1 The Feast of Betrayal

The walls of an eerie yet majestic hall were adorned with countless marble-made murals, each depicting a deity-like figure emerging from the sea, either battling monstrosities or leading countless humans to safety.

It was a collection that portrayed both the true nature of Godhood and the love of a shepherd.

The hall was supported by a series of large pillars whose height extended into a white cloudy ceiling adorned with tiny blue stars. The stars gleamed and glistered with a gentle pulse as starlight fell on the hall, casting a lofty yet divine glow.

A long molten table with twelve high back seats stood in the far front of the hall. The table itself was laden with countless fruits, each enticing under the glorious light. However, the next second, blood splattered across the table, staining the fruits with a bloody hue and emitting a nauseating metallic odor.

A figure sat at the edge of the table, his body covered in a layer of golden aura radiating the essence of divinity and majesty, but his face contrasted.

The figure appeared to be a young male with jet black hair that was faintly scattered with white strands. The man dressed in a white clergy robe sat back in the chair, his face pale white and sunken as blood dripped from his lips all the way down his robe, revealing a gaping round wound in his chest. Blood and flesh swarmed around him as if his body was attempting to heal from the fatal wound.

He slowly raised his head, looking up at the group that surrounded him, each of whom was dressed in strange, peculiar attire and exuded a divine aura.

One of these individuals approached him and knelt before him. This person had long silver hair and was dressed in a white silver robe that gave off a pure white aura that matched his ethereal holy visage.

He seemed like an angel!

The figure gently grabbed the injured man's hand with both of his, saying in a calm ethereal voice,

"Please forgive me, Father, but you have refused to grant us control over the heavens. And such," he paused before slowly raising his gaze to the man he referred to as his father, who slacked in his sit with a gaping wound in his chest. His eyes were white like snow, and his lips were silvery and glamorous.

The man regarded as father parted his lips and said, in a pained tone, "All you had to do was wait; I needed time to fully separate myself from them." So, Aeroborus, why couldn't you wait?

Aeroborus, whose silver hair cascaded down to his waist, batted his silver eyelids, a warm smile on his lips as he said in an ancient ethereal voice, "Father, when have I ever been known to wait.....No, you had your time—you created the world and everything in it.... But a new Genesis is about to begin, and an ancient life like yours cannot exist in that new beginning."

The man regarded as father looked up and around, seeing the rest of his children standing guard against him--a defeated smile appeared on his face, his mind slowly drifting to a distant memory that he once thought had long been forgotten.

.....

Father, who was previously known as Yun Feng, was a normal human living in a world known as Earth about a million years ago; however, due to unfortunate circumstances, he lost his life and was reborn in a void of nothingness.

However, after centuries of solitude, he came to develop a profound connection with forces that he regarded as "the heavens."

Forces that gave him the ability to create a new universe and liberate himself from solitude.

Yun Feng became lonely after centuries of creation and the inevitable birth of humans, to the point where the humans who worshiped him as Primordial God could no longer help him. As a result, he used the power of the heavens to separate his consciousness and personality into different individuals, whom he then considered to be his children.

Because they were born from him.

Yun Feng sighed in defeat and closed his eyes as the memories resurfaced. He did not, however, feel any regret for his actions. Perhaps, if he was still a normal human, such betrayal would have cut deep, but he came to realize…

"Everything ends, and new things begin again..."

With that, he looked up at Aeroboros and asked sarcastically, "So, do you like it? The power, might, and influence that emanates from heaven? And to think all you had to do to get it was to consume my heart."

Aeroborus could not help but sigh before responding softly: "It was the only way."

"I see," Yun Feng closed his eyes and made a request, "At least kill me; I would rather that than be thrown into the cosmos."

Aeroborus stood up on his feet in response to his father's request, his pale skin glistening in the invisible light. He raised his hand to the sky and said in an ethereal voice, "Goodbye father, you were perhaps the greatest creator."

_You mean the only creator_ He could not help but muse.

At that point, a white streak of light descended from the sky and engulfed Yun Feng in a crackling radiance; his body began to become ethereal, like a drawing whipped out of existence. But he felt no pain; instead, he thought to himself:

_I wonder what happens next, reincarnation or just... nothing._

And with that, his consciousness gradually faded into darkness.

.....

The cold winter breeze swept through the frozen trees of Black Tower Mountain.

