The divine hall remained eerily silent, its once vibrant and commanding presence subdued by an overwhelming sense of disbelief.
Even gods—beings who had seen the birth and death of stars, who had woven the very fabric of existence—stood frozen, their minds struggling to grasp the weight of Zar's words.
It was beyond absurd.
Aetherion's expression twitched violently, his normally unshakable composure breaking as he tried—and failed—to make sense of the situation.
Vaelora, the goddess of fate, looked genuinely disturbed. Not confused, not intrigued—disturbed.
Ignis had gone completely silent. A rare event.
Zephiron and Noctis? Still frozen, their divine eyes staring blankly at Zar, questioning the nature of reality itself.
But as absurd as it all was, none of them questioned Zar directly.
Not yet.
Because standing amidst the chaos, there were two figures who had not reacted at all.
Nyxara.
Eterna.
At first, they seemed unaffected.
Calm. Unbothered.
But then—Zar saw it.
A shift in their expressions.
A moment of realization.
Their bodies, their divine essence—stiffened.
Something had just struck them.
Something crucial.
Something… they had completely overlooked.
The cost of resurrection.
To return someone from absolute nothingness—there had to be an exchange.
And neither of them had thought to ask.
The weight of that truth crashed down on them like an unstoppable cosmic force.
Nyxara's celestial gaze wavered.
Eterna's cosmic presence trembled.
A cold, unsettling silence followed.
Then—
"…What did you sacrifice?"
Nyxara's voice was quiet, but it carried the weight of an unspoken demand.
The words hung in the air, and for a moment, the entire divine hall stood still.
Even the gods, who had barely begun recovering from their previous shock, turned their attention back to Zar.
Aetherion's gaze sharpened.
Vaelora's fingers curled ever so slightly, as if she were trying to grasp the threads of fate, searching for an answer.
Before their speculation could spiral into something even more chaotic, Zar casually raised a hand.
"Ahh, let's not get too caught up in this."
His voice was light. Too light.
He waved a hand, brushing the entire topic aside as if it were nothing more than an insignificant detail.
"Just think of it as a simple trade."
(Yeah, a fraud trade with my system)
Simple trade?
A SIMPLE TRADE?!
The gods almost choked on their divinity.
There was no such thing as a "simple trade" when it came to erasing someone's existence and then bringing them back.
Zar had just rewritten reality, defied the natural laws of the multiverse, and the only thing he had to say about it was—
'Just think of it as a simple trade?!'
The sheer absurdity of it left them all speechless.
Yet before anyone could argue, Zar continued, his tone almost dismissive.
"And besides, you all should know this by now—" he gestured vaguely, his golden eyes glinting with an unreadable expression, "This isn't the only multiverse. There are countless others. What's done is done."
The words—though spoken carelessly—carried a weight that none of them could ignore.
It was true.
The Nexus verse was vast. Unfathomably so.
But for Zar to mention it now—
It felt as if he was implying something much, much deeper.
Something far beyond their understanding.
Aetherion frowned. "You make it sound as if this was nothing."
Zar simply shrugged.
"It's done. No point talking about it."
The gods hesitated.
It didn't make sense.
But arguing against Zar's logic was pointless.
A heavy sigh rippled through the divine gathering.
"…Very well."
And with that, the gods finally accepted what they could not comprehend.
The focus returned to their original purpose.
Kairos Eternis.
It was time.
One by one, the gods gave their final acknowledgment to Zar, their expressions a mixture of respect, wariness, and uncertainty.
Then—one by one—they departed.
Or so it should have been.
Because just as the hall fell into silence…
A voice broke it.
A soft, yet firm voice.
"…My Lord."
Zar's golden gaze flickered toward the source.
Vaelora, the Goddess of Fate, stood before him.
Her radiant, golden eyes—capable of perceiving past, present, and possible futures—locked onto his.
"…Why are you not coming with us?"
For the first time, the hall felt heavier.
It was a simple question.
Yet the weight behind it was immense.
Zar smiled.
A calm, knowing, almost amused smile.
Inwardly?
(I DON'T KNOW!)
There was no real reason.
Or maybe there was.
Or maybe… he just didn't want to say it.
The gods exchanged glances, trying to decipher his reasoning.
Slowly… a conclusion formed in their minds.
The Exchange.
Whatever price Zar had paid, they assumed—perhaps it was something that prevented him from going to Kairos Eternis for this time.
