Starry Night Dancer
979 Words
The moment Nyx spoke those words, a virtual panel appeared before Lin Qiye's eyes.
"Nyx's treatment progress: 3%
Reward conditions met. Beginning random extraction of Nyx's divine ability…"
A glowing wheel of fortune appeared in the air, spinning rapidly.
Lin Qiye could see the wheel was divided into more than twenty equal sections, each one representing a different divine ability. The odds were the same for every segment.
"Descent of Night, Eye of Gloom, Thousand Falling Stars, Star Shatter, Night Flicker, Children of Darkness, Extraordinary Fertility…"
The abilities made Lin Qiye's eyes blur, but one name immediately made him freeze.
Extraordinary Fertility? What kind of godlike ability was that?
If he drew that one… could he really give birth to a bunch of divine children without ever needing a wife?
…Hmm. Didn't sound too bad either.
His eyes then caught a narrow black section at the corner of the wheel, much smaller than the others, making up only about 1% of the space.
The name of that ability was: "Unknown."
Unknown? What did that mean?
Not that it mattered. With his cursed luck, even if he spun a thousand times, he probably wouldn't land on that one.
Taking a deep breath, Lin Qiye focused. The wheel began to slow down. The pointer clicked across one ability after another before finally stopping.
"Starry Night Dancer…" Lin Qiye muttered the words, sighing helplessly.
Compared to something like Star Shatter or Thousand Falling Stars, this ability sounded way less impressive. Still… at least it wasn't Extraordinary Fertility.
As the wheel faded away, the words "Starry Night Dancer" hovered in the air, glowing deeper and deeper. Lin Qiye reached out and grasped them.
A surge of black light shot into his body.
Mystical energy swept through him, transforming him from the inside out. His soul and body felt cleansed, leaving behind nothing but comfort and strength.
After five seconds, the sensation faded, and lines of text appeared before his eyes:
"Starry Night Dancer:
- In darkness, your speed, strength, endurance, and recovery are five times greater than normal.
- In darkness, your presence is harder to detect.
- In darkness, your aura intimidates other creatures.
- You can communicate with nocturnal animals."
Lin Qiye sucked in a sharp breath.
This ability was far stronger than it first seemed! Just the fivefold boost to physical stats was insane.
Even with his utterly average body, he could probably break Guinness World Records in triathlons just by competing at night.
With training, who knew how far he could push his limits?
On top of that, stealth and animal communication went far beyond human capability.
Lin Qiye forced down his excitement, reminding himself—he had no interest in joining the Night Watchers or battling mythical beings. He was just a high schooler. But denying his fascination with supernatural power would've been a lie.
Besides, becoming stronger meant he could protect his family.
He calmed his breathing and looked at Nyx again.
She was gazing at him with gentle eyes, stroking his hair, murmuring, "Thanatos… where have you gone these three thousand years? Do you know how much I've missed you…"
Lin Qiye's expression grew complicated.
As he suspected, Nyx couldn't even distinguish between her own child and a vase—how could she possibly realize that he wasn't her son?
Her grief had driven her to madness. Everything around her became a projection of the child she lost. But jars and bottles couldn't respond to her love.
When Lin Qiye appeared—breathing, moving, calling her "mother"—she finally found a living anchor for her spirit.
That was the first step toward opening her heart. That was why the treatment progress had suddenly jumped to 3%.
"Thanatos, your brother misses you so much. Hug him." Smiling warmly, Nyx lifted a vase toward him.
Lin Qiye: …
Resigned, he accepted the vase and pretended to caress it.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the other "siblings" Nyx was holding. His whole body froze.
Several bottles with labels clinked in her arms, each with a different color. On one of the labels, Lin Qiye clearly read:
—Haloperidol (For Gods).
His eyes widened. Haloperidol? That name sounded way too familiar…
Wasn't that the very same medication the psychiatrist had listed for him earlier that day? And here, it was marked with the words "For Gods"?
Realization struck him like lightning.
Shoving the vase back to Nyx, he blurted, "I'll be right back!"
He rushed up the stairs to the second floor, heading straight to a room at the end of the hall.
The medicine storage room.
The door was ajar—Nyx must've entered before, which was how she'd collected so many "siblings."
Lin Qiye stepped inside, scanning quickly until he froze before a massive metal cabinet. His eyes lit up.
Before him stood a wall filled with medicines.
Most were psychiatric drugs—haloperidol, chlorpromazine, and countless sedatives. Every single bottle carried the note "For Gods."
A grin spread across Lin Qiye's face. Of course! This was a mental hospital for gods. Naturally, it had special medication designed to treat divine constitutions.
He couldn't bring real-world drugs into this place, but here, he could find their divine equivalents.
That made everything so much simpler.
He grabbed several bottles from the doctor's earlier prescription and hurried back to Nyx.
"This one—take two pills once a day. And this one—one pill, three times daily. Don't forget, alright?"
Nyx simply stared at him as though flowers had bloomed on his face, clearly not hearing a word.
"…Forget it. I'll make sure you take them on time myself." Lin Qiye sighed. Expecting someone with severe mental illness to manage her own meds was impossible.
At his words, Nyx's face lit up with a radiant smile.
And she laughed—happily, like a child.
- Writer