The moon was visible in the cloudless night sky as dawn broke.

Tall black castles stood high in the mountains, patrolled by countless guards dressed in black fur coats. Atop the cold mountain, it looked like a city of castles.

However, in this pristine environment, the mountain was neither dark nor quiet, with numerous candle lights shining through the streets--held by believers who lowered their heads in reverence and sang hymns in a pious tone.

The mountain served as the headquarters of the Silent Night Cathedral and was surrounded by numerous castles owned solely by the kingdom's nobility or tycoons.

The current festival was known as the Passage of Night, which took place once a month at a time determined by the Pope of Night. The festival requires all Silent Night Goddess worshippers to march up the mountain and into the cathedral.

The light stream extended all the way beneath the mountain that served as the main part of the city of Parin within the Raen kingdom.

A young man dressed in a black clergyman robe stood in front of a grayish tall cathedral, a silver-circle pendant around his neck that shimmered in the night sky. The man was the head priest of the silent night church, only second to the church's Pope; he had dark brown hair and slightly gray sideburns. His body was straight, his hands clasped together in a religious gesture.

He was facing the large crowd, which was illuminated by the burning candles they were holding. He parted his lips and spoke in a booming yet calm voice that echoed directly into the ears of everyone present, regardless of their distance from the speaker.

"The Mother of Night has granted us another night of peace, and her recipients have fought the evil forces that seek to destroy us. We constantly claim victory, so we gather here to celebrate the passage of night, for which we thank the mother of night for her mercy." He paused as if awaiting the crowd's reaction, then raised his hands out as if inviting the air for a hug, and then shouted in an ethereal voice,

"Praise be to the night!"

Like puppet work, the crowd shouted in response.

"For within is true peace!"

With that, the crowd, led by the priest, began to enter the cathedral.

After finishing the prayers, the brown-haired priest bent over and placed his hands against the floor, lowered his head, and bowed towards a large silver circle inscribed into the walls, which served as both the altar and the honorific symbol of the silent night goddess.

Behind him, the audience stood up from their seats and slowly and quietly followed.

When the festival ended, the crowd slowly rose from the ground and sat silently back in their chairs.

Sighs of relief echoed throughout the hall, with many people wearing warm smiles.

"I have an announcement," the brown-haired priest said, "Countless Families, including the Erebus, will be sending another member of their families in this year's ceremony to officially become a recipient and help in the battle against the things and machinations of the dark."

"Tomorrow, the candidates from their respective families will be tested to see if they were born influenced by the heavens and, hopefully, by the grace of the Night. One would be discovered, influenced by the heaven of the silent night.

"By the end of tomorrow's day, we will have future candidates to fight this battle against the evil and heretical constructs."

The crowds erupted in murmurs as many were excited for the once-a-year event - many dreamed of being born influenced by heaven, granting them the status required to obtain mystical divine abilities. This was the result of events from 300 years ago, when the black emperor Caesar revealed the presence of a true supernatural phenomenon.

"I hear one of this year's candidates has a boarish body; I believe he belongs to a more aggressive heaven," a member of the audience commented.

"That is true, but the genius Ava, who wrote so many novels, will be among them; perhaps she will be the one to join the bureau," another member of the audience said.

"Yeah, but you should know that it is not just the bureau that is choosing to join their teams; others will also be among them."

The hall immediately erupted in an argument, giving the sacred cathedral the appearance of a court rather than a place of worship.

The priest raised his hands in the air, immediately quieting the hall. He then stated in an ethereal voice, "I look forward to the new generation of recipients, so let us pray together for their health."

The crowd fell silent and bowed in prayer.

At that precise moment, a pair of crystal clear dark eyes stared through a window, looking at the silent night cathedral, strange feelings bubbling up within.

_It appears that I'm still in the same world, not Earth. Perhaps it's years into the future?'Yun Feng quietly gazed through the window, allowing the cold winter breeze to enter.

-Perhaps my connection to the heavens was not completely severed. Perhaps a power lingered, powerful enough to reincarnate me. But, if that is the case, that is all the power I could have.

_Perhaps it's all I have left. Hmm, I can't be sure of that.' He reflected on the possibility of his speculation.

The whistling wind filled his ears, drowning out the murmurs in a windy swirl.

Slowly he closed his eyes, his mind reliving the memories of his death at the hands of his own children.

"Ha, even after dying twice, I still can not get used to it."