Within the Abyss

The seven layers of the Abyss were now undergoing significant transformations.

The Abyss was shaped like a dark egg. The stronger Abyss layers were positioned closer to the outer ring, granting them larger territories.

At its center, beyond ordinary comprehension, the Abyss Core and the Door of Original Sin existed, governing all that lay within.

In the beginning, the Fire Abyss was the First Layer, and the Black Mud Abyss occupied the Second.

The Black Mud Abyss had now risen to claim the position of the First Layer, while the Second Layer was taken by the newly established Dark Prison Abyss.

The Fire Abyss, once the First Layer, descended quickly from its lofty position after the loss of Yafuan.

Within the Dark Prison Abyss, a faint light began to appear.

It formed a circular shape, its outermost ring casting a dim glow that resembled a lunar eclipse.

From within that light, a figure emerged, and the entire Dark Prison Abyss burst into roaring flames.

Unlike the Fire Abyss, where flames burned underground, the Dark Prison Abyss was completely submerged in fire.

The fire in the Fire Abyss was Spirit Fire, a flame born from the spirit. In contrast, the flames of the Dark Prison Abyss were world-burning flames that consumed everything in their path, spreading like an overwhelming flood.

The air filled with the sound of constant explosions. Heart-Burning Demons emerged one after another from the flames, creating a fiery path to welcome the figure descending from the sky and surrounding him.

This welcome by the Heart-Burning Demons finally revealed the figure’s appearance.

He was a charred living corpse.

In his right hand, he gripped a matte longsword, and his presence exuded a terrifying, dangerous aura.

His appearance represented raging seas of fire and death.

As he stepped onto the ground, magma erupted around him. The earth beneath his feet fractured, splitting apart layer by layer.

Boom!

From the cracks, countless charred corpses emerged, each one resembling him. The eyes of every corpse burned with hatred and fury.

These were the new monsters born within the Abyss, vengeful fire corpses that arose from the depths of the Dark Prison Abyss.

The ground shook violently as the earth heaved upward.

Amid the relentless inferno of blazing flames and rivers of molten magma, a throne forged from metal emerged, glowing with intense heat.

The King of Wrath, Dark Moon, ascended that scorching throne amidst the raging fire and magma.

Upon the throne, he spoke.

“I am the Lord of the Dark Prison Abyss, the King of Wrath, Dark Moon.”

“I embody the Original Sin of Wrath.”

“Wrath, vengeance, slaughter, war.”

“Behind the light of burning flames lies the shadow of hatred.”

“From this day forth, I shall bestow new laws upon the Abyss.”

“All who harbor hatred and rage and choose to fall into the Abyss, if you are willing to pay the price of descending into darkness and enduring the pain of eternal fire…”

“You may pray to Wrath and borrow power from the Abyss.”

“The more hatred, the more anger you possess, the greater the power you shall obtain.”

The howls of charred corpses echoed through the flames, resonating deep within the Abyss.

“Go forth!”

“With fury and resentment, go to those who manipulated your fate, to those you once could not resist.”

“Seek vengeance. Unleash your rage.”

“The Abyss will lend you power, enabling you to accomplish what you could not before. It will transform your rage into real flames, ensuring your hatred no longer dissipates into nothingness.”

The third Abyss King had appeared, and with him, the Law of Wrath was born.

【Divine Artifact: Abyss】

【Sequence Number 3】

【Ability 1 Oath of Corruption: …】

【Ability 2 Door of Original Sin: …】

【Ability 3 Abyss King: …】

【Ability 4 Abyss Law: The Will of the Abyss is the God of Original Sin, who grants power to the Seven Deadly Sins, bestowing mythological legal power upon the Abyss.】

【Law of Desire: Abyss Monsters possess powerful and uncontrollable desires. The Abyss Queen Melde bestows upon them the power of reproduction, allowing them to birth new Abyss Monsters through the Abyss. (This Abyss Law was created by the Lord of the Black Mud Abyss, Melde)】

