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Is She asking if I am Her creation or… Roel pondered as he looked at Sia, who, despite Her inviolable aura, appeared perplexingly nervous.

He decided not to clarify the question in the end, since his answer would have been the same. From a broader perspective, Sia was the Mother of All Lives. From a narrower perspective, the Kingmaker had inherited Sia’s soul, so it was not wrong to say that they were mother and son.

“Yes, Lord Sia. I am Your child.”

“…I see.”

Brief silence ensued before Sia nodded, but Her expression still showed no hints of a smile or maternal love. Instead, Her expression became even more complicated, as if She was facing a dilemma.

Roel couldn’t understand Her response. He hesitated for a brief moment before bucking up his courage to ask about it, “Lord Sia, may I ask the rationale behind the earlier question?”

“I… wanted to confirm it.”

“Confirm it?”

“You have finally reached Origin Level 1, right?” Sia asked as She stroked Roel’s cheek as if to sense his physical condition.

“Ah? Y-yes, I have.”

Roel was taken aback by the question.

She spoke as if She had seen him before, which was incongruous with Her previous response. However, he had met Sia’s avatar back when he advanced to Origin Level 3, so She could have sensed his presence then, just that She had a lapse in Her memory.

Casting away his doubts for the time being, he looked at Sia and raised the question that had been on his mind for a while now: “Lord Sia, where are we? Is this related to my breakthrough to Origin Level 1?”

“We’re at the Divine Altar, a land of glory back in the ancient era. This is where brave souls are rewarded for overcoming the limits of their races.”

“Overcoming the limits of their races…”

“Even in the ancient era where legendary races thrived, very few have been able to reach Origin Level 1. Those are outstanding individuals who overcame their limits, and I am proud of them,” Sia said as She looked at the altar with a nostalgic expression.

Roel blinked in surprise as he asked, “Has it been a long time since You were last here, Lord Sia? I thought that You have been waiting here for me.”

“I… haven’t been here for a long time now.”

“I see… Lord Sia, may I ask something insolent?”

“Go ahead.” Sia retracted Her wandering gaze to look at him.

“What is Your current state?” Roel chose his words carefully.

“…I am a remnant of My old Self.”

“I see.” Roel finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The remnants of Sia’s power should have long since faded. When Roel received the ‘Being Toward Death’ blessing during his breakthrough to Origin Level 3, the Sia he saw was beautiful but incapable of conversing. It was a miracle he could touch and interact with the Sia before him.

Even though the Sia before him was different from his expectations, he was still thankful for this meeting.

Sia suddenly spoke up again. “You, the Kingmaker, should have been the one to crown those who have surpassed their limits, but I was summoned here. You must have done something.”

“If that’s the case, Lord Sia, Your appearance here might have been triggered by me gathering the power of the Six Calamities and absorbing them as Crown’s Stones.”

“Crown’s Stones? That explains it…” Sia murmured under Her breath before looking at him. “The powers of the Six Calamities are the authorities I have severed from Myself for you. Your gathering of those powers must have induced a powerful resonance that awakened Me. However, this effect is temporary. We’ll have to make haste.”

“Make haste?”

“Yes. As I have told you, the Divine Altar is the place where warriors who overcame their limits are rewarded. You are going to be rewarded too.”

Sia finally revealed a faint smile. She gently placed Her hand on Roel’s chest and imparted an overwhelming surge of energy into him.

For an instant, the energy flooded Roel’s consciousness, bringing about an unprecedented feeling of relaxation that he instinctively closed his eyes to immerse himself in. He vaguely sensed that there was something new inside his body, but he was unable to track it down.

What’s going on? Is it another blessing? But why didn’t the System react, then? Roel was perplexed.

It was a while before the light faded, and the feeling of relaxation he felt receded along with it. However, he could still feel the lingering warmth of the energy. Roel slowly opened his eyes and asked, “Lord Sia, that was…”

However, Sia shook Her head and replied, “You’ll know in the future.”

“Hm?”

“You have received your reward now. It’s time for you to leave,” She said.

Roel’s body suddenly floated as if he had lost his weight. At the same time, the Divine Altar began to glow. Before he could say a word, his vision was suddenly inundated by a blinding light.

Right before he was evicted from the holy world, he hurriedly looked at Sia and saw that She was looking at him with brooding eyes. Somehow, She gave off an air of melancholy.

Darkness then consumed Roel, and his consciousness faded.

…

“…Lord Brother! Lord Brother!”

“Alicia?”

Roel slowly opened his eyes and was dazed when he saw the silver-haired woman before him. Alicia breathed a sigh of relief upon confirming that he was safe.

