Chapter 74: You Save the World, I Save You
“Are you Shaya?”
When Shaya regained his senses from the endless white light, he found himself above a cloud layer, with a brilliant sun hanging at the edge of the clouds. Though dazzling, it wasn’t blinding.
The Divine Land of Light.
After visiting Beatrice’s Goddess of the Bright Moon Kingdom and Selina’s Goddess of Abundance Kingdom, Shaya recognized this place immediately.
He then turned his gaze toward the source of the voice he had just heard.
A female figure bathed in golden light appeared before him, tall and graceful, exuding a holy aura, yet radiating a warm affinity that illuminated all, much like a comforting sun.
“Your Divine Majesty.”
Shaya slightly bowed, greeting her as he had when he met Witch Miss.
Due to the golden light enveloping her, Shaya could not clearly see her appearance, but judging by her silhouette, she was definitely a beauty on par with the other goddesses.
Hearing her curious tone, which was not as lofty as Shaya had imagined, and lacking any malice, he felt a slight relief.
“Yes, I am Shaya… but how do you know?”
With a gentle smile, the Goddess of Light replied, “No need to be so formal. Since you are chosen by Agnes, you may call me Pennyala.”
Pennyala.
This was the fifth deity name that Shaya recognized.
“When you stepped into my divine realm, I instinctively traced back through the river of time and saw fragments related to your past.”
“But it’s strange, while I learned you have the ability to resurrect infinitely, each time you are reborn, you enter a prolonged state of nebulousness that even I cannot observe.”
Shaya froze for a moment before understanding.
It seemed the system’s status was even above that of the deities.
After all, he had visited the Abyss Palace so many times, yet Witch Miss had never once noticed anything related to the system.
“However… as a mortal favored by Agnes, you seem rather ordinary.”
Pennyala examined Shaya carefully, commenting without any malice.
Shaya sighed softly.
The last time he was evaluated by the residual consciousness of the Goddess of Abundance, it was similar.
As a mortal, it was normal not to attract the deities’ attention.
“Did you call for me for something, Lady Pennyala?” Shaya inquired.
For some reason, ever since receiving the blessing of the Goddess of Light today, he had been feeling a vague premonition.
This premonition might be related to Witch Miss.
The Goddess of Light seemed surprised by Shaya’s perceptiveness. After a moment of silence, she spoke, “Agnes has given you my core of light… do you know what that means?”
“…”
Shaya slightly furrowed his brow and then shook his head.
Hearing this, the Goddess of Light gently turned, leaving behind her tall and slender figure.
She walked slowly, and after a long time, she answered the earlier question.
“It means she wants you to live.”
“What… do you mean?” Shaya was taken aback, responding in disbelief.
“When I sensed that the core of light had appeared on you, my astonishment was no less than yours,” the Goddess of Light smiled softly, hinting at a tinge of bitterness, “But Agnes… she has always been such a headstrong child.”
“It was like this long ago.”
“And now… it is still like this.”
“I don’t understand.”
Shaya remained silent for a moment before shaking his head again.
“You should have heard from Selina or Beatrice about the conditions of the apocalypse, right?”
“I’ve heard bits and pieces, and combining it with my guesses, the so-called ‘apocalypse’ probably refers to the malignant force from the earth’s core continuously eroding reality. If left unchecked, it would lead the entire world to destruction.”
“Correct.” Pennyala nodded, “But in reality, the severity of the problem far exceeds your expectations.”
“The seal… might not hold much longer.”
Hearing the word “seal,” Shaya instinctively recalled what Selina had said last time.
As the only passage for the Black Mist to invade reality, the Abyss Palace had served a similar role to a seal, guarding the Abyss entrance for over ten thousand years, isolating the vast majority of the Black Mist from the world.
And according to Witch Miss’s account, she was atoning for her sins.
What kind of heavy sin could require her to confine herself in a hell-like place for over ten thousand years and still not be redeemed?
For some reason, Shaya’s heart trembled slightly.
“When you say the seal might not hold much longer… what do you mean?”
“Literal meaning.” The Goddess of Light, Pennyala sighed, “Agnes is about to give in.”
“What will happen to her?”
Without hesitation, Shaya immediately asked.
Seeing his anxious demeanor, Pennyala nodded gently, “It seems the core of light is not given to the wrong person… to know what will happen to her, one must first understand one thing.”
“That is, what kind of existence Agnes truly is.”
