Shadow of the Evil God

Chapter 492: Mom Will Call Dad Dad

......

When she woke up, it was already early morning. In Brother Mira's library, time passed slowly. Diana read through an entire room of historical materials and took notes. After a long night, she realized that Cesar had disappeared again.

She strolled silently along the fortress walls, gazing at the rising sun. Soon, she concluded that Cesar truly lacked the self-awareness of a powerful figure. He did whatever he pleased, so it was no surprise that he vanished without a trace. Though he had said that his territory and family weren't the end of his journey, merely temporary perches, she still felt a pang of helplessness at his sudden disappearance.

Diana leaned against the battlements, gazing into the distance for a long moment. By the time she returned to her room, her clothes were soaked with sweat. The heat in the fortress was even more unbearable than it had been in recent days. Firth curled up in her blankets, half asleep, and only stirred slightly at the sound of her movements, her confusion between day and night as usual.

During the most difficult period, Firth relied on the curse to maintain a normal cycle of sleep at night and activity during the day. However, recently, as the curse has eased slightly, she has begun to stare awake like a ghost in the middle of the night and toss and turn in her bed during the day. Sister Mira has been very troubled—it's only because she built the entrance to the library in the wasteland that Firth can now fall asleep in the library at any time.

Diana brought a plate of roast potatoes, grilled mushrooms, and bacon to the table. She drank wine with her meal, glancing at the sealed container as she pondered what to do with Cesar's good niece's head. Ever since her dreams had been replaced with the wasteland, she had been forced into the habit of doing everything herself. But this couldn't go on forever; she needed a servant. If ordinary servants weren't up to the task, she might consider getting her own Holmmonks.

I'll go look up the literature tomorrow night.

After finishing her meal, Diana prepared Phils's meal as well. Unsure when she would wake up, she cast a sealing spell to keep the meal fresh and warm, waiting for Phils to remove it herself after she woke up.

She thought about how to make up for the things she had done since Cesar's disappearance while fixing her outfit in the mirror. After combing her hair, she planned to go to Altinia to explain the situation, and then go to the fortress for the regular meeting with the princess.

Aside from the presence of her young ancestor in her bed, this life was eerily similar to her own childhood, when she and Artinia were both arrogant children, studying together at Itris's academy, often meeting in the lakeside gardens to discuss not romance but politics.

During those years, Diana learned about court life in the Kasar Empire, how they even poured poison into sparkling diamond cups and politely handed it to erring nobles, who would then peacefully die. Of course, Artinya also knew about the Yestren School, a morbid school of magic shrouded in pervasive silence and terror.

Having spent their entire childhood like this, they naturally knew each other's views on love and values. Diana knew that if she completed this first, it would mean that Altinya would circle around them like a ghost, sometimes crossing the line, sometimes stepping back to observe, enjoying the pleasure of judging both of them at the same time.

The princess, grasping her still-thin hand with her sword-holding hand, said, "The relationship between a mage and a monarch means that after the monarch dies, the mage who knew and remembered her life will live on for a long, long time." Therefore, as the one who would remember the monarch's life and see her through to the end, the mage must forgive her many willful actions during her brief lifetime.

Most of the promises made in childhood are dreamy and unrealistic, but now it seems that the dreamy and unrealistic color has always existed in Altinya's heart.

That guy had his whole life mapped out at a very young age.

Diana cast a revelation spell on her bedroom to prevent intruders. However, the moment she finished casting the spell, it activated. A sharp echo pierced her eardrums at the moment of least resistance, causing her heart rate to accelerate. Just as she was about to recite the spell, a gray-furred werewolf emerged from the shadows and exchanged a puzzled glance with her.

Didn’t Ajiehe go with Cesar?

Then they both turned their gazes towards the house, and a little girl casually reached for the food, grabbed a baked potato and stuffed it into her mouth. Noticing someone was looking at her, she didn't shy away; she raised her arm and said hello. "La-la-la, la-la-la."

Diana was a bit puzzled, but soon she remembered the look on Ajeh's face after she'd bit Cesar and drawn blood. The little girl in the house was about five years old, even younger than Ajeh in the wilderness, but if the two of them stood facing each other, they would be like people staring at each other like a portrait in a glass frame.

