Chapter 2031: Facts from the Mother

"I’ve never met anyone like you before..." Aylith muttered silently.

Such a statement made Rex glance at her and raise his brow.

"Someone like me?" He asked, confused since he knew she wasn’t talking about his unnatural method to grow stronger. "What do you mean, someone like me? What kind of allies do you have—for someone like me to be foreign?"

"I didn’t mean it like that." Aylith shook her head. "I meant someone who was willing to give this much to a new ally."

For as long as she could remember, establishing a new alliance would need to go through several steps before it became unbreakable. Both parties would need to earn the other’s trust by going through severe hardships together, then one side would need to extend a helping hand without anything in return—and only then would a strong alliance be established.

Most alliances couldn’t even go through the first phase.

Giving this divinity to Aylith is an act that skipped the first phase from Rex’s side.

No one had ever done such a thing before as the act would only make one side vulnerable—an opening others would not hesitate to exploit. In this case, Aylith could simply absorb the divinity and then back away from the alliance entirely.

Aylith was certain that Rex understood this.

He wasn’t foolish—the way he had dealt with Mayar had already proven as much.

So, this could only mean that he decided to take the risk anyway.

"I’m sorry to say this—but I’m not the saint you think I am." Rex chuckled as he crossed his arms. For Aylith to think this way did not mean that she was naïve, but it proved that she was lonely. She wanted to believe the good in people so that she could open up. "I am giving away this divinity to you because I simply don’t care. If you betrayed me right after, I’ll simply put you on the kill list.

"Besides, I can already find a way to kill a God when I’m still a Demigod. At the rate I’m growing, I’ll be able to kill one without needing any help soon enough. And there are Gods that I already set my eyes upon—so what’s there to haggle about this divinity? Or did you think you could still convince your other children?"

"I wanted to believe that I can," Aylith replied with conviction. "Despite what happened with Mayar."

"Your motherly love is admirable, but you won’t succeed in all." He said, shrugging nonchalantly.

"Sigh..." Aylith exhaled through her mouth. "You talk like a Scion from the Anger Stratum."

"That’s because I am."

"I figured."

Silence stretched between the two as they watched the sparking divinity on the blood circle.

It sparked and shimmered like the quintessence of the universe.

And then, Rex broke the silence again.

"I do have one other reason why I decided to trust you." He said—catching Aylith off guard. "A reason why I chose you out of all the Gods in existence. "I could search for other Gods that aren’t on the brink of being destroyed like you, but I chose you anyway."

"What’s your reason?" Aylith asked; her curiosity was piqued.

"Because of your daughter," Rex said, turning to meet her gaze. "Nivellen told me that all I needed was your promise—your word that you would stand at my side. She said you are old school. That promises are sacred to you, and once given, you’d never break them." He paused. "You’ve already promised. So, I have nothing left to fear."

For a second, Aylith’s eyes behind her blindfold widened.

She wanted to believe that she heard it wrong, but she didn’t—Rex actually said that.

Said that Nivellen believed she was someone who’d keep her promises.

"She... She said that about me?"

"Yes. It’s also the reason why I believe you would succeed in coaxing a few, but certainly not all. I have not seen every single Lunirich God, but enough to tell that all of them are like minds. Nivellen was the odd one out."

"Of course, you haven’t seen them all," Aylith said meaningfully, which made Rex turn and stare at her with a gaze that was asking her to elaborate. "I created them by sacrificing a big portion of divinity. Even before they become Gods, their combined power could match a Lesser God. Such power in the hands of mortals is dangerous, so I placed limitations on them.

"A limitation that I named Eclipse Phase. Only a few of them could be awake at a specific moment."

"I see..." Rex was completely unaware of this limitation, so it was good to know. "But do you think the limitation you created still worked on them? After all, they are now Gods—and it seems like most of them hated you."

Since most of the Lunirich Gods hated Aylith, this limitation was most likely no more.

Surely, they would make sure to erase anything tying them to Aylith if they hated her that much.

But things weren’t that simple.

"Erasing the limitation is not that simple," Aylith said, shaking her head. "I created the—with that limitation in mind, so it’s already a part of them from the start. Changing it would mean changing themselves, and doing so would disrupt the Full Moon’s power that was the basis of their Godhood.

"It’s the same as changing one’s soul. Any mistake would mean death. And even if one managed to alter his soul, then the fundamentals of his existence might crumble. It wouldn’t be a surprise if they changed into something else. Or worse, the Potentate of Unequal Soul would put down his hand."

"Potentate of Unequal Soul?’

"Supreme God of Souls. An entity beyond you, or your Scion friend earlier."

"Just what’s the ceiling of power when an entity like that exists?"

"Far higher than you can imagine, but once you become his equal, there’s not much above that," Aylith stated with confidence. Her eyes sparkled with things that couldn’t be spoken. "Either way, the Lunirich Gods are still limited by the Eclipse Phase."

