Though Duma had left, Yafuan sank deep into thought.
The casual indifference he had displayed while talking with Duma gradually faded from his face.
The Winged People had produced a Fourth-Rank Ability User, known as “God’s Apostle” on Ruhe Beast Island. According to legend, this rank transcended mortal limits with a lifespan that could reach a thousand years.
A thousand years.
That spanned the ti from when the Snake People lived in the City of Life, through Alcina and the City of Fire Protection era, all the way to the present.
“Fourth-Rank Ability User, God’s Apostle.”
Yafuan clenched his fist…
Having just beco an upper Witch Spirit, he had absolutely no chance of victory if he faced a God’s Apostle relying solely on his own power.
Yafuan gathered two other lower Witch Spirits from the Temple of Knowledge to discuss this matter.
Upon hearing Yafuan’s words, Echilio imdiately beca restless.
In the quiet prayer room, he first shifted his weight back and forth before straightening up to look at Yafuan.
“A Fourth-Rank Ability User?”
“A God’s Apostle?”
“This is already a power capable of destroying us, destroying the Avel City-State.”
“No matter what, we must prepare for the worst.”
“Moreover, their intentions are hostile. From what that Winged Person told you, it’s clear that the Winged Queen will never coexist peacefully with us.”
However, compared to the Winged Queen, what worried Yafuan most was Duma’s final question.
“Can a deity really descend into this world?”
What did those words an?
Was the Winged People’s god in slumber like the God of Truth and Knowledge or was it sealed or unstable?
Does He truly intend to descend into this world?
Or do His believers seek to summon Him?
Is there any connection between this and the appearance of an apostle among the Winged People?
Countless questions swirled in Yafuan’s mind with no answers.
Yafuan had reason to be concerned because although the Winged People’s territory was not imdiately nearby, it was not far either. Their actions would certainly affect the Avel City-State.
Recalling his eting with Duma, Yafuan said to Echilio and Nia:
“I heard unease and terror in her words.”
“Sothing must have happened. What are the Winged People preparing? What does their deity want to do?”
“Does this involve us? Will it affect us? Moreover, are we also part of their plans?”
Among both the Snake People and the Avel people, none understood better than Yafuan the danger of drawing too near to the sun.
Nia asked, “This is just the words of one Winged Person. Is it really worth believing?”
Yafuan replied, “I trust my eyes. She probably wasn’t lying, and I will search for evidence to prove it.”
“I’ve already sent out a squad. They should have found the extent of the Winged People’s territory by now. Next, I will send people to infiltrate their territory to gather intelligence about them.”
“But regardless, we must prepare for the worst.”
“If it’s just a Fourth-Rank Ability User, we still have our trump card.”
“At the crucial mont, I can sacrifice myself like Lord Xiuborn to summon the Door of Truth and request the deity’s help.”
“But we only have one chance at this, because only a Third-Rank Witch Spirit can truly communicate with the Door of Truth and invoke its power.”
Yafuan smiled as he spoke those harsh words.
“We have only one upper Witch Spirit—only one chance.”
It was as if his life wasn’t a life at all, just a piece that could be discarded at any ti, an offering already placed on the altar.
Nia imdiately stood up, looking at Yafuan with agitation. “No, Lord Yafuan! We won’t let such a thing happen.”
Yafuan gestured for Nia to sit down and also nodded to Echilio.
“Rember what we said when we boarded the ship leaving Ruhe Beast Island?”
“Everything is for the continuation and future of our race.”
“Lord Xiuborn could sacrifice himself for this, and countless people have sacrificed for it.”
“Why can’t I?”
Yafuan’s feelings for Xiuborn were akin to those between a father and son or between a teacher and student, even though Xiuborn had never formally taken him on as a student.
“Lord Xiuborn once said that nothing was more important than saving the Avel people.”
“He abandoned his faith for the Avel people, gave up his hatred to save them, and even died for them.”
“As long as it can improve Avel and ensure that its bloodline and civilization continue, everything is worth it.”
Yafuan waved his hand, ending this topic.
He returned to the previous subject: “Just a Fourth-Rank Ability User already has us on edge.”
He voiced his inner anxiety, “But what if a deity descends into this world?”
“With the God of Truth and Knowledge still in slumber, what can we use to resist a deity? Moreover, what would happen then?”
But those present could vaguely hear what was left unsaid.
Even if their god awakened, they were rely His servants and believers.
