Chapter 173 The Curiosity of the Deity

Chapter 173 The Curiosity of the Deity

This curiosity gradually helped Charles overcome his inner fear. Little by little, the terror in his heart diminished, and Charles grew increasingly calm.

Just three seconds later, the figure on the stone seat spoke.

"Charles, you truly are different."

The voice was ethereal and indifferent, utterly devoid of inflection. Yet that single sentence alone was enough to raise goosebumps all over Charles's body.

He bristled with wariness like a startled kitten, staring intently at the giant before him.

"Don't recognize me?"

The figure leaned forward slightly, but still didn't reveal its face. Its features remained hidden in the murky darkness, impossible to make out. Staring too long made his eyes sting, forcing him to look down.

Fear slowly bred in Charles's heart, but he kept trying to suppress it.

Mild fear might unlock human potential, but overwhelming terror would only destroy a person step by step!

He understood this well. Therefore, he absolutely couldn't let himself spiral into fear's vortex.

He clenched his jaw hard, yet still couldn't escape the enormous pressure the giant exerted.

Charles's breathing gradually grew heavier.

He looked up, but with his head bowed, this upward glance only let him see the other's ankle area.

To avoid being dragged into the vortex by the giant's oppressive presence, Charles could only force himself to think, attempting to engage this giant in conversation.

Starting from its last statement.

"Have we met?"

His voice wasn't loud, but fortunately, the space was large enough that the echo sufficed for communication with the giant.

The giant hummed contemplatively, seemingly somewhat puzzled. "Your human memories truly are strange."

Charles was about to complain when the giant spoke again. "I am Nyarlathotep. We just met, and you've already forgotten?"

Hearing that name, Charles's head snapped up. He stared directly at the giant's invisible head. "Nyarlathotep?"

"Yes."

Charles looked around, understanding dawning in his heart as fear gradually receded. "This is your temple?"

In an instant, he understood why all his souvenirs had collectively failed, why even the Entropy Insects had fallen dormant.

This was Nyarlathotep's home turf.

In the mental world, if humans found themselves in an anomaly's domain, they'd better pray it meant no harm.

Because in their domain worlds, no rules restricted their actions.

But generally speaking, anomalies didn't have domains. Only deities and a few powerful anomalies possessed them—like when Charles first encountered Ophelia, that mountain forest had been her domain.

That was precisely why she'd been so invincible.

However, anomaly domains couldn't affect trial-takers' abilities. Only certain deities would control or disable trial-takers' abilities according to their whims.

But they could only do so within their own domains.

"You could understand it that way." Nyarlathotep didn't refute this assessment.

After learning the giant before him was Nyarlathotep, whom he'd already met, Charles felt less afraid. Thinking of his ineffective souvenirs, he understood this was all Nyarlathotep's doing.

His mind settled, and he asked again, "Why did you bring me here?"

But at this question, Nyarlathotep spread its hands. "You clearly entered of your own accord. How are you shifting blame onto me?"

Its tone was cunning, tinged with amusement.

But Charles wasn't misled by its words. "You left me there, even used Abby as bait to lead me here. Nyarlathotep, what exactly is your purpose?"

These words laid everything bare, practically exposing Nyarlathotep's prank in broad daylight. Yet it still didn't answer the question.

It leaned down, drawing closer again—the posture of someone examining a speck of dust on the ground.

And Charles finally saw its face clearly.

"Look at you, Charles." That face had no definite form, composed of a mass of black mist. One moment an old crone, the next an old man. In another instant, it became a beautiful young woman. "Even without the Entropy Insects, your fear of me lasted only a moment."

Charles simply stared at its face, his heart already filled with curiosity. Of course, this included surprise and shock at the thing before him, but just as Nyarlathotep itself said, fear was almost absent.

"That's perfectly normal." His voice was steady, only trembling from the pain in his elbow. "I know you. You're not an unknown entity to me."

Nyarlathotep made two contemplative sounds, as if thinking. "You're different from those other humans."

Charles didn't respond.

He didn't know how many humans had encountered this Outer God, but he guessed not many.

The deities in the Main World differed from anomalies. They didn't actively seek examiners—examiners actively sought them.

Yet very few trial-takers knew of Nyarlathotep. Take Juno, for instance—she only knew of Azathoth, not Nyarlathotep.

And among those who knew, almost no one would actively seek out Nyarlathotep. Because everyone knew this Outer God's attitude toward humans couldn't be called friendly. To a large extent, it took pleasure in harming and deceiving humanity.

If not for being set up by that woman, cursed by Nyarlathotep, Charles wouldn't have actively provoked this deity either.

"Those humans are all very afraid of me." Nyarlathotep continued, a trace of pleasure in its voice. "But you're not. How interesting."

Hearing this, Charles looked at it, guessing at the deeper meaning behind those words.

Being called interesting by such a deity didn't make Charles happy. Nyarlathotep was famously malevolent—though calling it an evil god might be excessive, it basically fit that category.

In short, Nyarlathotep wasn't a savior deity. It usually carried malicious intent. Given its personality, saying such things now meant Charles had caught its attention.

Realizing this, Charles couldn't help feeling irritated.

He'd just broken one curse. Was another curse coming already?

The moment this thought emerged, Nyarlathotep on the throne spoke again. "Charles, you're very interesting. I will observe you."

Hearing this, the irritation that had just surged in Charles's heart instantly vanished, like a bird in flight hitting a tree—a single sound, then nothing.

He even thought he'd misheard, frowning as he looked up. "Observe me?"