Chapter 1: The Pure One

Chumen seemed to be having a long dream.

The fairytale-like, beautiful, and dreamlike scene made him linger, unwilling to wake up.

Yet at one moment, a feeling of peace and tranquility arrived, like the brilliant stars in that velvet night sky, eternal and serene.

Chumen woke up, his gaze focused as he looked toward the source of that tranquil power; it was a hundred-meter-tall hill, and atop the summit stood a complex of Shenshen buildings, which the people of this city-state called Shen'an Weicheng.

The surroundings of Shen'an Weicheng were planted with countless night-fragrance herbs and Deep Sleep Flowers, clustering around the tall Statue at the highest point.

Chumen set out together with those believers; it was now late at night, the very time for the believers of Shen'an to pray.

"Hoo!" Chumen took a deep breath amidst those night-fragrance herbs and Deep Sleep Flowers, the fresh and elegant floral scent refreshing his spirit, "The power of the Sleepless!"

This was the reason he had come here to pray to the Goddess!

"Misfortune be above!" Many believers prayed to the existence who sheltered this city-state in this peaceful atmosphere, and Chumen was naturally no exception.

He found an inconspicuous corner, far away from others, and took out a Dream Book.

This was a mysterious book containing all beautiful dreams and all visions, colorful and magnificent beyond words.

Dream Book, implying that beautiful dreams come true.

This was the name Chumen had given this Dream Book, and it was very fitting.

Its existence allowed Chumen to achieve the result of psychological and even Fate concealment.

This was something born with Chumen, possessing dreamlike abilities, just like now, as Chumen prayed in Giant Language.

"More exalted than the Starry Sky,

The Night Goddess more ancient than eternity,

Mother of Concealment,

Empress of Misfortune and Terror,

Lord of Eternal Sleep and Silence."

In this era, this three-part honorific would more often point to the Destruction Demon Wolf who substantively held the Night Authority.

Yet under the phosphorescence of the Dream Book, everything was distorted and guided into the Statue before his eyes.

Chumen stopped praying and waited a moment; a boundless darkness descended, and he closed his eyes, following this power.

In the eyes of the Shen'an believers, the Statue of the Goddess seemed to change, becoming softer and more real.

Chumen disappeared like a faded sketch, gently erased by an eraser, and when he appeared again, before him was already a majestic and rugged Shenshen.

A figure descended from the depths of the darkness, as if coming from the stars of that Starry Sky or the Red Moon.

She wore a supple, dark-colored robe, dotted with countless brilliance, as if a piece had been cut from the Starry Sky and tailored into it.

Her face was hazy yet exceptionally beautiful, her eyes shining like stars in the night sky.

"You have finally arrived here, Pure One." The Goddess's voice carried a hint of a smile.

Chumen sighed softly, "My state is getting worse and worse."

It had been over a month since he transmigrated to this era where Ancient Gods warred and Mythical Creatures were everywhere, arriving in this Deep Darkness City carrying the Dream Book.

This whole thing was so treacherous that at that time, he was exceptionally conspicuous in this ancient city-state, and those Shen'an believers had almost sent him to the stake.

And in this city-state controlled by the Goddess of Misfortune, he had been locked on the moment he transmigrated.

"If not for that Dream Book, I reckon I would have been eaten clean by you!" Chumen grumbled in his heart.

He did not know how long the Goddess had been here, and as a landed Angel or even a Sequence 1, even with all the believers of Deep Darkness City, she would be relatively crazy, and it was truly doubtful how much of her humanity remained.

And for some purpose, the Goddess even took the initiative to reveal the fact of her own "transmigration," interacting with Chumen as a fellow countryman, and now she was about to obtain what she wanted from Chumen.

"And this title of Pure One, it really is..." Chumen shook his head; the Goddess smiled without a word, waiting quietly, like darkness and tranquility itself.

Perhaps because of the Dream Book, or perhaps because he truly came from outside the universe, his body and soul were unimaginably clean and pure.

Even the Potion he concocted based on recipes from his memory could not leave any trace on him, and after drinking it, it would actively condense and emerge!

This was too treacherous!

The only comfort was probably that while his body and spirit rejected the Potion, they also warded off all the Filth of the world's madness and indifferent essence.

This was what the Goddess needed.

"Have you found the reason for my sleepiness?" Chumen asked about the serious matter.

He had spent two-thirds of his time in this Deep Darkness City over the past month in sleep!

And this state of sleepiness was becoming increasingly terrifying, even to the point of not waking up, which could be called Eternal Sleep!

"I can only confirm it is related to the Dream Book." The Goddess's voice was soft and peaceful.

"The Dream Book, huh!" Chumen nodded slightly; he had not yet fully explored this thing, and this Dream Book was deeply bound to him, so others, including the Goddess, could not even get close to picking it up, let alone flipping through it to study it.

"I agree to your request, to sign a contract with you, so that you can use the Dream Book to stabilize your mental state." Chumen was silent for a moment, then looked at the Goddess and said.

