booktalesy Chapter 202, Section 201: The Contract and the Raven
Chapter 202, Section 201: The Contract and the Raven
Chapter 202, Section 201: The Contract and the Raven
Inside the gloomy temple, the thick darkness seemed to have a tangible form, surging like a tide and engulfing everything, while the brute goddess raised her head and shouted without regard for her image.
"Father! Brothers! Sisters! Help! If you don't save me, I'm going to get the plague! You don't want to see me come home all crazy!"
The sound materialized into sound waves, spreading outwards from her center. The temple dome trembled at the shout, and the silent mist clinging to the stone pillars was shaken apart.
There must be some explanation for the body of a deity, especially its vocal cords. The screams of the brute goddess could even penetrate the temple and shatter the dense dark clouds she created, soaring straight into the sky.
The broken dark clouds were like cotton wool scattered by a strong wind.
The moon reappeared.
This also brought certain existing perspectives back into focus.
"You can do that?"
Not only was Riddle, who was lifted up, taken aback, but even the young wizard was shocked by the goddess's actions. This was completely different from the adventure of traveling with the gods that he had imagined.
Why are you panicking and calling for help... And even if you are calling for help, shouldn't you at least say something like, "Father! Please hear my cry and save me from this endless darkness!"—that kind of slightly uncultured plea for help?
"Call me a savior! What kind of goddess is this?" Ian felt he understood his contracted partner a little better. No wonder the brute goddess could hang out with Dementors even after she died.
"Boom!!!"
A huge commotion resounded outside the temple, proving once again that background and power are essential in the business world, and the brute goddess proved the truth of this saying with her actions.
All I saw was...
Accompanied by the shouts of the brute goddess, the moonlight that shone through the dissipated clouds did not last long, as the originally bright moon only existed for a few seconds.
The moon's light dimmed rapidly after reaching its peak, and then, as if an invisible hand had suddenly pushed aside the clouds, a dazzling sun rose into the sky at an incredible speed. The alternation of day and night was so swift that the blinding golden light instantly swallowed the silvery light, as if the order of the stars had been distorted at that moment.
Such was the terrifying power of the gods. A powerful golden beam of light descended straight down from the sun, piercing through the dome of the temple, like a sharp blade that split the heavens and the earth.
With boundless heat and majesty.
The protective barrier erected by the priests was ineffective.
The beam of light struck precisely the Silent Mist Nightmares that were gradually approaching the Goddess of Rampage. The Silent Mist Nightmares let out sharp, piercing screams and were all blasted away by this powerful force.
Riddle, held aloft by the brute goddess, was similarly driven away by this force, which likely saw him as an alien. Fortunately, Riddle only crashed into a pillar and coughed up a few mouthfuls of blood.
Compared to his situation.
Many of the Silent Mist Nightmares who, like him, were close to the Brute Goddess were truly miserable.
They were completely annihilated.
There wasn't even time for a scream to escape his lips. Of course, since the Silent Mist had already climbed onto Riddle's body, he didn't feel much pain. Under the Silent Mist's unique ability, Riddle only felt that his brain and all his senses were shrouded in an eerie mist.
It wasn't ordinary fog; it had a sickly grayish-green hue. Countless tiny particles seemed to be moving within it, like living things. The surrounding air became unusually heavy, and a chilling coldness crept up his spine, causing Riddle to involuntarily stop in his tracks.
He looked around and saw a blurry black mist slowly condensing into shape within the fog, like a gate to the abyss being quietly opened, releasing an ancient and evil aura.
That is the form of the Silent Mist Nightmare in the spiritual world.
"Damn it!"
In a daze.
Riddle wanted to back away.
Sudden.
He felt as if he had crashed into a solid wall. The Nightmare opened its invisible maw and instantly swallowed Riddle whole, dragging him into a twisted yet familiar world—his past.
Riddle felt a sharp pain in his temple, and images flashed uncontrollably through his mind: the orphanage corridor, the terrified eyes of the other children, and the hanged rabbit.
"No!"
