Chapter 51: Origin

Lovecraft?

That name was not unfamiliar to Tunzuo.

In her society and general knowledge classes, Tunzuo had heard Teacher Sherry mention that name many times.

The Chaos Witch, Lovecraft, the previous head of the Witch Council before that bad mommy Antuxi, and also the very first Witch Council head in the history of witch society.

Tunzuo tilted her head, sorting through the knowledge about Lovecraft stored in her mind.

Then, as if answering a question in class, she began counting on her fingers while listing Lovecraft’s great achievements.

“Lovecraft Smith, first Witch Council head, leader of the Summoning School. During her tenure, she founded the Witch Council and established the basic operating system of witch society. She is hailed as the founder of witch society. Oh, right, and Her Highness Lovecraft led the early expansion wars of the witch race, multiplying the living space of our kind by several times. Mm, that’s all taught in social studies class.”

Having finished reciting everything, Tunzuo blinked, pouring out all the knowledge about Lovecraft from her mind, then looked at Lei Ruiya, seemingly waiting for praise.

Upon hearing Tunzuo’s answer, Lei Ruiya first nodded in affirmation, but then gently shook her head.

“You answered well, Student Tunzuo, but those are just textbook answers. That’s not what I want.”

Lei Ruiya’s voice was low.

She walked slowly to the window, her deep gaze looking into the distance, as if piercing the veil of time and space, gazing at that secret, dusty era.

“What I want to ask is, do you know how Her Highness Lovecraft became the Witch Council head?”

Lei Ruiya’s question made Tunzuo freeze, and then she honestly shook her head.

On this point, Teacher Sherry had not given a detailed explanation.

The textbook only recorded Lovecraft’s achievements and accomplishments in detail.

Regarding how Lovecraft became the Witch Council head, it was glossed over with a single paragraph.

“At a critical moment of survival for the witch race, Lovecraft stepped forward. Relying on her exceptional abilities and prestige, she won the support of all witches, established the first generation Witch Council with herself as the core leader, ended the witch civil strife, and marked a major turning point in witch society’s history, saving the entire witch race’s destiny.”

Lei Ruiya looked into Tunzuo’s clear, deep green eyes, was silent for a moment, then finally sighed and made a decision.

“Alright, then let me tell you some history that will never be mentioned in textbooks.”

Lei Ruiya turned her back to Tunzuo, complex emotions welling up in her right eye.

The White Rose Eye opened and closed slightly as she slowly narrated the earliest story of the witch race.

“Let’s start from the origin of the witch race.”

Lei Ruiya’s voice was distant and heavy, like an echo from eternity.

“We witches were originally the product of a large-scale cross-dimensional biological engineering experiment.”

Lei Ruiya extended a finger, pricked the tip, and squeezed out a drop of bright red blood.

The blood bead floated in the air, emitting a very ominous aura.

“In that experiment, witches were created as a kind of viral biological weapon. The original intention of the experiment was to try to manufacture an ultimate biological weapon that could continuously evolve and had high infectivity and destructiveness.”

Hearing this, Tunzuo subconsciously held her breath.

“And witches were the closest product to that goal. Our blood is highly corrosive and polluting.”

Lei Ruiya stared at the floating blood bead with a complex gaze.

“Witch blood melts any living creature it touches into living bloody water, erodes the land until it’s scarred and loses all vitality. At no cost, witch blood made witches the most efficient cleaning tools on the battlefield.”

A chill ran up Tunzuo’s spine, straight to her head.

She could already imagine how witches, as battlefield cleaning tools, would be used.

“At that time, witches were like livestock, penned up, consumed, their racial fate completely in the hands of others.”

“As biological weapons, witches were unprecedentedly sought after and hot commodities among the major forces in the universe. Every day, countless witches were sent to battlefields across the universe, transformed into humanoid bombs, blooming as blood blossoms on the battlefield.”

At this point, a self-deprecating smile couldn’t help but appear in Lei Ruiya’s eyes.

“To escape this situation, a witch bravely stepped forward. She led her compatriots in a rebellion, successfully escaped, and hid on a desolate small planet. Later witches called her the Original Witch.”

Lei Ruiya bowed her head and nodded, paying tribute to the Original Witch who led the rebellion.

“That planet was desolate, but it was enough to provide a place for witches to live in peace. The Original Witch hoped that this desolate little planet could become a paradise for witches, free from worldly conflicts, allowing them to live freely.”

