The Abyss.

Inside the black stone demon palace of the Flame Abyss, a figure seated upon a throne of piled bones cursed, his voice thick with extreme unwillingness.

“Damn it!” he roared.

“Damn it all! I am the master of the Abyss.”

“I am the God of the Abyss!”

The Bone Demon King and Lord of the Flame Abyss, Yafuan, was furious beyond measure. He had already become the master of the First Layer of the Abyss, yet someone else had merged with the Will of the Abyss before him, obtaining the Abyss’s greatest authority.

“Just wait,” he snarled, “just you wait!”

“I will drag you down. I will step on your bones to ascend the divine throne that belongs to me.”

The terrifying monster composed of bones emitted a hoarse sound while skeletal flying dragons spread their wings around him.

Meanwhile, within the Black Mud Abyss.

Melde knelt before the defiled Radiant Temple. She gazed longingly toward the sky, staring into the endless depths of darkness.

Her god had fallen into the Abyss, yet he hadn’t spared her even a glance.

She remained alone, adrift in her own emotions, moved only by everything she had done for her god.

“Divine Being!” she murmured, her voice trembling with awe.

“You have finally descended… finally…”

“You are one with me now.”

At that moment, the mountain of flesh devoured the Door of Original Sin. The Abyss core and the Original Sin Evil God merged, two artifacts with Sequence Numbers 4 and 5 combining into one.

These two artifacts had always been intricately connected, as both originated from Xiao himself.

The Original Sin Evil God had formed from fragments of the Little Person in the Bottle gathered into a body, finally taking shape when Xiao reincarnated into it.

The Abyss had formed after Xiao’s massive spiritual pollution transformed into a black mud womb. This womb then devoured tens of thousands of Winged People and numerous Snake People and monsters, subsequently operating within the Dream Realm for many years.

Now, everything had returned to Xiao once more.

Streams of law-light extended from within the mountain of flesh formed by the Abyss core, transforming into Abyss Law imprints. The Seven Deadly Sins became seven special law imprints.

As Xiao merged with the Will of the Abyss, his original sins were stripped away one by one.

Lust, Pride, Envy, Wrath, Sloth, Greed, and Gluttony.

Yet to him, these were merely meaningless emotions.

Perhaps without them, he could become even stronger.

He was thoroughly refining the entire Abyss.

The Abyss began to divide into seven layers, though only the first two layers currently had masters assigned to them.

These were Pride Yafuan and Lust Melde.

The remaining five layers existed only in embryonic form, extremely narrow and empty within.

In the deepest layer of the Abyss.

The mountain of flesh formed by the Abyss core twisted and writhed. From a distance, it appeared like a black hole devouring everything, a dark star consuming the light.

Filthy black mud and polluted water seeped through the crevices of the flesh mountain, dripping down like black rain.

The flesh mountain and the Door of Original Sin overlapped, gradually becoming one entity.

They were slowly changing shape, transforming into a deformed, flesh-growing dark red door. Images of various monsters flickered across its surface.

The Door of Original Sin radiated an eternal light of sin, guiding mortals toward corruption.

In the deepest layer of the Abyss.

Within the door’s space, in a boundless dark world, black rain fell without end.

Here there were no monsters, only eternal sin and corrupted filth.

A man wearing a filthy, tattered robe stood upon the vast dark waters.

He appeared gaunt, with high cheekbones. His eyes, perpetually lost in thought, gave him a cold appearance.

The emotional expression on Xiao’s face grew increasingly faint as his consciousness became more detached. This happened because he had separated his Seven Deadly Sins, thoroughly merging with the Will of the Abyss.

He seemed to have become a machine, yet that single obsession remained eternally carved in his heart.

Outwardly, though, he did not appear much different than before. He had never been one easily influenced or swayed by emotions. His hands were stained with filth and original sin, but those were merely means to achieve his ends.

Xiao stood within the Door of Original Sin, looking out at the world beyond.

“I too have become a little person in a bottle,” he thought, “trapped within this shell, trapped within this abyss.”

“Forever… unable to become a true divine being.”

The man raised his head. Black rain fell drop by drop onto his face, wetting his hair.

The rainwater slid down his skin, darkening his robe.

He cared not at all. “The path of reincarnation is no longer viable.”

“But my accumulation over so many years has not been wasted. At least I have obtained immortality through another method and followed the Creator into the next era.”

“This era is more materially abundant. This era possesses greater opportunities and possibilities.”

“I can try another path, an unprecedented path.”

Mortals could embark on the path of reincarnation because of the innate mythological blood they possessed.

This was the talent of wisdom species, the gift of life bestowed by the Creator.

