Whoosh, whoosh~

A sweeping sea of yellow sand blanketed the earth, and in the distance, a city appeared faintly through the haze.

This was the Abyss Royal City, the city of the Demon Spirit Race.

The two words “Demon Spirit” could be understood as a fusion of monsters and ghosts, or as the spirits of the Abyss Kingdom itself.

The People of the Abyss of old were no more, yet their spirits and wills still lingered upon the earth.

At this moment, a figure cloaked in a hooded robe walked through the yellow sands, the garment swaying constantly in the wind.

He kept his head lowered as he moved forward, seemingly searching for something within the dust and sand.

Many things lay buried outside the Abyss Royal City, some of which could even be traced back to the previous era.

“Is that all there is?”

“I guess I’ve already found most of it,” he sighed, glancing around the endless dunes.

Beneath the robe was a body forged from metal. This was a Demon Spirit puppet named Ray.

Ray was searching for things his former self had left scattered across these yellow sands, including remnants and parts of various flying machines with different designs, and even notebooks or other items he had once left behind.

Walking through the yellow sand, Ray suddenly noticed something. His metal right hand transformed into a mechanical claw that drilled into the sand, then pulled up an object.

“Just a broken stone.”

Ray set it down and continued forward. Before long, he pulled up another rust-covered item from the sand.

“This is…”

Ray brightened with joy and placed it into his storage ring.

He had picked up such parts time and time again, though recently they had become increasingly scarce.

He could no longer find the larger pieces. What remained were only broken fragments. The rest had either drifted with the shifting sands beyond the stone foundation of the Abyss Royal City or had long since decayed into nothing.

“There are still some parts here, but why can’t I find any elsewhere?”

“Did they flow away with the sand to other places?”

During these days of searching for parts, Ray would sometimes ask himself a question. It was a question he persisted in with apparent sincerity, yet one that still puzzled him.

“Just how many flying machines did I build?”

“Why did every version of me want to fly toward the sky, to soar in the direction where the sun rises?”

Ray could not understand why every version of himself shared such striking similarities, why each one seemed to have nearly the same thoughts.

Maybe it was simply because he was born with an innate yearning for faraway places and the warmth of the sun.

The wind swept up grains of sand that struck Ray’s robe, some slipping inside and lodging in the gaps of his metal frame.

This made Ray uncomfortable, so he pulled his robe tighter around himself.

As he walked, he spoke aloud.

“It would be even better if I could find another notebook.”

“By the way, I’ve heard the alchemists in the Land of Sunrise are quite remarkable. They can create all sorts of alchemical artifacts and things beyond ordinary imagination.”

“If I could exchange ideas with them, that would be wonderful.”

Recently, Ray had been planning to build a completely new flying machine.

He wanted to use this aircraft to travel to faraway places. Perhaps it was to explore the entirety of Ruhe Beast Island, but even more, he longed to see the world that lay beyond.

Since Elena ascended to mythology through the use of the miracle tool, the Demon Spirit Pyramid, Demon Spirits were no longer confined to the Endless Desert.

These peculiar life forms occasionally appeared in the kingdoms of the snake people, causing quite a stir and becoming background characters in various fantastical and wondrous tales.

Ray also occasionally left the Abyss Royal City, visiting the cities of the nearby Yellow Sand Kingdom to observe what the snake artisans made and to collect precious alchemical artifacts.

For instance, the storage ring on his hand was something he had recently acquired from the Yellow Sand Kingdom.

He had heard from someone in the Yellow Sand Kingdom that beyond Ruhe Beast Island lay a much broader world.

People had ventured out before, finding new worlds and new paradises in the distance.

When he heard the words “new world” and “paradise,” his emotions surged uncontrollably.

He asked the person, “What is the new world like?”

“And what is the new paradise like? Can it accommodate many people?”

The person answered him, “The new world is said to be far larger than all of Ruhe Beast Island. It can accommodate countless nations and countless people.”

“It’s said that the people of Avel and the legendary Winged People live in that new world.”

Ray knew of the Winged People, a race born with the ability to fly.

Without even needing flying machines, they could soar freely through the sky.

Hearing the legends of that new world and imagining a race that flew through the heavens with wings, Ray felt boundless yearning in his heart.

The story of the Avel people in particular stirred emotions in Ray that he could not quite name.

There was sadness, yet also happiness for them.

“That’s truly wonderful.”

