Endless Desert

The winged great serpent flew over the golden sea of sand, its body appearing dyed gold under the sun.

In this uninhabited desert, it could soar freely.

Initially, after being transformed into a monster by the mythological power of the Lord of Radiance, it did not understand how to use its own power.

It had no knowledge of Divine Techniques. Beyond the whispers of street rumors, it understood very little about Abilities.

This was particularly true because, while it possessed supernatural power, it was not like an ordinary Ability User.

Its power originated from the unique force of the Gate of Spirituality.

It could not directly use the Divine Techniques of ordinary Ability Users, Witch Spirits, and Alchemists.

But having lived for so long, it had gradually mastered some Divine Techniques from the lineage of the Lord of Radiance, which were the most direct applications of its power.

It had the ability to heal itself, quickly recovering from injuries that would be devastating to ordinary people. Its body was so strong that common people could not harm it in the slightest.

It also possessed the power to heal others, using its abilities to mend their wounds. At the same time, it could wield a destructive force capable of directly breaking down or annihilating another’s body structure.

After living longer, it began to awaken some peculiar abilities.

It mastered special seal powers. These allowed it to grant Spirituality to inanimate objects and create unique Seal Puppets.

For example, it could sacrifice part of its body to temporarily grant Spirituality to the clouds in the sky. By merging its body with the clouds, it gained the ability to control rain and clouds.

It could also grant Spirituality to mud. This allowed it to merge with the mud and form a powerful protection.

In the distance, vast yellow sand approached, gathering into a sandstorm.

Hiss!

It let out a hiss and dove down from the sky.

A figure emerged within the sandstorm, shaped like a person but made of sand, with a great serpent coiled around it.

The serpent’s body seemed to dissolve into the sand, moving fluidly within the storm and following the shifting winds into the distance.

The feathered serpent drifted with the swirling sand, crossing the vast expanse of the Endless Desert.

It had wandered this barren land for what felt like an eternity, yet the place it sought remained elusive.

“How can I not find it?”

“Where exactly is that legendary city?”

The feathered serpent wondered.

Suddenly, a powerful demon monster appeared in the sky.

The monster spread its enormous wings, twisting its slender body like a lord of wind commanding the winds that passed through the sky.

It was a Wing Demon.

Though Wing Demons, Sky Messengers, and feathered serpents all belonged to sky creatures, the Wing Demon’s appearance alone revealed its ancient origins.

This was a being that did not belong to this era. It came from an age so distant that Snake People could neither imagine nor trace its existence.

Wing Demons were created by sages of the Temple of Truth, their form conceived from the Wings of Wind Control.

It had no feathers. Instead, it had two flesh wings with holes at the front and back that could harness fierce winds.

It was classified as a demon monster.

Unlike Stone Demons and Fire Demons, which clearly did not resemble life forms, it appeared stronger than ordinary demon monsters and closer to a living being.

Its presence gave the impression of being a life form, not something born from flames or stones.

When some Snake People saw it, they instinctively began to question their own mythology.

If life began with the Life Sovereign blowing the horn to create all living things, how did such unimaginably ancient supernatural beings come into existence?

Did they descend from the Kingdom of God?

Before their mythology, their history, and their civilization began, were there other histories that existed unknown to them?

“A monster!”

“It is hurrying somewhere, heading to that city.”

“That ancient city that can grant them true wisdom and new life forms.”

In the stories the feathered serpent had heard, some powerful monsters would be summoned by that city deep in the desert, traveling great distances to get there.

They would awaken wisdom and gain new forms, becoming legendary Demon Spirits.

If it followed the other, it might finally discover the way to that legendary city.

The feathered serpent trailed behind the Wing Demon, flying for several days and nights.

Finally, at the edge of the sky, it saw the magnificent city.

Heavy walls bore ancient spirit patterns, and the entire city formed an immense ritual array connected to some powerful tool at the city center.

An invisible barrier covered the city, blocking the windblown sand from outside and preventing any peeping.