Even artifacts, no matter how powerful or wise they might be, like the Little Person in the Bottle once was, remained bound by their inherent nature.

Lacking their own source of mythological blood and relying solely on impure divine blood granted by others or stolen, they could only exchange bodies through reincarnation without changing their fundamental nature.

If their body were destroyed, they would be forced back into their bottle. If the bottle were shattered, they would cease to exist entirely.

They could never consolidate the characteristics of spirituality, wisdom, desire, and knowledge to form a mythological gate and ultimately possess divine status.

From the beginning, the reincarnation plan was just a false hope Xiao had painted for the Little Person in the Bottle.

It could never break free from the bottle’s constraints.

However, at that time, Xiao himself did not fully understand what a demigod was, possessing only a vague concept.

Xiao had ultimately fallen prey to Asai, the God of Truth and Knowledge. Asai’s deep understanding of the wisdom path and the vulnerabilities of reincarnators had sealed Xiao’s fate. Now, Xiao existed as nothing more than an artifact.

Reincarnation was not as simple as changing bodies. It involved a fundamental restructuring of spirituality and wisdom.

Spirituality had to recombine with the body, allowing wisdom and divine blood to regrow at the moment of birth. This was the fundamental reason reincarnators could become divine beings.

This also meant that Xiao’s spirituality and wisdom had fully merged with the artifact, becoming entirely corrupted and absorbed by it.

Xiao’s gaze was ice-cold, yet filled with unyielding persistence.

He would wait until the next time someone signed the Abyss covenant with the Will of the Abyss. Then, he would once again manifest before the world.

Or he would wait until the Abyss was fully perfected, reaching the known limits of a Mythical Artifact, potentially changing the very essence of this Divine Artifact.

One day, he would surely find a new path.

As long as he did not die, he would continue moving forward.

From within the darkness.

A Sky Messenger emerged from the depths. Her body radiated spiritual light, completely at odds with this place of filth.

It was Duma.

Xiao had severed her connection to the mythological gate, but Duma still maintained her Sky Messenger form. She did not revert to a Winged Person.

This was because she was never a Winged Person to begin with. She was a natural-born Sky Messenger, inherently a supernatural life form beyond ordinary understanding.

A descendant of mythology.

Xiao waved his hand, and the Door of Original Sin opened a gateway to reality.

On the other side lay the Land of Light, the home of the Winged People.

He had ultimately chosen to release Duma, rather than letting her fall with him into the Abyss.

“Duma,” Xiao said softly, his voice carrying an unusual gentleness.

“You are free now.”

Duma looked at Xiao, her father.

A madman of the most ancient race, one who had embarked on the path to godhood only to fail at the final moment.

“Why did you bring me into this world?” she asked.

“Was my existence just another one of your plans? Just like my mother?”

Xiao did not tell her the reason, nor did he claim it was all just an accident.

“Life does not ask why it exists,” he replied. “Simply being born is a blessing, a miracle in itself.”

“No matter the reason for its creation.”

Xiao saw the disbelief on Duma’s face. Even now, she could not accept that the divine being she worshipped was such a person.

He was neither radiant nor possessed any semblance of mercy.

Xiao discerned Duma’s thoughts. “You feel I am different from the divine being you imagined?”

“Do you believe a god should be merciful? That a god should be radiant? That a god should protect mortals?”

“Duma!” Xiao called out, his voice echoing through the darkness.

“Divine beings are not defined by mortals, nor are they changed by the fantasies of weaklings like you.”

He stretched out his hand, and Duma immediately floated upward.

She gradually descended from the Dream Realm into the mortal world, returning to the home of the Winged People, back under the bright sky that Abyss Monsters so desperately craved and envied.

Xiao looked at his daughter, speaking to her piece by piece.

“We are born with sin.”

“Weakness, ignorance, greed.”

“All of it is sin.”

“Because we are born weak, we crave strength.”

“Because we cannot be born with knowledge, we covet truth.”

“Because our lives are short, we pursue eternity.”

“We are born with sin,” he repeated.

“Because we… are not born as gods.”

The shadow of the Original Sin Evil God gradually submerged into darkness. His words were cold and gloomy.

Yet his gaze burned with flames, intensely bright in the darkness.

“All beings have sin. I am original sin.”

“I am the Evil God of Original Sin.”

The dark red Door of Original Sin slowly closed, transmitting Xiao’s final words to Duma across the void.

“Become a god!”

“Become an eternal divine being!”

“Then you can control everything. Control yourself and all things.”

“Since you cannot find the divine being you seek, then become the divine being you want to be.”

Duma escaped the constraints of the Gate of Spirituality, returning once more to the mortal world.

