As the hot air balloon pierced through the boundary between dreams and illusions, Sermos, the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents, witnessed endless darkness consuming everything.

The black curtain spread, covering the mortal scenes behind them.

The high mountains and sea of clouds from the mortal world transformed into mere reflections within an enormous mirror as darkness enveloped them.

The mirror gradually shrank into nothingness as they ventured deeper into the void.

This was her first time coming here. She felt everything around them becoming ethereal and infinite.

Everything was born from spirituality and dreams, yet everything continuously moved toward reality.

Sermos stood in the Spirit’s Hot Air Balloon, gazing outside through the glass windows.

“This is…”

She paused here, then continued with a much higher tone.

“The Kingdom of God.”

This was the name from the previous era. In the current era, it should be called the Creator’s Domain.

“This is only the Dream Realm. The Creator’s Domain lies in the deepest part of the Dream Realm.”

The Mother of Life, Shelly, told Sermos they still had a long distance to travel before reaching the Creator’s Domain.

Sermos felt both awe and trepidation. Since her birth, she had yearned to return to the Creator’s Domain after death. She never imagined that one day she would come here alongside God.

As soon as these words fell, golden light suddenly surged from the distance.

Sermos saw an enormous sailing ship approaching from afar.

It radiated light so brilliant that colors could no longer be distinguished.

The ship gleamed with an ethereal golden hue, whether from its natural form or from the golden light reflecting endlessly across its smooth hull.

“What is that?” Just as this thought arose in Sermos’s mind, the Ruler of Life seemed to have already heard her question.

“The Divine Boat, responsible for guiding all life dreams,” the Ruler of Life looked at that great ship, suddenly feeling that although this hot air balloon was dreamy enough, it lacked the Divine Boat’s magnificent grandeur. She resolved to ride that vessel next time.

As captain of the Temple Knights, Sermos had naturally heard of the Divine Boat’s name in the chapters of “Divine Blessing.”

She was simply too stunned by the ship’s sudden appearance to react immediately.

According to legend, the Dream Sovereign bestowed blessings upon all, turning everyone’s lives into beautiful dreams and leaving eternal imprints in the Creator’s Domain. This ship served as the vessel between the Creator’s Domain and the edge of the Dream Realm.

The Ruler of Life told Sermos stories about the Creator’s Domain.

“Long ago, this ship did not exist.”

“Back then, people relied on other people to guide their dreams.”

Shelly turned her head to glance at Sermos: “That would be Iva.”

Shelly casually mentioned that Iva, but Sermos knew this referred to the deity worshipped in the Land of Sunrise.

The one titled God of Alchemy and Desire.

Sermos pondered the Ruler of Life’s words about the ancient times and the guiding of dreams, slowly understanding their meaning.

Sermos pondered carefully and vaguely understood.

That person was not a Snake Person, but a Trilobite Man from the previous era.

Long ago meant billions of years ago.

Sermos suddenly felt somewhat wistful.

At some point, she too had become part of long ago.

She too had become part of the ancient legends spoken of by the Snake People.

Together they passed through the gates of the Creator’s Domain and saw an endless sea of dream stars flowing overhead.

Shelly raised the life dream in her hands, releasing it toward the sky like a floating lantern.

Sermos thought of Xiuborn: “Did I… cause his death?”

In this feud between the descendants of Avel and the descendants of Pence, it was unclear which side paid the more tragic price.

In the end, tens of thousands died on both sides, and each side lost a ruler.

Originally, many more would have died.

Both sides would have piled Snake People corpses into mountains and seas amid chaos and strife.

The hatred ran so deep that even a hundred or thousand years might not have been enough to heal it.

The war had ended and peace had come, but at the cost of extinguishing Avel’s hope of rising up.

For Sermos the Snake Mother, this seemed an acceptable outcome, as countless lives were spared from this feud and war.

But for Xiuborn, this was unfair.

Sermos didn’t know how to face this situation. She didn’t know if what she did was wrong or right.

She only wanted to preserve more Snake People, to reduce the number of deaths.

Shelly looked at the colorful dream without answering, and instead said.

“Look at his dream.”

In Xiuborn’s dream were scenes of him saving everyone.

All the Avel people were saved because of him, returning to their homeland.

The dream also contained countless great ships sailing far across the sea.

