"You don’t need to worry about that," Eldros said evenly. "There are other ways for you to obtain divine power."

He continued after a breath, "All you need to do is form contracts with ten divine artifacts. You already possess the Spirit Orb. As for Spirit Stones, you still lack five. The rest are sacred relics—those in Phoenix Cry City, as well as in the cities where your former betrothed reside."

"Can’t you just give them to me directly?" Nina shot back. "Why do I have to collect them one by one?"

"You cannot," Eldros replied. "This is both a trial and a tempering. Only through this process will the artifacts truly acknowledge you."

Nina pressed her lips together, clearly unconvinced. "What if I don’t want to do this? Can we... change the terms?"

It sounded difficult, dangerous, and endlessly troublesome. She really wasn’t eager to take it on.

"You will need divine power," Eldros said calmly. "Divine power can lift the Beast God’s curse."

Nina frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

What did any curse have to do with her?

Eldros did not answer directly. "You will understand soon enough."

There were some things he could not interfere with too deeply.

"If I gain divine power, I’ll be able to kill Thraxxis?" Nina asked.

Despite her reluctance, his words had clearly struck a chord. A Beast God wouldn’t say something like that without reason.

"Yes. Thraxxis’ eyes are in Barbarian City—they act as one of his avatars. He is currently attempting to break his seal through sacrificial rites. That is what you must deal with first. As for his true body, it is sealed within Sin Beast City. The seal there is still relatively stable—you can deal with him after you’ve obtained divine power."

Nina felt a headache coming on. Another one with avatars and a true body...

"But even his avatar is powerful," she said. "I’m not sure I can defeat it."

"His eyes are not particularly strong," Eldros replied. "You already possess the power of the Star Source. With the Spirit Orb and Spirit Stones, you will be able to contend with him."

A few crystalline spikes—sharp and tapering like frozen shards of ice—appeared in his hand.

"Coat the tip of these with a drop of your blood. If you strike his eyes with them, you will be able to destroy that fragment."

Then he produced a blue crystal.

"This will allow you to enter the seal and find his eyes."

Nina didn’t take them immediately. Instead, she crossed her arms slightly.

"And what do I get out of this?" she asked. "I’d be eliminating a catastrophe for you—there should be some reward, right?"

Yes, he had saved Yanai—but this task was on an entirely different level. Asking for more compensation wasn’t unreasonable. Otherwise... where was the motivation?

Eldros’ brows drew together faintly. "You truly have no desire to become a god?"

"Not at the moment," Nina replied. "So give me something else instead."

Once she obtained divine power, wouldn’t her strength rival that of a Beast God anyway? And without having to sit around managing a divine post—what a perfect deal.

Besides, he was doing just fine in his role. There was no need for her to push him off his throne.

Might as well take the opportunity to... extract some benefits.

"What do you want?" Eldros asked.

"One of my mates has a shattered merman pearl. Can you repair it?"

Nina handed over the broken pearl, a flicker of hope in her eyes. Could he help Dian?

"Yes," Eldros said. "But the energy within the pearl must be replenished by him—deep within the ocean."

Nina’s eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yes."

Eldros raised his right hand. A gentle blue light flowed forth, wrapping around the shattered pearl. Before her eyes, the cracks vanished, the fragments rejoining seamlessly—until it was restored, whole and pristine.

Nina’s face brightened with delight. That’s wonderful. Dian will be fine.

After finishing, Eldros asked, "Anything else?"

Nina thought for a moment. "Do you have anything that could help my children grow stronger?"

"Your offspring already possess exceptional talent," Eldros said. "In time, they will achieve great things. What they need is experience—not shortcuts. Taking the easy path would do them no good."

Nina considered that, then nodded slightly. It made sense.

Then, on a whim, she asked, "Can I become even stronger than you?"

If she surpassed the Beast God himself... wouldn’t she be invincible in this world?

Of course—she was only half-joking.

"You want to surpass me... but you don’t want to become the Beast God?" Eldros’ brows drew together slightly.

Nina tilted her head, clearly intrigued. "Mm. Is that possible?"

Truthfully, she didn’t expect him to agree.

Eldros fell silent, his thoughts turning complicated. After a long moment of consideration, he finally made his decision.

"...It’s possible."

Thraxxis had to be eliminated. For that, he needed her.

"Wait—really?" Nina blinked in disbelief. "You actually agreed?"

Was she hearing things?

A Beast God... or a wishing tree?

"Yes," Eldros said, though his expression grew faintly unnatural. "As long as you kill Thraxxis."

Nina’s eyes gleamed. "Then can you make it so females can awaken abilities more easily?"

Eldros paused, genuinely surprised. "That... we can discuss after you obtain divine power."

He hadn’t expected that request.

Nina nodded, then pressed on, testing her luck. "Then can you give me something to help me and my mates grow stronger? And getting those artifacts won’t be easy—you should help me a little too, right?" 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Might as well see how much she could get out of this.

"You are quite greedy, little female," Eldros said with a helpless sigh.

Still, he produced a number of crystalline stones and handed them to her.

"Take these. And when you retrieve the artifacts, I will offer assistance where appropriate."

He couldn’t help but wonder—were all females like this?

Nina accepted everything without hesitation. "Then I’ll give it a try."

She knew when to stop. Push too far, and the deal might fall apart. As it stood, this was already a very worthwhile exchange.

"So... we have an agreement?" Eldros asked.

Nina nodded. "We do."

Eldros raised a brow slightly. At last, it was settled.

Then, as if recalling something, he added, "You should make more use of that system of yours. It’s... somewhat useful."

Nina’s hand paused mid-motion. A flicker of caution rose in her chest.

He knows about Little Bun.

"You needn’t be alarmed," Eldros said. "That thing is connected to me as well."

He continued, "I was the one who sent you to that world. Your arrival there wasn’t an accident—you are originally Nina of this world."

Nina’s eyes widened. "You sent me there?"

So she truly was Nina of this world... but then why were there two of her? Another avatar?

She had suspected as much when fragments of strange memories surfaced before—but she had never been certain.

"Yes," Eldros said. "I made a deal with a god from another world and sent you there. As an added bonus, he gave you that ’system.’"

His voice flowed on, calm and measured.

"I happened to glimpse a fascinating world. At the time, I had just found you—so I sent you there. First, to help you avoid certain dangers. Second... I hoped you would learn from that world’s civilization, and bring back what was valuable to develop the beast world."

He could not leave this world himself, so he had sent Nina in his stead.

"And the things within that system—you may apply some of them here as well."

"Then why are there two of me?" Nina asked, voicing the question that had been weighing on her mind.

"The one left behind in this world was merely a fragment of you," Eldros explained. "Your main consciousness would return from time to time—but whenever you went back to that other world, you would forget. A minor flaw, you could say."

Nina bit her lip lightly.

So those fragments... those dreams... they had all been her real memories.

This Beast God had chosen her long ago—had been laying out his plans from the very beginning.

Eldros sighed softly.

"The shamanic curse was an accident. When you were cursed, your main consciousness happened to be present—so Thraxxis’ spell succeeded. After I gathered the power of the Star Source, I guided you here... to help you break it."

Though in the end, the curse still required a blood sacrifice.

Nina’s thoughts churned, restless and tangled.

For the first time, she felt as though she were nothing more than a piece on a board—moved at another’s will.