Chapter 7: Should I Eat, or Should I Be Eaten?

At this moment, to the "Mother of Heaven," the elusive Lady of Misfortune, whom she had just tried to forcefully possess, was now right before her—within reach! Yet, she found herself unable to summon even the slightest desire, not a single urge to approach the Lady of Misfortune remained. Her mind was filled only with thoughts of boredom, dullness, and a longing to lie down in idleness.

This was an application of the power of "Calm." Such a formidable "Calm"!

The "Mother of Heaven," who also possessed this ability, understood clearly that her sudden emotional tranquility was due to the extraordinary pacification imposed by the Lady of Misfortune. But even with this awareness, she could not stir any emotions toward the Lady of Misfortune—no possessiveness, jealousy, or affection.

Her cognition was intact, yet her emotions and desires had been thoroughly erased.

In the end, the "Mother of Heaven," eerily composed, left the Lady of Misfortune’s abode on her own accord.

"I’ll need to repair the place..." The Lady of Misfortune, having nonviolently expelled the "Mother of Heaven," showed a hint of vexation for the first time.

Behind the rubble of the collapsed wall, shattered by the howl of a demonic wolf, Hermione, who had vanished from sight, gradually materialized as if painted back into existence.

Puzzled, Hermione stretched out her hand, looking at the fallen wall and the scattered ingredients she had just started preparing.

"Just now... did I hear a howl?" Hermione realized the "Mother of Heaven" was gone, leaving only the Lady of Misfortune standing quietly in the room. The place, though sparsely furnished, was in disarray, as if recently ransacked by thieves.

Did the Lady of Misfortune and the "Mother of Heaven" fight? Hermione wondered.

Hearing Hermione’s question, the Lady of Misfortune looked over in surprise, frowning as she stared at Hermione’s delicate, beautiful face.

"You say you heard... a howl?" she asked.

"Uh, yes..." Hermione responded hesitantly, "Is there a problem?"

The Lady of Misfortune’s frown deepened as she scrutinized Hermione.

"You shouldn’t have heard that."

What did she mean by "I shouldn’t have heard that"?

Hermione’s mind filled with question marks. She had been preparing dinner when suddenly a mist enveloped her, as if she had been plunged into a fog.

Within the mist, she faintly heard a wolf’s howl...

But beyond the fog, nothing was visible.

When the mist cleared, she saw the collapsed wall, the disorderly room, and the Lady of Misfortune standing alone in the emptiness...

The Lady of Misfortune pondered before speaking:

"I used a secret power to erase your presence. In that concealed state, you shouldn’t have heard the howl."

"Moreover... that howl belonged to a mythical creature. If you had truly heard it, with your fragile spirit and psyche, you would not have been able to endure it."

Upon hearing this, Hermione suddenly understood: the "Mother of Heaven" had deliberately revealed her mythical creature form, and the Lady of Misfortune had concealed Hermione to protect her.

Ah, concealment!

Hermione was familiar with this skill.

It was a common tactic of the Night Goddess from the videos she had watched—a power that left a lasting impression.

It was by this ability that the Night Goddess, together with the ancient Sun God and the progenitor of the vampiric clan, Lilith, achieved many astonishing feats.

Especially after the fall of the ancient Sun God, any divine war involving the Night Goddess was always an MVP-level performance—

Not to mention the long-term schemes to overthrow the war god and reclaim adjacent paths of authority, gathering the uniqueness of the three contiguous paths of the Black Death War.

Most impressive was the divine chaos triggered by her brother Zhou Mingrui’s ascension to the Fool, during which she concealed all the gods present, buying Zhou Mingrui precious time to drink the Fool’s potion!

Each of the top-tier authorities in the mysterious world had its strengths—deception, trickery, fate, omniscience, omnipotence—and the Night Goddess undoubtedly mastered her authority to the fullest.

Most notably, aside from her battlefield prowess, the concealment authority was utilized to the extreme in countless strategies.

No wonder the "Mother of Heaven’s" brother was so wary of the Lady of Misfortune—in the demonic wolf tribe, the Lady of Misfortune, who wielded the concealment authority, was undoubtedly among the elite.

However...

As Hermione pondered this, a line from the video came to mind:

"When you choose an extraordinary path, your friends and enemies are determined accordingly."

The higher one ascends on the same path, the fewer positions there are. At Sequence 1, there are only three slots! If a Sequence 0 true god appears on that path, no Sequence 1 can ever emerge again!

Because the correct way to ascend to Sequence 0 is to gather three Sequence 1 extraordinary traits, plus the uniqueness of the corresponding path, and undergo the ascension ritual of that path.

Compared to the chaotic authority of the Elder Gods and other subgods, the Lady of Misfortune seemed a relatively pure extraordinary being of the "Darkness" path. This meant any extraordinary being in "Darkness" hoping to become a god would be her enemy.

So, following this logic, the Night Goddess destined to rise in the future would inevitably become the Lady of Misfortune’s foe?!

A wave of melancholy settled in Hermione’s heart...

No wonder there was no future for the Lady of Misfortune—

As a subgod of the Elder Gods, she was naturally an enemy of the ancient Sun God!

As a high-sequence extraordinary being of the "Darkness" path, she was naturally an enemy of the Night Goddess!

With these two as adversaries, survival seemed nearly impossible...

"What are you thinking about?" The Lady of Misfortune, setting aside her puzzlement over why Hermione could hear the "Mother of Heaven’s" howl despite concealment, looked at Hermione, who was lost in thought, and asked.

I wanted to say I’m wondering how you will ultimately meet your end...

Over these days of protection, Hermione was grateful to the Lady of Misfortune and, if possible, did not wish to watch her walk into ruin.

But before such thoughts, another question troubled her.

Frowning slightly, Hermione asked directly, "Lady of Misfortune, the 'Mother of Heaven' said I was going to bear your child... what does that mean?"

"Thinking about that, huh." The Lady of Misfortune’s half-covered face twisted into a faint smile—beautiful yet terrifying—as she continued:

"According to the customs of the demonic wolves, there are only two identities you can assume here without arousing suspicion."

"One is the deliberate choice I spread—that of a breeding partner."

"The other is tonight’s dinner."

"Which would you prefer?"