A verdant continent stretched to the horizon in the dream’s distance, teeming with infinite vitality within its emerald expanse.

Sermos watched as Xiuborn’s life dream gradually flew away, slowly merging with the vast sea of stars until it could no longer be distinguished.

Her head gradually tilted upward, her pupils slowly being filled by that boundless sea of stars.

Her original sadness and regret became insignificant before this magnificent sea of stars.

Those were the traces of all intelligent species since the birth of life.

They were the imprints of eras, the homeland of living souls, the tomb of civilization.

“God,” she whispered in awe. “Does each star here represent an entire life?”

Sermos was truly shocked. These countless life dreams represented how many lives’ beginnings and ends.

How many beings had existed in this world, then silently vanished.

Only here, in this sea of stars, were their memories forever preserved.

The Ruler of Life shook her head: “In the upper layers of the Dream Realm are ordinary dreams.”

“Those are the smallest, most fragile bubbles, only visible as starlight when gathered together.”

Besides the life dreams that left eternal imprints like stars, the temporary dreams in the uppermost layer had tiny bubbles and starlight continuously flickering and fading.

These were the temporary dreams everyone had while sleeping.

If someone could peacefully complete such a beautiful dream, their dream would remain here.

Then upon waking, they would remember nothing.

Spirits often flew up to the dream star sea to secretly peek at these fantastic and magnificent dreams.

Yet when someone awoke startled from their dream or was interrupted, the temporary dream would shatter, leaving them with clear memories upon waking.

This was why they could see stars flickering and fading in the depths of the star sea when they looked up.

The Spirit’s Hot Air Balloon continued onward, passing beneath God’s Moon.

The moon was so large and so close to them.

They even opened the windows and reached out, truly touching that celestial body.

Though only Shelly dared to actually touch God’s Moon. Sermos extended her hand but could not bring herself to actually make contact.

The sun rose gradually in the distance.

The distant sun drew closer and closer, yet they felt no scorching heat.

When light had consumed everything, an enormous golden Divine Cup appeared before them.

Sermos finally saw the legendary God-Given Land, the island where Creator Yinsai dwelled.

Endless Light of Wishes dispersed from outside the Divine Cup, within which images of all things could be seen, while Dreams of Law as large as mountains rose from the cup, rotating around the outer layer of the island.

At this moment, the Ruler of Life’s body in the Spirit’s Hot Air Balloon also began to completely dissolve into light.

She had always been a dream.

Now that the dream was ending, this vessel would naturally disappear.

“My servant,” the Ruler of Life said to Sermos softly, “Yinsai and I will wait for you above.”

This was not the first time Sermos had heard the name Yinsai, but she had never truly understood its significance before, nor known what kind of being Yinsai was.

But this time, she vaguely understood something.

She suddenly recalled what Xiuborn had told her before she regained her memories that the Ruler of Life was not the true Creator.

And long, long ago, she had heard the Ruler of Life mention the word Yinsai.

Yinsai.

Perhaps He was the true Creator.

He was the beginning of everything, the source of all myths.

Although people of this era no longer knew His name, everything still existed because of Him. He remained eternally seated upon the Creator’s throne.

Lost in these thoughts, the Spirit’s Hot Air Balloon had already landed on the God-Given Land.

Sermos, Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents, descended and walked alone toward the Pyramid Temple.

She passed through the Sun Cup Flower Sea, seeing ancient ruins and broken walls among the flowers.

The world’s most ancient city, the God-Given City of Redlichia, the King of Wisdom.

All of this should have vanished long ago.

But the Creator had preserved it.

The Creator neither restored it nor let it completely disappear.

It was said that even ruins held their own beauty and memories.

So the Dream Sovereign Hila preserved everything this way, becoming eternal alongside the Sun Cup Flower Sea.

Sermos picked up a stone, examining the engravings upon it.

“Is this… writing from the previous era?”

Sermos didn’t know what it was, only marveling at this sea of flowers while sensing ancient and unknown histories and stories hidden beneath.

On both sides of God’s Island and in the distance, she saw the forms of spirits.

The little spirits flew joyfully through the sky above their paradise, calling out.

“Hee hee hee!”

“La la la la la.”

Some spirits held hands together, singing melodious songs.

These spirits were just as legends described, wearing golden robes and able to create all sorts of miraculous things at will.