After saying this, the Goddess of Light fell silent for a moment, then lightly stroked her face with her small hand.
In an instant, the light faded, revealing a familiar beautiful face that Shaya recognized.
Shaya felt as if struck by lightning.
“Witch Miss?”
He mumbled, momentarily dazed.
“I am not Agnes.” Pennyala’s expression was calm, “To understand all of this, first, you need to hear a story.”
…
A long time ago, when this land was still chaotic and ignorant, a light was born between heaven and earth.
That light pierced through the darkness, dispersing it, creating infinite life on this desolate and lonely land, granting them the power to reproduce and thrive.
For now, we shall call this light the Father God.
After the grandeur of creation, the Father God seemed to exhaust all his power, heading toward demise, while his authority gradually disintegrated, scattering across the world and disappearing from sight.
Time passed, though it felt like an eternity.
After a prolonged span of time, those disintegrated divine authorities gradually gave birth to independent consciousness.
Upon awakening from their slumber, they took human form, walked the earth, leaving behind countless legends and miracles, and slowly gained worship and faith.
They were called deities.
There were deities who governed wisdom, elements, and magic, enlightening humanity and bringing the power to contend against nature.
There were deities who governed principles and justice, providing humanity with judgment and law, leading them toward civilization.
There were deities who governed power and conflict, plunging the earth into war and strife, unleashing chaos.
As one after another deity descended to the world, an era of brilliant divine convergence slowly unfolded.
Among them, the most dazzling existences were the Goddess of Light, who governed light, and the Goddess of Creation, who governed creation.
These two authorities were the most powerful forces of the Father God.
Although other authorities had disintegrated, these two remained closely entwined.
From these two authorities, a pair of twin goddesses was born.
They looked identical, yet their personalities were worlds apart.
The elder sister, the Goddess of Light, was dignified and steady, holy yet kind.
In contrast, the younger sister, the Goddess of Creation, appeared a bit whimsical.
She possessed the power to create everything and an undying form, and with such immense strength, her personality became playful and mischievous.
For no matter what happened, the authority of creation could always remedy it, leaving the world with no regrets.
She loved the sea, so she filled the gaps around the continent with azure waters.
She loved ice and snow, so with a gentle wave of her hand, she turned the northern part of the continent into frozen ground.
She loved liveliness, so she created an abundance of humans, leading to overpopulation, where people turned against each other to contest for resources, plunging the land into endless warfare.
During those days, countless lives were lost daily.
And it marked the beginning of disaster.
Humans possess souls, and upon death, their essence scatters into the world, nurturing all things.
Of course, this is only the most perfect scenario for a human after death.
But in that age of endless conflict, the War God would wreak havoc on the earth, and a single conflict between nations could easily cause tens of thousands of casualties, leading to suffering and despair.
In such circumstances, every human death carried a strong sense of grievance, lingering for long periods.
At first, there was no sign of it, for the land was vast enough to accommodate many things.
But as the number of deaths increased—by hundreds of thousands, millions, or even billions—the unfulfilled grievances began to manifest as almost tangible curses, wrapping around the entire continent.
It seemed the potent grievances and death energies awakened an ancient presence dormant at the earth’s core, giving birth to the root of calamity.
That was a hidden danger that even the Father God was unaware of before his demise.
Due to the overwhelming power, even the deities could not contend with it.
The Chaotic Demon Core.
This was the name the deities gave to the indescribable entity at the earth’s core.
And that indescribable entity seemingly existed at the earth’s core long before the Father God’s creation, lying in slumber. It might have remained in slumber, waiting for the entire continent to once again return to desolation and loneliness.
However, the overwhelming death energy that suddenly erupted across the continent awakened a spark of its consciousness.
Though merely a flicker of consciousness, on the day the Chaotic Demon Core awakened, the entire continent faced near annihilation.
The all-consuming Black Mist surged from the earth’s core, frantically spreading to every corner of the continent, devouring every life it encountered, growing stronger, and continuing to spread.
It was as if an incurable plague had struck, one that even the most adept “doctor,” the Goddess of Light, could only stand helplessly against.
Death.
Death.
Death.
Nothing but death remained.
Just as the entire continent was on the brink of collapse.
As the instigator of the disaster, the Goddess of Creation stepped forward.
Thanks to the inheritance of the Father God, she possessed eternal life and the property of immortality. Even the “certain death” characteristic of the Black Mist could inflict deep pain without killing her in a short time.
