After the Lord of the Abyss Awakens - Chapter 32.1

The red cat instinctively pressed its paw down on the little black bird.

The little black bird chirped, and Xiu Si glanced over. The red cat reluctantly released its paw.

The little black bird revived with energy again, hid near Xiu Si’s arm. Its wings fluttered, as if it had found a backer, looking at the two cats across from it with newfound confidence.

Xiu Si didn’t know what was going on with them, only seeing meaningful glances exchanged. He unconsciously protected the little black bird and said to the two cats. “You are older, so you should take care of it in the future.”

Before he finished speaking, the little black bird puffed out its chest confidently.

The two cats’ faces instantly darkened.

Morax inwardly howled, “Father, this guy is actually the God of Darkness! He deliberately became your child!”

Inpos stared at the little black bird, thinking, “You little brat, you’ve learned to play us against each other. Just wait until Father isn’t around, we’ll teach you a lesson!”

The little black bird also had its own thoughts: “I can just hide in Father’s system, how could you come beat me there? Even if you did, I’d just yell and Father would come save me.”

Look at this fat bird, acting so nonchalant!

The two cats were filled with righteous indignation, gnashing their teeth. Indeed, the youngest child is always the most troublesome!

Xiu Si looked back and forth, not knowing what they were saying. He changed the subject to the little black bird’s essential settings.

“Hodur” wasn’t a good god in Norse mythology, neither in character nor in stories.

And it wasn’t just him.

In ancient mythology, gods associated with darkness were generally not good gods, like Hades the God of the Underworld. Ancient Greeks did not favor the God of the Underworld, when mentioned in plays, there were basically no words of praise.

It was said to be because ancient people feared darkness.

There were always terrifying, unknown, life-threatening things in the darkness.

Darkness meant death, sinking into the earth never to see daylight again.

The living environment determined people’s likes and dislikes, determined people’s praise for the God of Light, and rejection of the God of Darkness.

But for his own child, Xiu Si certainly didn’t want it to be the God of Darkness that everyone feared and kept at a distance.

He hoped it would be an existence that led to goodness.

Although this might be an excessive expectation, he sincerely hoped that goodness could descend upon it, rather than like before, falling destitute and dying in the dark snow, unknown to anyone.

How bleak that would be.

If he hadn’t passed by, it probably would have died that day.

So, how should it be set up?

Xiu Si thought for a moment and asked, “Hodur, do you have any expectations for yourself?”

The little black bird was stunned. It had never thought about this question before. From the moment its consciousness awakened, it had been fleeing for its life. That undead being had relentlessly pursued it, determined to seize its divine power. It had been so preoccupied with escape that it hadn’t had much time to think about anything else.

Expectations…what expectations did it have for itself? To be a God of Darkness, as it had always been?

To be seen as a natural disaster and war maniac in countless legends, feared by humans, dreaded by gods, lofty and aloof, looking down upon the mortal world?

It hesitated, directly choked up.

It remembered more or less some things about the God of Darkness that existed as a nature god before becoming a conceptual god. At the very beginning, the God of Darkness wasn’t as the legends described – cold in temperament and supremely majestic, but rather… what was it like?

It couldn’t quite recall what the initial “God of Darkness” was like.

Gods had several stages, for example, starting as nature gods that could be destroyed, later becoming conceptual gods that were basically indestructible.

But what was the God of Darkness like as a nature god?

The little black bird was confused, unsure if it was because its bird brain was too small, its thoughts going round and round without coming to a conclusion.

The decisive influence of brain structure on thought structure affected even divine bodies.

It’s no wonder there’s always been a saying – “Structure is the essence, not content.”

Xiu Si saw it was troubled, seeming dizzy and unable to think it through. Not wanting to pressure it, he thought about it himself.

The two cats watched, their gazes deep, but didn’t interfere. In fact, they had seen this scene quite often.

The difference was that before being set up, they were very confused and didn’t know what Father was saying.

But this bird could think, although it seemed unable to come up with much.

Hmph, a silly bird.

The two cats were inwardly angry, but also curious about what setting Father would give.

Xiu Si formulated words in his mind, and looking at the little black bird, he said: “I thought of three concepts: darkness, protection, and secrecy. What do you think?”

The little black bird was stunned for a moment, its small eyes lit up, and then it excitedly jumped up. It looked like signs saying “I like it” were about to pop out of its bird head.

Its excitement was evident.

Xiu Si found it adorable. These concepts might be a bit chuunibyou, combining into “the secret protector of darkness”. It had a sense of déjà vu from certain works, didn’t it? But it was also a nice concept, wasn’t it?

He thought it quite suited this naive bird child. And it seemed to really like it.

“Then it’s decided.”

