To this day, Gawain has become accustomed to the various gaps in the memories passed down to him.

A significant portion of these mysteriously vanished memories were erased by Selena Gerfen, while others remain untraceable.

But all the missing memories share a common thread: they more or less point towards the gods, belonging to things "that are known if mentioned."

Once he confirmed this commonality, Gawain could easily link many things upon realizing the gaps in the memories related to the "shield of the protector."

He exhaled slowly, temporarily setting aside the numerous guesses and associations in his mind, and looked once again at the two high-ranking agents before him: "What else do you want to know about the shield of the protector?"

"We want to know if, after you obtained it...," Melita Ponia started to speak, her words tinged with hesitation, as if choosing her words carefully, "if you underwent any ’changes’ due to its influence?"

"Changes?" Gawain furrowed his brow slightly, "What do you mean? You should know, ’change’ is a very broad term."

"Like seeing or hearing things, or suddenly having a sense you didn’t have before," Nuoletta said, "You might even see vivid illusions or gain memories that are not your own..."

Gawain’s expression immediately turned serious—Nuoletta’s words almost directly confirmed a theory he had just conjured, related to a conjecture about Gawain Cecil from seven hundred years ago!

"Given that you’re directly involved, we’ll be frank," Melita noticed the change in Gawain’s expression and stepped forward to speak honestly, "We know a bit about the secret behind your shield and the ’God Metal’—as you are aware, God Metal, the Eternal Stone Slate, holds the power to influence a mortal’s mind, to infuse memories that don’t belong to them, or even ’extraordinary experiences,’ and because the main material of the shield of the protector and God Metal share a common origin, it carries even greater ’power,’ allowing it to produce similar effects.

"It affects a mortal’s psyche and perception, infusing a certain memory or emotion, and could potentially alter your mental and physical structure, linking you to some distant thing.

"We want to know if you experienced any such changes or encountered similar ’sensory transmissions’ while possessing the shield of the protector?"

Gawain had braced himself when Nuoletta spoke, so upon hearing Melita, he maintained a calm and composed expression, but inwardly, it was as if a thunderclap roared: Indeed!

This was why Gawain Cecil, as a human, suddenly established a connection with the satellite in the sky seven hundred years ago, even managing to communicate with his own past self as the satellite’s consciousness—it was because of the "shield of the protector of Anzu Kingdom" that he always carried with him!

A piece of metal of unknown origin, likely debris from some ancient facility that fell from space, possessing similar energy radiation to the "Eternal Stone Slate" but not being the Stone Slate itself—the expeditionary army, unaware, fashioned this metal into the shield of the protector, and then Gawain Cecil spent nearly twenty years of his life exposed daily to this equipment. This "cosmic artifact," unlike the Stone Slate, did not immediately impart spiritual guidance or knowledge but subtly influenced Gawain Cecil over the years, eventually allowing a human to connect with an ancient cosmic facility.

Gawain couldn’t determine how this change took place, nor did he know if any critical juncture existed in this transformation process—since all relevant memories had disappeared, whether by Gawain Cecil’s intention or erased by some external force, today’s Gawain could not ascertain how the original owner of his body was gradually affected by the "cosmic artifact," and at this moment he suddenly recalled another matter:

In the legends of the elves, the earliest "primordial elves" once reached a tall tower, where they encountered enigmatic energies, leading to their division into sub-species like gray elves, silver elves, and sea elves, all of whom experienced massive memory disruptions and profound technological setbacks. Based on information gathered later, Gawain speculated that the tower the primordial elves encountered must also have belonged to the Deicide Fleet, located probably in the southwestern continent, linked somehow to the tower Gawain Cecil encountered when he set sail southeastwards...

These ancient artifacts seem to possess similar powers: constantly emitting mysterious energies that instruct or instill knowledge into any race that comes in contact, and under certain conditions, may even alter the life form of the contactor...

This prompted Gawain to ponder curiously: When Gawain Cecil of those days successfully reached a "tower" and emerged alive, was he still truly a "human"?

Instinctively, he glanced down at his body, for the first time feeling that this body he had "picked up" out of nowhere was perhaps the greatest secret he faced in this world.

"Is there a problem?" Melita, noticing Gawain’s odd behavior, couldn’t help but ask.

"No... nothing, just suddenly thought of some old matters." Gawain composed himself, suppressing the tumultuous thoughts in his mind, and then he frowned, considering whether to answer Melita’s question head-on. He looked at the two high-ranking agents before him—they merely stood there, quietly, with unreadable smiles, full of patience and professional courtesy.

Eventually, he exhaled slowly and spoke in a calm, deep voice, "Yes, during my interaction with this ’cosmic artifact,’ I came to know a bit."

Nuoletta reflexively asked, "Specifically, what..."

"The gods are dead," Gawain looked into the other’s eyes and stated distinctly, "and it was a slaughter."

