As Ke Su watched the offerings being presented, he lowered his gaze.
In the dream, he was clearly impatient, eager to receive the food that he remembered as being delicious. His vision became exceptionally sharp, allowing him to see every detail of the small altar in the miniature city below the clouds.
However, upon seeing those details, Ke Su wished he could gouge out his own eyes.
From Ke Su's perspective, the offerings presented by the ant-like followers were a pile of fragmented meat that was beyond human comprehension, making him feel inexplicably nauseous just by looking at it.
Adding to this, the runes carved into the altar emitted a faint light under the deity's gaze, causing the meat on the altar to ferment into an incredibly repulsive stench, making the nausea multiply exponentially.
It was a stench that Ke Su had never experienced in his life, and to prevent himself from vomiting on the spot, his dream seemed to provide some self-protection, turning those disgusting chunks of meat into a mosaic.
But even so, everything was still so revolting that it made his scalp tingle.
Ke Su, who was ready to eat, froze as he looked at the pile of mosaics in front of him. His previously bent body straightened up, and a wave of nausea surged in his stomach, making him feel an unprecedented urge to vomit.
Struggling to suppress the impulse to vomit, Ke Su finally managed to calm down. He then looked back at the ant-like creatures that were still chattering and at the so-called food they were offering, his expression turning sour.
The disgusting mosaics were still being held by the ants, who were chattering noisily, as if they believed he only deserved to eat such things, chanting his divine name as they did so.
They were still trying to make him eat these revolting things.
It was too insulting.
Ke Su glared viciously at the ants who showed no remorse, growing more and more furious. His previously peaceful dream turned chaotic as he furrowed his brow.
For Ke Su, it was like being all set to enjoy a grand feast, only to find someone had deliberately placed something disgusting on the table. The intense sense of humiliation was something no one could tolerate.
Ke Su's obsessive-compulsive tendencies flared up, and he almost flipped the table on the spot. His hand, unable to control itself, slapped down, crushing the arrogant ants in front of him and flipping the entire altar in the process.
He realized that this dream was designed to disgust him!
These detestable ants!
They were mocking him, implying he only deserved to eat such things!
With the altar overturned, Ke Su looked at the Lego-like city below the clouds, still feeling unsatisfied, and swept it away in one swift motion.
For some reason, Ke Su in the dream had become much more childish. Seeing the buildings near the miniature city below the clouds, he swept through them as well, destroying everything within reach.
With a loud crash, a miniature city, along with several smaller ones nearby, collapsed, scattering like a poorly stacked pile of blocks, a sight that oddly satisfied him.
Ke Su felt a sense of relief in his heart, though the lingering nausea remained, and he awoke from the dream.
Today was destined to be an unforgettable day for the Curtis Empire.
Not only because today was the annual festival of the Curtis Empire.
But also because, during this grand festival, their supreme deity finally responded to His obedient lambs!
The Curtis Empire, as the people of the deity, had waited for this moment for a long time, and now, the deity had finally answered their call, proving that their efforts had not been in vain!
They were indeed the chosen nation favored by the deity!
Although the deity had inexplicably become angry, they believed that the deity would eventually forgive them, for they were His most loyal lambs!
As they watched the deity lean closer to the altar and saw the carefully prepared offerings about to be accepted by the deity, all the devout followers widened their eyes.
The sky, which had just rained blood and flesh, cleared once again. Their faces, stained with the blood of their kind, were filled with an almost insane worship and joy.
They waved their hands, displaying their loyalty to the deity, unwilling to look away for even a moment, just to firmly remember the moment when the deity acknowledged their piety and accepted their offerings.
It would be a moment of eternal glory for them!
High above, at the center of the altar, as they had hoped, the deity was gazing at His offerings, giving the followers the gaze they most longed for.
Even though they couldn't understand the emotions within that gaze, the followers still fell into a frenzy, eagerly and freely expressing their excitement and reverence for the deity.
"Faith in You, reverence for You, worship You, then kneel, then recite Your name! You will redeem this filthy world..."
"O Deity! You are the one true god in this world... everyone will become Your lambs..."
Countless people recited the scriptures aloud, their voices filled with fervent piety, so uniform that it sounded like a long-prepared chorus, extraordinarily stirring to the ears.
The High Priest, with tears in his eyes, listened to the devout prayers, deeply moved by the purity of his nation's faith, and he believed that the deity would surely witness their piety.
Thus, the High Priest looked up at the deity in the heavens with anticipation. Although the deity, draped in the thin veil of nameless mist, still had an indistinct expression, the brilliance of chaos and distant celestial bodies faintly emanated from Him. The majestic aura seeping from the chaos made the High Priest feel immense pressure even when gazing directly at a part of the deity.
Seeing the deity remain silent for a long time, the High Priest guessed that the deity might have calmed down, and a look of joy slowly spread across his face. However, the High Priest, who had been chanting the deity's name for decades, forgot a rule that every believer should remember.
That is— the deity's emotions are unpredictable and always without reason.
The intense joy had not yet dissipated, and the smile on the High Priest's face had not yet faded, when suddenly, the weather changed drastically, and everything that happened at this grand festival felt like a natural disaster.
No, how could a mere natural disaster compare to the supreme authority of the deity?
As he watched the overwhelming mist of chaos engulf everything, the High Priest thought to himself, and his vision plunged into eternal darkness.
For him, this might also be a way to return to the deity's embrace.
Below the altar, the grand festival continued, and the followers continued singing and dancing, full of hope.
