A monster.
A deformed, twisted creature, bound—or rather, trapped—by black and gray threads atop its throne.
A creature that would shatter the mind of any ordinary being of this world at first sight.
A creature whose presence alone could make even a low-tier god vaguely feel the deep torment and total collapse of reason…
A monster!
This monster, like a lump of melting sludge, slumped on the throne in the palace.
And on its sludge-like body were clearly several eyes from different species, held aloft by several twisted limbs.
These eyes, in expressions of pleading and desperate hope, stared at Chu Hao from afar.
Unexpectedly, the monster's mouth was sewn shut by black and gray threads.
Yet inside that mouth, there were no teeth—only a jumble of tongues.
And with the aid of some unknown organ, these tangled tongues, along with the lips, emitted cries of pleading and desperation.
"Hahaha…"
Chu Hao, having immersed himself in black mist, stepped out from it and began laughing wildly.
"Hahaha, really, I haven't laughed this happily in so long!"
"My tears… they're coming out from laughter."
"Truly… I don't know whether you are mad, or I am mad."
"For the sake of the Abyss… how did you even manage to make yourself like this? No, my wording is wrong. It's not 'you'—it's…"
Chu Hao's smile turned ice-cold. From behind him, countless sharp tendrils of black mist shot into the monster's body.
"[You all]!"
His gaze sharpened, and the tendrils pierced the monster, performing a horrifying "surgery" aided by Chu Hao's divine fire—something unimaginable to ordinary beings.
"Ahhh! Aaaah!"
With the screams shaking the palace and the chasm itself, the sludge-like monster began to transform.
One grotesque head after another, clearly from different species, appeared on the monster's body.
This creature was a fusion of several powerful beings—a true "fusion monster"!
The strange aura Chu Hao had sensed earlier was from this fusion.
From flesh to soul, even their minds somehow merged together, creating this monstrosity.
Their thoughts, bodies, souls, and inner seas struggled for control, resulting in the horrific form before Chu Hao.
Yet even as a fusion, the monster exuded power comparable to a mid-level god.
More importantly, it possessed divinity.
But only that much.
Though it had transcended semi-god and mortal limits, its body contained no divine fire.
Those gray threads, those parasitic strands in the Hayes' minds, were not godly marks—they were soul imprints left by this monster attempting to dominate the world after fusion.
Whenever a Hayes was born, the monster instinctively embedded a fragment of its soul into their mind's sea.
But this method of soul ripping, without divine fire, is excruciating—hundreds of times worse than lingchi, and infinitely more agonizing than burning a soul alive.
Interestingly, Chu Hao's prior assumptions were overturned.
He had believed a naturally ascended god existed in this world.
In reality, this dark, decayed world contained nothing but an ugly, powerless "half-finished god"!
And even this half-finished entity required several powerful beings to fuse into one to exist.
"Save us! Please! Let us be freed! Help us separate!"
"This endless torment has lasted who knows how long!"
As the heads began to separate with the aid of divine fire, they screamed.
Clearly, the monster's parts were regaining some reason.
But Chu Hao's gaze was cold, with no intention to aid them further.
Instead, he retracted his tendrils and stared at them.
"Silence!"
"I have no interest in your pitiful pleas."
His voice made the creature tremble.
This seemingly powerful being, in Chu Hao's presence, was nothing more than a spineless slime.
"Tell me… what did you do to end up like this?"
Nothing was more important than satisfying his curiosity.
Chu Hao's eyes glinted.
"To me, you fools have achieved something remarkable by accident."
"You expanded your inner seas many times over!"
"Though it's in this ridiculous and grotesque form, you have indeed expanded your mental seas!"
"Ordinary beings, even gods, radiate their inner seas outward. But you… you've formed inwardly radiating seas. Fascinating."
"I want to know… how did you manage it?"
Since his previous assumptions were wrong, Chu Hao now had to learn through observation.
Moreover, he realized that if inner seas could fuse, then creating a tangible, communicable will from a purely idealistic plane wasn't impossible.
This monster before him was the perfect subject for gaining that "interesting knowledge."
Hearing this, one female head suddenly screamed—the sharpest and cleverest of them all.
"No!"
"If we give you this knowledge, we're useless to you!"
"Yes, you must swear that after we tell you, you will help us!"
"…"
Chu Hao's black-red spiral eyes glimmered.
After a moment, he smiled, calm and gentle.
"I swear by my godhood. Once you reveal the answer, I will bring you back to my world and 'treat' you."
"Now, tell me… what did you do?"
"Tell me everything!"
The female head glanced at the others, gritted her teeth, and spoke.
"We conducted an experiment… an experiment to make our inner seas rise in reverse!"