Only monsters and a few lucky ones could find this city.

Tall stone buildings stood one after another, each layer rising higher than the last. Among them, the tallest structure was a massive tower known as the Moon Tower. Bridges and corridors stretched between the buildings, giving the city a three-dimensional appearance.

The feathered serpent followed behind the Wing Demon.

It watched as the demon descended from the sky, transforming into a colorful kite at the city gate.

Colorful ribbons trailed behind it, fluttering nimbly through the three-dimensional city.

Though its form had shrunk, its use of its Ability became more flexible and powerful. One could clearly see it now possessed wisdom, as joyful waves emanated from its heart into the feathered serpent’s consciousness.

At the same time, various colorful kites flew out from above, dancing with it in the city’s lower airspace.

These were Wing Demons that had previously reached the city. Their kites bore peculiar patterns resembling expressions, which had all now changed to smiling faces.

Whispers, their communications, came on the wind.

The other Demon Spirits in the city cheered, their voices filled with excitement.

“Look, another flying Demon Spirit!”

“Wow, it is so fast!”

“Man, I wish I could fly too!”

At this moment, a Demon Spirit in the form of a metal puppet also rode a strange flying device down from the tallest tower, joining the kite-formed Demon Spirits flying in the sky.

“You can still fly without wings.”

“Ray can make you grow wings.”

The puppet Demon Spirit riding the flying device shouted.

“Well done, Ray.”

The entire ancient city fell into a sea of cheers.

From afar, the somewhat timid feathered serpent gazed at the city, sensing its antiquity and the incomparably powerful aura deep within.

It also watched the Wing Demon transformed into the form of a kite, not understanding why it would take such a shape after becoming a Demon Spirit.

It was unaware that the Wing Demon’s design was inspired by the Wings of Wind Control, a Miracle Tool resembling a large kite.

The puppet Demon Spirit riding the flying device descended from above, precisely passing through the city gate, then pulled up.

Finally, it landed on a patch of sand not far outside the wall.

The Demon Spirit puppet, wearing elaborate robes, dismounted from the flying device and began searching for something in the sand.

Soon it dug out a flying device of a different appearance, then sat down to disassemble and study it.

“Wow, look at all these parts.”

“This design is way better than mine.”

“I should take it back and check it out.”

The boundary of the Abyss Royal City was not limited to the royal city itself, as a large area outside and around it all belonged to its domain.

Below, one could see it was all connected as a single piece, just like the “Lost Kingdom” in Snake People paintings, only covered by yellow sand above.

This place was the limit of the Demon Spirits’ range of activity.

At least for now, it was the furthest boundary they could reach.

“Let me look for more.”

“Are there any others nearby?”

Suddenly, the sand surged, and a huge serpent head emerged, accompanied by a pair of giant wings.

The creature’s sudden appearance startled the puppet Demon Spirit.

“What is this?”

The feathered serpent could not speak, only make hissing sounds.

But it possessed the Wisdom Ability and could communicate directly with the puppet Demon Spirit through its mind.

“Do not be afraid.”

“I am a visitor from afar who wishes to visit this city.”

“But I have never been here before, so I do not know how to enter or what the rules are.”

“So I wanted to ask you.”

The puppet Demon Spirit saw the creature’s enormous, frightening form, yet it communicated politely, completely at odds with its appearance.

“Are you not a monster? Why have you come here?”

The puppet Demon Spirit noticed its wings and immediately grew excited.

“You have wings!”

“What kind of life form are you? Why are you so strange?”

He even stepped forward, wanting to touch the feathered serpent’s wings.

The other seemed very interested in flying beings, whether they were Wing Demons or the feathered serpent before him.

He had been startled earlier only by the suddenness of its appearance, but now he showed none of the fear the feathered serpent expected. Instead, his bold actions made the serpent retreat continuously.

The puppet Demon Spirit saw that the feathered serpent did not want him to touch its wings and immediately stopped.

He shrugged at the feathered serpent and rubbed his head apologetically.

