Originally, Lux thought that there wasn’t a night and day cycle in Zangrila when he first arrived. But it didn’t take long for this assumption of his to be corrected.

During the day, everything in the surroundings was void of any other color except for the color of red.

At night, everything became so dark that only the moonlight illuminated the surroundings. There were no stars in the sky, and the only thing that could be seen above was a white, full moon.

After finding out that there were countless ghosts in the city, the Half-Elf decided to take a stroll to clear his mind.

For some reason, the brother and sister ghosts followed behind him. They would always stay a dozen meters away from the Half-Elf as if following him was a fun thing to do.

Lux let them do what they wanted as he was busy thinking about a lot of things.

His friends who were in the Gate of Famine.

His inability to control Hecatoncheires.

The words of his Master, Gaap, and last but not the least, he was thinking about what a Necromancer really was.

Eiko, who could also feel her Papa’s worries, decided to keep her silence. She understood that now was not the right time to distract Lux from his thoughts because he needed some time to ponder the things that he should prioritize.

Now that he understood where the countless gazes were coming from, he no longer cared about them and simply accepted the fact that there were countless ghosts that he was unable to see with his current abilities.

‘I have been relying too much on my Soul Book to detect monsters around me,’ Lux thought as he continued to walk aimlessly in the city. ‘Since the ghosts are not hostile to me, the Mapping function of the Compendium ignored their presence.’

The Half-Elf didn’t have any particular destination in mind, and just walked, and walked, and walked, hoping to find solutions to the problems he was currently facing.

He had already summoned his Named Creatures, as well as his Undead Legion, allowing them to have free reign in the city.

Their mission was to engage any hostile Abyssal Creature that spawned within Zangrila while scavenging for useful things in the ruined city.

The Abyssal Creatures had no need for gold, jewels, or other expensive things. Since the city was devoid of life, the Half-Elf didn’t feel any guilt scavenging for treasures during his stay in Zangrila.

Lux had no doubt in his mind that if Cai and Fei Fei had come here with him, the pair would have already secured the most expensive things in the city before he, or any of his subordinates, could.

After a few hours of walking, Lux sat down and looked at the two ghosts, who had also sat a distance away from him.

The little girl was resting her head on her brother’s shoulders, while the latter held her in place.

Although Lux’s face looked calm on the surface, deep inside, a storm was stirring. It took him a while to regain his composure before he closed his eyes to rest.

He was really tired both physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Because of this, it didn’t take long for him to fall asleep, allowing the clutches of a dream to pull him into dreamland.

————

“Rise and shine, sleepy head.”

A familiar voice called out to Lux, which made the teenager stir from his slumber. A moment later, the Half-Elf half-opened his eyes to see who was disturbing his sleep.

However, after seeing a face that he hadn’t seen since he had been born in Elysium, the drowsiness he was feeling melted away like an ice cube tossed into a hot desert.

“M-Max?” Lux asked. “Is that really you?”

“The one and only,” the God of Gamblers, Max, replied. “Long time no see, Lux. Are you enjoying your new life to the fullest?”

Lux propped himself up in a sitting position and looked around his surroundings.

He was currently in a space devoid of any colors. The only thing that stood out in this weird place was the God who had asked him to save a dying world from destruction.

Max gave Lux an appraising gaze from head to foot before nodding his head in satisfaction.

“Although there have been many twists and turns, I’m glad that you are doing your best to survive in this world,” Max stated. “Before anything else, I would like to apologize to you for the mishap that happened back in Heaven.

“If the cannon hadn’t encountered any problems, you might have been born into more favorable conditions. Although it is a bit late, please, accept my apology.”

Max gave Lux a brief bow before raising his head once more. “In order to compensate you for your trouble, you can ask me for one thing. As long as it doesn’t hit my bottom line, I will see to it that you get what you wanted. So, do you have anything you want right now?”

Lux thought for a while before shaking his head.

“Your Excellency, what happened in the past should remain in the past,” Lux stated. “Perhaps, the SIMP Cannon malfunctioning back then was a blessing in disguise. If not for that, I wouldn’t have been blessed to have a wonderful and loving family who truly cares for me.

The red-headed teenager then bowed his head towards the Gods of Gamblers, whom Eriol said had risked his Divinity to ensure that his Soul wouldn’t cease to exist.

“Thank you for giving me an opportunity to live again,” Lux said firmly. “Also, I haven’t forgotten the mission that you have given me. I will continue to find ways to help save Solais from destruction.”

Max smiled after hearing Lux’s heartfelt words. As a God, it was impossible for anyone to lie to him because he could see the truth behind every word.

Seeing that the Half-Elf was truly happy with his life, the God of Gamblers summoned a golden jar.

“I am happy that you feel that way,” Max replied. “But, since I have already decided to give you something, I will see to it that it gets done. This jar in my hands is called the Jar of Fortune. If you place your hand inside it, you would gain something that will help you realize the thing you want most to happen.

“I am unable to stay long on this plane, so I urge you to hurry up and pick something from inside the jar. No matter what you get, I’m sure that it will lead to the thing that you want to happen the most.”

Lux, who could sense the urgency in Max’s voice, decided that no harm would come to him if he did what his Patron God asked of him.

“Well, here goes nothing,” Lux muttered as he put his hand inside the jar.

He didn’t know what he would be able to take from the Jar of Fortune.

However, deep inside, he hoped that whatever he got would help him accomplish the task that he had envisioned, allowing him to take the path that he had decided to take, regardless of the consequences of his action.