Chapter 239: The Town Where Memories Are Forbidden (End)

Chapter 239: The Town Where Memories Are Forbidden (End)

The crimson divine blood corroded the earth as Yi Fengchu snapped the serpent’s neck, watching its gilded snake eyes narrow to thin slits.

Even in death, these eyes remained fixed on Yi Fengchu, their depths still shrouded in unextinguished savagery.

Yi Fengchu had slain countless foes to climb the steps of his ascent, eventually reaching the throne of divinity; he was accustomed to killing his enemies.

But what would it feel like to kill oneself?

In fact...

It felt not so different, perhaps even unexpectedly good.

The only difference, perhaps, was that the blood staining his hands retained the same warmth as his own; the gradually weakening heartbeat resonated with the pulsations of his own chest; and certain indelible shadows in his mind were extinguished, freeing him from superfluous thoughts and allowing Yi Fengchu to focus more intently on the present.

Every detail sharply reminded Yi Fengchu:

A former self had died,

but a new self emerged from the wreckage.

This allowed Yi Fengchu to move forward more lightly, stepping into tomorrow.

As if he had killed his hidden fears, burdens, and hatreds—using this act to warn himself never to become such a beastly existence.

From an outsider’s perspective, after slaying the serpent, the giant seemed to gaze silently at his palm for a long while before lifting the lantern and casting the serpent’s body into the dusk-colored flames.

The fire within the lantern leapt vigorously, evoking the image of a vibrant heart.

"The high-tier artifact of the [Life] domain..." Tivensa murmured to herself.

She noticed that the ground closer to the lantern was covered with a layer of lush weeds, and the belfry where the lantern once rested had sprouted new green vines from within its stonework. This indicated that the lantern's power must be of a very high rank—certainly S-level, or perhaps even higher...

An artifact of this caliber could easily serve as the sacred relic of a branch of the Church of Deities, yet in the hands of the Giant, it was merely an ordinary lamp.

Tivensa cast a few more covetous glances, struggling to understand what the Giant intended to do.

Surely He wasn't planning to resurrect the serpent just to kill it again?

The outline of the serpent melted within the "Crucible of Rebirth," and in the blinding light, the people on the ground squinted, only able to see the massive shadow cast by the serpent deep within the flames.

The shadow of the serpent gradually collapsed, eventually shrinking into a tiny black dot. If Tivensa hadn't been closely watching the scene inside the lantern, she might have overlooked the minuscule black point.

The flames swirled around the black dot, then suddenly parted as if making way for some presence.

Tivensa was stunned.

She faintly heard...

The cry of a newborn.

The crying lasted only a few moments before falling silent, as if merely announcing the birth of the infant.

As the flames gradually dimmed, the Giant placed His palm steadily before the lantern, allowing the tiny black dot to fall from the depths of the flame into His palm.

Tivensa's mouth opened slightly in shock, gradually realizing that she had witnessed a moment worthy of being recorded in the annals of mysticism and mythology—

This special newborn, bathed in the blood of the serpent, emerged from the circle of corpses and flames, stepping onto the palm of His father god, and came into the world.

The infant grew rapidly.

Though He was as insignificant as a speck of dust before the giant, the giant still gazed at Him for a long time with patience, seemingly no different from any ordinary parent in the world, equally eager for their child to grow up healthy and strong.

... Of course, this was just the onlooker's imagination.

To Yi Fengchu, he was merely using the newborn furnace to forge a body of appropriate size for himself, one that would be convenient for moving around in the Shadow Realm, so he wouldn't have to constantly restrain himself from crushing Sombera's houses while maintaining his giant form.

The newly forged body was no different from Yi Fengchu himself.

Once the body was fully grown, he projected his avatar into it and endowed it with the "Cloak of Deception," symbolizing the authority over the domain of curses, preparing for the subsequent transaction with the Goddess of Misfortune.

After doing all this, Yi Fengchu's gaze casually swept over Laina and Timantha, unexpectedly noticing Laina's reddened eyes.

What was troubling the believer?

Yi Fengchu recalled uncertainly; had his Cardinal always been this emotional?

Could it be because of him, Laina had become so attached that she couldn't bear to see any serpentine creature die?

Yi Fengchu thought for a moment and extended his hand toward the ground.

The giant's palm was like a massive dark cloud, heavily approaching the earth, bringing an almost suffocating pressure—should His palm press down, the houses would collapse into the ground, and human bodies would be crushed and mixed with bricks and rubble.

But in the end, His palm merely hovered in the air, stopping about a meter above Laina's head, His voice gentle:

"Do not cry."

"You have done very well all along."

Yifeng thought candidly that Lena had always been a competent and outstanding bishop, deserving encouragement and praise.

He glanced at Lena’s disheveled appearance and helped her revert to her state before she was severely injured.

Lena’s heavy breathing suddenly eased, her soul feeling as if it were immersed in warm, soothing water, all pain washed away.

However, Lena, who had received comfort and grace, felt even more complex emotions.

