The Spirit's Eternal Life

Spirit Simila passed through the border of the dream realm, catching sight of the gates to God's realm in the distance.

Compared to the reality and vastness of the mortal world, God's realm appeared dreamlike and sacred.

When she first ventured into the mortal world, the spirit had thought it vast and quiet, far less lively and safe than God's realm.

But now, upon her return, she felt that God's realm was more like an island detached from the world, eternally suspended in solitude, beyond the reach of all.

"Whoosh!"

The massive, heavy gates slowly opened, light spilling through and stirring countless motes of dust in the air.

A Ship Giant sat by the gate, holding a heavy ship's lantern.

Perched on the Ship Giant's shoulder was the Ferryman, leaning against the giant's head, like two companions huddling together for warmth.

The gates to God's realm were so large and heavy that it took a long time to open even a sliver.

But this sliver was enough for thousands upon thousands to pass through.

The light from the gap cast a trapezoidal shape on the ground, with the Ship Giant and the Ferryman just outside its reach in a shadowy corner.

In the illuminated void, dust motes like fine silk emitted a golden glow, constantly flowing, but abruptly stopping at a clear boundary that separated them from the Ship Giant.

The Ferryman in the corner, noticing the spirit's return, raised his head and waved.

As if to say: "You're back?"

Spirit Simila's golden robe fluttered as she gently descended before the gates of God's realm.

Clutching the Spirit Performance Troupe's sign, she nodded to the Dream Ferryman.

As if answering: "Thank you for your hard work."

Then she passed through the gates of God's realm.

The gates slowly closed behind her, and the spirit's figure vanished.

Only the Dream Ferryman remained outside God's realm, eternally keeping his promise, guarding his gate.

Waiting for the next visitor.

As soon as Spirit Simila entered God's realm, she saw the dreamlike rivers of the Spirit Country extending towards her, accompanied by starlight.

"Hee hee hee hee!" Many spirits wearing golden robes surrounded the river, their billowing robes propelling them quickly towards Spirit Simila.

"Ah! Faster, faster!" Some spirits rode small boats along the river, little spirits lying on the bow, shouting excitedly as they engaged in a thrilling rafting adventure.

"Here we come!" Other little spirits floated in, pulling balloons, slower but in large groups.

The river encircled Spirit Simila, and the small boats following the current stopped beside her.

"Simila!"

"Simila!"

"Simila!"

"We've come to welcome you!"

Smiling faces crowded around her, calling out Simila's name loudly.

The spirits had all learned of Simila's return and gathered to greet her, welcoming her as if she were a victorious hero.

Indeed, for the spirits, venturing into the mortal world was a great adventure, and Simila was the bravest adventurer besides Hila.

Spirit Simila was deeply moved, looking at the familiar faces of her old companions.

"Everyone... you all came!"

Before, Simila had never felt that being with friends forever was such a happy and precious thing.

She had always thought it was natural, that everything in the Spirit Country was normal.

But now she knew.

It was because they were spirits beloved by God, spirits dwelling in God's realm, that they could live such carefree lives that mortals could only dream of.

She boarded a small boat.

The halted river immediately surged forward again, carrying her towards the Spirit Country.

Crowds of big and small spirits gathered around Simila, asking her questions.

"Simila, was the mortal world fun?"

"Was the mortal world scary?"

"Were there many bad people?"

Spirit Simila didn't know how to answer, so she just said to her curious companions:

"The mortal world is both interesting and scary in many ways."

"There are many good people, and also quite a few bad ones."

"It's a world that has everything."

As the boat passed through the barrier of the Spirit Country, she saw even more spirit companions waiting for her.

Everyone had come to hold a grand celebration ceremony for her.

Even Lady Hila stood at the center of the colorful, dreamlike ceremonial platform, smiling at her.

Simila walked forward, under the gaze of all the spirits.

As she ascended the colorful celebration platform made to welcome her, a shower of colorful rain began to fall from the sky.

"Woohoo!"

"Welcome back, Simila!"

Cheers erupted from the spirits gathered for the ceremony, engulfing Simila.