“I am just curious.”

“I really like flying beings.”

The feathered serpent kept a safe distance and continued asking.

“I am a feathered serpent.”

“May I ask how I can enter the city?”

The feathered serpent chose not to reveal its real name. Perhaps it no longer wanted others to know the name it once had. Or maybe it hoped to reclaim its old name only after returning to its Snake Person form.

The puppet Demon Spirit picked up the fallen parts from the ground and wrapped them up.

Then he answered.

“Well, since you told me your name, I suppose it is only fair that I tell you mine.”

“I am Ray.”

“If you want to get into the royal city, you just have to go straight through the city gate.”

“Oh, and Lady Elena recently put a barrier over the city. It is great because it keeps out all the windblown sand, but it also means I cannot just fly in and out with my flying device anymore. So, the gate is the only way in or out now.”

The Demon Spirit puppet named Ray looked at the feathered serpent’s enormous body and shook his head.

“With your size, you might have trouble fitting through the doorway.”

“Besides, you are not exactly a monster, so you would not qualify for the baptism at the city gate.”

The feathered serpent nodded. Since outsiders were not forbidden entry, it still had ways to get in.

The feathered serpent looked at the flying device behind Ray. It had just seen this puppet flying in the sky with it, a sight that had shocked it greatly.

It did not understand how this strange thing he made could fly in the sky.

“Is this… what you call a flying device?”

Ray immediately introduced his masterpiece to the feathered serpent.

“Yes, this is my flying device,” Ray said with a grin.

“You saw it in action earlier, did you not? It flies, just like your wings!”

The feathered serpent asked him, “Is it supernatural power?”

Ray shook his head and turned the pedals. “No, it is just an ordinary flying device. See? You just pedal hard, and it can fly.”

The feathered serpent still did not understand, finding this thing as amazing as the lives dwelling in this city deep in the desert.

Ray leaned against his flying device, looking expectantly at the distant sky.

“When I am able to leave, I will ride it to go very far away, to places no one has ever been.”

The feathered serpent did not originally like talking much with people, but hearing Ray say this, it could not help but speak again.

“Is home not good?”

“Why go so far away?”

“Home is the warmest place. If it were possible, I would hope to never leave home.”

Ray told the feathered serpent.

“I want to go far away to find a place, that place…”

As he spoke, Ray’s voice suddenly grew quieter.

“Eh?”

“What place did I want to find far away?”

Ray suddenly became confused as well.

The feathered serpent’s question had stirred memories that had been dormant for too long.

Those things were imprinted deep within its body, long forgotten yet refusing to be completely forgotten.

The former Ray had lived in the God-Forsaken Era of a previous age.

He wanted to go far away to find an undiscovered paradise.

He believed that beyond the vast sea, he could find a future belonging to the People of the Abyss.

But time flows on, and now it is no longer the First Era, no longer the God-Forsaken Era.

The earth is covered with vitality, and almost everything from the past has vanished.

Neither the Trilobite Men nor the People of the Abyss can fully recover their past.

Now, even he himself had long forgotten why he originally made the flying device.

No matter how hard Ray tried to think, he could not recall what he had once sought to find so far away with his flying device.

Even if he could remember now, that old hope and dream had likely lost its meaning after enduring countless years.

Only Ray’s own obsession, unwilling to disperse, remained in his heart.

Ray could only ask the feathered serpent why it came to the Abyss City.

“What about you?”

“Why did you come here?”

The feathered serpent’s wings stretched out, brushing against the ground.

The yellow sand began to swirl, and the feathered serpent’s body seemed to shed parts of itself, merging with the sand.

In an instant, the sand hardened and took shape, forming a stone Snake Person.

The stone Snake Person began to move, its motions lifelike and vivid.

Through Ray’s supernatural vision, he could see waves of Spirituality radiating from within the stone Snake Person, something only living beings were known to possess.

Ray immediately exclaimed in surprise.

“Wow~”

But before his exclamation finished, the stone Snake Person shattered, dispersing into a pile of sand.

