Gifts and the Wish Festival

The former City of Sea Spirits in the Sele Kingdom, now known as Sele Port, still echoed its ancient name. To the newly born Trilobite Men, the sea spirits of old had faded into legend. The era of the Royal Bloodline and giant monsters had gradually been forgotten with the passing of King Henir. This place had become a crucial port city for Yinsai.

Many young people and children only knew the name Sele Port by word of mouth, unaware of the meaning behind "Sele."

Ships of various sizes docked along the coast, with Trilobite Men bustling about the pier.

These vessels would transport various goods from the Oil Temple to coastal cities and even to the Abyss Kingdom in the deep sea.

The world had undergone tremendous changes due to rituals and miraculous power. Although this ritual power had not yet reached every Trilobite Man and inhabitant of the Abyss, one could see Yinsai and the Abyss Kingdom prospering at a visible rate.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

"Clang! Clang!"

The cold sea wind howled past the sign beneath the lighthouse, creating a noisy clamor.

At the end of the nearby avenue, a large group of children crowded at the bottom of a staircase.

Atop the stairs stood a magnificent temple.

The famous Oil Temple, one of the Nine Great Temples, stood here by the shore.

Every day, the Oil Temple would distribute some of their manufactured Lan food paste and noodles to the beggars of Sele City. On important occasions, they would also give out sugar to children, promoting God's grace.

Children from the city, having received the news early, crowded beneath the temple, eagerly waiting.

Sugar.

Though no longer exclusive to nobles due to the spread of ritual arrays, it remained a luxury beyond the reach of ordinary people. Only in places like Sele City, which relied on the Oil Temple, could common folk occasionally taste its sweetness.

A priest walked out carrying a large cloth bag and addressed the children lined up:

"One piece each."

"Line up to receive."

Though the children excitedly eyed the bag, some beginning to salivate, they still queued obediently.

"Mine! Mine!"

"It's mine!"

"Thank you, honored priest."

One after another, the line gradually shortened.

Unfortunately, just as they reached halfway, the young priest's bag was empty.

The child who had just reached the front when it ran out sat crying on the ground.

The other children behind were also very disappointed, but could only disperse, watching enviously as others savored the sweet taste of sugar.

Some children carefully hid their piece to take home, while others planned to sell it at street shops for money.

One of the children who didn't get any sugar walked dejectedly down the street. Looking up, he suddenly noticed something moving in the sky.

It hovered high above, visible only as a tiny black speck.

"What's that?" the child wondered.

It was strange, as there were no birds in this era. In the Trilobite Men's understanding, nothing existed in the sky except clouds.

He walked quickly down the street, craning his neck to chase the black dot, but couldn't make it out clearly.

"What a strange thing."

A child's curiosity doesn't last long, but this chase had dispersed much of his sadness.

He gave up pursuing the black dot and turned to go home.

The sky gradually darkened, and the street-side shops lit their lamps, illuminating the array of goods inside.

Food, toys.

Beautiful cups, exquisite clay dolls, red hats, and rolled-up precious silk book scrolls.

The child envied these things but couldn't afford anything in the shop.

Returning home, his mother had prepared the cheapest food paste and placed it before him.

"Where's Father?" the child asked his mother.

He was somewhat hopeful, as his father often brought him small gifts when he returned.

"He hasn't finished work at the dock yet!"

"The weather's turned cold, and there are fewer ships at the dock."

"Your father hasn't gotten much work lately. I don't know how we'll get through this month."

"Let's hope he brings home more wages today. We'll buy a fish to eat tomorrow!"

His busy mother replied.

After finishing his meal, the child climbed to the rooftop. He wanted to see if the black dot in the sky was still there, but it was too dark to see anything clearly.

What the child didn't expect was that the object was descending towards him.

It was a hot air balloon, with a beautiful spirit carrying a cloth bag standing in the basket below.

It descended from the sky onto the rooftop, giving the child a big surprise.

