"It seems the two of you benefited right from the start."
A faintly amused expression crossed Cain's face as he heard the part about the potion of companionship. He glanced at the brothers, who responded with awkward, almost sheepish smiles. He was not about to make an issue of it — if things went as planned, they would soon be fighting side by side. If they grew stronger, all the better.
The next moment, the Gate of Germination opened with a low, resonant hum, finally granting the trio access to the territory of the Ouroboros Sect. Cain wasted no time and stepped forward.
Before him stretched a vast garden-city under a dim green aurora. Terraced fields of pale grass rippled in an unseen breeze. Orchards bloomed from bone-white pergolas. Canals of shimmering water flowed uphill, defying gravity as if the laws of the world had no place here, and the only thing that mattered was the will of the one who forged this place.
