Fading Starlight

The entire God-Servant City, including the Sacred Mountain, had recently entered a period of ritual purification. Thousands of people knelt facing the Sky Temple, their voices merging as they chanted the Redlichia Covenant, the sound echoing like waves in the sky.

Within the hallowed halls of the Sky Temple, the Star Luo Queen knelt before God, her hands trembling slightly as she prepared for the momentous ritual to open the gates of the divine realm.

Young Stan Tito stood behind her, noticing the Queen's tension and pressure despite his own awkwardness.

"Your Majesty," Stan asked hesitantly, "are you afraid too?"

Hearing Stan's words, the Star Luo Queen suddenly felt more at ease.

"Of course," the Queen replied softly. "How could one not feel reverence when facing the great God?"

A member of the royal bloodline family, a descendant of King Redlichia.

A descendant of Saint Tito, the great poet who brought back divine objects from the realm of God after the end of the God-Given era.

At this moment, only they could stand beneath the statue of Yinsai God carved by King Yesael himself.

Even the priests of the Sky Temple could only stand in the corridor outside the hall.

After making all preparations, the Star Luo Queen lifted the bone tablet and began to chant the verses left by the great poet in a solemn melody.

At the end, she recited the passage connecting to the dream world, praying for a response from the spirit guarding the gates of the dream world.

"Guardian of God's Garden, Divine Messenger of the Dream Realm."

"Dream Spirit named Hope! I humbly beseech you to answer my prayer."

"Hila!"

"I pray for you to open the gates of the divine realm, welcoming back the long-lost children to their home."

As Her Majesty the Queen uttered the spirit's true name, the sky above the Sacred Mountain immediately changed.

Colorful, dreamlike starlight mysteriously gathered in the sky, swirling and flowing between the clouds.

The dreamlike starlight appeared out of nowhere, as if a crack had opened to another world, pouring through.

Seeing this, the entire God-Servant City erupted in excitement.

"It's coming!" One devout believer after another called out.

"It's about to happen!" The faithful in the God-Servant City kowtowed forcefully, as if the louder their foreheads hit the ground, the more devout they were.

"The gates of the divine realm are about to open." In front of the temple, the priests were nearly frantic.

They hadn't been able to witness the miracle in the God-Descended City before, but this time, they were all participants.

Everyone looked up, waiting for the final moment to arrive.

However, only dreamlike starlight surged in the sky; the gates of the divine realm remained closed.

Finally, the dreamlike starlight extinguished.

It extinguished.

It extinguished?

In an instant, the God-Servant City fell from a crescendo of excitement to a deafening silence.

The people in the God-Servant City stared at the sky, their expressions blank.

The priests in front of the temple, their hands raised high, forgot to lower them.

The Star Luo Queen watched the dissipating starlight, saw the sky clear again, and found it hard to accept.

"Why?"

"Why did this happen?"

The Star Luo Queen was not just at a loss; she was terrified.

"Is it that God doesn't accept my faith?"

"Or did I do something wrong?"

The Queen kept stepping back, almost falling to the ground.

Stan Tito supported the Queen, and the priests of the Sky Temple quickly gathered around.

"Perhaps we're missing a crucial factor, Your Majesty."

"We only obtained one page of the great poet's final chapter, while Saint Tito left an entire book of verses."

The priest speculated: "Perhaps only when the great poet's verses are complete can they serve as the credential and token to open the divine realm."

Star Luo Queen: "Is that really so?"

Priest: "It must be so."

The Star Luo Queen could only believe this. In an age when God no longer sent down decrees, they could only rely on conjecture to guess at God's will.

Perhaps deep in their hearts, they also knew.

It might have been wrong from the beginning, but they still couldn't stop themselves from pressing forward.

As if some powerful force in the universe was pushing them forward like moths to a flame.

Was that force faith?

Or perhaps desire.

Or something else entirely.

A few days later.

The border of the Star Luo Kingdom trembled as a Ruhe beast made a sudden, terrifying appearance. Though it showed itself only once, its presence sent shockwaves of fear throughout the kingdom's frontiers.

The armies of the Volcano Kingdom and Samo Kingdom also began to move and amass, one appearing near Sun City, the other near Stone Forest City.

The two countries seemed restless, as if preparing to wage war against the Star Luo Kingdom.

However, it appeared that the Volcano Kingdom and Samo Kingdom hadn't fully reached an agreement. The Samo Kingdom had only sent one Ruhe beast as a show of force.

The Volcano Kingdom hadn't even sent a single Ruhe beast, only amassing nearly ten thousand troops outside Sun City.

But everyone could feel that the situation had changed dramatically.

Any small move between the countries from now on could tear apart the fragile balance and peace that had been maintained for hundreds of years—

In the dream realm.

Perched on the edge of a floating island, the Dream Spirit gazed at a shimmering patch of illusory starlight, her eyes wide with wonder and fear.

In the reflected vision, she saw the terrible disaster in the God-Descended City, two Ruhe beasts wielding their power recklessly, as if a natural disaster had descended upon the mortal world.

She saw the Trilobite Men's armies marching to the borders, and people from towns and villages fleeing their homes to distant places.

Just as God had said, because she had inadvertently opened the gates of the dream world, she had brought disaster to countless Trilobite Men.

And this was only the beginning, not the end.

The Dream Spirit was terrified and heartbroken.

"How could this happen?"

"I... I really didn't want this."

At the edge of the ethereal island, the spirit hid in a corner, curling herself into a ball.

"I'm a big bad guy."

"No, I'm worse than a bad guy."

A group of little spirits gathered around Hila, looking somewhat anxious.

"Lady Hila."

"Don't cry anymore."

"If spirits cry, they will die."

Hila buried her head in the flower cups of the flower sea, not wanting others to see her face, like an ostrich hiding its head.

A large group of little spirits rushed to the temple in a panic and commotion. Mother of Life Shelly glared at them, scaring all the little spirits away.

But one little spirit still ran in, kneeling before God.

"Lady Hila is going to die."

"Great God, please save her!"

Light surged throughout the temple, white covering the ground and flowing out of the temple.

The Dream Spirit, hiding sorrowfully at the edge of the island, sensed something. She turned her head and saw a beautiful scene.

A beam of celestial light descended from the heavens, like a falling star gracing the earth with its ethereal presence.

In the sea of flowers, God was taking a stroll.

He came to the edge of the island, standing beside Hila and looking towards the edge of the dream world.

"God!" Hila exclaimed, her voice trembling. "Am I going to die, like Lord Polo?"

God emitted a faint laugh: "Don't be afraid, dream spirits won't die from crying."

"The ability to cry also shows the kindness of the heart. Crying is not ugly; crying is also a kind of beauty."

"Only when the heart dies and falls can the dream shatter."

Dream Spirit Hila: "But it was because I opened the gates of the dream world that all this happened."

"Hila," God said gently, "if you truly believe you've made a mistake, then find a way to make amends."

"Don't sit here crying. Be brave."