Divine Luck: SSS-Rank Battle Maid Harem

With the divine energy and Soara's transformation settled, Zach could finally turn his attention to Zoe, who had finally woken up and was looking at him.

"How are you feeling, Zoe?" He asked. He had a feeling that Julius had already asked that, but Zach hadn't paid attention.

Zoe rolled her neck and stretched her arms before answering.

"Better now. Thanks for the help, Zach. It's been a while. Everything alright?" Zoe had heard about what was happening on the surface before she fought Bartuk. If Zach were here with them, it could only mean two things. Either things on the surface were solved, or it was doomed.

Zach gave a quick nod. Everything was alright. The war was over. Many people had lost their lives, but they had also prevented the deaths of many and the destruction of the Empire. In a way, everything was more than alright.

At the same time…

Zoe narrowed her eyes.

"Julius, do you mind stepping outside for just a moment?" Zoe asked.

Julius was a little confused, but he obeyed. If Zoe wanted to exchange a few words in private with Zach, who was he to get in their way? But he was curious.

Zoe and Zach waited until Julius had left the sixth layer.

"What happened?" Zoe asked without even thinking of beating around the bush. She could tell everything wasn't as fine as Zach was making it out to be. He was putting on a good front.

But this was the Underworld, home to all the heavy emotions in the world. Loss and sadness didn't have to be heavy. But the emotions swirling around inside Zach were definitely heavy. As the Daughter of the Underworld, she couldn't miss it.

Zach could tell it wasn't worth trying to hide it. He shrugged and deflated like a balloon.

"Nora died," He said simply.

Zoe hadn't interacted with Nora much. Nora hadn't accompanied Zach to any of the trips to the Underworld during their time at the Academy. The only time Zoe had seen Nora was when everyone went to the capital after graduation.

But she remembered Nora. It was the short, silver-haired maid who followed Zach despite not being one of his familiars. That wasn't the only reason she remembered Nora, though. It was because of the connection she could feel between Nora and Zach, as well as the contradictory mix of both light and heavy emotions bundled together in tight knots inside Nora.

People usually leaned toward one side. Either they were mostly free from heavy emotions, or they were burdened by them. Nora was neither and both at the same time. Her emotions were in a constant state of flux and both rose and fell.

Nora remembered because it was interesting how someone who was so good at controlling their expression could feel so vividly.

"I see." Zoe didn't know what to say. This was her first time comforting someone like this. She could tell that Zach didn't want pity. Empty words or superficial condolences wouldn't do anything.

What was she supposed to do or say instead? She had no idea.

But she could tell Zach needed something, so she put a hand on his head and stroked his hair softly.

"You miss her."

"Mhm." Of course he did.

"I'm sure wherever she is now, she also misses you."

That made Zach look up.

"As in…an afterlife?" He was sure Zoe was just saying it to comfort him. But the way she said it made it sound like she was convinced Nora was still somewhere out there.

"Life exists. Doesn't it make sense that the afterlife also exists in that case?" Zoe hadn't thought much more about it. She had come close to dying several times during the millennium that Ugor spent torturing her. Many times, she even dreamed of death in the hopes of finding comfort in what would come next.

But she hadn't thought about what the afterlife would look like. She just knew it was out there.

Zach turned to Soara.

He hadn't dared to talk to her about death and what comes after life because he was afraid of the answers. But now that Zoe had planted the idea in his head, he had to know more.

And who better to tell him than a Goddess of Death?

Soara nodded.

"Zoe's reasoning is sound, Master. It's very likely that there is an afterlife. But at the same time…I don't think it exists within our reach.

"The body is retaken by nature and broken down into dust while a person's essence is spread to the wind and transformed into nothingness. The parts that make up a being in life stay in this realm even in death. If there is an afterlife, it has no connection to life."

That was Soara's take on the situation. As a Goddess of Death, her words carried significant weight.

"You're a Goddess of Death, Soara. Can't you create a connection like that?" Zach asked, desperation staining his voice.

"I am a Goddess of Death, not of the Dead. Death is the process of something living ceasing to live. Someone who is already dead is outside my control, Master."

Sosora's answer made Zach slump, and his eyes lost just a bit of light. It seemed he would have no hope of seeing Nora again.

"Afterlife this, afterlife that. What about reincarnation?" Vidri chimed in, making everyone look at her. With a sigh, she paused her fiddling with the cube and looked at Zach as she explained.

"Master, it's the idea that when you die, your soul is washed clean and reused in the birth of a new life. Rebirth after death. It won't be the same, but maybe you can find this Nora in her new life."

Zach's eyes lit up.

If reincarnation were a thing, it was definitely worth a shot. That part about her soul being washed clean made it sound like it wouldn't be Nora. She might not remember him or even herself.

But that didn't matter. They could just get to know each other again.

Zach was hopeful.

He was so hopeful that Vidri didn't have the heart to tell him how vast the world or the universe was. He could spend countless lifetimes looking for Nora's reincarnation and never find her.