Would a deity really be willing to go to war with another deity for the sake of His believers?
Nia asked Yafuan: “Can we ask the great God of Truth and Knowledge? If the Lord of Radiance is a true deity, perhaps we can get answers from Him.”
“If this is another true deity, we can at least learn from the God of Truth and Knowledge who this deity really is.”
“Know whether He harbors malice or goodwill toward us.”
Echilio glanced at Nia and said sowhat helplessly, “But the God of Truth and Knowledge is still in slumber.”
Yafuan replied, “The power of the God of Truth and Knowledge has been continuously recovering. Although I haven’t yet been able to hear His divine proclamations, I can feel Him growing stronger.”
“Moreover, just from the Door of Truth alone, we can get enough answers and information.”
The Door of Truth could currently answer many inexplicable questions as if it were truly omnipotent, perhaps because it was the manifestation of knowledge or because of the contingencies left behind by Asai.
Yafuan could not fully understand this divine power.
But he could sense that the Door of Truth was growing stronger and that these ghosts, though without emotions or self-will, could judge various situations and provide accurate answers.
Of course, most answers required a price.
And these secrets about deities were not sothing Yafuan could know at present. Previously, every ti Yafuan inquired, he was refused.
But this ti was different. They had encountered another intelligent species and intersected with another deity.
Perhaps the Door of Truth would provide so answers.
The Temple of Knowledge closed its doors, and all the lights were lit.
Yafuan prostrated himself alone in the temple.
He perford the ritual to communicate with the Door of Truth, requesting the descent of the ssenger of the God of Truth and Knowledge.
“God of Truth and Knowledge!”
“Please give your believers guidance and answers to our doubts.”
“Who exactly is the Lord of Radiance, and what do the Winged People an when they say their god is descending into this world? What impact will this deity and His believers have on the Avel City-State?”
After Yafuan completed the ritual, ripples rose layer upon layer above the temple.
The colored murals on the do spread out gradually as the rich colors diffused.
A gate inscribed with the symbols of knowledge and truth suddenly opened.
In the light, an imnsely powerful ghost descended into this world, appearing before Yafuan.
This ti, it was Ghost Polik who appeared, the most powerful ghost under the God of Truth and Knowledge and His most important ssenger.
The Divine Artifact known as Polik’s Right Hand, which resided within Yafuan’s body, ca from this being.
Yafuan imdiately understood that the Door of Truth had given a very strong response this ti, seemingly because he had brought news about a deity.
Ghost Polik descended in the temple, standing beneath the deity’s statue.
He conversed with Yafuan in a chanical language devoid of emotion, speaking at a steady pace.
“The Door of Truth deems your reasoning valid and determines that the existence of the Lord of Radiance might pose a threat to the gods. The will of the Door, the will of Truth, accepts your request.”
The ancient ghost’s gaze fell heavily upon him. “Believer Yafuan, are you prepared to accept the secrets of the previous era?”
“Once you know all this, there will be no room for regret.”
As a Witch Spirit and a devoted seeker of knowledge and truth, Yafuan longed for ancient secrets and divine wisdom beyond the reach of ordinary people.
“Of course, Divine ssenger Polik. Believer Yafuan is ready, prepared to accept everything.”
Ghost Polik raised his hand, his magnificent robe billowing as a swirling force surrounded him.
Everything around them changed, revealing scenes from the past.
Yafuan believed he had experienced enough that no amount of knowledge could shake his composure, but the truth was more shocking and terrifying than he had imagined.
Yafuan saw savage ancient lands stretching from beneath his feet to the horizon.
The sky was crystal clear, yet Yafuan felt that the light from above was painfully dangerous.
This was an era without an ozone layer.
Even the sun’s rays were dangerous, carrying a “curse.”
The ground was barren, consisting of nothing but endless brownish-black earth where plants and life could not survive under the sun’s cursed light. Only the descendants of King Redlichia, the King of Wisdom, could endure it.
Yafuan stood on that vast land, looking around.
“Where is this?”
Ghost Polik replied, “This is the world from billions of years ago, what we call the previous era.”
Yafuan prostrated himself on the ground, scooping up the scorching sand.
Though he knew it was all an illusion, that everything had vanished billions of years ago, Yafuan still found this world terrifying.
“Was the previous era like this? What kind of race could survive in such a world?”
Yafuan could hardly imagine what kind of life existed in the previous era or how these ancient beings managed to survive in such a world.
