TLC: Hedonist

The fusion of his thirteen avatars he forcefully put together was hard to control, hence his restraint with Donna. He was worried that the chaotic blend of energies might destabilize and hurt her by accident, so he hastily explained himself when she got angry at him.

It didn’t take her long to believe him, however, for she felt the darkness energy within her rumble a little out of control when she approached him. Initially, she had thought it was because she was getting a little too agitated from not seeing him for a long time. Even so, she was still willing to give him a light hug.

Naturally, she didn’t get too intimate with him, knowing that it was not his actual body. The way she saw it, the avatar was merely a puppet he was operating, a fact which unnerved her somewhat.

Meanwhile, Han Shuo was deathly afraid that the chaotic energies within him would inadvertently harm her. He didn’t even dare to move when she hugged him. Donna, feeling his nervousness, let go after a while and talked about other matters regarding the City of Shadows and Profound Continent. As he listened intently, his eyes brightened before he whispered, “Your father is here.”

Blushing slightly, she hastily said, “Then hide!”

Han Shuo didn’t get up and smiled. “Why should I? It’s no harm letting me meet him, right?”

Blushing even more, she stomped angrily. “Fine. I’m not afraid.”

Soon, Felder came to the door. Seeing the barrier before him, he asked, “Why did you erect a barrier? I need to talk to you about something.”

Donna removed the barrier and let him in. Still blushing, she said, “Bryan’s here.”

Felder didn’t seem the least bit surprised unlike what she expected. He said as he approached them, “I knew he was here. I didn’t think he’d find you so quickly. I was planning to have a talk with you about him.”

Even Han Shuo was surprised that Felder knew of his presence and sat straight warily. “Did you hear about my arrival from the City of Shadows?”

Felder shook his head and took a seat. “The God of Darkness informed me about it directly.”

All of a sudden, Donna looked outside before hastily shutting the door. She pulled on her father’s arms and anxiously asked, “What do we do?”

Han Shuo had embarked on slaughter in the Dominion of Darkness more than ten years ago, so it wasn’t surprising that everyone including Donna thought he was on the god’s bad side. She was both worried about Han Shuo and her family.

Felder looked at her and inwardly sighed as he wondered how much his daughter would have to suffer in the future. As he thought so, he turned to Han Shuo; he knew that he had many other beauties by his side, all of whom were amazing in their own right. Donna, however, was someone from the Lavers family that had done Han Shuo harm in the past before, though they ended up losing out from it. It wasn’t something they could just hand waive away. Even if Han Shuo could forgive them, what about the other women who were with him?

“Donna, what are you worried about?” Han Shuo said, “The fact that I dared to come means I’m confident I’ll be able to leave easily. Don’t worry.”

“It’s different. Nobody is able to stand up against the God of Darkness’s might. You were only able to leave the last time because the City of Gorging Clouds was at the very border of the Dominion of Darkness. But this is Hushveil City and my father even got a mental message from the God of Darkness himself. What do we do?” She didn’t let her guard down one bit even though Han Shuo was completely relaxed.

As her actual power was quite weak, she couldn’t truly understand the might of a Quintessence Overgod. Just like how Han Shuo could detect any and everything within the Fringe, the God of Darkness could also make sure anyone weaker than him wouldn’t be able to leave his dominion no matter what. Han Shuo was only able to escape the last time not because he left in the nick of time, but because the God of Darkness was going easy on him. However, Donna was too weak to truly understand the dynamics at play here.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine,” he comforted once more, before turning back to Felder. “The God of Darkness didn’t ask you to deal with me, right? What message does he have for me?” He sounded casual even though he was speaking to Donna’s father. At his level of power, social norms and hierarchies no longer held a firm binding on him.

“You knew that the God of Darkness wasn’t out there to get you?” Felder seemed a little surprised about it.

“I came to the Dominion of Darkness by invitation from the three of them, after all,” he said with a chuckle, “Not to mention, if he wanted to come get me, he wouldn’t bother informing you about it first.”

While Felder was a late-stage highgod now, he posed not the slightest threat to Han Shuo at all, who could kill him with utter ease if he wanted to. The God of Darkness, having witnessed Han Shuo’s power a decade ago, wouldn’t bother sending Felder to take him out if that was his intention.

Hearing that, Felder smiled in resignation, knowing that Han Shuo was speaking the truth. If he could kill Gyál so easily a decade ago, not even the whole of Hushveil City combined would be able to do anything to him now. However, something suddenly dawned on him. “Three people invited you here? Who else is there?”

“The Gods of Death, Destruction and Darkness invited me here. I have no idea what they are up to.”

Donna and Felder watched him with utter astonishment. Those three were akin to mythical beings as far as they were concerned. They were people they worshipped in the shrines and had never seen in person before. How could these people who stood at the pinnacle of Elysium invite him over, not to mention all three of them at once? They were obviously treating him like an honored guest.

It was so ridiculous it sounded impossible. Quintessence Overgods were hardly known for their humility and only got along with their own ilk. The only thing this could mean was that they now perceived Han Shuo as their equal.

“You aren’t joking, are you?” Donna said when she finally snapped out of it, though a hint of shock still lingered in her voice.

Han Shuo knew the implications, but he didn’t elaborate on it. “So, what did the God of Darkness ask you to tell me?”

Felder finally recovered from his shock and drew a deep breath, before recalling the message and making sure he got it right. “He wants you to head to the Shrine of Darkness in the next two days. I will tell you where it is.”

Then, he turned to his doubtful daughter and said, “I’m afraid that what Bryan says is true. I’m sure I recall the God of Darkness telling me that Bryan is to be treated as an honored guest. I didn’t know the reason back then. To think that he was invited here by the three Quintessence Overgods...”

Donna repeatedly looked Han Shuo down before she said, “You... Did you really get that powerful?”

She knew that he improved at staggering rates, but he was only a lowly lowgod at the time they met, having only arrived in Elysium for a few short centuries. Yet, now he was on the same level as a Quintessence Overgod. This was something she truly couldn’t comprehend.

“Haha, to be honest, even I don’t know if I’m truly that powerful,” Han Shuo said with a shrug. “However, I know that they wouldn’t dare kill me and even need to request me of something.”

By now, Donna really had no words. Her mouth was wide agape as she stared at him blankly, struggling to comprehend how he managed to reach the level he was now in such a short time.

“Ahem...” Felder cleared his throat and said, “Donna, leave us for now. I have something I want to talk to Bryan about in private. The location of the Shrine of Darkness is not something you’re allowed to be privy to.”

Having no other choice, she gave him one last look before saying, “Alright. I’ll leave you two to talk.”

When she was gone, Felder heaved a long sigh. “If I had listened to what she said years ago, the Lavers family wouldn’t have suffered such a heavy loss.”

His regrets had only grown after seeing Han Shuo grow so powerful. It was all due to him underestimating Han Shuo back then that, through a series of events, led to the death of his brother, Avery. After that, the whole Lavers family had to leave the City of Shadows and was almost exterminated in the City of Gorging Clouds.

“Where is the shrine?” Han Shuo didn’t want to talk about things long past, so he changed the subject.

After Felder told him the whereabouts, he looked deeply at him and said, “Bryan, do treat my Donna well... Umm... I beg of you.”

He knew that he shouldn’t throw his weight around someone so much more powerful than him, so he humbled himself.

Nodding, Han Shuo earnestly said, “Don’t worry. I will take good care of her.”