Elsa tilted her head slightly, her eyes narrowing at him with a mix of mild curiosity, impatience, and a hint of confusion.

"Do you really want to go through all this trouble? And do we really need to take it this seriously? If your goal is to become inseparable from human society, then why not just do it directly? Show them your power. And if that's not something you want, then give them all the tech under your name, have it credited to you, and show your face. Wouldn't many be grateful to you? It would have the same effect—faster and easier."

William raised an eyebrow, giving her a pointed look.

"When did you become so lazy, hmm? You know why I'm doing it this way—and yet you're still questioning it? And how would just giving and advertising make me inseparable? The world being grateful and what I truly want are two very different things. And if I achieve what I'm aiming for, then even the troubles along the way won't feel like troubles. The feeling of gratitude will come naturally, and I won't need to advertise anything. The results will speak for themselves."

His eyes gleamed with excitement as he said this, clearly thinking of something only he understood.

Elsa huffed and folded her arms, visibly displeased.

"I'm not being lazy—and you know that. So stop calling me that already, because I clearly am not," she snapped. "And no, I don't fully understand why you're doing this. And look at you—getting all excited over things that don't even matter! This 'technological ascension'—that just sounds like something you made up to justify dragging this out. Grateful? Do we really need that? Why should we care if anything happens or not—or whether humans are grateful at all?"

"Stop saying all this useless stuff that has no meaning to us," she said as she sighed and continued.

"William, You know just how much knowledge you have in that head of yours. And I've been full of knowledge from the very beginning already. Between us, there's practically nothing in existence we don't understand. Forget about me.

For countless years, have you ever stopped growing or learning? We've already reached the pinnacle of what's possible—and even surpassed it. What's left to ascend? Can anything ever be more perfect than what we already are? Hmm? Tell me—am I wrong?"

Just as William opened his mouth to respond, Elsa cut him off and continued,

"Because I'm right. Then tell me… why are we even doing this?"

William stood there, mouth still hanging open, speechless as he stared at her. Then he sighed—part defeat, part frustration, and a tiny bit of embarrassment. She had seen right through him again. Damn it.

Just as he was about to speak, trying to salvage the moment with some last-minute damage control he'd only just thought of—he was too late. Far too late.

Elsa cut him off again.

And don't bother giving me some lousy excuse," she said sharply, irritation clear in her voice. She stepped even closer to him, her eyes glaring, unwavering—almost as if they could see through whatever excuse he was about to conjure. "I'll know the moment your mouth opens. Hmph. Don't think I don't know you. If you're bluffing, I'll beat you to a pulp—right here, right now."

She was only a few centimetres away now, and William instinctively gulped, hurriedly taking a step back in momentary fear.

"Uhh… I'm not making excuses," he muttered, thinking to himself, Damn it, I wouldn't dare after that threat, as he scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I swear."

He had no interest in making this any worse—not with twenty-two days of servitude already looming over him. In defeat, all he could do now was say what she wanted him to say, what she wanted to hear.

"You already know why I'm doing this, Elsa," he said, his voice quieter now.

"Uhh… I'm not making excuses," he muttered, thinking to himself, Damn it, I wouldn't dare after that threat, as he scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I swear."

He had no interest in making this any worse—not with twenty-two days of servitude already looming over him. In defeat, all he could do now was say what she wanted him to say, what she wanted to hear.

"You already know why I'm doing this, Elsa," he said, his voice quieter now.

Elsa blinked, clearly confused. "Only more than half?" she asked, tilting her head sideways. The motion, though unintentional, appeared quite cute to William, who instinctively reached out to hold her cheek.

Elsa stiffened, and a faint blush crept from her cheeks down to her neck. She quickly slapped his hand away and glared at him, puffing her cheeks like a squirrel with its mouth full of nuts.

"Ignore that," William said quickly, his expression turning serious.

Exactly," he continued. "As you said—long ago, we already reached perfection. Everything we lacked, we filled in. Well... I filled myself in. Like the knowledge I was severely lacking in, even back when I was just a poor excuse of who I am now—you already know how hard I worked for that. I spent countless years learning, mastering, and perfecting everything until I had taken it all to the very edge of what was possible.

"I mastered them completely, Elsa. Every single field. And honestly… with the last thing on my list finally done, I became bored. Utterly bored. There was nothing left to do—nothing that could challenge me anymore."

But even though I knew I had reached the limit with most things, there was still one lingering thought in the back of my mind. A decision I had made long ago... about a few pieces of technology I'd been researching. They were still progressing—but far, far too slowly.

"Yet they were progressing. That alone changed everything. It told me... maybe we're not at the peak after all."

Elsa frowned as she heard this. Even though the words came from the one person she trusted most—and the only one she ever truly had—it still felt quite hard to believe because it was unbelievable

She looked at him, eyes narrowing slightly.

"Are you sure about that?" she asked, her voice carrying a faint trace of doubt.

Even though she knew he was speaking nothing but the truth—that it wasn't a lie or some half-hearted excuse—it was still difficult to accept.

After all, for countless billions… trillions of years, they had searched endlessly for a way forward. And every single time, they had failed.

After all, for countless billions… trillions of years, they had searched endlessly for a way forward. And every single time, they had failed.

And now, suddenly, he was saying there might still be a path ahead?

Sure," William said, shaking his head. "I'm not completely certain if I'm right about this theory of mine—but there's a possibility. And that's enough for me to want to try."

He paused, then added, "It might all just lead to a false perception of progress if we fail... but my gut tells me we can succeed."

Looking at her, he continued, his voice more grounded now.

"You know how far I've developed my technology, right?" Elsa nodded silently at that.

"And some of it... has already started to rival our own power levels," he went on. "Well—not entirely—but it's getting close."

He glanced upward, then gestured subtly.

"And Ragnarok—this ship... its true form is something that stands nearly equal to us, both in terms of power and versatility."

"And what if I told you," William said, his voice calm yet confident, "that Ragnarok is almost closing the gap between us?"

He looked at her firmly.

"This is the one thing I've constantly been improving—and it is improving."

Elsa's eyes widened in surprise as she looked at him.

"Is… is that true?"

William nodded.

"Would I lie to you?"Elsa shook her head slowly but thought to herself, Yes… you've lied to me before.

If Ragnarok hadn't been sealed in its true form, she might have tried confirming it herself using her transcendent senses—but she couldn't. So, for now, she would trust William at his word.

She gestured for him to continue.

"What I'm saying is," William went on, "there might truly be a path ahead of us—if we can achieve a breakthrough in my technology.

"And that's the reason I've been telling you... I want to ascend with tech. "Because it might actually light the way forward."

All we do now is watch from afar—gods fighting demons, mortals clawing their way to glory, endless stories we've seen a thousand times. Sometimes we help settle old scores, sometimes we nudge things along... but in the end, it's always the same."

He paused, his gaze distant.

"I just want to feel it again. The struggle. The growth. The uncertainty. And maybe this… this thing can give me some kind of inspiration or understanding—something that might help me take that leap in technology, to light the way forward."

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.