# 16
**Chapter 16: Always Here**
"Lucifer..." Lin Qiye was still reeling from the massive amount of information Zhao Kongcheng had just dumped on him, standing there in a daze for a long time.
"So, you're saying... ever since the fog appeared, gods from mythology have been showing up one after another for no apparent reason?"
"Exactly. The higher-ups have been investigating the cause behind this and have come up with two possible explanations." Zhao Kongcheng raised two fingers.
"First, these gods never actually existed. But after the fog appeared, some mysterious change caused them to materialize from myth."
"Second, mythology isn't ancient fantasy—it's real. As human activity increased, they went into hiding somewhere on Earth for unknown reasons. The sudden appearance of the fog woke them up."
Lin Qiye nodded. "Then what did you mean when you said not all gods exist?"
"There aren't many gods on Earth right now. Not every mythical being has descended here—only a tiny fraction of the vast mythological systems. We don't know why it's them. It's not about strength, how well-known their stories are, good or evil, or nationality. Their appearance seems completely random.
It’s not just the Bible—Greek mythology, Norse mythology, Cthulhu mythos... among the gods we currently know of, every mythological system is represented."
"If it's all mythological systems, then what about the gods of Great Xia?" Lin Qiye asked curiously. "Like the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, the Third Prince, the Four Heavenly Kings, the Jade Emperor... where are they? If they existed, they’d probably wipe the floor with the Western gods, right?"
Zhao Kongcheng fell silent for a moment, then shook his head. "We’ve thought about all that too. Over the past hundred years, we’ve searched across Great Xia countless times, trying to find traces of them...
But for a full century, we found nothing. Not even a single local earth god.
Some say it’s because the fog hasn’t swallowed Great Xia yet, so its myths haven’t awakened.
Others say..."
Lin Qiye couldn’t help but ask, "Say what?"
"Others say... they’ve always been here."
"Always been here?"
"Tell me, why is Great Xia the only place on Earth untouched by the fog? It’s pressed right up against our borders, but not a single inch crosses into our territory."
Lin Qiye’s mouth fell open. "You mean..."
"It’s just a theory. Or maybe... a beautiful hope." Zhao Kongcheng shook his head. "Either way, we’ve never found any trace of Great Xia’s gods."
"Alright..."
Just the information he’d heard so far was enough to shatter Lin Qiye’s worldview. If he hadn’t personally witnessed the existence of the Seraph, he might’ve called the psychiatric hospital right then to have Zhao Kongcheng dragged away.
This guy’s crazier than I ever was!
"Then what was that golden pillar of light that shot out of me last night?" Lin Qiye asked next.
"Forbidden Ruins," Zhao Kongcheng replied. "After the fog covered the Earth, the changes weren’t limited to the appearance of gods. The fog seems to have a mysterious effect on the human body too.
Even though the fog never entered Great Xia’s territory, it appears to emit a kind of radiation-like energy that catalyzes certain individuals. Children born after the fog arrived have a chance of developing a strange power within them.
Under specific environmental conditions, that power can be awakened, forming a special ability that affects the real world—like a domain. The traits of these abilities vary from person to person.
These supernatural domains that influence the surroundings are called Forbidden Ruins."
Lin Qiye pondered.
In short, Forbidden Ruins are like superpowered domains granted to the lucky few.
In that case, his ability to sense everything within a 20-meter radius using something like mental perception, his enhanced dynamic vision, and even the Seraph’s divine might—those were all manifestations of his Forbidden Ruins.
"Can Forbidden Ruins grow stronger?"
"Yes. The power, range, and uniqueness of a Forbidden Ruins all increase with the user’s mental strength. Mental strength is the key factor in determining a Forbidden Ruins’ potency.
Based on mental strength, we divide Forbidden Ruins into six realms.
If your mental strength is like water in a cup—small and still—you’re in the first realm: Cup.
If it’s like water in a pond—more but still—you’re in the second realm: Pool.
If it flows like a river—plentiful and moving—you’re in the third realm: River Realm.
If it’s like the ocean—vast and boundless—you’re in the fourth realm: Sea Realm.
If it’s nearly infinite and overwhelming, that’s the fifth realm: Infinity.
If it’s inexhaustible, transcending spatial dimensions like a Klein bottle, that’s the sixth realm: Klein."
"Then what about me? What realm am I in?" Lin Qiye asked.
"You? You’re in the Cup realm. A rookie who just learned to use Forbidden Ruins." Zhao Kongcheng seemed to enjoy knocking Lin Qiye down a peg. "You’re just... hmm... a slightly stronger ordinary person."
Lin Qiye was speechless.
So, the reason he was able to open the door to the psychiatric hospital in his mind last night was because he had broken into the Cup realm. That must’ve also been why he could open Nyx’s room.
Did that mean every time he broke into a new realm, he could release another patient?
"What about you? You’re so strong—what realm are you in?" Lin Qiye asked, looking at Zhao Kongcheng.
Zhao Kongcheng’s old face flushed red. He awkwardly turned to look out the window. "I... I don’t have Forbidden Ruins, so I don’t have mental strength."
"You don’t have Forbidden Ruins?" Lin Qiye’s eyes widened. "Then how did you kill that monster?"
Lin Qiye was genuinely shocked. That monster had been so fast even his变态 dynamic vision could barely keep up, yet Zhao Kongcheng had completely dominated it. And this guy didn’t even have Forbidden Ruins?
"That thing’s called a Ghost-Faced Man," Zhao Kongcheng corrected. "I killed it with years of training and combat experience. Before joining Night Watch, I was a special forces soldier—specialized in close-quarters combat."
He continued, "There are three ways to obtain Forbidden Ruins. The first is what I just mentioned—only a small number of lucky people are born with the talent to use them.
The second is through items that possess Forbidden Ruins. It’s not just humans who can be affected by the fog—some objects can also develop Forbidden Ruins under the right circumstances. These are usually extremely rare and unique. If a person can control them, they can use the power of Forbidden Ruins.
I fall into the second category. But the relic I have isn’t combat-oriented—it’s a standard support-type relic used by Night Watch: a signboard. It only has one function...
To deploy the [Borderless Domain]!"