After a whole day of going around the many countries and talking with the Emperors and governments, as well as making public announcements, Ning finally returned back to the tower.
There was still the Serian Emperor to talk to, but he decided to relax first.
"How did it go?" Merasi asked from the side of the room.
They were currently in Ning's room on the 52nd floor of the tower. He was resting on his sofa, looking to the outside with nothing but disappointment in his eyes.
"Not very good," Ning said with a sigh. "At least, not good for the tower."
"Oh, what happened?" Merasi asked with concern. She hadn't heard any news from the outside since she had been resting while Ning went around on a diplomatic mission.
"Every single country is throwing out the Aether Tower from their lands. I managed to hide the knowledge about the deal, but the rest is impossible to get rid of," Ning said.
"The deal? What deal?" Merasi asked.
"Ah, never mind," Ning said. "Anyway, the tower is instantly downsizing to just this— no, actually we might lose this branch as well. We might have to end up shutting down the tower if the emperor asks that of us."
"Huh? Why are we shutting down?" Merasi asked quickly.
"What can we do? If not a single country will take us, the tower will really have to shut down," Ning said. However, even as he said it, he didn't like that thought very much.
If it were just a random organization like the Shadow Pavilion that had gone silent in recent years, he would have no qualms about destroying the tower.
However, this was something that Famir and Mavenna created. He couldn't just shut it down.
'Hmm…'
An idea came to Ning that he wasn't sure was good or not. However, the more he thought about it, the better it sounded to him.
"I have a plan," Ning said to Merasi.
"Oh, what is it?" she asked.
"Let's wait for my next meeting to be over first to see if I have a take the desperate route or not," he said.
After resting for a bit longer, he left again.
* * * *
As expected, Ning failed to keep the tower in Serian as well. The only reason he didn't get an extreme backlash was that he had introduced himself as the person behind all of the improvement in Aether lately, the Apostle of Alexis.
Also, after saying that he is willing to distribute the knowledge the tower had gathered for the past many thousand years, the public was more than happy to not fight against the rulers of the country.
Ning stayed on the sofa in his room, a place he would now have to evacuate within the year.
Just as he was thinking about what to do next, Alexis appeared next to him and sat on the sofa too.
"Is he…?" Ning asked.
"Gone. I buried him not long ago," she said.
"I see, my condolences," Ning said.
Alexis said nothing but simply looked outside.
"It's not peaceful out there, is it?" Ning asked.
"No," Alexis answered without hesitation. "But I'm sure it will be soon."
"You think so?" Ning asked.
"Yes," Alexis said. "I can feel the change in the heart of everyone out there. While they are still a little scared, I can feel the positivity they had gotten from learning what the future holds."
"Soon… they will be happy, and there will be peace," Alexis said.
"Are you sure?" Ning asked.
"Absolutely," Alexis said with a slight smile on her face.
They stayed in the tower for a few minutes, saying nothing to each other, while just watching the scenery down below.
Finally, Alexis broke the silence. "I'm leaving," she said.
"Oh," Ning said. "Okay, I will see you later then."
"No," Alexis said. "I'm leaving."
Alexis looked at him with a face of seriousness.
Ning looked confused for a second before his eyes went wide. "You… your time is up?" he asked with a surprised look. "Don't you still have some time?"
Alexis nodded. "There's a day or two more left, and I want to spend that time roaming the world," she said.
"I see," Ning said with a downtrodden face. He couldn't think of what to say. He couldn't begin to imagine what it must feel like to know that you are dying.
His one death had been way too sudden for him to think anything, and when he had reincarnated, he had become immortal.
Someone like his could never understand the troubles of the ones that had a limited lifespan, even if it were an entire planet itself.
"I don't blame you anymore," Alexis suddenly said. "After learning that you did what you had to, I don't blame you for what I'm going to face."
"I simply hope that one day I can gain enough energy back to be born again," Alexis said.
'System, is that possible?' Ning asked.
<It's possible but highly unlikely>
<Planets inherently don't hold enough energy to meet the natural threshold of Will Manifestation.>
<If they do end up reaching that level somehow, it is usually due to a natural disaster that originates from somewhere outside the planet>
"I see," Ning thought to himself and couldn't help but be a little sad.
"Don't worry. I will make sure to return again," Alexis said with a smile that held a promise.
"I hope you do," Ning said seriously.
"Goodbye, my young soldier," Alexis said. "I hope you reach the ones you love soon in the other galaxies."
"I will wish you the best even after I'm gone."
Ning suddenly stood up and bowed toward her. "Thank you for everything you've done," he said.
Alexis smiled, even as a tear rolled down her cheeks. "No, it should be me, who should thank you for bringing my wish to fulfillment," she said.
Then, the goddess Alexis herself bowed toward Ning and said, "Thank you for what you did for this planet. You, an outsider, had no reason to help me, but you still did."
"For that, you will forever hold my gratitude."
That was the last thing the Goddess of this world, Alexis, would say to anyone, ever.