"Thank you!" The Goddess thanked him very solemnly, speaking in Chinese pronunciation; as Chumen expected, the Goddess's mental state was also not good—being a landed Angel did not make her directly lose her self, but that madness and indifference had already penetrated to her marrow.

"You're welcome, I also need your power as a Sleepless." Chumen had come here to complete this transaction: he would help the Goddess stabilize her mental state, and the Goddess could alleviate his sleepiness symptoms so he would not fall into a state of Eternal Sleep.

Sleepless—this power, which was not outstanding in the Goddess's hands, had become Chumen's straw to clutch at.

Chumen took out the Dream Book and gently flipped open a page.

"Could this be related to a dragon?" the Goddess suddenly said.

She was not yet the Night who would lay out plans for a thousand years, and her grasp of specific mysterious knowledge might not be as thorough as Chumen's.

"A Dragon of Imagination?" With the double insurance of Concealment and the Dream Book, they naturally dared to mention this being.

"No." Chumen slowly shook his head; the Dream Book's dream-come-true ability was very similar to the Authority of Imagination, but it was also different.

Chumen tapped the page, and in an instant, endless, bizarre lights surged forth, where there seemed to be bubble after bubble shining with dreamlike colors.

The Goddess's Spirituality turned into points of light and fell onto the Dream Book.

At this instant, Chumen seemed to see through that layer of fog; in his mind, the Goddess's face, cold to the extreme, flashed by—not like a human's, possessing only extreme indifference and madness, as if in the next instant she would tear Chumen's body into pieces.

One could imagine that no matter how plain and gentle her previous words were, they were all spoken in this state of madness.

This was also the first time Chumen faced the mad essence of this world; suddenly, a wave of madness surged as if to overwhelm him, blood-red and black colors filled his field of vision, pulsing, as if chunks of flesh were writhing, with distorted tentacles whipping the air.

Yet that Dream Phosphor flickered, as if all strange, grotesque, and even absurd beauty were spreading.

The two forces intertwined, but ultimately returned to calm.

The essence of the madness had not changed, but it had quieted down within the Dream, no longer restless.

As for how it manifested on the Goddess, her own madness and indifference were receding, shifting, and she finally revealed a trace of a smile.

She displayed a form, as if dots of starlight were spilling from that pitch-black robe, and from her ribs and waist, two thick, dark-furred wolf legs extended on each side; holiness and weirdness, serenity and wildness were perfectly fused together.

This was the true Goddess of Misfortune!

"I am not mad." The Goddess smiled, the air seemed to become a bit more cheerful, and dots of starlight danced, as if it were the tranquil Starry Sky of the night.

This time, Chumen could also perceive the existence of a kind of humanity.

"This power of yours is truly remarkable." The Goddess said cautiously; if it were possible, the Goddess would even truly keep Chumen in captivity, letting this power belong to herself.

It was a pity that the Dream Book was too weird; even she, who could be called the strongest below an Ancient God, could not even get close to it!

Furthermore, Chumen holding the Dream Book was enough to make the Goddess cautious.

A badge appeared in the Goddess's hand; the badge had a deep black background with brilliant embellishments, differing from the appearance Chumen was familiar with by only half a Crimson Moon.

"This is Sleepless Godhood; connect with me, and you can also borrow my power." The Goddess handed it to Chumen.

Chumen's eyes lit up, and he picked up the badge; the moment it touched his hand, he felt a stream of cold Spirituality surge into his body, like a cold drink on a midsummer day, and Chumen shivered, feeling refreshed.

"The effect is very good." Chumen was very satisfied; at the very least, he would not fall into an eternal sleep.

"The transaction is complete." The Goddess nodded lightly, her mood also quite good.

Chumen was also in a great mood; his fear of sleep was hard to put into words, as he was terrified that once he fell asleep, he would sink completely into the beauty of that dream, and now this trouble was resolved.

"……The honorific name from before?" The Goddess asked suddenly.

If one considered the title of Empress and Goddess within it, the target of this honorific name was her!

Chumen closed the Dream Book, thought for a moment, and finally bowed slightly to offer praise: "This is the honorific name I have composed for you."

"Higher than the Starry Sky,

The Goddess of Night more eternal than eternity,

Mother of Concealment,

Empress of Misfortune and Fear,

Lord of Sleep and Silence."

"I am your Pope, Saint Chumen."

Ha! Persecuting the Goddess? This was truly an unexpected path!

Looking at the "fellow countryman" before her who called himself Pope, and even recited an honorific name that could make her feel a slight resonance, the Goddess could barely keep her composure.

The two had met many times, and with this transaction having established a certain degree of trust and friendship, being teased like this by someone who could be called a friend was truly somewhat... strange.

The current Goddess of Night was at the time when her humanity was most stable and abundant.

But the Goddess was the Goddess after all; her expression did not change in the slightest, she only nodded lightly, giving Chumen a polite rebuff.

Chumen raised an eyebrow slightly; now that the shackles of Eternal Sleep were gone, he naturally had to stir up some trouble for fun.

He tapped his finger lightly on the Dream Book in his hand, and it finally transformed into a Night Revelation with a black background embellished with stars.

"……God said, let there be light..., God walked upon the water..."