Under the worshipful and reverent gazes of the followers, the enormous deity extended His gigantic tentacles once more, but instead of bringing the expected blessings and hope, He brought endless sorrow and pain.
In an instant, the misty veil draped over the deity began to tremble, and infinite chaos surged out from the black hole, pouring into this fervently faithful nation.
"Ahhhhh!!!!"
"No! Aaah!"
"O Deity! May You protect... Your loyal... lambs... ahhhh!!!"
Shrill, distorted screams echoed across the sky as countless eyes dared to gaze directly at the deity in His fury, only to burst instantly. The devout followers remained in their kneeling positions as their bodies exploded with blood, their carapaces shattering under swollen boils. Mutated, deformed limbs and flesh appeared on their bodies, leaving them in agony, praying for forgiveness that would never come.
The hellish scene on earth made the ant tribe, who had been hoping for the deity's wrath to subside, tremble and wail in terror, but there was nowhere to escape.
The ancient darkness and chaos devoured everything, while the deity's extended limbs and tentacles crushed all the vain flesh, leaving only the agony and wailing of souls.
The nameless mist continued to expand under the influence of chaos, annihilating everything in its path, and the deity's enormous tentacles crushed everything on the ground like a doomsday judgment.
Glorious palaces, magnificent halls, all turned to dust in an instant.
—The towering sacred churches, the inviolable statues of the deity, the white doves spreading their wings, the hoarse and painful hymn... all were obliterated in an instant.
There was no time to escape, and no power to escape. All the ants fell into eternal, painful slumber within the endless chaos, screaming in terror.
A once-glorious empire, on the verge of becoming the overlord of the Mist Continent, was reduced to ruins.
Even in death, the devout followers of the Curtis Empire never understood.
Why had their revered deity rejected their offerings with such anger and delivered such a cruel punishment?
Perhaps the answer would never be known. All the other insect tribes on the continent witnessed the sudden destruction of a once-prosperous empire, and the enormous figure of the deity instilled fear in the neighboring nations, who dared not even glance in its direction.
It wasn't until the deity's figure, shrouded in chaos and the nameless mist, had disappeared for a long time that the neighboring nations dared to send a small team of soldiers to investigate, only to find remnants of ruins, sticky and nauseating flesh... and countless grotesque and terrifying monsters.
As expected, almost the entire team sent by the neighboring nations was wiped out. The few soldiers who barely escaped were nearly driven insane, mumbling words like "monsters, gods, salvation.
Later, no one dared to approach the ruins of the Curtis Empire's capital anymore. Any ant-like creature that came close would disappear, and it was rumored that, aside from the ghosts of ants who died from divine retribution still wandering the area, many grotesque and terrifying monsters also lived in the darkness. These monsters worshiped the malevolent deity and would devour any insect that approached the capital, their evilness beyond imagination.
In the annals of the Mist Continent, the rise and fall of the Curtis Empire were recorded, as well as the first divine event in the continent's history.
[Year 101 of the Mist Continent Empire Chronicles: The indescribable malevolent deity descended upon Curtis, bringing destruction and death… It was an existence that could not be described, seen, or touched. Mortals should never encroach upon the domain of the gods.]
At the end of the historical record, a warning was given to people not to summon this indescribable deity again. The fear of this unknown deity was evident in the words, which was unusual considering the chronicle's traditionally objective writing style.
Many years later, some people believed that this malevolent deity was real, but more dismissed it, arguing that history is written by humans, and deities do not truly exist.
Atheists and theists argued fiercely about whether the malevolent deity was real, but whether one believed in the deity's existence or denied it and mocked the bias of the chronicle, one undeniable fact was that the ruins of the Curtis Empire, with its lingering divine pressure, remained a forbidden zone for the insect tribes.
A widely circulated rumor was that a group of the malevolent deity's followers lived there, waiting to summon their great deity again.
Perhaps one day in the future, the insect tribes, having forgotten the existence of deities, would once again experience true fear.
In the Real World
"Ugh—"
Ke Su jolted awake from the nauseating dream, retching and clutching the edge of the bed, his face pale and unwell.
Anyone would look bad after waking up from a disgusting dream, especially when the nausea lingers.
Though he could no longer remember the content of the dream, Ke Su still felt an inescapable sense of nausea, making him feel extremely uncomfortable.
"How strange, why did it make me so sick..."
Ke Su rubbed his queasy stomach, puzzled.
This was a first in his life—being sickened awake by a dream.
Ke Su rubbed his throbbing temples, trying hard to recall the dream, curious about what could have been so nauseating.
But the more he tried to remember, the faster it slipped away.
After a few more moments of effort, unable to recall the dream, Ke su gave up and sleepily glanced at the digital clock on the bedside table—it was 2:30 AM.
Still the middle of the night.
Ke Su yawned and lay back down, closing his eyes to get some more sleep.
As for the nauseating dream, since he couldn’t remember it, he decided to let it go. It probably wasn’t a pleasant dream anyway.
He hoped he would sleep until dawn and avoid such a disturbing dream again.
Murmuring to himself, Ke Su soon fell back asleep. The darkness in the bedroom grew deeper, faintly illuminated by celestial light, mingling with some chaotic elements.
Not far from the bed, the computer in standby mode flickered to life for a moment as Ke su fell back into sleep. On the screen, a fully loaded progress bar turned a dark reddish-gray.
[Insect Summoning Result: Success]
[Offering Tribute to the Great Ancient Deity, Awakening Progress: 0.2%]
[Praise, the Deity Everlasting.]
The computer screen dimmed, and along with the countless wails from the world of the faithful, sank into silent darkness.
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