Ray’s exclamation immediately changed from surprise to puzzlement.

“Oh!”

Ray looked at the feathered serpent.

“Is that it?”

The feathered serpent’s inherited special seal power could grant temporary Spirituality to some inanimate objects, allowing them only to move briefly, without supernatural power or any wisdom.

When Ray first saw it, he thought it had created a life, which was a realm already untouchable by mortals.

But the feathered serpent did this not to display its power, but to support what it was about to say.

“Once, I was a Snake Person.”

“But because of a disaster, I became what I am now.”

“My hometown became a battlefield for divine beings. An evil deity transformed many Snake People into my current form. Fortunately, another deity appeared to protect the others in the city.”

“In the end, all the other feathered serpents died. Only I escaped.”

“I have heard that in this city there is a great being who can transform monsters into human form and grant monsters wisdom.”

“I think she must have uncovered the secrets of life.”

“I want to find her and return to my former self.”

Sorrow and longing transmitted from the feathered serpent’s heart.

“For this, I am willing to give everything, willing to give up all the power I now possess.”

Ray looked at the feathered serpent curiously. “Why do you want to return to being a Snake Person?”

“You have Third-Rank power now and a body that is incredibly strong.”

“If you continue to get stronger, who knows? You might even become an Apostle someday.”

“And if you get even stronger than that, maybe you could take revenge on that evil deity.”

The feathered serpent recalled that evil deity, its eyes revealing deep fear.

That mythological giant gate descending from heaven, that spiral power annihilating everything, that mythological pollution changing life forms.

And those eyes without any warmth.

He disregarded everything and everyone’s life and death, treating everyone as tools. Even he himself and his Gate of Spirituality were tools that could be sacrificed.

Just thinking about it made the feathered serpent tremble.

In this world, how could such a being exist?

It was not just the other’s power, but that irresistible posture and that indifference toying with life in the palm of his hand. At that moment, the feathered serpent truly felt what it meant to be a divine being who could do whatever they pleased.

It could not even cry out, let alone offer resistance.

Under the other’s will, it was like a tool manipulated at his discretion, unable to even decide its own death.

Even if the feathered serpent became very powerful in the future, it would probably not be able to break this terrifying mental demon.

“Apostle?”

“If I became an Apostle, I might become that terrifying deity’s Apostle. He should have forgotten me long ago, and I do not want Him to find me.”

“As for power…”

“I do not like this power.”

“It was forced upon me by that evil deity. I hate this power. It turned me into a monster.”

The feathered serpent shook its head.

“Besides, I am just too ordinary. How could I possibly become an Apostle?”

The feathered serpent looked at the puppet Demon Spirit before it. His idea was truly far-fetched.

He seemed to lack much reverence for the deities of this era.

“As for revenge against a deity? How is that possible?”

“You have no idea how truly powerful They are.”

Next, a reminiscent look flowed from the feathered serpent’s pupils.

It recalled the past, the morning before the disaster struck.

“I do not want any powerful abilities.”

“I have lived in this form for more than a hundred years. I have also spent over a hundred years in hiding.”

“I just want to be a Snake Person.”

“I want to live in a Snake People city, living together with other Snake People.”

“I hope to wake up from my bed every morning, greet my family, and then go out to work.”

“It is just that simple.”

Such a simple wish had already turned into an extravagant hope.

Ray thought for a moment, but he did not know how to restore the feathered serpent’s original appearance or change it back from a feathered serpent to a Snake Person.

“You want to be a Snake Person again? I am not sure how that would work. I have never heard of anyone asking for that before.”

“Maybe Lady Elena can help. You should ask her.”

The feathered serpent asked Ray, “Where is this Lady Elena you speak of?”

Ray pointed toward the Abyss Royal City. “She is in the temple at the city center.”

Ray pushed his flying device, carrying the parts he had collected.

He waved goodbye to the feathered serpent, eager to return and improve his flying device.

As he left, Ray called out.

