VROOM~ VROOM~!
Xavier parked his bike and locked it.
He took off the helmet and let out an exhausted sigh.
"What’s wrong?" Lyra tilted her head, that same curious, confused look she always wore when trying to read him.
"At first, riding a bike felt cool as hell. Like freedom. Now..." He cracked his neck and stretched, "...it’s just pain in the ass."
"Why?" she asked, genuinely interested. "I enjoyed it."
"Of course you did. You just had to sit and enjoy the wind and the view."
They walked into the elevator and hit the second floor
"Do you think Lilia will be angry?" Lyra stepped in front of him, like she was ready to take a bullet or laser beam or frying pan for him.
"Of course, she will be." Xavier didn’t even hesitate.
They entered the apartment and... it was quiet. Too quiet.
No sign of Lilia.
Xavier looked around. "Weird. Where’d she go?"
Xavier wondered where she might have gone. But he didn’t have his phone with him since it was destroyed and Lyra didn’t own one, either. So there was no way to contact her.
"Xavier," Lyra mumbled, rubbing her stomach, "I’m hungry."
He looked at her like she’d grown a second tail. "Seriously? We just had breakfast back at the beast land."
"I know. But that was hours ago. I need real food."
"Alright, alright. Go to the restaurant on the 10th floor. Eat whatever you want. I’ll join you after I finish something."
Lyra blinked. "You’re not coming?"
"I’ve got something to do first."
She nodded, then went to change.
Once she left, Xavier wondered if he should change clothes, too. Maybe take a shower. But nah, that’d take time. And time wasn’t something he wanted to waste right now. He needed to talk with the Goddess.
[Power fragment can’t wait to meet her sister fragment.]
Xavier pulled the power fragment from his pocket and stared at it glowing softly in his palm. "Yeah, yeah, you’ve said that like a million times already. I get it—you’ve waited like, what, a few million years? Be patient."
[Power fragment will complain about your nasty behavior to the sister fragment.]
"Oi, that’s not fair. I’m carrying you around like a royal jewel and this is the thanks I get?"
He stood up and walked to the altar where the goddess fragment sat, still embedded with ancient patterns glowing faintly.
He sat down cross-legged and placed the power fragment next to it.
The reaction was instant.
A burst of golden light swallowed the room. The air trembled, and the fragments merged—like they’d been waiting for this exact moment for eons.
The glow slowly faded.
Xavier waited for a few seconds before calling out the goddess.
Xavier squinted. "Hello?"
[Yes, Xavier. I am here. It feels like forever.]
"Where’s the power fragment?"
[We merged.]
"I see." Xavier leaned back and ran a hand through his hair. "So, how do you feel now?"
[Stronger. But... not complete.]
"You still need more of those fragments, huh?"
[Yes. I was shattered into many parts. But with each reunion, I grow closer to my original self.]
"That makes sense." Xavier stretched his neck. "But if you become complete, what then? You go back to being a god or something?"
[That... I do not know. I only know that I want to be whole again.]
There was a short silence.
The golden light in the room dimmed, but the warmth lingered. Like a soft hum in the air. The fragments had fused, but there was no visible change. No explosion. No dramatic shockwave.
Just quiet, and peaceful.
"You’re not gonna ask how I feel after getting impaled and almost killed?" Xavier asked.
[You are alive, aren’t you?]
"Damn. Even you changed after the fusion. Cold."
[I apologize. That was... sarcasm.]
Xavier narrowed his eyes. "Wait. Did the power fragment teach you that?"
[Yes. She was very expressive.]
"Figures."
Xavier got up and stretched. "Well, now that you’re back, we gotta talk business."
[Business?]
"Yeah. The next fragment. Any leads? Maybe the power fragment knew something?"
[Not yet. But now that I’ve merged with my sister, I can extend my perception further. Soon, I will know.]
"Cool. Keep me posted." Xavier started heading to the bathroom. "Gotta take a quick shower before Lyra returns. Otherwise, she’ll cry again thinking I’m ignoring her."
[She does seem... attached to you.]
Xavier chuckled. "Attached is an understatement. She’s like a puppy with claws."
[You care about her.]
"...Yeah. I guess I do. I even had a prophecy, but I guess you already know about it."
[Indeed. I learned everything from the power fragment. You have done well. You should be proud that you saved so many lives.]
"I..."
[It doesn’t matter even if you didn’t want to. It doesn’t change the fact that you saved them.]
"I guess..." Xavier rolled his shoulders.
[You need to be rewarded. But before you go, touch me, Xavier.]
"Okay."
Xavier touched the fragment and he was swarmed by the system notifications in front of his eyes.
[Power fragment has added a lot of experience into your body. Your Unlimited Money system has been upgraded.]
[Level 1 → Level 2.]
[Your balance limit is now $100,000. Next limit is $300,000.]
DING!
[Your Unlimited Money system has been upgraded!]
[Level 2 → Level 3.]
[Your balance limit is now $300,000. Next limit is $500,000.]
DING!
[Your Unlimited Money system has been upgraded!]
[Level 3 → Level 4.]
[Your balance limit is now $700,000. Next limit is $1,000,000.]
"What the..." Xavier was baffled to see his system upgrade three levels at once. It would have taken him three weeks to reach that level, but with the experience he obtained by absorbing the power fragment’s blessings, it was done in less than thirty seconds.
Xavier opened the system menu to see the updated details.
[System level 4
Balance- 700,000 || Next Limit- 1,000,000
Today’s Transaction - 1/1 || Today’s Task - 1/1
Quests- Justice is Due || Task - Not triggered.
Tasks to unlock the next limit: 7/10.
Credit Score- 100 || Dimensional Store- Unlocks at Level 5.]
"Even my completed task carried over to the next level! Three more tasks and I will have a million bucks daily!"