【Law of Pride: All species with wisdom are proud. From the moment of their birth, they aspire to occupy everything in this world, possess everything in this world, and place themselves above all else. The Bone Demon King Yafuan bestows Demon Spirit Fire upon all Abyss Monsters. The Abyss Race possessing this demonic fire will receive the Abyss inheritance, through which wisdom can be passed down, as can power. (This Abyss Law was created by the first Lord of the Fire Abyss, Yafuan)】

【Law of Wrath: The Abyss grants power to rage and hatred. From this moment, extreme rage and hatred will communicate with the dark side of the Darkness of All Spirits. If mortals are willing to pay the price of falling into the Abyss and being eternally burned in flames, they can transform rage and hatred into power. The more extreme the emotion, the more powerful they become. (This law was created by the Lord of the Dark Prison Abyss, Dark Moon)】

At the same time, the Fire Abyss was engulfed in utter chaos.

The spirit fire surged within the skulls of the Bone Legion monsters. The Law of Pride had granted them wisdom, but it had also bestowed upon them corruption and madness.

Under the King’s restraint, they had once groveled submissively on the ground.

But now, there was no King.

Greed, desire, and arrogance drove them to assault that sole, supreme throne.

“The King is gone,” a voice echoed from the monster lair in the Abyss ground, where the Bone Legion gathered.

“A new King shall be born,” the powerful bone monsters declared, sensing their King had vanished and understanding that a new one would emerge.

“Who will be the new King?” the wise monsters whispered among themselves.

“I am the King! I am the King of the Fire Abyss!” The first monster charged toward the Black Stone Magic Palace, unleashing the chaos.

Countless bone monsters slaughtered each other, devouring one another.

Bones piled into mountains, paving the road to the Black Stone Magic Palace and to the throne.

Thousands upon thousands of bone monsters perished. Other bone monsters devoured the magical fire of these fallen creatures. As they grew more insane and corrupt, they also became more powerful.

Untold numbers of monsters died.

All that could be seen were countless Abyss magical fires swirling in the sky.

Finally, atop the mountain of bones, an immensely powerful monster released a roar.

Roar!

This was once a soldier from the Kingdom of Avel who had followed Yafuan and fallen into the Abyss with him, becoming a Bone Demon.

At that moment, he opened his mouth and began to swallow all the magical fire that filled the sky.

The Fire Abyss had birthed a new King. A law bestowed by a former Abyss King, once created, would not completely disappear.

Rather than saying the Abyss granted one the position of Abyss King, it would be more accurate to say that the Abyss King completed the Abyss.

It was he who fused with Original Sin and bestowed upon the Abyss its Law.

The title of Abyss King was merely incidental. What mattered most to the Abyss was finding someone who completely embodied an Original Sin and could create a new Abyss Law.

The Will of the Abyss descended.

The terrifying Flesh and Blood Star revealed a corner of itself above the Fire Abyss. It witnessed the birth of the new King and bestowed upon him the authority of kingship.

The new King of Pride walked upon the bones into the Black Stone Magic Palace and sat upon the throne.

The war was over.

All bone monsters prostrated themselves, daring not to make another move.

A new Bone Demon had ascended to the throne. While Yafuan had mastered the Law of Pride as an Abyss King, this new King was consumed by it.

Royal Court of Ten Thousand Serpents, Mooneclipse City

The Divine Tree outside Mooneclipse City had already dissipated, leaving only the indelible marks of the battle between the Earth Witch and the King of Wrath.

Within the city, after the crisis had passed, people returned to their normal lives, though tales and legends remained on their lips.

No matter how terrified or shocked they had been, once everything concluded, life inevitably returned to normal.

The only place that had noticeably changed was the temple in Mooneclipse City.

“The Prophet saved us!” people exclaimed throughout the city as they finally learned who had protected them that night.

“It was the God who sent us the Prophet! It was the God who protected us!” In the city’s temple, ten times more people than usual had gathered these past few days, their faith and devotion exceeding normal levels tenfold.

“The Ruhe Great Gods? Have you heard of them?” People came to the temple and discovered that seven new divine statues had been added to the Temple of Life, though they had only vague forms, as if to prevent mortals from going mad upon seeing their true appearance.

