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Zhao Kongcheng froze.
He never expected that this ordinary high school student standing before him would say such words, or reveal such mature thoughts.
Only then did he realize how laughable his earlier attempt had been—trying to provoke the usual teenage arrogance and hot-bloodedness.
Lin Qiye was not an ordinary high schooler.
Lin Qiye stood, walked straight to the door, then hesitated for a moment.
"Thanks for telling me all of this. I'll sign the confidentiality agreement."
With that, he left.
This time, Zhao Kongcheng only sat silently at the edge of the bed. His body leaned forward as if to stop him, but after a brief pause, he sank back down, powerless.
He knew what this boy represented. He knew he had the mission to bring him back. But… he couldn't do it.
…
"Xiao Qi, you're finally back? Why aren't you in your school uniform today?"
"Aunt, I was in a rush this morning and forgot."
"You child… won't your teacher scold you for that?"
"They just nagged a bit, nothing serious."
"Still, you just transferred. Don't give the teachers a bad impression. Be careful with these things."
"I know, Aunt."
"And at school, how are you getting along with your classmates? They're not excluding you, are they?"
"No, we get along fine. They even walked me home, and I walked with them partway too."
"That's good, that's good. Alright, go rest."
"Mm, goodnight, Aunt."
*Thud!*
Lin Qiye closed his door, lay flat on his bed, and stared at the night sky through the window. A long sigh escaped him.
This world was far more complicated than he imagined… though it wasn't really his concern.
After resting a while, Lin Qiye sat up and began to change his clothes. A hard object slipped out of his pocket and hit the floor.
*Clink—!*
He picked it up with a frown.
It was a small metal emblem, slightly larger than a coin, cool to the touch.
On its face, two straight blades crossed over each other, glowing faintly blue. Behind them was a starry night sky, crafted with exquisite detail.
At the bottom, three small characters were carved: *Zhao Kongcheng*.
"…This is…" Lin Qiye narrowed his eyes.
He recalled that when Zhao Kongcheng had dragged him into the hotel earlier, the man seemed to have brushed against his pocket. Did he drop it then?
Lin Qiye turned it over. On the back were engraved words:
*When the dark night falls,
I shall stand before thousands,
Blade against the abyss,
Blood staining the heavens.*
"What spirit… Did Zhao Kongcheng write this himself? Or is this the creed of the Watchers?" Lin Qiye muttered. "He seems so absent-minded… doesn't feel like someone who could come up with this."
After toying with it for a while, he placed it on his desk, finished changing, and lay back in bed. Tonight, he still had important things to do.
He closed his eyes and let his consciousness sink into the Asylum of the Gods.
In the small courtyard, Nyx sat in a rocking chair, cradling jars and bottles, whispering softly to herself. From time to time, a faint smile curved her lips.
If one ignored the cloudy haze in her eyes and the strange objects in her arms, the scene—her graceful posture under the night—would have been a perfect painting.
Not long after, Lin Qiye arrived in a white doctor's coat.
To better play his role as a psychiatrist, he had borrowed one from the director's office, even clipping a pair of clear glasses on his collar.
At a glance, he really did look the part.
He approached Nyx and studied her vacant eyes with a sigh.
From the myths he'd read, Nyx was indeed one of the oldest and most powerful of the Greek deities. Her rank and might were unrivaled. But compared to other gods, she had one defining trait…
She loved having children.
By Lin Qiye's count, Nyx had birthed at least twenty, including the famed Thanatos (Death), Hypnos (Sleep), as well as gods of space, fate, misfortune, and many others.
Aside from a few, most of her children were evil deities, wreaking havoc upon the world after their birth—and many had met tragic ends.
From fragments of myth, Lin Qiye couldn't piece together the full truth of this goddess of night. But he suspected her current illness might be connected to her children.
A doctor at Sunshine Psychiatric Hospital once said a male patient missed his wife so much that he hallucinated her beside him. Could Nyx's case be similar?
Did she miss her children so deeply that she treated those jars and bottles as if they were her babies?
But what had truly happened to her children? What could have triggered such despair?
And as a divine being, was it even possible for her to have such overwhelming emotions? Or… had her godhood been stripped away before she fell into this state?
Lin Qiye couldn't know.
"Hypnos, don't worry. Your brother will be back soon. He's just playing for a little while…
Thanatos has always been troublesome. When he returns, I'll have to scold him properly!"
Nyx stroked the vase in her arms, staring vacantly into the distance. A flicker of hope crossed her gaze, then faded into clouded emptiness.
Her voice trembled as she whispered:
"But… it's been three thousand years. Why hasn't he come back…"
Watching her, Lin Qiye felt a sudden ache in his chest.
Who could have imagined that the once lofty goddess of night had become so helpless, so fragile?
She was Nyx, goddess of night—but also just a mother waiting for her children to return.
"To cure her, I have to start from the root…" The doctor's words echoed in Lin Qiye's mind. He lowered his head, deep in thought.
The root of her illness… was the loss of her children.
The only way to heal her was through them. But how could he possibly gather such beings, legendary Greek gods, and bring them to her?
He didn't even know if they had been drawn into this world by the Mist. And even if they were, would the gods—especially the evil ones—really come willingly?
Lin Qiye frowned, until suddenly an idea flashed in his mind.
Maybe… this could work.
He stood and stared at Nyx for a long moment before stepping forward, finally making up his mind.
Under her vacant gaze, Lin Qiye knelt in front of her, gently embraced her, and whispered in her ear:
"Mother, I've come home."
In that instant, Nyx's eyes lit up with a brilliance they hadn't shown in ages.
Her trembling hands clutched him tightly, and after a long pause, she managed to speak, voice shaking with emotion:
"Welcome back, Thanatos… my child."
- Writer