The cloud of sadness in Simila's heart began to dissipate under the warm welcome of her companions.

Lady Hila looked at her.

She gazed at the Light of Wishes imprints that filled Simila's robe, and the Spirit Performance Troupe sign she clutched tightly.

Softly, she asked: "This time in the mortal world, it seems you made quite a few Trilobite friends?"

Hearing Lady Hila mention her friends, Spirit Simila smiled: "That's right, they are my friends."

Simila looked down at the sign she held in her arms, gently caressing the slightly faded letters.

Her eyes filled with nostalgia, and a happy, contented expression gradually spread across her face.

"Very good friends, friends for life."

Finally, she added: "If only... that lifetime could have been a little longer."

Lady Hila stroked Simila's hair: "But you gained a beautiful dream, a happy journey, didn't you?"

"Though brief, it was a treasure beyond measure."

Simila: "Yes!"

Simila recalled her friends, their faces one by one, how they made different choices as time passed, how they aged and withered with the years.

How they bid her farewell as the seasons changed.

"Their lives are short, their possessions few. Their journey is a constant series of goodbyes."

"It's precisely because their lives are fleeting and easily lost that they become so precious."

At this point, Simila smiled.

"That's why I want to cherish these memories forever, making our friendship eternal."

The lively celebration ended amidst the clamor and noise of the spirits.

Spirit Simila returned to her dream domain, that fantastical home made of threads and weaves.

The moment she stepped into her dream domain, the bundles of Light of Wishes on Simila's golden robe burst forth completely.

She seemed to transform into a small sun.

The light penetrated the cloud sea woven of gossamer, falling upon the house made of yarn balls and the various thread dolls.

It began to assimilate the entire domain.

Divine blood, memories, and the dream domain merged into one, and the robe on the spirit's body began to transform in the golden light.

It became the spirit's mythical organ.

Simila became a fourth-level spirit, and her dream domain transformed into a kingdom filled with the laws of weaving.

After breaking through to the fourth level, all of the spirit's power was infused into the domain, allowing her to control everything within it.

Simila's memories, her mythical blood, her everything, were now fused with her domain.

She became her own dream, no longer separate.

Simila's form dissolved, only to reappear as a huge doll that looked very similar to her in her dream kingdom.

The giant doll, woven entirely of thread, walked within its own kingdom.

As she raised her hand, everything in the dream kingdom began to change. Various dolls appeared in the kingdom, all representing people Simila had met in the mortal world.

Threads intertwined, weaving all sorts of things into existence.

Fairy tale-like buildings sprang up one after another, all the most vivid places in the spirit's memory.

Finally, at the center of the dream kingdom, a massive structure appeared.

It was the place where the Spirit Performance Troupe had performed in Sun City, the time and era when all members of the Spirit Performance Troupe were together.

Threads continued to intertwine and spread, trailers bearing the Spirit Performance Troupe's mark parked behind the building, with lifelike Trilobite dolls sitting on them, chatting and laughing.

On stage, some were performing, while others were busy preparing backstage.

Skinny Tall Guy, Little Clever, Giant, the Magician, and other figures all appeared as thread dolls in their youngest forms within the building.

That most beautiful and joyful time was frozen in this moment by Simila's power.

Preserved forever.

The giant doll outside the building collapsed, transforming into Spirit Simila's form.

She held the Spirit Performance Troupe's sign in her arms as she entered this doll kingdom.

She hung up the sign with her own hands, then squeezed into the crowd of dolls, standing in the most prominent position.

The spirit called out loudly.

"Everyone, come quickly."

"The Troupe Leader is about to give orders."

In the God-Given Land.

The Pyramid Temple.

Yin Shen sat as usual beneath the colorful stained glass window, but now he held a small mirror in his hand.

Yin Shen was observing recent events in the mortal world.

In the mirror, images of Yinsai appeared, along with the Abyss Kingdom, and occasionally a fleeting glimpse of the Island of Mist.

Even the shadow of the Spirit Performance Troupe could be seen.

Beside Yin Shen's seat, a small girl with brown hair and green eyes, wearing a white dress, kept making noises, imitating the sound of a horn.

