The black sun hangs high

Chapter 424 "Yes, yes"

Hugh had already witnessed firsthand the effects of the Dark Abyss's magic on the other divine beings' kin.

At that time, he was busy fighting against those troublesome Dark Abyss offspring in the closed city of Seren. In order to further enhance the mobility of the Running Rats and let them lead him to escape from the encirclement of the Dark Abyss offspring, Hugh had infused the Running Rats with this special magic more than once.

However, that level of modification was obviously still quite rudimentary, or rather, it could be said that it didn't even qualify as modification; it was merely a change in form produced by a special kind of familiar under the influence of internal magic.

In contrast, the raging rats are now undergoing a complete transformation from the inside out.

The moment the strange pattern was "branded" onto Sniggy's tongue, this dramatic transformation began.

The blessing from Mother Earth, which was originally one of the sources of power for the running rats, began to twist and collapse rapidly at this moment.

However, this blessing, brimming with vitality, did not completely disappear. Instead, under the influence of the "brand," it transformed into a chaotic and disordered magical force, rapidly evolving into another state.

Theseus asked, "Does this look familiar?"

"...It reminds me of the illusion I saw at the Black Sun Society gathering before."

Hughes nodded: "I remember that the Lord of the Ocean, Calron, was in a similar situation when he was influenced by your power."

"Yes, this is the most important characteristic of the Dark Abyss... The power here is like ink that is extremely concentrated, or you can think of it as an extremely terrible and highly contagious germ. Anything that is contaminated by it will be transformed in a very short time, either on the physical level or in the spiritual realm, or both."

As Theseus spoke, Hugh saw that the thick mist had transformed into translucent, deep tentacles, which were moving through the body of the running rat in an extremely twisted and terrifying manner, looking exactly like black worms slithering through its flesh.

Everything touched by this mist, whether fur or flesh, will quickly change its original color. The scurrying rat, whose fur was originally mostly gray, was dyed pitch black in just a dozen seconds.

An even more astonishing change occurred on the heads of the running rats.

The two enormous horns that were originally used to symbolize the identity of the Earth Mother Goddess's kin were now beginning to crack as the Dark Abyss Mist continued to transform them. Hugh saw dark green fragments falling from the two horns one after another, and as the cracks spread rapidly, they were eventually completely turned into powder and dust on the ground.

The writhing mist tentacles did not discard the dust containing the power of the Earth Mother Goddess; instead, they greedily swept over it, capturing and devouring all the fragments of power at an extremely fast speed.

After receiving ample "nutrients," the mists of the Dark Abyss became even denser, and Hugh, the actual controller of the Rampage Rats, began to realize the impact of this power on him.

The dark abyss magic within his body became unusually active, and the huge disc that served as the carrier of Shug's power also trembled at this moment. Although the frequency of the tremors was very slight, it was enough to prove that the mist that was transforming the raging rat actually had an astonishing influence.

Black shadows gradually emerged from the recesses where the raging rats had once lived. The cave that had collapsed when facing the invisible wolf was being rapidly repaired, and the normal soil materialized by magic was also gradually turning grayish-black, a color unique to the Dark Abyss Wasteland.

Moreover, Hughes noticed that several deep, fine lines were extending from the grooves of the Dark Abyss creations such as the Palace Hound and the Messenger in the Mirror. They stretched rapidly along the patterns on the surface of the metal disc and eventually connected with the groove belonging to the Running Rat.

This means that these creations, which previously belonged to different power systems, are now connected by a common power. From this moment on, the Running Rat has become a complete part of the Dark Abyss power system. However, what is special is that it probably cannot find any "kin" in this dark world, since it was directly modified and is very different from those creations that naturally formed inside the Dark Abyss.

"The reason why the gods in Vaan were so afraid of the Dark Abyss in the past was not only because the Dark Abyss creations that participated in the 'Great Hunt' were difficult to fight, but also because the Dark Abyss could always take away their followers' power and even their own power in the most thorough way."

"Infection, erosion, assimilation..."

"Whether it is the actual physical body or the intangible soul and will, they will all become incredibly empty under its influence... When a slightly weaker deity accidentally touches these powers, he may even feel joy at the benefits they bring, but as the hidden dangers gradually emerge, the deity will no longer be able to escape its influence."

Hearing this, Hughes frowned. He looked at the frantically running rat writhing and struggling in pain not far away: "You mean, in this process, its soul and will will be completely twisted and destroyed?"

“Under normal circumstances, this outcome would have been inevitable, but things are different now.”

Theseus answered earnestly: "Or rather, all the creations within the Dream Sanctuary are different—although their origins and sources of power are those of the gods who have long been banished, from the moment I chose them and brought them into the Dream Sanctuary, the only one truly connected to them is the newcomer who can 'merge' with the sanctuary itself."

"The latecomer? You mean me?"

"There's no one else but you."

Theseus gave an affirmative answer: "Provide offerings, complete the ritual, and endure the trials that the ritual brings... thereby establishing a new connection with these beings. When all this is successfully accomplished, you will actually be their new god."

"Why didn't you tell me about this before?"

“The word ‘god’ is disgusting. If I had told you that from the beginning, it could have easily caused unnecessary consequences, since you’re not exactly a humble person.”

"alright."

Hughes smiled, a rare occurrence for him.

