Hastur examined the divine kingdoms of the six gods in this manner, from a position of equality.
There was no longer any need to look up, nor did he need to strain his eyes to see them. Their divine kingdoms simply appeared before him.
I wonder, can They also see the Hall of Stars? Probably not. Otherwise, They wouldn't be showing no reaction at all.
Everything here was so peaceful, without the slightest abnormality.
He also possessed the Evernight Goddess's authority over concealment, coupled with the status of the Hall of Stars. Unless he willed it, They would be unable to see through the Hall of Stars' existence.
Just like back then, if he hadn't manifested the Hall of Stars, They likewise wouldn't have known that the Stars were within the Original Barrier.
Appear quietly, then quietly astonish all the gods?
Hastur admired the divine kingdoms of the six gods for a while longer before slightly raising his head. His gaze passed through the Original Barrier and saw the scene beyond the starry sky, where planets were neatly arrayed one after another.
What entered his sight were the familiar planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.
The only difference was that various Outer Deities and Great Old Ones entrenched upon these planets. Some were farther away, while others had their entire faces pressed against the surface of Earth.
The Original Barrier was like a glass cover. Hastur and the others were like fish living inside an aquarium, while They were like hungry cats crouched outside the glass.
They were merely waiting for the glass cover to disappear so they could rush inside and feast to their hearts' content.
The Mother Goddess of Depravity, Mother Tree of Desire, Supernova Dominator, Primordial Hunger... and other Great Old Ones were observing every movement here in their own unique ways.
I wonder if They can see the Hall of Stars through the Original Barrier?
Hastur only pondered for a moment before withdrawing his gaze and falling silent.
He could sense that, as he advanced to Sequence 4, The Lost One, some of his memories concerning his home were continuously slipping away. Gradually, he forgot where he came from, forgot where he was, and forgot where he should go.
Forgetting many things he had experienced in the past gradually drifted apart during this process, fragmented, and then silently vanished without a trace.
His current state greatly resembled what was commonly called an out-of-body experience. Separated from his physical body, he began examining the memories of his entire life from the objective perspective of an outsider.
Drifting aimlessly, bewildered and lost, with nowhere to rely on, it was as if he had been thrown into a blank snowfield. For a time, he didn't know what he should do or in which direction he should take his next step.
Looking around, everything was bewildering and unfamiliar. All he could do was raise his head and look upward. The stars in the sky still shone as before. For thousands upon thousands of years, they had remained in the same positions, never changing.
They fixed the veins of the starry sky in place, and also fixed the direction in which he should move forward.
No matter how the earth beneath his feet changed, as long as he continued to look up at the stars from time to time, the path ahead would never deviate.
The wanderer who had lost his home could no longer remember the road home and could only continue onward in the direction guided by the stars.
He didn't know how long had passed before Hastur gradually came back to his senses. He covered his chest with one hand, feeling as though a piece was missing from there, leaving him incomplete. When he tried to remember, all that remained was an expanse of blank whiteness.
Loneliness, helplessness, the desperate need to fill that empty space in his heart, yet being unable to find anything suitable, the urgency, sorrow, and countless other emotions formed an endless invisible ocean that tightly enveloped him.
Only by raising his head and gazing at the starry sky, at the stars flickering with light, could he obtain a brief moment of peace.
Whenever he withdrew his gaze, those emotions would surge back like waves, striking him again and making the hollow place in his chest ache with a sour pain.
"The Hall of Stars, the One Who Returns the Stars to Their Positions..."
Hastur sat quietly at the head of the long table. His bewildered and helpless gaze gradually regained its calm.
He continued staring like this until he seemed to hear someone calling his name. Only then did he withdraw his gaze and look toward the real world.
The Hall of Stars was now located at the Original Barrier, overlooking the real world.
As long as he wished, he could easily see anywhere that wasn't shielded from his vision.
His gaze crossed an immense distance and landed upon the place where someone was calling his name.
It was a dim world devoid of light, where only the occasional streak of rushing lightning brought a flash of illumination.
His gaze moved closer. Those people who seemed to be calling him weren't actually calling his name. Instead, they addressed him as the Stars, the Ruler of the Stars, the One Who Returns the Stars to Their Positions.
That was also him, another identity distinct from his true self.
He merely watched quietly from high above without responding or interfering, as if observing ants moving their nest on the ground.
Those people, complete strangers to him, were devoutly worshiping a statue, treating it as his incarnation.
After merely glancing at it from afar, Hastur felt that it didn't resemble him. However, he had no intention of responding to them. After watching for a while, he grew bored and shifted his gaze away.
