The Record of Unusual Creatures

Panda Novel

When Vivian woke up, space and time froze before they gradually faded away like a dream.

Rome disappeared. The falling Mount Olympus turned gray before it dissolved into bits and bytes. The temple of Poseidon, the army of demon hunters, the light-path network in the sky, and everything underwent the same thing.

Everything was frozen in time, and darkness gradually swallowed them up. Just like the end of every journey back in time, the hall in their immediate surroundings remained but became a static world of black, white, and gray.

Hasse could finally stop running. He took a breather and turned to look at the Olympians who had frozen in time. “You managed to do it finally,” he said to Hao Ren.

Vivian shook her head as if she still had not fully come out of her stupor. When she saw the collapsed temple and the frozen Olympian gods, an emotion rose in her. “You guys arrived on the day of Olympus’ destruction.”

Hao Ren nodded before he realized what was going on. “Wait a minute! You’ve regained your memories?”

“Thanks to all of you,” Vivian said, and her smile confirmed Hao Ren’s thoughts. “As you guys continue to search for the fragments of my power and soul, it has finally loosened up the suppression of the distorted space and time on me. I can now connect to the memory fragments that you have awakened. It is still a little murky, but at least there is a continuity of memory.”

It was a piece of unexpected good news. Before Hao Ren could say anything, Lily had jumped up in joy. “Hurrah! I do not have to repeat the same world view with you again!”

Vivian said nothing. She just smiled and turned to look at Hessiana, who was looking at her in excitement as if Hessiana was going to pounce on her. Meanwhile, little Hessiana, who froze in time, still had the same expression she had before space and time stood still. She hid beside Vivian, her face nervous and excited at the same time. The little one was not afraid of the fight, which had broken out earlier. She enjoyed it.

The little girl seemed too eager to enter the fray.

There was a complicated expression on Vivian’s face. She gently touched little Hessiana’s head and mumbled to herself, “Ahh, I forgot that I left you in Rome. I only remembered many years later.”

“Lady Vivian.” Hessiana could not help but whisper at last. She appeared hesitant. “I…”

“You have suffered a lot because of me.” Vivian waved at Hessiana. “I sent you to the sanctuary so that you would not have to keep suffering anymore. You knew that I could not give you a stable life.”

Hessiana probably did not expect that Vivian would allow her to come so close. She froze for a moment before realizing what happened and plunging into the arms of Vivian and crying, “Mother…”

“I have not heard you calling me that for a long time.” Vivian looked a little embarrassed, especially now that Hessiana was crying in her arms. But still, Vivian patted Little Bat on her head. “Just this time.”

Lily poked Hao Ren’s arm. “Look, Mr. Landlord. I thought that Vivian was a spinster. Look at her now.”

“Stop making fun of them. It is a bonding moment for the mother and daughter,” Hao Ren said, twitching his mouth.

Hessiana did not lose control of herself for too long. After all, as a matriarch, she had excellent emotional control and knew what should and should not be done in any particular situation. Hessiana also knew that Vivian did not have much time in this space and time; she kept her emotion under control and looked up from Vivian’s arms reluctantly. “Lady Vivian, how much power have you recovered?”

Hessian even addressed Vivian the old way. After all, she had been calling Vivian that way for more than a thousand years, it was only natural that she kept using it; calling Vivian mother was only out of emotion.

“I find it hard to describe to you the battles that take place in the deepest realm. My strength continues to recover. But the dark factor is rooted deep in my soul and robbing the power that I have recovered. As I become stronger, so it is. So, instead of calling it a battle, it is more like a constant struggle, where we are all trying to grab more power in our hands for the ultimate dominance.” Vivian patted Hessiana’s head and turned to look at Hao Ren. “But do not worry, I am confident that I will prevail.”

At first, Hao Ren was still worried when Vivian first talked about the situation in the deepest realm, where the recovered fragments of power had strengthened the dark side of Vivian’s soul. So he was surprised when Vivian said that she had confidence in herself. “You are confident that you will prevail?”