“When their race faced extinction, they resolutely left Ruhe Beast Island for distant lands.”

“And in the end, they were still able to find a habitat suitable for their race.”

“That’s truly… wonderful.”

Ray asked again, “How did they reach the new world? Where did they depart from?”

Unfortunately, the person before him was not very clear about these details.

The history of the Avel people was ancient. People might have heard folk tales about the Avel people, colored with mythological legend.

But if you truly asked them where the Avel people lived, from where they departed for the new world, or what the Avel people looked like, they would not know.

However, the convenient thing about storytelling is that you can improvise based on feeling.

“They set out toward the east, heading in the direction of the sun, and kept going until they found the New Continent.”

Hearing this, Ray stood up excitedly.

“That’s right! If you keep going toward the sun, you’re sure to find the new world.”

After hearing the story of the Avel people, Ray also wanted to set out like them and go see that new world.

Unfortunately, his previous flying machine could only fly for brief periods, unable to maintain long flights and lacking sufficient carrying capacity.

So he decided to build a new flying machine, one that would allow him to fly across continents and seas, and even reach the new world.

If possible, he even wanted to fly through the sky all the way to the sun itself.

Ray searched through the yellow sand, gathering not just parts but also his former self’s ideas and concepts about building flying machines.

He had once found two of his own notebooks, which proved to be a great inspiration for building his new aircraft.

Ray finished his daily routine of “scavenging” and returned to the Abyss Royal City.

The Demon Spirits in the city greeted Ray.

One Demon Spirit puppet sat on the drawbridge, and upon seeing Ray pass by, called out to him.

“Out scavenging again today, Ray?” the Demon Spirit puppet called out with a teasing tone.

This Demon Spirit puppet sat here watching the scenery every day, and every day, he saw Ray pass by.

Ray shrugged and replied, “Scavenging? These are just treasures I misplaced a long time ago.”

Further along, a kite-shaped Demon Spirit drifted down and asked Ray in an ethereal voice.

“I heard you want to fly to the sun.”

Ray told the kite-shaped Demon Spirit, “I just think that the closer you get to the sun, the more lush the plants grow, and the more vibrant life becomes.”

“If you keep heading toward the sun, you’re sure to find the place most suitable for life.”

“A completely new world.”

The kite-shaped Demon Spirit did not quite understand what Ray was saying. She simply nodded lightly.

“Oh! So you don’t want to fly to the sun itself!”

Then she drifted away just like that.

Ray felt he might have been looked down upon, so he shouted after the kite-shaped Demon Spirit.

“That’s just the first step! I’ll fly to the sun itself later!”

“If you want to go, I can take you with me!”

But the kite-shaped Demon Spirit had already drifted far away and probably did not hear his words.

This left Ray’s hope of finding a companion dashed.

The entire Abyss Royal City looked no different from before, still closed off and quiet, like a secluded paradise.

It gave one the feeling that time had somehow stopped here.

Though the Demon Spirits as a race possessed the foundation of an ancient civilization, they had never truly found a direction that belonged to them, the driving force a civilization should have.

They hid in this narrow shelter, isolated from the world, with almost no significant contact with the outside.

Though some Demon Spirits had recently left the Abyss Royal City for distant places, a sense of change for the entire race’s future had not yet arrived.

As a race and a civilization, it lacked both vitality and purpose.

Ray did not return to his miracle workshop but instead proceeded directly to the Demon Spirit Pyramid.

The moment he stepped into the Yinsai Temple, he was pulled by a powerful force into another realm.

Unlike the inverted pyramid outside, the Demon Spirit Pyramid here was upright.

Outside the Yinsai Temple stood a divine statue guarding the temple.

Below the statue, he saw a deity wearing a hooded cloak, a woman with both corporeal and ghostly faces. A mysterious compass hung from the woman’s chest, and a sword hilt showed beneath her robe.

Identical to the standing statue, this was none other than Elena, the God of Demon Spirits.

Yet she was a deity guarding the temple of another god.

At this moment, the God of Demon Spirits, Elena, was using the power of the Demon Spirit Pyramid to observe the prayers of another Demon Spirit in the distance.

A Demon Spirit puppet of modest height could be seen praying to Elena.

The spirit chanted, “Master of the Demon Spirit Pyramid, protector of monsters and Demon Spirits, Lord of the Abyss Kingdom from the ancient times.”

This was the three-part divine name Elena had established, allowing Demon Spirits to communicate with her through the divine name and ritual, connecting to the Dream Realm.