Witnessing the catastrophic tragedies in the human realm within a brief time, she was consumed by unprecedented regret and self-hatred.
As the Goddess of Creation, she should have brought blessings to the world just like her sister.
However, her playful negligence brought to life an overwhelming disaster for all beings.
Thus, she decided to atone, to repent.
To stop all this, she begged the deities to unite and barely seal the entrance to the Abyss at the earth’s core.
And the core of the seal was herself.
Yes.
To resist the Black Mist, the Goddess of Creation became the core of the seal, using her eternal life and undying body as a price to block the entrance to the Abyss, absorbing most of the Black Mist flooding toward the real world into her body.
As her punishment, she not only had to live like a prisoner within the seal for countless future years, but also bear the pain brought on by the Black Mist curse at every moment.
This was the final redemption of the Goddess of Creation.
From then on, after thousands of years of transition, the human realm gradually regained its vitality.
However, due to the deliberate dissemination by certain deities still resentful of her past actions, legends of the Extremely Evil Demoness slowly spread across the land.
…
“So… that legendary Goddess of Creation… is indeed Lady Agnes?”
After hearing this story, Shaya, profoundly impacted, remained silent for a long time before finally speaking in a hoarse voice.
He looked somewhat lost.
Although he had entertained various speculations before, he truly hadn’t expected the truth to be like this.
Witch Miss’s former self was actually a legendary goddess?
No wonder, no wonder that Witch Miss could create anything in the Abyss Palace.
Even, according to her, the city Shaya remembered could be manifested in the real world.
“This is Agnes’s background.” Pennyala nodded, “After knowing all this, do you… feel some contempt for her?”
Shaya pondered for a moment before softly sighing, “If I had to say, regardless of how deep the sin, after enduring the torment of the Black Mist curse for over ten thousand years, it’s enough.”
He understood very well the intense pain the Black Mist could inflict and empathized with it.
Pennyala gently closed her eyes.
For this younger sister, she indeed felt a great deal of compassion. But as the leader of the deities, she had to set an example.
In fact, to this day, many deities still harbor malice toward Agnes.
For instance, the Goddess of Abundance, Selina, who is close to life, and the Goddess of the Bright Moon, Beatrice.
“This is her punishment for herself.” Pennyala kept her eyes closed, “But what she needs now is not punishment; it is redemption.”
“Although… as the core of the seal, she also cannot hold out much longer.”
The Goddess of Light sighed.
After all, the Chaotic Demon Core of the earth’s core exists at a level comparable to the Father God, even slightly exceeding it.
Under the long-term erosion of the Black Mist, even with Agnes’s eternal life and undying body, she was ultimately pushed to her limits.
To put it simply, she was nearing death.
“What you just mentioned; the core of light represents the power of life—what does that mean?”
After a moment of silence, Shaya asked again.
Pennyala glanced at him, “When the apocalypse arrives, this core will automatically send a warning and instantly transport its holder to my divine realm.”
“Aside from the divine realms of the gods, no creature can survive under the curse of the Black Mist.”
“That is the true power of the ‘Chaotic Demon Core.’ Even if you have infinite resurrection capabilities, there will eventually come a day when your will is extinguished.”
“In other words, Agnes anticipated such a situation, which is why she entrusted this to you.”
“She… cares about you.”
Hearing this, Shaya took a deep breath, feeling a surge of impulse within him.
Yet Pennyala seemed unaware of Shaya’s inner thoughts, gently turning her back to gaze at the blazing sun beyond the clouds.
“The reason I told you all this is not to make you do anything, but to hope you can be one of the few who cares about her after Agnes leaves this world.”
“Though your human lifespans are short, I believe, amidst everything you’ve experienced, it will certainly be the most brilliant light in her long life.”
Shaya’s heart raced.
He couldn’t help but recall the second time he met Witch Miss, when to placate her, he had said those words.
“Witch Miss, henceforth, let the evil curse that brings you misfortune be borne by me!”
Originally, it was merely a phrase he uttered for show to absorb the Black Mist curse.
But thinking back, perhaps that sentence carried a weight of great significance in Witch Miss’s heart.
He seemed to grasp that, for Agnes, the liberation he promised and the redemption he described held profound importance.
Perhaps it was from that moment that a subtle crack began to form in her heart.
Then, unbeknownst to Shaya, a ray of sunlight fell into that crack.
That was the only remaining and most radiant beam of sunlight in the despairing and dim life of Witch Miss after being sealed for ten thousand years.
