Curiosity

Noticing her time was almost up, Lilah said her goodbyes with a hint of sadness.

"Faelia, take good care of my husband! Based on what you've told me, things are going to get hectic." Lilah could sense Eden's growing anger with no outlet and pitied the unfortunate mortals who would soon bear the brunt of it.

"His words are absolute, okay? Great!" With that settled, she faded away, immediately setting off to follow the instructions she'd been given.

The surprised elf looked at Eden with a confused expression. The sudden turn in the conversation had shaken her to the core.

'Eden? The Supreme God? But why here?!' Her mind raced in turmoil. The name Eden wasn't unfamiliar to her—how could it be?

'I heard rumors that he was dead since nobody's seen him in so long. But he's here!' She was at a loss. Should she bow and declare her loyalty?

Sensing her thoughts, Eden chuckled, his previous anger fading.

"Relax. I'm as surprised as you are by how everything's unfolded, but you're still Lilah's friend. No need to worry." Despite his reassurance, the aura of superiority emanating from him didn't ease her anxiety.

"Anyway, this might complicate things… Say, do you care about your husband's life?" he asked bluntly.

The King had allied himself with Eric, so Eden planned on burying them together.

But whose side would Faelia take?

She scoffed at the question. "I only married him as part of the integration. Aside from my daughter, I hold no affection for this planet."

Content with her answer, Eden nodded. "Good. We'll be leaving soon, so you won't be bound here anymore."

He then outlined her role for the next few days as they awaited the arrival of the other fragments.

~

-The Next Morning-

Sylvia and Alycia woke up around the same time, groggily looking at each other, puzzled as to why they were sharing a room. It took a few seconds for their brains to process last night's events. They scanned the room to see Eden sitting in a chair, staring off into space.

They both smiled and got up to prepare for the day.

Since there was only one bathroom, and Sylvia's things were already here, she used it while Alycia went to her own room to get ready.

Once they were prepared, Eden led them to the dining hall. It wasn't very crowded, as they had arrived past the peak time. Only a few students were scattered around.

Besides some casual greetings, nothing noteworthy happened as they grabbed breakfast. Eden didn't get any food. While he didn't need to eat, he usually enjoyed it—unfortunately, not here.

'The food's horrible. I don't know how I managed to eat this slop.' Even his least skilled Valkyrie could make something better.

On the other hand, it was comparable to a five-star restaurant for the girls.

"Where did you go last night, anyway?" Alycia asked casually, feeling a bit guilty for taking over his bed.

"I had dinner with the royal family. Wyster seemed eager to welcome me back. After that, I spent some time with the queen."

"I ended up staying there most of the night. She'll be helping me with something from now on."

*Cough Cough* "W-what?!" Sylvia choked on her food at his answer.

"So, you and the queen…?" Alycia asked casually.

Aware that they might have misunderstood, Eden made no attempt to clear it up. Instead, he smirked and prodded, "Ah, are you jealous?"

Alycia, unfazed by his teasing, shook her head and smiled gently. "Nope. Doesn't matter what's going on with her. You're not getting rid of me." Her gaze was intense as she looked at him.

Not backing down, Eden held eye contact, his smirk growing wider, pleased with her response.

Meanwhile, Sylvia blushed furiously, her mind still lingering on the implications of his earlier words.

"E-Eden…you know…I also could…" Her stammering was barely audible, but he picked it up.

Satisfied with the two, he laughed out loud, drawing the attention of others in the hall.

"Don't worry, I don't plan on leaving either of you behind." The words eased any worries they might've had.

With that, breakfast ended, and the rest of the day passed without incident.

Well, except for the occasional attempts by Kei to pry Sylvia away. Unfortunately for him, she stuck to Eden's side like glue.

The next few days followed a similar pattern, with Lyria occasionally joining the group to spend time with Eden, fitting in seamlessly.

Finally, the day of the raid arrived—the time to kill a general in the Evil Goddess's army.

The students were nervous, but a faint excitement colored their expressions.

However, Eden, Alycia, and Sylvia couldn't care less. The girls followed the advice given to them, no longer concerned about the world and just having fun.

Eden, on the other hand, counted down the days. If all went well, he should be able to go home in a week or two.

The new plan was risky and would most likely diminish his original strength. But with his unusually strong soul, he wasn't too worried.

'I won't be at Supreme God again, but I won't be too far from it either. It's worth it.'

'Increasing strength is a matter of understanding your divinity and nurturing your soul and body. Thankfully, the divinity of… Space? Void? Gravity…?' A thought crossed his mind.

'Which one is mine?'

A silly question to other gods, as that's something you would innately know. But for Eden, even in his original memories, there was nothing about it.

As far as he could remember, he had always possessed these powers.

He couldn't pin it to just one, in fact he felt a pull to all three. 

'Having multiple divinities is usually impossible, maybe it's the divine line?'

The divine line was a simple understanding of how divinity worked. All gods, no matter the power, could only wield one divinity. 

Unless, they shared a connection. 

Life & Nature were close, so while you would have to choose one as the main focus, you could still access the powers associated with the other. 

That's the simple and straightforward answer for divine line. Everything else involved having deeper understandings. 

With no answers and the full story missing, he let it go for now, saving the mystery for later.