If an artist had imagined a portrait based on Ajeh's description, it would have been the girl in the bedroom. She had short gray hair and gray eyes, her features were softer, and there was nothing animalistic about them.

"That's not for you." Ajiehe drank.

"La-la-la." The girl raised her voice, with a hint of rebellion, "But I don't want to eat raw meat and drink raw blood! I see guys like me on the street.

What are you eating? Children like me should eat raw meat and drink raw blood. You said that yourself, but I don’t see that!”

Diana glanced at the girl with her third vision and found that a disordered time turbulence enveloped her body, making it almost impossible to see her in the third vision, and unable to find her with the perception of magic.

"Your father also eats raw meat and drinks blood," said Ajeh.

"He was seduced by the Tao. Although I have never seen him, I know him," the girl replied immediately.

Diana glanced meaningfully at Ajiehe, her bloodline memory. The guy covered his forehead, gnashing his teeth. He looked like he had no intention of raising a child. Forget about planning, he probably wasn't even prepared.

"It seems that Cesar took you to explore the time turbulence," Diana said thoughtfully. "In theory, this kind of thing can be completed in an instant relative to the outside world, or even completed before it begins. So, he sent you and the child born in the time turbulence out, but he himself was trapped?"

"It's much more complicated," Ajeh explained, "but he did send everyone away. There was the Emperor of the Fran Empire, the ancestor of the Kuna people, beastmen who had never existed before, and a real dragon sealed in a tomb, its incomplete form. In the end, he was the only one who stayed behind to preserve the memory of the real dragon we captured."

"Tomb of the Wise..." Diana frowned. The Fran Empire, the ancestors of the Kuna people, the Firstborn sealed in the tomb, the unknown True Dragon—this string of names left her somewhat bewildered. "Cesar, how dare you explore this? This is the darkest secret of my school."

"The Tomb of the Wise no longer exists. The seal has been broken, and the Wall of the Ancestors has collapsed. Now there is only a ruin filled with time turbulence. I went back to explore the way, but found nothing. I also gave birth to this thing in the time turbulence. Because I was afraid that she would become more than ten years old or even dozens of years old in the blink of an eye, I brought her here first." Ajiehe said.

"I'll take you for some dessert." Diana thought no more, simply waving to the girl and shaking her hand as she excitedly ran towards her. "You don't mind me corrupting your daughter with the food of human nobles, do you, Ajeh?" She lowered her head and stroked the creature's little head, then raised her gaze again, "If that can be called corruption."

"She has a non-human part, but it's hidden by Cesar and never revealed." Ajeh said, "As a beastman..."

The girl raised the hand that Diana wasn't holding, a piece of bacon still in her mouth. "Then I'll be a beastman at night and a human during the day! Since it's daytime now, you should say now that as a human—"

Ajiehe opened her eyes wide, "There's no such thing!"

The girl immediately pressed her lips together, gnashing her teeth, and resting her fingers on her forehead, imitating Ajeh's embarrassed expression. Diana raised her eyebrows at Ajeh and gave her a playful smile, but she remained silent. Children love to imitate, especially those with distinctive movements. In truth, the girl wasn't embarrassed at all; she simply thought Ajeh's movement was unique, so she followed suit.

"Okay," the girl immediately lowered her finger, then raised it again and gestured, "Then I'll be a beast for a while, Mom, so you can't blame me today."

"Wait..." Ajeh seemed to realize something was wrong, but it was too late. In the blink of an eye, the bacon beside the girl's mouth turned into a piece of raw, bloody meat, and the food on the table turned into raw, bloody meat, raw mushrooms, and raw potatoes. Before Diana could realize where this transformation would take her, her stomach suddenly turned sour.

Diana reacted and immediately chanted a spell, but unfortunately, the sudden change was like a pile of bitter, bloody hay mixed with raw meat exploding inside her body. She covered her forehead, closed her eyes, and pursed her lips, finally suppressing the terrible substance in her stomach.

"If you're not good at teaching children how to do things, I don't mind doing it for you, Ajeh." Diana breathed softly, trying not to lose her composure. "And, dear," she lowered her head, "if you were a boy, your bottom would be in close contact with the branches."

