A familiar presence suddenly appeared nearby, along with another acquaintance I hadn’t seen for a long ti. I snapped out of my "job" of feeding Little Baobao and smiled: after waiting so long, they’re finally here.
"We have guests, I’ll go open the door." I put Little Baobao back in her seat, letting the little girl eat by herself, and casually said, Sandora and Bingdisi had already sensed who was at the door. The forr smiled gently at , while the latter quickly adjusted her expression, placed the plates properly, and put her feet down from the chair—as if pretending to understand manners.
I shot a disdainful look at this female hooligan, then teleported directly to the front gate. A young man and woman stood at the door; one was mature and steady, smiling as they exuded warmth and reliability, the other full of energy and vitality, with a spirited ponytail: the two peak figures in the Void, the Star Domain Father God and the Huron God King, had finally arrived.
"Yo, little brother, long ti no see," Sister Hila still greeted with the sa enthusiasm as before. It seed the inertia of Void creatures didn’t affect her at all; her ponytail swayed energetically as she greeted , behaving almost like an ordinary, slightly playful college girl, "I stayed in the Star Domain for two days, figured everything out, and ca to discuss the bridge-building matter with you."
While letting the two big figures into the courtyard, I craned my neck toward the street corner: "Didn’t you take a cab this ti?"
Xingchen slowly chuckled: "It was urgent, so we didn’t wander outside, just teleported straight to you."
"Even if it’s urgent, it doesn’t take long," I led the two inside, "Coincidentally, we’re having a al right now, and since there are guests today, Anwina prepared a feast... Well, Will and Quina’s ntal stress for this al might just break through the sky."
The three of us arrived in the dining room, seeing the family still eating and making noise: als at ho weren’t a big deal of rules, and a bunch of rowdy kids are never easy to handle, not to ntion the constant antics of the Little Crows and Wild Dingdang. The commotion of our als often rivaled the dog market in the west part of the city.
I heartily announced: "Look who’s here!"
Instantly, all eyes in the dining room were on Xingchen and Hila. Big Sister and Qianqian stood up to greet them, while the youngsters made a noisy chaos, bouncing over to say hello: The little ones haven’t been to the Divine Realm as guests that few tis, plus Xingchen often visited, so there was quite a familiarity among them. Little Light was the exception: the doll girl was calm and wouldn’t rush up like ordinary kids for affection. She was pouring chili sauce into Lilina’s bowl when no one was looking... Speaking of calm, this is too absurd!
The Divine Clan Tiaozi Five certainly didn’t stay seated either; Bingdisi led the others to greet them with due manners. Whether tomboy or ditzy, whether nerdy or rebellious, they all behaved like graduates of a noble etiquette class in front of the Father God, vastly different from their usual selves. Seeing them act all obedient and honest, I couldn’t help feeling unbalanced: Aren’t I on par with the Father God both in rank and job? Why can’t these five act as behaved at ho as they do now?
Will and Quina, just a mont ago cautiously and respectfully dining with their own God, were thrown into confusion by the sudden change of situation. I presu they hadn’t seen the Father God before—regular mortal believers had no chance of eting the Father God before being "summoned by the Lord" into the sequence of Heavenly Gods. Even visiting the Divine Realm for work reports, entering the Brilliant Divine Court wasn’t possible. Tagging along with us to the Divine Realm for visits all the ti, even getting playful with the Father God and the Four Main Gods, like Lilina, was an exception. The two popes didn’t know who the young man and woman who suddenly appeared were, but seeing their own God greet them with such formality, they began to speculate, resulting in a scrolling display of expressions. The Father God noticed them and cheerfully waved at the dining table: "Eating, are you? Don’t mind us... Hey Chen, how co it looks like you have one more kid?"
Turning my head, I saw indeed a little girl sitting beside the dining table, with a shiny silver body, resembling a semi-transparent jelly. This "little girl" had the sa appearance as divh, only the body color was different. She was mimicking everyone else, rapidly stuffing food from the table into her mouth. Through her semi-transparent stomach, I could see a heap of cutlery and cups and plates, nearly eaten away by the Arcane Field, and a floating Dingdang...
What a ss!
I quickly stepped forward to extract Dingdang from the belly of this Sli creature, then lifting this low-intelligence Arcane organism—who spent most of the ti mimicking household decorations, only occasionally imitating a family mber—from the dining table, said: "Stop making trouble—can you even eat? Go over there and continue pretending to be a vase."
The Arcane Colloidal Organism nad "Xizhi Lang" let out a series of delightful hums, seeming to find minor mischief its greatest joy. This soft "matter" rolled to a corner and transford into a large vase again: this was its task these past two days.
Hila patted my shoulder nonchalantly: "Your house is truly never lacking in excitent."
