Shimmer suddenly leaned forward with a look that was far too curious to be safe.
"By the way," she said, glancing between Alpha II and Ervadelle, "why don't you two call him Dad?"
The question itself was simple. Alpha II stopped moving first. Ervadelle's hand went still. Shimmer, realizing she had just stepped on something delicate, blinked.
"What?"
Runner looked at them both. Shimmer kept going.
"I mean, technically, he's like a father to you, actually. He took you in, trained you, kept you alive, made sure you didn't rot in whatever hells you came from so why not just call him Dad?"
Alpha II's eyes lowered. Ervadelle said nothing. Shimmer's face softened a little when she saw neither of them answering. She rubbed the back of her neck.
"Okay, I asked it so suddenly. Sorry."
Alpha II looked at the map but she wasn't really seeing the map anymore.
"To us, he isn't just a master."
Ervadelle's voice came a little quieter than before. "And he isn't only a father either."
That got everyone's attention. Alpha II continued more slowly now.
"He found me after I was exiled by my own race. The Musica threw me out. I was alone, unwanted and not in any state to survive the world on my own. He gave me a reason to keep existing."
Ervadelle's gaze remained fixed on the hologram, but her expression had changed.
"He saved me from the streets of the Therianthropes. That was the point where things should've ended for me. He didn't let me go. I don't deserve to call him that."
Runner suddenly laughed. It was not a big laugh. It was just unexpected enough to make everyone turn and stare at her. Shimmer looked at her in disbelief.
"What?"
Runner kept laughing for a second longer, then pressed a hand to her face as if she could stop it that way.
"Sorry. Sorry. It's just... that's such a ridiculous thing to say."
Ervadelle blinked once. "What?"
"You don't deserve to call him Dad? Are you serious?"
Ervadelle looked genuinely startled now.
"I am."
Runner shook her head once, still amused, then leaned forward with a smile that surprised everyone.
"I was saved by him too. My parents died saving me from a corrupted Verdarite. He found me floating on a small boat in the middle of the ocean in Erna Isles. I was alone, half gone and he still took me in."
Ervadelle's eyes widened a little.
"He didn't need to. He still did."
Shimmer folded her arms and jumped in before the moment could drift too far away from her.
"And I annihilated a small town because I was crying and he still took me on as his daughter.So let's not pretend he only took in well-behaved children."
Valeria made a quiet sound that might have been a laugh. Shimmer pointed at Ervadelle and Alpha II.
"He's always had a habit of saving suffering girls at their worst. That's just what he does. He doesn't just act like a good father to us. He is one."
Alpha II's expression changed Ervadelle looked away first. Shimmer continued with a gentler voice.
"You two can call him Master if you want. That's fine. But don't sit there acting like calling him Dad would somehow insult him. He already treated you like daughters. He already acted like a father. That part isn't up for debate."
For a moment, neither Alpha II nor Ervadelle answered. Alpha II finally exhaled and looked down at the map again, but her voice had softened when she spoke.
"I never thought of it that way."
Ervadelle's fingers tightened near the edge of her sleeve.
"Neither did I."
Shimmer's expression lost some of its usual swagger.
"Well, now you have."
Runner's voice was calm when she finally spoke.
"He's our father. He's also your father. That doesn't erase what he was to you first. It just means he made room for more than one kind of family."
Alpha II lowered her eyes, then gave a very small nod. Ervadelle looked at the table for a long moment before she gave the same answer.
"I understand."
"Good. Back to our meeting, there's another thing we need to get clear. Population."
That got everyone's attention immediately. It was a different kind of subject but in the Timeless Realm, population meant infrastructure, food, protection, identity and eventually war if anyone got careless. Runner continued.
"When Dad took the Gardens of Asphodelia and put it into the ORS, there were about two hundred thousand humans saved from it. That was centuries ago. Right now, the number's close to a hundred million. They're in the Deux Cities now."
Valeria folded her hands.
"You're saying the Gardens of Asphodelia still functions as a proper floor?"
Runner looked at her and gave a small, confirming nod.
"Yes. It's sacred and it's treated like it. Thanks to the ORS, it isn't some empty space. It's a peaceful realm now with flora, fauna, water systems and seasonal variation where it matters. We all know why Dad moved them there."
They all knew. Vastarael wanted to make the Gardens of Asphodelia live up to its name so he made the humans living in it migrate to the Deux Cities.
"They know the ORS exists. Most of them know it's dangerous to treat it like a normal world too, but they're fine. Better than fine, actually."
Shimmer looked at her with a skeptical expression.
"You say that like more than a hundred million humans packed into a Primordial Artifact is normal."
Runner glanced at her.
"In this family? It is."
That got a faint, reluctant smile out of Valeria. Runner moved on without slowing down.
