"..." Alissa didn’t answer; she just sat there quietly.

Then, after some time, she spoke again with a hint of a blush. "I-If I tell you, will you laugh at me?"

"Of course not." Grey immediately burst out laughing.

Alissa glared at him. "You just did."

"Okay, fine, fine. I won’t laugh at you." Grey tried his absolute best to look serious.

Alissa observed him carefully and then, with a heavy sigh, she spoke. "I am trying to find a purpose in life."

"Huh?" Grey was genuinely surprised by this answer.

"The other day, my mother and I had a conversation. She told me I did not have much going on for myself. That I haven’t truly found myself yet. She told me to spend more time with you and the others. But everyone is busy with their own matters."

"I tried talking to Miwa and Julie, but they were busy in their own ways as well."

"That is when I realized. Compared to the others, I have no purpose in life."

"My initial goal was getting stronger to find my mother and leave the Blue Star. I achieved that. After finding her, my goal changed. It became helping my mother escape the dragons’ clutches and seeking revenge for both of us."

"But you came along and did that as well," Alissa said in a slightly bewildered tone.

"Since that incident, I have felt completely empty. Everything feels monotone, and even with the new world you created, I do not feel anything."

"So I came here, away from everyone else, to gather my thoughts and maybe find something to grow stronger for." Alissa finally finished her words.

By now, Grey was also completely silent.

Alissa was going through a literal existential crisis!

This was far beyond his expectations.

At the same time, it also gave him a chance to reflect.

His initial purpose was finding a superior energy, and now that he had found it, his new purpose was to spread his evolutionary path to the world and reach the Nexus.

His goal wasn’t short-term like Alissa’s; it could take millennia or perhaps even longer to reach his end goal. Hence, he never had to self-reflect like her.

At the same time, he honestly did not know how to accurately comfort her either.

This was a deeply personal issue. The best thing he could do was offer her some guidance.

"I don’t know much about your specific feelings, but you do know about the Ascendancy Domain, right?"

"Yes." Alissa nodded.

"That place is incredibly vast, to the point where our endless reality is nothing but a dream to the beings over there."

"If it makes you feel better, consider this world purely illusory because the real world actually lies in the Ascendancy Domain. If you want a goal, then make it reaching the state where you can begin gathering Ascendancy Valor and advance onward to that higher world."

Alissa fell silent upon hearing this.

Honestly speaking, she wasn’t particularly impressed with that pitch.

"In the end, you will just take me to the Ascendancy Domain once you reach that level yourself. I know that much," Alissa said with a soft hum.

"So I don’t feel any particular motivation towards the Ascendancy Domain or getting stronger for it."

Grey’s lips twitched. Indeed, she was absolutely right. There was no way he was going to just leave Alissa here while he ascended; that would be the case for his other family members as well.

"Then how about this? I won’t help you reach the Ascendancy Domain."

"You will," Alissa replied at the exact same speed. "You have always helped me."

"Ever since you crossed over to this world, you have been constantly helping me. So far, I feel like the only goal I have ever truly achieved on my own was leaving the Blue Star to find my mother. The rest... it was you who helped me achieve it."

"You always protected me and acted as my shield during my absolute worst times." Alissa looked at Grey silently. "Why?"

"Why what?" Grey asked with a soft smile.

"Why do you do that? I always treat you harshly. Yet you still help me," Alissa asked in genuine bewilderment.

"I don’t consider the way you act harsh, to be completely honest," Grey said with a soft chuckle. "In fact, it looks rather cute to me if anything."

A faint blush crept up Alissa’s face when she heard this.

"Your sweet-talking won’t help me," Alissa said as her blush quickly twisted into a defensive glare.

"It is not sweet-talking. I just help you because I am close to you. And I do not need a logical reason to help you, because at the end of the day, I know you will help me too," Grey said with a warm smile.

"Who would help you? You will never need my help," Alissa said with a snort. "Is there even a single thing in this world that you cannot do?"

"There are a lot of things," Grey said, maintaining his smile. "My power isn’t absolute. One higher being descending here can crush me completely."

"So, if you can help me when I am at my absolute lowest, that will mean a lot to me."

"Hmph. If you say so." Alissa snorted as she turned her head to the other side, completely too embarrassed to look at Grey.

"Then, I... I will get stronger so I can help protect you." Alissa said, the tips of her ears turning completely red. Saying it out loud was even more embarrassing than she had thought.

"Then, I look forward to it. I will one day depend on you to take care of me."

Alissa hummed softly in response.

"Then, I will leave you to it. I know my talk wasn’t entirely enough, but we can talk every day if you want. Maybe that can help you find your purpose in life," Grey said with a smile as he stood up from the bench.

"I will be on my way now; I suddenly got some deep inspiration regarding my path. I will talk to you later."

With that said, his figure shot out of the garden. Alissa sat there, silently observing the spot where he had just been.

Then, she cupped her warm cheeks with both hands, a highly embarrassed smile naturally forming on her lips.

"You bastard," Alissa mumbled under her breath.