Riddle roared in the vast white fog, trying to stop the memories, but the fog had completely enveloped him, and the surrounding scenery began to distort and melt, like an ink painting thrown into water.
When Riddle looked around again, he found himself standing in a room at the Woods Orphanage.
How could he forget this afternoon?
It was the summer of 1943, and the air was stiflingly hot. Eleven-year-old Tom Riddle stood in the middle of the room, watching the tall man walk in—Albus Dumbledore.
The man easily found his hidden "collection": toys he'd stolen from other children, Billy Stubbs's rabbit, and Amy Benson's silver bracelet.
"These things don't belong to you, Tom."
Dumbledore's voice was calm and firm. "I think it's time to return it to its rightful owner."
Riddle wanted to object, to deny it, but Dumbledore had already taken the items and raised his wand. A blue flame erupted from the tip of the man's wand, instantly engulfing the entire wardrobe. The flame was cold, devoid of heat, yet it made Riddle feel burning hot all over.
It wasn't just the loss of spoils.
He also lost all his wealth accumulated over the years, and... all the evidence that proved he was different from others simply vanished, all of which caused Riddle great pain.
That was the deepest fear and guilt he didn't want to face. He saw his younger self, thin and lonely, with a longing for power and recognition in his eyes.
"Enough! I said enough!"
He didn't know whether he was yelling at Dumbledore or roaring at the Silent Mist Nightmare that had caused him to relive this memory; his hysterical voice did not cause any change.
Dumbledore remained standing there, his eyes coldly fixed on Riddle—those deep blue eyes seemed to see right through his soul, into the deepest darkness within him.
"You are a wizard, Tom," Dumbledore's voice was particularly clear amidst the crackling flames, "but that doesn't mean you can do whatever you want."
"Magic is not a tool to harm others." Hearing those unforgettable words again made Riddle's face contort with rage. He saw his younger self kneeling on the ground, his hands gripping the carpet tightly, his knuckles white. That sense of powerlessness, that fear of being seen through, remained as vivid as ever after all these years.
"Avada Kedavra!"
As if banishing his fears and his past, Riddle reached out and took a bite of a large melon. A green light flashed, and he saw the surrounding scenery begin to distort.
Dumbledore fell at his feet.
"That's it! That's right! That's it!"
Riddle gradually lost his mind and became confused in the silent fog.
And at that very moment.
"Every time I see you, you're killing someone. Tom, you're destined to be noseless." A voice suddenly rang out from behind, and the next moment, Dumbledore, who had been "dead," opened his eyes again.
"That is the miracle of magic."
The same voice rang out again, seemingly out of place.
Perhaps the scenario is incorrect.
But the voice and words reminded Riddle of another afternoon, of the cat that "came back to life," and of why he dared not face Ian.
"Ian Prince".
Riddle turned his head with difficulty.
as predicted.
That humiliation that Voldemort chose to forget, the deep-seated fear he truly buried in his heart, was right behind him, drawn out by the Silent Mist as if it were brewing into their food.
……
Riddle suffers and is terrified in the world of memories.
The real world.
Faced with the manifestation of the power of the sun god.
The little wizard was also feeling a bit unwell.
"Holy crap! This is the real sun!" Ian instinctively raised his hand to shield his eyes, but he could still feel the scorching light. A towering figure was faintly visible within the beam of light.
He was clad in golden armor, wielding a longbow that shone with light, and his entire body radiated a dazzling golden glow. Although his face was obscured, one could still feel his unparalleled power and majesty.
His figure cast a long shadow, but the shadow was not dark; instead, it was a pale gold, as if even his shadow carried the warmth of the sun.
"My daughter... do you mean you weren't crazy enough before?" A voice came from the golden figure, deep and powerful, like rolling thunder rumbling between heaven and earth. Every syllable was filled with boundless power, carrying a majesty that pierced the soul, and was like a burning flame.
However, there was a clear sense of helplessness in this raging fire.
"Enough of this, quick, Father, give this clone some power—no, give me some fatherly love! I want to fight alongside my teammates against the evil wizard who is wreaking havoc on humanity!"
