After the Lord of the Abyss Awakens - Chapter 28.1

The little white bird was so angry that it stomped its feet. It instinctively realized that this one was its arch-enemy! An existence that was absolutely incompatible!

It loved all things, but definitely not this one!

It rushed to the wall of the compendium, wanting to drive this one out, but it hit the wall with a thud, its head buzzing.

How could there be such an infuriating thing? This was the space for it and its father, no inexplicable existence should be allowed here!

The great enemy was on the other side of the wall. It absolutely had to drive this one out! Drive it out!

Meanwhile, the black creature on the other side seemed to still be sleeping, just sitting there, looking so peaceful, unaware that next door a little white bird was glaring fiercely, full of hostility.

Outside, a day had already passed. Xiu Si had worked overnight to finally recreate a 1:1 replica of the black bird’s form.

The feathers were so difficult to shape. One wrong move and they would have a plastic-like texture, failing to achieve a real fluffy and natural look.

Yesterday, he had listened to the gray cat’s suggestion. Since the black bird’s body was damaged, why not create another body for it? It just so happened that he had the creation skill, a perfect match for the job. He had to wonder why he hadn’t thought of this before.

Because “consciousness transfer” wasn’t something that could be done easily, at least in Xiu Si’s understanding. This kind of magic operation was almost unheard of. If you talked about organ transplantation, he wouldn’t be surprised, but consciousness transplantation seemed a bit science fiction. He really couldn’t have thought of this method.

However, the gray cat and red cat had successfully accomplished this seemingly difficult task together.

Yesterday, Xiu Si had watched with his own eyes as they succeeded. He couldn’t help but feel surprised, thinking that perhaps this wasn’t a difficult thing, he had just thought it was difficult, or rather hadn’t thought of it at all.

Paths are always made by people walking them. In critical moments, one couldn’t care about other things.

Everything that could be tried had to be tried.

Fortunately, his children were capable, completing such an extraordinary magic operation.

So, to save the black bird, he had temporarily created the prototype of a small black bird. The Creation Compendium had one more entry, following behind the little white bird Paldr.

By coincidence, the little white bird and the little black bird looked quite similar, almost identical even.

Perhaps because he still had the feeling of creating Paldr earlier, when creating the black bird, he continued with that feeling. The initial models placed together looked just like twins, except one had white feathers and golden eyes, while the other had black feathers and misty gray eyes.

They were strangely like mirror images, completely symmetrical.

It was just a pity that it was too rushed. The model on the black bird’s side was far from refined enough, the feathers looking completely without detail and weight.

But using skills for too long would lead to cooldown fatigue. Xiu Si had no choice but to rest. He opened the Compendium to look, and saw that the little white bird seemed to be moving, observing the black bird next door through the box, its bean-sized eyes bright and alert.

“Is it curious about its new sibling?” Xiu Si blinked.

It’s definitely not curiosity!

Although the gray cat couldn’t see the system Compendium, it could completely imagine the God of Light’s breakdown.

Imagine if you were sleeping soundly in your nest, and woke up to find a neighbor next door, and it’s the kind of arch-enemy you’ve been fighting for tens of thousands of years in your previous life, coming to compete for your father. Could you remain calm?

No matter how much you love all things, you can’t love your arch-enemy, right? Light and darkness are naturally opposed! Putting them in one place would be problematic if there wasn’t trouble.

Yet Xiu Si was still saying, “When the black bird wakes up, the two of them will surely become good playmates.”

My dear father, it would be good if they don’t start a war.

The red cat patted its forehead with its paw. Father’s filter for his cubs was too thick. These two had been killing each other for tens of thousands of years, the killing intent was written into their DNA. Putting them in one box was like a war about to break out.

But Xiu Si watched them with interest, as if admiring his precious children. His lips curved upward, clearly intrigued, as he continued.

“To be so lively right after birth, they will surely be very spirited when they grow up.”

Indeed, they were not just spirited, but neurotic! The gray cat’s eyes were deep, feeling a bit regretful for allowing another sibling to join. After the God of Light, even the God of Darkness had come. Would there be others in the future?

No, they must strictly guard against this. Next time, even if some god was hanging themselves in front of them, they absolutely wouldn’t allow it! No, they shouldn’t even give them the chance to hang themselves!

The little white bird, unaware of the gaze from outside, was still indignant, flapping its small wings, staring intently at the motionless little black bird next door, completely oblivious to how adorable it looked.

Xiu Si thought, if this were in modern times, if he recorded this scene, it would surely get over a million views.

His young cubs were so cute it melted his heart. He really didn’t know what to do.

After a while, the black bird finally woke up.

