Several minutes later, the Lightning Emperor told Shang that he had heard enough.
By now, it became harder and harder to find rationalizations for Shang suffering from delusions.
"And why did he bring you to Aterium?" he asked.
"Entertainment," Shang said.
"Entertainment?"
"Entertainment."
"Please elaborate."
"He told me that his world is filled with nothing but Mages and that the battles between Mages are the most boring to watch. He said that they just throw Spells at each other for hours at a time."
"He said that the world was supposed to entertain him, but with all these Mages, it wasn't very entertaining."
"That was why he summoned me and a couple of others."
"He needed people with certain mindsets and with a lot of creativity. He created bodies for us that made it impossible for us to focus on Magic. By now, I know that he got rid of something in my soul that transports the majority of my Mana into my mind. The Custodian has already fixed that."
"He wants us to create more Paths and make them more powerful so that there would be more diversity in his world."
"And the best way to start was to make the new warrior Path that appeared in Area 23 stronger."
"He sent me to Area 23, and that's where it all started," Shang explained.
The Lightning Emperor took a deep breath.
It was like the entire world was being turned upside down for him.
How had he never heard of this God?
How could someone like that stay secret for so long?
Was this truly the person that ruled over this world?
By now, the Lightning Emperor had nearly no doubts left.
"What about the Mage God?" the Lightning Emperor asked.
After he asked that question, the Mana in the room seemed to stop.
It was like the entire world was waiting for Shang's answer.
"Lucius Volstad?" Shang asked.
Somehow, the atmosphere grew even more oppressive when Shang asked that.
"Yes, Lucius Volstad," the Lightning Emperor said.
Silence.
The Lightning Emperor was waiting for the answer.
However, he also didn't want to hear it.
Somehow, he already knew what the answer would be.
"The God killed him."
Silence.
"The God said that the Mage Emperor strode into his palace like he owned the place. Then, based on the God's word, he kicked him for several hours until he died."
Silence.
"He even showed me his corpse."
Silence.
The Lightning Emperor just looked to the side without saying anything.
The atmosphere was somber and oppressive.
Two minutes of silence passed.
"Why?" the Lightning Emperor asked.
"Because he's insane," Shang said.
It was like the world received a shock, and the Lightning Emperor looked at Shang.
How could Shang insult the God like this? Wasn't he afraid for his life?
The Lightning Emperor wouldn't want to insult such a powerful being since he didn't want to die.
Yet, Shang did just that.
"Insane?" the Lightning Emperor asked.
"Insane, crazy, not normal, not fully there, mad, mental, whatever you want to call it," Shang answered.
"In what sense?" the Lightning Emperor asked.
"He constantly loses control of his emotions, starts shouting, starts laughing loudly, enjoys torturing others and abusing his control way too much, and he is also gambling with his own life for fun."
"How is he gambling with his own life?" the Lightning Emperor asked.
"Because he hasn't killed me yet," Shang said.
Silence.
"He played with my life and emotions several times, and I want to kill him for that. He knows that, and he also knows that I have a shot at actually succeeding, but instead of fearing me or just killing me, he only sees it as more entertainment. After all, what could be more entertaining than being in danger?" Shang explained.
"This was the original reason I wanted to become powerful, but after going through so much pain and suffering, I forgot. That was until you reminded me of it in this conversation."
"Now, I only want to become powerful because I want to become powerful," Shang said.
The Lightning Emperor looked at the table with a troubled expression.
All of this was incredibly hard to swallow.
Apparently, there was a mad God ruling over this world that just wanted to be entertained.
The age-old question of why life and the world existed had been answered just like that.
Entertainment.
That was it.
"What do you know of the God?" the Lightning Emperor asked.
"Not much. I don't know where he came from. I don't know what he can do. I don't know where he is right now. He didn't tell me anything," Shang said.
"Can he hear and see us right now?" the Lightning Emperor asked.
Shang wordlessly nodded.
"Why isn't he showing himself?"
"I can't be entirely sure, but I guess it's because of two reasons."
"First, he doesn't have to. Showing or not showing doesn't change anything."
"Second, it's more entertaining this way. If you see him, you are certain of his existence, but if you don't, there will always be doubt. Such chaos is what entertains him," Shang said.
"He likes seeing people struggle."
The Lightning Emperor took another deep breath.
"Okay, what about the other world, Earth? If there is one other world, there could be even more, right?" he asked.
"I don't know," Shang answered. "It could be. I don't think there's an end to existence."
"Maybe there are even more Gods out there. No idea."
The Lightning Emperor scratched his chin in thought.
"Unknown lands," he slowly said. "To think that there might still be unknown lands out there."
"Maybe there is even a way to become even stronger?"
"Probably," Shang said.
The Lightning Emperor remained silent for a while as he only looked absentmindedly at the ceiling of his study.
Shang also didn't say anything.
After a minute, the Lightning Emperor took a deep breath and looked at Shang.
"Alright, I've got one last question."
"Did the God tell you anything about the Child of Calamity?"
