The room was enveloped in silence.
All that could be heard was the wind outside the window, along with the intermittent chirping of insects.
Could it have been a mistake?
Luo Yan dared not take it lightly.
He first verified the conditions of the warning magic circle, then carefully inspected every potential blind spot, but he found nothing.
Just as he started to suspect that he was being overly sensitive, the fleeting white shadow passed through the corner mirror again.
Luo Yan furrowed his brow, his magic wand lightning-fast as he aimed in the direction opposite the mirror, yet there was still nothing, no visible sign of anything.
Nevertheless, he spoke into the air with feigned confidence.
"I see you, come out."
"I, I, I can't come out."
A shy voice came from behind him. Luo Yan turned sharply, only to see that the voice was coming from the mirror, and the previously empty mirror now contained a faint figure.
"A ghost?"
No—
This fellow was a bit different from ghosts.
Luo Yan, who often dealt with undead creatures, could discern that this being was not any kind of undead, but rather appeared to be a pure spirit.
Hearing itself being called a ghost, the shadow in the mirror indignantly said.
"I am not a ghost..."
Luo Yan immediately pressed.
"Then what are you?"
"I... I would also like to know..."
The voice was filled with confusion, seemingly unclear of its own condition in this moment.
Luo Yan's frown deepened.
He couldn't be sure if it was an act.
"What do you mean?"
The figure in the mirror fell silent.
After a long while, it spoke uncertainly.
"I... I might be your divinity."
"...?"
Divinity?
Luo Yan paused for a moment.
He didn't remember having such a thing.
"Wait a second..." His thoughts scattered by this impactful clue, Luo Yan moved his wand away from pointing into thin air and pressed a finger against his brow, "I am a bit confused, what does divinity mean? Right, what is your relationship with Linte Isaac?"
He had indeed harvested a batch of faith recently, but it should be far from enough to condense divinity.
If becoming a god was that easy, the streets would be swarming with Demon Gods!
His intuition told him.
This might be a trick by the "Mechanical God."
"Linte Isaac?" The wavering voice was full of confusion, "Such a familiar name... can you tell me who he is?"
Luo Yan stared at it in the mirror, choosing his words carefully as he spoke.
"The last emperor of the Isaac Dynasty in the Ryan Kingdom, a man who is suspected to have once become a god, that is all I know... Does that jog your memory?"
The white shadow pondered for a long while, nodded, then shook its head.
"It's vague... I seem to remember that he made me, and placed me somewhere."
At that moment, something else occurred to it, and it spoke with excitement.
"Right! I remember now, it might be because of the Demon King Territory core!"
Luo Yan was taken aback.
"The Demon King Territory core?"
"Correct!"
The uncertain white mist nodded its abstract head, analyzing with an elated voice.
"You established a soul connection with the Demon King Territory core, and since I am your divinity, I connected with that statue too! Then, there was a consciousness within that core trying to devour me, but it was too weak, and I ended up devouring it!"
"..."
That was the consciousness of the Demon King Territory core?
Luo Yan did indeed remember lectures in the Demon King Academy that the Demon King Territory core was not completely inanimate, housing a consciousness crafted through magic technology.
That entity acted as the assistant to the Demon King, as well as a mark left in the mortal world by the Demon God.
Through it, one could convert the faith stored in the Demon King Territory core into monsters, or use it to change the terrain and expand the size of the labyrinth.
The professor in the Demon King Territory introductory class emphasized not to resist when establishing a soul connection with the core, but to offer one's mind and body sincerely to the Demon God.
Luo Yan had not resisted.
Moreover, even a few hours ago, his hard-headed bronze level would have likely prevented any effective resistance.
However, he had never imagined that the labyrinth assistant assigned to him by the Demon God would be swallowed whole by this being in front of him?!
"Really? ..." Back to his senses, Luo Yan became a bit flustered.
"Of course it's true!" The proud, wavering white mist boasted, saying smugly, "I am your divinity, I would never deceive you."
Luo Yan's eyes widened.
"No— if you've eaten that thing, what am I supposed to do?!"
"It won't affect anything, rather, the functions of the Demon King Territory are now completely in your hands!"
The white shadow looked at Luo Yan, cheerfully continuing.
"Not just that, the Demon King Territory has truly become your domain! And not just some turf of the Demon God! You don't have to worry about the situation of the players being discovered by the Demon God anymore!"
This being even knew about the players.
It might be telling the truth.
At this moment, Luo Yan couldn't fully grasp the significance of these words, even feeling a bit of a headache at the thought of having to explain if Hell discovered the situation here.
Just a few hours ago, he had been planning to write those no-gooders underground a letter, but now it turned out he'd become a no-gooder himself.
Watching Luo Yan fall into distress, the white shadow also realized its actions might have caused him trouble and said in a voice filled with grievance.
