“It seems you finally realized.” Ethos said with a mischievous grin. “That’s right. That book was a contract of sorts. Now that you’ve signed it, you have no choice but to follow the agreement.”

I clenched my fists in anger. “You deceived me you sunuvabitch!” I walked up to him with heavy footsteps. But my body was afraid. His piercing glare brought me down to my knees. Sunuvabitch, how many times will this happen to me? 

“Brat, let me make one thing clear,” Ethos said, tired of my tantrums. “I do not intend to harm you. In fact, I want to help you. But there’s an ethos I adhere to.” He relaxed his eyes. His expression told me he does not want to be my enemy. “Resurrection requires three things: A soul, a body to host the soul, and an ample amount of Aura to maintain its life,” he said, looking down at the ground with a regretful expression. “I studied the essence of life for over a million years. Thanks to my efforts, I easily attained everything I needed to resurrect you. However, this knowledge is a double-edged sword. Learning that you can die without major repercussions will inevitably affect your psyche. You will start treating your life like fodder, and I will feel exploited,” he spoke from his heart.

I remained silent. This was the first time he seemed genuine. His words concealed a long-held pain or regret. What motivated him to spend over a million years of his life studying the concept of life and death? Perhaps it is something cliched like losing his lover. However, I should be more concerned about what I have signed myself into. 

“Like I said, I do not intend to harm you. But I will not resurrect you this easily. Prove yourself worthy of the resurrection,“ he stated. “I have an event planned, and you will take part.”

“An event?” I asked. 

Ethos nodded slightly. “The Domain of Reflection is not the only place I possess,” he said. “I own another place which is the culmination of all of my hard work and research.” The skies changed into an overhead view of a bustling metropolis. At the centre of the city was a large open-roofed dome. People were entering and exiting the building constantly. The city’s architecture was unfamiliar with buildings that towered above the sky and sprawling pathways populated by iron steeds. Ethos looked over the city with pride, as if he was looking at his growing child. 

“This is the Index, World of the Deceased,” Ethos disclosed. 

The World of the Deceased he said? Every single person inside there is dead? I realized something, I don’t know anything at all about how his powers work. Who is he? What is the Verse? I had so many questions related to him. Ethos noticed my discomfort and sighed. “I suppose it’s only fair to tell you a bit about me,” he said, rolling his neck. 

He told me a story about his life in Tera, the World of Stories. He used to be a mortal man. Though, he was able to shape-shift. One day, under the guise of a serpent—he stolen a fruit from the hands of an ancient king. Through consuming this fruit, he achieved immortality. Eventually, he became a bit power hungry and desired to challenge the legends in the World of Stories. 

In Tera, the people worshipped gods. Different cultures worshipped different gods. Ethos saw them as perfect targets to fight against. Without hesitation, he massacred the gods who were the subject of people’s worship. He noted that wielding lightning seems to be popular amongst the mightier gods. Afterwards, an age of silence came and people began dismissing their stories as myth and fiction. However, asides from a few cameos, Ethos has never been mentioned in any of their stories. Though this is on purpose, only Mada was given the rights to broadcast Ethos' story. The Mausida gave him the honorary title of “Ethos, the God Slayer.” There were over a billion of our kind back then. Yet, excluding him—only two other people were given an honorary title by the Mausida.

“I hope I have satisfied your curiosity,” he said. 

“Yes, I’ve learnt a lot,” I replied, stretching my arms.

He smirked. “Good, I still need to tell you one more thing.”

I gave him a puzzled look, “What would that be?”

“The event you’re participating in,” he bore a mischievous smile. “You will take part in the Index Games, it’s been a while since I hosted one.” 

He began explaining the rules. “There will be four games in total. I will resurrect the person who won the most games. Which means, if you lose—another person will take over your body.” I cringed at the thought of that happening.

“However, while you’re here. I will force you to take part using a two-year-old body.” Ethos ordered. “Back in the Woodlands, you still had conflicts with your body, remember? You’ve heard that Bzz sound several times. I aim to absolve that. By the time you're done here, you will be 100% comfortable with your body. Only if you win the games, that is.” Ethos, as heartless as he seems, he genuinely cares about me. “Don’t get so weepy, brat,” he mocked. "Your two-year-old body will give you a large disadvantage during the games. I will continually adjust your body size according to your body in real life.”

The skies darkened back to normal. Simultaneously, Ethos donned a tuxedo and some dress shoes. He combed his hair back and placed a top hat on his head. When he’s dressed properly, he looked elegant and I daresay charming. But he looked jarring after I got used to his loincloth look. It was like he was an entirely new man. 

“Don’t just stand there,” Ethos said, holding onto his top hat. “I’m going to give you a tour of the Index, a world I created.”