Sero's heart raced as he processed the information. The weight of responsibility that came with being an Ascendant felt even greater now that he knew the true stakes. He looked up at Aphiel, confusion clouding his mind. "I don't get it, why not just tell us this from the start? Why would you guys wait until you feel we're ready? Why can't you deal with the catastrophes yourselves?"

The goddess smiled softly, almost sadly. "We cannot directly interfere with the Catastrophes, champion. In turn, the same is true of the banished with regards to champions. I would love nothing more than to explain why to you, but I do not know the reason why a higher power restricts us from taking matters into our own hands."

"As for why we wait to inform you when we deem you ready, we are surprisingly divided among that. I was one of the advocates who wanted to tell you beforehand, but the majority had ruled for us not to. In fact, Athena was one of the ones who decided against it, and I assume you know how much influence she has."

Sero nodded, his expression thoughtful as his Rationality quickly calmed his nerves. "Ok, that doesn't really explain anything, but we'll come back to that later. Why do you think the banished gods are getting stronger? Is it because there are fewer gods left to keep them imprisoned?"

Aphiel shrugged. "It is difficult to say for certain. Some believe it is because their influence has been growing for so long, like water slowly eroding stone. Others think that there is some connection between the number of gods left and their power, but no one has proven this theory yet. All we know is that we must continue to prepare our champions and hope that we can stop the banished before they break free." A faint blush crept over her cheeks. "Also... I'm not an upper-class goddess, so I'm not in the know, either."

Sero nodded again, understanding. He took a deep breath, trying to process everything. It was a lot to take in, and he still had so many questions. "So, what's the plan moving forward? What do we need to do?"

The goddess bit her lip. "Nothing that you have not been doing already. Growing stronger is the only way for you to be prepared for the Catastrophes, should they ever get the chance to cross. Flushing out the Culling organization would be a good start as well, as I have already told you I sensed the banished gods' energy from them."

Sero sucked in another breath and let it out slowly. He clicked his tongue in defeat. "Okay. So, I guess I should focus on training and... finding more information about the Culling."

Aphiel smiled warmly at him. "Yes, that would be wise. I will be watching over you, champion. If you ever need my help, do not hesitate to call upon me." She gestured to the room around them. "Now, if you are ready, I will return you to your world."

Sero hesitated, feeling a slight apprehension. "If I hadn't learned about this or gotten involved... would you have ever told me about all of this?"

Aphiel's expression turned sad as she considered his question. "I honestly do not know. Perhaps, perhaps not. It is not something that I could have decided on my own. It would have been a decision made by the other gods, and I am not sure which way they would have leaned. If it were up to me, I would have told you the day I met you last year."

"Oh, right," Sero motioned for Aphiel to proceed with sending him back. A second later, he did a double-take. "Wait, last year?"

"Yes?" Aphiel cocked her head curiously. "Did you forget?"

"No, because to me, I met you a few weeks ago," Sero stared at Aphiel as the pieces began to click in his head. "You said you were trying to figure out how to send me back, right? To me it seemed like you were gone for a second."

"Uh..." Aphiel looked surprised and confused. "I don't quite understand. When I searched for a way to send you back, it felt like I was gone for a moment, but only because you don't retain any memories unless another entity is there for it to form. I didn't realize it was more than that."

Sero felt himself reeling for the second time, grabbing onto Aphiel's desk for support. "You're telling me that when you disappeared... it was for an actual year? And I have no knowledge of that time because no one was present for it to exist?"

The goddess looked concerned. "Yes, that is correct. I apologize for not making myself clearer. I should have realized that the lack of memory would be disorienting." She placed a hand on his shoulder, offering what comfort she could. "I assure you, I have not been gone for any longer than that. The memories you have of me are accurate relative to your sense of time."

"No, that's not- the biggest issue here is that it took you an actual year to send me back! I thought you just botched the spell or ritual or whatever!"

Aphiel flinched, shrinking as she drew back. "Ok, I'm sorry! But there were no other gods who were willing to lend a hand to a minor goddess such as myself! That was when I began to grow close with Hecate and Isis!"

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

Sero paused, feeling his mind nearly melt from how much everything was beginning to fit into place.

"Oh. That's why you're spending so much time with them." Sero dropped his shoulders, looking at the goddess in a new light. The irritation that had been brewing within him fizzled out like a candle. Even though she didn't say it out loud, he had a vague feeling that the reason Aphiel had been learning more magic was because she may have felt the need to be prepared in the case that something like Sero's resurrection came up again. It would answer his question as to why Aphiel needed it instead of relying on her divinity. "No, don't apologize. I'm the one who should be sorry. You were just helping me out."