The room fell into a brief silence, with Melita and Nuoletta both looking at Gawain with a certain solemn eye, while Gawain continued unhurriedly, "However, in this modern era, the gods still hang high over the heads of all beings, divine decrees and powers seemingly unchanged through the ages, so my current biggest curiosity is—those who respond to mortal prayers in the kingdom of gods, what exactly are they? What are their intentions, and what is their relationship with the mortal world?"

Upon hearing Gawain’s final question, Melita and Nuoletta instinctively exchanged a glance, then they both fell into silence. After a few seconds of quiet, Nuoletta finally spoke up.

"I’m sorry, we can’t answer your question," she said, shaking her head, "but one thing we can tell you—they are still gods, not something else."

"...That answer is sufficient." Gawain glanced at Nuoletta, his brows relaxed as he slowly spoke.

If what this high-ranking agent says is credible, then at least it confirms one of his and Veronica Moen, Kamel, and others’ speculations:

It wasn’t that something else occupied the divine position, but that a new God was born upon it... It was the activities of new civilizations that shaped a new season of gods.

The "god-making model" behind the Supreme Narrator incident is correct and continues to be effective in the real world.

"We have one last question," Melita Ponia also broke the silence, "This question is unrelated to the shield of the protector and may involve privacy. If you don’t want to answer, you can refuse."

"Go ahead and ask," Gawain nodded, "I will answer at my discretion."

"We heard that during the centuries of your death, your soul drifted outside the human world and traversed between the virtual and the real..." Melita asked with a serious expression, "Did you go to some kingdom of a god at that time?"

"Indeed, there is such a saying, and the source is precisely myself—but this saying is not accurate," Gawain said calmly, "In fact, my soul did drift for many years, and I did overlook this world from a very high place, but... that was not a kingdom of a god, and during those years, I did not see any gods."

"Then we are relieved," Melita smiled and looked at the shield in Gawain’s hand, "We have no more questions. Congratulations, now the shield of the protector of Anzu Kingdom returns to its rightful owner."

"Let me once again express my gratitude to the Mithril Vault." Gawain also smiled and said sincerely.

But soon he noticed the two high-ranking agents in front of him showing expressions as if they had something to say but found it difficult to speak, which prompted him to ask casually, "Do you have any other questions?"

"Not a question..." Melita hesitated with a frown, "It’s that we have another task, but..."

She seemed very conflicted, as if she didn’t want to complete this task but was forced to execute it—a situation never seen before—the agent lady was always very motivated when performing duties for the Mithril Vault.

"Go ahead, no need to be so hesitant," Gawain couldn’t help but say, "I won’t feel offended."

"Are you interested in visiting Talronde?" Melita finally made the decision, looking into Gawain’s eyes, "To be honest, it’s Talronde’s supreme ruler who wants to meet you."

These words took Gawain by surprise, and he was momentarily stunned. But he quickly realized from the agent lady’s eyes that this "invitation" might not be so simple, especially with the obvious emphasis on the words "Talronde’s supreme ruler" in her tone, prompting him to ask another question, "By Talronde’s supreme ruler, you mean..."

"Our God," Noletta said in a deep voice from the side, "The God of Dragonkin, Dragon God."

Gawain’s expression immediately froze: "..."

It’s no exaggeration to say, at this moment, he was so shocked that the shield nearly slipped from his grasp...

It took a few seconds before he confirmed that the two high-ranking agents’ expressions had not changed, there was no joking in their tone, nor had he hallucinated or misheard. He realized the astonishing amount of information contained in their words, so he maintained his facial expression while asking with surprise, "Talronde has a God? A God in the real world?!"

Noletta nodded: "Yes, our Dragonkin’s God exists in the real world and has lived in Talronde for millions of years."

Gawain’s tone was still filled with immense astonishment: "This God wants to see me?"

"Yes, our God wants to see you—He rarely shows interest in matters outside Talronde, nor is He concerned with the changes in religious beliefs or the rise and fall of civilizations on other continents. It has been many millennia since He has taken such an active interest in a mortal."

Gawain noticed that when Noletta was answering, she seemed to intentionally disclose additional information he hadn’t asked about, as if she actively wanted to provide more details.

While speculating on the true intentions of this high-ranking agent, and based on his previous understanding of the Dragonkin, he tried to deduce the situation of the "God in the real world" in Talronde and His relationship with ordinary Dragonkin. Gawain quietly pondered for a long time before asking unhurriedly, "And what else? What else did your God say?"

"He asked us to convey to you that this is just a friendly and ordinary invitation, inviting you to visit the scenery of Talronde, and to discuss matters of the mortal world with Him. He has some questions to discuss with you, and perhaps this discussion could be beneficial for both parties," Melita repeated what Dragon God Enya asked her to convey to Gawain with a peculiar expression, as if even she found it hard to believe that a God would say such words to a mortal, "Lastly, He also asked us to tell you—this invitation is not urgent. If you are currently busy, then postpone the meeting. If you have doubts, you can also refuse directly."

Gawain raised an eyebrow instinctively: "Are these your God’s exact words?"

The two high-ranking agents spoke in unison: "Yes."

Gawain thought for a moment, and only a few seconds later did he exhale a long breath—

"No, I won’t go."