As the prayer ended, the vision gradually faded.

The God of Demon Spirits, Elena, finally turned her head to look at Ray.

“Ray.”

Ray knelt on the ground. “Lady Elena, did you summon me for something?”

Elena gave Ray a task. “The apostle of the God of Desire and Alchemy, Oran, has arrived. Go greet him on my behalf.”

Ray knew Oran. The man had visited the Abyss Royal City before.

Moreover, Oran had a relationship with Lady Elena. He was the one who had returned Elena’s God’s Grace Stone to the Abyss Royal City, allowing the Demon Spirit Pyramid plan to succeed completely.

“His last visit was many years ago, wasn’t it?”

“Why is he here this time?”

Elena replied, “The God of Desire and Alchemy is aiming to compete for the Wisdom Fruit. Oran might end up becoming his follower.”

“He is on a journey. Apart from coming to congratulate me on becoming a mythological being, he is likely searching for his own Path of Mythology.”

Ray nodded and said, “The outside world sounds so lively.”

His words carried no envy, only a deep yearning for faraway places.

It seemed that even if Oran were to ascend to godhood, Ray’s demeanor would remain unchanged.

As Ray was about to leave, the God of Demon Spirits standing before the Yinsai Temple called out to him.

Elena turned to Ray. Her puppet face spoke first.

“Ray, I heard you want to leave Ruhe Beast Island.”

The metal puppet face fell silent, and the ghostly face rippled as it spoke.

“Why?”

Hearing Elena ask this, Ray immediately scratched his head.

He smiled at Elena somewhat like a child. “Why?”

“Lady Elena,” Ray said with a small smile, “there isn’t really a reason. I just feel like going.”

Sometimes, when people dream of faraway places and feel the urge to do something, there seems to be no clear reason. It just arises suddenly, the longing to go somewhere and the yearning to achieve something.

For Ray, however, this sudden desire seemed to have a deeper reason, one that Elena had quietly discerned.

Elena looked at Ray for a moment, saying nothing more. She stepped down from the temple entrance, her movements deliberate and calm.

She descended the stairs and came to stand before him.

Without a word, she removed an ornament from around her neck.

Then, with her own hands, she placed it gently around Ray’s shoulders.

It was Elena’s compass.

【Miracle Tool: More Than Just a Compass】

【Sequence Number 163】

【Deep Sea Knight Elena witnessed a strange sight by the sea and, influenced by some unknown force, created this compass.】

【Ability 1: It not only points south but can also locate people or objects through items they’ve touched for a long time. With it, we will not misplace old possessions.】

【Ability 2: It can point toward the direction of one’s inner heart. With it, we will not lose our way.】

Ray was taken aback and could not comprehend why Elena had entrusted him with such an item.

“Lady Elena, this is your treasure. It has always been with you,” he said, his voice filled with hesitation.

Elena responded calmly, “I have merely grown accustomed to wearing it.”

She then elaborated on the compass’s purpose and its origin.

“This is the world’s first compass, crafted by my own hands. However, its function is not limited to pointing south.”

Ray looked at her with curiosity. “Then where does it point, Lady Elena?”

Elena’s gaze softened as she explained, “It can locate the person you wish to find by sensing their aura, and it can guide you to any place you seek.”

She paused briefly before continuing, “It is a miraculous creation, a gift from the Creator and the Dream Sovereign.”

Elena’s voice carried a note of reverence as she added, “The Trilobite Man and the People of the Abyss are direct descendants of Redlichia, the King of Wisdom. We once possessed many extraordinary artifacts, and this compass is one of them.”

Ray reached out and grasped the compass Elena had given him.

He looked at the compass in his palm and discovered that the needle inside kept swaying, refusing to settle.

“But Lady Elena, it just keeps spinning in circles!”

Elena asked Ray, “Do you truly understand the direction of your inner heart?”

“Ray, have you truly discovered the goal within your heart?”

Ray departed, holding the compass Elena had given him, somewhat bewildered.

After Ray left, Ghost Elena spoke.

“It has been two hundred and fifty million years, yet he still holds on to his former wish.”

Puppet Elena replied, “An entire era has passed, and that wish has long faded with time.”

Ghost Elena said, “Yet he still remembers it.”

Ray was born in the God-Forsaken Era. He had once wanted to travel to distant lands to find a land of hope, but he ultimately gave it up for Elena’s Demon Spirit Pyramid plan, willingly becoming a Demon Spirit bound to the Abyss Royal City.