I chuckled dryly as I arranged seats for the two big figures at the table and then introduced the Father God and King Huron to Will and Quina, as expected: the two already sowhat reserved popes were instantly dumbfounded.
The Father God visiting this place was enough to daze them once, but the rarely heard and often mythical Huron God King appearing as well undoubtedly deepened their confusion. In the eyes of ordinary people unaware of divine matters, the Huron Divine Race was a aningless term. However, reaching the position of a Star Domain underling pope allowed access to many secrets, even direct reading of Divine Clan historical records. These two certainly knew about the Huron Divine Race: another Divine Race in the Void, extrely distant from the Star Domain, nearly unable to communicate—a history of long wars, now reconciled yet with sparse interactions...
Though Xyrin may now also qualify as a Divine System, the entanglent between the Xyrin Empire and the Star Domain wasn’t as complex as between the Huron and the Star Domain. Moreover, Xyrin and Star Domain collaborations were always nurous, so the Father God visiting the Xyrin Capital for a visit wasn’t too surprising. But the appearance of the Huron God King held unusual significance.
The highest rulers of the Three Divine Systems gathering, with one coming only through extre difficulties, clearly wasn’t just a casual al visit. Will and Quina, despite not knowing all the secrets, naturally realized one thing: sothing big was brewing in the Void—big enough for an ergency eting of the Three Divine Systems!
Noticing their popes appearing sowhat tense and inquisitive in expression, Kenser and Lin provided a simple explanation—not about the catastrophic changes in the Void, but rely that the Huron God King’s visit resulted from a romantic pursuit, stopping by the Xyrin Capital for a al, causing Will and Quina to nod repeatedly. Cold sweat dripped in waves down their foreheads: the extent of a certain person’s romantic pursuit surprised even the most ordinary followers. Could you two be a bit more mindful of appearances?
Especially Sister Hila, chasing soone isn’t usually done this way, eting up and directly saying, "Let’s have a child," would scare off anyone with normal values, wouldn’t it! Success seems highly unlikely!
Due to the Father God and King Huron’s impromptu visit, Quina and Will initially appeared a bit reserved, but fortunately, the innate Affinity Halos of the two God Kings were of unprecedented power. When they began competing with for at buns, the atmosphere instantly beca harmonious. The al was ultimately enjoyed by all, regardless of whether the long-distance guests were accustod to Earth’s food, the mood remained quite pleasant. Several rows of round-bellied handmade Crow Gods and Wild Dingdang ended up sprawled on the dining table. Satisfied, Sister Hila wiped her mouth and inquired Anwina about the at bun recipe, while Quina and Will, after a brief rest, bid farewell to their God:
"Lord, hiccup—I’m going back to continue spreading Your truths." This was Will.
"Hiccup—Lord, there’s a chive in Your teeth... Oh, I have one too?" This was Quina.
Associations with the Star Domain Gods typically seem to unfold like this in the end.
After Quina and Will returned to Shadow City (as they needed to use Shadow City’s transmission device to get back to their respective worlds), Xingchen and Hila finally settled in the living room. The group of naughty kids, realizing the adults were about to discuss serious matters, wisely went upstairs to fight, to avoid interference.
Father God didn’t mince words, getting straight to the point: "I’ve been delayed for many days due to encountering so issues."
"Problem in the Divine Realm?" I looked into his eyes, detecting no hint of worry or anxiety. Of course, it was impossible to find any; with his experience and composure, almost nothing could make him show anxiety.
"Not the Divine Realm," Father God shook his head. "It’s related to myself, and it’s uncertain whether it has anything to do with Hila or you."
This was a profound statent. I didn’t react imdiately, but as soon as I understood, my mouth dropped open: "Void Creature? Don’t scare . Does this an our race has a genetic illness?"
Father God was stunned: "How did you make that connection?"
"Just trying to lighten the mood," I chuckled dryly, waving my hand. "So what’s going on exactly?"
"I’ve been analyzing the Void Cataclysm," Father God adjusted his sitting posture, "especially the things brought by Abyss Xyrin, which are related to the cataclysm but are beyond technical issues... like certain events associated with the cataclysm. You should rember, right? The Void Cataclysm may have occurred more than once. Both my speculation and the evidence held by Abyss Xyrin prove this. There have been Void Cataclysms and Order Worlds before us."
I nodded. This event was now probably the most mysterious and unknown, yet the most difficult to investigate. Every Void Cataclysm destroys all Order Worlds, even including so-called "Immortal Species." No information can be preserved, so no one knows what the Order World looked like before the last Void Cataclysm. Abyss Xyrin can only glean a bit of records from the database sent from the other side, but these records only describe the devastation of the cataclysm and thods of bridging. Nothing else is described.
