Volume 8, Chapter 9 – Eye, Mother, Father God

“So, for over seven hundred years, you kept sending your own children to the Chaos in exchange for eternal youth?”

Arms crossed over her chest, her long fiery-red hair spilling over her white swordsman’s uniform, Nola lifted her chin. Her deeply furrowed brow was enough to show just how foul her mood was.

Kneeling on the empty ground before her, bound hand and foot, was Debir. Besides her, there were several other pure-bloods—their wings growing from their waists or backs—and upper-level vampires. They were either members of the Syris family or trusted confidants of family members. Every single one of them had blood on their hands.

According to the laws of Cold Night, those who offended the royal family should be sent to the royal capital for public execution. But the only ones who had come to the Land of Eternal Night this time were Nola and Ying. Escorting over a dozen people—and there would be other pure-bloods from the Land of Eternal Night afterwards—was far too taxing. So Nola had opted for the simplest, most direct method: question them one by one, then decide on the method of execution based on their crimes.

Pure-bloods could regenerate from even a single finger. Ordinary methods couldn’t kill them completely. For a pure-blood, the easiest death was to be purified by holy magic until not even ashes remained. The most painful death was to be slowly burned to cinders.

Of course, “most painful” was debatable. There were countless ways to inflict suffering, and vampires came with infinite self-healing constitutions.

“Nola, three got away.”

Ying, dressed in thin green gauze, glided over to Nola’s side. She first offered a smile to the slightly disheveled Estelle standing beside Nola, then swept a cold glance over the dozen or so vampires kneeling in a row before them.

“The other families have probably gotten wind of this by now. If you want to catch them all in one net, you’d better hurry to the next one.”

“They can’t escape this land.” Still maintaining her crossed-arms pose, Nola flicked her fiery-red cat tail behind her and said calmly, “A few vampires who haven’t even reached Fourth Rank—it’s only a matter of time before they’re caught.”

Pure-bloods could walk freely in sunlight, but these pure-bloods had basically never left the Land of Eternal Night. They didn’t know how to survive without their family’s protection. Once they left the Land of Eternal Night, their arrogant natures would surely expose them.

“Besides, it’s a fact that this land isn’t suitable for beastmen to live in. Leaving a few blood kin with relatively clean hands to continue managing this place is better than killing them all and throwing everything into chaos.”

“I, I’ve never killed anyone! I’m innocent! The Syris family forced me to kill!”

No sooner had Nola finished speaking than a young blood kin dressed like a butler hurriedly looked up. He was met with a solid kick from Nola.

“I didn’t give you permission to speak.”

She’d forgotten to mention earlier: when it came to the Syris family, not a single one would be spared. The elf princess was just one of Fia’s many identities. In Cold Night, the more significant title was Regent. Offending the Regent was the same crime as offending the king. The entire family, including their servants, couldn’t escape punishment. Not to mention this butler was lying.

Realizing this, Nola turned to Estelle, who was still breathing heavily. She had exhausted too much stamina and had been holding on purely by willpower to avoid collapsing. If not for the magic potion Nola had given her, she’d probably be lying motionless by now.

“Are you… alright?”

Her voice was full of caution, afraid of offending Estelle.

“I’m fine.” Estelle slowly withdrew her gaze from Debir. “I should have listened to you and Fia and not come looking for this main family.”

“It’s good that you’re fine…”

Nola breathed a sigh of relief. She could tell Estelle bore her no resentment. That meant the probationary period could end—not perfectly, but acceptably.

Even so, whether she’d truly earn Fia’s approval was still unknown.

Just thinking about it made Nola anxious, her cat tail swaying restlessly behind her.

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Seeing Nola’s unease, Ying covered her mouth with a giggle.

“Is the probationary period almost up? Feeling nervous?”

“Don’t say it out loud!”

“Probationary period? What probation period?”

Nola and Ying’s cryptic exchange made Estelle tilt her head.

Ying blinked, then a mischievous grin spread across her lovely face. Her tone was teasing.

