Alex was dumbfounded, that Chaos discovered that they weren't from this world immediately.

"Child, from the moment you have set your feet upon me, I have discovered, through the eyes of my servants, that you are not one of this world."

Then, the strange deity lamented, "It is quite pathetic, isn't it? I gave birth to the world, yet I can only see it through the eyes of others."

Alex listlessly stared at the physical manifestation of Chaos.

He didn't understand any of what the latter was saying, and this place creeped him out.

"From what I have seen of your memories, in your world, we are only fabricated stories, recorded on stone and statues."

"It's quite funny, isn't it? We could be characters in a story right now, and we'd never know," Chaos stared at their reflection on the mirror.

"No way! This is too real to be a creation..." 

'There's no way this world is a fake world that conforms to the whims of a single person, and we are all puppets submitted to the strokes of their pen, right?' Alex felt an existential crisis incoming.

He thought that if this was the case, he'd have to beat them up for making his life so hard and troublesome...

Chaos noticed his anguish and remarked, "See, child? Even the thought of it stirs up the psyche."

Alex recovered swiftly and cleared his throat.

"Anyways, you're Chaos? What do you want?" Alex was rather cautious since Nyx repeatedly warned him about this deity.

"To observe you further and help you along your journey."

"To be frank, I am rather bored in this place, and observing the tales of an otherworlder couldn't be a better pastime."

"You're bored...?" Alex was quite stunned.

Chaos's non-existent eyes fixated on Alex, and a gourd-like glass object appeared in their hands when they flicked it.

"This is my gift to you, child of another world."

Alex cautiously grabbed the flask and examined it.

___________________

(Essence of Chaos)

Quality: ??????

State: ??????

Additional Information: ??????

____________________

Alex frowned, as there were only question marks instead of the comprehensive information the system appraisal usually offered him.

'This does seem like good stuff, however.'

Chaos silently observed him, and then waved his hand, "Go now, child of another world, entertain me."

Suddenly, Alex felt his body getting lighter and lighter.

His surroundings disappeared, and when he could see again, he felt his body falling.

Looking around, he only saw white patches of....

'Clouds?! I'm falling!!!!'

Alex's eyes looked at the scenery below, and the temple was so far down he could barely distinguish it with his divine eyesight.

'It's so chilly this high up....' When Alex looked up, he only saw the dark abyss of outer space.

However, he kept on falling at a high speed for a few minutes, and when he was close enough to the ground, he immediately Incarnated into Hermes.

His wings flapped aggressively and stabilized him.

Then, he very gently landed in the courtyard where he was earlier, and Buddha was smiling at him.

"How were they?" He asked Alex.

"Strange, creepy, incomprehensible?" Alex listed out the most fitting adjectives for the deity he's just met.

Siddartha softly giggled and said, "Well, I do not have much to say to you."

"However."

"I can see you are a man of a good heart, but power can be corrupting."

Alex listened attentively.

Buddha continued, "Especially since you are of another world, you might not have the same level of affection and moral responsibility for this world as you do your own."

"Please, do not cause harm to this world, I do not wish to intervene, but I shall take appropriate actions," 

Alex gulped at the threat, but he rubbed his head and replied, "To be honest, I'm now closer to this world than my own world, I could never bear to hurt it."

"Good," The Buddha's lips curved up.

After that, the man miraculously turned into a glossy wooden statue, that stood in loneliness as the heart-shaped leaves of the Bodhi tree fell onto him.

Alex was numb to such occurrences now and left the courtyard.

He quickly found Hermes, and he was drinking tea with the other two they came with.

Amazingly, when he navigated through the temple, he found many men and women in monk clothing, and they were all immortals, akin to Padmapani.

Their official title was "Boddhisatva", and they were only slightly below Buddhahood.

'This is the temple where "THE" Siddartha Gautama lives, so that is to be expected...'

_________________________

Alex sat down with the other three.

After a short discussion, they decided on their plans for the future.

Ashoka bowed down to Hermes and Alex and said, "I'll be staying here and then I'll move to the western lands, as Alex has invited me, thank you for your presence and aid."

Hermes shrugged and replied, "No problem, if you wish, stay at my mansion and tell them I invited you into Mount Olympus, they'll let you in."

Ashoka thanked him, and they all bid goodbyes and parted ways.

Padmapani had thankfully guided them on the direction they should take to reach the domain of the Jade Emperor.

The heavenly domain, where he ruled, was accessible from the Kingdom of Pure Felicity and Majestic Heavenly Lights and Ornaments, a location in Eastern China.

'We're still so far away, but so close....'

As they got into the magical chariot and flew into the sky, they observed the faraway mountain range.

Hermes lamented, "Before we can even think of the Qin, we have to cross the colossal Himalayas..."

He then took out a stash of scrolls from his bag.

"Athena and I have spent over five years collecting all of the information for this diplomatic trip," Hermes stated as he pointed to the scrolls.

"Alexei-boy, in negotiation and diplomacy, information is power."

Suddenly, Hermes' eyes glared at Alex's pockets.

"Can I see that?" Hermes asked him in a strange tone.

Alex shrugged and gave him the flask of Essence.

Hermes' eyes widened, and he quietly remarked, "I didn't want them to get to you yet..."

"What did you say?" Hermes had spoken too quietly, and he didn't hear him.

"Alexei-boy."

"Only use this if you are in a precarious situation. Not for someone else, not for me, not for Athena, not for Crista, use it for you, and only if you are in serious danger," Hermes lectured him with a serious tone he didn't usually use.

"Okay...?"

Hermes reluctantly gave him back the flask, and silently focused on riding the chariot.

'What was that about?'