Chapter 240: The Shift of Divine Power

Chapter 240: The Transition of Divine Power

For some reason, despite Yi Fengchu's cold demeanor and lack of overt hostility, appearing much like any young scholar in a civilized society, Timansa always felt an inexplicable fear towards him.

This fear did not stem from his unique birth process but rather from certain vibes emanating from beneath his fine human skin, akin to the iron-tainted wind on a battlefield...

Timansa couldn't quite put it into words—

She was simply afraid of this seemingly amiable young divine son, perhaps even more so than his father!

Only when Yi Fengchu walked away alone with his lamp, the warm, dusk-like light fading into the distance, did Timansa let out a slight sigh of relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from her shoulders, allowing her to once again display her carefree smile.

"Even the divine son has come in person," Timansa sighed, "What great event is your Fate Church brewing that shakes the mystical world?"

Lena snorted lightly, "My Lord's will, of course, is paramount, and naturally worthy of all our brethren's utmost effort!"

Unlike Timansa, however, Lena did not view Yi Fengchu's appearance as evidence of the deity's emphasis on the Shadow Realm operation.

Recalling their last experience in the snowy mountain instance, Lena also noticed the playful side hidden beneath Yi Fengchu's calm exterior—perhaps the divine son's presence here was merely out of curiosity.

A divine being less than a century old, brimming with curiosity and a zest for play, was entirely normal.

Fortunately, his father god seemed to indulge all his choices.

Even as the young child eagerly embarked on a rugged and naive path, the eyes of the deity had already pierced through the mists of time, seeing every ripple in the river of fate, yet He never intervened, only witnessing, watching him navigate through joy, sorrow, smoothness, and hardship, heading toward the direction his heart desired.

If fate were compared to a vast, boundless river, and all beings to boats—then His only son would likely be the most unique and lively little boat in His eyes.

He quietly observed the trajectory of the ripples, bidding farewell to the small boat as it merrily traversed the water, coming closer and farther, looking left and right, its wake creating a series of lively ripples.

Lena thought that perhaps not every path the Divine Child took was necessarily correct; but even if he took many detours, wrong turns, and unnecessary winding roads, it didn’t matter.

Experiencing the fragrance of flowers and tasting the bitterness of tears, it didn’t matter either.

—After all, isn’t life just like that?

Lena speculated that the Lord allowing His offspring to grow up in the human world must have wanted him to have a complete life.

No matter what, the Lord would always watch over him, protect him, and bless him.

“Eh—”

Tivensha exclaimed in horror, “What’s gotten into you? Why do you suddenly look so benevolent?”

“You’re acting like an old grandma who’s barely over five feet tall…”

“Get lost!” Lena, unable to bear it any longer, reached for her scissors.

Before she could be targeted by the silver scissors, Tivensha, with a mischievous grin, swiftly moved beside Lena.

Just as Lena suspected she was about to pull some prank, Tivensha unexpectedly said:

“Go out of town.”

As she spoke, Tivensha casually shoved her crumpled travel pass into Lena’s hand.

Lena’s eyes widened in shock as she scrutinized Tivensha suspiciously, beginning to wonder if she had been possessed by an unknown ghost from the town.

“What are you looking at me like that for?” Tivensha rolled up her sleeve, showing Lena her already translucent limbs, “See for yourself. I’m almost gone.”

"I wish to hide in some corner of the Shadow Realm, undetected by time—this place, after the divine descent and under His awe, will be one of the safest places in the Shadow Realm for at least the next century, making it an ideal spot for me to hide."

Lena fell silent for a moment.

Though Lena always talked about killing Tivansha, when she truly saw the premonition of her end, she could not feel genuine joy.

She even found herself uncontrollably recalling the not-so-brief friendship they had before their enmity began.

She knew Tivansha felt the same way.

Tivansha slowly turned around and urged, "Hurry up, you believers must traverse all towns to open every lock for the divine prophecy, just like the heroes who cut through thorns in the myths... You still have something important to do, don't you?"

"…Thank you."

Lena lowered her head, stacking the two tickets together, the number of seals far exceeding seven.

She paused, then couldn't help but ask, "Don't you think staying in this hellhole is no different from being exiled?"

Tivansha stopped walking, turned her head, and smiled mysteriously, "Well, you don't have to be so pessimistic. Before, I did indeed stay here with a mindset almost akin to waiting for death; but now…"

"My intuition tells me that a turning point is coming."

In Tivansha's mind, the image of those silent, pitch-black eyes reappeared, eyes that instantly silenced all whispers.

She suddenly felt that she might not face an exiled fate after all.

If the power over 'time' were to be controlled by Yifengchu and the deity behind him, then perhaps the exile dilemma faced by all ability users in this domain for millennia could be rewritten…

She never believed in religion—

But at this moment, Timasha devoutly wished for that moment to arrive.

After speaking, Timasha ignored Lena’s mutterings about “you’re not a deity of fate, why talk about intuition,” and her figure, agile like a sleek black cat, vanished into the shadows of the town’s ruins.

