The Age of Nothingness

"What did you say... Aina?"

"Did you not hear me clearly? Xia Lun, the one who bestowed upon me the title of Demon King was the Goddess." Aina's scarlet pupils flickered with a bloody light. She cupped Xia Lun's cheeks, seemingly wanting to properly admire his current expression.

However, Xia Lun did not show much astonishment or shock. Within his deep eyes, there was only a tranquil, rippleless pool.

"Are you not surprised? Xia Lun." Aina rubbed Xia Lun's cheeks, a trace of imperceptible frustration seeping into her tone, like the dissatisfaction of a carefully prepared prank failing to succeed.

"I suppose it was to be expected," Xia Lun replied, a bitter arc forming at the corners of his mouth. "After all, I really couldn't think of any other answer."

Aina pursed her lips. Xia Lun was too smart; teasing him like this seemed somewhat boring.

"Care to explain?" Xia Lun tickled Aina's armpits, but Aina wasn't very ticklish, allowing Xia Lun to make mischief under her smooth underarms.

"Xia Lun, you first tell me how you became the Hero." Aina's voice returned to that slightly languid tone, like someone who had just eaten and drunk their fill.

"Well... when I was ten years old, I suddenly obtained the Goddess's power one day and heard her voice at the same time," Xia Lun recalled. "Then I began to hone my swordsmanship without rest, striving to master the power the Goddess had bestowed upon me... Later, I could occasionally hear the Goddess's voice, but it always seemed to be about trivial matters."

Xia Lun's gaze fell back onto Aina's face, carrying a hint of profound meaning. "In fact, I have only ever received one clear 'command' from the Goddess..."

"Mhm, my situation is quite similar to yours, though I became the Demon King much later, right around when I was in my eighties..."

Speaking of age, she deliberately paused, her blood-red eyes locked onto Xia Lun, not letting go of even the slightest change on his face. Xia Lun's expression remained as calm as water; not even his eyelashes trembled.

Aina curled the corners of her lips in satisfaction before continuing, "In the beginning, I actually didn't know whose voice it was... This matter troubled me for quite a long time, even making me start to doubt the authenticity of this world... But I tentatively followed what that voice said, playing the role of the Demon King. It wasn't until I killed the Goddess that all my doubts were resolved."

Aina was stating a rather shocking and horrifying fact.

Killing the Goddess...

Xia Lun's breathing imperceptibly stagnated for a moment, and he tactfully refrained from asking any further.

"Anyway, the Demon King and the Hero... were fundamentally just chess pieces used by the Goddess to deceive the world." Aina's voice was full of irony.

"Then what is her goal?"

After a moment of silence, Aina sneered, "Naturally, it is to provoke conflict between the Demon Race and the Human Race... Without conflict, without fear, how else could she harvest the endless stream of faith from those ignorant humans?"

Xia Lun didn't speak anymore, merely staring fixedly at Aina. Those eyes that could see through people's hearts seemed able to penetrate all disguises. Under his silent gaze, Aina's eyes showed a subtle evasion for the first time, and she slowly looked away.

The air fell into a long silence.

Xia Lun knew that Aina was hiding something from him, and Aina also knew that she had been seen through by Xia Lun.

"Aina..." Xia Lun finally broke the silence.

"Such a look and tone... is simply cheating, Xia Lun." Aina pursed her lips and ultimately sighed, as if conceding defeat, giving Xia Lun a somewhat helpless glance.

"Forget it, there is no harm in telling you these things, but that traces back to an era even older than the Era of Turmoil..."

"An era before the Era of Primordial Chaos?"

Xia Lun was genuinely surprised this time, his brows furrowing slightly. He hadn't expected this matter to far exceed his expectations.

"That was an era known as the Era of Nothingness. The human race had not yet been born, and only the Demon God Race and the Heavenly God Race coexisted in the world." Aina slowly opened her mouth, her voice becoming distant and ethereal. "The two races were unparalleled in strength, but an apocalyptic war broke out between them, resulting in mass casualties... After the Era of Nothingness ended, humanity was born. Some people were influenced by the power left behind in the world by the Demon God Race, and their appearances and forms changed, becoming the Demon Race."

"Hah..." Xia Lun suddenly thought of something else. "Weren't humans created by the Goddess?"

"Heh, as if she had such great ability." Aina sneered disdainfully, her eyes full of contempt. "Humans are living beings nurtured and born from the flesh and blood of the Heavenly God Race that turned into nature after their fall... The Goddess is merely a member of the Heavenly God Race who survived that great war. For this shameless bitch to actually dare to say such things so grandiosely..."

Seemingly sensing Xia Lun's gaze upon her, Aina coughed lightly, her tone softening slightly, though it still carried a bit of acrimony. "However, the birth of humanity indeed has some connection to the Heavenly God Race... Moreover, she was the guide and enlightener of humanity during their ignorant period, so it's not entirely false."

Xia Lun silently nodded.

The Demon Race was a group born from the corruption of the Demon Gods' power. Therefore, as a survivor of the Heavenly God Race, it seemed... almost like a fated inevitability that the Goddess held a deep-rooted prejudice against the Demon Race.

Vampires, Beastmen, Snow Spirits, Undead... From the very beginning of their birth, these foreign races stood at a completely different starting point from frail mortals. They inherently possessed greater strength and longer lifespans than ordinary humans, which inherently seemed like an unfair matter.

"The Goddess's attitude towards the Demon Race is very subtle. Although she holds prejudices, the origin of the Demon Race was born from humans, so the Goddess simply ignored the Demon Race entirely, leaving them to fend for themselves."

Xia Lun let out a long breath.

"But the Goddess obviously doesn't want the Human Race and the Demon Race to be mixed together, much less does she want the power left behind by the Demon God Race to pollute the bloodline of the Human Race and cause uncontrollable harm..."

Aina pulled Xia Lun into her embrace. "Actually, our union possessed a huge hidden danger from the very beginning."

"Aise..." Xia Lun suddenly realized something and muttered.

"Your body contains the power bestowed by the Goddess, while I, as a demon, possess the residual power of the Demon God Race." Aina hugged Xia Lun's head, softly comforting him so as to prevent him from recalling those sorrowful memories. "The union of the Heavenly God Race and the Demon God Race... The Child of Chaos born from it is the root of disorder and chaos."

"Was it a mistake... from the very beginning?" Xia Lun's gaze dimmed somewhat. To think that the reason Aise had turned out like that actually stemmed from him and Aina.

Aina patted Xia Lun's cheek, and then pushed the somewhat depressed Xia Lun down onto the bed.

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore, Xia Lun. You didn't guess how I became the Demon King earlier... so now it's time to punish you."

Aina tied up her long hair behind her, and then spread her wings.