Arcanum: Chaos Path

Chapter 348 The Conditions of Night

Antigonus could clearly see the attitude of the goddess of night towards Him, which made Him somewhat annoyed, yet He did not know how to retaliate.

After all... even Antigonus had to admit that compared to the goddess of night, He was truly a useless little dog.

Bah! What puppy? It's clearly a demon wolf.

Antigonus flicked its tail, resolutely defending its race. Even if it were to become a pet, it would still be a majestic dire wolf that could help its master hunt, not a dog that would just lie there waiting for its master to pat its head.

"Alright, stop teasing this puppy. It might get depressed. I don't trust Adam's skills. What does He know about psychotherapy?"

Roland finally spoke. He first reached out and patted the wolf's head, feeling its slightly hard but still fluffy texture, before looking at the Goddess of the Night and smiling as he said, "You should know why I've come."

“I know.” The Goddess of Night nodded. Of course, she could guess why Rolin was here. This made the Goddess of Night look at Antigonus and say with a touch of emotion, “Lucky dog, perhaps you should take the path of destiny.”

The Goddess of Night spoke sincerely. From Her perspective, Antigonus was indeed an absolute lucky man. When the Goddess of Night turned the tables on the Destroyer Wolf, although she did not exterminate the other wolves, she did not deliberately hold back either. Under those circumstances, Antigonus not only survived, but also obtained the uniqueness of the Mysterious Servant and the Fool. What else could this be but luck?
Later, although Antigonus had a somewhat turbulent life, compared to those gods and angels who had already fallen, he was truly alive to this day. He had even recovered from his out-of-control state and regained his senses, clinging to Rolin's coattails. It seemed that he could reunite with his family and have a reliable support for his future life. The wolf was the epitome of good fortune.

When faced with such "praise," Antigonus was stunned for a second, completely unaware of where his good fortune lay.

The Goddess of Night then looked at Roland and said, "I can give you the Mother of Heaven. In exchange, I want a portion of your power. I don't need much; just enough to serve as a research sample."

Roland raised an eyebrow and looked at the Goddess of Night, who kindly reminded him, "My power is dangerous. Be careful not to play with fire and get burned."

"I know, but I'm more afraid of the complete unknown than the danger." The Goddess of Night answered frankly. Of course, she knew how dangerous Rolin's power was, but that's precisely why the Goddess of Night needed to understand this power even more.

Moreover… the goddess of night’s gaze fell on Antigonus, and she said meaningfully, “At least it doesn’t kill instantly when touched, does it?”

Luo Lin smiled upon hearing this. He gazed at the goddess of the night before him, and without further hesitation, nodded and said, "Sure, I'm looking forward to seeing what you can figure out."

Roland raised his hand, and the power belonging to Nyarlathotep condensed in his hand, eventually forming a semi-transparent bubble, within which lay a key.

This naturally falls short of any special characteristic. Just like the key condensed by the Goddess of Night before, it was merely a simple ball of energy, which could also be understood as a form of pollution. As for the bubbles on the outside, they were a wisp of power that Rolin had deliberately separated from Yog's power within his body, as a safeguard to seal Nyarlathotep's power.

Roland wasn't worried about what the Goddess of Night could discover. If Nyarlathotep's power were so easily understood, he wouldn't be an Outer God. In fact, as a minor Nyarlathotep himself, Roland would find it quite interesting if the Goddess of Night could actually discover something.

Rolin's only worry was that the Goddess of Night might stumble during her research into power, which could cause some minor trouble.

However, since the Goddess of the Night insisted, Rolin naturally wouldn't try to dissuade her any further. He smiled and handed the "key" to her, saying, "Happy transaction! The outer bubble is a seal. It's safe as long as my share of power is inside the bubble." "Happy transaction!" The Goddess of the Night took the "key," lowered her eyes, sensed the danger of the power in her hand, and pursed her lips.

This was the first time the Goddess of Night truly came into contact with Rolin's power, and it was only at this moment that the Goddess of Night vaguely understood why Osekus, who had received Rolin's treatment, was so resistant to receiving treatment again.

This power may be more dangerous than He originally imagined.

……

The Goddess of Night was a very trustworthy person, so after getting what she wanted, she naturally didn't delay and quickly released the Mother of Heaven as promised.

"...Antigonus?" The Mother of Heaven opened her eyes, slightly confused. She paused for a moment after seeing Antigonus in his wolf form. She instinctively called out his name, clearly not yet understanding the situation.

"Sister!" Antigonus was much more excited than Her, and pounced into the arms of the Heavenly Mother like a dog.

The giant dog, taller than a man, was skillfully caught by the Heavenly Mother, who instinctively reached out to stroke Antigonus's fur, asking with some confusion, "Aren't you used to using human form? Why are you using the dire wolf form again..."

As soon as she finished speaking, the Heavenly Mother suddenly froze, for she discovered that the demonic wolf in her arms was whimpering.

"What! What's wrong with you? Antigonus, what happened?" The Heavenly Mother panicked; she hadn't seen Antigonus so vulnerable in a very, very long time.

Apart from the Second Age, during their initial period of wandering, when Antigonus, having just escaped his father's protection, was brutally beaten by society and would occasionally hide in a corner and sob secretly, from the Third Age onwards, Antigonus would try his best to appear mature and reliable. Even when childishly asking him to groom his fur, he would try his best to keep a straight face.

But now, Antigonus was actually crying in front of Him.

What?! What on earth happened?
The Heavenly Mother is confused. She has no memory of being a vessel for divine descent over the years, and even her memory of the destruction of the Night Kingdom is incomplete. This is a consequence of being a vessel for divine descent.

Just as the Heavenly Mother was at a loss, frantically trying to comfort Antigonus, who seemed both sad and happy for some reason, a hand reached out from the side and, to the Heavenly Mother's puzzled look, caught Antigonus's tears in a bottle.

Mother of Heaven: ?
Who is this? What are they doing?
The Heavenly Mother belatedly realized that there were other people around, which made her look over a beat late, and she saw a guy who looked like a scholar.

"Ah, don't worry about me, you can continue." Roland put away the "tears of joy" with satisfaction, noticed the Mother of Heaven's gaze, smiled at her, and said.

(End of this chapter)