Wisdom and Life

At first, living in the towering temple was new and intriguing. But as the days dragged on, Yin Shen grew tired of it.

He would neither grow old nor pass away.

He had no physical form, only a solitary soul wandering through the ancient ocean of primordial Earth.

In this vast expanse, there was nothing but the Fusion Monster, gurgling endlessly as it roamed the sea, and the Trilobite Man, who kept him company with conversation.

Yin Shen stood atop the towering temple, gazing down upon the vast ocean and the entire island.

The heavens and earth stretched endlessly. The entire world was his to command. Yet, he could not shake the feeling of being trapped.

It was not an eternal celestial prison that confined him, but the unyielding passage of time itself.

"Yinsai... shen!"

"Yin... sai... God!"

Outside the temple.

At the sunlit entrance, a figure stood blocking the light, casting a long shadow across the palace floor. With immense strength, he hauled a massive creature far larger than himself and placed it on the platform before the temple as an offering.

The shadow suddenly shrank, collapsing into a huddle as the figure knelt.

He knelt beside the temple's massive pillars and crawled forward, prostrating himself before the great deity who dwelled in his heart and had bestowed wisdom upon him.

The Trilobite Man brought Yin Shen more rare curiosities from the ocean. He hoped to earn a fleeting moment of joy from the deity, a small smile, or even just a look of approval.

This time, he brought an anomalocaris. It was a massive creature over five meters long, the most powerful ocean predator of this era.

The effort the Trilobite Man had expended to capture this anomalocaris was evident, as even his hard outer carapace bore scars.

"Yinsai shen!"

"God Yinsai!"

Yin Shen, who sat on the stone platform of the divine statue, finally smiled. Outside, the kneeling Trilobite Man was overcome with joy and began to dance with excitement.

However, the Trilobite Man did not realize the reason for the smile. Yin Shen was pleased only because the creature could finally say the three-character name without interruption, even if it was still mispronounced. The smile had nothing to do with the rare treasures offered from the ocean.

Yin Shen stepped down from the stone platform and turned his gaze to the massive, living creature. The giant, shrimp-like being began to tremble. Its large head claws struck the stone with enough force to create cracks.

Anger and worry overcame the Trilobite Man.

Eeyah~

Ayii~

The Trilobite Man cried out wildly. He wanted to kill this foolish creature, this witless insect that dared show disrespect to God.

Yin Shen, however, did not dwell on it and simply thought the shrimp was remarkably large.

"So, it's an anomalocaris."

He reached out his hand but paused as a realization struck him. He could touch nothing apart from the Trilobite Man and the Fusion Monster. The thought brought a hint of sorrow to his eyes.

He smiled faintly. "I see it. Make good use of it."

As Yin Shen's thoughts stirred, the sea began to churn with immense force.

From the depths, a gigantic creature emerged. Its massive form cut through the waves as it made its way toward the pyramid.

Gurgle gurgle~

Gurgle gurgle~

The Fusion Monster ascended the pyramid. Its tentacles coiled around the six-meter-long giant creature, dragging it away. It then devoured the creature whole, as if it were a mere piece of candy.

An ancient ocean predator may have been fearsome, but in the presence of a mythological monster like the Fusion Monster, it was insignificant.

Yin Shen stood at the temple entrance. Behind him, the mythological monster contentedly devoured the treat God had bestowed upon it. The Trilobite Man remained close by his side.

This scene would have filled any heart with fear. But to the three figures within it, the moment was nothing out of the ordinary.

He suddenly stopped, his gaze falling upon the relief carvings on the pillars and beams. The figures were devoid of color, yet they appeared vivid and full of life.

Among them were towering buildings, bustling traffic, and countless human figures moving through lively marketplaces.

The Trilobite Man had carved these with his skilled hands, guided by the wisdom Yin Shen had granted him. The images were fragments drawn from his god's own memories.

He simply could not grasp what these images represented. He did not understand why there were so many people, or why they appeared slightly different from him.

He also could not comprehend the iron birds soaring through the sky or the boxes speeding along the ground.

He only knew that God had a fondness for these depictions, so he carved them all over the temple, both inside and out.

God often stood quietly beneath these murals and reliefs, lost in thought.

But today felt different. He pointed to a small, barely noticeable figure within the image.

"Look here."

"This is what a human looks like."

Nodding repeatedly, the Trilobite Man quickly spoke, eager to affirm his own identity. "I... I... am also human!"

Yin Shen shook his head. "You are not human," he said.

"You are a Trilobite Man, a being I created. You were transformed from a trilobite into an intelligent, humanoid life form."

The Trilobite Man struggled to grasp the distinction between humans and Trilobite Men.

As Yin Shen walked through the corridors outside the temple, he spoke softly. "I am alone in this world, and so are you."

"The human race has yet to come into existence, and as for the Trilobite Men, you are the only one of your kind."

For the first time, the Trilobite Man grasped the idea of race. He realized that Trilobite Man was not his name but the term God used to define his kind.

And he understood that he was not human.

For the first time, the Trilobite Man experienced sadness. A deep grief filled him.

"God Yinsai," the Trilobite Man called out.

"I... also... want... a name!"

A thought came to Yin Shen. If the Fusion Monster could merge and replicate the traits of living beings, perhaps its power could be used to create an entire race of Trilobite Men.

The Trilobite Man knelt on the ground reverently. Calmly, Yin Shen bestowed upon him a name.

"Redlichia."

"You shall be called Redlichia."

The Trilobite Man burst into celebration once more.

He was like a child, his emotions shifting quickly as sadness gave way to joy.

The Fusion Monster was a mythological creation, a biological machine that defied scientific explanation.

It had the ability to steal the organs of other creatures and forcibly combine their traits and genetic fragments with its own.

Yin Shen planned to harness its power to create fertilized eggs or embryos from Redlichia and his predecessor, the trilobite. From these, he would rely on the Fusion Monster's abilities to bring forth an entire race.

However, this biological machine lacked precision. Its creations were more akin to the outcome of a random process. Achieving the desired result depended on a mix of chance and unpredictability.

Yet Yin Shen was not concerned. He was confident he would succeed.

At this moment, he had but one thing.

Time.

Responding to the call of God's will, the mythological beast moved toward the temple. Its massive, fleshy form pressed into the palace interior. Countless mismatched green eyes stared inside.

God stood in the great hall, his eyes locked on the creature.

"Can you give me your shell?"

"Would that be alright?"

The Fusion Monster's mythological power was primarily concentrated in its shell. The creature itself functioned as a control center, which meant the shell could be removed and used by Yin Shen as he desired.

Gurgle gurgle.

Hundreds of terrifying eyes stared at Yin Shen, but within them, he could sense a hint of innocence.

It could not grasp the meaning behind Yin Shen's words or the nature of his questions.

As a being created by God, it required no understanding. It simply awaited Yin Shen's commands and would carry them out without ever needing to know the purpose.

It was less like a divine servant and more like a tool. Its purpose was determined by God's will, and it had no thoughts of its own.

Yin Shen gently touched its surface and said, "I suppose I asked the wrong question."

He paused, and a faint trace of empathy entered his voice. "Perhaps wisdom itself is a kind of mythological power."

Yin Shen had once believed that the Trilobite Man was insignificant when compared to the miraculous abilities of the Fusion Monster.

Now he realized that the wisdom possessed by the Trilobite Man was the true myth and miracle.

People often overlook the value of what they already have.

They fail to realize that what they have may be the greatest myth and power in the infinite expanse of the universe.