Chapter 394: Shaye’s Origins
What was that? A massive, black, cloud-like mass of flesh.
The figures of Zimmerman and the others had completely vanished.
Countless black, thread-like things extended from the fleshy mass, spreading and writhing like tiny tentacles, filling the entire forbidden area.
The mass pulsed, as if still alive, each pulse sending out more black threads, swirling and twisting in the air.
It was a grotesque, sinister, and terrifying sight.
Everyone was stunned, though for different reasons. Natia was shocked that such a horrifying thing was hidden within Sage Mountain. Was this what Zimmerman had been hiding from her? What was it? And where were her masters?
Even with her knowledge, she had never encountered anything like this. She felt a primal fear, not even daring to approach it.
Just looking at it for too long made her mind reel, strange whispers echoing in her ears, grotesque, shadowy figures appearing before her eyes, reaching for her.
She trembled uncontrollably.
Qin Chu, noticing her distress, stepped forward, placing a hand on her shoulder. The warmth of his holy light calmed her, dispelling the unsettling visions.
For those newly exposed to such corrupting influences, his power was enough to counteract it.
He also stared at the fleshy mass, his shock tinged with a strange… familiarity.
It reminded him of something.
The second heart within him, the Evil God’s heart he had devoured, was beating rapidly, its gaping hole pulsing, as if trying to consume the black mass.
He realized… this must be the missing piece of the heart.
But how had it ended up here, at Sage Mountain?
Had Zimmerman and the others brought it here? They were bolder than he had thought, bringing such a thing into their home.
The heart’s frantic beating, its yearning to consume the mass, to become whole again…
He felt his own body trembling, an urge to devour the mass himself, but he suppressed it, controlling the second heart’s frantic beating. He could barely control the incomplete heart. If it were whole… he wasn’t sure he could resist its influence, its potential to take over his body.
He wouldn’t risk it.
While consuming the mass might grant him power, he wouldn’t gamble with something so clearly connected to an Evil God.
But why was the heart crimson, while this mass was black?
And the liquid that had seeped from the heart’s wound had also been dark.
Had the heart itself been… altered?
Corrupted by some other force?
But who could possibly corrupt an Evil God’s heart?
The two Shayes’ reactions were identical.
Their crimson eyes flickered, their faces flushed, their hands reaching out, as if to touch the mass…
They felt their hearts pounding, their breathing quickening.
The mass seemed to exert a powerful allure, drawing them towards it. They floated forward, almost involuntarily.
Qin Chu wanted to stop them, but he hesitated.
Shaye… Little Shaye, was one of the most powerful beings in this world, stronger than him. She would sense any danger.
The two Shayes entered the area where the black threads swirled.
The threads, as if finally finding their target, surged towards them.
But as they reached the two Shayes, they stopped… hovering in mid-air, twisting and tangling, as if unsure which one to choose.
They writhed before Little Shaye, then drifted towards Big Shaye, then back again, seemingly unable to differentiate between them. They even clustered together, as if discussing the matter.
Even these strange entities couldn’t tell the two apart.
The two Shayes exchanged a glance, amused by the threads’ confusion.
This strange standoff continued for a long while, until finally, the threads, seemingly giving up, retreated.
Then, they surged upwards, forming a massive vortex, enveloping both Shayes. The black threads spun around them, faster and faster, like a hurricane’s eye.
A strange ripping sound, and Little Shaye’s black dress was torn apart, her stockings and even her undergarments disintegrating into dust, her pale skin exposed.
Then, something even stranger happened.
The black threads began to weave themselves around Little Shaye’s feet, extending upwards, like stockings, covering her legs, her knees, her thighs… stopping at her waist.
They were like black silk stockings, gleaming faintly.
The outline of her lingerie was visible beneath them.
Then, a dress materialized, a simple black dress, similar to her previous one, but adorned with intricate runes, giving it a mysterious aura.
Big Shaye’s experience was slightly different.
Sensing she was merely a soul, lacking a physical body, the threads seemed… confused.
They clustered together, as if discussing the matter.
