Beneath the ancient palace built by King Yesael, the fountain in the plaza had long since ceased flowing, yet the statues of figures from the God-Descended Era still stood tall.
When Iva heard the Dream Sovereign's welcoming words, he knelt dumbfounded on the ground, raising his head to look at her like a child eting his mother.
The tension that had gripped Iva suddenly lted away.
A smile that looked almost foolish spread across his face.
"Lady Hila!"
"I have returned."
Iva had once been a Sun Cup, yet he ultimately failed to beco a Spirit. Instead, through a twist of fate, he beca a ferryman.
A unique ferryman.
However, like the Spirits, he too believed in the Sovereign of Dreams.
"It is a pity I am no longer a ferryman," Iva told Hila. "I cannot pilot the Divine Boat for you and carry you and God Yinsai to distant places."
"I deeply miss the days sitting before the gates of the Divine Kingdom of Creation, watching countless Life Dreams of the Trilobite n return to God's kingdom. That was a beautiful sight I will never forget."
"And I will forever rember the words you once spoke."
Hila smiled. "I just heard them."
"I did not expect you would still rember, Iva."
"Of course," Iva said earnestly. "I will never forget."
"That day, you freed
from my nightmare and granted
the most beautiful dream in the world."
"Though I did not grow in the Creator's sea of Sun Cup Flowers, but was rely a Sun Flower in the Tomb of Saints, I was still fortunate enough to et you."
"You are a Sun Cup planted by Lord Polo," Hila said, "no different from the Sun Cups in God's garden."
"It is simply that you did not fuse with the bloodline of dreams in the end, but instead fused with the bloodline of wisdom."
"Yet this too is another kind of miracle."
Iva knew of Polo, but he had been born too late to have ever t the Creator's youngest son.
Hila raised her hand, beckoning Iva to rise from the ground. She gestured for him to walk with her toward the front of the Wisdom Palace.
"Iva, you ca this ti..."
"Is it because of the Wisdom Fruit?"
Hila explained, "The Wisdom Fruit will descend upon the Master of the Divine System, but who can ultimately beco the True God of Wisdom has never been predetermined."
"There is no such thing as predestined fate."
"The gods have never arranged everything. It is precisely because of this that everything is filled with hope."
"Iva," Hila said gently, "the destiny you anticipate will only descend when you are truly prepared."
Iva looked at her with determination. "Lady Hila, I will strive for the Wisdom Fruit myself. I wish to beco the Master of the Divine System."
"I want to take my wife and my companions with
as we pursue the shadows of you and the Creator toward a more distant future."
"I am no longer the ferryman of Life Dreams, but I still wish to steer my own great vessel, hold up my ship's lantern, and lead everyone forward together."
Iva spoke like a child proudly sharing his accomplishnts with an elder, telling her of all he had achieved.
"Lady Hila," Iva said, "I am no longer the Iva who sat alone before the gates of the Divine Kingdom of Creation. Now, I have companions who journey with ."
"Once, the aning of my existence was ferrying. Now, I have found a new aning for my existence."
"This is my anchor, fixed in this world. It is my mooring in the river of ti."
"I ca here only to see you and God Yinsai."
Hila looked at Iva with a sense of gratification. "You may not be the cleverest, but I know you are certainly the most resolute. You have the strength to guard your mission across eras and will surely reach an even more distant future."
"Even without the mission I gave you, you can still find your own direction."
"You have found the aning of your own existence. I am very happy for you."
Hila turned, and Iva imdiately followed.
He understood that Hila was guiding him to et the Creator, Yinsai.
Yinsai rarely t with outsiders. Unless fate and opportunity coincided, the great Creator would not summon soone on His own initiative.
This was Hila's grace.
She hoped Iva would understand God Yinsai's true aning so he would not walk the wrong path in the future.
This did not an that God Yinsai actively interfered with and controlled fate. Rather, even when He did nothing, the world automatically pursued His will.
Hila's figure was tall and slender.
Her steps were unhurried, yet she moved swiftly.
Iva lowered his head and followed behind her. They passed through the ancient palace until they finally arrived before the garden of the Wisdom Palace.
Iva looked into the distance.
Beneath the moonlight spread a sea of crimson flowers.