Ghost Polik led him forward again.
The world spun.
As the scene shifted, Yafuan saw vast cities.
He witnessed an unimaginably great kingdom, a civilization more highly developed than the Snake People.
In that barren and desolate world, the ancient race had built what Yafuan considered miraculous kingdoms.
Finally, he saw a massive mountain with a lake as vast as the sea beside it, its shores lined with salt-like snow.
The mountain rged with the clouds, and a city carved out of the mountain rose in layers.
It was a miraculous city built over countless generations, its tall and magnificent buildings filled with an artistic beauty completely different from that of the Snake People.
To Yafuan, this looked like a city that could only exist in the Kingdom of God.
A divine city.
At the mountain’s foot were nurous subsidiary cities and settlents.
The prosperity and splendor there surpassed everything on Ruhe Beast Island.
At the highest point of the Sacred Mountain, a holy temple stood above the sea of clouds, towering in the firmant.
Ghost Polik gazed directly at the mountain peak, speaking in his chanical voice.
“This is Yinsai’s holy land, Yinsai’s capital, Yinsai’s faith.”
“Everything began here, and everything ended here.”
Though the voice carried no emotion, Yafuan felt an indescribable sense of loss and pain, for all of this had vanished into history.
People are always losing things, the past, and what is important.
But compared to this, those losses beca insignificant.
This was a race losing its entire civilization.
“Is this the city of the Most Ancient Race? Does a deity reside on this mountain?”
Yafuan looked up at the Sacred Mountain, still shocked by what he saw.
Suddenly the sky changed color.
The mont that would change the fate and era of the Trilobite Man had arrived.
Darkness enveloped the horizon as the clouds turned murky yellow.
Colored light dispersed across the sky as a terrifying humanoid figure stood at the edge of heaven, as if from another world parallel to reality and utterly incompatible with the present.
Behind that figure was a circle filled with dense, complex, terrifying runes and forbidden text.
He nearly succumbed to that evil corruption and fell into madness in an instant.
Yafuan wavered between insanity and rationality, having directly gazed upon an evil mythology of extre madness.
Only when Polik’s Right Hand rested on Yafuan’s shoulder did he calm down.
Still shaken, Yafuan asked, “What was that?”
Ghost Polik told him, “That was the Evil God known as the Little Person in the Bottle.”
All the hair on Yafuan’s body stood on end as he felt his scalp might burst open and even the pores on the back of his head stung.
His pupils contracted to their limit.
“Created… an Evil God?”
Before Ghost Polik could answer further, a trendous boom echoed.
“Whooom!”
The sound resembled a cry from hell or a massive heavy gate slamming shut.
Yafuan raised his head and saw the terrifying figure behind the Sacred Mountain move.
The colorful Light of Original Sin descended from the sky, illuminating the entire Sacred Mountain.
In an instant, the entire Sacred Mountain was enveloped in light.
The temple, the divine city, and the subsidiary settlents at the mountain’s foot all fell under the sway of that mythical life embryo.
Tens of thousands of people beca “statues” amid their wails.
Their lives froze in their final monts, with their faces and eyes still reflecting the terror and despair of death.
As the light passed, everything fell silent.
“Ah?”
Yafuan was stunned by the sight, nearly collapsing in shock.
The prosperous world had beco a wasteland of death.
The godly God-Servant City and the Sky Temple had been transford into a living hell in an instant.
His hands trembled as he recalled his own past.
He could not imagine how the Most Ancient Race must have felt facing this scene or how utterly desperate they were.
“Was this… a natural disaster?”
“Or an Evil God’s disaster?”
This instantaneous catastrophe could easily erase all of Avel, leaving not a single soul to survive.
The suffering the Avel people believed they had endured and the disasters they had faced beca trivial compared to such terrifying divine punishnt.
The despair Yafuan had experienced seed insignificant compared to these tens of thousands of statues and the countless ghosts still trapped in death.
Yafuan stiffly turned his head to look at Polik.
“This isn’t real, is it?”
“Did this really happen?”
“Why would a deity create such a monster? Why bring about such terrible disaster?”
Ghost Polik looked at Yafuan, noting his expression.
“Despairing?”
“This is rely the beginning.”
“Asai thought he had created a mythical being, another deity with mories and will identical to his own.”
“He did touch upon the secrets of truth, but he never imagined he had created an aberration, and he fell into slumber the mont the Evil God appeared.”
