Lilianna noticed the change in Sky's expression and asked, "What's wrong? Is this question taboo for you? Like in terms of faith or religion?"
Sky replied, "There's no taboo, just that it's a rather unique question. What do you mean by 'God'? Do your kind, the Blood Clan, also worship your own deities?"
"The Blood Clan worships the ancient ancestor Lilith. But I'm not talking about God in the religious sense. I mean a God who actually exists in this world, or a life form that can be defined as a God," Lilianna explained.
After pondering for a moment, Sky said, "I haven't thought about this before. But since werewolves, cultivators, and the Blood Clan exist, the appearance of a deity isn't entirely unacceptable to me." He turned to Lumiya and asked, "Do you believe in a God?"
"Of course, there's definitely a God, and she's a goddess," Lumiya answered without hesitation.
"Why a goddess?" Sky asked, surprised.
Lumiya replied matter-of-factly, "I chatted with her just last night. She seemed like a girl around 16 or 17 years old."
A silence fell over the room. After a while, Lumiya blinked her innocent eyes and asked, "Why are you two looking at me like that?"
"You talked to a goddess last night?" Sky asked incredulously.
"Yes. She has been visiting me in my dreams for the past few nights, chatting with me. Oh, and the reason I went to the forest to find you yesterday afternoon was because the goddess told me to wake you up in my dream. She also asked me to explore the secrets deep in the forest behind the old castle," Lumiya explained.
"A goddess...in dreams?" Sky struggled to comprehend, then said after a moment of thought, "Are you sure it's a goddess in your dreams and not some kind of witchcraft, magic, or a cultivator's spell? And are you sure it's not just a dream?"
Before Lumiya could answer, Lilianna spoke up, "It's probably not just a dream, nor any known form of magic or witchcraft."
Sky looked at Lilianna quizzically.
Lilianna said with a wry smile, "That goddess has also been visiting me in dreams for several days."
"Wow, you also received the goddess's call? Did she also invite you to visit her home tomorrow?" Lumiya asked cheerfully, wagging her tail.
Lilianna nodded, "The goddess in my dream requested that I bring the master of the castle with me to the abode of the gods."
Sky pointed to himself and asked, "I need to go too? Why didn't the goddess directly call me in a dream? And do you know how to get to the goddess's abode?"
Lilianna shook her head, "The goddess said that as long as I bring you, we would naturally know the way to her dwelling."
"I know," Lumiya raised her hand, "The goddess showed me the way to her home in my dream. I can lead the way tomorrow; I'm quite good at it."
While they were talking, Sky's phone suddenly rang. Puzzled, Sky took out his phone to check. Who could be calling him at this late hour, especially since he had set his phone to silent for the castle exploration?
Curious and a bit bewildered, Sky pulled out his phone to check the caller ID. What he saw made his expression even more perplexing. Lilianna noticed the change in his demeanor and leaned over to glance at the screen, only to find the incoming call was from a number listed as "007".
The two exchanged a look, acknowledging the weirdness of the evening was far from over. Sky steadied his breath, answered the call, and turned on the speakerphone.
"Hello, who is this, and what do you need at this hour?" he asked, striving to keep his voice calm.
A distinctly adolescent female voice, tinged with irritation and impatience, came through. "Do you even realize how late it is? Why aren't you asleep? What are you still doing up at this ungodly hour?"
Sky was baffled, half-suspecting this to be some sort of prank call from a rebellious teenager. But her next words froze him in his tracks.
"I'm busy, you know? I squeezed out some time to try and dream-walk to you, but after three failed attempts, I had to see what you were up to... Dude, it's past 4 AM, and you're out here flirting? And with two at once? You've really upped your game!"
Her rapid-fire speech was interspersed with strange background noises, reminiscent of the buzzing sound when a transformer malfunctions.
Casting a surreptitious glance at Lilianna, whose face was turning a shade of red, Sky hurriedly responded, "You might be misunderstanding something. My situation tonight is a bit complicated."
The voice on the other end continued, "Misunderstanding? Let me check again. Oh, one of them is that peculiar little werewolf, a minor, I presume. I'm sorry, really a misunderstanding on my part. But still, even if it's just one girl, isn't it a bit late? Didn't your mom ever tell you staying up late is bad for your health?"
Sky, at a loss for words, didn't get a chance to interject as she rambled on, "I don't have time for lengthy explanations. I wanted to appear in your dream to make this more formal, but a phone call will have to do. Let me introduce myself. I'm the newly appointed goddess of this world, looking for an assistant. It's too much for me to handle alone. I think you're suitable for the job, so I'm giving you an opportunity. Come for an interview tomorrow at noon, and don't be late, or you'll have me to answer to.
Oh, and there are three of you in the interview – you, the werewolf girl, and a vampire, who should be with you by now. Wait, the vampire girl next to you, the file says she's a stunning beauty. Let me see... Wow, indeed a beauty, a good match for you. Remember to bring both of them to the interview.
The werewolf girl knows the way; let her lead. I can't be
bothered to dream-walk everyone with directions. Just be careful crossing the lake; the ornamental fish have been overfed and grown quite large.
Ah, shoot, I've been too caught up talking to you. My shuttle's void engine is overloading! Gotta go, bye!" The call was filled with a loud sizzling sound, followed by an explosion, and a faint cry of "My 30,000 divinity points!" Then, all that was left was a dial tone.
After a long silence, Sky finally regained his composure and ended the call. Another moment of quiet passed before he broke the silence, "Do the goddesses in your dreams always act like this?"
Lilianna answered uncertainly, "The voice is the same, but in the dreams, it was just a few simple oracles, spoken... normally, not like this... peculiar."
Lumiya nodded, "That's her voice alright. She talks like this when we chat; I find her very approachable, not at all aloof."
Sky chuckled awkwardly, "Well, that's one way to put it." He looked at them, "So, shall we head over there tomorrow? We can't be late for a divine command, and I'd rather not get struck by lightning. Lumiya, you do know the way, right?"
"Sure do," Lumiya replied confidently, putting Sky at ease.
"But there's a problem," Lilianna said with a wry smile. "The goddess told us to be there by noon, but she didn't specify an exact time."
Another silence ensued.
After a while, Lilianna continued, "Also, Lumiya, do you know how long it takes to get there? You haven't actually been to the goddess's abode, have you?"
Lumiya blinked and shook her head, prompting more silence.
Finally, to ensure they wouldn't be late for the interview, they decided to leave at 8 AM, aiming to arrive by 10 AM. Lumiya and Lilianna, with their supernatural speed, could easily traverse the entire forest twice in two hours.
As for Sky, if needed, Lumiya could carry him. After all, as a cultivator werewolf, Lumiya wouldn't be affected by a sleepless night. And Lilianna, a vampire accustomed to nocturnal habits, was considering Sky's human limitations in their plan.
Sky, having been in this realm for less than 16 hours, was already drained by the day's events and information overload. After confirming their plans with the ladies, he retired to his room and immediately fell into a deep sleep.
Sometime later, Sky turned in his sleep, instinctively pulling something soft and elastic into his embrace. It felt incredibly comfortable, prompting him to hold on tighter. Suddenly, the object in his arms emitted a bone-chilling coldness. Shivering, Sky half-awoke and squinted in the dim light from his phone charger. He could barely make out the face of a woman, unnaturally pale. Realizing he was holding a cold, female body in the haunted castle in the middle of the night, his mind raced to a terrible conclusion.
Before he could scream, a cold, soft hand covered his mouth.