Lei Ruiya exhaled lightly, a hint of longing in her eyes.

Tunzuo lowered her gaze, wondering if the Original Witch’s wish had been fulfilled.

“On that barren land of only wind and sand, the Original Witch, with the surviving compatriots, planted the first seed of life.”

“That seed was formed by the magical power of all witches at that time. As soon as it was buried in the soil, the seed quickly took root and sprouted, eventually growing into a huge, magnificent flower. The flower’s roots penetrated the planet’s crust, its lush petals covered the sky, and it released an endless stream of magical energy, like sweet rain, nourishing the desolate land.”

“The Original Witch named that flower—Dunayala.”

Lei Ruiya’s story fascinated Tunzuo.

She could almost see the flourishing Dunayala stubbornly growing on that desolate little planet.

“Under the transformation of Dunayala, the desolate planet began to burst with vitality. Grass grew from rock crevices, clear water flowed in dry riverbeds, and even the air gradually became warm and moist.”

“Witches began to build houses below Dunayala and cultivate fields. No longer needing to fight or fear, they could enjoy sunlight, feel the breeze, and watch young witches run and play on the grass like normal beings.”

“That peaceful period was later called by future witches—the Beautiful Wish of the Hope Era. Though brief, it was incomparably wonderful.”

Lei Ruiya’s voice was as gentle as a spring breeze, as if that happy time was right in front of her.

“The Beautiful Wish of the Hope Era…”

Tunzuo repeated the term softly.

“But unfortunately, happy times are always fragile. Just as the paradise was taking shape and witches thought they could finally enjoy peace, the pursuit and encirclement from the major forces of the universe arrived in an instant.”

“Greedy hunters will never allow their prey to escape their grasp.”

“Countless warships surrounded the witches’ paradise. Inhuman destruction poured down on it, and all the beauty dissipated like floating clouds.”

Lei Ruiya spoke a tragic truth in a low voice.

“The Original Witch knew that the witch race was still too weak to fight against the major forces of the universe. So, to win a glimmer of hope for the witch race, the Original Witch made a decision.”

“The Original Witch, together with the nine most powerful witches at the time, and including Dunayala, performed a sacrifice.”

Hearing this, Tunzuo’s eyes widened instantly, her voice filled with disbelief.

“A sacrifice?!”

“Yes, a sacrifice.”

Lei Ruiya nodded at Tunzuo, a hint of pain in her eyes.

“The nine witches detonated Dunayala together with their own lives, creating an insurmountable barrier outside the paradise. That barrier was both a shield and a cage.”

“The barrier blocked the attacks of the major forces, winning breathing room for the witch race. The Original Witch hoped that future witches could find a way to fight external enemies under the barrier’s protection. But unfortunately, things rarely go according to plan.”

Lei Ruiya let out a long sigh, helplessness in her eyes.

“What came before the solution was endless infighting.”

“After gaining the barrier’s protection and losing the Original Witch’s leadership, the witch race, which was never monolithic, split into multiple factions due to various reasons, endlessly consuming each other internally. This was the predecessor of the faction system.”

Lei Ruiya’s narration left Tunzuo silent.

Now she finally understood why there were so many different factions in witch society—it all had historical roots.

“Internal strife never ceased, external enemies surrounded. The witch race seemed doomed to extinction. But fate favored us, and a genius was born.”

Lei Ruiya’s voice suddenly rose, excitement hard to conceal.

“That was Her Highness Lovecraft.”

“Her Highness Lovecraft was the embodiment of madness, the incarnation of insanity. She united the entire witch race with an iron hand and took an action that would change the fate of the entire witch race.”

Tunzuo was a bit confused.

Lei Ruiya stared into Tunzuo’s eyes and said word by word:

“Her Highness Lovecraft deepened the viral nature of witch blood. On the basis of corrosion and pollution, she added transformation.”

Tunzuo nervously held her breath, knowing that what she was about to hear was the key that had once changed the fate of the entire witch race.

“Transformation?”

“Exactly.”

Lei Ruiya nodded slightly and continued explaining to Tunzuo:

“Living creatures contaminated by witch blood, while turning into bloody water, have a very small chance of being transformed into witches. This effect also works on non-living things. This is the main reason why there are so many types of witches today, and why there are lost witches.”

