Zhao Kongcheng was stunned.
He really hadn't expected that this ordinary high school student in front of him would say such words, or have such mature thoughts...It was only now that he realized how ridiculous his previous attempts to appeal to the typical adolescent mentality—full of chuunibyou and youthful passion—had been.Lin Qiye was no ordinary high school student.Lin Qiye stood up and walked directly to the door. After hesitating for a moment, he stopped in his tracks."Thank you for telling me all of this. I'll sign the confidentiality agreement."With that, he pushed the door open and left.This time, Zhao Kongcheng merely sat silently on the edge of the bed. His body was slightly raised, as if wanting to stop him, but after a brief pause, he weakly sat back down.He knew what this young man represented. He also knew that he bore the mission of bringing this young man back. But...He couldn't do it."Xiao Qi, you're finally back? Why aren't you wearing your school uniform today?""Aunt, I woke up late this morning and forgot to put it on.""You child... The teacher won't scold you for not wearing the uniform?""They just said a couple of things, it's fine.""Sigh, Xiao Qi, you've just transferred to a new school. You shouldn't leave a bad impression on the teachers. Be a bit more careful.""I know, Aunt.""How's it going with the other students? Are they not excluding you?""No, we're getting along well. They even sent me home, and I gave them a ride back too.""That's good, that's good.""I'm going to my room now, Aunt.""Mm, go to bed early."Thud!Lin Qiye closed the door behind him, lay back on his bed, and gazed at the night sky outside the window. He let out a long sigh.This world was far more complicated than he had imagined...But, that didn't really concern him.After resting for a while, Lin Qiye sat up. As he began to undress, something hard fell out of his pocket.Clink-clink!Lin Qiye looked down, picked it up, and his brows furrowed in confusion.It was a metal ornament, resembling a crest. It was slightly larger than a one-yuan coin and had a faint coolness to the touch. The material was unknown.On the front of the crest, two straight swords crossed, with faint blue light emanating from the blades. Behind them was a night sky dotted with stars, exquisitely crafted!At the bottom of the design were the words "Zhao Kongcheng.""This is…" Lin Qiye squinted his eyes.Lin Qiye recalled that during the earlier moment when Zhao Kongcheng had pulled him towards the hotel, he seemed to have brushed against his pocket.Did he drop this by accident?Lin Qiye fiddled with the crest and flipped it over. On the back, there were a few lines of small text."If the dark night should come, I will stand before millions, sword drawn against the abyss, staining the sky with blood!""What a bold statement... Did Zhao Kongcheng write this? Or is it some saying from the Night Watchers?" Lin Qiye muttered to himself. "He doesn't seem like the type to write such things..."After playing with it for a while, Lin Qiye placed the crest on the desk and changed into his clothes, climbing into bed.Tonight, he had something very important to do.He closed his eyes and let his consciousness sink into the asylum of the gods in his mind.At that moment, in the little courtyard of the asylum, Nyx was sitting in a rocking chair, cradling a bunch of bottles and jars, seemingly murmuring something, with a smile occasionally appearing on her lips.If one were to ignore the murkiness in her eyes and the strange objects in her arms, her graceful demeanor would make for a truly beautiful sight.Soon, Lin Qiye, dressed in a white coat, slowly walked over.In order to better immerse himself in the role of a psychiatrist, Lin Qiye had specially found a white coat in the director's office, even placing a pair of plain glasses on the collar.At a quick glance, he did look the part.Lin Qiye walked up to the rocking chair and silently observed Nyx's murky and vacant eyes, sighing lightly.From the mythological texts he had read, it was clear that Nyx was one of the oldest and most powerful gods in Greek mythology, her position and power among the top-tier gods.But compared to other gods, she had one striking feature...She loved having children!According to Lin Qiye's estimates, Nyx had at least twenty children, including the famous death god Thanatos, the god of sleep Hypnos, the god of space, the goddess of fate, the goddess of misfortune, and many more...With a few exceptions, most of Nyx's children were malevolent gods who wreaked havoc on the world after their birth, and many met tragic ends.From the fragmented snippets of mythology, Lin Qiye couldn't gather more detailed information about this black-night goddess, but he speculated that Nyx's current condition might be related to her children.The doctor from the Sunlight Asylum had once said that a male patient had imagined his wife still being by his side because he missed her so much. Was Nyx's illness caused by similar feelings of missing her children?But what had happened to her children? What caused Nyx to react so violently?And as an ancient goddess with divine power, would she really have such strong emotions? Or perhaps... before she fell ill, had she been stripped of her divine form and power?Lin Qiye couldn't be sure."Hypnos, don't worry, your brother will be back soon. He just got caught up in some mischief... Thanatos, this child, has always been a troublemaker. Once he comes back, I'll make sure to give him a good scolding!"Nyx cradled a vase in her hands, staring vacantly into the distance, a glimmer of hope flickering in her eyes, which soon dulled again.She paused and her raspy voice trembled slightly:"But... it's been three thousand years, why hasn't he returned..."Lin Qiye watched this scene, and for some reason, a pang of sadness rose in his heart.Who would have thought that the once mighty black-night goddess would now appear so helpless and humble?She was a goddess of the night, but also a mother waiting for her children to return."To cure her illness, we must address the root cause..." Lin Qiye's mind replayed the doctor's words. He lowered his head, deep in thought.The root cause... Nyx's illness stemmed from the loss of her children.To cure her, he had to deal with her children. But how could he possibly find so many gods—who may even have been brought to this world by the mist—and bring them back to Nyx?Even if he found them, would those malevolent gods come along willingly?Lin Qiye furrowed his brows, contemplating. Just then, a flash of inspiration struck his mind!Perhaps... this could work?Lin Qiye stood up, hesitated for a moment, and finally made up his mind. He walked toward Nyx, his eyes focused.In Nyx's vacant gaze, Lin Qiye slowly approached her...He gently crouched down, extended his arms, and embraced her, whispering in her ear:"Mother, I've come back."In that instant, a brilliant light sparked in Nyx's eyes, one that had never been seen before!She trembled as she stretched out her hands and tightly embraced Lin Qiye. After a long time, she finally spoke in a wavering voice:"Welcome back, Thanatos, my child..."