Chapter 235: The Firmament

Chapter 235: The Firmament

The Ancient Tree walked unhurriedly across the land. He was finally on a long journey and felt excited, so he did not want to return yet. Bran hid in the tree’s canopy and once again entered the Sea of Magic, letting the Ancient Tree wander aimlessly.

Lily was above the white clouds. After her fury that day, she grew fond of the feeling of being in the firmament. The Sea of Magic that Bran saw, she also touched the edge of, but in her eyes, it was just a small, shimmering stream with flowing rainbow light. She saw a figure sitting cross-legged on the other side of the stream, staring obsessively at the water’s surface. It was her younger brother Bran; he had also come here. Lily greeted him, but her brother was completely unaware.

She wanted to step across, but the small stream was right before her eyes yet felt far away. Occasionally, her brother would reach his hand toward the water flow, and then that smooth hand would shed its skin, with delicate gray mist coiling around the exposed finger bones. This reminded her of what her brother had said—the clear and the turbid.

She imitated her brother, staring intently at the stream. The stream grew wider and deeper, slowly transforming into a boundless sea. The riverbank disappeared, and her brother was gone too; she found herself in the Sea of Magic. This startled her, and the sea—vanished in an instant. Before her eyes was still that small, shimmering stream.

She understood. Her brother was already lost in that sea, unable to free himself.

At first, her brother had to actively reach out to gather it, but later, those gray mists seemed to find their home. The thin mist above the stream in front of him rose and began to continuously surge toward him. From time to time, the mist carried one or two points of clear light, which, amidst constant bursting, also rushed toward him.

Lily stood on the riverbank, quietly watching her brother, and gradually sensed something wrong.

The riverbank! Where did the riverbank come from? She carefully looked around and realized that countless small, shimmering streams were flowing all around her, and she too was standing in a stream of light. That light was her foundation, her embankment.

She looked at her brother again. By now, that figure had become blurry, obscured by countless streams. But she still saw clearly—she saw that small, ink-black stream slowly merging into her brother’s body, slowly turning him into a part of it.

Her heart instantly tightened, and the small streams around her disappeared again. Her brother was still sitting on the riverbank, obsessively trapped there.

Perhaps sensing her anxiety and concern, Bran finally shifted his gaze from the stream’s surface and looked at her. As always, he grinned at her. In those smiling eyes, clear light swirled.

Her brother waved at her and seemed to say something. Though she could not hear, she knew it must be—I’m fine.

The siblings smiled at each other, gazing at one another, both becoming somewhat entranced.

…

The siblings’ bond remained deep, but their Believers gradually drifted apart.

In the morning light, the prayers within Yong’an City were still loud and clear, but the clothing within the penitent army was divided into two colors—black and white. The two distinct groups of people grew more solemn during prayer.

Mela was humble and devout. She hoped the Deity’s favor could also fall upon her.

Nicole was right; everything she had was bestowed by the Deity. So when someone questioned it, Divine Punishment had followed. She secretly felt grateful that she had come to her senses in time that day. Even if Nightfall was driven away by the Light, he still existed forever in the world; day and night still alternated. And she could never escape the embrace of the Night.

She did not have to believe in Nightfall, but she could not question his existence in the night.

Mela believed she needed to atone for her mistakes because she had once questioned the Deity’s arrangement. And the only thing she could do now was pray devoutly. Pray for the Deity’s punishment, pray for the Deity’s forgiveness.

She focused on the Divine Statue in her hands, focused on the light that had once appeared in the Night. Under her self-forgetting focus and devotion, the faint glow in her palm gradually became intense and brilliant.

Part of a Wizard’s power originally came from will, from recognition and belief. As long as one had seen it, as long as one deeply believed that path was correct, as long as one’s ability also happened to align with that path.

But Mela saw all this as a gift from the Deity. In her joy, the light grew more intense and dazzling, and she became more focused and devout.

That morning, the Deity turned their gaze toward Mela. Because of her devout repentance, they forgave her sins and granted her a gift.

…

At some unknown time, the Insect Swarm also joined the prayers. The Insect Swarm only worshipped their sole king—Lily. At dawn, under the command of the Insect King, bugs scattered everywhere began their grotesque rituals.

In the morning breeze, the buzzing of insect wings reached Yong’an City and also reached Rio’s ears.

Rio and his fellow Cannibals had finally escaped their predicament. In Yong’an City, they could dress themselves up to look human again. Now they wore bright armor, reclaiming a human appearance, but some things could never be recovered.

Rio prayed intently, but he could not tell if he was devout or afraid. Because whenever he saw those two images, his legs would go weak involuntarily.

He once thought his mistress only knew how to slash and hack with blades. Until that night, when the towering pillar of light rose within Yong’an City. Perhaps, his mistress simply enjoyed the feeling of blades cutting into flesh, enjoyed the wails under her blades, enjoyed the dying moans after her blades struck. Just like making him a despicable Cannibal, perhaps it was only because she liked it.

Rio would not choose sides. Neither the Light nor the Darkness had ever given him warmth or support; they only brought deep fear. Only a fool would oppose them. If he had to believe, he would believe in both. Even if they wanted his life, Rio would not resist, because that would only bring greater suffering. I only need to obey! I only want to live humbly.

The Cannibals kept to themselves because the Deity’s favor never fell upon them. No Divine Statue appeared for them, no Deity whispered to them in the night. The Deity treated them with only harshness, yet they were the most devout group.

Devout to the most primitive instinct—survival.

After the morning prayers, they would set out again to clear the other side of Yong’an City, creating a new no-man’s-land as a buffer. May the Deity protect their safe return, and they would feast on the flesh and blood of their enemies as an offering to the Deity.

…

That night, the towering pillar of light was too dazzling; countless members of the Demon Clan saw that astonishing spectacle. Then, news of Yong’an City’s fall spread, beginning to diffuse into the interior of the Demon Clan Continent.

Several elite scout teams quietly approached Yong’an City and successfully brought back a few captives. Subsequently, a shocking piece of information leaked out—a Deity had descended!

Lies!

But under torture, the captives swore earnestly that they had seen the Deity with their own eyes, witnessed the Deity’s power. The Deity was a pair of young boy and girl; they represented eternal Light and Darkness.

And it was the Light that had instantly cleansed Yong’an City!

The captives behaved differently, but on the matter of the Deity, they all spoke with one voice. In the end, even the torturers began to hesitate.

The captives were held separately, and then the watchers reported: They were all praying in the same way, praying for the Deity to forgive their wrongdoings, praying that after death they could still return to the Deity’s embrace.