"She'll say I'm lucky to be a girl and won't get beaten." Ajiehe glanced at the girl. "Is that so?"

"Yes, I'm so lucky!" the girl said, raising a hand. "And raw meat is more full of vitality, right? The downside is that it's hard to swallow. Now that I've already swallowed it, I've turned the less-vital stuff in my stomach into something full of vitality. This idea is perfect, isn't it?"

Diana stared at Ajeh silently for a while, but the latter never looked away and showed no sign of guilt.

"I have nothing to say to you or your daughter," Diana said finally. "You can take her out at night, but she'll stay with me during the day. Cesar and I are having some troubles, so it's difficult to replenish our family bloodline right now. This child will be the first member of my family."

"Hey." Ajiehe frowned.

"If you have any opinions, you can wait until we find Cesar before raising them. It seems that you are not prepared at all." Diana also frowned and stared at her. "This girl doesn't have a name or surname yet.

, am I right? If you can't think of a name for her, we can think of one later."

"I have nothing to say to you," Ajiehe said. "I just came from there. How do you want to get there?"

"I've explored the area near the Tomb of the Wise, but I couldn't find the entrance." Diana shook her head. "Actually, if Cesar had mentioned this to me, I could have taken him directly there. I can take you there now, too. But first, I need to explain a few things to Artinia and let her know that my family has its first new member."

"Human family!" The girl raised her arm again, celebrating even though she had no idea what was happening. "Does this mean I'm even less of a wolf?"

"You don't look like a wolf," Ajeh pointed out.

Diana shook her head. "Before that, I have to prepare Phils's meal first. She can't eat raw food."

"It's early morning now, and this guy is half dead again?" Ajiehe said again.

"Stop talking about this guy," Diana glared at Ajiehe. "Ancestor Ferrieres was your original master. I could even say she was your adoptive mother."

"You're such a joke." Ajeh also stared at Diana.

"I know, in my blood memory, my mother calls my father Dad, so there must be someone my mother calls Mom!" The girl raised her hand again to express her opinion.

Diana knew she shouldn't have said that, but it was unrealistic to expect a child to understand overly complex relationships. Just as Ajiehe frowned and reached out her hand, the girl scurried around behind Diana, making a la-la-la sound, as if her loud humming could drown out Ajiehe's scolding.

"I can't believe it." Diana raised her eyebrows slightly, and after careful consideration, she said, "I don't want to ask too much about the complicated relationship. If you don't want her to spill all your secrets like a bamboo basket, think back to how Ferrieres taught you. Of course, I know she almost went crazy later, but you and her still have a less cruel memory."

"I'm really going crazy." Ajiehe exclaimed.

Chapter 493: Discussion on Eating and Being Eaten

......

Political affairs were still a tangle of problems, and meetings were still the same, a tangle of mud. At Gural Fort, some were creating the mess, some were expanding it, some were lamenting it but not working, and some were waiting for instructions from above before they would even move to try to address the mess. Unfortunately, most people would only take a few steps before hunkering down, waiting for further instructions.

As more and more powers came and went from Fort Gular, their patchwork political organization found it increasingly difficult to cope. If it were just the fortress and their own people, everything would run smoothly, but their actual territory now encompassed the entire territory from Gonzales to Fort Gular, and the nobles who came and went were not only of complex identities, but also often harbored malicious intentions.

Diana could even say that many people came here just to protest and argue, to muddy the already complicated situation in Gurral Fort. If it was already muddy, they would muddy it even more until no one could see clearly and no one could make sense.

What's the most effective way to resolve this dilemma? Meetings? Diplomacy? Negotiations? None.

It must be admitted that the most effective solution right now is war. Although Diana didn't think war was a good thing, by now, the vast majority of the political issues piling up in the territory could be resolved with a single strike. All that back-and-forth political negotiations and endless meetings could be turned into a decisive battle with just one strike. They didn't even need to win overall; simply winning a few key battles would significantly alleviate this murky waters.

Altinya had always anticipated war, and Cesar's vast majority of preparations to date had also been geared towards it. Therefore, no matter what, the solution to all problems would ultimately lie in a conflict spanning north, south, east, and west. Prior to this, of course, endless meetings and negotiations would be used to secure wartime advantages.

