The command was fully conveyed, and the deformed avatar of the god disappeared into specks of light.
The next instant, a scorching meteor fell from the sky. The abandoned true body of Xu Yue was blasted into ashes, leaving nothing behind. After the true body dissipated, the powerful meteor continued to bombard the ground, turning the barren wilderness into a vast basin.
Afterward, Xu Yue's will truly seemed to fall into a deep slumber, and his vision was submerged into darkness.
Teest and Perradat floated in this void of darkness.
"He was just a human captured by Star Stealer Sol."
Perradat sounded somewhat dazed. "…Just an ordinary human?!"
Teest didn't respond to her, as scenes from the past flashed before his eyes. Fragments of countless memories surfaced. Those inexplicable details now all had their answers—
He remembered the night he first met Lynn, when Nol was sleepwalking and daydreaming.
It might have been the familiar cries and pleas he saw that momentarily loosened the memory seal.
He remembered Nol's origin, the fragile will-o'-wisp, unlike any of their neighbors.
That was the remnant of Nol's life after shedding everything—pure, fragile, belonging only to Nol's human spirit.
Finally, he remembered the Flamma family's secret prayer room and the painting on the altar.
It was one of the oldest paintings brought from the Blanco family by his mother.
It was supposed to be a portrait of the Blanco family's benefactor, deeply emotional as seen by the painter, yet no one knew what the painting depicted—everyone said it was just messy paint and frenzied brushstrokes.
But Teest knew it wasn't the case. Through the devout depiction, he could see a vague monster. The monster looked terrifying yet immensely gentle.
"It seems to be smiling." He used to tiptoe, touching the cracked paint on the canvas. "Mom, it's smiling."
Teest liked that peculiar smile, more sincere and pure than most humans' smiles, and more beautiful than those boring fake smiles on other idols.
He had only seen a similar smile on the faces of his family. Perhaps that was the "smile full of love", he thought.
Unfortunately, everyone treated it as a child's wild imagination. Until the end, no one believed him.
Now, Teest smiled in the darkness.
"That woman didn't paint it wrong, nor did I see it wrong. It clearly is smiling." Teest softly mused.
"What are you talking about? Is the point whether it's painted or not?"
Perradat was still in shock—the memory clearly pointed out the habits, powers, and the truth of Tahe World and Star Stealer Sol. All were information she had never heard of before.
What was terrifying was that all this was a message a human insisted on planning and conveying. Even more frightening, this human actually managed to escape and return to fight for the system.
Not to mention just a human, even she miserably lost to Enbillick, left with nothing but just her head.
It seemed cooperation was wise. Perradat was terrified. Nol was crazier than she thought.
"My god, a human, even using the fragment of the Pillar of the World. I found it strange that the White Demons, as native beings, could actually get involved with the system…" Perradat muttered, glancing at Teest. "Alright, now that we understand the situation, let's leave this place."
Facing those two—one crazier than the other—her tone became much softer.
Teest didn't move. He reached out to the void as if to caress the nothingness.
"Nol's plan is still ongoing." Teest said slowly, "He knew he would find a way to survive. He knew he would help his neighbors because of his soft heart. He knew he would eventually encounter Star Stealer Sol, and no matter how recklessly Star Stealer Sol acted, he wouldn't destroy this world."
"Even if his subsequent plans fail, the outcome would be either 'Nol sacrifices himself to send his compatriots home' or 'everyone lives on in Tahe'…"
Perradat: "Is that so. Why suddenly bring this up?"
"Didn't you notice the problem?" Teest turned around, his golden eyes emitting a faint glow.
Perradat's voice grew softer. "No, the plan sounds good."
"But I'm not in this plan." Teest's tone gradually became more excited, filled with a strange thrill. "I thought, what if Nol had other arrangements for me from the start? …Our meeting was too wonderful. I couldn't help but doubt."
"I don't want to disrupt his plan, so I've been obedient lately, restricting myself. But if I'm not in his plan. I'm just a minor accident."
"So…?"
What's there to be happy about, Perradat thought, but didn't dare to speak.
"It means…" Teest withdrew his hand that was caressing the darkness, his tone rising continuously. "At this moment, I can do whatever I want."
As he spoke, a powerful magical fluctuation began to swirl around Teest.
Perradat suddenly had a very bad premonition. What was this guy going to do in the God of Creation's mental world? Should she run away or would that be inappropriate? She seriously started to fret.