Yet in his heart, he still remembered his longing.

In that age when hope could not be seen, he dreamed of going to distant places to search for the hope in his heart. He imagined a new world and paradise.

After an entire era had passed, his former goal and wish no longer held any meaning. Yet they still bound him.

In the sky, a magic carpet moved nimbly through the sea of clouds, heading toward the Endless Desert.

On the carpet were Oran and Gamel. They had spent the previous day at an inn in the Yellow Sand Kingdom, experiencing the intense customs of the desert people. They had seen endless caravans of pack beasts and watched the lively, passionate dances of the tavern girls.

This was a small nation living on the barren edges of the desert sea.

In the Thunderlake Kingdom, water was the most abundant resource, but here every drop of water was precious.

On the magic carpet, the lamp spirit dwelling within the Cup of Desire spoke, “So this is what the Yellow Sand Kingdom is like. They worship the Desert Giant God.”

“Though it seems they haven’t truly established contact with this Ruhe Great God.”

Oran, well-traveled and knowledgeable, explained, “Ruhe Great Gods are quite different from ordinary deities. They have absolutely no need for the faith of intelligent beings.”

What wisdom demigods needed was not so much the faith of mortals but rather the selection of divine servants from among the faithful. The faith and devotion of ordinary mortals actually had no effect whatsoever on wisdom demigods.

One could only say that having a foundation of faith made it more convenient to select divine servants.

And for Ruhe Great Gods, mortal faith was even more useless.

Oran spoke of something he had only recently learned about a new nation.

“I heard that a new nation has also emerged on the wasteland, called the Wasteland Witch Kingdom.”

“Behind it stands the support of the witch spirits and the God of Knowledge and Truth.”

Every nation on Ruhe Beast Island had a deity as its background.

Without the support of a deity, it was impossible to establish a nation.

Even if there truly was no divine support, one had to at least pretend to have it.

Both the Thunderlake Kingdom and the Yellow Sand Kingdom were born this way.

Gamel was visiting here for the first time. “Master Oran, where is the Abyss Royal City?”

Oran said, “The location of the Abyss Royal City is not fixed. This sea of sand is constantly moving, taking the city with it. We can only search for it slowly.”

However, this time Oran did not need to search long. Soon after they entered the Endless Desert, something happened.

The flying carpet was soaring smoothly through the sky when suddenly a strange sound came from the distance.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

A peculiar object approached from afar, flying up beside the flying carpet to soar through the heavens alongside Oran and Gamel.

The carpet and the aircraft flew side by side beneath the sea of clouds, a sight exceptionally strange even to the snake people and ability users of this era.

The being on the aircraft turned his head and greeted Oran.

“Oran, you’re here again!”

Gamel, however, had never witnessed such a scene. He could guess that the moving puppet was one of the legendary Demon Spirit Race, but what was this flying thing?

“It moves.”

“A puppet that moves on its own.”

“What is he riding? Could it be some kind of alchemical artifact?”

Yet Gamel could not sense the slightest fluctuation of supernatural power from it.

What did this mean?

The other party was flying through the sky without using any supernatural power at all.

This was even rarer than flying supernatural tools and far more incredible.

The apostle on the carpet recognized the other party. “So it’s you, Ray!”

Ray observed Oran’s flying carpet. The last time Oran had entered the Abyss Royal City, he had already put this thing away, so Ray had not noticed it then.

“Oran, your carpet is very interesting. Can you share how it’s made?”

Oran said generously, “I can give you one.”

Ray shook his head. “No, I just want to study it.”

“Recently, I’ve been wanting to rebuild my aircraft. Your carpet is quite interesting.”

“I can exchange my flying machine construction methods with you.”

Oran raised his head to look at Ray.

“That would be taking too much of an advantage.”

The method for making flying carpets was not particularly advanced technology within the White Tower Alchemy Alliance, but this kind of aircraft that allowed ordinary people to fly without using any supernatural materials was completely different.

At least apart from Ray’s craft, Oran had never seen anything like it anywhere else.

Oran felt that if this thing appeared in the White Tower Alchemy Alliance, it might trigger a whole new revolution in alchemy.

Ray, however, did not mind. “Then we have a deal!”

Ray operated his aircraft, circling several times in the sky as if showing off his skills.

He flew the aircraft upside down, facing the earth, yet still keeping parallel to the carpet.

