What is this thing?
Teest was unable to comprehend the religious legends, let alone everything before him. A monster pieced together from the corpses of gods—was this just an illusion of the knowledge seal, or was it real?
All he knew was that the thing before him was far from normal. "Nol" watched him; every part of him was watching him—they were watching him.
Teest thought he would see some of the past. Like Kando, or worse than Kando, some crazy and unbearable past experiences. But before the seal, he hesitated even to touch it.
He felt a power, a volcanic, oppressive force, surging behind that pitch-black screen. The power was wildly fierce, far stronger than Star Stealer Sol or Perradat, and far stronger than Nol and himself.
It was indeed enough to open a channel to another world. In other words, it was also enough to destroy the continent of Tahe.
"Forbidden," "Nol" repeated softly.
He raised a blurry, distorted finger and lightly touched his lips. Subelbot's power chains rattled dangerously on his wrist.
"…But…cannot…hold on…" "Nol" murmured, his pair of black eyes piercing through Teest, looking towards an even more void direction.
Teest stared directly at the monster before him, struggling to maintain his mental stability.
He must not return empty-handed, like last time. Compared to the last exploration, this "knowledge seal" was much weaker. The reason he could still maintain consciousness was entirely because the knowledge seal consciously condensed its power. Next time… whether they would have another chance, Teest was uncertain.
"Why?" he asked as casually as possible. "Why can't you hold on? Why did you send me away last time?"
Hearing this question, the pieced-together "Nol" slightly lifted his head, showing a trace of sadness on his pale face. Like a dying old beast, or an abandoned newborn. Behind Nol, the dark screen seemed to have grown much larger.
He looked at Teest evaluatively for a long time, then looked at the chains on his limbs. When he spoke again, his tone had a bit more of a pleading stiffness.
"Become stronger…permission returns…power awakens…"
Nol said, "Danger…will be…hostile to…everyone…cannot be…known…"
"I want…to live…"
"I…cannot die…"
As he said this, the screen behind Nol dangerously flickered. Nol hurriedly sat back in front of the screen, frantically typing on the button-filled device.
It was uncertain if he was a step too late, but the screen exploded in a circle of air bursts, and countless wails emanated from the darkness.
A tsunami-like torrent of screams, a symphony of despair as if on the brink of death. Filled with pain, anger, fear, and, more so, madness, they could instantly pierce the soul of the listener, like an ice pick through the brain.
Nol's stitched body swelled and then deflated. Flesh from different sources seemed to want to scatter in all directions, yet were bound by some force, only able to twitch helplessly.
His form became increasingly blurry and distorted, but he persisted in typing. The sounds of the chains were completely covered by those screams.
"Sleep…sleep…sleep…"
Nol murmured to that bottomless darkness. "It will end, end end end…"
The screams on the screen diminished slightly, partly turning into layers of murmurs and groans. They seemed meaningless, more like senseless venting. Only one thing was clear. Whatever was screaming was definitely not human.
Teest's throat was full of the taste of blood, and for a few seconds, he couldn't think at all, not even sure if he was still alive.
For the first time, he understood the weight of the title "God of Creation", but it was more powerful, decayed, and ominous than he had imagined.
Think, Mad Monk, think.
Teest extended a trembling hand, decisively breaking his left little finger. The sharp pain finally brought back a trace of consciousness.
Stimulating, he thought. Such terrifying power, always sealed within Nol.
As an outsider, Teest could feel the destructiveness of this power. Once the knowledge seal failed, and Nol fully accepted this horrifying madness, Tahe might be destroyed in a day.
He was unsure what Nol really was, but through the situation of the seal, Teest could guess a bit of the story.
Nol's dangerous knowledge—clearly, knowledge that shouldn't belong to this world—was sealed. His Nol was lucid, with relatively intact memory, appearing almost like a normal person.
If they had continued adventuring around like in the beginning, without meddling in the mess of False Gods, perhaps this state could have been maintained.
Unfortunately, fate had other plans, and Nol, with his excessive sense of responsibility, was determined to save his neighbors and return home together with everyone.
Perradat took the opportunity to intervene, sending her own Candle Knight to assist them in battle, guiding them to oppose Star Stealer Sol. The system also took care of this creator everywhere, ingeniously granting them power, allowing them to survive under the eyes of Star Stealer Sol.
