The Sun God and the Star God

The system climbed out of the coffin.

It pushed the lid open a crack.

It squeezed its way out, first poking half its body out and looking around. Then it leaped all the way out and hovered in midair, looking outside.

It saw its host.

It also saw the two figures holding its host between them.

The Sun God and the Star God had sandwiched its host between them, one on each side. An arm reached around from either side, one warm as sunlight, the other cool as starlight. They overlapped behind Wuma Xiu's back, enveloping him completely.

The Sun God rested his chin on Wuma Xiu's left shoulder, while the Star God rested his chin on Wuma Xiu's right shoulder.

Both wore the same expression.

—The blissful satisfaction of someone cuddling a cat.

Sandwiched between them, Wuma Xiu wore an expression somewhere between "I'm used to this" and "you've had enough," but he didn't push them away.

The system froze in midair, blinking on and off.

Huh?

They didn't notice?

It stealthily edged toward the Sun God and the Star God.

Those two had all their attention on Wuma Xiu.

The Sun God was muttering, "Little brother, you've lost weight."

The Star God was nuzzling the side of Wuma Xiu's ear with the tip of his nose.

Those golden and violet eyes, which had left it with such deep psychological scars, saw only one person.

—They really didn't notice.

The system froze in place, like someone who didn't know what expression to make. It looked down at the coffin it had just climbed out of, then looked up at the three gods embracing over there.

—Wait, then I... bought this coffin for nothing.

The system shook its head repeatedly.

No.

No, no, no.

—The question right now shouldn't be "why didn't it die?"

It had climbed out of the coffin because it hadn't died.

It hadn't died because its host hadn't died.

Its host hadn't died because the Sun God and the Star God hadn't discovered that their host was an impostor.

So the question was...

—Why hadn't its host been found out?

—Weird. Too weird.

The system began searching through its Host Database.

When it had first bound itself to this Nine Hundred and Ninety-Ninth Host, his profile had been utterly unremarkable, with only a few lines of information, no matter how many times it looked.

—Ordinary background, ordinary experiences, ordinary aptitude.

—Aside from being a little good-looking, he really was the kind of ordinary person you couldn't pick out of a crowd, the kind you could hit three of by tossing a brick at random on the street.

And shortly after binding him, it had discovered that this host was infuriating to a system. He was the sort who went west when told east and took his time while it jumped up and down in exasperation.

During that time, he had sent the system's core temperature soaring on numerous occasions, and it had kicked its coffin lid several times.

Back then, it had even passed judgment on this host in its heart:

—This one won't survive the newbie village.

And the result?

Not only had he survived the newbie village, he had made it all the way to the Moon God Palace. Not only had he reached the Moon God Palace, he had taken the Moon God's place. Not only had he taken the Moon God's place, he had stood before the Sun God and the Star God and been embraced by the two of them, one on either side, without being exposed even now.

And had this host made any plans during this time?

No.

The system went through its memories of this period from beginning to end. The things this host did every day.

No planning whatsoever, no schemes whatsoever.

Perfectly normal, impossibly normal.

If there was anything he truly excelled at, the system paused.

It was that he was very good at games.

Really good.

The system had bound itself to nine hundred and ninety-eight hosts and seen talented people from every walk of life. There had been martial arts geniuses, monstrous strategists, god-tier actors, people with heaven-defying luck... but not one of them could beat this host at games.

Could it really be because he's good at games?

But the system only considered it for a moment before tossing the thought out of its processor.

Impossible. Absolutely impossible.

Could being good at games save the world?

What a joke!

It had never seen a world saved by a gamer.

If playing games could fool the Sun God and the Star God, what did that make its previous nine hundred and ninety-eight hosts?

Had they just failed to buy a membership?

The system tossed that deduction into the "invalid data" category, and the ball of light continued bobbing worriedly in midair.

Forget it, forget it.

Why think so much? Being alive is enough.

That was what the system thought.

And so, its bottom line had been lowered one step at a time.

Time rewound to before the system discovered that the Sun God and the Star God had awakened.

Deep in the universe, that eternally undying Solar Disc suddenly grew hotter. Golden flames surged through the Sea of Stars as if something had awakened them, their light spreading outward.

That was the Blazing Sun, which had lain dormant for countless ages, drawing in its immense radiance and flames after its master fell asleep.

But now, it sensed it.

Its master.

—The great Sun God had awakened.

And so, the Solar Disc began to burn with abandon.

The Sun God opened his eyes.

In that instant, the outline of the entire universe was reflected in his golden pupils, and brilliant light poured from his body.

He lay at the very center of the light, feeling the divine power surging through him once more, and remained silent for a long time.

Too long.

He had slept for too long.

So long that even the Solar Disc's radiance had grown weary, so long that he had almost forgotten what the world looked like when he was awake.

His consciousness gathered itself, bit by bit, from the chaos.

The first to surface in the Sun God's thoughts were his younger brothers.

The Moon God and the Star God.