Seeing that a powerful backer had appeared, the brute goddess straightened up and rushed into the blazing sun to grasp the sun god's hand, attempting to "borrow" some power from him.
"Your body, as a believer, cannot bear my divine power." However, the sun god chose not to be a power bank and looked into the depths of the temple.
Beneath those eyes, which shone like two blazing suns, everything hidden in the shadows was laid bare, yet there was no reflection of Herpo in them.
The sun god didn't care about this at all.
"Furthermore, I believe you should not interfere with the course of history." With that, the Sun God glanced at the unconscious Riddle and Ian, who was now surrounded by Silent Mist after he had blasted away a large number of Silent Mist demons that were trying to annihilate the brute goddess. As a result, the area around him was filled with Silent Mist demons, so he could only direct the guardian goddess Ariana to deal with them.
"Heroic spirits?"
His voice sounded somewhat surprised.
His gaze lingered on Ariana, who was constantly swinging her sword.
"That's the guardian spirit summoned by my teammate. I could tell something was wrong at a glance. It really is a Heroic Spirit. It seems his magic is quite something."
The brute goddess may not fully understand Ian either.
As for how much exactly I know.
I suspect only she knows the answer.
"He should have his own Valhalla."
The sun god spoke in a low voice.
Before the astonished, reckless goddess could respond...
"Damn it! Are these things endless?!" Ian's only method to deal with the Silent Mist Nightmare was to summon Ariana through the Patronus Charm.
He also tried using other spells, but these spells could not reach the Silent Mist Nightmare, as if the Silent Mist Nightmare was not in the same dimension or space as him.
A very strange creature.
Ariana's clearing speed wasn't slow, but these Silent Mist Nightmares seemed to have monster spawners hidden around her; as soon as she killed one group, even more would appear.
Ariana was still using a fast sword, but she still felt like the more she killed, the more there were.
"Let me help you!"
Upon hearing Ian's complaints, the impetuous goddess immediately tried to run towards him, but was pulled back by the sun god's avatar, whose own light was gradually receding.
"So that's why you suddenly descended to the mortal realm. You were tricked by that wicked boy from the future... Now come back with me, and someone will correct the mistakes here."
Without further ado, the sun god was about to leave with the brute goddess.
The impetuous goddess immediately panicked.
"If he dies, I'll be wiped out too. You can't leave him here alone!" The "he" the brute goddess was referring to was clearly Ian.
As for Riddle... who cares?
"Um?"
Upon hearing this, the sun god's eyes immediately sharpened.
He was enveloped in a flowing golden halo. The light was not static, but rather flowed like a solar corona, sometimes condensing into flame-like patterns and sometimes scattering into specks of golden light.
"Look!"
To prove her point, the goddess of brute force raised her hand and showed the sun god the connection between herself and Ian, perhaps simply to demonstrate that she was speaking the truth for the first time.
however.
Due to insufficient consideration.
He probably didn't realize how this contract would feel in his father's eyes—a ten-thousand-year loyalty contract made the sun god's eyes tremble.
It was as if countless golden rays of light were bursting forth from within—what was his mood? It was probably several times worse than discovering that his daughter had gotten a marriage certificate with a blond-haired man and had taken out loans to buy several modified Ghost Fire motorcycles.
"I don't recall this calamity being part of your destiny!" The sun god's voice flowed like molten gold, each syllable rippling through the air, causing the reliefs on the temple walls to tremble slightly. He suddenly looked at Ian, and the intense gaze made Ian feel as if his entire body was about to be set ablaze.
"Something's not right with this guy!"
Accompanied by the sun god's cold snort.
The brute goddess didn't have time to explain anything.
All I saw was...
The figure of the sun god had already appeared before him. Even though this god was only an incarnation, his face was so handsome that it was almost sharp, and his features were as if they had been sculpted from gold by the most skilled craftsman. Beneath his high-bridged nose, a pair of eyes burned with eternal divine fire, and it seemed as if two suns were flowing within his pupils.
"Would you believe me if I said that your daughter forced me to sign the contract?" Ian tried to reason with her, but he clearly didn't realize that his words would only backfire—it's like the blond guy telling a father... that his daughter got pregnant on her own.