“You don’t know, little vampire princess? The probationary period is Princess Fia’s one-month trial for our Nola here. Last month, our fire cat here had her soul stolen by the princess. She even forgot all about Miss Claire, who used to haunt her dreams. Finally, she went and confessed to the princess herself. Even though the princess already has Miss Claire in her heart, she couldn’t withstand this cat’s persistent pestering. So she gave Nola a one-month opportunity to prove herself. Today’s the last day of the trial.”

“Huh?”

Estelle’s eyes went wide. Her mouth fell open slightly, her pretty face full of shock.

When did this happen? How come I never heard about it? And all it takes is a confession to get a chance? Is it that simple?!

Estelle’s inner thoughts, of course, could only be heard by Estelle herself. Beside her, Nola was so embarrassed her tail shot straight up, and her fiery-red cat ears sprouted flames that lit up the night.

“Ying! Why did you tell her everything?! And what do you mean, ‘persistent pestering’? That was… that was Fia not wanting to make me sad! Besides, as the future Elf Queen, what’s wrong with having a few extra wives? There’s Anna before me, and Fia’s definitely not only considering me. The current Elf King has sixteen wives, so Fia will… I definitely have a chance.”

By the end, Nola had clasped her hands in front of her, puffing out her lips in a mumbled mutter. There was no jealousy in her words, only a maiden’s shyness—she was lost in a fantasy of moonlit romantic moments with Fia after becoming her consort.

Ying’s mouth twitched. She was momentarily speechless.

“You’ve completely fallen for the princess, haven’t you… Even when I was making my moves on you before, you not only ignored me but kept bringing up Miss Claire.”

“Because Ying was just teasing me. It wasn’t serious.”

“Fine, fine.”

Ying sighed helplessly, then spread her hands toward Estelle.

“So that’s how it is. She’s a bit dense, but as you can see, she has her cute side. In my opinion, the princess definitely won’t reject Nola. If she really wanted to refuse, she wouldn’t drag it out until the time was up. Maybe the one-month agreement was just to get this girl to calm down. If she dropped the idea, let it pass. If she didn’t, accept her and give it a try. Of course, that’s just my view. What actually happens is up to the princess herself.”

“I’ve never heard about this…”

Estelle’s expression stiffened. A sound like a groan escaped her throat.

Ying curled her lips, straightened her back, and brought her mouth close to Estelle’s ear, teasingly blowing on it.

“There’s still time to seize the opportunity, you know~”

“Huh? Fia and I are just close friends.”

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“That’s right, Ying. Don’t stir things up.”

With her excellent cat hearing, Nola naturally caught what Ying and Estelle were saying. She puffed out her moderately developed chest, wedging herself between them. Then, as if united in common cause, she threw an arm around Estelle’s shoulder and nodded with profound agreement.

“Estelle is Fia’s close friend.”

“Th… that’s right.”

Her expression incredibly complicated, Estelle nodded stiffly. Then, as if remembering something, she turned to look at the empty lot behind her piled high with furniture. In front of all that furniture was a hidden passage leading underground.

“Why isn’t Fia out yet?”

“Don’t worry. That one’s stronger than me. She definitely won’t have any trouble. We’ll just wait quietly for her here.”

This is a wife’s duty.

Nola’s mouth curved into a cat-like ‘ω’ shape. Hands on her hips, she indulged in satisfied thought.

◇

Still in that same pitch-black hall with torches burning on either side, Fia stared at the Antler Chaos kneeling on one knee before her, momentarily at a loss.

Although it was Chaos, it bore her no hostility—in fact, it showed submission. Fia didn’t subscribe to the notion of “the only good foreigner is a dead foreigner.” She had always believed that if two parties had no fundamental conflict and held no ill will toward each other, they could become allies. Even if the other party was Chaos, as long as it didn’t threaten her life or the lives of others, there was no need to treat it as an enemy.

It was worth noting that not treating it as an enemy didn’t mean regarding it as a friend. The world wasn’t simply black and white. If Fia had to use an analogy, she’d mark the Sovereign’s threat level as 5, and this Antler Chaos before her as 3.

