Kai stared at Noxian, who remained nonchalant about the situation.

Despite his success in entering the second floor, Noxian doesn’t seem to be riled up at all, as if he had seen it all. Not to mention the fact that he remained where he was meant his power also reached the second floor.

Frankly, the Slashing Ending sounded like a moderately strong ending.

In Kai’s mind, what’s more to a slash? Noxian’s power shouldn’t be too high.

But it seemed he was wrong.

Considering the changes that happened upon entering the second floor, Kai could somewhat assume that there are five levels. Since the full moon is the first floor, and the waxing gibbous is the second floor, there should be the half-moon, waxing crescent, and new moon next.

So, there are five floors to the House of Night.

I wonder how high his power really was.

Kai shook his head and looked to the other side.

Surprisingly enough, Noxian’s domain had expanded; beside the humble house now also lay a modest farm. It wasn’t large by any standard. Kai reckoned it was less than an acre big, and though the soil had been carefully tilted, not a single thing grew in it.

"What’s that for?" Kai asked and walked over to the farm.

Noxian shrugged, "Just one of many projects that my younger, hopeful self once started."

"Where did you even get to know a farm?"

"I... don’t know. I’ve only seen glimpses of memories and tried recreating them."

"Huh, that’s weird. Do you want to grow something?"

"How? Nothing works in here."

"Fortunately for you, you have me," Kai pointed at himself with his thumb, grinning. He then raised his Blood-phantom Scimitar, showing it off to Noxian. "I tried bringing something here, and as you can see, I succeeded. I reckoned I could get some seeds for you."

"And how would it grow?" Noxian asked, pessimistic about everything.

"For the person who taught me who I am—you sure like to undermine me," Kai sighed. "I’m the son of the final night, remember? I wield power here. And if I want the seeds to work, then it will work."

"I... I’d like that," Noxian looked down again at the floor.

It was clear that he was trying hard not to be hopeful.

Kai couldn’t blame Noxian, as he didn’t know the kind of past his lonely Nightborn had.

Either way, he’d try his best to make this domain less depressing.

"I do have one more question that you might be able to help with."

"Another question? What is it?"

"I... sorta met with a daughter of the final night. My sister?" Kai said carefully, not knowing whether Noxian had any problem with them or not. And when he heard this, his spine almost instantly straightened. "I believe her name is Mallo—"

Noxian blurred.

In the blink of an eye, he clamped his gauntleted hand tightly over Kai’s jaw.

"Don’t say her name," Noxian whispered—casting a paranoid glance around his own domain. "I’m pretty sure I made it clear already that names hold power in the House of Night. Do not, I repeat, do not speak any name lightly. Do you understand?"

Kai felt the grip tightening as if Noxian was trying to crush his jaw.

He quickly forced a nod, signaling that he understood.

Slowly, Noxian pulled back his hand, still worried that Kai might do something stupid.

"Sorry, I was careless," Kai scratched the back of his head.

It was hard to break the habit of addressing other people by their names, as that was the norm in the real world, after all. Even though he already knew about this, this kind of thing slipped out of his mouth easily.

Kai really needed to be careful.

"She must have told you her name to see if you’ll say it," Noxian turned around, returning to where he sat again. "If you call her name, then she’ll know exactly where you are. And that’s trouble of the highest degree.

"I don’t even know how you survived meeting her," He added with blatant confusion.

"I kinda led her to believe I’m some powerful, ancient Nightborn that she’d never encountered before." Kai smiled sheepishly—it was the only way he could think of to escape that situation. "I told her I’m the Hate Ending."

"Hate Ending...?" Noxian was quite surprised. "And she believed that lie?"

"I can be quite convincing."

"You can be."

"I want to keep meeting her to know more about my position," Kai said truthfully; he wanted to know why the Goddess was telling him not to get close to them. Heck, he wanted to know why he’s the only son. "Should I find a Nightborn with fragments associated with this made-up Hate Ending?"

"I’m sure there’s a Hate Ending out there somewhere," Noxian replied, aware of how massive the House of Night truly was. "But I decided you against getting closer to her. One mistake—if she realizes you lied to her, that you are not the Hate Ending, that you’re the son of the final night... she’ll erase you."

Just the thought of being erased sent a shiver down Kai’s spine.

Erased sounded scarier than being killed.

But he was determined to investigate further. He needed to know why the Goddess chose him as her Supernal. He needed to know why she had invested her own divinity into him—when Bella had been standing right there beside him.

Someone who’s far stronger than him.

Or at least, he believed she was far stronger than him.