All I can say is that Ian and the brute goddess are definitely the hidden dragon and the young phoenix.
That's why they say birds of a feather flock together.
"I believe in Ian."
Ariana tried to speak up for Ian.
result.
The sun god merely glanced at Ian's wand, and Ariana was automatically pulled into the wand, vanishing into thin air as if she had never existed.
"A mere mortal? I'll see what gives you the right to enslave a god." The sun god's face was incredibly ugly; when he leaned down to look at Ian, his eyes were practically spitting fire. Within three feet of this ancient deity, the air distorted slightly due to the intense heat, forming a faint halo.
good news.
All the silent fog and mist were burned away by the radiance of the sun god.
bad news.
Although the threat of the Silent Mist Nightmare is gone, Ian now faces the Sun God, who is many times more terrifying than the Silent Mist Nightmare. The Sun God's gaze is truly frightening.
"Tell me your secret!"
It was like a divine oracle, no, it was a divine oracle. Ian's prized brain-sealing technique and mental power were as fragile as paper under the Sun God's scrutiny.
Ian felt like he was about to be sucked into the eyes of the sun god.
I said…
He ultimately didn't say anything.
The moment his gaze met that of the Sun God, it was as if countless golden rays pierced Ian's mind. His consciousness was pulled by an irresistible force into an unfamiliar realm.
The subconscious world.
An urban jungle built of steel and concrete.
My home in my previous life.
Skyscrapers stand tall, roads crisscross, traffic flows like a river, busy office workers, stylish men taking street photos, and women dancing live on the roadside—all these elements combine to create a bustling and lively "forest."
Ian was looking down at all of this.
"This is bad!"
He realized where he was, and his heart skipped a beat. The little wizard subconsciously looked down and found himself standing on a telephone pole, his two feet strangely but firmly hooked onto a wire. Everything in his slightly different view seemed to be filtered through a reddish lens.
but.
My eyesight has been enhanced to an epic degree.
"There it is!"
Beneath Ian's feet lay an endless steel forest. Among the crowd, Ian spotted a familiar figure—the sun god, the radiant lord of Mount Olympus.
At this moment.
This domineering deity was also looking up at him.
just.
The once magnificent and terrifying sun god, radiating divine light, was now deathly pale, his eyes filled with horror, and his expression was clearly visible.
"So it was... a raven..."
The voice of the sun god was no longer majestic, but instead carried a sense of helplessness.
Ian continued to stare at the other person.
The sun god staggered back several steps, and in the next instant, a fine crack appeared on His perfect face. The flowing golden light began to scatter chaotically, like a broken mirror. The surrounding scenery began to distort and dissipate, as if the morning mist were evaporated by the rising sun; everything returned to nothingness, and all things shattered like bubbles.
"Is that all?"
When Ian opened his eyes again, he was back in the real world. Before him was still the incarnation of the Sun God, but the Sun God looked somewhat shaky at this moment.
The goddess of brute force stood beside the sun god, her expression one of astonishment and uncertainty. The god's eyes were covered with spiderweb-like cracks, and his golden pupils shimmered with a molten lava-like light.
It looked like it could collapse at any moment.
"I really didn't check the calendar before I went out today." The sun god, utterly frustrated, could only sigh helplessly. His entire avatar transformed into streams of light and flowed into the body of the Brute Goddess. The Brute Goddess received the super-powerful energy boost she desired; clearly, her father's earlier claim that his followers couldn't handle it was just a lie.
The power has arrived.
however.
At this moment, the brute goddess had no time to be happy.
"What's in your head?" The brute goddess stared wide-eyed in disbelief, her expression one of utter horror as she looked at Ian, who was clutching his throbbing head.
She couldn't imagine what had happened between the Sun God and Ian, and she couldn't understand why her father, who had just been so determined to stop her from interfering in history, had changed his mind after being injured.
of course.
The most unbelievable problem for the goddess of brute force was the abnormality of the sun god.
She couldn't understand it at all.
What kind of secret is it?
Can it burn the gods?
(End of this chapter)