Tunzuo recalled the scene when Antuxi transformed her into a witch, then nodded affirmatively. She was familiar with that.

“And this transformation mechanism is called—‘Witch Disease.’”

At this point, Lei Ruiya’s voice suddenly became serious.

“At the same time, Her Highness Lovecraft also inscribed a highly complex set of genetic instructions into witch blood, known as the thought stamp.”

“A witch flowing with witch blood has an absolute command implanted deep in her subconscious: ‘The interests of the witch race are supreme.’ This means that no matter who she was originally, once the ‘Witch Disease’ transformation is complete, her first loyalty will forever be to the witch race, even if she retains her original personality and memories.”

“Second, the transformation of witch blood is not entirely random. Her Highness Lovecraft created a transformation ritual. Through specific incantations and magic circles, the transformation probability of witch blood can be raised to one hundred percent.”

“Finally, and most importantly.”

Lei Ruiya raised her finger and pointed at her own heart, her tone filled with unshakable conviction.

“Witch Disease rewrites the life form of the transformed, removing them from their original species category and completely making them a member of the witch race. This change is absolutely irreversible. ‘Witch Disease’ is the second method of creating new witches, aside from natural reproduction.”

Lei Ruiya did not continue, but Tunzuo already understood why the witch race, in an extremely short time, had grown from a captive slave race into the most feared existence in the universe.

Lei Ruiya’s voice was cold, declaring an already predetermined fate.

“All the invaders who had been eyeing the witch race never imagined that one day the weak lambs would voluntarily step out of the pen and attack them.”

“And so, the war began.”

“Countless drops of witch blood were scattered across the universe. Countless enemies were transformed into our compatriots. In an instant, the witch race grew at a geometric rate.”

“We struck heaven to the west and resisted the primordial chaos to the east. The flowers of war and blood bloomed on the ruins of countless planets and the corpses of enemies.”

“An eye for an eye, blood for blood. We returned the pain we had suffered a hundredfold to our enemies. We trampled those races that had once treated us like dirt under our feet, making them our auxiliary forces and slaves. We listened to their wails, and our brutality echoed through the universe.”

The story of the witch origin made Tunzuo’s heart surge.

She could almost see that magnificent war of revenge, countless witches charging forward, turning swords into plowshares to expand living space for the entire witch race.

“Nourished by war, the paradise was rebuilt and gradually expanded outward, eventually evolving into today’s Dona Yala World. The witch race also became the most notorious calamity in the universe. Angels and saints bowed to us, immortals treated us with courtesy, and other races prostrated at our feet.”

Lei Ruiya’s voice was full of pride.

This was the glory of the entire witch race.

“The war of revenge completely changed the fate of the witch race. It was not just a war for survival, but a baptism of spiritual reconstruction. The test of iron and blood made the witch race shed its former cowardice, sitting high on the pyramid of the universe as predators.”

“The expansion and victory brought by war not only won vast living space for the witch race but also carved an indelible mark deep in the soul of every witch. That is the absolute pursuit of power and freedom, and unlimited loyalty to the race. This collective will shaped by war became the core spirit that has sustained the witch race to this day, and made the word ‘witch’ a feared existence among all civilizations in the universe.”

“And the victory of the war of revenge, aside from the erosion of ‘Witch Disease,’ relied most heavily on Her Highness Lovecraft’s unparalleled strength that dominated the universe.”

As she spoke, Lei Ruiya’s gaze fell upon the umbrella surface of Huanye.

“With her own extremely insane thinking, Her Highness Lovecraft etched one powerful familiar after another into the Spirit World. Those familiars were crazy, chaotic, twisted, and used invincible, bizarre power to crush all incoming enemies.”

“Therefore, witches collectively called the familiars created by Her Highness Lovecraft—the Cthulhu system, symbolizing madness and chaos.”

The term “Cthulhu system” stirred a strange sense of familiarity in Tunzuo’s heart, as if the name was already engraved deep in her soul.

“And in the Cthulhu system, aside from the Supreme One, who is missing and not in the Spirit World, the most representative are the Three Pillars.”

Lei Ruiya gently raised her fingertip, pointing at the rune composed of multiple concentric circles on Huanye’s umbrella surface.

“Among the Three Pillars, there is one that controls time and space, gazing into the truth.”

“Its name is—”

“The Key of the Door, Yog-Sothoth.”