A piece of tattered cloth appeared in her hand, looking like a part of the robe Xiao had been wearing.

The cloth was covered with dense writing. The topmost words read:

Path of Wisdom.

Duma had received the complete Path of Wisdom, the supreme divine technique for mortals to ascend to mythology.

“The secret technique to become a god?” Duma whispered, her mouth falling open. She had never thought mortals could become gods.

But everything Xiao had done, everything he had told her, now pointed Duma toward another direction entirely.

Duma flapped her wings, hovering in the sky. She looked toward where the Door of Original Sin had closed.

Even now, she still could not understand her father, Xiao.

Was this finally a show of mercy? Or was it yet another scheme?

Or maybe, he just wanted Duma to become a god in his stead, to realize the dream he could never reach himself.

Duma’s head gradually lowered. Ultimately, she could not fathom what kind of person he truly was.

She looked down at the Land of Light below, the new home of the Winged People.

The Winged People had once again obtained the Gate of Spirituality, only to lose it once more.

But Duma knew this might not necessarily be a bad thing for them.

She looked at the “tattered cloth” in her hand, murmuring softly.

“Only we ourselves can save our own fate.”

“Gods cannot save the Winged People. Nor will they save the Winged People.”

“Only we ourselves can create the future we desire.”

As she finished speaking, the confusion in her eyes gradually disappeared.

She flapped her wings again.

Pure white feathers stirred a fierce wind as she flew toward the distant horizon—

Within the Door of Truth.

A falling star pierced the mythological gate, landing upon the Sea of Knowledge.

The Sea of Knowledge surged as Asai suddenly appeared on its surface.

He carefully cradled the dream bubble radiating colorful fluorescence. His gaze filled with a mixture of anticipation, loss, and even timidity.

An exquisite ceramic doll fell down nearby, landing at Asai’s feet.

Asai did not look at it. Instead, he fixed his gaze on this life dream that should have been resting in the dream star sea.

He spoke, his voice trembling.

“Mother.”

Colors flowed across the bubble’s surface, revealing scene after scene.

Asai saw his mother’s life dream, her final, eternally beautiful dream.

It was different from what he had once imagined.

In this dream, what his mother wanted was not money and food. It wasn’t the big house of the town mayor she often spoke of, nor the beautiful luxurious clothes she mentioned when bringing home scraps of fabric.

The dream differed somewhat from past reality, yet not by much.

It was still set in Rolling Stone Town, in that remote place Asai considered devoid of a future.

In this dream, her son Asai was fine. He never left Rolling Stone Town in his lifetime, never leaving her side.

Her son was neither blind nor crippled. He remained healthy throughout his life.

Asai smoothly became a priest of the temple. He presided over prayers to the God Yinsai, guiding all the townspeople to believe in the God Yinsai.

Asai found an ordinary wife.

Then, he had many children and grandchildren.

In the scenes, the son became a priest and drove away all those who dared bully them, those who had once bullied them.

In the scenes, the son was no longer mischievous, no longer always talking about leaving for the big city. Her son Asai became increasingly steady, more and more like a reliable adult.

In the scenes, the mother laughed loudly, as proud as a rooster with her head held high.

She stood at the temple entrance, holding onto Asai dressed in his priest’s robe.

“Look at him!” she exclaimed, her voice brimming with pride.

“My son Asai! A priest of the temple!”

Everyone around praised her son, looking at her with envy.

The mother’s dream was so similar to Asai’s own dream. Both were escapes from the terrible reality and the dark past.

But in Asai’s dream, what he wanted was the distant horizon. He wanted to become a hero-like detective, to become the most powerful and most talented priest.

His mother, however, simply wanted to be proud of her son.

For her son to become a temple priest was the highest achievement she could imagine.

In her eyes, Rolling Stone Town was the entire world.

Looking at his mother’s somewhat exaggerated smiling face in the scenes, Asai knew that if he had truly been present back then, he would likely have shown an impatient expression.

For the once proud and dignity-seeking Asai, this display would have been truly embarrassing.

But at this moment, Asai couldn’t help but laugh along with her.

“Hahahahaha!”

As he laughed, tears streamed down Asai’s face.

Everything was just in a dream. Everything was just another world that never came to be.

Asai held the life dream, kneeling on the Sea of Knowledge.

He hunched over, overcome with grief.

“Alas,” he murmured softly, his voice tinged with regret.

“In the end… I couldn’t give you the chance to stand tall before everyone and proudly say I was your son.”

“In the end, I couldn’t do even one thing to make you proud.”

He held his mother’s life dream alone, looking through it again and again with intense emotion.

