Being marched through the Radiant Bastion by celestial patrol officers was unlike being called to the principal's office.
Every footstep echoed like a verdict. Light bent away from the armored enforcers as they led the group deeper into divine administration.
Torwen's mist clung to his ankles, a nervous fog. Marion walked with his hands clasped behind his back, pretending he wasn't nervous. Aelius floated nearby in a glowing restraint sphere, still trying to escape.
"It wasn't entirely my fault," Aelius muttered, muffled by the barrier. "The constellation idiot threw the first punch."
The patrol captain ignored him. "Silence."
The restraint sphere tightened. Aelius snapped his mouth shut.
Dante leaned closer to Anarissa as they ascended a staircase of drifting crystal steps. The air hummed with old power, familiar but still heavy.
"This isn't ideal," he said quietly.
"No," she agreed. "But you crushed a flaming star barehanded in a crowded bar."
"You kicked a lightning goddess through a table."
"She had it coming."
"True."
The officers stopped before towering doors etched with shifting runes. They swung inward.
Inside, a circular chamber bathed in soft moon-gold awaited them. Its walls lined with hovering sigil-rings. At its center stood three familiar figures.
Lysera, arms folded, aura held in a controlled glow.
Varael, still as a midnight lake, expression unreadable.
Vorun, hands tucked into his sleeves, gaze sharp with curious disappointment.
Near the far side stood Elder Vaelion, overseeing the development of newly risen gods for their first century. His presence made the room feel smaller.
The doors shut behind them.
Vaelion took a slow breath.
"I'm told," he began, voice even, "the disturbance in the Veilwalk District was contained before it destabilized surrounding structures."
Torwen whispered to Marion, "That sounds good?"
Marion murmured, "Too good. That's the 'but' tone."
Vaelion's gaze sharpened.
"I'm also told," he continued, "seven newly risen gods, multiple intoxicated intermediaries, three minor demigods, a localized gravity implosion, an attempted interior star ignition, and a sentient table were involved."
Several pairs of eyes turned to Dante.
He raised his hands. "That part wasn't me."
Torwen cleared his throat. "I think it was the constellation drunk with orbiting motes."
Vaelion lifted a finger.
Silence fell.
He gazed at Dante and Anarissa. "Explain."
Anarissa stepped forward.
"We didn't start the fight. We ignored it."
Aelius scoffed inside the sphere and tried to speak, but the captain flicked his wrist. A faint light wrapped over Aelius' mouth.
Dante cleared his throat.
"We were just having a night off. The first commotion was drunk constellation gods being drunk. Loud, sparkly, harmless. Then Aelius decided to make us his entertainment."
A frustrated sound buzzed behind Aelius' light gag.
Vorun spoke. "Yet you didn't leave."
Anarissa hesitated. "There wasn't time. Everything happened at once. The drunks collided with us, Aelius provoked, energy flared—"
Lysera stepped closer. "Bars don't erupt into near-riots from a single provocation. They erupt when multiple choices stack atop one another, including yours."
Anarissa closed her mouth, jaw tightening.
Dante rubbed his neck. "We wanted a break. We didn't want a fight."
Vaelion watched them for a long heartbeat. "Rest is allowed. Recklessness isn't."
Marion hesitated. "We were just… a chain reaction of bad decisions, mostly not ours."
Lysera's eyes slid to him. He put his hand down.
Vaelion turned to the patrol captain. "Your assessment?"
The captain bowed. "The twins didn't start the fight, but their participation escalated it. They were restrained, for gods of their age."
Dante blinked. "That was restrained?"
"Yes," the captain said. "Had it not been, the Veilwalk block would be a crater."
Anarissa winced. "…Right."
Varael spoke quietly. "This is why you can't access higher Authority unmonitored yet."
Vorun nodded. "You do well in drills. Chaos tests decisions, not power."
Aelius' gag fell away. He drew in a deep breath. "They acted special. Everyone caters to them."
"Envy," Varael murmured, "is predictable."
Vaelion didn't look at Aelius. "Jealousy, pride, comparing. These will plague you for centuries. But you're responsible for your actions, not others' insults."
Torwen stepped forward. "During the chaos, Dante pulled three gods from the gravity collapse. Anarissa shielded me and Marion from the fake supernova blast from the storm god."
Aelius rolled his eyes. "They're not saints."
Lysera cut him off. "No one said they were."
Vaelion's expression shifted, but didn't soften.
"Yes," he said. "Those reports reached me. You acted as shields as often as you fought."
Vorun added, "That matters. Instinct for protection can't be taught easily."
The twins relaxed.
Vaelion folded his hands.
"Your penalty will be educational."
All four gods exhaled except Aelius, who looked offended.
"You'll attend additional sessions in Authority modulation and impact ethics. This includes power suppression drills and situational judgment training."
Marion whispered, "Extra homework."
Torwen groaned.
Vaelion turned to Aelius.
"You'll attend twice that."
Aelius jolted. "Twice?! How is that balanced?!"
"Balanced," Varael said, "would have been you cleaning star scorch from every stone in the Veilwalk for a decade."
Lysera added, "You attempted to ignite a star indoors in a building mostly made of living crystal and wood."
Aelius bristled. "It was mostly contained. I misjudged the flame density."
Vaelion regarded him. "You're still speaking when silence would help. Consider that extra homework."
Aelius shut his mouth, cheeks flushed.
Lysera stood in front of Dante and Anarissa, her expression gentler but firm.
"You'll resume normal training tomorrow. But for the rest of today, rest. No casual sparring or unsupervised Authority experiments."
Anarissa tried, "What about quiet bars?"
Lysera raised an eyebrow.
Anarissa sighed. "No bars."
Dante raised a hand. "Food, though?"
Vorun's lips curved slightly. "Even gods can eat after being scolded."
Vaelion nodded toward the doors. "Dismissed. Don't attach your names to another district incident before sunrise. The scribes hate writing your titles."
They were escorted out with less ceremony. The atmosphere lightened as the doors closed.
Dante sighed. "That could've been worse."
Torwen muttered, "For my dignity."
Marion smirked. "Your dignity evaporated when you got tackled by a floating jellyfish."
Anarissa bumped Dante's shoulder. "Next time, avoid places with gravity mages, storm gods, or constellation drunks."
"An empty room," he said.
"Exactly."
Behind them, Aelius stalked with regal rage.
"Next time," he called, not looking at Dante, "I won't hold back."
Dante didn't turn.
"Next time," he said, "don't start a war over an offhand comment."
Anarissa hid a smile.
They stepped onto a floating balcony bathed in soft realm-light. The chaos of the Shimmering Chalice was being cleaned up below. The reprimand burned, but they felt something else:
They'd protected people, held back, survived their first divine bar fight.
One disastrous evening down.
Endless lessons still ahead.