Months before the commencement of the Lazarus Project and the initiation of the war between Edinburgh and Layos.
Inside Sansara World 2.0, within Maya's residence.
A table was arranged in the courtyard. Two individuals sat across from each other, engrossed in a game of chess.
"How confident are you that you can beat Eliza?"
Maya inquired, taking her turn on the chessboard. She sipped her tea, maintaining a keen gaze on her opponent, awaiting both his move on the chessboard and his reply.
"First, let's define what winning means."
Eren responded, his attention concentrated on the chess pieces. He wore a serious expression, deep in thought about his next move.
Maya smiled, recognizing she was likely to secure another victory. Their routine games accompanied their discussions on the progress of the large-scale Array Formation Eren had Maya lay down across all of Anfang.
Winning against Eren with the same calculated moves had become her norm.
Eren, unsatisfied, finally made his move, sacrificing one of his pawns to pave the way for his queen piece. Maya's smile seemed to anticipate this move.
"Let me see," Maya leaned forward, resting her folded arms on the table, her face supported by her right hand.
"Your win would entail rescuing Reen and escaping Anfang Alliance safely. But you must ensure Eliza doesn't turn against you after the Lazarus Project. Otherwise, your temporary victory will be short-lived," she declared, maneuvering her chess piece to lay siege to Eren's king in a different approach.
"That's one way to look at it, Maya. But life isn't always simple like that. What if a clash with Eliza becomes inevitable after her resurrection?"
Eren pondered, eyeing the chessboard. Maya's latest move disrupted his previous strategy, a frustration he couldn't completely conceal, despite his composed facade.
Maya didn't see any reason for Eliza to harm Eren and Reen after being resurrected. However, she refrained from asking Eren. They were discussing hypothetical scenarios, and as long as they made sense in their argument, the specifics didn't matter.
"In that case, you'd need to beat her to come out on top. Your and Reen's survival will depend on that victory. Umm… that would be a deadly scenario from what I know about her through your descriptions.
How confident are you about winning against her when she would be at her peak?"
Maya asked while observing Eren's struggle to strategize his next move on the chessboard.
"At the moment, with my current status and all the trump cards I possess, I'm absolutely sure–" Eren stated with a wry chuckle. "–I'm absolutely sure that I'd lose to her in under 10 seconds, maybe less, depending on her mood. She's a fickle old hag," he added before making another move on the chessboard.
Eren's move was peculiar, different from what she had observed from all the previous instances, but Maya didn't dwell on it and responded tactically to Eren's move on the chessboard before turning her attention to him.
"You have Borrowed Might potions. Could you save some in case you need them for her?" Maya inquired, curious about Eren's plan.
Eren shook his head.
"I've met her. She's many times stronger than the top Rankers of Anfang in this era. Borrowed Might potions might work against someone like… say Garos Renar if caught off guard, but they won't be enough against someone like Eliza.
Her Individuality is too powerful to be subdued that easily. She could defeat me and all my allies multiple times before I could even try to use those trump cards on her.
Plus, I'm sure she has placed a lot of failsafe measures on Reen, meaning I won't be able to escape with her by abandoning the Lazarus Project midway.
This… this is Ebasically a rigged game that I'm forced to play," Eren sighed.
"What would you do then? If the clash is inevitable and there's no way to overcome Eliza, the Lazarus Project is your downfall."
Maya remarked, moving another chess piece, anticipating her potential victory in the next few moves. One could say that she had let her guard down as she was so close to scoring another win against Eren.
"I've decided I'll just let her win," Eren stated calmly.
"In a game where the odds are against me from the start, struggling to win doesn't benefit me. It's better to end the game quickly by voluntarily losing. Then, in the next round, I'll aim to win when the odds are in my favor," Eren concluded, completing his chess move.
"To win by losing," Maya murmured, contemplating Eren's words. Lost in thought, it took her a moment to realize what happened on the chessboard. When she did, she was wide-eyed with surprise.
Eren had checkmated her just when she thought she was close to trapping his king. He wasn't a few moves ahead; he was several rounds ahead of her.
"You..." Maya was speechless as she realized why Eren had been losing to her in their previous chess sessions. She hadn't noticed that he had led her to think she had understood his usual moves, only to change tactics and lure her into a trap.
"My father would probably enjoy playing chess with you," Maya sighed, reclining in her seat. "No wonder you wanted another favor if you won. So, Eren, what do you want from me this time?" she asked, storing the chessboard away.
"I want to create my version of the Life and Death Altar Sansara Sage used in Sansara World 1.0," Eren smiled. "I need the Array Formation layout and your guidance for a few modifications to its workings," he requested, settling back in his chair.
The Life and Death Altar was an Array Formation where a Ranker's consciousness entered an illusory realm to confront their worst fears. Sansara Sage used it to assess potential legacy inheritors.
The Life and Death Altar had made it possible for Eren to battle Eliza's illusory form. He had learned a lot from that seemingly never-ending battle session.
"Life and Death Altar?" Maya was puzzled. "Will you use it for training your subordinates?" she inquired, intrigued by Eren's request.
"Not exactly," Eren replied. "I'll use it as a backup plan for the Lazarus Project. You'll learn more about it later."
"And what changes do you want to make?" Maya asked, eager to understand Eren's intentions.
"I want those undergoing the Life and Death Altar's judgment to confront my fears instead of their own," Eren responded calmly.
AN: Life and Death Altar was mentioned in chapter 1094.
