Victor took out a white whistle and blew into it as they waited.

*Screech*

A white sky illuminating the darkness appeared far from them. As they approached, it turned out to be a group of massive white king eagles with large wingspans. Their plumage gleamed like silver, lighting up the sky. Their feet were yellow with black talons, and they had sharp, yellow beaks. They landed in front of Victor, and he walked over, lifting Anya and carrying her to an eagle. Gently placing her on its back, he covered her with a white blanket. He then seated himself on the eagle, looking at Ezekiel and waiting.

Vira carefully lifted Walder, sat on an eagle, and waited as well. 

They all mounted the eagles, and Mai sat next to Ezekiel as they quickly took off.

Mai looked down at the deserted city, furrowing her brow.

"How long does it take to get to the Spirit Temple?"

"3 hours, so you can sleep." replied Ezekiel, and she felt a heavy, soft blanket being placed over her. 

Resting her head on the eagle's neck, she sensed its soft feathers, like silk, tickling her nose with a fresh scent of nature. Closing her eyes, exhaustion overcame her, and her body relaxed.

"Can the temple save my sister?"

"We can only preserve her body, not bring back her soul. That's something only Hell or Heaven can do. Sleep. You must be tired."

Ezekiel wrapped his arms around her, his warm body comforting her as she quickly fell asleep.

When Mai woke up, she was back in her room at the Spirit Temple, and Kenta was sleeping on a white lambskin beside her bed. She furrowed her brow.

"Where did you get that? Is it something you've charmed your way into?"

She hurried to get ready, but when she looked at herself in the mirror, she saw a pitch-black face.

"Holy fuck. What happened to me?"

She still had bandages on her forehead, but her face seemed thoroughly charred.

"Why hasn't Liam or the others mentioned anything?"

She grunted and took a quick shower, examining her forehead in the mirror. The wound now resembled a small red spot, thankfully no longer bleeding. She wrapped her forehead in white bandages again.

"It's better not to attract the attention of the wrong people." she mumbled.

She glanced at Kenta, gestured, and he quickly approached. She opened the door cautiously.

*Creak*

"I hate that door!"

The temple guard led them to a large round stone altar where Anya lay within a curved yellow barrier. Her hands were placed on her chest, resembling Snow White in her glass casket. People moved about, setting up things, some carrying pearls wrapped in white cloths. The pearls contained pure Essence, and only the strongest could touch them; otherwise, their bodies would "explode."

Mai touched her forehead, remembering the pearls from yesterday. They were small, so was it normal for her to touch them?

*Ping*

Quest: Heal 

Time limit: 1 day

She furrowed her brow.

"Again?"

She had forgotten it was a daily quest, indicating it should be done every day.

"Didn't I get 10 points last time for healing Liam?"

The points from the pearls were better than her heal quest, so she chose to skip the quest again. She felt an itching sensation in her left chest, reminded of the flower mark.

"How did I get it in the first place?"

Her hay fever always bothered her, but now it was November, so it should be impossible.

"Could it be something the system gave? Nah," she shook her head. "that wouldn't make sense."

"You're up early." Ezekiel suddenly appeared with Victor, approaching her.

"I was worried about Anya." Mai went to the altar and looked at Anya.

"Where is Walder? Have you...?"

"We haven't buried him; instead, we placed him in an altar for animals." replied Ezekiel, coming closer and looking down at Anya.

Mai was reminded of the Netherworld and looked at Ezekiel with a serious expression.

"How do you get to the Netherworld?"

"Are you trying to save her?" He furrowed his brows.

Mai raised hers. "Isn't it obvious?"

"No one knows. If you had followed the army, you would have ended up there." Victor approached them, gazing at Anya.

Mai furrowed her brows again. "Does it even exist?"

She recalled the person who had died, claiming to have seen a man who had sent him back. Suddenly, an idea struck her, and she took out her phone but remembered she was in a sacred place and decided to wait until she got home.

"Victor will accompany you home. I assume you can't fly?" Ezekiel said.

She nodded, feeling embarrassed.

"Thank you for the help, and I'm sorry for putting you in danger. I didn't know they would show up."

He shook his head, giving her a faint smile.

"In the end, you were the one who saved us, so it's me who thanks you."

At the temple entrance, Mai's eyes suddenly fell on the white robes worn by Ezekiel and Victor, reminding her of her own that she had received yesterday. As she was about to take it off, Ezekiel stopped her.

"Keep it. It's a gift."

She furrowed her brows at his words and declined.

"I can't possibly keep it. It belongs to the Spirit Temple. I'm sure there are others in the world who are more worthy of it than me."

Ezekiel raised his brows. "If you can get Liam's attention, then you are more worthy." followed by a chuckle.

