William noticed that the balance of the golden scale had shifted entirely in his favor. Under normal circumstances, that would have been a reassuring sign, an indication that his answer had carried sufficient weight. However, instead of feeling satisfied, he found himself growing increasingly wary.
The movement of the scale did not feel as natural as the previous movements he had noticed.
Either the artifact was malfunctioning, or he had unknowingly spoken something far more significant than he had intended to.
The latter possibility unsettled him.
Even so, he chose not to dwell on it for long. His gaze flickered briefly toward Xythia. Her expression remained calm and neutral, devoid of any visible disturbance, which suggested that whatever had just occurred had not affected her, at least not in any way she was willing to reveal.
For now, he let the matter rest.
Meanwhile, far from the composed image she maintained, Xythia had only just recovered from the surge of pain that had struck her true body. Despite the discomfort and pain, her astral avatar in front of William betrayed none of it. For her, the dignity of a higher existence could not be compromised, especially not in front of a mortal.
She had to maintain her godly image.
Though internally, she was far from composed.
Something had happened, something strange.
Her gaze shifted briefly toward the scale, now completely tipped toward William. This confirmed that his previous words had carried an immense weight.
But what exactly had he said?
Strangely, she could not remember his words, as if someone had erased her memory.
There was only a blank space in her memory where that moment should have been.
The sensation she recalled was not merely pain; it was something invasive. It had felt as though a blade had scraped through her mind, carving out a fragment of her memory and erasing it. The force behind such an act was not something she could comprehend... and more importantly, not something she could afford to provoke.
Xythia was not an ordinary deity. She was far older than most gods, a being who stood at a higher tier of existence. Yet even she understood the seriousness of what had just occurred.
If *her* memory could be forcibly erased by outside influence. Then the entity responsible existed on a level far beyond her own.
Testing such a force would not lead to answers; it would lead to annihilation. And now it was also clear that William had someone backing him.
Thus, she made the most rational choice available to her.
She ignored it.
Lifting her head slightly, she spoke as though nothing had happened. "Go ahead. Ask your next question."
William gave a small nod before proceeding.
"You mentioned earlier that gods cannot go against the nature of their title."
"However, the so-called God of Light - Lux has clearly acted against what that title represents. He demands sacrifices from the church, manipulates events that lead to catastrophe, and his followers even cooperate with demons. If anything, instead of illuminating the path of his devotees, he appears to control and brainwash them. Why is that?"
As his question ended, Xythia’s brows lifted slightly.
Then, without hesitation, she replied,
"The ’God of Light’ is not even a real god."
Her answer shocked William; his face was filled with confusion and contradiction.
Seeing this, Xythia continued.
"The entity you refer to does not belong to my plane of existence," she explained. "However, I can say with certainty that there should be no such thing as a God of Light even in other planes. That notion contradicts the fundamental laws of the universe."
She paused briefly, as though deciding how best to phrase the explanation.
"The first thing you must understand is that elements are not controlled by gods. They possess their own consciousness."
"There are different types of gods," she continued, "each associated with specific laws rather than elements. For example, I govern the laws of protection and healing. While I can wield elements such as light, nature, or life, those elements merely complement my authority. They are not mine to rule."
William listened closely, absorbing every detail.
"The only exceptions to this arrangement are the Outer Gods," Xythia added. "These are entities that govern celestial bodies—such as the God of Mercury, the Goddess of the Moon, the Jupiter God, the Sun God, and other entities tied to stars and planets."
She then shifted her focus back to Lux.
"In the case of the being you mentioned, there are only two plausible explanations."
"First, he may not be a true god at all. Instead, he could be a powerful entity from an upper existence realm. The higher planes are not inhabited solely by gods—there are angels, messengers, and countless other beings that serve under various authorities. The understanding of gods within the scarred lands you currently lie in is deeply flawed, so it is not surprising that such an entity would be misidentified."
She paused briefly before continuing.
"The second possibility is... less favorable."
A faint, almost disdainful note entered her voice.
"He may indeed be a god—but not of light. Rather, he could be a god of deception, manipulation, or trickery. Domains associated with control, scheming, or cheating. Beings of such nature often form alliances with otherworldly entities like demons."
"Elements like light possess immense pride. They would never submit to an existence unworthy of them. So the second possibility is unlikely."
With that, Xythia concluded her explanation.
The golden scale responded once more, shifting toward her side. Though it did not tip as dramatically as before, the balance had clearly moved in her favor.
William fell into deep thought.
The information she had revealed was important, far more than he had expected it to be. More importantly, it exposed a glaring gap in his understanding.
Existence planes, Laws, Outer gods??
His previous knowledge from the novel felt insignificant in comparison. The system was right when he said that even if the world may draw similarities to a novel, it might not truly be similar.
For now, he needed more answers.
Without hesitation, he turned inward.
"System," he asked silently, "is there any book or catalog in the shop that can help me understand what she just explained?"
[You need to update the system shop. Its scope is currently limited by the restrictions of Aris.]
William frowned slightly. "And how do I do that?"
[You must either activate one of your supreme talents, specifically the adaptation talent, or absorb an energy source that surpasses the limits of this existence plane, something related to a god.]
A thought immediately crossed his mind.
"Wasn’t the curse I removed from my mother and Samantha useful for that?"
[No, you did not remove it consciously. Your fate immunity likely burned their fate lines, severing the connection and rendering the curse ineffective.]
[If you wish to truly absorb that power, you must travel to the fate realm and consume the powers of the curse directly.]
William’s eyes narrowed as he heard the system.
[The energy of the curse still exists. You merely disconnected it from its targets. The entity that cast it still believes the curse is active, which is the reason it is not coming after you for defying its will.]
William heard the system and felt a bit weird; the system never revealed such details normally.
"...You are revealing quite a lot today," William muttered internally. "What happened to all the restrictions you used to hide behind?"
[Your interaction with a goddess unlocked the hidden conditions for my wisdom to evolve. The restrictions imposed on the Supreme System’s information have loosened because you have already entered a scenario where restricted knowledge would inevitably be revealed.]
[There is no longer any benefit in withholding it.]
William remained silent, listening.
[The knowledge within the Supreme System is divided into 9 levels. Level 9 is the lowest, while Level 1 contains the highest tier of information]
[Your interaction with Xythia has unsealed approximately 20% of the restrictions on level 9. If you want to unlock more wisdom, then you must interact with beings of Xythia’s level]
[You may also address me by my name now.]
As the system said this, it caught his attention immediately.
"And what is your name?" he asked.
There was a brief silence before the response came.
[You can call me Orion... the spirit of the Supreme System.]