Aphiel sniffed, her usual composure returning. "It is nothing. I am simply grateful for the opportunity to help you." She smiled warmly, causing Sero to feel guilty.

"Thanks," he muttered, remembering his vow to treat the goddess better. "I’m assuming you don’t want me to tell the others about this?"

Aphiel shook her head, her hair falling into place as if by magic. "Actually, there are no qualms with champions informing others if they are aware of it. Only the gods are forbidden until their champions learn or they are deemed ready for it."

"That’s so arbitrary. Not to mention it doesn’t make sense. If we were exposed to the apocalypse already, then I’m pretty sure learning about their true origins and Catastrophes wouldn’t make much of a difference."

"Yes, but champion, you forget," Aphiel gazed at him with amusement. "Your Scholar class allows you to intake information more calmly and collected than others. There is no guarantee that other champions would take this news as smoothly as you did."

"True…" Sero admitted, thinking of Amaya and Casey. The only other people who would probably take this in stride would be Gregor and Kit for sure; the rest may need some more time to process everything. He didn’t want to imagine how the rest of the world would react to learning that the portals were actual gateways to real worlds outside of theirs or that there were terrifying entities that wanted to come here.

"So, to sum it up, you guys are at war with evil gods to prevent the destruction of my world. We Ascendants are your version of their Catastrophes. And other worlds outside of mine have existed since forever."

Aphiel slowly nodded. "A bit simpler than I would like, but yes, that is the very basis of it."

"How do I find this Catastrophe and stop them from doing this? Are there more than one? If I stop them, do the portals stop happening, too? But, you said that they spawn from the influence of evil gods, so wouldn’t I have to go up against them if I want to prevent Catastrophes from being born?" The questions tumbled out of his mouth.

"Uh," the goddess frantically waved a hand to stop him. "Wait, that’s too many questions! Let me think for a second!"

Sero shut his mouth, impatiently waiting for Aphiel to collect her thoughts. The goddess squirmed under his gaze before she finally seemed ready.

"Ok, in the most concise way I can, it is nearly impossible to find a Catastrophe without crossing over into their realm, which I highly advise against, since they are at their peak in their territory. They grow stronger with every human soul that is harvested by their followers, which explains those monster outbreaks. The ones you label as ‘boss monsters’ typically were endowed with a Catastrophe’s blessing that enabled them to create an outbreak."

Sero absorbed her words, finding them to align with what Luna had said about her queen meeting with a Catastrophe. It also explained his encounter before the finals- the two members of Culling that wanted to capture Luna would essentially use her abilities to lure sacrifices to invoke a Catastrophe over.

"It pains me to admit it, but I do not see an end to this anytime soon," Aphiel continued with a solemn tone. "No matter how many Catastrophes you prevent, they will always spawn as long as the influence of the banished continues to plague your world. Extinguishing Culling would only be a temporary solution."

"It’s an endless war," Sero realized the weight of her words. "There will never be peace here."

Aphiel bowed her head and said nothing.

"Well, then, why Earth? Why this world instead of others? Why does it always gotta be this place for shit to happen?" Sero grumbled the last part to himself.

"That’s…" Aphiel trailed off, causing Sero to click his tongue in annoyance. He knew she would eventually tell him when he was either ready for it, or stumbled upon whatever it was she couldn’t reveal.

"It’s fine. I’ve gotten most of the answers I needed anyway." Sero sighed and began to concentrate on returning. "Thanks for everything, Aphiel."

"I am sorry I cannot tell you more, champion," the goddess gave an apologetic smile. "But, hopefully you are able to prepare well for the future."

"More work for me to do," Sero scowled, feeling his body being tugged away. "And I thought the Ascendants Tournament was the most effort I’d have to give."

Aphiel gave Sero an adorable wave goodbye before his world blurred and shifted.

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After he got back to his penthouse, Sero still found himself unable to sleep, pondering over the conversations he had earlier. Kit had stirred in her slumber when he came back, scaring him into thinking she’d awaken, but thankfully the Paradox never did.

A dull ache still pestered him, reminding Sero that he needed to figure out what he wanted to do in terms of his father’s passing. Since he was the only one remaining within his family with no other known relatives, Sero contemplated holding a funeral for his father while he laid low before the victory ceremony. It’d be quite easy to organize, since there weren’t many people he wanted to gather for his father’s funeral, nor was there anything special that Tiero would’ve liked him to do.

Sero turned on his side, hugging one of the couch pillows tightly. Luna’s snoring had gradually become a steady white noise, making him drowsy as he focused on the sound instead of his thoughts. He decided to deal with everything tomorrow, feeling a wave of exhaustion settling into him as he closed his eyes.