The Record of Unusual Creatures

After leaving Coldpath, Hao Ren headed straight to Raven 12345’s mansion with Vivian.

The neurotic goddess—who was always missing in action—was back in the salt mines, looking busy at work. Hao Ren had finally gotten her quick reply this time. When he stepped into her office, the goddess was frowning while staring at some visuals in the air. It seemed like she was dealing with something vital. In the visuals, Hao Ren could see planets and stars being born, as well as intelligent beings, and some incomprehensibly mysterious phenomena in the deepest part of the universe.

He had to interrupt the goddess because he had brought critical news. He was a bit curious about what Raven 12345 was doing. “There’s news! What are you busy with?”

Well, he actually was not interested in what Raven 12345 was doing but more in why the neurotic goddess had suddenly knuckled down to work.

“Monitoring the universe, optimizing the celestial system, and seeing what the believers are busy with lately,” Raven 12345 said, raising an eyebrow. “I am swamped all the time. Oh, looks like you have some serious business to see me, eh? Let me guess, you’ve found new leads on the Goddess of Creation.”

“Yeah, a significant one too,” Hao Ren said as he took out the MDT and presented the Creation Engine in a hologram. “I returned to Coldpath. After I took the Godslayer away, this thing emerged out of thin air in Coldpath. Can you guess what it is?”

Raven 12345 replied in a casual tone of voice, “The core module of the Creation Engine.”

How did the goddess know what it was with just a glance? Hao Ren said to himself, shocked. Could Raven 12345 have known it a long time ago, or was it because she could see beyond the image? Either way, Hao Ren was awed.

“Can’t you see the title in the hologram,” Raven 12345 said, pointing at the image. “Creation Engine Core Module – Accurate Model Diagram.”

“Ahem, yeah, that is the core of the Creation Engine, if we are not wrong,” Hao Ren said.

“Tell me how you found it,” Raven 12345 said as she leaned forward a little. There was not much change in her facial expression. “I know you have found three Gilded Discs, but this thing is of another level. Judging from your serious expression, I bet the discovery was different from those of the Gilded Discs.”

Hao Ren took a breath, and his tone of voice was even more solemn this time. “It is exceptional, the relic of the Goddess of Creation meant for Vivian, tucked away in a hidden space-time vault in Coldpath, and completely secured with encryption. The vault was activated by Vivian’s blood. The MDT had a visual record and environment data. Besides, those floating temples are there to maintain the space-time vault.”

Raven 12345’s brows arched. “I understand what you mean.”

“Then let’s study this ball,” Hao Ren said and nodded at Vivian. “Vivian and I have been beating our brains out trying to figure it out. There must be something that the Goddess of Creation wanted Vivian to do by leaving this relic to her. But—”

“Of course she did,” Raven 12345 said, glancing at Vivian. “But judging from the clueless look on your face, you must have forgotten about it. I must admit that I have to reevaluate this country goddess. She was young, but she was good. I mean, just look at the arrangement she has made though it seems something doesn’t work out quite well now. The descendant of the divine blood whom she has been so hopeful of has lost her memory. Hao Ren, where do you keep the ball?”

“In the garage onboard the spaceship. If you want to see it, we should find a bigger place: that thing is a lot larger in real life, several hundred meters across, and it needs to be completely suspended in the air for easy observation.”

Raven 12345 made a snap, and everything in the room instantly retreated in all directions and disappeared into the blurry chaos. The place where they stood became an endless open field. Under their feet was a gray-white ground that extended out infinitely while above them was clear blue sky, standing in between making them feel so small.

Hao Ren had seen Raven 12345 showcasing her ability many times, so he was not surprised at all. He proceeded to call Nolan to release the giant golden ball.

The giant ball was suspended in the air and revolving as usual. The complex parts and gears were running silently but seemed without any purpose.

“This is it.” Hao Ren pointed to the ball.

Raven 12345 nodded, came up to the giant golden ball and gently touched it with her finger.

As if a restless beast was hypnotized, the sophisticated device instantly ground to halt.

The pleasant melody inside the giant golden ball had also stopped at once.

“A powerful data processing device with multiple layers of security.” As Raven 12345 explored the internal of the ball with her unique method, she asked, “How many ports are there for the Gilded Discs?”

“Twelve,” Hao Ren replied. “All the waistline. But it is not certain whether all Gilded Discs must be installed.”

“So there are at least twelve Gilded Discs. You have found three so far, and the other nine are likely to be in the Umbral Realm or have been blown away somewhere.” Raven 12345 softly tapped the metal plates of the giant ball. “I can’t see the internal. Give me a minute, I am going to bring in an assistant who you will get to know her soon.”

Hao Ren and Vivian became curious about who the neurotic goddess would bring.

Suddenly, a shadow enveloped the space.

Clouds came out of thin air and gathered above them from all directions. Lightning and aurora-like ray storm began to dance as thunders rolled. Soon, a maelstrom began to form. As the vortex spun, it developed into a funnel-shaped door. Behind the powerful energy, the door was a terribly strong existence. This existence had traveled through multi-universes as well as world barriers, and it was about to come to this world.

Goosebumps had popped up on their skins. At first, Hao Ren and Vivian thought that it must some being as funny as Raven 12345 herself. But the phenomenon had them watching in awe. A dozen-meter-tall giant god was probably behind this unique effect, they thought.

While they were pondering, the dark clouds and thunderstorms suddenly subsided. An unknown living being with only the size of a palm fell out of the sky right onto Hao Ren’s head. Hao Ren heard a voice talking on his head, “Croak! What’s the hurry? I was just taking a walk near the Void Bridge. Wow! That’s a huge golden egg!”

Shocked by the thing that dropped on his head, Hao Ren frantically swept it off his head. “Holy moly! What the hell is this?”

“Croak? Have I just landed on someone’s head?” The small voice screamed and quickly got off Hao Ren’s head. Upon a closer look, Hao Ren saw what it was and shocked. It was a palm-sized tiny girl.

The tiny girl dressed in a black dress, was small and delicate, with a long, shiny purple-black hair sparkling with lights. She was like a scaled-down human girl of only a dozen centimeters tall.

This tiny girl, who fell out of the thunderstorm, as the helper Raven 12345 had called in.

“Is this the helper you’re talking about?” Vivian asked, baffled by the unknown creature that fell out of the sky.

“Yes,” Raven 12345 nodded. “Allow me to introduce; she is Maggie, a crow-goddess, and powerful multi-world traveler.”