After the Lord of the Abyss Awakens - Chapter 117

In the dream, the surroundings were pure white.

The pen tip scratched against the paper surface, creating a rustling sound. One question expanded into countless answers, and yet every answer seemed correct, which was truly hard to grasp.

“……”

How many years had passed? He stopped writing, finally wanting to measure his own time, but he couldn’t do so, just as he had unconsciously experienced over eight thousand years.

Perhaps it had been ten years, because—

Xiu Si stood up and looked back. He saw book mountains filling the library hall, all books he had read, all knowledge that had once passed through his mind.

He opened and closed his eyes, feeling his spiritual consciousness upgrade, transforming the intangible consciousness into something touchable.

He had been able to do this long ago, although at that time, he hadn’t felt anything about his own abilities.

Come to think of it, the first time he had this feeling was probably when he was creating the sixth cub Valefor.

At that time, She was about to dissipate. Although it was consciousness, it was like a river about to scatter. He wanted to grasp It, but the consciousness slipped through his fingers like water.

What would happen if it continued like this?

Probably “consciousness extinction”.

Its best description was perhaps the extinguishing of fire. But once described this way, one would have to ask: who lit the fire?

The one who lit the fire definitely existed; otherwise, the fire wouldn’t have continued burning, from ancient times until now, for so long.

—How pitiful.

But thinking this, Xiu Si’s expression suddenly changed. He couldn’t help but ask himself: “Why… would I think that was pitiful?”

Was consciousness wanting to survive something pitiful?

No, something was wrong. Xiu Si refuted his own thought, believing he had certainly reversed his understanding.

Fragility and transience were pitiful.

Tenacious continuation was not pitiful.

“Is that right…”

Xiu Si frowned and thought for a moment, then set aside that thought.

Then, he stood up, his gaze searching for another figure within the library.

He… was not there.

****

At three in the afternoon, the bookstore was closed, with pedestrians moving intermittently outside the alley.

The Devon Rex cat wasn’t watching the store because His father was sleeping unusually late. He had to stay in the bedroom guarding His father.

About the commotion in the sky, He wasn’t very concerned, only knowing that His brothers and sisters had joined forces to challenge His Big Brother.

Hmm, that was a kind of emotional exchange.

He seemed tired and jumped to the side of the pillow, preparing to find a comfortable position to sleep.

Then the next second, the space opened without warning.

The Devon Rex cat instantly became vigilant. However, the first to emerge from the spatial passage was His familiar short-legged cat.

The Devon Rex cat paused and looked back.

The short-legged cat jumped onto the bed in a few swift movements.

How had the fight gone? The Devon Rex cat tilted its head, about to ask the short-legged cat something, when suddenly its fur stood on end, as if electrified from a distance. Its eyes widened in disbelief.

Baal, the demon god and His Big Brother, was standing across the spatial passage but had not yet entered the bedroom.

For the first time, He saw His Big Brother with such an expression, seemingly nervous or hesitant, His noble fists unconsciously clenched, and His majestic eyes slightly trembling.

He had waited for a long time before finally taking that step, walking into the bedroom and approaching the father He had been separated from for over eight thousand years.

The two cats were each on a pillow, their minds slow, not understanding what was happening. In the blink of an eye, they found themselves outside the door.

“Meow?”

The short-legged cat and the Devon Rex cat exchanged a glance, seemingly understanding. They were giving their Big Brother some space.

Big Brother… seemed to have something to say to their father.

****

Half an hour passed, and the bedroom remained completely silent.

Baal stood before the bed, quietly watching over. Beneath His dark green eyes, it seemed like He was suppressing an incredibly intense emotion.

After a long time, He finally spoke, His voice low.

“Did you still manage to do it?”

Besides the sleeping person in front of Him, there were no other people or intelligent beings, so it appeared as if He was talking to the air.

But His question surprisingly received a response.

A deep yet calm voice suddenly arose, concisely saying, “Yes.”

If Aelioge and the other cats were present, they would definitely recognize it as Agares’ voice.

Just as Aelioge and the other demons had speculated, Agares had long ago mentioned a method to their father to Baal.

It was the universe-level magic they had later deduced.

Initially, Baal had not agreed because it would require a tremendous price. Agares would have to risk an extremely small chance.

However, it was the only method.

At least the most possible method in Agares’ hands.

Baal could not accept letting Agares take risks because their father had once told Him that He was their Big Brother, older and stronger than them, and should protect His younger brothers and sisters to the best of His abilities.

Their father’s words were gentle, not forceful, yet Baal had taken them to heart, constantly pursuing strength, protecting each of His siblings, ensuring they remained complete, not a single one missing.

Therefore, despite knowing Agares’ omniscience, when Agares proposed that approach, Baal still could not agree.

That day, Agares remained silent, rarely stubborn and direct: He must do this, regardless of the cost. Power, body, life, consciousness, everything would be sacrificed to complete that task.

Since their birth from their father’s hands, they had rarely disagreed. Even when they did, they would never take action because of a disagreement.

But that time…

The bedroom fell into silence.

“Are you okay?”

Baal suddenly broke the quiet.

A few seconds later, an ethereal voice came from the other side of the dream.

“I’m okay.”

They seemed to be exchanging information, but the dream’s severe delay made their conversation somewhat difficult.

Fragments of dialogue leaked out:

“Yes, elves are the most beautiful creations. They are very special creations.”

“Regarding the Creator God, what you know—”

“Still missing one condition. Our father is…”

Outside the room. The two cats blinked, though they didn’t know what had happened inside, but felt it was probably a good thing.

Their father had been waiting for Big Brother to come home for so long, and today their Big Brother had finally returned. Father would definitely be happy!

But things seemed different from what they thought.

After knowing the key information, their Big Brother actually turned and stepped into the spatial passage, as if… He had no plan to reunite with their father?

If they saw this, they would surely meow to stop Him.

Fortunately, at this moment, the dream’s delay was not severe, and Agares’ voice timely rang out.

“Are you just going to leave like this?”

“……”

The demon god’s figure slightly paused, seeming to hesitate.

“Are you still blaming yourself?”

Lightning flickered around the demon god, as if shaken.

“Self-blame”, his brothers and sisters believed, was because He had not protected their father back then, and He had blamed Himself for over eight thousand years. In fact, this was true, but it was even more serious than they imagined. Only Agares truly knew what had happened.

“That matter isn’t urgent. Why don’t you stay a bit longer?”

An overly direct question, yet already knowing the answer.

And the next sentence made the air warm again.

—”Baal, are you avoiding?”

The demon god froze in place, and after a few seconds, finally turned around, as if his action denied the other’s accusation. He was not avoiding.

“Then stay.”

“Father wants to see you, just as you want to see Father.”

“……”

****

Around four in the afternoon, Xiu Si slowly opened his eyes, his black eyes faintly tinged with green light.

He seemed to sense something. Before getting up, his gaze first looked to the left, and then he saw—

“Baal?!”

Xiu Si was instantly awake, doubting his own eyes.

There, a mighty golden tiger stood guard beside him, watching him with wild tiger eyes, reflecting only his image.

Xiu Si was stunned, incredibly excited inside. Upon waking up, his eldest cub had actually come home!

He was eager to sit up, but the golden tiger moved before him. The furry paw gently pressed on the other side of his body, affectionately stretching his head to rub against Xiu Si. Due to his massive size, His movement seemed to press the person down, with four paws surrounding him, firmly encircling His father underneath.

The two cats outside heard the commotion and, worried, quietly pushed open the door, then were shocked.

Big Brother was going to crush Father, meow!

TN:

This is all of Chap 117, no missing parts.