“I heard from a temple attendant that ‘Ruhe Great God’ isn’t the name of a single deity. There are seven of them in this world.” In a corner of the temple, an attendant was spreading faith and mythology to the believers. He was already surrounded by devout followers, making it difficult to hear clearly from a distance.

“Seven deities? How have we never heard of them before?” People prayed to the gods but were hearing these divine names for the first time.

“That’s because no one had ever been to see them. The Prophet went to see the gods and brought their protection to the mortal realm,” someone announced loudly.

Inside, a temple attendant stood on a raised platform. His face was solemn and his voice carried a deep reverence as he called out.

“The land we inhabit, the world we live in, is supported by seven Ruhe Great Gods.”

“The name Ruhe Beast Island comes from these seven deities.”

“Earth, Sky, Volcano, Glacier, Night Sky, Desert, and Moonlight.”

“These are their epithets.”

“The gods have always watched over the mortal realm. From the very beginning, they left us their protection. The seven Ruhe Great Gods have remained beneath the earth, safeguarding the descendants of the Ten Thousand Serpents.”

The temple attendant shouted the ancient mythology passed down since antiquity, the story of the beginning of the era.

“The Ruler of Life sounded the horn, and Ruhe Beast Island rose in the center of the sea. Life and greenery spread across the land and sky.”

“They entrusted seven great gods to uphold this vast island, sustain our world, and nurture us to grow and flourish.”

“This is the blessing of the Ruler of Life.”

“It is the most merciful and magnificent grace in this world.”

“Believers!” he called out, his voice echoing through the temple. “Let us come together and praise the greatness of God! Let us lift our voices in unison and honor the divine!”

As he spoke, the temple attendant himself was moved to tears.

Throughout the temple, everyone prostrated themselves before the statues of the Ruler of Life and the gods, calling out with devotion.

“Great Ruler of Life!”

“Thank you for your blessings and grace!”

In another part of Mooneclipse City, within the Executive Hall

A group of people argued fiercely over newly claimed territories, each vying for the appointment of executive officers for five new provinces and the mayors of various cities.

These executive officers were appointed by the High Executive Officer and the institutional chambers, with their terms limited to a single session.

In the past, titles and territories were handed down through inheritance. Now, people scrambled for power, eager to claim their share and fiercely competing for the rewards of victory.

The former commander of the Solar Flame Legion raised his voice, his tone so intense that it seemed he might bring down the entire executive center.

“Who conquered the Wing Demon Province, the Serke Province, and the Modo Province?”

“Who defeated the Thunderlake Kingdom in the north?”

“Almost half of the five southern territories were taken by the Solar Flame Legion! Why did we receive the least?”

But soon, another group came up to argue with him heatedly.

“The Solar Flame Legion? You still have the nerve to speak?”

“Do you know that Byron was from the Abyss Cult? He nearly destroyed us all!”

“I think everyone in the Solar Flame Legion is suspicious and needs a thorough investigation.”

At this moment, the High Executive Officer stood up, and everyone fell silent.

“Enough.”

“This was not the decision of any single person. It is a unanimous resolution passed by the High Executive Office and all chambers.”

“You may refuse to accept it or express your protest.”

“But once the resolution is passed, everyone, including myself, must implement it.”

Everyone finally left. From their expressions, however, it was clear that neither side would back down and that they would employ other tactics in the future.

The dispute was temporarily resolved. The man who had just become the High Executive Officer rubbed his forehead.

Only after truly taking this position did he realize how different it was from being a deputy, and how much heavier the burden on Dark Moon’s shoulders had been than he had imagined.

In addition, Dark Moon had taken over a Royal Court of Ten Thousand Serpents that was in decline, but he had also inherited a nation brimming with the potential for renewal.

At that moment, an attendant rushed in from the entrance.

“High Executive Officer, someone has arrived.”

When the visitor’s name was announced, the High Executive Officer quickly stood and made his way to the high-ranking hall without delay.