Their dream realm was magnificent and filled with childlike innocence. Though constructed from yarn, cotton, candy, pottery and various other things, each creation was vibrantly colorful.

From a distance, the realm appeared as a magnificent series of rainbow kingdoms.

Sermos gazed outward with her beautiful, slender neck craned upward. Her heart yearned to visit those rainbow-like realms.

But she knew the Mother of Life awaited her in the distant Pyramid Temple.

The higher she climbed those long steps, the more excited and uncertain she became.

Finally, she appeared before the steps.

She raised her head and looked into the temple.

She saw such a scene.

Upon the Creator’s throne sat a figure who appeared to be male.

“Creator!”

The moment she saw him, Sermos knew his identity.

It was an eternal presence transcending time and space.

From Sermos’s perspective, he appeared like an eternal divine statue, yet also like a figure radiating infinite light.

Looking more carefully, she could faintly see an enormous star, but she dared not gaze longer.

As she glimpsed him, she felt time and ages coming to a standstill, the world being devoured and covered.

She felt herself nearly departing from this world, about to be overwhelmed and extinguished by the power of time’s river.

What she perceived was merely the Creator’s outer appearance – His true form was something beyond mortal comprehension.

To the right of the Creator’s throne sat a golden-haired goddess, looking at Sermos with gentle eyes as if encouraging her.

The Ruler of Life, Shelly, had just awakened and was now yawning to the left of the Creator’s throne, looking as if she were blowing bubbles.

Seeing Sermos enter, the Ruler of Life smiled and exclaimed, “Look, she’s here.”

The eternal deity upon the Creator’s throne spoke, his voice echoing throughout the temple. “Sermos, you are Shelly’s apostle. From now on, you shall remain by her side!”

Sermos’s heart suddenly filled with overwhelming emotion, and she prostrated herself involuntarily. “Thank you, most supreme deity,” she whispered in reverence.

The Creator took down Shelly’s Mother Conch of All Things and raised his hand.

The Mother Conch of All Things flew from the Creator’s temple, floating out of the God-Given Land.

The Mother Conch of All Things fell from on high, plunging to the bottom of the Creator’s Domain.

Endless seawater poured forth from the Mother Conch of All Things, instantly filling the entire space.

A great sea appeared within the Creator’s Domain.

Nine Ruhe Seals manifested, transforming into a continent.

The mortal City of Life vanished instantly from atop the Mountain of Life’s Origin, appearing upon this sea in the Kingdom of God.

The vast waters reflected all mortal life within their depths.

This became the supreme divine realm of the Life Ability, the seawater representing the origin of all life.

The Dream Sun and God’s Silver Moon cycled through the sky, giving the sea its day and night.

But Shelly still preferred wandering the Pyramid Temple to her own realm.

Chasing through the Sun Cup Flower Sea, frightening the little spirits in the dream domain, and running back and forth in the temple making whooshing sounds.

Ice River Fortress.

Yafuan, the temple attendant apprentice who had been working tirelessly for many days, lay down on his bed and closed his eyes. He dared not sleep long, constantly awaiting news from afar.

But in his sleep, he suddenly jolted.

He opened his eyes, trying to wake from his slumber.

Opening his eyes, he found himself transported to an unfamiliar place.

He saw an enormous door.

The door was half-open, with light spilling out from behind it.

He had arrived before the true Door of Truth, the manifestation of the God of Knowledge and Truth’s power in this world.

“The Door of… Truth?”

As a believer of the God of Knowledge and Truth and the world’s second Witch Spirit, how could he not recognize this great door?

He was the second person to come here, but Yafuan felt no honor in arriving here, for only those who possessed the Divine Artifact Polik’s Right Hand could come to this place. Thus, his arrival here also represented another matter.

He had become the contract holder of the Divine Artifact Polik’s Right Hand, which had previously belonged to Xiuborn.

Now that it had formed a contract with him, it meant its previous generation’s contract holder must have met with some situation.

Yafuan lowered his head, anxiously and carefully examining his own body.

His body gradually became transparent, with brilliant light seeping out from his chest.

Within that light, a bone hand was clearly visible.

Yafuan’s body immediately began to tremble uncontrollably. He knew what it meant for this thing to appear within him.

“Lord Xiuborn?”

Yafuan instantly fell prostrate before the Door of Truth, letting out an incredulous wail.

He thought he must have seen wrong, or that this was a dream.