After a long while, they seemed to reach a decision, intertwining and twisting together, forming strange, vein-like structures.
One end of the “veins” connected to Big Shaye’s soul, the other to the black, fleshy mass.
Then, energy, tinged with crimson, flowed from the mass into her.
She looked like a test subject in a science fiction movie, hooked up to life support.
The energy solidified around her, her form becoming more and more distinct, more real.
Qin Chu’s throat tightened.
It seemed they had given Little Shaye a new outfit, not an ordinary outfit, but one with special properties.
And Big Shaye… they were creating a new body for her.
Why?
Why was this strange mass, and those black threads, doing this for Shaye? It didn’t make sense.
Suddenly, a thought struck him.
He remembered what Shaye had told him about her origins… born from darkness.
“It was a dark, yet vast place. My consciousness drifted in that darkness for a long time.”
“I don’t know how long.”
“Then, one day, I opened my eyes.”
A shiver ran down his spine.
Could this black, cloud-like mass be… the place where Shaye’s consciousness was born?
Was that why they were doing this for her?
But then, a chilling realization dawned upon him, a terrifying thought that made his blood run cold.
He remembered the strange reaction of the second heart within him, its yearning for this mass, which was clearly the missing piece of the heart.
Could it be…
That Shaye was… born from the Evil God’s heart?
Boom… Crack…
The thought was like a lightning bolt, making him stagger.
Chapter 395: I’m Sorry, I Deceived You!
Qin Chu was stunned.
Shaye… born from the heart of an Evil God, possibly even the strongest one?
A Witch without inheriting Divine Authority, even the most powerful of all Witches… Qin Chu had always known Shaye’s origins were extraordinary, but he never expected it to be this outrageous.
The shock was comparable to when he first saw the giant heart.
For a moment, Qin Chu felt as if his mind had gone blank. He simply stood there, staring at the two Shayes enveloped in the black mist.
After a few seconds, he gradually calmed down.
Shaye had said that her consciousness was born in darkness, a vast and boundless space… although the black mist and the cloud-like flesh before him weren’t small, they were definitely not infinitely vast.
Could it be that its internal space was astonishingly large? Was there another world within that fleshy mass?
Also, when Shaye opened her eyes, she had seen a lush forest.
But the heart was located in a desolate canyon, devoid of vegetation. And Qin Chu didn’t think Zimmerman and the others could have moved the heart.
Most importantly, the heart’s wound didn’t look like it had been carved out, but rather… as if something had detached itself naturally.
Could it be that this fleshy mass had separated from the heart, taking the unborn Shaye to another location?
But why?
And if it weren’t for the intense reaction of the second heart within him, he wouldn’t have realized that this fleshy mass was part of the heart. The difference between them was too stark. It was as if this part of the heart had been… corrupted by some external force.
But who could corrupt the heart of an Evil God, especially the strongest one?
Even in death, it shouldn’t be so easily tainted.
Unless it was another god. No other being possessed such power.
And after the war between the gods a thousand years ago, the native gods had fallen, the Goddess of Holy Light imprisoned in the Void, seven of the eight Evil Gods suppressing her… The only survivor was Moirae, the Goddess of Fate.
Could it be that… the power of Fate had corrupted the Eighth Evil God’s heart?
It was difficult to say for sure. Even Shaye herself might not know. She had merely been born within it, unaware of the events that had transpired before her birth.
Then, a strange thought crossed his mind. The Eighth Evil God had caused the fall of the gods, and Shaye had been born from his heart… so, wasn’t the Eighth Evil God Shaye’s… parent?
To the Heavenly Continent, wasn’t Shaye the daughter of their enemy?
Well, it didn’t matter to him. The fate of the Heavenly Continent wasn’t his concern.
But he now understood one thing.
He had asked Little Shaye if she had ever sensed the beings in the Void, and she had said no, a voice in her mind warning her against it.
Because she carried the blood of the Eighth Evil God, and the Eighth Evil God, while killed by the other gods, could also be said to have been betrayed by the other Evil Gods, their mutual hatred eternal.
Before Shaye had grown stronger, attracting their attention would have been dangerous, even fatal.