Of the three gods of the Sun, Moon, and Stars, the one the Sun God favored most was not, in fact, the youngest brother, who should have been cherished above all.

It was his second brother, who was cool by nature yet exceptionally gentle.

—The Moon God.

At the thought, the Sun God hurriedly reached out with his senses.

The moment he discovered that the Moon God had already awakened and that the Star God had awakened alongside him, something seemed to shatter in the Sun God's heart.

He froze.

As the eldest brother, he should have been the first to awaken. He should have opened his eyes while his two younger brothers were still asleep, stayed by their side, and waited for them to wake one by one.

Just as he had long, long ago, when he led them through countless newborn worlds, always walking at the front and shielding them from every storm.

But he had failed to do it.

Not only had he failed to awaken first, he had let his younger brother beat him to it. The Moon God was already awake, while he himself?

He had only just opened his eyes.

At the thought, the Sun God was almost swallowed by the surge of self-reproach.

Such a failure.

He had truly failed in his duty.

The Sun God wasted no more time. The golden light around him withdrew, and he became a streak of blazing radiance, racing toward the Moon God Palace.

As for his youngest brother, the Star God?

The Sun God reached out with his senses as he traveled.

Sure enough, just as he had expected, that guy was moving even faster than him.

The very instant he sensed that the Moon God had awakened, the Star God began teleporting through the starry sky.

He hadn't wasted so much as a second.

The Star God was very fond of his second brother, the Moon God.

That was no secret anywhere in the Divine Realm.

Ever since he was little, the Star God had been like a little tail that couldn't be shaken off. Wherever his second brother went, he followed, his eyes shining with attachment.

And his eldest brother, the Sun God?

He didn't know where his eldest brother ranked, and it didn't matter anyway.

He didn't want to play with an eldest brother who stole his second brother's attention.

Besides, in his eldest brother's heart, their second brother was the most important too.

The Star God thought so with complete confidence.

The two brothers were in perfect agreement on this matter.

—Both loved the Moon God most.

Besides, their second brother might have looked cool and aloof, with an air that warned strangers away, but deep down he was unbelievably gentle.

Not long after he was born, the Star God had gotten into trouble and thrown a whole galaxy into chaos. It was his second brother, the Moon God, who had cleaned up the mess for him.

When he suffered a grievance and cried, his eldest brother, the Sun God, would only pat his back, laugh heartily, and say, "You're a god. What are you crying for?"

But his second brother would crouch down and wipe away his tears.

The Star God had never been willing to share much of that gentleness with anyone else. Even their eldest brother might not have experienced it more than a few times.

But he had experienced it, so he was certain.

—The Moon God was the best brother in the world.

He was going to be the first to arrive.

The Sun God and the Star God arrived outside the Moon God Palace at almost the same time.

One beam of golden light fell like a waterfall; one stream of starlight shone like a ribbon.

As the radiance faded, the two gods' figures appeared at the same time, one on the left and one on the right, coming face to face.

The instant their eyes met, a string of sparks seemed to fly through the surrounding void.

"Youngest brother, you got here quickly."

The Sun God spoke first.

The blazing golden light around him showed no sign of receding. It shone so fiercely that even the jade steps outside the Moon God Palace were edged in gold.

"Eldest brother, you were pretty quick yourself."

The Star God replied with a beaming smile, sounding obedient and harmless. Yet his robes, woven from starlight, stirred without wind, radiance spilling from them as stars like diamond chips flickered around him, vying to shine without yielding an inch.

The two gods stood at the Moon God Palace gates, staring at each other. Both wore warm smiles of brotherly affection and respect, but the same words were plainly written in their eyes:

Don't even think about going in first.

Can't an elder brother give way to his younger brother?

No.

Shouldn't a younger brother respect his elder?

No.

On this matter, brotherly affection was set aside for the time being.

Amid this delicate standoff, the Sun God Birds and Starry Sky Beasts guarding the four sides of the Moon God Palace sensed the presence of their respective Creations.

The Sun God Birds beat their wings and let out clear, lingering cries, one after another. They flew toward the Sun God and circled around him.

The Starry Sky Beasts also turned their heads, deep cries rumbling out from within their enormous bodies.

They gathered around, conveying to their Creation the longing they had accumulated over countless ages.

Listening to the messages from their creations, the Sun God and the Star God cast their gazes into the Moon God Palace.

They hadn't noticed before because those presences had been far too faint. Mingled among the uniformly moonlit auras of the Moonlight Clan, they were so weak as to be almost negligible.

But now, from their creations' overlapping "reports," they finally realized, belatedly:

Several unfamiliar outsiders were actually following their younger/older brother around.

Damn it.

Those words appeared in both gods' minds at the same time.

They had been here watching each other warily, guarding against each other at every turn.

And the result?

Outsiders who had appeared from who knew where had actually reaped the benefits while they fought.

Who could stand that?

The Sun God and the Star God released their divine power without restraint.

One was like the blazing sun overhead, its golden light scorching, tyrannical and fierce.

The other was like an inverted galaxy, its violet radiance vast, brilliant and surging.

