Wood didn't care: "I am both useless and incompetent. When he took me in, I didn't even have a legal identity, nor did I know who I was in my past.. If he took me in, looked after me, invested in me just to get something out of me, then it must be the most unprofitable investment in human history~"
[No one would take in someone knowing they were a total waste and continue to invest in them for so long.. Dad, you need to wake up! He feels for you—]
It's love.
Wood said with an infatuated expression, "Under normal circumstances, no one would knowingly take in and invest in someone who is clearly an incompetent waste, but love can do that.. When a person falls in love with another, they will do all sorts of things that defy common sense and logic under the drive of love~"
[..]
Little Anubis was defeated by Wood's logic, his pointed ears drooping helplessly.
[It seems I can no longer persuade you.. but I will not give up! I will keep a watchful eye on that guy, find his weakness, expose his schemes! I will never let Dad be deceived again!]
Again?
Wood was stunned: "The 'father' you speak of was once deceived?"
[..]
Before Little Anubis could respond, Wood muttered to himself again, "—I almost forgot that in Egyptian mythology, Anubis is the son of Osiris, Osiris was once murdered by his brother Set because of his misplaced trust.. No wonder you used the word 'again'.."
He gently stroked the puppy's head and made a solemn promise, "Don't worry, Little Anubis. Even though your Daddy Wood isn't a great Ancient Egyptian God like Osiris, he isn't a complete, useless waste either. Daddy knows how to protect himself, Daddy will also take care of Little Anubis, making sure Little Anubis gets fresh, non-synthetic beef and mutton every day~"
.. You.. forget it..
Puppy relaxed his body, enjoying the petting to his heart's content.
..
..
After finishing work, Wood handed Little Anubis over to Peterson as usual and walked out of the building, preparing to take the subway back—the New York subway was quite unsafe, but since he had neither a driver's license nor a car, felt too embarrassed to ask his colleagues to drive him back to the Museum, he could only consider taking the subway.
However—
As soon as he entered the Subway Station, Wood felt that something was wrong.
(The lighting in the Subway Station in my memory didn't seem this dim..)
As soon as the thought arose, the lights overhead flickered with a sizzling sound that made one's hair stand on end.
(No way..)
Wood felt a bit panicked. He quickly took a deep breath, silently chanting the Boss's name in his heart, preparing to leave the Subway Station.
(Boss, Boss.. lend me your strength.. I, I..)
*Psh!*
The lights flickered on again, casting a ghastly white light.
Ding—
The Subway Station arrived suddenly, the carriage doors opened, steady light leaked in.
He could no longer leave!
Wood suppressed his fear and glanced into the carriage, finding many people sitting inside—men and women, Black and White, some reading books and others sleeping against their seats. He breathed a sigh of relief, stepped into the carriage, found a slightly cool seat to sit down.
The carriage doors slowly closed, cutting off the horror-movie scene of flickering lights outside, yet Wood still felt an intense sense of unease, wishing only to return to the Boss's side immediately.
Clatter—clatter—
The ancient subway rattled along, the view outside the window gradually turning into a black tunnel. Wood gazed dizzily at the darkness outside before his body suddenly jolted—the subway had stopped!
Inertia caused Wood's body to lurch forward, he immediately realized something was wrong!
The others in the carriage seemed to be.. silent?!
Indeed, the subway had come to an emergency halt, yet the people in the carriage showed no reaction—no surprise, no cursing, no chatter. Aside from him, everyone else sat perfectly still in their original places, as motionless as wax figures.
(What's going on? Could I be..)
A flicker of doubt flashed through Wood's mind.
At that moment, the carriage door suddenly slid open silently. There was no platform outside, only a darkness as thick and viscous as tar, smelling of the indescribable dampness and decay unique to ancient relics. A cold wind blew into the carriage, making the hair on the back of Wood's neck stand on end.
(What is going on! I can't be.. Oh my god! I, I am..)
In the darkness, a girl wearing a red cloak and a classical crinoline skirt gradually emerged. He appeared to be about five feet tall, his head bowed, his face completely obscured by the shadow of the cloak's hood, with only a few strands of long black hair peeking out from the edge of the hood. His small hands, wrapped in bandages, were clasped against his chest, tightly hugging a large, dirty Teddy Bear that was missing an arm.
(Late night, a non-existent station, a dark space, a Red-cloaked Girl hugging a Teddy Bear.. this combination is like..)
Thinking of this, Wood trembled all over, wishing he could—just as he turned his head, he saw that the passengers in the carriage, who had been as motionless as wax, had all turned their heads to stare straight at him!
(What's going on! I, I can't be.. sleepwalking? Or..)
Daddy..
A soft, gentle voice suddenly rang out, causing Wood's heart to skip a beat. He forced a smile onto his face, his voice trembling: ".. Li-little one, who.. who are you? Are you looking for your father?"