“The Evil God was born, and disaster descended upon this world.”
Ghost Polik watched the scene of divine punishnt, his face still impassive.
“And in this world, the Creator had grown weary of the descendants of the King of Wisdom reaching out day after day and repeating the sa foolish actions.”
“No matter how much the Creator gave, the descendants of the King of Wisdom always ended up ruining everything.”
“His grace toward the divine firstborn lineage would always be twisted by greed and desire into a curse of despair.”
“He prepared to cross ti, heading to the next era.”
Before Ghost Polik, an image appeared showing an Evil God bowing his head before a spirit. Although a deity, he displayed such humility and deference that Yafuan realized for the first ti that the spirit race held a status far beyond his imagination.
Ghost Polik continued, “The Evil God learned from the spirit that the Creator would depart. He desperately wanted to enter the Creator’s Domain and follow the Creator into the next world.”
“The Evil God wanted to destroy all wisdom bloodlines, breaking the constraints ford when Asai created him.”
The scene before Ghost Polik began shifting again, once more showing the Sacred Mountain.
Though this was an unknown number of years later.
Yafuan saw transcendent beings forming vast armies, surrounding the great mountain.
Black Wing Demons spread their dark wings as they circled the heavens.
He saw God’s Apostles summoning puppet armies, nurous Third-Rank Ability Users commanding various giant constructs.
These ancient races seed to have no limits to their power. They could manipulate various laws and summon puppets beyond imagination.
Their divine techniques were incredibly powerful and encompassed extraordinary thods.
Giant puppets, dozens or hundreds of ters tall, ford armies launching attacks on the Sacred Mountain.
Yet these transcendent armies, with their terrifying power, were rely background players in this battle, like ants engaging in foolish duels beneath titans.
Yafuan saw blood seas enveloping the entire world, with monsters taller than mountains erging from the crimson depths.
The Door of Truth stood at the horizon, emanating a light that oppressed the world.
A terrifying dark deity held a bronze book in one hand while wielding a scythe to harvest lives with the other.
They unleashed world-destroying power directly.
Yafuan finally understood what he was witnessing.
“Is this… the War of Gods?”
Ghost Polik explained, “War broke out between mythical beings.”
“In the final battle at the Sacred Mountain.”
“The Evil God beca the Lord of Death, breaking free of his forr constraints.”
“The Myth of Life gained authority over monsters, possessing immortal, world-destroying divine power.”
“Asai was a direct descendant of King Redlichia, the King of Wisdom, possessing the purest divine king bloodline and transcendent talent. He created the Evil God and ultimately ended the mythology.”
“Light and glory reached their peak at this mont, and from here began to fade.”
Ghost Polik’s gaze fixed on those beings in the mythical war: “After that battle, Asai chose to seal himself and enter reincarnation.”
“So sages crossed barriers, breaking mythological boundaries.”
“So escaped the War of Gods, heading to the next era.”
“Beyond this, I do not know if any mythical beings survived from the previous era, or if everything from before still exists in the Creator’s Domain.”
“After all, I followed Asai into the Door after the War of Gods.”
Yafuan listened to Polik’s narration while watching this soul-stirring mythical war.
He saw Vivien, the Third Generation Sage of Truth, who by this ti had attained God’s Form, identical to the image Yafuan had seen in the temple.
“The deity Suinhor worshipped.”
“The Ruler of the Blood Kingdom of the Deep Sea, the Scarlet Witch, the great Blood Progenitor, and the Queen of the Most Ancient Race.”
But Yafuan did not know the identity of the even more powerful being beside her, that world-destroying deity.
“Who is He?” Yafuan asked.
Ghost Polik replied, “Stuen.”
Polik only gave a na, and Yafuan had no idea who this being was.
Yafuan now learned that most deities of this era were descendants of King Redlichia, inheriting his bloodline.
And Asai was the direct bloodline descendant of King Redlichia, the King of Wisdom, the true heir to the divine king’s bloodline.
Yafuan raised his head.
Though he could not see it now, an ancient crown and ethereal shadow adorned the do of the Temple of Knowledge. He finally understood what the bloodline of wisdom ant, what the King of Wisdom truly was.
And the deity known as the Scarlet Witch was called a sage in the previous era.
All scenes faded, and the two returned to the Temple of Knowledge.
The lights still flickered, but Yafuan’s heart could not find calm.
