"God?" Aether was surprised and shocked to hear, "You mean… Ether is an actual god? Are you saying the Ether you're talking about is real?"

Starla nodded her head, her gaze distant. "Yes, Ether is a god, at least in legend. But no… not in the way you might imagine. It's a mythical one... more a tale than a presence."

Aether frowned, "I'm lost. From what I saw in your memories, it looked like the people who gave you the Origin card actually blessed you with Ether's name, right? Was that real?"

Starla blinked for a second, her eyes drifting as if searching the past. She tried to recall every detail, then nodded slowly, saying, "Yes… hm… I think so. It's hazy, but yes, someone did bless me in Ether's name. It felt strange… almost as if the blessing was more ritual than faith."

"Then?" Aether leaned in closer.

Starla shrugged, her lips pursed. "As I said before, it's just a mythical one… We've never heard of anyone praying to Ether, or even building a temple for it. Only Arcane and Mother are worshipped. And to be honest, most believe Ether is just a story"

"Why?" Aether pressed, "Why do you think Ether's just made up?"

Starla's face turned serious, "Because… we saw Arcane and Mother with our own eyes. In all our history, there's no mention of Ether—no temple, no prayer, nothing but passing rhymes or old children's stories. There's one tale about three friends, I think… I forgot it but... It mentions Ether as the Third God."

Aether's frown deepened, shadows flickering across his face. "Three friends?" He felt a spark in his mind... an image from the personal realm flashed before him: two figures playing together, and a third, hidden in the shade behind a tree.

Was it linked to that?

So… there was a Third God?

Just when he thought his doubts were cleared, more mysteries bloomed in his mind, sudden and suffocating.

"Was it… really a myth?" he murmured. "Have you ever spoken to your Queen about it? Maybe she knows something... some secret passed down?" Aether asked, though he felt sure he'd never even heard the name until he stepped into that strange temple.

As he expected, Starla shook her head, "No. We rarely talk about gods at all, and even less about mythical ones. So, no, Lord… I never spoke to the Queen about Ether."

Aether fell silent, his frown deepening… Something about this Ether wouldn't leave him. It gnawed at the edge of his mind.

"Then… why did they say Ether blessed you, even though Arcane and Mother were there at the time?" Aether asked.

Starla replied, "I don't know. It's a riddle not even the temples of Arcane and Mother could solve.

In my time, there were many temples for Arcane and Mother—grand halls, festivals, rituals. But Ether… there's only one temple in the world for Ether. People from all Empires are summoned to it when they turn fifteen. If you refuse, or if you're late, you're branded a stray by both Arcane and Mother's temples.

Once you become a stray, there's no mercy—no amount of royalty or gold can save you. Not even kings or queens can defy that rule.

It's the Law, come and get your Origin Card!"

Aether's face turned solemn as he listened.

He didn't get it, nor did he understand… Maybe that person was truly a Third God, forgotten by the tides of history.

Other temples hid the truth, yet this one was the only thing ever built for the God Ether.

Even if it was just a myth, why would the other temples allow such a myth to stand, right in the open?

Wasn't something wrong with that?

The cults wouldn't even dare to let others rise up!

That meant… something about this God Ether they spoke of might be real, but someone didn't want the people to know.

Something wasn't making sense... and also… that white-haired man.

The man who called himself… Ether.

He'd appeared in that place as well… No, not that correctly... He had appeared here!!

In the flesh, with the same body, the same unchanging expression—no difference, not even an inch.

Even if some people could live longer than others, but this… this was a miracle.

There was no hint of ageing in his body… In fact, he seemed even more alive now.

Who was he?

Was he… the Ether?

The God?

The one who started all of this?

After all, he was the one who had saved Aether or Ether, right?

There were too many coincidences.

Aether felt confused and lost... he shook his head, then looked at Starla and asked curiously, "So you've seen… Arcane and Mother? With your own eyes?"

That was something he was desperately curious about.

However, Starla shook her head gently. "No," she replied, her voice quiet.

"…" Aether gave her a look of disbelief, almost as if to say, What is this woman saying?

Starla coughed, her cheeks colouring with a slight blush as she hurried to explain, "Please don't misunderstand me. I didn't mean I saw them face-to-face, but… they have visited the Empires once. Everyone saw—well, not them directly, but the light they brought. We saw that, and we just knew, even without anyone telling us. The pure energies radiating from them were unmistakable."

Aether hummed, his expression thoughtful, before nodding his head. "Thank you for your help," he said quietly, even though he still didn't have the answers about the cards. If anything, he just had more questions now.

"Please, don't mention it, my lord… Anything for my Queen," Starla replied, smiling warmly at Nyx, who smiled softly back at her.

Aether turned to leave, but as he did, Nyx pointed him toward Grenthollow.

"Damn," Aether muttered, his eyes narrowing as he saw the steps crowded with restless souls, clustering in tight groups and barely moving up the stairs.

Nyx spoke, her face serious and her voice low. "Since the sinned souls can't leave this place, they're stuck here—unable to move forward or backwards, or even… give way to the new arrivals.

I think we should place it back in the Void Empire."

Aether hummed thoughtfully. What she said made sense. The crowd kept growing, and without the Void's Cradle pulling them away for their sins, these souls would be trapped here for eternity.

"But putting it back… she would be smirking at me as if she won," Aether said, his expression annoyed. He could already imagine it.... Mary grinning from ear to ear, savoring the sight of Aether failing yet again.

"Hmm…" Aether murmured, 'Maybe I should ask Grace about this later,' he thought, nodding to himself. Better to scheme with Grace than to let Mary have the last laugh.

He'd happily put on an act for Grace if it meant keeping some pride!!

"I'll deal with it later," he said at last, stepping forward to move on.

Honestly, he was so fucking horny right now… after all of Nyx's teasing, the way her ass swayed in front of him… he really needed to pamper them even more~ With an eager expression, he moved forward-

Thud!

"Tsk, What no-"

Aether blinked in surprise as a massive shadow fell across his path, blocking his way. He looked up, confused, and his face twisted in utter shock when he saw what stood before him.

"IT'S A FREAKING HUMONGOUS DICK!!!"

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