Chapter 135: Warmth

Seeing Night like this, they decided to stop probing any further.

​They didn’t stop Night as he entered the city under the fearful eyes of the soldiers. The look the guards gave him made it seem like they were letting a plague inside the city walls.

​Authur and Zora had already decided they needed Night on their side for the sake of humanity and their planet, and pushing him right now might leave a bad impression on him.

​Even though he was just a kid, they couldn’t treat him like one, especially since the entity standing behind him was a Primordial God.

​Though Night didn’t care about it, Zora and Arthur, who had seen a lot more of their world and had even explored other worlds and realms, knew the significance of being a Chosen.

​If Night left their planet and went into the Cosmos, many cosmic forces would be willing to act as his dogs, or even his slaves, just from knowing he was a Primordial God’s Chosen.

​This was because the outside world was fully aware of the terror of the Primordial Gods; every single one of them was a force to be reckoned with. It would not be too much of a stretch to call them the uncrowned rulers of the Cosmos.

​Of course, forces like the Lifeless Empire and the Deathless Empire, which were constantly at war, always kept the others’ memories fresh about what happens when you oppose a Primordial God.

...

​At the edge of the Cosmos.

​[Blaze] and [The Sleepless Sword] looked at the empty void where [Zethe-thoth] had just left without saying goodbye, unable to stop him.

​They stood there in silence, each with their own thoughts and conclusions about what they had witnessed today.

​[The Sleepless Sword] finally spoke up after some time. "That whole event didn’t feel natural."

​"You bet," [Blaze] agreed.

​The entire sequence of events felt like it had been meticulously manipulated to achieve a desired result.

[Blaze] and [The Sleepless Sword] just didn’t know if what had happened was what the manipulator actually wanted. If yes, then what exactly was their motive?

​[Blaze] sighed heavily. "I think this merger will not be as peaceful as I hoped."

​[The Sleepless Sword] chuckled. "When was it ever peaceful? With those two idiots around, I doubt anything can happen in the Cosmos peacefully."

​"[Lifeless] Primordial and [Deathless] Primordial," [Blaze] muttered in annoyance. He wanted to say and do many things, but even he was helpless in this situation.

​[The Sleepless Sword] frowned. "Also this situation has attracted far too many eyes. Not just the other Primordials, but every major faction is likely paying close attention to this now. Even though they know the consequences of interfering in our affairs, if we weren’t physically here, I don’t want to imagine what kind of methods they would use."

​[Blaze] nodded in agreement. "Night has unknowingly become a spotlight. It would have been okay if the attention was only from mortals, but when people like us get interested, things go out of hand very quickly."

​[The Sleepless Sword] looked at his old friend and asked sincerely, "I hope our Chosen can work together. I am expecting a lot more challenges now that they have attracted so much unnecessary attention."

​[Blaze] looked at him and chuckled in amusement. "How can I reject a request from you?"

​He then added, "I will ask him, though I make no promises."

​While Night was his Chosen, as far as [Blaze] was concerned, the boy could make choices for himself, especially since he now had a lot of experienced people gathered around him.

​[Dream], you are as sneaky as ever. So much for dying peacefully, [Blaze] thought to himself.

​Both [Blaze] and [The Sleepless Sword] conveniently ignored her existence. They both silently agreed it was not something they should be discussing out in the open, with so many eyes locked onto them.

....

​Night entered his home, Nightmare Castle.

​He saw that everything was exactly as it had been. Inhaling deeply and feeling the rich, ambient mana in the air, he walked inside.

​He only relaxed a little when his body finally hit the bed. Though he was still worried about his safety, [Dream] had assured him she would alert him the moment something happened.

​As he looked up at the ceiling, sleep finally caught up to him.

​The brutal fights and the intense emotions he had experienced as everything went down made him tired.

​It was not his body or mind; Night himself felt tired after all the things that had happened. He needed rest, even though he felt full of energy.

​Night woke up with a wide yawn. As he tried to get up, he felt a small weight resting on his chest.

​Looking down, he saw Lucy curled up into a ball, sleeping soundly using his body as a bed.

