Chapter 18: Welcome Back

Zhao Kongcheng was stunned.

He never expected that the seemingly 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 earlier attempts to appeal to the typical teenage heroism and rebellious spirit were.

Lin Qiye was no ordinary high school student.

Lin Qiye stood up and walked straight to the door. He hesitated for a moment before stopping and saying,

"Thank you for telling me all this. I'll sign the confidentiality agreement."

With that, he pushed the door open and left.

This time, Zhao Kongcheng simply sat silently on the bed, his body half rising, seemingly wanting to stop him, but after a short pause, he slumped back down.

He understood what this young man represented, and he knew that it was his mission to bring Lin Qiye back. But...

He couldn't do it.

...

"Xiao Qi, you're finally back? Why aren't you wearing your school uniform today?"

"Auntie, I was in a rush this morning and forgot to wear it."

"You child... won't the teacher scold you for not wearing it?"

"They just said a few words, it's fine."

"Ah, Xiao Qi, you've just transferred to a new school, you can't leave a bad impression on the teachers. Be more careful with what you do."

"I understand, Auntie."

"How's it going with your classmates? They're not excluding you, right?"

"No, we get along really well. They even sent me home, and I walked them part of the way too."

"That's good, that's good."

"I'm going to my room now, Auntie."

"Alright, sleep early."

Thud—!

Lin Qiye closed the door, lay down on his bed, and gazed out at the night sky. He sighed deeply.

This world was much more complicated than he had imagined...

But that didn't have much to do with him.

After resting for a while, Lin Qiye sat up and began to undress. Suddenly, a hard object fell out of his pocket.

Clang clang clang!

Lin Qiye looked down, picked it up, and furrowed his brows in confusion.

It was a metal ornament, resembling a crest, slightly larger than a one-yuan coin. He couldn't tell what material it was made of, but it gave off a faint chill when held.

On the front of the crest, two straight swords crossed, with faint blue light emanating from their blades. Behind them was a starry night sky, exquisitely crafted!

At the bottom of the design, the words "Zhao Kongcheng" were engraved.

"This is..." Lin Qiye squinted.

He recalled that during the time when Zhao Kongcheng had been dragging him toward the hotel, he had seemingly touched his pocket.

Did he accidentally drop it?

Lin Qiye fiddled with the crest, flipping it over. On the back, a few lines of small text were carved:

If the dark night shall come,

I will stand before millions,

With my sword facing the abyss,

Blood staining the sky!

Such ambition... Lin Qiye muttered to himself, Did Zhao Kongcheng write this himself? Or is it some kind of saying from the Watchers? He paused, looking at the crest blankly. He doesn't seem like the type to write something like this...

After playing with it for a while, Lin Qiye placed the crest on his desk, changed his clothes, and climbed into bed.

Tonight, he had something very important to do.

He closed his eyes and sank his consciousness into the mental hospital of the gods.

At that moment, in the small courtyard of the mental hospital, Nyx was sitting on a rocking chair, holding a bunch of bottles and jars. She seemed to be murmuring something, with a smile occasionally appearing at the corners of her mouth.

If you ignored the murkiness in her eyes and the odd things in her arms, just from her posture and the noble aura she exuded, this would be an absolutely beautiful sight.

Not long after, Lin Qiye, wearing a white coat, slowly walked over.

To better immerse himself in the role of a mental health doctor, Lin Qiye had specifically found a white coat from the director's office and even put on a pair of clear glasses.

At a glance, he did look the part.

Lin Qiye walked up to the rocking chair, silently gazing at Nyx's murky, vacant eyes. He sighed deeply.

From the mythological texts he had read, it was clear that Nyx was one of the oldest and most powerful gods in Greek mythology, with top-tier status and power.

But compared to other gods, she had one distinctive feature...

She loved to have children!

According to Lin Qiye's estimates, Nyx had at least twenty children, including the famous gods such as the god of death Thanatos, the god of sleep Hypnos, the god of space, the goddess of fate, and the god of misfortune, among many others...

Except for a few, the vast majority of Nyx's children were evil gods, wreaking havoc in the mortal realm after they were born, with many of them meeting tragic ends.

From the few fragments of mythological stories Lin Qiye could find, he couldn't gather more detailed information about the Night Goddess, but he speculated that Nyx's current condition might have something to do with her offspring.

A doctor at the Sunshine Mental Hospital once said that a male patient, due to missing his wife, fantasized about her presence next to him. Could it be that Nyx's illness was similar?

Had she become so consumed with longing for her children that she mistook the jars and bottles for them?

But what had happened to her children that had caused such a drastic reaction from Nyx?

Moreover, as an ancient god with divine power, could she really feel such strong emotions? Or perhaps... before she fell ill, had her divine body been taken away from her, and her godly status stripped?

Lin Qiye couldn't know.

Hypnos, don't rush, your brother will be back soon. He was just playing for a little while...

Thanatos, this child, has always been a troublemaker. Once he gets back, I'll give him a good lesson...

Nyx stroked one of the vases in her arms, staring blankly into the distance. A flicker of hope appeared in her eyes, only to be clouded over once again.

She paused, her hoarse voice trembling slightly.

"But...

Why hasn't he come back in three thousand years...?"

Lin Qiye watched this scene, and for some reason, a wave of bitterness rose in his heart.

Who could have imagined that the once mighty Night Goddess was now so helpless and small?

She was the Night Goddess, but she was also a mother, waiting for her children to return.

To cure her illness, I must go to the root... Lin Qiye's thoughts once again echoed the doctor's words. He lowered his head, lost in deep thought.

The root... Nyx's illness stemmed from her lost children.

To cure her, he would have to start with her children. But how could he find them? After all, most of them were famous Greek gods. He couldn't possibly go one by one to bring them back to Nyx, could he?

And even if he found them, would these evil gods really come along obediently?

Lin Qiye furrowed his brows, deep in thought, when suddenly, a spark of inspiration flickered in his mind.

Perhaps... this could work?

Lin Qiye stood up, hesitated for a moment, then finally made up his mind and took a step forward.

In Nyx's vacant gaze, Lin Qiye slowly walked up to her...

He knelt down gently,

And reached out to embrace Nyx.

He whispered softly in her ear:

"Mother, I've come back."

At that moment, a sudden spark of light appeared in Nyx's eyes—something she hadn't shown in millennia!

She trembled and reached out with her hands, tightly embracing Lin Qiye. After a long while, she finally spoke in a shaky voice:

"Welcome back, Thanatos... my child..."