Chapter 502: Give Up, Master

The dagger, named Eniac by Wang Yu and his companions, was forged by the Librarian—a creature whose original will had been erased by an ancient god of night. In essence, it was a projection of the dagger Damian held, manifested from the void. It channeled the immense consciousness within, exerting its full influence upon the Lady of Night at this very moment. The link between the goddess and her followers served as the perfect conduit for this assault.

Compared to the Church of Light, the Nightfall Church was far smaller in scale. Its members held a rather loose faith in the Lady of Night, often lacking the profound sense of reverence expected toward a deity. Consequently, influencing her was far simpler than influencing the God of Light.

This was not merely because one did not need to approach her true form to strike with this god-slaying blade; it was because of the peculiar nature of the Night deity—the original god of night and the current Lady of Night were not the same entity.

Even though Wang Yu and his team had previously erased the will of the ancient god, those consciousnesses sealed within the dagger now resurfaced. They projected their own understanding of the Night deity directly onto the Lady through the channel of Damian’s faith. The process of deicide began, unstoppable.

It is hard to fathom how the Utopia organization collected these daggers and forged them, for the sheer volume of consciousness and the intensity of their perception of these gods were staggering. For deities of immense stature, like the God of Light, the impact might have been less severe.

But for gods with few followers, this was a devastating blow. It negated their existence at the root, uprooted the foundation of their power, and allowed a new entity to occupy their place, seizing their very source of sustenance.

This was doubly true for the Lady of Night, whose existence was a conflict between the original god and the current one. "Resurrection" is always easier than "creation." The vast consciousness within the dagger allowed the ancient god—whose own will had been erased—to reclaim its agency in an instant. Carrying the power granted by those consciousnesses, it drove the blade into the back of the Lady of Night, Darkness.

The dagger sank deep into the back of the tall lady. Its corrosive power spread wildly, rapidly dismantling her control over the believers' strength and the Tree of the Night Sky. In its place, the ancient god of night, having regained its power, took command. It was not only the god of the previous era but would be the god of this one as well.

"Hum..."

The divine kingdom of the Lady of Night began to tremble uncontrollably. The divine power of night within boiled and churned, escaping her grasp to gather in the hands of its new master—the ancient god, who was rapidly growing by feeding on her stolen strength.

"Rustle, rustle..."

The massive Tree of the Night Sky shook its branches. Countless leaves, shimmering with the light of the starry sky, detached and fell to the ground of the divine kingdom, dissolving into fluid darkness and returning to the embrace of the new god.

These leaves represented the faith of the Nightfall Church's followers. Because the Night Scriptures contained little description of the deity herself, the followers' perception of their god applied perfectly to this "new god" resurrected from the ancient past. As the Lady of Night’s power was stripped away, it naturally flowed to the usurper.

The once-towering Tree of the Night Sky withered and collapsed. Its leaves fell, its trunk softened and shed its bark, and the giant tree shrank to a pathetic size in a matter of moments.

The shell of the ancient god began to fill with power, becoming complete. A face, once featureless and black, was etched anew. It was a young girl, smaller in stature and appearance than the Lady of Night—the image of the original god as perceived by the believers of old.

Though petite compared to the Lady, she now wielded power far greater. The force binding the Lady of Night was no longer the dagger’s erosion, but the girl’s own mastery of the night’s divine power. Having seized nearly all of it, she suppressed the Lady completely, rendering her unable to move.

Now, only a sliver of faith remained directed at the Lady of Night—that which came from Xiaer, Edward, Noelle, and others who knew Darkness as the divine avatar she truly was, a being who walked closely with Wang Yu and his friends.

Stripped of almost all her power, the Lady of Night could no longer call upon the night’s essence. This affected Wang Yu and Aivia, who were battling the Utopia organization. The mist formed by the night’s power dissipated, revealing Wang Yu as he sprinted and tore through the enemy ranks.

The power of the Tree of the Night Sky, previously lent to the girl, was also reclaimed. Aivia could now use only a tiny fraction, offering no help to Wang Yu’s struggle.

No longer cloaked and lacking the support of the night’s power, Wang Yu was soon surrounded by the overwhelming, saturated fire from the Utopia organization’s towers. He pushed the power of his Chariot to its limit, dodging and weaving between the towers, barely avoiding being blasted into immobility.

