Chapter 63: Chapter 58: Past of the Abyss
According to the Cactus Ball Attendants, the [Black Abyss] was a forbidden land created by the Forest God. In a way, she valued it no less than the [Golden Field].
Many special monsters were sealed within the [Black Abyss]. Most possessed powerful and uncanny abilities, and some could even be reborn in various ways after being killed. That’s why sealing and imprisoning them was the best solution.
Legend has it that deep in the lowest level of the Abyss, even gods defeated by the Forest God were sealed away.
However, this was just Xiaohuo’s side of the story.
It was best to get a second opinion.
Luh Yao immediately sent Isabel into the [Black Abyss] as well.
Isabel’s [Mourning Prayer] could summon the Dead and get a first-hand account from them.
Unfortunately, the process didn’t go smoothly.
"Sir, the Dead here are all very powerful... almost none of them are responding to me."
Isabel sounded a little embarrassed. "Please, Sir, just give me some more time."
She used [Mourning Prayer] with all her might. Wisps of black smoke continuously rose from the ground, but they just wouldn’t coalesce into a Dead Black Ball.
Luh Yao took this time to get up from his chair and did a few squats and burpees in his room.
’To be a gamer for the long haul, you have to have a healthy body and plenty of energy. That’s the only way to ensure long periods of high concentration, maintain a stable mindset, and avoid sloppy execution.’
Ever since the population exploded to over 10,000, Luh Yao could clearly feel that he was in better shape than ever before. His everyday sight, hearing, and Olfactory Sense had all become much sharper, as if his entire being had been upgraded to a higher resolution.
This change was even more obvious when he exercised.
While he wouldn’t get winded after just a few steps in the past, he was by no means someone with great Endurance or stamina.
But now, Luh Yao found he could bike all the way from home to work, pedaling at high speed the entire way without breaking a sweat.
He could even feel a rush of some hormone—though he wasn’t sure if it was adrenaline or endorphins—and the physiological change brought a sense of invigorating relaxation he had never felt before.
Luh Yao now made it a habit to bike to and from work. He was no longer drowsy or beset by Fatigue at the end of the day; his body felt light and full of energy. This gave him even more motivation to tackle the population issue.
After exercising for a little while, he saw that Isabel had made a breakthrough.
She had finally found one of the Dead on the [First Floor of the Black Abyss] who was willing to communicate.
After their usual encrypted communication, the black ball dissipated.
Isabel reported, "Sir, one of the local Dead said that the [Black Abyss] is a small world with a long History. It originally belonged to one of the Main Gods, the [Dark God]."
"The Dark God built the [Black Abyss], scouring the lands for monsters and gods with mysterious abilities. He locked his many defeated foes and slaves here in order to siphon their power."
"But for some unknown reason, the Dark God fell many years ago, and this place became a sealed Fragment World."
"The powerful gods and monsters trapped here banded together and, by exhausting all their power, opened a rift that allowed a Forest Witch to escape."
"But after the Forest Witch escaped, she didn’t honor her promise to break the seal for good. Instead, she reinforced the [Black Abyss], patched up the previous breach, and made the seal here even more unbreakable."
"Relying on the power she obtained in the [Black Abyss], the Witch became a renowned figure in the outside world, eventually climbing to a position of immense power."
"She would later become the Forest God."
’Holy crap,’ Luh Yao thought.
’No wonder the Forest God said this place was her most precious legacy and her greatest regret.’
’So she got her start by backstabbing her fellow prisoners.’
Isabel continued her report, "...The Forest God later created the [Golden Field]. The Silvanus Tree was also obtained from the Abyss."
"The Silvanus Tree is an Exotic Object, something between a living being and a treasure. Its roots are in the [Black Abyss], while its trunk and crown are in the [Golden Field]."
"The Silvanus Tree siphons the power of those sealed in the Abyss, stripping them of the various treasures they carry and create. This is why the [Golden Field] is filled with treasure."
Luh Yao’s eyes lit up as he read this.
’Let me get this straight.’
’The [Black Abyss] seems like an extremely dangerous prison built by a Main God... but looking at it from another angle, it’s the Forest God’s secret treasury, the very source of the treasures in the [Golden Field].’
’The [Golden Field] is stingy as hell, only giving you one treasure for completing a trial. And it even pulls that ’pick one of three’ nonsense.’
Luh Yao had been unhappy about this for a long time.
’If you’re going to give something, give it all! A dignified Main God should be more generous. What’s the deal with showing you something and then snatching it away?’
And so, he decided to shift his focus from the [Golden Field] to the [Black Abyss].
’If I want treasure, I’ll just get it myself from now on!’
’In the [Black Abyss], what you get depends on your own skills. There’s no middleman taking a cut.’
’Two words: Fair game.’
The Forest God’s history as a backstabber made Luh Yao even more wary of her.
’She was once a Main God, and a Forest Witch before that. Who’s to say she doesn’t have some way to come back to life after her fall...’ All sorts of conspiracy theories instantly flooded his mind.
Luh Yao typed a question above Isabel’s head, "After a Main God falls, do they disappear completely?"
"Sir, not as far as I know."
Isabel replied, "When a God falls, the rules strip them of their divine status and will. Their past memories and their very Divinity as a God face complete Annihilation. They lose their divine aspect and revert to the state they were in before becoming a God."
"If the Forest God had not yet fallen, an Old God’s Apostle like me would not have fallen into a deep slumber or a near-death state."
"When the God they follow falls, the Fire of Faith within an Apostle is completely extinguished. If another God doesn’t relight that spark, the Apostle’s life will gradually turn to ash, and they will perish along with their former God..."
After asking for more details, Luh Yao briefly summarized his understanding.
’Basically, when a God falls, they lose their player status and revert to being a normal life-form. Everything related to their time playing as a God is completely erased.’
’That made sense, when he thought about it.’
’Luh Yao figured that in the "God Simulator," once a player’s simulated God fell, the corresponding save file was probably deleted automatically.’
He wasn’t worried about Isabel, though.
There was a special connection between a Divine Player and an Apostle.
The Fire of Faith connected Luh Yao to Isabel and the Blood Knight. An Apostle was like a God’s own arms and legs within the simulator.
An Apostle could not defy or resist their God in any way; it was a constraint as fundamental as the survival instinct in a living creature.
Even if the Forest God still existed in some form, she was no longer a Main God, but the Forest Witch of the past.
With the threat neutralized for now, Luh Yao turned his attention back to the [Black Abyss].
He issued a series of commands.
Isabel swiftly carried them out. First, she had the entire East Sea Clan migrate in batches, traveling by galley to the Western Continent (the land where the Garlic Tribe resided). The island they left would be maintained only as a port and a maritime waystation.
The island had few resources; its only advantage was its considerable size.
Right now, the total population of pixel people with Faith in Luh Yao was less than 5,000. This was not a large enough population to start sprawling out, so it was better to concentrate them on building up infrastructure.
Furthermore, once the [Black Abyss] was opened, the golden gate at its entrance was fixed in place and couldn’t be moved.
Entering and exiting required Luh Yao’s key.
Luh Yao decided to just use the entire island as a staging area for the [Black Abyss] dungeon.
As for the matter of merging the tribes, he stayed out of it completely. These internal problems were for the little people to solve on their own.
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