"Woo woo!"

"Woo woo!"

Yin Shen had taken away Shelly's horn, causing her to circle around him incessantly.

However, whenever Yin Shen returned the horn to her, she would blow it in the temple with such force that it seemed the entire structure might lift off its foundations.

"Woo woo!"

"Woo woo!"

Yin Shen watched Shelly circling him, her hands behind her back like airplane wings.

He raised his hand and created a spherical God's Grace Stone.

Yin Shen stuffed the God's Grace Stone into the Mother Conch of All Things, effectively plugging it.

He returned the Mother Conch to Shelly, who immediately put it to her lips.

However, instead of the deep, melancholic sound of the horn, it made a sound like a flatulent "poot."

"Poot~"

Shelly raised it and blew again.

"Poot~"

This time it was exactly the same as before.

Shelly: "Gururu?"

Footsteps were heard outside the Pyramid Temple, and Hila, the Dream Spirit, also came to God's side.

Seeing the Mother of Life Shelly, who had been annoying Yin Shen with her horn-blowing, now unable to make her horn sound, Hila felt her anxiety ease a little and couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh.

God suddenly asked her: "What are you afraid of?"

The spirit raised her head: "Ah!"

It took her a moment to understand that God was asking about her earlier anxiety.

Before Simila's return, the spirit had nearly finished refining enough Light of Wishes from the Divine Cup.

She could have begun to condense her mythical form and attain the immortality belonging to spirits.

But the spirit had been hesitating, putting it off until Simila's return.

Yin Shen looked at Hila: "Are you afraid of immortality?"

Dream Spirit Hila shook her head. "God," she said softly. "I'm wondering, what will the spirit's immortality be like?"

"Will there be... any drawbacks?"

The immortality of the Wisdom Ability was incomplete, because the unstable mythical form couldn't exist in the mortal world, just like the current state of the Little Person in the Bottle.

The immortality of the Life Ability was deformed, requiring periodic reincarnation, with the body persisting while consciousness alternated.

So what would the immortality of the Dream Ability and spirits be like?

There was no precedent or guidance.

Because no one had ever obtained a mythical form composed of Dream Ability divine blood before, and no other spirit had tasted immortality.

This was what Hila had been considering, and what made her anxious.

Yin Shen stood up: "Why not do it and find out?"

"If it's also an incomplete immortality, then we can find ways to compensate for it."

"Time is long, we can slowly perfect it."

Hearing God's words, the spirit finally made her decision.

She flew to the edge of the dream realm.

Here, only the Dream Sun and God's Moon alternated in cycles, and today the Dream Sun took the shape of a fairy tale sun, with many angles.

As one approached, the Dream Sun in their eyes became a huge golden cup.

The cup emitted light, covered with dense symbols and inscriptions.

Within the cup, dreams as large as mountain peaks undulated and intersected.

God's messenger Hila came before the Divine Cup, and as soon as she approached, she saw the surrounding Light of Wishes begin to move towards her.

Even the Dreams of Law within this Divine Artifact floated up one by one.

As if saying to her:

"You've come!"

The Light of Wishes was condensed from the wishes of mortals for various things.

As the Wish Festival spread throughout Yinsai and even began to spread into the Abyss Kingdom,

Mortals had completely combined wishes, rituals, and God's messenger Hila, and the wishes flowing from that dreamy sea of stars were firmly linked to Spirit Hila.

This also allowed her to begin refining the Light of Wishes in the Divine Cup.

It even began to indirectly erode all the Dreams of Law, completely imprinting this Divine Artifact with her mark.

Since God Yin Shen gave the Divine Cup to Dream Spirit Hila, only now could she truly be called the owner and master of this Divine Artifact.

Hila was ready and reached out towards the Divine Cup.

"Divine Cup."

"I command you as the Guardian of Dreams to release all Light of Wishes to me."

"All Dreams of Law, obey my command and become the source of my power."

The Divine Cup radiated brilliantly.

The light extended continuously, finally completely engulfing Hila.

The God-Given Land, originally below, was also drawn towards the edge of the dream realm by the Divine Cup's attraction, leaving its original position.