But he himself was a Wisdom Ability User, and he quickly determined this was no dream.

Before his death, Xiuborn had thrown everything he could leave behind into the Door of Truth.

He had left everything to Yafuan, and to all the Avel people.

“How can this be?”

“How did it come to this?”

Yafuan couldn’t believe it, but the bone hand appearing within him had already proven everything.

At this moment, a projection appeared before Yafuan.

Yafuan raised his head to see Xiuborn appearing before him.

“Lord Xiuborn!”

Yafuan’s face showed wild joy as he rushed forward.

But he passed straight through the other’s body.

It was only an image, not truly existing.

Yafuan was completely stunned. He looked at Xiuborn’s image and asked.

“Lord Xiuborn?”

“What happened? What exactly occurred?”

“Why did you give me Polik’s Right Hand? Why did I suddenly come here?”

Xiuborn did not respond, for this was only a projection he had left behind before his demise.

Xiuborn smiled at the temple attendant apprentice and asked him.

“Yafuan.”

“I remember… your name means ‘far away,’ doesn’t it!”

Yafuan’s eyes brimmed with hot tears as he nodded repeatedly.

“Yes!”

“Yes… my lord.”

Xiuborn looked at him and said.

“Take all the Avel people and leave, go far away.”

“Leave this world, go to another continent spoken of in legends far away. I’ve left you navigation charts inside the door.”

“Go there.”

“Go seek our future.”

Xiuborn hadn’t said much more, or rather, he hadn’t had time to leave many more words.

“Everything I can leave for you is inside the Door of Truth.”

“I hope… you will use them wisely.”

Hearing these words, Yafuan grew more afraid.

“Lord Xiuborn… you…”

He had already guessed, but dared not believe it.

Xiuborn still did not respond, only continuing to speak unprompted.

At the end, he once again showed that bitter smile.

He looked at Yafuan and sighed.

“Become strong.”

“Become someone who can make their own choices, who can choose the truly bright and righteous path.”

“Yafuan.”

After softly calling Yafuan’s name one last time, Xiuborn’s image twisted and vanished.

Yafuan reached out his hand, but nothing remained.

Yafuan stood motionless for a very long time, as if he had turned to stone.

Finally, he raised his head.

He walked toward the Door of Truth.

Standing before the Door of Truth, he recalled Xiuborn’s words once more.

“Become strong.”

“Become… someone who no longer begs for the gods’ mercy.”

Yafuan’s face instantly streamed with tears, but his gaze grew increasingly determined.

“I will do it.”

“Lord Xiuborn,” he called out with fierce determination. “I swear I will make the choice you hoped for, and I will ensure Avel walks the path of true light and righteousness!”

He took one step inside.

Endless light and shadows enveloped him until he arrived within a temple.

He saw the statue of the God of Knowledge and Truth, saw the King of Wisdom above the dome, and the symbols and shadow of the Creator representing all origins.

Like Xiuborn before him, just one glance made him collapse to the ground, unable to catch his breath for a long while.

He dared not raise his head again, instead walking toward the ghost beneath the divine platform.

“O Servant of the Divine,” he called reverently.

“I have come to retrieve what Lord Xiuborn left behind. Please grant me guidance.”

He received what Xiuborn had left for him – the divine techniques, knowledge, and legacy.

He opened his Book of the Witch Spirit and gathered hundreds of ghosts into it. This was the power Xiuborn had left him.

He picked up a scroll.

It depicted a map of the northern regions of Ruhe Beast Island, but most importantly, it marked ocean currents, islands, and sailing routes. Most importantly, the map revealed another continent across the sea.

Finally, he saw a book bound in animal hide.

But only part of this leather book remained, with one corner destroyed.

It showed no signs of fire damage, nor cuts from blade or axe.

It looked more as if something had directly devoured one corner.

Yafuan remembered this book.

He had seen Lord Xiuborn take it out several times to examine carefully, always carrying it on his person, showing how much importance Xiuborn placed on it.

The book had no name, at least Xiuborn hadn’t named it.

Yafuan opened the book, but found it written not in Snake People script, but in the language of the Trilobite Men.

While Xiuborn had never been able to understand its contents, the moment Yafuan opened it, he felt waves of malice wash over him as countless cursing whispers filled his ears.

He was glimpsing secrets from the previous era, mysteries belonging to another ancient race.

