Falling into the Abyss

Chapter 81: Atonement: Mars (IX)

Ethan found it difficult to describe his relationship with his father in a word.

He seldom addressed his father, Adrian Eldridge, as Dad. It was not that Adrian abused him or did something that made him hate Adrian, but he just always felt embarrassed to use this kind of name. It was as though their relationship was merely a friendship between two gentlemen, but they were forced to have a brotherly relationship. It was that awkward.

In fact, Ethan grew up in the care of his father most of the time. His mother was usually away on business. Even when she was at home, she was constantly immersed in her musical world, often absent-minded. As an Alpha, Adrian did not complain that his Omega did not attach importance to her family. On the contrary, no matter how busy he was, he would still ensure that Ethan would not be ignored. If he was really busy, he would ask his assistant to deliver his meals or send him to school.

When he was a child, Ethans classmates envied Ethan for having such a handsome and tall father, who was outstanding among parents of the same age, as though he was a strange peak amongst blue clouds. His broad shoulders and strong waistline often made the Omega and Beta teachers eyes gleam with lust, so they were very attentive to little Ethan.

Most of the time, his father was cold, kept his distance, and never smiled. When Ethan was a child, after he did something naughty, he would not get angry or scold him, but he would shut him in the closet to think about his mistakes. Generally, the time he was closed in was not more than an hour, except for one time. When he was secretly playing a game in his fathers capsule, he got flustered when he heard his father coming home suddenly and dropped the capsule full of important documents into a cup of water.

That time, he was locked up in the closet for a day and a night. The everlasting narrow and dark environment made him panic, and the disappointed look in his fathers eyes before he closed the cabinet door made him shiver. He didnt know if his father would stop liking himself and never open the door before him. A little childs mind was full of all kinds of terrifying fantasies. When the door finally opened, he swore to himself in his heart that he would never make his father angry or disappointed again and would never go into the cupboard again.

And he succeeded. He became a very sensible child. He finished his homework on time every day and read and listened to music quietly in his room when he had nothing to do. He never invited his friends to stay overnight and seldom participated in the social activities of his classmates. Even when he did, he would always leave before midnight. After dinner, he would remember to help his mother or father wash the dishes and clean the table and take the initiative to wash his dirty clothes every week. His room was never as messy as that of a regular Beta or Alpha.

His quietness and intelligence were praised by his neighbors and teachers, and his father praised him several times. He still remembered that when he showed his father his grades and how he was first in his class, his dad, who was always handsome and expressionless, showed a proud and gratified smile on his face, and his big hands that didnt hug him much rubbed his hair. His palm was rough and warm, with a temperature that made him feel sentimental.

Ethan loved that smile and wanted more of it. Therefore, he began to study harder, to enter the school that his father had casually said was not bad, and to get an A in every class. He collected his fathers smile like it was a treasure. Even his first love laughed at him for having a strong Oedipus complex and wanting to please his father at all costs.

However, he felt that it was only because he could not obtain the ideal love he wanted from his father that it became an obsession.

Do you think your father loves you?

The head priests footsteps stopped in front of him, and Ethan was subjected to his deeply critical gaze.

You know, when Tanisiel got your pre-mutated blood and DNA sample on Neptune, I also got that data. After I came to Earth, I applied to obtain your parents DNA data and compared Adrian Eldridges DNA with yours. The results were interesting. Theonile suddenly bent down and faced him with a mysterious smile. The third eye on his forehead was half opened, emitting a misty silver light. You are not Adrian Eldridges son.

Ethan looked at him in a daze. The head priests words echoed in his mind, like meaningless symbols unfolding bit by bit.

Then, his body began to shake.

Youre bullshiting!

The head priest tilted his head slightly and looked at Ethan as though he was a magical creature. Dont be too agitated. It doesnt mean that your mother betrayed your father. Maybe it was just a one-night stand, maybe she was unfortunately forced, or maybe it was like the most common belief of humans previously, when a man named Jesus was the son of God, while his mother was still a virgin when she was pregnant with him.

The words of the head priest cut Ethans heart like a sharp blade. He shook his head hard, and a kind of black line started spreading around the back of his neck. Shut up!!! Shut up!!!

Theonile must be deceiving him. It must be this cunning Eve speaking nonsense!

How could he not be his fathers son? He grew up only knowing his father, who was by his side every day!

Ethans roar was as hair-raising as a beast in the wild, and an invisible air current blew up the head priests long hair.

The black line-like blood vessels spread quickly from the back of his neck to his cheek, and the center of his green irises began to elongate. Seeing the remarkable changes that had taken place in him, the expression of the head priest gradually changed from playful to a sort of surprised expression. He took out a God of Orders egg that was severely damaged from the pocket hanging around his waist. It shone with unprecedentedly hot and dazzling blue light, and many curved icy blue lines were clearly flashing on the surface of the eggshell.