The child couldn't identify the object, but he recognized it as something capable of flight.

"Wow!"

"That's amazing!"

The child watched as the spirit poked her head out from the basket, her gem-like eyes looking at him, her bright golden hair flowing softly in the night breeze.

This was a being who looked clearly different from Trilobite Men, but for some reason, the child felt very close to her.

"Who are you?" the child asked the spirit.

The spirit steadied the hot air balloon in front of the child, like an angel descending from the sky: "I am a Dream Spirit, from the realm of God."

"Because you're the first child to discover me, I can give you a gift, fulfilling one small wish of yours."

The child had heard of spirits before: "A spirit?"

"Like the spirits on the temple walls? The kind that can create anything and live in God's realm?"

The spirit nodded, and in the child's eyes, she suddenly emitted a holy radiance.

The word "spirit" seemed to have been intertwined with divinity and holiness since its very inception.

The child excitedly asked: "Can it really be anything?"

The spirit smiled and said: "Spirits possess miraculous power. We can create anything you know of!"

"But remember," she added gently, "you only get one gift, okay?"

The child was delighted but became nervous and conflicted upon hearing there was only one gift.

Finally, the child said to the spirit.

"I want sugar, a big jar of sugar."

The phantom of the Divine Cup appeared behind the spirit, and the Sugar Divine Technique Imprint leaped up, landing in the spirit's palm, ultimately transforming into a beam of light.

Within the light, a silver jar slowly descended, finally resting on the ground.

"Bless you."

"Your wish has been granted."

The child was overjoyed. He opened the jar and hugged it close.

"Wow!"

"It's really there!"

"This is all real, not a dream."

The child cheered and shouted with excitement.

Hila's face broke into a smile. The little spirits of the Sun Cup Flower Sea made similar sounds when they were happy.

The child's father had just returned and heard the commotion. He and the mother ran to the rooftop, only to see the jar in the child's arms.

The child didn't know that the most valuable thing wasn't the sugar in the jar, but the jar itself.

But his parents knew, and they anxiously asked the child where he got it from.

The child turned back excitedly: "It was just now..."

However, looking back, the spirit had already vanished.

"Eh!"

"That being just now, it didn't seem to be one of our kind..."

"It was a very beautiful being, seeming to glow, who gave it to me."

The child felt his memory had become completely blurred, even forgetting the wish he had just made.

Yet, the gift in his hands was solid, bringing a sense of joy and wonder.

In the hot air balloon basket, the spirit looked down at the myriad lights of mortal homes from the sky.

The civilization of the Trilobite Men had developed much faster than she had imagined. The last time she came, it felt lifeless, but this time it was completely different.

"Time to find the next one."

The number of wishes she could fulfill represented how many Divine Technique Imprints she could fuse into her mythical blood, indicating how many powers she could master.

Hila's mythical blood was the strongest among spirits. She was another spirit directly created by God, apart from Polo.

She could fuse almost all the imprints from the Divine Cup into her mythical blood, transforming them into beams of Light of Wishes.

This meant she had a long journey ahead.

From this day forward, legends about spirits giving gifts to children began to spread gradually in the world of Trilobite Men.

Hey!

Did you know?

If you encounter a beautiful spirit floating in the sky, you can make a wish and ask her for a gift.

Pure and innocent wishes receive more generous gifts.

Greedy and excessive demands invite the spirit's trickery and punishment.

As this legend spread, a festival gradually formed in the Yinsai Kingdom, called the Wish Festival.

On this day.

Before sleep, the children of Yinsai would make wishes. Various desires would transform into memories, filling the dreamy star sea.

And in the dream world, the spirits would fall into a frenzy.

They would queue up, holding hands, traversing these wish-dreams, selecting the most beautiful wishes.

And then, they would fulfill them for the children.

Perhaps among thousands upon thousands of children, only one would have their small, innocent wish come true. But that would be the most beautiful thing in a child's childhood.