Avoiding the Void was a self-preservation mechanism.
He looked at the two Shayes. Little Shaye’s new outfit had reached her chest, while Big Shaye’s was still forming.
He stroked his chin. Because of the time reversal, there were now two Shayes. The Eighth Evil God had gained another daughter. What a bargain.
Beside him, Natia’s expression was anxious.
With the black threads converging on the two Shayes, the forbidden area had returned to normal, but no matter how hard she searched, she couldn’t find her masters.
She had been raised by them, her bond with them deep and profound. They were like fathers, grandfathers, to her.
Even with her usual composure, she couldn’t help but feel a growing unease.
Qin Chu also felt a sense of foreboding. Zimmerman and the others, their secrecy, their presence in the forbidden area… they had clearly been studying the fleshy mass.
It was a power even Augustus and Wadsworth had struggled against. He didn’t think Zimmerman and the others could resist its corrupting influence.
In the worst-case scenario, they might already be… gone, reduced to ashes, or perhaps, transformed into grotesque monsters, having left Sage Mountain.
Zimmerman’s strict order for her to stay away from the forbidden area had likely been his last act of sanity, trying to protect her.
Seeing her on the verge of tears, Qin Chu wanted to comfort her, but he didn’t know how.
After a moment of hesitation, he sighed: “Natia…”
“Perhaps… they’re not here, but you haven’t found their bodies either, right? Perhaps they’re still alive, just… gone for some reason.”
Natia’s lips trembled, her face still pale.
She knew he was just trying to comfort her, but she desperately clung to that hope.
As long as she didn’t see their bodies, there was still a chance.
“I’ll go look,” she whispered.
He nodded. After a long while, she returned, carrying only a notebook.
She handed it to him: “This is for you.”
“For me?” he asked, puzzled.
She nodded, taking a deep breath, seemingly suppressing her grief: “Master Zimmerman seemed to have anticipated this… even my disobedience.”
“He left a note, instructing me not to touch the fleshy mass, and to give this notebook to you.”
Qin Chu frowned, then accepted the notebook, opening it to the first page:
“Dear Hero, I apologize for deceiving you.”
“I told you we could send you back to your world after you restored peace to the Heavenly Continent. That was a lie.”
“We can summon Heroes, but we can’t send them back.”
He smiled wryly. He had already known that.
The rest of the notebook contained information about Sage Mountain.
Its history was even longer than the Auville Empire’s. It had started as a gathering place for powerful mages, a secluded location for studying magic, undisturbed by the outside world.
It had eventually evolved into a powerful organization, similar to the Mage Association, but its membership, restricted to Grand Mages and above, was far more exclusive.
At its peak, it had boasted over three hundred Grand Mages, making it the most powerful faction in the Heavenly Continent, even the Churches bowing before its might… In fact, some of its members had also been high-ranking members of the Churches, even Popes.
They had maintained close ties.
Sage Mountain held a vast collection of ancient texts, but Zimmerman had clearly extracted the most important information, recording it in this notebook.
Its decline had begun a thousand years ago, seemingly connected to the war between the gods.
That war had unleashed sinister forces upon the land, igniting conflicts between the once harmonious temples.
The temples of the Lord of Storms and the Fire God had been destroyed.
And Sage Mountain, many of its members belonging to the various Churches, despite their close friendships and shared passion for magic, had been forced to fight each other.
Its power had waned significantly.
After the Holy See and the Church of the Earth Mother Goddess emerged victorious, Sage Mountain’s influence had been further suppressed, declining steadily.
By Zimmerman’s time, only twelve remained.
And now, only Natia.
Sage Mountain was practically extinct.
“Dear Hero, if you’re reading this, it means you’ve forgiven my deception. I’m grateful.”
Qin Chu sighed. That cunning old fox.
“What follows is the most important part: the secret of a thousand years ago.”
“A thousand years ago, the Heavenly Continent experienced decades of blood rain. Yes, rain of blood falling from the sky.”
Qin Chu’s eyes narrowed. The blood of the fallen gods?
“And then… the Demon Beasts were born.”
Impossible!
