Hao Ren had originally wanted to go straight home—the "Origin Holy Artifact" brought back from the alternate dimension had him itching to examine it, and Bethmos's few cryptic remarks had only filled him with curiosity. He couldn't wait to get home and study the thing to find out exactly what it was. However, Heiserana warmly invited everyone to stay for another half-day and have a meal before leaving, so he reluctantly stayed.
Well, in truth, the only person who had received a warm invitation was Vivian. Heiserana had indeed been forced to reluctantly allow Hao Ren and the others to mooch around as well...
The city lay in ruins, with everything waiting to be rebuilt and a huge number of wounded needing treatment. This half-day was therefore hardly a postwar victory celebration. It was more like a grim meeting to review the lessons learned. After Heiserana and Jean had each finished settling their family affairs, they made arrangements for emergency repairs and strengthened defenses throughout the city. Only then did they have time to calm down and consider what to do next. Of the city's three major families, only two remained. Under the circumstances, the remaining minor factions had little say, so Heiserana and Jean Lucas were the only leaders of the sanctuary's surviving powers. They personally went all over the city and invited the ancient ones who had played decisive roles in the city's defense battle. With Vivian's prestige holding the room together, practically everyone showed up.
The only ancient one absent was Ganrudal, the guardian of the ancient tree. Given its size and limited mobility, bringing it over hardly seemed realistic. However, it sent an avatar that conveyed its thoughts to sit in on the meeting. The avatar was placed right in front of Heiserana: a pot of