When he confirmed that the god was indeed dead, only then did Zenith walk closer.

He stood below its throne and inspected the god from his position. The god's body was severed from the waist down, and judging from the wounds in its corpse, it seemed like the god was cut down by an incomparably sharp sword. Aside from that, there were no other wounds on its body.

The god should've been killed with only one strike and it was the same strike that severed its lower half. Thinking of this, one person immediately came into Zenith's mind;

"Sword Saint."

Other than him, who was strong enough to defeat a god in this place devoid of Nu?

The story that the lycan told him also checked out. The Sword Saint came into this place years ago and when he arrived in this area, the Sword Saint and the god fought, resulting in the death of this god.

It also explained why the lycan didn't finish its words and became fearful instead when it started telling him about the one guarding this place. It was because the one stationed in here was a god— a being that the lycan respected and feared so much.

Because of the presence of the deceased god here, Zenith began to wonder:

Just what exactly was the great evil imprisoned in this temple for it to be guarded by a god itself? In this temple devoid of Nu, the defenses placed were ridiculous. There were minotaurs in the labyrinth, the lycan in the dungeon, and then there was a god on this throne!

Without the Sword Saint's blessings, Zenith wouldn't have made it past the lycan without his Nu. Anyone else who would attempt to break into this place probably would've already been killed by the minotaurs in the labyrinth. With that in mind, why would there still be a god personally guarding this place for countless years?

"Don't tell me..."

Zenith had a realization. He looked at the god's severed waist before looking at the ground as he fell deep in thought.

The one that they were guarding against was most likely the Sword Saint. Only Sword Saint or someone he blessed like himself could still use Nu in this place. If that was the case, they must've already expected him to invade this temple from the very beginning.

However, they made a miscalculation. The god stationed here was a lot weaker than Sword Saint. The god was defeated with only a single strike and without even the chance to fight back before it died.

From all the clues Zenith gathered in this temple, he began to piece together the true history that occurred in this place. In his eyes, he even saw the Sword Saint's shadow mercilessly cutting the god into two before their shadows faded into nothingness.

This temple hid layers upon layers of secrets, and with each secret that Zenith unveiled, more questions followed. At this point, he realized he was in a deep scheme between the Sword Saint and the gods in heaven.

What exactly was the evil imprisoned in this place? For Sword Saint to go as far as killing a god, what was his relationship with this evil?

Right at this moment, a deep, booming voice resounded throughout the entire area.

"An intruder?"

Zenith raised his gaze upwards and saw the corpse of the god staring down at him with its empty eye sockets.

"It's alive?" he thought to himself as his eyes constricted. "No, it is already dead."

"It's a human. I see, you're the one he sent here."

Zenith looked at the god warily and asked, "Senior is?"

"Just a dead, lowly god. A pathetic lingering will left behind by this deceased body of mine," said the god's corpse. "Did you come here to finish his job?"

"Does senior mean Sword Saint?"

"Sword Saint?" The god smiled eerily. "So that's his current identity. It is him, indeed."

"I don't know what senior means but I only came here to obtain a seed," Zenith responded humbly.

Red orbs appeared and flickered in the god's empty eye sockets as the god fell in thought. Then, it said, "Young man, I must ask you to fall back. I'm afraid that Sword Saint of yours is trying to harm you."

A frown appeared on Zenith's face. Was the god trying to sow discord between him and the Sword Saint? However, he also wanted to hear its words. It might have some information about Sword Saint that would be useful to him.

"What does senior mean by that?"

"After reaching this far, don't you still know the true nature of this temple?" the god asked mysteriously. "This temple is a prison within a prison. Anyone who tries to break that prisoner free from this place will suffer divine retribution from the gods."

"And that prisoner is?" Zenith asked, trying to egg on the god.

"It's—" The god was about to answer, but just before it could, it stopped and gave him a knowing, hideous smile. "Sometimes, knowing too much can get you killed."

Zenith wanted to know who that prisoner was. He felt that once he knew its true identity, he would finally know Sword Saint's true plans. Unfortunately, the god wasn't willing to tell him. There was nothing he could do so he could only drop that question temporarily.

"I'm not here for the prisoner," he said with a shake of his head.

"You're not but it doesn't mean that Sword Saint is not. You seem like a smart man but you really don't understand at all. Whatever that seed is, it definitely involves the freedom of that prisoner."

In the god's opinion, Zenith was just an ignorant lamb caught in between the gods' conflict— a mere mortal that was bewitched by Sword Saint to do his bidding.

"Do you still not get it? You're just being used by him. Sword Saint is not who you think he is," said the god, trying to get Zenith to open his eyes.

"I know," said Zenith plainly. "You don't need to warn me. I already know. He's using me just as I am using him. That's the crux of our relationship."

The god was surprised to hear his answer. When it regained its composure, it said disparagingly, "You're playing with fire. The god you're trying to use isn't someone that can be used that easily. Countless gods have tried but they all ended up in Mori."

"If I get burned, that is the result of my own incapabilities. So be it."

The god frowned at Zenith's fearlessness.

"The hubris of mortals always astounds me. You might not believe me but I am saying all of this for your own good. If you continue further, you will make an enemy with someone you cannot afford to offend."