"Now that we know the whole story, these things are useless." Teest smiled towards the endless darkness. "My Nol has returned to his divine throne, the power he has accumulated belongs only to him. To deal with Star Stealer Sol, he no longer needs these forcibly assembled mad creations."
"Nol truly gave me the truth of the world. I must give him a particularly beautiful gift."
Saying this, he paused, his smile becoming even more radiant. "Hmm, a perfect gift beyond his expectations."
Perradat's head reeled. "Wait, you're not going to—"
"I'm going to remove the memory seal entirely. Ha, Nol definitely didn't plan for this."
Teest's smile grew larger. "Thinking about it now, 'removing the seal' doesn't mean 'unraveling the seal', the system has already packaged it for me—since they're clamoring for rest, let them rest forever."
[King of Eternal Sleep].
Before Perradat could react, Teest's golden flames erupted, sweeping towards the pressing darkness. Teest himself, as if burning, unreservedly unleashed his power.
They were currently inside the "memory seal" box and Teest directly set the contents on fire.
Perradat was dumbfounded. Yes, the system indeed couldn't handle these corrupted, chaotic wills, and neither could Perradat herself. However, as one of the False Gods, Teest possessed the power of destruction.
But destruction wasn't so easy.
The surrounding chaotic spirits seemed endless. Those dangerous pieces of knowledge were heavy and sticky, like being buried in a rotting swamp. Even if corrupted and broken, they still stemmed from the wills of countless ancient dead gods. This wasn't something Teest, a young god, could handle.
Wherever the golden fire went, death spread, and the darkness slowly dissipated. Countless fragments of power collided, sparking invisible fireworks. Then those flames were swallowed by the darkness again, making all efforts seem futile—like trying to dig a tunnel through a mountain with bare hands, hoping to find an exit.
Teest's magical power surged like arterial blood, yet he didn't frown. He could feel the pain of overusing his power. Even if this was just a mental space, Teest still tasted ominous blood in his mouth.
It didn't matter.
A gift needed thought and effort to be meaningful, right? It was a gift made by his own hands. It would be strange without the scent of blood.
Many years ago, he had also escaped from darkness, igniting blazing golden fire. Under the gaze of the God of Creation, the immense Immortal Church collapsed behind him as he walked towards absolute freedom, beginning his quest for the unknown truth—that was the starting point.
At that time, he himself became a puzzle, firmly engraving himself in Nol's mind. Now, as all puzzles were about to be solved, he needed to leave a deeper, more perfect imprint.
The end couldn't be duller than the beginning.
The golden fire broke through the darkness time and again. As those shattered wills vanished, something seemed to break and grow within him. Such a cruel mechanism. He still carried Nol's system on his body, the destruction of opponents would bring him power.
The power to liberate Nol, the "Creator".
In the boundless darkness, that ball of golden flame waxed and waned but never extinguished. It relentlessly devoured the darkness, and the entire space began to show a dawn-like dim light.
"Perradat." After who knew how long, Teest spoke up.
"Ah?" The head hiding at his feet looked up.
"I'm still young, not strong enough. This is too inefficient. Support me a bit," Teest said very naturally. "We are collaborators, right? Your core is here…"
It's a waste not to use it, right? The rest of the sentence was unsuitable to say out loud, so Teest wrote it on his face.
Perradat: "..." The bad premonition came true. She knew it would be like this!
But Nol had already freed himself from the influence of the flesh. If they got rid of the memory seal, there would no longer be any hidden dangers. As a collaborator, Perradat naturally welcomed this outcome.
So, a strand of golden hair tremulously reached for Teest's foot. "Take it easy… Ahhhhhhh!"
For a moment, the God of Fate thought her core had entered a juicer. Teest unapologetically drew, no, borrowed Perradat's power, and those golden flames immediately burned more intensely.
They exploded expansively, flames soaring high, almost engulfing the vision of both individuals.
Finally. The darkness dissipated and peeled away, gradually revealing a pure, flawless mental space. Amidst the fiercely burning seal and debris, they saw a figure.
That was Xu Yue, whose body was stitched with numerous god corpses, the external form of the memory seal.
Behind him on the computer screen was no longer pitch-black but a sun-like, dazzling golden fire. The computer and desk were gradually consumed by the golden fire. "Xu Yue" stood quietly in front of the computer desk, wearing a loose white shirt, with features randomly flickering on his face.
His hands and feet were also ablaze with golden fire, gradually turning into nothingness.
"Don't worry," he softly said. "I am just 'Xu Yue's' corrupted memory… It seems I lived well."