Looking further still, he could see the sea of clouds and stars, making the flowers seem to bloom upon the clouds and stars themselves.
Within the crimson flower sea stood a garden enclosed by a glass do that resembled a birdcage.
A little girl stood on a swing inside the birdcage-like garden, swaying back and forth.
The brilliant Blood Mist Cups were not as beautiful as they appeared. They were flowers blood by the Life Ability, a floral sea capable of devouring all life.
Yet before that little girl, they were rely ordinary flowers.
Even more remarkably, wherever the swing swayed, the blossoms of the Blood Mist Cups swayed along with it.
The mont God Iva saw her, the sound of apocalyptic conch horns echoed in his ears. The shadow of a world-destroying demon god enveloped heaven and earth, circling around a God's Moon.
He knew that within that seemingly small fra resided the most terrifying demon god in the world.
The seven great gods that composed Ruhe Beast Island, such terrifying existences, were rely her pets and servants, utterly insignificant in comparison.
At the far end of the flower sea stood another figure.
Yin Shen stood there gazing at what the second-generation King of Wisdom, Yesael, had left behind.
Dressed in white robes, he presented a feeling completely different from the brilliant crimson.
The joyous red of life and the extre white of eternal transcendence.
"Life Sovereign!"
"God Yinsai!"
Before Iva could say anything more, God Yinsai's voice drifted from deep within the flower sea, carried on the wind with the swaying of flowers.
"Iva."
Most of Iva's mythical power ca from the Creator's gift, a reward for his service as a ferryman in the previous era.
"To possess wisdom is to possess desire."
"Your na ans desire."
"Desire is not a derogatory term. It is through desire that people can truly feel alive."
"It seems you now feel alive and have found the aning of your existence."
When Iva had first left the Divine Kingdom of Creation, he was rely a blank Cup of Desire. He had departed in bewildernt to seek his own future.
He had not fully understood the aning of the na Iva, knowing only that it was the na the Creator Yinsai had given him.
At this very mont, he finally grasped the profound significance of the na God Yinsai had bestowed upon him.
The god's figure was far away at the other end of the garden. His voice was calm, yet it penetrated deep into the heart, like moonlight in the night.
"The Wisdom Fruit is the path to enter the Source of Wisdom, the path for intelligent life to transcend this world. Yet where this path ultimately leads will be decided by you yourselves."
"The Master of the Divine System does not divide the Authority of Wisdom. Instead, the master is a vessel for weathering storms together, a ship for jointly exploring the future."
"To find your true companions and traverse the river of ti together is the true aning of the divine system's existence."
Iva finally understood the will of the supre deity.
The Wisdom Fruit was the Creator's grace upon the mortal world. It was not rely a gateway to higher realms but a door to the future and hope, an opportunity given to everyone.
The Master of the Divine System was not just the leader of a divine system. Each master of a Mortal Divine System sought companions who would stand by their side.
They would construct their vessels, gather those who would face challenges together, and carry their kingdoms forward.
All while searching for the ultimate answer.
When they found the answer, it might already be the end of the era.
But this ti, they would not miss the opportunity the Creator had given them, as they had in the previous era.
This ti, they would firmly grasp the future and journey to the shore they wished to reach.
Iva knelt devoutly on the ground and spoke to the supre Creator.
"I understand!"
He prayed with pure devotion, as if he were a true believer.
No, in this mont, he was one.
"May all life, all beautiful dreams, encircle and accompany the eternal God Yinsai."
"In this era, we will find our answer and co to Your side together."
After speaking these words, Iva's form gradually dissipated.
He transford into a Cup of Desire and fell to the ground.
Hila stepped forward and picked up the silver Flower of Desire in her hand.
She walked deep into the flower sea, arriving before the birdcage glass garden.
This was the garden where Sun Cups had been planted in the previous era. All the Blood Mist Cups here now originated from this place, growing from beneath the glass do and spreading to their current extent.
Hila asked God Yinsai a question.
"God, will this era also end?"
God Yinsai answered calmly, "Everything will co to an end, Hila."
"Ti does not stand still. It always moves forward."
Hila sighed. She did not like endings.
God Yinsai continued, "But endings are not vanishings. They are new beginnings."
"Still water will only grow stale. When it moves and converges, it becos a river flowing toward the horizon."