At this moment, through the magical connection with the running rat, Hugh could also sense the changes in its state—the transformation brought about by the "brand" and the mist of the dark abyss was slowing down, and the pain that Sniggy was enduring was also gradually decreasing.

The misty tentacles that had been constantly moving through Sniggy's body had dissipated, and the remaining mist had gathered at its head, slowly attaching to the location of the two enormous horns. A subtle, strange fluctuation reached Hugh's mind.

That was the message Sniggy had sent. At this moment, it was earnestly and devoutly asking Hughes for instructions, longing for its master, or rather the "new god" it followed, to leave a unique mark.

This experience was also novel to Hugh. After a moment's thought, he responded to Sniggy, and under his will, the mist that had been hovering on either side of Sniggy's head began to "solidify" rapidly.

They are still huge horns, but their shape and color are completely different from the past.

They are generally spiral-shaped, with sharp ends like blades. On their surface, all sorts of strange symbols and patterns are displayed. These are the essences that Hugh has selected and extracted from countless magical models he knows. They are interconnected and intertwined, ultimately forming incomparably mysterious and exquisite patterns.

As a three-tailed giant rat, Sniggy's tail features were also preserved by Hugh.

However, its middle tail now appears thicker and more powerful. At the end of this long black tail, the last wisp of mist has been forcibly condensed and compressed into a crystal shaped like a scimitar. It is attached to the long tail and cuts the ground as the tail swings naturally. Where the blade cuts, the eerie green light and shadow symbolizing corrosion and destruction appear and disappear.

Theseus laughed: "Ha, you really do it according to your own aesthetic? Why don't you just go all the way and make it walk upright and become a real 'rat man'?"

“I’ll consider it later. After all, what I need now is a means of transportation, not some ‘master rat assassin’.”

Seeing that the mist on the running rat had completely dissipated, Hugh raised his hand and snapped his fingers forward. The giant rat, which had been lying on the ground, immediately stood up, shook off the dust from its black fur, opened its tightly closed eyes, and thick mist immediately drifted out from its eerie green pupils.

Hugh nodded in satisfaction and casually asked, "Ready?"

Then, a very clear, hoarse voice entered Hugh's mind.
"Yes, yes... My lord, I will become your chariot!"

……

As their pace increased dramatically, the boundless, gloomy wasteland revealed another side of itself to Hugh.

Because of the lack of precise time and space scales, when the sprinting rat begins to run at full speed, Hugh will always inadvertently glimpse some strange scenes or hear some sounds whose source he cannot discern.

Sometimes, he would see a large group of Dark Abyss Spiders crawling among the mountains of bones. Their numbers were astonishing, with some individuals even as large as hills. A large number of ordinary spiders lived on the bodies of these giant individuals, like passengers riding in a huge chariot.

Sometimes, Hugh would see hunters with clearly ill intentions. Their shapes were strange and distorted, but without exception, they all maintained a high level of attention to potential prey. What surprised Hugh was that they did not seem to be mere phantoms. When Hugh looked at them, these hunters would react and launch surprise attacks on the location where Hugh and the running rat were.

Sometimes, surprising conversations would reach Hugh's ears.

Yes, the sound of conversation.

Hugh could discern distinct tones and words from them; it was not the roar of a ferocious abyss beast, but rather a conversation taking place within a tribe or clan.

When Hughes asked Theseus about this, the latter remained quite indifferent.

"Once you've seen enough, you won't find it strange anymore."

"The scales of time and space here are unstable, which means that the more frequently you move and the faster you travel, the more likely you are to stray into certain broken 'coordinates' and 'moments'. In other words, everything you see and hear is actually happening right now, so just be vigilant."

While answering Hugh's questions, Theseus was probably busy keeping company with the shadow left behind by his mentor, and Hugh could even hear the game music coming from the Dream Sanctuary.

"As for those conversations... I can tell you definitively that there may also be some tribes within the Dark Abyss."

"However, the birth and death of these tribes, or clans, are as unpredictable as the Dark Abyss itself. Sometimes, they are wiped out by a sudden wasteland storm just as they have evolved language. Other times, they can survive for a very long time in the gaps of time."

"Look, your destination, that mountain in the distance, was once the habitat of many different tribes. If you're lucky enough, you might run into it this time."

Theseus’s words greatly surprised Hugh.

Hugh could fully understand the principles behind the creation of creatures like the spiders or hounds within the Dark Abyss, but he could not imagine how a civilization, or tribe, could survive and continue in such a bizarre and harsh environment.

But then he realized that he had inadvertently fallen into the trap of habitual thinking again. Regardless of whether there were still tribes inside the Dark Abyss, their methods and forms of existence were probably completely different from the pattern he was familiar with...

In the distant sky, the insatiable "sludge" continued to churn, and in the storms it stirred up, countless skeletons flew up and down in the dark world. On the other side, a strange shadow that looked extremely bloated and had many different heads was wandering aimlessly across the wasteland. That was the "Nightmare Bear" that Theseus had mentioned.

Faced with such bizarre sights, Hugh, who was riding a running rat, inexplicably felt a sense of déjà vu.

He felt less like a refugee and more like a careless tourist who had accidentally bought the wrong ticket, entered the wrong scenic spot, and followed the wrong tour guide... He inexplicably embarked on a strange journey that seemed to have no clear purpose or destination.

(End of this chapter)