bookbashuk Chapter 1 Birth
Chapter 1 Birth
Hello everyone, I'm a new novelist. I believe many of you have already seen the posts about this novel. If you're interested, you can check them out first.
In the realm of gods, the air outside the Temple of Destruction was already frozen stiff, so that even the wind dared not roam freely, but remained frozen in mid-air.
The piercing screams, one after another, were like a sharp, icy blade, repeatedly cutting into the hearts of the priests standing outside the hall. They all hung their heads, their backs ramrod straight, not daring to even breathe, yet their eyes kept involuntarily glancing at the tightly closed, gilded hall door. Every sound coming from behind the door tugged at the heartstrings of the highest beings in the entire divine realm, making these priests' hearts tighten with unease.
The God of Destruction stood before the palace gates, his purple-gold robes embroidered with intricate runes of destruction. Normally motionless, they trembled slightly with his taut body, as if about to burst open, unleashing a torrent of destructive power. His face, usually as cold and hard as ice, was now devoid of its former indifference; his brows were furrowed, his eyes swirling with an unprecedented anxiety, even his jawline was taut. His deep eyes were fixed on the palace gates, the purple-gold divine power within them no longer the composed and restrained force of the past, but rather like boiling magma, surging and roaring wildly within his eyes, desperately trying to break free of his suppression.
Inside the door was his wife, the most gentle and compassionate goddess of life in the entire divine realm, who held the power to bring life to all things. At this moment, she was enduring excruciating pain that he could neither touch nor share with her.
He had raised his hand countless times, his palm gathering surging purple-gold divine power, enough to crush the palace door blocking his way into ashes in an instant. But each time his fingertips were about to touch the cold door, he would abruptly stop in mid-air, his knuckles turning white, his entire body trembling with divine power.
He was a god-king who wielded the laws of destruction, capable of shattering stars with a mere gesture and collapsing the universe in his rage; all things in the world were utterly powerless before him. Yet, at this moment, hearing his wife's heart-wrenching cries of pain, he dared not even take a single step forward. He could only stand frozen outside the door like a helpless mortal, letting the agonizing sounds slowly gnaw at his divine heart. This unprecedented powerlessness and panic gripped him tightly, almost driving him to madness.
"Squeak—"
With a soft sound, the palace door was pulled open a crack, and the priestess in charge of taking care of the situation stumbled out, her face as white as paper, cold sweat streaming down her face and soaking the divine markings on her chest. She trembled like a leaf in the autumn wind, clearly terrified by the situation inside the palace.
Seeing her like this, the God of Destruction's heart sank, plunging straight into an abyss, and his aura instantly turned colder.
"What exactly happened?" He stepped forward, his deep voice filled with suppressed panic and anger. An aura of destruction emanated from him, causing subtle ripples in the surrounding space and even cracks appearing on the ground.
The priestess's legs went weak under the pressure, and she nearly collapsed to the ground. Her lips trembled for a long time before she managed to squeeze out a voice barely audible: "Your Majesty the God-King... Your Majesty the Goddess... Her divine power has gone out of control! The primordial power within the little prince is too overwhelming, clashing with the Goddess's life force, making it... impossible for him to be born successfully!"
The God of Destruction's pupils suddenly contracted, and a purple-gold halo burst forth from the depths of his eyes.
He understood instantly.
He was the ultimate source of destruction, and his wife was the ultimate source of life. These two forces were inherently opposed, representing the most extreme and contradictory existences in the universe. Their child inherited both of these primal forces simultaneously. While in the womb, the child was barely maintained in a delicate balance by the divine power of the goddess of life. However, at the moment of childbirth, the slightest external disturbance completely shattered that fragile balance.
Destruction and life were locked in a fierce battle within the child's body. This clash of laws at the level of a god-king directly affected the divine power of the Goddess of Life, essentially unleashing a devastating war within her. How could she not be in excruciating pain!
"Use my divine power to forcibly extract the source of destruction from his body, is that alright?" The God of Destruction's voice was extremely hoarse, each word trembling uncontrollably, a frantic plea he had never made before.
"Absolutely not!" The priestess's voice trembled with anxiety as she shook her head hastily. "The young princess is already one with the life essence of the goddess. Forcibly separating them will tear apart the goddess's essence, and then... the goddess's life will be in danger!"
Upon hearing this, the God of Destruction clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles scraping together with a crisp sound. The purple-gold divine power around him surged even more violently, and the surrounding priests were suffocated by this aura, yet none of them dared to take a single step back.
Just at this moment of suffocating despair, a strange halo suddenly shone through the crack in the palace door, instantly attracting everyone's attention.
The halo was extremely peculiar; one half was a warm, verdant green, like tender buds breaking through the soil in early spring, carrying the gentle vitality of all things growing; the other half was a deep purple-gold, like a thunderbolt falling from the heavens, concealing a domineering and world-destroying pressure. The two completely opposite lights intertwined, neither merging nor repelling each other, forming a strange yet harmonious balance, as if they were meant to be together all along.
Immediately afterwards, the heart-wrenching screams of the Goddess of Life inside the hall came to an abrupt end.
The surroundings fell into dead silence instantly, and even the sound of breathing became clearly audible.