Because in a sense, the God-Given Land was the true source of Dream Spirit Hila's existence, the manifestation of the Spirit's Dream.

For Hila to become mythical, more importantly, was to deify the entire Spirit's Dream.

Her dream kingdom.

The God-Given Land passed through the light of the Dream Sun and finally stopped on the huge Divine Cup.

Dense Light of Wishes fell like rain, descending upon the God-Given Land.

Merging into every piece of land, every object here.

Some of the light rain fell on the earth, becoming soil and stones, bricks and ancient buildings.

Some merged into the Pyramid Temple, making it brand new.

Others transformed into various luxurious utensils, such as gold and silver cups, ornate bronze mirrors, golden chandeliers, swords, and long scrolls, falling into various corners of the temple.

However, more became various treasures, falling into a warehouse.

They transformed into dense treasures and were stored, becoming part of God's treasury.

This was the power of the Light of Wishes; each beam could directly transform into any corresponding item.

Finally, every piece of land, every stone, and every utensil in the entire God-Given Land was infused with the Light of Wishes.

All became part of the power condensed from the Dream Ability.

Spirit Hila's robe reappeared above the God-Given Land, or rather, above the Divine Cup.

Inside the empty robe, her body began to condense anew.

Every piece of skin, every strand of hair, every drop of blood was composed of mythical power.

When she opened her eyes, the entire God-Given Land radiated mythical light along with her will.

The spirit landed before the temple, looking at her surroundings.

Everything seemed the same as before, yet it felt completely different.

God stood before the temple, waiting for Hila.

"How is it?"

Mother of Life Shelly also made a sound: "Gururu!"

Dream Spirit Hila's face showed some concern: "The spirit's immortality is not complete immortality either."

"Or rather."

"It can be called illusory immortality."

Yin Shen glanced at the Divine Cup, and with a wave of his hand, an inscription appeared from it.

【Illusory Immortality】

【The spirit possessing the Dream Ability can obtain illusory immortality. Her mythical power, the Light of Wishes, is composed of mortals' memories, dreams, and wishes. As long as other lives forever remember her existence, she can exist forever.】

【But if one day the spirit is forgotten by everyone, her Light of Wishes will dissipate along with it, and the myth will no longer continue.】

The power of wishes would disappear with the forgetting of mortals; the myth of dreams depended on the transmission and remembrance of mortals.

The spirit also saw this passage: "A dreamy and illusory immortality, like a reflection in water?"

"When the water gradually dries up, the reflection will disappear along with it."

The spirit felt a bit sad.

With such immortality, it would be difficult for her to accompany Yin Shen to the next era.

Perhaps when civilization perishes, it would be the moment she dissipates along with it.

But Yin Shen spoke: "Not bad, the drawback isn't as great as that of the Life Ability."

Dream Spirit Hila looked at God, not quite understanding.

Yin Shen shook his head: "You won't disappear, don't worry!"

"At most, you'll fall into a slumber."

The spirit didn't understand how immortality with such a drawback wasn't considered a big problem.

"Why?"

Yin Shen pointed to the bottom of the God-Given Land, at the slowly rotating golden cup.

"Because you are the owner of the Divine Artifact, the Divine Cup. You will possess the uniqueness and supreme authority of the Dream Ability!"

"And also because."

"You possess my dream."

Below the God-Given Land, the Dreams of Law carried in the Divine Cup now floated up one by one.

Each dream was tinged with the spirit's imprint, reflecting the spirit's original mark.

Among them were the Dreams of Law later included by the priests, densely occupying most of it.

But at the very core, there remained the most peculiar dreams: ice worlds, desolate highlands, seas of oil, and realms of weaving.

Those were the original Dreams of Law, belonging to the deities.

"Even if mortals forget you, even if spirits forget you."

"Even if these ordinary Dreams of Law gradually dim, gradually dry up."

"My dream will still be here with you."

As long as God Yin Shen remembered her, she would only lose power and fall into slumber if the Light of Wishes faded.

As long as God Yin Shen still held her in his memory, she would never truly dissipate.