A man and a woman were waiting in the hall.

The woman was the Earth Witch. When she came to this place, the Blood Kin of Suinhor had also appeared, perhaps not by coincidence.

As soon as the Blood Kin saw the High Executive Officer, he immediately stated his purpose.

“I need an explanation regarding Byron, the Abyss heretic, and the former High Executive Officer, Dark Moon.”

“Has the corruption of the Abyss Cult within the Royal Court of Ten Thousand Serpents reached such a level?”

Concerning Byron, the Earth Witch knew his entire story.

If blame were to be assigned, everything was Dark Moon’s fault. Byron was merely an ordinary person swept along by the tide of the times, a tool for others to achieve their goals. The Earth Witch felt deep sorrow for his life and tragic end.

But now, Dark Moon himself was consumed by the Abyss, forever lost in the unending fury of the flames.

“Who is right?”

“Who is wrong?”

It was no longer clear, and no one present cared. They only cared about how to divide the benefits that would come to them.

The Earth Witch rose to her feet and addressed the Blood Kin.

“The matters of Byron and Dark Moon are in the past. As the Prophet of the Snake Deity Temple and the Earth Witch, I assure you that the Royal Court of Ten Thousand Serpents has no connection to the Abyss Cult.”

“Lord Blood Kin, there is no need for concern.”

“How we choose to handle those associated with the Abyss Cult is an internal affair of the Royal Court of Ten Thousand Serpents.”

“As a prince of Suinhor, Lord Blood Kin, you should refrain from interfering in our internal matters.”

Seeing the Earth Witch speak this way, the Blood Kin of Suinhor nodded.

“Since the Earth Witch has spoken, I will trust her words.”

“My actions are driven by a desire to stop those evil dark forces from spreading. I hope to prevent tragedies like what happened in Wing Demon City from occurring again.”

Next, the Earth Witch turned to the High Executive Officer. “I am preparing to leave.”

The High Executive Officer’s expression shifted. “Have we done something wrong, Lady Witch?”

The Earth Witch shook her head. “I am the Prophet of the Snake Deity Temple. For generations, prophets have stood at the foot of the Mountain of Life’s Origin, safeguarding our sacred mountain, our beginning.”

“There are people waiting for me there. I should return.”

The High Executive Officer understood he had no grounds to persuade her to stay. His only concern was that she might be leaving out of frustration. Realizing this was her genuine reason, he felt a sense of relief instead.

Having such a divine spokesperson in Mooneclipse City created an unspoken constraint for him, as many decisions had to take her perspective into account.

The Earth Witch continued, “However, before I leave, I have one request.”

The High Executive Officer replied, “Please, speak freely.”

The Earth Witch said, “I hope to recompile the 《Myth of the Ten Thousand Serpents》 and ensure that all major temples in the royal court erect statues of the Ruhe Great Gods.”

“The Ruhe Great Gods are the protection left for us by the Ruler of Life. The descendants of the Ten Thousand Serpents should worship them.”

The High Executive Officer responded, “I will certainly do everything to facilitate this.”

As the High Executive Officer concluded, the Blood Kin added his own thoughts.

“In that same way, as gods,” he said, “I believe the statue of the Scarlet Goddess could also be included. Her greatness and mercy grant her the right to be placed within the temples of the Ten Thousand Serpents.”

The Earth Witch seemed to hold a strong aversion to the Blood Kin and Suinhor, as many recent disasters and wars in the Southern City-State Alliance were linked to them.

However, the Earth Witch could not openly criticize another deity.

“In that case, the temples of Suinhor must also include the worship of the Mother of All Snakes and all Ruhe Great Gods.”

“You must not interfere with or suppress the believers’ choice of their secondary faith.”

Secondary faith referred to beliefs outside the primary one. For example, those who followed the Temple of Life lineage primarily worshipped the Ruler of Life, but many in the Royal Court of Ten Thousand Serpents chose the Mother of All Snakes as their secondary deity.

In general, compared to distant principal deities, these lower-tier beings often inspired more widespread devotion.