The horror deepened as countless terrifying eyes appeared before him, filling his vision and covering both heaven and earth.

Yafuan was so frightened he immediately closed the book, never daring to open it again.

“What exactly was written in there?”

“Just one look made me feel like I was dying?”

Yafuan’s eyes showed terror, and in the end he never understood what it truly was.

He carefully put away “The Book of Xiuborn” before deciding to leave this place.

He passed through the Door of Truth, but suddenly couldn’t resist looking back inside one more time.

Through that world of scenes like an ocean of information, Yafuan saw into the deepest parts.

He saw an ancient city.

It was a city frozen in an instant, as if some immensely powerful being had moved an ancient city from primordial times and sealed it here.

But at this moment, the originally frozen scene seemed to be slowly changing.

As if something in the deepest parts of the ancient city was gradually awakening.

City of Avel.

Tens of thousands of Avel people returned to this city, returning to their homeland.

Inside and outside the city, cries and tears of reuniting families could be seen everywhere.

“I’m home.” Groups of people knelt at the city gates, shouting and crying out.

“We’ve finally returned.” More people fell prostrate, kissing the dirt beneath them.

“You’re still alive?” Some could hardly believe seeing their relatives still living.

“Alive, alive… we’re all still alive.” Families embraced and wept together.

“It really wasn’t easy!” Although they had endured great hardship, being able to return home alive was unimaginable to them before.

Although Xiuborn’s plan for revenge by destroying the Royal Court of Ten Thousand Serpents, his ambition to help Avel rise through that destruction, had not succeeded.

Yet despite everything, he had succeeded in his most important oath – allowing all Avel people to return to their homeland.

Yafuan stood before the temple, watching this joyous scene with worry filling his face.

As Xiuborn had said, as long as the Royal Court of Ten Thousand Serpents remained, Avel could never rise up.

Although it seemed the Avel people had temporarily regained their former glory, this was only for now.

What about the future?

What should they do then?

Yafuan spoke to the crowned Snake Person beside him: “Your Majesty Sidi.”

“Let us go far away.”

Sidi looked at Yafuan: “Where to?”

“Beyond the sea lies a new world,” Yafuan explained. “There we’ll find lands as fertile as Ruhe, where we can build our future.”

King Sidi hesitated somewhat: “But no one has ever been there.”

Yafuan looked at Sidi and spoke with utmost sincerity.

“This is another path Lord Xiuborn found for us Avel people.”

“He made the omniscient and omnipotent god sacrifice itself to obtain navigation charts to another continent.”

Yafuan added: “Since the god provided the navigation charts, this must also be divine guidance and a new oracle given to us.”

Since it was divine will, there was no other choice.

The young King of Avel could only follow Yafuan’s suggestion.

After more than a year of preparation, rushing to build great ships and testing the accuracy of the navigation charts twice.

The Avel people finally began their first mass migration, leaving Ruhe Beast Island.

The great ships sailed for a long time at sea.

They passed through many dangerous waters and encountered various dangerous species along the way.

But they avoided them all thanks to the markings on the navigation charts.

Even when truly in danger, they had the Witch Spirits to defend them, plus Yafuan as the contract holder of Polik’s Right Hand, so they managed without serious mishap.

For people of this era, ocean voyages were unimaginably dangerous.

One morning, the fleet spotted shadows emerging from the distant mists.

Thousands upon thousands climbed onto the deck, gazing into the distance.

The distant shadows grew clearer, gradually becoming endless land.

Across the vast expanse of land stretched an endless sea of green.

“Could it be?” someone whispered in awe. “Have we found our new world?”

Cheers erupted across the ships as everyone crowded the railings with raised hands, letting out wild cries.

Some Snake People even coiled around the masts to climb higher, cupping their hands around their mouths like trumpets to shout from above.

Everyone looked at that continent, at the vegetation covering the earth, and felt they were seeing hope itself.

To them, a continent was a world.

Another continent naturally meant another world.

And such an undeveloped continent represented endless possibilities for their future.

On the largest sailing warship, King Sidi of Avel also crowded together with everyone else. He stood at the bow, excitedly watching the distant continent.

He couldn’t help but show a joyful expression.

“Is this the brand new world?”

Yafuan nodded: “That’s right, this is the legendary other continent.”

Then, he added softly, “A world that truly belongs to us.”