"What did you just say?"
"Father is dead. He died while… well, a natural disaster. But that's not possible, so I don't know…" Zach shrugged.
The seventh raised his brows and asked, "When was that?"
"I just said it happened ten years ago."
"What time, what date?" the seventh asked curiously.
"Sixth of august…" Zach replied.
"That's when the third impact happened," the seventh mumbled.
"What is… impact? Like… this Gods' Impact game?" Zach was left confused by the seventh statement. Was his father's death or disappearance also because of gods?
"Oh, no." the seventh waved his hand in the air in denial and said, "Yes, but no. The recent Gods' impact is just… a petty practice of the lower gods. I am talking about the big impact. The first impact was when a higher god was killed, the second impact was 18 years ago, and the third impact was ten years ago."
"But what are these impacts, and what causes them? And what does that have to do with my father's death?" Zach asked with a curious yet confused look on his face.
"Umm… how do I explain in simple words…." the seventh asked himself. After pondering for a while, he said, "Just like how I serve the Sea and gain its power. Your world gains power from the cosmic energy in the universe. When something happens which wasn't supposed to happen, it causes an impact, which leads to unprecedented outcomes."
"Sometimes is good, but most of the time it's bad," the seventh stated. "So if your father went missing in the third impact, then it has to do something with what I just said above."
"…something happened that shouldn't…?"
The seventh nodded and said, "That's correct."
"Great. More suspense." Zach sighed in frustration and rubbed his hands on his face.
"You know, your father could have become unrivaled if it wasn't for the women he fell in love with," the seventh uttered in a disdainful tone. "As I have been saying for all these years, women means bad luck and destruction. Stay far away from them; you will achieve the impossible."
"…" Zach found it weird that, unlike the fifth and sixth's palace where there were female guards and maids around, Zach hadn't seen a single female in the palace or anywhere near the seventh.
Zach shrugged his shoulders and said, "You do you."
"By the way, why are you in this game?" the seventh asked.
"What do you mean? I am trapped here. What else?"
"But why don't you go back to the real world?" he asked. "You have soul powers, so it should be possible for you to channel the link between your body and soul and go back to the real world."
"But yeah, it is risky. There is like 50/50 that you would succeed," he added.
"I had no idea that was possible. I thought it was only possible if someone did that from the real world," Zach muttered in confusion.
"I can send you back to the real world if you want me to," the seventh said.
"But you said it's risky. And I don't think it's worth taking that risk…" Zach responded in a calm voice.
The seventh looked at Zach from the corners of his eyes and said, "I am the Sea God, so it's highly unlikely that I would fail. If I had to give the success ratio, then it would be 99/1."
'If he can truly send me back to the real world, then I won't have to play this game. That's literally a backdoor entry… or exit,' Zach thought.
Zach pondered for a while and said, "What about the others? Can you send Aurora back too?"
"That ivory-haired girl? No. She is a human, and their soul doesn't awaken," the seventh answered.
'Even if I go back to the real world, I won't be able to defeat the gods there. I can't cultivate in the real world, and I won't have the game's advantage there. Besides, my body is not strong enough. And… I don't think I can leave Aurora in this game without me.'
Zach shook his head and said, "I will pass."
"Heh!" the seventh scoffed and said, "What did I say about women being the curse of one's destruction? You have a chance to go back, yet you want to live in danger and risk everything."
Zach turned around and tilted his head to the side before saying, "What's the life without spice? No one likes the same old bland curry every day."
After saying that, Zach left the throne room and met up with the girls.
"…" the seventh shook his head and muttered, "Love… is a foolish thing…"
Zach and the girls left the palace and reached the open ground from where they were going to go back to the surface.
Zach glanced at Aria and Aurora and asked, "Are you ready?"
They both nodded in response.
Aria squinted her eyes at Zach and asked, "Are you ready?"
"…" Zach turned around kissed Aquarius and Ruli on the lips without saying anything.
They didna say anything either. It was as though their feelings were talking with each other.
A colossal hand came from the Sea, and Zach, Aria, and Aurora got on top of it. Then, the hand moved up and took them onto the surface.
Surprisingly, it was night there.
They stepped on the beach and stood there for a while to take their minds of what had happened in a few days. They had only come to the beach to have fun, but it ended up becoming one of the most memorable parts of their life.
Aria nudged Aurora and pointed her gaze at Zach.
"…"
Aurora nodded and placed her hand on Zach's shoulder before saying, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Zach nodded and smiled at Aurora. "Let's go home now."
"Our home," he added.
***
Total players in the game- 1003224
0 new players logged in.
29 players died.
====
Author's Note – Sea Realm arc ends here. How would you rate it on a scale of 1 to 10?