Aergia respectfully stepped forward. She did not know what Nyx intended to do, yet she was not particularly nervous.
If this Primordial God truly wanted to harm her, there would be no need for such trouble.
Nyx extended a fingertip, and an extremely gentle wisp of night divine power flowed from it, slowly settling onto Aergia.
There was no sense of oppression whatsoever.
Yet when that power touched her divine core, Aergia still felt an indescribable profundity.
It was as if she were not facing a deity who merely possessed formidable divine power, but rather the ancient order contained within the entire night itself.
Meanwhile, Nyx had already focused her attention on the interior of the young goddess's body.
Sloth, Sleep Induction, Rest, and Cessation.
Four independent godheads quietly hovered within that divine core, which was not yet particularly vast.
The laws they represented were each distinct, yet through some extremely special connection, they all attached themselves to the original godhead of Sloth.
Had she not known beforehand, Nyx might not have linked the goddess brimming with divine power before her to that exceedingly weak divine core from back then.
She had originally thought that after Aergia was born, she would need to pass through a considerably long time before she could truly grow into a god possessing an independent divine portfolio.
Yet now...
Second-Rank Divine Power.
And she already possessed four godheads.
How much time had even passed?
To an ancient Primordial God like Nyx, the time that had elapsed was almost too brief to be worth mentioning.
However, in such a short span of time, Aergia had actually perfected several laws in succession within the domains of sleep and death.
Such a growth rate was indeed somewhat beyond her expectations.
Especially the connection among those godheads.
Nyx could see that whether it was Sleep Induction or Rest, or even the newly condensed Cessation, the foundation supporting their formation remained Aergia's own law of Sloth.
This path of development differed from that of the vast majority of deities.
Gods usually grew stronger through the expansion of their own authorities, some by acquiring or replacing more powerful godheads.
Yet Aergia had walked a far more special path.
She did not fixate on directly expanding the core authority of Sloth; instead, she continually sought connections between other laws and Sloth, using her own divine portfolio as a foundation to condense entirely new concepts.
More importantly, these concepts had all actually gained the recognition of the world.
Nyx's gaze gradually grew profound.
This talent could no longer be explained by mere intelligence.
As a Primordial God who had witnessed the birth and evolution of the world, she understood better than anyone what it meant for a previously incomplete law to be supplemented.
Although the world of Chaos had already birthed vast authorities such as sky, earth, night, sleep, and death, it was far from reaching true perfection.
Those subtle laws that had not yet received complete definitions were still scattered across various parts of the world.
And Aergia seemed naturally adept at discovering them.
If that were all, Nyx might not have had many other thoughts.
However, when she tried to cast her gaze toward Aergia's fate, things took a turn.
Within those eyes that seemed embedded with countless stars, exceedingly complex light and shadows emerged.
In Nyx's anticipation, the fate belonging to Aergia should have been very clear.
A weak goddess born under the protection of the night, bound to the Temple of Sleep, mastering the law of Sloth.
As long as her true origin remained unexposed, she would be able to enjoy a considerably long and tranquil life in the Underworld.
This was originally an uncomplicated trajectory of fate.
Yet now, that fate—which should have extended along a predetermined trajectory—had quietly altered at some unknown point.
Strand after strand of newborn law traces constantly intertwined with Aergia's original threads of fate.
What was originally a simple fate was gradually stretching into more directions.
Among those constantly emerging possibilities, some were extremely faint, while others were growing increasingly clear; yet when Nyx tried to observe further ahead, she discovered that these newborn threads were continuously shifting.
She narrowed her eyes slightly.
“Interesting.”
Nyx had not encountered such a situation in a very long time.
For ordinary deities, fate was not entirely immutable, but the vast majority of changes had traceable cause and effect.
A deity gained a new authority, a battle altered an original outcome, or a more powerful force intervened in the established course.
These changes usually possessed origins that could be traced back.
Aergia, however, was different.
Her acts of continually perfecting laws seemed to be granting her fate more and more possibilities that had not originally existed.
Even more special was that as those newborn laws truly integrated into the world, an extremely faint resonance was quietly gathering upon her.
That was not protection from Gaia.
At least, not entirely.
Nyx could distinguish that the life power within Aergia originating from the earth was markedly distinct from the resonance brought about by the newborn laws.
The former stemmed from lineage and the gift of her mother.
The latter was far closer to the world itself acknowledging the new laws.
As for how far this resonance could develop and what changes it might bring in the future, Nyx could not yet draw a conclusion for now.
Still, there was no rush.
As the night itself, she possessed more than enough time to observe the growth of a young deity.
Nyx finally withdrew that wisp of divine power.
“Not bad,” she said softly. Nyx looked at the young goddess before her, whose delicate and lovely face bore a faint trace of Gaia's image. Especially those eyes—beneath their lazy and calm exterior lay a strength, a tenacity, and a... wildness belonging to the earth, just like her mother's.
Within Nyx's deep, quiet eyes, there was now a trace of interest that had not been present before.
Such rare talent and disposition were indeed worthy of dedicated cultivation by any master deity.
Only...
Nyx glanced again at Hypnos and Thanatos standing off to the side.
These two children clearly had not yet realized the most special aspect of Aergia.
Nyx suddenly asked, “Aergia, what do you yourself want?”
Aergia was slightly startled.
This question was somewhat out of her expectation.
From the moment Thanatos issued his invitation, to Hypnos's explicit refusal, and then to their decision to come to the Temple of Night, the entire matter had revolved around which deity she should serve as a subordinate deity.
Yet at this moment, Nyx had included her personal wishes in this judgment.
Aergia pondered briefly.
In truth, her thoughts had long been clear.
Whether she stayed in the Temple of Sleep or transferred to the Temple of Death, both were acceptable to her.
If she could gain access to both authorities at the same time, that would naturally be even better.
However, such a thing was obviously not hers to proactively demand.
Thus, the young goddess quickly lowered her head slightly, revealing a respectful and serene smile.
“Great Goddess of the Night, I am merely a minor god who was born not long ago. To receive Your protection is already my immense good fortune. Whichever temple I remain in is a favor bestowed upon me by the two Highnesses. I would not dare to hold any preference of my own.”
These words were spoken very naturally, showing no apparent grievance nor intentional flattery. It was as though she had truly, reasonably handed a matter she could not decide back to the person empowered to make the decision.
Nyx looked at her quietly, and after a moment, she suddenly let out a soft laugh.
“You are very clever.”
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