A bit of time had passed, with neither of the two speaking. The goddess, who had long lost her everlasting smile, merely stared at him. Lucius, unable to meet her gaze out of guilt, could only direct his gaze elsewhere.
This was somewhat agonizing for him due to the tense atmosphere, but what could he say? The facts wouldn't change that he, as someone who had long given up his faith, was posing as one of the most devout believers of the Celestial Kingdom.
He was someone whom even the most devout believers tried to meet at least once in their lives due to the likelihood of him succeeding his father's position as the future Pope. What would the people who journeyed from far away think of if they knew the truth?
Perhaps the biggest disgrace to the Goddess was him taking charge of mass prayers and leading activities for her believers.
Wait... No... If he had to think of the biggest disgrace... It had to be when he was growing up. There was a period of time when...
He stared back at her. His face couldn't help but turn slightly pink.
She doesn't know, right? Wait, actually, how could she not know? Since she knew where his beliefs laid... She must know. She knew. He... was definitely screwed...
Fortunately, his alarmed thoughts were interrupted, as the Goddess finally contemplated what to say.
"You know… the Gods of the Divine Realm can tell how much someone believes in them, and you, Lucius… Where do I even begin?" she laughed towards the end. She looked at Lucius like he was an interesting specimen.
"Lucius, you… You never even believed in me once. It hurt me so much! Like why go through all the motions for years on end when you never even believed in me!.. It hurt my pride as a Goddess every time I had to watch you lead my followers in prayers…" she was extremely disappointed as she said this.
"Go-Goddess Elys-" Lucius tried to stammer but was cut off.
"Stop. Lucius, just stop. I honestly didn't care. However, my two most loyal apostles, the strongest two I ever had and will never get again on a similar level, repeatedly begged and grieved to me about their poor child dying in the prime of his life, hearing them cry to me day in and day out was just too pitiful."
He knew exactly who those two were without the need to mention it.
"So, I decided to use some of my power to interfere, to put down their worry, and made you one of us. However, you aren't exactly like us. And never tell anyone here that I brought you this way. Nor let anyone find out who you really are."
She looked serious, but he had to ask despite knowing she would explain if he waited. "What do you mean by that?"
"It's exactly as I said. I wasn't supposed to bring you here, but I did. I lost most of my power in order to do so. You'll be taken as a Minor God, the weakest kind of God, but you aren't actually a God. You're more of something between a God and a human now. This was only possible to do, due to the unprecedented levels of holy blood coursing through your veins."
This meant Lucius's arrival in Heaven was no ordinary event. Due to his powerful lineage, a combination of his father's holy blood and his mother's saintly heritage, the Goddess Elysia had made it so that Heaven had mistaken him as a newly ascended minor god.
"However, your life won't be smooth sailing. We call that so-called holiness Aether, which is what us Gods use to maintain our existence. Although you possessing so much Aether to pose as a Minor God was already something that should've been impossible to do, it is still minuscule compared to what an actual God should have. So if you can't maintain it, you'll vanish from existence. You are already dead, and merely a soul that possesses abnormal amounts of Aether. With your unnecessary intellect, I'm sure you know what I mean."
"How do I make it not vanish?"
"How else? Work."
Wait… work? Wasn't Heaven supposed to be a place where you just laze around? To still need to work in Heaven… it was a bit flabbergasting to ponder about.
She took out a black and white crystal and dropped them into his hands.
"I'm tired from saving your life, so get someone else to explain the rest later. Here's two keys. The white one will lead you to your domain, and the black one will lead you to the Missions Office. Just so you know, the past owner of the domain was a true Minor God, unlike you. Yet he still couldn't stop his state of existence from vanishing. If you want to stay alive, then don't laze around."
With those final words, she pulled out her own crystal to go somewhere, but he stopped her hurriedly to ask her a question. "Wait! Wh-What about my parents?"
She sighed and looked back, "You can't talk to them yet, but don't worry, I already told them you arrived safely to ease their worries. If you are able to gain more Aether you can probably manage to contact that world, and may even be able to build and maintain a human body."
Knowing they'll be able to meet again someday, he calmed down and grew determined to gain more Aether. For both his life and his family.
Seeing Lucius no longer say anything else, she hesitated before she spoke a final note, "One more thing. Heaven isn't what you think it is… To put it in words… Heaven... Heaven is anything but divine. Don't place your expectations to high about this place. Nor your new position as a newfound God. Gods are a dime a dozen. And most of them are not of the peaceful kind."
Not giving him a chance to question her again, she vanished from thin air.