During this process, Nol defeated many opponents, absorbed the authority of the Demon King, and became stronger and stronger. Finally, they stood side by side, facing Star Stealer Sol on the same battlefield.
Up to this point, it still seemed like an adventure story filled with love and hope, Teest thought sarcastically.
Regrettably, a rock might press down a gecko, but it definitely couldn't suppress a lion. However, during this process of becoming stronger, Nol's knowledge seal became increasingly unstable and was now on the verge of collapse.
Teest looked at the "Nol" furiously typing in front of a black screen.
According to Nol, the knowledge seal was likely set by himself in the past. To Teest, it was hard to say whether this was "a mad god sealing themselves, trying to rush towards the light" or "the mastermind disguised as justice, deceiving others for assistance along the way".
"…Haha."
Teest couldn't help but laugh out loud.
It seems Star Stealer Sol was more thoughtful than they had imagined, he thought.
That guy really offered a very tempting condition. Letting the current Nol sacrifice these dangerous powers to send all beings from other worlds back home. If Star Stealer Sol completely took over this world, looking at the past hundred years, at least it wouldn't destroy Tahe.
It had silenced Drake's friends and family, so what? The outsiders from other worlds would return to their own. Even if they knew something, it wouldn't affect Tahe anymore.
As long as negotiations continued, Star Stealer Sol wouldn't be stupid enough to insist on doing these petty actions. Compared to a Nol, who was unknown to be good or evil embracing the power to destroy the world, Star Stealer Sol was undoubtedly a safer choice.
Yes, the last time the seal unhesitatingly expelled him, it was just to protect Nol—
If it were Painter who knew the situation, perhaps that guy who cared about Tahe would switch to supporting Star Stealer Sol, and it wouldn't be a big deal to support Perradat afterwards.
…Fortunately, it was himself who came.
"I know what you're worried about. I won't expose you. And you know, if you want to interfere with the outside world, you don't have any other choice but me right now," Teest said to that silhouette. "I guess neither of us believes in oaths, but I still have to say it."
Clack, clack, clack. The chaotic silhouette kept typing, not looking back.
"No matter what your original intentions were, I will stand by your side."
Teest stepped forward. "Sounds stupid, right? No matter how you look at it, your power doesn't seem like a good thing… Coincidentally, I'm not much of a good thing either. I think you know."
He opened his arms and embraced that strange and twisted figure from behind.
The touch was odd, like embracing hot coals naked, with intense pain sweeping through the contact point immediately. Teest could feel his nerves screaming, but he maintained the embrace.
"If you want to live, then live," Teest said.
Nol's typing hands paused.
A few seconds later, he leaned tiredly against the chair back, then naturally lifted his head, looking up at Teest's face. Teest looked down at him, his silver-white long hair smoothly falling down, his face wearing the usual smile.
Nol's unstable eyes turned slightly red.
He freed one hand and cautiously touched Teest's long hair with his fingertips.
"Silver-white, good child…" he murmured. "Live well…"
"Tell me, honey."
Teest looked at the dilapidated body, his tone growing gentler. "I need to know the situation to better help you."
"Take me to see… Perradat's core… She can, guess…" Nol said. "Don't let me… give up…"
He stretched out a hand, looking to touch Teest's cheek, but then timidly retracted it.
Instead, the hand moved towards his own chest, near the shattered "white scale". Nol harshly dug out a bit of debris, which turned into a uniform silver light, winding around his fingertips.
He brought it close to Teest's hair, and the silver light seemed to come to life, winding up on its own.
"Thank you…" he said.
The moment the silver light attached, Teest's head suddenly felt much clearer. The previously wailed-stirred brain pulp returned to normal, and thinking became smoother.
In his vision, the terrifying monster also became clearer. Teest's gaze moved from the twitching god remains to Nol's deformed hands and face, finally stopping on his overly pale forehead.
Enduring the corrosive pain, he gently kissed Nol's forehead.
"I may not be your best choice," Teest said. "But I will become your favorite choice."
After this kiss, "Nol" didn't move for a long time. Finally, he opened his lips, letting out a long sigh.
It was as if he had made some decision. He grabbed Teest's sleeve, leading his hand towards that screen.
