Chapter 1510: The Lady of Night Is Very Active
The Three Goddesses of Fertility—rulers over agriculture, the earth, and renewal—were a rare trio of “sister deities.” Their followers were widespread, but the church as a whole leaned toward a gentle, reserved nature. Mortal beings believed these three goddesses held dominion over all matters related to crops and farming, trusting that the cycles of spring’s awakening, the growth of plants upon the earth, and many weather patterns were governed by them. Because of their divine roles, the three goddesses were known among the pantheon as peaceful, non-combative, and averse to conflict.
But they could run like the wind.
The Lady of Night had never in her existence seen figures move so fast. She had barely placed a hand on Flora’s shoulder and exchanged a warm greeting when sharp screams pierced the air. Suddenly, the three goddesses—each with a human head and a deer’s body—shot out of the garden like bolts of lightning, crashing through the thorny barriers and racing toward the borders of their divine realm. Remarkably, they split up, each darting off in a different direction, and in the blink of an eye, all three vanished.
Fortunately, the boundary between light and shadow was everywhere. For an ancient god who had survived since the age of the Voyagers and now wielded alien technology as support, the subtle concealment tricks of these young deities were no match—even on their home turf. The information anchors woven by her anchor-point generator allowed the Lady of Night to ignore the “alien god realm’s” influence on herself. Within minutes, she had tracked down the three goddesses hiding deep within their domain.
“Relax,” the Lady of Night said gently as she shrank her form to roughly match the size of the three sisters gathered around the long table in the heart of the Harvest Garden. She chose a distance that wouldn’t startle them and smiled warmly. “I’m just dropping by. You shouldn’t treat a visitor so coldly…”
The three half-human, half-deer goddesses exchanged wide-eyed, unsettled glances. To mortals, they were lofty gods, but even among themselves, they had never encountered anything this bizarre. What was this? They had been peacefully hosting a feast at home, enjoying barbecue and chatting, minding their own business. Suddenly, someone shattered the divine barrier, and a powerful, strange ancient god burst into the Harvest Garden. The three barely escaped and hid, only to be found and brought back within minutes…
To be fair, the mortal world had changed rapidly over the years. Humans had grown cunning, and the currents of thought and the shadows in the deep sea had been in constant turmoil. The three goddesses had foreseen a turbulent future and mentally prepared for some unprecedented, unpredictable events—but this was not among them. And they were certain their “neighbors” hadn’t considered this scenario either.
The awkward, tense standoff lasted a moment before Gaia, the eldest and most composed sister, finally broke the silence. She regarded the unfamiliar god holding a staff with a serious expression. “You are the Lady of Night.”
“Ah, it’s much easier now that you recognize me,” the Lady of Night smiled, clearly pleased that Gaia could identify her after so many years away from the mortal realm. “I didn’t expect that even after all this time, a young deity would be the first to recognize me… How did you know?”
“Wielding the power of shadows so strongly, it could only be you,” Gaia said, lowering her eyelids slightly. “There is no one in this world more powerful and pure as the sovereign of shadows. But I am surprised you appeared here so suddenly, and in… this manner.”
“The most powerful and pure sovereign of shadows…” The Lady of Night’s expression twisted oddly at the reverence in Gaia’s words. She shook her head lightly. “To call a ‘god’ bound to a planet by gravity that is would be presumptuous. On the vast cosmic scale, none of us truly deserve the title of ‘sovereign’… But that’s not important. We’re all limited by our understanding of the world. As for why I’m here…”
The ancient god who commanded the shadows chuckled softly, her gaze sweeping slowly over the three “junior” goddesses. “Are you still wondering how I can exist so stably within your domain, without being instinctively rejected or attacked by the rules of your divine realm?”
Flora instinctively studied the Lady of Night more closely. Since earlier, she had noticed a fine, shimmering glow surrounding the ancient god’s form, with countless tiny points of light flickering rapidly within it. It was as if two opposing forces were clashing fiercely on her surface, yet maintaining a delicate balance. Clearly, the currents of thought that formed the divine realm had detected an abnormal intrusion, but for some reason, all their counterattacks had been nullified.
“I used a few tricks to bypass the alien god realm’s rejection effect,” the Lady of Night said calmly. “This allows me to enter other gods’ domains for a limited time without being affected. So my time here is short—let’s get down to business.”
“Business?” Harvest goddess Eve’s expression turned cautious and guarded. “What exactly do you want?”
“To help you,” the Lady of Night said seriously, her gaze settling on the youngest sister, Flora. “Have you noticed signs that your mortal and divine natures are beginning to separate?”
“How do you know?!” Flora gasped in shock. “You…”
“I live in seclusion, but that doesn’t mean I’m unaware of changes in the world—especially those occurring on the level of thought currents. I have special ways of observing,” the Lady of Night explained vaguely, clearly unwilling to reveal too much. “I just want to confirm one thing: Has the separation between your mortal and divine parts begun? How far has it progressed?”
The Three Goddesses of Fertility exchanged glances. After a few seconds of hesitation and thought, Gaia seemed to make a decision. She took a deep breath and slowly spread her arms.
In the next moment, her form suddenly shifted. Her solid body became ethereal and blurred, the edges of her silhouette trembling like a mirage in the air. It was as if two images overlapped—yet the overlap was imperfect. As the distortion grew, another “self” appeared just behind and to the side of Gaia’s hazy form.
A goddess with a blurred, sculpted face, cold and detached, calmly surveying the entire divine realm.
Seeing their eldest sister’s action, the other two goddesses seemed to resolve themselves. They too spread their arms and released the “dual selves” they had consciously controlled all along. The same transformation immediately took place in Eve and Flora—their bodies splitting into overlapping states: one mortal and lively, the other divine and aloof.
