Inside the resplendent room, Roel looked at the Systems evaluation with eyes widened in disbelief.

Evaluation: 66 (Average)

How could this be? Roel murmured his indignation and disbelief.

66? How could my evaluation score be only 66 when my previous score was already 59?! What does this mean?

Roel subconsciously touched his waist as he suddenly felt like he had gotten nearly severed into two for nothing. He was forced to overthrow his earlier deductions.

He could hardly believe that his evaluation score had only increased by a measly 7 points when he had encountered and even fought with a god. This could only mean that his encounter with Death God Pritzer had hardly any impact on his true goal in this Witness State.

A deep frown etched on Roels forehead as he racked his brain to figure out where he had gone wrong. It didnt take him long to grasp the crux of the problem.

His mission in the Witness State was to make a different choice from his ancestor. With this as the premise, he could think of various reasons that the increment in his evaluation score for this incident was lower than he had expected.

The first possibility was that the encounter with Death God Pritzer could have been a side quest with minimal relation to the main storyline.

While Roel had suffered a lot in this incident, this encounter didnt have much impact on the ultimate choice he would have to make in the future. Even the later involvement of the Mother Goddess didnt do much in terms of shaking up the status quo.

The second possibility was that the System had judged this assassination event to be worth only 7 points.

Death God Pritzer was indeed powerful, but he wasnt an absurd opponent compared to what he had to overcome in his previous Witness State, be it Sire Darkness or Magician King Priestley. Besides, Roel had a powerful evil god on his side too.

The third possibility, which was the likeliest possibility but also the one that Roel least wanted to be true, was that the original Kingmaker had encountered the Death Gods assassination too.

The evaluation score for this Witness State appeared to be based on the difference between Roels decisions and those of the original Kingmaker. Supposing the original Kingmaker had encountered Death God Pritzer and defeated him as well, it made sense that Roels evaluation score wouldnt rise much for doing the same.

If so, the 7 points he had received were probably just a consolation prize for him employing a different way to resolve the situation. Unlike Roel, who had deployed the underhanded calling the parent card, it was more likely for the original Kingmaker to have breached the seal and killed the enemy on his own, especially considering how the original Kingmaker would have been much stronger than him.

However, this sparked an important question: Why was the original Kingmaker targeted for assassination?

Roel could understand why the Death God had come after him, considering how he had stayed in a presidential suite and received VIP treatment, but the original Kingmaker should have been imprisoned by the Mother Goddess. It should have been more than clear that there was discord between the original Kingmaker and the Mother Goddess, so why did the Savior still attempt to kill him?

This didnt make sense at all.

Going by the adage of the enemy of my enemy is a friend, it made more sense for the Savior to rescue the original Kingmaker than to assassinate him. By tapping the Kingmakers influence, the Savior could have significantly improved his position against the Mother Goddess.

Unable to make sense of this question, Roel decided to shove it aside for the time being. Instead, he turned his attention toward the voice he had heard right before he came under Death God Pritzers attack.

He had heard a gentle voice telling him to prepare himself right before the Death Gods arrival. The owner of the voice obviously knew about the Death Gods assassination and was trying to warn him about it but who could that person be?

Does the Kingmaker have such a teammate? Or is he the kind of supporting character that provides intelligence but does nothing at all?

Before Roel could get to the bottom of the matter, he suddenly sensed a mana pulsation above him. A black-haired woman suddenly appeared before his eyes. She looked at him for a second before abruptly pulling him into a tight embrace.

Some gestures are universal regardless of the era, the civilization, or the language. One such example was hugging.

The concept of personal space was exceptionally strong in the Sia Continent, for it wasnt just an issue of comfort but safety as well. It was dangerous to allow an enemy to get too close to oneself, as it was much harder to react to a point-blank attack.

Due to that, most people only hugged people whom they trusted.

Hugging had many different meanings, too. It could symbolize friendship or romance, but the most common one of all was kinship.

Listening to Her heartbeat and feeling the warmth of Her soft body, Roel could sense that the Mother Goddess was completely unguarded against him. It left him with complicated feelings.

Roel noticed how he didnt harbor any inappropriate thoughts as a man even though the ravishing Mother Goddess was embracing him. It could have been due to Her taller stature and mature appearance, but more than that, it was the feeling She induced in him.

It was faint, but he sensed his Crown Origin Attribute trilling like a hatchling returning to its nest.

He had always kept his guard up in the presence of the Mother Goddess, which was why he had never sensed this faint reaction. But now that he was fully relaxed, he couldnt help but be affected by this feeling as well.

Are you feeling better now?

Mmhm, Roel replied with a nod.

The Mother Goddess heaved a sigh of relief.

It was My fault. I got careless. I never thought those lunatics would resort to assassinating you. Im sorry.

No, its not Your fault.

Faced with the Mother Goddess downhearted apology, Roel hesitated for a long while before vindicating Her. He couldnt bring himself to blame this incident on the Mother Goddess, since the Savior was the true culprit, whereas She was the one who saved him in the end.

He couldnt deny that he was shaken up by the incident. It terrified him to think about what could have happened otherwise. However, that wasnt a reason to blame those who cared about him.

You wouldnt have sustained such severe injuries if I hadnt sealed your powers, the Mother Goddess muttered in regret.