Perhaps that was why he stayed behind.
One by one, they lowered their heads in silent respect.
And then, one by one—they departed.
All except one.
Zar blinked as he noticed that Nyxara was still standing there.
"…Uh—why are you still here?"
Nyxara's celestial form shimmered slightly.
She looked hesitant.
Yet there was determination in her gaze.
She took a slow breath.
Then, softly—
"I wanted to say…"
She paused.
Her voice, despite its usual divine grace, felt almost… uncertain.
Then, with a deep breath—
"…I'm sorry."
Zar's expression barely changed, but his golden eyes narrowed slightly.
"For what?"
Nyxara lowered her gaze for a brief moment.
Then, with quiet resolve—
"…For your loss, Master."
Her voice was gentle.
Yet it carried the weight of regret.
Regret… because of her.
Zar sat comfortably on his throne, watching as Nyxara stood before him, her celestial form shimmering softly.
Her words lingered in the air, heavy with emotion.
"I will do whatever it takes to repay you."
Zar's mind stalled for a brief moment.
Something about that statement felt wrong.
Not in a bad way—but in an incredibly, dangerously, impossibly inappropriate way.
'Wait, wait, why does this sound so suspicious?!'
He barely had time to process it before his mouth instinctively opened to respond—
And that was the exact moment everything went horribly wrong.
Right as he was about to speak—
The System interfered.
Like a mischievous trickster!, it hijacked his words at the last second.
And instead of saying something logical, reasonable, and sane—
His voice, completely beyond his control, said the following words instead:
"You could become my maid."
Silence.
The divine hall froze.
Zar's mind?
Crashed.
His very existence momentarily ceased as he tried to comprehend WHAT. HE. JUST. SAID.
The world around him blurred as he processed the situation at an agonizingly slow speed.
And then—
Inside his mind, an eruption.
'SYSTEM, YOU B*STARD!!!'
The mental scream that followed was not just a scream—
It was pure, undiluted cosmic rage.
The System, however, was absolutely delighted.
["Oh, come on, Zar, lighten up! That was GOLDEN!"]
'YOU PIECE OF—!!!'
Before Zar could finish mentally strangling the System, he heard something—
A soft intake of breath.
A faint shiver in the air.
His instincts screamed at him to NOT LOOK.
And yet—
Like a fool—
Like someone who had just spoken the most ridiculous sentence in divine history—
He looked up.
And that's when he saw it.
Nyxara.
Blushing.
Her celestial glow had taken on a slightly pink hue.
Her lips parted slightly, as if she was processing his words in real time.
And then—
She spoke.
"Yes."
Zar's heart stopped.
NO.
NO NO NO.
SHE DID NOT JUST SAY THAT.
And then, with a graceful bow, she sealed his fate.
"…As you wish, Master."
---
Zar.exe has stopped working.
Rebooting...
Processing the absolute catastrophe that just unfolded...
Several million divine calculations ran through his brain at once.
He tried to form words.
Nothing came out.
He was now standing at the peak of absurdity itself.
At this point, his choices were LIMITED.
1. Deny everything.
2. Deny everything harder.
3. Run away.
4. Burn the multiverse and start over.
Regrettably, none of these were viable.
So, he did what any reasonable person would do.
He backtracked.
"W-Wait, you don't have to take my words seriously! I was just saying—"
Nyxara cut him off immediately.
"No," she said firmly. "I have already made up my mind."
('WHY. WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS?!')
Zar's soul nearly left his body.
He had no idea how to respond.
So, in a moment of pure resignation, he sighed.
"…Fine. Do as you wish."
Nyxara smiled.
A genuine smile.
One that made Zar feel even more conflicted.
And then, with a respectful bow, she turned and left the hall.
Her radiant figure disappeared beyond the massive doors, leaving behind an overwhelming silence.
For several long moments, nothing happened.
No sound.
No movement.
Just the echo of the absolute insanity that had just transpired.
And then—
A single, amused voice rang out in his mind.
["Now, how was that, Zar?"]
The System's tone dripped with mockery.
Zar's expression did not change.
A slow, calm, eerie smile formed on his lips.
A smile that made the System visibly panic.
["...Wait.. Wait..No.. Sh*t!!"]
Because at that moment—
The System realized.
It had just made a terrible mistake.
Because in Nexus Academy, one could bring their subordinates.
And the System had just handed Zar one on a silver platter.