Father God paused, giving ample ti to recall all the information before continuing: "The Void Cataclysm has occurred more than once. We now know from Abyss Xyrin that the other side possesses a way to mitigate the cataclysm. This thod is evidently left by immortals similar to Void Creatures, as only Void Creatures can be completely immune to the cataclysm. Through the repeated cataclysms, they gather experience and seek ways to perfect Void Structures. Hence, we can be certain there are Void Creatures on the other side, and they have left notes, so the subsequent Order Worlds have a chance to repair the void through bridging."
I continued nodding. These were things I had thought about before, and it was normal for Father God to consider these. Hila, on the other hand, silently listened as a quiet observer, seemingly not intending to comnt.
"After learning that soone on the other side left these records, I started pondering one thing," Father God slowly said. "Why do we lack such records on this side? No guidance on bridging, no warnings about the cataclysm, not even awareness of the cataclysm’s existence... Is it because we’re more ’impoverished’ than the other side, so no one could leave records? This is clearly incorrect, as based on the information Bingdisi relayed to , I speculate that the other side is not much different from us."
"You an..." I looked into Father God’s eyes, seemingly guessing his thoughts.
"Logically, there should be records of this on ’this bank.’ Even if there are no records, there should be ’people’ who experienced the previous cataclysm," Father God’s tone was firm. "I an Void Creatures."
"Didn’t you say our side only produced Void Creatures after the last Void Cataclysm?" I pointed at Father God and King Huron. "I’m younger, but you two were born after the last Void Cataclysm. Were there other Void Creatures before you? Hmm... perhaps it’s because the void is too vast, so even if there were, we wouldn’t know, as no one can explore the entire void."
"No, you can’t ignore the information disturbance power of Void Creatures," Father God shook his head. "Void Creatures will disturb everything they’ve experienced. If they wish to find their kin, even with an infinite void, they will gradually align with their kin. Hila and I t this way, and you t us under the sa circumstances. It might take a long ti, but it shouldn’t be longer than one ’Catastrophe Cycle.’ Hence, we can almost rule out the possibility of a fourth Void Creature existing on the current void side, unless they plan to appear right as the cataclysm begins."
Father God paused again, finally revealing the most crucial matter: "Actually, the main reason I said so much is this: since the other side can have Void Creatures who experienced the cataclysm, it proves they had Void Creatures born before the last cataclysm. Based on the symtry of information, ’this bank’ should have had Void Creatures born before the previous cataclysm, and this Void Creature wouldn’t be soone we have not yet t. Alright, let say it straight; based on my analysis these past few days... I might have experienced the last cataclysm."
Seconds later, Hila and I crawled back onto the sofa from under the coffee table, and I was the first to speak: "Are you sure?"
"Not sure," Father God shrugged candidly, "which is why I said ’might have.’"
Hila glared at Father God: "Why didn’t you tell this in the last few days in the Divine Realm? Our clan only has three people, and I’m the only female; couldn’t you give a bit of preferential treatnt? Would it kill you?"
Father God looked at King Huron, who always dropped the ball even in serious situations, with an expression of mixed surprise and amusent: "First, discussing these matters with all present is more appropriate. Second... as soon as we t, you asked about having kids; I barely had ti to flee, let alone discuss this."
Alright, anyway, thanks to Sister Hila’s lackadaisical humor, it brought out of my montary shock. I looked at the young man in front of , still wearing a gentle smile, sensing an impending storm of information: "Xingchen, you say you might have experienced the last Void Cataclysm... so you don’t rember anything about the last cataclysm? Did you find evidence or signs of this?"
"So indirect things, hidden in places untouched by anyone," Father God’s voice was sowhat ethereal. "After Bingdisi inford of the events on your side, I beca very concerned. I then spent a long ti ’returning to the void,’ attempting to use the talent of information disturbance in a completely ethereal state to search for information related to the cataclysm. Thus, guided by my subconscious, I found so evidence in very ancient places... almost confirming that these places are remnants from the last cataclysm, like that Abyss Gate beneath the Divine Realm."
"You found traces of yourself left there?" I used my imagination. "In ruins possibly left from the last cataclysm, you found your records, but have no mory of it, as if suffering from amnesia... so you suspect you experienced the last cataclysm but aren’t sure?"
Father God nodded slowly: "It’s precisely to verify this and also to wait for Hila to arrive that I was delayed so long. Otherwise, I would have co to you imdiately."
I exhaled, slowly processing this heavy news. Clearly, he wouldn’t delay this long if he had confird just this one thing. There must be even more shocking secrets behind it, as indicated by his serious expression. But I also knew these matters couldn’t be explained in a few words, so after a mont’s silence, I decided to first go to Shadow City and find Abyss Xyrin.
After all, many origins lay with her. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian (qidian) to vote for recomndations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.)
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