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That word, or the emotion and devotion to that word, was the only outlet for frustration for some humans.

For some, it was the only solace they could find in the unforgiving world—the one they could share their happiness with—and for others, that word was nothing but a curse that gives hope.

Not all believed in gods, though.

Alex was also one of those people.

When his family was stolen from him, he stopped believing in God, but slowly, as he lived with someone he considered close to himself, the belief returned. That too, however, was broken—shattered into millions of pieces—when he was betrayed.

But there was one thing that everyone knew: If there was a god up there, he must be pretty strong; he must have all the abilities that the tales about them make him out to have.

This was the reason why many humans feared the moment they heard that the gods were watching them.

Some, however, just started blaming the gods for their miserable situation.

The other few started to pray for the gods and even make cults, while a select few made deals with them, wanting to take the most from them.

Alex, on the other hand, outright ignored them.

He had read the rules, and he knew that they weren\'t like the system, which could just increase the difficulty of the scenarios.

Yeah, there was reason for him to be concerned about not annoying them a bit too much, so he just decided to ignore them for now.

"Mute notification."

It was a function that could mute the notification he received from the system, no matter what kind of notification it was.

His gaze then moved toward the gift section, where an exclamation mark seemed to be blinking.

[-A gift is received from your contracted god or a god that wants to show you their goodwill in the hope that you form a contract with them later on.]

This was what the gift section was for.

The gifts could be anything, from a pebble to a spacecraft, depending on the god, but accepting them meant that Alex was showing interest in the one who sent it, which he didn\'t want to see happen.

However, that was when the AI\'s words came in…

Alex couldn\'t help but frown when he heard those words.

He didn\'t ask what it meant; he directly read the thoughts of the AI.

His eyes widened as his mind started to drift back in time.

Back when he was lying on the bed that Gulshan had provided him, trying to treat his broken body.

Alex recalled the past events.

\'Pitiful, detected, annoying, quick, survive, and gift...\'

Those words, the ones he could recall vividly even now, echoed in his mind again and again.

Those words were the words of the one who granted him the AI, the one who appeared out of nowhere, even before the system was introduced.

Those words, however, slowly filtered out, leaving only a single word.

\'Gift….\'

Alex muttered inwardly as his eyes remained on the gift tab.

By now, it was already clear to Alex that the lady from before, the one he saw when he was almost dead, was a god.

The scene of her movements and unclear words kept playing in Alex\'s mind.

It was as if he was trying to find something or see if he had missed something.

It was when he saw the scene where that woman touched his body with that glowing finger that something clicked.

His eyes turned sharp, a chilled glint passing through them.

\'Are you the same?\'

A question not for himself or for anyone on the outside world, but for the AI that had been with him since the start of the apocalypse.

The AI already knew what Alex was asking, yet it still asked that question for confirmation.

\'Are you also a gift from that woman?\'

His question caused the AI to go quiet, but Alex just closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

But when those eyes opened, there was a clear light of warning in them.

\'Answer me.\'

He commanded, his voice barely audible.

Was the AI—the thing he decided to trust for a while—keeping things from him?

Was he getting betrayed again?

Was it wrong to trust it?

But just as the thought of discarding the AI appeared in his mind—asking him to just throw it out—the AI spoke.

\'What?\'

This time, it was Alex\'s turn to ask the same question.

It didn\'t know?

What does that mean?

<Just like you, I\'m not aware of our situation; all I know are the things that are in my memories and the functions I have, nothing else.

I am sure that my job is to assist you and help you grow, and that I can\'t betray you no matter what.

I never lied to you, Alex.>

\'....\'

For the first time, Alex heard and felt the emotions of the AI—a clear and strong emotion—not like the ones he felt before.

But the only emotion he could feel was dejection.

It was as if the AI wasn\'t feeling good about the current situation.

Alex, who, out of caution, was quick to judge the AI, finally started to think deeply about it.

Till now, he could use the AI, even though the gift section wasn\'t accessible.

Which meant it wasn\'t a gift and was something else.

But what if it was a gift?

Alex gritted his teeth.

What was he supposed to do now?

If the AI was not a gift, yet he discarded it, then the number of opportunities he would lose wouldn\'t be small.

If it was a gift and he kept it to himself, then there was a chance that the goddess who gave it to him would expect him to agree to her contract.

Alex didn\'t want that, though.

If he had the gift but wasn\'t accepting the contract, then there was a chance that the goddess in question would be angered.

*Clench*

Alex\'s fists clenched, unsure of what to do.

To do or not to do?

His emotions again went on overdrive.

Maybe it was because of this habit of being too cautious, or maybe it was because he had still not recovered from the betrayal, but his mind tended to go on overdrive a lot.

But as if sensing the emotional turmoil of Alex, the AI let out those words.

It still wasn\'t sure about its origin, nor did it know if it was a gift or not, but it still told Alex about this strange yet close feeling it got from him.

\'....\'

Alex, who wasn\'t sure of what to do and was struggling to make a decision, heard those words loud and clear, causing him to go quiet.

His thoughts paused for a while, and he took a deep breath.

*Inhale*

*Exhale*

The next moment, he closed his eyes.

He, just like before, could still read the AI\'s thoughts, so he could tell what it wanted him to do, so he did it…

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