"But... Lord Demon King, if I hadn't done something at that time, I would have been swallowed whole. If the Demon God found out that there was another god's mark on you, wouldn't you be troubled too?"
"What you're saying... You eat His son, and He won't find out?" Luo Yan didn't know if the metaphor was correct, but that's how he understood it.
"It's really not necessarily detectable," said the white shadow, seriously analyzing, "Even godly beings can't possibly keep track of each of their children's whereabouts. And while I was digesting that mark, the core of the Demon King Territory hadn't fully unfolded, so the chances of It seeing were very, very small... especially since this isn't Its domain, It would almost be impossible to notice."
"Let's just assume that's the case," Luo Yan sighed and suddenly had a thought, considering a possibility, "Wait, I think I know who you are! Are you... the stele in my Sea of Consciousness?"
"Correct! We've met before! It's just that I couldn't speak then, hehe..." Hearing Luo Yan finally remembering it, the erratic white shadow happily fluttered about in the air.
"Then... the tasks given to the players? Were they also issued by you?"
"Indeed, 'twas I!"
Luo Yan said with a headache.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
The white shadow said bashfully.
"Because I was originally unable to speak, I also didn't expect that after eating that little guy living inside the Demon King Territory core, I would inherit its function. I could not only walk out of your Sea of Consciousness but also communicate with you like this... I was also shocked and a bit hesitant about whether to come out or not."
"After all, my original function was just to help you perfect some of the things you couldn't do technically. Like managing the forum or issuing tasks to players when you command them to do things..."
Luo Yan scratched the back of his head and tucked the magic wand back into his chest.
"..."
What a strange feeling.
It was as if there was another person living inside his body.
However, this guy can't really be considered a person, right?
At most, it's just a stone or what it calls itself a "divine being."
Speaking of which, what exactly was that catastrophe system?
Was Linte Isaac trying to help him become a god?
But why?
At that moment, he suddenly remembered the popup that appeared when the system was loading—
[Let this foolish world feel the pain!]
Was it revenge?
He felt it couldn't be that simple.
Luo Yan pondered for a long time, watching the indescribable mist in the mirror, and slowly began to speak.
"What should I call you?"
"I don't know either... How about you give me a name?"
The voice was full of expectation.
"Then… how about Youyou?" Luo Yan considered for a moment and tentatively asked, but he didn't expect the entity's reaction to be unexpectedly great.
"I've already said I'm not a ghost!"
"Then, let's go with Youyou."
"...What's the difference!?"
After two name suggestions were rejected, Luo Yan didn't expect the entity to be so hard to please.
"Tch, if you don't like it, think of one yourself, that's the best I can do."
"Then, then let's stick with the second one."
"..."
It seemed this entity was the type that responded better to firmness than softness.
Luo Yan composed himself and continued to inquire about another concern.
"What's the range of your activities?"
Youyou thought for a moment.
"Hmm... I can go anywhere covered by the Demon King Territory, and besides that, around you. I can go as far as the position of the door. Oh, and I can share with you everything I see! Like this!"
As it spoke, the white mist in the mirror gradually shifted shape, morphing into a blurry mirror.
That "Mirror in the Mirror" was like a screen submerged in water. Through it, Luo Yan saw the players in the mine.
The boisterous skeleton soldiers had hunted down more than twenty runaway slave mice, turning the entire mine into complete chaos.
Luo Yan also saw a player crouching next to the body of a slave mouse. With a small knife in hand, they were making gestures over the corpse, seemingly curious about the realism levels of the game.
Not far away, Chris had just awakened and fainted again, staunchly contributing a [Faith Value +1] which was promptly absorbed by the core of the Demon King Territory, and at the same time appeared in his system interface.
So that's how it is.
Luo Yan should have realized this back in the mine, that the faith value absorbed by the core of the Demon King Territory had synchronized in his system.
The two were supposed to have no connection at all.
"Interesting..."
Staring at that mirror, Luo Yan became more and more spirited as he watched, to the extent that his previous weariness had completely dissipated.
Was this the joy of watching the chaos from the shadows?
If this guy could cover the entire Demon King Territory, wouldn't he know as soon as the adventurers entered?
He could even lurk behind the adventurers and enjoy the show!
Luo Yan suddenly realized Youyou's abilities seemed more formidable than he had imagined.
It looks like he would have to carry a mirror with him at all times!
At that moment, he remembered something else and promptly asked.
"By the way, Youyou, can you see the official website?"
"The official website? Of course... Wow, the forum is so lively!"
As the voice fell, the mist in the mirror once again changed shape, conjuring up the official website of "Cataclysm OL."
Luo Yan approached the mirror to get a clearer view.
Everything that caught his eye was as Youyou had said—
The whole forum was in an uproar!