The two streams of divine power swept forth, intertwining as they spread toward the Moon God Palace, carrying an almost sulky air of defiance.

Since someone had beaten them to it, they no longer needed to hold back. First, they would make their presence known in full.

The dome of the Moon God Palace had been designed by the Star God himself, with its interior and exterior made using a special method.

From inside, one could easily see the vast starry sky.

From outside, however, nothing within could be seen.

The Star God wanted his elder brother, the Moon God, to think of him whenever he looked up and saw the stars. But he had no desire to let any passing god catch a glimpse of his brother's peerless beauty.

And so, he had made it this way.

Since he had made it himself, making the inside visible from the outside was naturally simple.

The Star God snapped his fingers, and the dome of the Moon God Palace vanished from sight, gradually revealing everything inside to them.

Wuma Xiu looked up from within the palace and saw the two figures shrouded in divine light.

The Sun God's dazzling golden hair fell in voluminous waves to his waist and hips, with a few loose strands hanging over his forehead. Openwork gilded leaf ornaments adorned his hair, and long gold-patterned earrings dangled beside his ears.

His upper body was entirely bare, his chest adorned with gilded jewels.

Several gold necklaces in varying shades hung around his neck.

Three blood-red gemstones hung from the main necklace, with a long gold-patterned pendant reaching his abdomen. Delicate chains of tiny gold beads crisscrossed his chest.

Below, he wore a dark red gauze skirt wrapped around his waist and trimmed with gold.

The Star God looked younger than the Sun God and the Moon God.

The youth had a mass of long, unruly hair in shades of purple, with a few loose strands falling over his forehead to partially veil his eyes and brows.

His skin was a cool, almost translucent white.

The outer corners of his slender purple eyes tilted slightly downward, a faint, gloomy haze veiling their depths. His lashes were long and thick.

His lips were a soft, pale crimson.

His clothes were loose and flowing, with one side of his wide outer robe slipping down his arm. A wide, intricately carved belt cinched his waist, its patterns echoing those on his shoulder ornaments. Fine chains of black beads hung at his side.

At that moment, majestic divine might descended from above the Moon God Palace.

Yet Yang Zhi and the others looked no different than usual, their breathing steady. Not a single hair on their heads had been stirred.

Because Wuma Xiu had blocked it all.

The Moon God's divine power spread out, enveloping the entire palace. The Sun God's scorching golden radiance struck it, and the Star God's brilliant silver light surged against it. The instant they touched that layer of cool moonlight, they quietly melted away.

The Sun God and the Star God, who had just been standing high above in the air, were now hanging onto Wuma Xiu.

Neither god showed any intention of letting go.

Yang Zhi and the others stood where they were, unsure whether to leave or stay, and not knowing where to look.

They had just been preparing to take their leave of the Moon God when, before they could speak, two streaks of light descended from the sky and entered the Moon God Palace. The moment they landed, they rushed straight toward the Moon God without pausing.

One gold, one purple.

And then things had ended up like this.

The Moon God was sandwiched between them, the two exalted gods clinging to him like two pieces of plaster he couldn't shake off.

They were pressed tightly against him.

"No one bullied you, did they?"

The Sun God's hands roamed all over Wuma Xiu, from his shoulders to his arms, and from his arms to his back.

He looked less like he was checking his younger brother for injuries and more like a big golden retriever that hadn't seen its owner in ages and, having finally caught him, refused to stop until it had rubbed its scent all over him.

"I didn't expect you to be the first of us brothers to wake up."

The Sun God's hands finally stopped.

His voice grew quieter, and a faint shadow fell over his golden eyes.

"As your elder brother, I failed you."

The Sun God was the eldest of the three brothers.

That title of "eldest brother" wasn't just for show.

From the day he was born, he had known it was his responsibility to protect his two younger brothers.

He was the sun, and his light was born to shine upon all things.

And among all things, the first to receive its light should, of course, be the two closest to him.

The Moon God and the Star God.

His younger brothers.

But now, the first to wake had been his second brother, the Moon God. While he and the Star God were still asleep, his brother had opened his eyes alone. He had spent a stretch of time with no one to keep him company, facing this unfamiliar world, so utterly different from the Age of the Gods, all by himself.

He had sat alone in the Moon God Palace, waiting for his two brothers to wake up.

And he, the eldest brother, had only just appeared.

He had slept for so long, leaving his younger brother to wake up alone and remain lonely for so long.

The Sun God resolved to spend plenty of time with his younger brother, the Moon God.

Wuma Xiu: You're overthinking it.

"Elder Brother, I haven't been awake for long either," Wuma Xiu said, trying to dispel that thought.

The Sun God interrupted him and said firmly:

"Next time, I'll definitely be the first to wake up, and then I'll watch over the two of you until you wake. Neither of you is allowed to wake before me."

Although he and the Star God seemed to be at odds,

that was only when the Moon God was around.

Because neither of them could help wanting to know who was most important to him.

Wuma Xiu: Sorry, Elder Brother, there probably won't be a next time.