Ethans entire body was tense, and his nose wrinkled. He looked like a beast that was about to attack an invader. However, if you looked carefully, you would find that his eyes contained a sort of dispirited emptiness, the blurred look someone would have when they were sleepwalking.

Theonile felt that Ethans chaotic and dark mind was filled with an extremely powerful and evil aura, which seemed to have broken through an invisible barrier and roared towards his consciousness. The power of destruction and decay made him understand that this was not the mental power originally belonging to humans. He quickly opened his third eye completely, and at the same time, he promptly poked at several points on the God of Orders egg with his fingers. Like waves of water, the blue light quickly soaked his entire body. Even so, he could still feel the fierce force colliding with his mental barrier, and bursts of sharp pain erupted from his temples.

The God of Orders egg in his hand suddenly grew brighter, and he felt a turbulent flow as the God of Orders power covered his whole body.

Sure enough, the closer it was to the power of Disorder, the more unstable the God of Orders egg would be.

He had always suspected that the God of Order had left their eggs on the newborn planets for a reason, and they were not just for its future creations to discover. After all, the God of Order, like the God of Disorder, never cared about their meaningless lives.

He hypothesized that the God of Orders eggs were like bombs with a set threshold level. Once the power of Disorder was detected to break through to a critical point, it would begin its purification. At that time, it was likely that some destructive power of Order would be ushered in to force back or even eliminate the God of Disorder who was trying to plunder and defy the universe.

If his conjecture was correct, the Eves, who had gathered many God of Orders eggs, would be the first victims when the God of Disorder invades the universe. It would be like hundreds of nuclear bombs were detonated simultaneously, and the entire planet and the Eves civilization would be completely ordered in an instant, become floating and eternally stable molecules in the universe.

Many priests who prayed to the God of Order scoffed at his hypothesis and thought he was an alarmist. These God of Order priests, who were considered the mainstreams, believed that since the God of Order allowed the emergence of advanced civilizations, these eggs were left to these civilizations to further manage the universe. Even the priests of the God of Disorder thought that the God of Disorder could not easily break through the barrier of the universes string frequency to enter the God of Orders universe. And there were so many parallel universes that the God of Disorder would not enter their so-called first universe.

Of course, after the event on Red Earth and the incident with Neptunes second universe experiment, their beliefs were also shaken, so the Eves willingly handed over a God of Orders egg and worked with the Earth Union to analyze its functionality. Obviously, most of the temples were reluctant to throw the holy objects that they had consecrated for such a long time and contained super wisdom into other galaxies.

If Tanisiels theory was correct, and what the young man who was crazier than him said was true, then the closer Ethan was to his mutated state, the more agitated the God of Orders egg would be.

He grabbed Ethans right hand, which was locked on the armrest and tightly clenched like an eagles talons. He pried open his fingers forcibly before placing the God of Orders egg into his right palm.

Suddenly, a huge mental force burst out, accompanied by Ethans hisses that sounded inhuman. Theonile felt that his brain had been hit by a heavy blow and grew dizzy. Two drips of thick, rose-colored blood burst out from his nose, and there was a fishy taste in his throat.

Ethan acted as though he was scalded on his hand and shook off the God of Orders egg. However, the blue light had already spread onto him. He screamed as though someone was skinning him alive. At the same time, the black blood vessels that had spread over his face, shoulders, and neck rapidly diminished, and his slender irises returned to their original shapes. Then, his eyes rolled back, and he lost consciousness.

Theonile was relieved.

It seemed that the power of Disorder on Ethan was not so much that the God of Orders egg would go out of control. To be exact, the power of Disorder on his body was far from being enough to make the God of Orders egg explode. Still, it was enough to prevent his body from being ordered after making simple contact with the egg. He may even be able to control the eggs more freely than an ordinary blue-robed Eve priest.

After Ethan lost consciousness, the entire white room descended into silence again. The head priest had asked the Earth Union not to spy on him when he was using the God of Orders eggs on this experimental body. From what he perceived, the staff showed no sign of lying to him.

However, it was difficult to guarantee that the other party had no other means to monitor him. He needed to think about how he should phrase his report. After all, they needed the descendant of a Heavenbounder, so they couldnt let the Earth Union execute him like a monster.

Theonile stood up straight. His face was pale, his forehead was covered with cold sweat, one of his eyes was bleeding, and the damp blood from his nose stained his robe. He cut a sorry figure and hadnt looked so disheveled in years.

After all, this was his first time seeing an experimental body that was so successfully infected by the God of Disorder.