A long silence.

No one spoke.

Kofi couldn't help but cover his face and shudder. He didn't want this useless ability anymore. Why couldn't he have cool, non-humiliating combat skills?

The monster, nearly dried out by Azathoth, uttered another heartbreaking shriek. Its throat seemed incapable of supporting human speech. The next moment, the puppet-like creature wailed, curled up its limbs like a cooked shrimp, and exploded in full view of everyone.

"Hmm?" Azathoth loosened his grip at the last second, avoiding being caught by the spider-web-like stickiness that scattered after the explosion. He looked at the shattered monster limbs on the ground with a bit of surprise. His first reaction was to feel guilty for having used too much force... But the humans around him were still standing there, so after a second of guilt, he immediately regained his composure, thinking it was the monster itself that was too fragile.

As the saying goes, there is gain and loss. When the power you possess is too great, it is sometimes difficult to find toys that are interesting and durable.

This is the truth that Azathoth gradually understood after leaving the desolate planet.

You need to be more careful...at least until you get bored. He warned himself silently as the tentacles beneath his black robe twisted and stretched out in all directions, quickly finding the next entertainment location, no, a key facility.

That was the laboratory body wrapped in the shell of a food processing plant.

Its door had been violently damaged, but there wasn't much blood around it, likely washed away by the rain. Across from the lab was a low-slung office building. In the center of the top floor office lay a bloody corpse. A sticky, multicolored liquid flowed down the armchair and onto the floor. On top of the desk lay a leave request, a pile of documents, and an empty cup of hot cocoa.

As for the creatures that escaped just now, they have been completely scattered on the island and disappeared without a trace. I wonder whether the security guards at the gate of the food processing factory are still alive.

So Azathoth asked, very democratically, like a guide NPC in a game: "Where do you want to go next? The lab, the office building, or the main gate?"

Hugo, who didn't want to be a player, asked, "What's the difference?"

The heavy rain destroyed the signal tower, and now it has become a salted fish with hands and feet.

"It's the difference between one person dying, a group of people dying, or maybe some people not dying."

Wendy patted Coffey's shoulder again, and this time took the initiative to say, "Be strong."

Coffey: “…”

OK

"I'll go check at the gate," he said listlessly. "I just saw that group of people. As far as I know, the employees here are ordinary people hired from outside. They shouldn't have died because of our mistakes."

If possible, it would be great if he could ask the headquarters for help, but now the decision on the direction of development is no longer in his hands.

"Let's go inside the institute," Igor said. "We can leave after we copy the core data."

"That's confidential..." Coffey said subconsciously.

He and Igor's red eyes met for a moment.

"No, it's alright," the human boy said wisely. "Bon voyage, Mr. Sullivan."

"Thank you." Igor said calmly.

They parted ways at the intersection. The power inside the institute was out, and signs of looting and burning were everywhere. The supposedly pristine white floors and walls were covered in disgusting secretions, animal blood, and dust. Azathoth, mindful of the only minor present, especially Igor's sister, immediately picked up the little girl and covered her with his robe as she entered.

"Let's go." His figure blended into the dark environment.

Wendy:??? Her face turned red, not sure if it was out of shyness or fear.

If Coffey were next to her, he would have heard the cheerful sound of a herd of alpacas running past in the lightning.

While she was stunned, Igor's eyes swept across Azathoth's face to determine the meaning of his action, and then hesitantly said: "Sorry to bother you, why don't you let me do it..."

"If you take care of Wendy, Hugo will be the only one to check and organize the laboratory." Azathoth said, "I don't want to waste time."

Of course, toying with non-human cosmic beings was more fun than solving puzzles he knew nothing about. Azathoth still used a human body, but as long as Igor lived, he was willing to treat humanity with basic kindness and respect. Therefore, his actions had been somewhat limited in the past, but it would be much easier if the target was non-human.

Igor thought he was impatient and wanted to go home as soon as possible, and holding Wendy would indeed affect the activities, so he did not refute him in the end, but just quickened his pace and walked forward.

Wendy: ...

Brother! My dear brother! Please hold on a little longer!

She curled up stiffly between Azathoth's chest and arms, her eyes were dark and she could not see anything. She felt like she had turned into a corpse.

Wendy's mind raced at lightning speed, her other senses becoming extraordinarily sharp despite the loss of her vision. At that moment, she could feel the gentle beat of Azathoth's heart... It was strange. Did gods have hearts?

In addition, she also felt a dry coldness.