Sometimes he slapped his leg in laughter, sometimes he inexplicably shed tears.

After a long while, he finally stood up.

He slowly pushed open the Door of Truth, raising his mother’s life dream high.

He was calling for the Divine Boat.

Though he missed his mother deeply, he was unwilling to imprison her dream and keep her here.

That would be a desecration.

His mother should return to the destination all beings shared, that place of eternal peace, undisturbed by others.

Asai also did not wish to seek any method to resurrect his mother. To pass away in a beautiful dream was also a kind of happiness for ordinary people.

Only those obsessed with certain things, those with lofty ideals, those with eternal obsessions…

Only they could find their anchor and place in eternal life.

His mother was just an ordinary person. Having lived an ordinary life was enough.

Even though that life had its flaws, it remained the most cherished memory he shared with his mother.

A pure life dream appeared in the Dream Realm. Before long, the Divine Boat came, following its trail.

Humming~

The boat that guided life dreams sensed the life dream appearing in the Dream Realm and came to welcome it.

The giant ship sailed from the distance. It brought with it the humming sound of compressed steel, creating a strong sense of shock and pressure.

Even the God of Truth and Knowledge felt its imposing presence.

The giant head on the ship lowered its collision horns, looking at the life dream in Asai’s hands.

As a Mythical Artifact, the boat now also possessed wisdom.

However, it rarely communicated with outsiders. It only occasionally made sounds to greet the spirits and nymphs of the Creator’s Domain when they met.

A beam of light swept down before the Door of Truth.

The light gently lifted the dream of Asai’s mother, guiding it onto the ship.

The Divine Boat set off again, departing with its heavy humming sound.

Asai stood still, his face showing an expression of reluctance.

Finally, he suddenly remembered something and raised his hand to wave toward the distance.

A farewell.

He knew the Divine Boat would carry his mother’s dream to the dream star sea of the Creator’s Domain. No one would ever disturb his mother’s beautiful dream again.

Suddenly, Asai felt someone calling him.

He looked back, his gaze penetrating through the Door of Truth into reality.

On the other side, Vivien had finally found Asai’s servant Sukob, which meant she had located Asai.

Asai’s consciousness projected onto Sukob, allowing him to converse with this ancient Sage of Truth through the servant.

Sukob’s form twisted, transforming into a divine being leaning on a cane and wearing a top hat. Though it was only a temporary divine descent, transmitting just a small amount of divine power, only a servant like Sukob could withstand it. Ordinary followers could not bear such power.

Asai asked, “Is he dead?”

Vivien replied, “No, he’s not.”

“In the end, he had one more contingency plan,” she explained. “The Black Mud Abyss Queen Melde opened the Abyss Gate for him, and he chose to fall into the Abyss.”

“All his life he wanted to become a divine being, but in the end, he could only become an artifact.”

“His countless years of planning and scheming… all came to nothing.”

After saying this, Vivien paused.

Then, with a sharp gaze, she added, “But I still won’t let him go.”

Asai met Vivien’s gaze and spoke with a faint smile, “Perfect. I couldn’t agree more.”

On this matter, the two shared a tacit understanding.

Vivien suddenly asked Asai, “When did you wake up?”

Asai answered simply, “Not long ago.”

It seemed like a conversation between old friends, not like one between two divine beings.

Vivien finally came to the main point. “Since you’ve awakened, there must be something you want to do!”

“You are now the God of Truth and Knowledge. What do you plan to do in the future?”

Vivien was assessing Asai’s situation carefully.

In her heart, the person before her was an extremely unstable factor. Though he appeared normal now, she could never forget that his previous self was Anhofus.

In Vivien’s eyes, he could, at any moment, revert to being Anhofus, become the Little Person in the Bottle, become someone like Xiao.

Asai knew Vivien’s thoughts. “I am Asai,” he stated firmly. “I will carry out everything according to my own will.”

“I am uninfluenced by anyone else.”

Vivien noticed what Asai was holding in his hand and asked with surprise.

“Is that… what I think it is?”

“The Seal Doll of Sage Sandean?”

“The very first Divine Artifact?”

Vivien stretched out her hand, as if wanting to take it, but immediately withdrew it.

She suddenly realized that the person before her was not just an ordinary priest of the Temple of Truth or her servant, but the God of Truth and Knowledge, Asai.

“Originally, there was a complete set,” Vivien continued, her expression becoming somewhat complex. “But in the end, only this one remained. It fell into the hands of my teacher, Lan.”

“In the end, my teacher gave it to Xiao. At that time, everyone thought Xiao would inherit the Temple of Truth, becoming the future sage.”

“But my teacher ultimately did not choose him. He chose me instead.”

