"Ngh, where am I...?"
Li Lin clutched his head. Before his muddled brain could fully clear, a pair of soft, large hands pulled him into an embrace.
"You're finally awake. Mommy is so happy."
"Hm? Tiamat? Weren't we just about to face the gods? Why did things suddenly change?" Li Lin opened his eyes to find himself resting on Tiamat's soft lap and couldn't help but ask.
"No," Tiamat said, shaking her head. "There are no gods here, nor any danger. What you saw was just an image of my past."
"I see. So it was all an illusion?" Li Lin nodded, finally understanding his situation. He shifted slightly, resting his head comfortably on her lap, and looked up into her beautiful, star-like eyes.
What kind of eyes were they? They held endless starlight, yet they were filled with boundless love and affection.
"Mommy is very happy," Tiamat said, her voice gentle. "Although I can't sense a shared origin with you, and unlike with that child Eresh, I can't be sure if you are my descendant... That's what I thought at first."
A happy smile slowly spread across Tiamat's lips. As if remembering something joyous, her voice became cheerful. "But I understand now. You are my child. Even if you come from a distant shore, a child is a child. That is an undeniable fact."
Tiamat leaned down slightly, and a pair of heavy mountains pressed against Li Lin's chest, almost making it hard for him to breathe.
"In the name of the Primordial Mother, the sea will forever be your embrace. My dear child, if you ever feel tired or weary, come to my side. The sea will soothe your pain and grant your wishes. In the name of Tiamat..."
"Hey, wake up, wake up! How long are you going to sleep?"
Suddenly, Eresh's faint voice reached Li Lin's ears. He opened his eyes to find that he had returned from Imaginary Number Space and was now lying on Ereshkigal's soft lap.
"Am I back?" Li Lin blinked and instinctively nuzzled his face against Eresh's smooth, pale thigh.
"Mmph~~."
The sudden nuzzle made Eresh blush, and a soft whimper escaped her lips. She reached out to push his head away, but Li Lin seemed to anticipate her move. A slight smile on his face, he turned over, pressing his face against her lower stomach, and refused to get up.
"You...!!"
Eresh was so stunned by his bold move that she froze. She couldn't believe how thick-skinned this man was. She had only let him use her lap as a pillow because he hadn't woken up yet. But this guy had to push his luck! Where was her dignity as a goddess?!
POW—!
The next moment, an enraged Ereshkigal delivered a solid punch right to Li Lin's forehead.
"AH—!"
A piercing scream echoed through the dim space of the Underworld. Li Lin clutched his forehead as he was kicked away by Eresh. As he flew through the air, he vaguely heard her roar.
"You bastard, get back to the surface and work! I don't want to see your face for a while!"
...
Sometime later, Li Lin, having been kicked out of the Underworld by his boss, was strolling down a path in a forest. He looked up at the canopy, where dense leaves blocked the sky, allowing only thin strands of white light to filter through.
"Sigh, I was planning to make my feelings for Eresh clear right after the dream ended. Now, after all this, who knows how long I'll have to wait," Li Lin sighed.
Was I too hasty? In the Age of Gods, most goddesses would quickly get together if they found someone they liked. But a long-term shut-in with a tsundere personality like Eresh was clearly not in that category. He could only tell himself to take things one step at a time.
"Speaking of which, I haven't reviewed my gains from this simulation in Imaginary Number Space yet."
Li Lin sat down on a stone stump and tapped the air. The system's virtual panel appeared before him.
[Host: Li Lin]
[Simulated Identity: God of Light → God of Death]
[Authorities: Skipped...]
[Main Quest: In Progress...]
[Side Quest: A Mother's Dream — Completed.]
[Reward: Blessing of the Sea — EX.]
[Description: You hold the deep affection of the Primordial Mother Tiamat. As a Son of Man, though from a distant land, you showed her through your actions that it is only natural for a child to stand with their mother.]
[Effect: Upon activating this skill, the Sea will unconditionally provide you with aid, including infinite magical energy, divinity enhancement, purification, etc. Anything that falls within the domain of the Sea's divinity will become your strength.]
[Note: The Host is advised to use this skill with caution during this simulation, as it encroaches upon the authorities of other deities. To avoid conflict, it is recommended to use it only when absolutely necessary.]
"A blessing from the sea... This is quite a gift," Li Lin nodded, a little dazed as he read the description. He had guessed as much from Tiamat's final words, but he was still surprised by the power of this divinity. The reason was simple: the final sentence of the description made it an incredibly broken ability.
What did it mean, "Anything that falls within the domain of the Sea's divinity will become your strength?" The possibilities were endless. For example, his former superior, the sun god Utu. Normally, the divinity of the sun was a power completely unrelated to the sea. But was that really true if you traced it back to its origins? If you were talking about the power of a star, then yes. But in human society—no, in the perception of all life on Earth—the sun had always risen in the east and set in the west. It rose from the ocean's horizon and set behind distant mountains, creating the cycle of the "sun."
So, the system's final warning was actually a very useful hint for him. It would allow him to effectively avoid letting others know that he had secretly contacted Tiamat.
P.S. The protagonist will use this skill eventually. Don't worry.
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