At this, the Blood Kin hesitated.

He was merely a nominal divine spokesperson, and his authority was tied to the armband on his right arm, which bore the Proof of Blood Kinship.

He knew he could not make such decisions on behalf of his deity.

The High Executive Officer seized this opportunity to implement the plan that Dark Moon had left for him.

“Based on the highest law of the Royal Court of Ten Thousand Serpents, the people have the freedom to choose their faith and may place statues of any true god in their prayer halls.”

“However, this faith must remain pure, free from any territorial or political influences.”

The Earth Witch looked at the High Executive Officer. “What are you trying to achieve? Are you not afraid of incurring divine wrath?”

The High Executive Officer met her gaze, his tone steady and resolute. “No divine will has ever been passed down, nor has any oracle declared that the descendants of the Ten thousand Serpents are bound to a single faith from birth.”

He continued, “Faith is a matter of freedom. The choice of which deity to worship is a gift the gods have granted to mortals.”

The Earth Witch wanted to argue, but she could not speak.

She knew what he said was not wrong. No divine oracle had ever been passed down.

The descendants of the Royal Court of Ten Thousand Serpents were never destined from birth to follow a particular faith.

The Ruler of Life had not decreed it.

The Mother of All Snakes had not decreed it.

The seven Ruhe Great Gods likewise did not care.

The only ones who cared about such things were mortals.

“The Executive Officer’s words are very interesting!” The Blood Kin smiled and left.

Although the High Executive Officer’s final words seemed favorable to Suinhor and won the Blood Kin’s approval, they did not bring about an immediate change in the faith distribution within the Royal Court.

These verbal statements were not as impactful as directly moving the Scarlet Goddess’s statue into their temples.

Moreover, if this approach did change the faith in the Royal Court, it would mean the Scarlet Goddess had gained influence there, not Suinhor.

But the Earth Witch stayed.

She wanted to understand what Dark Moon had left behind and what his intentions truly were.

She had no wish to meddle in the governance of this country, nor did she have the knowledge to do so.

“What was Dark Moon trying to achieve?”

“Can you explain it to me?”

The High Executive Officer considered for a moment, then revealed the original plan.

“Before he left, he set everything in motion.”

“He ensured it was written into the highest law.”

“From this point forward, in the Royal Court of Ten Thousand Serpents, everyone will have the freedom to choose their faith.”

The Earth Witch looked at the High Executive Officer. Her gray pupils did not appear dull but possessed an indescribable beauty.

“So, you believe that in the future, faith will no longer be tied to a country or ethnicity, but that each person will have the freedom to choose which deity to worship?”

The High Executive Officer replied, “That’s right.”

The Earth Witch paused for a moment and then asked, “Do you and Dark Moon believe this is the better way?”

The High Executive Officer agreed without hesitation.

“A new era has arrived.”

“Naturally, there are new laws for the new era. If one cannot even choose their faith, where does true devotion come from?”

“Can faith that is forced upon someone truly be called faith?”

“Lady Witch,” he said, “do the gods truly require such a thing?”

“In the future, servants of the gods will travel across the land, openly sharing their teachings. Temples and halls dedicated to various deities will be found everywhere. Faith will exist as faith alone, unburdened by any other restrictions.”

“In addition, this approach ensures that the rights of royalty and nobility will no longer be seen as divinely granted.”

“There will no longer be claims of eternal dynasties.”

“If someone cannot rule well, if someone fails to do their duty, everyone can choose to overthrow them.”

Finally, the High Executive Officer spoke about Suinhor. “The king of Suinhor is chosen by divine will, which is why no one has ever dared to challenge the king.”

“Each generation of Suinhor’s kings has been wise, likely because of divine blessing.”

“But those nobles are different. The aristocrats who have inherited their titles for generations are nearly suffocating that kingdom.”

“Lady Witch, just wait and see.”

“I believe the place that will crumble like a landslide in the future is Suinhor, not us.”

To others, such words might seem like empty rhetoric, the usual talk of politicians.

But to a believer like the Earth Witch, they held a deeper significance.

