If he calculated carefully, Ning Busan had already stayed in the Elven Valley for nearly a year.
Now that he had completely absorbed Faelo's card, he could freely switch between his human and elven forms.
However, when it came to leaving the Elven Valley, he found himself a bit reluctant.
But staying was not an option, because the Black Sun had descended upon the human world once again.
The moment the news reached the Elven Valley, Isabella could no longer sit still.
After discussing it with Elvin, she planned to set off immediately and return to the Dawn Empire.
When Ning Busan learned of this, he was momentarily stunned. “You're leaving right now?”
Isabella nodded. “Although the Dawn Empire repelled the xenos, they suffered heavy losses. I'm worried about my father, so I must return to the Holy Light Territory to check on things.”
Ning Busan frowned. “I wonder how things are going in the Dawn Empire. Having been away for so long, it really is time to go back and take a look.”
“The two of us will go ahead. As for you...” Elvin teased, “if you leave, the clan members will definitely be heartbroken. You should bid them a proper farewell before you go.”
Ning Busan felt a bit gloomy.
His initial goal was only to cure the Elven Clan's plague; becoming their King was entirely an accident.
The Elven Valley was protected by the God of Light, so xenos couldn't enter. Therefore, he wasn't worried about any trouble brewing in the Elven Valley after his departure.
The only thing giving him a headache was how he should tell the Mother Tree about his departure.
A child who had been missing for ten thousand years had finally returned home, only to leave again after a short stay. The Mother Tree would surely be heartbroken.
While Ning Busan was caught in this bittersweet dilemma, an uninvited guest barged into the Greenwild Royal Court.
Ning Busan's pupils constricted, his face filled with utter disbelief.
He saw someone who absolutely should not have appeared in this world.
“Mom?”
But very quickly, Ning Busan realized something was wrong.
Although this woman had the exact same face as his mother, she was shrouded in a terrifying, chaotic dark aura that made him feel extremely uncomfortable.
She wore a gown made of twelve layers of black gauze. Her skin was as pale as moonlight, yet it carried a sickly flush, as if blood were quietly boiling beneath her skin.
Ning Busan grew vigilant. “Who on earth are you?”
The woman curled her lips, which were richer and more vivid than ripe cherries. “My love, I am your mother~”
When she said “My love,” ten thousand bone roses bloomed in the void, as if whispering of eternal affection.
Ning Busan's heart skipped a beat. “You are the evil god.”
“Evil god? What an ugly name, I don't like it!” The woman said, her eyes curving into crescents. “Remember my honorable name. I am called—Hecate.”
Ning Busan finally realized the gravity of the situation.
An honorable name?
Those who referred to themselves with an honorable name were usually deities who possessed a godhead, right?
Did this evil god already possess a godhead?
Hecate's eyes locked onto Ning Busan, her gaze holding a mixture of tenderness and a nearly pathological obsession:
“My dear, do you not recognize Mother? If Surya hadn't kept interfering to stop me from finding you, we should have been reunited ten thousand years ago.”
“It doesn't matter. Once Mother escapes, I will stay by your side forever.”
Ning Busan rapidly analyzed the information.
Hecate was Satan's mother, but because the God of Light, Surya, had interfered, Satan had no idea of her existence.
Hecate was supposed to be sealed by the God of Light, so this body was not her true self, but at most an avatar.
However, judging from her words, it seemed the God of Light was about to lose his ability to hold her back.
Hecate opened her arms expectantly. “Good child, let Mother hug you.”
Ning Busan silently took a step back.
Hecate was using his mother's face, which was a massive offense to him, so he really couldn't bring himself to like her.
Seeing Ning Busan step back, a shadow flickered in Hecate's eyes, and her face instantly turned hideous. Countless writhing black mists materialized behind her, seemingly roaring to tear everything apart.
Ning Busan's eyelids twitched. Making a complete three-hundred-and-sixty-degree turn in attitude, he quickly took two steps forward and gave her a hug. “Mother, I've finally met you! I am so incredibly happy!”
Forced happiness.
Hecate instantly regained her gentleness. “Good child~”
Ning Busan breathed a sigh of relief.
The corners of Hecate's mouth curled up slightly, revealing a bizarre smile. “Since this is our first meeting, I have a gift to give you.”
Ning Busan had an ominous premonition. “What gift?”
Hecate said, “Sacrificing the hundred thousand lives of the Elven Valley, combined with the Elven Mother Tree's authority of life, will be enough to grant you dominion over life and death. Is this not a wonderful gift?”
Ning Busan's pupils shrank. “I don't need such a gift.”
Hecate arched her brow, her voice sounding like a blade coated in beeswax—both sweet like amber and laced with a fatal, blood-sealing poison:
“A good child cannot refuse Mother's gift, you know?”
Ning Busan really wanted to curse her as a crazy woman.
Knowing that something must have happened to the Elven Valley, he immediately ran out of the Greenwild Royal Court and rushed toward the Elven Mother Tree.
Hecate let out a low laugh.
Jealousy, like a black flame, had long consumed her rationality, driving her almost to madness.
She could not tolerate her child calling anyone else mother, especially the Elven Mother Tree, who symbolized life and nature.
An existence that was her polar opposite.
A crimson moon hung high in the sky, like a giant bloody pupil, coldly staring down at the Elven Valley.
The moonlight fell upon the earth, enveloping the entire Elven Valley in a crimson hue, while an oppressive and ominous aura permeated the air.
The elves looked up at the sky in terror, sensing an unprecedented threat.
With the invasion of an external enemy, the Elven Mother Tree also began to unleash her power.
Her breath kicked up an emerald storm, and the rumbling surge of her sap was the prelude to the quickening of all things.
A dual-moon phenomenon emerged in the sky.
The emerald moon, symbolizing the authority of life, and the crimson moon, symbolizing the authority of death, eroded each other.
The sky of the Elven Valley split into two halves.
Emerald tides of light surged across the eastern dome, while a bloody rain seeped from the western night sky.
The roots of the Elven Mother Tree rose from the depths of the earth, her branches and leaves rapidly weaving together to form a green barrier that emitted a soft yet resilient glow.
The dark mist of death condensed into a giant python, lunging at the Mother Tree, only to be crushed to pieces by the domain of life.
This was a battle between two mothers.
More than that, it was a war of gods.
As for the current Ning Busan, he did not yet possess the qualification to participate.
Rate on N.U.
