Outside, the colors of the unnatural light shifted constantly, like neon lights. I sat quietly at the table in Room 410, having lived in Mother Goddess Nuwa’s illusion for many days now. Looking up, I could see Nuwa standing silently between two intersecting mountain peaks, motionless, as if turned to stone.
Ever since that brief conversation with her, no matter what I asked or said, she never responded. Eugenia and Blueflame Warden have also disappeared these past days; they haven’t come looking for me.
I’ve wandered for a long time among these floating shards of stone, which are said to be fragments of my memory, but I still can’t recall anything. I’ve gotten used to it. All around me, these floating stone islands contain things I’ve seen or experienced before, yet I remember none of them.
Standing up, I went straight out the window and drifted toward Nuwa. When I reached her side, I watched quietly for a while before speaking.
“What exactly are you doing here, Mother Goddess Nuwa?”
I asked, but Nuwa still didn’t say a word, her back to me. Smiling faintly, I sat down cross-legged and gazed up at the sky shimmering with rainbow light.
The scene before me was reminiscent of Nuwa repairing the heavens. After throwing the orange Blood Jade down below, it erupted with power several times, trying to rise up, but each time Nuwa suppressed it with a slight movement. The power within the Blood Jade was filled with hatred and rage, bearing an intense grudge against Nuwa.
I didn’t know what had happened between them before, but I was curious. This hatred and rage weren’t pure; there was no other emotion mixed in. Generally, it’s almost impossible for hatred to reach this level—over time, it’s always worn away a little. But the hatred in that Blood Jade was fresh, constantly seething.
Now, I felt another surge of intense hatred erupting from the colorful clouds below. In an instant, an orange pillar of light burst through the clouds, heading straight for Nuwa.
Nuwa didn’t turn around. She simply extended a finger and, with a slight movement, the surging force instantly vanished without a trace.
"Aren’t you going to try saying something to the one down below?"
I spoke, and Nuwa turned her head, her gaze still icy cold, utterly devoid of emotion.
"Words are the most deceitful things in this world, yet also the truest. But words can no longer change anything."
I swallowed, smiling and shaking my head.
"If you don’t speak, how will he ever understand? If things go on like this, the Wraithlord’s resentment will only grow stronger. Or haven’t you noticed? He’s started absorbing the power of the illusion down below, slowly strengthening himself. The force that surged up today was already much stronger than yesterday."
"Then tell me, Past Ethan Justice, what should I say?"
Surprised, I watched as Nuwa turned completely toward me, slowly approaching. Smiling, I stood up.
"Just smile. I don’t know what happened between you two, but the one down below hates you so much. Things can’t go on like this."
Nuwa’s cheeks twitched slightly, her mouth slowly stretching into a grin. I swallowed.
"You’ve never smiled before, have you?"
Nuwa shook her head. I could tell she was utterly without emotion, like a corpse; every gesture was devoid of feeling, as if I were facing a cold, stone statue.
"Can you tell me? Who is the man below who calls himself the Wraithlord?"
"He is my child—or rather, the first human I ever created."
I swallowed, my eyes wide in disbelief as I stared at Nuwa. She walked slowly toward me, then suddenly grabbed my hand. Before I could react, she pulled me down through the clouds. In that instant, I felt my body turn to light and shadow, and Nuwa beside me glowed as well.
With a thunderous roar, my vision returned and I saw a volcano erupting in a distant forest. The world below was filled with strange animals and plants I’d never seen before, as well as many large carnivores and unfamiliar birds.
The sky was dark, the sun hidden behind clouds. Everything around me was completely unfamiliar. I looked at Nuwa.
"Where exactly is this..."
Before I could finish, I saw a crack open in the distant sky. Another Nuwa descended from above. In an instant, the Nuwa beside me pulled me over. I stared in shock as this Nuwa held a clay child in her arms—its features were bizarre and sharp, nothing like a human.
Gradually, Nuwa landed in the forest, looking around with the clay child in her arms. Then she set the child down and raised a finger.
Drops of fresh blood fell onto the clay child’s body, sizzling as they seeped in. Instantly, the wind howled, the forest was swept by a violent storm, the sky split open, and beams of light shot down from above.
Thunder rumbled as violent disasters erupted all around Nuwa. Rain poured down like columns, black clouds churned, purple-black lightning struck repeatedly, and flames ravaged the forest. Terrified animals were destroyed by the overwhelming force of nature before they could escape.
The earth split open, tornadoes raged, and volcanoes spewed molten lava. I realized that all these strange phenomena were connected to Nuwa. Blood kept dripping from her fingertip onto the clay child below.
A strange light shone in Nuwa’s icy eyes—something I’d never seen before. I glanced at the Nuwa beside me; she was completely different from the physical Nuwa in front of us. Their gazes and auras were worlds apart.
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The clay child on the ground slowly began to move. Nourished by blood, its gray-brown surface turned white and gradually came to life. Soon, with a thunderous crash from the sky, everything around seemed crushed, as a tremendous force descended from above—but Nuwa, with a single hand, held back this violent power.
With a series of faint cries, the child came to life and began to wail, as if calling out for something. Gradually, everything around fell quiet. Nuwa crouched beside the child, reaching out as if to touch some unknown creature, pressing gently on its cheek.
The infant on the ground wailed loudly as Nuwa looked around. After a while, she seemed to realize the child was hungry.
Nuwa casually picked up some edible things and placed them by the infant’s mouth, but the baby kept crying. Soon, Nuwa stood up, glanced at the sky, looked at the infant again, and then drifted away toward the sky, leaving the baby crying in the mud.
Nuwa wrapped the infant in leaves and left. The baby’s cries continued. I watched with concern; sure enough, after a while, the cries grew weak and finally stopped. Such a fragile infant couldn’t survive in this harsh environment.
Cold swept in, the infant’s breathing grew weaker, its body turned blue. If things went on like this, this newborn life would soon die. I looked at Nuwa beside me. Just then, a beam of light appeared in the sky, and Nuwa returned to the infant’s side, her gaze icy as she looked at the nearly lifeless child.
"So weak! Already dying? How dull."
I stared, wide-eyed. Nuwa’s eyes were empty again, and she seemed ready to leave. Then a faint cry sounded—the infant’s last, as a tiny hand reached out and moved slightly.
"Do you want to live?"
At last, Nuwa turned back, crouched down, and cradled the infant in her arms. The baby opened its mouth, trying to suckle.
"Too weak. This way, you’ll never survive. I grant you an immortal body."
As soon as Nuwa finished speaking, a rainbow light flowed into the infant’s body. Instantly, the blue faded from its skin. Nuwa glanced at the child in her arms, shook her head, and placed it back on the leaves before leaving again.
I don’t know how many days passed. All I saw was the sun and moon cycling overhead. The infant cried every day; when exhausted, it slept, then woke and cried again. Its once plump body grew thinner until it was skin and bones—but it simply wouldn’t die.
"How cruel."
I muttered. Nuwa beside me showed no emotion, still silently watching the infant. Just then, I saw Nuwa descend again, approaching the baby—now looking like a shriveled corpse, unable to make a sound—and picked it up.
"Not even as good as a beast."
Nuwa said, setting the child down again. She seemed to be pondering what the child could eat. After thinking it over, she went into the ruined forest, caught a beast that had just given birth, and let the baby nurse beneath it.
Day after day passed. The once emaciated infant grew, its skin filling out. Nuwa kept bringing beasts for it to nurse from. This time, Nuwa didn’t leave, but stayed by the child’s side, her cold expression softening considerably.