She did not care what the Executive Officer wanted or what interests he represented.

She also knew that when the Executive Officer spoke these words, he certainly intended to prevent religious officials from interfering with the royal court’s governance.

She only looked at these words from her own perspective, from the viewpoint of a divine apostle.

She began to believe there could be some truth in them. If this model of faith were to take root, the results might not be so poor.

“There are so many corrupt people in this world, so many who commit evil deeds claiming to act in the name of the gods.”

“Perhaps it is because faith is imposed upon them from birth, without choice!”

Before this, the Ten Thousand Serpent people worshipped the Mother of All Snakes. The Land of Sunrise worshipped the God Iva. Suinhor worshipped the Scarlet Goddess, and the Avel people worshipped the God of Knowledge and Truth.

Everyone’s faith had been decided from the moment they were born.

However, the witch could now feel that change was genuinely approaching.

She turned to leave and offered the Executive Officer one last statement.

“I will wait and see if the future you describe comes to pass. Then we will know if what you say is true.”

From these words, one could sense that the Earth Witch was no longer the same prophet as before.

She possessed enough life to witness all these changes unfold.

And she had enough power to intervene if things went astray.

Fort Pence

Since the Prophet’s disappearance, the Snake Deity Temple had remained closed.

In recent years, it had gradually declined, losing the splendor it once held as a holy site.

But today was entirely different.

The temple gates opened. Members of the Temple Knight Order and numerous temple attendants came outside to wait.

The main street outside the Snake Deity Temple was packed with people.

A Wing Demon appeared on the horizon. The flames on the Sacred Fire platform suddenly ignited on their own, rising into a towering pillar of fire as if in celebration.

The Wing Demon landed outside the temple, and a woman with brown hair and gray eyes stepped down gracefully.

The people in the Snake Deity Temple, upon seeing her form, were filled with overwhelming excitement. While they had already heard the news, seeing her in person was another matter entirely.

“A God’s Form.”

“God’s Apostle! The Prophet has truly become God’s Apostle!”

“This is a miracle!”

“Prophet, you really brought divine protection for the mortal realm!”

“It’s the Witch now. The Earth Witch.”

The Earth Witch walked step by step toward the temple’s interior, and everyone prostrated themselves on the ground.

She walked through the corridor, entering the city-within-a-city, and ascended the steps one by one.

She saw the Captain of the Temple Knights, who had been waiting for her.

The Captain bowed deeply and looked up at her, his voice full of emotion.

“Prophet, I always believed you would come back.”

The Earth Witch smiled.

At that moment, all the trees in Fort Pence came alive with a surge of vitality.

Boom!

With a resounding roar, a magnificent Divine Tree began to grow at the base of the Mountain of Life’s Origin.

“Look at that!” Everyone in Fort Pence witnessed the scene.

“The Sacred Tree! It’s the Prophet’s Sacred Tree!”

Before the Prophet’s return, many people had already heard about what happened in Mooneclipse City.

“This is a miracle.” Although this mountain and this city had witnessed many miracles, this time felt different, as the tree gave them a true sense of being protected.

The sacred mountain pierced the clouds with its immeasurable height, the majestic city stood firm in the mortal realm, and the Sacred Tree radiated light, protecting the world below.

The three merged into one, creating a unique scene in this world.

The Earth Witch stood at the entrance of the grand temple hall, her gaze sweeping over all of Fort Pence.

She began to speak.

“Mountain of Life’s Origin.”

“This is where the Ruler created us, the Origin Site of everything. This is the sacred domain where the gods once wandered.”

“From now on, no one will be allowed to act recklessly or desecrate the glory of the gods in this sacred place.”

The Earth Witch’s voice carried throughout Fort Pence.

From this moment, the faith of the Ruhe Great Gods spread across the earth.

The Royal Court of Ten Thousand Serpents had finally received what they desired: divine protection.

The Blood Kingdom of the Deep Sea

Red crystal walls enclosed the bottom of the deep sea, a mystical kingdom deeply embedded in Ruhe Beast Island.