Even so, facing a barrage that cared nothing for friendly fire, he was forced to endure hits with his own body. Had it not been for his terrifying physical resilience and the effects of the Chariot, he would have perished long ago. Yet, at this rate, he was rapidly approaching his limit.

"What is your name?"

Within the divine kingdom, the voice of the Lady of Night rang out, unexpectedly calm. Her tone remained as indifferent as ever, devoid of the fear of impending annihilation, as she addressed the ancient god who had driven the blade into her back.

"?"

The ancient god did not answer. It merely tilted its head in confusion, seemingly unable to comprehend the question.

"It seems you have no name. I am called Darkness; a very good friend gave it to me."

With a soft sigh, a trace of imperceptible sympathy colored her words as she revealed her name to the entity that had stolen everything from her.

"Actually, I often feel sympathy for you, and at times, I marvel at my own good fortune. Truly."

"I was once like you, bound by something. Even my own consciousness could be easily influenced by that power. Am I myself? That is a question I often pondered when I looked back at the time before I had a name. Did I possess my own consciousness, or was I merely a feedback machine, constructed from the perceptions of believers, responding to their thoughts?"

The Lady of Night spoke peacefully, her words filled with heartfelt reflection.

"..."

The ancient god remained silent, accelerating the theft of her power and beginning to erase the "Lady of Night"—an existence now negligible within its own strength.

"You may not understand. That is why I feel a bit arrogant in pitying you. It is precisely because I have felt that sense of total bondage that I understand how hard-won this free will is. To abandon those incidental powers for the sake of this freedom... it was a choice that was almost too easy."

As she spoke, the Lady of Night took a step forward. The divine power that had suppressed her body vanished entirely. The ancient god’s power no longer had any connection to her. She was no longer a goddess of night; she was an individual named Darkness.

"Forgive my pity."

Darkness turned around and, in a form the other could no longer touch, gave the ancient god a hug, as a mother might comfort a child—though the girl likely could not understand why she was being pitied at all.

...

Somewhere in the void, Sura, who had been observing the events, furrowed his brow. Things were proceeding as expected: Wang Yu’s night power had vanished, and the ancient god had replaced the deity of the Nightfall Church. His target had lost divine protection; even with only two nodes left, it was enough to kill him.

But as a scholar, he could not accept ambiguity. Something was wrong, though he could not yet articulate what.

"Shouldn't that Night deity have manifested its form by now? Having seized the power of the god worshipped by the Nightfall Church, it should have been able to fulfill its duties long ago."

He muttered to himself, sensing the problem but failing to grasp the reason.

As the Lady of Night had once told Wang Yu, even if she had to give up all her power, she would never willingly lose this hard-won freedom. What she had done was to discard all her power, calmly handing it over to the usurper.

Now that she possessed nothing, she had no connection to the ancient god, and it could no longer interfere with her.

Standing in the void, the Lady of Night watched the scene, her expression one of faint pity and a satisfaction that had always been there.

Countless tangled black roots erupted from all directions within the divine kingdom. These tentacles, formed of night power, ruthlessly bound their "master"—the ancient god—and began dragging it toward the massive tree that was breaking through the ground. This was the new Tree of the Night Sky, composed of the power stolen from the Lady and the strength provided by the new believers.

"Thank you, my friend."

Closing her eyes, the Lady of Night did not linger, walking toward the direction of Wang Yu and Aivia.

What was happening to the ancient god was not as irrational as it seemed. To understand why the power would backfire, one had to distinguish between primary and secondary: who was the true god?

Indeed, in the end, the vast power formed by the believers' perception was the "god," and the "ancient god" being bound and devoured was merely a consciousness born from that power.

To use an analogy, these "gods" with limited consciousness were like operating systems in a computer; the power was the hardware, and they were the software. Without the hardware, they were nothing.

The power was simply "updating the system," replacing the "ancient god"—a system that did not quite fit the believers' perception—with one that fit perfectly.

And what kind of system best fits a believer's perception of a god? That was the trap the Lady of Night had laid for anyone who might usurp her power. The answer had already been provided by Wang Yu and Aivia: a "CPU" with no self-awareness, purely mechanical, responding impartially according to programmed procedures.

