Chapter 54: Light from the End of the Abyss
As far as Hikigaya himself was concerned, Aisha's Authority hadn't actually caused him any real harm.
Firstly, he possessed a high natural resistance to ice and cold powers; secondly, it was because Aisha, from beginning to end, had no intention of hurting anyone. The power of a Heretic God grows stronger or weaker based on the user's will and obsession with a target; a God-slayer's Authority is similarly linked to the user's intent. Even with a terrifying Authority, if there is no desire to destroy the opponent in one's heart, the manifested result will be vastly different.
Hikigaya quickly broke free from the frost serpent's binding again, but by then, he could no longer see the exit of the fissure. Not only was the exit gone, but he could no longer see the King of the End—whom he had been fighting moments ago—nor Doni, Uldin, or the others who had likewise plummeted into the abyss, whether they were opponents, companions, or allies.
This actually saved him some trouble.
Hikigaya accepted the outcome quite casually. He didn't force himself to find the opening of the crack to fly back out; instead, he flipped his body over, turned his back to the direction he came from, and followed the suction as he continued to fall deeper.
At first, he could see rock walls zipping past both sides at extreme speeds. Later, the space around him grew wider; the cold rock walls gradually receded until they vanished, leaving only an infinite, boundless dark void. As the darkness became absolute, the power of death drifted from its depths, but it behaved "timidly," vanishing from Hikigaya's perception even faster than it appeared.
Perhaps a few seconds passed, perhaps a few hours, or maybe even days. Suddenly, Hikigaya felt heat.
It started as a faint sensation, but soon, rolling heatwaves were surging upward from below. Light appeared within the darkness. Hikigaya looked straight ahead and saw a "begonia flower" blooming in the darkness—a massive eruption of light.
But that was merely an illusion seen from a great distance.
As Hikigaya gradually approached the "begonia," there was almost no space left for darkness to exist; the world became an ocean of light. Below him lay a literal sea of light, resembling a black hole in the universe spewing matter; light particles were being ejected in massive quantities from this sea, forming the "begonia flower" he had seen from afar.
Even using the Eye of Horus, Hikigaya could not penetrate this ocean to see what lay beneath the surface. However, he could feel a nearly infinite, powerful life force beneath the waves—abundant, surging, and holy.
Like a human cliff-diving, Hikigaya had no intention of slowing down and plunged headfirst into the sea. The world spun—there was no other way to describe it—and during this process, radiance filled his entire vision.
Finally, all resistance vanished, and the overflowing light cleared from his eyes.
Hikigaya found himself suspended in mid-air. The sky was burning, the earth was charred black, and space itself felt constricted here. Such a force was no match for a God-slayer; Hikigaya easily broke free and began to fly.
In this place, wherever the temperature was high, water was more likely to appear. When the temperature around Hikigaya doubled, the land beneath him showed obvious rivers and many puddles. He continued deeper, and as he did, the land became scarcer while the puddles grew more frequent and deeper, until entire lakes began to appear.
By the time Hikigaya was flying over a full-fledged ocean, the sky above him was as red as a wildfire, and the clouds shifted like flickering flames. Upon this boundless, magnificent sea stood a giant plant. It was shaped like a massive peak that occupied the entire sky—the center of this world. The light of this world was also provided by it.
Ten Golden Crows, composed entirely of fire, were taking turns rising from the branches and leaves below, ascending to the highest point before descending again, eventually sinking into the sea and emerging from the other side, rising and falling in a continuous cycle.
Faced with such a familiar scene, Hikigaya was momentarily stunned.
In modern society, if you ask anyone about the sun, they will say it rises in the east and sets in the west. But if you asked an ancient Chinese person from 2000 BC, they would very likely say it emerges from the Fusang tree and sets in the Xian Pool.
Undoubtedly, this was a place like the Astral Realm (Yu-no-yo). Japanese sorcerers call it the Yu-no-yo, Taoist alchemists of the Chinese system call it the Netherworld or Astral Plane, Persians call it the Spirit World, and Greek mystics call it the Noetic World. Though the names differ, they all follow the same logic: an extradimensional space where spirit and soul outweigh matter.
The small world of Susanoo that Hikigaya had visited before had the same "flavor" as this place.
So, who had constructed such a world? Hikigaya already had the answer in his heart. The Divine Tree of the Sun, the Sea where the Sun sets...
"Di Jun..."
Though his voice was extremely low, it echoed throughout the entire world. This title held special significance here and was not allowed to be muffled. The Golden Crows stopped their cycle of climbing and diving; they all swiveled their heads in unison. Their eyes became sharp and spirited.
"Who are you?" one Golden Crow spoke in human tongue, its gaze domineering.
But before Hikigaya could decide whether to respond, he heard the other Golden Crows chiming in.
"Boss, can you not snatch the first word every single time?"
"Exactly! The matter of you selling out your brothers last time isn't over yet!"
"Don't argue! Don't argue! Business first! By the way... I'm the youngest, let me speak first!"
"Scram! Roll yourself into a ball and scram!"
"..."
Well, that last ellipsis was actually Hikigaya's internal reaction. It seemed the relationships between these Golden Crows weren't great—at least, they were much worse than the "Princes" in Xianxia novels.
However, Hikigaya did not sense the "scent" of a god from them. They were merely Divine Beasts. The ten giant "fire turkeys" before him were definitely not the Ten Heavenly Stems who possessed independent godhood in mythology; they were just ten Divine Beasts.
Then, where was Di Jun, the one who created all of this?
Hikigaya scanned the surroundings cautiously and began to descend. Just as he moved, he felt this entire space shudder violently. He saw a pillar of white-gold, searing light rise up from the distance.
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