Polik spoke to Yafuan one final ti.
“We follow the Creator’s footsteps, and the gods follow the Creator’s will as they descend into this era.”
“Asai has slumbered too long, and most other deities are likewise.”
“Yafuan.”
“You now know the past, know the ancient secrets.”
“Go find more information about the Lord of Radiance, determine when He will awaken.”
“Use your knowledge and wisdom to seek the answers you desire.”
Yafuan asked, “Oh ssenger of the god, what would happen if the Winged People’s deity, the Lord of Radiance, awakened early?”
Ghost Polik, representing the will of the Door of Truth, said, “Before the God of Truth and Knowledge fully awakens, our highest principle is to protect the god’s awakening and ensure the Door of Truth’s safety.”
“Believer Yafuan.”
Ghost Polik particularly emphasized the word “believer,” as if implying sothing.
With these words, Polik departed from the temple entirely in the light, returning to the inner sanctum of the Door of Truth.
The doors of the Temple of Knowledge slowly opened. Echilio and Nia, who had been anxiously waiting outside, imdiately gathered around.
Echilio just looked at Yafuan, while Nia asked impatiently.
“Lord Yafuan, did the deity provide any divine proclamation?”
Yafuan did not ntion the shocking scenes he had just witnessed or the secrets about the end of the previous era.
If the Book of Xiuborn had recorded the secrets of Creator Yinsai and the three sovereigns, the origin and beginning of the wisdom bloodline, then what Yafuan now understood was the ultimate end of all things.
“I need soone to go to the Winged People’s territory, search for information about their deity.”
“This requires a trustworthy person, a lower Witch Spirit to do it.”
Yafuan looked at Echilio and Nia, and among the suitable candidates there were only these two.
Just as Nia was about to speak, Echilio stepped forward.
“I’ll go!”
“The Winged People have appeared, but most people in the city-state don’t know yet.”
“You need to stay and discuss with King Sidi how to handle this matter. The city-state’s internal affairs can’t do without you, so it’s better if I go.”
Yafuan said, “Echilio.”
“This could be very dangerous.”
“That is the Winged People’s domain. They are very powerful, with many unknown things and powers.”
Echilio replied, “Soone has to go. If we always retreat and avoid danger because it’s dangerous, how can we move forward?”
Yafuan smiled, “I just wanted to remind you to be careful.”
—
anwhile, on the other side.
Though Yafuan had gently refused Duma, she did not feel that she had failed.
She put on a cloak to blend into the Avel City-State, bought many books, and purchased various items that were very novel to the Winged People.
What made her happiest was buying a papermaking manual from a rchant.
Though this papermaking thod only produced the cheapest and most ordinary paper, it was exactly what Duma needed. Paper that could be made without complex techniques or materials was what the Winged People needed most right now.
Sky ssenger Duma held a book to her nose and sniffed lightly.
“How fragrant!”
She didn’t say it aloud, but slling the paper’s scent gave her an indescribable sense of comfort.
She had loved this sll when she first encountered it in the Avel City-State’s library and had wanted to build a library for the Winged People back then.
Duma filled several huge wooden boxes with her purchases.
The boxes contained coiled ferns, net vines, the Snake People’s coarse weaving, many gold, silver, and copper items, and a finely crafted iron sword.
None were particularly precious, at least not compared to transcendent items.
But they were important crystallizations of civilization and external manifestations of its light.
“Co!” she commanded.
In the sky, an enormous being swooped down.
She summoned a Wing Demon obedient to her and tied the boxes to its body.
She normally didn’t bring Wing Demons on long journeys because ordinary Wing Demons couldn’t fly as fast as she could.
“Let’s return.”
The Wing Demon took to the sky with her riding on its back.
Though she did not speak, she thought to herself:
“Let’s take these things back to show everyone, to show Mother. The Snake People are really interesting and very similar to us. Everyone might be shocked when they see these things.”
Though she hadn’t persuaded Yafuan, she felt that these items might help convince her mother to change her attitude.
Sotis war and killing couldn’t solve everything. Peaceful coexistence and exchange might achieve better results.
“When those Snake People can truly feel the deity’s greatness, feel the Lord of Radiance’s rcy and majesty, they will surely be willing to believe in the Lord of Radiance.”
Duma faced the wind as she passed through the sea of clouds, thinking to herself.
“Faith is free.”
“It is the deepest choice in every person’s heart.”
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