No one could have known that something like that would happen. Taking a step back, with my Origin Level, I doubt that the outcome would have been any different even if I had my powers, Roel replied.

Still

The self-reproachful Mother Goddess still wanted to say something about the matter, but Roel pulled out from Her embrace and shook his head. Then, he raised another question that he had been wondering about.

M-Mother, I discovered that I have made a breakthrough to Origin Level 2. Did You help me?

I noticed that you were already close to a breakthrough while inspecting your injuries, so I gave you a little push Should I have not done so?

No, Im grateful for Your help.

I see.

Roels choice to call the Mother Goddess Mother, albeit with some hesitation, led to Her looking at him with increasingly gentle and affectionate eyes. An awkward but heartwarming atmosphere settled between the two of them.

Roel decided to take this rare opportunity to satiate his curiosity about some matters.

Mother, may I ask You a few questions?

What is it?

Do you have a real child?

The abrupt question left the Mother Goddess eyes wide in astonishment. She didnt understand why Roel was suddenly asking something like that.

On the other hand, Roel patiently waited for Her answer with his ears pricked up.

Far too many questions had been making their rounds in his head ever since he entered this Witness State, but the biggest question of all was the relationship between the Mother Goddess and Alicia.

It was not to say that the Mother Goddess and Alicia looked identical to each other, but they shared the same silver hair and crimson eyes, after all. Furthermore, Alicias Silverash Child Bloodline harnessed far greater power under moonlight, similarly to the Mother Goddess. In fact, one of the many aliases that the Mother Goddess went by was the Moon Goddess.

It would be far too much of a coincidence for the two of them to share so many commonalities and yet not be related to each other. For that reason, Roel had been wondering if Alicia was the Mother Goddess descendant.

Surprisingly, the Mother Goddess refuted his conjecture.

If you are referring to a child born through reproduction in the sense of ordinary beings, I dont have such offspring. Neither have I ever had a companion. However, I see you as My true child, the Mother Goddess replied with a serious tone.

Thinking that it was unlikely that the Mother Goddess would lie to him about this, Roel began to wonder about what kind of other possible relationships there could be between Alicia and Her. The Mother Goddess appeared to misunderstand his silence, so She further clarified.

You dont have to feel too frustrated about this. As I have said, youre the child I favor the most. Your clan bears the greatest resemblance to Me due to the Crown Origin Attribute.

!

Roel hadnt expected to hear such words and was surprised. The Mother Goddess noticed his confusion and continued Her explanation.

You should be able to tell by now that Im not the impostor that those vile rumormongers made Me out to be. I might have lost most of My memories, but I still remember everything about My most beloved children.

Mother, do you mean that you really are Sia?

Youre finally willing to call Me by that name.

The Mother Goddess had a sorrowful expression as She answered with a hoarse voice. Her body trembled in agitation as She leaned in and embraced Roel.

I thought that you would never acknowledge Me.

What happened?

Im sorry. It was all My fault. The plan failed. I know that youd hate Me for not following through with My promise, but I didnt think that things would turn out like that

Ah?

Plan? What plan?

Roels mind completely blanked out. He had no idea what the Mother Goddess was referring to. Meanwhile, the Mother Goddess continued reproaching Herself.

It was all an accident. I have never thought that there would be such a side to Me. Who could have thought that I would end up destroying Myself? You even got targeted by Him and nearly lost your life. I

!

Roel narrowed his eyes. He could roughly deduce what might have happened by breaking down the key phrases mentioned by the Mother Goddess.

Accidents didnt just happen to a being as powerful as the Mother Goddess. That was even more true if She truly used to be Sia, the creator of the world. There was hardly anything in the world that could have come across as an accident to an almost all-knowing being like Her, though there was one thing that immediately came to Roels mind.

Her departure from the world.

That was the greatest mystery that had been buried in the sands of time, as well as the historical core that could enlighten Roel to the truth of the world. While Edavia had proposed a credible conjecture, there could be more than there seemed.

I have to get to the bottom of this matter!

Roel recalled his evaluation score and felt anxious.

Even though he felt a connection with the Mother Goddess, and his life in the Moonsoul Tower had been comfortable too, he was determined to clear this Witness State as soon as possible.

For some reason, he recently sensed his connection with Grandar and the others thinning out. Edavia was a plausible suspect, but she had no reason to sabotage Roel right now, especially since she sought to reside in his Inner Sanctum. It was more likely to be a problem on his part.

After some thought, he arrived at a conclusion that chilled him to his bones.

Similar to how a phone lost connection when moving away from the signal tower, the reason he was losing his connection with Grandar and the others might be that he was drifting away from the real world.

While it was just a conjecture at the moment, the consequences were dire should it be true. Thus, he had to grasp onto every clue he stumbled upon, and the Mother Goddess deepest secret could just be the crucial intelligence he needed to turn things around.

Mother, what is the plan You spoke of? Roel decided to ask the question after much hesitation.

The Mother Goddess was silent for a long while before She finally relented.

I know that you must be confused right now. Ill tell you everything. Be it your Kingmaker Clans Inner Sanctum or short lifespan, these can all be traced to the same reason.

The same reason?

Yes. The truth is that the Crown Origin Attribute has been devouring your souls.

The Mother Goddess looked at the dumbfounded Roel with a pained expression.