In a way, this kingdom was also a part of Ruhe Beast Island.

The Scarlet Goddess also bore a small piece of the island, though it was truly just a small piece.

At this moment, the Scarlet Goddess stood beneath a mural, a reproduction of the creation pantheon painting from the Sky Temple.

She had observed the changes in the Royal Court of Ten Thousand Serpents and the Land of Sunrise. She was fully aware of the intentions behind the actions of the Royal Court.

More importantly, she had been aware of the internal issues within Suinhor for a long time.

She suddenly turned to Alpens beside her, questioning this founding king of Suinhor.

“Should faith allow for choice?”

“Faith allowing choice? How could that be possible?”

The Scarlet Goddess was born among the Trilobite Men and raised in Suinhor.

In her view, such a thing seemed ridiculous.

But in her heart, she truly felt that times needed to change, as the current problems in Suinhor were indeed accumulating.

Furthermore, these changes could be tied to the Trilobite Symbiotes’ plan to nurture a new god in their quest to claim the Wisdom Fruit.

It could affect all future strategies of the Scarlet Goddess and the entire Trilobite Symbiote collective.

But Alpens spoke up. “Lady Vivien, the Snake People are not the Trilobite Men, and this era is not the same as the one before.”

“We are life forms created by the Creator’s own hands, descendants of Redlichia, the King of Wisdom. They are not.”

“This era is the Age of Gods. The Age of Yinsai belongs only to us.”

“The approach of the Royal Court of Ten Thousand Serpents may not be entirely right, but it cannot be judged wrong at present. We must see how things develop.”

The Scarlet Goddess lifted her gaze to the Creator’s divine painting. Her eyes lingered on the radiant, starlit figure of the Creator Yinsai.

She then shifted her gaze to the King of Wisdom Redlichia, standing below the divine throne, and to the Dream Sovereign Hila.

Her eyes lingered on the Ruler of Life, Shelly, who rested casually against the Creator while seated on the divine platform.

For the Scarlet Goddess and the Trilobite Symbiotes, this was their temple.

When Suinhor worshipped the Scarlet Goddess, they placed her in the Temple of Life as though she were a servant of the Ruler of Life.

This was not wrong, but it was not the whole truth. The Scarlet Goddess revered the entire creation pantheon and honored the Creator Yinsai.

To the Trilobite Men, the King of Wisdom Redlichia was regarded more as an ancestor than a deity.

The bloodline of the Trilobite Men came from the King of Wisdom. They were created through the Mother Conch of All Things by the Ruler of Life, and the Dream Sovereign Hila began as a messenger of the God Yinsai.

The Scarlet Goddess stepped forward.

As she approached the mural, she tilted her head upward to meet the towering presence before her.

“Creator Yinsai.”

“King of Wisdom Redlichia, Mother of Life Shelly, Divine Messenger Hila.”

“In the Age of Yinsai, there was only one true god, and that was Yinsai.”

“Everyone had a single faith, and it was the God Yinsai.”

The Scarlet Goddess’s voice was filled with reminiscence.

In the beginning, there was only one deity in the world.

The King of Wisdom was simply the King of Wisdom. The Mother of Life was the goddess who gave life to all. The Dream Sovereign was only the messenger of the God Yinsai.

For the Trilobite Men, the most ancient ones of the Yinsai Kingdom, it was hard to comprehend.

What did choosing one’s faith even mean?

Was such a thing possible?

Even though Vivien could grasp it intellectually, she struggled to accept it in her heart.

But at last, she truly understood.

It was not that Yinsai had changed, nor that faith had shifted. The First Era had long since ended, leaving the Trilobite Men as the most ancient of beings. Time had eroded everything.

Suinhor was not Yinsai, and the Snake People were not the ancient Trilobite Men.

The Scarlet Goddess could only sigh deeply.

“Indeed,” she murmured. “The Age of Yinsai belonged only to us. For us, Yinsai will always remain the one true Creator.”

“But they are not us. This is the Age of Gods…”

“Yinsai is Yinsai. The gods are the gods. And we… are ourselves.”