The God of Destruction's heart seemed to stop beating at that moment. He forgot to breathe, forgot the divine power around him, and focused all his attention on the palace. He no longer cared about any rules, and with a burst of divine power, he pushed open the heavy palace door and strode inside.
Inside the hall, the Goddess of Life lay quietly on her cloud-brocade-covered throne, her face almost translucent with paleness. Long, wet tears clung to her eyelashes; she had already fainted, and lingering pain remained between her brows. Above her abdomen, a ball of light, interwoven with emerald and purple-gold, slowly floated, emanating fluctuating power—one side radiating the nurturing love of all things, the other the chilling destructive force. The sight caused all the goddesses present to collapse to the ground, trembling, unable even to raise their heads.
The God of Destruction stared intently at the ball of light, his divine power instinctively on high alert, and faint purple-gold divine runes appeared on his body, ready to deal with any unforeseen events. But deep within his heart, a voice kept telling him: Don't move, don't hurt them.
The ball of light slowly rotated in mid-air, its radiance growing brighter and brighter, illuminating the dimly lit hall as if it were daytime, making the two primal forces increasingly clear.
Suddenly, a crisp "crack" sound, like glass shattering, clearly reached everyone's ears.
The surface of the light cluster cracked with countless lines, and emerald green and purple-gold light burst out from the cracks, turning into thousands of points of light that illuminated every corner of the hall.
Immediately, a loud and clear cry of a newborn broke the oppressive silence in the hall. The cry was full of vibrant life, like the dawn breaking, instantly dispelling all the panic and heaviness.
The ball of light shattered completely, and countless specks of light drifted down, carrying the aura of life and destruction, gently landing on every part of the hall, nourishing everything around them. In the center of the specks of light, a tiny infant appeared out of thin air, eyes closed, gently falling downwards.
The God of Destruction moved almost instinctively, his figure flashing as he teleported below, reaching out his hands to carefully and gently catch the small body.
At that moment, he froze completely.
Looking down, the baby in her arms had snow-white, delicate skin, warm and smooth like jade, without any of the wrinkles typical of a newborn. A peculiar fragrance surrounded her, a blend of the sweet scent of the Forest of Life and the chilling aura of the Abyss of Destruction, the two aromas mingling together beautifully. Between the little one's brows was a thumb-sized sword-shaped mark, half emerald green and half purplish-gold, the two colors intertwined, exuding an ancient and noble aura that made one hesitant to look directly at it.
Perhaps feeling the comfort of being held in a secure embrace, the baby stopped crying and slowly opened its eyes. They were incredibly clear eyes, as clean as the boundless starry sky, innocently gazing at the person before it. When its gaze met the eyes of the God of Destruction, it suddenly grinned, revealing a pure and innocent smile.
That one smile instantly soothed all the rage and anxiety in the God of Destruction's heart. The surging destructive power in his eyes quietly subsided. His Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily, and his arms holding the child became even gentler, as if he were afraid that the slightest force would shatter this hard-won little life.
The priestess, who had recovered her senses, spoke in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, the young prince... he was not born in an ordinary way. He broke through the primordial light ball on his own and was born, as if he only borrowed Your Majesty's divine power as a guide, and thus did not need to go through the pain of childbirth..."
The God of Destruction did not speak, but turned to look at the Goddess of Life on the divine throne. Seeing that she was breathing steadily and her divine heart was firm, she had fainted due to excessive consumption of divine power, but her life was not in danger. The heart that had been hanging in mid-air finally settled down completely.
He gently adjusted his posture, holding the baby in his arms more securely. His fingertips couldn't resist lightly touching the baby's pink cheek, his movements incredibly gentle, completely devoid of the majesty of the Supreme God-King. The little one seemed very happy, reaching out its pink little hands to grab his long, purple-gold hair that hung down its chest, babbling as it did so. The two-colored sword mark between its brows flickered gently, incredibly lively.
"What a bold brat, causing chaos in the divine realm right after his birth." The God of Destruction's tightly clenched lips slowly curved into a faint yet incredibly genuine smile, his voice extremely soft, tinged with a tenderness he himself was unaware of. "Truly worthy of being my and her child."
At this moment, the priests outside the hall also entered one after another. When they saw the God of Destruction, who was usually cold and majestic, carefully holding the baby with an unprecedented tenderness in his eyes, they were all shocked and stared wide-eyed, their faces full of disbelief.
Holding the dual origins of destruction and life, born with a divine seal, such a miracle has never been seen in the entire history of the divine realm.
The elder priest gazed at the sword mark between the infant's brows and murmured, "Two sources coexisting, a divine seal born of nature. This child's future will surely shake the entire divine realm and rewrite the eternal order..."
Ignoring the surrounding chatter, the God of Destruction carried the child and walked quietly towards the divine bed. His gaze gently swept over his unconscious wife before returning to the little one in his arms. He spoke softly, his tone full of tenderness: "You have given me such a wonderful surprise. You deserve a name."
As if it understood his words, the baby in his arms blinked, and the sword mark between its brows glowed slightly. A faint but clear divine thought gently entered the mind of the God of Destruction.
He paused slightly, then his smile deepened as he looked down at the child in his arms and softly uttered the name that seemed to have been destined all along:
"From now on, your name will be Zi Lingtian."