Cthulhu Gonfalon

“Do you like little girls?” On a very warm winter day, Javier found Yan Xun and asked him this strange question.

Yan Xun was stunned for a moment, thought about it carefully and answered, “Yeah, I like them. As long as they are not wild kids.”

“So do you think little girls are cuter than grown-up women?” Javier continued asking him.

Yan Xun thought about it carefully for a moment and said, “Perhaps little girls are much cuter. At first, little Niss would play the game of ‘transformation of magic girls,’ but now she hides the magic bracelet in the cupboard…”

“So which kind of situation do you prefer, being surrounded by a group of beautiful grown-up women or a group of lovely little girls?”

“Your questions are really weird! Are there any big differences to us?”

“Although I don’t think there are many differences, it’s a question I have to ask,” Javier said seriously, “so give me your answer quickly.”

Yan Xun sighed and said, “If I must give my answer, then I would choose the little girls. At least, I can play games with them. If I’m with a group of grown-up women, do I have to pray with them?”

Javier nodded and laughed, “Very well. Your answer is not satisfactory, but at least it’s qualified.”

“What?”

“I mean, it’s qualified,” Javier began to explain in detail. “I have a friend who doesn’t have any contact with me, but recently, he told me that he wants to meet you and make friends with you. But he has some misunderstandings and contradictions about you, so he wants to resolve them. However, he is also very stubborn, and he wants to make sure that you are compatible with him. That’s why I asked you such strange questions.”

Yan Xun was silent for a moment and carefully recalled those questions and his answers.

“Is he a perverted pedo?”

Javier laughed but did not reply.

Yan Xun sighed deeply and asked, “Can I not see this pervert?”

“You really don’t want to see him? To be honest, he is very interesting.”

“But he is a pervert.”

“There are so many perverts among the gods,” Javier said. “What’s more, you are a jellyfish, running to maintain the peace and stability of the human world and promote its development and progress. Do you think you are normal?”

Yan Xun had nothing to say, so he sighed silently.

A few days later, Javier introduced Yan Xun to meet that pervert.

He was a tall and serious-looking god in heavy armor; he did not look like a pervert.

He exuded a deep breath of death and darkness, and a bloody odor came from his body but without any substance. He was very calm and firm. His temperament and appearance reminded people of the towering mountains at night—silent and firm as if he was indestructible.

“My name is Sleeplessness, and I’m a gatekeeper of Night God System. People usually call me ‘the night gatekeeper,’ or directly call me ‘the night watchman.’” Under the heavy armor came a magnetic male voice that said, “We have some contradictions, and I apologize for that.”

Yan Xun was stunned for a moment and quickly remembered his identity—he was the number one fighter headed by the ancient vampire, the ‘King of Night’ in the department of the Night Gods. It was said that he had been a gatekeeper for the castle of the King of Night when he was a mortal and was a very loyal minister who had not slacked or rested for a moment for a hundred years. No guardians or watchdogs could compare with him, but he was an evil god.

Yes. The gatekeeper, Sleeplessness was an evil god.

His evil firstly manifested in his doctrine. As a god, he did not call on his followers to contribute to the church, but in fact, he and his priests were not interested in material wealth. What they wanted were the souls of the followers.

Anyone who chose to become a follower of the night watchman would swear that their souls belonged to his kingdom after their death. But most of these followers’ contributions were not enough for them to transform into the ‘soul followers,’ so they could only become magic beasts used in necromancy.

This alone could prove that he was very evil.

However, Yan Xun could not blame him for his doctrine because his priests would tell people this before they entered his church. Regardless of the outcome, it was their own choice.

Although there existed many inequalities of information and status, as well as many mean methods, such as deception and inducement, behind their choices, many poor people who had lived a very hard life would still choose to be his followers. This was because he would not charge them money and would provide shelter for these poor people.

Yeah, it was very likely that they would become magic beasts after their death if they chose to become followers of the night watchman. But what was wrong with that? If they could live a better life when they were alive, why would they care about what would happen when they died.

Even if they would not become the magic beasts after their death, the underworld was not a good place for them. For ordinary people, the best result was nothing more than to become some soul fragments in the underworld river and go around the great circle of the world. Was this a good ending for them?

For people who had nothing at all, the only thing left was to make their lives a little better when they were alive since there was no heaven for them to go.

This was also the common style of the department of the Night Gods. The gods in this department unswervingly followed the bottom line, developing their followers among the poor and strengthening their power little by little.

The department of Night Gods have a long history, but they had been attacked by powerful gods like the God of Sun more than once. They were almost destroyed every time. However, every time they had gotten through the difficulties and brushed themselves off up just like some immortal people who would never give up.

Today, the department of the Night Gods had developed into a force that all gods dared not look down upon. Its overall strength had become stronger than that of the Desolation God System and had some voices in the Parthenon.

So although Yan Xun disliked the evil gods, he also did not want to fall out with them.

“The contradictions happened between us before were mainly caused by your priests, and I would not blame you. As long as you don’t bother me, our contradictions are over now,” Yan Xun said calmly. He still did not mean to have a deep relationship with him.

The night watchman nodded but did not give Yan Xun the name of the priest who had caused the contradictions. This made Yan Xun think a little highly of him.

“In that case, let’s just stop here today.” The night watchman was not in a hurry. He took out a silver box and handed it to Yan Xun. “This is one of my works, and I believe that it will help you a little. I’ll use it as my apology for what my priests have done before.”

“I don’t need any apologies.” Yan Xun frowned and wanted to refuse.

The night watchman did not give him the chance to refuse. He gave the box to Javier and then disappeared immediately.

“Why does this guy close his ears to me?” Yan Xun complained angrily, but his eyes could not help but fall on the box.

There was a saying that curiosity killed the cat. Yan Xun was such a curious person.

Javier noticed his eyes, smiled and opened the box for him.

There was a small manor inside the box, and some beautiful little girls were living peacefully in the manor. It showed many gentle and quiet stories from the box.

Yan Xun frowned.

He disliked someone sending people to him as gifts.

Javier also frowned but could not help but observe it carefully. He observed for a while and was startled, whispering, “Look! The souls in it… are not natural!”

Yan Xun was shocked when he heard Javier’s words. He rushed to observe it carefully and even used the means of soul induction which he had not used for a long time.

Of course, from the perspective of these souls, there were mottled lights on these little girls inside the box, and they were made up of many soul fragments. After careful observation, it could be found that most of these soul fragments were not from human beings, but were joined together by delicate artistic means after debugging and repairing various kinds of chaotic soul fragments, thus forming many little girls.

Among the souls that had been joined together, some of them had already become quite concise, gradually gathering parts into a whole and truly transforming into a complete and independent soul.

When Yan Xun discovered this, the voice of the night watchman came out of the box.

“Although our positions are different, I think you are also troubled by the fact that some followers’ contributions are not enough for them to complete the soul transformation. I hope this gift will help you.”

Yan Xun looked at the man-made souls inside the box carefully and thought his words over.

This time he did not refuse anymore.