"The important part is the answer they discover, the way they choose to conclude, and the kind of beginning they decide to create."
Thunderlake Kingdom, Thunder City
Oran rested tonight in the prayer hall of the God of Alchemy and Desire. The modest prayer hall, served by only a few divine attendants, had just a few rooms in the back, and they had vacated one for him.
After Oran finished his prayer and communion with the divine being, he could not fall asleep for a long ti.
He tossed and turned, rising from his bed again and again.
Oran repeatedly ca to the window, looking into the distance at the deepest part of Thunder Marsh, at those white mountains piled with clouds and mist.
His god had gone there to et with the supre deities who created everything, to have an audience with the legendary Creator.
"Has God Iva t the Creator?"
"What did the Creator say to Him?"
"Is it about the future, about the secrets of this world, is it about the fate of everyone in this world?"
Oran felt that at this very mont, sothing beyond mortal imagination must be happening in the depths of that marsh.
He believed that every word spoken by each deity there carried the power to shape the entire world.
Perhaps even to decide the beginning and end of eras.
In his mind's eye, he envisioned events unfolding that could alter the fate of everyone and reshape the world itself.
In this anxious state, he finally fell asleep amid his restless tossing and turning.
As dawn broke, phantoms of silver flower cups began to bloom one after another in the prayer hall. The idol in the temple radiated a soft, luminous light.
Oran slled the fragrance of flowers and heard the whispers of the Cups of Desire, speaking his innermost thoughts.
"He is very worried."
"And very confused."
"He walks upon the path yet does not know why."
"He seeks the future yet does not know what the future holds."
Oran rose. He was still in the prayer hall.
Only now, silver Cups of Desire blood beneath his feet.
He pushed open the door and followed the guidance of the Cups of Desire into the great hall.
"Oran."
It was the voice of the God of Desire and Alchemy, Iva.
Oran raised his head and saw God Iva's idol emanating light.
"God Iva!"
God Iva gazed at Oran and shared the Creator's guidance.
"The Creator has opened the path to the Source of Wisdom, the path for intelligent life to transcend this world. Yet where this path ultimately leads will be decided by us."
"The Master of the Divine System does not divide the Authority of Wisdom. The master is a vessel for weathering storms together, a ship for jointly exploring the future."
"These are the words the Creator spoke to ."
Oran was sowhat excited. God Iva had indeed t the Creator.
"This era has already begun," God Iva told Oran, "but we do not know where it will ultimately lead."
"This is not predetermined by any one person, because the great Creator lets us choose the answer we desire, the shore we wish to reach."
"I have already chosen my path. I will build a Mortal Divine System, carrying everyone together toward the future."
"But the people on this vessel also have different thoughts and different choices."
"We will fulfill different missions, jointly building this great vessel and creating a kingdom that belongs to us."
God Iva had accepted the Creator's divine oracle and had seen clearly the path that lay ahead.
"The Authority I wield is that of desire, and desire has countless branches."
"Oran, which path do you wish to choose? What kind of destination do you wish to reach?"
God Iva asked him.
"Companion who boards my great vessel, have you found the path that belongs to you?"
Oran repeated the question, "The answer I seek?"
"Of course, my apostle," God Iva replied.
"Otherwise, why would you board my vessel?"
Oran did not speak for a long ti. Finally, he answered in a very small voice.
"I seem to know, yet I do not know."
Oran recalled the image of Old Tut standing in his workshop, shouting to everyone that they must rebuild the Tower of Heaven.
He thought of his teacher, of the mysteries that generations of the Tower Spirit School had pursued.
"I do not know if it is what I truly desire, or what others have made
desire."
"I do not know if I can achieve it, nor do I know if it will be what I want when I do."
Having made mistakes in the past, Oran and the Tower Spirit School always tended to hesitate and hold back.
God Iva looked at Oran and saw a reflection of his forr self.
"You already know. You are rely confused."
"Then set forth!"
"On the road, your confusion will dissipate, and you will see the future you truly desire."
The god's voice gradually faded.
Oran awoke with a start, moving so suddenly that he tumbled from the bed.
Looking out the window, he saw the day had already brightened.
The divine attendant heard the sound from inside the room and knocked on the door.
"My lord, are you alright?"
"I am fine," Oran answered. "I was just having a dream."