Zenith was silent.

"That Sword Saint... it's him, isn't he? The only one who can take my soul and kill me in this place—"

The god gave him a deep look.

"—is Earth Duke himself."

That was the name of the supreme ruler of the underworld, a fearsome god among gods. The fact that this god told him that meant only one thing; It knew for certain that Sword Saint was indeed Earth Duke.

In response to that allegation, Zenith only said, "So what if he is?"

"As strong as Earth Duke is, there is no way he can take on the wrath of heaven alone. He cannot even protect himself, so what do you think will happen to you? Your fate will be even worse than his," said the god. "Fall back. Earth Duke will soon die pathetically under the might of heaven. You cannot depend on him."

Zenith stared at the god.

Every living creature in the world, including demons and gods, either respected or feared Earth Duke. Mortals would shiver upon hearing his name. Those who were near the end of their lifespan were endlessly terrified of him. Earth Duke's name carried great weight and it could never be used carelessly. However, this god didn't seem to think that way.

"Names have power. Aren't you afraid of Earth Duke coming into this place to finish his job?"

"What's there to be afraid of? I'm already dead."

"He can still erase your lingering will," he pointed out.

The god fell silent for a few seconds, before saying, "This is your last chance to turn around. If you continue ahead, you will meet your doom."

Zenith only shook his head at the god before walking away.

"Since you're telling me that, I can rest assured that I won't die just yet."

Zenith was certain of that.

The god was stationed here to keep outsiders from reaching the prisoner. It placed high importance on its job so much that even in its death, it left behind a lingering will to continue guarding this place. The god had no reason to warn an intruder like him of the dangers ahead. If its words were true, it should've just remained silent and let him get killed in there.

"Are you really going to defy heaven?" the god asked dangerously.

"I'm only here to obtain a seed."

"I've never seen a mortal this crazy before! Do you really not understand?! By continuing ahead, you are only throwing your life away! Why are you so stubborn?! Do you really want to court death that much?!"

Zenith paused in his steps as he looked at the god while the god took this opportunity to continue.

"Why do you need to go this far? What did Earth Duke offer you? Tell me and I will grant it to you as long as you leave and do not continue any further. You do not have to risk your life and offend heaven itself," the god said with a soft voice, trying to tempt Zenith with its words.

Even though it was nothing more than a corpse, a god was still a god. It had many means at its disposal to deal with a simple mortal like him.

If Zenith wanted wealth, the god would give it to him. As a god, it had many treasures in its possession that could make nations green with envy. It would give him enough treasures to drown him in it.

If Zenith wanted power, it would give him the remaining power in its decayed body. The power it could give should be enough for him to dominate most of the people in this tower.

If Zenith wanted glory, it had several hundred ways to give him that as well. As a god, there was nothing it could not give to a mortal like him.

No matter how stubborn Zenith was, the god believed his loyalty and actions had a price just like everybody else. As long as the god knew what it was, dealing with him would be easy.

"Then..."

But what Zenith asked for, was neither of those nor was it something that the god could ever give to him even if it was still alive.

With Zenith's indifferent eyes looking straight at its eyes, Zenith spoke;

"Teach me how to become human."

The god was stunned, and when it realized what he said, a shiver ran down its spine.

"This...!"

Was this something a mortal— no, a human would ask for?

In its eyes, mortals were no different from puppets. They were creatures that it could easily control with a simple wave of its hand. However, it was this same puppet that looked at the god with an indifferent gaze and said words that petrified it.

A puppet suddenly asking its creator how to be a puppet...

How horrifying was that?

At this moment, Zenith seemed to have morphed into a terrifying creature that was way beyond its comprehension. The expression on the god's face became ugly as it looked at Zenith with a hint of fear.

This was a mortal?

How could there be such a scary mortal in this world?

This wasn't a mortal.

This was simply a monster donning the skin of a man.

As Zenith waited for its response, the god remained motionless and silent. Because its face had decayed so much, Zenith couldn't see the expression on its face. This silence between them continued for a few minutes until Zenith shook his head and decided to walk away.

"I'm leaving," he said.

The god was terrified of him. It didn't dare make a move and only watched him leave in silence. It didn't even have the courage to call out to him.

"If you really want to stop me, why don't you go ahead and kill me personally?" Zenith asked while walking further away from the god. "It seems like you can't. Sword Saint must've sealed you for me."

The fact that the god kept scaring and warning him instead of just killing him— it must've been its last resort. It even tried to negotiate with him. If the god really had the ability to kill him, would it still waste so much word on an ant like him? It would've long since killed him.

Unknown to him, however, was that even if the god wasn't sealed, it wouldn't have dared to lay its hands on him. Not after it heard him ask that question.

The god gathered its courage, and carefully asked, "Do you think Earth Duke can give you what you're looking for?"

"He must. If he doesn't make good on his promise..."

A cold glint appeared in Zenith's eyes.

"There's no need for heaven to make a move. I will personally see to it that Earth Duke will be destroyed."

The god no longer said any word. It went silent and motionless as it slowly fell into a deep slumber. As its consciousness slowly faded, its last thoughts were;

"What a terrifying human."