Suddenly, she looks up from the stove and over to him with a soft smile on her face, only to freeze up when she sees his eyes open. Pointing a spatute at him, Sophia adopts a stern expression.

  "Stay put Mister. Don't you dare get up!"

  When Oren raises an eyebrow at this, the blonde blushes a little bit.

  "I wanted to surprise you with breakfast in bed! So don't move a muscle!"

  Huh. Oren supposed that wasn't just an Earth thing then. Heh, breakfast in bed… well, he certainly wouldn't say no to that. Their ingredients might have been sparse, but Sophia is able to whip something up in no time at all with some of her favorite foods that she'd stashed here and preserved with divine magic, who knows how many years ago.

  Soon enough, she's walking over with two ptes and handing him one, even as she climbs back into bed with him. Looking at the meal, Oren inhales the delicious aroma through his nostrils and gives her a smile.

  "Smells good."

  She beams back at him before they both start to dig in. However… as they're eating another thought occurs to Oren. It had almost slipped him by because he'd been so relieved that Sophia didn't seem to regret the night before but… now that it's wormed its way into his head, the new idea refuses to let go.

  "Sophia…"

  The goddess pauses and looks over at him, furrowing her brow and tilting her head to the side questioningly.

  "Yes?"

  Oren hesitates for a moment, struggling with how to phrase his question without sounding… well, without sounding like a total ass. In the end, he's not sure if he succeeds.

  "… I'm gd you're happy. I'm happy too. Last night was amazing. But… you aren't just using this to ignore our problems, are you? We can't forget what's happening outside right this instant."

  Indeed, even now the muted sounds of the hurricane continue to rage outside of the hideaway. On the one hand, they're a source of cold comfort because they mean that there might still Gods of the Sea out there fighting Tyranos. On the other hand, the hurricane is also a representation of the state of the world at rge and how everything is rapidly going to shit around them.

  Even after trying to phrase it gently as possible, Oren feels like an ass for saying anything. It's just… he doesn't think they can ignore what's happening forever. At the same time, he's not really sure what to do at this point. All of their previous pns have led them to ruin. He'd hoped they might be able to develop an idea together, but if Sophia was willfully blinding herself to everything, that wasn't going to be possible.

  As he tenses up in anticipation of her getting angry with him… Oren is pleasantly surprised but also more than a little confused when Sophia just smiles and shakes her head instead.

  "Don't worry Oren. I'm not ignoring our problems. In fact, I've come to a simple conclusion… you're right. We have to do something. We have to take the fight to Tyranos and kill my bastard of an uncle once and for all."

  Oh! Well that was unexpected. Oren can't help but perk up, a little excited now.

  "You have a pn then?"

  Unfortunately, that's about when Sophia's smile drops and she grimaces lightly.

  "Ah. Well… no, not really. I mean, that kind of is the pn so far?"

  Staring, Oren slowly blinks.

  "… Your pn so far is to 'take the fight to Tyranos and kill him'?"

  Puffing out her cheeks, Sophia stabs at a bit of her breakfast with a celestial metal fork and huffs indignantly.

  "I'm not a Goddess of Wisdom, Oren. I don't have to pretend to be wise anymore or assume that every thought that enters my head has some hidden wisdom to it. Honestly, it's quite freeing. I no longer have to care if the things I decide to do are… particurly unwise."

  When Oren just continues to give her a look, Sophia rolls her eyes.

  "Yes, that's all my pn is so far. Tyranos needs to be defeated. I don't know how to do that now that he has the God Killer's armor and bde, but I do know it needs to happen. And you're right, we can't just hide forever and act like nothing is wrong. I'd rather die on my feet facing him down than cower in a corner until he's won and everything is lost."

  Oren can't help but slowly nod at her inspiring words. Heh…

  "So that's it then. Kill him or die trying. It's not the worst pn in the world. Better than doing nothing."

  And frankly, Oren can't think of anything better at the moment, and he's been wracking his brain for days.

  Sophia, meanwhile, looks contemptive for a second.

  "I've been thinking about how long the storm outside has been raging. It's been over a week now since it started. If our earlier assumptions are correct and it represents Tyranos fighting Ancient Gods out in the water… then it's surprising that he hasn't finished them all off just yet."

  Oren raises an eyebrow, gncing towards the entrance of the cave.

  "Well… he is attacking them in their natural habitat. The seat of their power, right? Just look at how hard fighting Aureo was in Goldriver."

  Sophia nods but doesn't look convinced.

  "And yet… all of my kin were in their seat of power too when you arrived in the Heavens, Oren. Sure, my father was weakened from suppressing my true domains, but you sughtered the entirety of the Heavens in less than a day. Given the dearth of power between you and Tyranos back when he showed us his true colors, one would think having the armor and sword would make him positively unstoppable."

  That was a fair point, Oren supposed.

  "What do you think is holding him back?"

  Here, Sophia adopts an expression that Oren has never seen her wear before. It's a wicked, evil grin along with a satisfaction in her eyes as she looks at him.

  "Me."

  Oren blinks, prompting Sophia to expin.