The divine attendant thought nothing of it. It was perfectly normal for people to have dreams.
He did not know that the man before him was an apostle.
When an apostle dreams, it often holds a deeper aning.
"I hope it was a pleasant dream. I need to attend to so matters outside, so I will leave the prayer hall shortly. My lord, please let
know if you need anything."
"No, thank you," Oran said. "You have already troubled yourselves enough for ."
Oran rose and donned his outer robe over his white inner garnt.
Opening the door, he stepped into the morning sun.
He continued pondering everything the god had said to him in the dream, especially one phrase.
"The Creator has opened the path to the Source of Wisdom, the path for intelligent life to transcend this world. Yet where this path ultimately leads will be decided by us."
"The Master of the Divine System does not divide the Authority of Wisdom. The master is a vessel for weathering storms together, a ship for jointly exploring the future."
The more he contemplated it, the more he could feel its great wisdom.
It was a wisdom transcending civilization and all things, gazing down upon the changes in the mortal world with detachnt.
A great figure who gave mortals choices yet subtly guided civilization forward.
"Saint Raphael," Oran murmured softly. "I finally understand the greatness you once spoke of."
Oran walked out of the prayer hall, gathered his belongings, and summoned a flying carpet on the rooftop.
He was preparing to set forth once more.
From the streets below ca a dense clamor.
Unlike the sounds that had welcod the idol of the Sky Beast God, this noise was filled with angry argunts. Among them, one particularly loud voice was unmistakably that of the prayer hall's divine attendant.
Oran walked out of the prayer hall, "What is happening?"
The Thunderlake Kingdom had recently celebrated the arrival of the idol of the Sky Beast God. With the god's response, the Temple of Life gained significant prestige and influence.
The king himself visited the temple to honor the idol of the great god. He spent the entire night in prayer, seeking the god's protection and attempting to understand the divine will.
The Temple of Life displayed the idol of the Life Sovereign, with an anthropomorphic representation of the Sky Beast God placed beneath it, a form entirely imagined by mortals.
The divine attendants of the Temple of Life, servants of the Sky Beast God, stood in a solemn row within the temple, observing as the king respectfully completed his prayers.
The temple's Chief Divine Servant approached the king and addressed him with reverence.
"Your Majesty," he said, "once we find the right person, we will be able to welco our witch."
"Then we will truly possess the power and protection bestowed by the god and will fear no enemies."
An expression of anticipation appeared on the face of the king of Thunderlake Kingdom.
"Mortal servant of the Sky Beast God, what does the great god require of ?"
Soon, announcents proclaiming the king's command were posted across the kingdom's cities and towns.
The temple would search far and wide to find a suitable maiden, one to be sent to the kingdom of the god, deep within Thunder Marsh, to the fabled lost City in the Sky.
This maiden would be called the witch chosen by the Sky Beast God.
"The witch chosen by the god."
"What a supre honor that must be."
"Sent to the depths of Thunder Marsh? How could anyone survive there?"
"This isn't just anyone. It is a witch."
"How will they choose? There are no details. Couldn't this lead to trouble?"
Beneath the announcent, one person read its contents aloud while many others discussed it among themselves.
The divine attendant from the prayer hall of the God of Desire and Alchemy ca out and happened to see the notice.
After reading it, his expression shifted abruptly.
"This is absurd!"
"They call this a witch chosen by the god?"
"This is nothing more than an innocent sacrifice!"
The divine attendant stepped forward, refuting the claim vehently.
"Moreover, when they pre-select this so-called witch, the nobles and wealthy gentry will certainly manipulate things behind the scenes. This would not be the first ti."
"Who knows how many people will suffer? Is this what a divine being wishes to see?"
"No, this has nothing to do with the divine being. This is rely mortals committing cris in a god's na!"
The divine attendant's words imdiately drew rebuttals, and he quickly beca the target of countless followers of the Sky Beast God.
"What are you trying to say?"
"Are you accusing us of sothing? Speak clearly!"
"This man is a heretic! A descendant of Sermos, the Mother of All Snakes, yet he dares to believe in other gods."
"Yes, he is trying to deceive us with his lies. Do not listen to him!"
The followers of the Sky Beast God, stirred up by agitators, grew indignant.
