"It seems you didn’t expect this," the Buried God said, bursting into laughter as he looked at Daniel’s face, confused at first, then slowly realizing what had happened. His laughter was genuine, deep, and mocking.
Even though this boy was the heir of his old friend, their relationship had always been more of a rivalry. Naturally, he wouldn’t miss a chance to make fun of him.
"I thought you two were enemies, but turns out you were just pretending. But... why?" Daniel ignored his tone and instead asked with curiosity.
It wasn’t hard to realize that the entire fight between those two gods had been an act, well, it was a bit hard to figure out, since even he had only realized it just now when he saw this bastard still alive.
"To fool them," the Buried God dropped his mocking expression and pointed upward with his fingers. There was nothing there but darkness and emptiness.
"Up there? You mean the other gods?" Daniel thought for a moment, recalling how these two gods seemed to be involved in a great war with the others.
"That’s right. When that consciousness took control of your body, through its words it told me that the gods had realized I was still alive, and they somehow lured you here to finish me off."
"So the gods used me like a puppet to do their dirty work? Wonderful. But why me? What made them think a mortal could kill a god?"
"They didn’t know," the Buried God replied indifferently.
"They probably just hoped that, since you’re extremely talented, you might be able to defeat me somehow. Once my heart was sealed again, they believed the job was done and that I was re-sealed. Problem solved."
"I see. But one more thing, don’t they see the Fallen God as a threat?" Daniel asked carefully. Deep down, he was worried that those gods might eventually come after him too.
"They don’t know you’re his heir," the Buried God answered, putting Daniel’s mind at ease.
"That old man hid every trace linking you to him extremely well. And it seems a few others helped conceal it too."
"Besides," he continued, "they can’t see what happens here. This tower and everything under its control are beyond their reach. All they can do is sense certain things, like the resealing of my heart. Gods aren’t as all-powerful as you think."
"Well, that’s good. I guess I can keep living for now," Daniel sighed in relief.
"Still, did you really have to attack me like a maniac from the very beginning?"
"I didn’t know you were my old friend’s heir," the Buried God replied. "And I didn’t know the gods had noticed me either."
"I guess that makes sense. But now that your heart’s sealed again, what are you planning to do? Try to break free? Get stronger? Take revenge?" Daniel asked, eyeing him suspiciously.
He was a bit worried this bastard might try to resurrect his old friend and hand over his body to the Fallen God. Naturally, he couldn’t let that happen.
"Afraid my friend might take your body for himself?" The Buried God chuckled, easily noticing Daniel’s unease.
"If I wasn’t cautious, I wouldn’t have survived this long, I’d have been dead ages ago."
"Guess you’re right. Maybe I’m just being paranoid," Daniel admitted, though he didn’t completely lower his guard.
"You worry too much," the Buried God said calmly.
"Only a fragment of his consciousness exists within your bloodline, it’s meant to protect you when needed. And every time you use it, it weakens."
"Don’t compare me to him," he added, letting out a sigh.
"That man’s a real monster. Even among gods, he stands near the top, few can rival him. He’s not dead. He’s still alive, still has his body. But because those bastards used that weapon, he was badly wounded."
The Buried God’s expression darkened slightly. Remembering that war still made him uneasy. They hadn’t expected the existence of that weapon, and because of it, they were utterly defeated.
And the betrayal...
If not for those two variables, they might have won. None of them, neither he nor his friends, would have ended up like this.
"I guess I was being too paranoid," Daniel muttered after seeing his expression. He didn’t completely drop his guard, but at least his stance eased up.
He still had to figure out why he was chosen as the Fallen God’s heir. Was it just luck? Or was there a bigger story behind it?
"I know you have a lot of questions," the Buried God said.
"But this isn’t the place. You can come find me in the kingdom I told you about. If you’re ever in danger, don’t hesitate to call for my help."
"Thanks. I’m sure we’ll meet again, I’ve got plenty to ask about your past," Daniel said with a small grin and a nod.
"By the way," the Buried God added, raising his hand, "that girl you were looking for, I hid her in a small dimensional pocket to keep her safe."
He waved his hand, and the void before them cracked open. From within, a crystalline figure floated out and began to fracture slowly.
"I didn’t expect you to protect her," Daniel said, his eyebrows lifting in surprise. Because of the gods’ battle, billions of beings that inhabited this world were likely wiped out.
He didn’t know if the inhabitants of this world were real or just illusions, but either way, they were all gone. So he hadn’t expected this one to survive.
"This girl is a bit special," the Buried God replied.
"Now that you mention it... you asked the Grand Priest to bring her to you, didn’t you?"
"That’s right. This girl was born with a moon inside her body," the Buried God explained.
"..."
"Sorry, what?" Daniel blinked, thinking he must’ve misheard. How could someone be born with a moon inside them?
"I don’t really know how to explain it," the god admitted.
"This is only the second time I’ve ever seen something like it, even I don’t know how it works."
As he finished speaking, all the crystals surrounding Sophia shattered and disappeared. Slowly, she regained consciousness.
"What’s going on here?" Her gaze landed on Daniel and Drael, confusion swirling in her eyes, followed by a sudden, sharp headache.
Daniel gave her a brief summary of what had happened, though he left out certain details, like the part about the gods’ battle.
"I see. I guess I should thank you," Sophia said in a cold voice, though there was a faint hint of warmth beneath it.
Before she could say more, a light descended from above and enveloped them completely.
The girl only managed to open her mouth long enough to tell him where he could find her.
"Huh? There? Didn’t expect her to be from that place," Daniel muttered, chuckling softly.
"Though now that I think about it, her cold and emotionless personality makes sense. Funny enough, I know another girl from there too."
And just like that, all of them vanished, the Third Floor had been completely cleared.