Xiu Si then wrote it in specifically: “secrecy”, “protection”, and “the power of darkness”. Whether it could successfully take effect was unknown, but he hoped it would.

The little black bird’s eyes sparkled, seeming very expectant as well.

Xiu Si looked at the system panel, feeling a bit nervous. After a few seconds, the system judged it valid, and all three settings he wrote took effect!

He was delighted, and the little black bird hopped around, as if it had regained something very important.

Its reaction made Inpos thoughtful, as if recalling or realizing something.

And at the same time.

A system prompt suddenly sounded: [Congratulations, you’ve gained 50 achievement points!]

Xiu Si was stunned. This again?

The system then announced: [Congratulations, you’ve obtained “Blessing of the Dark Night”, darkness accompanies any light]

Xiu Si was surprised again, but not as shocked as with the little white bird. Once is chance, twice is coincidence. Perhaps they were all extraordinary beings, and giving them names would bring achievement points.

He looked at the little black bird and said with a smile. “You’re really similar to Paldr. This buff came from you, right?”

The little black bird puffed out its chest proudly. Its black bird eyes shone brightly, looking just like a fluffy little round ball.

So cute that one look would melt your heart.

It didn’t know how terrifying the two pairs of cat eyes behind it were.

Morax also just realized that their father seemed to have a bit of a weakness for fluffy balls!

“Thank you.”

Xiu Si gently stroked the bird’s head.

It was so small, and round like a ball. It felt like it would roll away with a touch.

But surprisingly, it stood very steadily, its small body full of strength.

As he petted and squeezed it, nothing happened. Instead, it nuzzled closer, the fluffy ball forming an adorable curve.

It seemed to have recovered quite well, just not knowing when it would grow up.

Xiu Si felt content.

Speaking of which, his children seemed quite slow to grow up. They had grown so quickly back then, but after his death, it was as if they had stagnated. Thousands of years had passed, yet they still looked like children.

Although it was also a good thing, because it was as if…those eight thousand plus years hadn’t changed them. They were still the same as back then.

When he woke up, the world had changed, but they wouldn’t change.

There were still some things always waiting for him to come back.

Xiu Si’s mood was a bit complex. In a sense, he might prefer children. For no other reason than that they were relatively simple and uncomplicated, without so many thoughts.

His own children were still children, which was always reassuring.

It’s just… if only they could develop human forms sooner. He was quite looking forward to their human forms, thinking they should all be quite good-looking.

In any case, the matter of the little black bird was settled for now.

“Do you want to go somewhere? Or is it fine to stay in the system?”

In Xiu Si’s mind, the little black bird was different from the little white bird. It was a child picked up along the way and might have other thoughts, like its own affairs.

After all, as a magical beast, it couldn’t have just appeared in the Imperial City for no reason.

But the little black bird shook its head, nuzzling against him, quite determined to stay and not leave.

The expressions of the two cats behind were priceless.

Inpos couldn’t help but complain, “What’s with this guy? It’s already decided to stay? This is our father, not yours!”

Morax’s eyes were full of disdain, almost unable to resist sharpening his claws.

Xiu Si nodded. “Alright, you can stay as long as you like.”

The little black bird happily circled around, flapping its wings. The little black fluffy ball was so excited, lively, and adorable – who wouldn’t love it?

Xiu Si didn’t take it back into the system, letting it play outside as it wished, but warned it to be careful not to fall.

From Xiu Si’s perspective, the little black bird had short legs and a plump body, looking somewhat clumsy, always giving the impression it might roll away at any moment.

But seeing it so happy, Xiu Si couldn’t say anything more.

Having a name seemed to be a very important thing for created beings.

A name is about “defining consciousness”. With a name, consciousness can determine itself and find its own indication.

This saying… seemed to be from Ye Qingyi. She often had true insights, speaking little but every word substantial. Not just in another world, but in reality, she would likely be successful in society.

Xiu Si smiled, pulling back from his memories. He thought, it’s late, time to sleep, but before sleeping, he’d spend some time refining Hodur’s settings a bit more.

It felt there were still some inadequacies. If he was going to do it, he should do it to the best of his current ability.

He’d try his best to improve it.

What Xiu Si didn’t know was that that night, there was a commotion at the magician tower in the Aust Empire’s Imperial City.

The magicians were amazed to discover that for the entire night, no subspace creatures had attempted to invade. It was as if the night had intimidated them, making them too afraid to invade, only able to drool around the Aust Empire.

A magician from the tower hurriedly ran to the research institute and asked, “What’s going on? Have you found anything?”

The magicians at the institute weren’t certain and were urgently researching and analyzing.

Fushan wiped the cold sweat from her brow and said, “Could it be that the God of Darkness’s divine power has returned? No way, is it real? Has even he awakened?”