“Hey, the next time we meet, could you show me how you fly? Only if that is okay with you.”

The feathered serpent, seeing Ray’s manner, replied.

“Yes.”

After Ray left, the feathered serpent stared at the remnants of the disassembled flying device on the ground.

The feathered serpent exhaled, and the rusted metal remnants gathered together, gradually forming a damaged humanoid structure.

Clang clang clang!

The metal frame creaked as it came together.

It resembled a puppet Demon Spirit, though it was much cruder and covered in rust.

This was a distinct ability of Third-Rank Wisdom Ability users, known as the Seal Puppet.

The feathered serpent’s Seal Puppet was unique. Its power came from the Gate of Spirituality, making it unlike any ordinary seal.

This Seal Puppet, however, was too small. The feathered serpent could not merge its body into it, which meant it could not unleash its full combat potential.

Still, the feathered serpent was not preparing for a fight. Its goal was to meet Lady Elena.

For this purpose, the limitations of the Seal Puppet did not matter.

The feathered serpent’s Seal Puppet walked toward the city, passing through the open city gate.

Along the way, several puppet Demon Spirits greeted the feathered serpent.

The other Demon Spirits apparently also thought it was a puppet Demon Spirit, unaware that the rust on its body actually confirmed “its identity.”

“Is this a newly awakened puppet?”

“Why have we not seen it before?”

“It is probably a Demon Spirit that does not go out often!”

The feathered serpent controlled the Seal Puppet, moving it forward and gradually toward the city’s depths.

The steep stairs sometimes went up and sometimes down, traversing the city like a climb up a steep mountain.

Corridors were built on the walls of buildings, with an abyss below.

The feathered serpent controlled the puppet as it walked among them, amazed and unable to imagine how such buildings were constructed.

Especially the distant Moon Tower, which was like a divine creation.

Finally, it reached the temple unchallenged.

It walked toward the main hall, but a puppet Demon Spirit at the temple pointed elsewhere.

“Wrong way.”

“Go that way.”

The feathered serpent raised the puppet’s hand, pointing that way and looking at the other.

The puppet Demon Spirit nodded.

“Yes.”

“Go there.”

This was a guard puppet Demon Spirit, and he also thought the feathered serpent was a newly revived puppet Demon Spirit.

The consciousness light of ancient puppet Demon Spirits would wear away with time, but a new consciousness would be reborn within the body.

Each time they revived, they would come to the Yinsai Temple.

Here, they would inherit the wisdom text again, slowly recovering the things within their bloodline body.

Memories might be forgotten, but ancient beings had forcibly left many things in the world that did not vanish with time.

The feathered serpent thought the other was telling it where to meet Lady Elena.

“She is indeed worthy of a near-divine being,” the feathered serpent thought. “I have only just arrived, and she already knows I am here.”

The feathered serpent controlled the puppet to enter the side hall, its heart filled with reverence.

The hall was spacious, with only stone pillars erected within.

Atop the pillars, ancient stone tablets were enshrined.

Those tablets emanated an eternal aura, the text on them depicting the most ancient awakening of wisdom.

When they were born, the Most Ancient Ones still dwelled in the God-given Paradise and lived beneath the Creator’s hall.

In that era, the boundary between gods and mortals was so close.

Upon entering, the feathered serpent saw no Lady Elena but was immediately attracted by the stone tablets. It involuntarily walked toward one of the pillars.

“What is this?”

“Why is it in the temple?”

The feathered serpent thought that temples usually enshrined divine statues, but there were none here.

The feathered serpent approached, standing beneath the pillar.

It raised its head and curiously looked at the text on the stone tablet.

An anomaly occurred.

The feathered serpent had only intended to glance at the tablet. However, after raising its head and catching a glimpse of the “symbols” etched on its surface, it found itself completely immobilized.

It could not even recognize those characters or understand what it saw.

But once it looked, it could not escape.

Not only that, but the immobilization also affected the feathered serpent’s body outside, which instantly lost all senses. Its entire being was pulled into an invisible consciousness world.