Of course, it immediately noticed the intense gaze from next door. Wasn’t that its arch-enemy, the God of Light, whom it had fought for tens of thousands of years?

Well, well, arch-enemy, what’s the matter?

Didn’t expect this, huh? Haha, your father is now my father too!

It sneakily looked at its arch-enemy. Though just recovered from a serious illness and still very weak, it didn’t forget to show off and provoke hatred in front of its arch-enemy.

The little white bird, upon hearing this, burned with anger and chirped loudly, so enraged that its whole body flashed with golden light, instantly illuminating the entire box.

Xiu Si had never seen this situation before and was stunned. Hmm…was this Compendium a three-dimensional space? Not flat? Light could propagate inside?

Ah, indeed, after all, Paldr had been moving inside, although nothing like this had happened before.

Xiu Si was incredulous, feeling delighted, thinking that the little cubs’ play was still fine. The black bird seemed to be alright now, let it rest there for a while.

Coincidentally, guests had arrived outside, and he needed to receive them.

Xiu Si closed the system panel. Not long after, the little white bird, overwhelmed with anger, had a surge of energy and actually broke open the box, pouncing towards the little black bird next door.

The little black bird was stunned, looking bewildered, thinking, ‘This box can actually be broken open?’ But with the arch-enemy at its doorstep, how could it admit defeat in a fight with the arch-enemy? Fight, must fight!

Let you know that eternal night is better than eternal day! Hehe, let’s have a showdown after thousands of years!

From the outside, the birds’ fight looked like two fluffy balls bumping into each other. One would be knocked down by the other, immediately jump up again, wanting to retaliate fiercely against the other. As the fight went on, the two rolled together inseparably, still hurling insults at each other, rolling back and forth.

Little Black Bird: Hehe, you’re stubborn, aren’t you? Then let the mythical battle descend here, light and darkness will once again determine the victor, this is a divine war!

Little White Bird: Get out! This is my territory! Get away from my father!

The great war between light and darkness erupted.

They fought so fiercely that feathers were scattered everywhere, their heads almost pecked bald by each other.

Obviously, the little black bird, having just revived, had a weak divine body and was at a disadvantage.

Its body had just been modeled, the bones and muscles hadn’t been properly designed, and the weight of the feathers was still odd. It could barely stand, but this didn’t hinder its battle with the arch-enemy. Did war rely on strength? No, it was about spirit. No matter the current situation, one could lose anything but spirit!

Hmph, take this, stinky bird!

The little white bird’s bean-sized eyes gleamed golden, instantly releasing the majesty of the God of Light.

Trying to steal my father, I’ll peck all your feathers off.

Two birds engaged in a fierce battle, a ferocity unseen for thousands of years.

At that moment, outside.

Xiu Si was speaking to a guest, his voice gentle. “Yes, I’m just the acting receptionist for the antique shop. I don’t know where Priest Xilin has gone. I’m sorry I can’t solve your problem.”

The guest smiled and turned his head, revealing an exceptionally resolute face.

He wore an old, plain coat and looked utterly unremarkable from head to toe, appearing like a slightly formidable ordinary person.

“Is that so? It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Priest Xilin. I came to the Aust Empire just to find him. It seems I’ll miss him this time. I really hope he returns from his adventure soon.”

Xiu Si nodded, thinking this person must be an acquaintance of Priest Xilin. “I also hope Priest Xilin returns soon.”

As they conversed, the red cat and gray cat watched from behind, their cat eyes blinking with extremely high synchronization. They were just in the shadow of the store, their thoughts unknown, seemingly not having much opinion about that guest.

The old gentleman looked at the ancient pentagram emblem on the wooden shelf, reminiscing. “Every time he returns from an adventure, he brings back some treasures. I always look forward to it.”

Xiu Si understood. This person must have come to see Priest Xilin for something, possibly to collect an item. Unfortunately, Priest Xilin wasn’t here, and he wasn’t very familiar with the items in the antique shop yet.

Xiu Si thought for a moment and said, “I’ve heard Priest Xilin say that all the antiques in this shop are treasures he obtained from his adventures.”

Most were valuable items, but there wasn’t much of a market for them because they were almost all cursed artifacts. While they were indeed precious due to their rarity, whether they could be put to use was another matter. Even if they could be used, what if the curse came along with it?

Normal people wouldn’t want to buy a cursed item to keep at home, right? Unless they were willing to bear the risk of the curse in order to use a particular item.

Moreover, this antique shop, though seemingly unremarkable, was actually set up with multiple high-level magic spells. One layer of defensive magic faced outward, guarding against thieves or robbers. Two layers of magic suppressed the curses within the shop. So basically, no one could come to steal things, as long as they were in their right mind.

