Gabriel could see that all the Rebel Gods had indeed grown by quite a lot. Even though it wasn't comparable to his growth, it was still a decent growth.
All of them were forced to leave their home. They had lost all hope, but now that they were back, they didn't want to lose their homes again. That's why all of them were giving it their all. None wanted to fall behind as they were all expecting a battle in the near future.
"That aside, what do you think of the Palace we created for you?" a rebel God asked, breaking the momentary silence.
Before Gabriel could even answer, the Rebel God grabbed his hand and walked towards the Palace, excited. All of them had put a lot of effort in the creation of the Palace and were curious if it was to Gabriel's liking.
Gabriel had only asked them to create a small decent mansion to hide the mysterious pond, but he didn't expect them to create a Palace like that, especially for him.
The Palace was dark, unlike the Palace which used to be there in the past. It was slightly larger and quite to Gabriel's liking.
Gabriel could've easily freed his hand, but seeing the excitement of the Rebel Gods, he didn't. He walked with them and heard them talk about the Palace and every special thing they added to the Palace.
"The Pond is in the most secure part of the Palace, shrouded in many protective formations. We have also strengthened the..."
The gods talked about the details as they showed Gabriel around. It was only after half an hour that they finally finished showing him around.
Gabriel thanked them for creating a Palace like this for him. He truly was grateful. However, he also knew that he couldn't stay distracted over just a palace. He just went along with everyone else to not hurt their feelings.
Now that they were done, Gabriel told them that he was going to put the Palace to use. He called for a meeting with all the Rebel Gods in the Throne Room.
....
Within a short time, almost all the Rebel Gods had gathered inside the Throne Room.
At the front, there was one throne which was for Gabriel to sit. On the lower platform, seats for other gods were arranged.
Gabriel made some changes to the structure. A similar throne to his appeared next to his throne for Ezekiel.
He couldn't accept Ezekiel sitting on a platform lower than him. Their seats were next to each other on the same level.
Gabriel wat is on the left throne. Ezekiel was the last person to arrive. But strangely enough, he didn't sit on the right throne. Instead, he intentionally sat on the Seat on a slightly lower platform.
The seat he took was higher than the seat of the Rebel Gods but it was lower than Gabriel's throne. Moreover, Ezekiel also flicked his finger, making the second throne disappear.
"What are you doing? How can you sit under me?" Gabriel asked, stunned.
Ezekiel was his senior. In a sense, Ezekiel was his master as well. Moreover, Gabriel wasn't greedy for authority. So Ezekiel's behavior surprised him.
"What's wrong with where I'm sitting?" Ezekiel asked in return.
He didn't wait for Gabriel's answer before continuing. "Every realm needs a king. And there should never be two kings. This realm... It is yours. Also, I would feel disgusted if I became the King of this place..."
In response, Gabriel only went silent. It was only in the last sentence of Ezekiel that he understood his true meaning.
Ezekiel hated the Realm of Gods. This was the place which took everything from him. Now that the old realm of gods was destroyed, Ezekiel could at least bear to be in this place, but it didn't change the fact that this was the place that he hated the most.
He never wanted to sit on the Throne of the Realm of Gods. Moreover, there was another reason for his refusal that Ezekiel didn't tell Gabriel. It was a reason that no one but Ezekiel knew.
For everyone, Ezekiel was invincible who couldn't be killed. In their eyes, Ezekiel was an undying being. But only Ezekiel knew that it wasn't the truth. His time was limited. He didn't have long to live in the first place.
If the realm of Gods was going to change and start a new beginning, it needed someone who could rule over it for a long time. He neither had any desire to rule over this place, nor the time.
His time was coming to an end. He only wanted to finish one last task before his time ran out. It was to destroy all the remnants of the Realm of Gods that escaped!
He wanted to finish his revenge before his Eternal Sleep. For him, that was the only way to calm his raging heart. Only when everyone related to his parents death died could his parents' soul rest in peace.
Gabriel didn't question Ezekiel's decision. It was clear that Ezekiel had made up his mind and Gabriel accepted it.
Taking a deep breath, Gabriel started the meeting.
"Have you found where the Gods that escaped are hiding?" he asked the Rebel Gods.
In the time he was training, other than protecting this place, the Rebel Gods had another task. It was to find the whereabouts of the escaped Gods.
"We don't know the exact location, but we managed to find out the rough location," the old man replied.
"And that rough location would be...?" Gabriel asked.
The old god raised his hand, creating something akin to an illusion of a world. It was a peculiar world that Gabriel recognized all too well.
"The Upper Realm?" Gabriel asked. "Are you certain?"
The old man nodded. "I'm certain. They are in the Upper Realm. They've hidden their traces quite well so we don't know where exactly in the Upper Realm."
"It doesn't matter where in the Upper Realm. I will find them, even if I have to burn down the entire upper realm!" Gabriel declared as he stood up.
