"Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk."
"...Can you not make that weird noise?" Riku looked at a certain person who was shaking his head and muttering about something with a speechless expression.
"Weird? It's not weird at all," Su'er not only didn't stop, but he also clapped his hands in admiration. "I didn't expect you to attract an Ex-Machina at the age of thirteen. Riku, you're much more capable than I thought?"
"...What do you mean?" Riku's eyes, which now had a divine sparkle, rolled into dead fish eyes. He said that he didn't understand, but Su'er judged that this man was playing dumb.
"Of course it's because of what's between you two," Su'er said straightforwardly, "She fell in love with you, right?"
"Pff, cough, cough, cough! Don't talk nonsense!"
Although he had a premonition in his heart, when Su'er actually said it, Riku still felt his face suddenly burning. The white-haired man suddenly pounced to the side to cover Su'er's mouth, but unfortunately, he was dodged by a certain well-trained person one step ahead of him.
"No matter how you look at it, it's because of love, right?"
"No matter how you look at it, it's because she wants to know the answer to her question! And don't just say 'love' so casually!"
Riku's voice, which had suddenly become louder, quickly dropped because Su'er held up his index finger to his lips and then pointed to the outside of the cave. How despicable!
After a small bit of horseplay, although he got two friendly punches from Riku, Su'er felt relieved in his heart. The last time he came back, Riku had said that he had become a lot more cheerful. However, in his opinion, Riku had also become cheerful now. At the very least, his previous self, who was full of bitterness and hatred, would never have laughed as happily as he was now... Was it that Ex-Machina that changed him?
It was not a bad thing at all.
"...Can the Ex-Machina have children?"
The two, who had been messing around, were sitting on the ground blankly, not knowing what they were thinking, until Su'er suddenly broke the silence.
"Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough!!"
A cough that was even more violent than before. Riku, who was much purer than Su'er with his experience from his previous life, was completely unable to handle such a question. He wanted to keep a straight face to maintain his dignity, but he failed on the spot.
"I'm just curious," Su'er said with a serious face, patting Riku's back to explain himself, but in reality, what he really wanted to ask was...
He couldn't say it.
"Let's get back to the main topic, let's talk about what you've been doing in the past two years! Don't just make me talk!" Riku selectively gave up a piece of his memory. He jabbed Su'er's ribs hard with his elbow and said.
"It can be said to be an epic adventure~. I even took some pictures. Let me show you~," Su'er couldn't help but feel proud when this was brought up. This man even took out a stack of photos from his bag, ready to brag about them.
"Let me see. Let's start from the Siren..."
Compared to Riku's boring expeditions and his story of getting along with the Ex-Machina, what Su'er had experienced was much richer. Especially with the colorful pictures in the photos as a visual aid, it became even more interesting. From the deepest part of the sea to the great power of the Phantasma who connected the sea and the sky, the sea of spirits, and the appearance of the Old Deus, Su'er talked a lot.
Unlike last time, this time, even though they had been talking for a long time, no one else came to disturb them until the very end.
"So you've found the answer that the God of Forge Okein mentioned?" Riku also asked with great curiosity and anticipation for that answer.
"Ah, I found it," Although he had found it, Su'er was a bit at a loss as to how to start the conversation. Even his excited mood just now had suddenly turned cold.
He didn't know if Riku had noticed Su'er's conflicted and troubled emotion. Riku patted Su'er's shoulder and stood up from the ground, then signaled Su'er to follow him.
"...What is this?" Su'er looked at a huge, yellowed map that Riku had taken out and spread on the table. He asked curiously.
He recognized at a glance that this was the map of the entire continent, but it was much more detailed than the map from a few years ago. Besides the latest maps of the distribution of various races and the main battle locations that had always been there, there were also new small markers that were spread across the continent in a circular shape.
"Ah, a plan. I think it's the most perfect plan," Riku retracted his gaze from the map. He turned his head and showed Su'er an expectant smile, "Let's create a new rule, Su'er."
"Let's give up on the hope that the war will stop one day, a hope that will never come. Let's use our power to end this stupid war."
"Do you know, Su'er?" Riku's voice became incredibly light and brisk, "This world has never changed... It has always been the most simple game."
Su'er did not reply. He just stared at Riku, who was completely immersed in it. The white-haired man continued to talk about the grand blueprint in his heart.
"What we have to do is not to follow the ruleless game of chasing the Suniaster that the gods love, but to create the rules we want," While speaking, he went to the opposite side of Su'er. As if to embrace the entire world, Riku leaned over the table with his arms bent, forming a perfect circle, which happened to cover the small markers that were in a circular shape.
"...How can we do that?" Su'er asked calmly, "How are you going to deal with the God of War?"
Anyone who wanted to end this endless war could not bypass a huge hurdle, which was the Old Deus who fed on war - Artosh.
It was very ironic. Two weak existences who were just monkeys in the eyes of other races were hiding in a dark cave, discussing how to defeat the strongest existence in this world. It was already ironic to the extreme.
Before Su'er struggled and didn't know how to tell Riku about his plan, Riku had already started talking about the plan he and Schwi had formulated in the past two years, which made Su'er secretly let out a huge sigh of relief.
"Do you still remember the information you once told me?" Instead of directly starting to explain, Riku brought up the information that Su'er had brought back in the past. "All the Old Deus are born from the Spirit Corridor, including the God of War who will become infinitely stronger as long as there is war."
"That's right."
"If that's the case, then it means that the power of the Spirit Corridor will always be higher than the power of the God of War. Just like an Old Deus cannot create a rock that she cannot lift, the power of 1 can never create the existence of 2. What's more, the key to the throne of the Only God, the Suniaster, is also in the Spirit Corridor. So what we have to do is very simple."
Riku picked up the chess piece next to him and slammed it hard in the center of the map. Riku's voice became extremely firm.
"We will directly pierce the entire planet and destroy the entire Spirit Corridor, releasing all the power that even the God of War cannot match!!"