  "It was after you took that dagger for me. My dear uncle asked me for my st words… and I used them to curse him with every fiber of my being before getting us out of there. It was the first time I consciously drew upon my true domains. I filled my words with every ounce of power and spite I had in me. I pushed all the Misfortune and Folly I could muster at him."

  Sophia's grin widens.

  "I know it had an impact. He was staggered to the point where I was able to get us out of there. I'm just wondering how much of an impact I might have truly had. I'm wondering if maybe he's not fighting at full power right now."

  Oh wow. Now there was an idea. Oren considers the thought for a long moment, gncing once more to the entrance of the cave where the hurricane's edge was barely touching them. Sophia was right that it was strange Tyranos was taking so long to 'clean up' so to speak. Something was up there. And maybe it was Sophia who had managed to stymy him after all with a metaphorical poke in the eye.

  He hoped that was the case, but at the same time…

  "Even if he's struggling with Ancient Gods, the fact that the storm is still going means they can't defeat him either. And we're no Ancient Gods ourselves. We still need some sort of greater edge if we're going to manage this kill."

  Sophia sobers up a bit before nodding somberly. She twirls the celestial metal fork around her fingers.

  "You're right. And neither the dagger nor simple utensils are going to cut it. We need… we need Celestial Armaments of our own if we're going to defeat Tyranos. I fear the Heaven's Armory was likely already ransacked though. And at this point finding Celestial Metal here on the Mortal Pnes would be like finding a needle in a haystack. I have some in this and my other hideaways in the form of cutlery, but even altogether it's not enough for more than a single bde let alone the armor we would need as well."

  Oren hums. That is the thought, isn't it? If he's ever going to match Tyranos, he would at least need armaments of a simir caliber. Even then it might not be enough, but it would at least given Oren a chance.

  "… Maybe it wouldn't be so hard after all. It's the same theory that let us find Aureo, isn't it?"

  Sophia furrows her brow, inclining her head to show she's listening.

  "We go to the source. The God Hunters were said to have originated in Skycastle, the rgest city I've ever seen. I stopped there… before I finally hid the armor and bde. As soon as I found out it was where the God Hunters were coming from, I left immediately. But I bet even now it's their main headquarters."

  Nodding along, Sophia's eyes light up.

  "You think that any Celestial Metal found on the Mortal Pnes will have been taken there?"

  Oren chuckles.

  "Well, any that wasn't kept by opportunistic assholes like Elric Steelwater, yes. Still, now that we know the God of Tyranny and Conquest is behind the God Hunters… there's no way that he would want the spoils of war kept anywhere except for their main base of operations. They probably have rooms filled with the celestial equipment they've taken off of gods here on the Mortal Pnes so far."

  Sophia is starting to get excited now.

  "You're almost certainly right. Oh, this is exciting! We finally have a goal that doesn't just involve us going and getting ourselves killed."

  Then, she deftes a little bit.

  "… I fear it won't be enough though. The deities you slew up in the Heavens… they were armed with Celestial Metal too you know. You moved through them like a farmer wielding his scythe through a field of wheat. You killed them all so easily…"

  Oren grimaces, not really enjoying the reminder. But at least Sophia didn't hate him for it anymore. As well, she kind of had a point.

  "Simple Celestial Metal isn't going to cut it. Whoever made that armor and sword for you clearly knew what they were doing. If only the God of Forges were still around-"

  But he probably killed them when he sughtered the Heavens

  "-but he disappeared years ago."

  Wait, what? Oren pauses… and so does Sophia. To her credit, the goddess seems to have caught what she just said a moment after she said it. Her eyes widen as she looks at Oren with a stupefied expression on her face. Oren figures his own expression probably matches at the moment, truth be told.

  "H-Hang on a second… who exactly crafted the God Killer's armor and bde, Oren?"

  Shaking his head, Oren answers her question with another question.

  "The God of Forges disappeared years ago? How many years ago?"

  Sophia opens her mouth and then closes it, having to think for a moment.

  "… More than half a decade, easily. Less than a full decade though. I don't know, I didn't… I knew of him but he and I never actually met each other. I think he and my father had a falling out over something or other. But you don't exactly 'fall out' with the King of the Gods so the God of Forges was mostly just shunned by everyone in the Heavens. When he disappeared… everyone assumed he just left."

  Sophia reaches out and grabs Oren by his hand.

  "Oren… who exactly forged your armor and sword?"

  Swallowing thickly, Oren finds his mind being cast back into the past once more.

  "It was… a demon. He was muzzled and chained to his forge. Raythe cimed they'd captured him from the Demon King's forces. That it would be fitting for a demon to craft the tools of their downfall."

  Except…

  "But Raythe was a liar and every demon you saw… was actually a god or goddess in the Heavens. There's no such thing as demons, Oren. You know what that means…"

  Oren slowly nods, completing the thought.

  "The demon who forged my armaments and the missing God of Forges… were one in the same."

  … Shit.

  -x-X-x-

  A/N: Next time we do another fshback, though its only half the chapter. Might be the st one of the story… but can't promise anything heh.

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