The scorched beach stretched out behind them like a wound carved into the landscape, blackened sand and fractured stone bearing witness to whatever had just transpired in those chaotic moments.

The acrid smell of burnt salt and ozone still hung heavy in the air, clinging to their clothes and hair like a accusation that refused to fade.

Benjamin stood with his back to the destruction, his arms folded across his chest in a posture of supreme self-satisfaction.

His smug smile stretched from ear to ear, his blue eyes glittering with that particular brand of mischief that had gotten him into this kind of trouble.

"Well, what did you manage to learn from this little experience, Ten?" he asked, his voice dripping with unearned confidence. "I believe the lesson here is that you should always read the fine print before agreeing to go along with a stunt like the one we just pulled, do you understand? It is the difference between informed participation and blind recklessness."

Tensei turned his pale face slowly to look at Benjamin beside him, his golden eyes wide and still slightly unfocused from the shock of what had just occurred.

His wings hung limply against his back, several feathers singed at the edges. His wolf ears were flattened completely against his head, a clear sign of his current emotional state.

"But... I distinctly remember telling you that it was a terrible idea from the very beginning. You ignored me completely and did it anyway."

Benjamin waved away the objection with a casual flick of his wrist, completely unbothered by the accuracy of Tensei’s recollection.

He stepped closer and began smacking Tensei’s back with an enthusiasm that seemed entirely inappropriate given the circumstances, each pat landing with a force that made the winged man stumble forward slightly.

"Geez, would you stop worrying about the small stuff for once? I totally knew what I was doing the entire time, I assure you." He paused his back-smacking long enough to tilt his head with genuine curiosity. "So... what do you think about me after witnessing all of that? Pretty cool and strong, right? Be honest now."

In Benjamin’s mind, he had finally done it.

He had landed himself another genuine guy friend, someone who would sit on a couch with him and play video games until the sun came up.

Someone who would debate the relative strength of various shonen anime protagonists late into the night.

Someone who would understand the simple joy of male camaraderie.

He saw a future of casual friendship stretching out before him, full of dumb jokes, competitive gaming, and the kind of easy companionship he had secretly craved long before even arriving in this world.

However, that vision could not have been further from the reality of what Tensei was feeling in that moment.

Tensei’s golden eyes had taken on a hollow, sunken quality, the kind of look that came from witnessing something that should not have been possible and realizing too late the implications of being involved.

His voice emerged as a flat monotone when he finally responded, drained of all emotion except for a deep and abiding horror:

"I think you are quite possibly the most dangerous and thoroughly deranged demi-god I have ever had the misfortune of encountering in all my many centuries of existence.

"I believe you should be exiled to the deepest pits of Tartarus as soon as possible, ideally before you have the chance to do something like this again. And mark my words, Benjamin Mark:

"Elyndor herself and every god who watches over this world will absolutely not let this thing that you just did slide without severe consequences. They will come for you."

Benjamin’s confident expression faltered slightly at this response, a hint of genuine alarm creeping into his features beneath the bravado.

A nervous chuckle escaped his throat, higher in pitch than his usual laugh, strained in a way that betrayed his internal discomfort.

"H... Hehehe, what on earth are you talking about so seriously, my dear brother?" He reached out and grabbed Tensei’s shoulder with a grip that was perhaps a bit too tight. "WE... did this together. You cannot forget that important detail. If I get caught and find myself in trouble for what just happened here, it will be US who have to step forward and take responsibility together. You are complicit."

Tensei felt his heart sink directly into the pit of his stomach, a cold weight that seemed to drag down his entire being.

His pale face somehow grew even paler, his golden eyes widening further in dawning horror at the implications of Benjamin’s words.

"Wait a moment—please stop playing games with me about something this serious!" he exclaimed, his voice rising in pitch and volume. "I did not actually do anything here! I was simply standing nearby while you did...! I am innocent of any actual wrongdoing!"

Benjamin swung his head to the side dramatically, his light brown hair catching the wind as he turned away from Tensei and began walking casually down the length of the scorched beach, his hands in his pockets as if he did not have a single care in the world.

His voice carried back over his shoulder, light and conversational:

"You can certainly try to tell that version of events to the judge when the time comes, my friend. I am sure they will be very interested to hear your testimony about how you were simply an innocent bystander who happened to be standing in the immediate vicinity of a major magical catastrophe without any involvement whatsoever.

"I recommend you come up with a really good excuse to avail both of us, you hear me? Maybe if WE stand before them and say that WE were both trying to kill Daitentamono TOGETHER, as a coordinated team effort, they might decide to let US go with just a warning and maybe some mild cosmic community service?"

"Th... This is tyranny!" Tensei shouted, shaking his fist in the air as he broke into a run to catch up with Benjamin’s retreating form.

His wings flapped uselessly behind him, still too damaged from the earlier incident to provide any lift. "This is quite literally the definition of tyranny, what you are doing to me now! You dragged me into this situation against my better judgment, and now you are trying to trap me in it by claiming shared responsibility! I never agreed to any of this!"

Benjamin’s laughter echoed across the beach as the two figures disappeared into the treeline, one chasing the other with righteous indignation while the other continued to make light of the entire situation with infuriating calm.

***

Somewhere far above the mortal realm, in the vast and infinite expanse of the spirit world where the fabric of reality was woven and rewoven by forces beyond human comprehension... a different kind of conversation was taking place.

The space around them shimmered with the raw stuff of creation, colors that had no names shifting and flowing like liquid light through an environment that refused to settle into any fixed shape.

Stars were born and died in the distance, their deaths powering the endless cycle of rebirth that kept the cosmos turning.

And at the center of it all, two presences of immense power regarded one another across a gap that would have swallowed entire galaxies.

"Elyndor, that force we detected seems to have originated from the Whispering Wilds region of the Wilds," spoke the first presence. "I also believe the culprit behind this disturbance is also responsible for slaying that new species you created after the last Celestial war concluded. The large, somewhat aquatic creature you were so proud of designing?"

The presence identified as Elyndor recoiled as if struck, her form flickering through several shades of incandescent fury before settling into a roiling mass of barely contained rage.

"What?!" Elyndor’s voice boomed across the spiritual plane, shaking the foundations of reality itself. "So you’re telling me that someone has not only attempted to bring destruction upon my world, but they also murdered my beloved pet in the process?! The creature I was so fond of showing off to other world guardians? Absolutely unforgivable! I will make them understand the weight of their transgression!"