“All this while, I regarded the degenerated side of me as another me, an enemy of evil who had an independent personality. But not long ago, I found that it was actually dead. I do not know how it has died, but I have found that it only operates following a complex but fixed set of logic. When I agitate it, it will react in a particular way, just like—”

“Just like a computer?” Hao Ren blinked. He was surprised to learn that there was such a complicated thing happening deep inside Vivian’s soul. But in any case, it was good news nonetheless. “So have you found the real dark side of your soul and figured out its pattern of activities?”

“Just a part of the pattern and nature of it. I am still some way away from its real body,” Vivian said faintly, but her tone of voice was full of confidence. “I am going to dig it out very soon. No matter how deep the thing is rooted in my soul, I am going to let it know who is the real master here.”

Hao Ren now believed that Vivian was genuinely confident, not just trying to comfort herself.

” I wish you all the best,” Hao Ren said. “I will continue to go back in time and get back all your powers as soon as possible. That way, you could win the war more easily.”

Vivian nodded and broke out in a bright smile. “So… we will see each other in the next era.”

Vivian then looked at Hessiana again. “You too, take care of yourself in the dream. I hope to see you here when I wake up next time.”

Just like the hurried moments of the reunion of previous stages of space-time journey, Vivian had only a short moment in this space and time. The distorted space and time was rejecting her and kicking her out. In just a matter of a few words, Vivian’s body had turned nearly transparent.

Hao Ren had been used to this scene. He believed that separation was only temporary. Soon, he would save Vivian from this long and distorted dream.

He was totally convinced of this.

Vivian’s breath finally disappeared altogether. Meanwhile, Hessiana was still staring at the spot Vivian was earlier in. Hao Ren waved his hand before Hessiana’s eyes to make sure that she was okay. “Hey, are you okay?”

Hessiana was jolted out of her stupor, and she began to chant, “She told me that she hoped to see me the next time she wakes up. She told me that she hoped to see me the next time she wakes up. She told me she hoped to see me the next time she wakes up!”

While speaking, Little Bat jumped up in joy.

“Is that really necessary?” Hao Ren was struck dumb.

Meanwhile, after Vivian left, among the frozen figures of the Olympian descendants, Hesperides’s body suddenly jolted.

Colors had suddenly come back on Hesperides’s body. She turned out to have entered into the distorted space and time successfully, just as Hao Ren had expected it.

“Hey, sorry for the long wait,” the nymph of evening waved at Hao Ren and Hessiana. She then scanned her surroundings. “Where is that damn Hasse?”

Hasse walked up to Hesperides and said, “I am here. Did we not agree that we should bury the hatchet? After all, it is only a mirror image of history here.”

Hesperides looked at Hasse and smiled slyly. “Yes, we have come to a truce, but I am not pulled into this historical timeline, and your face looks disgusting to me.”

“Well, I understand your concern. But if you want revenge, let’s do it when we get out of this place. It is the end of the world, and you should not bring your personal grudges into this place.”

Hesperides stared dead at Hasse for a long time and finally waved her hand impatiently. “Bah, I am sick of seeing your face. But I know what I should do. No reminder from you is necessary.”

Hao Ren could finally breathe a sigh of relief. He was most worried about was the relationship between Hesperides and Hasse. The two camps the two belonged had signed a truce in the real world outside, but the truce agreement was one thing, and personal grudges were another. When Hesperides entered this space and time, it was the moment of destruction of Olympus. It was hard to say that the need for seeking vengeance for her divine family would not affect the team spirit. But now it seemed that Hao Ren could dismiss his concern. Hesperides of the 21st century was not the same as the one from 44BC; she knew what to prioritize.

While he pondered it, Hao Ren could not help but sigh. The team composition had become more complicated, and it was not easy to manage. In contrast, it would have been easier if the team was only made up of his tenants.