Diana led the way to Altinya's living room. Because the terrain was high and remote, an astonishing number of thoughts had already passed through her mind on the way.

This time, Cesar disappeared all night, and when she caught him back, she had to put a collar around his neck and take him to handle matters. Many matters could not be handled without this guy, and many people could not be negotiated without this guy.

The door to Altinya's living room was unlocked, and it flew open with a push. The princess was applying her makeup in the morning light streaming through the window. Diana had often seen this scene as a child, and it didn't strike her as unusual. However, the fact that a white cat, standing behind her, was tying her hair was far from normal. Standing only half a person's height, the cat had to stand on the table to reach her hair.

"You have a real sense of leisure," said Diana.

"You're quite leisurely and elegant, Annie." Altinya glanced sideways, needless to say, seeing the girl. "Is she from the school? Or your father's side?"

Diana shook her head slightly. "It's your dear teacher's child," she said.

The princess fell silent, staring at the girl in her arms, as if observing something incomprehensible and inscrutable. Diana wanted to hold the girl for a moment longer, but Ajeh's daughter, like Ajeh herself, was restless and possessed a deep curiosity about everything new. Seeing a slender white cat standing on a table combing someone's hair, she could no longer pay attention to anything else.

"Cat in boots!" she cried, and in one swoop she slipped from Diana's arms and ran towards the table, leaping onto the bench in two steps and onto the edge of the table in one.

Diana beckoned Ajeh, clad in a cloak, to come in. Seeing the half-human, half-animal she-wolf, the princess nodded slightly, clearly understanding the child's origins. Then she reached out, grasping the girl by the collar and lifting her up. She was just one step away from pouncing on the cat, Ovia, and knocking it over.

She hung in mid-air, flapping her arms and legs as if she were swimming.

"Every place is a different stage." Altinya looked at the little girl in her arms. "From the wilderness to the city, from beasts to humans, different stages have different ways of doing things. If you are curious about Oviya, you must sing with the voice of this stage."

"Stage..." The girl's eyes widened. "Why the stage? Is there something different about it?"

Ajeh was stunned again, clearly overwhelmed by the royal family of the Kasar Empire. Although Artiniya had learned a great deal about the lives of servants during her time with Cesar, her temperament was still largely influenced by the Kasar Empire's customs. The ethos of treating the world as a stage and oneself as the star was a long-standing tradition among the royal families of the Kasar Empire.

But unfortunately, they think they are the protagonists on the stage, but in fact they are just puppets of the church.

The morning light illuminated the princess's smile, and also her white teeth beneath it. "Most people admire puppet shows, but don't want to see the puppeteer. This is because people don't want to see that they actually have strings wrapped around their wrists, being pulled by others to dance. Puppets are the vast majority of people in the world, and puppeteers are the bad guys behind the scenes. Both of these things are bad. When people transform from beasts into humans, they step onto different stages and interact with different people, and they are inevitably entangled.

Hang a bunch of silk threads and do things you don’t want to do.”

"That sounds terrible," the girl said seriously. "Is this really the way to get from the wilderness to the city?"

"But," Altinya said, changing the subject, "if you know how to be a puppeteer, you can hold your own strings. You can do what you want, or you can stand on the stage and have everyone stare at you."

Ajiehe tilted her face and looked at the princess by the window. "I'm sorry to ask, Princess of the Empire, you don't want to pass on your vicious and boring traditions to others, do you?"

"That sounds interesting!" The girl raised her arms, causing Ajiehe to sigh. "How can I possibly do something like that?"

"It seems your mother is busy and has to leave you in my care for a while," Altinya said nonchalantly. "If you don't mind, you can call me teacher. I'm standing at the most dazzling place on the world stage. If you just put on some nice clothes and come with me, you'll know what it feels like."

"Teacher!" the girl shouted.

Ajiehe grinned. "Princess of the Empire, it's one thing for you to teach your adopted cat how to wear clothes and boots and learn aristocratic etiquette, but you're also trying to teach her to abide by your etiquette standards?"

