"...To keep me safe from Elohim."

I tilted my head in response even though I understood what she was trying to convey.

But why would Elohim do anything to a girl who was of no use to him?

’...No, perhaps I am not looking at it in the right way.’

Given how Elohim had a deep hatred toward Esmeray, there was a chance that he might be doing this to find a way to kill her.

’But how would killing or enslaving Inës help Elohim?’

I rubbed my chin, looking at the girl who stood there awkwardly.

’The Oracle of Past....’

Esmeray had wanted her dead; she had even sent me to kill her. Yet when I didn’t kill her, she left Inës alone.

’I never understood why Esmeray did that.’

There were millions of ways that Esmeray could have chosen to get her killed.

’....Unless it was all a part of her plan.’

I kept staring at her for a few seconds and Inës shifted awkwardly under my gaze.

"...Did I say something wrong?" she asked carefully.

"No...." I replied slowly. "So, Azrael told you to find Zenith and ask her to keep you safe from Elohim?"

"That’s...right."

"....I see." I nodded my head, walking toward the house. "Well, I can help you find Zenith and you will definitely like her."

Both of them were Oracles, so it was safe to assume they would get along.

"W-what about Elohim?" Inës said, her voice high-pitched. "My marriage is fixed with the Avatar of Elohim... how am I supposed to be safe from him?"

I slowly turned to look at the girl who had her head down, and it was painfully obvious that she wasn’t happy with this marriage.

I let out a sigh and walked toward her, giving a gentle pat on her head.

"Don’t worry." I said with a smile. "I would kill Ethan before he could even touch something as precious as you."

I turned around to walk toward the house, thinking about the girl.

’If she is anyway a weakness of Esmeray, then she will definitely be helpful to me.’

Hm?

I turned back to look at Inës who stood frozen in her place.

"Come on." I urged her. "Let’s go inside."

"Ah. Yes." She said, quickly walking past me while lowering her head.

’Why is she blushing?’

---

[The Head Base of Three Gods Church.]

[Aimar’s POV.]

The world blurred around Aimar like the fabric of reality was being pulled apart.

One moment he had been standing in the courtyard and the next he was standing a few centimeters away.

’...With my mana reserve I could most definitely move a few centimeters effectively, dodging any attack for days.’

He thought, moving around short distances all around the courtyard.

’Damn, this will look cool if I use it in battles.’

Aimar grinned thinking about using it on Azariah.

But his grin died down when he saw a girl walk under the shade of the trees.

Zenith’s gaze finally met Aimar, who was trying his best to ignore her.

The girl moved toward him and he let out a soft groan.

"Hey." She greeted him with a smile.

"Hey." He replied without looking at her.

"Are you ignoring me?" She asked, tilting her head.

"No." He replied. "What makes you think that?"

"I don’t know." She replied, her smile dying out. "Maybe because you always fucking run whenever you see me."

"Don’t abuse, young lady. It’s bad for—."

"Shut the fuck up." Zenith snapped at him. "I don’t want to hear shit from someone who doesn’t care for his mother."

Aimar let out a sigh as he walked toward the shade of a tree. Zenith followed behind him like a duckling.

Aimar leaned his back against the trunk of the tree and crossed his arms.

"Answer me, Aimar." Zenith said, glaring at him.

"I have nothing to answer." He replied. "It’s better for her to stay away from me."

"And why is that, Mr. Wannabe cool guy?" Zenith said with an incredulous look on her face.

"You do not understand who are after me, Zenith." Aimar said, his voice calm. "I have demigods who want me and it won’t be long before a god comes after me."

Zenith blinked her eyes when she heard his words. "...What?"

"You see, the eyes of Horus." He said, pointing at his eyes. "They are more of a curse than a blessing."

Aimar finally turned to look at her.

"They make me see things of a world unknown to me." he continued. "Of pharaohs and gods of deserts. How they were so unjust and unemphatic that they killed millions of innocents just for fun."

Zenith stared at him. "...You’re serious."

Aimar shrugged lightly. "Unfortunately."

He pushed himself off the tree and walked toward the stack of weapons.

"You see, the gods that I see in my visions are much better at controlling their feelings." Aimar explained, playing with a sword.

"They essentially create different personalities and don’t attach themselves to anyone. In that way they don’t feel any guilt about killing and save themselves from karma." 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Aimar believed the karmic system was something native to Horus’ world because he had never heard of it in his own world.

Zenith frowned at his words. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Don’t you think it would be helpful?" Aimar asked. "If I can find a way to create more than one personality for myself?"

