Yesael never thought that one departure would be a farewell.

He had fulfilled his former dreams, conquering the ocean and setting foot on the continent and the place of origin, but he didn’t even get to see his mother for the last time before her death.

Together with his father, he watched as the Queen’s stone coffin was buried in the cemetery.

From here, one could see the ocean. It was also the oldest district of the God-Given City.

Back then, Redlichia and his Queen had established this place together. Every brick and tile here bore their traces, but most of the old people and companions from those days had already passed away.

Only at this moment did Yesael ask his father, still finding it hard to believe.

“King of Wisdom.”

“Was it really Ense and Boon?”

Redlichia neither confirmed nor denied it.

He only said to his son, “On the path to becoming king, it’s not just about gaining, but more about losing.”

Redlichia turned around and left the cemetery.

“Follow me!”

Yesael asked, “Where are we going?”

Redlichia looked at the pyramid at the end of the avenue, a smile appearing on his face.

Along with a sense of relief.

“To see God.”

Yesael’s body stiffened. He had already sensed what was about to happen.

His father, walking ahead, could feel his son’s emotions without turning around.

“Don’t be afraid.”

“Yesael.”

“You will do even better. You will surpass me and become an even greater king.”

On the main avenue of the God-Given City, paved with stones, all the subjects spontaneously emerged from their houses and stood on both sides of the road.

They watched as Redlichia led his son, escorted by guards, towards the pyramid.

As Redlichia and Yesael passed before them, the people on both sides immediately knelt on one knee, lowering their heads and placing their hands on their chests.

The two of them seemed to be walking along a path of blessings and adoration. Everyone knew that when the old king and the new king changed places, they worshipped the old king while grieving the aging and passing of the monarch. At the same time, they blessed the wise and just new king.

Redlichia led his son up the stairs, with a group of people carrying two stone coffins towards the God’s Temple.

The former had come before God to inherit the authority of the King of Wisdom, while the latter were sinners who had disturbed and blasphemed against God, along with their offspring.

The stone coffins contained Redlichia’s two sons, Ense and Boon.

Ense was the mastermind, but Boon had also agreed to Ense’s plan. All of this was laid bare before the King of Wisdom and God.

The old and new kings entered the God’s Temple, while the sinners knelt outside.

Inside the God’s Temple, Yin Shen was waiting for Redlichia.

He was looking at the images Redlichia had carved for him. Everything seemed to have happened just yesterday.

The newly born Redlichia was carving statues in the temple, imitating Yin Shen’s tone and learning the divine words.

His intonation was strange, both comical and exaggerated.

“How quickly time passes!” Yin Shen mused, a hint of nostalgia in his voice. “It feels like only yesterday…”

Redlichia looked at God’s back. The flowing light seemed to brush past his face like the hem of God’s robe. The tall shadow, from his kneeling angle, appeared so lofty.

Just like the first time he had seen God, without the slightest change.

“I thought I would stand proudly before You, handing in a satisfactory answer sheet at the last moment of my life.”

“I didn’t expect that in the end, I would let You, God, see my most embarrassing and powerless moment, witnessing the ugly farce of patricide.”

Yin Shen looked at him.

His aged and stooped figure, his sandy, stone-like exoskeleton, all indicated that he had reached the end of his life.

Only his eyes remained as devout as in the past.

He extended his hand, “Redlichia!”

“What else do you want?”

He even glanced at Shelly, who stood like a doll in front of the pillar. Although the powers of the two bloodlines conflicted with each other, Shelly’s unique life power and immortality might be able to prolong Redlichia’s life.

As long as Redlichia begged him, Yin Shen was willing to give it to him.

Redlichia seemed to understand Yin Shen’s meaning. He shook his head.

“Oh, God,” he whispered, his voice heavy with emotion. “The time has come for us to let go.”

“I should let go, and You should let go too.”

“It’s because I couldn’t bear to let go that I caused today’s bitter fruit, ultimately killing my eldest son Ense with my own hands.”

“I am also Your eldest son. I have received enough favor.”

Yin Shen lowered his hand and said nothing more.

“It’s your decision!”

A childlike smile appeared on Redlichia’s face. God still favored him as in the past, even though he had gone against God’s will, even though his thoughts and will were utterly ridiculous.

“Yesael, my son,” Redlichia called out, his voice filled with tender affection. “Come to me.”

He looked at his son and pulled him to the same position as himself, kneeling side by side at the foot of the altar.

Yesael knelt at the feet of God, but he was looking at his father.

“King!”

But Redlichia said, “Here, I am no longer your king.”

Yesael’s voice instantly became choked with tears, which kept sliding down from the corners of his eyes, “Father.”

Redlichia smiled with satisfaction. He raised his hands to grasp the crown on his head, lifting it up bit by bit.

Then, he placed it on Yesael’s head.

“From now on!”

“You are the king!”

“The second King of Wisdom of the Yinsai Kingdom.”

Yesael sobbed uncontrollably, his shoulders trembling incessantly.

He was Redlichia’s youngest son, a prince who had grown up with expectations and favoritism. His father’s attention and preference were like a mountain that shielded him from the wind and rain, giving him the courage and strength to realize all his dreams, making him fearless of any difficulties.

But now, that mountain, his pillar of strength, was crumbling before his very eyes.

“No, Father,” Yesael pleaded, his voice barely a whisper. “Please…”

“You are the king. You will always be the king of the Trilobite Men, the king of the Yinsai Kingdom.”

“The eternal King of Wisdom.”

Redlichia laughed, his eyes slowly closing at the same time.

“Only gods are eternal.”

“No matter how much we gain,” Redlichia spoke, his voice trembling with emotion, “we all must face the inevitable decay and loss.”

As those final words left his lips, Redlichia’s eyes drifted shut.

And they would never open again.

The last will and power in Redlichia’s body surged out, transforming into a phantom phosphorescent outline, finally merging into the Crown of Wisdom.

The black crown connected with Yesael’s exoskeleton, linking with his bloodline.

Yesael could feel that at this moment, the wills and consciousnesses of all Trilobite Men emerged in his mind. His consciousness was like a river of stars, and each star in the river was the consciousness of a Trilobite Man.

He was the monarch standing above the river of stars, able to command the rotation of this river.

He inherited the power of the King of Wisdom from the most ancient king, Redlichia, along with his father’s will and ideals.

Redlichia, the once-great king who had now lost everything, began to petrify. His body hardened and grew still, transforming into a stone statue eternally kneeling before the presence of God.

Just as he had promised.

He would guard God here forever.

Until the day the sun burned out, until the end of time.