"No one in this place understands the rules of etiquette better than you, Ajeh," Altinia said calmly. "Your story is also buried in the ancient scrolls of the Empire, known along with the past of all the Grand Masters of Firiels. We know all too well how you stood by her side, politely threatening and then killing her."

"What a boring past." said Ajiehe.

"I've always hoped you could stand at the forefront of the stage and show your former charm and help us." Altinia put the girl down, but didn't let go. Instead, she reached out and lifted her messy hair, gently combing it. "The fortress is in chaos right now. If you appeared as an ancient legend, at least the Empire's forces and spies would be more docile."

"It's a sad political situation," said Ajiehe.

"Forget it, I don't even have any hope of convincing you." Altinya casually moved the comb and then used the scissors, quickly trimming the girl's messy hair from that of a wolf boy to a neat short hairstyle that just passed her ears and fell to her neck. "I won't ask what you two are going to do, Diana. The teacher's child is staying with me, and I can guarantee that she won't be harmed. Also, how long will you be gone?"

Diana could only sigh helplessly. "If everything goes well, I'll be back tonight. Of course, the best case scenario is that I disappear one second and reappear in front of you with my people the next. However, I have to walk a long way outside the time turbulence, and this journey may be very long."

"It sounds like the teacher has gone somewhere incredible again." Altinya said it wasn't surprising. "I'll leave you a few sets of clothes. You can bring your people here when the time comes."

"Dad!" The girl shouted again just as she was about to catch the cat.

"What's wrong?" Diana asked her.

"There are two fathers in there. Can you tell which one it is?" asked the girl.

Diana and Ajeh looked at each other, thinking of the other half of his soul. "What's the difference between your two fathers?" the princess asked.

"No," the girl continued, her eyes fixed on the elegant white cat in front of her, "there are actually countless fathers."

"Countless fathers?" Altinya was a little surprised.

"It's the chaos of time turbulence," Diana could only shake her head. "I'll find a way to deal with it. Hopefully, he can handle some of it himself."

"But there are actually only two of them," the girl continued. "He's killing himself. Every time he kills himself, there are two fewer fathers out there. It looks amazing, it's the most amazing thing in the world!"

"Is this a wonderful thing?" Diana couldn't help but frown.

"Of course," she said, "and they will make all the moving objects stop moving, making the whole bustling street very quiet, with only the two of them left. Then one of them will kill the other, and then kill themselves, and then it will be completely quiet, and this once bustling street will disappear!"

Diana shook her head and looked at Ajeh, who simply spread her hands. Yes, this was the first lesson Cesar had given his child. It was truly horrifying, absurd, cruel, and twisted.

"So that's a stage, too?" the girl suddenly added, as the cat Artinia had picked up was already taking small steps back. It was hard to remain calm in the face of such a scene, even just a description. "When should I step onto Daddy's stage, and when should I step onto this stage?" she pondered.

Diana gave Altinya a look, signaling her to proceed with caution. Born in an ancient Kuna tomb, raised amidst a turbulent time, and witnessing Cesar and his alter ego slaying each other, it was remarkable that she could act like a lively girl. Whether she would become a terrifying being or a human being would depend on her experiences in the real world.

In addition, considering that her mother is not very normal, this matter is even more troublesome.

.......

One step away, Diana has stepped into the castle

The wilderness, though a path she had walked before, though the forests and lakes were familiar to her, the scene in her third perspective was vastly different. The fog that had once shrouded her had dissipated, and the once strange and unpredictable fork in the road had been reduced to ruins.

Thick shadows shrouded the silent lake, and echoes of a history older than the Kuna dynasty slowly seeped into Diana's ears. She heard the whimpers of ghosts, the sobs of knights, the gasps of the dying, and the groans of pain. Countless ancient echoes, trapped in an ancient tomb until its collapse, allowed them to see the light of day, echoing into the present of ages to come.

"Be careful, Miss Mage," Ajeh whispered. "You've stood here for half an hour, motionless. If you accidentally get caught in the ancient echo, I won't be able to bring your body back."

This guy's provocations are really everywhere.

"Thanks for the reminder," Diana turned around, "Do you want me to cut a piece of my own flesh so you can taste it first, wolf girl?"

"I don't like plates, knives and forks."