?


    "Someone tried to use the Pirs of Eternity to be a God?" Lux asked in disbelief.


    Eriol nodded. "Yes, and he almost seeded."


    Max had an annoyed expression on his face as if he was remembering something foul.


    "You see Lux, Authority is a way to gain the power of Faith," Max stated. "Each God is born from the Faith of the People, and the ability to control an entire world would have given him enough Power of Faith to ascend to Godhood.


    "Because of this, the Gods rebelled, and a battle to reim the Artifacts ensued. Unfortunately, their chosen champions lost to the one that had managed to steal all Five Artifacts. Just as his ritual of ascension was about to bepleted, our dear friend, who was also the Goddess of Sis, sacrificed her life in order to disrupt the ceremony.


    "She seeded, and the Traitor Hero was banished to the deepest Layer of the Abyss. Our friend died, and her soul was cursed as a consequence of her actions. She was fated to wander the two worlds, and every time she reincarnated, she suffered a fate worse than death."


    Max closed his eyes, and the pain of losing his dear friend could be seen in every fiber of his being.


    Even Eriol, who almost always had a carefree smile on his face, had a hurt expression on his face.


    "Is this Goddess currently living in Elysium or Sis as a mortal?" Lux asked out of curiosity.


    "She is… in Elysium," Eriol replied. "And suffering even as we speak. Also, one of the Pirs of Eternity is within her soul. She has kept it with her all this time in order to prevent the same incident from happening again. This is also why she is suffering.


    "A Goddess might be able to store the power of Eternity in her body, but a mortal body is very fragile and unable to contain the power that is always present in her soul."


    Lux then nced at the two Gods in front of him with a determined expression on his face.


    "Then can you tell me where she is?" Lux pleaded. "If we can find her then I will be able to collect one of the Pirs of Eternity."


    Eriol and Max exchanged a nce before resolutely shaking their heads at the same time.


    "As much as we want to end her suffering, we can''t tell you where she is," Eriol stated. "Lux, there is a chance that she will die if we intervene, and time is of the essence. If she dies because of our interference, there will not be a second chance to save Sis."


    Max sighed. "You might have already felt it, haven''t you? Sis doesn''t have much time left. Three years at the minimum, six at the maximum. If the Five Pirs are not gathered by then… Sis will cease to exist. Their only chance of survival is for all of them to migrate to Elysium, and that is ourst resort."


    Lux felt as if the weight that he was carrying on his shoulders became heavier after Max''s revtion.


    In less than six years, Sis would disappear if he failed to finish his mission. This made him feel bitter because he really had no clue about where to search for the Pirs of Eternity.


    "All I can tell you is that two of the five Pirs are in their artifact form," Eriol hesitated a bit before imparting this information to Lux. "Meaning, they might be in Auctions, they might be sold by Merchants, or you can stumble upon them by ident.


    "The other three are harder to find because they are stored in People''s Soul. For them to appear, these people must undergo Enlightenment, allowing them to summon these dormant powers hidden within their souls."


    Lux rubbed his face with both of his hands because his mission was harder than finding a needle in a sea of haystacks.


    There were countless people in both Elysium and Sis, and finding these three souls was nearly an impossible task. Even so, he refused to give up so he asked the Gods another question.


    "Is there a way for me to determine who these people are?" Lux asked. "Like a detector or something? Anything that will alert me if that person is near?"


    "Actually, you will be able to…"


    "Stop, Max. We can''t. Don''t take this gamble."


    Eriol looked at his friend with a resigned expression. Max scratched his head before averting his gaze.


    After a few minutes of silence, Max spoke and, this time, it was Eriol''s turn to look away.


    "Lady Fate isn''t always fair, but she is not always unfair," Max stated. "Since she knows the reason why you are sent to Sis, she will present you with opportunities to find the Pirs of Eternity."


    Suddenly, the sound of lightning and thunder reverberated in the surroundings, and the Domain where Lux, Eriol, and Max were started to shake.


    Cracks appeared in the dimension they were in, but after a few minutes of tension, the destruction came to a halt.


    "You failed this gamble, Max," Eriol said bitterly. "We almost…"


    "Hahaha! It''s fine, didn''t we survive?" Max cut off Eriol''s words before he couldplete them.


    "Barely survived."


    "Still survived, so we''re fine. It''s just several cracks… just don''t do anything to make them bigger and we''ll be fine… probably."


    Eriol rubbed his face with his palm before ncing at Lux with an apologetic face.


    "Lux, remember that we said that you have three up to six years before Sis ends? Now it seems that you only have up to four years before everything goes kaboom," Eriol said before looking at his friend. "Thank you, Max. You are a real pal."


    The God of Gamblers cleared his throat before looking at Lux with a smile.


    "Um, your time is running out, but before you go, allow me to give you a freebie." Max took out a cardboard box with an AmaSoon sticker on it, and handed it to Lux. "I won cards against Ganesha, and as a prize, he gave me several sets of Lucky Underwear.


    "Since these undergarments are for girls, I have no use for them. I''m pretty sure that you''ll have a better use for them, especially where you are going."


    The God of Gamblers then whispered something in Lux''s ears that made thetter blush.


    "A few of these underwear have slits in them, so if you are into that kind of thing, feel free to give it a go. Also, as the name implies, you might get lucky, or in your case, unlucky, because one shot is all it takes to make a little Lux—if you know what I mean."


    Max chuckled as he handed the Cardboard Box to Lux before giving him a gentle push, making the Half-Elf fall down from the sky.


    "You will not be able to talk to us for a while because we are currently grounded," Max stated. "Be safe Lux, and no matter what happens, know that we are always on your side."


    Before Lux could even give his reply, the Half-Elf found himself kneeling on the ground, facing the Altars of the Gods, holding a cardboard box in his hands.


    Eiko, who was surprised that something appeared out of nowhere, jumped off her Papa''s head and opened the box.


    She then started to pick up the underwear inside it and threw them high in the air as if ying a game.


    Right at that moment, Emma, and Garret''s three daughters, Leah, Emily, and Alexa, came inside the Temple to pray.


    What they found inside made the four girls look at Lux in horror.


    A pink bra was hanging on the Half-Elf''s head, while several other undergarments littered the ground.


    Lux blinked once then twice before giving the four girls an awkward smile. He knew that anything he said would cause a misunderstanding, so he just manned up and said what was already inside his head.


    "Oh my, I wonder where all of these came from?" Lux said as he lifted the bra off his head and ced it inside the cardboard box. "It seems that the Gods liked my offering and sent me gifts in return."


    The four girls looked at him for a few seconds before exiting the room at the same time.


    Leaving Lux and the giggling Baby Slime alone with their own thoughts.