Mai smiled and thanked him politely, but as they were about to leave, she suddenly became curious.

"Why isn't Liam on the god rank list? He should replace Elaria."

Ezekiel cleared his throat. "There are others who love attention, so why not let them have the spot?"

Mai thought about his words for a moment and agreed, nodding.

"It's hard to meet people who aren't power-hungry nowadays, and even if they claim they aren't, it turns out they are. What has become of the world? We're soon forgetting how to behave like humans."

She turned to Victor, nodded to him, and he embraced her as they quickly lifted off the ground with Kenta beside them.

When Mai stood on her balcony in front of her apartment, Victor took out his phone and handed it to her, making her furrow her brows.

"Do I also get a new phone from the Spirit Temple?"

He chuckled. "Your number."

Mai furrowed her brows again and looked at the phone. He wants my number. Should the temple use it for information about her? It's better to be on the safe side.

She quickly wrote down her number and added, "If they send anything by mail, tell them that my name is spelled with an I, not a J or Y!"

Victor smiled lightly, took his phone back, and extended his hand towards her, signaling for her to give him her phone. She handed him her phone, and he wrote down his number.

"If you encounter any problems, call or text."

Mai raised her brows, again reminded of the Spirit Temple. They had already helped her enough, even taking care of Anya and Walder. She shook her head and gave him a sweet smile.

"You've already helped me enough. Thank you so much."

She leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek as gratitude.

Victor blinked, and his body stiffened, causing her to furrow her brows.

"Aren't you supposed to leave?"

He cleared his throat, nodded, lifted off the balcony, and hovered over her while looking down at her. Suddenly, he furrowed his brows.

"Are you sure you'll be okay? You live alone."

"Thanks for the help. Off you go." Mai waved him away with her hand, and seeing her reaction, he flew away.

When Mai turned on the TV, the day's news focused on the the soul-sucking creatures that had recently arrived in the world.

"Sri Lanka has suffered." 

"China managed to avoid them by preparing a strong barrier. Maybe we could get their help." 

"The countries around the Mediterranean have suffered the most."

Mai took out her phone, entered the Essence Forum, and found the guy who had written about his death. She sent him a private message.

Anonymous: "Can you describe the person? I believe you, as it happened to me too."

"I hope he responds." she said, placing her phone on the table and looking back at the TV.

They showed a map of the Mediterranean with Spain marked entirely in red, and a lump formed in her stomach as she was reminded of the incident last night. The broadcast shifted to a panel with eight people against a backdrop of images of the five gods. 

She furrowed her brow. "Again? I've already seen enough."

She reached for the remote, but as she was about to change the channel, their words caught her attention.

"Now to the mysterious person seen in Marbella last night with God Ezekiel and his team." said a man from the panel.

"The mysterious person," she repeated the words. "Is it the figure I fought against yesterday?"

Her heart pounded, and she waited eagerly.

A picture appeared on the screen of a person with a black face, a white bandage on the forehead, wearing a white hooded cloak, standing with Ezekiel's group, observing a dark creature. The image was dark, but the details were clear even though it had been dark that day.

"Argh. It's me. How the hell did they manage to take that picture? Did they Photoshop it with AI?"

The panel immediately began to discuss her.

"This is clearly a woman considering her feminine figure and facial features, but her face looks severely burned." a woman coughed lightly.

"Why do you think it's a woman? If you scrape off the black, it could just as well be a very feminine man behind it."

"It's obviously a woman. Open your eyes, for heaven's sake."

"There's no evidence that it's a woman. I stand by it being a man. He gave the creature some blows and said some unknown words to it, then it fled into the crack with its army. Only a man can do that."

"Are you saying that women can't do it? What about Goddess Valerie or Elaria?" 

"Hah! They're just pleasant to look at. Have you seen Elaria's abilities?" 

"She's the best healer in the world." 

"She can only heal with that damn orb and has no innate talents. If I had that orb, I could mimic her. So much for that title."

Suddenly, a news anchor looked at the screen.

"If anyone has information about the person, contact us immediately. There will be a substantial reward."

Mai furrowed her brows. "A reward for me? Should I turn myself in?" 

She quickly dismissed the idea, as she would never have a peaceful life if she did.

"I hope they never find me, and that Ezekiel can keep his mouth shut, or I'll go after him."

She quickly took out her phone.

Mai: "Tell Ezekiel not to say anything about tonight. Regards, Mai."

*Ping*

Victor: "I'll pass on the message to him :3"

"Damn, he's quick to respond. Now I really hope they can keep quiet; otherwise, I'll have to ask Liam for help."

She felt bad that she didn't have a chance to properly thank him for saving her, and he even stole a kiss from her.

"That kiss should be enough," she muttered.

She didn't like owing favors.