"How many can be awake at the same time?" Rex asked.

Considering that he would soon enter the Blood Moon’s realm, this information was priceless.

It would make his invasion much easier.

"Three or maybe four depending on who was awake."

"Hmm, that’s good to know."

Aylith didn’t mind exposing the Lunirich Gods as she was now already on Rex’s side.

Besides, it would help quicken her children’s surrender if Rex could put more pressure on them.

Just then, a thought came to her mind.

"Say... What did my children do to you for this vendetta?" She asked. "May I know about it?"

"Tell me... what did my children do to earn such hatred from you? As their parents, I’m obligated to be aware of their wrongs." Her voice was calm, but something old—and broken stirred beneath it. "May I know the reason for this vendetta?"

Rex paused for a good moment.

He recalled when it all started, and anger rose inside his chest like a swelling inferno.

"Like any other mortal, I’m simply growing stronger to avenge the beast—that took everything away from me. To do that, I needed strength. More power." He mumbled as his breath grew heavier with each inhale, and his eyes stared forward into the distance, but he didn’t see the void of the realm; he saw all the horrendous moments he had gone through. "Pushed by the situation—I have no other choice but to steal a small portion of Kaiser’s power.

"And then, he tried to kill me. Again—and again, he failed. I didn’t hold it against him. I was still open to a peace deal up until then, as anger was natural when someone steals your power without permission. But when he could not end me—he turned his fangs on the people around me. The ones I deeply cared about." His voice dropped, rough with fury. "That animal bastard!"

Even though he was trying to keep his composure, he couldn’t.

Just the thought of the horrendous past made his blood boil, and his body seethed with energy.

"Recently, he and Meloriana even went ahead and tried to attack my first child—who was still inside my woman’s belly." Rex continued. His claws curled out, responding to the anger that he was feeling inside. "I was not ready to have a child. I am afraid that I can’t protect her. Afraid that I won’t be a good Father. And now, even when she hadn’t been born yet, I already put her in danger.

"I promised myself to create a perfect and peaceful world before she was born, and I can only achieve that if my enemies are dead."

Aylith nodded her head.

No matter which God-like beings or even Gods achieved power beyond measure in this whole wide universe, all of them had lost someone that pushed them to do more than most. Families, friends, sons, daughters—everyone had lost someone.

And it was the same for Rex.

Just that now, he was atoning for the people that he lost by protecting the ones who were still alive.

"I was also afraid for my children when I was first about to have them," Aylith muttered as she stared upward into the black void, recalling that ancient past. "I was at war with a coalition of six Gods. I was birthing them into a dangerous world.

"But now I know—that sheltering my children from any harm was not the point. Without troubles, they won’t grow strong." She turned to look at Rex again and smiled faintly. "You can desire keeping your daughter safe—but creating a world devoid of danger was never the goal. Your goal is to help her grow strong enough to protect herself from the danger around you."

Rex’s eyes slowly widened.

He never thought about things that way.

Knowing what he knew, he naturally wanted to defeat all his enemies before his daughter came.

But that was unlikely to happen.

Even after he defeated the Lunirich Gods—there would be another enemy lurking in the shadows. Ever since he walked the path of power, there was never a moment when he had no enemies. It was blatantly clear that there won’t ever be a moment like that.

Creating a peaceful world is his dream, but he shouldn’t be doing it for his daughter.

Instead, he would count his daughter as a helping hand to achieve that dream.

"Guess I’m still naïve to these things." Rex chuckled inwardly.

Other than fighting, killing, dominating, and power-related things—he was still naïve.

"It’s something you learned through experience, so I don’t blame you." Aylith chuckled. For the first time, she actually chuckled a little. A sign that Rex took as her being more comfortable around him. "I do blame my children, though."

"Because they attacked a mortal like me?" Rex asked.

"Not necessarily." She sighed—the weight of certainty in her voice. Her children were not ready to be Gods—she knew it better than anyone. "In your case, a God would have only two choices. The first is to offer you a deal—bind you with promises of power, and in doing so, bind you to them. The second is to kill you. But if the God chooses to kill you, then the God must succeed on the first strike. And then erase everyone around you.

"As long as there was no such guarantee, then offer the mortal a deal that can’t be refused."

"They tried multiple times and failed," Rex sneered. "I guess they weren’t ready."

"I understand now." Aylith nodded slowly and turned to face Rex—a faint light shimmering behind her blindfold. "I will still try to convince them to surrender. But if they refuse... if it comes to death, I have made my peace with it."

"Oh...?" Rex raised a brow. "Why is that?"

"Because this is the world of the strongest of the strong. Make one wrong move, and you’re dead."

"I’ll have to agree with you on that."