"Just once," he said. "I give you permission to touch it…"
Teest didn't resist.
The next second, he found himself waking up in the real world, the taste of blood all around his mouth and nose. Nol lay silently on the stone floor, Painter was expressionless, and the dragon Subelbot looked at him with a hint of wariness.
At this moment, Teest had no intention to analyze the situation.
That touch of information almost crushed his brain alive. It was a fragment, a part of Nol's past. It lasted only a second, without any useful content.
But it was enough to explain a lot.
That second, it was like millions of people whispering in his mind.
Teest's thoughts fractured into pieces, pondering countless unrelated things at once. Chaotic memories floated in his mind, in which the world was bizarre and unique. His "self" was like a drop of rain falling into a lake, nearly dissipating.
What he saw was chaos, churning his thoughts into a mess. Luckily, it was short, preventing him from absorbing too much. If it had lasted longer, Teest wasn't sure if he would have gone mad.
Even now, his insides felt sour, almost making him want to kneel and vomit. He believed in Nol's resilience, but Teest was certain, if Nol directly accepted this "knowledge", he would have gone mad on the spot.
"I can sense the presence of my God," Subelbot said thunderously. "Why do you carry the scent of my God?"
It might be because I impulsively kissed the physical form of your God. And our God is about to explode, unable to control the power well.
Teest glanced at Painter not far away, trying to gather his thoughts.
"I wanted to touch the seal of God, to decipher the knowledge left to us," he said, standing unsteadily. "Unfortunately, I failed. Now is not the time—I paid the price for my rashness."
Painter's eyebrows twitched, his gaze becoming meaningful.
"Thank you for your assistance. Now, we are even," Teest said, wiping the blood from his face and continuing with a smile.
...
Nol had a very strange dream.
One weekend, he was working from home as usual. His boyfriend rang the doorbell, urging him to open the door. Looking through the peephole, Nol saw a swath of silver-white.
Nol relaxed, took off his robe for receiving guests, and sat back in his work chair. The house was quiet. His boyfriend was standing in the center of the living room, watching him intently.
"I have work to do," Nol said, furiously patching the system. "By the way, isn't this the first time you've come without an invitation? I really don't have time for you this weekend…"
"I've been up for three nights in a row. I can barely hold on, and after finishing, I still need to sleep. Why don't you go back first? I'll definitely make time next weekend."
Strange, he has a boyfriend?
He likes men? When did he meet his boyfriend? Did he come out to his parents?
"Why are you sending me away?" His boyfriend tilted his head, his silver-white hair sliding down his shoulders.
"I must continue to work." Nol stared at the dark screen. He didn't have enough fingers, so he added a few more. "I must reduce errors. I can't be disturbed. I don't want to die…"
Hm? His workload is indeed explosive, but when did the company rules become so strict?
"I'm here with you," his boyfriend said. "If there's anything I can help with…"
No, he had to complete it alone, not letting others discover the severity of the problem. If a loophole were exposed or the program crashed, everything would end.
This was a secret battle. He knew how dangerous the situation was. Once exposed, others would also know how dangerous "he" is.
Must modify, suppress, dominate, repeatedly correcting the errors that arise and keeping everything running normally. His brain screamed inside his skull as the keyboard keys turned into sharp teeth.
Can't trust anyone, Nol thought. Anyone could be an illusion created by the flaw.
But that was the person he loved, he thought vaguely, remembering that person, his favorite Silver-white.
Suddenly, Nol was embraced.
His lover hugged him from behind, saying something. Nol couldn't hear clearly, but he liked the soft tone.
"Alright," Nol said dizzily. "Help me contact Miss Outsourcing. Her phone number is in the soil of the flowerpot. Oh, I'll give you the key to the flowerpot. Otherwise, it might bite you."
A very dangerous decision, extremely dangerous. A row of "veto" popped up in the work group.
"Thanks." Nol ignored his active colleagues.
He liked this person. He remembered this.
A kiss fell on his forehead. It was warm. The only tangible feeling in this space. He liked it very much.
"Also." Suddenly, Nol remembered something.
He pointed to the screen, showing a smile. "Want to watch a movie together?"
"It's short. Just one second long. It's called 'The End of the World'. I've been watching it for years. It's pretty good."
Kinky Thoughts:
The twist?!?!?