In the cold and damp air, a brief silence fell as Yvette and Dugrabi stared at the deliberately menacing Abella.

The End World Witch had awakened, and the Day of Endings was imminent… As Yvette processed this information, confusion clouded her mind. Did the End World Witch really exist? Was the answer to the apocalypse laid out so plainly?

The arrival of an evil god brought forth a legion of aberrations. According to the intel from beneath the Abyss Base, it likely began from the ocean before the Origin Civilization was destroyed. The evil god fell into eternal slumber, preparing for the destruction of the next world…

Was it that simple?

Just like that?

What a tired plot, she thought. If this were a story, then surely it would be a terrible one. No matter how one looked at it, the Origin Civilization had developed for thousands of years, boasting illustrious achievements, only to suddenly perish in a mechanically mundane unfolding of demise. Wasn’t that utterly unsatisfying?

No… It might not be that simple.

Perhaps the End World Witch had not existed initially; she could have later become the “Goddess” among aberrations, similar to how the sixth stage was called a “Commander,” and the seventh stage was populated with the nine “Lords.”

“Gods” could simply be one of the later stages.

Still, her mention in the prevalent mythology of the Glimmering Continent held deeper connections, didn’t it? Furthermore, when the Spider Witch had claimed that the gate to the new world was about to open, what did she mean? Was that the aurora?

…

Unlike Yvette, who appeared expressionless yet was deep in thought, Dugrabi experienced a more straightforward reaction. In his understanding, the End World Witch was merely the evil god king threatening the entire human realm, leaving little room for doubt.

After recovering from his shock, he urgently asked, “The Day of Endings? What do you mean? Are you saying the End World Witch is going to wage war on the human realm? Isn’t she sealed away?”

Abella smirked coldly, planning to keep her cards close to her chest. But when she noticed the black dragon raise a claw as if to strike her, she quickly became compliant, shrinking back. “I… I only know the Day of Endings is approaching, and that’s all I know! But it should mean that the King of the Ocean Depths has been working so hard to scour resources, desperately training higher-tier subordinates…”

Once the black dragon lowered its claw, she exhaled in relief but couldn’t help stealing a glance at Lady Loxivia, wondering what the commander was plotting. Why didn’t she transform this black dragon from the new world into a Godkin?

Wait… what if she’s a traitor among the Godkin?

The thought made Abella gulp, but soon, she deemed the probability low. While no one truly knew the consequences of defying the goddess, insubordination among the Godkin was absolutely unacceptable.

Given the unique existence of the “Mother Nest,” the internal hierarchy among the Godkin was incredibly strict. For example, in Kux, if the Purple Commander ordered the Spider Witch to do something and she refused, he could use the Pale Mother Nest’s control to force her to take her own life as a nutrient reward for other Godkin.

If the Mother Nest could do that, the power of the Goddess spoke for itself, so thoughts about traitors… um, probably shouldn’t exist?

Was she overthinking it?

Anyway, it was certain that Lady Loxivia was indeed a Godkin commander; that much was beyond doubt. Just the strange nature of her hair and her terrifying ability to consume evolution factors proved that she was far beyond what the weak beings from the new world could accomplish—those weaklings occasionally wandered into the Origin world, but they feared evolution factors and would never dare to devour them willingly.

At this moment, Yvette had also processed the information and, suppressing her internal questions, asked, “What was that secret you just mentioned?”

Setting aside her thoughts, Abella responded, “…I don’t know how many of the nine lord positions are vacant, but the Black Tide Continent certainly has none. With the Day of Endings approaching, it is an opportunity to gain merit for the Goddess. That’s why the King of the Ocean Depths sent the Purple Commander to secretly come to the border area of the Source Ocean North and the Black Tide Continent to establish a base and plunder resources… That’s why I mentioned this place is special.”

Dugrabi suddenly realized, “So, you guys are here stealing stuff!”

“…It’s more or less like that,” Abella shot him a glance.

“Between the nine lords, is there a ban on plundering each other’s territories?” Yvette inquired.

“I… I’m not sure… It might be related to the fact that no rulers have been born yet,” Abella thought, You’re a commander, and you don’t know about this? How should I know?

It’s reasonable to assume that since the lords have not been born, plundering is prohibited… otherwise, that rule seems contradictory to the tendency among aberrations to kill and devour for evolution. Yvette silently assessed this.

Simultaneously, this also indicated that secretly plundering nutrients from the Black Tide Continent was likely a violation. No wonder Abella couldn’t gauge the actions of the Purple Commander; from her perspective, they were there to steal, making conflict with other local commanders counterproductive.

Dugrabi continued to ask, “How many of the nine lords are there now? Where are they?”

Abella shook her head. “I only know two: one is the King of the Ocean Depths, whom the Purple Commander serves, and the other is the King of the Abyss, the enemy of the King of the Ocean Depths… The Purple Commander should know more; he is qualified to challenge for the lord position, and Lady Loxivia is as well.”

She paused, “Moreover, the nine lords govern land, sea, and sky, but I only know that the King of the Ocean Depths rules over the Source Ocean North; beyond that, I don’t know much else…”

Upon hearing this, Yvette felt a flicker of realization.

From what she understood, there were three continents and four oceans in the Origin Star—or the End World.

The continents were Black Tide Continent, Emerald Continent, and Silver Mirror Continent.

The great oceans, originating from the world map’s poles, included the “Source Ocean North” and “Source Ocean South,” the “Rune Sea” toward the left center, and the vast “Sea of Knowledge” on the right.

If the King of the Ocean Depths ruled over the Source Ocean North, did that imply that each of the four seas had its own lord position?

Since the lord of the Black Tide Continent had yet to be born, did that mean the three continents each had their own lord position? Original content can be found at novel★fire.net

If that were the case, only two lords remained unaccounted for, presumably overseeing the sky?

…

With Dugrabi playing the role of a mouthpiece, Yvette could mostly keep silent during the subsequent inquiries, maintaining her façade as a mutant lord while listening to Dugrabi extract more information under the guise of a “new world dragon.”

She learned that the hierarchy among aberrations was incredibly rigid, and once a mutant reached the third stage, they could no longer advance without aid from the Mother Nest. They could either become a Nest Master or a subordinate of the Nest Master—those were the only three paths available.

She also discovered that the Spider Witch Abella was once a local elite of the Black Tide Continent. After the Purple Commander arrived in Kux, he selected her for her intelligence, granting her one promotion and one enhancement, which led her to become one of the three guardians of Kux’s Mother Nest. That was also why she didn’t exhibit traits of marine life.

As for the Mountain Whale hordes that appeared continuously in Kux and flew toward the outside world, they were produced by the Pale Mother Nest using nutrients that had been plundered; they represented elite combat power. They traveled along routes through the mountains, entering the Source Ocean North beyond the snow-covered mountains, their purpose being to expand the aberrant army under the King of the Ocean Depths, preparing for the Day of Endings.

“Is there… any other question?” After laying out a torrent of information that nearly emptied her mind, Abella noticed the two were momentarily silent. She then hazily asked, her feelings of contempt toward the black dragon reaching new heights.

This new world dragon had nearly driven her insane! The nearby commander had not asked too many questions yet, but here was Dugrabi, chattering away, asking a bunch of inane questions!

If she had known this, she would have kicked him a few more times when she had the chance! She thought bitterly.

“Well, I have one last question.” Having digested and absorbed this new information, Yvette looked at her and suddenly asked, “What do you know about the ‘Mechanical God’?”