​Sensing his movements, Lucy woke up as well. She stretched her small body and looked at him silently. There were many things she wanted to say, but in the end, all that left her mouth was, "Good morning."

​Lucy smiled as she jumped off his body and onto the bed.

​Night looked at her and realized the evolution his friends were going through seemed to have successfully completed.

​He smiled softly and said, "Good morning to you too," as he picked up the small Lucy, who immediately tried to squirm and escape his clutches.

​He examined her from top to bottom but couldn’t find any visible physical change. Hence, he asked, "How was the evolution?"

​Lucy’s face immediately brightened at the question. "It was great! I feel my powers are a lot more deadly than they were before, and I also feel our connection has deepened."

​Night nodded in satisfaction. Just then, he saw Lilith and Eve enter the bedroom holding food trays, as if they were perfectly aware he was awake.

​Night looked at them, and he was completely stunned. Lilith and Eve looked nothing like before.

​Gone were their robotic eyes that flashed all the time, their sleek metallic builds, and their choppy, mechanical movements.

​With pure white hair, smooth white skin, and bright blue eyes, they looked like two gorgeous human girls who had just turned eighteen and were at the peak of their rebellious phase. The only thing that was different was a small, elegant line that ran from one of their eyes down to their chins.

​It looked like a crack, but it didn’t look unappealing at all; in fact, it uniquely enhanced their beauty in a strange way. Together with their tailored maid outfits, they looked like twin Goddesses.

​Lilith spoke first as Night kept staring at them in a daze. "It seems Master likes this appearance better."

​At her side, Eve looked at Night intently, waiting for his reaction.

​Night coughed embarrassingly; he easily spotted a trap when he saw one. "You guys were always beautiful. I was just surprised by the drastic changes."

​Though he didn’t think Lilith and Eve would actually lay a verbal trap like that, he felt it was always better to be honest.

​Lucy chimed in, "I was surprised as well when I first saw them. I almost thought their race had changed and they had become human."

​Lilith and Eve set the trays on the bed and started serving the food for everyone.

​Night thanked them as he looked down at his plate. It looked like a simple serving of pasta with cheese.

​Gulp.

​Saliva immediately gathered in his mouth as he swallowed hard, courtesy of the [Sin of Hunger]. Though the food looked simple, it seemed the curse didn’t care at all. It reacted as long as anything involved eating.

​He immediately started scarfing the food down, and just when he felt a little thirsty, Eve brought him a cup of hot tea.

​In no time at all, he was done with the food. He praised them for their cooking, honestly feeling it was comparable to the dishes they used to buy from the System shops.

​Night looked at the others, who were still eating their own portions, and asked, "The others?"

​Lucy looked up from her plate and said, "Zero and Sage are training, while Death is looking after her mother and Sara. Both of them have not woken up yet. Vivianne is with her."

​Night nodded gently.

​He was glad his friends were doing great and were even doing their own things instead of sitting around looking depressed.

​After eating, they walked over to the training hall located just beside the master bedroom.

​Five clones of Sage could be seen, each holding a bamboo staff, facing off against five clones of Zero, who had covered their mandibles with thick, jagged ice. It looked like they were just about to jump at each other in a another spar.

​Noticing Night’s arrival, Sage happily dismissed her staff and her clones. Zero immediately did the same.

​Sage dashed toward him, jumped gracefully onto his shoulder, and affectionately rubbed her furry face against his cheek.

​He then heard her childish voice speak clearly. "You are finally awake! I missed you!"

​Night, who was not expecting her to speak normally, was stunned. He looked at her closely. She looked mostly the same to him, though it seemed she had grown a little bit as well.

​Usually, monsters and beasts could talk after they crossed Level 40, while some rare ones could talk even at Level 20. It seemed Sage was finally able to speak as well.

​"My Liege," Zero spoke up respectfully. "I hope you are in the best of health. We were all very worried."

​Night immediately reassured them that he was just a little tired and eagerly asked them how they were doing.

​As he talked with his friends, he felt a warmth spread through his chest. He was glad they were alright and doing better than ever.

​Though, in the back of his mind, he was still worried about the ones who were in coma.