“I’ll take you to see Lady Elena first.”

“Then you can come to my miracle workshop, and we’ll discuss it together.”

“Oran, just today I was thinking how great it would be if an alchemist visited the Abyss Royal City, and now here you are!”

After these cheerful words, the aircraft accelerated ahead to lead the way.

The carpet followed behind. It was then that Gamel said in shock.

“A talking monster, exactly like a living person.”

“They can actually make such flying objects. It’s not a tool, is it? How did they create it?”

Gamel’s words carried the arrogance inherent to intelligent beings, the disdain for monsters, this race born dull-witted.

Even though monsters had transformed into Demon Spirits under the power of the God of Demon Spirits, he still believed these Demon Spirits would be as stupid as monsters, holding to his pride in the civilization created by the snake people.

But Oran suddenly lowered his head and looked at Gamel seriously.

“Gamel, you’re mistaken.”

“Demon Spirits transformed from monsters are completely different from them.”

Oran looked toward the flying aircraft ahead and Ray upon it.

At this moment, Oran’s eyes also showed different emotions, a reverence for ancient beings that had survived from the primordial age.

Oran spoke in a reverent voice.

“They are ancient Demon Spirits.”

Gamel did not know the origin of Demon Spirit puppets, did not know the truth of their birth, nor those distant stories spanning eras.

He had only heard that monsters could become Demon Spirits in the Abyss Royal City.

So he had assumed that the figure before him was simply a Demon Spirit transformed from a monster.

“Ancient Demon Spirits?”

“Are they different from Demon Spirits transformed from monsters?”

Oran nodded and replied to Gamel.

“Demon Spirits with metal puppet forms were not born in this era. They are different from the Demon Spirits of this era.”

Gamel heard the word “era” again. “Not born in this era?”

Gamel recalled what Oran had said about the previous era.

Could these ancient Demon Spirits come from the previous era?

Then how long ago was the previous era?

Oran’s next words told Gamel the timescale of the previous era.

“They come from two hundred and fifty million years ago, from the era when the Gods existed.”

Oran continued speaking to Gamel about those ancient secrets. As long as he did not mention names that might connect to the Dream Realm and great beings, this content was not dangerous.

“They are beings who have crossed through eras. The one before you might have once stood beside a deity and shared countless ties with the Gods.”

“The blood of the Divine King flows through them. Put another way, you can consider them divine children.”

Oran’s words were not wrong. Though from his perspective, he had somewhat confused the Trilobite Man with the People of the Abyss.

However, the People of the Abyss were also descendants of the King of Wisdom, the bloodline left by the two sons of King Redlichia.

As Elena’s student and the third-generation apprentice of the Temple of Truth, Ray could be considered part of the same generation as Asai, the God of Knowledge and Truth, as well as the Evil God of the Abyss, sharing a common legacy and origin.

At this moment, Gamel was already so shocked he did not know what to say. That timescale of the previous era, and the origins and identities of these ancient Demon Spirits, shattered and swept away everything Gamel knew of the world, leaving nothing behind.

That time exceeded his imagination of the length of ages. The identities of those ancient Demon Spirits also exceeded the limits of what he knew about the nobility of life.

He could only speak with a trembling voice, “Divine children?”

Oran nodded. “Gamel, to be precise, descendants of the Sovereign Deity.”

“A nymph once told me that they were born living in the Creator’s garden.”

“And God Iva also told me that their ancestors even controlled the Ruhe Great Gods, ruling over the sky, earth, and sea.”

“Only after crossing the length of an era, they lost their former bodies and identities, even losing their memories, becoming what they are now.”

“But their noble status, the secrets behind them, and their origins are beyond our imagination.”

Oran told Gamel these things to teach him that when entering the Abyss Royal City, he should view everything in this city with reverence.

This was a city that did not belong to this era, a city hiding countless secrets.

Now Gamel looked at the Demon Spirit piloting the aircraft ahead.

It seemed he could see another figure behind him, an ancient, mysterious life form from the primordial age that had stood in the previous era.

Only by accompanying the gods through the long passage of time had it transformed into this metal shell.

“Descendants of the Sovereign Deity.”

“The race that lived in the Creator’s garden, the race that controlled the Ruhe Great Gods.”

He could not imagine that any race could control beings like the Ruhe Great Gods.

Even more, he could not imagine what kind of existence could span two hundred and fifty million years and survive to the present day.