Chapter 2: A deal has been made.

"Wha—... Who are you?" Rigel asked respectfully in a quiet and soft voice.

Lysara'elmaris stayed quiet and her silence was enough to say that she didn't want to answer that question. She suddenly walked past Rigel and he didn't realize that she was already behind him, and if it wasn't because of the sound of chains, he wouldn't notice.

"Tell me..." Lysara'elmaris paused as she stared at the distance and didn't bother to look back at Rigel. "What are you going to do once your wish is granted?" She asked.

Rigel stood there and he had so many things going on in his head, wondering if he was being tested or not. He was afraid that the answer would dissatisfy Lysara'elmaris and change her mind about granting his wish.

"Looks like you still haven't made up your mind. If that's the case, let me ask you something..." Lysara'elmaris paused to turn around to look at Rigel with her bright blue eyes that seemed to be able to see every secret. "What's the difference between justice and revenge?" she asked.

"Justice is when they're punished for what they did, nothing more. Revenge is more about emotion, and sometimes it's more than just punishment," Rigel answered because he knew that what he wanted was revenge, not justice.

Lysara'elmaris chuckled softly which sounded like a mockery, interest, or could be a satisfaction from hearing the answer. Because of her enigmatic personality, Rigel couldn't help but feel anxious and scared. He had a chill down his spine and every hair on his body was rising.

"Then who deserves such treatment in your case?" Lysara'elmaris raised her eyebrows slightly. "The humans who treated you like a slave? The world that treated you badly? The Gods who revoked your Player status? Or even the fate that wrote your life?" She added.

Rigel realized that Lysara'elmaris was indeed testing him and wanted to know what he would do if his wish was granted. He took his time and he never thought that deeply about who should be the one to blame for making his life miserable.

Rigel took a whole minute to think, and surprisingly Lysara'elmaris didn't pressure him. She stood there gracefully, unmoved, with her pale shoulders that reflected the moonlight that sipped through the broken stained glass.

"All of them, except for the world," Rigel's cold expression filled with anger, the burning flame in his eyes that was still blazing. "The world was created as it was intended. But humans, Gods, and fate, they chose what they wanted to be and turned the world to their desires," he explained.

Lysara'elmaris smiled so widely that it reached both ears, and her eyes were open so widely in excitement and that was when Rigel got petrified. His whole body was screaming, his eyes started to tear up, his nose started to run, and his mind couldn't erase that image.

"Blaming the Gods you say?" Lysara'elmaris asked and her face was normal.

Rigel snapped back and he wondered if he was hallucinating, but it felt so real, and yet he was confused and unsure if it was. One thing that he was sure about was the fact Lysara'elmaris was dangerous, and being there around her would drive him insane.

"Do you think you can do it?" Lysara'elmaris asked again and this time she was already behind Rigel. "To have the resolution to fight the Gods?" She added.

"I do..." Rigel turned around as he moved away from Lysara'elmaris. "I would die trying because I have nothing to lose," he continued.

"You won't die, and you won't be able to even if you want to because the moment you say my name, your body, and soul are connected with me," Lysara'elmaris responded. "Whatever happens to you, whether you succeed or fail, it doesn't matter to me. What matters is that whatever happens, you will still lose everything that you have built," she pointed out and stared into Rigel's eyes.

Rigel didn't know what to say and decided to stay silent.

"Gods aren't good and they're not evil. They choose what they want to be, and sometimes the ones you think are good, they're actually worse than the evil ones," Lysara explained as she turned around and looked at the ceiling. "The evil can be good if your interest aligns with theirs. After all, everything is based on perspective," she looked at Rigel from over her shoulder.

Rigel gulped and gathered his courage to open his mouth.

"What about you? You're the Equinox of the light and dark. If there's no light and no dark, what's the point of being the one in the middle of nothing?" Rigel asked with his heart racing rapidly and making his eyes throb.

Once again, Lysara'elmaris responded with silence, but this time she smiled because her cheeks were raised and Rigel could see them from behind. Suddenly she swung the chain that she had been dragging and strangled Rigel's neck. She didn't hesitate to drag him in forcefully and then the whole cathedral shook and started to break down.

Rigel couldn't breathe as he was being dragged to the other side of the cathedral where boulders were falling next to him. He then saw a bright blue light from the side of his eyes, and when he turned around he saw a portal forming.

"You're a smart human, a brave but foolish one at it. You should have understand a few things from our encounter," Lysara'elmaris said as she dragged Rigel toward the portal. "I was the one they wished to erase, the one who kept the balance. They wanted more than just harmony and I was the reason why the world was safe," she explained.

"My existence is the only thing they fear. They put me down here, in a forgotten and abandoned pocket of reality. They couldn't kill me, and they put me here, imprisoned, and powerless," Lysara'elmaris pointed out. "They're currently creating chaos among mortal realms, finding ways to weaken me even further so they can kill me," she added.

"I have granted your wish, and I will grant you a small portion of my power soon because they can smell it if you have it now," Lysara'elmaris said as the portal was getting closer.

Rigel was still processing everything, and yet Lysara'elmaris kept giving him all the information. Knowing he didn't have much time left and the fact Lysara'elmaris would answer his question, he decided to ask the most important thing.

"What do you want me to do?" Rigel asked as he tried to loosen up the chain around his neck.

"Do the exact same thing that you did in the past. Don't change anything until they no longer care about you," Lysara'elmaris answered and stopped walking since she was already in front of the portal. "Our interests align. You want revenge and so do I. It's better to serve it cold and out of nowhere," she looked at Rigel who was lying on the ground.

Rigel understood why Lysara'elmaris helped him, and he started to see the big picture. He felt a connection between him and her, and as she said, their interests were aligned.

"You want me to get my Player status revoked again? I'm not planning on borrowing their power either, so I'll do what you told," Rigel responded and understood the situation.

"I know you're smart, and now you shall return to where it all began," she threw Rigel into the portal. "Enjoy your time while it lasts, Rigel Eclair DeMargt," she added.

Before the portal was closed, he could see Lysara'elmaris' face for one last time. He saw her gently smile at him, but he no longer knew if he was hallucinating or if it was real. Everything felt so unreal and he didn't care about it because his mind couldn't handle it anymore.

Rigel heard people murmuring around him, and he could feel a breeze on his face. When he opened his eyes, he remembered this moment because it was when his mother died. People were attending her funeral and their gazes fixed on the freshly dug grave, and yet none of them seemed to be sad, and some of them were glad that she died.

"I've returned..." Rigel furrowed his eyebrows as he observed the scene before him—the final resting place of his mother that happened five years ago. "And today is the day everything begins," he looked at the sky as he clenched his fists.