It wasn't her own fault; in fact, she was wearing quite thick clothes, providing ample warmth. But amidst the ebb and flow of the god's breathing, amidst the empty darkness, Wendy sensed an indescribable emptiness, emanating from the body so close to her. It was as if the beating within Azathoth's chest wasn't a heart, but chaos and nothingness, a mass of solid air that no matter how heavy, could fill it, no matter how turbulent, could raise its temperature. Boom, boom, boom... that organ pulsed, like a star, like the universe, steady and powerful.

What on earth was she leaning on?

Gradually, even her mind became confused, following her senses. Wendy pondered bewilderment... It couldn't be described by death, nor could it be compared to living things. It was a feeling somewhere in between, life and death, greatness and insignificance, boundless space and a point collapsed into a single unit. In between was God, Azathoth... She sensed the emptiness of the gods walking the earth, countless times more vast than the life she had experienced. It was as if the world had become an hourglass, and every minute, every second, every living thing was a tiny grain of sand, slowly flowing downward.

Azathoth, dressed in a black robe, stared at the sand for billions of years.

At this moment, Igor's voice reached her ears across the distant barrier: "...So you came to the capital planet because of the Zerg?"

"You know, this planet has always been very close to the Zerg settlement, otherwise humans would not have become Arthur's target."

The chest next to his ear vibrated, and Azathoth's voice was filled with a hint of annoyance: "Maybe I liked Arthur very much at that time, so when he told me about it, I came to teach the disobedient neighbor a lesson on his behalf."

Wendy's brother's tone was filled with laughter. "Thank you for your hard work... No wonder the natives of this planet are so frightened. You see, the documents here say that the creatures they currently occupy have encountered a formidable natural enemy and are facing a crisis of life and death. So, after hearing the call of humanity in this urgent moment, a group of vanguards were immediately dispatched back here to try to find a way out."

"This document explains many of my questions," the young human pondered. "For example, why did the federal government cooperate with the Vatican against heretics and evil gods, yet conflicts have arisen between the two in recent years? I believe the archaeological team's discoveries during Ms. Sabrina Guevara's campaign to become Chief Regent directly influenced the policy changes. After realizing that the natives of this planet were forced to leave because of you, we, who are less powerful than them, naturally fear your presence and worry that we will face the same fate in the future."

The possibility of an unknown enemy and the certainty of an unknown enemy are by no means the same thing.

However, this raises more questions:

The canons and teachings of the Church originate from this universe, not from indigenous human religious beliefs. Who brought them to human society in ancient times and spread them widely? What gods do people believe in? And who do they fear?

Furthermore, the Federation has been settled on the capital planet for a long time. Why hasn't anyone discovered traces of its indigenous inhabitants in the past, as humans have discovered dinosaur fossils on Earth? If it's because the technology back then wasn't advanced enough to decipher the messages left by the indigenous inhabitants, then why have stone tablets hidden in caves and corpses in the sea been unearthed in recent years, while they hadn't attracted anyone's attention a decade or so ago?

What exactly are we living next to? Do the Zerg know about this? If so, how much do they know?

There are so many questions... From the beginning to the end, human beings' understanding of the universe has been one-sided.

Our efforts to explore the truth are a process of changing our vision from blurry to clear.

Azathoth may be able to explain all of this, or he may not. He is not the answer that is clear enough to list each item one by one for people to solve their puzzles. He is the puzzle itself.

The process of deciphering is bound to be difficult... but it is also accompanied by far more fun than anything else.

Thinking about this, Igor couldn't help but smile sincerely and said with a double meaning, "Anyway, thank you for your help all the time."

Wendy heard her heartbeat suddenly speed up.

The emptiness that felt more distant than the boundaries of the universe vanished, the gods who had overlooked the passing sands vanished, the boundary between life and death vanished. The ever-just scales tilted toward the more weighty side. Warmth, the satisfaction of a full stomach, the comfort of soaking in warm water, the fullness of spring's resurrection and vibrant vitality... In this moment, a vibrant power took root in my empty chest.

"No need to thank me." Azathoth's voice with a hint of subtle pride sounded in her ears.

He was like a cat that had obtained what it had longed for, lazily wagging its tail contentedly, his heart and eyes filled with the same thing, leaving behind the loneliness and arrogance that arose when he walked alone in the dark night.

Oh, I see.

The girl curled up in the warm embrace. Although she couldn't see anything, she felt safe and comfortable.

It's always the same feeling that gives us strength, the courage to stand firm, and the courage to overcome fear. This was true for Igor, and it was also true for Azathoth. Wendy felt that, at least in this moment, she would never doubt that He loved the human beings He saw, a love that surpassed all other things in the world.