"I want to do this, Noxian..." Kai said, his tone was firm. "Can you please help me?"

Noxian let out a deep sigh, realizing there’s no changing Kai’s mind.

As dangerous as this was, Kai would have a better chance if he gave him some help.

Kai’s assumption was right.

In order for him to stay relatively safe in case this daughter of the final night desired a glimpse of his supposed ending, Kai needed a Nightborn with a fragment that came close to the Hate Ending. A fragment aligned with the narrative.

Fortunately, with the second Primordial Lock, he can now learn more fragments.

Noxian believed there’s one Nightborn for everything out there.

According to Noxian, in order for Kai to know where to look within the House of Night, he’d need to know the basics. Within the House of Night, there are constellations that could guide him to Nightborns associated with it.

It’s the only means of direction that one could have within this void.

And these constellations are divided into groups: Divine, Monster, Hero, Symbol, and Land.

Each group had its own constellations and associated Nightborns. Noxian had suggested Kai follow the Draco Constellation before—it belonged to the Monster Group, and it’s the most dangerous group of them all.

Most Nightborns in that group of constellations are lethal.

But the Nightborns from the Draco Constellation are known to be arrogant.

And arrogance meant they aren’t hostile, viewing themselves as higher than others.

Even if that someone was a son of the final night.

Most of them would only mess with Kai—but if he managed to get the better one from among them, it would be stronger than average. And it went exactly as expected. Perion turned out to be quite a strong Nightborn, and he had helped Kai immensely.

"Which one do you think I should try next?" Kai asked.

He was new to this information, and frankly, it was overwhelming to grasp.

Noxian had carved every single constellation that existed within the House of Night into the soil, arranging them by their associated groups so Kai could understand and memorize them more easily.

But seeing more than fifty constellations made Kai dizzy.

It’s better to ask for a suggestion from Noxian for now.

He’d slowly learn about these groups and constellations later, and then make his own decision about which one to choose for his next Nightborn in the future. For now, Noxian did his best to find a Nightborn compatible with the Hate Ending.

"I’d say the perfect constellation for that is the Scorpius Constellation," Noxian circled one in the Monster Group. "There are probably better choices inside the Divine Group, but you can’t contact the Nightborns there without access to the third floor. And even if you could, with your strength, you won’t be able to learn one name.

"The Scorpius Constellation might be a bit dangerous, but you can get lucky." He added.

Kai’s brows dipped into a frown.

He didn’t like the sound of this.

"When you say a bit dangerous, how dangerous is it? Like, what are the chances for me to gain a Nightborn from this constellation?"

"About seventy-thirty."

"Seventy I succeeded and thirty I failed?"

"No," Noxian shook his head. "Seventy you failed and got your mind broken, and thirty you succeeded in getting a Nightborn, but your mind would also be broken."

"What...?" Kai was stunned. "How is that a little bit dangerous?!"

"You might be able to find the Nightborn you’re looking for in the Hero—or Symbol Groups," Noxian said with a shrug. "But the chances are far lower. Only the Monster Group produces darker and more hostile Nightborns for the Hate Ending. These groups are safer, though.

"You can try Cassiopeia or Andromeda Constellations," He suggested.

"Okay, I’ll take those two, thank you," Kai accepted.

No matter what, he wasn’t insane enough to gamble on a seventy-to-thirty survival ratio—by heeding the Scorpius Constellation. And knowing what he knew now, he could hardly believe Noxian had ever suggested he follow the Draco Constellation either.

It’s in the Monster Group, and that meant really dangerous.

Kai was really lucky to meet Perion.

"I’m starting to think you want me to die."

"You’re the son of the final night. I’m sure you’ll be fine. Just as the final night to protect you."

"As if I can easily ask her to do—" Kai paused and blinked. "Huh... I think I can ask her."

Remembering that he had met with the Goddess multiple times already, and she even listened to what he had to say, he reckoned he could ask the Goddess for help. He never tried asking, so he doesn’t know how she’d react.

In any case, the worst-case scenario is probably not meeting her for some time. And it’s fine.

Kai decided to ask when he met her again.

However, before that, he wanted to use this chance to explore the second floor for a bit, see if there were any real changes. As he stood before the border, Noxian’s voice echoed, "I would not leave if I were you."

"I’m only taking a peek," Kai slowly poked his head out of Noxian’s domain.

And the moment he did, a powerful force struck him like a physical blow.

Blood burst from Kai’s mouth, nose, and eyes as he recoiled back to safety.

"Harghk... You’re right. I shouldn’t have done that."