“Alicia, I…”

“You scared me, Lord Brother!”

Alicia wiped off her tears before lurching forward to hug him. Under her warmth, Roel slowly recalled the events that had just transpired.

“That’s right! Sia…”

“Lord Brother, what did you say?”

“I… met Sia.”

“Sia?” Alicia was momentarily stunned before she placed her hand on Roel’s forehead.

“…” Roel was initially confused, only to be rendered speechless when he realized the meaning behind her gesture. He grabbed Alicia by her wrist and asked, “Alicia, what are you doing?”

“I’m just checking your body, Lord Brother.”

“More like ‘checking if I’m delirious’! You’re treating me like a patient just because I said I met Sia!”

“I… It’s hard to say for certain when it comes to matters involving the Genesis Goddess, but what you have just mentioned shouldn’t have been possible. I have been watching you since you entered that bundle of light. There were strong mana pulsations, but nothing more than that.”

Alicia looked at Roel with worried eyes and spoke with a careful tone as if she was worried about agitating him. However, Roel refused to change his words.

“I suspect that my soul or consciousness was transported to another dimension for that meeting. I even received Sia’s protection…”

“Sia’s protection?” Alicia tilted her head in confusion.

Roel’s words also trailed off halfway through, and his forehead slowly furrowed.

He had just conducted a quick inspection of his own body with his mana.

On the bright side, his plan was a success. He had made a breakthrough to Origin Level 1, as evident from his strengthened soul and the unimaginable amount of mana suffusing his body. However, he couldn’t sense the slightest trace of Sia’s protection at all.

“How is this possible?”

“Lord Brother, there are transcendents who experience hallucinations during their breakthrough. It’s not that rare…” Alicia looked at Roel pitifully.

She glanced at the magic items, wondering if they were the catalyst behind his hallucination. However, Roel didn’t agree with her.

Hallucination? Impossible.

It may have been plausible for him to have visual or auditory hallucinations, but how could he hallucinate Her touch too? Furthermore, that wasn’t a scene he had seen before.

It was then that he recalled a critical piece of information and asked, “Alicia, do you know about the Divine Altar?”

“Divine Altar? Lord Brother, where did you hear that phrase?” Alicia was shocked to hear that. “The Divine Altar is the place where Origin Level 1 Race Sovereigns are granted an audience with Sia after their breakthrough. It’s said that Sia would bestow rewards and honor upon them. However, the Divine Altar was destroyed by war shortly after Sia’s departure. Wait a moment, Lord Brother; are you saying that…”

“Yes, I was there. It was a holy altar in the middle of a white space…” Roel replied with a nod before describing the Divine Altar to her.

Alicia slowly widened her eyes in astonishment, unable to believe what she was hearing.

“I’d have never thought such a thing was possible. It has been so long since Sia’s departure that Her powers should have already dissipated… Could this be the reason Her protection isn’t taking effect?” she said.

“Perhaps so… Forget it. Even if the protection doesn’t work, I’m already content to have met the Genesis Goddess who created this world.”

Roel thought about his audience with Sia, and his disappointment retreated. It would have been great if he could receive Sia’s protection, but he was already satisfied with the ‘Being Toward Death’ blessing. After all, the ‘Being Toward Death’ blessing had saved him many times now.

His only regret was that the meeting was too short, such that he didn’t even have time to thank Her.

Roel let out a sigh as he stood up. He took one last look at the six floating magic items before descending the structure with Alicia. The two of them then stepped into the white fog together, but the situation was a little different this time around.

Now that he had gathered the Crown’s Stones and advanced to Origin Level 1, the white fog didn’t dare to be insolent anymore. The two of them walked together, and it didn’t take them long to arrive at their earlier residence.

Roel returned to his room and took a moment to rest and reinforce his powers.

Even though he had made a breakthrough, he still needed some time to adapt to the massive changes within him. Having power and being able to control it were two vastly different notions.

As an Origin Level 1 transcendent herself, Alicia understood this logic, so she didn’t bother him. Instead, she virtuously steeped some tea for him and patiently waited for him by the side.

Roel was starting to feel a little anxious. After reaching Origin Level 1, he could vaguely sense the situation outside via the Crown’s Stones.

While everything looked peaceful on the surface, he knew that Carolyn would have uncovered Shrouding Fog’s whereabouts now that it had lost Light Devourer’s cover. Without a doubt, she was swiftly closing in on them at this very moment.

Thus, he made haste and quickly reinforced his newfound powers.

Meanwhile, in the distant plains, Carolyn slowly opened her golden eyes and looked at the dark horizon with irrepressible frenzy.