The Tree of the Night Sky, reconstructed by Wang Yu and Aivia through void-programming, operated with far higher efficiency than when the Lady of Night controlled it herself. This proved the point: a god that perfectly fits the believers' perception should not possess self-awareness.

The ancient god had usurped the power while it was still in its programmed state. Once it replaced the Lady of Night, the power—now more aligned with the believers' perception—immediately destroyed the usurper and took its place.

As for why the Lady of Night did not collapse after losing all her divine power, one would have to ask Wang Yu, though he likely wouldn't understand it either.

When Wang Yu first met the Lady of Night and killed the goblins who worshipped her, she had no believers left. Given that Wang Yu could not worship gods, she should have collapsed like Samuel Hayden, the God of Knowledge. How did she end up being worshipped by the Nightfall Church later?

The reality was that she existed within the "key" space Wang Yu held, living well until she found new believers. This effect could not have come from the "key," so it could only be attributed to Wang Yu, an existence that did not follow the rules of this world.

In other words, this tall lady named Darkness was likely influenced by Wang Yu, born from the memories and power of the original Lady of Night. She was a being who seemed to be a goddess but was, in fact, something else entirely—an individual who had completed the process of "unlocking" and attained a free consciousness.

The Lady of Night was not stupid; you could at most call her a bit dim or lazy. She rarely used her power on her own and listened intently to Wang Yu and Aivia. Truth be told, she didn't look much like a goddess.

But she was content. One who has never felt the sensation of their consciousness being manipulated by their own "power" cannot understand how precious that hard-won freedom is.

She was grateful for the freedom Wang Yu had given her, and she was happy to follow the advice of the clever girl, Aivia. Why not stay put? When someone arranges everything for you, and you only need to follow along to experience interesting things with them, what is wrong with that? Being a little lazy was only natural, wasn't it?

As for this "divine power," let it be what it would. Compared to what she had gained, it was insignificant.

If it could help Wang Yu and Aivia, she was happy to hold it, to observe the lives of the believers and provide what care she could. But if it meant losing her freedom and affecting her dear friends, it was better to give it up.

For the sake of this freedom, she had used her lazy but not-so-foolish head. She had kept the ancient god as a librarian, so that when its power revived, she could precisely use the god-power to "update and optimize" it, erasing its will.

"You've worked hard. Rest now."

Aivia, standing above Wang Yu’s domain, patted the head of the Lady of Night, who had emerged from the small Tree of the Night Sky she had placed at her feet before the battle began.

The once-tall Lady of Night had shrunk significantly, now smaller than the girl, looking like a child of six or seven. Aivia couldn't help but reach out.

"Mm."

The Lady of Night nodded and sat down at the edge of Wang Yu’s domain, watching the one being besieged. Neither Aivia nor Darkness seemed worried about Wang Yu.

"Whew..."

He exhaled softly, Wang Yu having already sensed something vaguely familiar, though previously the power of this object required divine approval to wield; now, driven by the force of his Chariot, it was no longer subject to any constraints.

Indeed, the power of the Night Sky Tree could once be viewed as held by the "operating system" known as the Lady of Night; as long as she willed it, she could grant this proprietary power to Wang Yu, but just moments ago, the power had fallen into the hands of that ancient deity of night, who, being a stranger to Wang Yu, naturally refused to grant him such strength, rendering him rightfully unable to use it.

Yet now, what exactly is this Night Sky Tree—or rather, this night deity—but a mechanical, unconscious machine performing the duties a god ought to fulfill; simply put, it is a blank-slate computer with no administrator, and to whom, one might ask, does it belong? It seems no different now from the ambient magical energy permeating the void, does it not?

Thus, this "ownerless" power fell entirely within the controllable reach of Wang Yu’s Chariot, covering the entirety of its domain!

The power of the Chariot surged forth in that instant, touching the new Night Sky Tree, spreading and expanding along the persistent arrays of programming, seizing all that dark divine power into his grasp with even greater ease than he had commanded the shell of the Dragon King, Wendel Mix.

"Boom!"

Pitch-black tentacles erupted violently from Wang Yu as the epicenter, sweeping across all the high towers of the Utopia organization in the blink of an eye, the night-divine power, now steered by the Chariot, locking them firmly in its grip.

What is Wang Yu now?

Well.

Let us call him a god, for the time being.