When the Rulekeeper said "question", I expected the gods to just scan through my mind. From what I saw of them, it was entirely within their abilities—what could stop them? Certainly not care for some "mortal"!
It was a relief when the Blue Rulekeeper just asked.
"Do you confirm the God of Humanity's accusations against the Goddess of Bees? Answer honestly."
I could feel the Goddess of Bees' glare on my face.
'If they could sense lies outright, they'd know that the Goddess of Bees was lying! And if they can read my mind, they would find it right now—shit!'
I froze, but the gods seemed oblivious to my thoughts. They couldn't see the system, either, although—
I couldn't see it either.
It was one thing to not see any status panels when I looked at the gods—they were gods. But I couldn't see my own status either!
'System? System, are you here?!'
I was thrown off my line again, and I was already walking through a damned minefield, and I couldn't see not just mines, but even the ground itself!
"Your Honor, I don't even know what's going on! How can I answer anything like that? What is this place? Where am I? What's going on?!"
I tried to not sound too panicky, and my voice cracked only at the end.
The Rulekeepers turned to each other, as if exchanging glances. Then suddenly, all as one, they turned to a place on the tribunes.
"A spectator from the suppressed ones requests the attention of the court! He claims he can help the court and save us our efforts by preparing the evidence for questioning. The Rulekeepers have already found this offer most convenient," Red Rulekeeper announced. "Does the prosecuted side agree to this?"
God of Humanity shrugged.
"If one of the losers wants an opportunity to do something besides watching, sure. I sure don't want to bother calming down panicking mortals... And if he wants to earn points for a second chance in the Game–why not?"
The Goddess of Bees clicked her mandibles unhappily, but to my joy, nobody asked her opinion this time.
"Then this court is adjoined. You will be called back when the evidence is ready."
The robes of Rulekeepers wavered, and suddenly, an opaque blue dome separated the stage from the tribunes, cutting off sight and sound from the outside. An instant later, God of Humans teleported out of here as easily as he appeared.
Goddess of Bees left last, sending me a warning glare as a goodbye.
After I was left alone with the Rulekeepers, my mood lightened considerably. Out of all the gods I've seen, these were some of the least threatening. And there were only three of them.
Well, until the fourth one appeared. Unlike all the other gods so far, he didn't teleport, but just walked through the dome toward me.
He also wore a hooded robe, like Rulekeepers, but unlike them had something underneath them. I could see a large, curved beak poking from underneath the hood, and palms of normal human hands.
"Thank you for providing me this opportunity, Rulekeepers," the newcomer said in a clear, deep voice. "I swear to not tamper with the evidence. Not that I could if I wanted to."
"If you want to spend your time on this, you are welcome, the lost one," Blue Rulekeeper said. "This stage is all yours—call upon us when you are done. We won't disturb the evidence further with our divine presence for now."
With these words, the Rulekeepers and their RGB robes disappeared into thin air.
At this moment, the last of my mental strength left me. I wobbled on my feet and barely turned an ungraceful fall into a graceful descent into a sitting position.
The floor was comfortably cold, although hard. The stars-jewels shone in the soft light that was coming from nowhere.
"Rest as long as you need, Nectus," the beaked god said, leisurely coming near to stand a couple of meters away from me. "We aren't in a hurry—gods don't care about time much. We have plenty of it."
I closed my eyes, laid back and followed the god's advice, without even asking where he knew my name from. He was a god, a "loser" one or not.
Half a minute of blissful not-thinking later, I opened my eyes again and shot upright.
"But what's happening back in my world? I mean, on Earth-Omega-0048!"
"Time still passes there. If you want to know the details—I'm afraid I can't give them. My powers were suppressed after I lost the Great Game—but I'm afraid I'm confusing you, which wasn't my intention."
He sounded like he was smiling. I raised my eyebrows.
The god sounded friendlier than others I've seen so far, but I didn't trust him.
"Well, what *was* your intention? Just to help the others to 'question' me?"
"I want to help you, because I think this will help us both. At this moment, you landed in a unique position, Nectus. It's a position that promises a lot of troubles, but can lead to incredible opportunities—both for you and all your allies. I will do everything in my power to help you avoid the former and get to the latter, but nobody except you can actually *do* it."
As he spoke, the god took off his hood. Underneath it was the head of a gray, long-necked bird. The beak I saw earlier was almost as large as the head itself. I gaped at it.
"Huh? Are you… God of Dodos?"
"That's how I was called while I still played the Game. I have another name, which I used before the Game, but you wouldn't be able to pronounce it. You can call me Dalmanrach instead—its shortened version."
Ah, finally, someone with a half-decent name!
I nodded and stood up decisively. Dalmanrach spoke about danger for me *and* my allies, and I didn't doubt him there.
It was *always* one danger or another!
"I hope that actual diplomacy will work out for me at least *once*, Dalmanrach. So. How exactly will you help, and why won't you start by explaining what *the fuck* is going on here?"