Yes, I am looking for Daddy, I am looking for Daddy.. He gave birth to us, yet he could not raise us.. He is very pitiful, I do not blame him. When we were taken away by the enemy, he knew nothing, he has never had the ability to protect himself..
The Girl murmured, slowly lifting his head to reveal a beautifully contoured face—what frightened Wood was that while one half of the Girl's cheek was beautiful, it was pale without a trace of color, while the other half was covered by a silver-white mask.
You.. you.. you..
In the silence, Wood's breathing was as heavy as a bellows.
“Do you want to see the other half of my face?”
The Girl asked in a soft, delicate voice, lifting his hand—which was wrapped in bandages and tipped with long nails—to rest it against his silver-white mask.
.. After seeing the other half of my cheek, you want to be my father. Are you willing to be my father?
“I..”
The Girl lightly scraped his nails against the silver mask, producing a teeth-gritting, screeching sound.
Wood's scalp instantly prickled, feeling as if a spike had driven itself into his eardrums and was frantically churning through his brain, while his stomach churned violently.
Don't! Don't take it off! I don't want—don't want to know—don't want to..
Wood said tremblingly, not even understanding what exactly he was afraid of.
Do you—really not want to know?
The Girl tilted his head and asked, his childish voice gentle and polite, like a girl from next door asking for candy. Yet, Wood could only feel the bone-chilling cold of his entire body freezing instantly; his limbs grew stiff, his breath hitched, his mind went blank, leaving nothing but an incomprehensible, screaming terror.
I.. I..
It's okay, I won't force it.. Father..
With those words, the carriage door slowly closed, the Girl's figure was cut off from the darkness outside by the gradually shutting door.
Just as the carriage door was about to close completely, that childish voice drifted in again, carrying a faint, mischievous smile of success.
“Daddy, watch out for that fellow behind you~ He seems to have a special interest in you~”
Click!
The carriage doors closed completely, the vehicle shuddered slightly, then it continued on its way.
Wood stood frozen in place, cold sweat crawling out of his pores like icy insects, quickly soaking through his shirt.
Taking a deep breath, he suddenly turned around and saw that there was indeed an extra "person" in the quiet carriage—an Archangel with blonde hair, blue eyes, white wings growing from his back, dressed in a Greek-style robe!
You.. you are—
[I am Archangel Gabriel.]
The Archangel opened his mouth, letting out a divine voice devoid of any emotional fluctuation.
I began to take notice of you when you visited the Madonna Orphanage yesterday. You are very special—
Am.. am I special?
Wood asked tremblingly, "Am I.. am I just a.. Are you really Archangel Gabriel?"
If you believe I am Archangel Gabriel, then I am the true Archangel Gabriel.
“..”
Wood composed himself and gave a forced laugh, saying, "I only want to return to the Mortal Realm as soon as possible."
[When did you realize this wasn't the Mortal Realm?]
(Do they really need to ask such a simple question? Do they think I'm an idiot?!)
Wood grumbled inwardly, but his face maintained a respectful and honest demeanor: "From the moment I stepped into the Subway Station, I felt something was wrong, but I didn't refuse the subway because I wanted to verify something—"
[What thing?]
Does Archangel Gabriel truly exist?
Wood looked up, staring at the Archangel with a cold gaze: "Are you truly Archangel Gabriel, or some kind of entity pretending to be an Angel?"
[Why would he think that?]
As far as I know, the records regarding the image of Angels in early Christian texts were often eerie and terrifying. It wasn't until Christianity became the state religion of the Roman Empire that Angels were gradually reshaped into images resembling handsome human men.. In other words, if you truly are Archangel Gabriel, you shouldn't be—
[The forms of the gods are never fixed; they change along with the shifts in the collective imagination of their believers.. Therefore, in ancient times, we might have been covered in wings, or shaped like wheels, or possessed arms covered in eyes, but once Christianity became the state religion and Christian believers redesigned us in the image of beautiful human men, our appearances naturally changed accordingly—]
Then..
Wood thought for a moment, then asked Gabriel, "Are your Three Manifestations recorded in the Madonna Convent records actually real?"
[That question—]
Gabriel suddenly reached out, grabbing for Wood.
Wood quickly retreated, his body being rapidly pulled by some force as he flew backward through the metal walls of the carriage, tracing a parabola before landing on the damp, drizzling grass.
Ah.. Hey—
Wood sat up with difficulty, about to curse, when he suddenly saw Master standing before him holding an umbrella, with the warm orange light of the streetlamps behind him.
“Boss?”
Author's Note:
----------------------
The little Girl is Hela's Avatar, but Hela's official appearance is a matter for later~
Thanks to readers "Six One Four", "＿Lan Wu＿", "Hua Guan", "Li Yu", "Liu Nainai Mai Niunai", "Yuan Zhong Ren De Yi Yu Zhong Li", "a", "Ri Yue Tao San Huan", "moonlit", "Irrigation Nutrient Solution".