...

Through the bond of faith, Yifengchu could sense the movements of all the believers of Fate within Sombera.

He walked forward steadily, the light swaying with each step, and in the interplay of light and shadow, scenes of the present unfolded.

Yifengchu saw Lena holding a travel pass, making a wish to leave the town.

Since the roads between towns were randomly changing and discontinuous, the next town Lena stepped into was the "Seventh City · Eternal Night City," where eternal darkness reigned, and nightmares roamed as various monsters.

Yifengchu saw Jason leading the Ascetic Order, working together with well-trained coordination, having passed through three more towns in just a few days.

At this moment, the ascetics were resting on the spot, while those who had undergone Spore Evolution carefully tended to their comrades' wounds. Jason, sensing the secret gaze of a higher being, suddenly lifted his emerald eyes, looking around nervously and hopefully, only to let them fall in disappointment when he found nothing.

Yifengchu also saw some less familiar faces, all of whom had once prayed to him and received his response.

Most were Ability users of the Fate domain, frowning and cautiously tossing silver coins to divine good or ill fortune, while a smaller number had Abilities from other domains—perhaps they too had felt fear, but thinking of the blessings and protection they had once received from the divine, they did not take a single step back, only reciting passages from the holy scriptures softly.

... These were all his believers.

Whom he protected;

Who supported him;

And who sustained him on his journey.

Yi Fengchu walked forward, the flickering light in his hand caressing the ground and sweeping over the ruins that stood around him. It wove the experiences of the believers into murals and totems, reflected in his deep black eyes.

His luck was good; as soon as he left the Fairy Tale City, he arrived at the nearest city to the imperial capital, "First City · Fire of Daylight."

Compared to the Fairy Tale City, where most buildings were well-preserved, this place was desolate, with almost no signs of life surviving. The ground was covered in endless yellow sand, and scorching winds blew in his face, leaving marks of intense burning everywhere.

Yi Fengchu estimated that the local temperature was probably over a hundred degrees Celsius—

Judging from the state of the roads and houses being shattered, during the peak temperatures, the wind might have been filled with flames, capable of directly burning and vaporizing human bodies in such an environment.

Anyone who reached here other than Yi Fengchu might have been scorched to death the moment they entered the town.

"Whose divine creature left these traces?" Yi Fengchu asked his phone casually.

【It's likely the 'Flamefire' of the Dull Sun, which exists in the form of invisible high-temperature gas. If They descend to the ground, everything in Their path will be burned and vaporized.】

The phone paused: "But what's strange is... They generally cannot descend to planets inhabited by intelligent civilizations because They feed on heat, and stars undergoing nuclear fusion are more suitable for Their existence."

Yi Fengchu understood the unspoken meaning:

The arrival of Flamefire in this human town seemed to be the result of some mysterious force guiding Them.

No, it wasn't just the First City—actually, all the towns that suffered disasters were like this.

Yi Fengchu's first thought was of the owner of the Shadow Realm, the goddess of misfortune, who had sunk Sombera into the Shadow Realm to "collect" it.

But after some consideration, since he was still on their territory, making unfounded speculations about his partner seemed impolite, so he remained silent.

To others, the unbearable heat was merely like the wind rolling over Yi Fengchu's skin, unable to leave any scars.

So he walked quickly, and before long, he reached the edge of the town.

There stood a tall city gate, burnt down to just the frame, and the corpse of a knight guarding the gate.

The knight was over three meters tall; when he huddled beside the gate, he resembled a small hill. He wore white armor pitted with burn marks, and beneath it, only half of his charred skeleton remained, the other half presumably vaporized by the intense heat. Beside him, a heavy sword was embedded diagonally in the ground.

Perhaps due to the passage of time, the blade seemed to have been crudely reforged by the high temperature, its edges fused with the hard earth.

As Yi Fengchu approached, the knight slowly turned his head and clumsily extended his finger, tracing out words in the sand:

"Are you from another town?"

"How is it there?"

"Are there any survivors left?"

Yi Fengchu was slightly taken aback and did not answer immediately. At this moment, revealing the truth or lying both seemed unbearable.

In his silence, the knight had already found his answer—none.

No one survived.

With even heavier strokes, the knight wrote:

"We should not have opened that book."

"May God forgive our mistake."

Yi Fengchu stared at the knight's words, murmuring thoughtfully: "...book?"

The knight lifted his hollow skull eyes, seemingly glancing at him, puzzled by his doubt about the “book.”

“Book.”

With great effort, he wrote the word again: “It was a book for making deals with demons. Everyone was thrilled by its ability to fulfill any desire, but no one knew that each time a wish was written, words would appear on the back of the book, bringing an unknown calamity.”

“If you ever see it, do not open that book.”

“If only we had...”

Before he could finish, the last trace of resolve that sustained the knight seemed to dissipate.

His armor and bones collapsed with a thunderous crash, scattering on the ground and buried by the scorching sand.