It saw the text on the stone tablet suddenly twist, then transform into shadows.

It saw the tablet’s text become a strangely shaped fish, an extinct ancient Ancestral Fish, while the ground beneath it turned into the sea of an ancient era.

Schools of Ancestral Fish leapt from the sea surface, heading into the distance.

Some text transformed into flames. It saw volcanoes erupting in the distance, ejecting material as rolling smoke descended from the sky.

Some text became thunder. It saw violent sea storms, with thunder spreading across the sky.

One after another, interpretations of the ancient wisdom text fell into its mind, telling it what each character represented and how to use them.

And the feathered serpent could do nothing, only stand there motionless.

This was the Wisdom Text Stone Tablet.

And what was inscribed upon it was the wisdom text created by the King of Wisdom, Redlichia.

But as it received those textual interpretations, something more terrifying happened.

The world spun around it, and it felt as though it were standing upon a vast sea of stars.

Countless ancient, indescribable shadows emerged from the star sea, their presence radiating overwhelming waves of sound.

The will of these shadows converged into one, carrying an indescribable pressure that completely crushed its consciousness.

The curse of beings from an ancient era descended upon it.

They cursed this creature for daring to glance at the Wisdom Text Stone Tablet, for daring to peer into the secrets of the Most Ancient Ones.

The feathered serpent had only glanced at the tablet in ignorance, unaware of the consequences. In that brief moment, it was completely devoured.

“Mortal, you dared to gaze upon the divine wisdom… You shall face judgment.”

“To peer at the sacred text… is to invite death.”

“Death… awaits you.”

“Death… calls you.”

“…”

“The text of the Redlichia King… the language of the Divine King… the wisdom of the ancients…”

“The Creator Yinsai God… the supreme deity…”

Under the star sea, countless figures stood forth, gazing at the feathered serpent.

But even being gazed upon was enough to drive the feathered serpent completely mad, let alone those overwhelming cursing sounds gathering from the star sea.

They crossed time and years, crossed distant distances, descending upon the present.

“No!”

“Stop… stop…”

“I did not peek.”

“I did not look.”

The feathered serpent felt its consciousness freeze. Its heart cried out frantically, but no sound came forth.

It wanted to stop, but it was already too late.

It had no idea how to stop. It did not even understand what was happening.

“What is this?”

“Why?”

“I just looked at a stone tablet?”

“I just glanced at it?”

The feathered serpent recalled again that scene in Maya City.

At that time, the deity wearing tattered robes stood atop the city lord’s mansion, returning across time from billions of years ago.

And everyone who merely glanced at Him lost their Snake Person form, turning into various monsters.

That was its eternal nightmare.

And this time, it had not even seen a deity’s appearance. It had just glanced at a stone tablet with characters, and now it would die.

It stood there in the side hall as its consciousness rapidly annihilated and dispersed within its mind.

The sky gradually darkened.

And the feathered serpent embarked on the journey of death.

The curse crossed space from a distant place to descend upon the feathered serpent, about to bestow punishment for peeping at the wisdom tablet.

This was to tell the mortal who did not know its place that the wisdom text was not for it to use. If it had merely peeked at the wisdom text, it would not have suffered such a great backlash.

More importantly, it had dared to directly gaze upon the divine object of wisdom, something left by the King of Wisdom Redlichia.

What punished it was not the King of Wisdom Redlichia, nor the gods.

It was those once-existent but long-vanished Most Ancient Ones and People of the Abyss.

As night descended, darkness enveloped the land, and the moon rose to claim its place in the sky.

Abnormally, there were suddenly two moons in the sky.

One was the ordinary moon, visible at any time.

And the other was the silver God’s Moon.

Moonlight swept over the vast land and over the Endless Desert.

The God’s Moon hung in the sky.

Everything in the world calmed down.

Moonlight shone from outside the temple, bathing all living beings.

It also shone upon the feathered serpent’s body and its Seal Puppet.