Edward looked at the surrounding: it's been a year since he last came to Elysium. After looking around, he no longer wasted time as he opened a portal to the third layer.
He saluted all the magic knights and thanked them for their help. Finally, he asked Secre to remove the seal on the fourth layer before heading there.
He found himself in a relatively small and plain space. The only thing existing was a small pool and a golden throne; he then glanced at the person calmly sitting on it.
"You don't seem surprised?"
"At what? At the fact you're a woman?" replied Edward.
"Yes. I thought I would get some reaction."
"Well, you are a higher being: it's normal to be able to change your shape at will."
"True," replied God. "I've been waiting to meet you since you arrived in this world."
"What do you mean?"
"Haven't you figured it out? Why is it that you were so determined to come to Elysium? For the origin of Grimoire? To meet God? To unravel its mystery? Don't you feel you went to this extreme length for a relatively vague motive?"
Edward frowned as many thoughts flashed across his mind.
"Spiritual Hints."
"Bingo."
"When?"
"When you were confronting Mother."
"Mother? You mean the Universe Will?"
"Yes," replied God. "Ever since you're arrival, I've noticed your existence. And after a brief observation, I realized you were the key to achieving my ambitions. However, I could not leave Elysium. And I realized your power was growing at an alarming rate.
"So, before you reach my level, I place a spiritual hint on your mind to guide you so you can arrive here."
When Edward first arrived in this world, he was only in Tier 6, so he knew some things this person was saying could make sense.
"How did I not detect such a thing?"
"It's simpler than you imagine. After analyzing you, I noticed that one of the core aspects of your personality was curiosity about the unknown–even after losing all your memories. So, all I had to do was secretly boost that character trait, and eventually, your curiosity would lead you here."
Edward internally sighed as he realized he may have secretly been too confident since things had been going too well for him lately. Merlin told him he protected his mind from beings way above his Tier. However, when it comes to people on a similar level as him (1 to 3 Tier above him), he was on his own.
'Maybe, I have become too over-reliant on that old man. I should watch out from now on.'
"I see. So, what is your purpose in doing so?" he asked.
God did not immediately answer. Instead, she walked to the small pond and crouched down, playing with the water.
"Of course, for freedom," she said, her eyes dazed, lost in memories.
"Adam, well, you call him Satan. He and I were the first creatures in this world. Mother created us to keep the balance of the universe: we had to ensure that all souls had gone to their destination after death.
"As one the first creatures in existence, we had the utmost talent for magic. So, we grew at an alarming rate, to the point all races hailed us as Gods. Satan was actually more nonchalant about magic. He did not need to learn or train. With his natural talent, he was still one of the most powerful beings in existence.
"As for me, I share your curiosity. So, I began to delve deeper into the mystery of magic. You can say, this was the beginning of my downfall."
Eve sighed deeply after saying this.
"At some point, I reached the ceiling of this world. No matter what I did, I could not increase my strength and reach the next stage of power. So, I pleaded with Mother for a solution: I asked her to show me a way out, to guide me.
"Now that I reflect on my actions, I realize how foolish I was. The so-called Mother is nothing but an indifferent consciousness with the sole purpose of ensuring the universe runs appropriately.
"How would it care about me? As long as I did my job properly, it would not even pay attention to me."
Edward squinted his eyes. "So, you took matters into your own hands?"
"Exactly. I knew as long as the world's safety was compromised, Mother, no, the Universe Will, would have to intervene. So, the first step of my plan was to tempt Adam with power.
"After showing him how much stronger than him I was, it was easier to lure him into breaking the taboo and start absorbing the souls of the sinful to increase his strength. And after getting a taste of such a rapid increase in power, he could no longer resist.
"He corrupted the mortals so they could commit more sins and goes to the underworld for punishment, and he can swallow them."
Eve played with a little fish on the pond, and in the process, she looked at her reflection in the water.
"After that, things proceeded smoothly. Using his act as an excuse, I started a war that almost destroyed the world. In the end, the Universe Will had to intervene. Unfortunately, it had its own rules and regulations to follow: it could not directly intervene. It communicated to us, asking us to stop everything, but we did not listen.
"So, it had to go about things a different way."
"The Wizard Sage."
"Exactly." Eve turned to look at Edward. "I love talking to intelligent people: things usually proceed smoother."
"So, what exactly happened?"
"The Universe Will created a being that could end our path of destruction: Alan, the Wizard Sage. It even gave him some of its power in the form of the Origin Grimoire.
"It chose humans, a race with limited lifespan and ingenuity: someone who could not reach our level nor live long enough to become another problem. It even restricted the potential of all races from now with the power of the Grimoire."
"So, the Wizard Sage did not invent Grimoires?"
"He thinks he did," replied Eve.
"You don't seem to like him?"
Eve sighed out loud before returning to playing with the fish. "This is where in the story that things began to go wrong. Alan was a clever man. Although not as powerful as the two of us, he still reached the level of defeating creatures like dragons or giants. Moreover, after gathering the strength of numerous races, he became a powerful faction of his own.
"Ultimately, I blame the failure on myself. My plan was on the verge of succeeding, so I was distracted. I ignored his rise, and after he allied with Adam, they sealed me, delaying my plans for countless millennia."
"What plan?"
Eve smiled but did not answer.
"You don't need to say, I can guess. When the Universe Will handed some of its power to Alan, you took the opportunity to analyze its essence and steal its power. That would explain why it was divided into three parts: the main one, the one Alan had, and the final piece in your hands."
"You are only partially correct."
Edward frowned, trying to think what he had overlooked. However, he quickly understood that now was not the time to unravel mysteries. He sighed out loud.
"I am a person who likes talented individuals. So, under normal circumstances, I would invite you to join me and even provide you with some unique opportunities.
"Unfortunately, your action of scheming against me has injured my ego: so, I must destroy you."
"It would never have worked out in the first place."
"Oh, how so?"
"To escape the shackles of this universe, I must acquire your memory and soul."
"I could have offered you a way out."
"I don't need anyone else. Not Mother, not Adam, and not from you of all people."
Edward shrugged his shoulder: "Since we are both done buying time, let's get this fight on the way."