From further away, divine attendants from the Temple of Life heard the commotion and rushed over.
Just then, an old divine attendant stepped forward to intervene, pulling the young man away from the escalating situation.
The young attendant was imdiately pulled back to the prayer hall by the old one.
Inside the prayer hall, the old divine attendant addressed the young man with a stern tone. "That is the king's command, and it is also said to be the will of another divine being."
The young divine attendant responded with frustration, "How can this be the will of a divine being? This is nothing more than—"
The old divine attendant cut him off sharply. "It is not for us to question whether it is true or false."
"We are followers of God Iva. It is not our place to openly oppose the Temple of Life, much less to defy the king's command without cause."
"Do you understand?"
The young divine attendant opened his mouth to say sothing, but in the end, he could only close it again, remaining silent.
Seeing the young man submit, the old divine attendant finally turned to leave.
As he left, he added, "You need to calm down. So things are beyond your power to change."
Oran, however, stepped forward from behind, approaching the young divine attendant who seed lost in thought.
"Is this the hope you spoke of?" he asked. "Sacrificing an innocent person, or a group of them, in exchange for hope?"
"Using false claims of divine will to deceive everyone, just to maintain the power of the crown and the temple?"
Oran continued, "A country can be built on lies, but it cannot move toward the future on them."
"If you want to preserve the status quo, to remain forever in ignorance and unable to receive true divine guidance, then perhaps you are right."
"But if you want to move toward the future, you must embrace change."
The divine attendant recalled how he had tried to speak for others, only to be surrounded and condemned by everyone.
"My lord, you may be right," he said.
"The people of this country live in ignorance."
"Ignorance is a sin, one that mortals seem unable to overco."
"Even the gods cannot free us from it. We must find the strength to free ourselves."
Oran asked him, "What do you wish to do?"
The divine attendant was despondent. "I cannot change this. I am rely an ordinary divine attendant, unable to oppose the king and this country."
"Besides, even if I save one person, I cannot redeem the sin of ignorance."
The divine attendant paused, then suddenly brought up the White Tower Alchemy Alliance.
"I have heard that in the White Tower Alchemy Alliance, there are many alchemy academies, and beneath the academies are craftsman schools."
"I have heard it is extrely wealthy there, with vast numbers of alchemy workshops producing countless items. Powerful alchemists possess technology beyond the age, and every day brings new things and knowledge."
"I have heard that literate people are everywhere, that everyone is courteous and knowledgeable."
"How wonderful that must be."
The divine attendant suddenly rembered sothing and turned to look at Oran.
"My lord, you ca from the White Tower Alchemy Alliance, did you not?"
Oran smiled. "It is not as exaggerated as you describe, but it is indeed much better than here in Thunderlake Kingdom. You should go see for yourself. Hearing about it from others, no matter how much, is not as real as seeing it with your own eyes."
The divine attendant seed to firm his resolve. "I had already prepared myself. I was planning to save enough money and go study at the White Tower Alchemy Academy after so ti."
"I wanted to learn the knowledge there, beco an excellent alchemist, and then remain."
Oran asked with interest, "And now?"
The divine attendant answered, "I still wish to go to the White Tower Alchemy Academy, but after I complete my studies, I want to return."
"I want to establish an alchemy academy here and teach everyone the knowledge I have learned."
"I want to make this place wealthy as well, to make the people here wise."
As the divine attendant spoke, his eyes brightened.
In his own words, he seed to find his life's path and understand what he should do.
"We are insignificant, yet we yearn to beco strong."
"We are ignorant, yet we yearn for knowledge and light."
The divine attendant rose, and his tone shifted.
"Many people in this country cannot eat their fill, and many live in ignorance. This is indeed unfortunate."
"After all, we are a country established just over a hundred years ago. Our foundation is too poor."
"But we cannot remain this way forever, can we?"
"One day, we will walk from ignorance toward civilization, from insignificance toward significance."
Oran looked at the divine attendant and saw a light shining in his eyes.
He had seen this kind of light before. Saint Raphael, who yearned to beco a Storage Spirit, and Old Tut, who wanted to rebuild the Tower of Heaven, both had that sa light in their eyes.
Oran asked the divine attendant, "What is your na?"
The young man imdiately answered respectfully, "My lord, my na is Gal."
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