Before leaving, Priest Xilin had specifically reminded him that it didn’t matter if antiques went missing, just let them be lost. If they were stolen, as long as it could be handled, it was fine. In the antique shop, one should instead be careful of the antiques themselves, being mindful not to be affected by the curses. It didn’t matter if they couldn’t be sold.

Thinking about it this way, Xiu Si was quite a good shopkeeper. After all, he hadn’t lost a single antique, and as for thieves or robbers… he hadn’t encountered any.

The old gentleman was clearly very familiar with the antique shop. It wasn’t his first visit, and he observed the antiques in the store one by one, sighing. “Don’t be fooled by how unremarkable these things look. Some are so ancient… they might date back to six or seven thousand years ago.”

Xiu Si was a bit surprised. “That old?”

But as soon as he said it, he suddenly realized that he might be the oldest thing in this antique shop. All these antiques might not be as old as him.

The Demons Era lasted for over 7,000 years, and the Humans Era was now in its 1034th year. Counting it up, he was at least an 8,000-year-old antique. So… was he the shop’s guardian antique? Add to that the equally ancient cubs at home, and suddenly the age of the antique shop went up.

The old gentleman smiled, as if recalling something. “I heard that you’re also a student of Great Mentor Matros?”

Xiu Si nodded, saying kindly, “You might not believe this, but I’ve actually never met Matros. I don’t know why he chose me as his student.”

The old gentleman made a surprised sound and looked puzzled, but after thinking for a moment, he said, “That’s not unusual. Most high-level magicians are eccentric, especially Great Mentor Matros. He doesn’t take students casually, and since he’s taken a student, he certainly wouldn’t leave them unattended. Perhaps he’s observing you secretly from somewhere.”

Xiu Si was amazed and asked, “Really?”

The gray cat behind him suddenly flinched, its gaze becoming evasive.

The red cat, displeased, stepped on the gray cat’s paw with its own, nearly making the gray cat jump in anger.

The old gentleman seemed to understand magicians well and continued, “Of course they would. When a magician takes on a student, it’s a lifelong responsibility. Naturally, they must carefully consider the other’s character, observe and understand them, in order to teach according to their abilities. Teaching is also a form of intelligence work.”

Xiu Si nodded, remarking, “Is that so?”

Back when he was alive, magicians didn’t have so many rules. There weren’t even many magicians, and no one was in a position to set rules for others, nor did they have the time for it. Now, with the changing times, there were more and more rules. One could easily become a person without “common sense” if not careful.

As he spoke, Xiu Si noticed a pentagram necklace on the old gentleman’s chest.

Made of silver with gold inlay, it had no special craftsmanship and looked ordinary, except it was quite large, about the size of a fist, making it eye-catching.

The old gentleman noticed his gaze, lowered his head, and said calmly. “This is a divine necklace blessed by the Goddess of Fortune. Thanks to it, I’ve avoided many misfortunes.”

“The God of Luck, huh.”

Xiu Si had a vague impression, having once seen the God of Luck’s human form from afar.

The God of Luck appeared then as an extremely beautiful woman, with pure black glossy skin and graceful, flowing contours. Her clothing style was extraordinary, very surrealist in nature, with geometric halos behind her head and extremely structuralist dress design. It left a deep impression at first glance.

The God of Luck had blessed the other six heroes, but for some reason, had not blessed him alone.

At the time, Xiu Si wondered if he had done something to displease her, otherwise why this differential treatment?

In any case… he felt the God of Luck was a very avant-garde and benevolent god. At the same time, she had some troublesome interests, such as loving to dress up. Whether human or animal, anyone who fell into her hands would be dressed up and fussed over like a Barbie doll several times, not even sparing other gods.

He remembered that one of the conditions for seeking her blessing was to allow her to freely dress you up several times.

What an unusual interest.

But then again, gods were like that, so it wasn’t particularly strange.

Coming back to the present, back then she was referred to as the God of Luck, but now she had become the Goddess of Fortune, indicating that she had basically fixed on one image and no longer changed genders, being one gender one day and another the next.

At this moment, the old gentleman, lost in thought, looked outside and suddenly said regretfully, “Since Priest Xilin isn’t here, I’ll take my leave now.”

Xiu Si nodded, “See you another time.”

The old gentleman’s eyes moved, hesitating for a moment before saying, “I don’t know if Great Mentor Matros has told you, but the Aust Empire is about to face a great calamity. If possible, you’d better leave quickly.”

Xiu Si was silent for a few seconds, then asked, “What kind of calamity?”

The old gentleman said seriously, “At least a nation-destroying level calamity. Any human on the land of the Aust Empire will be affected.”

A nation-destroying level was already terrifying, yet he said “at least nation-destroying level”. The scale was so large that it was almost unreal.