That horrifying, deformed face displayed a smile very familiar to Teest. Despite the jumbled features, Teest found a hint of relief in it.
"Thank you."
The figure reached out towards Teest, as if to caress his head.
"…You also live well, my good child, Silver White."
"We will certainly survive to the end."
Teest's complexion was pale from magical overexertion, but his tone was quite relaxed. "You still owe me an ending."
Amidst the burning golden fire, "Xu Yue" laughed. He bent his eyes at Teest, nodding solemnly.
Finally, the last bit of golden fire extinguished, and the pitch-black space turned into clean, pure white. Perhaps it was Teest's illusion, but he felt it was much clearer here. The previous strange oppressive feeling was nowhere to be found, and the environment could even be considered comfortable.
Teest had never overexerted his power like this before. After the fire, he unceremoniously sat down on the ground, becoming somewhat translucent. Perradat's head wobbled and rolled listlessly at Teest's feet.
Tired as they were, no one complained.
They both knew. The troublesome "memory seal" was gone. Nol could become stronger without any mental interference. Even better, Star Stealer Sol was still unaware of this.
[You have assisted in removing a major security threat. System reward calculation in progress…]
Before Teest could catch his breath, he received an inexplicable system notification.
[Based on new intelligence, analyzing the foreign power fragments in your body…]
[Starting to optimize skill "King of Eternal Sleep"… Power fusion in progress… Skill modification in progress…]
[New skill generated.]
The new skill description was brief.
[Destroyer: Everything has an end. Enjoy.]
[Note: This skill has exceeded system management authority. Actual effects may vary.]
For some reason, the system seemed to be in a good mood. Teest glanced at the skill. It looked pretty good, but he really didn't have the energy to test it.
At his side, Perradat finally couldn't hold on. Emitting a series of distressed hums, the two of them miserably popped out of Nol's mental space.
Feeling the familiar damp air, Teest strained to open his eyes. Nol was still asleep on the altar, and he lay on Nol, forming a perfect cross.
Perradat's beautiful head fell off the bouquet, slumping down by the huge sculpture, exhausted to the point of foaming at the mouth.
Teest relaxed his limbs where he lay on Nol. The latter grunted a few times and quickly woke up.
Unlike the two adventurers in the seal, Nol, to prevent corruption, had been in deep sleep throughout. His gaze swept over Teest and Perradat, pausing on the foam at Perradat's mouth.
"Teest, are you okay?!" Nol, frightened, shook Teest vigorously, his voice full of panic. "Was situation of the seal bad?"
Teest stretched his limbs on Nol before propping up his body. "What do you think?"
Nol paused. "I…"
Only then did Nol realize his mind felt much clearer, as if he had had a good sleep for the first time in many years. Even when he tried to recall the past, his body showed no anomalies.
The only downside, perhaps, were the blanks in his memory. It seemed he had completely forgotten some details, but fortunately, everything related to the game was still firmly etched in his mind.
Teest focused on the face so close to him. Feeling Teest's gaze, Nol instinctively relaxed a bit, revealing a smile.
Teest stretched out his hand, this time firmly touching Nol's lips. He just knew, there weren't many people in the world who could smile like this.
"Tonight, I have a very—long story to tell you," Teest said, his gaze still on Nol's lips. "With hot milk and fruits. Remember to keep your schedule clear."
"…But I do have something. I'm extremely tired, honey," Teest said, drawing a bit closer.
Seeing Teest safe and sound, Nol's smile deepened.
Teest had seen this smile amidst thick layers of paint. He tried to recreate this smile on countless corpses, and now, he could—
Deliberately leaning forward, Teest touched his nose to Nol's, their warm breaths instantly entwining. His silver-white hair fell onto Nol's chest. Nol instinctively reached out, touching the back of Teest's head.
Just like that, Nol gave a cautious kiss. He kissed very gently, with a comforting flavor. Teest conveniently shifted his head, kissing the corner of Nol's mouth.
"Haha. I'm also very tired." Under the statue, Perradat spoke dryly. "Actually, my church has other rooms—more comfortable, with soft beds, and without my presence. You both should really consider it."
Nol, as if waking from a dream, blushed slightly, coughing twice. "Let's talk business first."
Then he turned towards Teest, his expression becoming more serious.
"I need to confirm some things, Teest. We need to have a fight."
The author has something to say:
The life of Perradat, hurt by the young couple.
Perradat: It's so hard to find a job these days.jpg