His gaze left the City of Silver and swept across the uninhabited dark regions. Scattered points of fire dotted the black background. They were other survivors in the Forsaken Land of the Gods. Their numbers and scale couldn't compare with the City of Silver. Some were already on the verge of extinction, with only the flame of their inherited perseverance still not completely extinguished.
Hastur's gaze remained as calm as still water, observing everything without sorrow or joy. He was like an eternal moon that had existed since antiquity. The events occurring on the ground were no longer enough to arouse even the slightest interest in him.
Next, he saw Amon, who had hidden His true body and was only moving around outside through avatars.
Although Amon had disguised and concealed Himself to some extent, under the gaze of the Stars, every one of His actions was laid completely bare.
He also saw the High-Dimensional Overseer, who was leisurely wandering across the Forsaken Land of the Gods, enjoying the scenery along the way while playing games with Amon.
His gaze swept past Them, and the Giant King's Court, the key to leaving the Forsaken Land of the Gods, also fell under his observation.
His gaze passed through the thick, dust-covered gates and saw the truth concealed by the gods, the former left hand of the Ancient Sun God, the deputy ruler of Heaven, the Dark Angel Sasrir.
He was still asleep. Before Him, a stone tablet radiated an aura belonging to chaos. It was the Blasphemy Slate tainted by the power of the Chaos Sea.
Hastur likewise only glanced at Him before moving his gaze away. He had no intention of awakening Sasrir.
If he wished, he could even help Sasrir walk out through the sealed gates of the Giant King's Court.
A golden ocean surrounded the Giant King's Court. It was the blood sprayed forth when the Ancient Sun God fell.
His gaze rapidly swept across the endlessly surging sea, seeing ship after ship sailing across the waters. Whenever conflicts occasionally broke out, to him, they merely looked like two tiny black dots fighting each other.
The scenery at sea was somewhat astonishing at first, but after looking at it a few more times, it only felt repetitive and dull.
Following the direction of the sea breeze from the ocean, his gaze reached the coastline and began moving inland.
Ports and cities spread across his vision one after another like stars scattered across the sky. Dense crowds busily moved about within these settlements like winding black snakes crawling along.
Hastur's gaze stopped when it passed over Puning Harbor. This place gave him a very familiar feeling.
And indeed, he saw a familiar figure and a cat.
Sharron and Ariella. Their names naturally surfaced in his mind.
After quietly watching them for a while, the incomplete feeling in Hastur's heart seemed to be somewhat mended.
Back then, I must have entrusted a portion of my heart to them. That's why, even though my memories have grown blurry, I can still feel something because of them.
Thinking this, Hastur's gaze toward them softened slightly. However, he still didn't linger there for long. His gaze continued past Puning Harbor and swept farther inland.
After watching for a long time, he still didn't know what he was searching for. He was simply repeating the act of observation itself, watching everything, observing the operation of all things. It felt like a responsibility he had been born to shoulder.
Surveillance camera? An unfamiliar yet familiar term surfaced in his mind. It seemed quite fitting for describing his current circumstances and feelings.
He didn't know how much time had passed. After completely surveying the entire continent, Hastur finally withdrew his gaze once more.
He had already lowered his head and looked down upon the entire real world. Now, he should raise his head and cast his gaze into the vast depths of the starry sky.
Don't become obsessed with the starry sky.
A voice seemed to be reminding him. Was it worried that he would lose himself within the boundless starry sky?
Why worry?
Hastur remained silent for a moment before ultimately withdrawing his gaze. He merely looked straight ahead at the Original Barrier before him.
He suddenly felt bored, unsure of what he should do. In the end, he simply sat silently inside the Hall of Stars, allowing his gaze to wander freely.
...
October 1st.
Is that some kind of special holiday? Sitting within the Hall of Stars and allowing time to pass, Hastur suddenly felt something unusual about this date.
After thinking carefully for a while, he finally remembered what he was supposed to do on this day.
It was time to hold the Stars Gathering that took place once every two months.
Hastur's gaze swept toward the starry sky above the Hall of Stars. The Chains of Stars behind him swayed before extending toward five of the stars.
When the Chains of Stars retracted, the Son of Chaos, Mother Tree of Desire, Supernova Dominator, High-Dimensional Overseer, and Primordial Hunger appeared one after another within the Hall of Stars.
Upon arriving at the Hall of Stars, Their minds couldn't help but tremble slightly. An indescribable majesty enveloped the entire Hall of Stars, making Them instinctively want to submit.