However, not everyone in the world shared her perspective. Take the Darkborn, for example. There were good and bad Darkborn. She could cooperate with the Knowledge-Seeking Demon General, but other people, upon seeing him, would only charge forward screaming for the demon to die. Now, going a step further, Chaos was even more feared and powerful than Darkborn. If she mishandled this and outsiders thought she was in league with Chaos, it would undoubtedly shake people’s trust and create much trouble. That was also why she had sent Nola and the others above ground first.

For now, communicate with it. See what it wants.

Fia lowered her right hand from her chin and probed in ancient elvish.

“You said you’ve long awaited my true form. You called me Thanatos. Have we met before?”

“Yes. Your mana matches that of our father god, Lord Thanatos, who saved us tens of thousands of years ago. Although I am not one of the original Eyes who served you, I took up the task of serving you from the Mother who spawned us. The ring on your finger is the proof of the father god.”

The Antler Chaos’s voice echoed in Fia’s mind once more. By now, she had also realized that it wasn’t so much a “voice” she was hearing as it was receiving the Antler Chaos’s thoughts directly. Even if she didn’t understand ancient elvish, she could still comprehend its meaning. This method of conveying information was far more efficient and accurate than language.

It already bore some resemblance to the [Telepathy] that flourished in certain eras.

The sheer volume of information in the Antler Chaos’s words left her unsure where to begin. She decided to start with how the Antler Chaos could transmit its thoughts to her. Her mana was so vast it seemed endless, and mana nourished the mind and soul, making her immune to any mental magic. For the Antler Chaos to unilaterally send her a message, it would need to use mental magic far surpassing her in rank, which was clearly beyond its capabilities—it was around Eighth Rank, nearing Ninth.

After Fia voiced her doubts, the Antler Chaos’s respectful voice sounded in her mind again.

“We were born from the Mother. Even if the Mother collapses, the connection to her remains. You are the father god who saved our Mother. In the past, the Mother offered her soul to you, and thus our souls are likewise kept by you.”

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As the Antler Chaos’s voice faded, Fia couldn’t help but glance at the ring on her right pinky—the ruby ring containing Anastasia’s soul.

“Looking” was a thought the Antler Chaos transmitted to her. It was a sensation difficult to describe in words. Fia felt as if the Antler Chaos was gazing at the ring, so she followed its gaze. But in reality, the Antler Chaos hadn’t actually lifted its head to look at the ring; it had merely included the act of “looking” in the thoughts it transmitted to Fia.

Then Fia noticed an anomaly with the ruby ring. She sensed a faint, tenuous connection within it. To put it into words, it was as if an invisible thread connected her to the ring, and the ring then acted as a relay, linking that thread to the Antler Chaos before her. This was how the Antler Chaos could communicate with her.

Furthermore, Fia sensed that if she severed the connection between the Antler Chaos and the ring, the Antler Chaos before her would die. And if she severed her own connection to the ring, she could, without causing the Antler Chaos to disappear, cut off its right to communicate with her.

The “proof of the father god” the Antler Chaos had mentioned referred to this ring.

But would this kind of communication affect Anastasia’s soul?

Fia frowned. Carefully, she used [Sacred Relic Analysis] to scan the ring. The result was that Anastasia’s soul remained unchanged. It could be understood as there being multiple rooms within the ring. Anastasia’s soul slumbered in one of them, while the communication took place elsewhere—the two didn’t interfere with each other. Fia breathed a sigh of relief.

If this was indeed the proof of the father god, then sorting things out a bit, she could deduce that the shadowy figure who had given her this ring back then was the Antler Chaos’s father god—if not the father god itself, then certainly connected to it in some way. The remaining question, then, was why that entity had given her the ring.

Connecting this to the fact that the name “Thanatos” had once been the First Princess’s code name in Twilight Flower, and that the shadowy figure had appeared in a form similar to her own… could it be that the shadowy figure who had appeared before her back then was the First Princess, and that the First Princess was the father god who had saved the Antler Chaos’s Mother?

Impossible.

The absurdity of the deduction made Fia want to laugh. The Antler Chaos claimed its father god had saved it tens of thousands of years ago. Yet the body she had inherited from the First Princess was only ninety-five years old. The timelines clearly didn’t match.

