Chapter 103: The Legend of the Abyssal Moon (Bonus Chapter for Reaching 6,000 Cumulative Recommendation Votes)

Recently, the wilds surrounding Blackstone City have grown especially lively. Monsters, which once rarely approached the city, have begun to appear in increasing numbers. This is partly due to the recent surge of monster activity, and partly because their reproduction rates have accelerated. Ever since the fall of the gods, the strength of monsters has only grown. Some scholars have named this phenomenon the “Resurgence of Demonic Aura.”

The origins of monsters are closely tied to the divine, for it is said that in ancient times, neither true monsters nor gods existed. Back then, humanity was weak, struggling to survive among the many fierce beasts that roamed the world. With the invention of tools, humans slowly gained the upper hand, forming communities and asserting dominance. As their numbers swelled, totem worship and the cults of personality began to emerge. When the first deity ignited the divine flame, even the wild beasts started to change.

The more deities walked the mortal realm, the more rampant and formidable the monsters became, and the faster they multiplied. This was an endless and vicious cycle: as the greatest powers on the continent climbed ever higher, it grew ever harder for ordinary people to survive.

Eventually, the first god conceived a solution. He united the gods to build a Pantheon upon the “moon” of the continent of Edras, urging them to emigrate there. Sure enough, as the gods’ presence on the continent dwindled, the monsters’ abnormality faded. It became clear that there was a link between the proliferation of monsters and the gods themselves.

Though the gods now resided in the Pantheon, their influence much diminished, those mutated beasts still survived on the continent as monsters. Many deities refused to enter the then-desolate Pantheon. It is said that in the sunken Golden City beneath the sea, an ancient god slumbers—one who could rival the Supreme God, yet would not join the Pantheon. Scholars believe this is why monsters in the ocean are, on average, several tiers stronger than those on land.

Even in the Pantheon, not all gods were willing participants; many had been coerced by the first and mightiest of the human gods. He was not only powerful but also overbearing, spending years “imprisoning” most terrestrial gods in the Pantheon.

Yet, this was not a complete solution. At last, he amended the pact, permitting the gods to grant divine magic to mortals and to occasionally descend to the world. This indirect influence proved effective: it strengthened humanity without greatly empowering the monsters.

Over time, humanity grew in strength and claimed the more bountiful lands of the continent. Even so, beyond the cities, most of the wilds remained the domain of monsters.

The Pantheon was not well-suited for life, but the gods, being mighty, gradually transformed their new home. Each time a new god emerged, the Pantheon would “invite” them to join. Naturally, some refused. The twelve Dragon Liches of the Northern Moon Empire, for instance, wished to remain in the mortal world and lead their empire to conquest, rather than enter the Pantheon.

With vast numbers of followers, these gods were far stronger than those in the Pantheon. Their divinity was unique: as gods who grew in power by devouring dragon souls, their arrival did not seem to trigger any dramatic change among the monsters. Sadly, they were ultimately defeated and sealed away in some unknown dimension, robbing humanity of its best chance to overcome the monsters.

As the gods perished, shards of divinity scattered across the continent. Monsters have only grown stronger since. The Supreme God has vanished, the covenant of the gods has dissolved, and even if new deities emerge, whether they would return to the Pantheon to restrain the monsters remains uncertain.

“This world grows ever more chaotic, ever more unsettled. Who would have guessed the Pantheon is on the moon? Then where, I wonder, is the so-called Abyss?” Chu Yun mused, leafing through an ancient tome of secrets in his refurbished, luxurious carriage.

Opening the chapter on the Abyss, Chu Yun was taken aback. Since arriving in this world, he had occasionally noticed two moons in the night sky. Whenever the second moon appeared, a tide of monsters would sweep across the land, and their strength would surge.

He had never expected that the “Abyss” was not another plane, but instead another moon in the sky—the gods called it the “Abyssal Moon.”

According to ancient texts, the Abyss’s emergence was closely linked to the founding of the Pantheon. The gods’ lessened influence on monsters was not only a matter of distance, but also because the Supreme God had corralled many monsters there.

The Abyss was a place of extreme danger, swarming with monstrous beings of terrifying power—even the gods shunned it. Originally, the Supreme God’s plan was to confine only harmless creatures, but things spiraled far beyond the original intent.

Before the fall of the stars, the Abyssal Moon would periodically appear in the sky. Each time, monsters on the continent would become frenzied, the event being one of the main sources of the periodic monster tides.

Fortunately, the Abyss lay even farther from the continent than the Pantheon, so its influence was less direct.

“Could the fall of the stars have something to do with the Abyss?” Chu Yun wondered aloud.

Indeed, when things reach their extreme, they must reverse; the Supreme God’s actions were akin to nurturing venomous creatures. Once the monsters of the Abyss grew strong enough, who could guarantee what might happen?

Though Chu Yun had arrived in this world near the time of the gods’ demise, he did not believe his arrival was the cause. Rather, the causal chain might run the other way. Judging by the message left by the Goddess of Life, perhaps the gods were still resisting catastrophe when he crossed over. It was the time of greatest turmoil and spatial instability, which allowed him, a newly awakened traveler, to arrive in this world.

“What truly happened? Perhaps only the Goddess of Life knows the answer now. But if I could summon a monster with a higher intellect, perhaps I could glean more information,” Chu Yun resolved.

He had initially planned to summon some rare monsters to harvest materials, but his curiosity about the Abyss had grown. Now, he thought it more interesting to try summoning an intelligent creature.

According to rumors about the Abyssal Grimoire, Viscount Carl, in his youth, used the tome to summon a powerful vampiric maiden. Instead of a contract, they forged a marriage pact. Much of Carl’s rise from obscurity was due to her help.

Unfortunately, the vampiric maiden could not remain long in this world. Even knowing her true name did not guarantee a successful summoning, as many monsters might attempt to intervene. A large portion of Carl’s fortune was spent on attempts to summon his wife—Hardy, for instance, was one of his failed summons.

During the final summoning, Carl’s wife was grievously wounded in the Abyss. She no longer wished to return; to do so would mean certain death. Carl’s hatred for Hardy stemmed from the fact that Hardy had once harmed his wife, so he kept Hardy by his side as a slave and tormented him, vowing to summon him again whenever the contract ended.

In the end, she chose another way to leave her bloodline in this world. Vampires cannot produce offspring by normal means; only by consuming their own life force and blood essence is it possible. After a month, she gave birth to Lysa, and soon after, the vampiric maiden’s life came to an end.