"That’s a stupid idea." Zenith replied in a dismissive tone. "You would become a psychopath...."

Her words halted as something clicked in her mind.

"....A personality disorder like Himmel and Inder."

"Hm?" Aimar tilted his head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"N-no." She stammered. "I-I heard one of Himmel’s future wives talk about it."

"You heard from the future?" Aimar tilted his head. "...Right."

"Hey, don’t get me wrong—."

"Weirdo." Aimar cut her off, seemingly trying to keep his distance from her.

Zenith’s mouth hung open in utter disbelief.

"You were the one talking about getting multiple personalities!" She snapped. "You are the weirdo!?"

"I don’t talk with weirdos." Aimar responded while walking away. "Begone."

He ignored the curses his sister threw at him after that.

Aimar slowly looked up at Akasha, his mind wandering.

’How are we supposed to prepare ourselves for the invasion of gods...?’

---

[E.C.T.O Main Base.]

[Kandam Continent.]

In a room filled with thousands of papers and books, a single light burned on a large wooden table.

A map lay on the table which was as big as the table itself.

The strange thing was that the map showed the sky.

Lines were drawn across the heavens with circles around stars and dozens of notes written in beautiful handwriting.

At the center of the room, a young woman sat with her chin resting on her palm.

Her silver hair was tied loosely behind her back and her lifeless grey eyes stared at the map.

Esmeray leaned back on her chair and looked up where another woman was fixing things around the room.

"Have you gotten everyone to set up the traps?" Esmeray asked, her voice cold as usual.

Adaliah turned her head and bowed slightly. "Yes, my lady." She replied. "I have already prepared everything."

"Be sure to have it done by the end of this week." Esmeray instructed. "We don’t have much time before the invasion."

Adaliah nodded her head and began to work again.

Though she couldn’t help but ask. "Are you sure the gods will fall for your traps, my lady?"

Esmeray lifted her gaze toward Adaliah while crossing her long legs.

"I will give them no other choice but to fall." She said confidently. "They will be my slaves, doesn’t matter if they like it or not."

The woman paused for a long second. Even after serving Esmeray for years, those words still made her uneasy.

On one hand, the world was fearing for their lives and here Esmeray was thinking of using the invasion as an opportunity.

Adaliah began to work again while stealing a few glances toward Esmeray.

"How is Azariah these days?" Esmeray asked after a while.

"Same as usual. Spending time with his harem and helping others." Adaliah said, her tone mixed with annoyance.

"Tch." Esmeray clicked her tongue. "Always wasting his time."

Adaliah couldn’t agree more.

"He should be focusing on getting stronger." She mumbled. "That’s what matters right now."

Esmeray tapped her finger slowly against the wooden armrest of her chair.

"Strength... yes."

Her eyes drifted back to the sky map.

"But strength alone won’t save him."

Adaliah paused while organizing the papers.

"...You don’t believe he can survive?"

Esmeray let out a small scoff.

"That boy has survived things that would break most people."

She leaned forward slightly.

"But surviving and winning are two very different things."

Adaliah turned around. "And you want him to win?"

Esmeray didn’t respond. Instead she picked up a thin metal pointer from the table and tapped one of the circles drawn on the map.

"He will understand soon enough." She mumbled. "What his priorities must be."

Adaliah didn’t understand but she wasn’t going to question either.

Esmeray kept staring at the map like she was still planning more.

"....What a crowded board of pawns." She whispered softly. "The first thing I will do after becoming a goddess is wipe out the unwanted pieces."

Adaliah followed the movement of the pointer carefully. "And when will you reach godhood, my lady?"

"Soon." Esmeray mumbled. "Though I do believe Azariah will catch up with me soon."

Adaliah frowned, unable to understand her meaning. "He is far behind, my lady." She said. "It’s impossible for him to reach your level."

"You do not understand the monstrous potential of my son."

Esmeray replied in her emotionless voice.

"One catalyst, a single death and he will be at the very top."

Adaliah stared at Esmeray for a long second before returning to her work.

Esmeray remained silent for a long while before she spoke again.

"Activate all our sleeper agents in all kingdoms." She finally said. "I want chaos in every continent so there will be more casualties when they arrive."

Adaliah bowed deeply. "Yes, my lady."

Just as Adaliah turned around, the door of the room opened.

A young woman walked inside with a bright smile on her face.

Esmeray tilted her head when she saw Shyamal.

"What?" She asked.

"I killed the king you asked." Shyamal replied. "Now, can I go and see Azariah?"