The Achievement Junkie

But before Jack could let his mind drift too far about the Neutral Gods' line up, he asked Dragas another question, "You mentioned Eedaj being one of the only gods to ever kill another god. Can you go into more detail about that?"

Dragas saw everyone's eyes refocus on her. She sighed. "Jack… I thought Eedaj would've already told you about that. You didn't ask him about what happened to his people?"

"I… Well, we asked but it wasn't a good time to talk about that at the moment," replied Jack. "I'll have to ask him when we get back. But can you explain how he's one of the only gods to kill another god? Wouldn't other gods have fallen by now or gotten killed in the Godly War?"

"Jack, I honestly wouldn't even call that war as 'godly' since most of the fighting was done entirely by their followers. If anything, it was one of the bloodiest periods of history that Kartonia has ever seen. But not a single god was killed." Dragas explained, "You see, Halmut and Skaryn were playing chess with their followers as the sacrificial pawns. They tried to outmaneuver the other with their stronger pieces, their subordinate gods, but neither side could break the balance. Would you like to guess why?"

"Because some gods avoiding fighting?" reasoned Jack.

"Because few gods were truly willing to risk their life," stated Dragas. "The stronger gods wanted to pair up with a weaker god to face another god of the rival faction. That way the stronger god would survive no matter what happened in the battle.

"I'm not saying they wanted the weaker gods to commit suicide," Dragas clarified, "it's just that their hierarchy is purely based on strength. So when Kori flat out refused to join the war, a key piece of the Halmut's went missing. And Perchet wasn't truly fighting either, he just held back whichever god came his way. He chose certain survival over possible victory. As for Lunara, she was almost killed in that war… If Sterfen hadn't stolen her injured body away, then she would've become the first casualty of the 'Godly War'."

Shaken up a bit, Jack then asked, "But what about the Chaotic Gods? I imagine they faced similar issues, right?"

Dragas nodded. "Their problems were different from the Holy Gods', mainly because the Holy Gods focused on overwhelming, brute strength to win. The problems of the Chaotic Gods led to them being in an extremely unfavorable position. Choron was tipped off by his long-time friend, Sterfen, and managed to avoid his death. But that angered the stronger Chaotic Gods as they planned to use Choron as bait to finally kill Naparn.

"Also, like Perchet, Moranti wasn't even fighting by the end of the war," continued Dragas. "His strength could rival Skaryn or Halmut, but he was bound by a contract to Skaryn and forced to do his bidding. But once Skaryn was sealed and Halmut was gravely injured, the other gods rushed to the scene of the fight, either trying to finish off Halmut or protect Halmut. But something weird happened…

"The Chaotic Gods never arrived at the battlefield. None of them. It's something that still baffles the Holy Gods and has them on the defense. Since Moranti was still a major threat, they haven't been able to rest. With his abilities to travel wherever he wishes, Moranti could easily enter Olympic Chateau and kill Halmut while he rests."

"Olympic Chateau… What's that?" Daliea was the one who asked, sharing the same question that was on the rest of the party's mind.

"Wouldn't you know?" Dragas asked Jack.

Shaking his head, Jack replied, "Technically, yes, but I don't know remember the name of the new country it's in."

"Riiight, you're used to Ancient Kartonia…" Dragas nodded and answered, "You'll find Olympic Chateau atop the tallest mountain in the world, Mt. Jupitor. But knowing where it is doesn't mean you can just walk in. The barrier protecting it was made by Halmut, guaranteeing its security. Not even Sterfen can enter there.

"Anyway, about Moranti…" Dragas smiled and resumed her previous explanation, "Moranti is the only person who can enter that place without breaking a sweat. And his strength is a real threat to Halmut. But still, he's never gone up there since the war. Do you already understand why, Jack?"

Jack nodded. "He's the reason why the Chaotic Gods never made it to Skaryn's and Halmut's battlefield, isn't he?"

"Exactly!" Dragas answered. "The Holy Gods have been so busy fearing Moranti's potential threat that they've acted very carefully since the war. But the Chaotic Gods faced a mutiny by Moranti. It took the next four strongest Chaotic Gods under Moranti just to restrain him, two of which were killed in the process.

"And that's my long answer. Most gods have lived and not successfully killed another god because they don't want to die or risk dying."

Mulling that over for a moment, Jack asked, "Then which gods have successfully killed someone?"

"How come your grilling me and not your father?" argued Dragas, pouting playfully.

"Because he's on his way to the Olympic Chateau to steal Lunara's contract," answered Jack, effectively striking Dragas dumb momentarily. "And since I'm guessing he's your source for this information, you're the next best thing. Uncle Jin never bothered to learn anything about that war and Eedaj will get questioned about something else, so that leaves you, my lovely mother."

"Fine… I guess I'll spill some more information," Dragas sighed. "Let's see… There's Eedaj, Moranti…" She paused, unable to hide the sudden uncomfortable look in her eyes. But she giggled again, returning to normal in an instant, "And finally, there's Halmut and Skaryn. That's all of them."

"That's it? My dad hasn't killed any? Wasn't he an assassin?" questioned Jack.

Dragas laughed again, "Well, he never killed a god, but Sterfen did kill five godly candidates just before they ascended. And that was before Sterfen was a demigod. Ahhh… those were the good old' days…"

"That's better…" Jack sighed, glad that his father had a proven track record behind his name. It made him feel a bit better about Sterfen's visit to Olympic Chateau.

"Is there anything else you'd like your mother to explain for you?" Dragas looked around to all the party.

"Where's my dad?"

Everyone turned to Bowzer, who was still staring coldly at the ground.

Dragas was about to answer when Jack spoke up, "Bowzer, I already know where your dad is, so don't worry. Once we're strong enough, then we'll help him too."

"Okay…" The fox's glare softened, more at ease after having Jack's promise.

"Since that's everything, then allow us to say goodbye, for now, Mother," Jack bowed to Dragas with a smile. "We need to get back to the guild."

"Don't keep me waiting long, young man. I don't want to wait any longer than I must to hold my granddaughter," replied Dragas, eyeing Jack while motioning to Eliza. Then, Dragas put her arm around Eliza and walked her away from the party. "Give us a moment to chat. You know… about mother-daughter stuff."

Once they had some privacy, Dragas took out a vial of translucent green liquid. Dragas handed it to Eliza and whispered something into Eliza's ear.

The next moment, Dragas and Eliza returned to the party, the latter blushing brightly. They hugged one last time before Dragas waved to everyone else. "I'm so glad to have a family again… I can hardly wait for the next time we'll be together."

Everyone waved back to the goddess as they gathered around Jack. Once everyone was connected to Jack in some way, he activated Greater Teleportation.

The great flash of light blinded Dragas, leaving her alone yet again.

Taking a deep breath, Dragas sauntered over to a flower with a long flat stem for Dragas to lounge on. She closed her eyes and released that long breath, letting a single tear glide down her cheek. Her hand opened to reveal two ordinary rings, a golden band and a simple engagement ring with the tiniest gemstone.

"Brok… I have to tell you all about our new daughter… You would love her…"