“It seems my teacher had already seen through Xiao’s true nature even back then.”

Asai looked at Vivien. “Something from the first Sage of Truth, Sandean?”

Since it belonged to the Temple of Truth, Asai ultimately chose to return it to Vivien. He had briefly thought about crushing it, but he saw no point in taking out meaningless anger on such a doll.

Vivien took it in her hand, confusion appearing on her face.

“Why did Xiao place this object in the Dream Realm?”

Though this artifact was not particularly powerful, its significance was extraordinary.

Suddenly, Vivien realized something.

She let out a mocking laugh.

“Hahahahaha!”

“Did he think that by throwing it far away, out of his sight, he could forget?” she scoffed.

“Can even he feel shame?”

Vivien gripped the small doll, about the size of a thumb, and raised it high.

“Since it was something my teacher gave him, I won’t take it back.”

“He betrayed my teacher, yet my teacher never mistreated him.”

“This is proof of his sin, something he can never erase from the past. No matter what he becomes, even if he dies, these things will never fade away.”

With a snap of her fingers, an entrance to the Dream Realm opened before her.

The doll was thrown by Vivien into the Dream Realm, falling toward that shattered giant egg structure within.

The coordinates of the Abyss were almost public knowledge, making it among the easiest places to find in the Dream Realm.

After completing this task, Vivien and Asai went their separate ways completely.

The Abyss.

A doll floated down from the sky, falling into the Door of Original Sin.

A hand reached out and grasped it, holding it gently in the palm.

It was originally part of a set, forming a ceramic doll collection.

The other dolls in the set had been damaged long ago during the creation of monsters and experiments exploring the Art of God’s Grace. Only the weakest and smallest one had been preserved. Since the divine blood on it wasn’t enough for even a single experiment, it became a memento and a symbol.

It once held many stories. It came from the Spirit Country of the Creator’s Domain, from a certain spirit.

Its story spanned Sandean’s entire life, recording the past of Sandean and his students, Haru and Lan.

At the end of the story were Lan and Xiao.

Xiao gripped the doll, and the scene once again appeared before his eyes.

A Sugar Crystal Giant wearing a comical hat walked across the barren, impoverished primeval land. One person stood on its shoulders, while another sat.

The teacher, Lan, asked the standing Xiao, “Your name means smile, yet why is there not even a trace of a smile on your face?”

Xiao answered, “Smile? What’s the point?”

The teacher told him, “Because of joy.”

Xiao replied, “Joy is merely the satisfaction obtained from getting what one wants.”

The teacher asked him, “Haven’t you gotten what you want?”

Xiao’s answer at that time was, “I don’t want much, but what I want is difficult to obtain.”

The teacher thought for a moment, then gave the Seal Doll to Xiao.

“It’s yours now,” he said.

Xiao asked his teacher, “Teacher, are you trying to show me the joy of receiving something?”

“But I won’t be happy just from getting this.”

Teacher Lan shook his head, explaining the origin of the object.

“This is something my teacher Sandean left for me!”

Xiao’s teacher fell into reminiscence. Though he was smiling, his eyes held a complex expression.

“As a child, Haru coveted it greatly, because it was the world’s first Divine Artifact.”

“Originally, it was a set of ceramic dolls, but unfortunately only this last one remains. It’s the weakest and smallest piece.”

“When I received it, I was already at the Third Rank. It wasn’t much use to me.”

“But every time I look at it, I can recall the times of the past, and feel joy.”

“Although that joy has long since vanished with the passing years.”

Xiao didn’t understand what principle his teacher wanted to convey. “What’s the significance of this?”

The teacher offered no deeper meaning, only mentioning the most obvious principle.

“Sometimes what we receive isn’t necessarily what we want, but it can still bring joy.”

“Joy isn’t just about getting what you want.”

“It’s about having things worth remembering, having people you can’t abandon.”

The teacher saw that Xiao still couldn’t comprehend his meaning, recognizing that Xiao could hear the words but not understand the emotion behind them.

The teacher could only shake his head helplessly. He patted Xiao’s shoulder and said.

“Think of it as a symbol of your teacher’s hope. A hope that you will surpass us and achieve even greater things.”

The teacher’s eyes sparkled with light, his smile brighter than the sun.

“I hope that one day, I can become a joy in your memories.”

“That gleam of light that brings laughter when remembered.”

The young Xiao accepted the doll, holding it in his palm.

The memory ended in his mind. The scene returned to the Abyss.

Back under the never-ceasing black rain.

An evil god wearing tattered, decaying robes stood isolated in the darkness.

All had been drowned by the passage of time.

Untraceable, unchangeable.