But the pronunciation of “Thanatos” was undeniably standard Human Alliance language. If this was a coincidence, it was far too coincidental.

Better to keep asking.

“What is this ‘Eye’ you speak of? And the Mother and father god? Why are you here?”

These questions were quite blunt. If Thanatos was an omnipotent figure in the Antler Chaos’s mind, this would undoubtedly reveal that she was not Thanatos. But Fia had no confidence in pretending to be Thanatos himself without knowing anything. Besides, she had already exposed herself when she asked how it could communicate with her.

Sure enough, just as Fia had guessed, the Antler Chaos wasn’t angered by her ignorance. It remained kneeling on one knee, explaining respectfully.

“Eye is the name you bestowed upon our kind. We were born from the souls of gods and the blood of the Darkborn. In the beginning, we were weak and insignificant beings. We called that entity the Mother. You saved our Mother back then, and so the Mother revered you as a god. Though the Mother collapsed time and again to grow, splitting into many of us, the Mother’s respect and gratitude for you still resides within our hearts. This mana, even now, we cannot forget.”

“The father god, like our Mother, collapsed time and again. Yet the proof of the father god remains with you always. Now that you hold the proof of the father god, and your mana is akin to our father god’s, you are our father god.”

“Hmm…”

Fia fell into thought.

At first listen, the Antler Chaos’s words were hazy and confusing. But by substituting a few clear points, they became understandable.

First, “Eye” was the name of their race. Someone holding the ring had helped them when their race was still weak. Thus, they called the ring-bearer “father god.” Though, through generations, those who had been helped by the father god were long dead, the worship and gratitude toward him remained preserved in their souls, passed down through the generations until it reached this one.

Furthermore, the one they called father god also had a limited lifespan. The original father god had used the ring as a symbol of identity, so they recognized only the ring. Whoever wore the ring was their father god.

However, Fia still had points she couldn’t understand. For example, the Antler Chaos’s mention of the father god collapsing time and again clearly referred to the father god dying and reviving repeatedly. If she interpreted the father god as the First Princess, that would mean the First Princess had existed on the World Tree Continent tens of thousands of years ago.

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Vaguely, Fia felt she had stumbled upon a clue. She frowned.

“Is the Mother’s collapsing and the father god’s collapsing the same thing?”

“No. Our Mother’s collapsing is to give birth to more of us. The father god’s collapsing does not give birth to more father gods. There is only one father god.”

“Then do you inherit the Mother’s memories? For example, what did the father god of the past look like?”

“No. What we inherit is only power and the emotion of being saved by you.”

Just like my situation.

It seemed she was on the right track.

Fia continued to think. The First Princess had summoned her to the World Tree Continent through death. She had not inherited the First Princess’s memories. Apart from the fact that the Antler Chaos’s Mother’s death gave birth to more Antler Chaos, her own birth was almost identical: the previous her died, giving birth to a more powerful current her who had lost her memories.

But then how to explain the father god (the Eldest Princess) having existed tens of thousands of years ago?

Tch.

I’ve gotten more concrete information, yet I still feel like I haven’t taken a step forward.

Her train of thought hit a dead end. Fia abandoned this direction.

But since the Antler Chaos identifies people by the ring and doesn’t remember the father god’s appearance, it was no wonder she had been attacked by similar Antler Chaos in the Abyss before. They hadn’t recognized her. Wait, come to think of it, were the Antler Chaos from back then and the one before her now from the same race?

Fia observed carefully. The Antler Chaos before her had gold for the whites of its eyes and blue for its pupils. The Chaos that had attacked Anastasia in the Abyss had eyes that were only gold, with no blue. They looked different.

Probably not the same group.

Too much that’s hard to understand. Can’t figure it out all at once.

Fia took a deep breath of the underground’s dank, gloomy air to cool her nerves.

“Can you leave here?”

“If it is your command, I will obey. But you once commanded us not to appear above ground.”

“As long as you won’t die, it’s fine. I’ll send you to another place later. Once there, don’t make a sound. Don’t let anyone see you.”

“Yes.”

With a flicker of the torches, the pitch-black hall fell completely silent.