"Alright, then I'll wait until I encounter those illusions."
Shade nodded. His feet made sounds as they stepped on the gravel, but the lady beside him made none. He was already drenched in sweat, and his breathing had become heavy and obvious, yet the lady beside him remained perfectly normal.
"I actually have one last question. Truly the last one. What exactly did you come here to do?"
Such a question was naturally somewhat presumptuous. Shade had only dared to ask after giving it some thought.
Fortunately, the god was not angry. The brown-skinned lady smiled and asked in return:
"What do you think?"
Since the god had asked, Shade had to answer:
"Grandma Sianode believes in the Tree Father, Ms. Sandel is a Mermaid, and her status should be rather high. I happen to know that Mermaids always believe in gods of the ocean lineage. Ms. Knight is merely an ordinary person, but judging from her prayer just now, the god she believes in is connected to justice.
"The beliefs of those three have nothing to do with You. You did not come because of them, or at least that is my current deduction. The illusions... Do You want to use illusions to increase Your strength? No, no, it is too naïve to consider this from a mortal perspective. Is the Oasis Heart also useful to Your believers? Of course, that is only a guess as well."
The god did not comment on whether Shade's guesses were correct, merely continuing to smile as She asked:
"Since you have asked why I came here, what do you intend to do in this desert?"
"The most important thing is definitely finding the Oasis Heart."
Shade panted heavily as he climbed the dune alongside the lady. Its slope was terrifyingly steep, and