"Dad also merged the Sinking Void with the third through tenth floors, in case you forgot. The afterlife system from the Hidden Citadel isn't separate anymore. It takes up eight floors now. That means the ORS's afterlife section is a lot more structured than most places would expect. Souls pass through there, are sorted there and can be handled there safely instead of just lingering or decaying uselessly. Miranda's there too and that makes things much easier. She's a Goddess of Reincarnation and Agriculture, so she can reincarnate souls properly or use them for work in the Agricultural Floors. It means the system doesn't just collect souls and leave them sitting around. Souls can be reassigned, returned or used where they're needed."
"That sounds like a world."
Runner looked at Alpha II.
"It's still the ORS."
"Fair."
"Mortal or Immortal, if they're ever allowed into the Agricultural Floors in the future, they won't be getting in casually. Those floors have extreme access conditions. They're protected for a reason. Right now, the population in the Agricultural Floors is around fifty million souls in total if you count the afterlife structures and the agricultural allocation system. But that number has always been constrained."
Shimmer's eyes narrowed.
"Because of Diov."
"Exactly. He used to take souls to make himself stronger so a huge amount of the original soul stock never survived long enough to accumulate. Without that damage, the total would've been much larger. Billions, probably. But souls don't reproduce so the number's stayed close to that fifty million range from the beginning until now. Almost all humans who die want to be reincarnated. Some remain behind though."
Ferris let out a slow breath through her nose. "So the ORS is basically a city, a sanctuary, a sacred floor, an afterlife, and has a population system all at once."
"Yes. And it works because it has to. That brings us to you."
Peccavi, who had been quiet but attentive, turned her face at their leader.
"Your devotees need to be moved to the Deux Cities."
"All of them?"
"Yes. You said there are about five hundred thousand."
"That's correct."
Shimmer made a shocked face.
"That's not a small number."
"No, it isn't. But it's manageable."
Peccavi seemed to be considering the logistics already, because she didn't interrupt. Runner kept going.
"The Deux Cities are on the twenty-sixth and twenty-seventh floors. They're enormous and they're already built to shelter major population numbers. The leaders there can help your followers adjust. They've handled large-scale settlement and labor redistribution before."
Peccavi's posture remained calm, but the tension in her voice showed she was thinking the same thing Runner was.
"Five hundred thousand people is still a huge migration."
"It is, but I've already made precautions for mass migration events. That's not a new problem."
Valeria's eyes flicked up at that.
"You've planned for this before?"
"Of course I have. Any structure with this many moving parts needs contingency plans. If people start arriving in waves, the Deux Cities leaders will handle intake, housing, labor placement and orientation. They won't be overwhelmed if they're told in advance and given the right timing."
Shimmer leaned forward a little, resting her arms on the table.
"So you've already prepared for a situation where thousands of devotees all move at once."
"Yes."
"And you're only telling us now?"
Runner looked at her.
"I'm telling you now because now it matters. I own this Spire. Believe me, it's not as easy as you think it is."
That got a quiet laugh out of Jack. Peccavi finally spoke again with a sigh.
"My followers are used to relying on me for direction."
"Then give them that direction. Tell them the move isn't a punishment and it isn't a loss. The Deux Cities can support them and it'll actually be better for them in the long run. They'll have better access to the ORS systems if they need them. If they stay clustered the way they are now, it'll become harder to sustain them as the city expands."
Peccavi was quiet for a moment, then asked,
"And you're sure the people there will accept them?"
Runner answered without hesitation.
"Yes. The leaders already know the ORS isn't a temporary shelter. They know how the system works and they know how to handle groups. Your devotees won't be thrown into chaos. They'll be integrated. This is a self sustaining artifact so they'll be fine."
Shimmer looked at Peccavi and then back at Runner.
"That's actually kind of nice."
"I can be nice when it's required."
Ferris asked a question.
"What happens if the move attracts attention from outside?"
"Then we handle it like everything else. Its obvious we'll take in more people. After all, we need to create a pantheon of our own if we want to take over the Mopherian Pantheon. And a Dad said, the time on Timeless Realm runs differently."
That got a few approving looks around the table. Valeria glanced at Peccavi Ms advised her.
"Your devotees are important. If they're being moved, then we should probably coordinate the timing with any other major shifts in the realm. If we're going to move to the Immortal Anchor eventually, then the ORS population, the Deux Cities, the afterlife floors and the agricultural floors all need to remain stable while we do it. The last thing we need is a mass migration destabilizing our own base."
Shimmer whistled again, this time with real appreciation.
"Okay, that's actually smart."
Valeria gave her a look that said she'd been smart for centuries and didn't need the praise, but she didn't deny it. Peccavi then asked Runner:
"Will the Deux Cities leaders know how to receive worshippers properly?"
"Yes. And if they don't, they'll learn quickly. The move is about settling people into a place where they can live without feeling like they're being erased. Your followers matter. The ORS can handle that. The Deux Cities can too."
Shimmer looked between them, then shrugged.
"That's what happens when Dad builds something. He never makes anything small."
Nobody disagreed with that.