Roel Ascart returned to his room with tumultuous emotions raging within him.

The happenings at the night banquet and the subsequent conversation had changed his impression of the Mother Goddess, unraveling the animosity he felt for Her. 24062

He had to admit that he was biased against the Mother Goddess. It couldnt be helped when his encounters with Her and the Six Calamities in the real world had been less than pleasant. From the very start, She had already taken a hostile attitude toward him, often intimidating him with Her gaze and mobilizing the Six Calamities against him and those whom he cared about.

In fact, it was under the pursuit of Shrouding Fog that he even had to enter this Witness State in the first place!

The only reason he hadnt made a move against the Mother Goddess was the gap in their strength.

Shes too powerful. Im not a match for Her yet. Ill have to hold it in for now.

Those were Roels initial thoughts.

Even when he deduced that the goal of this Witness State was to proceed down a different path from the original Kingmaker, he had never thought of helping the Mother Goddess deal with the Savior at all.

But his train of thought began to change along with his encounters with the Mother Goddess. He could sense that Her care and concern were earnest, like a real mother, and the desperate plea She had made at the very end of their conversation stirred his heart.

Dont betray me.

Why would the Mother Goddess even utter those words?

A supreme being like Her would at least have thousands of ways to keep a person in line while exploiting their value, but She chose to plead with him instead. She was almost like a desperate mother fervently praying for her child to mature and understand her difficulties.

It pained Roel to have to deceive Her.

Besides, there was some credence behind the claim that the Mother Goddess was his mother. Goddess Sia was the Mother of All Beings, and the Kingmaker was Sias most favored child and trusted aide. If the Mother Goddess was related to Goddess Siaand there was a possibility that She might even be Sia Herselfthat would make Roel Her child.

How in the world is She related to Goddess Sia? Roel murmured under his breath in distress.

He tried to recall his encounter with Sia back when he was receiving Her blessing, but the results were lackluster. He remembered Genesis Goddess Sia to be a gorgeous individual, the very incarnation of beauty, yet he couldnt remember Her physical traits at all.

This was not Roels fault. The nature of the Genesis Goddess prevented others from seeing Her true appearance. Those who had met Her could only remember the wondrous emotions they felt in Her presence.

Naturally, this meant that the divine sculptures that the Genesis Goddess Church had made to represent Genesis Goddess Sia were not accurate.

Roel had no choice but to give up on this trail and instead focus on their auras.

Back when the Genesis Goddess bestowed Her blessing upon him, he had momentarily sensed Her aura. It was just the remnants of Her power, but it had left a strong impression on him.

The Mother Goddess aura did share some similarities with the Genesis Goddess, but there were some differences too. For instance, the Mother Goddess had a powerful presence that instinctively evoked Roels fear, but it was still lacking compared to Sias.

Roel made his way toward a nearby chair while pondering the possible relationship between the two with a deep frown. Unexpectedly, he suddenly experienced extreme vertigo.

Ah?

Roel was alarmed by the sudden bout of dizziness. For a brief moment, he felt as if the world had instantaneously halted and inverted on him, but then everything quickly reverted to normal. His body helplessly collapsed toward one side.

Bam!

A chair fell to the ground. Roel hurriedly grabbed onto the nearby table and barely managed to keep his balance, but he was left confused as to what had come over him.

The ruckus caught Adolas attention. She immediately rushed into the room, where she saw Roel standing weakly next to the table.

Lord Roel, whats wrong? she asked worriedly.

The other guards also rushed into the room. Blood Clansmen rose from the shadows of the wall. The gargoyles along the corridor spread their wings and left their pedestals. Everyone in Roels vicinity immediately went into high alert.

Calm down; its nothing much. I just felt dizzy for a moment. Theres nothing to panic about, Roel said with a helpless tone, and waved his hand to calm the crowd down.

The crowd heaved a sigh of relief, especially Adola.

It had only been hours since the conclusion of the night banquet, but whispers about Roel and Michers confrontation had been going around the upper echelons. If anything happened to Roel at this juncture, the High Elves would become the first suspect. Naturally, this meant that Adola would be assigned elsewhere.

As loyal as Adola was to the Mother Goddess, she would rather stay by the Kingmakers side than join the despairing battlefield. She cherished this opportunity greatly, which was why she stayed behind to check on Roel even as the others backed out of the room.

Lord Roel, are you really all right?

Yes, Im fine.

Should I get a doctor for you?

Theres no need for that. Im already feeling better now.

Roel clutched his forehead as he slowly settled himself down on the chair. He was confused as to what had happened, but he figured that it might have been due to his sealed mana. His body had always been powered by both his stamina and his mana, so the deprivation of one was bound to lead to some problems.

But the illusion I saw earlier, the instantaneous halting and inversion of the world

Before Roel could think deeper into it, he suddenly noticed a couple of new faces amongst the departing guards.

Adola, these people are?

Lord Roel, they are your new guards.

New guards?

Thats right. Shortly after the banquet, the Mother Goddess issued an order to replace most of your high elf guards with ones from the other races.

!

Roel widened his eyes in astonishment.

If he was still unsure whether the Mother Goddess had sided with him during this banquet, this confirmed that Her actions were motivated by concern for him.

She had nothing to gain from transferring away the high elves, and doing so would only push away a clan that was fiercely loyal to Her. No wise ruler would do something that undermined the internal harmony of their faction in the face of an imminent war, even if it was to win the Kingmaker over. Such an action could have only stemmed from true affection.

The knowledge of that left Roel feeling even more conflicted.

He looked at the scenery outside the window as he thought about his encounters with the Mother Goddess thus far. His expression slowly hardened in determination.

Adola, Im going to rest.

Understood. Please call me if you require anything, Adola replied before backing out of the room.

Roel entered his bedroom, lay down on his bed, and closed his eyes. Moments later, he drifted off to sleep.

His consciousness submerged into darkness once more, and a familiar dreamlike sensation enveloped him. A winding pathway traversing ever-changing scenery appeared before his eyes. Once again, he journeyed down the path and made his way toward the evil gods domain.

He only snapped out of the trance when he came into proximity of the old door. He pushed the door open and entered its premises, where he was welcomed by the joyful voice of a little girl.

You returned faster than I thought. What an anxious boy you are, Edavia said.

She closed her book and smiled at the approaching black-haired man. The latter looked at her with a grim expression.

Edavia, lets continue our conversation. Can you tell me the relationship between Sia and the Mother Goddess?