The tower magician felt this was a terrible situation and said, “This is a big deal. None of the original series of gods are pushovers. It was fortunate before that the God of Light hadn’t awakened, otherwise the Divine Kingdom of Light wouldn’t have been so easy to destroy. And now if the God of Darkness has awakened…I can’t imagine what might happen.”

The God of Light was ostentatious, the God of Darkness was fierce. Even the gods dared not provoke these two deities lightly, let alone them!

Someone was sweating profusely and worriedly said, “We’ve already been targeted by otherworld gods, surely we won’t be targeted by the God of Darkness too?”

Two deities eyeing the Aust Empire covetously – just thinking about it was hopeless. And terrifyingly, this power currently seemed to only envelop the Aust Empire.

That is…it had targeted the Aust Empire? In just half a month, the empire had encountered three gods!

“We can only hope it’s not the case.”

Everyone was worried.

Suddenly, the passing magic instructor Oror seemed thoughtful, stroking his chin and said, “It doesn’t seem hostile, you don’t need to be too afraid.”

Fushan saw Oror in the corridor and exclaimed in shock. “Not hostile? Really?” How could he sense that?

Oror smiled faintly, looking out the window into the distance. He closed his eyes, sensing for a moment, and surprisingly said, “Not only is there no hostility, it seems to be a kind of protective power.”

The entire research institute fell silent.

Everyone was dumbfounded. What, what was he saying?

Fushan asked in disbelief. “Protection? The God of Darkness is protecting our Aust Empire?”

That war-crazed God of Darkness who rivaled the God of Light… protecting the Aust Empire?

This statement was too shocking, beyond imagination! It was as if the sun had risen in the west.

No one present dared to believe it.

Oror turned his head to see their ashen faces and couldn’t help but laugh.

He seemed to have been in a good mood all day, having encountered interesting things and done what he should. Thus, his good mood continued into the late night. He continued, “Who knows? I’m just guessing. The world changes, it’s not strange for surprises to happen occasionally. The God of Darkness protecting us, maybe it’s just a whim?”

“Is… is that so.”

Fushan still couldn’t believe it.

But the problem might not end there. You might want to ask further: the God of Darkness’s divine power suddenly covered the empire, so where is the God of Darkness? What does he want to do? Why is he doing this? The location of the Dark Divine Kingdom seemed far from the empire, so how did the God of Darkness’s power suddenly cover the Aust Empire? There’s even a great empire in between!

However.

“We have to believe it, I suppose.”

Oror’s eyes suddenly dimmed as he said earnestly. “After all, optimism is all we have left now.”

Fushan paused, the complex thoughts in her mind seemingly scattered instantly. You think so much, but can you investigate anything?

“…You’re right.”

“Just do your own job well. Today might just be a whim of the God of Darkness. Don’t neglect the vigilance you should maintain.”

Oror was speaking to the tower magicians.

The tower magicians listened, immediately digesting and acting on his words.

“Yes! We understand, Instructor Oror.”

After the shock, people still chose to focus on their respective duties.

The order and efficiency of the Aust Empire as a state machine was clearly above the world’s average level.

Meanwhile, on a nebula in subspace.

Two young men were at odds, one glaring angrily at the other.

Aelioge, unable to bear it any longer, burst out cursing, “Beelzebub, do you even know how to navigate? You’re obviously getting further and further away!”

Beelzebub said seriously, “No, I firmly believe this path is correct. This time there definitely won’t be a mistake. If we just keep going, we’ll definitely encounter Father.”

“You won’t admit you have no sense of direction, will you!”

Aelioge wanted to beat up this sibling, barely able to suppress the power of [War].

Beelzebub sensed his loss of control and turned to say, “Aren’t you supposed to have a good temper? At least better than Morax.”

Aelioge laughed coldly and said, “If Morax were here, He wouldn’t rest until he’d eaten you.”

Beelzebub’s gaze was subtle as he actually said, “First of all, Morax wouldn’t get lost. He knows space magic and has stayed in subspace for thousands of years. He couldn’t possibly get lost.”

Aelioge exploded with anger, repeating “fine” three times.

“You want to fight, huh? Fine, I’ll oblige you!”

A few minutes later, there was another great disturbance in subspace.

The two Abyss Lords were fighting again, this time with a seemingly life-or-death intensity.

Then came another furious curse.

“Beelzebub, you bastard, just don’t return to the mortal world! Dying in subspace suits you best!”

“Why are you so angry? Didn’t we agree to find the culprit who wants to kill Father together?”

“Get lost, I can handle it alone.”

Perhaps they were fighting too fiercely, as people near the location noticed the disturbance.