Death... and me

As soon as Rean asked that, the expressions on Xuve and Glasita's faces changed as one of them responded. "Yes, we do. It was decided a long time ago that the population in this place must never surpass ten million. Every one hundred years, the leading powers of the Upside Down World count the number of living beings here. If the number is above ten million, then culling is done."

'That's quite harsh,' replied Rean. 'How do you decide who's gonna die or live?'

Xuve then explained, "Anyone above the Saint Realm is safe. That's because trying to kill people at the Elemental Transformation Realm or higher could potentially lead to more damage than we can afford. As for those at the Saint Realm and below, they would be chosen randomly. There is a thing called the Death Roll organization. It's maintained in conjunction with all the leading powers of the Upside Down World. That's to ensure that not only one side would have their people and demon beasts eliminated."

Xuve continued, "They will spread their forces around the Upside Down World and kill people based on some random selection formation plate. Once the necessary numbers are dead, the killing is stopped, and they would retreat to the organization, not to come out for the next one hundred years."

Rean couldn't help but ask after that, "Isn't there a much better way to do this? Like, birth control?"

Glasita shrugged her shoulders, saying, "Can you really make everyone follow such a thing? First of all, do you think someone would really waste their time trying to prevent people from having sex? We already live in this confined place. If you eliminate sex as well, people will definitely go crazy. In the end, it's a lot easier to simply put down some people than preventing them from being born."

Roan also added, 'No one probably cares that much either. Since the number is ten million, chances are that even if the number goes above, it won't be that much. Who knows? A hundred thousand, maybe two? In the lottery that follows, everyone would prefer to trust their luck that they won't be the chosen ones. In fact, they probably won't as the chance of being selected is indeed low.'

Xuve nodded, continuing, "That's why no one complains. Besides, everyone believes that as long as they reach the Elemental Transformation Realm, they would be on the safe side, never to be afraid of being killed again. As long as the ten million number is maintained, then we would have enough space and food for everyone. Well, it's not like it's that easy to reach the Elemental Transformation Realm."

Following that, Xuve brought the twins back to the room. "Now, just lie down and rest. You will finish reverting to your original forms in two or three months at most. At least, that's what I can tell from the speed of your recovery."

Rean couldn't help but ask, 'Aren't you going to inquire about information from the outside world?'

Xuve and Glasita shook their heads. "If we do and you answer, we would have no reason to keep treating you, right? Would you really answer before you could at least move on your own?"

Rean had to admit they were right. 'I wouldn't...'

Neither Glasita nor Xuve took it to heart. "This is just an exchange. Transforming you two back to normal doesn't cost us anything other than time. Once you're back to normal, you can simply tell us the information we want to hear. It's that simple."

Xuve and Glasita then left the twins behind so that they could have their own discussion. 'So, what do you think, Roan?'

'They're definitely telling the truth. It's just that I don't know if it's all the truth or not. The water in that lake is abundant, so transforming us back indeed doesn't cost anything. We just need to be careful once we finish this exchange. After all, nothing guarantees that we won't be killed as soon as we reveal whatever they want.'

Rean had reached the same conclusion. 'That's good, then. Let's just patiently wait.' In the end, Rean couldn't help but think about Rafatia and Falangia. 'Sigh... I wonder what happened to those two. We had been out for over five years, and we did ask them to wait for us. It feels just like Qia and Calina as I don't know what happened to them.'

Roan closed his eyes in response, saying, 'It's hard to say. However, they definitely wouldn't stay in Salt Canyon Undersea City for long. Most likely, Falangia grabbed Rafatia and moved back to Utari City. The only doubt is whether she arrived there or not. In any case, that's not something for us to care about for now. Let's focus on our recovery.'

'Alright.' Rean nodded.

Thanks to the twins' constitution, it really took just another two months before most of the transformed parts of their bodies returned to normal. There were a few small pieces remaining, but the twins could at least fight and defend themselves now.

Plus, that wasn't all. Kentucky was also someone who had Light and Dark Elements as affinity. With that said, his brain also recovered quite quickly, being just a tad slower than the twins. He couldn't really move well, but he could already talk and use his Divine Sense. The twins believed that it wouldn't take more than two or three months before Kentucky was free as well.

The last one was obviously Luan. There was one thing the twins noticed about Luan's case. Even though Luan had become a statue, he didn't stop growing up. That was quite a weird thing as Luan's statue was now the size of a young thirteen-year-old man. However, he obviously didn't have the twins or Kentucky's perks. Because of that, only a few small parts of his body seemed to have come back to normal. He couldn't think, see or say anything at the moment.

Nevertheless, there was a piece of good news. After the twins became able to walk on their own, the system opened once again. It considered that the twins were not in a dangerous situation anymore.