"You're missing a part of what I just said, Cassandra." Alex smiled softly, looking at the confused expression of the woman. "I did say the lessons don't last forever.
"Regardless of how well we are guided or how careful we try to be, life is unpredictable. That's just the way it is.
"We rise, and then we fall. It's a cycle."
"..."
Cassandra stared at Alex helplessly, unable to understand how his thought process worked.
"Couldn't you have just said that from the start?" She asked but then pondered more on the words.
Alex observed quietly, throwing the fries into his mouth one at a time.
"I see…" The Catwoman finally muttered, looking out the window and at the playground. "If you had simply said it was a circle, I wouldn't have appreciated what goes into this cycle."
"Bingo." Alex nodded.
"Our entire existence is to understand ourselves, and that process is full of dangers.
"Yet when we die, we don't truly die since we return to our basic form; energy."
The light of realization in her eyes brightened more and more. Turning to Alex, she made a statement.
"So grasping the laws is basically understanding ourselves and our place in the universe."
"Mhm."
Alex nodded and didn't say more. There was more to understanding one's place in the universe, but only by stumbling on the truth yourself would that be of significance.
"Is it possible for me to achieve godhood without bonding with a universe core?" The catwoman asked with hope in her eyes.
She was already at the Demi-god level, inching closer to the limits with her understanding of universal laws.
But with her universe destroyed, the next phase only looked like a distant dream to her.
"Who said you needed the core to ascend?" Alex smiled knowingly, causing Cassandra's heart to skip a beat.
"What…?" She echoed in a daze.
"You should be feeling the urge from your core to bond with a universe's core to ascend, right?" Cassandra nodded. "Don't pay it too much mind. Focus on grasping the entirety of laws, your place in the cosmos and how that relates to the universe.
"Do that and you will find your answer."
"Really…?" The catwoman still had a hard time believing those words. "Can't you just tell me?" She gulped.
Alex chuckled at the look of desire in her eyes. "Telling you won't be of any help. You should know that."
"Yeah…" Cassandra sighed as she sat back. "Why does this have to be so complicated? And who even made these rules?"
"Who, huh." Alex was lost in thought for a moment. "Honestly, I don't think the issue is the rules. It's simply a matter of returning to our roots.
"We or should I say everyone else is a part of the universe given shape and form. If a hunter manages to comprehend the entirety of his existence and ascends, he becomes a god of an aspect of the universe."
Those words got Cassandra's attention.
"Others can also become gods?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"Yes." Alex replied calmly. "Let's say a water user becomes a god…"
"He or she becomes the god of the waters." The catwoman completed and Alex nodded.
"How come there are no records or anything on this?"
In her universe and this one included, there had always been legends of gods who could move the heavens at their will, but no one truly knew if they existed, and if they did, where they went.
"Maybe because we are lower-level universes?" Alex wasn't sure himself. "But records show no evidence of a god being born here."
The records of his universe's energy showed no existence of a god existing. However, because the universe was an open system, different energies sometimes found their way inside.
What happens then is that a self-aware living entity could be born with traces of that record in them. From there, belief in that particular deity is born, whether they existed here or not.
"Records…?" Cassandra looked around the diner, not sure if this was the place to discuss such deep matters. Still, the woman was curious.
"Yeah…" Alex took a sip of his water. "Ascending to godhood is more than just a power boost. It's a fundamental shift in the way one perceives the world around them.
"As beings of energy, we eventually return to being energy. However, the previous experience of the former self is never truly lost.
"A person could be born and traces of their previous life could be perceived. Once again, it all comes down to everything being a cycle."
Cassandra was once again unable to understand how someone younger than her could see the world in such a different light. It made her feel inadequate.
"Don't do that to yourself." Alex encouraged. "Our circumstances were completely different. I grew up in a scientifically adept world with a lot of information around."
"Yeah…" Cassandra could only nod. But in her eyes was a light of determination. "One way or another, I'm going to reach your level and then kick your ass."
"Haha… Sure, I'll be waiting." Alex looked out the window. "But don't take too long, our foes will not wait for us."
The catwoman knew Alex was right and they didn't have a lot of time to enjoy the simple things. Still, taking small wins once in a while would not hurt them.
"Well, that's enough with the moppy lessons." Cassandra opted to change the subject. "What's new in your life? Also, it's been a while since I saw that girlfriend of yours."
"Well…Julia is doing just fine." He looked in Julia's direction, noticing the stream of energy growing less and less by the second. "She should be achieving the A-Rank soon; she and Ross both."
"That fast?"
"Yeah…" Alex nodded. "I made a few tweaks on their biology and also sped the essential energies around them."
"So basically, you increased their talents and sped up time around them. Why don't you just say it that way?" Cassandra was genuinely curious. "I mean I get that is how things work, but still."
"Things should be said as they are." Alex stood his ground. "Time is a concept devised to make sense of the flow of energy. But that didn't even make it easier."
"Right…" Cassandra sighed.
"I will also be an uncle soon…" Alex added, his expression lighting up. "Hehehe… I'm going to spoil him rotten." He imagined all the trips he would take his nephew across the stars, showing him the wonders their universe had to offer.
"Yeah, I'll bet." The catwoman shook her head. "Congratulations are in order, Alexander."
"Thanks…"