It was called redemption.
“Perhaps…” Shaya took a deep breath, “Perhaps there is still one thing I can do.”
The Goddess of Light suddenly turned around.
“Before that, can I return to the real world to say goodbye to those around me?”
…
Having completely taken control of this body, Jin let out a sigh of relief.
Looking around the plains, she confirmed multiple times that she had not detected Shaya’s presence.
But she knew he had just gone to the Divine Land of Light.
Thinking of this, a hint of fear flashed in Jin’s eyes.
She had harbored some desire to escape, but how could she escape the grasp of the Goddess of Light?
It appeared that this life was completely in that guy’s hands.
Fortunately, human lifespans are short, while the life of an Invisible Demon is long; even if it drags on, it would eventually exhaust him!
Just as this thought formed, a light gate appeared before Jin.
Her body tensed up immediately.
Then, a familiar figure walked out from the light gate.
“You’re quite obedient.”
Shaya smiled and said.
At this moment, the power of light had faded from his body, reverting to his original status as a Totem Knight.
However, Jin could not summon even the slightest resistance toward the boy before her.
“Don’t be so nervous; I won’t eat you.” Shaya chuckled, “Though looking at you like this is pretty pleasing.”
Jin let out a sigh of relief: “If you wish, I can serve you with this body; I checked, and she’s still a virgin.”
Hearing this, Shaya teased, “Let’s save such discussions for our next meeting.”
“Next meeting?” Jin said in confusion, “Where are you going?”
“That’s not something you need to worry about.” Shaya shook his head, “Listen carefully, there are three things you must accomplish in the coming years.”
“First, protect the people close to me; don’t let them suffer even the slightest harm. With your body now, you should quickly recover to a demigod’s level.”
“Second, use Mevis’s identity to delve deep into the organization Twilight of the Gods, trying to rise through its ranks and ascertain the list of all members.”
“Third, through Mevis and the court’s internal connections, gradually take control of this country.”
“Is that all?”
Jin was somewhat surprised.
Clearly, these tasks were not particularly difficult for her.
“That’s all, but the premise is that you truly devote yourself to complete them.” Shaya looked at her, “I have good relationships with many deities; you should weigh things carefully.”
“By the way, don’t mention this to Witch Miss; please.”
“…You’re quite a strange man. I take back what I said earlier.”
After a moment’s silence, Pennyala sighed, looking at Shaya with an inexplicable gaze.
Then, she gently placed her hand on Shaya’s shoulder.
With a wave of spatial transfer, Shaya found his surroundings transform.
When he regained his senses, he discovered himself in an incredibly dark place.
Here, darkness seemed to be the main melody of existence; besides darkness, even the concepts of space and time appeared to vanish completely.
A familiar, chilling aura enveloped Shaya.
At the same time, the Goddess of Light, Pennyala, ignited a golden divine flame in her hand to serve as illumination.
Only then did Shaya see everything before him.
It was a space even more expansive than land, with a black mist far denser than that of the Abyss Palace coiling and condensing together as if it were a colossal beast from the Abyss.
In this place, even the air was consumed by the black mist.
In the center of the pit, a massive mass resembling a heart occupied most of this space, pulsating slightly, with countless gaps in the flesh occasionally releasing intense black mist.
Chaotic Demon Core.
An unknown, powerful existence.
“Right now, you are under the protection of divine power, so you seem to manage just fine,” Pennyala said softly. “Once I leave here, everything will depend on you.”
“This is the last chance for a change of heart.”
“The pain of being engulfed by this black mist cannot be endured for long, even by deities. Even Agnes has alleviated most of it with divine power.”
“And you… you’re just an ordinary human.”
“You really talk too much, nothing like Lady Agnes at all.”
Shaya looked at Pennyala with a hint of disdain and pursed his lips before leaping off.
Below was the unfathomable earth’s core and endless black mist capable of annihilating the entire surface.
By comparison, the so-called black mist enveloping the Northern Continent was insignificant.
Accompanied by intense pain and coldness, the surrounding curse of black mist rushed in like a horde of sharks sensing blood, overwhelming Shaya instantly, entering his body, drawing him toward death.
Sensing a faint feeling of falling, Shaya gently closed his eyes.
Endless loneliness and darkness surrounded him.
Good night, Witch Miss.
You save the world, I save you.
【Set this location as a resurrection point?】
“Yes.”