As the three goddesses did this, the Fertility Realm itself shifted. A fierce wind swept across the distant plains, carrying a mournful howl and a taint of corruption. Wherever the wind passed, flowers, shrubs, and fruit trees instantly took on a strange half-withered, half-vibrant state. The two great rivers flowing through the garden churned with blood-colored foam. In the murky waters, unsettling dark masses—like rotting flesh—began crawling toward the banks. Spirits and holy beings, once hidden, appeared again. These hollow “worship illusions” stood ragged and skeletal in the garden, staring emptily at one another.
The Lady of Night watched all this calmly.
“I’m sorry you had to see such a shameful ‘truth,’” Eve said with a bitter smile, shaking her head. “But this is already a relatively stable and peaceful state…”
“Don’t worry,” the Lady of Night exhaled softly. “We’ve been through worse… but that’s not important. I’ve confirmed the state of your divine and mortal separation. It’s actually better than I expected. Although your realm and divine halves show signs of uncontrolled corruption, at least the ‘separation’ happened before you crossed the critical threshold. The mortals this season have done quite well.”
“You’ve seen what you needed,” Gaia said, locking eyes with the Lady of Night. “So what exactly do you want? Can you tell us?”
“Oh, it’s not complicated,” the Lady of Night laughed, her voice light and pleased. “Mortals are trying to save their world, but the gods still hanging over them are the biggest source of instability. I have a plan to remove this threat—but if I help too much, the mortals’ ‘coming of age’ loses meaning. Their civilization would risk falling back into chains. So I can only ‘nudge’ things along. The rest… will require your cooperation.”
The Three Goddesses exchanged uneasy glances. For some reason, the turbulent winds in their realm felt even colder now. The powerful ancient god before them continued:
“Originally, I had no chance to intervene. But the mortals have found the right path. They’ve already pried open a crack in those chains. Your current state of divine and mortal separation is the result of their efforts. Since they’re on the right track, it makes sense for me to help widen that crack a little. What do you think?”
Flora felt a sudden unease but instinctively lifted her head and replied, “Your reasoning is profound and sounds reasonable. But how do you plan to widen this crack? And after it’s widened…”
“As long as you agree,” the Lady of Night said coolly. Then, under the increasingly nervous and even fearful gazes of the three goddesses, she slowly lifted the heavy-looking black-and-white staff, flexing it as if stretching stiff joints. “Don’t be afraid. This is just a ‘minor operation.’ I have plenty of theoretical experience…”
Eve finally took a half-step back, tense. “Wait, what exactly do you want to—”
“Relax. It’ll be over soon,” the Lady of Night smiled kindly. The top of her staff began to ripple with layers of shifting light and shadow. “Ladies, please cooperate. My time is precious. After I’m done with you, I have to visit your neighbors…”
…
At Cecil Palace, bright sunlight streamed through the wide floor-to-ceiling windows. At a spacious desk, Gawain was bent over his work.
A familiar ripple of energy suddenly appeared nearby, causing Gawain to pause his review of official documents. Then, with practiced ease, he reached out into the air beside him.
The next moment, an amber crystal materialized out of thin air, landing squarely in his palm. He caught it by the belt and lifted it up.
At the same time, the shadow assault goose—louder and more frantic than usual—started bombarding his ears: “This is bad! Really bad! Old Zongzi’s in trouble! My brain’s gone haywire!”
Gawain was just about to scold the goose for its reckless behavior so early in the morning, but the sudden outburst threw him off. He gave the creature a weird look, setting it down on the ground like it was some alien life form. “Did you pick up something on the road and eat it by mistake?”
The amber immediately shot daggers at him, hands on hips, and started yapping loudly: “You’re the one who ate something bad! I haven’t even had breakfast yet and I’m already here reporting to you, and you just…”
“Then why did you suddenly realize your brain was acting up?” Gawain cut her off before she could finish. “I’ve told you a million times not to ignore this, but you never listen…”
Amber felt something was off about his words, but her mind was a total mess, so she didn’t bother parsing the details. Instead, she scratched her messy hair hard and said, “I had another weird nightmare last night. And this one was even stranger than usual. I think it’s connected to Lady Night again…”
Gawain’s lazy expression vanished instantly. He knew Amber was usually unreliable, but she never joked about things like this. He looked at the shadow assault goose seriously. “Another one of those nightmares linked to Lady Night’s divine realm? What did you see this time?”
Amber waved her hands frantically. “No, this time I didn’t dream about her divine realm. But honestly, it was even more ridiculous than that…”
Gawain’s forehead creased in confusion. “…?”
Amber recalled the details of the nightmare, her face serious as she explained, “I dreamed I was standing somewhere unknown, using shadow rifts like slingshots to smash people’s glass…”
Gawain’s confusion instantly turned into a twitching vein. “…You got up early just to mess around with me?”
“I’m serious!” Amber snapped, getting flustered. “I really dreamed I was using shadow rifts as slingshots to break glass. It was a super vivid, crystal-clear dream—just like the ones where I enter the divine realm. I’m pretty sure Lady Night was guiding or messing with me in the dream…”
“That’s just ‘daytime thoughts, nighttime dreams’!” Gawain glared. “Stop blaming Lady Night for all the stuff you want to do but don’t dare to! She’s an ancient god, not your personal dream coach for smashing glass!”
In truth, Gawain didn’t doubt Amber had that bizarre dream—he trusted she wouldn’t lie about something like this. But he had zero faith in the “conclusions” she drew from it—just like he trusted her words but not her brain in moments like this…
Seeing Gawain’s reaction, Amber was surprisingly self-aware. “Okay, yeah, when you put it that way, maybe you’re right…”
Gawain raised an eyebrow, about to say more, when suddenly a voice rang out in his mind.
It was an urgent transmission from the Sky Command.
(End of chapter)