She sniffed, closed her red eyes, clasped her hands together, and pressed her forehead devoutly against her fingertips, her voice hoarse: "...Praise the Lord."

The giant figure nodded. Although no one could see His face through the mist, they could imagine His gentle smile and kind gaze.

A breeze blew, and the giant figure gradually dissipated into a misty vapor, sinking back into the reflection of the town on the ground, vanishing from sight.

"...How strange," Tivensa murmured softly.

It was the first time she had seen a deity so patient and gentle with their believers.

In her childhood, listening to fairy tales and myths her mother read before bedtime, she would innocently imagine what deities looked like—certainly pure, gentle, and loving—but after entering the Playground of the Gods, Tivensa knew that real gods were vastly different from her imagination.

They should be indifferent, uncaring, even cold and cruel... Their existence itself was "fear."

Yet, the actions and words of the giant subverted Tivensa’s impression.

She had heard of this deity’s battle achievements, but she never knew He had such a tender side...

More accurately, He possessed both gentleness and cruelty. He could caress the heads of His believers like a damp breeze, and also firmly grasp the neck of a snake, perhaps even a manifestation of Himself or His offspring—specifically which one, only Lena could say.

Tivensa thought carefully and felt that He had a sense of ruthless determination once He set a goal, a steel-like quality not everyone possesses, making Him uniquely attractive.

... Oh, Lena is such an annoying person in every way, but her taste in choosing faith seems to be quite good.

Better than those mad believers who worship the Death God or the Lord of Calamity, sacrificing themselves and extinguishing their souls.

Tymasha tilted her head back, watching the giant disappear into the rising mist.

But the lantern did not leave with it; it hung like a fallen sun, crackling and sparking as it plummeted toward the ground at breakneck speed.

The closer it got to the ground, the smaller the lantern became, finally shrinking to the size of an ordinary flame—caught steadily in a hand.

Following the light, Tymasha saw a young man with black hair and black eyes, clad in a white robe. He was handsome, but his expression was cold, lacking the usual vivacity of youth.

As Tymasha looked at him, he turned his dark eyes to meet hers, but his gaze merely swept over her indifferently before moving on, seemingly uninterested in Tymasha.

—That child born from the furnace, who grew rapidly in the palm of a god.

The lantern in his hand emitted a soft glow, softening the young man's aloof expression. The pristine white robe was half-dyed orange by the flame, its hem gently fluttering in the breeze.

Her eyes fixed on the white robe, Tymasha involuntarily took two steps back, rubbing her arms.

She recognized that this seemingly harmless and soft garment was far more terrifying than the lantern that could shape life!

It’s SS-grade? No, it doesn’t seem like it either...

Staring at the Garment of Deception for a few seconds, Tymasha heard a multitude of whispers in her mind, as if many voices were speaking inside her head. The overlapping whispers carried a malevolent intent of death, capable of turning the darkest thoughts in one’s heart into reality...

This pure, verbal malice gnawed at Tymasha’s brain, plunging her into an abnormal daze.

Just then, a pair of deep, calm eyes opened in the depths of her mind, and the whispers receded like a tide, abruptly restoring Tymasha’s sanity.

Tymasha immediately averted her gaze, not daring to look at the robe again, and with downcast eyes, she said to the young man, "Thank you for your rescue..."

Just a few seconds of staring, and she had already been tainted and seduced by the high-level power.

This level of contamination ability made Tymasha speculate that it might involve the domain of true deities.

The robe itself seemed to embody some kind of rule, something that no material could weave, but rather a manifestation of a specific law or concept.

To treat it as just a simple piece of clothing was far too extravagant...

Tymasha inwardly marveled:

Giving a child a lamp that is at least S-grade as an ordinary lighting tool, and then draping them in a coat that might even involve dominion... It's as if a deity wanted to heap all the treasures within sight onto the child.

Don't be so indulgent!

At this moment, Tymasha caught a glimpse of a short shadow darting over and stopping before the young man.

"Your Highness, the Divine Son!" Leina looked up, her expression somewhat excited, "You're unharmed... That's such a relief."

Yifengchu: Huh?

Wasn't he always fine?

"Um... thank you?"

Yifengchu cautiously responded, treating this as a special way of greeting from Leina.

Leina seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and asked softly, "Did you descend into the Shadow Realm with the Lord's will? Is there anything I can do to assist?"

"Continue forward, through the remaining towns, to reach the endpoint foretold in His oracle."

Yi Fengchu gazed into the distance. When he was a giant, he had already taken in the entire structure of the Lost Kingdom—Sombera resembled a colossal music box toy, with each town acting as an intricate lock. Only by successfully passing through all the towns would the central imperial capital rise from the shadows and reveal itself.

Setting the towns as levels in a game, one wonders if this is a whimsical twist by the Goddess of Misfortune.

Yi Fengchu said, "Some believers in fate have already begun entering Sombera from different directions... It won't be long before the path to the endpoint is truly laid out."

He sensed that the long-lost dominion of "Time" awaited him in the imperial capital.