Su Nian woke up with an extremely subtle feeling.
It wasn't that she was startled awake, nor that she woke up naturally. It was more like she was gently lifted from a deep, tranquil dream by some warm and vast power, rising to the surface of her consciousness. When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was no longer the familiar ceiling and pale blue energy patterns, but a... flowing starry sky.
No, it's not the real starry sky.
She was still lying on the bed in that room, but the entire room's ceiling and even the walls had transformed into a deep, seemingly boundless cosmic backdrop. Countless stars slowly rotated and faded within it, while nebulae swirled like a veil, radiating a soft and mysterious light. There was an indescribable, fresh yet ancient scent in the air, which, when inhaled, instantly cleared her mind, which had been somewhat sluggish from just waking up.
She sat up abruptly and looked around.
The room's layout remained unchanged, but all the furniture and decorations were now enveloped in a faint, moonlit glow. The walls, which had originally been cold and made of energy, now felt warm and smooth to the touch, as if golden veins of light were slowly flowing within them.
This place is no longer that suffocating "birdcage," but more like a... tranquil and sacred temple suspended in the Milky Way.
Xie Chen stood beneath the simulated starry sky, his back to her.
He was still dressed in simple modern clothes, but his posture was as upright as a mountain. Just standing there, he seemed to become the core of this tiny universe. The extroverted, cold oppressive aura he had exuded before was gone, as was the awkwardness of yesterday's clumsy steps. In its place was a restrained, unfathomable calm, like a still ancient well, or an abyss containing stars and seas.
Su Nian watched his retreating figure, her heart pounding uncontrollably. She clearly sensed that something fundamental had changed.
"woke up?"
Xie Chen turned around. His voice was still deep, but the previous hoarseness and occasional harshness had faded, replaced by a gentle, resonant quality, like the smoothest silk, possessing a natural, captivating magnetism and authority. His face seemed largely unchanged, but his eyes…
Su Nian met his gaze, and her breath hitched slightly.
Those were no longer eyes filled with madness, confusion, or clumsy thirst for knowledge. They were... the eyes of God.
Profound as the primordial darkness of the universe, yet within its deepest depths ignites an eternally burning star. Calm and still, it seems to reflect the essence of all things, discerning all illusions. When he looked at her, his gaze remained focused, even more focused than ever before, but that focus no longer carried the objectifying scrutiny of her; instead, it was a kind of… calm and absolute possession, as if gazing upon his one and only treasure.
He walked slowly towards her, his steps steady, each one seemingly stepping on a rhythmic node of space, silent yet carrying an invisible weight. The starlight and shadows around them swayed slightly with his movements, as if paying homage to him.
Su Nian subconsciously gripped the thin blanket around her, a sense of awe for a higher existence, stemming from her life instinct, welled up within her, mixed with her complex and indescribable feelings for him, leaving her momentarily at a loss for words.
He stopped by the bedside, leaned down slightly, and reached out to brush a strand of her long, disheveled hair away from her cheek. His fingertips were warm, carrying an indescribable, reassuring strength.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, his tone casual, as if they were already used to such morning greetings.
Su Nian opened her mouth, her voice a little dry: "This place... has changed."
"Hmm." Xie Chen straightened up, his gaze sweeping over the starry palace, his tone calm. "The previous structure was too crude, full of defensive and hostile energy, unsuitable for your long-term residence. This is much better."
He casually transformed an energy prison filled with mad obsession into a tranquil temple, simply because... "it's not suitable for her to live in for long."
Looking at his calm profile, Su Nian was deeply shocked. Behind that seemingly casual remark lay an earth-shattering shift in power and mindset.
"You..." she struggled to find the words, "You remembered? Everything?"
Xie Chen turned his gaze back to her face. A complex glint flashed quickly in his divine eyes, a mixture of ancient silence, broken pain, and frantic searching, all of which settled into a tenderness that was almost a sigh when he saw her.
“I’ve remembered some things.” He didn’t hide anything. “Enough for me to know why I was broken, why I was searching, and…” He reached out, his fingertips gently tracing the contours of her cheek, the movement natural and precious, “…why, no matter what, it has to be you.”
His touch still carried an undeniable possessiveness, but within that possessiveness lay a profound sense of "protection" that Su Nian had never felt before.
“The Main God Space…” Su Nian murmured, recalling the fragmented information that 088 had occasionally revealed.
Upon hearing that name, Xie Chen's eyes instantly turned cold. It wasn't the coldness of anger, but rather an absolute indifference and... disdain, like a vacuum in the universe.
“It’s nothing but a cage that steals the rules and manipulates fate.” His voice was devoid of emotion, yet carried an undeniable judgment. “It shouldn’t have set its sights on you, much less… tried to separate us.”
Just then, in Su Nian's mind, 088 seemed to finally break through some kind of shield, screaming with a sob and intense electromagnetic noise:
[Host! It's all over! The big data has exploded! The God Space is in chaos! Thank you, thank you, Boss... his rating jumped from 'High-Risk Anomaly' to 'Unspeakable, World-Destroying Level'! The space is mobilizing all backup energy to activate the highest defense protocol! Are we... are we going to perish together? Waaaaah...]
Su Nian: "..."
Xie Chen seemed to sense the faint fluctuations in 088. He didn't even flinch, but simply spoke, his voice piercing through Su Nian's consciousness and resounding in 088's core data stream: "Quiet."
With just two words, 088 was like a duck with its neck choked; all the noise and cries vanished instantly, leaving only a trembling torrent of data.
Xie Chen looked at Su Nian again, as if he had just casually swatted away a noisy mosquito. He extended his hand to her, palm up, in an inviting gesture.
“This world, this cage, is no longer safe.” He looked into her eyes, his tone calm yet carrying an undeniable air of authority. “The tentacles of the supreme god could infiltrate at any moment. Come with me and leave this place for a place that truly belongs to 'us'.”
Su Nian looked at his hand, a long, strong hand with distinct knuckles. It had once imprisoned her with chains and had clumsily tried to comfort her. Now, it contained the power to overturn the rules and extended an invitation to her to the unknown.
She looked up into his eyes. In the depths of those divine eyes, she could still see that familiar, obsessive flame that burned only for her, only now it was better controlled, burning more deeply and eternally.
She remembered the fragments scattered across the vast world, their pain, their waiting, their twisted yet real love. She also remembered her original purpose, and the sincerity she had unknowingly succumbed to along the way.
To flee or to follow?
She took a deep breath, and instead of immediately placing her hand on it, asked, "And then what?"
Xie Chen's lips curled into a very slight smile, a smile that could make the stars pale in comparison, a smile that carried divine arrogance and boundless doting affection.
"And then?" he repeated, taking her outstretched hand and gently pulling her up from the bed into his arms. His embrace was warm and firm, carrying the scent of stars.
"After that, we'll settle accounts with that 'God'."
"About it imprisoning my soul,"
"as well as……"
He lowered his head and whispered in her ear, as if issuing an eternal oracle:
"...the debt of trying to steal my treasure."
The surrounding galaxy reversed, and space began to ripple and fold like water.
Su Nian leaned against him, feeling the immense power enveloping her. Strangely, she felt little fear, only a sense of calm as if the dust had settled, and a trace of... an irrepressible anticipation for the unknown future.
The beast tamer eventually tamed the beast, only to discover that the beast was actually a fallen god.
Now, the gods have awakened and are going to... kill the gods for her.
(End of Chapter 166)
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